Manchin on how Trump's tariffs will play in swing states

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Manchin on how Trump's tariffs will play in swing states

Democratic senator is up for re-election in battleground West Virginia.

This is a rush transcript from "The Story," March 6, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: Hello there, Bill Hemmer. I'm glad you brought all those things up, because we have a lot to talk about tonight. Good to see you as always, Bill. Breaking tonight on the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, there'll be people -- I'm not going to be specific, but there'll be people that change. They always change. Sometimes they want to go out and do something else, but they all want to be in the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: President Trump, no doubt, knew what was coming just hours before the White House confirmed Chief Economic Advisor Gary Cohn is out.
Cohn, reportedly at odds with the president over the issue of tariffs on steel and aluminum. But the steely-eyed President Trump dug in on that issue in a press conference with the Swedish prime minister earlier in the afternoon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm here to protect and one of the reasons I was elected is I'm protecting our workers, I'm protecting our companies, and I'm not going to let that happen. So, we're doing tariffs on steel. We cannot lose our steel industry, it's a fraction of what it once was. So, that fact is, we've been mistreated as a country for many years, and it's not just going to happen anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you avoid this escalating trade war?

TRUMP: Well, we'll have to see. You know, when we're behind on every single country, trade wars aren't so bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So, is the president on the right track here? And will this position win him votes in America, while losing support perhaps in the beltway and clearly on Wall Street? Democrat Joe Manchin, here with us in just a moment. But we begin with that breaking news with Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts joining us tonight from the south lawn. Good to see you tonight, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you too, Martha. You know, the president knew that Gary Cohn was thinking about leaving when he made statements at that press conference this afternoon about more people leaving the White House. But I'm told that the president and Cohn met just after that, and that's when Cohn said let's make the announcement today. This has been rumored for weeks. It hit a fevered pitch late last week when the president announced that he was going to be slapping punitive tariffs on foreign aluminum and steel.

You mentioned that Gary Cohn was fiercely opposed to these tariffs. So, looks like he lost that battle. But I'm told that, you know, Cohn didn't leave because of any one thing. He didn't leave because he lost the battle on tariffs. That he's not the sort of person who would, you know, pick up -- take his ball and go home just because he lost a single game, that there was more to it than that. And he also was coming to the end of what he wanted to do. He was involved in getting the tax reform through, he was involved in getting regulatory reform through and other changes like that, and then he was -- he'd just decided that it was time to move on.

He appears to be leaving on good terms. The president saying, 'Gary has been my chief economic advisor. He did a superb job in driving our agenda, helping deliver historic tax cuts and reforms, and unleashing the American economy once again. He's a rare talent, and I thank him for his dedicated service to the American people.' From Gary Cohn, 'It has been an honor to serve my country and enact pro-growth economic policies to the benefit of the American people, in particular the passage of historic tax reform. I'm grateful to the president for giving me this opportunity. I wish him and the administration great success in the future.'

I just got another statement. This one is very interesting. From Mick Mulvaney, who is the president's Budget Director. He said, 'As a right- wing conservative, and founding member of the Freedom Caucus, I never expected that the co-worker I would work closest and best with at the White House would be a globalist. Gary Cohn is one of the smartest people I've ever worked with.' There was a difference between the president and some of his top advisors like Mick Mulvaney, like Peter Navarro, and Gary Cohn.
They were all very much America first; he's very much a globalist. But it's interesting that Mick Mulvaney said that he could work so closely with him. As to how long he'll be here, I'm told several weeks until another head of the National Economic Council comes in. You know, when you are the president's chief economic advisor, you've got to have somebody good at the helm. I'm told, a couple of possibilities: Kevin Hasset, who is currently the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisor; or if the president goes outside, maybe somebody Larry Kudlow. We'll see.

MACCALLUM: Very interesting night. John, thank you so much. John Roberts at the White House tonight. So, President Trump's tariffs proposal, in some ways, weighs into some territory that's more comfortable for Democrats. Could it provide cover in some ways for some members of the GOP in a play that could swing wavering Trump voters in some cases and perhaps some independents back in his direction? He and his party need voters in the toss up states -- the steel states some of them to stay in power. So, here now, one of those toss up states senators up for reelection, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Senator, it's good to have you with us tonight. Thanks for being here on "THE STORY"

SEN. JOE MANCHIN, D--WEST VIRGINIA: And good to be with you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Your take on Gary Cohn's departure and on the president stick-to-it-iveness on this issue of tariffs?

