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That is why over the next 15 days -- 14 days, whatever is left --
BARTIROMO: Thirteen.
ORTAGUS: Thirteen, thank you, Maria. We're going to see the president, Michelle Obama, anyone else that that campaign can get on the trail to make the case for her. That's who we're going to see out there.
NARDELLI: I just think, you know, it's heartbreaking. You know, I've been around a long time and I don't think I've ever felt so violated with the corruption, you know, in the FBI, what's happening in these WikiLeaks?
BARTIROMO: They're all politicized, all the agencies.
NARDELLI: I mean I just had us a much higher standard and belief. You think of office in the third-world country. You just don't think this is going to happen in the United States of America.
BARTIROMO: Especially, did I. You know, I was having lunch the other day with some people from Europe. And I said, you know, in any other year, any other world, Clinton would be -- I mean, you know, Trump, he's a candidate that is actually an imperfect candidate. But in other year and world, anybody would be beating Hillary Clinton with all of these WikiLeaks and everything coming out.
But because Trump is also having his own issues, it's as close as it is. But they said to me, Maria, so what? Everybody is corrupt. That's the way they see it. I didn't see it that way. But you know what, Katie, that's the way they see it. They think all politicians are corrupt. And they say, what, it's part of the course.
PAVLICH: Well, I think that's why Trump had an advantage in the primary because everyone else running against him in the GOP primary had a political background and he was the only one who didn't despite being heavily involved in politics, not as an elected official but as a businessman.
And so when you look at the polling, people say the corruption is the number, you know, the top issues for why they're voting the way that they are. And I also think that Hillary Clinton is ahead because people have baked in the corruption side of it. And unfortunately, for Donald Trump, he hasn't been able to pull ahead.
But, yes, corruption is a huge issue. And it's something that we saw in the 2012 election and the 2010 election as well as the top issue. And it's not going to go away with this election. We're going to continue to see this issue, especially if Hillary Clinton becomes president.
BARTIROMO: And you know what else doesn't go away is Trumpism.
NARDELLI: Yes.
MCDOWELL: It doesn't go away and you're going to have to start -- the Republicans are going to have to start thinking about how they bring those people into the fold. Because, clearly, there are major divides in what defines a conservative these days.
But I want to point out something about Europe. We are not Europe and we don't view ourselves that way. We don't work 20 hours a week. We don't think the government makes better decisions with our money. We don't expect those losers in Washington to take care of us --
BARTIROMO: Right.
MCDOWELL: -- while when we're working age or when we retired and I think that that's the difference. We just want the government to -- I mean, its least conservative -- just want the government to get the hell out of the way.
BARTIROMO: Right. Another thing they said to me was, how is it possible that America doesn't want free health care? And I said, you don't get it. They don't want bigger government. They want to make their decisions for themselves. A different mentally.
MCDOWELL: I will go into it later too. In terms of government control of health care, you start talking about public options, that's just health insurance. But then you talk about a lot more and you only need to go back in this country and look at the eugenics movement in terms of government taking control of health care where they sterilized people in this country because they were mentally ill or mentally disabled. And I just think that that's what gets people very, very nervous.
NARDELLI: One quick comment. What's ashamed is the youth of America is growing up thinking corruption is OK in the standard, in our government.
BARTIROMO: That's right.
ORTAGUS: But that's why millennials aren't voting. You're absolutely right. And that's why millennials are disillusioned and aren't voting not for Hillary Clinton or anyone else.
BARTIROMO: Katie.
PAVLICH: I think it's -- I don't think it's fair to say that they are accepting corruption. I think that they're seeing it all around them. The Bernie Sanders movement shows that young people aren't putting up with it. So I think that they see it and they want a change.
Gary Johnson is winning millennials. He's obviously not going to win but he does have the millennial vote locked up. And so I think they're seeing it and rejecting it, which is something both of the parties are going to have to come to terms with at some point considering the millennial generation is the biggest generation at this point. And they will be voting probably around age 35.
BARTIROMO: All right.
NARDELLI: That's right.
BARTIROMO: Katie, great point. Thank you so much. Good to see you.
PAVLICH: Thanks.
BARTIROMO: Katie Pavlich there. Coming up, a change for game two of the World Series. The game now being advanced by an hour to prevent a washout. We're going to tell you about that and the big action last night.
