'A big moment': President Trump exits Walter Reed Medical Center

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'A big moment': President Trump exits Walter Reed Medical Center

President leaves Bethesda, Md. hospital after spending three nights there; reaction from the 'Special Report' All-Star panel

This is a rush transcript from “Special Report” October 5, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I'm a famished bear. OK, Dana, thank you.

Good evening, welcome to New York, I'm just down the road from the studio, I'm Bret Baier.

President Trump says he will be leaving Walter Reed Medical Center at the bottom of the hour. When that happens, you will see it live here on Fox News Channel.

When asked about the president's cognitive abilities and his physical condition, his doctor said a short time ago, "He's back."

Also tonight, the president's press secretary is the latest staff member to test positive for COVID-19.

While the president is recovering from coronavirus, he's being hammered for taking an SUV ride past supporters yesterday afternoon. Critics saying, he put Secret Service agents in that vehicle at risk. The White House insists the agents took extra precautions and wore additional protective gear.

Chief White House correspondent John Roberts starts us off tonight from McLean, Virginia. Good evening, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Bret, good evening to you. Working from home because we thought with all of the recent positive coronavirus tests among staff at the White House, it would be a good idea for me to get a test of my own. I did today. It was negative, so I will be back at the White House tomorrow to cover the president's first- day post-hospitalization.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: After a short three days of aggressive treatment, President Trump is leaving Walter Reed to continue his course of treatment at the White House.

DR. SEAN CONLEY, WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN: Over the past 24 hours, the president has continued to improve. He's met or exceeded all standard hospital discharge criteria.

Though he may not entirely be out of the woods yet, the team and I agreed that all our evaluations and most importantly is clinical status, support the president's safe return home where he'll be surrounded by world-class medical care 24/7.

ROBERTS: As part of that care, the president will continue to receive the antiviral drug Remdesivir and steroids to keep down inflammation in his lungs.

DR. BRIAN GARIBALDI, JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL: We've made arrangements to deliver the fifth and final dose of his treatment course at the White House tomorrow evening. He continues on dexamethasone.

ROBERTS: In a video yesterday, President Trump said, he has a greater appreciation for coronavirus.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I learned a lot about COVID. I learned by really going to school. This is the real school. This isn't the let's read the book school and I get it, and I understand it.

ROBERTS: From the moment President Trump arrived at Walter Reed, crowds gathered at the front entrance keeping a raucous vigil.

Last evening, the president thanked them. Leaving his hospital suite, taking a short tour in his up-armored SUV. Critics decried the move as a political stunt, one that put the president's Secret Service detail at risk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say now, nine months into this, he's starting to really realize how serious this is. Then he hops in a car and exposes the men and women regarding his life to his own infection to go out and waved to the crowds. This president is not in touch with the reality.

ROBERTS: The White House insisting appropriate precautions were taken.

Mark Meadows, White House Chief of Staff: They're criticizing. Well, he put his Secret Service agents at risk. Well, the Secret Service agent -- how do we think that he got here? I mean, we came here in Marine One. The Secret Service agent that is with him has been with him. He's been with him in cars, and yet we took additional precautions with PPE and others to make sure that they were protected.

ROBERTS: The list of positive tests associated with either the Amy Coney Barrett event, preparation for the Cleveland debate, or work at the White House continue to grow today. Added to the group, the Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany who tested positive this morning.

McEnany gave a White House briefing after she had been in close contact with Hope Hicks who tested positive last Thursday. McEnany insisting she was not aware of Hick's test results when she took to the podium.

BRIAN MORGENSTERN, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: had she known that she -- you know, was exposed, she would not have done the briefing. If you'll remember, that was an awfully contentious briefing. I'm sure she may have preferred to cancel it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Well, the president appears to be on the road to recovery. Unknown tonight is when he will be back on the road to November. But it is urgent desire to get out of the hospital is any indication, the president will be back on the campaign trail just as soon as possible, Bret.

BAIER: All right, John, thank you. We're looking live there and then that shot at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Let's talk about how the president and his stuff have handled the diagnosis, the treatment, the messaging as well as the president's prognosis for quick recovery.

Senior political analyst Brit Hume is here tonight along with Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, she is a Fox News contributor.

Doc, let me start with you. You know, this -- his doctors sound positive today. He's obviously going to the White House, but one line caught everybody and kind of perked ears saying, he's not out of the woods yet. Your thoughts on him heading back this evening?

DR. JANETTE NESHEIWAT, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONTRIBUTOR: Sure, Bret. So, since he is 74-years old, his gender and his age, and his weight put him at a substantially higher risk of complications for coronavirus. But as of today, as of right now, his vital signs are stable. His oxygen level is within normal limits. He has not had a fever in 72 hours and he's feeling well, he doesn't have any respiratory complications. He doesn't have any difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, or cough.

He's going to receive his fourth dose of IV Remdesivir tonight. Remember, that's the drug that helps stop the virus from replicating in the body and then he'll head back to the White House where he will continue quarantine, he'll continue close observation, and tomorrow he should receive his fifth and final course -- his final dose of Remdesivir.

BAIER: Well, there was a lot of coverage and questions about what we don't know, what we didn't hear from the doctors when was the last negative test the president had. You know, there was a back and forth about when or if he got oxygen eventually that was straightened out.

Your thoughts about the weekend and where we are now.

BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, this is not about where we are now, Bret. It's worth keeping in mind that the president appears to be having the same experience of the overwhelming and I mean the overwhelming majority of Americans to contract this disease are having, which is you get over it, you survive.

Mortality rates are below the age of 65 or way up in the high 90 percent, nearly 100 percent. And even in the age group 65 and over, it's close to 95 percent.

So, what the president is going through is what something like what most people go through, although he is as the doctor pointed out in a vulnerable stage of life with some conditions that might be concerning. Obviously, he's early symptoms were just that (INAUDIBLE). You know, the information flow the way it was handled over the weekend wasn't exactly masterful but I think we kind of know where we are now with him being sent back to the White House.

BAIER: Doctor you've seen and been on the front lines in the emergency room, you've dealt with people, you've seen people die. It's a serious virus that obviously we haven't fully understood, right?

NESHEIWAT: Well, we --correct. We have however learned so much in the past six, seven months. We've gained a lot of knowledge and we're using that to our advantage.

Though, people aren't dying today as they were six, seven months ago. We're not overwhelming the hospitals like we were six, seven months ago but it's important to remember, we need to continue to practice wearing your mask, physical and social distancing, keeping your hands washed and cleaned especially as we enter the cold winter months. We're going to have other viruses like influenza, pneumonia is also something that we're going to see a lot of as well.

So, important to get your flu shot or practice preventative measures and just keep in mind, the virus is still here even though we have better control over it. We have a lot more therapeutics. We have convalescent plasma. We have anti-virals. We know that zinc has been shown to help fight this virus from replicating as well as vitamin D and using blood thinners similar medicines that our president is on.

So, we got a lot more tools to fight this disease but with that doesn't mean we can let our guard down and not practice our mitigation efforts.

BAIER: Yes, Brit, as you -- we prepare to see what happens going forward here. And the president possibly getting back on the campaign trail, maybe virtually at first, maybe really out there once he gets cleared. Do you think that he is how he talks about COVID-19 is going to change and does that change the selection 29 days out?

HUME: I think it's impossible to say how this affects the election at this stage, Bret. We just don't know how much difference it makes if he's not out there, you know, with the crowds and all the excitement that he generates among his supporters. It's just -- there's just no way to -- no way to gauge that at this point.

But I think and of course, you know, for him to be saying now that, gee, I really understand COVID-19 now is it wasn't exactly the shrewdest political observation that the president has ever made because if he carries the unmistakable implication that he didn't know very much about it before now.

But, you know, I think he's -- and I think some of the criticism of him has been kind of silly. I mean, the people -- some of the same people who are criticizing his arriving with the Secret Service agents in that vehicle yesterday are the same people will tell you that masks really work and that they're the solution (INAUDIBLE). Well, they're all wearing masks.

So, what do these people now believe that masks don't work and that anybody is -- you know, with a carload of people with masks are all unsafe? You know, there's a lot of inconsistency all going around on this and that was another dose of it yesterday.

BAIER: Brit, Dr. Nesheiwat, thanks so much, we appreciate it.

We're being told as we look live here at Walter Reed that the roads are being shut down. Marine One is on its way there and again, the president is expected to leave sometime probably at about 6:30 or so, you'll see it live.

Joe Biden meantime campaigning today in Florida. His team says he continues to test negative for the virus, but Biden is getting positive results from the latest poll numbers after the last debate.

Correspondent Peter Doocy reports tonight from Miami.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: On an 86-degree afternoon, Joe Biden spoke in South Florida and kept his mask on the whole time.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is the last day you can register to vote in Florida.

DOOCY: Biden now enjoys a 14-point lead over Trump nationally in a new NBC Wall Street Journal survey of registered voters.

BIDEN: We are in a position where if we win this thing, we're in a position to change the country.

DOOCY: A pair of New York Times Siena college polls find that in Arizona, Biden leads Trump by eight and in Florida, Biden leads Trump by five.

BIDEN: If we win Florida, you've won, you've flat won.

DOOCY: Biden said this weekend that while President Trump remained hospitalized, he wanted to take the high road.

BIDEN: I don't want to be attacking the president and the first lady now.  DOOCY: Hours later, top surrogates weren't exactly piling on parades like the headliner at a socially distanced rally Bernie Sanders.

Two days later, Biden himself laid into the Trump administration in Miami's Little Haiti.

BIDEN: Haitian community here in Little Haiti grows and prospers, the whole of Miami-Dade prospers, nobody loses, everybody wins. It's all about addition, not like the administration talks about subtraction.

DOOCY: Kamala Harris is already in Salt Lake City ahead of her meeting with Mike Pence Wednesday.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll be here for the next few days, preparing for the debate.

DOOCY: And what about 10 days from now, the next debate with Biden and Trump?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We believe that the debate should go forward.

DOOCY: The Democratic nominee trust it can be done safely.

BIDEN: I'm going to continue to listen to the -- to the scientist, but I'm looking forward to have an opportunity to do a town hall meeting if that occurs.

DOOCY: His campaign tries to follow strict health and safety guidelines, but it wasn't a public health expert encouraging social distancing this morning, it was his wife.

BIDEN: The scientist say that -- I'm sorry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOOCY: Biden's two stops so far in South Florida have targeted small groups of locals in Little Haiti and Little Havana. And while we did see a few dozen Biden supporters with signs and flags show up to one of those events to cheer on the motorcade, none of his events here today are open to the public, Bret.

BAIER: Peter, thank you.

