Published July 31, 2020
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," January 31, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
JASON CHAFFETZ, FOX NEWS HOST: Welcome to this special edition of "Hannity": The Road to 2020. I'm Jason Chaffetz, in tonight for Sean.
With just 95 days until the election. Democrats are turning every issue into a political lightning rod. Many on the left are even accusing President Trump of being personally responsible for the spread of COVID-19.
Just today, Congressman James Clyburn floated a conspiracy theory that Trump didn't have a plan to battle the virus because it was spreading in blue states.
But at today's coronavirus response hearing on Capitol Hill, Dr. Fauci painted a much different picture. He actually credited the president with saving lives. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): Were you involved in working with President Trump on deciding to ban flights from China?
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Yes, sir, I was.
SCALISE: Do you agree with that decision?
FAUCI: I do.
SCALISE: Do you think that decision saved lives, Dr. Fauci?
FAUCI: Yes, I do.
SCALISE: So, you agree with the decision, when ultimately, we saw spread in Europe and then the president recommended that we extend that to Europe, did you participate in that discussion?
FAUCI: I was actively involved in that discussion, sir.
SCALISE: Do you agree with that decision?
FAUCI: Yes, I do.
SCALISE: Do you think that decision save lives?
FAUCI: Yes, I do.
SCALISE: Eventually then, we saw the United Kingdom have an outbreak and there have to be a tough decision to make, do we extend that to the United Kingdom. Were you part of that decision?
FAUCI: I was.
SCALISE: Do you agree with that decision as well?
FAUCIS: I do.
SCALISE: Did that decision save lives?
FAUCI: Yes, it did.
SCALISE: When you look at the 15 days to slow the spread, initially, it started 15, were you part of the decision to implement that decision?
FAUCI: I was very much involved in that.
SCALISE: Did that decision save lives?
FAUCI: I believe it did.
SCALISE: Then when President Trump met with you and Dr. Birx to extend that another 30 days, do you agree with that decision that President Trump made to extend that?
FAUCI: Yes, I was very much involved, and I agreed with it.
SCALISE: Did that decision save lives, Dr. Fauci?
FAUCI: I believe it did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: Congressman Scalise will join us in a moment.
His colleague Congressman Jim Jordan grilled Fauci on whether or not the nationwide protests are causing the virus to spread. Oddly enough, Fauci tried to dodge the question in this tense exchange. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): Do protests increase the spread of the virus?
FAUCI: Do protests increase the spread of the virus? I think I can make a general statement.
JORDAN: Well, half a million protesters on June 6th alone. I'm just asking, that number of people, does it increase the spread of the virus?
FAUCI: Crowding together, particularly when you're not wearing a mask contributes to the spread of the virus.
JORDAN: Should we limit the protesting?
FAUCI: I'm not sure what you mean. Should -- how do we say limit the protesting?
JORDAN: Should government limit the protesting?
FAUCI: I -- I don't think that's relevant to --
JORDAN: For 63 days, nine weeks, it's been happening in Portland.
FAUCI: Right, yes.
JORDAN: One night in Chicago, 49 officers were injured. But no limit -- no limit to protests. But, boy, you can go to church on Sunday.
FAUCI: I don't know how many times I can answer that. I'm not going to opine on limiting anything. I'm just going to tell you --
JORDAN: You have opined on a lot of things, Dr. Fauci.
FAUCI: Yes, but I've never said --
(CROSSTALK)
JORDAN: This is something that directly impacts the spread of the virus and I'm asking your position on the protests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: Yes, Jim Jordan is the right on that.
So, Fauci will comment on baseball, football, schools, going to bars, cruise ships, but he won't directly address the massive nationwide protests that are still ongoing.
And don't forget -- Democrats closed businesses, churches, beaches, bars, restaurants and restricted who you can have in your home and whether or not you can even sing in church.
Joining us now with reaction is House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, FOX News contributor, Governor Mike Huckabee, and American Conservative Union chairman, Matt Schlapp.
Thank you all for being here.
Congressman, I want to -- I want to go with you. You did a great job of -- of questioning.
But Fauci just wouldn't go to certain areas. What was the mood within the room and what did the congressmen leave at the end of the hearing with?
SCALISE: Jason, good to be with you.
And, look, the mood in the room was very serious because we are making big decisions. We are seeing states make big decisions all based on data and, you know, they are -- the Democrats are literally trying to mislead the country and say there's no plan and say that -- they criticized the plan, by the way, when the president does things like shutdown flights from China.
