56 percent of adults say they are stressed over 2020 election

This is a rush transcript from "The Story," November 8, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MARTHA MACCALLUM, ANCHOR: Good to have you in New York. Thank you, Bret.

So, did you see this today as Joe Biden worked his way around that room in New Hampshire to register himself as a candidate? It was one big question that was hovering in everybody’s mind as former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg seems to think that a weak Joe Biden has left a lane open for him to get into this race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: With regard to Michael Bloomberg, I welcomed in the race. Michael’s a solid guy and let’s see where it goes. I have no, no problem with him getting in the race.

And in terms of he’s running because of me, I last polls I looked at, I’m pretty far ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: And, of course, President Trump wasted no time reviving his favorite nickname for his fellow New York billionaire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT: Little Michael will fail. He’ll spend a lot of money. He’s got some really big issues, he’s got some personal problems, and he’s got a lot of other problems. There is nobody I’d rather run against than little Michael. That I could tell you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: But, there does appear to be a hunger among Democrats for a candidate who doesn’t say things like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN, D-MASS., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It’s time for a wealth tax in America.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, I-VT, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know what? We can cancel also the debt in America.

WARREN: Breakup big egg, break up big tech, break up big banks, it’s time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So, you got 55 percent who say that they listen to all of that and they think that they might like a more moderate candidate. An overwhelming response compared to the 39 percent who say, actually, they would like someone who is more liberal.

So, the question now is, is this man the answer?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, FORMER MAYOR, NEW YORK CITY: Trump, says he wants to run the nation like he’s running his business? God help us. I’m a New Yorker and I know a con when I see one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Let’s engage to Intel, he is a New Yorker. Let’s go to Peter Doocy, covering the candidates today in New Hampshire. Good evening, Peter.

PETER DOOCY, GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER: Good evening, Martha. And in the building behind me, Joe Biden is hosting his first Town Hall in New Hampshire since voters here found out that Michael Bloomberg might soon join the ranks of the candidates.

But the Bloomberg team tells us tonight, they’re not even going to try to win any contests in the first month if they launch a bid. A Bloomberg advisor Howard Wolfson tells us this, "If we run, we are confident we can win in states voting on Super Tuesday and beyond, where we will start on an even footing. But the late timing of our entry means that many candidates already have a big head start in the four early states, where they’ve spent months and months campaigning and spending money."

That means that Bloomberg might not ever come and file to get on the ballot in New Hampshire, which Joe Biden did today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: And I’m here, I plan on trying to win in New Hampshire. I’m not here to come in second, I never entered anything to come in second. And so, we’ll see. But, we got a way to go and I welcome Mike into the race -- Michael into the race and we’ll see where it all goes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: It’s not clear yet if any early state voters are going to wind up caring about Bloomberg 2020. But the Democratic Party chairman here in New Hampshire and in Iowa initially put out a welcoming joint statement that said this, "We are certain that Granite Staters, Iowans, and other early state voters are eager to ask Michael Bloomberg about his plans to move our states and our country forward. We hope they will have that opportunity."

But, within the last few minutes, the New Hampshire Democratic Party chairman is already walking that back, saying that he is disappointed and surprised Bloomberg doesn’t want to come here to take part in what they describe as an invaluable primary process. Martha.

MACCALLUM: That’s a big development. Peter, thank you very much.

Joining me now, Victor Davis Hanson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. Victor, always good to see you. So, what do you make of that strategy?

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON, SENIOR FELLOW, HOOVER INSTITUTION: Good to see you.

MACCALLUM: It sounds a lot like what Rudy Giuliani did when he ran for president, hoping that Super Tuesday could be sort of his magic moment.

HANSON: It does. And so, what’s changed since the early spring when Bloomberg decided not to run, I guess he thinks Joe Biden has been weakened by the Ukrainian mess and will continue to be weakened as we hear Ukraine, Ukraine everywhere.

And then, in addition, Biden at 76 doesn’t look as vigorous as Bloomberg does at 77, that’s an issue. But the most importantly is that Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders sound as proud socialists. And the circles that Bloomberg travels in, that terrifies people. And they’re urging him to go back in and be a moderate given the weakness of Biden.

But the problem with that is Martha, is that he’s not the type of moderate that they need. Biden supposedly is good old Joe from Scranton and he appeals to the white working-class.

But, when you look at the issues that Bloomberg has advocated, restrictions on the Second Amendment, sort of nanny-state intrusiveness and everything from plastic straws to super-sized drinks, climate change, open borders, sort of traditional engagement with China. That’s not the issues that won Donald Trump those swing states. So, I don’t quite see the logic.