MANCHIN: Well, let me speak about the president's movement on tariffs. I support 1,000 percent. I come from West Virginia; we were affected. There are good jobs that we lost -- I mean, good paying jobs with benefits. These are jobs that people never thought would ever have a chance of coming back. President Trump is giving them a chance for that to come back now. We're talking about fair trade. Everybody in America is for fair trade.
This free-trade hasn't worked out well for American or American jobs. This is not about the jobs or Main Street. This is about Wall Street pushing back now. And Main Street, hopefully, that -- those are the people that voted for President Trump, and he's respecting that, and I think coming through on the commitment he's made to make sure that we're treated fairly throughout the world. It's going to bring a lot of people to the table, Martha, that saying all we have these trade wars. I don't think that will happen. I think they'll sit down and re-evaluate the deals that we've made over the years.

MACCALLUM: Absolutely, and that's clearly what the president wants to do. And you know, the president has had this on his mind for 25 years. He has been very unhappy with the deals that we had -- Japan back in the 80s; with China in the 90s and going forward.

MANCHIN: I agree.

MACCALLUM: He sees the foot print of China in all of these steel transactions, whether they're coming from China proper or whether they're being funneled through other smaller countries. He says they have a much bigger foot print in the steel industry that is evident.

MANCHIN: Martha, he's exactly correct. Just connect the dots, China produces 50 percent of the world's supply of steel. They produce half of the world's supply. We use more, we import more steel than any other nation on Earth. Just connect the dots. And he's exactly spot on. So, we have a president that has the spine to start saying, wait a minute, we've been taken advantage of for far too long. West Virginia and all over rural America and rural -- all over every rural state in America have suffered.
We have a chance to fight back. We want a level playing field. We'll compete any one leveling. And what we're saying is if a country is going to charge us 20 percent to put our product in their market, shouldn't we reciprocate and charge the same coming in? Why should we give up our market? Why would you concede to that?

MACCALLUM: Does this -- I think, you know, the president said as much that he believes that this will reopen negotiations for NAFTA, right?

MANCHIN: I agree.

MACCALLUM: With Mexico and with Canada. And he also has said that he likes bilateral trade agreements. He wants to sit down with the countries individually. Do you think he can succeed in that? And do you think the backlash that Gary Cohn and others are so worried about is rising prices all over this country that will take a bite out of the economic growth that we've seen?

MANCHIN: No, I hear the saber rattling. I understand. Wall Street -- you know, if everything is not just perfect with Wall Street, my goodness, the whole sky is falling and the world is coming apart. That's not it at all!
I agree with the president on bilateral. I have never been a fan of multi- lateral. You have five or six different countries. We really sincerely are trying to give some advantages and help third world nations pick themselves up, but there's other people in the mix. And before you know it, we're giving super advantages that countries don't need; they should be on even bar. So, I think this is absolutely correct in what the president is doing. Bilateral -- let's deal directly with Mexico, let's deal directly with Canada which has been favored nation treatment. I think we can deal one on one and do much better and achieve our goals of helping those that need help, but making sure the ones that don't, can compete on a fair level playing field.

MACCALLUM: Yes. I thought -- I mean, the president went after the E.U. in the conference today with the prime minister from Sweden. I thought it was very interesting. His response, the Swedish prime minister was, well, you know what, we're going to come to the table and we're going to talk. And I think that was the president has in mind in all of these relationships re-examining them. Senator, thank you very much. Good to see you.

MANCHIN: Martha, let me just tell you this. They're not going to walk away from the greatest market on the Earth -- the United States of America. They're not! They want to see if we can -- OK, can we work something out and get another bite at the apple? Absolutely. But it's going to be more on a fair basis, not on basically one sided. That's it.

MACCALLUM: We will see. Senator Joe Manchin, thank you very much, sir.
From West Virginia. Good to see you tonight.

MANCHIN: Thank you, Martha. Bye-bye.

MACCALLUM: So, President Trump getting hit from all sides on this trade issue, and he has lost his top economic advisor, as we talked about today.
Although, as you heard John Roberts' report, there were many issues that were in play with Gary Cohn's decision. But this was one element that may have weighed into the mix. United Steelworkers International President, Leo Gerard, joins me now. Mr. Gerard, thank you very much for being here tonight.

