This is a rush transcript from "The Kelly File," October 3, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MEGYN KELLY, HOST: Breaking tonight with just 36 days until Election Day, the coverage of the candidates explodes into bizarre accusations, crazy claims and what's becoming a dangerous divide between fact and fiction in the 2016 presidential race.
Hold on to your seats, everybody. Welcome to "The Kelly File." I'm Megyn Kelly. Over the past 24 hours, the larger media's love affair with Donald Trump officially ended. You know, it's over. You can talk the L out of lover because it's over. As they launched what appeared to be a coordinated assault against the Republican presidential nominee. Remember, this is a man who had provided the media with record ratings and readers. But never mind all of that. Multiple media outlets are now hitting him with accusations of tax tricks, sexism, even belittling the U.S. troops.
Not to be outdone, Trump's media allies are launching their own hit pieces on the Clintons, including sordid stories of a secret love child and fresh allegations that her health is failing and she's dying. All of this coming as the vice presidential candidates prepares to take the world stage in less than 24 hours. That's got knowings today. Just like, who, what? This will be their first and only debate and we're going to get to all of it tonight.
We've got a jam-packed show for you this evening as we attempt to sort out all the madness fair and balanced. In moments, we'll be joined by the panel of Chris Stirewalt and Howie Kurtz and Guy Benson on the media circus. Governor Mike Huckabee is here on Donald Trump's latest message to the voters.
Plus, we'll take a look at a series of new polls with Larry Sabato. But we begin the evening with Trace Gallagher reporting from our West Coast Newsroom on the headlines that have America in an uproar. And boy, does Trace has the toughest assignment today because he has to digest it all for you. Trace?
TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Megyn, it wasn't hard to miss the Trump's taxes headlines considering it led most of the cable newscasts and still among the top trenders in the major news site. So, by now, we all know Trump reportedly lost $916 million in 1995 and could have used that loss to offset paying federal taxes for 18 years. Trump isn't disputing "The New York Times" reporting. In fact he calls it a brilliant use of tax law. And while much is being made of the Clinton campaign saying, Trump avoided paying taxes for two decades, you have to read a little bit deeper that experts agree, if Trump didn't pay federal taxes, it's because the law says, he didn't owe federal taxes.
Then there's the Associated Press story on members of the apprentice TV show, saying Trump was lewd and sexist. AP interviewed 20 former contestants and crew members, eight of whom said, they recalled Trump repeatedly making inappropriate comments including crew members he'd like to sleep with. The Trump camp calls the story outlandish and several former crew members told the AP, they had positive experiences with Mr. Trump. If the AP and New York Times didn't sufficiently stir the Trump pot, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat and Hillary Clinton supporter today ordered the Trump Foundation to immediately stop soliciting charitable donations in New York because it's not legally registered in the state.
The Trump campaign says it will comply but has concerns about the AG's political motives. What's not getting as much play is a story on the front page of drudge alleging Bill Clinton has a secret son named Danny, a boy the former president allegedly fathered with an Arkansas prostitute in the 1980s. Back in 1999, Star Magazine claimed it checked the boy's DNA against the former president and proved they were not related. But now, the accusation is that test was not accurate.
The Daily Mail says, it has learned President Obama was so concerned about Hillary Clinton's health, he set up a secret medical checkup for her at Walter Reid Hospital but Clinton refused fearing her leaking heart valve, arrhythmia and a list of other problems would be exposed. For the record, the story is written by one of Hillary's fiercest critics, who might want to be careful. Because the way conservative website the pundit tells it, Hillary was once so worried about what information Julian Assange might leak, she once allegedly inquired, quote, "Can't we just drone this guy?" A fact check website says that claim is unproven -- Megyn.
(LAUGHTER)
KELLY: Thanks, Trace. So Chris Stirewalt wanted to talk about some of that, and so did Howie Kurtz. Fox News digital politics editor and our host of "MediaBuzz." And guy Benson wanted to come along for the party. He's the editor of Townhall.com and a FOX News contributor. OMG. I'll give it to you just like that, Chris Stirewalt. OMG. Secret love child, secret visits to Walter Reid or denied visits for some heart valve leak that has never been proven, $916 billion loss hasn't paid taxes in 18 years. Totally legal. Supposedly freaking out over it. And wanted to have sex with "The Apprentice" staffers and says bad things on the AG. I mean, what?