I admit that he’s the eighth richest person in the world and he’s a master of the media, he’s well-informed, he was a Republican that won in New York, which is an achievement.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

HANSON: But other than that, he’s got a lot of liabilities. He’s not a charismatic dynamic person, it’s going to appeal to the working classes of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, et cetera.

MACCALLUM: Yes, I mean, you make a great point in terms of what is going to move this needle if it is to be moved and that’s the 10,000 to 50,000 depending on how you look at it. Voters in places like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and Michigan.

So, if you are a Democrat who is unhappy or a little bit disillusioned or unsure about this field, the person that you want to look to is somebody who can close that gap. And as you just pointed out, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren are going to have a hard time perhaps, we will -- you know, it remains to be seen with that blue-collar voters.

So, the idea that Michael Bloomberg who’s got -- you know, Leon Cooperman and perhaps, Jamie Dimon or Bill Gates who’ve all expressed concerns about this field and wanting someone more moderate. If the same person can appeal to them that can appeal to voters in Iowa? I mean, is that possible?

HANSON: Yes, I think, no, it isn’t. And more importantly, Biden claims that he can reclaim or he can maintain the Democratic left-wing base. But that left-wing base when they see a fourth frontrunner who’s a septuagenarian white male or white person like Warren and Sanders and Biden and he’s a billionaire, he represents everything that the New Democratic Party says it’s not.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

HANSON: I think they can tolerate Sanders and maybe Biden, but not a race between two New York millionaires. It’s antithetical to all of the rhetoric we’ve heard the last year in those debate stages.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

HANSON: So, he’s going to lose the base and he’s not going to gain the moderate voice to win the Electoral College. I guess the strategy is that he’s got so much money and he’s so well-versed in the media that he can get Independents and Never Trumpers, but that’s not enough to get the nomination much less the general election.

MACCALLUM: I mean, you also have to think about the -- I mean, you just mentioned the men that are running who are white and over 70 and while Elizabeth Warren, the female candidate who’s running there as well.

But, when you -- when you take a look at the black voters, which President Trump was trying to appeal to African-American voters today, is that an area -- you look at people like Pete Buttigieg who’s having a hard time with that or Amy Klobuchar who are sort of in that lane? You know that they’re out there saying, look, I’m already out here. I’m the moderate and I’m in this lane already. We don’t need Mike Bloomberg.

But that’s a significant part of the vote that has to be won by any Democrat who’s going to win this nomination if they’re going to win the race, right?

HANSON: Yes, and it’s even worse than that Martha because they have so alienated the white working and middle classes that a Republican candidate only needs to win about 15 percent -- 20 percent of the black vote, maybe 40 percent of the Latino vote.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Yes, that’s right.

HANSON: And with record low unemployment from minorities and Trump sort of earthiness that he’s a down to earth guy and he’s not arrogant. That’s not true of Michael Bloomberg.

And the other thing is, it’s kind of an incoherent message, he’s saying to the nation I’m a-- you know, worth 50 billion and I’m a successful businessperson, I got all the successful business people. So, I can do a better job than businessman Donald Trump. But, what does that mean? I’m going to get 3.5 unemployment down to 3.0. Or I’m going to get a record, record stock market.

I mean, Trump’s doing pretty good. And so, he kind of takes away that message that we need a businessman to come in when a businessman from New York has already done wonders on the economy.

MACCALLUM: Yes, I mean, it’s interesting as you say because it -- you can be a billionaire and a businessman for New York and appeal to blue-collar workers as President Trump did, which is -- you know, a very difficult equation to circle but he absolutely did that.

(CROSSTALK)

HANSON: He did it. He did.

MACCALLUM: But, you know, when you look at this race, and you look at -- you know, sort of what’s going to turn this with all of this impeachment cloud hanging around, and -- do you see that lifting? Do you -- what’s the impact of that as you look towards this election? Because right now, it feels like, like it’s pretty heavy around the president’s shoulders.

HANSON: Well, I think it does in Washington and New York, but his polls have already recovered from where they were, pre-latest iteration of impeachment hysteria.

MACCALLUM: That’s true.

HANSON: And we heard whistle, whistleblower, whistleblower, quid pro quo, I don’t hear that thing. I don’t think anybody hears that anymore. That’s dropped because people know that one thing that Adam Schiff cannot do is put the whistleblower on the stand because he under cross-examination, he would have to say under oath things that would blow up his entire narrative. Especially, when you hear his lawyer talking about coup and rebellion.

So, you know, the Republicans said this is a coup and this is a rebellion and everybody said that’s hysterical and now we have the lawyer from whistleblower confirming that rhetoric. So, it doesn’t make any sense in it.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Well, and they worried about that.

HANSON: This is -- we only -- we’ve only started. Yes.