LEO GERARD, PRESIDENT, UNITED STEELWORKERS INTERNATIONAL: Good to be with you.

MACCALLUM: I guess, you know, one of the questions is: how many steel jobs do you think can come back to America as a result of this?

GERARD: Look, I think that it depends a lot on how aggressive the president is with those countries that cheat. One of the challenges that we have is that we have a lot of countries, including countries like Canada that play by the rules, and, in fact have a trade deficit with the United States on steel. But we have countries like China, as Senator Manchin, was saying, China doesn't prepare and build up 50 percent of the world's aluminum and 50 percent of the world's steel. What China actually does is they do over-capacity so they can use the over-capacity to depress markets. And one of the markets that they've been depressing on aggressive days is for 25 years is America. They have almost $600 billion trade surplus on steel with the rest of the world, and they're -- anywhere they can put that, they're putting it. If you take aluminum -- if you take aluminum, China said three years ago that they're going to dominate the world in solar panels even if they have to sell under the cost of production. You can't make a solar panel without aluminum. We had 15 smelters, we're down to four.

MACCALLUM: In terms of being competitive, in terms of labor costs, and all of that, you know, how will you deal with that?

GERARD: Look, I think that -- for the president, I think he needs to separate those countries that are what continuously violating trade rules. I call them the 'evil doers'. Countries like China, South Korea, India, Brazil, and in particular China. And so, when we have an accumulated trade deficit of over seven trillion, when we have an annual trade deficit of 800 billion with these countries that cheat, we have to tackle them with the president and to say that we're not going to let you do that anymore.

MACCALLUM: Understood.

GERARD: We'd like to set rules. And we have to have countries that will follow those rules.

MACCALLUM: And I'm curious what the -- you know, how that impact shifts over to increasing steel jobs in America? And the president has said that he believes, and you have to have a vibrant steel industry as a matter of national security, as well as a matter of being trade competitive. But you know, in terms of translating those union steel jobs in America, can you be competitive at those salaries and those wages? Can you do that?

GERARD: Look, here's the thing. In the United States and in Canada, we produce steel at the lowest man-hours were done with the least carbon emissions -- that's the most environmentally steel industry there is. So, just this today, the U.S. Steel announced that they're going to re-open their facilities in Granite City. When you talk about competition, we have to have fair competition. South Korea built a new oil country tubular mill. They've built it with Chinese steel that had been sanctioned by America. They sold that Chinese steel to South Korea that cut rate. South Korea built in other country a tubular mill that produces zero drilling, and they don't drill one foot in their country and they're flooding our market with those oil country tubular goods that they had subsidized by china. There's a lot of that trans-shipment that goes on, and we need to take it on.

MACCALLUM: Sir, thank you. Leo Gerard, United Steelworkers President. Good to you have here tonight, sir.

GERARD: Thank you. Glad to be on.

MACCALLUM: Thank you. So, brave young survivor of the Parkland school shooting has a side of the story from the students there that you have not heard very much, and he claims that the media has completely ignored him and others who feel like he does. And despite all of the investigations and arguing over Russian meddling in the 2016 election, what if we told you that the Russian are on track to have, perhaps, continued influence in the
2008 elections? Who battled that out? Two congressmen investigating the collusion that may or may not existed in the 2016 election, Pete King and John Ratcliffe. A lot of headlines breaking in this story tonight. They join us moments away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Certainly, there was meddling and probably there was meddling from other countries, and maybe other individuals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DAN COATS, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: There obviously is concern about an on-going effort of Russians to interfere with our elections. The White House is well aware of that, as we all are. And agencies have been tasked to address this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: That was the Direct of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, doing perhaps a little bit of clean up after last week's statement by NSA Director Mike Rogers who suggested that the White House hadn't given them additional go ahead to try to effort, disrupting any potential Russian plot to interference with the 2008 midterms. Here's the president talking about this. Watch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But are you worried about Russia trying to meddle in the midterm elections?

TRUMP: No, because we'll counteract whatever they do. We'll counteract it very strongly, and we are having strong back up systems. It's old fashioned, but it's always good to have a paperback up system of voting.
It's called paper.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So, election day is now just eight months away until the midterms, if you can't believe it. Chief National Correspondent Ed Henry joins us live from Washington tonight with how all of this played out. Good evening, Ed.