On the other side of the screen, you're looking at Marine One landing at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Again, the president getting ready to leave the hospital there. A lot of people gathered outside. We will head there once the president leaves the hospital and boards Marine One for the trip back to the White House.

Meantime, Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania will not seek reelection in 2022. Toomey saying, he will serve out the remaining two years of his term and then return to the private sector. He held a news conference today saying he hopes to spend more time with his family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R-PA): The reasons that I've reached this decision are not political, their personal. I've been getting phone calls almost on a daily basis from people who have said, I want to help you run for governor. I want to help your reelection campaign. I need to be candid with them and I feel like I should be candid with everybody. So, that's the main reason.

I made a decision, it's not going to change and so, I want to let everybody know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: The Pennsylvania race obviously doesn't affect this election but would effect next.

If we look at the presidential race tonight, this is where it stands, these gray states are the key battleground states.

Now, let's assume with the RealClearPolitics average of recent polls if someone is leading by three or less than that state goes to the opponent.

For example, if Joe Biden is leading in the state by three or less points, that would go to Donald Trump. We've seen that last cycle, let's just do that tonight.

All right, if that's the case, then tonight you would have Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas all going to President Trump. As well as Iowa and Ohio.

However, as of tonight, Joe Biden would win Nevada, Arizona, all of the midwestern states. He would win Pennsylvania as of tonight and New Hampshire and he would clinch the Electoral College. That's as of tonight giving President Trump three points a bomb in the RealClearPolitics average of polls.

Now, obviously, there's a lot of time left to go but the other thing to look at is the Senate races around the country, Republicans are trailing in a number of key Senate races and Democrats are looking for big wins in Arizona.

Take a look at that race. Martha McSally is trailing in that race in the recent polls. Colorado Cory Gardner, trying to hang on against John Hickenlooper, but that race is upside down for Republicans.

Susan Collins in Maine, trying to hold onto her seat. Again, the polls upside down for Susan Collins. And the other big race is North Carolina. There are other Senate races that are tight, but these are the four that Democrats look at and say they can deftly win.

That North Carolina race is really in turmoil tonight. The Republican, Thom Tillis has coronavirus. The Democrat, Cal Cunningham is dealing with the potential sex scandal tonight.

Here is congressional correspondent Chad Pergram.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Double barrel bombshells, freshman GOP incumbent, Senator Thom Tillis, off the campaign trail, after announcing Friday, he contracted the coronavirus.

Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham's led Tillis in the polls. But then, the married Cunningham confirmed he sent romantic messages to a woman who isn't his wife. This is a contrast to the wholesome image portrayed by Cunningham.

CAL CUNNINGHAM (D), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE OF NORTH CAROLINA: I'm a little traditional.

CHRIS COOPER, WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY: I think the question many of us are curious about is, are there R-rated texts coming? And I think we're looking at a very different race. If this the end of the Cunningham allegations or the beginning?

PERGRAM: Cunningham, said he, "hurt my family, disappointed my friends, and am deeply sorry." But it's unclear such revelations resonates with the voters. President Trump survived the Access Hollywood tape four falls ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think, certainly, in a post-Trump political environment, these kinds of P.G.-rated text messages really doesn't shock anybody right now. But I think the dynamic of what Cal Cunningham has been running on as a kind of character campaign, really kind of takes a hit.

PERGRAM: Tillis' positive diagnosis is keeping him quarantined at a time when he could have made inroads against Cunningham.

COOPER: I think Tillis getting diagnosed with COVID may be perceived as something that happened to him rather than something that he created.

As for Cunningham, this may cut differently. Cunningham's character has been front and center in this campaign.

PERGRAM: Tillis tested positive just days after attending the White House ceremony, (INAUDIBLE) up Amy Coney Barrett as the Supreme Court nominee.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): I think people on North Carolina support Judge Barrett. (INAUDIBLE) have a very energized base before the Supreme Court oath me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PERGRAM: It's unclear what the dual shock waves mean for a race that's been stable for months. Especially, since early voting is underway in North Carolina. Still, this contest could determine control of the United States Senate. Bret.

BAIER: To want to watch. Chad, thank you.

Up next, what percentage of the world's population do you think has contracted the coronavirus? We will tell you what the experts are saying.

Plus, we'll bring you President Trump's departure from Walter Reed Medical Center, live on SPECIAL REPORT. Keep it here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: "BREAKING TONIGHT", you're looking live at Walter Reed Medical Center. We're waiting for President Trump to leave. He's said to be getting ready to walk out there and board Marine One. Don't know if he will say anything, but we do know we expect him to leave sometime soon. You'll see it live here on Fox News Channel.

Also, "BREAKING TONIGHT", a federal court is ordering the government of Iran to pay more than $1.4 billion in punitive and compensatory damages to the family of a former FBI agent who disappeared during a visit to an Iranian island in March of 2007.

Robert Levinson's family calls it a first step in the pursuit of justice. A spokesman for Iran's mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment today.

Earlier this year, Levinson's family said they believed he died in Iranian custody based on information from U.S. officials. Iran denies that and says Levinson left the country years ago.

There are now three Republican U.S. senators who have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent days. Tom Tillis from North Carolina, you just saw that. Mike Lee from Utah. They were at the reception for the president's Supreme Court pick a week ago Saturday. Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson was not present for that announcement, but he also tested positive.

The World Health Organization says about 10 percent of the global population has been infected with the coronavirus. This comes as U.S. cases are increasing by about 50,000 per day.