MACCALLUM: Victor Davis Hanson, always good to see you, sir. Thank you very much.

HANSON: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: Coming up next, a lot of speculation about what John Bolton knows and what he might testify to. His attorney says there’s plenty that he knows that is not out there yet.

So, here’s the question tonight. Why aren’t Democrats pushing harder for John Bolton’s testimony? The answer to that might be quite interesting. Byron York, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Well, John Bolton continues to swirl at the center of a lot of this controversy. And today, his attorney said this. There is plenty that his client knows about meetings and conversations so far discussed in testimony and others that have not yet been discussed in the testimony.

And that was a bit tantalizing for everybody, but Democrats say that they are not going to go to court to get John Bolton to come testify. They say you know what, this just proves that there’s obstruction coming from this administration and that only adds to their argument for impeachment.

But could they be concerned that maybe the high profiled Bolton who worked very closely with the president might not, in the end, give them exactly what they want to hear from him? Joining me now Byron York Washington Examiner Chief Political Correspondent and a Fox News Contributor. Byron, good evening. Great to have you here tonight.

BYRON YORK, CONTRIBUTOR: Good evening, Martha.

MACCALLUM: You know, just your thoughts on that. Because I thought it’s very interesting. I said, well, you know, he doesn’t want to come and we don’t want to get into a big long legal harangue over this with him and also his deputy Mr. Kupperman. So we’re just going to let it lie. Does that seem unusual to you at all?

YORK: It doesn’t sound right to me. I will say, if anything is covered by executive privilege, it would be the president’s private conversations with his National Security Advisor about issues of foreign policy and national security. This is confidential advice the president is receiving from a top aide in an area in which the Constitution gives the president a lot of powers.

So there’s a very good argument that the Bolton-Trump conversations are in fact privileged. On the other hand, no court has decided that Democrats clearly disagree with that and they wanted to get Charles Kupperman who is Bolton’s deputy to come testify. Kupperman didn’t want to testify, asked a judge to settle the matter.

And the Democrats then withdrew the subpoena. And that’s what -- that’s hard to figure out. The Democrat said well, it’s just going to take a long time. There’ll be an extended legal fight. We just don’t want to do it. They might be afraid they’re going to lose.

On the other hand, when you look at this whole impeachment fight, all the witnesses we’ve seen, nobody has first-hand knowledge of the President. Nobody -- none of these witnesses were talking with the President and the president said I’m going to do this or I’m going to do that.

MACCALLUM: In fact, if I could just interject, the one person who did have a conversation with him was Ambassador Sondland on the phone.

YORK: That’s right.

MACCALLUM: And he said to Ambassador Sondland you know, just do -- just tell Zelensky there’s no quid pro quo. Just tells Zelensky to do what he was elected to do because Zelensky ran on this platform that he was going to come in and you know, clean up all the corruption. Go ahead. Sorry.

YORK: That’s exactly right. But the other witnesses -- there were people listening on the call, there were people in the State Department, you know, they know about things from their peripheral positions but they don’t really get you inside the White House. And John Bolton would do that.

And John Bolton is not saying, I will never ever, ever testify. He’s saying, I want a judge to resolve this matter before I testify. And that - - and that quote from his lawyer that you just read, I mean that’s quite a tease. I need a judge to decide, but if I testify, boy I know a lot of stuff you don’t even know yet.

MACCALLUM: Yes. I mean, so everybody is trying to get inside of that, right, and try to figure out where is John Bolton really on this whole thing. And when you read into the -- you know, some of what he’s putting out is a lot of, you know, fundraising for Republican candidates. I mean it’s not like this is someone -- he’s obviously a very strong Conservative.

I mean, and he’s a person who’s very independent-minded and speaks his mind. He clearly was upset that Rudy Giuliani was at the center of all this. He didn’t want that. He wanted the money to flow to the Ukraine.

But the bottom line is would John Bolton sit there at the -- at the table on the Hill, and when asked the question, do you think the president broke any law or do you think that the president, you know, meant that he was going to hold up this money, nobody knows how he’s going to answer that question. And that could be a huge moment for either side, right?

YORK: No, they don’t. And we have had from a lot of witnesses. We’ve gotten their opinion about these events of which they have some knowledge. And Bolton could just say -- you know, your question to Bolton would be what did the President say, and then what did you say, and then what did the President say? I mean, it would be a very sort of fact-based conversation.

Another reason for the Democratic hurry on this because as you mentioned, the Democrats are now saying, well, we’re not going to pursue this in court. But if the president doesn’t allow these people to testify, that could be another article of impeachment of an example of the White House obstructing Congress.