ED HENRY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Martha, great to see you. Democrats have been complaining for over a year now that President Trump will directly admit Russia interfered in the 2016 campaign.
Now, he said it, and it's still not good enough. At this news conference with the Swedish prime minister, the president flat out admitted Russia 'meddled in the last election', but made the important distinction that there's no evidence that they influenced any votes or swung the overall election. That was not good enough for Democrat Jackie Speier, who quickly went on CNN to flatly charge the president in her words as being blackmailed by Russia.

She didn't cite any evidence, then she claimed cyber experts had told her they cannot say for sure if voting machines were hacked. But when pressed on whether there's any evidences that votes were actually impacted by Russian interference, she admitted she doesn't have evidence. Democrats have also jumped on those reports that the Trump's State Department has not spent any of the $120 million fund to counter interference in the midterms.
But as you noted, Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, testified today that senior officials are engaged in stopping Russian interference -- other countries as well. Even as he did admit there's not yet a coherent strategy. The president, though, vowed Russia will be stopped.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Russians had no impact on our votes whatsoever. But certainly, there was meddling and probably there was meddling from other countries, and maybe other individuals. And I think you have to be really watching very closely. You don't want your system of votes to be compromised in any way, and we won't allow that to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Meanwhile, Fox has learned that in the final months of the FBI's investigation into Hillary Clinton's email server, they spotted an irregularity in the meta-data suggesting there had been breach, possibly by a hostile foreign power like Russia, China, and North Korea, or someone else. The lead FBI agent on the case, Peter Strzok, was told of this and we're told he did not really follow up. A fact that is now being probed by the Justice Department's inspector general who remembers also revealing the conduct of then Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. McCabe was overseeing the Clinton probe despite his wife's ties to the Clinton camp, so he had Trump critics inside the FBI, spun up about interference in the last campaign but not quite as curious about possible foreign meddling with the Clinton's server, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Ed, thank you. Good to see you. So, joining me now, Congressman Pete King, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee; and Congressman John Ratcliffe, who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, both are on the House Homeland Security Committee as well. So, we've got all the committees covered. Gentlemen, thank you. Good to see both of you tonight. You know, first on this issue -- let me go to John Ratcliffe, Representative Ratcliffe, on this issue of a second special counsel, is that necessary?

REP. JOHN RATCLIFFE, R-TEXAS, MEMBER OF THE HOUSE JUDICIARY AND HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEES: I think it is necessary, Martha. You know, I had the opportunity not to just review the Republican FISA memo and the Democratic rebuttal memo to that, but also the underlying FISA application, and each of the three renewal applications. And it was during that review that I really came to the conclusion that a second special counsel was unavoidable, because some of these questions about a FISA abuse, the folks that would have to answer that would not be within the jurisdiction of the Inspector General Michael Horowitz. And so, a second special counsel is not just appropriate but necessary.

MACCALLUM: All right, and one of the reasons, Congressman King, that is becoming perhaps an option that needs to be pursued is the latest, you know, piece of information. It all just sort of keeps piling up about Peter Strzok, that there was reason to think that he found something on Hillary Clinton's server that indicated that there may have been exposure to foreign governments on that server. And I just want to play, this is from James Comey's presser when he exonerated Hillary Clinton on July 5th, 2016. Here's what he said about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES COMEY, FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE FBI: With respect to potential computer intrusion by hostile actors, we did not find direct evidence that Secretary Clinton's personal e-mail in its various configurations since2009 was hacked successfully. We assessed it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton's personal email accounts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Yes, I mean, I remember hearing that, Congressman King, and I though, wow, that's a big deal. Now, we learn that the language and Peter Strzok changed some of the language on all of this, changed from reasonably likely that hostile actors gained access to the Clinton account, and it was possible when James Comey said if there is sort of a softer phrase. What do you make of this, Congressman King?

REP. PETER KING, R-N.Y., MEMBER OF THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE AND HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: Yes. You know, I remember hearing out at the same time as you did. At that time, I think Jim Comey had a lot more credibility than he has now. And looking back on that, what he said then, and we're learning now, to me, it's just one more example of -- it appears to many of us that the FBI investigation was not conducted fully, that there are many unanswered questions. And that's why, really, very reluctantly, on my part, is I've never supported a special counsel before.
I think in this case, it is essential that there'd be one. I agree with Trey Gowdy. I agree with John Ratcliffe. Because there are so much interconnections here, there's so many potential conflicts of interest, and there's so many people beyond the scope of the inspector general. And we can't expect the FBI and the Justice Department to investigate themselves.