The CDC is changing some of its information about the virus. Correspondent Jonathan Serrie has tonight's update from Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Today, the CDC updated its web page to acknowledge COVID-19 can sometimes be spread through airborne transmission, with small particles that may travel further than six feet under certain conditions, such as enclosed spaces with poor ventilation.

This correction to a previous deleted version, emphasizes airborne transmission is much less common than infections through close contact.

BILL DE BLASIO, MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: I am not going to recommend or allow any New York City family to send their child to a school that I wouldn't send my child.

SERRIE: Starting tomorrow, Governor Andrew Cuomo is closing schools in nine zip codes of New York City, where coronavirus test positivity rates have exceeded three percent for the past week. He also plans to meet with Orthodox Jewish leaders to discourage large religious gatherings that may be contributing to the spread.

DE BLASIO: We have to close a temple because it's over 50 percent? I'll do it. We have to close a Roman Catholic Church? I'll do it.

SERRIE: Once the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, New York City knows the COVID threat all too well. Today, a mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral paid tribute to 46 police officers who died from COVID-19. And other parts of the country are bracing for new increases in cases.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are places in the country in the Midwest, and particularly, in Wisconsin, which are having extraordinary numbers that are highest numbers yet, since this pandemic started. With places in Wisconsin having trouble accommodating all of the sick people.

SERRIE: The World Health Organization, estimates 10 percent of the global population has been exposed to coronavirus. That's 20 times the confirmed case count, but still not enough to provide herd immunity.

DR. MICHAEL RYAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HEALTH EMERGENCIES PROGRAMME, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: What it does mean is that the vast majority of the world remains at risk.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERRIE: And today, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, issued a warning to teams that they will face stiff penalties, including forfeiture of games for any COVID-19 protocol violations, resulting in disruptions. Two NFL -- that have been schedule for Sunday had to be postponed because of outbreaks among team members and staff. Bret.

BAIER: Jonathan Serrie, live in Atlanta. Jonathan, thank you.

On the other side of the screen, you're looking live at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. That gold door is really the front door there. We expect President Trump to walk out of that door, possibly wave at reporters. We do not expect him to speak to the White House press pool, which is gathered there.

He will then, get into an SUV and then drive a short distance to Marine One, board Marine One, and head back to the White House. We're also being told by the pool that he is shooting a short video inside the hospital first, in which he plans to thank all of the -- all of the staff there. The White House chief of staff doing the same. In a Twitter -- tweet, just moments ago.

The short-staffed U.S. Supreme Court has begun its new term. There are only eight justices on the bench right now after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The Court took a moment this morning to remember the late Justice Ginsburg.

One of the big items on the agenda this term is a case dealing with the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

It was a big day on Wall Street today, whether it was the president's improving health or the increasingly promising coronavirus stimulus bill negotiations. No matter what it was, the markets were feeling good today. The Dow surge 466, the S&P 500 was up 60, the NASDAQ jump 257 today.

National Rifle Association Wayne LaPierre is reportedly under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service for criminal tax fraud. That is according to The Hill tonight. LaPierre is already being sued by the state of New York for allegedly not disclosing personal benefits and compensation paperwork. No comment as of yet.

A Republican congressman from Texas is calling for the resignation of the state's Republican attorney general. Statement comes from Chip Roy, coming after the revelations that Ken Paxton's top deputies reported him to law enforcement for alleged crimes including bribery and abuse of office. Paxton says he will not resign.

If you have already voted, you have plenty of company. More than 3 million of your fellow citizens have already completed that part of the process. And in most places, the actual counting phase will not be in for some time. And that leads to major concerns about ballot security.

Senior correspondent Eric Shawn shows us tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC SHAWN, FOX NEWS CHANNEL SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Brewster County taxes is the largest county in the Lone Star State. At more than 6,000 square miles, it is three times the size of Delaware and larger than Connecticut. But under state law, Brewster, like all state counties will only have one officially designated site for voters to return their ballots as an alternative to mail-in voting or voting in-person on Election Day.

Two federal lawsuits are challenging the restriction. Saying, limiting the number of places for voters to drop-off ballots to just one per county suppresses the vote.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a deliberate attempt to manipulate the election. If the governor was truly worried about this, he could have stopped this program more than a month ago.

SHAWN: Officials could not say how many of the state's 254 counties have designated a drop-off location. The state is crapping additional sites that were planned for some counties.

Governor Abbott, says he is trying to strengthen ballot security. And supporters say he is just following existing state law.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This actually what the law is, which is you have one site to drop-off absentee ballots, and you have to have poll watchers at the site.

SHAWN: The Texas limit could fall if what happened in Ohio is then the indication. There, a federal judge scrapped the one ballot box per county order, and the state will now allow voters to drop-off ballots at boxes, as long as they are on board of elections property.

In Houston, Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins, says one drop-off location for almost 2-1/2 million voters is not enough.

CHRIS HOLLINS, CLERK, HARRIS COUNTY: To force hundreds of thousands of seniors and voters with disabilities here in Harris County, and millions of voters across the State of Texas, to use a single drop-off location in these massive counties is not only prejudicial but is dangerous.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SHAWN: Governor Abbott has already extended the early in-person voting in the state by six days. That starts next week, and the race there is close. The Real Clear Politics Average puts President Trump up just over three points. He won Texas in 2016 by nine percent. Bret?