CHRIS STIREWALT, FOX NEWS DIGITAL POLITICS EDITOR: I like unproven. It is also unproven whether or not Hillary Clinton is actually a lizard in a human suit. That is never been proven or it's proven. Let's face facts, America. No one has disproven that yet. So, it's October. We except a lot of hot garbage in October. We do expect that. This year feels different. And the reason that this year feels different is that both the candidates and the press are treating this as not just as an election but an apocalypse. That the outcome of this election will write the book for the history of human kind, and all of America forever. And people are freaking the freak out. And that's how it goes.
KELLY: Howie, the -- listen, we shared some of the stories that the sort of right wing media is doing on Hillary. But the vast majority of stories that were out today over the weekend, over the past couple of weeks have been about Trump. Hit pieces on Trump. Now listen, that doesn't make them untrue. But they're hit pieces and they're trying so hard. The same media organizations many of whom could not give him enough favorable coverage during the GOP primary are now like, what have we done? We're sorry. Let's go find "The Apprentice" contestants. War.
HOWIE KURTZ, HOST, "MEDIABUZZ": Well, they are throwing a lot of rocks and it's turned into an avalanche. And look, just yesterday Hillary Clinton's Press Secretary Brian Fallon told me the media are holding Donald Trump accountable which means what they believe is that the press is making their case for them. Now among these rocks and pebbles and boulders, you have legitimate stories like "The New York Times" tax story. Although it's not a boulder because perfectly legal deduction for him to take.
And then you have things like, you know, where Donald Trump as we've talked about fuels the fire but talking about and tweeting about Miss Universe. But then you have the salacious stuff like these people, "The Apprentice" who said he engaged in locker talk. You know, it doesn't look good, it's like every interviews ever done with Howard Stein, except he was the entertainer then and then finally, Megyn, you have stories that are just unfair or totally out of context.
KELLY: I don't know. You tell me whether the stuff with "The Apprentice" was, it can be excused Guy, as he was an entertainer then. Because the thing is, these people were seeking a professional position with the Trump organization. That's, I mean this is the reason why I included a line about what he said to one celebrity apprentice contestant in my debate question in August of '15. It wasn't just an entertainment show, it's also a show in which these young women in particular were seeking professional opportunities.
GUY BENSON, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. It's also reality television and Donald Trump. It would be like someone showing up on the bachelor and being like, oh my gosh, there are people drinking alcohol and having sex on this show. I can't believe it.
KELLY: But do you think these women were signing up to be told that their bobs weren't big enough?
BENSON: No, I don't think so. But I'm also, of course, I am not going to defend him on that. But does it move a single vote Megyn at this point? We've heard it starting really with your question in that debate. Ever since then, we know a barrage of ads from Hillary Clinton, all of the nasty things he said about women, this is maybe just one more A.P. investigation into what he said around, you know, basically the locker room or the water cooler.
KELLY: And why didn't they do it back in August, 2015. I mean, it was highlighted by, you know, debate question that was seen around the world, where was the A.P. in August or September of '15? You tell Stirewalt why it's not until October, 30, whatever it was, days before the election that they come out with this.
STIREWALT: Right. And Jeb Bush is somewhere making himself a malted milk shake and wondering the same thing. And so is Marco Rubio --
KELLY: Wait. Wait. Can I just interrupt you to prove your point? We had Ted Cruz who took a moment from crying in the soup to say this. Actually on March 6. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ, R-TEXAS: Listen, frankly, one of the reasons the media wants Donald to be the nominee is because the media knows Donald can't win the general. That Hillary would wallop him. And all of the attacks on Donald that the media is not talking about now, you better believe come September, October, November, is he were the nominee, every day on the nightly news would be taking Donald apart. I can't tell you how many media outlets I hear, you know, have this great expose on Donald, on different aspects of his business dealing or his past. But they said, you know what, we're going to hold it until June or July. We're not going to --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're saying reporters have told you that?
CRUZ: Absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Go ahead, Chris.
STIREWALT: I mean, whether or not they planned it, I'm sure that it's the single tear that rolled down Ted Cruz's face as he wrote the Facebook Post and saying that internet regulation was reason enough for him to back Donald Trump or whatever. I'm sure it's hard, I'm sure times are sad. But the reality here is that they rode the wave. The press rode the wave of Donald Trump clicks and coverage and celebrity and did all of this stuff. And then now, I think Cruz is very right about this. Now it's serious. Now it's October. Now this is a person who many in the press and many in the mainstream says is totally unacceptable. So they're just now starting to unload on him and it's not going to end until the election.
KELLY: Howie, what do you make of the charges that the New York Times is being hypocritical because they refuse to produce or to print these e-mails relating to -- that undermine the sort of the less argument on climate change because they said to do so would be illegal because they were illegally obtained but they had no problem doing it to Trump.
