Impact of progressive wing on Democratic Party platform

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Impact of progressive wing on Democratic Party platform

This is a rush transcript from “Special Report," August 18, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Owls with sticks, Greg.

GUTFELD: Yes.

BAIER: Good evening, welcome to Washington. I'm Bret Baier. Breaking tonight, a big reversal for the U.S. Postal Service, its embattled chief delaying some of the cost caving -- cost saving, the controversial changes until after the election, what details on that shortly.

But first, two former Democratic presidents are preparing to do their part to try to get another Democrat in the White House. Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter among the speakers for night two of the Democratic National Convention, the virtual version this year.

Meantime, President Trump is reacting to the speech of another former White House occupant Michelle Obama, who said last night, President Trump is in over his head has left the economy in shambles and has emboldened the white supremacists. President Trump called the Obama administration today, quote, the most corrupt in history, adding that the reason he is in office is because of President Obama and Joe Biden.

We have Fox team coverage tonight. John Robert is at -- John Roberts is at the White House with what the president is saying as he continues his battleground states tour. Chad Pergram on Capitol Hill with the Postal Service drama. Gillian Turner looks at the Bill Clinton factor at the convention tonight.

And we begin though with correspondent Peter Doocy in Wilmington Delaware. Good evening, Peter.

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. There aren't many places to go during a global pandemic but T.V. ratings for night one of the Democratic Convention compared to 2016 are down 28 percent, digital streams are up though. Most of the program is pre-taped and the live portions look a little bit like this behind the scenes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You probably should get off the screen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But I'm (INAUDIBLE). Yes, hello.

DOOCY: Day two of the convention to nominate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris remains almost fully virtual.

BIDEN: I hope everyone tunes into the Democratic Convention tonight to watch my wife Jill speak.

DOOCY: Tonight's headliner is Dr. Jill Biden who tease to remarks with this tweet. Quote, how did you get this number? Those were the first words I spoke to Joe when he called me out of the blue on a Saturday in 1975. Other speakers include Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter whose paths to the presidency Biden has tried to emulate for months.

BIDEN: The only Democrats to win the presidency is where we have overwhelming support from the African-American community and don't take it for granted. That was true for Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

DOOCY: A lot has changed since Clinton was president and he helped Biden push a tough crime bill.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a president who quite frankly Mr. President, you're more conservative than I am on the enforcement side of this legislation.

DOOCY: Last night, Michelle Obama used her time to present Trump's policies as unseemly for most Americans.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: They watched in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages.

DOOCY: But an Associated Press fact check points out, Trump used facilities that were built during the Obama-Biden administration to house children at the border.

John Kasich used his time to try to convince fellow Republicans that Biden is no Bernie Sanders.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH): They fear Joe may turn sharp left and leave them behind, I don't believe that.

DOOCY: Although later that hour, he wasn't so sure.

KASICH: I happen to think they'll be enough people around them. Particularly people who are close to him who will not let that happen but we'll have to see.

DOOCY: Democratic officials offered very little live content last night as they tried to stick to the script but still came this close to needing a bleep.

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): It's not just shark week, it's shark week (INAUDIBLE). I have learned about the hot mic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOOCY: That was close but it never actually made air. The first set of in person remarks at this location are going to be tomorrow with Kamala Harris who made the drive up from Washington D.C. for a walk through inside the Chase Center which officials in the parking lot behind us are still dressing up until the very last minute, Bret.

BAIER: Peter Doocy live in Wilmington, Delaware. Peter, thanks.

President Trump is courting women voters tonight by pardoning historic leader in the women's suffrage movement on this, the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote.

And he is working on securing his base by talking up his record on immigration. Chief White House correspondent John Roberts says that part of the story tonight. Good evening, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Bret, good evening to you. Another jam-packed day for President Trump in the midst of the Democratic Convention, a day that began with a pardon for Susan B. Anthony.

And then to highlight Joe Biden stay at home strategy, the president winging his way across the country through two important battleground states.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In two weeks, we will have hit 300 miles of wall. And this is a small version of it because actually the real deal goes up 30 feet.

ROBERTS: In Yuma, Arizona today, President Trump accepting another endorsement from the National Border Patrol Council comparing and contrasting his stance on immigration with that of Joe Biden.

TRUMP: The Biden plan would unleash a flood of illegal immigration like the world has never seen, it's crazy. It must be defeated and it will be defeated on November 3rd.