BAIER: Eric, thank you. Again, we are awaiting President Trump to leave Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. That's the live shot you're looking at, the gold doors. Correspondent Kevin Corke is right outside, has the latest. Good evening, Kevin.

KEVIN CORKE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. We're expecting the president to come out any moment now. His medical team said earlier today, as you saw here on FOX News that he was a phenomenal patient. The doctors saying that his vitals are fine. They said that his respiratory capacity is also fine. And perhaps most importantly, they said there is no known active part of the virus right now that the president is dealing with.

He mentioned on Twitter earlier today that, in fact, he would be leaving at 6:30. We are told that he is making a video in which he is expected to thank the staff here at Walter Reed. It's a phenomenal staff. Anyone who has been here or talked to people who have actually been treated here will tell you that.

What will be very interesting, Bret, is as he leaves what might he say to the folks, not only the White House press pool, but might he somehow fly about and wave at the crowd here? There has been a large contingent of Trump supporters here throughout the day.

I can also tell you this, Bret. We are wondering about some answers to some of the questions that were posed today. People wondering what about the president's lung capacity? What is the pathway forward with respect to his treatment? And perhaps more importantly, just how soon might he get back out there on the campaign trail?

One last nugget, Bret. You may have heard reporters today also asking about the last time the president tested negative for COVID. Doctors were very careful not to disclose that, citing HIPAA and other regulations. It will be very interesting to move forward to see if we get that information, Bret.

BAIER: Kevin, what has the crowd out there been like? We have seen people waving flags, and obviously he did the drive by the other day in the SUV. What's it like now?

CORKE: Quite interesting. I was here the very first night that he was here at Walter Reed, and we were here until 2:30 in the morning. And you would expect the crowd to thin out at that particular point of the morning, but they were still here by the dozens. That group has now grown to more than 100. As you sort of sweep down Wisconsin Avenue and the Rockville Pike here, you see the crowd has actually grown exponentially when compared to the very first night that we were here. And while they are here for the most part, they've simply been waving flags and going through chants of support for the president.

I half expected, Bret, that we might see some counter protesters show up here. That that simply hasn't been the case. And as you can imagine, we have a large contender of law enforcement to keep things nice and cool. Bret?

BAIER: OK, Kevin Corke right outside of Walter Reed. We'll head back as the action progresses. Kevin, thanks.

Let's bring in our panel, Bill Bennett, former Education Secretary, host of "The Bill Bennett Show" podcast, Mara Liasson, national political correspondent for National Public Radio, and Chris Stirewalt, politics editor here at FOX News.

Bill, this is a big moment. Obviously, it is a positive thing that the president has been told by his doctors that he can return to the White House, and he is going to, as he has in the past, have a moment here where he lets the public see him leaving the hospital. Your thoughts on what we have seen transpire really since he left the White House on Friday?

BILL BENNETT, FORMER EDUCATION SECRETARY: Friday seems like two centuries ago rather than two or three days ago. A lot has transpired, but the bottom line is good news. The president is going back to the White House. He will be cared for there, treated well there.

But in the president is an embodiment of American people. We always have it, no matter who the president is, whether you like him or not, he stands for all of America. And every president has had shortcomings and strengths, some greater than others. But at all times, you stand for the American people. So this has got to be taken as good news. Some of the battles will go on, some of the disputes will go on about what happened over the weekend and so on. But we shall now see what the president does, his role in the campaign. But this is a moment of joy and relief for many of us. A lot of us thought from the beginning that he would prevail, and with him the rest of the country. This is good news.

BAIER: Important to point out that the doctors said he is not out of the woods yet, but the fact that he has had some great hours and a couple of days in a row that he's going back to the White House, where they have great care, too, Mara. It's interesting that you're looking back at this Rose Garden ceremony for his Supreme Court nominee, and you look at all the people who have tested positive who were at that Rose Garden ceremony for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and there is a long list here, and it seems to be growing, Mara.

MARA LIASSON, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO:  Yes, it seems to be growing. There is definitely an outbreak in the White House. A lot of people who have come down with the virus were at that event, and we have now seen pictures from the event. People were hugging, not wearing masks. There were indoor receptions as part of the event. People were shaking hands. So definitely not following the president's own CDC protocols. But we are going to have to see if it spreads even more.

Mark Meadows, the White House Chief of Staff, has said he expects there to be more positive spread. And the thing about the president, he's going to make a dramatic exit, we assume, out of the golden doors at Walter Reed going home. I think he tweeted earlier that this was a mission accomplished moment. I don't know if that's the right phrase, but every doctor has said he's got to be watched carefully. This virus can take a very circuitous path. You can feel good, and then it hits you again. So he's not out of the woods. I think they said they want to really monitor him through the weekend to make sure that his vital signs are good and he is recovering well.

BAIER: Chris, we are probably about a minute away here from this moment where President Trump after taping a video inside is going to walk out of those doors. This is a big moment, not only because he's getting cleared, but also we are so close to this election, and what this means and how it plays is really going to be fascinating to see.

CHRIS STIREWALT, FOX NEWS POLITICAL EDITOR: When James Brown would perform with the famous flames, he would give his all in the show. He would sweat, he would rant, he would rave, he would do all this stuff. And then he would hunch down on the stage. And they would come over with a cape to put it on him. And he would stand up. He would throw the cape off -- no, I can't stop now. I've got too much soul in my bowl. I've got to go. That's what Trump wants to do here, right. I was down, I was suffering, I was hurting, but now I'm back, and I'm fighting. I'm a champion. I'm the Teflon don, right, I can do it. And that's what he wants to take out of this moment.

