Market down for 6th day amid coronavirus fears
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This is a rush transcript from "Special Report," February 27, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: I thought it was just fabulous. And so, my one more thing had to do with a school teacher for Black History Month, you know, its (INAUDIBLE), the end of it, came dressed as a different character at a black history every day.
DANA PERINO, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: Oh, that's neat.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}WILLIAMS: Even President Trump, is today having a meeting about black history. Any way set your DVRs. Never miss an episode of this great show, THE FIVE. "SPECIAL REPORT", another great show, up next. Hey, Bret.
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL ANCHOR: Greg's wife picks him up? OK, thanks, Juan.
Welcome to Raleigh, North Carolina. Where in 30 minutes, Martha McCallum and I will host a Fox News town hall with Democratic presidential candidate, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Good evening. I'm Bret Baier. "BREAKING TONIGHT", if you are one of the millions of Americans who have money invested in the stock market from your 401(k) or your pension to your kid's college education fund, the coronavirus may be costing you big money.
Fears of the spread of the outbreak have led to Wall Street's worst week since the financial crisis of 2008. The Dow hemorrhaging 1,191 points today, almost 4-1/2 percent.
The S&P 500 dropped 138. It is 12 percent below the all-time highs said a week ago. The NASDAQ plunging 414, more than 4-1/2 percent.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As that big market drop happened today, the Trump administration and health experts saying the threat is still low. But concern in the U.S. is clearly on the rise. From a high school in the West Coast, canceling classes after a student was put in quarantine to hundreds on the East Coast putting themselves in isolation.
And the mystery of an American with the virus who was said to have no connection with outside travel.
We "FOX TEAM COVERAGE" tonight. Benjamin Hall in London with what is happening in Europe and elsewhere around the world. Kristin Fisher at the White House updates us on the administration response. But we begin with Fox Business correspondent Jackie DeAngelis in New York with another grisly day for the markets. Good evening, Jackie.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}JACKIE DEANGELIS, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: it certainly was. Good evening to you, Bret. The Dow and the S&P 500 closing in correction, which means down more than 10 percent from those record highs all on coronavirus, concerned.
It took six down days to get here. All three indices suffering their worst point declines ever. Even more of a warning the yields on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note sinking to a new all-time low under 1.3 percent for the first time as well.
Investors flocking to the bond market when they seek safety and when money pours in that yield falls, which is what you're seeing now.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A warning also coming from Goldman Sachs, in a note to clients that said the coronavirus could negate earnings growth for the entire year. Goldman chief U.S. equity strategist, saying, "Our reduced profit forecasts reflect the severe decline in Chinese economic activity in the first quarter, lower-end demand for U.S. exporters, disruption to the supply chain for many U.S. firms, a slowdown in U.S. economic activity, and elevated business uncertainty.
Now, a whole lot of sectors have seen their share prices decline. Airlines, hotels, casinos, healthcare, technology, but there are some bright spots in the market. They're related to the virus itself.
Surgical mask makers, people have already been stocking up on masks that's expected to continue. Companies working on vaccines for the virus, like Tonix Pharmaceuticals, and Novavax. Even Clorox on sales of disinfectant wipes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Zoom video communications, there's an expected surge in working from home and video conferencing. But it's still a big leg lower since Monday, Bret, more than 3,000 points, wiped off the books for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
BAIER: Tough week, Jackie. Thank you.
President Trump is giving his number two jurisdiction over the virus effort as reports of possible contamination popped up across the country today. The administration sent out the message, we're on this.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Correspondent Kristin Fisher is live in the North Lawn with that part of the story tonight. Good evening, Kristin.
KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. Today, the White House beefed up its coronavirus task force and created a new role, the coronavirus response coordinator.
Dr. Deborah Birx was the -- and still is the global AIDS coordinator for the United States. She's been in that role since 2014. So, she really adds a layer of medical expertise to the White House's team, and she now reports directly to the vice president.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank, Ms. Secretary.
FISHER: The White House has new point man for the outbreak, Vice President Mike Pence meeting today with members of the coronavirus task force, and telling attendees at CPAC that the threat to the American public is still low, but that the White House is ready.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}PENCE: I promise you, we will continue to bring the full resources of the federal government to bear to protect the American people.
FISHER: In Massachusetts, more than 600 people who recently traveled to China have voluntarily quarantine themselves at home. In Washington State, a high school closed today out of an abundance of caution, when a school staffer's family member became sick after returning from an international trip and is now being tested and quarantined.
And in California, the first confirmed case of coronavirus in the United States that could not be linked to foreign travel, a critical turning point known as community spread.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}California Governor Gavin Newsom, says the state is now monitoring more than 8,000 people who recently returned from Asia, but that they desperately need more testing kits.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: We have just a few hundred testing kits in the state of California. That's simply inadequate.
FISHER: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, testified today that more testing kits are on the way.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}ALEX AZAR, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: The newly manufactured CDC test can be sent to 93 public health labs as soon as Monday. And there is a privately manufactured test based on the new CDC tests that can be sent to those same labs as soon as tomorrow.
FISHER: There's also a shortage of facemasks. Specifically, N95 respirators, which are selling out around the world.