ROBERTS: President Trump won Arizona by 3.5 points in 2016 but Democrats see an opportunity this year to flip the state. Joe Biden currently leading by about two points in the RealClearPolitics average.

In swing state Iowa, it's the president with a two-point lead. He dropped into cedar rapids a day after signing a disaster declaration to deal with last week's devastating derecho storm.

TRUMP: It was done in record time and we're offering the full support of the federal government. We will rebuild even stronger than before. We're going to be in fantastic shape in a very short period of time.

ROBERTS: President Trump also responding to last night's scathing critique from former First Lady Michelle Obama.

M. OBAMA: Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us, it is what it is.

TRUMP: It is over her head and frankly she should have made the speech live which she didn't do, she taped it.

I thought her speech was very divisive and frankly, I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for Barack Obama.

ROBERTS: President Trump made the comments at an event this morning to mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, giving women the vote.

TRUMP: It was a monumental victory for equality, for justice and a monumental victory for America.

ROBERTS: It's also known as the Susan B. Anthony amendment, in honor of the women's suffrage later. In a surprise move, President Trump today issued a posthumous pardon to Anthony, something 27 previous presidents never got around to.

TRUMP: So, she was never pardoned and we are going to be signing a full and complete partner, and I think that's very fantastic, right?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: President Trump will be taking tomorrow away from the campaign trail. Though, he may hold one of his question and answer White House briefing sessions.

On Thursday, the president will be trolling Joe Biden big time with the campaign event just outside of Biden's hometown from Scranton, Pennsylvania, Bret.

BAIER: John Roberts live at the North Lawn. John, thanks.

Former President Bill Clinton will be -- as we said, one of tonight's speakers and all as always, the former president has a complicated relationship with his fellow Democrats. And now, it's front and center again. Correspondent Gillian Turner takes a look tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GILLIAN TURNER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Former President Bill Clinton is set to address the DNC tonight despite the fact he's been largely silent in the 2020 race so far and has yet to formally endorse Joe Biden.

The closest he's come, August 11th, tweeting mild praise for Kamala Harris. She and @JoeBiden make a strong team.

During the Democratic primaries, he steered clear of praising anyone by name.

CLINTON: Everyone you support should have one thing. As a core belief, we should all live under the same set of rules.

TURNER: It's a far cry from his former role as a driving force behind Democratic conventions of the past.

CLINTON: I will be the comeback kid.

TURNER: In 2012, he started in one of the defining moments of the entire campaign season.

CLINTON: I want Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States. And I proudly nominate him to be the standard bearer of the Democratic Party.

TURNER: But since the passing of the torch, Clinton's largely stayed out of the limelight and Democratic strategists say it's for good reason.

RICHARD FOWLER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONTRIBUTOR: There's no question that on both Jeffrey Epstein, as well as the Me Too movement has definitely scarred Bill Clinton's legacy. But I think his legacy was also scarred in 1998 during his impeachment.

TURNER: The fallout from his handling of the extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky has also reverberated through the decades.

CLINTON: I did not have sexual relations with that woman.

TURNER: And clings to him even today.

FOWLER: His role is definitely diminished some since his wife ran in 2016. But there are voters that came to this party as Clinton voters and they do want to hear from the guy who brought them to the dance and that's what they will here tonight in the second night of the DNC convention.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER: Another reminder of Clinton's ties to Epstein emerged today. The Daily Mail has published photos that purport to show the former president getting a massage from one of Epstein's 22-year-old accusers, this during 2002 on a trip to Africa.

Now, that young woman has since said, Clinton behave like a gentleman throughout that trip, Bret. Fox News is now working to independently authenticate those photos.

BAIER: All right, Gillian, thank you.

As we told you earlier, the head of the Postal Service is making some changes tonight, delaying some of the cost cutting changes he had planned. Chad Pergram is on that story on Capitol Hill, he has an update tonight. Good evening, Chad.

CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. Well, Louis DeJoy, the Postmaster General is trying to get in front of the House of Representatives set to vote this week and to resend some of those proposed changes.

Here's what Louis DeJoy said today. He said, quote, he was acting to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail. DeJoy said he won't slash hours oppose to offices, won't remove mail processing equipment and blue drop boxes, overtime will be approved as needed.

