>> bret: this is a fox news alert. i am bret baier coming to you live tonight from riata saudi arabia. president trump has a big mission on his first foreign trip, reestablishing american leadership, repair relations with allies were cool to his predecessor, and make concrete steps toward an elusive peace deal. he is also trying to rally the saudis and the gulf states to stand together against terrorism and extremism and to stand up against a common foe, iran. the president left riyadh 15 hours ago for another historic leg of the trip. we begin our coverage with chief white house correspondent

john roberts traveling with the president in jerusalem tonight. hello, john. >> good evening. so far, the president's first foreign trip, this went to the middle east, has been a success, citing new economic and military cooperation deals, recruiting help in the war on terror, stoking optimism of a mideast peace deal. about the only departure happened earlier today here in jerusalem. it was one of those unscripted moments, a shouted question from the press that creates a headline when israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu waiting on reports president trump shared israeli intelligence with russi russia. in an extra ordinary moment, president trump stopped his aides from chewing the press out of the room. >> i never mentioned the word or the name israel. never mentioned it. during the conversation. you had another story wrong.

>> it was never reported that president trump told the russians that the intelligence was from israel. the press only said one of the threats president trump described was a product of israeli intelligence. it did not appear to derail the welcome president trump received when he touched down in israel. president reuven rivlin. >> we are happy to see america is back in the area. america is back again. >> israel is pleased with the change in posture from the obama administration, cool indifference has been replaced by the familiar warmth between old friends. >> i want you to know how much we appreciate the change in american policy on iran which you enunciated so clearly an hour ago. i want you to know how much we appreciate your bold decision to act against the use of chemical

weapons in syria. >> the visit has been rife with symbolism. it president trump visiting the holiest site in the christian faith, the church of the holy sepulcher and becoming the first president to visit one of judaism's holiest sites, the western wall, where the president said a prayer and tucked an end notes between the blocks. >> we must take advantage of the situation, and there are many, many things that can happen now that would never have been able to happen before, and we understand that very well. speak of the difference is an increasingly emboldened iran seen by israel and much of the sunni arab world as an existential threat. at a speech yesterday in saudi arabia, president trump urged the leaders of some 50 majority muslim nations to unite against iran in the broader

threat of terrorism. >> tried them out of your -- drive them out of your places of worship. drive them out of your communities. drive them out of your holy land, and drive them out of this earth. >> tomorrow the president travels to bethlehem to meet with the palestinian president mahmoud abbas. looks like the atmosphere is beginning to shift. there have been a lot of direct contact between israel and saudi arabia. the president made the first flight between riyadh and tel aviv. important symbolism. >> bret: john roberts traveling with the president. thank you. one of the president's themes, uniting america and its allies around common goals. i spoke with the president's national security advisor about that before air force one took the historic journey to israel.

to get h.r. mcmaster's assessment of the key takeaways here and also a look ahead. general, thanks for the time. >> great to be with you. when you have seen the reaction to the president's speech. what is your assessment? >> it's been incredibly positive. coming out of saudi arabia with a common understanding of the threat we face, that all civilized people face. based on the common understanding, we are ready to move forward with common action against terrorist organizations, against the people that financed them, and against the extremist ideology that lays a foundation for terrorists to draw on. i think it's amazingly positive. the key will be the follow-up. now we have the agreements in place that we need to move forward together. >> bret: david axelrod, former senior advisor to president obama tweeted "we must abandon human rights to fight terrorism? the lack of one helps fuel the other and ignoring violations weakens the u.s. in the eyes of the world." your reaction to that ended the

president bring up human rights in his private meetings? >> everything was about human rights. the entire trip is about human rights, about all civilized people coming together to fight the hatred. those who foment hatred, those who try to justify violence against innocent people. what can be more human rights than that? you will see this carry through the entire trip. you will see us, the president talk about human rights in israel and the need for the israelis and palestinians to come to an accommodation that removes the basis for violence bread he's going to go to rome and talk about the need for people of all religions to come together against this threat to our societies. the entire trip you could say is about human rights. >> bret: specifically talking about the saudis and questions about their human rights. was it brought up privately? >> i think what you have here is the beginning of an incredibly close relationship that can serve as a basis to move forward