KURTZ: I must concern about that because the Times did do a front-page story about those emails. I mean, those plenty emails, I see the greater hypocrisy being The New York Times company didn't pay any taxes in 2014.
KELLY: Well, there's questions about that.
(CROSSTALK)
There's a question about that. Sometimes reporters are pushing back on that tonight. But go ahead
KURTZ: Yes. But it seems to me that, you know, you have the sheer volume of stuff being thrown at Donald Trump, some of it legitimate, some of it not, some self-inflicted wounds, and it's just a complete imbalance with the scrutiny being given to Hillary Clinton. And then you also have the cultural aspect here Megyn. So, it's not just news organizations but its celebrities, most of the late night comics, Kimmel, Samantha Bee, Seth Meyers, Steven Colbert -- Jennifer Lawrence saying the end of the world if he wins the election. So there's an effort here I think and some of it is intentional and some not to kind of paint him as being outside the bounds of acceptability.
KELLY: I mean, all of those guys -- Jon Stewart was never going to vote for Mitt Romney. Right? Back when he wasn't doing the late night stuff. So, that's not unusual to have the late night folks be against the Republican nominee. What's unusual here is that there's a lot of fodder with Mr. Trump. In his defense he's spent his lifetime not as a politician watching every word that he says. I mean, there's a lot of fodder because he's a fodder producing machine. You know, he's just an unusual character and he is a dynamic character and a lot of the stuff on Howard Stern and so on was done with the intention of being a provocateur.
BENSON: You could call me a tremendous fodder factory, in fact, Megyn. But yes, you have to separate. And part of our job is to separate what's real and what is legitimate to talk about and what silly season. There was one thing making the rounds today. I think Joe Biden, attacked Donald Trump for supposedly demeaning veterans with PTSD. And Trump did nothing of the sort. You know, they latched on to one word and turned it into a fake controversy.
KELLY: Uh-hm.
BENSON: So, it's kitchen sink time.
KELLY: That's right. They're suggesting that Donald Trump took a shot at veterans suffering from PTSD. Everybody in our team looked at the tape, if you watch the sound bite in context, it doesn't appear at all that he's doing that, at all.
BENSON: Right. Exactly.
KELLY: At all. He means to be paying a compliment to the strength of those in the room in any event. There's so much to talk about. We've barely scratched the surface. Great to see you all.
KURTZ: Thanks, Megyn. That will be the team of this evening's program, is hot garbage. Let's grab the fork, full on half. You know, we serve it tasty on "The Kelly File."
Well, a lot of media outlets were today conducting (whispering) refuse of the U.S. tax code because they love the U.S. tax code. So did Donald Trump break the law? We'll take a look at that next and see whether anybody cares about the argument that Hillary is actually making there.
Plus, if you didn't see Donald Trump's Saturday night speech in Pennsylvania, whoa. We'll have that when Governor Huckabee joins us to talk about the road to the next presidential debate.
And then a series of new polls have dropped in the last 72 hours. And Larry Sabato is here with the latest changes to the 2016 election map and that is what really counts, when we come back. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you sitting on more documents?
SUSANNE CRAIG, NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER: We're doing a lot of reporting around this. So, we're going to keep going.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. So, that's a yes, you have more documents besides the three?
CRAIG: That may be a no comment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A no comment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: That was New York Times reporter Susanne Craig. She's the one who received a mysterious envelope of Trump's 1995 tax returns in her office mailbox in late September which the "Times" then proceeded to publish. The backlash was swift with some pointing out that the move may have been illegal while others praised the Times for, quote, "taking a risk."
Trace Gallagher walks us through what was in that envelope. Trace?
GALLAGHER: As you mentioned, Megyn, The New York Times says, the tax documents were mailed last month anonymously to a "Times" reporter who had previously done financial stories on Donald Trump. Each of the three pages has had the names and social security numbers of both Trump and his then wife Marla Maples. The documents indicated that they had been sent from Trump Tower in New York City which of course is very easy to fake. The Times then presented the tax document to the lawyer and accountant who handled Trump's taxes for more than 30 years.
The man who is now retired says the papers are legit. The documents do not shed any light on Trump's net worth or his charitable donations. And as the times points out, despite the billion dollar loss, Trump's cash flow remained ample. Though his company stock took a big hit. But under IRS rules, Trump's net operating losses could be used to wipe out taxable income for the three years before the loss and the 15 years after. We should point out, there is no proof that Donald Trump did not pay federal taxes, yet he calls his knowledge of IRS loopholes brilliant. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I was able to use the tax laws of this country in my business acumen to dig out of the real estate mess, you would call it a depression when few others were able to what I did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: But remember, this is the same Trump who has repeatedly said, quote, "We can get rid of deductions and a lot of bad people are not paying taxes and hedge fund guys are getting away with murder." Now Hillary Clinton is trying to turn the tables.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, D-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: He abuses his power, games the system, puts his own interests ahead of the country's. It's Trump first and everyone else last.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: But according to tax experts, everything Trump has been done is legal. In fact according to Forbes magazine, the newspaper that broke this story, The New York Times paid zero taxes in 2014 and also got a $3.5 million refund. We should note finally that The New York Times editor says that he would risk jail to publish Donald Trump's tax returns - - Megyn.
