President Trump, Joe Biden trade blame as violent unrest continues

This is a rush transcript from “Special Report," August 27, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: At least she got the dismount. Thanks, Jesse.

Good evening, welcome to Washington. I'm Bret Baier. Breaking tonight, it is President Trump's big night in just a few hours. He will formally accept the nomination for a second term as president. He's trying to spice up that campaign, giving a fiery speech we expect from the South Lawn of the White House. We'll have a preview of tonight's big event in a moment.

But first, we are getting a look at some of the devastation from what was hurricane Laura as the storm makes its way inland.

A Louisiana man says the aftermath looks like a thousand tornadoes went through that area. More than 700,000 people were without power at one point. Laura has now weakened to a tropical storm.

Chief White House correspondent John Roberts with what the president had to say on a trip to FEMA headquarters today ahead of his big RNC speech tonight. But first, correspondent Jonathan Serrie begins our coverage tonight from Lafayette, Louisiana. Good evening, Jonathan.  JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. Emergency Management officials confirm four storm related fatalities here in Louisiana including a 14-year old girl. All of the victims died after trees fall on their homes and the winds associated with this powerful storm are causing problems far from the coast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SERRIE: Blooms of smoke corrupted from a chemical plant in Westlake. As hazmat teams work to contain a fire at the BioLab facility, emergency alerts advice nearby residents to shelter in place.  GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D-LA): Despite the heat that they're experiencing, a shelter at home under those circumstances means they need to be on the inside of their home with their doors and windows closed and the air conditioning off if they're lucky enough to have electricity.  SERRIE: The plan is near the city of Lake Charles which recorded sustained winds of 98 miles per hour and a 132 mile per hour gusts as hurricane Laura's eye wall tore through the community, causing extensive damage to homes and businesses.

MAYOR NIC HUNTER (R-LA), LAKE CHARLES: It looks like a bomb went off at Lake Charles, so it's pretty bad. It's pretty catastrophic for us. In the same breath that I say that, I also want to say that this is not something that's going to be a knockout punch for Lake Charles.

SERRIE: Heavy winds caused severe damage to homes in Cameron Parish where lower made landfall around 1:00 a.m. as a strong Category 4 hurricane.  BEL EDWARDS: This was the most powerful storm to ever make landfall in Louisiana. And it is still a powerful storm that is in the state Louisiana that is continuing the calls damage and life-threatening conditions.  SERRIE: But Governor John Bel Edwards says the storm surge was roughly half the height of the two-story wall of water in earlier predictions, a relief for inland communities relying on rivers to carry excess rainwater to the Gulf.

MAYOR JOSH GUILLORY (R-LA), LAFAYETTE: It's all about lowering the levels of the Vermilion River. And if these -- if these levels can stay a bit like this, we'll be OK but the further it rises up, the smaller capacity is. And that's a concern for Lafayette but it's also a concern for our entire region.  SERRIE: After touring hurricane damage in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott said, his state dodged the bullet. But he promised relief to those affected as well as ongoing search and rescue efforts.  GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): We will continue that process until we know for a fact that there is no person who is unaccounted for.  (END VIDEOTAPE)

SERRIE: And Governor Abbott says Texas has one confirmed fatality. Even if that turns out to be the case, he says this disaster could have been far worse for his state. He credits a combination of prayer and planning for keeping people safe, Bret.  BAIER: Jonathan Serrie live in Lafayette. Jonathan, thank you. President Trump received a storm update a few hours ago. Tonight, the president will deliver his official re-nomination acceptance speech, laying out his plan for a second term. Saying about the economy that he boosted before and can do it again after the coronavirus pandemic. It's essentially his job interview with you, the voters for another four years. Chief White House correspondent John Roberts has our story.  (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: At FEMA headquarters today, President Trump revealing he actually considered pushing back a speech tonight because of the impact of hurricane Lara.  DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was actually prepared to postpone the speech tonight and make it on Monday. I was going to Texas. I was going to Louisiana.  ROBERTS: Instead, he said he will travel this weekend to survey the damage himself.  TRUMP: I just want to thank all of the people from FEMA in particular and all law enforcement and everyone else locally because they've done a fantastic job. So, we'll be going Saturday or Sunday.  ROBERTS: In his address tonight, the president will bring his contrast with Joe Biden to a crescendo. Saying, at the Democrat convention, you barely heard a word about their agenda. But that's not because they don't have one. It's because their agenda is the most extreme set of proposals ever put forward by a major party nominee.

