Biden addresses inappropriate conduct allegations on 'The View'

close

Video

Biden addresses inappropriate conduct allegations on 'The View'

Joe Biden working to clear the air on past issues; reaction and analysis from our ladies night panel on 'The Story.'

This is a rush transcript from "The Story," April 26, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MARTHA MACCALLUM, HOST: All right, everybody. Joe Biden went deep into the heart of the American suburb today to persuade women that he is their guy. He did it by starting his campaign at "The View", facing the questions that his campaign wants to get out of the way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST, THE VIEW, ABC: Early this month, you reached out to Anita Hill. She wants you to say is, "I'm sorry for the way I treated you, not for the way you were treated." I think that one weren't be little closer.

JOE BIDEN, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, but, but, I'm sorry the way she got treated.

BEHAR: Nancy Pelosi wants you to say, "I'm sorry that I invaded your space."

BIDEN: Sorry, I invaded your space. I mean, I'm sorry this happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Good evening, everybody. I'm Martha MacCallum, and this is “The Story.” There was not one question there about issues today. He says he will get to those after this weekend. But he did say this when he was asked about his proudest moment during the Obama years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Not one single whisper of scandal.

BEHAR: Not one.

BIDEN: Not one single --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So, when it does turn to the issues how will that go for the former vice president, he's running against a sea of candidates who believe that Russia poses a very great threat to America which will no doubt prompt replays of this response to Mitt Romney calling Russia, our biggest foe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: He acts like he thinks the Cold War still on. Russia is still our major adversary. I don't know where he has been.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: And that will inevitably raise some questions about the Obama team and what they knew and did in the early stages of the Russian meddling, and the origins of the investigation into the Trump campaign to be sure. Biden also expecting a warm reception in the Rust Belt. He has built union bonds for decades.

But now, with very low unemployment in these areas, workers who were sidelined, returning back to the workforce and wage growth, how will he lay out his case that he can make it even better for them.

Can he win the trade war with China? Can he get more companies to build factories in the United States? His opponents will argue for wealth taxes, Medicare for all, and the right for prisoners to vote.

When Americans ask themselves in this election, is America great again? Or is it greater? Or is it better? What will their answers individually be? A lot, of course, will depend on how each of them defines greatness.

Today, President Trump, though, did get a big win. A first-quarter GDP number that was a full percentage bigger than expected. Coming in at 3.2 percent for the first quarter. Here's his reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Our economy is now the hottest anywhere on the planet earth. The GDP smashed expectations. Unemployment recently achieved its lowest rate in 51 years. America's future is never been brighter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: All right, let's bring in our panel. Good panel tonight, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz. Steve Hilton, host of "The Next Revolution". And Richard Goodstein, Democratic strategist and former campaign adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton. Gentlemen, great to have all of you here.

RICHARD GOODSTEIN, FORMER ADVISER, CLINTON CAMPAIGN: Thank you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Richard, let me start with you. Obviously, you know, that was a win today for the president. The economy is very strong. A lot of people thought we were headed towards a recession. But it doesn't appear to be coming anytime soon.

GOODSTEIN: Yes, I have to give the president credit. That 3.2 number, it was a lot better than the 2.2 of his first year, and 2.9 of his second year. Not quite what he promised during the campaign which was four. And as he put it, maybe five or six. But we'll take 3.2.

The job number is kind of on a trend line that he inherited from Obama, and it's great that it's still going down. And you know, the question is, you know, when he says, is America great again?

You know, again relative to what? It's -- you know, I think that's what a lot of people are kind of worrying is that when blacks and women didn't have the rights that they have now? That's always been from day one the problem with his slogan, and keeping up with some of his promises about the wall, and Mexico building, and so forth that he hasn't quite delivered on, that's where I think he might be leaving some people short. But, hats off to him on the number.

MACCALLUM: All right. OK, let's take a look at the most recent Fox poll, if it were to be Biden versus Trump, it has Joe Biden at +7. President Trump at 40 percent in this poll. Matt Gaetz, you know, given what we laid out here in the introduction, what do you think?

REP. MATT GAETZ, R-FLA.: National polls don't worry me at all. The numbers that mean the most to me are that we've got nearly 5 million people who are off of food stamps since President Trump was elected. More than 5-1/2 million jobs created. More than eight months of three percent year-over- year wage growth, which means, bigger paychecks for the American people.