KELLY: Trace, thank you. I want to turn now to Trump campaign senior adviser Boris Epshteyn and nationally syndicated radio talk show host and senior fellow with the National Leaders Council Richard Fowler. Great to see you both.
So, Boris, let's just skip over the discussion about whether this is legal. But it's perfectly legal what Trump did.
BORIS EPSHTEYN, TRUMP CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: Of course.
KELLY: And I don't know anybody who wants to pay more taxes than they actually owe. I mean, just because they feel like it would be the morally right thing to do. Show me that person. I would love to meet him. So, let's just talk about where Hillary really seems to be going with the argument, which is, A, what kind of brilliant businessman loses 900-plus million dollars in a year and B, what about all of the small contractors and stockholders who got completely screwed the year that he lost all of that money and he took advantage of it for years thereafter by not paying any taxes but they were left -- they were hung out to try.
EPSHTEYN: Well, a couple of things there. First of all, and not to get too boring for your viewers here.
KELLY: Good. Good policy.
EPSHTEYN: But that $1 billion, $916 million, that's not in one year. That's accumulated over a series of years.
KELLY: He took the loss in one year.
EPSHTEYN: And that's what you do in taxes. By the way, in 2009 GM took a loss of 16 billion.
KELLY: Okay. But GM is not running for president as a brilliant businessman.
EPSHTEYN: No, but the fact of the matter is that this is a very accepted practice. It's something that you do because --
KELLY: Fine. We're skipping that.
EPSHTEYN: You want your corporation to continue.
KELLY: We're skipping that part. Because we're giving you that point. Let's move on to the relevant points.
EPSHTEYN: The reason you do that is because you want to continue as a business because the government wants you to continue the business to employ people. That's what Donald Trump has done.
KELLY: You're not answering any of my points. The argument she's making - - I'm giving you the opportunity to respond to the argument she was making everywhere today, which was, what kind of a brilliant businessman has losses like that and he may have wound up okay but he screwed the little guys, the contractors and so on who didn't get paid and the stockholders who got paid pennies on the dollar.
EPSHTEYN: He didn't screw anybody. First of all, it's accepted knowledge that Mr. Trump has made a fortune twice. He made a fortune then --
KELLY: Did he give it back to those people who got screwed?
EPSHTEYN: Then there was a realty crisis of the early '90s. And then he's made billions and billions of dollars since. And by the way, because he was able to rebound, he's employed tens of thousands of people since that time period while Hillary Clinton hasn't created a job outside of the DOJ and FBI.
KELLY: Okay. Let's pick it up there. Richard, how about that last point? Because Trump was able to rebuild his business and employ so many people and because every job you give actually creates several other jobs, you know, his defenders say, look, he worked the system, everything he did was perfectly legal, you would have done the same thing. He had no obligation to run around once had built his fortune, paying off small businesses that didn't get paid pursuant to the law.
RICHARD FOWLER, NATIONALLY SYNDICATED RADIO HOST: I actually agree with Boris on that point. Actually he used the law to the advantage. But that's the problem with the laws and why we have to change them.
EPSHTEYN: I agree with that.
FOWLER: If you look at Trump's tax plan, there's nothing about changing it. He doesn't talk about closing the loophole for Hedge Fund managers. He gives millions and millions of dollars to reach people like himself while the little guy suffers. Even though he is creating jobs, he might create jobs for builders, he might create jobs for secretaries but they are paying 38, 39, 42 percent in taxes. And when Donald Trump -- he released his tax returns, he is only paying five percent, maybe six percent. I mean, I'm making an educated guess because Mitt Romney paid 14 percent. So, he has to paying less than Romney because he calls him an idiot. So, I am assuming --
KELLY: Well, we don't know how much Trump paid because he won't release the taxes. Boris, go ahead.
EPSHTEYN: As an attorney, let me tell you that first of all, no one can guess about what Mr. Trump is paying.
KELLY: We would like to just know. Maybe if he would release the returns, we would just know.