Democrats say DeJoy only acted because of a backlash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LOUIS DEJOY, POSTMASTER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: But now it appears maybe their hands been caught in the cookie jar and they're taking it out and leaving the cookies in place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERGRAM: House speaker Nancy Pelosi called DeJoy's actions, insufficient.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): I don't know if I can trust what Master General once said. And if he was sincere about it, it means the bully has backed off. Nonetheless, what happened to accept what he says and that's exactly what we have in our bill.

PERGRAM: President Trump suggests Democrats are trying to steal the election with mail-in voting.

TRUMP: You have to get rolling voting right, you can't have millions and millions of ballots sent all over the place, sent to people that are dead, sent to dogs, cats, sent to everyone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PERGRAM: Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson called DeJoy to appear before his committee on Friday. That's ahead of a House hearing on Monday. This was a pre-emptive strike by Johnson. He turned the House Committee, quote, hostile.

Now Bret, the House of Representatives, they're scheduled to vote on this bill for the Postal Service on Saturday. $25 billion, it is exclusive to the Postal Service. No coronavirus aid in this bill, although some Democrats are asking leaders to tack that on, Bret.

BAIER: Chad Pergram live on Capitol Hill. Chad, thanks.

Up next, we will talk with Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth about night two of the Democratic Convention and other issues.

First, here's with some of our Fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. Fox 5 in New York as Mayor Bill de Blasio says, the city will begin removing homeless people from hotels after complaints from residents. The city put many homeless individuals into the rooms to protect them against the coronavirus. De Blasio says as the health situation improves, it will be safe to move the homeless back into shelters.

Fox 11 in Los Angeles has three producers of the Ellen DeGeneres show had been fired amid allegations of a dysfunctional workplace that harbored misbehavior including sexual misconduct and racially insensitive remarks. DeGeneres reportedly informed staff of that shake up Monday in a video conference call and said claims about the show were heartbreaking.

And this is a live look at Orlando from our affiliate Fox 35, they're one of the big stories there tonight. SpaceX launches another batch of 58 Starlink satellites in three planet labs spacecraft into orbit. It was the company's 100th launch since it began in 2006.

That is tonight's live look outside the Beltway from SPECIAL REPORT, we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Well, let's talk about the convention and the presidential race. Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, joins us tonight. Senator, thanks for the time.

SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): It's good to be on, Bret. How are you?

BAIER: I'm great. Four years ago, you spoke at the DNC convention. Here is just a piece of what you said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DUCKWORTH: This is the greatest nation on earth, a nation that so many are willing to die defending. A nation that says, if you keep working hard, we won't abandon you. Of course, in Donald Trump's America, if you get knocked down, you stay down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: It's four years later, Senator. Your take on what you said there in the wake of the Donald Trump administration and what you look for tonight.

DUCKWORTH: Well, I think I was very accurate in predicting what Donald Trump would do to this country and he's proven that in these last four years. You know, I'll just give you his response to now there being over 170,000 dead Americans. It is what it is, our president says. And frankly, that's not acceptable.

There's a lot of hard work in front of us, and then, we can all come together and do this, and fight this, and recover the America the way she needs to be.

BAIER: Do you think a democratic president would not have shut down the country and the economy somehow would have been different under a democratic administration?

DUCKWORTH: Well, I think that a democratic president would not have ignored the scientists and said, you know, as I'll pressed the current president said way back at the beginning in February where he said, you know what, this pandemic is just going to disappear magically, it will be gone by April, and not listen to the scientists, and not -- and actually not handle the pandemic the way this president has completely mishandled it.

He still hasn't even taken charge of making sure that everybody has enough PPE for crying out loud. There is no way to fully open the economy unless there's widespread testing. We need to know who is sick, when they're sick, and where they are, so that they don't spread it to other people. To opening up the economy, opening up our schools --

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: I want to talk about a couple of the things. One thing that was not brought up last night in the first night of the DNC was the increased violence in many cities across the country, including the city of -- that you know very well, Chicago. Shootings there up 40 percent year over year as is the murder rate. It's a big concern. July was the deadliest, most violent month in 28 years in Chicago. Are you concerned about this and are Democrats going to talk about it?

DUCKWORTH: Deeply -- I am deeply concerned about this. You know, it's part of the conversations that Democrats have been having about the need to invest more in community services.

You know, we have kids who are joining gangs when they're as young as eight, nine, 10 years old. But that's because we've cut funding for after- school programs, we've cut funding to our public schools, we have cut social services to the bone, so that there are no -- there are no more safety nets for our kids.

