a fourth grader? roll it. >> very controversial. how do you spell controversy? >> koncherzers burst. >> jesse: there are science questions, math questions it wasn't good. >> greg: that's it. "special report." hello, bret. >> bret: happy birthday, jesse. who knew that jesse jr. was such a gutfeld fan. >> greg: i know. >> dana: isn't everyone? >> jesse: he is in big trouble. >> bret: oh, yeah. happy birthday. good evening. i'm bret baier. breaking tonight, political turmoil for america's closest ally. british prime minister boris johnson is resigning as the leader of the united kingdom after a wave of scandals prompted a major rebellion within his own government. months of defiance ending as johnson stood outside 10 downing

street conceding his party wanted him gone. his exit triggers an election to pick the next conservative leader. the timetable for that will be announced in coming days. senior foreign affairs correspondent greg palkot is in london tonight with what comes next. good evening, greg. the sun has finally set in london one of the most tumultuous days in political history all because of a shakeup at the top. >> boris johnson took one of his last walks out of number 10 downing street today after more government officials called for him to quit u.k. prime minister stepped down as conservative party leader which should lead to his departure as p.m. >> whlg it moves it moves. and my friends in politics, no one is remotely indispensable. ♪ >> protesters and british political insiders cited a lost of trust in johnson following a series of sandals most recently

a lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct. critics don't want him to stick around as prime minister while a successor is chosen by his party. >> he needs to go completely. none of this nonsense about clinging on for a few months. >> still, he was key with the u.s. backing ukraine in its fight against russia. ukrainian president zelenskyy said he was saddened by johnson's departure, the kremlin said it was a just reward. president biden said in a statement in part: i look forward to continuing our close cooperation with the government of the united kingdom, that includes maintaining a strong and united approach to supporting the people of ukraine as they defend themselves against putin's brutal war on their democracy. who will replace boris johnson? there are no clear frontrunners. among knows mentioned former finance minister. liz tryst. ben wallace none as cloferl as bojo. achievement taking britain out of the european union and coming up with covid taming vaccines. even in the end the public

turned against him. >> johnson in the end was resigned. >> i want you to know how sad i am to be giving up the best job in the world. but them's the break breaks. >> late today boris johnson said he would not seek to implement new policies or make major changes in his direction in his remaining time in office. considering his prior track record, a lot of people here are hoping that time will be a short as possible. bret? >> bret: greg palkot live in london, greg, thank you. joining me now is steve hilton the host of the next revolution on the fox news channel served as senior adviser to prime minister david cameron. good evening, steve. >> hey, brit. how are you doing? >> bret: you know, loot of people saw this coming because of all the scandals. what do you think really happened? >> well, i think there is a

policy component to all of this. he was elected as a conservative leader to deliver brexit. he hasn't been particularly conservative. there has been rumblings about that within his party in terms of the policies that have been implemented. in terms brexit, technically yes, the u.k. is not in the european union. he certainly hasn't delivered the promise of brexit which i and many others argued for in terms of lower taxes and less regulation. a separation from the kind of bureaucratic mindset of the eu. that hasn't happened. there is also a competence element to it. he has been criticized for many months now for not having a firm grip of the daily operations of government, particularly actually in relation to the pandemic. it ended up okay, as far as many people are concerned, but right at the beginning it was pretty chaotic. the thing that really did for him was the character question. you've had scandal after scandal. none of them you could say particularly on its own mattered. but it's the way he has responded. he has been seen to have sent people out, members of his own

party to defend him and the things that they were saying in his defense turned out of not to be true. and in the end they were sick of lying for their boss. and now they have got rid of him. >> bret: you know the inside workings of this government. it can turn on a dime very quickly with an election. but, it seems like they are going to take the time in trying to get to another leader. where do you think this goes in coming days? >> well, look, he has made clear he wants to hang on and allow there to be a somewhat lengthy leadership election process. a bit like a primary as we would know it here in america. the arcane rules of this system mean on monday as greg touched on the 1922 committee as it's known, which is the organizing committee for the conservative party in parliament, they have their own election. to their own positions. so the newly elected members of that committee will decide and you have got a whole range of people who are going to jump into the race, it seems. but, actually, for americans, i

think the truth is, it will still be a conservative government led by conservative politician. and all of the potential future leaders, all, i think will retain that very strong belief in trans-atlantic alliance. not that much change in policy certainly as it would affect the things that we would be focused on here in america. >> bret: that's key. very quickly do you think policy changes in regard to u.k.? >> not at alling zelenskyy himself put out a statement regretting boris johnson's departure. actually, not all the political parties in the u.k. there is really strong support for really strong support for ukraine. so i don't think there will be any change there at all.