His speech written to rev up the base and appeal to swing voters with a warning that a Biden victory would turn back progress and prosperity. The president saying, we have spent the last four years reversing the damage Joe Biden inflicted over the last 47 years.

In his acceptance speech last night, the vice president echoing that theme.  MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When you consider their agenda, it's clear. Joe Biden would be nothing more than a Trojan horse for the radical left.  ROBERTS: The president also pushing back against criticism of his coronavirus response from Kamala Harris today.  TRUMP: What we did initially was it -- was a very, very important thing, otherwise you'd have millions of people dead.

Now we have vaccines coming very soon. We have therapeutics. It's been incredible what's taken place. And there's great danger to shut downs and that's in the form of suicides, in the form of alcoholism and drug use.  ROBERTS: On night three of the Convention, New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik insisting the president is following the right course.

REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): President Trump is working to safely reopen our main street economy. Joe Biden wants to keep them locked up in the basement and crush them with $4 trillion in new taxes.

ROBERTS: The violence consuming cities across America expected to be a top issue tonight. President Trump today pointing to an improvement in Kenosha after the National Guard was sent in, but accusing some officials of playing politics with the unrest.  TRUMP: Portland's a great example, it's been going on for 90 days and we could put it out in one hour. All they have to do is ask us to come and we will be there with the National Guard.  (END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Democrats have complained long and loud about the president giving this speech from the White House but it was actually a Democratic president who set that precedent. Franklin Roosevelt back in 1940 gave his address to his convention from the White House but back then, it was on the radio and certainly didn't look anything like the setting behind me, Bret.  BAIER: John Roberts on the South Lawn tonight. See you over there in a bit. Thanks, John.

Former Vice President Joe Biden says President Trump is rooting for more violence in the wake of the shooting in Wisconsin. Biden is making his point in interviews as the top Democrat in Congress says she thinks the nominee should refused to debate President Trump. Correspondent Peter Doocy is in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware tonight.  (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Joe Biden is accusing President Trump of trying to turn riots into votes.  UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think he's actually rooting for violence? That he wants violence because --  JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Absolutely.

DOOCY: In a pair of live interviews, Biden alleged Trump is trying to stir tensions to look tough in November.  BIDEN: He's rooting for more violence, not less and it's clear about that. And what's he doing, he's kept pouring gasoline on the fire.  DOOCY: The Democratic nominee was the talk of the RNC on night three.  PENCE: You won't be safe in Joe Biden's America.  DOOCY: And as protests continue in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the former vice president is trying to correct the current one.  BIDEN: All the video being played is being played in Donald Trump's America.  DOOCY: And for the second day in a row, he's condemning violent rioters.  BIDEN: Just flies in the face of the legitimate protest.  DOOCY: Biden confirmed he will debate Trump three times this fall.  BIDEN: I'm going to try. I'm going to be a fact checker on the floor while I'm debating him.  DOOCY: Even though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told him not to.  REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): I don't think that there should be any debates.  DOOCY: Viewers were momentarily distracted today as somebody let one of Biden's dogs out. RNC spokesman responded to the former V.P.'s over all message today with this, it's telling that Joe Biden decided to Zoom into an MSNBC interview today and its seeding the main response to President Trump's speech tonight to Kamala Harris and her radical agenda. Harris appeared solo in D.C. this afternoon.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We must always defend peaceful protest and peaceful protesters. We should not confuse them with those looting and committing acts of violence.

DOOCY: Biden hasn't campaigned at all this week but may soon visit the family of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.  BIDEN: I would consider that. What I don't want to do is I don't want to become part of the problem and I want to make sure that it's able to be done safely.  (END VIDEOTAPE)

DOOCY: Biden's last planned trip to Wisconsin was called off. It was going to be too dangerous to deliver a convention speech there because of COVID- 19 related concerns. But the public health calculation may now be changing since that last time he was supposed to be there seven days ago, Bret.  BAIER: Peter Doocy live in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Peter, thanks.

Tensions are still high but the level of violence seems to be waning in Kenosha, Wisconsin following the weekend shooting of a black man by police and all of the fall out after that.

