Biden-Sanders unity task force unveils liberal road map

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Biden-Sanders unity task force unveils liberal road map

This is a rush transcript from "Special Report," July 10, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS HOST: A familiar accusation against Joe Biden, plagiarism, but this time it is coming from President Trump. The cancel culture targets another victim who dared to praise the president, plus the facts and the fiction about coronavirus testing. This is SPECIAL REPORT.

Good evening and welcome to Washington. I'm John Roberts in for Bret Baier this evening. President Trump is accusing the man who wants to replace him of ripping off his economic plan. Joe Biden released his financial proposal yesterday which contains similar themes to the president's Make America Great Again strategy.

The president is pointing out that Biden has experienced with plagiarism allegations. His comments drew a sharp response from the candidate's campaign. Correspondent Kristin Fisher starts us off tonight from the White House. Good evening, Kristin.

KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, John. Well, President Trump is finishing up a full day in battleground Florida with a fund-raiser tonight. And earlier in the day, he held a Roundtable meeting with a group of Venezuelan Americans, and he told them that a vote for Joe Biden would be like voting for Nicolas Maduro's socialist regime back in Venezuela.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Joe Biden and the radical left are trying to impose the same system, socialism plus in America. Biden is a puppet of Bernie Sanders, AOC and the militant left.

FISHER: President Trump leaning in to new attack lines in Florida in trying to tie his 2020 opponent to the far-left wing of his party. But yesterday, Joe Biden delivered a speech that sounded very similar to President Trump's America First agenda.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The federal government spends tax payer's money, we should use it to buy American products and support American jobs.

TRUMP: My administration will follow two simple rules. Buy American and hire American, right?

Buy American and hire American.

Buy American and hire American.  FISHER: As President Trump left the White House for Florida Friday morning, he accused Biden of stealing his message.

TRUMP: He plagiarized from me, but he can never pull it off, he likes plagiarizing. It's a plan that -- it's very radical left but he said the right things because he's copying what I've done, but the difference is he can't do it.

FISHER: The Biden campaign fired back with a statement that reads in part, Donald Trump just threw a tantrum about he himself is a radical leftist? Who knew? The truth is, Trump promised voters he'd stand with American workers, but spent his entire time in office siding with corporate boardrooms and his big money donors.

As the campaign heats up, so do cases of the coronavirus across the Sun Belt.

TRUMP: We are still fighting it and we're going to do very well.

FISHER: But President Trump is fighting it while keeping the nation's leading infectious disease expert at arm's length.

In an interview this week with the Financial Times, Dr. Anthony Fauci says he last saw President Trump on June 2nd and has not personally briefed him in at least two months.

Quote, I have a reputation as you probably have figured out, of speaking the truth at all times and not sugarcoating things. And that may be one of the reasons why I haven't been on television very much lately.

TRUMP: Dr. Fauci is a nice man but he's made a lot of mistakes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FISHER: And today, another member of the Coronavirus Task Force, Dr. Deborah Birx said something else not quite in line with what President Trump has been saying. She said that she believes that there will be an increase in deaths in the United States due to the coronavirus very soon, John.

ROBERTS: Kristin, earlier today we got word that President Trump may by the end of today issue a commutation of the sentence for his friend Roger Stone. It hasn't happened yet, but read the tea leaves for us, where are we on this?

FISHER: Well, I asked President Trump about this as he was leaving the White House for Florida this morning and he said that he's still looking at it, he thinks that Roger Stone, his former friend and ally was very unfairly treated.

And you know, time is really running out for Roger Stone. He is due to report to prison in just four days on July 14th and he's expected to -- or he's facing up to three years in prison for charges stemming from the Mueller investigation.

And he has said in news reports that he is praying for a pardon and President Trump has said that those prayers may be answered, but so far, John, that answer tonight has not come. But as you know better than anybody else, this White House loves to drop a bomb like this on a Friday night, John.

ROBERTS: It does, the only thing constant is the uncertainty there. Kristin Fisher for us at the White House. Kristin, thanks so much.

The World Health Organization is reporting a record increase in global coronavirus cases, it says total infections rose by more than 228,000 in 24 hours.

