setback for the world. >> dana: this comes a few hours after the regime said it destroyed its nuclear test site. yet that is something experts believe was already unusable after a major earthquake last year. we have fox news team coverage. greg palkot is in seoul. but we begin with chief white house correspondent john roberts. busy day over there, john. >> john: unlike other days here, dana. good afternoon to you. the president canceled the summit after the deputy foreign minister of north korea issued what white house officials said was tantamount of a threat of nuclear war if the talks didn't go well with the president. the white house believing that is not the most productive position that north korea could have taken ahead of planned summit so the president this morning sent a letter to kim jong un to say much as we would like to do it, it's off. he did give him something to back into if he wanted to, come back to the table. he also insulted the vice president mike pence calling him politically dumb saying that recent statements from the vice president were "stupid." but the white house says they hear that from north korea all the time. that is not the reason they canceled the summit. the nuclear threat is the reason the president was forced to pull the trigger. in the roosevelt room a short time ago, president trump praised the north korean leader, threatened him with nuclear destruction and invited him to the table. listen here. >> president trump: i hope we will continue on. we'll see. we are in a very strong position. i think they want to do what's right. i think they want to do. it's only recently this has taken place. i think i understand why it's been taking place. but they want i really believe kim jong un wants to do what is right so hopefully things will work out. >> you heard what the president said, he says he thinks he knows what has taken place, to change the attitude. he was asked about it and he said i'm not going to say. he suggested that kim jong un's attitude changed after he met with xi jinping. he suggested that xi might have gotten in his ear and said i'm not sure you want to do the summit thing. that is when he thinks that north korea's attitude changed. they have also been radio silent about setting up the summit. and secretary of state mike pompeo on capitol hill earlier today and pushing back on the suggestion that the president cancel the summit because the white house wasn't ready for it. listen here. >> over the past many days, we have endeavored to what chairman kim and i agreed to put preparation teams together to begin to work to prepare for the summit. and we had received no response to our inquiries from them. so we in addition to what the president laid out in his letter, it's also the case that the -- i disagree with what you said in the opening statement. i think the american team is fully prepared. i think we are rocking. we're ready. >> where it goes from him depends what kim's reaction to the letter will be. it's 10:00 pyongyang time when the president transmitted it to him so we likely won't hear anything from north korea later today. morning their time. if it's the typical north korean knee-jerk reaction, dana, a summit may never happen. if kim jong un considers what the president is really saying here is you are not getting good information from xi jinping. it's much more in your interest to side with the united states than to side with china. maybe, just maybe we'll hear something different from him. >> dana: all right. diplomacy is tricky and never necessarily a straight line. thank you so much for that. >> you bet. >> dana: the announcement of the canceled summit came hours after north korea said it demolished the main nuclear site, something many believe was just for show because no international regulators were there. senior foreign affairs correspondent greg palkot is in seoul, south korea. greg? >> hey, dana. we will get to that event in a moment. but it is late here in seoul. we are now getting reaction from the south korean government to the events of the past couple of hours. south korean president moon jae-in in special session with the national security staff urging direct talks between president trump and kim jong un saying, i'm quoting, "denuclearization cannot be delayed or abandoned." the president here seemed to be a bit blind sided by events. he was "quite perplexed" by the statement coming from president trump. he called it regrettable. president trump said he spoke by phone with south korean president moon including about the military readiness in the region. that has to be a bit of a blow to the south korean. he has been working for months to get a diplomatic resolution of the crisis including his own summit last month with kim jong un along the d.m.z. again, the white house summit cancellation seems to stem from statement from the regime. especially to, quote/unquote, "libya model" regarding north korea from our experience here. pyongyang takes that to mean regime change and hates it. also getting the white house angry, the threat to go nuclear to nuclear in a showdown between the countries. we understand also that president trump spoke to japanese president abe a firm ally in the region. and yes, now on to the event to the northeast of where we are. ironically this was supposed to be a day when the region moved closer to peace. north korea claiming thursday it completely dismantled the nuclear test site in the northeast corner of the country. foreign reporters were at the scene, they said there was an explosive closure of the tunnels there. there were no international experts confirming what was said. this