>> bret: steve health, as always, thank you. >> thank you, bret. >> bret: frustrations growing from president biden within his own party as some democrats publicly worry the president is not meeting the moment in the face of multiple domestic crises and his slumping polls show that the american people in large share that frustration. white house correspondent peter doocy is following it all tonight in the north lawn. >> as half of the special relationship falls from power the political process on this side of the pond is getting started for biden's midterm team. >> it is a lively time. it is definitely an exciting time to see him. >> midterm polls are bleak and the president's own party wants him to do more on portion rights and guns. democratic strategist camille rivera tells politico he is missing the boat here. this is our time to figure in and be absolutely furious because these one-half measures

are not working. he has a real excite being problem. that's even with senators on his own side as there are not enough votes to change rules and jam through a bill expanding abortion access. >> this is the lot that biden finds himself in. had there is this sense that things are kind of out of control and he is not in command progressives are not all bailing on biden but many want him to consider upcoming meeting with saudi leaders. >> i think biden is the best bet to carry the midwest but there are places where i disagree obviously with the administration on saudi policy is one of them county in the president as institutes 23% today down 15 points from last year. >> what we are seeing is the logical conclusion of this terrible political strategy that the white house has been following for essentially the last year. >> do you think it's possible

that your plan is not popular with the american people right now. >> i don't think it's our plan is not popular with the american people. we understand that gas prices are high and we understand that food costs are high and that is because of once in a generation pandemic and also putin's war. and that's just the facts. you see it there, there is a disconnect between officials at this white house who say the economy is stronger than it's ever been in history and voters who are giving this president historically low marks on the economy. but there is no plan to change the messaging because we are told that once the communications director kate bedingfield leaves later on this month they are going to stick with the same plan, bret? >> bret: peter, the president honored medal of freedom recipients at the white house today? >> yes, he did. there was a big east room ceremony honoring 17 americans. the olympians simone biles and megan rapinoe were here. so was former congresswoman

gabriel giffords who survived assassination attempt in 2011. steve jobs and the late arizona senator john mccain were honored posthumously. denzel washington the actor couldn't make it for his honor because he tested positive for covid on his way there was a front row seat for the president's son hunter biden but he did not get a medal of freedom today, bret? >> bret: peter doocy live on the north lawn. peter, thank you. the head of the irs has asked a watchdog to investigate the decision to conduct intensive tax audits of former fbi director james comey and former fbi deputy director andrew mccabe. the announcement coming following a report from the "new york times." audits are supposed to be selected at random. the "times" notes the odds of anyone being selected for a national research program audit in 2017 are more than 0,000. raising questions about how two of former president trump's most visible critics were both

selected. today the white house refused to comment on the probe. news tonight emonday musk's deal to buy. twitter's figures on spam accounts are not verifiable. that's according to sources with "the washington post." if he walks away from this deal, musk could be on the hook for a billion dollars break-up fee after making a $44 billion offer to purchase the company. stocks were up again today in a technologically led rally. the dow added 347, the s&p 500 gained 58. the nasdaq jumped 259.5. tonight we are receiving frightening new details from a u.s. official about iran's nuclear capabilities. the information comes as indirect talks to revive the tattered 2015 nuclear deal stand at impasse. national security correspondent jennifer griffin reports tonight from the pentagon. >> iran has enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear bomb within weeks if it chooses to do so. that, according to robert mali

the u.s. special envoy to iran to left qatar this week disappointed after one more round of talks to try to restore the iran nuclear deal failed. >> party that needs to provide an answer now is iran. >> mali who is leading the u.s. side of the negotiations spoke to mrr. both sides left doha disappointed the two delegations have been trying more than a year through indirect talks. >> they are much closer to having a fissile material for a bomb. to our knowledge they have not resumed weaponization program. >> do they have enough enriched iranian should they do so. >> it would be a matter of weeks. we would know and see and react quite forcefully as you could imagine. >> european union acting as the middleman for the talks between iran and the u.s. is close to its final offer. hashing out the last details of the proposal. the offer will look very similar to the 2015 nuclear deal