Chief correspondent Jonathan Hunt is in Kenosha for us again tonight. Good evening, Jonathan.  JONATHAN HUNT, FOX NEWS CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. As the fallout from the police shooting of Jacob Blake continues, Vice President Mike Pence has been disinvited from giving the commencement speech this weekend at Wisconsin, Lutheran, the college citing what it called escalating events in Kenosha. On the ground though, there was a marked de- escalation on the fourth night of protests.  (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUNT: Residents and business owners of picking up the pieces in Kenosha as the National Guard and federal law enforcement agents stand by largely out of sight, having been sent to Wisconsin by President Trump. Following his declaration, he will not allow the kind of destruction that has left the city so scarred.  None of those forces were needed Wednesday night. Protesters gathered and marched once again but this time peacefully as they and the entire city of Kenosha seem to take stock of the tragic events of the previous night when an armed vigilante, one of several who said they were protecting businesses clashed with protesters.  This video obtained exclusively by Fox News and shot from a drone shows the first of the shootings in which the gunman off to some sort of confrontation shoots a protester in the head. Other video then shows him being chased and tackled by protesters before he fires several more times.

Court documents identified the alleged shooter, a 17-year old Kyle Rittenhouse.  DANIEL MISKINIS, POLICE CHIEF, KENOSHA, WISCONSIN: The voice of those people was not calling upon deaf ear. We are hearing what is being said and the mayor has spoke to his commitment involving myself to usher in change where that's possible.  HUNT: And the Wisconsin Department of Justice has now identified the officer who shot Jacob Blake as Rustin Chesky. Investigators also say they found a knife on the driver's side floor of Blake's car.

Across the country, protests and riots continue. In Oakland, California, several people were arrested after the county courthouse and some local businesses were vandalized.

While in Minneapolis, there was widespread looting after rumors that police had shot a man. In fact, video clearly showed the armed man killed himself.  (END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNT: And returning here to Kenosha, we learned tonight that a number of high-powered attorneys have joined forces offering to defend 17-year old who as we mentioned is accused of shooting and killing those two protesters Tuesday night.

One of the attorneys claiming via Twitter that the video evidence, "Clearly shows justified acts of self-defense", Bret.  BAIER: Jonathan, thank you.

One of last night's guests at the Republican Convention was retired Army General Keith Kellogg, the National Security Adviser to Vice President Pence. He joins us tonight from the North Lawn.

General, thanks for being here.

LT. GEN. KEITH KELLOGG (RET.), NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER TO VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Bret, thanks for having me.

BAIER: I want to talk about your speech last night, what you touched on. You essentially said that this president has made the right choices when faced with difficult decisions. There are many people who question that. You said you've been in the room each time.

KELLOGG: That's correct. Yes, Bret. Look, this is an election on contrast and I think the contrast as commander-in-chief between Joe Biden and President Trump is significant. Look, let's just go down a couple of them right now.  Joe Biden in the Obama administration let ISIS grow. Grow to the size geographically, the size of Great Britain. They had a terrorist master in Abu al-Baghdadi running it. He let our military atrophy going forward. They allowed Syria to use chemical weapons sarin nerve gas against its citizens after they said very, very clearly that that was a red line they would not let the Syrians cross as they want forward.

And you had a Secretary of Defense from the Obama administration. Secretary Gaetz say that in public and in his book, that Joe Biden has been nearly wrong on every major national security decision in the last 40 years and I think that's true.

And when you look at what we have done, we reacted when Assad used sarin nerve gas in its citizens, we reacted. This president eliminated the ISIS caliphate, killed al-Baghdadi in an operation called Operation Kayla named after American woman that he had killed Kayla Mueller. He's let the military grow significantly going forward.

But look, here's the one that is not really mentioned and I think this one is pretty important. When one of the most critical decisions made in the Obama administration was to go after the architect of 9/11 Osama bin Laden, after they had found him, the individual in the room that recommended that operation do not take place was Joe Biden.

And our president is going after Baghdadi, he went after Soleimani and got him. Soleimani, the same individual from Iran, who had been a mastermind on killing the hundreds of American servicemen in Iraq.

So, I think the contrast were quite clear. And I am very, very proud of our record than compare to his.

BAIER: You know, you said in the speech, I know leadership, I know decision making, and I've seen the response to that. You also said that I have been in the room where it happened.

KELLOGG: Right.

BAIER: A clear kind of veiled reference to John Bolton's book named, The Room Where It Happened. The former national security adviser on decisions told me this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR OF THE UNITED STATES: The point is not what he believes when he signs the particular legislation or what he says when he's dealing with the Chinese, it's that he doesn't particularly believe any of it longer than it takes to get past the day he's dealing with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: And you've heard those interviews, General. And you've heard him out and about in the book. Is he lying about all that?