was largely seen as a p.r. gesture in advance of that planned summit. now that summit for the moment is not to be. yes, it is late here, dana. we have not gotten any keep of reaction from -- any kind of reaction from north korea. they have been better reacting now than they have in the past and we might hear something on friday. we'll see. back to you. >> dana: we'll come right back to you, greg. thank you. to help us break it down. jamile jaffers, former adviser to the house intelligence committees. glad to have you. it has been disorienting to have kim jong un be so cordial. he did release the american hostages and it looked like we were full steam ahead. what do you know about the china angle here? also, is it somewhat, a little more comforting when you realize oh, this is the kim jong un family we know? we have respect for the process, for the summit but we are not going to go there and be snookered. >> that is right, dana. look. china obviously is a big player in the region. they are ultimately the backer of the north korea regime. without china there is nothing for north korea. they don't have any support. they are inclined to go where china tells them to go. it's interesting that the aggressive statement came after meeting with the china leader. it's not clear if he said i want to get more aggressive or china said you need to be more aggressive. either way, what you are seeing here is two leaders sort of going toe to toe to say i can cancel, you can cancel, i can talk about nuclear war and so can you. at the end of the day, while the tensions heated up a little bit, president canceled the summit but i bet it's back open in two weeks. >> dana: the president did leave the door open for that. every actor here involved, china, japan, south korea, united states and certainly north korea are acting in their country's best interest. help me understand. why is it in china's interest for the summit not to go forward? >> look, at the end of the day what is in china's interest is to have a north korea that comes back in line and does right thing here. but also north korea that is strong relative to south korea. at the end of the day what they see, they use the cold war terms. the u.s. has a fear of influence. south korea. china, north korea, so they need to balance it off. if it looks like trump has the upper hand china says we want you to back off. north korea feels the same way. so not clear if it's china pulling the strings or north korea reacting to say we want to do this and china says yep, that sounds fine to us. >> dana: anything the president does comes with some criticism from some parts of the country. richard haas from the foreign policy circles tweeted the summit was bound to failed as trump badly overestimated what north korea agree to. the issue is and was the u.s. willing to accept outcome short of total denuclearization. all or nothing foreign policy with north korea, iran, china, trade risks producing nothing but or conflict. "i wonder what you think of this. you were instrumental to guide republican side members of congress as president obama moved forward on the iran deal. what parallels do you see here? >> look, you can always talk about half measures. if you want foreign policy of half measures, fine. incrementals, that is fine. donald trump going for a big prize here. that comes with some cost. everyone was amazed that donald trump could pull off a big meeting like this. i think it still happens in the long run but on america's terms. that is the right way to negotiate. if it looks like we want it too much like the iran deal they will string you out and get a variety of concessions. that is what happened with obama and president trump says it won't happen to me. >> dana: isn't the issue here what denuclearization means? kim jong un is in a stronger position because he now has the weapons. we say no, you have to give up the weapons if you want the other things that the president said could be good for your country. the definition of "denuclearization" is the key here. >> you are right. that is the key. the challenge here is donald trump might have a different view of what denuclearization means. the u.s. position has been no nuclear weapons on the korean peninsula, out completely. kim jong un might agree with that. but he may mean i'll denuclearize when you denuclearize. that is unsustainable scenario. we see what is met here but part of why you want to get to the place they are talking to one another and understand the terms before you go in negotiations. >> dana: one thing that is different is before the whole process, before mike pompeo the new secretary of state had gone over to north korea, actually met with him. we didn't have any sort of relationship. so that is different. and i think you are right. it will probably take place at some point but maybe not in two weeks. jamil, thank you. >> thanks, dana. >> dana: we are keeping an eye outside the second justice department meeting on the allegedfein infor -- alleged f.b.i. informant targeting the trump campaign. what will come out of after the political back and forth on who is attending. mitzi: psoriatic arthritis tries to get in my way? watch me. ( ♪ ) mike: i've tried lots of things for my joint pain. now? watch me. ( ♪ ) joni: think i'd give up showing these guys how it's done? please. real people with active psoriatic arthritis are changing the way they fight it. they're moving forward with cosentyx. it's a different kind of targeted biologic. it's proven to help people find less joint pain and clearer skin. don't use if you are allergic to cosentyx. before starting cosentyx you should be checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms of an infection. or if you have received a vaccine, or plan to. if you have inflammatory bowel disease tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. mitzi: with less joint pain, watch me. for less joint pain and clearer skin, ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. >> dana: fox news alert on the two highly anticipated meeting on russian investigation. pulling back the curtain of the revelation about the f.b.i. use of potential informant inside the trump campaign. the first with top intelligence officials ended an hour ago. among those attendees were devin nunes and trey gowdy, democrat adam schiff and white house attorney emmet flood. the second meeting involving congressional leaders and the so-called "gang of eight." bob driscoll is former attorney general and now managing partner of the d.c. office. we are glad to have you here. >> thank you. >> dana: this has felt a little dramatic, the back and forth about the documents and who will get to see them and the briefing. as i understand it, and sort of remember, this is kind of a classic struggle between the branches, the executive branch and the congress. >> right. this kind of negotiation goes on all the time. usually at the staff level. i mean congress has the right to do oversight, congressional oversight leads to transparency in the executive branch functioning, which is all fun. similarly, the executive branch runs its own investigation and can't have secret sources or methods they use or other information that is justifiably confidential exposed through the congressional oversight. it's the kind of information where do you draw that line? we all know that we can all think of extreme examples. if you get down to looking at a particular document it's categorizing that document where it's okay to be turned over or not. it's not resolved in court. it's resolved in this type of negotiation. >> dana: for the gang of eight, that was the request yesterday from pelosi and schumer saying look, the democrats, there is a process for this. the gang of eight exists. that was added yesterday. i want to ask you about the intel community, the former intel community. and what they said about the importance of this process. they said in a letter when overnight activity -- oversight activity is bipartisan it can serve on check and any effort to exclude one party or the other threatens to undermine the oversight function and sends the wrong signal about the professional nonpolitical manner that must govern intelligence activities. how important is that? >> it's important for the perception standpoint. i don't think it's important legally at all. perception wise it does help. frankly, with this whole investigation, i mean that horse is so far out of the barn in terms of having a perception that this is nonpartisan that i'm not sure there is much we can do about it now. but i think that it probably helps if both sides are there. things aren't mischaracterized and there is not a fight over who said what. this is probably some benefit to have both sides there. >> dana: these are classified briefings so by law, nothing should leak out of them. we will see if that happens. >> trump, by the way, the president could declassify anything he wanted. that is the thing about being the head of the executive branch that makes this unusual. >> dana: do you think he is being deferential to the justice department and saying look, i know you have to do your thing so i'll give you room here to run the process as you see fit? >> well, i think he is having it both ways. fairly deftly, frankly, through the use of twitter, he is hammering the department. to keep in the good graces of the freedom caucus types but at the end of the day the fact he hasn't declassified it or demanded it to be released, and he could -- they are subordinates to him -- and he is holding their feet to the fire and make sure they are not overly broad to hold it back. >> dana: another story, now to the mueller investigation. so the back-and-forth to whether or not the president should do an interview. rudy giuliani had said he does not want his client, the president, to do an interview but now he is saying he is open to considering the idea of a trump-mueller interview and says basically his client wants to do it and he wants to make his client happy. where do you think this stands? >> i'm glad he is open to it. he has to be open to it. the president is his client. if you are the lawyer at the end of the day, it's the client's call. i agree with the vast majority of lawyers that i would never recommend that the president do a voluntary interview from a strictly legal perspective. but the president has broader political concerns as well. he may disagree with that. for his intention for overstatement or hyperbole, when these questions require specific answers it wouldn't be a great dynamic for him. >> dana: do you think the president thinks if he does the interview because he maintained his innocence, if he does the interview it will end? >> i think certainly giuliani has said that publicly. i think that may be driving the president's thinking is hey, if i can sit down for four hours, i didn't do anything so really what bad could come out of this? because there is nothing for me to "lie" about. i'll just do it, get it behind me and be done by september as giuliani promised. but the president has been promised this sending before by ty cobb by thanksgiving, christmas and then january. >> dana: i know. >> so, that may be driving what he thinks. which the lawyers may not agree with but at the end of the day we all have