But then they say there's no plan. They see tests go up. They criticized the president for not having enough testing. The president, we're almost 800,000 tests a day now, which is a revolutionary number. Then they criticized too many positives because more people are being tested.
All they wanted to do was attacked the president and I think today, I really wanted to question Dr. Fauci about the decisions that were made by President Trump to take leadership to develop a plan and ultimately, Jason, to save American lives.
And Dr. Fauci right down the line on every question I asked him confirmed that, number one, President Trump has a very solid plan, he works with the smartest doctors in the world on that plan, and the president's plan is saving lives every day.
And Jim Jordan touched on the idea that, you know, if you can say you can't go to church but you can go to a protest, we know protests like any other large gathering spread the disease. Going to church, you can do it safely where it won't spread the disease, and there is a dichotomy and it's like they don't want to even acknowledge that that exists.
CHAFFETZ: Now, Governor, I'm sure you caught at least parts of that hearing. But I've got to tell you, Dr. Fauci wouldn't go and comment on some of the biggest issues of the day but it's not like Joe Biden is out there leading from behind, showing us what we should be doing either.
MIKE HUCKABEE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I think what Congressman Scalise did was to show that there was very specific leadership on the part of the president and the administration.
And let's be real clear. The president is doing what a president to do. He's leading a lot of the detail decision to the local states and mayors. That's what the Tenth Amendment says.
But where there is the need for a national decision whether it's closing traveled from China or restricting it to other country, the president has taken those actions. He's gotten ventilators available for states. It turns out he got more than anybody even needed.
He's done exactly what he's supposed to do, I hope this campaign will hammer that message and I think what Congressman Scalise did today and that hearing was incredibly valuable in showing that there is not this big fight between the science of what Dr. Fauci wants to do and what the president is doing.
He's doing what he should do. The interesting thing the Democrats say, there ought to be a national plan. But if he does say, let's go and protect federal property in places like Portland, suddenly, they come unglued and they say he has no business being there, when in fact he does.
So that's the insanity of all of this. It's not about safety. It's not about science. It's not about making sure that we're safe from COVID. It's about hating Donald Trump and trying to make sure he's not president for the next four years.
CHAFFETZ: Yes, and, Matt, it really is about politics is the governor was saying because if you go to the hearing, Democrats are trying to rewrite history. They are trying to spin it a different way and remember it in a different way because I tell you what, when Donald Trump was limiting travel from China, it wasn't in the front page news. They called them all sorts of things, a xenophobic and all these types of things. But this hearing really did expose that the Democrats are playing political games.
MATT SCHLAPP, AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE UNION CHAIRMAN: Well, thank God for Steve Scalise and for Jim Jordan and several others of the Republicans who are on that committee, because a hearing is a place where we actually can listen and learn.
And I think this is critical. When Nancy Pelosi said this is the Trump virus, that was when she said publicly what you're supposed to say privately, because what they're trying to do with this whole Chinese corona -- and I'm going to keep calling it Chinese corona, Jason, because they want to make it Trump corona. They want to make it conservative corona.
They think corona only spreads when Republicans come together, when Republicans go to church, when Republicans rally in Tulsa. All of a sudden, there's always this -- this coverage of outbreaks.
But when Black Lives Matter or Antifa or whatever tries to destroy federal property, this is the -- you know, this is all consistent with the First Amendment and just fine and even Tony Fauci is playing into the politics of that. It's all about politics.
Look, the president did things we've never done in our history. We've never prevented Americans from coming back into the country over a health scare. The president made sure that if they tested positive, that they wouldn't be able to come into the population until their health improved.
We did the same thing with cruise ships. We shut down our economy. We shut down schools. We shut down churches. A lot of conservatives have concerns with those things.
But you can't level the charge against the president of the United States that he didn't take extraordinary, unprecedented, historic steps to try to keep us safe.
The reason why they're not giving him any credit is because it's all about beating him, and I think the American people get it and I think the Democrats have way overplayed their hands because our health should not be a political football.
CHAFFETZ: Yes, I do think Democrats are overplaying their hand.
And for Congressman Clyburn to suggest that Donald Trump didn't do something because there were Democrats living in that state, it's just disgusting. It shouldn't be accepted. It was way, way over the line.
Gentlemen, thank you all for joining us on this beautiful Friday night. We do appreciate it.