EPSHTEYN: First of all, look at Mr. Trump's tax plan. It is a lowering of all the tax brackets, a simple filling of the tax brackets. So, I don't know where Richard is getting --
FOWLER: Sounds good.
EPSHTEYN: -- but it's not from the Trump's tax plan.
KELLY: All right. I want to ask you this, Boris. I got to go but I want to ask you this. Why is Trump out there tweeting things like a lot of bad people are not paying taxes and criticizing 50 percent of the country for not paying taxes and criticizing Obama's tax rate when he's not paying any taxes.
EPSHTEYN: Well, again, you don't know that. And that's just an accusation you're making, Megyn.
FOWLER: So, why won't he release the tax returns?
KELLY: He's admitting today that he took advantage of the tax laws. And Trump's defense to the New York Times story, Boris, as you know as well as I has not been it's wrong and I didn't, they're wrong about what I paid.
EPSHTEYN: Donald Trump has paid millions and millions of dollars in wage taxes, real estates, et cetera.
FOWLER: Can we see it?
EPSHTEYN: And then most importantly, he's going to --
FOWLER: Why can't we see it?
KELLY: Let him finish, Richard.
EPSHTEYN: Let me finish, Richard. Let me finish. He is going to close loopholes. He's going to end the interest loophole. That's exactly what's benefitting those hedge fund managers.
KELLY: Okay.
EPSHTEYN: He's specifically has talked about that.
KELLY: Richard, I will give you the last word.
(CROSSTALK)
Boris, let Richard speak.
FOWLER: The last will be very short, Megyn. It's pretty simple. Like Ronald Reagan says, trust but verify. First thing, would the American people need to see his tax returns? Can I finish? We need to see his tax returns before we talk about his tax policy. Let's see his tax returns. Every American president or presidential candidate has released his tax returns. We are now some less than almost 40 days out and we have not seen his tax returns.
KELLY: Okay. I got to go.
FOWLER: What have you got to hide?
KELLY: I got to go. Thank you, guys.
FOWLER: What have you got to hide? What have you got to hide, Boris?
KELLY: Trump is getting ripped for on the tax returns at the box like he didn't check the box, I would like to donate a dollar to help with like some cause. I hate when they do that. Because you don't know -- maybe you don't know anything about this particular charity. Right? When you're like the Dwayne Reid (ph) or the CBS and like, would you like to donate a dollar to help dying animals? And you're not like, no, I just want this pack of gum. Like, oh, shame. But you don't know about the charity. Like I will look into that charity or my own charities and I will donate my own time. I have to get that off my chest. I only donate to the no kill shelters. That's anyway --
So coming up, Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange promised us that something big was coming involving Hillary Clinton.
And just ahead, we're going to show you how we could be just hours away from learning what it is.
Plus, Trump veers off course in an unscripted tirade against Hillary Clinton.
And Governor Huckabee is next on how this message plays in the run-up to the next presidential debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I don't even think she's loyal to Bill, you want to know the truth.
(CROWDS BOOING)
And really, folks, really, why should she be, right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: Well we are now just 36 days away from deciding the next president of the United States. Less than a week to the next presidential debate and one big question is which Donald Trump will show up to that contest. Will it be the one who stick to the script or the one who has interesting moments during remarks he made this weekend in Pennsylvania?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Right now you say to your wife, let's go to a movie after Trump but you won't do that because you're be so high and so excited that no movie is going to satisfy you. OK?
I could be doing "The Apprentice" right now. Somehow, and I loved it 14 seasons. How good was that? Tremendous success.
And you got to watch your polling booths because I hear too many stories about Pennsylvania, certain areas. I hear too many bad stories and we can't lose an election because of you know what I'm talking about. She's supposed to fight all of these different things and she can't make it 15 feet to her car. Give me a break. Give me a break. Give me a break. She's got bad temperament. She could be crazy. She actually could be crazy.
I don't even think she's loyal to Bill if you want to know the truth. And really folks, really, why should she be, right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: So, in just a moment Governor Mike Huckabee will explain how Mr. Trump can get back on message. But first, an update on the rally that just wrapped up moments ago with our own campaign Carl Cameron, Carl?
CARL CAMERON, FOX NEWS CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi Megyn. From Virginia where the vice presidential debate will be tomorrow, tonight Mr. Trump had his second of two rallies in Colorado and not once today did he mention that the New York Attorney General had shut down his charitable foundation for failing to have ever requested the necessary certificates and approval to accept donations from outsiders whether it's groups or individuals in more than $25,000 a year. Never even came up.