Now, you can over overfreight a situation like this, right? You can put too much masse on your cue shot, and of course there's always a danger with this administration that they do that. But the clean get that they want here is to say that this is a guy who can come back. This is a guy who can be down and come back. And that's what they want to telegraph here.

BAIER: And that's a pretty strong message, isn't it, Bill?

BENNETT: Yes, it is, and he's actually is a guy who can come back and does. By the way, when James Brown ended the show with capes, it was capes. Not just one cape, but a series of capes that he put on.

STIREWALT: That's right. That's right, absolutely.

BENNETT: Right, Chris? He did encore after encore.

STIREWALT: Absolutely.

BENNETT: But skepticism and sarcasm aside, he did come back. He is back. And that's very, very important. And let's remember that. This is our president. I know a lot of people don't like him. This is our president. He got this doggone thing, this horrible thing. And I very much liked his comments. I know a lot of people are jumping on him saying do not let this dominate your life. Do not let this get you down. That's exactly right. Every doctor in the world will tell you that attitude, your attitude that you bring to your illness is very, very important. Stay positive. Don't let it take over your life.

BAIER: Let's pause here, Bill, and go, as the president walks out of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, let's listen in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President how many staff are sick? How many of your staff are sick?

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think you might be a super spreader, Mr. President?

BAIER: With that, the live shot moving as the White House press pool takes a moment to move out of the way. The president walking out of the doors there at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, getting in an SUV. He'll take a short drive to Marine One. And we will see that take off here momentarily.

He is getting basically a clean bill of health to leave the hospital, but there is a very sophisticated medical facility at the White House. He will be under constant monitoring according to his doctors. But they feel like he has progressed greatly over the last day or so.

Back with our panel, Mara, Chris, and Bill. Mara, listening to the doctors, there was some, at the beginning, wondering how they were going to talk about the oxygen he received. But over the last day, the bottom line is that the positive nature of how his treatment is going, it sounds like they are feeling good about things.

LIASSON: Right, right. He has gotten a cocktail of medicines, drugs, that seem to be working. There is still little confusion. They don't seem to want to tell us when he last tested negative. We know that he was -- or at least we have been told he's being tested all the time. But yes, the bottom line seems to be he's responding to the drugs. They want to keep watching him.

And I just want to make a correction. I said I thought he tweeted "Mission Accomplished." That was a parody account. Wrong. He didn't say that.

BAIER: OK.

LIASSON: But yes, they think he is responding well, and now we're going to see what happens to him over the next couple of days.

BAIER: Thank you for the clarification.

The motorcade is rolling there, a short drive to Marine One. I do want to lay this soundbite from Dr. Conley earlier talking about his condition as we look at these live pictures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SEAN CONLEY, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PHYSICIAN: Over the past 24 hours, the president has continued to improve. He has met or exceeded all standard hospital discharge criteria.

We all remain cautiously optimistic and on guard because we are in a bit of unchartered territory when it comes to a patient that received the therapies he has so early in the course. So we are looking to this weekend, if we can get through to Monday with him remaining the same or improving, better yet, then we will all take that final deep sigh of relief.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: And Bill, it's a deep sigh of relief, but remember that this is the president of the United States. They're going to throw everything at trying to make him get better as fast as they can. And it looks like they had an aggressive plan for that.

BENNETT: Yes, and he's got an aggressive plan, too. You can see that fist shake, or thumbs up fist shake as he was leaving. I don't think it will be long before he's back on the campaign trail.

Let's remember this. We have got to take this thing seriously. The man is in his 70s, has a condition or two that needs to be watched that can exaggerate the problem. But remember, it's in the high 90s, as Brit Hume was saying, the recovery rate for people even in their 70s. And we have created such an incredible scare about this thing hear. Again, take it seriously, but a lot of people still when they hear someone has COVID, they think, my gosh, it's a 50/50 chance the person is going to die. It's not. It's about 99 percent chance they're going to live, and in Donald's Trump's case and in his age cohort, 95, 96 percent.

With his energy level, with his animal spirits, I expect it's even higher, and he will be back on the campaign trail. The message will be interesting. Will it be the same? I think it will probably be a little louder.

BAIER: You see the president entering Marine One there live, that live shot, waving again to reporters.

Chris, getting on the campaign trail, the doctors saying earlier that you need to make sure that there is no virus present and that he can't provide or give the virus to someone else, as far as being contagious, but also, there's essentially 10 days by the CDC. If that all goes well, it is possible that this president could be at the next presidential debate, which is scheduled for Miami on October 15th.

STIREWALT: Sure. To Secretary Bennett's point, it is clear that this administration and this campaign have to do a better job of taking this seriously. The optics here are going to matter so much. It seems incredible given all of the risky behaviors that they have engaged in over time with the rallies and the stuff that there hasn't been an outbreak before. Now it's here, and as they move forward, they have to be deliberate and serious about an issue that is the number one concern of American voters this cycle.

It's great to say, I'm back and I'm tough and I beat corona, and that is fine for his debate. And that's good news for the country and for him and for everybody else. But if they can't shape up on this subject, if they can't do better in dealing with this, they will be punished by voters for sure.

BAIER: Let's bring back our chief White House chief correspondent John Roberts. He's standing by. John, your thoughts as we see these images from Walter Reed?

