MARIA-00
Games to Award Glock Pistols to Winning Athletes; U.S. Futures Point
Higher; Tiger Woods Withdraws from PGA Championship; Unilever Set to
Acquire Dollar Shave Club for $1 Billion; Ben Carson Warns of Dangers of
Clinton Presidency; SAP Benefiting from the Cloud; Dow Closed at Record
High Yesterday - Part 1>
Cheryl Casone >
James Lankford >
Donald Trump; GOP Nominee; Donald Trump Jr.; Chris Christie; Hillary
Clinton; CrossFit Games; Stock Market; Tiger Woods; PGA Tournament;
Unilever; Dollar Shave Club; Morgan Stanley; Microsoft; SAP; United
Continental>
MARIA BARTIROMO, FBN ANCHOR: Welcome back, good Wednesday morning everybody, I'm Maria Bartiromo, it is Wednesday, July 20th, we are coming to you live from the Republican National Convention here in Cleveland, Ohio.
Here are your top stories at 8:00 a.m. on the East Coast. It is official, Donald Trump becoming the Republican nominee for president last night here in Cleveland.
And eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. addressing the crowd where he spoke about his father bringing the country back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP JR., FIRST SON OF DONALD TRUMP: For the first time, parents no longer think that their kids will be as well off as we were.
We've lost the confidence in our leaders and the faith in our institutions.
But remember one thing, we're still Americans, we're still one country, and we're going to get it all back.
(CHEERS)
(APPLAUSE)
We're going to get it back better than ever before. I know we'll get it back because I know my father.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: And that wasn't the only big moment of the night, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on the attack taking on Trump's likely opponent Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: So, let's do something fun tonight, tonight as a former federal prosecutor, I welcome the opportunity to hold Hillary Rodham Clinton accountable for her performance and her character.
Hillary Clinton putting big government spending finance by the Chinese ahead of good-paying jobs for middle class Americans, is she guilty or not guilty?
AUDIENCE: Guilty!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: The big party set for tomorrow night when Donald Trump will address the convention live on stage, we will talk to the man behind the biggest part of the celebration, the balloons.
We've got to show you 125,000 balloons and they are going to come down tomorrow night.
People up in arms meanwhile over the CrossFit Games. The controversial prize that has the competition in hot water this morning.
Golf tournament without Tiger Woods becoming par for the course, why the golfer has decided to sit out the entire season.
Plus, this M&A deal getting a clean shave, the staggering amount Unilever is shelling out for men's grooming start-up Dollar Shave Club.
Markets this morning are higher, a number of companies reporting better- than-expected earnings that's driving stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average beginning at an all-time high as the Dow closed yesterday again at a new high for the sixth session in a row.
We're looking at a gain of about 50 points on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Morgan Stanley among the big names reporting. That stock is up, the bank beat expectations.
Microsoft stock is up about 4 percent, it beat expectations, SAP as well as United Continental also higher.
In Europe, markets are higher across the board helped by those strong earnings from SAP. Take a look, the Dax index, best performer up one and a third percent right now.
Turning to Asia, stocks were mixed to end the trading day. As you can see, the best performer there, Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index is up by about 1 percent.
All of those stories coming up this hour. And joining me to break it all down, Fox Business Network's Dagen McDowell, Townhall.com political editor and Fox News contributor Guy Benson and Maverick PAC National Co-Chair Morgan Ortagus.
Great show so far you guys.
DAGEN MCDOWELL, FOX BUSINESS: Terrific --
GUY BENSON, POLITICAL EDITOR, TOWNHALL.COM: Thanks for having us --
BARTIROMO: And --
MCDOWELL: High energy, no sleep, doesn't matter.
(LAUGHTER)
BARTIROMO: It's true, and you said one thing about the convention, Guy, was that, the end of the night --
BENSON: Yes, this has been --
BARTIROMO: It's been all flat --
BENSON: So, I'm not saying this to -- you know, as an attack on Trump.