And Martha the reason we're seeing this unexpected roaring Trump economy in the first quarter of this year is because we've got consumers spending money. This is a direct consequence of President Trump's policies. This is not an accident, when you put more money in people's pocket as a result of tax cuts, they can be more optimistic about their future, they can spend that money.

And as Larry Kudlow put it, we are now in a prosperity cycle where our success is breeding even more success. Too much more, Martha, and I'm going to be tired of winning.

MACCALLUM: All right. All right, Steve Hilton, you know, that's -- as I laid it out, you know, that's the question for Joe Biden, right? You have a lot of these candidates who are much further to the left than Joe Biden, who have different ways of looking at the economy, they want to redistribute wealth.

But that's not the world that Joe Biden has lived in, in the past. He's going to go to the Rust Belt and try to convince these families and these workers, and these people who live there that he can make their economic situation even better than it is now. How do you think he's going to sell that argument?

STEVE HILTON, CHANNEL HOST: I think he's going to try and present himself as he always has as this champion of the middle class. But his record is completely the opposite. And just to give a quick plug math on, on my show on Sunday night, we'll be laying out the facts there.

I mean, he talked about having no whiff of scandal during his time in the White House as vice president. His whole career has been a scandal. He is the ultimate insider. And I think this is the crucial point to understand about the election. I think is not so much about left or right, it's still about the insider versus the outside.

And President Trump, even though he's in the White House is still the ultimate outsider. That's how he acts every single day. Joe Biden is the ultimate insider. That's what people wanted to change from in 2016. They still want that change and the idea that they're going to vote for the ultimate insider. The ultimate swamp creature is not real.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: It's an interesting point. And you know who's going to make that argument, Richard, is Bernie Sanders. You know, he -- he's a senator, obviously. But he's going to make that argument. Pete Buttigieg is going to make that argument, they're going to look at Joe Biden, it's going to get nasty as the president predicted, and I says, I think everybody knows all of these folks are going to point the finger at Joe Biden, and go. You know, he's from the swamp, he's old news, and we are the way forward.

GOODSTEIN: Well, if that's what you want to say about the person who is the vice president to a highly successful President Obama. And look, the fact to the matter -- look, the fact the matter is, if I were to Trump White House, I'd be scared to death that as good as the economy is -- and Matt laid out the pace for it in Michigan, in Wisconsin, in Pennsylvania, in all of those swing states, Biden beats Trump by 8 to 10 points today.

And you tell me, a year from now, is the economy going to be stronger or weaker? I think most economists aren't particularly enthusiastic that we're going to hit that four or five percent that Donald Trump promised.

Will it be nasty between Bernie Sanders and the others, and Biden? Yes, and he's a big boy. He's been around this track before, he knows it.

MACCALLUM: All right. It's a good point. Richard makes a good point, Matt. And you know, there are reports that this is the candidate that the Trump folks are the most concerned about for exactly that reason.

When you look at the polling in those states, and you look at the history that has Joe -- that Joe Biden has with those voters, it's a legitimate -- a legitimate point.

GAETZ: I'm pretty optimistic when I look at the history that Joe Biden has with primary voting Democrats in presidential contests. It's not as if the sample size is small, Joe's run for president a few times before and there's a reason why Democrats haven't picked him.

I don't think that his floor is a lot different than his ceiling in the polling, because I don't think a lot of people are waiting around to learn something new about Joe Biden. I think he is where he is, and he's likely to be overtaken in the primary. But whoever comes out of the Democratic primary, prosperity is a hard thing to campaign against.

And if you look at the expectations of the economy before the 2016 election, we thought it would be at 1.6, 1.7 percent growth right now. Not only is the Trump economy beating the Obama era projections, it's doubling them up and lapping them.

And I think when we get the chance to make that case in the Rust Belt and the places where we've seen a lot of the economic progress from manufacturing, we'll be really strong in the areas that will deliver President Trump reelection.

MACCALLUM: OK. This is just one of a person's opinion. Chris Cillizza on CNN -- you know, there was a lot of examples of this in the media, Richard, today, of people going after Joe Biden. Perhaps, not satisfied and not wanting him to be the guy. Here's just one example, let's play it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CILLIZZA, POLITICS EDITOR-AT-LARGE, CNN: But one thing Donald Trump is right about when he attacks Joe Biden. He's never really shown the quality of candidate that we expected him to be in either of those races.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Which goes to the point, Richard, how excited are -- and you know, the money came in in a big way today, and the polls look good for Joe Biden. And you know, so I need to lay that down first. But how, how much enthusiasm do you think there is in the Republican Party for him to be the guy? For him to be the frontrunner.