There’s another problem here which is the Democrats are racing the clock with their 2020 presidential race. The Iowa caucuses are on February 3rd. You don’t have to do a lot of calendar math to think that you might possibly have a Senate trial somewhere around that time.

Six candidates in the Democratic race right now our members of the Senate who if there were a trial, they’d be basically chained to their desk in Washington for maybe a month for a Senate trial. I mean, these are the perils of conducting an impeachment amid a presidential race.

MACCALLUM: Not to mention the fact that right now it seems like everybody knows how this is already going to turn out because it’s such a partisan experience, right? You know that the House is going to vote to impeach, at least it looks that way. And by all indications at least at this point in the game, the Senate will not. You know, they have stood in lockstep the GOP Senate.

So it also could be that these -- that Democrats want to get this behind them at this point so that they can put a little bit of space between it if it turns out to be something that is not politically advantageous for them. And at least at this point, it looks like you know, it’s a toss-up. It leans towards people not wanting to impeach the president in the battleground states.

YORK: Yes. But it doesn’t look like they can avoid this. I mean, there comes a time in any endeavor where you cannot just say never mind. And I think Democrats are far past that point right now.

MACCALLUM: No, they have to take the vote.

YORK: They’re going to do this.

MACCALLUM: Yes, absolutely.

YORK: And that leads you to a trial, and that takes you into next year.

MACCALLUM: Yes. Byron York, always good to talk to you. Thank you very much.

YORK: Thank you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Have a good night. Coming up next, this awful story that we have covered this week. Look at this young boy at the funeral of his family and friends as nine United States citizens were laid to rest after a gruesome ambush that happened in Mexico. Look at these pictures. They are heartbreaking.

The Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. says it’s partly America’s fault. And Senator Josh Hawley fires back. We’re going to speak to the uncle of one of these victims coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: It’s a heartbreaking scene of the funeral for victims of the cartel ambush on three women and six young children. They were all members of a small close-knit Mormon community in northern Mexico. And this attack has raised a lot of questions about the extreme violence in Mexico, an average of 100 a day just on the other side of our border.

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley calling for sanctions against Mexico saying that they look the other way of the cartels. The Mexican ambassador to the U.S. fired back saying that is not true and that she hopes to speak personally with the senator about this matter. And then she wrote -- hand- wrote at the bottom including how to reduce drug demand in the United States.

Here now David Cloes, a family member to Donna Langford, one of the victims of the Mexico ambush. And, sir, our condolences and our sympathies to you and your whole family. This is a horrific, horrific terrorist act that happened. Talk to me a little bit about what you feel when you listen to that letter and what your concerns are about what the cartels are doing down there.

DAVID CLOES, FAMILY MEMBER, MEXICO AMBUSH VICTIMS: You know, first of all, I just wanted to say thank you to you and to the American people who have opened up their hearts to the Miller, Langford, and Johnson families. They do appreciate it and they are very aware that people do care and that people are reaching out and telling them that they feel for them in this time of pain for them and tragedy.

In regards to how I feel about the letter, you know, I just hope that we can do something to bring justice for my family and for these families that so desperately -- that’s what they want so desperately. They want justice for those that were killed, for their wives, their sisters, their mothers.

MACCALLUM: Do you think -- pardon me. Do you think you can get that from the Mexican government? Are they serious about cracking down on these cartels?

CLOES: You know, when I -- when I spoke to the grandfather, he told me that they’re not going to do anything and I hope he’s wrong. I think that he’s making that judgment based on the past but I hope that you know, through our President’s willingness to do something, that he can convince those in Mexico to stand strong because we know it’s nothing small that they have to stand up to these cartels because when you do stand up to them, oftentimes your life has taken from you because they don’t play. I mean, they’re thugs. They don’t stand for people to stand up to them.

MACCALLUM: Yes. Do you believe -- because the Mexican government is still saying that they think that this was a crossfire incident between two gangs. But I’ve spoken to several of the family members now who don’t believe that. What do you believe?

CLOES: You know, I have -- I can only go on what I’ve been told to but initially that’s what I believe too that they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it appears that this was -- I mean, if it was -- if it was a coordinated attack that happened all at the same time, maybe.

But since they were ten miles apart, the vehicles were ten miles apart and they happened at different times, you would think that this was as I was told that it didn’t -- it didn’t necessarily -- they didn’t necessarily target these women in these but it was whoever was coming down that road at that time was going to die. They were -- this was a terror attack --

MACCALLUM: Why?

CLOES: I would believe that that it’s because they want this territory. These cartels want -- the cartels want this territory. They don’t want anybody else there so they want to scare them out.

MACCALLUM: It’s terrifying. And it’s less than 100 miles from our border. And obviously, you know, it affected your family on that side. You want President Trump to recognize Devin. Can you tell me very quickly?