And if we want to fight violence and we need to get into the communities and work with the communities to fight the violence. And we also need some sensible gun laws like universal background check, which by the way, 95 percent of all Americans support universal background checks.

BAIER: Sure. But these police associations including the International Union of Police Associations has endorsed Donald Trump. Do you think any police officers are voting for Joe Biden? And what about these efforts to defund or move funding from police organizations? Does that hinder the effort in some place like Chicago?

DUCKWORTH: Well, I don't accept moving funding from police forces. I -- what I support is putting more funding into community service programs. Our cops have a hard job and they do it every single day. But the fact of the matter is, when you're in Chicago, and you have somebody in your family that's having say, an overdose on opioid crisis, or is having a mental health problem, and you pick up the phone and you call 911.

Because of all the cuts to social service programs, the person who comes to your door is going to be a police officer. And you're not going to get the kind of services that you need from a police officer. We need to allow our police officers to do their jobs of fighting crime.

BAIER: Well, I hear what you're saying, but I think Republicans would argue that it's -- how these different cities are run or being run, that's what the president is saying.

I want to ask about one of the speakers tonight, Senator, and that is former President Bill Clinton. There is an article out by the left-leaning https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__slate.com&d=DwICAg&c=cnx1hdOQtepEQkpermZGwQ&r=tgDLkJy54PfJyWJwul3dKe54qGxqO7b7d5vjo7RcZds&m=5UOFZPhrdY92H_pAG_Ok9a_VM2gk3LKR_MsTcbh6g38&s=qG3yG0adgvM2GeP3dIUtHBLJFwM1W8Rylpn7RO0OjBk&e= , in which it says, he should not be speaking tonight.

"Obsolescence comes from us in all in a variety of ways," it says. "And it has come for Clinton, a man whose irrelevance to the present moment is as extraordinary as his connection to the party remains embarrassing. But even when it comes to substance, we've already heard all Bill Clinton has to say. His message has not improved with time. His past actions, particularly his sexual misconduct, look worse in retrospect, not better. The country is gasping for leadership, for strategies, for a pathway out of disaster -- all this at a moment this particular ex-president is ill-equipped to address."

That is left-leading -- leaning https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__slate.com&d=DwICAg&c=cnx1hdOQtepEQkpermZGwQ&r=tgDLkJy54PfJyWJwul3dKe54qGxqO7b7d5vjo7RcZds&m=5UOFZPhrdY92H_pAG_Ok9a_VM2gk3LKR_MsTcbh6g38&s=qG3yG0adgvM2GeP3dIUtHBLJFwM1W8Rylpn7RO0OjBk&e= . Your reaction to that, Senator?

DUCKWORTH: Well, I'll let Bill Clinton defend himself, and I'll let Bill Clinton make his remarks tonight. What i can tell you, Bret, is that the Democratic Party is big tent. We -- that everybody is welcome to come under who truly loves America and wants to work on things like fighting this pandemic. Like putting money into our public schools, our kids can get back to school. Like investing in small businesses, like investing in parts of the country that need help.

You know, in Illinois, we have a lot of coal mines. My marshall plan for coal country is something that I'm working on. The Democratic Party is a big tent and all sorts of folks (INAUDIBLE) underneath it, and I welcome anyone who truly wants to come and work to solve the problems we have in this country. And if you want to join Donald Trump, I believe he is often on the golf course.

BAIER: Yes, but he is a former president, obviously, but in a wake of the Me Too movement, does it change the perspective when it comes to Bill Clinton.

DUCKWORTH: Listen, I -- as I said, I will let Bill Clinton defend himself, and I'll let him make his remarks tonight, and they now be listening. But I will tell you that we have a lot of work to do in this country.

BAIER: Well, Senator, we appreciate your time and thanks for your service to the country.

DUCKWORTH: My pleasure. Thanks for having me on.

BAIER: Up next, battleground states, what they mean now and in November? First, "BEYOND OUR BORDERS" tonight. A powerful and shallow earthquake strikes a central Philippine region, prompting people to dash out of homes and offices for safety.

Officials say, at least, one person was killed and dozens injured with many of the buildings damaged, including a coronavirus quarantine center.

Authorities deploy helicopters in western China to rescue people stranded by flooding. State media there reporting heavy rain has swelled rivers to dangerous levels. Flooding has left more than 200 people dead or missing in China this year, and cost some $25 billion in damage.