MACCALLUM: And one of the other big issues that is coming to the forefront now, Congressman Ratcliffe, is this question of Andrew McCabe and whether or not he was leaking information to the press during all of this which would be inappropriate, correct?

RATCLIFFE: Well, it wouldn't be just inappropriate, it would be a potential violation of law. Martha, with respect to both Andrew McCabe and Peter Strzok, these developments are not exhibit one and two, they're exhibits 101 and 102. I mean, I've literally seen hundreds of text messages and e-mails, and seen sworn testimony and other documents, all of which speak to these unprecedented actions and decisions and irregularities that, again, I think underscore the need for a second special counsel to look into all of these issues.

MACCALLUM: You know, I want to play James Comey because admitted in his testimony that he had leaked information that was FBI information, a memorandum that he wrote on an FBI computer to the press. Watch this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COMEY: My judgment was I needed to get that out into the public square. And so, I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter. I didn't do it myself for a variety of reasons, but I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Does that raise a question, Peter King, about the culture of FBI, and whether or not there was, you know, an effort to get information out there into the public forum?

KING: Yes. First of all, if Comey felt it's so important to get it out there, why did he not do it himself? Why be sneaky about it and leak it through somebody else? Also, to me, it shows that Jim Comey was very selective in his moral outrage. He never did a memo, at least intended one, about the fact that Loretta Lynch several times leaned on him to change the terminology of the Hillary Clinton investigation, to calling it -- I don't know what she called an issue or even or something like that. She was definitely leaning on him for an info into the investigation, he never went public with that, never wrote a memo about it, never leaked that out. But instead, he leaks conversations with the president of the United States. So, it shows that leaking was almost an art form with these guys.

MACCALLUM: All right. He wanted it to be called a matter -- she wanted it to be called a matter.

KING: Right, right.

MACCALLUM: Which she passed along to him. Do you think you're going to get a special counsel, before I let you go, Congressman Ratcliffe, is that going to happen?

RATCLIFFE: Well, the request has been made. Attorney General Sessions has received that. That'll his decision. Again, I think that one is absolutely necessary given all the facts. Again, we've to restore people's faith and trust in our justice system in the Department of Justice and the FBI. And very clearly, it's shaken right now. And I think one way to get there is have a special counsel look at these issues that are now clearly in the public view and over which they have a great deal of mistrust.

MACCALLUM: That as we wait for the Inspector General Michael Horowitz's report which some of this wouldn't fall under his purview, and that's one of the reasons. Representative Ratcliffe, thank you. Representative King, always a pleasure. Thanks to see you both.

RATCLIFFE: You bet.

KNIG: Thank you, Martha. Thank you.

MACCALLUM: Thank you, gentlemen. So, a story on international intrigue developing tonight after a former Russian spy released in a deal with the United States turns up passed out on a park bench next to his daughter both of them apparently poisoned. And the story gets stranger from there.
Plus, the midterm elections officially kicked off today in Texas. The first primary gets under way. So, did Democrats show up in droves like many in the party are predicting that they will? And what can we expect come November? Larry Sabato looks in the crystal ball with us after the break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAL JILLSON, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR: As an incumbent, you always should be running scared. This is an unsettled environment, and you've got to treat it seriously.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARTHA MACCALLUM, THE STORY HOST: Elections, elections, the polls are about to close in the first primary of 2018, voters in Texas casting the very first votes for this whole process as it gets underway in the battle for the control of congress. And Democrats are banking on anger over President Trump and a running -- a guy who is pro-pot, a former punk rock guitarist turned a very popular congressman, to try to unseat Senator Ted Cruz. Joining me, Doctor Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's center for politics. Larry, always good to see you.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR CENTER FOR POLITICS UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: This is a fun one to watch, this race that is developing. All of them, really, in Texas. You've got for the first time in 25 years, you've got Democrats running in all 36 districts in Texas.

SABATO: Yes. And I think that caught people's attention as well as the turnout we've seen so far. You know, Texas is a state, essentially, that has gone heavily Republican. And yet, the demographics of Texas, the changing population in Texas, suggests that eventually, and I don't know what year that is, it's going to be competitive again.