according to mally. iran's foreign minister accused the u.s. of venturing too far from the deal. demanding too much. >> under cover, yes. >> contrary by allegations by the american side and media, we have no excessive demand whatsoever or any demands beyond the jcpoa as claimed by the americans. our demands are fully within the framework of the 2015 agreement. >> state department spokesperson ned price pushed back. >> iran's program has galloped forward in ways that are wholly concerning to us there is not another round of talks on the books. >> intercepts made with help u.s. shipment of iran man missiles captured in international waters earlier this year. >> one of the criticisms of the first iran nuclear deal or jcpoa was that did it did not address

iran's burgeoning missile programs and iranian revolutionary guard corps in destabilizing countries in the middle east and threatening israel where president biden plans to make his first visit next week. bret? >> bret: jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. jennifer, thank you. up next a business owner who fought for his life during an attack is now fighting to prove his innocence. we'll take you there and explain. but, as we go to break. actor james caan has died. caan's made the disclosure in a tweet. sonny the mobster the godfather made him a star. is he also known for roles in misery, elf and brian's song. james caan was 82. it's a storm that crashes, and consumes, replacing thought with worry. but one thing can calm uncertainty.

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>> bret: the biden administration is set to grant $1 billion to 58 airports across the country for terminal improvements. the announcement comes as the airlines have struggled to meet the post covid passenger demand and ininfluential of canceled and delayed flights. transportation secretary pete buttigieg says the funding could help alleviate some of those issues. meantime texas governor greg abbott issued an executive order today authorizing texas officials who apprehend illegal immigrants crossing the border

between ports of entry to return them to those ports fox is told the u.s. will remain on the u.s. side of the border. also the medical examiner has identified 49 of the 53 migrants who perished in a tractor-trailer found in san antonio, texas. their ages range from 13 to 55. of the 49 victims identified. 24 the citizens of mexico. 19 of guatemala. six were honduran citizens. ♪ ♪ >> bret: critics are blasting manhattan's liberal district attorney tonight for bringing murder charges against a bodega worker who fought off a violent attacker at his business last week. the incident was captured in video obtained by "the new york post." correspondent david lee miller is in new york with the story. warning here some of the images in this report may be disturbing. >> there is outrage in new york city over the arrest of a

convenience store clerk charged with murder for allegedly stabbing a man who attacked him. surveillance camera individualsio obtained by the "new york post" recorded the incident. the family and others say it was a clear case of self-defense. 34-year-old austin simon friday night went behind the counter to confront 61-year-old jose alba. according to a criminal complaint minutes earlier simon's girlfriend got into a dispute with alba after her credit card was declined and she grabbed an item from her 10-year-old daughter. simon, hot "new york post" reports was on parole for assaulting a cop instigates the conflict shoving alba. what happens next is not entirely on camera. a criminal complaint says simon attempted to steer the defendant out of the area behind the counter but the defendant picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed him in the neck and chest at least five times. alba charged with second degree murdered faces up to 25 years in prison. the complaint says simon wanted him to apologize for the earlier incident with simon's girlfriend

and admitted to the stabbing. new york mayor eric adams thursday afternoon made a private visit to the store. he told reporters based on the video he thinks alba did nothing wrong. i think it's time for new yorkers and americans to start standing up for people who follow the law. >> following his arrest, alba, unable to make bail was held in new york's rikers island jail. in the wake of mounting criticism prosecutors for the office of controversial district attorney alvin bragg agreed to lowering the amount from 250 to $50,000. before the bail reduction, bragg's office issued a statement about the case saying, quote: we are continuing to review the evidence and the investigation is ongoing. new york's police commissioner kishon seoul briefing on the latest crime stats would not discuss alba's arrest. she did say citywide compared to a year ago most major crimes are on the rise but there is a decrease in murder and