Australian authorities say they have seized a large quantity of cocaine from a fishing boat in treacherous seas off the east coast of Australia. A law enforcement team intercepted the Australian trawler Saturday night, after New Zealand authorities tipped Australians about the boat being tracked in the stretch of ocean not usually visited by that type of vessel. The haul is estimated to be worth $180 million.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: President Trump is spending some of his time this week in a number of key battleground states. He's continuing to hammer home his opposition to mail-in voting.

At the same time, my colleague, Bill Hemmer joins us from New York with what these battleground states mean to the Electoral College vote and all this mail-in voting stuff from the billboard. Good evening, Bill.

BILL HEMMER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: Yes, evening to you, Bret. It's complicated. OK, just at the outset. I'll lead you with that. I keep coming back to Pennsylvania, Bret, and I think over the next 70 plus days, really is going to find that, that is, you know, the coin of the realm in Pennsylvania.

This is what we've done, we've put our battleground states in gray. We have 13 at the moment. That's going to change a little bit here and a little bit there as we get closer, some of these will be cancelled out.

But we think in the race to 270, Biden starts at 213 and Trump starts at 126. So, if that is the case, Bret, how -- what's the key to victory? What's the path to victory? For Joe Biden, it's real easy if you win Pennsylvania, and then, you take a major state like Florida.

It's only eight electoral votes away then you go hunting up here in the upper Midwest. Maybe you hold on to Minnesota, and if that's the case, Joe Biden would be the president under that scenario. And again, you can put in -- you can put in a hundred different scenarios here and get different outcomes.

For Donald Trump, I mean, we've got Texas on the map but maybe it's not as blue as they're saying. So, we'll give that to him, maybe he holds storage as well. And you mentioned these battleground states where the president's been traveling for the last two days.

He wants to hold Arizona; he was there earlier today. He wants to hold Iowa; he was there as well. He was up here in the upper Midwest, as well. I'll get to that in a moment here. He won Florida by 100,000 votes, North Carolina by 3-1/2 points, in Ohio by around seven points.

If he's able to hold those states, you're looking at 259. Then up here in the upper Midwest, where do you go and find the votes that you need to get to 270? Bret, between Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin in 2016, a total 78,000 votes determine the winner in all three of those states.

But again, we're at 259 in this conversation. Does he hold onto Michigan? If so, he gets a second term. Remember, I have not touched Pennsylvania in this scenario. What about Minnesota? He was there yesterday. Could that happen? It could, but he would be one shy. Same for Wisconsin a 269. If that's the case you've got to go over here to New Hampshire or something to get back over to 270, 273 in this scenario. So it's going to change a lot, OK?

And this mail-in vote issue is something that's going to be get a lot of attention, too. Look at this map. This is vote by mail states currently. At the moment, there are nine states plus the District of Columbia where every voter will be mailed ballot. That list is going to change, by the way, too, because they are already talking about it, Montana, maybe it's 10 states very soon, plus the District of Columbia, where you are as well.

By comparison, four years ago in 2016 you had 33 million votes by mail or absentee votes out of a total of 140 million cast. They believe, Bret, that number, 33.2 million, could go as high as 80 million in 2020. And now you get all the attention on the post office, et cetera, toward the end of this week, and, again, next week with that herring. So a lot of ways to skin this cat, shall we say, and that's just a couple of them for tonight, Bret.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: We'll have many permutations of that over the next 70 plus days.

HEMMER: We shall.

BAIER: Bill, thanks.

Stocks were mixed today. The Dow lost 67, the S&P 500 gained eight for a new record close today, the Nasdaq jumped 81, also good enough for a record close.

The final report by the Senate Intelligence Committee on Russian election interference in 2016 says Moscow launched an aggressive, wide-ranging effort to intervene on behalf of then-candidate Donald Trump. It says Trump's associates were eager to exploit the Kremlin's aid, particularly by maximizing the impact of the disclosure of Democratic emails that were hacked by Russian military intelligence officers. The committee says those communications, including the interaction of the campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, posed a, quote, "great counterintelligence threat."

That said, Acting Intelligence Committee Chair Senator Marco Rubio said in a statement, quote, "We can say without any hesitation that the committee found absolutely no evidence that then-candidate Donald Trump or his campaign colluded with the Russian government to meddle in the 2016 election."