MACCALLUM: You know, in terms of this potential -- Beto O'Rourke, who is running on the Democratic side, potentially against Senator Ted Cruz. And Cruz said, yes, he's absolutely concerned about him. He is -- there's a picture of him more recently. We also have video of him playing at his punk-rock band back in 1994, which for some people is going to be a big plus, you know. There he is. Can we play some video of that band? So there he is in the red t-shirt. But he's a very outstanding citizen now as everybody can see in his current congressional picture. Does he present a threat to Ted Cruz?

SABATO: Yes. I certainly wouldn't call him the favorite. I would call Senator Cruz the favorite. But Senator Cruz is correct to recognize that this is a real challenge. This will not be an easy one because the atmosphere of the year is not going to be easy for Republicans. And Congressman O'Rourke, regardless of that band there, Martha, which will play well in Austin.

MACCALLUM: Definitely.

SABATO: He is a real threat. He's a very good politician.

MACCALLUM: So in terms of the big picture and you look at the things that, you know, may have -- maybe negatives for President Trump. Now we just talked to the head of the steel workers union. There's a lot that this president is doing that will continue to play well with the people who elected him. What do you think about the Trump headwinds, are they real?

SABATO: They are. They vary from place to place. Obviously, they're going to be less intense in red states and more intense in blue states, and maybe some of the purple competitive states. But here's the key, Martha, this is a midterm election, and you're going to see a dramatic decline in turnout. And the key question for every midterm election is, which side is more motivated, which side is more energized, which side will have a larger percentage of their voters turnout. So far, counting 2017, it's been the Democrats. Will it still be that way in November? That's 8 long months away. Who knows?

MACCALLUM: Well, that's why we have the crystal ball, and that's why we have you. Larry, good to see you as always. Thank you, Larry.

SABATO: Thanks, Martha. OK.

MACCALLUM: So a brave young survivor of the Parkland school shooting says that he has a possible solution that he feels is being ignored by the media. Plus, a former double agent who used to spy on Russia is now in critical condition in a London hospital along with his daughter. Judith Miller and Marc Thiessen weigh in next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNINDENTIFIED MALE: I'd say the governments around the world that no attempt to take innocent life on U.K. soil will go either unsanctioned or unpunished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: A story of international intrigue is developing tonight, as a former Russian spy and his daughter are fighting for their lives in a U.K. hospital, suspected of being poisoned while they were sitting on a park bench. The case even more bizarre because he is was one of the spies who was traded in a famous exchange that happened on an Austrian tarmac for spies who are in the U.S. We sent back 10 sleeper agents. Remember this story? She was all over the New York Post and elsewhere. Anna Chapman once dubbed Russia's most glamorous secret agent. Trace Gallagher has the story and the background on this for us from the Westcoast newsroom tonight. Hi, Trace.

TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Martha. Counterterrorism police in Britain are handling this case. Yet, they're yet not calling it terrorism or an assassination attempt. Instead, they say it's unusual circumstances. On Sunday afternoon, former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, were seen on surveillance camera walking on Salisbury about 100 miles south of London, 30 minutes later both were found collapsed on a bench. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Their eyes were just completely white (INAUDIBLE) and they were frothing at the mouth. And the man went stiff, his arm still (INAUDIBLE). There still looking dead straight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Investigators are now retracing the victim's steps to get a better idea of what they consumed and who they came in contact with. Sergei Skripal is a former Russian army intelligence officer and spy who admitted passing state secrets along to British foreign intelligence. He was in prison in Russia, but set free in 2010 during that prisoner swap you mentioned with the U.K. and U.S. that involved Anna Chapman, the Russian double agent and model, who blended into American society and later became the basis for the TV show The Americans. Experts point out the Russian had a long history of developing and using undetectable poisons, and the apparent poisoning of Skripal and his daughter is being compared to Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian spy who died in 2006 after drinking polonium-laced tea in London. British authorities say they won't stand for another assassination attempt on their soil. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNINDENTIFIED MALE: While it would be wrong to prejudge the investigation, I can reassure the hats that should evidence emerge that implies state responsibility, then her majesty government will respond appropriately and robustly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Russia denies involvement which does not surprise British businessman, Bill Browder, who himself is a public enemy of President Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNINDENTIFIED MALE: They lie about Litvinenko. They lie about shooting down the Malaysian airliner over Ukraine. They lie about troops in Crimea. They lie about the Olympics. So we can't trust what they say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: And it's notable that Sergei Skripal's 43-year-old son died last year in Russia from an unknown illness. Martha.