in a number of areas, including human rights. if you look at the president's speech, there's a clear passage in there about the saudi commitment to move forward in this area, and this is what america is going to encourage. this is a pragmatic view on the part of the president but in view that's informed by our desire to advance human rights broadly. >> bret: you were the person who sought to soften the tone on the radical islamic terrorism in exchange for islamic extremism, the president in the speech used islamic terrorism. a senior official said he is quote an "exhaustive guy." he was supposed to address the crowd and at the last minute, he sent ivanka instead. is the president okay? >> i have never seen the president exhausted. i think some of us are exhausted

trying to keep pace. the pace is incredible. our understanding, what's our understanding, it's more important than the label. with the president understands what he talked about through the whole speech is these are not islamic people. these are not religious people. these are people who use a perverted interpretation of religion to advance their criminality, to advance their political agenda. you saw a great agreement on that and all the speeches yesterday. the king used almost the same language prayed the president listens to his fellow leaders and partners and revises his understanding ad then uses it to drive us forward on a common agenda. >> bret: so he's not exhausted? >> he's not exhausted. some of us wish he was. >> bret: you're headed to israel. there are some sticky issues. your expectations? >> the president is going to reach out to our greatest ally to reassure our greatest ally of

our unshakable bond to that alliance and the unshakable bond with the israeli people but also to understand and help others understand that there must be a way forward on a solution for the israeli-palestinian issue. to use that as a basis for also new partnerships in the region. what you'll hear through the wall trip is we all share common threats. we all share common opportunities. let's work together. israel, the arab states, to help shape the future in a positive direction. to get off this path toward hatred and violence, get on the path towards peace and prosperity. >> bret: one of the issues is the intel sharing. publicly the israelis are supportive. privately there are serious concerns about that and what the president said to the russians. how will you deal with that in the meetings? >> i think what you see is very strong confidence that's not been affected by any recent events where the news about

recent events. that's going to continue. the relationship we've had for many, many years and in recent years in particular. >> bret: appreciate the time. >> thanks, great to be with you. >> bret: let's talk about the overall impact of this trip, the policy and politics. senior political analyst brit hume is in washington tonight. good evening, brit. i want to look at these images broadly before we get into the nitty-gritty, your impressions. >> it's been the case that when the president went on a foreign trip, his departure would be noted and there would be coverage but nothing like the extravaganza that we've seen over this past weekend. this fanfare that accompanied the visit to saudi arabia, the extent of the welcome, while it wasn't quite the show in israel today that it wasn't saudi arabia, another warm welcome. it frames the president and a

somewhat different light than we've been seeing him in when he was struggling with the controversy swirling around him in washington. he is off doing the business of the president. i don't see any way around the fact that it's going to help him, at least in the near term. he might have been able to do the sword dance more effectively, he still looked good in this atmosphere. >> bret: what all of the saudis said, and were going to talk to a cabinet member later, then the king of saudi arabia. listen to the prime minister of israel with the president today. >> america welcomes the action and support of any nation willing to do the hard but vital work in eradicating the violent ideologies that have caused so much needless bloodshed and

killing. here and all over the world. >> common dangers are turning former enemies into partners, and that's where we see something new and potentially something very promising. for the first time in my lifetime, i see a real hope for change. >> bret: i have been on a lot of foreign trips. do you have been on more than i have. to hear leaders talk like that in two different places like israel and saudi arabia is striking. >> it is and it does raise the possibility that could be at least a kind of detente between many of the muslim countries and israel. saudi arabia appears to be a good candidate. john roberts pointed out the symbolism of the president flying from riyadh into israel. that's not without meaning in a setting like this. there is reason for hope, and of course the size of the summit, with 50 muslim nations gathered they are in common purpose and the president leading them with the speech, seems to have been

quite well received. so far, so good, it seems looking in terms of impact of the trip. >> bret: quickly, brit, to the nitty-gritty. when the president steps up and says reporters don't leave the room. i never said the word israel about that story about what he told the russians in the oval office, does not step on what's a pretty good message overall for the past three days? >> certainly was picked up this afternoon here in washington by the news media who is on the air all day long. pointed to as kind of a blunder. a cnn noting that no one had ever reported, and i guess john roberts' had the same thing, no one reported israel was the source. as you recall, there were a multitude of source reports that says this did come from israel. the problem with what the president says is that it appears to confirm that.