Johns Hopkins University says Thursday's count of more than 63,000 was a record here in the United States. Correspondent Jonathan Serrie has the latest for us tonight from Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: With 11,433 new cases, Florida reported its second-highest one-day increase. An 11-year-old with numerous underlying conditions is among the 93 newly confirmed deaths.

Despite the uptick in Florida cases, Governor Ron DeSantis reiterated his commitment to reopen schools in August.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): The cost of not giving kids an option to be able to have in-person instruction is enormous.

SERRIE: Even as the governor echoed the American Academy of Paediatrics' guidelines from last week, the group seemingly changed tacks and joined two teachers unions in issuing a cautionary statement. Science should drive decision-making on safely reopening schools. Public health agencies must make recommendations based on evidence, not politics.

Disney World is moving ahead with plans to reopen its Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom theme parks to the general public on Saturday. Annual pass holders got an early preview of the parks which now require everyone two and older to wear face masks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can see there's little green circles for each party to stand on.

SERRIE: Citing increasing cases in Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order today requiring businesses to deny entry to people who refuse to wear face coverings and imposing a $500 fine for those who fail to mask up in public spaces and crowded outdoor settings.

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: In the last six weeks, cases have more than doubled.

SERRIE: Today, the World Health Organization reported 12 million cases worldwide. The WHO has updated its COVID-19 guidance to include the possibility the virus may remain infectious for long periods of time in the air in poorly ventilated indoor spaces, but says further research is needed.

And the organization's web site now acknowledges, yes, infected people can transmit the virus both when they have symptoms and when they don't have symptoms.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERRIE: And some officials are concerned that asymptomatic young people are further spreading the virus. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster today signed an order requiring restaurants and bars to stop serving alcohol after 11:00 p.m. It takes effect on Saturday and the idea is it will dissuade young people from late night gatherings, John.

ROBERTS: This thing keeps throwing us curveballs. Jonathan Serrie in Atlanta tonight. Jonathan, thanks.

Tonight, we take a closer look at coronavirus testing, what we know and what we do not know. The facts and the myths. Here's correspondent Doug McKelway.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED TURNER, CEO, CURATIVE, INC.: Scaling up testing overnight is always challenging, you can't go from having x tests to 2x tests overnight.

DOUG MCKELWAY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Fred Turner is CEO of Curative Incorporated, a COVID-19 testing company tasked with addressing the big surges in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, California and Arizona.

The test being manufactured here at his D.C. lab requires patients to cough into their elbow three times, causing long micro particles to mix with saliva. The patient's mouth a swab, results come back in three days with a 90 percent accuracy rate. The surge is occurring amidst confusion and mixed messaging.

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are actually seeing early indications of a percent of positive testing flattening in Arizona and Florida and Texas. Governors in each of those states have taken strong steps to flatten the curve.

MCKELWAY: That Wednesday comment from the vice president came as reports surfaced of long lines at some Arizona testing sites and anecdotal reports of Texas bed shortages. One emergency room physician telling Fox News, quote, yesterday I could not find a single hospital bed, ICU or otherwise, in the entire greater Houston area.

The number of tests per day in the U.S. is up to about 640,000 on average but new infections are topping 50,000 per day. President Trump has repeatedly offered this explanation for the surge.

TRUMP: Everybody says we have so many cases, that's because we test so many people.

MCKELWAY: Curative Incorporated's CEO says treatment is getting better but there's no evidence the virus has mutated into a milder form.

TURNER: Unfortunately, it's likely that in a few weeks we'll also see that uptick in deaths.

MCKELWAY: Rather than repeat a complete shutdown, Dr. Fauci is urging a middle way.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I would think we need to get the states pausing in their opening process.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKELWAY: Yet in Canada, 18 public health officials have written Prime Minister Trudeau asking him to accept some casualties. They write, quote, aiming to prevent or contain every single case is no longer sustainable. We need to accept that COVID-19 will be with us for some time, John.

ROBERTS: Certainly, doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon. Doug McKelway, tonight, thanks.

The so-called canceled culture strikes again, the head of a primarily Hispanic food company is taking serious criticism for his praise yesterday of President Trump. National correspondent William La Jeunesse is in Los Angeles with the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT UNANUE, CEO, GOYA FOODS: We are all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump who is a builder.