REP. LLOYD DOGGETT (D-TX): What is the administration doing to assure that there's an adequate supply of those mask?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}AZAR: We're asking you to fund us buying masks.
FISHER: Today, the top Democrat and Republican in the House said, Congress is close to a bipartisan agreement on emergency funding, but they worried politics may get in the way.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): What is certain here is that there is just no time for politics. Diseases don't know party lines.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA): Lives are at stake. This is not a time for name- calling or playing politics.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FISHER: And breaking tonight, new troubling reports in both the Washington Post and the New York Times of a whistleblower complaint -- a whistleblower that has come forward at the Department of Health and Human Services, claiming that about a dozen federal health employees interacted with Americans and had been evacuated from China and quarantine.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}And then those federal health officials, according to this whistleblower complaint, then scattered throughout the general population. We still have not received any sort of comment from the White House about these two reports.
But, the Office of Special Counsel confirms that it has received this whistleblower's complaint and that the case has been assigned. Bret.
BAIER: We'll follow that story. Kristin Fisher, live in the North Lawn. Kristin, thank you.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Countries around the world are canceling events and enforcing strict rules about isolation in an attempt to keep the virus from spreading. Correspondent Benjamin Hall looks at the global impact tonight from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BENJAMIN HALL, FOX NEWS FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The streets and squares of Italy lie empty. Japanese schools have all shut until the end of March and pilgrims are being turned away from Saudi Arabia.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}47 countries have now reported cases. Taking the total number to over 82,000 and the death toll to over 2,800. The World Health Organization today urged countries to act now, all risk deaths.
TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: If you act aggressively now, you can contain this virus, you can prevent people getting sick, you can save lives.
HALL: But lives are already being lost. In Italy, which is ground zero In Europe, 12 people have died and 447 are ill. The country insists it's still open for tourists, but churches and museums are closing. There's even some concern for Pope Francis, who skipped a planned mass today after he was seen coughing and sneezing. The Vatican saying only that the 83-year-old had a slight indisposition.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In France, two people are dead, as President Macron warned the country, it must brace itself for what lay ahead.
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): We are facing a crisis an epidemic is coming.
HALL: Across the Middle East, shrines are being disinfected, and Saudi Arabia closed its borders to foreign pilgrims, putting Islamic holiest sites off-limits.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}26 people have died in Iran, the highest number outside China. And both the deputy minister of health and the vice president have caught it. The former, displaying symptoms live on T.V.
In Brazil, there has been a run on facemasks after the first case was announced in South America. Meaning, coronavirus is now present in every continent except Antarctica.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HALL: There is perhaps some good news coming out of China. That is that the number of new cases has diminished recently. And people were also looking at their model for containing the virus there to perhaps use elsewhere.
But the fear is that outside China, this is going to get worse before it gets better. Bret?
BAIER: Benjamin Hall, live in London. Benjamin, thank you.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As I mentioned at the top of the hour, we are here in Raleigh, North Carolina. We're just in a few minutes Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar will join my colleague Martha MacCallum and me for a town hall ahead of voting in this state on Super Tuesday.
Breaking tonight on the politics front, we have new numbers on the race for the White House. The latest Fox News national poll out tonight shows Bernie Sanders with a 13 point cushion on Joe Biden. Mike Bloomberg is in third in this poll at 16 percent. Pete Buttigieg has 12, Elizabeth Warren is in fifth with 10 percent. Amy Klobuchar, who will join us for that town hall shortly has five percent supporting our latest national poll.
56 percent of those surveyed feel President Trump will be reelected in November, just 34 percent disagreed.
We are two days away from a South Carolina primary, critical to Joe Biden's presidential hopes. And we are five days away from a Super Tuesday that is critical to all of the candidate's futures.
Correspondent Peter Doocy is with us here in Raleigh tonight to tell us what else we're learning from the campaign trail and from this latest poll. Good evening, Peter.
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER: Good evening, Bret. Joe Biden hasn't won anything yet. But he's in South Carolina trying to expand his lead as Bernie Sanders and Michael Bloomberg tried to expand the map.
Sanders and Bloomberg both hit three states each today, and the front runner was right here in North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to win the Democratic nomination, we're going to beat Trump.
DOOCY: There's been a big change since December. Now, more than half of Democratic primary voters say it's important their nominee change the political system, compared to just 42 percent who want to restore the system.
And a Fox News poll finds the candidate leading with those who want change is Bernie Sanders.
SANDERS: That is getting the establishment very, very nervous. And when they see a turnout like this, they get even more nervous. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, look at that.
DOOCY: Joe Biden is trying to seal the deal in South Carolina and keep Bernie at bay.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Sanders' Medicare-for-all push will be a long, long expensive slog cost over $35 trillion. And the patients can't afford to wait.
DOOCY: Democrats in South Carolina are most familiar with Biden and he's opening up talking about his late son Beau.
BIDEN: Every day I get up, I literally -- and not a joke (INAUDIBLE). And I think you know this about my boy. That I asked myself, I hope he's proud of me.
DOOCY: A big part of the former V.P.'s pitch is that he's the only one who has ever done anything in Congress. Amy Klobuchar disagrees.