clients when you practice law. he is the ultimate client that knows he is in charge. >> dana: all right. bob driscoll, thank you for being here. >> thank you, dana. >> dana: so the trump administration working to bring down the cost of prescription drugs. f.d.a. commissioner scott gottlieb joins me to explain how they are doing it despite opposition from major pharmaceutical companies. ♪ ♪ you said you're not like me, ♪ ♪ never drop to your knees, ♪ ♪ look into the sky for a momentary high, ♪ ♪ you never even tried till it's time to say goodbye, bye ♪ ♪ everybody fights for a little bit of light, i believe. ♪ geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. i'm trying to manage my a1c, then i learn type 2 diabetes puts me at greater risk for heart attack or stroke. can one medicine help treat both blood sugar and cardiovascular risk? i asked my doctor. she told me about non-insulin victoza®. victoza® is not only proven to lower a1c and blood sugar, but for people with type 2 diabetes treating their cardiovascular disease, victoza® is also approved to lower the risk of major cv events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. while not for weight loss, victoza® may help you lose some weight. (announcer) victoza® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not take victoza® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. stop taking victoza® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck or symptoms of a serious allergic reaction such as rash, swelling, difficulty breathing, or swallowing. serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis. so stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have severe pain in your stomach area. tell your doctor your medical history. gallbladder problems have happened in some people. tell your doctor right away if you get symptoms. taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, indigestion, and constipation. side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. change the course of your treatment. ask your doctor about victoza®. >> dana: the food and drug administration taking aim at leading pharmaceutical companies as the trump administration vows to lower the cost of prescription drugs. the f.d.a. publicly calling out firms that block efforts to produce generic versions of many popular medications. dr. scott gottlieb is commissioner of the food and drug administration and joins me now. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> dana: you were going to be on late last week and because of the unfortunate, the sad situation in texas we weren't able to do this. but just last week you made an announcement saying that the issue of getting drugs to generics is a high priority and it's the best way to try to get the prices down. how was that actually met in terms of reaction from the pharmaceutical companies? >> we are taking steps to bring competition in the market across a range of different efforts. last week we published the names of company where generic firms come to us telling us they are having problems getting access to the doses of the brand of the company drugs they need to do clinical studies to get the generic drugs on the market in the first place. so we know that sometimes companies adopt tactics to make it hard for the generic companies to get the closage closage -- dosage for the approval. so we publish a list of the 50 drugs where the generic firms are having a hard time. >> dana: the o.e.c.d., the organization for economic cooperation and development says that the average citizen's prescription drug cost in 2015 in different companies, u.k. is $479. and the united states is $1,116. do you think if you were able to get more of the drugs to the generics that the united states, commitment on that would dramatically decline? >> there is not a silver bullet here. there is no single solution. but getting more competition in the market has an impact on the prices. this is not just jeer if -- generic drugs. it's also branded drugs. we have to have price competition. people with monopolies don't have them in perpetuity. >> dana: let me ask about one other thing. the house passed the right to try bill. take a listen to president trump on that the other day. >> president trump: right to try passed. we'll sign it possible sometime next week. this gives people hope. we can go, they will sign a waiver and they will use what they need. and in this cases they will be helped. >> dana: this has been a big priority for some for a long time. do you think it will have an impact on people seeking some sort of hope in trials? >> we think it would. we have a long-standing commitment to try to provide promising drugs to parents who are out of options and have terminal conditions. we do a good job of that. we get a lot of drugs to people facing long odds other terminal diseases. we think this is a way to get access to products in certain situations and we look forward to implement it. >> dana: i'll ask about another topic sure to get attention if it does spread. that is the issue of ebola. in congo there have been a couple of cases that have come up, that forces there, the healthcare forces are trying to contain it. what sort of risks do we have here in the united states if this does not stay contained? >> well, i think the risk to us in the u.s. is minimal. but we are not out of the woods with respect to the d.r.c. there are some cases popped up there that are unaccounted for and that means we haven't been able to trace back how the people got the infection. so that leaves open to question there may be additional people who are going to come down with ebola there and additional