CLOES: You know, I started to tweet him but I didn’t really know what I was looking at, but I know that the United States awards medals and they recognize people when they do acts of courage, I just thought he would be a perfect --

(CROSSTALK)

MARTHA MACCALLUM, ANCHOR: And he’s a brave young man.

CLOES: -- candidate for that.

MACCALLUM: Mr. Cloes, he absolutely is such a brave young man. Thank you for being here tonight. We wish your family well and our thoughts are with you.

CLOES: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: Still ahead tonight on The Story, our ladies will be joining us. Governor Mike Huckabee is also here with a message to millennials who say that they don’t want to family because of climate change. When we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT: One year from now, we are going to win another incredible victory and we are going to do it with a groundswell of support from hardworking African-American patriots. You know exactly what I’m talking about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: President Trump today looking to gain support among black voters for his reelection launching a new campaign called black voices for Trump in Atlanta, Georgia.

But new numbers showed that the president may need to focus as well on a constituency that help him win in 2016 and where he is losing a bit of traction in those polls, Catholic voters.

Ellison Barber live from D.C. with the story.

ELLISON BARBER, CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Martha. Yes, President Trump did well among white Catholic voters in 2016 and for now a majority of that particular group still support him.

The latest Fox News polls shows 56 percent of white Catholics approve of the job President Trump is doing, 43 percent said they disapprove, but among all Catholics, the numbers are very different.

A Quinnipiac poll released in May found that 57 percent of Catholics disapprove of President Trump and 55 percent say they definitely would not vote for President Trump in 2020. Catholics make up roughly 25 percent of the electorate. There are a significant voting group but politically hard to pin down.

Experts say Catholics only voted as a cohesive block twice in 1960 for John F. Kennedy and in 1964 for Lyndon B. Johnson. Most Catholics we’ve spoken to Republican or Democratic or somewhere in between say being Catholic impacts their vote but every Catholic is impacted in different ways. For some, their faith makes having a pro-life president a necessity. For others, their faith makes caring for the less fortunate and preventing discrimination, an important part of their political beliefs. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH LOZANO, DEMOCRATIC CATHOLIC VOTER: I don’t think it’s a direct, you know, influence, but I think what it does do is it inform what my feelings are on, you know, issues of social justice.

RAEGAN LEHMAN, REPUBLICAN CATHOLIC VOTER: The big issue for me being Catholic, pro-life is definitely something that I’m very strong and passionate about.

MICAHEL KLIEN, REPUBLICAN CATHOLIC VOTER: I don’t think that Catholicism is about giving someone the way up the ladder but rather showing them how to climb it.

LOZANO: People try to come here for a better life and we are locking them out, you know, putting up a literal wall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARBER: Election analysts say it is a mistake for any candidate to overgeneralize window courting Catholic voters even though the group itself is important.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: You have to look at who is a Catholic in each of the key states. And what they respond to. In some places, social issues take precedence like abortion. In other places, it’s more economics than it is social issues.

Remember, John Kerry was Catholic. He was -- he’s been the only other Catholic nominee of either party since John F. Kennedy. And he didn’t win Catholics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARBER: Martha?

MACCALLUM: Thank you, Ellison. Ellison Barber in D.C. tonight. Coming up next, the birthrate is at its lowest in 32 years as climate change and other impending dooms lead to this question among some young couples.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, D-N.Y.: And it does lead, I think young people to have a legitimate question, you know. Should -- is it OK to still have children?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So, is that a question for Americans during the Great Depression or World War II or the AIDS epidemic? Stay tuned. Governor Mike Huckabee coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: The United States is now at its lowest birth rate in more than 30 years with 2018 marking the fourth year of declines in a row and it seems that some millennials are factoring in climate change in their decision to hold off having children.

A recent poll finds 68 percent are afraid of the effects of climate change and 63 percent of teens believe that future generations will be harmed a great deal, a concept that Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has also alluded to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OCASIO-CORTEZ: There is a scientific consensus that the lives of children are going to be very difficult and it does lead I think young people to have a legitimate question. You know, should -- is it OK to still have children?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Here now is Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor and Fox News contributor. You know, governor, the article about this points out that obviously during World War II or during the Great Depression or even more recent crises like the AIDS epidemic, you didn’t hear this discussion of people saying well maybe the best thing to do would be just to stop having children so they don’t have to deal with any kind of adversity.

MIKE HUCKABEE, CONTRIBUTOR: It’s such an absurdity. It’s one thing for AOC to be pessimistic. She clearly is about the world and the people in it. I’m not. I’m very optimistic. I think some of these children who are going to be born maybe the ones that discover the cure to cancer --

MACCALLUM: Yes.