It's like a constructive criticism and it will go away because you've got the two nominees tonight and tomorrow.
BARTIROMO: Right --
BENSON: But they've squandered the 10:00 p.m. hour on the first two nights.
And the 10:00 p.m. hour is the crucial prime time hour because it's prime time across the whole country.
BARTIROMO: So, in the 9:00 hour, you heard from people like Chris Christie, Donald Trump Jr., and then after that --
BENSON: And by the end --
BARTIROMO: People leave --
BENSON: You could see just streaming out of the arena --
BARTIROMO: Yes --
BENSON: At this crucial moment in terms of TV ratings and the opportunity to really drive a message.
You have a half empty or worse arena --
BARTIROMO: Yes --
BENSON: And speakers who are built as headliners, you know, with no energy in the room.
It's very odd choices --
BARTIROMO: Yes --
BENSON: Especially when they were good speeches to be given. Put Rudy and Christie --
BARTIROMO: Yes --
BENSON: And the -- put them towards the very end at 10:00 --
BARTIROMO: Don't put the Rolling Stones at the beginning of the night, right --
BENSON: Exactly --
BARTIROMO: OK, well --
BENSON: Yes --
BARTIROMO: Tonight and tomorrow night will be different because you've got Mike Pence tonight --
BENSON: Bingo --
BARTIROMO: And you've got Donald Trump tomorrow. We've got a can't-miss lineup this morning.
We're talking about all of this, Oklahoma Senator James Lankford is with us, the CEO and President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Tom Donohue joins us.
And Fox Business Network's Stuart Varney weighs in on all of it.
You don't want to miss a moment of it, so do stay with us. And we kick it off this hour with our top story. Donald Trump, officially the Republican nominee for president.
Blake Burman is live in the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland with the highlights -- Blake.
BLAKE BURMAN, FOX BUSINESS: Hi, there, Maria, good morning to you here from inside The Q where the attention later tonight will shift to the vice presidential nominee on the Republican side, Mike Pence.
He will give his speech here at the Quicken Loans Arena. I was talking a little while ago with Paul Manafort, the campaign chairman for Donald Trump's campaign.
And he told me, they really feel like tonight, this is an opportunity to introduce Mike Pence to the rest of the country.
Keep in mind, he's only been on the ticket here for some four or five days.
And before he was announced, the poll was taken in which 86 percent of the country said -- or 86 percent of voters said they didn't have an opinion of Pence one way or another.
That is certain to change after tonight. As far as other notable speakers go, Ted Cruz will be speaking here as well.
Of course, that was the main rival for Donald Trump during the primary process, Trump had repeatedly called him for months "lying Ted", but Cruz will have his moment here indeed.
Last night it was very much a family affair inside The Q as both Donald Trump Jr. and Tiffany Trump spoke about their father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And it is my honor to be able to throw Donald Trump over the top in the delegate-count tonight with 89 delegates and another 6 for John Kasich.
(CHEERS)
(APPLAUSE)
Congratulations, dad, we love you!
DONALD TRUMP, CHAIRMAN & PRESIDENT, TRUMP ORGANIZATIONS & FOUNDER, TRUMP ENTERTAINMENT RESORTS: Today has been a very special day, watching my children put me over the top earlier the party seal.
I mean, what we did getting the party's nomination, I'll never forget it.
TIFFANY TRUMP, DAUGHTER OF DONALD TRUMP: It's often said that with enough effort and determination you can do whatever you put your mind to. But saying those words and living them are different things, and my father has lived them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURMAN: Maria, Donald Trump and Mike Pence have only had one public campaign-like event together. That will change though this afternoon before Pence gets here to The Q.
Those two and their families will be holding what's being called as a gathering-type event here in Cleveland later this afternoon. Maria.
BARTIROMO: All right, Blake, thank you so much, Blake Burman in Cleveland this morning.