All right, President Trump is now ready and willing to send another round of stimulus checks to Americans but according to him, Pelosi and Schumer are now standing in the way. This comes as COVID-19 jobless benefits are now set to expire.
Tonight, with no deal in sight, joining us now with the very latest is our own Chad Pergram -- Chad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jason. We don't have a big meeting at 9:00 on the Saturday morning in the speaker's office with the speaker of the House, Senate minority leader, the White House chief of staff and the secretary of the treasury unless you're dealing with a big crisis. That's what they are wrestling with right now. They try to get some resolution, try to jump-start these talks. They are not going to have any aides in the room, and that tells you a lot.
Under normal circumstances, if the sides were at an impasse like this, even on a big bill, you likely stop talking. But the coronavirus crisis is so severe, they can't. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has he made multiple offers to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, all were rejected.
Meadows says the Democrats are entrenched, aren't fudging. Why, they may not have to. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he has 20 Republicans who oppose any big bill that the Democrats want, or even doing another bill at all. So, Democrats think they will hold the cards because any new bill will require Democratic votes.
Pelosi indicated today that she thought they would eventually be a bill, although some Republican sources are skeptical. There are differences between the sites. Democrats oppose an interim bill for the end of the employment benefits until there is a sense that a broader bill is within reach.
The Senate meets next week, and expect Senate Republicans to set up a number of votes on unemployment benefits to make Democrats squirm.
Here's what to watch for: more economic pain. The next set of jobless numbers are set to be released a week from today. If it's a bad number, they could jump-start these talks -- Jason.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHAFFETZ: Chad, thank you.
President Trump is now blasting Democrats for playing politics with the lives of the American people. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Democrats do not care about the people of our country. They don't want to do what you should be doing for the people of our country, whether it's unemployment or anything else. And all they care about is the election and they are going to lose the election.
Democrats are playing for November 3rd. And we're playing for the good of the people. It's a disgrace that they are not negotiating. But they are only looking to play a political game. I happen to think it's a bad political game. I think it hurts them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is also criticizing Democrats for playing politics, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi is clearly frustrated. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You met last night with Mark Meadows, the chief of staff.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You certainly know him previously in his capacity as a member of Congress. Do you -- do you trust him in these negotiations?
PELOSI: What I trust is our meeting the needs of the American people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you trust him as a negotiator, Speaker?
PELOSI: Well, that's not -- that's not an appropriate question to ask. I will say this --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How is it not appropriate if you are negotiating with him, you must be able to trust him in order to negotiate with -- (CROSSTALK)
PELOSI: Why would I have to trust him? He's a representative of the president -- of President Trump. That's who the president sent. President Trump trusts him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: I actually thought it was a good question, she obviously can't answer it.
Joining us now with reaction is former Obama advisor Austan Goolsbee and FOX News contributor Charlie Hurt.
Austan, I want to start with you because I thought it was a fair question. I think it shows in part Speaker Pelosi's approach to this.
But I don't understand why Democrats just instantaneously want to take a continuing resolution off the table, one that may be just days in length in order to score some political points to try to create this narrative that, you know, hey, Republicans can't get things done? Why do Democrats do that don't they understand people just see through this crap?
AUSTAN GOOLSBEE, FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: Well, you've got two different -- you've got two different subjects there. Let's think about the continuing resolution. By the continuing resolution, you mean let's have a short-term extension of the unemployment as it exists now?
CHAFFETZ: Well, yes, for just a few days in order -- she said, the Democrats said they wouldn't even consider that.
GOOLSBEE: That problem with that --
(CROSSTALK)
CHAFFETZ: -- unless they think there's a bigger deal. Of course they want a bigger deal. Republicans are opposing (ph) that.
GOOLSBEE: No, no, I know why. It's because -- no, no, it's because the state unemployment offices have shut down the computers for this extended unemployment. And most of the states say that it would take them two weeks to get the programs backup. So, a one-week extension or a three-day extension does not exist. That can't happen.
So, the Democrats said it doesn't make any sense to do that.
CHAFFETZ: But that's not what she said. What they said was his Democrats is that they would not do it unless they thought there was a bigger deal to be had, Charlie.
CHARLIE HURT, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, what we are looking at here is a typical situation we've been through literally the worst economic collapse this country has ever seen. It's on par with the Great Depression if not worse, and Democrats see it as an opportunity in an election year to score political points off of it.