HUCKABEE: -- or Alzheimer’s. We need them. But the basic purpose of all us on this planet is not only to create the next generation but is to train our replacements. So, if we’ve decided to give up that there’s nothing to live for, that’s not pessimism, that’s nihilism.

And goodness, I think my faith would prevent me from having that because I don’t think this is going to be over until God says it’s going to be over.

MACCALLUM: Yes, it’s a great point.

HUCKABEE: She apparently has decided this this is over. This is just, you know, we are just sliding down here to the bottom of the hill and it’s done.

MACCALLUM: You know --

(CROSSTALK)

HUCKABEE: What a sad way to live life.

MACCALLUM: It is a sad way to live life. And you touch on something that I think it’s so important and it’s just the optimism of generations, right? And of believing in the future.

HUCKABEE: Yes.

MACCALLUM: And believing that the people who come after you will perhaps be the ones -- if you, you know, you should try to begin to solve the problems but that they might be able to finish solving that problem and that is not, you know, what we are hearing in a lot of this. This is a young woman in a special -- her name is Anna. This is a BBC special. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don’t think it’s selfish to not have children. Why would that be a selfish? I became aware that actually the best thing I can do for the environment is not to have any children. But now I would call myself an environmentalist. And I try and live in a way that is as sustainable as possible. So, things like cycling everywhere. And I’m a vegan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: What do you think?

HUCKABEE: Well, the tragedy here is that you have people who say they are environmentalists but really what they are doing they’re worshiping the creation rather than the creator.

And if I get that in the right order I think their lives would be far more fulfilling and to be able to hold a baby, there’s been nothing in the world that’s more wonderful than to hold a baby that is part of your flesh and blood, for a husband and wife to be able to share that is extraordinary. It even gets better with grandchildren as I can attest.

MACCALLUM: You are an expert on that.

HUCKABEE: But the fact is, well, there are so many people who through the generations of hardship, whether it’s the Holocaust or whether the bubonic plague, they’ve continued to have children not because they wanted to see their children suffer but because they thought that was the greatest way to express genuine hope.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

HUCKABEE: And I still believe that’s true. Martha, I look at my own life. My mother lived in a house that didn’t have floors, just dirt. No electricity, no running water. All with seven kids.

The fact that if she had given up and said, you know, this is a terrible way, I’m not going to have any kids --

MACCALLUM: Yes.

HUCKABEE: -- I wouldn’t be talking to you. And may be there would be some people happy about that but I’m kind of glad she didn’t give up on the world.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

HUCKABEE: And I’m not giving up on the world. And the fact is people basically live better today than they’ve ever lived in human history. Access to health care, more capability of getting to food. This idea that everything is going south? They need to wake up. Look around. Enjoy this beautiful world God has made and be a part of it.

MACCALLUM: I couldn’t agree more. There’s also a New York Times study that says that unmarried couples are not as happy as married couples. It says the lingering impacts of the Great Recession have contributed to a boom in the number of unmarried couples who live together.

But a new survey by Pew showed that couples who live together and are not married tend to be less happy than their married counterparts. Quick thought on that before I let you go, governor?

HUCKABEE: Well, it makes perfect sense because if you’re --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: I know you are going to be in favor of marriage. You better be.

HUCKABEE: Well, I am. But here’s why. Because it represents commitment.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

HUCKABEE: It represents that you love someone not because it’s pleasant and fun all the time but because you have someone whose loyalty and fidelity you can depend upon. That gives a person a sense of security that nothing else does and that’s why it really does matter.

MACCALLUM: I can vouch for that too. Married for over 25 years, 27 years actually. And you know, also that commitment to life and that optimism about what is down the road through the ups and the downs that I think goes back to the initial thing that we are talking about which is the faith and, you know, just having kids and building your family. Great to talk to you as always tonight.

HUCKABEE: Absolutely.

MACCALLUM: It’s a good thought --

(CROSSTALK)

HUCKABEE: Thank you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: -- on this Friday night. Governor Huckabee, always a pleasure. Thank you, sir.

HUCKABEE: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: So, coming up next, who is more stressed about the 2020 election with a big dose of impeachment tossed on the top, conservatives or liberals, your male friends or your female friends? The high stakes of life in America today. The ladies are up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I’m not concerned about anything. The testimony has all been fine. I mean, for the most part, I’ve never even heard of these people. I have no idea who they are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: President Trump is not worried. He’s not stressed out about impeachment. But less than one year out from the 2020 election, it seems like a lot of Americans are walking around with a lot of the stress on them.

In a new survey released by the American Psychological Association, 56 percent of adults say that the 2020 election is a, quote, "significant stressor."