GOODSTEIN: In the Democratic Party, yes. Look, I think this will be the key question which is, is it excitement versus some better prospect of winning? And if you look at the polls right now, Biden clearly stands a better chance and actually beats Trump rather handily. Does that stand a test of time? Who knows?

But I think if you're the Democrat, and your primary objective is not to be excited, or not even a particular policy outcome, you kind of know from Biden's work with Obama about where you're going to go policy-wise, and Democrats pretty happy with that. But Biden seems to give you the best chance of beating Trump, and that is the most Democrats is the thing that (INAUDIBLE) in everything else. Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Which is clearly what -- yes. The polls tell us that's what Democrats want more than anything. One more poll I want to put up because I thought this was interesting. And the question is are you totally enthusiastic, comfortable with a candidate who is? 87 percent said yes, totally comfortable with African American candidate.

And then, you go down the list here. A woman candidate, 84 percent. Gay/lesbian, 68 percent say they're fine comfortable with that attribute for a candidate. But over 75, only 37 percent say that they feel totally enthusiastic and comfortable with that. Steve, what do you think about that?

HILTON: Well, I think the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Like Bernie Sanders is just as old, and just as white, and just as male as Biden, and so on. And he's got a lot of enthusiasm behind him in the primary, at least.

And I think in the end, it comes down to ideas and the kind of gut feeling they have about where you want to take the country? Now, what Biden is saying very clearly is, he wants to go back, he wants to take America back to the pre-Trump era.

Now, the pre-Trump era, and looking at those battleground states, and the blue-collar workers we're talking about. For them, the pre-Trump era was wage stagnation, that's what's changed. You've got the lower-income groups benefiting the most from the Trump boom, and that's going to be decisive.

MACCALLUM: Yes, I got to go. So, I've given Steve the last word this time. Gentlemen, thank you. Richard, thank you. Matt, thank you.

GOODSTEIN: -- Martha.

MACCALLUM: Great to see you guys.

HILTON: Thank you.

GAETZ: Thanks, Martha.

MACCALLUM: You bet. Coming up next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ERIC SWALWELL, D-CALIF., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think he acts on Russia's behalf, and I challenge him to show me otherwise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Trey Gowdy will join us in just a moment. He will respond to Democrats who are still embracing what the president calls collusion delusion.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROD ROSENSTEIN, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: As the President pointed out in his law day remarks last year, we govern ourselves in accordance with the rule of law rather than the whims of an elite few over the dictates of collective will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So last night, Rod Rosenstein sort of exhaled after months of saying nothing and taking barbs from all sides, those who thought the president should fire him, and there were those who said that he wanted to wear a wire and remove the president from office, and those who when he was hired thought he was a straight shooter, just the right man for the job. So last night he spoke out on the cusp of becoming a public citizen again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSENSTEIN: Like some of the nonsense that passes for breaking news today would not be worth the paper it was printed on. If anybody bothered to print, it was these days. One silly question that I get from reporters is, is it true that you got angry and emotional a few times over the past two years. Heck, yes, didn't you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: In the end, Rosenstein argued for a less transparent version of the Mueller report according to this report, one that exposed less about the findings of the investigation. And the Washington Post says that Barr opted for a more public reading. Let's bring in Trey Gowdy, former House Oversight Committee Chairman, Fox News Contributor.

So Trey, a lot of talk about Rod Rosenstein you know, speaking out a little bit more about his take on all of this. And I saw on some other networks, they were horrified that he you know, basically put President Trump and the rule of law even in the same sentence. What do you make of all that?

TREY GOWDY, R-S.C., FORMER CONGRESSMAN: I was around Rod a lot so the Rod Rosenstein just played close up, I got to hear that. Yes, it's a really hard job. There were days that I disagreed with him, there were days I agreed with him. I never called for his impeachment.

Here's what Rod is right. The purpose of the justice system is not transparency, it is fairness. There's a reason defendants don't have to testify, there's a reason lots of evidence never gets before a jury.

Sometimes transparency and fairness overlap but oftentimes they do not. So fairness is the objective of the Department of Justice. And I think Rod is right. This report should not have been made public, certainly not to the extent that it was, but the politics won out over the precepts of the Department of Justice.

MACCALLUM: There's another line in this story that says this, and it's attributing this statement to Rod Rosenstein from someone who overheard it. It says I give -- it says that Rosenstein said, I give the investigation credibility in his words, and then at the end this person characterized him as saying, I can land the plane.