The University of Notre Dame is canceling in-person undergraduate classes for two weeks, at least for right now, after a spike in coronavirus cases that occurred since the semester began August 10th. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide now nearing 22 million. The U.S. number is number one on that list, with almost five-and-a-half million. The virus is moving up the list in the U.S. of the most dangerous killers in this country. Correspondent Jonathan Serrie has the latest tonight from Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: COVID-19 is now the third leading cause of death in the U.S., trailing only heart disease and cancer according to the CDC. Public health officials are also concerned by new trends in the virus' transmission.

DR. TAKESHI KASAI, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: People in their 20s, 30s, and 40s are increasingly driving the spread.

SERRIE: The warning comes amid more social media posts showing crowds of unmasked students gathering in college towns, including Stillwater, Oklahoma.

RYAN NOVOZINSKY, OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT: Even if I as a student am next to somebody who lives with somebody that was at these bars, I essentially am interacting with all the other people they interacted with.

SERRIE: Oklahoma State quarantined a sorority after nearly two dozen members tested positive. Notre Dame confirmed nearly 60 cases since students returned to campus. Although young people are at lower risk for complications, physicians report long-lasting effects in some patients, including heart condition called myocarditis, which poses a high risk for athletes.

DR. JONATHAN KIM, EMORY UNIVERSITY CARDIOLOGIST: You are engaging in high- end physical activity. That could potentially precipitate dangerous heart rhythms, which could lead to a cardiac arrest.

SERRIE: According to a Franklin Templeton Gallup Survey, Americans overestimate the proportion of people under 25 who die from COVID-19 by a factor of 50, but underestimate by half the virus' impact on those 65 and older who represent 80 percent of fatalities. Today New York Governor Andrew Cuomo added Alaska and Delaware to a list of nearly three dozen states from which travelers must quarantine for 14 days. New York City mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order for hotels and short-term rentals to require guests from these states to fill out quarantine forms.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, (D) NEW YORK CITY, NY: And if they don't have that form from the traveler, they should not give them access to their room, period.

SERRIE: When asked about pandemic restrictions, Dr. Deborah Birx said this.

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: I wish that when we went into lockdown we looked like Italy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERRIE: Birx was referring to an Italian policy that kept people home except for one hour of grocery shopping every other week. But she conceded Americans don't react well to that kind of prohibition. Bret?

BAIER: Jonathan, thank you.

Up next, an update on that brutal incident involving a man beaten by protesters in Portland.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: An Iowa State University professor who forbade students from criticizing Black Lives Matter, gay marriage, or abortion in their papers has been forced to back down. The College Fix website reports the university says the syllabus from English teacher Chloe Clark was inconsistent with its standards and commitment to the First Amendment.

We have a follow-up tonight on the horrifying attack on the driver of a pickup truck brutally assaulted over the weekend in Portland. A warning here, you may find some of the images in this piece disturbing. Here's correspondent Dan Springer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SPRINGER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It was a vicious roundhouse kick to the head that has now made news across the world, the victim knocked unconscious by the blow. Portland police nowhere in sight.

DREW HERNANDEZ, YOUTUBER: This was violent, extremely violent. Sometimes I forget that I'm walking the streets of an American city in the northwest. Sometimes it feels like you are walking in a third world country.

SPRINGER: Witness and Youtuber Drew Hernandez took the video. He says 40- years-old Adam Haner had tried to help a transgender woman who was robbed and beaten, but the crowd turned on him. Haner managed to drive off, but then crashed his truck. That's when assailants repeatedly punched and kicked him. The beatings happened during a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Portland with speeches like this aimed at police.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know you got a gun, but so do I. Go ahead and shoot me. I'm shooting back.

SPRINGER: Today Portland police identified their assault suspect as 25- year-old Marquise Love, a former private security guard and Portland DJwho has been a regular at the Black Lives Matter protests. Police defended their initial slow response to the attack, quote, "Police are staying away from protesters in order to not be a flash point." Senator Ted Cruz tweeted "This is anarchy in the streets. Not a single police officer to be seen. I blame the Dem politicians who enable Antifa mob violence." Adam Haner, pictured on the right, is home recovering from his injuries. The attack got noticed by the Trump administration.

MARK MORGAN, ACTING CBP COMMISSIONER: The American people need to be standing up and paying attention. We're at a crossroads in this country at this very moment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SPRINGER: Portland's mayor and the Multnomah County district attorney condemned the attacks, but neither offered any plans to stem the violence. Police are urging the suspect to turn himself in. Bret?