WILLIAM LA JEUNESSE, FOX NEWS NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He's the latest target of the cancel culture, the CEO of America's largest Hispanic-owned food company.

Don't care how good their beans taste though, bye-bye, Goya, said model Chrissy Teigen.

Americans should think twice about buying their products, tweeted Julian Castro.

UNANUE: I'm not apologizing for saying, and especially if you're called by the President of the United States. You're going to say, no, I'm sorry, I'm busy. No, thank you. I didn't say that to the Obama and I didn't say that to President Trump.

LA JEUNESSE: Goya Foods is not alone; a dozen companies are boycotting Facebook for not censoring President Trump. While activists hope to punish Mark Zuckerberg by taking his name off a hospital he funded.

DANIEL IVES, MANAGING DIRECTOR, WEDBUSH SECURITIES: It's how Zuckerberg and Facebook handle this going forward to see if this wildfire spreads.

LA JEUNESSE: From removing statues to renaming schools and even products. Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben's, the logo of Land O'Lakes butter erased for being insensitive.

SALADIN AMBAR, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND SENIOR SCHOLAR AT EAGLETON INSTITUTE OF POLITICS, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: I'm concerned about unpopular views being jettisoned in favor of those that we agree with and only those we agree with.

LA JEUNESSE: This week, 153 prominent artists and intellectuals including Gloria Steinem, known Chomsky and J.K. Rowling warned against an intolerance of opposing views. The free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society is daily becoming more constricted.

STEVEN PINKER, PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: There is a regime of intimidation against differences of opinion.

LA JEUNESSE: Jimmy Kimmel apologize for a blackface skit 20 years ago. The New York Times editor was forced to resign because of a U.S. senator's commentary. Actor Terry Crews attacked this week for hoping Black Lives Matter doesn't morph into black lives better.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LA JEUNESSE: Ironically the Harper's letter itself advocating open debate created a backlash on the left as Washington Post and L.A. Times columnist belittle its authors as privileged and self-important with one saying that cancel culture doesn't exist, John.

ROBERTS: William La Jeunesse for us tonight from Los Angeles. William, thank you.

About 100 Ford employees are asking the automaker to reconsider building police vehicles. The Detroit Free Press reports Ford executives have also fielded questions during at least one virtual town hall and in a series of letters since the death of George Floyd in late May. Ford's chief communications officer says the company wants to hear from all employees and be transparent about its decisions.

Optimism over the prospects for the coronavirus treatment Remdesivir sends stocks up, the Dow gained 369 today, the S&P 500 finished ahead 33, the NASDAQ rose 70 and yes, that's another record close.

For the week, the Dow was up almost a full percentage point, the S&P gained 1-1/3 quarters, the NASDAQ though jumped four percent.

Amazon is not ordering employees to delete the popular video app TikTok from phones on which they use Amazon e-mail. The company sent out a correction today saying it sent the original demand out in error. The initial directive cited security risk from the China-owned app.

China is rejecting any prospect of joining a nuclear arms limitation talks with the United States, Beijing says the U.S. is neither serious nor sincere on the subject.

Tonight's the state department correspondent Rich Edson tells us what it all means.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICH EDSON, FOX NEWS STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: China's message to the United States, stop inviting us. Despite multiple invitations, Chinese diplomats refused to join the U.S. and Russia in arms control negotiations.

ZHAO LIJIAN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, CHINESE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT (through translator): The U.S. knows it only too well. Still, it pesters China and even distorts our positioning.

EDSON: China said it would be happy to join the discussions only if the U.S. reduced its nuclear arsenal to China's level. The state department took that to welcome China's commitment to negotiate and promised to send the Chinese government another invitation.

During a week where the U.S. also levied sanctions on Chinese officials for human rights abuses and floated banning Chinese apps like TikTok in the U.S. There's a push to also confront China through international groups.

CRAIG SINGLETON, ADJUNCT FELLOW, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: I think we're starting to see writ large what a future looks like with China at the helm, and that's just not a place I think where most western countries really want to be.

EDSON: He argues that while imperfect, international institutions should offer the U.S. an opportunity to curb China's activities. Violating rules, governing the world economy, international fishing regulations and detaining foreign citizens.