Instead, in a rally earlier today he boasted, seems quite proud of the fact that because of some $1916 million worth of losses back in 1995, he was able to use the New York tax code in such a way as to not be required to pay taxes for as many as 18 years. And that's not even including three other instances in years before that where his losses were so big that he didn't have to pay taxes either. Clearly rather than thinking it's a political liability, he thinks it's an asset. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I have legally used the tax laws to my benefit. My understanding of the tax code gave me a tremendous advantage over those who didn't have a clue about it, including many of my competitors who lost everything they had, never to be heard from again. Now they're gone and I'm here and I'm ready to turn things around for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMERON: Trump is fighting back against Hillary Clinton and the Democrats seizing on this for the last several days. There's no indication that it's going to stop. In fact by all accounts Tim Kaine is expected tomorrow to bring this issue up when he battles Mike Pence in the vice presidential debate, the only one of the cycle. Megyn?
KELLY: Carl, thank you. Well my next guest says with just 36 days to go the clock is ticking for Trump to pivot away from attack mode. Governor Mike Huckabee joins me now. He's a former presidential candidate and a Fox News contributor. Governor, great to see you.
So, so many people came out and said, you know, Trump needs to stop that, Trump needs to get back on message, Trump shouldn't be imitating Hillary going down, you know, that kind of stuff is, in large part, you could argue, what Trump would say got him the nomination in the first place. He is different. He doesn't bow down to the party leaders. He doesn't sound like the others. He's not going to act like the others.
MIKE HUCKABEE, FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR: Well, look, who is criticizing him? It's the mainstream media, the New York slimes, the Washington compost and all of their henchmen. And guess what? Trump supporters don't care what the media thinks. They hate the media. They don't trust the media.
KELLY: Well, we're talking about the...
HUCKABEE: And Donald Trump's against...
KELLY: He's got the supporters, they are with him. That is clear.
HUCKABEE: That's right.
KELLY: They believe he's going to change things for them, but we're talking about so, that's the Trump supporters. So now we're talking about this group that's over here and they're like, I don't know about him, I don't like her either. I'm not sure what to do. So with those people, does that stuff help, hurt or neither?
HUCKABEE: It may not help him but when they really walk into that voting booth -- here's what they believe, they think Donald Trump is a guy that is willing to march into hell with a water pistol on their behalf and that Hillary Clinton is the one keeping the flames going down there. And so it's very clear to them that if they want any change in this country, if they want somebody to fight for them, their jobs, their future, their kids, it ain't going to be Hillary because she has bought and sold by the donor class.
KELLY: But let me ask you this because Newt Gingrich was on Hannity on Friday night and he had very different sounding advice for Trump. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: You can't tweet at 3:00 in the morning, period. There's no excuse ever, not if you're going to be president of the United States. So, he's really got to decide and I think it's very important to understand this. If he's got to be himself then he may well not win. If he's willing to grow into the role of president then he may win. In fact, I think he will win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Do you agree with that or are you more on the field of let Trump be Trump?
HUCKABEE: I think Trump's got to be Trump. And look, there are things that when he does I said, oh, my gosh, I wouldn't have done that. But you know what? Trump is the nominee and I'm sitting here talking to you. So, you know, let's just figure it out. The fact is Donald Trump has gotten where he is by just being the most disruptive candidate we've ever seen. And some things he says are cringe worthy to those of us who have kind of lived in the mainstream and been in the flow.
But then you step back and you realize that when he says certain things, it gets under the skin of the media, of the liberals, of the donor class, even some of the Republican establishment who quite frankly, Megyn, are as guilty and as responsible for the nonsense we've had in this country, as are the Democrats.
KELLY: His supporters believe it connotes a certain fearlessness which has really attracted them to him. Governor, great to see you.
HUCKABEE: Good to see you Megyn
KELLY: Joining me with more, Julie Roginsky, Democratic strategist and Fox News contributor. Julie, let's pick it up on that last point. I mean -- and I'm not talking about just the Trump supporters. There is a group in the middle that doesn't like the Washington establishment that believes she's part of it that says, I know he's not political correct, he said some bad stuff, but like, I want somebody to bust the system up and isn't the guy who's going to go mock her falling down when she has pneumonia, that guy?
JULIE ROGINSKY, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I don't know. You know, let's put partisanship aside and talk about the fact that the clip you played is a man in the full throes of a breakdown. That coupled with this Alicia Machado 3:00 a.m. tweet (inaudible) is not somebody who's even remotely got the temperament to be the mayor of a large city, never mind the leader of the free world.
To mock an opponent -- this is not the first time by the way. He mocked a New York Times reporter for his disability and now he's mocking Hillary Clinton for having pneumonia to talk about the fact that she was maybe crazy. I've never seen such projection and I thought...