that's obviously not what he intended because he was thinking, as he often does, about himself and whether he was to blame. i think that was the effect of it. these are the kinds of things, when the president's sticks to the script, he avoids this. and when he doesn't, he doesn't. >> bret: what do you think of the president's trip? let me know on twitter. use the hashtag #specialreport. or on facebook. back on the u.s., breaking news, former national security advisor has told a congressional committee he will not be cooperating for now. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herod has the latest on the story. >> citing the fifth amendment, former national security advisor mike flynn and his legal team sent in a letter to the senate intelligence committee they would not be providing records. given the political heat and the fbi case, legal experts said it's a sound strategy but may only buy time because a special

counsel has broad powers. >> people want to make a big deal out of it, someone asserting their privilege must be hiding something. that often isn't the case. they are listening to a competent lawyer who tells them you should have protections. >> the decision seems to underscore concerns on capitol hill about naming former fbi director robert mueller as special counsel. >> one of the results, the ability of congress to call people who may be witnesses in an investigation conducted by mr. mueller. >> former campaign chairman paul manafort and roger stone have reportedly provided documents to the senate committee. former fbi director james comey has agreed to testify before the same senate panel after memorial day. senior democrat dianne feinstein said she will press comey on the recent exchange. >> is the attorney general or senior officials at the department of justice opposes a specific investigation, can they halt the fbi investigation?

>> in theory, yes. >> has it happened? >> not in my experience. it would be a big deal to tell the fbi to stop doing something without an appropriate purpose. >> the house intelligence committee reportedly focused on former tim kaine aid -- trump campaign aide. republicans leading a separate investigation said his focus is comey's memos. >> i don't know that the department of justice has them. a >> telling fox news the former fbi director wants to talk with the special counsel prior to public testimony. flynn may have lied to sift purity clearance investigators. >> bret: thank you. trump administration and house republicans are asking a federal appeals court for a 90 day

extension indicates casting a shadow of uncertainty over health insurance for millions of customers and consumers. it involves federal funds insurers used to lower deductibles and copayments for people with modest incomes. purchasing individual policies under obamacare. about $7 billion are at stake here. critics say dragging out the case could drive premiums higher next year. the u.s. supreme court has struck down to congressional districts in north carolina saying race played too big a part in their creation. the court said the g.o.p.-controlled state legislator put too many africans americans in the districts, weakening the black influence elsewhere. those districts have been redrawn and the new map was in effect during last year's elections. a good start to the markets. dow jumped 90. s&p 500 up 12. nasdaq gained 50. now more on the story we told you about last friday.

if it feels like media coverage of the donald trump presidency has been creatively incredibly, there are numbers to back it up. researchers at harvard have put it in writing. fox news media kurtz has the sp. >> good evening. the barrage of criticism is inescapable. >> donald trump now sits at the threshold of impeachment. >> we need to be clear. if anyone else in the government disclosed information like this to the russians as described, it would be a crime, and a person would go to jail. >> no politician in history, and i say this with great surety, has been treated worse or more unfairly. >> new study supports the president's claim. harvard has startling findings on major media coverage of the president's first 100 days.

80% of stories were negative. only 20% positive. that is twice as negative as the comparable coverage for barack obama. the level of criticism varies. immigration, 96% negative. fitness for office, 81% negative. trump's best subject, the economy. breakdown by news organization is revealing. cnn and nbc, coverage of the president was 93% negative. cbs slightly behind at 91%. major newspapers, 87% negative. "washington post," 83%. that drops to 70% for "the wall street journal." study cited fox news is the most balanced organization. 52% negative, 48% positive. researchers looked at each network's main newscast, in this case, "special report" ." donald trump drew three times as

much coverage on national tv as previous presidents. trump critics say the coverage is more negative because this president is more divisive and his associates are under investigation. with three networks so slanted based on this harvard study, that fewer than one in ten stories had anything positive to say about the president, some self-examination might be in order. >> bret: thank you. homeland security departments is nearly 740,000 foreigners who were supposed to leave the u.s. during a recent 12 month period are overstaying their visas. that is up about 200,000 from the previous period. these new figures include students not included in last year's report. 40% of the 11 million people in the u.s. illegally have overstayed their visas. up next, from riyadh, saudi arabia, what's in the multibillion-dollar arms deal with the saudis?