shootings. bret? >> bret: david lee miller in new york. david lee, thanks. up next, a bipartisan push to designate russia as a sponsor of terrorism. we will go live to ukraine. first, here is what some of our fox affiliates around this country are covering tonight. fox 9 in detroit as former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin is sentenced to more than 29 years in prison after pleading guilty in december to federal civil rights charges. he is already serving 22 years for his conviction in state court on murder and manslaughter charges. chauvin was charged with killing george floyd by pinning him to the pavement with his knee for nine and a half minutes. and this is a live look at orlando from our affiliate fox 35. one of the big stories there tonight, spacex sends another batch of star link satellites into orbit. the goal of star link is to create a network that will help provide internet services to those who are not yet connected and to provide reliable and affordable internet across the globe. that is tonight's live look outside the beltway from "special report."

we'll be right back. ♪

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put uc in check and keep it there, with rinvoq. ask your gastroenterologist about rinvoq. and learn how abbvie could help you save. ♪ >> bret: the justice department has arrested five u.s. citizens transnational scheme critics of china living in the united states. the doj says the plot was orchestrated on behalf of the chinese government and included spying on pro-democracy activists. one of the defendants was a federal law enforcement officer. we will follow that story. meantime china is pushing back hard tonight against fbi director christopher wray's comments accusing the country of spying and ramping up efforts to influence the lives of everyday americans. the fbi director in london this week meeting with top british intelligence officials discussing international threats from china, iran, russia. director wray will sit down with our own david spunt tomorrow in

london. we will have that interview right here on "special report." ♪ >> bret: as russia continues pounding ukraine's eastern part of that country, some foreign analysts say russia may soon temporarily ease its attacks as its military attempts to reassemble forces for significant offensive. it comes as senators lindsey graham and richard blumenthal meet with ukrainian president zelenskyy and they are not mincing words about russia's atrocities through the country. nate foy shows us tonight from lviv. >> russian president vladimir putin has this message for united states and ukraine's allies. >> today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. what can you say? let them try. >> a top russian official wants the u.s. could face the wrath of god for punishing russia. after meeting with president volodymyr zelenskyy in kyiv. senator graham and richard

blumenthal. >> state sponsor of terrorism just like iran, north korea, the other pariahs of the world. >> the two now call on their colleagues in congress and the biden administration to make that designation. >> we see ukraine is the hone of democracy and putin is the terrorist. >> president zelenskyy is singling out the united states help. >> today we really feel the most powerful support from the united states of america. >> in ukraine's east, two attacks, 10 miles apart, in the donetsk province of donbas. ukrainian officials say a russian missile strike killed one civilian and injured six. as residents are told to evacuate or stay inside their homes amid more shelling. russia claims another missile strike killed ukrainian soldiers on snake island. ukrainian troops raised the national flag there after russian forces pulled out last week.

>> bret, according to the u.n. refugee agency, more than 8.79 million people have crossed ukraine's borders since russia invaded in february. we'll send it back to you. >> bret: nate foy, live in lviv, thank you. jailed american basketball star britney griner pleaded guilty to he drug possession. assured griner's wife the u.s. is doing everything in its power to bring her home. another high profile's detainee's family says they have yet to hear from president biden. here is senior national correspondent rich edson. >> speaking quietly, according to reporters in the courtroom, american basketball player britney griner told a russian judge she mistakenly carried hashish toil a moscow airport in february. >> she admitted it was hers. but she said that it was unintentionally brought to russia because she was in the hurry, she was packing.

>> the drug possession charges carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. griner's attorney says the wnba star is hoping for leniency from the court especially as she pled guilty. her next hearing is scheduled for july 14th. across the world in arizona, griner's team defeated phoenix mercury held a rally last night with teammates and family. >> i'm frustrated that 140 days have passed since my wife has been able to speak to me. >> secretary of state antony blinken tweeted u.s. embassy in russia officials again attended britney griner's trial today and delivered to her a letter from president biden. we will not relent until britney, paul wheelen and all other wrongfully detained americans are reunited with their loved ones. wheelen has been detained three and a half years: biden called