And the reporting on this is that this was a discussion during which Mr. Rosenstein was trying to say look, let me stay on this -- you know, we all heard all this stuff about him getting fired and saying he wants to wear a wire. A lot of outrage that he would say something like that if indeed he did. I can land the plane. What do you -- how do you read that?

GOWDY: Well, there was a lot -- there were calls for his impeachment, there were calls for him to be fired. But keep in mind in the throes of that 25th Amendment news breaking, he got on the plane with President Trump. They rode to Florida. President Trump didn't have a problem with him. I mean, that's his boss.

Sessions was not in charge of the Russia probe so if President Trump was OK with Rod, I don't know why House Republicans were insisting on impeaching him. And the reality is he was able to land the plane and he actually landed a plane where he would land it in another airport. He didn't think the thing should have been made public because we don't publish derogatory information on people that we don't indict. So despite the fact that he disagreed with what A.G. Barr was going to do, he helped land the plane.

MACCALLUM: Yes. I just think it's interesting that both -- all of them, Mueller and Rosenstein and Barr, when they came into these positions, they were given a lot of credibility on all sides of the fence. You know, that these were straight shooters, these are men that you can count on to do their job. But because they didn't come out with the conclusion that some people wanted, now they're being ripped to shreds and he's being ripped to shreds again today.

So I guess you know, we live in a land where if you don't get the answer that you want, there's no such thing as integrity.

GOWDY: Yes. We're in an outcome determinative world now, a relativistic world which is one reason I'm happy I'm not there. There are days I agreed and disagreed with Mueller but there was never a day that I thought the man who had integrity while he was a marine and integrity why he ran the FBI, I never believed that he just changed.

And I don't think Rod changed. I think these are really hard jobs and we're in an environment where if we disagree with the decision you make, therefore you must be corrupt. I can't live in that world and I'm glad I'm not there anymore.

MACCALLUM: All right, well here's Eric Swalwell and what he said about his ongoing commitment to THE STORY that was largely debunked, Russia's.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SWALWELL: I accept that. I probably should have been out there a little bit earlier because who knew how many links there were, 200 pages of links. But here's what we know. The Russians helped Donald Trump.

MELBER: Sure. But to be clear, so you -- so you're no longer maintaining that he is as effectively a "Russian asset?"

SWALWELL: No, I think he acts on Russia's behalf and I challenge him to show me otherwise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Trey, what do you think?

GOWDY: President Eric Swalwell, that ought to scare the ever living hell out of you, Martha. His last sentence is exactly the difference between a prosecutor and the politician. Prosecutors proved that you did something, politicians make you prove you did not. Did you hear his last sentence? I challenge President Trump to prove that he did not do something. That's what politicians do.

MACCALLUM: Yes, that's not the way law works. Trey, thank you. Always good to see you, sir.

GOWDY: Yes, ma'am. You too.

MACCALLUM: So in Florida, teachers could soon carry guns. A father who lost his daughter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School reacts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Teachers in Florida could soon be allowed to carry guns. The Senate there passed a school safety bill this week that would allow teachers to be armed if individual school boards sign off on it. It's a controversial measure and it is of course in response to the February 2018 shooting at Marjorie Stoneham Douglass High School that left 17 people dead.

In moments, Andrew Pollack joins me who lost his daughter Meadow on that day. We'll have his reaction but first let's go to Trace Gallagher who has the latest on this story tonight. Hi Trace!

TRACE GALLAGHER, ANCHOR: Hi, Martha! It looks like this will happen because lawmakers in the Florida House are very supportive and Governor Ron de Santis has indicated that he will sign it. But even then as you noted, the local school boards would still have to agree before any teachers would be allowed to voluntarily carry a weapon.

Now this has really been a partisan battle in Florida. You had students travel to Tallahassee trying to convince lawmakers not to pass the bill. Democrats in the State House also tried repeatedly to remove language from the bill allowing teachers to carry.

Even some national Democrats weighed in like California Senator and 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris who tweeted "Teachers don't need a gun, they need a raise. We have to give them the resources they need to educate the next generation of leaders."

But even some Democrats who voted against the bill like State Senator Lauren Book say it was a tough decision because she knows that if Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School wrestling coach Chris Hixon had a gun, he would have stopped Nikolas Cruz from killing 17 people.