Here to help stress a little bit on ladies’ night is Lisa Boothe, Susan Li, and Jessica Tarlov. Ladies, good to see you tonight.

SUSAN LI, FOX BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi.

MACCALLUM: Thank you for coming out.

Let’s put up this other one that shows the breakdown by parties. In terms of Democrats, let’s see. We got it up there? OK. Democrats, 71 percent say that it stresses them up, 53 percent of independent, and only 48 percent of Republicans, Lisa. You are a Republican conservative. What do you think?

LISA BOOTHE, CONTRIBUTOR: I’m not stressed out at all.

MACCALLUM: You’re not stressed out. Great.

BOOTHE: I’m feeling great. Yes, I’m feeling great.

(CROSSTALK)

JESSICA TARLOV, CONTRIBUTOR: Lisa is not --

BOOTHE: I think President Trump is very well-positioned to win. I think the Democrat primary field is a mess which is why Michael Bloomberg is jumping in because he sees it as much.

I also think though, it’s kind of sad if politics has that big of an impact on your life. Maybe there are some voids you need to fill and perhaps that’s why we are so divided as a country. If people take it that personally and it has such an emphasis into someone’s life --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: So, you don’t wake up in the morning like, what’s the first thought, Susan.

BOOTHE: No.

MACCALLUM: Like when you wake up, is there like a stressor thought about what’s going on in the world?

LI: Yes. Well, I’m reading my iPhone right away.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

LI: So that causes me a lot of stress.

MACCALLUM: That’s the way I am too. I think I have to put it down.

LI: But to think survey says 50 percent, so this is the lowest point in history. But 75 percent were hopeful, so I like looking at the positives and thinking 75 percent of this world thinks it’ll be a better day, maybe a few days down the road.

MACCALLUM: All right. What do you think?

TARLOV: I’m stressed. I’m in that 71 percent.

MACCALLUM: Jessica.

TARLOV: This is the most consequential election of all time in case you hadn’t heard.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: It always is.

TARLOV: Yes, I know.

MACCALLUM: This is why --

TARLOV: It’s for ratings.

MACCALLUM: And every time it’s the most consequential election of our lifetime.

(CROSSTALK)

TARLOV: No. But this is it, Martha. I firmly believe that. It makes sense. The numbers kind of made sense to me looking at what’s going on, obviously. Dems want to retake the White House.

MACCALLUM: Why are they most stressed about it, though? Are they concerned, like Lisa said, that they don’t have the right candidate?

TARLOV: Yes, quite obviously.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

TARLOV: I mean, not because the right candidate doesn’t exist in that field but until you have the person, we have, like, 18 running against one.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

TARLOV: So that’s quite a diffuse situation against one entity or -- sorry.

MACCALLUM: You know, who do you think he is the person? Kanye.

TARLOV: Yes.

LI: Kanye, 2024.

MACCALLUM: That he is -- he is the person. We’ll have to wait until 2024. But I find this whole Kanye movement so fascinating. You know, these Sunday sermons that he’s doing.

TARLOV: Yes.

MACCALLUM: I mean, the report that a thousand people gave themselves over to God, over to the savior in the middle of one of these things. I mean, I just want to sort it out -- and he is getting laughed at by a lot of folks because they say he’s just crazy.

And the other side says, no, he’s inspired and he’s finally making sense. So, you know, I mean, I guess, what do you think? Which one do you think it is? And let’s play one of these sound bites from him where he talks about the African-American vote which we’re just talking about. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KANTE WEST, RAPPER: Four black people, I’m just saying, don’t just be a demographic. Own your power. Your power is not just a vote Democrat for the rest of our lives. That’s not the power, just voting on who they told to vote on for. That’s not what the power is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Jess?

TARLOV: Every right to express himself in that way. I don’t think that Kanye would be a successful nominee. I think it’s difficult. We talked about him a couple of weeks ago here on ladies’ night where he said he was the greatest artist of all time, not just living. Right?

LI: Human artist.

TARLOV: Human artist.

LI: Yes.

MACCALLUM: Now he wants to be called like Christian Jesus superpower Kanye or something like that.

TARLOV: Right.

MACCALLUM: I might’ve gotten the third part wrong. Go ahead.

TARLOV: Is part of the rich tapestry that is Kanye West. But, I mean, that is a message. And I think this weekend is the launch of an African- Americans for Trump group.

I mean, this is a lot of the conversation that people, black conservatives are having, and it certainly has its place. But I’m with you. The Kanye Sunday service story, I absolutely love it.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: It’s fascinating.

TARLOV: And I think it’s wonderful.

MACCALLUM: But you know, I mean, what he’s saying, I mean, Susan --

(CROSSTALK)

LI: I’ll vote for him.