griner's wife yesterday. whelan told the detroit news she was astonished at the call as her family has requested a conversation with biden for months. whelan's brother said he was dlild for griner's wife though he says his family remains frustrated. >> u.s. government doesn't seem to find a concession that corrupt government would want. it's surprising to me that they aren't able to find a way to bring paul and perhaps ms. griner home as well. >> the white house says officials like secretary blinken and national security adviser jake sullivan are in touch with whelan's family. family of other americans held in saudi arabia and egypt are calling on president biden to raise their cases next week when he traveled to the middle east. bret? >> bret: rich, thank you. up next, the panel on boris johnson's resignation in the u.k. the latest on the iran nuclear deal and u.s. energy policy. first, beyond our borders tonight. secretary of state antony blinken arised in indonesia. g 20. expected to call on nations to

reopen sea lanes blocked by russia's war in ukraine and repeat warnings to cline not to support moscow's effort. blinken is not expected to meet with sergey lavrov but meet with china's foreign minister on saturday. this is a live look at abiz zoo. the first bull run takes place in pam pony that spain. no one was gored this year funerally. several runners took knocks and hard falls as they always do. tens of thousands of people remember bled in the return of one of the most famous traditional events. just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. we'll be right back. ♪ this is what i say ♪ run, run, run away ♪

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every search you make, every click you take, every move you make, every step you take, i'll be watching you. the internet doesn't have to be duckduckgo is a free all in one privacy app with a built in search engine, web browser, one click data clearing and more stop companies like google from watching you, by downloading the app today. duckduckgo: privacy, simplified. >> he was elected as a conservative but governed as a liberal. the state increased taxes went up. immigration both legal and illegal got really to slightly uncontrollable numbers. we weren't so sufficient. >> this is incredibly difficult time for the world right now. pandemic, war in europe for the first time in many decades, you know, financial crisis. huge cost of living issues in

the u.k. you have in america on boris johnson stays on a few day, a few hours, a few weeks, a few months. it shouldn't be about him. >> bret: reaction to u.k. british prime minister boris johnson retiring. i want to thank the public for serving you as prime minister. i want you to know until now until my successor in is in place your interest will be served and the government will be carried on. the "wall street journal" agreed with nigel will farage. campaigned from the right governed from the left. voters noticed. with that bring in our panel and start there. "the washington post" columnist marc thiessen, katie pavlich news editor at town hall.com and juan williams is a fox news analyst. mark marc, i was struck by the speech he gave as he was leaving in which he said the political herd sometimes runs. and it ran this time. >> it did run he also said that

no individuals in politics is essential and that's also true as well. my first thought when watching him give that speech was boy is joe biden lucky we don't have a parliamentary system here where the party can vote him out of power because i don't think he would survive a no confidence vote in his party right now. i think the latest harvard hafers poll only 71% of americans don't want him to run again and only 30% of democrats would vote for him in a primary so he would be as dead as boris johnson if we had that system. but, you know, as i think this was mostly about scandals, less about policy. but, to the extent that the united states has a role in this, he came in on a campaign -- to deliver on brexit. and the united states both the trump administration and then the biden administration absolutely failed in seriously negotiating a free trade agreement with great britain which boo coo have given them the benefit of brexit. unable to deliver on the number one thing that people put him in office for.

>> bret: juan, policy doesn't seem like whoever the leader is on the conservative side is going to change that much in relation to the u.k. and the u.s. >> >> not at all. it seems to me that the u.s. relationship with britain is secure. going forward. i looked at all the conservative candidates. and they all pretty much are in line with johnson in terms of his relationship with biden, which was pretty positive. he didn't get the deal as marc was saying. the united states has been supportive post brexit. the other thing to say here is about the ukraine. i think it's very important to understand what an important role boris johnson had played in leading the alliance going forward in support of president zelenskyy and, again, it doesn't seem like there is going to be any substantive change in terms of that relationship. just picking up though on one last point, bret, i would say for an american audience to appreciate that johnson's party turned on him. that he was why he is going out.