Supporters of the bill point out that Parkland shooting, that it lasted for four minutes. And in that time they believe an armed teacher would have saved lives. GOP state Senator Ed Hooper said quoting here, I must err on the side of saving a kid. And remember days after the Parkland shooting, President Trump weighed in. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: A gun-free zone to a maniac, because they're all cowards, a gun- free zone is let's go in and let's attack because bullets aren't coming back at us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: The bill also includes greater reporting of school safety incidents, a risk assessment process for dangerous students and some new school guidelines for dealing with mental health issues. Teachers who choose to carry a gun would have to pass a psychological evaluation and complete at least 144 hours of training. Martha?

MACCALLUM: That's a lot of training. Trace, thank you very much. My next guest you know here, he's been with us many times on “The Story.” He lost his daughter Meadow in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Andrew Pollack joins me. Andrew thank you so much for being here tonight. And you are I should mention the Founder of Americans for Children's Lives and School Safety. Good to see you, Andrew.

ANDREW POLLACK, FOUNDER, AMERICANS FOR CHILDREN'S LIVES AND SCHOOL SAFETY: Nice to be here tonight, Martha.

MACCALLUM: So tell me you know, what the Marjorie Stoneman Douglass Commission found in the study that they did and why they were supportive of this this law in Florida?

POLLACK: First, we're very fortunate in Florida to have a Republican- controlled Senate because they were able to look at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Commission findings and put our kids safety first not like -- not put an agenda so they were able to look at it.

You know, my friends on that commission and they were able to watch the videotape of the killer going through the building where they watched him reload five times inside the building where no one came to the rescue of those children including my daughter.

So if one of those people in that building were able to be trained or armed, they would have been able to stop the shooter multiple times. So my -- so thank God we have Republicans that put our kids safety first, not these Democrats that are trying to push an agenda of gun control and not putting our kids first.

MACCALLUM: Well, one of those Democrats is Kamala Harris and you just heard what she said in the tweet that she wrote. She said teachers don't need guns, they need a raise. What would you say to her, Andy?

POLLACK: I'd like to tell Kamala that she didn't have a daughter on that third floor praying for her life and no once came to save her when there were multiple teachers on that floor who could have saved her, and my daughter was shot nine times, OK? So how about that, Kamala? Put your kid on the third floor and you tell me you wouldn't want someone there to save her life.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

POLLACK: That's what I'd tell Kamala.

MACCALLUM: It's hard to imagine that anybody in your position wouldn't feel the way that you do, Andrew. There is another father, Fred Guttenberg whose daughter Jaime was killed.

POLLACK: Yes.

MACCALLUM: Here's what he has to say about it. He said, "It's going to increase the risk of gunfire and casualty in schools, not decrease it. The idea with a teacher with a presumably locked weapon has the ability to react to somebody who walks in with an AR-15 is comical, moronic and dishonest."

What do you say?

POLLACK: Well, you know what it is, Martha? They are really not educated in what happened, you know. I really don't talk about Fred much. But these teachers -- it's an extensive training where they go through psychological, they do 144 hours. They are trained to hire standards than regular deputies in accuracy.

So, what's very important also is when they there is a shooter going on, when there is a shooting, you are going to want to know there's someone in that school that's there to defend your kid.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

POLLACK: And what they leave out, mostly, Martha, is it's voluntary.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: That's exactly right.

POLLACK: We do not want teachers that -- we do not want teachers that don't want to do it.

MACCALLUM: Right.

POLLACK: Do you know what I mean?

MACCALLUM: Yes, exactly.

POLLACK: Don't do it.

MACCALLUM: That's always the reaction. People say, you know, teachers, they don't know anything about guns, they don't want to use a gun. It's a completely voluntary program. And if you wish when you watch the video that the outdoor guards had run in with their guns, then I'm not sure how you can wish that there wasn't somebody in the building who was able to do that as well. I mean, it's stunning, you know, to imagine that you wouldn't want that kind of protection.

POLLACK: You know, maybe we get one or two teachers out of 50 that want to voluntary go through that course. Who are we to tell them that they shouldn't be there to defend our kids?

MACCALLUM: Yes.

POLLACK: And I know my daughter would've wanted one of those teachers armed that day on that third floor.

MACCALLUM: I'm sure she would have. I'm sure she would have. There's at least 10 states that already have this policy.

Andrew, thank you so much for being here. We wish you and your family well. We're sorry you had to go through this.

POLLACK: Thanks, Martha.

MACCALLUM: And we thank you for being here as always.

POLLACK: All right.

MACCALLUM: Important story. Thanks, Andrew.