Plus, Wells Fargo betting on a new strategy to win back trust. The bank's new ad campaign to recover from the phony account scandal. We will bring it to you next. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back. Well, Wells Fargo going on an apology tour following its fraudulent e-mail scandal and, of course, those phony accounts. Cheryl Casone with the details. Cheryl, over to you.
CHERYL CASONE, FOX JOURNALIST: That scandal really rocked the bank, Maria. And Wells Fargo is now raising to repair their brand after the fake account scandal that affected thousands of customers. The financial services company launching television ads addressing customer concerns.
Now the 30-second ad showcases that iconic Wells Fargo wagon and of course it's got the slogan, Wells Fargo is making changes to make things right. Pretty horses. We will see if the ad works with their customers.
And Volkswagen dealing with its own scandal. The automobile maker receiving final court approval of a $14.7 billion settlement that would kick nearly half a million diesel powered cars off of U.S. roads. The deal offers Volkswagen drivers with two-liter engines. The option is sell back their car or wait for a government-approved fix to keep that car on the road.
The company admitting last year that it had equipped these cars with devices meant to trick emissions testing in the U.S., allowing the cars to spew higher than legal levels of pollutants.
And the MLB will not let rain put a damper on game two, the World Series. The league is moving up the starter tonight, Indians-Cubs match up by an hour to 7:08 Eastern Time because of a chance for storms.
Of course, you can watch all the action on Fox. The Cleveland Indians storm past the Chicago Cubs last night, take the early lead in the series. Starter Corey Kluber set a record in striking out nine Chicago players and catcher Roberto Perez had two big homers.
OK, Maria, rough night for Chicago. But Cleveland beats them, we should say you're six to zero. It's just game one. Plenty of time for the Cubs to come back. And what a World Series that you've got to watch, have fun. Back to you.
BARTIROMO: It's pretty incredible. Thank you so much, Cheryl. Coming up, Apple putting its hopes on the latest iPhone after a disappointing fourth quarter. Why thinks the iPhone 7 can turn the tide? We're going to check out Apple's earnings, tell you what's on top the rest of the week.
Then unruly protest in Venezuela, after the company's congress moved to oust the president from his position. The political unrest unfolding right here next. Back in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Well, this is the busiest week yet for earnings. This week, a third of the S&P 500 reporting earnings this week. Several companies expected to report today include Tesla, Coca-Cola and Boeing among others.
Now Apple reported its numbers last night. It was better than expectations in terms of earnings after the bell but the quarterly results also marked the third straight quarter. Well, Apple posted a year over year revenue decline. Joining us right now is the senior analyst for CFRA Research, Lindsey Bell. Lindsey, good to see you. Thank you for joining us.
LINDSEY BELL, SENOIR ANALYST, CFRA RESEARCH: Thanks for having me.
BARTIROMO: How do you characterize the earning season so far?
BELL: Well, it's better than expected as usual.
BARTIROMO: The growth is --
BELL: The growth is -- you know, It's positive so. And this is the first quarter, we're seeing positive growth in four quarters so we do have that. Guidance has been OK. We usually get less companies giving guidance at this point in the year. And going into an election season, management teams, typically, are a little bit more negative.
So I think it's an OK quarter. And I think the election is really -- specially, since we're so close, it's really going to take the heart of the conversation.
NARDELLI: But Lindsey, give us your take. OK quarter. You know, we saw some good earnings but the stock in many cases -- you know, my old company, Home Depot, really got whacked four bucks or something like that and look at some of the others. What's driving good numbers but is it the uncertainty, the forecast?
BELL: I think it's the uncertainty. Well, you're definitely seeing the Apple that's being created between the guys that are beating on top and bottom lines versus the ones that missing. The winners are really only half a percentage point on those reports where the losers are down one and a half percentage points.
Usually, you see a much bigger spread between the two. So I think there's just a lot of uncertainty right now and that is very typical going into an election period as we enter this final quarter of the year. And so, I think management teams are being very cautious on guidance because there is still that uncertainty.
But the good thing is the stock market usually does really well after the election is done, it's up about two percent according by my colleague (Sam Snowball) in the three months proceeding.
MCDOWELL: Because even with Apple's guidance on revenue for the current quarter, it came in above expectations and it will show a revenue gain from a year ago and it doesn't seem to be enough. So despite what the stated number from analysts was, now granted the stock was up about 20 percent in the few months leading up to this earnings report but, nevertheless, that so wasn't good enough.