BAIER: Dan, thank you.

Next up, we will talk about night two of the Democratic Convention and how President Trump is staying in the spotlight. The panel joins me after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Biden plan would unleash a flood of illegal immigration like the world is never seen. It's crazy. Biden's plan is the most radical, extreme, reckless, dangerous, and deadly immigration plan ever put forward by a major party candidate. It must be defeated, and it will be defeated on November 3rd.

This is beyond socialism. Or we will indeed have Venezuela on steroids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: President Trump in Arizona wrapping up at the top of this hour there, another campaign stop in another key state, tweeting out in reaction to former first lady Michelle Obama earlier today, "Somebody please explain to Michelle Obama that Donald J. Trump would not be here in the beautiful White House if it weren't for the job done by your husband, Barack Obama. Biden was merely an afterthought, a good reason for that very late and unenthusiastic endorsement." This as the second night of the DNC, the convention rolls on virtually.

Let's bring in our panel, FOX News senior political analyst Brit Hume, Mo Elleithee, executive director of the Georgetown Institute of Politics, Kimberley Strassel, a member of the editorial board at "The Wall Street Journal," and Tom Bevan, Real Clear Politics co-founder and president.

Mo, let me start with you. Some of the ratings TV-wise were lackluster, down from year-over-year for the last convention. The campaign itself is saying other people were screaming, we just aren't seeing all those numbers. What about this virtual effort?

MO ELLEITHEE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GEORGETOWN INSTITUTE OF POLITICS: Well, number one, there wasn't another choice, right. They couldn't gather, so of course they tried to do the best that they could with the situation.

I am actually really interested in seeing the streaming numbers, because one thing that struck me as I was watching last night, we all know that conventions, both parties, these conventions over the past couple of decades have become made-for-TV events. The problem is they were getting less and less TV time.

This seems to be the first major digital political convention. And we're going to see it again next week with the RNC. It was produced in a way that could be easily cut up, digested, shared online and on your mobile devices, so those numbers are the ones I'm really going to be looking for. But I thought they did a good job with it.

BAIER: Kimberley, there was a bit of a ping-pong match as far as policy went. John Kasich, former Republican governor, then you had Senator Bernie Sanders. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KASICH, (R) FORMER OHIO GOVERNOR: Sure, there are Republicans and independents who couldn't imagine crossing over to support a Democrat. They fear Joe may turn sharp left and leave them behind. I don't believe that.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Many of the ideas we fought for that just a few years ago were considered radical are now mainstream.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Kimberley, that was within about 45 minutes where Senator Sanders then listed the number of things that he says Joe Biden came their way, meaning the progressive way.

KIMBERLEY STRASSEL, WALL STREET JOURNAL: I think that was one of the more unfortunate aspects of the lineup, of having John Kasich say don't worry, the party is not turning left, followed by Bernie Sanders talking about and exalting in all the many ways that the party has turned left, from steps towards Medicare for all to basically the Green New Deal.

And John Kasich, it was always understood, he was going to get rolled out at this. He's been a long time Trump critic. I don't think he has ever really got over losing that nomination battle. And he was going to say pretty much whatever they asked him to say. I don't think he really believes that the party hasn't turned left.

The question is whether or not this convention, which there was a big effort on Monday night to suggest that there was a lot of moderates in the Democratic Party. Don't worry about our policy agenda. The question is, can you really convince Americans of that? And how good can Republicans do getting that point across to undecided voters?

BAIER: Brit, tonight, if you look up a list of speakers, you have some interesting names in here, including the headliner, which would be Dr. Jill Biden, Joe Biden's wife. You have former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, former Secretary of State John Kerry. I asked Senator Tammy Duckworth about Bill Clinton speaking, and then followed up with this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: In the wake of the Me Too movement, does it change the perspective when it comes to Bill Clinton?

SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): Listen, as I said, I will let Bill Clinton defend himself, and I'll let him make his remarks tonight, and I'll be listening. But I will tell you that we have a lot of work to do in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: When I first asked the question, I quoted "Slate" saying he shouldn't be speaking, and Senator Duckworth said, well, it's a big tent in the Democratic Party.

BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, it may be a big tent, but aren't we supposed to be, Bret, in the middle of a Me Too movement in which sexual predator politicians are supposed to be taboo? After all, Donald Trump's conduct is something Democrats never cease complaining about, and there are a number of examples of it, but so are they with Mr. Clinton as well. Four years ago, obviously, there was no way around it. His wife had been nominated and there was no way around having him there. But the Me Too movement has erupted since then, and it seems it's going to be suspended tonight, which I think is fun, interesting, different.

(LAUGHTER)

BAIER: Different, that's right. Tom, your thoughts on night two as we get ready to get to Wilmington, Delaware, and the official nomination as Kamala Harris and Joe Biden on Thursday?

TOM BEVAN, REAL CLEAR POLITICS CO-FOUNDER: It's going to be interesting to see where they go tonight. Last night was heavy on the anti-Trump stuff, and that's for good reason. Two-thirds to three-quarters of Democrats are going to turn out -- they says they are going to turn out to vote against Donald Trump, not necessarily for Joe Biden, and we saw that play out over the course of the night. It was very light on policy, very light on the vision thing. So I think that's something that we are going to see rolled out over the coming nights. It will be interesting to see how the speakers do that tonight.

BAIER: The biggest back and forth, obviously, Mo, was the former first lady and the president's reaction today. Let's take a listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY: Being president doesn't change who you are. It reveals who you are.

Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. It is what it is.

If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can and they will if we don't make a change in this election.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She was over her head. And frankly, she should have made the speech live, which she didn't do. She taped it. I thought it was a very divisive speech, extremely divisive.

I wouldn't be in the White House except for Barack Obama, because they did a bad job, Biden and Obama. And if they did a good job, I wouldn't be here. I'd be building buildings someplace and having a good time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: What about the president's reaction to the first lady's speech, Mo?

ELLEITHEE: Look, Donald Trump, if you look at all the polls, Donald Trump's biggest challenge right now is with a couple of key constituents. He's having challenges with independent voters. He's having challenges with suburban voters, particularly suburban women. He's having challenges with middle-class voters, self-described middle-class voters. Those are the voters who Michelle Obama had some of her strongest numbers with.

I thought her speech last night was incredibly powerful, and for the president to actually take the bait and engage with her today, one of his biggest criticisms of her speech was that she undersold the number of COVID-related deaths. I'm not sure that's the right strategy for him to point that out. But for him to take that bait and try to go toe-to-toe with her today is only going to reinforce some of his negatives with those key groups.

BAIER: Basically, I think he was saying that she didn't mention the right number and obviously didn't talk about Kamala Harris because it was taped before that. Kimberley?

STRASSEL: Look, I agree with Mo in that Michelle Obama is very popular out there, she's a rock star within the Democratic Party. At the same time, this was an uncharacteristically divisive speech.

I think it's going to be more interesting going forward in terms of what they end up focusing on. The entire first night, as Tom mentioned, was all about Donald Trump. It was about COVID and it was about character, and both trying to reflect negatively on him. But can they get away with an entire campaign about not talking about what they are really for and what they intend to do? I think that's going to be one of the big -- because that's going to be what this election really does come down to in the end.

BAIER: Brit, I've got 15 seconds. Joe Biden has 40 plus years in Washington. Are we going to hear more about that over the next three days?

HUME: These are the kinds of things, Bret, that the president could make some headway with, that and the fact that his cognitive abilities, Biden's, are not what they once were, if he had a focused message. But so far what you see with him, he's all over the place. He rises to every piece of bait. He responds to every criticism. Campaigns are won by discipline, focus, messaging delivered effectively. He needs to do that or this campaign, it seems to me, is not going to work.

BAIER: All right, panel, thank you. We'll see you at 10:00 p.m. tonight for day two of the Democratic National Convention.

When we come back, this virtual convention and late-night comics.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Finally tonight, virtual convention equals low-hanging fruit for comics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: If you missed Michelle Obama's speech, don't worry, Melania will deliver the same speech at next week's Republican convention.

The best part of these things isn't the speeches. It's the people in the crowds dancing like idiots.

(MUSIC)

TREVOR NOAH, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": We all have to admit that a convention that takes place over Zoom just doesn't have the same juice.

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW": Now, at one point they cut away for some quick reaction shots from the audience, then they stayed on these two women for, and I'm rounding down here, about. All the awkwardness of the kiss (ph) cam, with none of the fun of a baseball game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

BAIER: There you go. That's it for this "Special Report" -- fair, balanced, and unafraid.

Here's Martha.

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