Over Beijing's objections, the U.S. has pushed the World Health Organization to include Taiwan in its discussions, given its success in fighting the coronavirus. The administration is now withdrawing from the WHO, though it's promising to still try to reform it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

EDSON: Administration officials have promised more in the U.S. response to China, especially its suppression of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, China.

The administration has also issued a warning to businesses that may profit from slave labor in China. John?

ROBERTS: Tensions increasing. Rich Edson for us tonight at the state department. Rich, thank you.

Up next, just how far left Joe Biden might have to go to get the support of progressives? First, here is what some of our Fox affiliates across the country are covering tonight. Fox Five in New York, as the city prepares for Tropical Storm Fay.

The system is picking up speed and strength. Fay made landfall this afternoon near Atlantic City New Jersey and is expected to bring two to four inches of rain with the possibility of flash flooding in parts of the mid-Atlantic and southern New England.

Fox 26 in Bismarck, as a federal judge rejects a request from the operator of the Dakota Access Pipeline to halt an order to shut down during a lengthy environmental review. The decision effectively sends the case to a panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

And this is a live look at Chicago from Fox 32, the big story there tonight. Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens joins other major retailers promising to stop selling coconut milk products from some companies in Thailand.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals organization, says an investigation has revealed monkeys are abused during the harvesting process.

That is tonight's live look "OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY" from SPECIAL REPORT. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: In tonight's "DEMOCRACY 2020" report, we take a closer look at how far left Joe Biden may be willing to go to appease the progressives in the Democratic Party. Correspondent Peter Doocy, reports tonight from Scranton, Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Joe Biden's summer reading project? 110 pages worth of unity task force recommendations, to see what Bernie Sanders supporters and his own advisors want him to do.

Like this on page three. "We will set a bold, national goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for all new buildings by 2030, on the pathway to creating a 100 percent clean building sector." Well, that is 20 years faster than Joe Biden pitch during the primary.

BIDEN: We should get to zero emissions of carbon in the United States by the year 2050.

DOOCY: Why did Democrats do this? Bernie Sanders tells NPR, "The goals of the task force were to move the Biden campaign into as progressive a direction as possible, and I think we did that."

But will progressives be happy? Because Biden's $700 billion economic plan.

BIDEN: And the federal government spends taxpayer's money, we should use it to buy American products.

DOOCY: Actually, sounds to some like a Republican proposal.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, SENIOR COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: Two days ago, he was plagiarizing Bernie Sanders literally. And now, yesterday, for all to see, he was been -- he was plagiarizing Donald Trump, buy American.

DOOCY: Biden himself has admitted that on some big issues, he's influenced by Bernie.

BIDEN: I move the direction that Bernie has suggested, a free public university tuition.

DOOCY: And that's right there on page 25 of the unity task force recommendations. "We will fight to make public colleges and universities tuition-free for students whose families earn less than $125,000 -- roughly 80 percent of the American people.

Medicare for All is missing from this document, which instead says, "We are going to at last bill the health care system the American people have always deserved: One that finally provides universal health care coverage."

And because the man who won the nomination wants to strengthen Obamacare, there are limits to how far he will go.

BIDEN: Bernie and the other supporters of Medicare for All won't tell you how much it costs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOOCY: It's not yet clear how many recommendations Biden will adopt, but he is calling this document with so much Sanders input bold and transformative. So, a lot has changed since a September debate when Biden tried to denigrate Sanders by calling him a socialist. John.

ROBERTS: Yes. Well, that's all just the campaign, Peter. More on this coming up with the panel a little bit later on.

Up next, whatever happened to the urgent push for police reform? First, "BEYOND OUR BORDERS" tonight. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan formally reconverts Istanbul's sixth century iconic Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

It happened hours after a high court annulled a 1934 decision that it turned it into a museum. In the past, the Hagia Sophia has also been a Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic cathedral.

The facility is now under the control of Turkey's Religious Affairs Presidency and declared open to Muslim worship.

Actor Johnny Depp, says claims of abuse from ex-wife Amber Heard has turned him from Cinderella to Quasimodo in the public eye. Depp also testified during his libel trial against the British tabloid that their marriage broke down for good after an incident in which feces were found in their bed following a party. Depp called that an oddly fitting end to the relationship. Definitely TMI.