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And If you want to talk about getting things done last Congress. I was the most effective Democrat in the U.S. Senate.
DOOCY: And she's trying to chip away at Sanders too.
KLOBUCHAR: We need a candidate that's going to bring people with her, instead of shutting them out.
DOOCY: If nobody locks up a majority of delegates by the convention, half of Democratic primary voters prefer flexibility, picking the nominee. According to a new Fox News poll, just 38 percent say it should go to whoever wins the most delegates.
PELOSI: A person who will be nominated will be the person who has the majority plus one. That may happen before they even get to the convention. But we'll see.
DOOCY: Michael Bloomberg's team believes they'll soon be the leading alternative to Sanders.
KEVIN SHEEKEY, CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: You look at the math, we see Mike Bloomberg is coming in with the second most delegates across Super Tuesday states, and being in second place after that day.
DOOCY: The billionaire is brushing off a bruising pair of debates where he found himself in Senator Warren's crosshairs.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've made a leader who's ready to be commander in chief, not the college debater in chief.
DOOCY: But Bernie is ready for whatever happens next on stage.
SANDERS: (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOOCY: Sanders is 78 years old, and a heart attack did not stop him from becoming the Democratic frontrunner. But, in this new Fox News poll this evening, 30 percent of Democratic primary voters don't think he's healthy enough for the presidency. That is by far, the highest number of anybody in the Democratic field. Bret.
BAIER: Peter Doocy, cross the hall. Peter, thanks.
Up next, our panel with a closer look at the battle for delegates in the midst of administration dealing with the coronavirus. First, here is with some of our Fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight.
Fox Six in Milwaukee as authorities are not releasing a motive for a shooting in one of the nation's largest breweries that left five people and the gunman dead Wednesday. All six were brewery employees ranging in age from 33 to 57. Authorities say the gunman was an electrician at the facility, who turned his weapon on himself.
Fox 11 in Los Angeles, as a hearse that was stolen outside of Pasadena church with a woman's body inside, is involved in a brief pursued before crashing on the 110 Freeway. The suspect was hospitalized and taken into custody.
And this is a lot look at Boston from WFXT. One of the big stories there tonight, a federal judge says actress Lori Loughlin will be among eight parents accused of participating in a vast college admissions bribery and fraud scheme to face trial in October.
Yesterday, Loughlin's lawyers said new evidence shows she and her husband are innocent of charges that they bribed their daughters way into the University of Southern California.
That is tonight's live look "OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY" from SPECIAL REPORT. We're outside the Beltway too in Raleigh, North Carolina. We'll be right back.
ANNOUNCER: This program is sponsored by Charles Schwab. Own your tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BAIER: Welcome back to Raleigh, North Carolina. Our town hall all set at the bottom of the hour. The Democratic presidential candidate Senator Amy Klobuchar, she's trying to stop some of the momentum being generated by the front runner, self-described democratic socialist Bernie Sanders.
Our latest Fox poll indicates 67 percent of those question favor a policy to allow everyone to buy Medicare. 58 percent want minor changes to Obamacare. 42 percent want to move to government-run health care.
The numbers for just Democratic primary voters, 76 percent for Medicare- for-All. 74 for minor Obamacare changes, 56 for a move to government health care.
Vice President Mike Pence, says the 2020 election will give voters a clear choice between freedom and socialism. Pence spoke on the second day of the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. He said freedom always wins and touted the Trump administration's economic agenda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PENCE: It's been about security. It's been about liberty. It's been about our most cherished values. And it's been about three more things: it's been about jobs, jobs jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: CPAC runs through Saturday. Tonight, we bring you part four of our series: The unauthorized history of socialism. It promised a world of harmony and abundance if property was shared by all. This evening, the grim Great Leap Forward of Chairman Mao.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MERIE GOLDMAN, AUTHOR, SOWING THE SEEDS OF DEMOCRACY IN CHINA: He became disillusioned with the Soviet model, and he thought he could improve upon it and bring communism overnight. He was truly a utopian thinker.
And so, that is when in the late 1957, he launched what has been called -- country call, the Great Leap Forward.
BAIER: At the core of the Great Leap Forward was a new Chinese institution, the people's communes. More than 23,000 of them, comprising more than half a billion people.
By mobilizing the country's vast labor pool, Mao believed his experiment would catapult China ahead of the West, both agriculture and industry. But the country's frenzied commitment to the Great Leap Forward, led only to impossibly high production quotas, and inferior products.
In one program, the government tried to speed up steel production by encouraging peasants to build backyard steel mills on communes across China. For raw materials, the peasants donated iron goods from their own homes, including wax and other cooking utensils. The steel produced was worthless.
XIAOBO LU, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS: Mao also emphasized on agriculture production. One way he thought the speeding up the agriculture growth was to planted more density. And that's scientifically irrational. And that did not really increase the production.
Very soon in 1959, there was also somewhat drought, flood, and sort of natural disaster, plus this human policy, and that became a killer combo.