people who are infected. we have had a paradigm change. we have gone from posture of containment to one we are able to offer protection with a new vaccine. >> dana: how is that able to get to the people there? i know distribution to this type of vaccine is sometimes difficult in africa. >> this one in particular because it has to be kept in a very cold temperature. so they have been able to do it. they got it to the major city. up to 8,000 doses in. there are many more doses they could bring in, if they have to. they have been able to bring in the logistics to get the vaccine distributed to the people who have been in contact with some of those infected. >> dana: all right. the f.d.a. commissioner scott gottlieb. thank you for joining us. >> thanks a lot. >> dana: president trump set to present a former navy seal with the medal of honor. we'll bring it to you live when it happens. plus, is the nfl letting politics affect its decision on kneeling during the national anthem. liberty mutual saved us almost $800 when we switched our auto and home insurance. with liberty, we could afford a real babysitter instead of your brother. >>hey. oh, that's my robe. >>is it? when you switch to liberty mutual, you could save $782 on auto and home insurance and still get great coverage for you and your family. call for a free quote today. you could save $782 when liberty stands with you. liberty mutual insurance. with dell small businessout your technology advisors you get the one-on-one partnership you need to grow your business. the dell vostro 15 laptop. contact a dell advisor today. >> dana: as we await a medal of honor ceremony at the white house, the pentagon is reacting to president trump's decision to cancel the north korea summit. the president saying the u.s. military is ready to respond if necessary to foolish or reckless acts by the rogue nation. national security correspondent generaler the griffin joins us. what -- jennifer griffin joins us. what is the pentagon saying? >> defense secretary mattis spoke to the president adding the military is no greater heightened vigilance. >> we are still continuing the maximum pressure campaign. that hasn't changed for us. so in terms we are ready to fight tonight. that has always been the case. >> we are in a boxer stance, ready to respond. we'll see what develops in the next few days. >> mattis was always cautiously optimistic about the talks. >> dana: what can you tell us about the medal of honor recipient that is going to be honored by the president moments from now? >> well, we sat down with him this week. master chief britt slabinski, 26-year navy veteran and member of the seal team six. he is being recognized for his actions on march 4, 2002, in operation anaconda. while trying to insert a seal team on top of takur ghar mountain to set up an observation post. the mission faced problems from the start. seven u.s. service members were killed. five on the rescue team sent in to extract the seals. the team helicopter was shot as it landed. petty officer neil roberts fell out of the helicopter which later crash landed. at that point, britt slabinski who was team leader took the difficult decision to return to the mountain top, knowing they were outgunned and out numbered. roberts, they believed, was still alive. a lot of heroics that day including the army special operations helicopter pilot a alan mack who volunteered to fly back in after the first helicopter took fire but there were a series of tragic events. >> dana: jennifer, why is this medal of honor more controversial than usual? >> well, the incident at what is now known as "roberts ridge" led to a lot of turn in the special ops community. the quick reaction force did not know two previous helicopters had been fired upon. there are questions about why slabinski broke military protocol and landed the helicopter on their objective rather than walk in. air force sergeant john chapman who returned to find navy seal roberts was shot immediately when they got out of the helicopter and left for dead. new evidence suggests he may have survivor and he is also up for the medal of honor. the failed operation led to recriminations in the special ops community they may have left someone behind. what is clear about the incident is there were mistakes made up and down the chain of command. the ceremony at the white house could close the chapter or open new wounds. we'll have our exclusive interview with britt slabinski, the latest medal of honor recipient tonight at 6:00 and 11:00 p.m. >> dana: all right, jennifer. thank you. meantime reaction is pouring in after yesterday's announcement that the nfl will require players to stand during the national anthem. but allow them to stay in the locker room if they want to opt out. president trump who has been critical of players kneeling approving of the new policy in an interview this morning on fox. >> president trump: well, you shouldn't be playing. you shouldn't be there. maybe you shouldn't in the country. you have to stand proudly for the national anthem and the nfl owners did the right thing. i think the people pushed it forward. this was not me. i brought it out. i think the people pushed it forward. >> dana: many players are critical of the new policy including seattle seahawks wide receiver doug baldwin. >> the nfl cares about one thing. that is the nfl. that is the nfl's bottom line. it just felt like again, there was a look of understanding. to me this just further punctuates the tone deafness or the disconnect between the nfl and its players. >> dana: that is the nfl decision. of course, we have more on that soon. president trump arriving