Venice conducts a trial run of an ambitious anti-flood system of 78 inflatable barriers in hopes of protecting the lagoon city from devastating high tides. The project was supposed to be working back in 2011. Last November, Venice suffered its worst flooding in more than 50 years.

Just some of the other stories "BEYOND OUR BORDERS" tonight, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: A federal judge is blocking next week's scheduled execution of a federal prisoner, the first such capital punishment at that level in almost 20 years. Moments ago, the Justice Department filed an emergency appeal.

Tonight, correspondent David Spunt, tells us why federal executions are so unusual and why they might become more commonplace in the future?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID SPUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Three men, all convicted child killers were scheduled to die by a new single-drug lethal injection method next week inside this federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.

47-year-old Daniel Lee would have marked the first federal executions since 2003. He and another man were convicted of murdering, William Mueller, his wife Nancy, and their 8-year-old daughter Sarah in 1996 in Arkansas.

But some surviving family members wanted the president to halt the execution.

EARLENE PETERSON, VICTIM'S MOTHER: I believe that he should give Daniel Lee clemency for what he did. This prison without any chance of parole.

SPUNT: The victim's family sued the Department of Justice. And today, a judge agreed to halt the execution after the family said they feared attending could expose them to the coronavirus.

67-year-old Wesley Purkey was supposed to die next Wednesday, but the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals delayed his execution. Though his fate could change again in the next few days. He was convicted of raping and killing 16-year-old Jennifer Long in 1998. He was also convicted of killing 80-year-old Mary Ruth Bales.

And scheduled to be executed a week from today, Dustin Honken, convicted of killing five people. Two men who plan to testify against him, Greg Nicholson and Terry DeGeus, along with a single mother named Lori Duncan and her young daughters: 10-year-old Kandace and 6-year-old Amber.

Federal executions estopped in 1988 but resumed from 2001-2003 with three men put to death. One of them was Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Attorney General Bill Barr supports restarting federal executions. Saying in a statement, "We owe it to the victims of these horrific crimes, and to the families left behind, to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SPUNT: Last week, the Supreme Court denied an appeal from federal inmates to halt executions. The court could at any moment before an execution jump in and order a delay. John.

ROBERTS: David Spunt for us at the Justice Department tonight. David, thank you.

An update tonight on the movement toward law enforcement reform. While the street protests in the wake of the George Floyd killing have eased, there is still much being done behind the scenes.

Chief congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel shows us tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Protests following the death of George Floyd led to calls for Congress to do something. Police reform, which looked like it was dead on Capitol Hill, could be making a comeback.

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): Folks who are now calling me about the legislation from the other side suggest that perhaps it's not dead. We may have a Lazarus moment, we may not.

EMANUEL: Attorney General William Barr was with Senator Scott in South Carolina this week for conversations with community leaders and law enforcement about moving the country forward.

WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: You have to put reins and checks in place to make sure that these institutions that are designed to protect the community don't themselves become oppressive.

EMANUEL: Senate Democrats blocked Scott's police reform bill from being brought up for debate and consideration last month, complaining it didn't do enough. But now Scott says he is adding productive conversations with the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Karen Bass, and others.

SCOTT: The more she has taken a look at the bill, the more she has suggested perhaps half or two-thirds of a loaf might be better than none.

EMANUEL: Congresswoman Bass tells FOX News "I am optimistic that this body will rise to the moral moment our country is facing and come together to pass substantive legislation." One area where Scott is willing to compromise is on qualified immunity, allowing victims' families to be able to sue police departments or cities but not the police officer. Other prominent Democrats continuing arguing for the broader House passed measure.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA): We can move on and do what is necessary to respond to the people who are marching in the streets, demanding one system of justice in America.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

EMANUEL: Republicans say there is a deal to be made unless Democrats prefer to have this as a campaign issue. But as long as both sides are talking there is a chance. John?

ROBERTS: Mike Emanuel for us tonight. Mike, thanks.

There's some breaking news tonight that happened just now. President Trump says he will sign a merit-based immigration executive order that contains a road to citizenship for so-called Dreamers over the next few weeks. The president made the comment during an interview in Florida with Telemundo. We'll have more details on that as they become available.