Day three of the RNC convention kicks off today, day two in the books and plenty of shots were fired from both sides.
Speaker of the house Paul Ryan, for example, noting that next week may be a little hard to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), SPEAKER, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: Watch the Democratic Party Convention next week, you can get through four days of it with a little help from the mute button, but four more years of it, not a chance.
CHRISTIE: Let's face the facts. Hillary Clinton cared more about protecting her own secrets than she cared about protecting America's secrets.
As to Hillary Clinton the charge of putting herself ahead of America, guilty or not guilty?
AUDIENCE: Guilty!
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: The President has to speak on behalf of all the American people, has to try to pull us together, not drive us apart.
We in America are better than that and America is better than Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: Well, it was an exciting night on both sides of the aisle.
Guy Benson, tonight, we got Mike Pence, Eric Trump, Marco Rubio set to speak. How important are these speeches from your standpoint?
BENSON: Oh, definitely important. I think you're going to hear from three erst rivals of Donald Trump. Scott Walker, who was really the first guy to get out of the race --
BARTIROMO: Yes --
BENSON: And then Rubio is giving a speech by video, a pre-camp speech, so it will be interesting to see how he frames it, and how --
BARTIROMO: Yes --
BENSON: He -- how far he goes in talking it all about Trump.
And then I think the big intriguing question mark of the three is Ted Cruz, who will address delegates live.
There's a lot of bad blood between these two camps, a lot of the Trump delegates have gotten used to this man being called "lying Ted" --
BARTIROMO: Yes --
BENSON: By their candidate, their hero. I'm hearing that Cruz is not going to endorse Trump in the speech. So, that will be interesting to watch, and then the biggest task of the night, Mike Pence.
He's on the ticket as we just heard there from Blake. Most Americans don't know almost anything about him.
The Democrats are trying to define him one way, he's got an opportunity to define himself on a very big stage.
And my bet is he'll deliver. His acceptance speech just last week, I thought was pretty strong.
MCDOWELL: Right, Mike Pence has incredible conservative cred, if you will.
As the governor of the state of Indiana, he cut individual income taxes, he cut corporate taxes, he cut property taxes and he did away with the inheritance tax.
And he took some hard -- made some hard decisions on -- when he was in Congress on things like voting down the Medicare prescription drug benefit that President Bush pushed through.
Voted against the bank bailout, that goes right to the tea party conservatives.
Beyond that broadly speaking, the message has to now move away from anti- Hillary, giving people a reason to vote against Hillary and giving people a reason to vote for --
BARTIROMO: Right --
MCDOWELL: Donald Trump --
MORGAN ORTAGUS, NATIONAL CO-CHAIR, MAVERICK PAC: Yes --
MCDOWELL: And that's where the kids come in.
BARTIROMO: He's created jobs too, right? Indiana unemployment rate way down --
MCDOWELL: Faster --
BARTIROMO: Under Mike Pence.
MCDOWELL: Faster -- equal if not faster economic growth than the national average, and in terms of the overall increase in employment, up 10 percent with single digits for the nation while he's been governor.
BARTIROMO: Right, manufacturing jobs as well.
MCDOWELL: Yes, exactly.
BARTIROMO: Yes, in terms of the big event tomorrow, Donald Trump, what do you want to see to make Dagen's point to actually get people to say, yes, I'm not voting for him because I don't want to vote for Hillary.
But I'm voting for Trump.
BENSON: Yes, it's a tough question, and I try to put myself in the position of maybe a never Trump person who may have an opportunity in their mind.
Maybe I can come around this guy, and I think me personally, I'd want to hear a few more details on the actual policy agenda --
BARTIROMO: Yes --
BENSON: Because so far, there's been a lot of platitudes and total logical arguments.
We're going to make America great again because Donald Trump is going to make America great again. All right, explain how beyond just the wall or whatever --
BARTIROMO: Right --
BENSON: And then also, for me, I want to hear the importance in Donald Trump's mind of the courts and the judiciary.