And I understand there's always going to be politics and decisions made by politicians trying to show up their opponents and to expose their opponents' weaknesses but that's not what's going on here. Democrats are trying to use the political process in order to crash the economy, to keep the economy cratered. It's why they don't want to open back up. It's why they want to continue all of these measures that have led to the cratering in the first place, because they want Donald Trump to go into the election with the terrible economy.
It's the only way that they hope they can win. And actually, I think they're right about it. If they can manage to keep the economy cratered, that gives them some hope of winning.
CHAFFETZ: Austan, react to what Charlie just said.
GOOLSBEE: Well, at the beginning I was finding some common ground. But the conspiracy part I think is not accurate at all. The Democrats went along with the president to pass the CARES Act which was the biggest bill that the U.S. government has ever passed.
They're not boycotting the president. If they were trying to tank the economy, they would've never agreed to do $2.6 trillion of rescue and relief money. They actually want to help the millions of people who have been unemployed.
And the problem here is been the president -- I don't know if he doesn't want to be there or what. He's not getting involved in a detailed way, saying here's my specific -- here are my specific ideas of what I want to do. He is now a deathbed conversion to let's extend unemployment.
They have been saying for weeks that they don't want to extend the unemployment, that they want to reduce it or may get zero.
So I think the Republican Party in the Congress is confused at what the president wants to do. And I think inside the administration, they probably can't agree and that's why we are going back-and-forth on this.
CHAFFETZ: And as we said, though, at the beginning of this, we showed a clip. This simple question, do you trust Donald Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows? She couldn't and wouldn't answer that question.
But this is the silly season and I do think, Charlie, the political --
GOOLSBEE: I agree. It looked like she was trying to be polite.
CHAFFETZ: Be polite, she said she couldn't trust him. I mean, she couldn't answer that question.
Charlie, this silly season, going into August, members want to go home. They always got right up to the finish line. I watched him for eight and a half years. But there is going to be a plan at some point, isn't there?
HURT: Oh, I think there absolutely will be but the problem here is that the federal government simply cannot spend its way out of this economic crisis. It will not happen. It cannot happen.
The only way to get the United States out of this economic morass is to have people go back to work and get the economy going again. That's the only way that happens.
And anything that Congress does that undermines people going back to work is going to -- goes towards destroying the economy. And that's the problem here. That's what I think that President Trump and Republicans and Democrats, I've given up any hope that they are in any way loyal opposition.
But everybody in Washington should be focused on that one single thing, getting the economy going again. Not just spending a bunch more money that we don't have.
CHAFFETZ: Yes. I believe opening the economy and getting kids back to school, those of the big two.
Austan and Charlie, thank you so much for joining us tonight. We really do appreciate it.
All right. Coming up, we will bring you the latest of Joe Biden's many blunders on the campaign trail.
Plus, who will Biden pick to be his V.P.? One possible contender is already distancing ourselves from past controversial comments. We'll explain as the special edition of "Hannity" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAFFETZ: Now, hiding Joe Biden continues to limp along the 2020 campaign trail, struggling with everything from remembering where he is to virtual campaign blunders. Here's just a small sample. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Vice President, as you know, the AFT represents teachers, paraprofessionals.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Hi, how are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, the president -- can you hear the vice president? He just had hi.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, how are you?
BIDEN: I don't she heard me, but that's OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She just did.
BIDEN: How are you? What -- where are you speaking to me from? Where are you now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am at home.
BIDEN: Where are you now speaking to me. I mean where, where is home?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Brooklyn, New York.
BIDEN: Never mind.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brooklyn, she said. This is --
BIDEN: All right. That's -- OK, capital of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: Meanwhile, Biden is expected to announce his vice president pick next week and while there's increasing chatter around Senator Kamala Harris, especially after an "Associated Press" photographer captured Biden's notes about the California senator, another Democrat, Congresswoman Karen Bass, is also seeing her stock rise.
But despite Bass being portrayed as a safe moderate choice, her path reveals just the opposite. For example, just this week, Bass had to walk back a previous comment praising Fidel Castro.