and my interview with the kingdom's of state. him the whis? he talks to planes. he talks to planes. watch this. hey watson, what's avionics telling you? maintenance records and performance data suggest replacing capacitor c4. not bad. what's with the coffee maker? sorry. we are not on speaking terms. what's with the coffee maker? where are mom and dad? 'saved money on motorcycle insurance with geico! goin' up the country. love mom and dad' i'm takin' a nap. dude, you just woke up! ♪ ♪ i'm goin' up the country, baby don't you wanna go? ♪ ♪ i'm goin' up the country, baby don't you wanna go? ♪ geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides.

>> bret: welcome back to riyadh, saudi arabia. "special report" coverage of the presidents middle east trip. this weekend he was here in riyadh. one of the cornerstones of his two days here, finishing up a huge weapons deal with the saudis. added to the tens of billions of dollars of saudi investment in u.s. companies. rich edson at the state department tells us what's in the agreement. >> president trump chose saudi arabia as his first international destination in this assess message. >> america is prepared to stand with you in pursuit of shared interest.

common security. the nations of the middle east cannot wait for american power to crush this enemy for them right >> to facilitate that, the trump administration has approved billions and arms sale sales. three entered $50 billion over ten years. the obama administration halted some of those sales over concerns the saudi military would strike civilians while it intervenes in yemen. >> one of the ten most repressive countries in the world and for trump to signal that this was one of the most important foreign countries, it's a striking shift in tone. >> lead the united states and saudi arabia are celebrating a strong relationship with the u.s. under president donald trump. with the u.s. -- less intrusion in internal affairs. >> we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship.

instead we are here to offer partnership based on shared interests and values to pursue a better future. >> to some, a troubling signal the u.s. is less interested in defending human rights. >> we continue to discuss with the saudis the importance of continuing to expand the rights of women in their society. they are addressing those at pace i think they feel they can manage period we are never going to back off our pressure on them. >> secretary of state rex tillerson was asked about president trump's negative comments towards islam and saudi arabia during the campaign. tillerson said the presidents and americans views will evolve and we need to do a better job of trying to understand one another's culture and beliefs. >> bret: rich edson live at the state department. thank you. now some insight from a member of the saudi cabinets. i talked with minister of state mohammed al shaikh and started

by asking the reaction to president trump's stop here. >> it's extremely positive. the visit for president trump to decide to visit saudi arabia and make it his first destination outside of the united states, and for him to meet with the leaders of over 50 muslim nations and give his speech in front of them, that was a historic moment yesterday. he talked about shared values, and he talked about working together with the countries of this part of the world and the muslim countries to try to have a better future for everybody around the world to work with each other and combat terrorism and extremism to really have, again, a brighter future for our people. this is an old relationship. we are probably one of the

oldest, if not the oldest, ally and partner of the united states. it's been an eight or nine decade relationship. the fact that he chose us signifies the importance of saudi arabia in this part of the world but also to the united states. >> bret: is this visit a game-changer for u.s.-saudi relations, for u.s. relations with the gulf nation's? >> having selected saudi arabia as his first destination, everything that was discussed over the last two days, everything that was announced over the last two days is truly a game-changer. >> bret: a lot of americans may not have seen the full translation of the king's speech but he was forward leaning. fighting extremism and terrorism. i'm wondering if you knowledge there is skepticism at home in

the u.s. about this, whether it's actually going to come to pass. >> it actually is, and we have been fighting and combating terrorism for a long time. we have had unfortunately hundreds of events we thwarted, even hundreds more over the last couple decades, and we have been the victims, and the whole world has been the victim of terrorism. we are very serious about this. >> bret: talk about human rights. you have a plan for 2030, not only changing saudi arabia economically but also socially. >> vision 2030 is a vision in the plan to change the kingdom of saudi arabia. its basis, its foundation is economic change but there's also social aspects to it.

we are sending our daughters to school, educating them, and that we are really focusing on increasing their participation in the labor market. >> bret: i have listening to panels. vice president, women's affairs. >> it's a social disconnect that allows you to believe you have the right to take somebody else's life and that your life could possibly be more valuable than theirs. to create the disconnect, it's shocking. it's a mental health disorder. what we are talking about is saying if you need to go that far to have a sense of community, one other sense of community could we give you? >> we have germans of significant companies -- ceos, chairs who are female.