The president accuses Joe Biden of plagiarizing his economic plan. We will get reaction from the panel when we come back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The federal government spends taxpayers' money. We should use it to buy American products and support American jobs.

TRUMP: In my administration we live by two simple rules -- buy American and hire American.

Buy American and hire American.

Buy American and hire American.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Joe Biden yesterday outlining his $700 billion economic plan which the White House says sounds an awful lot like President Trump's economic plan.

Let's bring in our panel to talk about this, former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr., who is currently chairman of RX Saver, and Susan Ferrechio, Chief Congressional Correspondent for the "Washington Examiner." Harold Ford, let's start with you. On the surface this looks an awful lot like President Trump's economic plan, America first, those this increases taxes as opposed to President Trump decreasing taxes. Is Joe Biden guilty of economic plagiarism here?

HAROLD FORD JR. (D) FORMER TENNESSEE REPRESENTATIVE: I think any time you win your nomination for your party, you've got two fundamental responsibilities. First is to unite your party, unify your party. And it looks as if Joe Biden is doing a lot of that. The second is to offer a real growth agenda. And I look forward to a debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump about whose plan would actually produce more American jobs, whose plan would actually produce more for main street America, and whose plan would help us accelerate development of 5G, electric cars, new manufacturing technologies for cities, and be on track to bring back supply chains to the country.

I think if President Trump's best answer on the first day of this Joe Biden plan is to accuse him of plagiarism and to engage in name-calling, I have to think if you are in the Biden campaign this evening, you feel pretty good about where you are and how you have been able to reset and re-shift this conversation.

ROBERTS: We should also mention the "Wall Street Journal" columnist Bill McGurn has joined us. We were having some technical difficulties, but he's with us now. At the same time the president is complaining about Joe Biden stealing his plans, the president is saying that Joe Biden has gone far left with his plan. Let's listen to what the president said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He plagiarized from me, but he can never pull it off. He likes plagiarizing. It's a plan that is very radical left, but he said the right things because he is copying what I'm done.

Joe Biden and the radical left are trying to impose the same system, socialism plus in America. Biden is a puppet of Bernie Sanders, AOC, and the militant left. Nobody will be safe in a Biden America, but Biden doesn't know what a Biden America is. If you asked him to define it, he wouldn't even know what it is. But other people do. And he will have radical people running that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Susan Ferrechio, is the president trying to have it both ways here, saying he's plagiarizing me, but at the same time he's moving way to the left?

SUSAN FERRECHIO, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER": No, because what Biden did is straddle both sides of this. And unfortunately, there is no copyright on political ideas. So I agree with Harold, for the president to just simply whine about plagiarism is not going to help his cause. What he can do is promote himself as the originator of the make it in America, buy American idea, and prove himself to be the one who can best execute it, because he's been doing it for the past several years. That's his best option. I think it's making the case that the left is part of Biden's agenda is something that voters won't like in the end. It's also a good route for the president to take, because that does resonate with voters. What doesn't resonate with voters is arguing over who came up with the idea first.

ROBERTS: Bill McGurn, President Trump still leads in the polls in terms of who is doing a better job of handling the economy, but that's about the only issue on which he leads Biden. If Biden can effectively start to chip away at the president's lead on the economy and putting America first in terms of job creation, in terms of bringing businesses back overseas, could that potentially spell trouble for the president?

BILL MCGURN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, in theory it could, but I think this is a lot overblown. Look, if there is a plagiarism claim to be made here, it should come from Bernie Sanders. This showed he was the true winner of the primary, at least in terms of ideology and stuff. He didn't get the names of everything he wanted, Medicare for all, but what he did get is the essence of Bernie. Joe Biden is now campaigning further to the left then Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. And Mr. Sanders is very, very happy.

"The New York Times" even points out that this is a broader and much more costly agenda than Joe Biden has been campaigning on thus far. So he can't say no to more spending and whatever the priorities of the left are.

ROBERTS: Harold Ford, the other day Bernie Sanders came out and praised Joe Biden as looking like the most progressive president since FDR after the Biden campaign and the Bernie Sanders folks put together a 110-page policy manual that seems to pull Joe Biden away from the center. Is there a risk here that Joe Biden will go too far to the left, because the route to 270 goes right up through the middle, not the far left nor the far right.