KELLOGG: Yes, he is. Bret, his comments were absurd. I have been in the room a lot longer than he has. I have been with the president ever since he came into the White House. I have been with him through Mike Flynn is the national security adviser. H.R. McMaster. I've been through John Bolton and Robert O'Brien, who I believe happens to be the best national security adviser this president has had.

John Bolton, I believe is actually an architect of failure. He had his own agenda. He pushed his own agenda, and when it didn't work, he tried to basically to stifle the discussion going forward or lie to the president of the United States.

I was in there when it happened. I saw him when he fabricated information and nearly caused us to commence military operations in Iran because of a loss of a drone that we knew he had incorrect information, and he passed that incorrect information to the president. I saw him on several occasions do that.

I saw John Bolton single handedly destroy Afghan negotiations, a year ago, up at Bedminster, after we thought we had the Afghan negotiations on track. And he happened to just ruin them. And I was there in the room when it happened.

So, is John Bolton a liar? Yes, he is. He also is thinking of things about John Bolton before he thinks about anybody else. So --

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: Lieutenant --

KELLOGG: I'm Sorry?

BAIER: But, no, I got -- I was just going to wrap you up here. I've got to run, but it's another night, the wrap up night for the Republican National Convention.

KELLOGG: Right.

BAIER: Your speech we took last night and thanks for your service and we'll see what tonight brings.

KELLOGG: Beret, thanks for having me. I do appreciate it.

BAIER: Athletes boycott over the latest police shooting involving an African American man. Where do things go from here? We'll take a look at the sports angle on all of this next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: A senior defense official says arson is suspected as the cause of last month's fire that caused extensive damage to a U.S. Navy ship docked off San Diego. The USS Bonhomme Richard burned for more than four days. We brought you that story. Dozens of sailors and civilians treated for minor injuries, no fatalities there. A sailor is now being questioned as a potential arson suspect.

Sports activism has become a major sidebar to last weekend's shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin by police. Just moments ago, the National Hockey League -- the NHL postponing playoff games tonight and tomorrow. This follows NBA players who boycotted yesterday's playoff games today's have also been postponed.

Athletes in some other sports are also sitting out or making a statement. Correspondent Christina Coleman reports from Los Angeles tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA COLEMAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: While protesters walked the streets in Wisconsin Wednesday, NBA players walked off the court.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Milwaukee Bucks have decided not to play Game Five against the Orlando Magic.

COLEMAN: It began with the Milwaukee Bucks, boycotting their game following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in their home state.

STERLING BROWN, PLAYER, MILWAUKEE BUCKS: Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there has been no action. So, our focus today cannot be on basketball.

COLEMAN: And soon turns into a show of solidarity with other NBA, WNBA, Major League Baseball, and soccer games being called off. Emotions ran high from NBA star LeBron James, tweeting, "At this man, we demand change. Sick of it."

To L.A. Clippers coach Doc Rivers, whose father was a police officer.

DOC RIVERS, HEAD COACH, LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS: We're the ones getting killed, we're the ones getting shot. It's amazing why we keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back.

COLEMAN: Calls for racial injustice and change have been ongoing since the season restarted.

TIM REYNOLDS, SPORTSWRITER, ASSOCIATED PRESS: There have been so many unprecedented things. Black Lives Matter being painted on the court, players being allowed to wear, you know -- you know, social messaging on their back, urging change.

COLEMAN: And the demand for accountability continues.

GEORGE HILL, PLAYER, MILWAUKEE BUCKS: It is imperative for the Wisconsin state legislature to reconvene after months of inaction and take up meaningful measures to address issues of police accountability, brutality, and criminal justice reform.

COLEMAN: Players appear to have the support of the league, some fans, and even presidential candidate Joe Biden. But President Trump called out the athletes.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They become like a political organization and that's not a good thing. I don't think that's a good thing for sports or for the country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLEMAN: And the cancellations continue. Some baseball, hockey, women's basketball games, as well as some NFL practices and scrimmages were called off today. As for the NBA, no games will be played tonight. The league reps and players are in talks and the NBA hopes to resume games by tomorrow or Saturday. Bret?

BAIER: Christina Coleman in Los Angeles. Christina, thanks.

Up next, a look at what the Federal Reserve is planning to boost the struggling economy in the pandemic era. First, here is what some of our Fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight.

Fox 5 in Atlanta as more companies pledge to allow worker's time off to vote in the presidential election this November. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola giving employees the day off. Starbucks said today, it will give its 200,000 workers flexibility on Election Day.