in the east room where he will be overseeing the medal of honor recipient. we'll go to him now. >> almighty god we come before you on this special occasion from different backgrounds and cultures and expresses of faith toward you. but we all come as americans and those who love her. those who are sacrificed for her. who have bled for her. and who have died for her. today as we gather in our nation's most sacred home, we have the privilege to witness, to celebrate and to honor an extraordinary naval career and a life that has been set apart and called to service and devotion to this nation and those in it. today we are among the most privilege to watch as the nation's highest honor of special trust, achievement and fidelity is given and received from our nation's commander-in-chief to a leader of naval warriors who opinion was sought, who sacrifices were selfless and whose dedication to duty is unparalleled by any standard. today we lift up and honor our very own master chief britt slabinski as the nation's medal of honor betoed -- bestowed upon him. know the days he has given to the navy and the special warfare were value beyond measure. we as the fellow americans, brother and sister warriors, friends and family alike collectively ask for your blessing upon the great president, this great naval warrior, the great military families in all they do, have done and will continue to do from this day forward on the most solemn occasion, on this sacred ground we as the teammates say well done. finally whether swimming the depths, claiming the highest of mountains or soaring to the heavens as we walk the lonely road of faith, may you always go with you. in your holy name we pray, amen. >> president trump: thank you very much, chaplain. that's beautiful. and thank you to deputy secretary of defense patrick shanahan. thank you, patrick. under-secretary of the navy. thank you, thomas. v.a. secretary nominee, doing a fantastic job for us, robert wilkie. and congressman scott taylor and brian mast. thank you, fellas, very much. thank you. members of the armed forces and distinguished guests, please sit down. that actually worked out very nicely. join me in officially welcoming master chief britt slabinski to the white house. special man. truly brave person. today we pay tribute to britt's heroic service and we proudly present him with our nation's highest military honor. and i would go so far as to say our nation's highest honor. joining britt today is his son bryce. thank you very much. a rising senior at a wonderful school known to world as ohio state. great place. that is a great school. along with britt's sisters brenda, antika and brenda's husband tom. thank you for being here. here as well are britt's significant other christina and her two children john and megan, who we just met in the oval office. that is a special place, too. thank you all for joining us for this really special day and special ceremony. thank you very much. finally we are honored to be joined by several previous congressional medal of honor recipients. would you please stand? would you please stand? thank you. [applause] very, very special people. your names and your irmortal acts of valor -- immortal acts of valor engraverred in the memory of the nation. our nation will always be grateful to you. you know that. today we induct a new name into the world's most exclusive gathering of heroes. that is exactly what it is. britt was raised in northampton, massachusetts. he became an eagle scout by the age of 14. his father was a frogman in the underwater demolition group of the u.s. navy. tough people. while britt was if junior high, his dad brought him to their reunion. britt was inspired by their bond of friendship, their stories of service and their boundless love of country. as soon as he graduated from high school in 1988, britt enlisted in the navy to become a seal. that means he is a physically very strong person. and that also means that he is a mentally very strong person. that is tough. throughout the grueling months of training, britt proved himself every single step of the way. in 1990, he graduated the legendary buds training course and he earned that special badge worn only by the bravest few. the seal trident. he was called to operation enduring freedom in afghanistan in 2002. in the late evening hours of march 3, that year, he led an elite team on a combat mission to establish a secure position on the peak of a 10,000-foot mountain known as takur ghar. britt and his teammates were preparing to exit the helicopter on to the mountain when their aircraft was struck by a machine gun and machine gun fire like they have never seen before. and a rocket propelled grenade from al-qaeda terrorists down below. not a good feeling. as the helicopter lurched away from the assault, petty officer first class neil roberts was flung out of the aircraft. tremendous, tremendous horrible thing to witness. and onto the side of the mountain before the helicopter crashed into the valley below. after surviving barely the violent crash, britt and his team were retrieved by a second helicopter. also by the way, piloted by very brave people. at this point britt received information suggesting their comrade neil roberts, the man thrown out of the helicopter, was probably still alive. the team faced a choice to wait for reinforcements and pretty much safety or to return immediately to the enemy stronghold in the hope of saving neil's life. they would be outmanned, outgun and fighting uphill on a steep icy mountain. and every soldier knows you don't want to fight uphill. they learned that at gettysburg. you don't fight uphill. but