Coming up tonight, a new World War II documentary takes an incredibly fresh look at an unbelievable mission that was carried out by the 2nd Ranger Battalion, elite trained heroes who risked it all on D-Day, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES EIKNER, COMMS OFFICER, 2ND RANGER BATTALION: They have gone the most unusual, one of the most dangerous assaults. We were so well-trained and highly motivated; we knew that we were experts in all of the weapons. We were just a mean bunch of bastards, you say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EIKNER: We had concern, and in our mind, we've already considered the fact that we are going to have a lot of casualties in this type of operation.

But the main thing was accomplishing that objective. And that was going to be done come hell or high water. And if your buddy falls down there, step over him, poured the blood out of your boots. We go right on. No praying. None of this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Ahead of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, an upcoming documentary tells the incredible story of one of the most harrowing missions of World War II, the assault on Pointe du Hoc, on the shores of the western coast of France on June 6, 1944, the 2nd Ranger Battalion risk their lives to take out German cannons, braving the cold, rough waters, storming the beaches, and scaling the hundred foot cliffs while the Germans were above firing down on them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We accomplished the mission of D-Day and we were relieved. Deep loss, too. Our wounded were taken care of, and our dead guys were taken care of. I wanted to say that is because there weren't very many left of us after that battle.

EIKNER: We didn't retreat. We didn't give up. We just fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Here now, Tim Gray, founder of the World War II Foundation and the filmmaker behind the new documentary. And David McCallum is the film's narrator, famous star of screen and television. Good to see you, both of you.

TIM GRAY, FOUNDER, WORLD WAR II FOUNDATION: Great to be here.

DAVID MCCALLUM, NARRATOR, D-DAY AT POINTE DU HOC: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: Thank you very much for being here. Tim Gray has been here with us before and this is your 22nd film that you do. Why the subject, why did Pointe du Hoc sort of call your name after all these years and as we embark on the 75th anniversary?

GRAY: We spent a lot of time at Pointe du Hoc. And to me, it kind of summarizes what D-Day was all about. Guys given a mission that was suicidal and they accomplished that mission. And to me, spending so much time at Pointe du Hoc and seeing the craters, and what these men had to do, it is really is representation of everything that all of the allies went through on D-Day.

MACCALLUM: David, you know, your connection with this project, and you bring your beautiful voice to it --

GRAY: Beautiful.

MACCALLUM: -- which is so -- it has so much depth to it and it's really such a great story telling, why do you connect with this piece?

MCCALLUM: Why do I connect with the piece? I don't know where to begin. It was such an honor when General Davis called me from the World War. I met him with the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. And then to actually be asked to do something like this with my background, which is very European and Scottish, you know.

But to have the opportunity and the honor of doing it, and then meeting with Tim. I actually just come back from Normandy so I'd seen where it was and what happened. I'm so happy that the final product is so wonderful.

MACCALLUM: It is. It' beautifully done and maybe we can show some of these drone shots.

GRAY: Right.

MACCALLUM: Because I know, Tim, you told me that you wanted to show it from a different -- I mean, just look at this. This is a stunning, this video, and it shows you how steep these cliffs were. Over 200 of the rangers try to scale them. Only 90 survived to tell “The Story.”

GRAY: Yes. After a couple of days by midday on June 8th, there are only about 90 of the second rangers who were still able to take up arms and when you look from the drone perspective, we hired one of France's top drone crews to give us this perspective.

We look for ways to tell films differently than when they've been told in the past and this was one example, to take people in, not only above Pointe du Hoc, but from the channel so get the perspective of what it was it was like for the second rangers to come in on D-Day from a low angle and see these 100-foot limestone cliffs and see the Germans on top and say, you know, this is what we are up against. So, it really brought it home.

MACCALLUM: Yes. David, when you go to Normandy which I also have the honor of doing and you see all of those white crosses, so many of them our 2nd Ranger Battalion from Texas, they trained in Scotland, correct?

MCCALLUM: Yes.

MACCALLUM: On that mission? What goes through your mind when you think about their sacrifice and all of it?

MCCALLUM: Well, you know, I once had the honor of meeting General Kelly and we were in Arlington. His wife, Catherine were putting a wreath on his grave, on his son's grave. And we talked about bravery. And what it is, you know, how would I feel? I'm sure many men think of this. How would I feel under those circumstances? And he said, of course, it's got nothing to do with you. It's the team.

But I think in this documentary and what you realize is it's not a team, just the team. They were fighting for their families, for their country. And for freedom. I mean, basically, they open the door to Europe for the whole of the invasion to take place. And you know, freedom needs to be nurtured and at times you have to fight for it. These guys did it.