MACCALLUM: -- this is not -- this is not what Democrats do not want to hear that. You know, they do not want to hear someone as prominent as Kanye West telling African-Americans that Democrats are not necessarily their party.

LI: Right.

MACCALLUM: That they should vote the way that they feel is best for them.

LI: Right. Which I agree with.

MACCALLUM: Of course, they should.

LI: But I would vote for him if he can negotiate a trade deal like he did with Yeezy and Adidas. You know he’s getting 50 percent wholesale --

MACCALLUM: Yes.

LI: Unheard of. And for a one half billion-dollars sales of those shoes it cost $4,000, it’s ridiculous. So, if he can negotiate that type of deal, he might get a lot of votes in 2024.

BOOTHE: Well, I think this is why so many people are so afraid to take unpopular positions --

MACCALLUM: Yes.

BOOTHE: -- or to go out with something they believe because this is how they are treated. They are mocked, they’re ridiculed, which I think, makes it all that much more brave and bold and courageous that Kanye West has gone out there in his faith.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

BOOTHE: The album is number one or has been number one I believe up until, I don’t know if it still is or not, I don’t pay attention to the charts. But the album at least was number one. And I was also reading that -- even just Google searches were up for Jesus and Christianity. So maybe --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Yes. No, I know, it’s fascinating. It is very, very fascinating.

TARLOV: But that doesn’t mean he’d be a great president. I want to be clear about that.

MACCALLUM: We’re not talking (Inaudible) if you wanted that conversation. That would be the most consequential election of all time.

LI: Yes.

BOOTHE: The Kanye West election --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: I want to play this bit. Megyn Kelly did an interview on Instagram with the young woman who was fired by CBS after only four days of working there because they got wind that she, they said was the person who leaked the Amy Robach quote. Watch her sound bite here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGYN KELLY, JOURNALIST: Did you lick the tape?

ASHLEY BIANCO, FIRED BY CBS: I did not.

KELLY: Not to anyone?

BIANCO: No. Never.

KELLY: At any -- at any time.

BIANCO: It wasn’t me. You know, I’m not the whistleblower. I’m sorry to ABC. But the leaker is still inside, you know. It’s not -- I never did any of that. I may have accessed it, but I never leaked it, I never showed it to anyone, I didn’t talk about the situation outside the company.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: All right. I mean, we don’t know -- you know, that’s what that young woman said. That’s her profession of what she says happened to her and it seems like CBS pulled the plug on her pretty quickly, Lisa, without giving her much of a chance to speak her mind.

BOOTHE: Well, I’m sure that ABC will try to get to the bottom of the leaker faster and more efficiently than they did trying to get to the bottom of the Jeffrey Epstein story.

But I will say, look, this is why so many Americans lack faith in the media it’s because of this story, is that they’re spiking the Jeffrey Epstein story. NNC allegedly spiking the Harvey Weinstein story as well.

MACCALLUM: yes.

BOOTHE: Yet what they do is they run rampantly with stories about Brett Kavanaugh and somehow, he’s a serial rapist although the evidence is so thin and nonexistent, yet that didn’t stop them from running the stories. I think that’s why so many Americans have such a distrust in the mainstream media and particularly Republicans.

MACCALLUM: Yes. Susan?

LI: It was only her fourth day at work as well, and someone else has come forward saying, anonymously that she’s not the source, I’m the source of this tape.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

LI: So I feel --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: And Project Veritas said it wasn’t her.

LI: That’s right.

MACCALLUM: But she said she marked the tape which, you know, sort of a typical way of saving something in the library.

LI: Yes.

MACCALLUM: And they just ran with it and she lost two jobs in five days, Jess.

LI: That’s right.

TARLOV: I have never accomplished that myself. A very quick turnaround.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: She seem like --

TARLOV: What I thought was really interesting, we can talk about Brett Kavanaugh in the green room after this. But this was a huge get for Megyn Kelly obviously, and this was broadcast off of YouTube and Instagram. I mean, just kind of the change in the way news can be made.

MACCALLUM: Absolutely.

TARLOV: I thought that was an interesting part about it. But yes, don’t spike stories about serial rapists and pedophile types.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

TARLOV: Run them.

MACCALLUM: Not a good idea. That’s the big message for ABC and CBS at this point. But ABC on the Epstein story.

TARLOV: And NBC on --

MACCALLUM: Thanks to you guys. And NBC, yes. And it goes on and on. Thank you very much. Good to see all of you. Have a great weekend.

BOOTHE: Happy Friday.

MACCALLUM: So that is The Story of Friday, November 8th, 2019. But as always, The Story continues tonight. We will see you back here Monday night at 7. Tucker is up next. Have a great weekend.

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