BELL: Well I think expectations just got really high. Samsung got people really excited that Apple is going to finally take off and benefit from this. Hey, Tim Cook was really upbeat about the iPhone sales going into this quarter. So we do have that to look forward to but there's still the supply issue.
BARTIROMO: Do you think Lindsey --
MCDOWELL: Yes, speak to that but there's -- according to one analysts, there's like an eight-week wait for the plus version of the phone which has kind of the new fancy camera on it. So you're right, supply is an issue.
BELL: You're seeing this quarter, the semiconductor companies are really doing well and beating and the part of it is because of the demand for these smart phones, the iPhones.
BARTIROMO: That's what Paul Meeks told us yesterday. Micro and technology is the one to watch.
So when you look at sectors, where is the growth right now? Financials have been better than expected, up 13 percent on average in terms of earnings, materials as well. Is that where you're finding growth in this economy?
BELL: Well, look, that's what the numbers are saying. Right now, the financial expectations were super low going into the quarter, financials and materials. You're going over easy numbers from a year ago. I think we need to really watch the consumer discretionary sector going forward because growth there is only supposed to be three percent which is pretty weak when you look across the 11 sectors. We have amazon coming out this week. Numbers came down by 13 cents since they last reported. And they've just blown the numbers out of the park the last two quarters. I bet they do it again this quarter.
We heard from Microsoft about the club business. They're going to do really well there. Prime is going to be key going into the holiday-selling season. So I think the consumer numbers right now are understated, automobiles, GM importer, huge within that sector. So that makes the difference. And GM did a really good job yesterday. We hear from Ford, that was a bigger concern. So I think the consumer is doing really well.
Confidence numbers, I know for the latest read, were very weak. They came down off of the cycle highs in September. But that's typical going into election period. And the good news is is that the jab data underlying all that is really good. The consumer is feeling confident about their ability to find a job and their wage increasing.
ORTAGUS: That's really interesting because that's so different than I think than what we're hearing on the political spectrum and what voters are saying versus what they're saying from an economic perspective.
When you look at going into the holiday season, do you expect Google to make a big splash with their new phone? And what do you think -- what is the Apple-Google interplay over the holiday buying season?
BELL: Well, I think that it's going to be a very interesting holiday buying season for the smart phone industry. It's really a pivotal point because the Google phones are the new thing. They're going to be out there this holiday season, the iPhone. Everyone is expecting to benefit from the Samsung debacle. And hey, what about android? And it's going to be interesting to watch it all play out.
BARTIROMO: Amazon expected to see earnings growth of 350 percent, wow.
MCDOWELL: Amazon poised to be the country's biggest apparel retailer. That there will be so more clothing than any other store in the nation.
BARTIROMO: This is an incredible number that they're expecting earnings to be up 354 percent to them.
NARDELLI: You know, by just doing a wonderful job with the Echo. And he is connecting the entire home. I mean, he really has that thing extremely well positioned, voice recognition. He keeps adding more devices to it. He's got a great strategy as it relates to, you know, that technology for the home.
But one quick question. Look forward GDP next year. Are we going to start off that three and a half percent and then walk it back again like we have the last eight, it's about 1.5?
(LAUGHTER)
BELL: That is the historical trend. So I do think that we have some things to be a little more helpful about next year. The strength in the consumer hopefully continues. We're starting to see some of the industrial numbers get a little bit better. And then if we just see stabilization across the world, it could be a really good thing for us.
BARTIROMO: Do you think this is the bottom here in terms of -- we're just seeing a little growth which is what you're happy about in terms of S&P earning even though it's just 0.6 percent. But do you think this is the bottom?
BELL: I do. I think we really put the (troff) in the first quarter of this year as far as the earnings go. But we're going to need to see the economy, to your point, pick up substantially to really get solid earnings. Because buybacks have been playing a large role in earnings the last several quarters.
NARDELLI: You know, small indicator is, if you look at fracking, you know, we have bottomed out with the number of rigs out there. And for the first time, we're seeing a little bump off for the bottom of 480 up to a little over 500 now, so. I don't know if that's an early indicator or not.
BELL: Well, we will hear from a lot of the energy companies tomorrow and Friday so.
BARTIROMO: Lindsey, good to see you.
BELL: Thank you.
BARTIROMO: Thanks so much, Lindsey Bell, joining us there. Coming up, outrage over the Pentagon's effort to claw back millions of dollars from veterans. Sparking calls to action from lawmakers, how the Pentagon plans to resolve issue, coming next.