Because we can lose the country without the courts and the judiciary.
And it's a pivotal election on that front, and I really hope Trump hammers it home and tries to convince us that he truly gets it and cares about it.
BARTIROMO: Yes, it's a great point.
ORTAGUS: You know, I'm a foreign policy voter, so, I'm looking to see what he -- what he has to say about ISIS, what's his plan for Syria?
Whoever the next president is, is going to inherit a mess in the Middle East.
So, some specifics on how you're actually going to keep us safe, what you're going to do in Syria? What you're going to do in Iraq?
We're seeing ISIS in Afghanistan, again, the President announced two weeks ago that he's reducing troops under 8,400 to try to sort of keep it almost as this for the next president.
So, if he is elected president in addition to the economic mess he's inheriting, he's inheriting foreign policy mess.
And I'd like to hear some specific plans on those.
BARTIROMO: Yes, by the way, 8,400 in Afghanistan is actually more than he initially --
BENSON: Yes --
BARTIROMO: Wanted --
ORTAGUS: Absolutely --
MCDOWELL: Really quickly on the courts. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, just this coming out against Donald Trump and attacking Trump --
BARTIROMO: All right, she blew it --
MCDOWELL: She essentially said I want to overturn Heller, which again --
BENSON: Yes --
MCDOWELL: Allows people to have guns in their homes.
That will be front and center. Also, Hillary Clinton said over the weekend, she wants to -- she's going to propose -- this is her quote, "a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United" because they want to crack down on the first amendment.
They don't want -- they want to dictate political speech in this country. They are going after our constitution. Hit that, hit that hard. A Trump administration would not --
ORTAGUS: Yes --
MCDOWELL: And would never do that.
BARTIROMO: It's a really good point. We are live from Cleveland all week, stay tuned for our special coverage throughout the week from the Republican National Convention.
Don't forget our special prime time coverage as well. Join me tonight, 6:00 p.m. Eastern as I kick off the prime time coverage with the latest from Cleveland right from the arena floor where the speeches are taking place.
Up next, Tiger Woods withdrawing from the PGA Championship. Why this golf legend is pulling the plug on hopes of playing this season.
Then earning season in full gear, a number of companies reporting better- than-expected numbers. Morgan Stanley reporting results that top analysts expectations.
Intel gearing to report after the bell tonight. We got Microsoft, United Continental, SAP, all up this morning on earnings. Back in a minute.
(MUSIC)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back. The 2016 CrossFit Games planning to give away handguns to its winners. Cheryl Casone with this amazing story and the other headlines, Cheryl.
CHERYL CASONE, FOX BUSINESS: Yes, it's causing a big controversy, Maria, good morning.
The director of the CrossFit Games recently published this Facebook post, saying that the top male athlete, the top female athlete and every member of the winning team will receive a glock pistol.
The CrossFit Games began yesterday in Carson, California. So far, more than 21,000 people have signed an online petition demanding that the CrossFit Games cancel the glock prize.
Well, let's -- sports here for a second because Tiger Woods isn't going to be collecting any PGA tournament golf prizes this year.
Woods have said yesterday that he will not be playing in next week's tournament, and his agents said he won't be in any event for the rest of the season.
Harold Varner III will take Woods' spot at the PGA Championship in New Jersey.
Woods have been rehabbing since last year from back surgery, he has undergone three back surgeries since March of 2014.
Well, you may not remember this, but the Dollar Shave Club started four years ago with a very funny YouTube video, and now it's being sold for $1 billion.
European consumer products giant Unilever is acquiring the start-up, terms weren't disclosed but people familiar with the matter said that Unilever is paying a billion all cash.
Dollar Shave Club not profitable, but it says the site got 3.2 million members for its mail order service that ships out disposable razors and other grooming products for a flat monthly fee. It's pretty popular.
And finally, Morgan Stanley's profit for its latest quarter fell from a year ago, as the bank worked through volatile markets.