Fox 2 in San Francisco as some evacuated Solano County residents are being allowed to return home after 12 days of wild fires there raged near their neighborhoods and schools. Officials say, the LNU Lightning Complex Fire is more than 30 percent contained.

And this is a live look at Miami from our affiliate WSVN. One of the big stories there tonight. The U.S. Coast Guard off loads thousands of pounds of drugs intercepted at sea. The haul, including about 30,000 pounds of narcotics worth about $228 million.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Markets were mixed today. The Dow gained 160, breath you when and the positive territory for the year. The S&P 500 was up six, The NASDAQ lost 40.

Negotiations resume today toward a new coronavirus relief bill. Edward Lawrence of Fox Business joins us now to tell us what happened. Good evening, Edward.

EDWARD LAWRENCE, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. Yes, the big players broke radio silence on a phone call to try and work out a pandemic relief package.

Now, a senior White House official tells Fox Business Network that the chief of staff of the White House, Mark Meadows offered a $500 billion package without all the fluff in it. The package included expanded unemployment benefits, Payroll Protection Program renewal, and money for schools to reopen and testing. Before the call happened, the House speaker saying she will not budge until the administration comes up to them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: The recovery in May and June came sooner and was stronger than expected. So there's still a healthy economy under here, except for this area that has been directly affected by COVID. So if we can keep the disease under control, the rest of the economy can recover fairly quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: And that, obviously, the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell talking about the economy there. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying that after the call she's still waiting for a $2.2 trillion number. The public bickering, that continues, but real people are suffering. More than a million people filed new claims for unemployment last week. That means more than a third of all working Americans asked the government for help in the 23 weeks since the coronavirus impacted the economy.

And you heard there, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell saying that Congress should act for at least the airline and hotel business even though the economy shows signs of life. For the first time in eight years, Powell announced that the Federal Reserve is making major changes to monetary policy going forward. The biggest change is that the Federal Reserve would allow inflation to run hot on this. That means that the price of what we buy could be a little more expensive for a period of time. The Dallas Federal Reserve president Robert Kaplan saying that's not necessarily the case. It's price stability is what the average American will see. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT KAPLAN, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF DALLAS: It just says we'll allow for a moderate overshoot of the two percent. And again, when I say moderate, I mean moderate in the spirit of trying to get more people into the work force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: And Kaplan voted for that change. Back to you, Bret.

BAIER: All right, Edward, thank you.

Maryland's governor says all public-school systems in his state are now safe to reopen. Republican Larry Hogan says the systems have met a new set of regulations to deal with the coronavirus. Hogan says the fact that some school districts do not plan to reopen to students is unacceptable, in his words. His administration plans to offer financial incentives to reopen. In an e-mail to parents, one district is saying that it will review the new guidance as soon as details are provided.

The Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, attempting to clarify today new guidelines about coronavirus testing. Dr. Robert Redfield responds to heavy criticism of the move by saying the recommendations received appropriate attention and consultation and input from task force experts.

Tonight correspondent Alex Hogan looks at where things stand in the pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX HOGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: With 19 cases in the U.S. surpassing 5.8 million positive test results are trending downward since the summer's peak in July with experts crediting shuttered bars and mask mandates. Even still, the virus claims about 1,000 American lives every day.

President Trump today urging states and schools to reopen.

TRUMP: Great places like North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan are shut down unnecessarily at this point. It's crazy what they're doing. But they're doing it, I think, for political reasons.

HOGAN: Although those states, along with many others, continue to slowly phase in re-openings. This week the CDC scaled back guidelines, shocking the medical community. Today the CDC director clarifying in a statement, saying people may get tested if they've come in contact with someone with COVID-19. White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Anthony Fauci was in surgery at the time of the announcement and called the revision concerning that people might take asymptomatic spreading less seriously. But Marc Short, the chief of staff for V.P. Mike Pence, says the document circled for weeks.

MARC SHORT, PENCE CHIEF OF STAFF: Dr. Fauci is going be at our task force meeting today. He has been a valued member of our team, and he had the opportunity on multiple occasions to weigh-in because we discussed this.

HOGAN: Still, Fauci claims he doesn't recall reviewing any changes. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also firing back at the move today.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): There is no justification for this CDC guidance. The president said if we test less, we will have fewer cases. So I believe it's political, and we're not following it in the state of New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOGAN: Here in New York, the state hit its 20th day of positive test rates under one percent as states around the country struggle to lower their infection rates. Bret?

BAIER: Alex, thank you.