Now what does this all mean? It means that no matter who Biden picks, he's committed to move as far left as the radical Democrats want him to. But don't take my word for it. Just listen to Congresswoman Omar.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MN): Right now, we have a candidate for president for the Democratic Party who I just endorsed and brought along many of our constituents to get behind and support Joe Biden as the president because I understand that we've now had an opportunity to move his platform to being more progressive, the most progressive platform a president has ever run on on the Democratic side.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: So, tonight we are just 95 days from the biggest choice election in our lifetime. And it's why President Trump is continuing to sound the alarm over the dangers of mass mail-in voting. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Everyone knows mail-in ballots are a disaster. You just have to take a look at the last recent -- take a look at New York City. They are still counting the ballots. Did you know that? They think they are going to send hundreds of millions of ballots all over the United States and it's going to come out. You won't know the election result for weeks, months, may be years after.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: Joining me now for a reaction, FOX News contributor Tammy Bruce, along with the Trump campaign's Erin Perrine, and FOX News contributor Emily Compagno.
Thank you for joining us tonight here tonight.
Erin, I want to start with you.
The Democrats are promising that Joe Biden will be the most progressive president in the history of our nation. Bernie Sanders is saying it. AOC has said something similar. And, certainly, Congresswoman Omar is now saying it.
We should believe them, shouldn't we?
ERIN PERRINE, TRUMP 2020 DIRECTOR OF PRESS COMMUNICATIONS: We should absolutely take Democrats at their word that Joe Biden would be the most progressive socialist candidate that any party has ever seen in the United States. His policies certainly fit the mantra, whether it's amnesty for 11 million illegal immigrants in this country or raising taxes to the tune of over $7 trillion.
Let's remember Hillary Clinton was considered pretty progressive at her $2 trillion tax hike, but Joe Biden actually wants to raise taxes over $7 trillion on the American people. It makes sense because he is Beijing Biden. I mean, he's more interested in raising the American corporate tax rate to higher than communist China then he is about protecting jobs and making this a free country.
It's pretty clear he's not only progressive, he is dangerous for this country.
CHAFFETZ: Emily, you know, when you campaign and say you're going to be the most progressive and those around you say, yes, boy, he's really doing it, everybody should believe that, correct?
EMILY COMPAGNO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think his policies that he's put forth is the biggest indicator here, and Representative Omar thinks she's helping him right now by saying that he's progressive and he's doing a great job of pushing forth those policies, but this is just giving ammunition to the current President Trump and also those moderates and centrists to attack him and to see that this aw, shucks, attitude he has is just a guise for those policies he's put forth which will put union members out of jobs, which are not good for small businesses, which will, as Erin pointed out, hike taxes and the like.
So the policies are doing a great job, but believe me, Ilhan Omar is not doing him any favors right now.
CHAFFETZ: Well, I think for the rest of the world, as they look at it, they see how radical this is. They're going to keep saying, oh, we're moderate, we're moderate, we're moderate, but they're really not. You're right, when they look at the policies.
Now, Tammy, Vice President Biden has promised that he would do three debates. He's promised he would release a list of potential Supreme Court nominees, and he promised that he would select a woman to be his vice presidential nominee.
"The Washington Post" is reporting that it's going to be delayed another week. It could be the second week of August before he actually does this.
What's -- what do you think is going on here?
TAMMY BRUCE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think first of all the note that got photographed about Ms. Harris I think was a distraction. I don't think she's going to be the choice.
But she's the only one he's who's already been vetted. You know, what you got is a problem here, like with Bass, is that some surprise could come up. If you're going to choose someone who the media and the right have only now begun to look at, you're going to have some interesting October surprises.
So, he already limited himself by excluding the entire talent pool, and I understand he's pandering to people but what you want is leadership. We found with the Obama administration that because someone looks like you doesn't mean that their policies are going to directly help you or be good for you.
So, this is the dynamic that he has set up for himself. I mean, look, the Democrats made a lot of promises and very infrequently do they deliver, except on this progressive platform. This is what Americans are not going to see. They have been afraid of a platform fight at the convention but now that very few people are going to be allowed in, about 300, I can guarantee you, media is going to be controlled. You're not going to see the fight about the real platform.
Forget Joe Biden's platform, it's going to be about the Democratic Party's platform and this is about the left taking over the party and looking at 2024 and they are destroying it. They don't realize. It's like anything that destroys the host, they don't care that they are destroying the host, but the American people are watching it happen in front of them.
CHAFFETZ: Yes. I don't -- I thought it was interesting, I read today that they're -- the Democrats are asking for tens of millions of dollars in security for the apparatus to hold their convention. At the same time, they're out there talking about redirecting money away from police departments.
BRUCE: That's right.
CHAFFETZ: How ironic is that?