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it speaks to the tenacity and the forcefulness of this president. He really can be an irresistible force when he wants to be. Just ask anyone who has ever worked for him. This is probably, according to Donald Trump Jr., the longest that he has ever been in a hospital in his entire life. He clearly didn't want to be there one second longer than he had to be and wanted to get back to the White House as quickly as possible.

But the big question is, and Chris was talking about this just a second ago, when can he get back out there on the campaign trail? Can he make the second debate less than two weeks from now? If the president tests negative three times before then, he should be cleared to be able to go.

And an interesting thing from a medical perspective as well is, typically, we don't see people go to the hospital until they have fulminant disease and they really need to be in the hospital to be taken care of. Dr. Sean Conley saw a couple of troubling indications in the first few hours after the president's positive tests, and literally threw the entire arsenal of pharmacological products at the president to try to keep that viral load down, to try to keep him breathing as well as he could.

And so here we have a really interesting test case, that if you first get a positive test of coronavirus and you throw everything, including the kitchen sink at it, can you shrink that period of time that people have the disease down to a very short period? The president was barely in the hospital for three 24-hour periods when he is back out again. So it will be interesting to see going forward now, and as you pointed out, Bret, the White House has a fully operational medical unit that can take care of him. How soon will he be back out on the road? I can tell you it's not going to be a second longer that the president stays at the White House that he has to.

BAIER: Let's listen in to Marine One taking off from Walter Reed.

It's a short flight from Bethesda to the White House. A great shot there as you see the traffic on Wisconsin Avenue held a back as the Marine One makes its way over the buildings, and will get over the national monuments very soon, as you see the president making this short trip.

I want to bring back Dr. Janet Nesheiwat to follow-up on what John was saying. Doctor, the thought of throwing everything at a patient, it's obviously the president of the United States, but it is an interesting test case.

DR. JANEY NESHEIWAT, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, Bret. This is just so beautiful to see that our president, he is on the path to recovery. He actually wasn't given everything that was out of the standard of care. He was given the standard of care. The only thing that was different was he received Regeneron. But everything else is what anybody who is hospitalized would receive other than maybe the peptidisamodadine (ph). The remdesivir, the dexamethasone, the zinc, the Vitamin D, if you were to be hospitalized and you met the criteria, you would receive all of that except for the monoclonal antibodies. But you might receive convalescent plasma, which is similar, both are antibodies.

But it's great to see our president recovering. He is not in the clear yet. There is a phase called the hyper inflammatory immune response phase, which we usually see around between seven to 10 days. So he has to continue to be watched and monitored closely, including his oxygen levels to make sure it doesn't dip below the 90s, make sure he doesn't develop fever or respiratory distress. A lot of times we feel better, we get back to work, back to our normal routine, and then we regress. Our body becomes weak and fatigued again, and the virus, if the viral load isn't 100 percent exited our system, we can become fatigued, sick, weak, and start developing symptoms again. That's what we want to avoid.

BAIER: That's a great point. This is a fascinating shot. We often don't see it. This is Marine One. A lot of people say Washington, D.C., is a big city. It is, but there is really not any buildings in the capital area, in the district itself, taller than the capitol dome. And there is a lot of wooded area that this Marine One with the president is flying over.

Brit Hume, just some historical context here. The last time we saw a president where the nation was watching very closely may have been President Reagan and his colon cancer surgery and that iconic image of he and Nancy Reagan waving from Marine One. Your thoughts on this day as the president heads back to work?

BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I was so glad to hear what the doctor said, which is that the course of treatment that the president has received is what most people will receive. And it emphasizes something important, which is not only we found out a lot about how survivable this disease is for people in nearly every age group, but we have also gotten better as a nation at treating it, so that people's prospects are therefore even better.

So we are dealing here, and the president was dealing with an ailment that is only rarely, only rarely fatal. And of course, the kind of pandemic that you're really worry about is not necessarily the one that makes a lot of people sick, because that is the meaning of the word pandemic. A lot of people are going to get sick. The question then is, how sick, and how likely are they to survive? And the good news is that most people are going to experience the same thing this president is experiencing, which is he is going to recover. He's going to get back. He's going to get better. The treatment is better, and we know how to deal with it.

And that is very good news, indeed, and the president becomes a kind of signal, visible, clarifying example of that. One hopes and trusts that the public will take that lesson away from this, that, folks, this is serious, it's very infectious, but it's probably, almost certainly not going to kill you. That's good news.

BAIER: Mara, I guess the question also is, does mask-wearing become more of a prominent feature in the White House staff? Does the president talk more about the preventative actions that the public can take? Does this change him?

LIASSON: That is an excellent question, and I've been thinking a lot about that. You have already seen mask-wearing become more prevalent among the White House staff. So he said he went to school. This was the best school on COVID. It's not the kind of read a book school. So the question is, is going to talk about the pandemic differently. Is he going to just say, look, I survived. It's not that bad.

BAIER: Passing the Pentagon now, by the way.

LIASSON: Or is he going to be able to show some empathy for people and families who have been dealing with it? It will be really interesting to see how he incorporates that into his campaign message.

BAIER: I just wanted to point out that Marine One was passing the Pentagon right there. And we get a rare glimpse of the Pentagon. I spent a lot of time in that 19-and-a-half miles of corridor covering the Defense Department. This is a rare thing because, obviously, security is very tight around any flights like this. Bill Bennett, it's kind of historic to watch, as the shot goes out there, the Marine One heading back to the White House.