GOLDMAN: The peasants were forced to work long hours every day, they were totally exhausted by this. They weren't getting enough food to eat, they were literally in some areas starving, and it is estimated that this utopian idea led to the death of 30 to 40 million Chinese peasants.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BAIER: Watch the rest of our six-part series, "THE UNAUTHORIZED HISTORY OF SOCIALISM" on Fox Nation. The first episode is free. They're all 30 minutes. We'll continue to run pieces from the series all week here on SPECIAL REPORT, and we'll have an hour special Sunday night.
There are growing questions about whether democratic socialist Bernie Sanders will have enough delegates to win the party's nomination on the first ballot at the convention in Milwaukee. One of his main rivals is not conceding anything.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Would you continue your fight for the Democratic nomination even if another candidate arrived at the convention ahead of you in the delegate count?
WARREN: Yes.
LEMON: You, you would continue. Why?
WARREN: Because a lot of people made $5.00 contributions to my campaign to keep me in it. I was not going to spend 70 percent of my time raising money from billionaires and corporate executives and lobbyists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: Let's bring in our panel. Matthew Continetti, founding editor of The Washington Free Beacon, he's in Washington. And from Boston tonight, Mary Anne Marsh, former senior advisor to Senator John Kerry.
Mary Anne, increasingly there's a lot of angst in the Democratic Party about how this is all going to come together, as we're ahead of South Carolina and Super Tuesday. And that question seems to be tough for some candidates about a contested convention.
MARY ANNE MARSH, PRINCIPAL, DEWEY SQUARE GROUP: And you starting to see it here, Bret by what Elizabeth Warren said. I mean, Elizabeth Warren's basically saying, I'm going to do to Bernie Sanders what Bernie Sanders did to Hillary Clinton in 2016. I'm staying in all the way through the convention, even if I can never catch up a delegates, hoping that something goes wrong.
You're also hearing that from Pete Buttigieg and Michael Bloomberg today. So, I think people are hoping that something happens going into the convention that somehow Bernie doesn't get to the 1991 he needs to win on the first ballot with pledged delegates. But that hasn't happened before. And there's all signs that Bernie Sanders could have an insurmountable delegate lead after Super Tuesday.
BAIER: Although South Carolina, Matt, you looks like Joe Biden country. Here he is at a town hall getting emotional talking about faith and the loss of his son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: All those who died, were killed by this white supremacist, they forgave him. What you did, you changed -- you brought down that confederate flag. You're the ones who changed the attitude in this state in a way that was profound. And I think that's how it gets done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: In that answer, he talks about his son as well. He's talking there about the shooting in Charleston. Matthew, Biden, if he does make a comeback in South Carolina position for Super Tuesday?
MATTHEW CONTINETTI, FOUNDING EDITOR, THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON: Right, he's a little bit too old to be the comeback kid, Bret. So, maybe come back pops will be his name. Or if he does well in South Carolina, which I think he's looking to do. He's lost his advantage in the national polls in the Fox bowl, but he still has the advantage in South Carolina.
And there, I think, that would set him up for a good Super Tuesday, especially, in states that have a similar demographic and political profile as South Carolina. But it's probably not enough to get Biden a majority of delegates prior to the convention. And so, there you do have the scenario where no one might enter with the majority.
BAIER: And is it do you think during this coronavirus time, a political issue that plays on the campaign trail, especially with these candidates talking about how the administration is dealing with it.
(CROSSTALK)
MARSH: I just -- yes, I just don't have Matthew ahead, Bret.
CONTINETTI: Well, I think the economy is the issue, Bret. And to the degree that the coronavirus affects the economy negatively, then it would be I think, to the advantage of the opposition party.
But let's not forget, fundamentally elections are between two candidates. And if the Trump administration continues to have the kind of responsible measures it's taking, and showing itself in command of the situation on top of things. And the alternative is say, Bernie Sanders who many people are leery of, then, I'm not so sure how we can decide how the coronavirus will play and in a general election.
BAIER: Final word, Mary Anne, quickly, is there a danger for Democrats going down the political road on this issue of the coronavirus?
MARSH: I don't think anyone should make politics out of the coronavirus issue. This is an American issue. It's an international issue. And the fact is we all need to come together to protect everybody's health, well-being, and their lives.
BAIER: And we'll see if that stands for the candidates on the trail. We'll be following it. Saturday special coverage Super Tuesday. Matthew, Mary Anne, thank you as always.
Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That is it for this SPECIAL REPORT. Fair, balanced, and unafraid. Our town hall with Democratic presidential candidate Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar begins after a short break. We have a lot of people already seated here ready for great questions not only about the national race, but also the situation in North Carolina, and what matters to them.
Fox News special coverage "TOWN HALL WITH SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR" after the short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
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<Show: FOX SPECIAL REPORT WITH BRET BAIER> <Date: February 27, 2020> <Time: 18:30> <Tran: 022702cb.254> <Type: Show> <Head: Town Hall With Presidential Candidate, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) In North Carolina; Senator Amy Klobuchar Answers Questions About Health Care And Possible Path To Democratic Presidential Nomination; Effect Of Current Economy On North Carolina Examined.> <Sect: News; Domestic> <Byline: Bret Baier, Martha MacCallum, Peter Doocy> <Guest: Amy Klobuchar> <Spec: Amy Klobuchar; Donald Trump; Bernie Sanders; Elizabeth Warren; Michael Bloomberg; Politics; Government; Health and Medicine; Economy>
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: South Carolina's primary two days away with Super Tuesday just behind it, and the fight is intensifying in the still crowded 2020 Democratic field.