All right. I've got to talk about the vice president, though, because this is a huge pick --
(CROSSTALK)
BRUCE: Well, it tells you that social workers are expensive.
CHAFFETZ: Yes.
All right. So, Erin, we're going to start with you, and I know you're with the Trump campaign. It puts you in it tough spot. But who do you think Vice President Biden is actually going to pick in the next week or two?
PERRINE: Well, it truly and honestly doesn't matter who Joe Biden picks to be his vice presidential nominee. Why? Because not only do they have to try to defend his socialist manifesto, the Bernie-Biden plan that they put out to try and defend that disastrous policy which would stifle economic opportunity and on day one undo the Trump tax cuts which sent businesses soaring in this country. But then they have to try to defend almost 50 years of Joe Biden's failures before he tried to run for president this time.
What does it include? Well, Beijing Biden yet again cozying up to China, sending jobs overseas instead of defending America.
CHAFFETZ: And, Erin, that is why you're in charge of press communications for the Trump campaign, because I was looking for a name and you gave me anything but it, but I understand why.
All right. So, I'm not going to let Emily and Tammy off the hook.
Emily, who -- on the record, who do you think it's going to be?
CAMPAGNO: Oh, gosh. I can't -- I don't know. But I think it's really telling and remember, I'm a Californian.
CHAFFETZ: No, no, no. You have to pick a name or pass.
COMPAGNO: Oh, gosh. Can I say would be huge mistake for him too -- well, no, I have no idea. What I want to say is --
CHAFFETZ: It's just a guess. It's just a guess.
COMPAGNO: OK, fine, fine, Kamala.
But I'll say this that --
(CROSSTALK)
CHAFFETZ: I have to go, though. I wish I had more time. I have to go to Tammy.
Tammy, who do you think it's going to be? Who do you think it's going to be? Hurry, I got seconds left here.
BRUCE: Normally, if he hadn't limited himself, I'd say it should be Elizabeth Warren but he can't do that. So, perhaps because the one person who's been vetted, maybe it's going to be Ms. Harris. We'll see. It tells you the lack of dearth of talent --
(CROSSTALK)
CHAFFETZ: I'll tell you -- I'll tell you the real answer.
BRUCE: Yes.
CHAFFETZ: I'm going to tell you the real answer. I got to tell you, I worry because I do think that it will be Michelle Obama. That's my guess. That's my guess.
All right. Thank you all for joining us here tonight. I really do appreciate it. Thanks for joining us.
All right. After the break, we'll bring you an update from the lawlessness and violence surging across America cities as the left continues to call for defunding of the police.
Stay tuned as more of the special edition of "Hannity" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAFFETZ: Welcome back to this "Hannity" special: The Road to 2020.
President Trump is working to restore law and order, as Democrats in liberal cities continue to back the anarchists. Today, he made it clear that Portland has to get its act together or else. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We've told -- we've told the mayor and we told the governor, you better get in there and do your thing, and they finally after -- they should have done it 60 days ago. A lot of people have been hurt. A lot of law enforcement people have been hurt and they should've done it 60 days ago.
So, now, they have freed up the park, cleaned out the park, and they are moving their way. If they have any other problems, we are going take very strong offensive force.
It seems to be cleaning up and if it doesn't clean up, we are going to do something very, very powerful because we have no choice. Not that I don't want -- I don't want to do it but we have no choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: The president is making Portland a big campaign issue. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Joe Biden and the radical left's outrageous campaign against law enforcement is the major reason violent crime is surging and Democrat-run cities all across the nation. When you have a Democrat-run city, you have a city with problems.
If Joe Biden is elected president, the chaos and bloodshed will spread to every community in our land. You'll have a Portland everywhere. Look at Portland. It's like from -- from 100 years ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: And amid the surging crime and major cities across the country, the left continues to work towards defunding the police.
A new story on http://FoxNews.com states that assume to be released report will show that almost half of police departments nationwide are getting their budgets cut.
In other news about your security, the Trump administration has just gotten a big win. The Supreme Court has denied a request to halt construction of the border wall.
Joining us now for reaction, DHS Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli.
Thank you so much for joining us tonight.
I'd like you to first react to the Supreme Court clearing the way for some $2.5 billion of Pentagon allocated funds to be used for the border wall.