But earnings still beat expectation helped by lower expenses, revenue also beating the Street's forecast.
Morgan Stanley along with its rivals has been focusing on cost-cutting, shares were up nearly 3 percent as you can see there in pre-market trading.
Maria, back to you in Cleveland.
BARTIROMO: All right, Cheryl, thank you so much. Cheryl is in New York, Mike Murphy is also in New York, he joins the conversation right now.
And Mike, we've got to talk about earnings here and this rallying underway. Microsoft is up 4 percent, United Continental is up, SAP is up, is this an earnings-driven rally? What's your take on markets here?
MIKE MURPHY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ROSECLIFF CAPITAL: I think it is, Maria, and you know, when you talk about the banks, the financials, you can make the argument that the bar has been set really low and these companies are coming out and just clearing that very low bar.
But when you look at technology, you look at SAP that you spoke to earlier, you look at Microsoft, these companies are coming out with really solid earnings beat.
They're coming out with not only good quarters, but good guidance.
So, I think there's a lot more upside in this market as the companies that perform are getting rewarded.
So, they can move higher.
BARTIROMO: So, what's your take on the big business headlines of the morning?
What are you seeing out there? What are sources telling you in terms of trading and markets today?
MURPHY: So, there's a lot of talk about the financials because we've heard from all the big banks.
And now with Morgan Stanley coming out today, you know, the financials have been the underperforming sector in the market.
So, if they get momentum, you could really see this rally continue. But then if you look, a lot of people aren't focusing on oil and energy names, and that's been a very hot area year-to-date.
So, if we can see some of the energy companies come out, we heard from Halliburton this morning. But Halliburton actually made the statement that they see a turn in the U.S. oil market.
So, if we see energy starting to move higher, and we see the banks moving higher along with technology moving higher, there's no reason we can't continue to make new highs in this market.
MCDOWELL: Any chance -- Mike, it's Dagen, any chance that investors get skittish, a little nervous the closer we get to November?
MURPHY: Yes, I -- for sure, Dagen, and you know, with all the geopolitical headlines out there, I think that there's a real risk that people start to get concern that you could see another attack somewhere in the world.
And then if you really look at the market at these levels, you know, we're kind of fully priced here.
You know, so, we're going to need to see a lot of earnings beat to the upside like we saw out of Microsoft to really support the market up here at these levels.
But for right now, Dagen, the trend is higher, so you want to ride that trend until something changes.
BARTIROMO: All right, Mike, thank you, we'll see you --
MURPHY: Thanks, Maria --
BARTIROMO: A little later. Mike Murphy joining us there in New York.
Up next, Hillary Clinton comparing the Republican Convention to the "Wizard of Oz", but that pales in comparison to the multiple attacks on the Democratic nominee from the GOP side.
More on this heated war of words on the campaign trail straight ahead, and then later, check this out, 125,000 balloons expected to drop at the Republican Convention tomorrow night.
We are talking to the man responsible for pushing the celebrations over the top with those balloons, back in a minute.
(MUSIC)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back. A war of words brewing between New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Hillary Clinton yesterday as the two spar over the qualifications needed for the next president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIE: We cannot promote someone to commander-in-chief who has made the world a more violent and dangerous place with every bad judgment she's made.
As to Hillary Clinton, the charge of putting herself ahead of America, guilty or not guilty?
AUDIENCE: Guilty!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: Joining us right now is Oklahoma Senator James Lankford, good to see you, senator --
SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R), OKLAHOMA: Thank you --
BARTIROMO: Thank you so much for joining us --
LANKFORD: My pleasure --
BARTIROMO: What do you think is the most important quality required to be commander-in-chief?
LANKFORD: Well, let me add to what Chris Christie was saying.
Hillary Clinton campaign has come out over and over again, and said, she is prepared because she's done foreign policy.
And it begs the question which foreign policy has she done and done well that everyone would say, great, let's do more of that.