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we can get all those bold progressive things done without having someone that is so alienating.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (D-VT) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hey, Amy, my favorability actually, I believe, is the highest up here, as a matter of fact.
MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: The so-called moderate lane bumper-to- bumper and head-to-head with progressives.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, (D) FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR: I don't know what else she wants us to do.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN, (D-MA) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll be clear.
BLOOMBERG: We're following exactly what she asked to do.
WARREN: I'll tell you exactly what I want you to do.
BLOOMBERG: And the trouble is with this senator, enough is never enough.
MACCALLUM: And each other.
KLOBUCHAR: I wish everyone was as perfect as you, Pete.
BAIER: Can the senator from Minnesota break out of the pack in time?
MACCALLUM: When it comes to total votes cast in the first three races, Amy Klobuchar is third behind Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg.
BAIER: Tonight she comes to the Tarheel state to try to continue her fight for the soul of the Democratic Party.
KLOBUCHAR: Donald Trump's worst nightmare is having someone that the people in the middle who are tired of the insults and the extremes in our politics have someone to vote for.
MACCALLUM: Time is not on her side. She has to make her mark fast. The next few days will determine whether her campaign for president rolls on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(APPLAUSE)
BAIER: Good evening from Raleigh, North Carolina. This is one of the 14 states that will vote on Super Tuesday, what figures to be the most important night so far of the Democratic presidential campaign. I'm Bret Baier.
MACCALLUM: And I'm Martha MacCallum. Tonight, we are next door to South Carolina, of course, where there's a big primary Saturday, one that Joe Biden has said he will win. The stakes are very high for the former vice president's campaign.
BAIER: One of the hopefuls also needing a strong finish is our guest tonight for this FOX News town hall. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar is tied for sixth in South Carolina according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls and nationally.
MACCALLUM: She is also in sixth place in the latest FOX News poll. She is hoping to bridge some of that gap between her and the frontrunners over the course of the next week. Please everybody, give a warm welcome to Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.
(APPLAUSE)
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR, (D-MN) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thanks, guys. Thank you, Bret.
MACCALLUM: Welcome.
BAIER: Warm welcome in the Tarheel state.
KLOBUCHAR: I hear you used to work here.
BAIER: I did, 23 years ago.
KLOBUCHAR: Yes.
BAIER: Let's get right to the audience questions. That's really why we're here. Our first audience question comes from Adrienne. She is an undecided voter. It has to do with the coronavirus.
KLOBUCHAR: OK.
BAIER: Adrienne?
ADRIENNE KELLY-LUMPKIN, CEO ALTERNATE ACCESS INC: Thank you for being here, senator. COVID-19, the coronavirus, has spread like wildfire not only across China but into other countries including South Korea, Iran, Italy, and there are a growing number of cases in the U.S. as well. The impact goes well beyond health implications, affecting global trade and finance, as witnessed by the stock market plunge this week. And there's also the consideration of growing fear among our citizens. As president, what steps would you take to contain this disease and to prevent pandemics in the future?
KLOBUCHAR: Thank you so much. And this is such a serious matter. We were asked about it at the debate. And I actually noted that a lot of candidates give out their own website. But I gave out the CDC website to take the politics out of this, which is, of course, CDC.gov, for people to get advice on what they should do, if they feel sick to call their healthcare provider, and the like.
And I think part of this right now is planning. And it is citizens getting informed. I personally, if you ask what I would have done from the very beginning, and this goes back a few years, I would not have proposed cutting the Centers for Disease Control, which the president did, and I would not have proposed cutting out the agency, the group, the coordinating office that coordinates with the rest of the world.
But we are where we are right now. And I think it is really important, one, to work with countries around the world, two, to support our health professionals and make sure that they have all of the equipment that they need, three, to support the development of a vaccine, which is months and months and maybe a year away according to some of the professionals out there.
And then to really step back and think that this is one pandemic, but there may be others. And I just don't think we can isolate ourselves from the rest of the world, that we have to work with the rest of the world. I believe in science. I believe in not silencing health professionals. I'm concerned there's some reports about that out there. I think we're going to have to -- we're all in this together. And we're going to have to get the information to people. We're going to have to have the funding on the federal level. The president hasn't really proposed an amount. I think it's important to be clear. That funding levels can always change, but you want to have a set amount you ask for from Congress so we can move ahead on emergency preparations.
And honesty is the best policy here with people. In terms of things that have happened, I thought that was a very messy situation with the 14 people off the cruise that we later found out they were infected and they ended up on the plane. That should have been handled differently. There's all kinds of things. But the most important thing right now is that we work together as a country, move forward, and that everyone be informed, and that we plan ahead.