they would face freezing temperatures and bitter winds at the highest altitude of battle in the history of the american military. this was the highest point where we ever fought. the odds were not good, they were not in their favor. but britt and his team didn't even hesitate for a moment. they made their decision. for them it was an easy one. they went back to that mountain. when the helicopter reached the mountain peak, they jumped out into a furious onslaught of machine gun fire. like none of them had ever seen before. britt and his teammate sergeant john chapman charged uphill toward the enemy, where john was shot after clearing a bunker. britt continued to engage the enemy. repeatedly exposing himself to horrendous fire. two of his other teammates, stephen turbo tobas and bret maganty suffered very, very serious leg injuries. britt hemped -- britt helped them to safety and called in air strikes as continuous fire drove them ever further down the face of the mountain. got worse and worse, more and more dangerous. he kept going. in a treacherous decent, britt and his men carried turbo through the snow. at one point they fashioned makeshift harness out of a gun strap to hoist turbo down a 13-foot cliff. in itself, treacherous, because if you miss that little area they go down the mountain. there is no toking them. when they could go no further britt tended to the wounded and coordinated his escape until his team was evacuated from enemy territory. serve of on -- seven of the brae men that fought with britt are here. maybe they will stand up. petty officer second class, bret morgante. dangerous place. way to go. chief warrant officer kyle soderberg. thank you, kyle. petty officer secretary class stephen tobas. thank you. chief warrant officer al mack. thank you. sergeant christopher cunningham. master sergeant eric stebner. master chief petty officer still on active duty is quietly not with us today. i just want to thank you all. unbelievable acts of bravery. thank you very much. [applause] thank you. thank you very much. incredible. today we also remember the brave soldiers who gave their lives on that mountain. technical sergeant john chapman. corporal matthew commons. specialist mark anderson. sergeant bradley cross. senior airman jason cunningham. technical sergeant phillip s povac and petty officer first class neil roberts who met a horrible death for whom the events are now down. it's called "the battle of roberts ridge." incredible event. to the gold star family members of those heros who are here today, please stand up. please stand up. [applause] please. >> president trump: it's an honor to have you accept our nation's profound sorrow and a deep love and everlasting gratitude. these were incredible, incredible men. and you can be proud that they were in your family and they are looking down right now and they are very, very proud of you. thank you very much. thank you for being here. thank you. to britt and to all of the men of robert's ridge, you waged a fierce fight against the enemy. and these really have become the enemies of america. and the enemies of all civilization. through your actions you demonstrated that there is no love more pure and no courage more great than the love and courage that burns in the hearts of american patriots. we are free because warriors like you are willing to give their sweat, their blood, and if they have to, their lives for our great nation. britt, you went on to serve many more years in the u.s. navy before finally retiring in 2014. today he continues his life of serving by volunteering with the navy seal foundation and on behalf of gold star families. special, special, incredible families. as one of his fellow service members testifies, he is an amazing father to bryce, who like his dad is now an eagle scout. britt wants the country to know that for him, the recognition he is about to receive is an honor that falls on the whole team. he wants you folks to know that. on the whole team. on every american warrior who fought the forces of terror on that snowy afghan ridge. each of them has entered the eternal chronicle of american valor and american bravery. britt, we salute you. we thank you. we thank god for making you a united states seal. we love our navy seals. they are very special, very incredible people. it's now my tremendous privilege to present to you the congressional medal of honor. and i'd like the military aide to come forward and please read the citation. thank you. >> the president of the united states in name of the congress takes pleasure in presenting the medal of honor to senior chief special warfare operator sea, air and land, britt k. slabinski, united states navy, for service as set forth in the following. for conspicuous gallontry assigned to a joint task force in support of operation enduring freedom. early morning of march 4, 2002, senior chief slabinski led a reconnance team to the assigned area atop a 10,000 foot snow-covered mountain. their insertion helicopter was suddenly riddled with rocket-propelled grenades and smalls arms fire from previously undetected enemy positions. the crippled helicoptered lurched violently and ejected one teammate on the mountain before the pilots were forced to crash land in the valley far below. senior chief slabinski boldly rallied his five remaining team members and marshaled supporting assets for an assault to rescue the stranded teammate. in the reinsertion the team came under fire from three directions. one teammate started moving uphill toward an enemy strong point. without regard for his own safety, senior chief slabinski charged directly toward enemy fire to join