MACCALLUM: Amazing.

GRAY: And they were all volunteers.

MACCALLUM: And they were all volunteers. And many of them were 18, 19 years old.

GRAY: Yes.

MACCALLUM: I want to end on this one piece of sound from your film by Frank South who was a medic. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sacrifices all of these characteristics all of these personalities, all of the futures gone. All of the futures gone. You know, that's a sacrifice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Tim?

GRAY: These are guys who never had kids or sometimes had kids but never had grandkids. They were never able to come back and become a doctor and cure cancer. They had all this unlimited potential and they left it, they left it there in Normandy on June 6, 1940.

MACCALLUM: I think that's the number one reason from all of the veterans that I've spoken to that they don't like to talk about it. Because they feel like that somebody else got robbed of everything --

GRAY: Right.

MACCALLUM: -- of the life that they got to live.

GRAY: Survivor's guilt.

MACCALLUM: And that is very hard for these heroes. David McCallum, thank you so much for being here.

MCCALLUM: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: Tim Gray, thank you very much.

GRAY: Always a pleasure.

MACCALLUM: Great to have you here. When we come back, a very different type of story here, Joe Biden heads to The View today trying to win over women voters. Will it work, we are going to ask the ladies, coming up next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A woman or a man has a right to say, particularly a woman, to say no. This is not my space. And they shouldn't have to say no. I should be able to read better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Former Vice President Joe Biden made his first big television appearance today since he announced his presidential run and he went straight to The View as he attempts to mend fences with women voters out there amid a history of the inappropriate time. That's definitely what you see in the videos there. You know what I'm talking about. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Actually, I thought in my head when I walked out here. I mean, do I -- we are friends. I have to be more aware, and it's totally legitimate for someone not to have to say "no, no, don't get in my private space." It's my job. So, I invaded her space. I mean, and I'm sorry this happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: You can see from his entrance he was a little bit timid when he embraced the host there walking in, even some that he considers friends as he said.

Here now for ladies' night, Lisa Boothe, Rochelle Ritchie, and Jessica Tarlov. Great to have all of you here.

LISA BOOTHE, CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Martha.

MACCALLUM: I want to talk about, you know, that moment. Because I think that's one of the sad things about this entire moment that we are all living in, that people feel nervous about, you know, embracing someone, even friends or whatever.

But this was, he went on The View, Lisa, because he has a mission that he needs to accomplish. He needs to clear the decks on a couple of big things, the touching issue and Anita Hill. Right?

BOOTHE: I think the touching issue is creepy, personally. I just -- I've always found it to be creepy. That being said, it doesn't appear that it affected him in any way with women in polling. And even our own Fox News polling found at least regarding the unwanted touching that I think only 14 percent of women were concerned by it.

So, I actually don't think that's going to be end up being an issue for him electorally. So, I think personally it makes him look weak to continue this apology to her. He should say, look, I've already apologized. Moving on, there are other issues that we should focus on.

I think it makes him look weak and it also keeps the issue sticking around if he continues to you know, make an issue of it and embrace it.

MACCALLUM: Yes. Rochelle?

ROCHELLE RITCHIE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yes. I don't necessarily know it makes him look weak. I think it makes him look smart because everyone has been sort of waiting for him to come out and say this. Because, remember, when he went on the stage before he kind of made a joke about it and so he got some backlash from that.

So, for him to come out and acknowledge it on "The View, especially his first interview after announcing his bid for the presidency, I think it's a smart move but I do think that at some point we do have to, well, right now, we need to move forward.

MACCALLUM: I mean, these are the voters that are really up for grabs. You look at the suburban women who voted in some cases in places like Pennsylvania, and Michigan, and Wisconsin, for Donald Trump, then when the midterms came around, they flipped back and voted Democrat.

So, this -- it's no surprise that he decided he had to go to The View first, Jessica because those are the women who are watching this show.

JESSICA TARLOV, CONTRIBUTOR: There are a lot of Democratic candidates also who have either made their first stop or done their announcements even on The View. It's a very popular show. It's smart for him to be there. I think because he knew he's going to have a question about Anita Hill then it made sense to also talk about what Lucy Flores brought up in his first circle.