there's been lots accomplished. >> bret: they still can't drive. >> there's a lot we will try to accomplish and we are committing to accomplish over the next decade. when you talk about driving, driving was an issue ten or 15 years ago it was taboo. today it is being discussed in the media and the government. it's being discussed in all areas and by all concerned. it's a social issue and we just have to accept that when we are ready, it will happen. we have come a long way just on the debates on women driving locally. and ultimately i'm sure it's going to happen. >> bret: economically, you are trying to shift. >> yes. >> bret: away from dependence on oil. this arms deal is massive with the u.s. that the president and the king signed. that's transformational in some way? >> it is transformational.

it's different than other deals in the past because this time there's actually going to be a transfer of knowledge, a transfer of technology. there's going to be a huge manufacturing sector. part of this deal is going to be manufactured locally in the kingdom of saudi arabia. >> bret: you have a young population, really young. >> over 70% of the population is under the age of 30. >> bret: 70%. the education, the social media, and all that is playing a big role. >> absolutely. you have this population that has a much longer time horizon for how far out there looking. they are looking ten, 15, 20 years out. they want proper education and they want to make sure that once they get their degrees they find jobs and they want to have the

same opportunities their parents had when they went through life. that's why we are looking at changing we want to make sure that generation, and 70% of the population, the majority of the population, is not subject to the volatilities of oil prices we are not dependent on oil revenues going forward. >> bret: for skeptical americans who sit here and maybe look at the kingdom and there may be scared of the past. what do you say to them? they say they are worried about the arms deal, they are worried about the possibility that it's not all coming together and they are worried about human rights. >> i say to them if you look at the number of saudi's who, just the u.s. alone, not talking about any other country, the number of saudis who are living,

educated in the u.s. i received a degree from a u.s. university. my wife graduated from a u.s. university. hundreds of thousands of saudis were educated in the u.s., and they experienced the u.s. culture and they are coming back. if you look at their connection with the world today, it's a truly different world for everybody. anyone who's been coming to saudi arabia over over the las, 15 years, can really see the change that we've achieved over the last decade. hopefully over the next decade, they will see significant change and it's going to be positive. >> bret: thank you for the time. >> thank you. appreciate it. thank you for the interview. >> bret: we will take a look at the presidents middle east trip so far, what's being accomplished and how it's being. the panel joins me from washington when we come back.

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>> i have heard it's one of the toughest deals of all but i have a feeling that were going to get there eventually i hope. there's a lot of love out there, and people from all nations, even nations that you would be surprised to hear, they want to stop the killing. they've had enough. >> we are happy to see that america is back in the area. america is back again. >> for the first time in my lifetime, i see real hope for change. >> a lot of love in israel for president trump as he continues his middle east trip, taking a trip, air force one from riyadh here in saudi arabia, flying directly into tel aviv. the first time we can track that

her flight landed directly from an arab nation to israel, this as there's all kinds of reaction here in saudi arabia as well. much of it, as you've heard tonight, positive. let's bring in the panel from washington. stephen hayes, editor-in-chief or "the weekly standard." mollie hemingway, senior editor at "the federalist" and we welcome back ron for near, author of "love that boy. ron, you have been in detroit. how would detroit look at this trip. >> depends on whether you're talking about detroit or northern michigan. as a whole, i think most people are going to look at this as a solid trip. he has mainly stayed on script. the one time he stepped out of the script, he kind of stumbled. he has been received warmly. he has been touching all the right buttons.