And then the backlash over the surging EpiPen prices could actually be helping Mylan labs, while prescriptions for the drugs have actually been on the rise. Back in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back. Happy Wednesday, everybody. I'm Maria Bartiromo. And it is Wednesday, October 26th. Here your top stories 6:30 a.m. on the east coast.
Putting the battle in battleground, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton making their final push now less than two weeks from Election Day. Both campaigns on the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: He's declaring defeat before the battle has even started, he's proving once again he is unqualified to be commander-in-chief.
GOV. MIKE PENCE (R-IN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me make you a promise, when Donald Trump becomes president of the United States, we won't be paying ransom to terrorist-sponsoring states. They will be paying a price.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: We are on the campaign trail as Trump prepares to hit Pennsylvania Avenue today.
EpiPen's price controversy maybe a prescription for success. We will tell you about it. Why all the press reportedly has script for the product on the rise.
A scary moment at a Florida fair, the incident that left a trainer clawed by a tiger in front of children.
It is the great iPhone raid, the staggering devices that disappeared from Miami International Airport. This is the product thieves want.
Earning season rolls on. Chipotle among the big names reporting after the bell last night. The company missed earnings expectations, but playing out some sweet new plans to spark growth. The stock, we will tell you about it in just a moment.
Broader markets this morning looking lower, we had a fair amount of misses overnight. Apple was a decline in revenue from a year ago and that really set the tone for markets this morning. Apple stock is under selling pressure. The Dow Industrial expected to open 80 points.
Take a look at performances in Europe. Declines there about 1 percent across the board. As you see there the DAX Index in Germany down better than 1 percent.
In Asia overnight mixed performances. As you will see the Hang Seng in Hong Kong down better than 1 percent.
A top U.S. commander making a surprise visit to a U.S. base in Iraq as the battle for Mosul continues, Army General Joseph Vodell (ph) reportedly saying that he expects to run into more and more obstacles as the fight moves forward.
Joining us right now is former Navy SEAL and Great America PAC's spokesperson, Carl Higbie. Carl, good to see you. Thanks so much for joining us. What's your take on those comments?
CARL HIGBIE, FORMER NAVY SEAL: So the issue is we are seeing the people who are actually on the ground experiencing this war, the guys who have fought the war coming out and having a very different narrative than what the Clinton campaign and the generals that are endorsing Clinton like Allen and Colin Powell are saying. Now the issue is we don't know how big this problem this. The fight is very hard when you can't even name the enemy.
MORGAN ORTAGUS, MAVERICK PAC CO-CHAIR: That's a good point. But what, Carl, would Trump do different? You have a lot of experience in this part of the world and thank you for your service. So if he's critical of what President Obama is doing, now what is he going to do differently in Iraq to spin the tide of ISIS?
HIGBIE: The issue is we got to stop fighting this and get them out. I mean, if you want to be diplomatic, go send the diplomats over there and let them do their thing. If you want to win a war, you send the U.S. soldier. I mean, we have won every single war.
I watch a lot of documentaries and when we stopped winning wars is when we started media influence over the way we fought the war. We have to fight the war to win.
Unfortunately war is disgusting and it's bad, but at the end of the day we have to do those things in order to win because our enemy is doing it too.
BARTIROMO: So what should be the strategy to really take Mosul at this point? We know this is going to take time and harder than people expected?
HIGBIE: Right. So Mosul right now is a critical part of the infrastructure because of the dam because of a lot of other build-ups that we've put there when we there in Iraq, but what we need to do now is we need to target these people and target the areas they are in.
Look, if you're in an ISIS-controlled area right now, I'm sorry, you're not part the solution because they would either killed you or you have left early.
BOB NARDELLI, FORMER CHRYSLER CEO: Thank you for your duty and two tours of service, right. So you know first-hand what it's going to take to win this thing. Your perception of the two candidates, tell us about your view on Trump, a lot of controversy about he would to the points that we have been discussing, how do you think he's going to approach this with the generals going forward?
HIGBIE: So I think for one and one of the biggest complaints of generals now is that they are not listening, President Obama is not listening to them. So I think Trump will listen to the generals. He said, look, we need to listen to generals because these are the people that are there and understanding it.
You have the guy who just landed there yesterday, wow, this is a lot bigger problem. Additionally, we need to do things that might not be politically popular at that time, but long-term will protect American citizens and I think Trump will do that.