KELLY: And that she's apparently not loyal to Bill. That's news.
ROGINSKY: Who knew? Who knew? I mean, but isn't that projection? Isn't this absolutely -- this is like Psych 101. This is somebody projecting their own issues on to another person and that's...
KELLY: That's transference technically.
ROGINSKY: Tag it what you will (ph), you know what, we'll have to ask a real psychiatrist about that. I'm not qualified to say.
KELLY: What about that stuff that came out with "The Apprentice" and the women and all that. And actually there was another -- another woman came forward, a reporter from "The Philadelphia Inquirer." Pennsylvania is a big state this election. She says back in the 1980s Trump called her probably the worst word you could use about a woman. Here it is, listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER LIN, FORMER PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER REPORTER: I was working in the Wall Street office at "The Philadelphia Inquirer" and I got a phone call. The woman said hold for Mr. Trump and then Mr. Trump began to yell at me. He fold told me I had (Bleep) for brains. He told me I work for a (Bleep) newspaper and he said what sort of (Bleep) was I writing? I was stunned.
He hung up. He called my boss in Philadelphia and he treated my boss to the same sort of rant. But then he added that he referred to me as the C word. A word I will not use Michael because in my opinion it's the worst word in the English language to refer to a woman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELY: Julie.
ROGINSKY: Well, I'd say I'm surprised exempt that we've all been on the receiving end of some of those words from him and his supporters and so it doesn't shock me whatsoever. Look, here's the reality. I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican. These are policy differences. This is about who's temperamentally unfit and I would say psychologically unfit to be leader of the free world.
If somebody can get to him in this way with a release of a tax form or like criticizing his stance on Miss America, what's Vladimir Putin going to do to him when there's a real 3:00 a.m. phone call and he has to answer it. This is somebody who's incredibly unfit psychologically to hold the highest office in the land. I would say the highest office in the world.
KELLY: Good to see you.
ROGINSKY: Great to see you, Megyn.
KELLY: Well, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was on "The Kelly File" just a few weeks ago suggesting a big October surprise. And up next, we'll detail the news conference he has scheduled just hours from now. Plus, Larry Sabato is here in a series of new polls and what they mean for the next couple of weeks. One month to go, folks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: Developing tonight, big news involving the Democratic presidential nominee. Just over five weeks ago, that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared on this show and promised a big surprise concerning Hillary Clinton. One he said could change the election. Tonight, reports have surfaced that the announcement could be imminent. Trace Gallagher reports from our West Coast newsroom, TG?
TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Megyn, Julian Assange was supposed to make the big announcement tomorrow on the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London but because of safety concerns for Assange, which has now been moved in Berlin to do a video presentation. It will now be video. Predictions that Julian Assange has information that will end the presence (ph) of Hillary Clinton might be premature.
But history shows that he certainly has the power to move the needle. Just before the Democratic National Convention in August, the release of 20,000 internal Democratic National Committee e-mails showed the DNC appearing to conspire to prevent Bernie Sanders from winning the nomination. The revelation led to the resignation of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
In all, WikiLeaks has published some 10 million leaked e-mails including information about Guantanamo Bay prisoners, operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. And back in August on "The Kelly File" Assange was asked about the latest leak. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Do you believe the information in your possession could be a game changer in the U.S. election?
JULIAN ASSANGE, WIKILEAKS FOUNDER: I think it's significant. You know, it depends on how it catches fire in the public and in the media.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: And not only does a former Trump campaign adviser believe that this will catch fire, Roger Stone thinks it will spell the end of Hillary Clinton's campaign. Stone tweeted, "I have total confidence that WikiLeaks and my hero Julian Assange will educate the American people. Lock her up." The latest leaks are expected to drop at 10:00 a.m. in Berlin which is 4:00 in the morning eastern time. Megyn.
KELLY: We shall see. Trace, thanks. Well, this potential October surprise comes as a series of new Quinnipiac polls shows Hillary Clinton for the most part regaining lost ground across some key battle ground state. Mrs. Clinton is gaining now in Florida, now up five points on Donald Trump.
She's also ahead in North Carolina by three points, in Pennsylvania, a hotly contested -- they say its purple state, but it's really blue. It voted for President Obama in the last two elections -- Mrs. Clinton is up by five points. But it's Trump who is winning the Buckeye State. Right now, Ohio, and my next guess points out that Ohio has voted for every White House winner since 1964.
Joining me now, the director of UVA Center for Politics, Larry Sabato. Larry, good to see you. So what do you glean from this latest round of polling?