i think so for all -- he's got the hardest steps ahead of them. >> it's been a good trip. what he's done most of bartley has been a major reset. he signaled a number of different ways that the obama administration really is over, this is a new president. he's got a new agenda. he's embraced israel. we have heard during the campaign that he would do that. he has made that clear now that the hostility and suspicion israel was treated with by the obama administration is over. he spent a good part of the speech talking about the threat from iran, he talked about them being the world's largest state sponsor of terror. all of the rest is details. those two big things have signaled a change and i think it's a welcomed change. >> bret: it is the connective

tissue between israel and saudi arabia. i asked the foreign minister about the arms deal. there are some democrats, others concerned about the massive size of the arms deal. here was his answer. >> this is going to be incredibly vital to the security of saudi arabia, the security of the region. it will be a great deterrent for any country, especially iran, that thinks it can engage in aggressive behavior against us. it will be beneficial to the united states and its allies have the capability to defend themselves. >> bret: again linking to iran. >> it's a significant deal, bolsters the development of saudi arabia, a ton of new jobs the united states and brings saudi arabia into the fight against isis and iran and it's part of this foreign policy vision that donald trump laid out in his speech in riyadh. principled realism. this is a new direction in

foreign policy, rejecting the lecturing and the moralism of the obama era as well as the poorly designed or poorly implemented innovations of both the obama era in the bush era. this is a radical change. >> bret: a lot of the coverage has noted that president trump, who spoke over the weekend here in riyadh to the 50-plus leaders of muslim and arab nations sounded a lot different than candidate trump on the campaign trail. i asked national security advisor mcmaster. >> the president listens to his fellow leaders and his partners and revises his understanding and uses it to drive us forward on a common agenda. >> bret: okay, is this a new president trump? is he involving? >> i don't think there is a new president trump. it is hard to be involved when

you are 70 years old. he had a harsh attitude towards muslims in the campaign when it suited his purpose. had a more moderate approach to the muslim world on his trip when it suits his purpose but it will be interesting to see what happens when he comes back home, when the events changed in his and he gets back on twitter. >> bret: he wasn't on twitter or he hasn't been so far on this trip, but there was this moment where he kept the reporters in the room, white house press pool and wanted to say he did not mention israel. when he was talking to the russians in the oval office. >> under unforced error. he should have let it go. he was having a good moment. the trip was off to a good start. he jumped in and seemed to confirm something people hadn't reported or dispute something people have been reported, there by in effect confirming the other stuff. this is a small moment and

what's otherwise been a bigger trip. what's clear is that president trump has made obvious who he is not and what he's not. i don't think it's as clear as mollie does that he has set forth who he is and what he'll do. i think the biggest challenge with respect to the region and the challenge he faces there on terrorism, it's an internal challenge because he said repeatedly that he's not going to get into various wars. he's an instinctive noninterventionist. it's going to take strong american leadership in order to accomplish the things he said he's going to accomplish, defeating isis, rolling back al qaeda and killing the people who are trying to kill us. >> bret: mollie, to clarify, there have been reports from senior sources, israeli sources that it was israel behind it but no reporting that he actually

said israel to the russians, just to clarify that. your sense of this in the big picture. is it going to get washed over by the big things on the trip? >> seems like the media are in dogs in the presence of squirrels and you need to not give them more squirrels. there are much more significant things going on. the optimism that the israeli leaders are talking about is quite striking, benjamin netanyahu saying he's more optimistic than he's ever been and arab leaders are saying they think donald trump is uniquely positioned to do the impossible. everyone should keep their expectations in check. >> bret: we will talk about all this and is president trump getting a respite on this trip from overwhelmingly negative media coverage at home? stay with us. pirated 5.0-liter v8 engine. a 10-speed direct-shift transmission.

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>> bret: fox news alert, following a breaking story of a possible explosion in the u.k. at a ariana grande concert. not a lot of details. shepard smith is following the story. we will give you the breaking details and we will take you to new york. we'll keep you updated on the breaking story out of the u.k. back with the panel. one of the things that's been a big topic has been the coverage of not only this trip but also this presidency. take a listen. >> i think the trip so far has been excellent. >> he actually sounded presidential. you may agree or disagree with what he said but he sounded like a president. >> the administration was

looking for a reboot. they were looking for a chance to change the subject, quite frankly. they did that with this speech today. >> very diplomatic and measured and sober. that's what i think were going to see in israel. >> bret: that sounds very positive. harvard has come out with the new study about media coverage in the first 100 days and it shows that the coverage is overwhelmingly negative. if you may have thought that, there are numbers behind it. 93% for the biggest negative coverage. u.s. news outlets according to harvard and also if you put in comparison to other presidents, president trump at 80% negative. you see president obama at 41%. back with the panel. obviously there has been a lot to cover and it's been fast and