BAIER: Senator, you said you want to take the politics out of this. We've obviously heard all kinds of aggressive characterizations by Democrats, including Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer about the administration's response. And some Democrats are being accused of politicizing or even weaponizing this virus for politics. "The New York Times" had an op-ed this week titled "Let's call it Trumpvirus. If you're feeling awful, you know who to blame." You obviously want to be commander-in-chief. What would you say to people who say this is a moment to really get behind the president fighting this no matter the party?
KLOBUCHAR: First of all, I think there's a lot of frustration there with not requesting the funding with the information. I personally called on him to address the nation, which he did the next day after the debate. So I think that you're seeing that bubbling up. And we don't have an amount of money we're requesting. He said $1 billion, but then the Congress thinks it should be $8 billion. And then he said Congress should decide. So I think that's the frustration you're seeing.
I think in any kind of national crisis America comes together. We must. And it is not just with the people in Washington. It's with local health professionals who are going to be on the front line, governors and heads of hospitals in local areas like in North Carolina that are going to be giving advice to people on what they should do.
So the reason I said the website is because I think people are going to have to step back and depoliticize this, as I said, and do what they should do, because this isn't normal. This isn't normal. This is a really serious thing. People have died. And we want to contain it as much as we can, use quarantine when we must, but make sure that we are treating people and that they get the treatment they need.
And what we know about this disease is, some people get very sick and some people don't get that sick. So we don't want underreaction, but you don't want overreaction.
MACCALLUM: Let's go to Jason who is currently supporting Michael Bloomberg. Jason?
KLOBUCHAR: Hi, Jason.
JASON SCHARFF, DUKE UNIVERSITY STUDENT: Hi, Amy. You're currently behind in delegates and national polls.
KLOBUCHAR: But I have more delegates than Michael Bloomberg.
SCHARFF: This is true.
(APPLAUSE)
SCHARFF: Is it time for some of the more moderate candidates such as yourself to try and consolidate behind one candidate?
KLOBUCHAR: That's a nice verb. But this is what I think has to happen, and North Carolina should care a lot about this because only three percent of the people have voted in this country. And if you look, as you note, at the delegates, and you look at the number of votes, because two of those states were caucuses -- let's not go to caucuses right now -- but because two of those states were caucuses, I actually have the third biggest vote total in the field right now.
And so as we go forward, Super Tuesday, nearly a third of Americans are going to vote. So I think people should have that ability without trying to push people out of this race.
And as far as the mayor, my concern always has -- I'm the one that pushed to have him on the debate stage. I don't know if that was good idea for him. But I pushed for that because I think that you can't just have money determine politics. You just can't. And so he is running constant ads, and that's his right. He can do that. But it creates this uneven playing field, and it doesn't allow Americans to really examine who they want as head of the ticket.
I am the only one up there on that stage that actually has won repeatedly in rural areas and in suburban areas, in areas that are more Republican and independent. I've won in Michele Bachmann's congressional district all three times. And I've done by reaching out and bringing people with us. I think that's what our nation needs right now. I think that's what our party needs. It's a reason that I've gotten the endorsements of not just "The New York Times" but also the "Houston Chronicle" recently, which is a very big newspaper, as well as the San Francisco paper, as well as the "Seattle Times" paper, as well as, today, the Bangor, Maine, paper. And most of the focus of these -- and these are long, long interviews you do where you answer questions -- and the San Jose newspaper. You answer questions about what issues are in their local areas as well as the country. And the reason they have endorsed me is they believe I can unite this country.
I know I don't have the biggest bank account. But since the debates, we've been able to bring in from regular people online millions and millions of dollars that have allowed me to continue this campaign the right way, have allowed me to do town halls in places like Raleigh and get to all of the states that we need to as well as run some television ads. So I think we should pick the best candidate, not the candidate that has the biggest bank account.
(APPLAUSE)
MACCALLUM: So senator, you talked about your ability to win in Minnesota and turn those districts that are generally Republican. There was another Minnesota senator who very much wanted to be president of the United States as well. But Walter Mondale, in the end, when he made to it the general election won one state, and it was Minnesota. How do you convince Democratic voters that, at the position you're at right now, which is about sixth in the coming primaries, that you cannot only win the nomination, but that you have what it takes to win nationwide, and not remind them of what happened to the last Minnesota senator?
KLOBUCHAR: OK, well, I, first, want to defend Walter Mondale. He's 91- years-old.
MACCALLUM: He's a very nice guy.
KLOBUCHAR: And, as you know, he was running against Ronald Reagan in his election. And he was a good vice president. So I just want to put that in there as a defense, and an excellent senator.
So as far as my election, that was a long time ago. This is now. And when you look at what we need for our country, we are in such a unique moment. And we truly need someone in my mind who can work with people across the aisle. I'm the only one in the Senate that is left on that stage that has a track record of doing that in a big way. I passed over 100 bills as the lead Democrat. The Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, last Congress, found me the most effective Democrat on 15 different metrics.
I think that matters because we have someone in the White House right now that wakes up every morning and sends mean tweets, that wakes up every day and figures out how to create wedges. I think we can do so much better than that as a country.
And what I have seen across our nation is a number of people who stayed home in 2016 or people who maybe even voted for Donald Trump that are standing back and they're watching those debates. And believe it or not, they don't agree with everything that is said on the debate stage. I don't agree with everything said on the debate stage. But what unites them is this -- they believe that the heart of America is bigger than the heart of the person in the White House right now.