KEN CUCCINELLI, DHS ACTING DEPUTY SECRETARY: Yes, two enthusiastic thumbs- up. This is -- look, the president has told us and he has directed his administration to press ahead aggressively but always within the boundaries of the law, always within the boundaries of the law, and the Supreme Court acknowledged today and has let the building of the wall continue.
We passed 200 miles more than a month ago. We'll pass 300 miles before -- well before the end of the summer, and we'll pass 400 miles not long after that. We'll certainly get well over 400 miles by the end of the year, just as this president promised.
So, Supreme Court has -- has kept us free to do that. Customs and Border Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers are pressing ahead hard to make it happen, and today's win was a big one to make sure we stay on track for that goal.
CHAFFETZ: It will and it will be most helpful. Having been on the border is much as I have, it will be a huge help to the Border Patrol, no doubt about it.
I also want to get your reaction to the story that you can read about on http://FoxNews.com, which is this idea that half, half of police departments are getting budget cuts in this time and age right now.
I've got to tell you, it's going to be devastating to the country and its residents. They are supposed to be protecting the citizenry. You can't just go and cut their budget and not expect to have a consequence.
CUCCINELLI: You know, that's why police become police officers, is they want to do good and protect their communities. Of course, you have the every so often bad apple, but there's no profession on earth that doesn't have that. And now, for purely political reasons, you have left-wing governments, city councils, mayors and so forthcoming these budgets.
And let's be really clear about who's hurt the most: where do you need policing the most? You needed them most of the poorest communities, the communities that are most crime-ridden and they are disproportionately minority, and this president is upset about it.
He fights that continuously, as you know. He passed criminal justice reform. So, it's a balance. He's very tough, very tough on crime. He also knows we need to get it right.
He did what his predecessor wouldn't do on the reform side. And now, we have all these left-wing local governments that are trying to gut their police departments. We have seen it in New York. We are seeing it all over the country, and it is bad news for the communities that need it the most.
CHAFFETZ: It's amazing to me that Democrats' love of government, government employees and more government, except when it comes to law enforcement, then they just want chaos and they are okay with rioting and domestic terrorism.
I mean, that's the way I see it. That's what I see is going on.
I need you to comment. Give us the latest about Portland, because there was a transition based on what the governor was doing with the state police. Where's the line? When President Trump might step in with the National Guard, is it getting better and will it solve the problem?
CUCCINELLI: Well, it's -- violence was declining this week and then last night, the state police did what we have been asking them to do for months and that's to show up. And they did show up, and they began doing the policing that the Portland police wouldn't do around the courthouse and the federal facilities.
And lo and behold, in two months, we had our first night without violence last night. All -- and this is "I told you so" moment really, but we have still got to get through the weekend. Weekends are always tougher for the - - from the rioting and violence standpoint. We'll see how tonight and tomorrow night go.
But we're going in the right direction. Part of the reason we were positioned to go on the right direction is because President Trump supported us in advancing officers into Portland to protect that courthouse, to protect the federal facilities and, frankly I think the state and local governments were just embarrassed that we were holding out the way we were and doing our job and performing our mission where everywhere else in America, even other cities where the president is at odds with the mayor, we still cooperated with the professional law enforcement level but not in Portland.
And Governor Brown has changed that. I will give her that credit. This is a win-win for the president and this administration and Governor Brown and her state police. It makes Portland look pathetic, more pathetic.
But be that as it may, they did what we asked. It took them a long time to do it, but as soon as they did it, it started to work.
CHAFFETZ: Yes, it's amazing, just how have local law enforcement do their job. It's amazing that it was a heavy left and ask.
Thank you so much for joining us this evening. We really do appreciate it.
All right. Coming up next, we have the latest on the case against Ghislaine Maxwell and we have more to come on this -- this very special edition of "Hannity", coming up.
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CHAFFETZ: Welcome back to the special edition of "Hannity."
Newly unsealed court documents or providing new insight into the case against Jeffrey Epstein's alleged madam, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Some documents show previously unknown communication between Epstein and Maxwell, while others suggest Bill Clinton traveled to Epstein's infamous island.
Joining us now with the latest updates is FOX News' Trace Gallagher -- Trace.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Jason, good evening.
Ghislaine Maxwell claimed she hasn't been in contact with Jeffrey Epstein for more than a decade and yet court documents from a civil case Maxwell was involved in back in 2015 contradict that statement showing that Maxwell and Epstein had lengthy email exchanges, including in 2015 where Epstein tried to counsel her on how to defend yourself against allegations of illegal behavior, telling Maxwell she has, quote, done nothing wrong and she should, quote, go outside, head high, not as an escaped convict. Go to parties. Deal with it.