his teammate. together, they fearlessly assaulted and cleared the first bunker they encountered. the enemy then unleashed a hail of machine gun fire from a second hardened position only 20 meters away. senior chief slabinski repeatedly exposed himself to deadly fire, to personally engage the second enemy bunker and orient his team's fire in the furious, close quarters firefight. proximity made air support impossible. and after several teammates became casualties, the situation became untenable. senior chief slabinski maneuvered his team to a more defensible position, directed airstrikes in very close proximity to his team's position. and requested reinforcement. as daylight approached, accurate enemy mortar fire forced the team further down the mountain side. senior chief slabinski carried a seriously wounded teammate through deep snow and led a difficult trek across precipitous terrain calling in fire on the enemy which was engaging the team from the surrounding ridges. throughout the next 14 hours, senior chief slabinski stabilize casualties and continued the fight against the enemy until the hill was secured and his team was extracted. by his undaunted courage, bold initiative, leadership and devotion to duty, senior chief slabinski reflected great credit upon himself, and upheld the highest traditions of the united states naval service. [applause] >> as we close today, let us close with one final prayer. let us pray. almighty god, those of us who have had the privilege to witness this very special ceremony are reminded ones again we serve among the greatest of warriors, among the greatest of navies, within the greatest of nations. only because of the brave few who continue to raise their hand and the protection of this great nation and those in it, from those who wished us harm. men as our very own master chief britt slabinski who personifies the cherish of virtues we all strive for, which is courage. courage for when the moment comes and we look into the abyss. and we promise ourselves and others on our honor to do our best, to do our duty, for god and for our country and in so doing forge an unbreakable bond in the heat of battle in the furnace of affliction, which strengthens molds and galvanizes that bond only to come forth as pure gold. in this case, gold in the form of a naval trident. as we close this ceremony today may master chief slabinski take with him the certainty of knowing in the days spent in service to this nation and the pursuit of freedom for all were a value beyond measure, as well as those virtues and values which delivered him to this very moment. may it never be far from our thoughts. the price that he and many others have paid in the pursuit of that free dom and -- freedom and may the inspiration be breathed to each one of us and live in generations to follow, topaz brother and sister warriors, teammate and friends and family of the naval warfare as we wish our teammate and his family godspeed. in our holy name we pray, amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain in your seat until the president has departed. >> dana: what an amazing, moving ceremony today honoring retired navy seal britt slabinski. with the congressional medal of with the congressional medical of honor, the highest honor he could get. i'm joined by michael meehan, and collin reid. we were going to have a debate about politics, but we're not going to do that. there's a special connection. not just the united states celebrating britt slabinski today, but massachusetts and both of you are from massachusetts. i'll let you say a few words in the minute or so we have left. collin, i'll start with you. >> in a city that is too often filled with ranker and insults, it's nice to see that. it was just a nice moment. >> amazing, too, michael when you think -- you were headed into memorial day weekend where we remember the people that served our country and gave the ultimate sacrifice. it's appropriate to honor somebody like britt slabinski that tried to save their lives. your thoughts. >> born and raised in massachusetts like the navy seal, 250 years ago, massachusetts was the home of the original patriot. great to see him being honored in such a way. >> we'll have you back to talk politics. today, not time for that. a reminder, jennifer griffin's interview with britt slabinski airs on "special report" at 6:00 p.m. thanks for joining us. i'm dana perino. trace gallagher is in for shepard smith. he'll have more? just a moment. >> trace: president trump calling after his meeting with kim jong-un. >> i decided to terminate the summit june 12. >> trace: ahead, the reaction. what happens now. did north korea actually ghost us? house and senate lawmaker in a meeting with officials. and the president talking about a spy. so today an attempt to learn the truth. the white house debating whether to slap new taxes on foreign car imports. could have a major impacted on american car companies and their workers. we'll see how wall street is

Related Keywords

Iran , Afghanistan , Congo , South Korea , Whitehouse , District Of Columbia , United States , Libya , North Korea , Texas , Pyongyang , P Yongyang Si , Mountain Peak , China , Japan , Seoul , Soul T Ukpyolsi , Capitol Hill , Massachusetts , Americans , American , America , South Korean , Afghan , Korea , Statescelebrating Britt , Matthew Commons , Doug Baldwin , Collin Reid , Dana , Kim Jong , Adam Schiff , Robert Ridge , Neil Roberts , Jennifer Griffin , John Chapman , Kim Jongun , John , Ghar Britt , Al Mack , Dana Perino , Trey Gowdy , Bradley Cross , Michael Meehan , Richard Haas , Rudy Giuliani , Scott Gottlieb , Bob Driscoll ,