it was his party that abandoned him. not so of the voter. >> bret: yeah. russia weighed in. vladimir putin calling boris johnson a clown and saying happy to see him go. meantime, katie, you have the biden administration going back into this iran deal negotiation and that's something also putin has weighed in on. listen to jack keane talk about the iran deal. >> this deal that the biden administration. iran is going to get a windfall of money like they did in 2015. the deal provides iran with a pathway to nuclear weapons in 2030 they can have as many nuclear weapons they want legitimately. we are on a pathway here, near term dangerous long term very dangerous. >> bret: katie, what do you think? >> well, now we are also

hearing, bret, as you reported earlier in the show that iran is weeks away from building a nuclear bomb, if they so choose to. now, that would be a diplomatic failure by the biden administration who told the american people in february that they believed they would have a deal by the end of the month. and then russia invaded ukraine throwing a wrench into the process. the russians have been bolstering their partnership with the iranians to evade sanctions from the west. that comes as a problem. so the question is moving forward, the administration has vowed to get back into the jcpoa, some kind of deal similar to that. but the jcpoa the trump administration got out of. it did not prevent iran from getting a nuclear weapon it simply delayed the process. it didn't approach this -- their ballistic missile program or terrorism in the region either. so, the administration has a problem on its hands, which is why i think you are seeing the israelis and their actions in

the past couple of months going after senior iranian officials and scientists to try to get ahead of some kind of diplomatic failure, which only leaves more dire military options on the table. >> bret: most people, marc, believe that the administration is going down this road again because of the situation with oil and trying to get iranian increase in oil. i want to play just a piece of this interview from bloomberg which i found really interesting. this is part of the council of economic advisers. this is reaction to president biden's tweet that gas station owners should drop the price of gas now, even as the supply issues continue. take a listen. >> who is advising the president on shockingly naive price theory over a gallon of gas? >> the president is not shockingly naive is he using the tools at his disposal. >> planning now. is that what this has come to. >> how is that central planning.

>> decide what is fair and not fair and go on twitter say it's unfair and bring it prices down. is it markets is it capitalism and central planning. where is this white house going? >> bret: when you start losing bloomberg, marc. >> no. fair enough. and also talking about gas stations. 60% of gas stafingses are independently owned by their owner. they make about 5 cents to 10 cents a gallon on gas right now. they used to make 20 cents to 30 cents before the prices go up. they want the gas prices to go down, too. they are making almost no money. he basically doesn't understand basic economics and you are right that this is what is driving the iran deal, especially the europeans. the europeans are desperate to replace russian oil and they want iranian oil. so he they're the ones driving this process. congress is not going to go along. there was a vote on this resolution on this, 16 democrats, including chuck schumer and bob menendez the chairman of the foreign relations committee voted saying that there should be no deal

that does lift sanctions on the igrc and other things. >> bret: all right. panel, stand by if you would. we saw boris johnson's problems with his party and panel next on the democrats in the u.s. distancing themselves from president biden. ♪

>> i want to be the face of this campaign and i don't want any distractions. i'm tired of the democrat-republican thing.

i want us to move forward together. >> i intend to do the campaigning myself. i am the candidate. it's my name on the ballot. >> bret: step up and get behind this president. stop being the circular firing squad. >> we have to rally behind this president because it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when democrats or republicans abandon their party. we have got to turn the ship around. >> bret: that's increasingly what you are hearing from democratic circles. disappointment. "the washington examiner" says why joe biden can't make democrats happy. they expected to be able to get big things done such as massive spending programs far reaching action on climate change. large tax increases and more without having won a majority of seats in the senate. and therein lies the problem. juan, back with the panel, when he came in and said i could be fdr, you know, fdr had big numbers. they had small majorities. and now they are at the back end as they are heading into the midterms not having delivered on some of the things the left

wanted. >> yeah. i think that's exactly right. this is the summer of discontent among lots of democrats with biden. i mean, they don't see him as having the kind of energy the pulse, the push back to see what they sees a the excesses, let's see of the supreme court or the fact that republicans have been able to block so much of what he wanted to do in the senate. now, let's also keep in mind here that joe biden's brand has always been that he is a stable, moderate democrat. is he not bernie sanders. is he not that kind of exciting, passionate, left wing democrat. and think about it in terms of his predecessor, he's not donald trump. in fact, he sold his stable moderate persona as the antidote to trump. and candidates out there now, democrats in the midterms, they don't want to campaign with biden because if you bring him in, of course then breaches talk of his low poll numbers but then also invites talk about gas