It was inevitable and smart to do that also amongst friends. But to your point, Lisa, you're absolutely correct. This is not a polling issue for Joe Biden. Women like Joe Biden. Democrats really like Joe Biden. He had great fund-raising totals, 6.3 million, from the first 24 hours. That's more than Bernie Sanders brought in.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

TARLOV: Than he has 96,000 individual donors for that, 97 percent I believe were under $200. So, grassroots enthusiasm. I think actually for all of the bad press about his rollout, he has done much better than expected.

MACCALLUM: Yes. His poll numbers are great.

TARLOV: Yes.

MACCALLUM: And as you say the money has come in.

TARLOV: He's very popular.

MACCALLUM: The Anita Hill issue, I think there's a lot of -- obviously a lot of young voters who have no idea who Anita Hill is --

(CROSSTALK)

RITCHIE: We were just talking about that in --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: -- and don't remember it.

RITCHIE: I was nine years old.

MACCALLUM: I remember the whole thing. But here he is reacting to the Anita Hill topic. And we'll talk about it. Let's play what he said first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think what she wants you to say is I'm sorry for the way I treated you, not for the way you were treated. I think that would be closer.

BIDEN: Well, but I'm sorry the way she got treated. In terms -- I never heard her say -- if you go back and look at what I said and it didn't say, I don't think I treated her badly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: All right, so here's the deal, Anita Hill was speaking about Clarence Thomas who was going through his confirmation hearing. I think for those who don't remember this, the best parallel is perhaps that it felt intention a lot like the Kavanagh hearings, different circumstances, but it certainly felt like that back then.

And Pat Schroeder was a congresswoman from Colorado at that time and she was Anita Hill's champion. Now Anita Hill came out after the phone call that she had with Joe Biden and said, you know, it didn't really cut it. Like, you know, I'm not that apology is not enough for me. He was the head of the judiciary committee and oversaw the way I was treated.

And Pat Schroeder came out today on CNN and she said basically the same thing. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAT SCHROEDER, D-COLO., FORMER CONGRESSMAN: As the chairman, he wasn't going to even let her testify then went on early in the morning and wouldn't let the other women who had shown up testify. What he told us, really says to me was, one more of the boys' club. He kind of, he said to us, you really don't understand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Wow. I mean, just that in the context of right now, Rochelle. Imagine if Chuck Grassley had said to Christine Blasey Ford, you're not allowed in here. Sorry, you're not allowed.

RITCHIE: Look, at the end of the day, you know, as much as I think that we should certainly hear on the stories and allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment, at the end of the day, it has been shown it's not going to make a difference in our politics.

We've seen Brett Kavanaugh confirmed, we've seen President Trump elected to the White House. And now we have the former vice president running for office. So, I'm not sure if these allegations are really going to make a difference at the end of the day.

TARLOV: I think also Anita Hill made a really interesting point. And obviously she's right to decide whether an apology is good enough or not, but she said I really want to see actual change. It's not really about the policy, it's about the culture.

And to your point, Brett Kavanaugh sits on the Supreme Court, Donald Trump lives in the White House.

RITCHIE: Right.

TARLOV: And they have all coasted by after have credible allegations of sexual assault. And that's Anita Hill's point of --

(CROSSTALK)

BOOTHE: Well, Joe Biden has been on the videos --

TARLOV: And he was accused of --

BOOTHE: -- and grossly touching people --

TARLOV: Are you actually comparing to --

(CROSSTALK)

BOOTHE: -- which is quite strange.

RITCHIE: I don't think that --

BOOTHE: But it is -- but it is sort of silly for Joe Biden to try to separate himself from that moment in time considering the fact, as you pointed out, he was the Senate judiciary chairman and oversaw the hearings.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Ladies, we got to leave it there. I'm sorry we're out of time.

RITCHIE: But if he has to analyze everybody needs to apologize.

MACCALLUM: More to come in the next round. Thanks, guys. More on THE STORY, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Before it was history, was “The Story” on April 26th, 1865. For 12 days, they had been searching for the killers of Abraham Lincoln. When the union army finally found them. They were holdup in a tobacco barn in rural, Virginia. Soldiers set fire to the barn to smoke them out.

Their orders, John Wilkes Booth must be taken alive. But one soldier defied those orders. He took justice into his own hands and shot the man who had killed President Lincoln. He would later be described in the press as, quote, "one of the world's great avengers."

Tonight's quote is from Abraham Lincoln.

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and under a just God cannot long retain it."

That is “The Story” on this Friday, April 26th. We'll see you back here on Monday at 7:00. Tucker Carlson is up next.

Content and Programming Copyright 2019 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2019 ASC Services II Media, LLC. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of ASC Services II Media, LLC. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.