MACCALLUM: Yeah. He was concerned, no doubt. Trace, thank you very much.
Joining us now, Judith Miller, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, and Marc Thiessen, American Enterprise institute scholar, both are Fox News contributors. Welcome to both of you. Judith, what's your reaction to all this tonight?

JUDITH MILLER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: well, as critical as I've been of Russian interference in our elections, I have to say on this, Martha, I'm really skeptical because I don't think we know enough yet about the agent that was used to try to assassinate this man and his daughter. We don't know enough about motive. For example, why would the Russian government try and kill someone whom President Medvedev had pardoned and had been swapped -- we're now talking about his information being 15-years-old. And why would the Russians.

MACCALLUM: Sometimes they carry a grudge.

MILLER: They do, and they have a long history of trying to assassinate critics and enemies in London.

MACCALLUM: That's right.

MACCALLUM: In 1978, in addition to (INAUDIBLE). On this one, I have to really be skeptical and reserve judgment because I don't think we know enough to make a decision.

MACCALLUM: The Russians are suspected in the killing of 14 different people over the course of the last 20 years in similar circumstances to this, Marc.

MARC THIESSEN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah, absolutely. Clearly, it wasn't a mugging gone wrong. First of all, his son died -- he has had three family members die in the last two years. Now, he and his daughter are in the hospital. They were foaming at the mouth and three emergency workers who tried to help them were actually hospitalized. So this was clearly -- this wasn't -- something that was just a random attack. This was clearly an assassination attempt. Now was it the Russian government. Maybe he was in the wrong ways with an oligarch. A lot of these guys try to do business in Russia. After they leave their connections are in the intelligence world. So we don't know. I agree with Judith, we don't know exactly what it is, but it was an assassination attempt of some kind. And Russia has a long history of doing this. Alexander Litvinenko was mentioned. He was assassinated with polonium in his tea in London. Litvinenko, reason he was assassinated because he was investigating the assassination of a Russian journalist who was investigating war crimes in Chechnya, and she was poisoned first and survived that, and then shot in her apartment in Moscow.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: That's Litvinenko after he drank the tea and ended up in the hospital. It's just unbelievable.

MILLER: That's polonium.

MACCALLUM: So in terms of retaliation, we heard Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London, and now the foreign secretary, talking about, perhaps, you know, some sort of change in their involvement in the World Cup games. You know, you get them in football where everybody lives in Europe, and that would be something that would hit home in Russia. What do you expect to see as a result, Judith?

MILLER: Well, I think if it turns out that the Russian government was involved in this. Yes, he will see something like the U.K. refusing to appear in the World Cup with the Russians. That would hurt -- as you point out. But I think part of the problem here, Martha, and Marc also talked about it, is that there hasn't really been severe sanctions. Russia has paid no price for its previous assassinations. If it turns out that there is Russian involvement, there must be a price to be paid.

MACCALLUM: Just a half a minute here, George Nader of the UAE is now, apparently, an informant, is speaking to Robert Mueller with regard to the Russia investigation, any quick thoughts on that? That's your territory for sure.

MILLER: Well, I must say that George Nader has been around Washington for a long time representing a lot of different people or claiming to. The UAE informs me that he was never a registered lobbyist for them. So let's see who he really is and what information he really has.

MACCALLUM: All right. Thank you, guys. Good to see you both tonight.

THIESSEN: Thanks, Martha.

MILLER: Thank you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Thank you. So the young survivors of the Parkland school shooting had emerged as loud and powerful voices in the fight for tighter gun laws.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every politician who took donations from the NRA, shame on you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Are, however, students who feel differently than those students, and they feel that their voices have not been heard in all of this. Stoneman Douglas sophomore, Kyle Kashuv is one of them. He wants to speak his mind and we will give him the opportunity to do just that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Tomorrow marks 3 weeks since the Parkland school shooting, and many voices had emerged in the fight for tougher gun laws, including many of the students of Stoneman Douglas High School.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: They say that tougher gun laws do not decrease gun violence. We call the end.

UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Those politicians are cowards and they won't. They won't gather the strength to even to stand up to the NRA like Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, or Donald Trump.

UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Rubio, it's hard to look at you and not look down the barrel of an AR-15, and not look at Nikolas Cruz.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Tough moments. But one student that you may not have seen of all these coverage has a different point of view, and he feels that that point of view has been ignored in all of this. Kyle Kashuv is a 16-year- old junior at Stoneman Douglas. He's a conservative and a strong supporter of the second amendment. Kyle, thank you for being here tonight. Just as your fellow students have every right to have their voices heard, you also have a right to hear your voice heard. Not to dwell on it, but tell us when your experience was that day? Where were you when it started?

KYLE KASHUV, STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: So I was in an adjacent building. So I was in a class, there was 20 minutes left. We just heard the fire alarm ring. And so we were walking outside. I was towards of the end of the group because I didn't want to go out. All of sudden we heard an announcement that said that we have to leave. So I evacuated and we heard two little pops and I thought they were textbooks falling. So we quickly ran into another room, and then we hid there for 2 hours until SWAT came to take us out.

MACCALLUM: And you feel that your perspective on this issue is worth having everyone hear as well. Tell me about it, what is it?

KASHUV: Well, my perspective is that we have to focus first on what we can achieve and that is bipartisan change. That is mental health restrictions and deeper background checks. The debate on gun control should be a broader discussion that we needed to have after we can secure schools.
That is a priority.

MACCALLUM: And Andrew Pollack whose daughter Meadow died at Parkland, he was here last night, and he has the same perspective. It's not that he doesn't ever want to talk about that, but he wants to pass things that you feels can be passed first, right?

KASHUV: Yes, ma'am. I think that's absolutely paramount. We have to make sure that we secure the school first and make sure this will never happen again, and only then can we have the gun control debate.

MACCALLUM: I want to play David Hogg who has been out there a lot. He's very familiar to Americans. Here he is speaking out on his side. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNINDENTIFIED MALE: I hung up on the White House the other day. They actually called me the day before the listening session and asked if we were going to come. And I said I'm not coming because we expect President Trump to come to the CNN town hall. I ended on this message with them, I said, President Trump, we don't need to listen to President Trump.
President Trump needs to listen to the screams of the children and the schemes of this nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: What do you think about that, Kyle?

KASHUV: You know, I'm really trying to control my anger on what he said, because, you know, the president calls you and it shows he wants to make a change and you're talking about bipartisan change. And the one man who controls -- who leads our nation, you know, comes to you and say, look, let's do something, let's make it happen, and you hang-up the phone on him?
That's so hypocritical. David Hogg was like we have to make a change.
Let's make this happen. And then, the White house calls you and it was like, let's do it. I totally agree let's make the change and you hang-up on him, and then you brag about it on national television. It's extremely counterproductive.

MACCALLUM: Have you talk to him? Have you told him how you feel about all this?

KASHUV: I haven't talked to David Hogg about this, no.

MACCALLUM: What's your hope for the immediate change? I know the legislation is going through Florida right now.

KASHUV: Well, I'm really hopeful, because right now I see a lot of positive legislation is being passed. We see that mental health restrictions are getting in place and deeper background checks. And I really think that it represents how non-divided our country is and how decisive we can be.

MACCALLUM: Kyle, thank you. We're sorry for what happened to you and all of your friends and everything at your school. And we're glad that you have a chance to get your feelings out there about how you feel that we can move forward as a nation. Thank you, Kyle.

KASHUV: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: Keep in touch. All right. Take care.

KASHUV: OK.

MACCALLUM: Next, why the family of Brendan Tevlin is breathing a sigh of relief tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Finally tonight, a story that we covered extensively at Fox, has in part come to an end tonight. A New Jersey family has been spared a painful trial after the horrific murder of their son at the hands of a lone wolf terrorist. In June of 2014, Ali Muhammad Brown, executed 19-year-old Brendan Tevlin as he sat on his car at a red light. Brown was on a, quote, personal jihad, to avenge U.S. policy in the Middle East. He had killed three people in Washington state, two because they were gay before slaying the young college sophomore. The story happened roughly around the time of the Michael Brown case and others that had garnered national attention. Today, Brown pled guilty to the murder, robbery and terrorism in this case. The Tevlin family has been, quote, dreading a long-drawn-out trial where they would have to endure the details of Brendan's death. Prosecutors did what they could to comfort the family today and telling them, quote, that the bottom line is that Brendan's killer will die in jail. Thanks for watching tonight everybody. That's our story. We'll see you back here tomorrow at 7:00. Tucker Carlson is up next.

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