It is like the cattle rancher that I met in my own state that took me on a tour on an ATV of his ranch as we dodged these big cows, and I thought this is not how I want to die.
(LAUGHTER)
KLOBUCHAR: And we went into his house afterward. Everyone had left. And he said, we voted for Trump. I said, what do you mean, the ranchers? He says, no, I don't like to talk about myself. I mean, I did, he said, because I was mad at the time about healthcare. And he said, but then the day after the inauguration, I saw him standing in front of that wall. And I said no, no, the wall is not built. He said, the CIA wall. And he remembered when the president gave a partisan speech about the size of his crowd in front of this sacred wall covered in the stars, anonymous stars of the CIA agents that had died in the line of duty. And this guy said that was bad. I couldn't handle this. And then he went on to explain some other partisan speeches and inappropriate things, and he just said that was it for me.
So I think there's a lot of people that see this election as a decency check. They see it as a patriotism check. They see in this patriotic state of North Carolina that has had so many who have served our country, they see a president that stands next to Vladimir Putin, and when he's asked about interference in our election, he makes a joke about it. Think about it. Thousands of people from this great state, hundreds of thousands of people from America, have lost their lives standing up for our democracy. That's what World War II was about, standing up for democracies across the world. Four little girls in a church in Birmingham, Alabama, lost their lives as innocents because they wanted to be part of a democracy, and other people were trying to push it away from them.
So many of the greatest moments and the worst moments in our country's history have been about our rights, our freedoms, and our democracies. And this president makes a joke about it. So I just want us to remember that. And one of my argues for my candidacy is I bring people with me, I don't shut them out. And I think we need that right now.
(APPLAUSE)
BAIER: Senator, we have heard -- you make the case for your candidacy. I guess, what would you tell somebody who says I really like what she said, but what is the path? Tell me the path about how you get the nomination. Are you for a contested convention, that you go in and get it there? How do you get to the nomination?
KLOBUCHAR: I start with this town hall to see if everyone watching me at home will support me. That could go a long way. So I start with this. And then I just keep going. And we go and reach people where they are, and we build our support. I started at nearly nothing, and we keep adding more support.
I don't know what is going to happen at the convention.
BAIER: But that's the plan?
KLOBUCHAR: I just know the people of America have a right to have a candidate that is coming at this in a different way with ideas, when it comes to healthcare and education, that aren't pipe dreams, that are actual plans, and actually will get things done for people. And so as far as the convention, the convention has rules. That will be set.
BAIER: So if Bernie Sanders gets there with a plurality, leading the delegates, and he gets to Milwaukee, you don't think that he should be the nominee?
KLOBUCHAR: There's rules in the convention. He may be the nominee. There's rules about how that works from ballot to ballot to ballot. And we have to follow the rules. That's why you set out rules. You can't change the rules in the middle of a game. That's how the rules are. And we will see who wins. Will the field be narrowed down at that point some? I would think it would be, yes. But it shouldn't be narrowed down when only three percent of Americans have voted. Certainly, you must think this in this state or --
BAIER: You need to win Minnesota. You need to win Minnesota.
KLOBUCHAR: Yes, I think I should win my state. I think I'm 10 points ahead there, and have done a lot of work, and people know me well there.
MACCALLUM: Let's go to Kim Rose who has a question from the audience. Kim?
KIM ROSE, SENIOR DIRECTOR: Hi, Senator.
KLOBUCHAR: Hi.
ROSE: My question is about healthcare, specifically regarding ACA expansion and how it will help families afford coverage. Can you explain your plan and how it would be more affordable?
KLOBUCHAR: Sure. So I think you know the Affordable Care Act did a lot of good things. It protected people so they wouldn't be thrown off their health insurance for pre-existing conditions. One of my fondest memories of this was being in a small town parade and seeing a woman with a stroller, and she pointed at her toddler, and she said this is my son. He has Down syndrome. She said I will fight for his healthcare to the end. But then she pauses, and she says, but this is what a pre-existing condition looks like.
We brought people with us, people from the disability community, people from AARP, with us in that fight to preserve the Affordable Care Act. But your question is a good one. How do we make it better? How do we make the premiums more affordable, the drugs more affordable? And I think the way you do that is, first of all, not blowing it up like some of my colleagues, Senator Senators and Senator Warren want to do. I did not get on that bill, Medicare for all. There was a lot of pressure to get on it, but I read it. And on page eight of the bill, it says that it will kick 149 million people off of their current health insurance in four years. So I don't think that is the answer.
But what I do think is the answer is making the Affordable Care Act better. I would put forward a nonprofit public option, something that President Obama wanted to do from the beginning that would compete with the insurance companies. And one estimate is that for a family making, say, $100,000 a year, family of four, it would bring the premiums down by 50 percent because it would simply produce more competition. You could do it with Medicare, that's one idea, or you could do it with Medicaid.
The other thing I would do big time, and there's been bipartisan support for this, is take on the pharmaceutical companies to bring the prices down. Nothing has been done on that, really. And that's why you see the spiraling costs of insulin and other common drugs. I lead the bill to unleash the power of 45 million seniors to negotiate better prices under Medicare. That will make a big difference.