The judge in Maxwell's current case says she has again sought to muddy the waters. She is accused of helping Epstein recruit and traffic underage girls for sex.
And the documents show one of the accusers, Virginia Giuffre, remember seeing former President Bill Clinton on Jeffrey Epstein's private island, quoting, you know I remember asking Jeffrey, what's Bill Clinton doing here? Saying Epstein laughed it off, responding, quote, well, he owes me a favor.
Giuffre goes on to say she didn't know if Epstein was serious -- Jason.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHAFFETZ: Trace, thank you.
New today, President Trump responded to the divisive and politically charged eulogy delivered by former President Obama yesterday at Congressman John Lewis' funeral, during which he attacked President Trump for the use of federal forces to help with the surging violence in cities across America among other topics, and linked actions taken by President Trump and his administration to those of segregationist George Wallace -- happens to be a Democrat, by the way.
Speaking with reporters this afternoon, President Trump said, quote: Well, he did a bad job for minorities. I did much more for minorities than he did.
Joining me now with their reaction, radio talk show host Larry Elder and civil rights attorney Leo Terrell.
Leo, I want to start with you.
Do we really think that President Obama kind of solved all the race relation problems? I mean, I was in Congress with -- while he was the president for eight years. I didn't really see an improvement at all when it was Obama-Biden.
LEO TERRELL, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, you know, and honestly, let's be very honest, he caused more problems. That's when black lives started, Ferguson, riots.
Let me be very clear to all those Democrats, and here's the facts: President Trump has done much more than Obama, Biden and the last eight years.
This is what President Trump has done: lowest black on appointment rate. He has funded historical black colleges. That's a fact. He signed an executive order on justice reform bill and more importantly, the First Step Act ended with the crime bill of Joe Biden created in 1994.
I challenge any Democrat, send me an email, write down all the things that Obama and Biden did for blacks. It will probably be an empty sheet of paper but send it to me because President Trump has a record to run on for African-Americans. Send it to me if you're a Democrat. There's nothing on it.
CHAFFETZ: How would you react to that, Larry?
LARRY ELDER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, Jason, at the John Lewis funeral, Barack Obama compared Donald Trump to Bull Connor. For the young ones out there, Bull Connor is that Southern law man who would sic water hoses and dogs on civil rights workers. As Leo pointed out, what Donald Trump done has signed the First Step Act that allowed about a thousand people, mostly young black men to have their sentences looked at and reduced an average of seventy (ph) months.
Obama also compared Donald Trump to George Wallace. That man, for the young ones out there, stood in front of the University of Alabama and said, segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever. Donald Trump wants to give urban parents the right to opt out of an underperforming government school and go to any school they want, public or private, if they can get into it, slight difference.
Once again, you have Barack Obama pulling out the race card because he knows that if he gets black people angry and guilty why people stirred up, they will go in there and pull that lever for Barack Obama. But the commencement exercise Obama, the one that goes to Howard University, says that these kids who were fresh eye and hopeful, he says to these kids, if you can be born anywhere, anytime, where would it be, when would it be, he says right here in America.
So, it's B.S. that he sells election time for votes and it's disgusting and it's offensive to all the people who fought and died to make this country as perfect as we are trying to make it today.
TERRELL: Jason, one last point --
(CROSSTALK)
CHAFFETZ: I've got to go. I've got to go to a commercial. I have a hard out.
Gentlemen, thank you for joining us on this Friday night. We always love having both of you on. Thank you very much.
More "Hannity" right after the break. Stay with us.
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CHAFFETZ: Welcome back to the special edition of "Hannity."
Next Tuesday, August 4th, Sean's brand-new book "Live Free Or Die: America and the World on the Brink" will be available nationwide. You can preorder your copy right now at Hannity.com, that's Hannit.com.
And don't forget to watch Sean's interview with Mark Levin, Sunday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on Fox News, on "Life, Liberty and the Levin". Can't wait to see that one.
I've also got some books you might want to check out my deep dive into the Washington swamp, my book "Power Grab", along with my other book "The Deep State." I hope you enjoy both. You can find my book, as well as my photography portfolio on my website jasoninthehouse.com.
Unfortunately, that's all the time we have left this evening. Sean will be right here on Monday.
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