FORD: We are spending so much money as a country -- the answer to your question is no. But we are spending so much as a country right now, I think almost $3 trillion we've done in stimulus spending after COVID-19. We live in a different era and a different moment. And President Trump to his credit has acknowledged and recognizes that. And I think Joe Biden has a similar take but has a different way he would prioritize.

Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham, I know two of them, they now support President Trump. During the 2016 campaign they didn't at all, in fact there was a lot of acrimony among the four of those guys. They seem to get along a lot better now. It's no secret and certainly nothing new in politics for people who ran against one another to find their way back to being supportive of one another if it means that their party can be in the White House.

For anyone to believe that a guy from Scranton, Pennsylvania, a guy with the record that Joe Biden has had over the last 40 years in politics is somehow going to become a flaming liberal I think is just wrong, and it's going to be hard, I think, to sell that bill of goods to everyday voters.

ROBERTS: Let me turn now, if I could, to some breaking news that just happened, President Trump in Florida telling Telemundo that he will in the coming weeks signed an executive order on merit-based immigration, which will also include in it a path to citizenship for Dreamers. Susan Ferrechio, this is clearly in response to the recent court decision that the president could not dismantle the DACA system. But how is this going to play with conservatives?

FERRECHIO: I think it's fine, because I think most Republicans and the president have long supported the idea of Dreamers staying in this country. It's very hard to find the Republicans on Capitol Hill who think Dreamers should be sent home. That's always buried in the whole argument about immigration reform. What they wanted was to use the Dreamer pathway as a component of a broader immigration reform that would strengthen border security. But the president is making that headway. You heard him talking today about the border fence and about how the progress he's making there in extending the barrier and fixing broken parts of the barrier, it's decreased illegal immigration over the southern border. He has succeeded in many of those places. And I think that eases pressure on him and it lets him steal one away from the Democrats. It's a big talking point for them about the Dreamers. It's a very popular issue with the Hispanic base and Hispanic voters. So I think it's a smart move for the president because he seizes the issue and he takes it away from Congress.

ROBERTS: We'll see where that goes. Stay where you are, panel. Up next, the Friday lightning round -- the cancel culture strikes again, President Trump versus Dr. Fauci, plus, Winners and Losers of the week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT UNANUE, GOYA FOOD CEO: We are so blessed to have you as a leader as we continue to build this country and continue to make it the most prosperous nation in the world.

I'm not apologizing. Especially if you're called by the president of the United States, you're going to say no, I'm sorry, I'm busy, no thank you. I didn't say that to the Obamas and I didn't say that to President Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: The cancel culture taking aim at Goya Foods CEO Bob Unanue who praised President Trump yesterday. It's part of the cancel culture. We're back with our panel. Harold Ford, let's start with you. Goya does a lot of good work around the world in terms of donating food. It employs 4,000 people here in the United States, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Spain. And yet people on the left are taking aim at this company, saying this CEO has to go and don't buy Goya goods. Is not the right way to handle this?

FORD: I'm a believer that one of the most basic and fundamental and most important principles in our country and our democracy is to allow dissent. And we need to reaffirm that. It bothers me and concerns me when we have students at universities working to cancel the voices of outside speakers who may have a different political opinion. That's the beauty of living in America. That's the beauty of living in a democracy. If you can't come up with a better argument other than trying to cancel that person out or end that person's right to present or express his or herself, that's not what America is about. So I hope some of these folks will holster these rhetorical sidearms of theirs and focus more on issues and substance and understand what America is all about, which is a little bit of dissent.

ROBERTS: Susan, what's your take on this?

FERRECHIO: I think it's going to backfire. Not only did he introduce the president as, I think he called him an incredible builder yesterday at the White House, but he pointed out today that he did the same thing when he was invited by President Obama to an event. So he's not a partisan -- being partisan at all with this. And never mind the fact that their products are incredibly popular and in the pantries of just about every American. It's going to backfire in my view.

ROBERTS: Bill McGurn, since this is the Lightning Round, let's change topics. There seems to be a dustup between President Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci of the NIH over coronavirus. Let's listen to what the two have said in the past couple days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUCI: When you compare us to other countries, I don't think you can say we're doing great. We're just not.