BENNETT: Yes, that is my commute, but I don't do it that way.

(LAUGHTER)

BENNETT: We live in northern Maryland, and I often go downtown. It takes me longer. I was thinking of the people in the traffic.

But look, wonderful comments about the medicine here, but I think as we go to this campaign, there's the medical issue. And I think Chris is right. You have got to confront this seriously, show you are taking it seriously, show empathy, show you understand.

But there is also the question of morale, national morale. After 9/11, we said let's roll. When this thing hit, a lot of Americans said, because they were overwhelmed with bad news, let's go roll up in a ball, let's go inside, hide under the bed. And what the president needs to appeal to, the only way he can win is that sense of national morale. What does it mean when something like this strikes Americans?

I remember when I was in college, I remember the French poet Baudelaire wrote many people believe life is a hospital in which each of us believes we will feel better if we go to another bed. Very French, very existential, not very American. That's not the way we think here. We think that things are going to get better. We can take things in stride, take them seriously, but keep your head up, and keep moving forward.

BAIER: Let's listen in as Marine One lands on the South Lawn of the White House. President Trump returning, he left Friday, and he is returning today. Still under medical watch. Let's listen in.

This is also a shot we don't often see. It's from across the road. You can hear a reporter in the background talking. Chris Stirewalt, hard to believe that just a short time ago, even though it feels like it's long, long ago, the president delivered his final convention speech from the south lawn right where the helicopter essentially is landing, delivering his nomination acceptance. And now, we are just 29 days, essentially, away from an election where he has got some catching up to do.

STIREWALT: Yes, he is way behind. And he needs the race to take on a different trajectory. And as Secretary Bennett alluded to, it's got to be here, right? It's got to be around this, because there is no way that this election was ever going to be about anything other than coronavirus. Once it hit, once we got to the middle of March, it was clear that there was no escape trajectory for the Republicans on this thing. They have to embrace it. They have to say that they have the better plan and the better way to go.

This does offer Trump and his campaign and Republicans an inflection point where they can start talking about this differently due to the president's experience. This is a do over, to a certain extent, if they want to make it one.

BAIER: Brit, the pool, the press pool is gathered there to watch the president walk off, and we will eventually have that tape as he makes his way back into the White House. Your thoughts on these final days before this election?

HUME: Well, I think Chris is right. The president is behind. He does need the trajectory of the race to change in his favor. We saw some earlier tightening back in September, and a little bit before that even. Lately, the margin in many polls, at least, seems to have widened a bit. Races tend to tighten in the closing weeks, so the question we'll have to face observing this is whether the tightening means that the overall race is really changing or whether we are just having the normal tightening you see at the close of an election. It is going to be very interesting to see how the president addresses this question.

I am skeptical that he and his party can do a big turnaround and start getting all grave and worried and newly worried about the coronavirus. I think the president's experience is emblematic of what most people experience is. They get sick from this, they get better, they get well. And the question then becomes whether we've had the right policies with the shutdowns that are still going on, even in schools. Colleges are now closing down again in many places because they have a bunch of cases. It is a pandemic. You're going to have cases. So I think the president has another approach this, which is to say, America, we're strong. And the survival rate of this proves it, and let's move forward. I think that might be a better message.

BAIER: Mara, do you sense at the White House that they are in this final push, and that they have a plan now that they are getting this president back to the White House, how this end of the election push is going to look?

LIASSON: Not exactly. I think that they have tried some lines. Erin Perrine of the Trump campaign talked about how now Trump has something that Biden doesn't. He has personal experience with the virus. He can talk about it in a way that Joe Biden can't. I think they were hoping that the debate would change the dynamic of the race from a referendum on the president's leadership to a binary choice between him and Biden. It doesn't seem to have worked.

But if he recovers quickly enough, he has two more chances to do that. There are two more debates coming up. But that is what the president has to do. He has to change the dynamic of this race from being a referendum on him to a binary choice. And that was the plan. That is what all the advertisement was focused on. That's what the travel around the country was going to be. How long is going to he be sidelined?

And remember, Vice President Pence is out there, Trump's family members are going to be out there, but nobody is a substitute for Donald Trump on the campaign trail.

BAIER: Chris, does he change his messaging?

STIREWALT: I doubt it.

BAIER: There is the president. Hold on one second. Let's just focus in. There is the president on the South Portico, taking off his mask. Let's listen.

Again, the shot we're looking at is from across the street. We will get the White House pool shot of all of this. The president, masked, came off Marine One, walked up the steps, went up there to the South Portico, gave the two thumbs up with the flags there, and now standing and will walk into the residence here. Chris, finish your thought, if you would.

STIREWALT: In 2016, you remember when Hillary Clinton was sick and had pneumonia. They didn't tell the truth about it. Trump got every good break in 2016, 2020 has been just the opposite. Every bad thing -- he had a pretty lucky first three years, but the fourth year of this term has been brutal. Could this be the beginning of an attitudinal turnaround, right, the beginning of people saying, OK, he beat this, maybe he can really do stuff? So it could be that, but to this point up to and including getting the virus itself, it has been the reverse of 2016.

BAIER: Thank you, panel, thank you, everyone. President Donald Trump in the distance there on the South Portico as Marine One takes off from the South Lawn.

Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for the SPECIAL REPORT. Fair, balanced and still unafraid. Watching history. Martha MacCallum continues our coverage live right now.

Martha?   

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