Another thing, bringing in less expensive drugs from other countries. In Minnesota, we can see Canada from our porch, and so I am able to see those cheaper prices. And this is a bill I had with my friend, Senator McCain. After we sadly lost him, Senator Grassley has stepped in, and we have that bill. Bernie and I did an amendment once at midnight on this exact concept and got 14 Republican senators to vote for it.
So I think that there is support for doing that. It would put enormous leverage on prices, and that's a good idea. You can put a cap tied to international.
And the other things I'd add for healthcare is addiction as well as mental health. There is still so much stigma about getting treatment for both addiction and mental health, and I actually have a plan, and I show how I'm going to pay for it to get treatment out to people that need it and make sure that we have enough hospital beds, especially in rural areas. It's really hard to get help for mental health counselors in schools. We've had a 30 percent increase in suicides in this country in just 15 years, just to give you a sense of what we're talking about. It's not just people that you read about in the news. It is the raw numbers. And it's a lot of veterans, farmers, LGBTQ community, kids. It's a very disturbing thing that is going on in our country.
And just to let you know how much I want to get this done with the mental health and the treatment, for me it's personal. My dad struggled with alcoholism my whole life growing up. By the time my husband and I got married, he had three DWIs. On the third one, the judge said to him, treatment or jail. And he chose treatment, and it changed his life. He is now 91, he is sober, he is in assisted living, his A.A. group still visits him there. And in his words, it's hard to get a drink around here anyway.
(LAUGHTER)
KLOBUCHAR: But it has truly changed his life. And I think everyone should have that same right to be pursued by grace. And there is a way to do that. And those are his words, his treatment, his faith, his family got him to that point.
BAIER: Senator, Senator Elizabeth Warren on the debate stage said your website had your healthcare plan that was the size of a post-it note. You pushed back on that. That sounded a little bit more detailed than the post- it note. Go ahead.
KLOBUCHAR: For one, Minnesota invented the post-it notes, so I took it personally. But secondly, it's been found now by two fact-checking organizations to be patently false. After the debate, after millions of people saw her say it, it turned out to be totally false. The healthcare plan is many, many, many pages, and it involves in greater detail that I just shared with you, including how I'm going to pay for things, how we will get this done.
BAIER: But when you see polls, like our new FOX News polls that says Democrats, more than 60 percent, some even higher, want Medicare for all, how do you answer them?
KLOBUCHAR: I answer with the truth and the facts. And I think these debates should serve that purpose, that people see what this really means. It sounds really good on paper, but as we know, these plans -- first of all, all of Bernie's plans combined -- combined, the Medicare for all and many things, have been estimated to be $60 trillion. Just to be really clear, as well-intentioned as they are, that is three times the cost of the entire U.S. economy. Not the federal government. I know people often use that as a measure. Everything you're doing, the whole U.S. economy.
And so I just don't think that that is where people are going to go when they understand that. And mostly they don't want to be kicked off their healthcare, 149 million Americans. And there is a way to do this and make it better, and that is by creating this nonprofit public option, which I mentioned, which is what Barack Obama wanted to do in the first place.
MACCALLUM: We're going to take a quick break. And we'll be back with more questions with Senator Amy Klobuchar in Raleigh, North Carolina, right after this. Stay with us.
(APPLAUSE)
BAIER: Welcome back to Raleigh, North Carolina, in our FOX News town hall with Democratic presidential candidate Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar. One of the obstacles Democrats face in many states, including here in North Carolina is the fact, or at least the perception, that the economy is very strong. There are certainly numbers to back that up. Correspondent Peter Doocy has more on that tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: There's still time for candidates to court North Carolinians.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just in general having a really hard time deciding who I'm going to support.
DOOCY: The unemployment rate here is near a 20-year low, but some couldn't wait to pick a Trump challenger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've already voted early. I voted for Elizabeth Warren because I think she is best positioned to do that.
DOOCY: The trade with China dried up Tarheel state tobacco exports to China, but overall, exports to China have actually grown, boosted by pharmaceuticals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On Super Tuesday, North Carolina has the third largest delegate load among all the states. And then when you look at the fall election, everybody agrees that we are a battleground state.
DOOCY: And some young Democrats are hoping for relief now from student loan debt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's crushing. Then health care is a big thing, too, for me. They go hand-in-hand. You can't afford things as you're in debt.
DOOCY: And 5,700 manufacturing jobs have been added since Trump took office compared to 21,000 the previous three years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: North Carolina's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour still, and we think it should be doubled, at least $15, $20.
DOOCY: There's another problem for Democrats, a lack of confidence in the current crop of candidates.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of the candidates I'm worried are not going to have the chance to even beat Trump, and that's the biggest thing I want to happen. So it's very frustrating to me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOOCY: Despite the frustration, people are paying attention. Every person we found from Raleigh rattled off pluses and minuses about different Democratic candidates, as knowledgeable as voters anywhere else we've been, and they all plan to vote in the primary. Bret and Martha?
BAIER: Peter, thank you.
MACCALLUM: Thanks to Peter Doocy.
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