TRUMP: Dr. Fauci is a nice man, but he's made a lot of mistakes, like you don't have to ban them coming in from very infected China. I did it anyway.

FAUCI: We've got to do better. I don't think we should be congratulating ourselves about how well we're doing.

TRUMP: A lot of very good things have happened, a lot of really good things. They're doing a great job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Fauci said, Bill, that the reason he hasn't been on television lately is because he's not afraid to speak his mind. Is Fauci the person that the president should be having a very public argument with?

MCGURN: I don't think so. But again, my advice for people advising the White House is that, in a role especially like his, if it's not necessary to say, it's necessary not to say. The truth is we don't have the measures yet to know the full impact and how we're doing, because those would include economic impact, it would include people that died, say, for not wanting to go to the hospital. So we don't even know that.

And on the other hand, it's the classic story. Doctors focus on health. If you listen to your dentist you would be flossing for 22 hours a day, OK? Most people have other things they have to balance, like a president. So it's not unusual for a doctor to be taking a stricter view than a politician.

ROBERTS: All right, since it's Friday it's time for Winners and Losers. Harold Ford, start us off. Who is your winner, who is your loser?

FORD: My winner is Joe Biden. I think you're going to hear the world build back better like you heard President Trump use his slogan in 16. And my loser is twofold, the WHO and CDC. I'm reminded by my old friend, the former Republican majority leader Bill Frist, who said the WHO may need to be reformed, but at a time in which we are facing a pandemic and Russia and China are trying to assert themselves, it's the wrong time to withdraw from the WHO.

ROBERTS: And why the CDC?

FORD: I think whenever you try -- forgive me -- whenever you try to manipulate data or suggest that they change things, I think it's not a good thing. If they have a set of guidelines, I want to know what they say first before listening to anyone, Democrat or Republican, about what they health in what we should be following.

ROBERTS: Susan, your turn.

FERRECHIO: My winner is the Alex Berenson, the former "New York Times" reporter who has been a contrarian on Twitter in addressing some of the data and scare and panic reporting on the spread of the virus. And my loser is Decriminalize Seattle which is a group who are making some headway in getting the city council to defund the police. Their proposal is to reduce the size of the police in their budget by 50 percent. The population of Seattle is 750,000 people.

ROBERTS: Bill McGurn, your winner, your loser?

MCGURN: My winner, at least for now, is Judge Emmet Sullivan. He's refused to obey a ruling from a three-judge panel on the D.C. circuit ordering him to drop the charges of Michael Flynn. So his effort to prosecute General Flynn even though the Justice Department wants to drop it lives on, at least for now.

My loser is Bill de Blasio, who was photographed painting Black Lives Matter in front of Donald Trump's apartment while his city is burning down.

ROBERTS: I've heard some people say they thought that that was petty, that it was beneath the office of the mayor of the biggest city in America.

MCGURN: It's not only petty and beneath. There are just bigger problems in New York. We have policeman retiring at record rates. We have crowds going amuck at protests, all sorts of problems in the city. And this is what he chooses to prioritize. It's like a high school sophomore.

ROBERTS: Panel, thanks so much for being with us on this Friday. Appreciate it.

When we come back, "Notable Quotables."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Finally tonight, "Notable Quotables."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will honor extraordinary citizens, people that we can look up to forever.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He spent more time worrying about honoring dead Confederates.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The great Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Confederate flag is not is not a good way to grow your business.

TRUMP: I think he would support us over anyone else.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now you want to take the police officers out of schools. I'm like, are you all serious?

BIDEN: I thought, OK, I thought that was rain. It is. You guys can come on in. Don't stay out there.

TRUMP: Wow, you having a good time?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You told the press I'll never change the name of that team. Well, never has arrived.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The purpose of CDC's guidance is, remember, it's guidance. It's not requirements.

PENCE: To open up America, we've got to open up America's schools.

FAUCI: It's a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death. There is so many other things that are very dangerous and bad about this virus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the sake of sanity among parents, they need to open.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I double dog dare Donald Trump to sit in a class of 39 sixth graders and breath that era.

TRUMP: God bless you. God bless our heroes. God bless America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Obviously another wild weekend in news.

This week on "FOX News Sunday," Chris Wallace will speak with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos about whether or not our children should go back to school in the fall. Check your local listings for showtimes.

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