And Chris Christie really clicked through, whether it was Libya, whether it was North Africa, whether it's dealing with Israel, whether it's dealing with any area you want to go with.
Find a country where we have a better relationship now than what we had eight years ago.
She is the one that led on the foreign policy issues for the first four years of this administration.
And what we have seen is a very unstable world.
BARTIROMO: And a lot of people will say that ISIS got stronger under Hillary Clinton while she was Secretary of State.
You're on the intelligence committee --
LANKFORD: Right --
BARTIROMO: Will you tell us what you think are the most -- or the biggest threats.
I mean, you know, we worry about sleeper cells in the U.S., do we have ISIS militants now waiting for direction?
LANKFORD: Yes, the unknown there is not just -- this is different and be waiting for direction. Al Qaeda really tried to train people and then to send them into a spot to do that mission.
ISIS is very different. They say, if you think like we do, then you should kill like we do. And here is some ideas of how to kill people and what to do. Go do it and then later post online our flag or our statement or just say that you're with us.
So, that's what we saw at a Christmas party in San Bernardino, right before they post online, say we have an allegiance to ISIS.
You see that same thing that happens in Florida at a nightclub where immediately they began to post that.
You see that happening in Paris. That's the issue. This is very different than creating sleeper cells.
They're looking for people that ideologically believe like them and they're challenging to carry attacks like that.
BARTIROMO: Wow, that is scary.
ORTAGUS: Senator, Maria and I were just talking earlier about the mess in the Middle East that the next president is going to inherit.
Civil wars in Syria, in Iraq, in Libya, ISIS coming into Afghanistan now.
LANKFORD: Right.
ORTAGUS: So, what can other than projecting strength which I think is vitally important, because the world needs to see Americans join.
What can a President Trump do for these hotspot areas in the world?
How can one person, can one country actually contain what we're seeing unraveling in the Middle East and in southeast Asia?
LANKFORD: No, it's not one country contain, but one country has to lead.
And that has been the absent part of it. The rest of the world is waiting on American leadership as they have for the last several decades.
To say, OK, we will engage, but what will America do? No one knows what America will do to be able to help protect the world and to protect basic freedoms that Americans enjoy all over the world.
And so, America has a clear articulate policy of what we're going to do on terrorism.
The rest of the world is going to pick at the edges, and the current policies more annoy ISIS than it is to defeat ISIS.
We have to have a strong position, say this is what America is going to do, come join us.
MCDOWELL: Senator, we're two days down, two days to go in terms of the convention here.
What have you not heard so far that you need to hear tonight and tomorrow night and that the American people need to hear?
LANKFORD: I think there'll be more conversation about policy, the first two days quite frankly.
There's all this conversation about disunity in Republicans, the one thing that unify us.
Is we all understand that Hillary Clinton and those policies and the current practice of the last eight years, if we continue that again, another four years, it's bad for the nation.
And so, you heard that unifying theme to say we have a binary choice here between Donald Trump who is our leader at this point.
He is our nominee and he's the person that we can outline all those policies or we can deal with Hillary Clinton and all these policies.
Now, it's a matter of first two days by Hillary Clinton, now, as a matter of transitioning it to Donald Trump and who he is and his policies.
BARTIROMO: Can you characterize the strategy against ISIS so far and what we need to be doing?
LANKFORD: I really do characterize as we're trying to annoy ISIS and slow them down more than it is to defeat them.
And I think part of that came from the Syrian red line that everyone still goes back to.
At that point, the President didn't know how we were going to transition Syria and the leadership away from Bashar al Assad.
So, we wanted to contain ISIS and slow them down while we dealt with Assad, and now we -- it's a bigger mess than anyone ever dreamed it would be at this point.
And Assad still has to go, though, the President has backed off of that and we still have no real answer for ISIS.
So, until we can get a clear answer, here is what has to happen with ISIS, here is what has to happen with Assad. Nothing changes.