Hillary Clinton had the chance to do this stuff over eight years as our chief diplomat and she didn't do any of it.
NARDELLI: Yes, did that "Desert Storm," "Freedom," I mean, we know how to do it. It's just a matter of having conviction, am I right going forward?
HIGBIE: You're absolutely right. I mean, look, when we first invaded Iraq, we took over the world's fifth largest army in less time that it takes you to pick up your dry cleaning, I mean, in four days. So we can do it. We just have to be able to want to and have the will.
BARTIROMO: This scandal grilling the Pentagon, the outrage after the Defense Department tried clawing back reenlistment bonuses from soldiers. These soldiers fought on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Ash Carter addressed the issue yesterday. I want to get your reaction to what he had to say. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASH CARTER, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Anybody who volunteers to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States deserves our gratitude and respect, period. I'm aware of the specific issue that you're speaking of. It's got complexities to it and we are going to look into it and resolve it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: What do you make of it, Carl?
HIGBIE: Well, I mean, this is ridiculous. These soldiers signed a contract with the U.S. government. It doesn't matter if the U.S. government had the authority in that position or not, it's not the soldiers' fault to do this.
When I re-enlisted, I got a bonus, paid off debt and put a down payment on my house and I didn't have the cash laying around. These guys, I mean, look, the average soldier -- when you come out of boot camp, you're making $800 to $900 a month --
So I mean, you're looking $400 to $500 per pay check every two weeks for some of these entry soldiers. Obviously you get more than that when you get down the road.
But at the end of the day, these people don't have a ton of money. Why isn't the person at fault (inaudible)? Why isn't President Obama coming out right saying with a stroke of a pen, I am fixing this and Congress put a single issue bill on the table right now to fix this problem?
DAGEN MCDOWELL, FOX BUSINESS: They don't care about the veteran. I mean, look at how the VA system is run and the problems that still exist despite everything that's come out of the wood work about the treatment of veterans. Do they simply not care? I seriously mean that because you wouldn't act that way if you gave a damn.
HIGBIE: Hillary Clinton can fumble $6 billion and lose it while she's secretary of state, but we can't cover a few million dollars in bonuses for the people that we signed a contract with.
BARTIROMO: You're right. Where is President Obama putting an end to this right now?
HIGBIE: Hundred percent. This is disgusting and this shows right now where this president and the administration and God forbid, if Hillary Clinton wins, where that administration will go. Nobody has tried to do anything for the veterans right now.
NARDELLI: This never should have even surfaced. It should have been shut down at the first hint of it by the administration.
ORTAGUS: Carl, on the Iran piece, if Trump wins in 13 days as Maria pointed out, we know that Boeing is looking to sell U.S. airliners into Iran, highly controversial with the Congress and the people like Mr. Trump who oppose the deal. Would he allow these deals of American Boeing aircrafts to go forward into Iran if he wins the presidency?
HIGBIE: No, I don't believe he will. Look at the scrutiny that Trump got when he considered looking, not even doing, considered looking at business in Cuba. He was like squashed by it and he got hammered over it. He didn't even do it.
Now Hillary Clinton and the Barack Obama administration, they want to give Boeing aircraft to Iran Air or whatever they call it which is notably been seized and used for military purposes. I mean, we know what's going to happen there.
We gave them $150 billion already. I don't know what this administration is thinking. Why are they so pro-Iran? I would lock anybody out from America from doing business with Iran.
BARTIROMO: Look at this story, Iran to add U.S.-made aircraft to its war fleet. Obama administration paves the way for Tehran to build its air force.
HIGBIE: Yes, I mean, that's exactly what's happening and we are selling it directly to Iran Air, which in the past they have commandeered jets from Iran Air and turn them into military thing because there's not a clear division of state and private assets in Iran.
We can pretty much say unequivocally that's going to go there. Why are we helping them? How does this help America? This is the problem with our leaders and this is what people are voting against. Help America first. I don't care about Iran.
BARTIROMO: It's extraordinary. So what about this new political ad, Retired General John Alan backing Hillary Clinton saying that she has what it takes to keep us safe. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When someone makes the comment that they know more about the Islamic State or ISIL than do the generals it implies complete ignorance of the reality, but I believe Secretary Clinton really understands the threat that Islamic State poses to the United States and the American people and I believe she understands how to wheel power to ultimately defeat threat and keep us safe.