furious. your thoughts on this coverage. >> journalist's job is to cover what happens. you don't want a full 50/50 any president. i looked at these numbers and thought of the detroit lions. i would guess 80% of the coverage of the detroit lions is negative and that's because they are a pretty lousy football team. donald trump has been a pretty lousy politician, pretty lousy president the first couple months of his administration. we are only a couple games into the season but he's created a lot of problems, a lot of controversies. he has kind of earned these numbers, in my opinion. he's had plenty of time -- he's got plenty of time to turn them around. >> the media had about this level of coverage in terms of hostility before he was elected and that speaks to how much people are tuning out negative media coverage which is dangerous because you want to media that can hold powerful

people accountable. when everything is negative, it's hard to distinguish between legitimate stories and many of the stories of them put out are negative are just completely fake or based on faulty information or based on incomplete information. this is not good for media to be this hostile to a president. it just causes people to tune out and not take their news seriously. >> bret: standby, we have shepard smith in new york with an update on the breaking story, the explosion at the concert in the u.k. >> there are multiple confusing reports coming out of manchester, england. the police are now reporting that there are reports of an explosion at an arena. we have some pictures coming in now. this was the end of the ariana grande concert. about 10:40 at night local time in manchester. an arena built on top of the train station. authorities report there are multiple fatalities on scene and a number of injuries. they will not confirm whether

there was an explosion or what the origin of the explosion might be. we know there was quite a panic of people trying to get out. this is the first video we got just about 20 minutes ago. at this moment, authorities have confirmed nothing except that there's a number of fatalities on scene, and a number of injuries. witness reports indicates this might have been a balloon popping, a loud balloon. it caused a stampede. dozens and dozens of emergency vehicles are on scene. sky news confirms multiple fatalities on scene and we don't know how many and a number of people injured in a sort of stampede, as they described it, to get out. when we get more information, we will get it to you. for now, confusion and a number of people have lost their lives. >> bret: following this story. thank you.

we don't know what this is yet but it does give us images that hearken back to attacks in different places. >> certainly sounds like it's a tragedy. we need to know a lot more. there's a wide range of possibilities. , whether it was a balloon popping or some kind of purposeful attack. there are scenes you don't want to see coming out of a concert like that. >> bret: back to the stories about the administration as we follow the breaking story. you and other dev you had michael flynn, and a former national security advisor not agreeing to bring forward documents under subpoena for the senate intelligence committee. you also had jim comey, former fbi director, telling jason telling jason chaffetz he was not going to testify wednesday,

as thought. your thoughts as this is continuing to come out. >> i agree with ron and mollie. i think ron is right. there's been a number of developments over the course of the first 120-plus days of the presidency that require the media to spend a lot of time. it's going to necessarily be negative. resignation of your national security advisor, the fact of an fbi investigation, now the naming of a special counsel. those are stories that will get a lot of coverage that will be negative. i think mollie is right when she says the media approach to the trump administration, the way the washington press corps in particular regarded president obama, there was an assumption that the things he was saying was true and the ends he was seeking were good. i think the opposite is the way most reporters covering donald trump sees his

administration. i think that's a horrible way to approach the president. be skeptical. be as skeptical as you want but you can't make those blanket assumptions about the president. >> bret: thank you. good luck with the paperback, ron. final thoughts from riyadh, saudi arabia, when we come back.

>> it is of our live show from riyadh saudi arabia. tuesday on special report, a look at the saudi yemen border. they battle in yemen, the iranian influence and funding their and ongoing humanitarian relief efforts. the yemenis and the iranians are pushing back. we have all sides covered in an in-depth report as we take it to battle along the border. the saudi border with yemen. make sure you join us then. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. that's it for this special report on the road. fair, balanced, and still

unafraid. the story hosted by martha maccallum starts right now. newton >> martha: breaking toni, you were looking at scenes of panic out of manchester, england, this evening moments ago, we got word that there were perhaps two explosions and arianna ground a concert in a manchester united kingdom. this is an area that is under severe threat of terrorist attack, meaning that an attack is always considered highly likely in this area in the u.k. were getting pictures of people running out of this concert, police have confirmed that there are a number of fatalities involved in this incident. obviously, this is breaking news. we are going with the latest information as we are able to check it and get it