prices, inflation, instead of focusing on the supreme court ruling or guns. i mean, democrats right now are talking about, you know, republicans as extremists. that's the message that's increasing their generic standing versus republicans, you know, for the congressional racers. >> bret: you know, katie, those are moderates we heard from, those democrats, tim ryan, abigail spanberger. they don't want joe biden as he is. he campaigned as a moderate. he didn't govern at the beginning as a president. he went kind of more progressive. in fact, senator mitch mcconnell is saying one of the themes for republicans in the midterms is elect republicans to both chambers and we will make joe biden a moderate he campaigned to be. >> well, you know, president joe biden became a lame duck president in january when senator joe manchin, a democrat told you, bret, on "fox news

sunday" that he could not vote for build back better. and that was president biden's big agenda item. they thought they could push it through with a 50/50 senate they could not. the legislation that they did get through, which is the american rescue plan has had catastrophic consequences for the country in terms of inflation. if joe biden wants to change or to get back on his feet in terms of the polling, is he going to have to change his policy positions, especially on the issue of energy. and he has given no indication that he is willing to do that. and so mitch mcconnell taking the tact of saying if you elect republicans can you pull joe biden to the middle. i think that independence who voted for biden are looking for that style of the senator who spent 40 years in washington, d.c. not the far left president as he has tried to govern as. >> bret: meantime, marc, there is an exodus from this white house. biden staffers left the white house higher rate than trump and obama. the report out shows more than 15% did in the total number of white house staff.

there they are on the screen. for comparison the white house saw 4 percent and 1 percent staff reduction after presidents barack obama and donald trump's first year in office. you know, a lot of folks. it happens in washington. but there is a research it's happened. >> people flee a sinking ship. it's just that simple. joe biden as we have talked about before, he is the single least popular president in the history of polling, period. there is just a gallup poll that came out that the americans trust the institution of the presidency. trust in the institution of presidency and his watch has dropped 15 points to the lowest level since gallup began asking the question in the 1970s. of course they don't want to serve in that administration because it must be terribly frustrating to serve a president and see those numbers going down and know that your pose speculation are not very good for holding on to power. >> bret: increasingly democrats are more bold, juan. here is congressman ro khanna

from california. >> well, i don't understand why we are allowing the oil to be exported to countries like china when we need it here in the united states. we're going and begging saudi arabia for oil while we are exporting our own oil around the world. i mean, it makes no sense. >> bret: he is talking, juan, about this story that strategic petroleum reserve oil has been sold to italy and to china and to companies that are tied to previous, you know, business dealings that tied to hunter biden. it's ugly if all those stories are true. and that's what he is talking about there. >> right. so what you have here is a situation and ro khanna has been a supporter. i think he still is a supporter of biden. what you have here is a situation where biden is trying to deal with the gas prices. and, of course, that's inflation. and he is making steps like, you know, having some of the oil from the strategic reserve put out. but then ro khanna comes out and

says what about? and what about dealing with the saudis? what about dealing with all of these issues? and for lots of democrats, it's unsettling. though it's not helpful at this juncture and certainly not helping to pump up biden's ailing approval numbers. >> bret: all right. panel. thank you very much. we got a long way to november. >> thanks, bret. >> bret: see you again. finally tonight, a special report salute. dramatic body cam footage capturing the moment a florida deputy rescued a missing elderly man from a pond. deputy steven jones reassured the 81-year-old that he would be all right after pulling him out of the water. the man was taken to a hospital where he is now recovering. nice job, everyone. "special report" salute. tomorrow on "special report." former secretary of state, nobel prize winner, national security expert henry kissinger is going to speak about what he sees in russia and ukraine as well as

his new book. plus, fox news speaks with fbi director christopher wray about global threats. david spunt on the ground in london. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. that's it for this "special report," fair, balanced and still unafraid. now it's time for birthday boy, jesse watters "primetime." >> jesse: so sweet when you call me that bret, thank you. >> bret: i know. it strikes right here. [laughter] >> jesse: have a good night. ♪ ♪ >> jesse: it's been four days since the massacre in highland park, illinois where seven people were killed and more than two dozen injured. the killer was 21-year-old robert crimo iii. but the people who enabled him were his parents. and they need to be brought to justice. den denise and bob crimo jr. bear a lot of responsibility f