LARRY SABATO, UVA CENTER FOR POLITICS DIRECTOR: Well, the news is very, very good for Hillary Clinton. She actually is, in the new poll up 11 in Colorado, which one poll had it tied. She's up by wide margins in three national surveys, from CBS, CNN and Survey Monkey.
So, let me tell you, I think she got a real boost from the first debate and that has actually grown over time. Let me note, Megyn, that these polls were not taken after the "New York Times" revelation about Trump's taxes. So, it may have had some effect and we'll have to wait until the next round of polls.
KELLY: So, I mean, does it cause you to change your electoral map? You started to change it a little bit more favorably towards Donald Trump when she was having her terrible week and a half.
SABATO: Well, I want to see if these changes are durable, Megyn. Remember the Democratic Convention bounce that Clinton got, it was enormous. But it faded. And the question I have is, as we get toward Election Day, are we going to look back at the first debate and say that was the key turning point in the general election, or are we going to say, no, it was changed by debate two or debate three or some outside event or revelation...
KELLY: Like WikiLeaks.
SABATO: ...that might transform it.
KELLY: I mean, Julian Assange has produced before. It's not all hyperbole with this guy. How big a factor could that be?
SABATO: Well, you know, they haven't shared the e-mails with me, Megyn. I'm very disappointed. But I can't tell you until I see what they have. Who knows? I don't think it's the end of her candidacy, as somebody predicted. I think that's a little extreme. But we'll see what they have.
KELLY: Yes, we will and then we will talk more about it. Larry, before I let you go, just put a number on it. Percentage chances for Hillary and Donald.
SABATO: I think the chances for her between 60 and 65 percent, for him 35 to 40 percent.
KELLY: Wow. Larry, great to see you.
SABATO: Thanks, Megyn.
KELLY: Hillary Clinton facing backlash from her own party following newly uncovered audio in which she's talking about Bernie Sanders' supporters. We'll tell you what Bernie is saying about it and talk about the alleged love child. 2016. Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: Well, Hillary Clinton is taking heat from the Trump campaign over some newly uncovered audio from a private fundraiser last February where she is heard talking about millennial voters. Listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're children of the Great Recession. And they are living in their parents' basement. If you're feeling you're consigned to, you know, being a barista or some other job that doesn't pay a lot and doesn't have much of a ladder of opportunity attached to it, then the idea that maybe, just maybe, you could be part of a political revolution that's pretty appealing.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
KELLY: Joining me now, correspondent Griff Jenkins who is at the site of tomorrow's big vice presidential debate, with more on what millennials are saying about this election. Hey, Griff.
GRIFF JENKINS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Megyn. Consider this, 69 million of those millennials will be eligible to vote this November 8th making up 31 percent of the whole electorate. In 2008 and 2012, there were roughly almost 20 percent of all of the votes counted. So, how does Secretary Clinton really stand with them particularly after calling them basement dwellers and insulting them?
In the latest Fox News poll, she's at 44 percent with Trump following at 28 percent. But Gary Johnson, the Libertarian third party is at 17 percent, Jill Stein at 8 percent. And in Fox News exit polling earlier this year, Bernie Sanders -- this was when these millennials were feeling the Bern, was beating her by a whopping 71 percent to 28 percent.
Our viewers will remember that Barack Obama ran away by a more than two to one margin in the election. Clearly Clinton is underperforming. So, I hit the campus behind me to find out how these millennials students feel. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: College tuition and healthcare for young people and for all citizens. Those are things that millennials care about.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We physically as a nation cannot afford four more years of the same liberal policies that have doubled our national debt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to, you know, see how they're going to create jobs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Plus, climate change is getting out of hand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really feel strongly about equality.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And also sever (ph) terrorism. The main things that are important to me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm undecided. It will come down to this debate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I was a senior in high school, I figured I can agree with Republicans on some things and Democrats and others. It blew my mind and I think there needs to be a middle ground and there needs to be someone in the middle ground that can get something done.
JENKINS: You think millennials are going to vote on this election?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I definitely do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think this election has really brought us out of our, like, voting shells.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to vote for the candidate who I feel like is going to be positive and bring a lot of unity to this country.
JENKIN: Secretary Clinton said -- called millennials basement dwellers living at home with mom and dad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every politician is not perfect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These two candidates especially I feel like has played a lot of their emotions and feeling out on social media.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Griff?
JENKINS: So I guess we'll find out what happens online, on Snapchat. Megyn.
KELLY: Thank you. She did not say basement dwellers but she said they're in the basement, unhappy. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: So a word on Bill Clinton's alleged love child. It was reportedly disproven back in 1999 thanks to DNA, and now Roger Stone says there was no DNA test but he says a lot of things. See you tomorrow.
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