We go back live to the Gulf Coast for an update on the damage from Hurricane Laura right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Breaking tonight, we just got updated numbers. Unfortunately, we now know at least six people are dead following landfall of hurricane Laura along the Gulf Coast. The storm now moving inland and has weakened considerably. Correspondent Leland Vittert is in Lake Charles, Louisiana, this evening, the hardest hit area, really, overnight. Good evening, Leland.

LELAND VITTERT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Bret, good evening to you. There's a lot of talk that Laura wasn't as bad as expected, but if you're the owner of this gas and convenience store, it was pretty awful. And these pictures repeat themselves up and down every street of Lake Charles. What made Laura so unusual is the amount of wind damage. Even 30 miles inland, we were seeing gusts of about 140 miles an hour for hours. So many rode out the storm without a roof.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TROY, LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA, RESIDENT: This reminds me of when I was living in New Orleans and they were filming parts of "Planet of the Apes," "Planet of the Apes," and how one of the scenes, the apes took and destroyed the street block. I come out here, this is a reminder of that scene in the movie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VITTERT: There are dozens of businesses that aren't open, but open for looters, and that's a huge concern after a hurricane. At this CVS among other places with controlled substances, you have got the Louisiana National Guard standing guard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIC HUNTER, LAKE CHARLES MAYOR: It looks like a literal bomb went off. It's worse than hurricane Rita.

VITTERT: It's almost like a tornado went through here, but it was a tornado that covered a whole city.

HUNTER: Yes. My public works director was one of the first I visited with this morning. And his words verbatim to me was, it looks like a tornado hit every street in Lake Charles.

VITTERT: That's pretty sobering.

HUNTER: It is pretty sobering.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VITTERT: The chemical plant fire burning right about 10 miles from here is adding to the misery, forcing people to stay inside and closing I-10, which is key for relief efforts. Tonight the city will be without power. That means without air conditioning. Many parts don't have water. The heat index right now is 97 degrees. You heard the mayor say this was worse than Hurricane Rita. During Rita, Bret, it took them three weeks to get the power turned back on.

BAIER: Leland Vittert live in Lake Charles. Leland, thanks.

Up next, the panel on the Republican Convention, the last night, Donald Trump's big night on the south lawn, plus former Vice President Joe Biden's response about violence today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: When you look at a Portland and you see how weak those Democrats are, the governor, the mayor, how pathetic. They let them riot every night. This is the way our whole country would be.

BIDEN: He's rooting for more violence, not less. And it's clear about that. And what's he doing? He's pouring gasoline on the fire. This happens to be Donald Trump's America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: That's the line we heard from the Democrats, including the former vice president, Donald Trump's America. Meantime, media is starting to cover the violence in cities, including in Wisconsin. "The New York Times," "How chaos in Kenosha is already swaying some voters in Wisconsin." "POLITICO," "It's playing into Trump's hands, Dems fear swing state damage from Kenosha unrest." And there's one Marquette Wisconsin poll and the views on mass protests in the wake of George Floyd's death. In June, approval was 60 percent, as you can see there. Now, August 4the to the 9th, approval 48-48. Perhaps swaying in one state, perhaps it's a bigger issue than media and Democrats thought it was just weeks ago.

Let's bring in our panel, FOX News senior political analyst, Brit Hume, Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at "The Federalist," Charles Lane, opinion writer for "The Washington Post," Byron York, chief political correspondent for the "Washington Examiner." Brit, I'm seeing the sea change in just how it's talked about and covered.

BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, and a note that that poll, that Marquette University poll was taken obviously through the 9th of August before this Kenosha issue happened. Kenosha is very much worth watching because it's a swing county. So something appears to be happening. Bret, you and I have talked about this for some time, that we really weren't seeing any signs of a backlash against this urban violence and rioting. I think now we're beginning to see it. And to what extent it leaks into the presidential race is unclear, but when you see Joe Biden after not speaking about it at all at his convention last week, almost no one did mention it at all, starting to talk about it now, trying to blame it on the president, you know something is happening out there. And this looks to be real, and it remains to be seen how far it will go.

BAIER: Just talking about Wisconsin polls, the Real Clear Politics average of polls a week ago had Biden up 8.5. And now in Wisconsin, the average of polls has Biden up 3.5. Byron, the issue obviously is going to a focus for the president tonight.

BRYON YORK, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER": Yes. The president thinks that after a long bad period, things are beginning to move his way a little bit. Certainly, he's going to criticize Joe Biden a lot for everything Biden has ever done for the last 50 years. He is going to hit on this violence stuff. And I think on the coronavirus and the economy, he's basically going to say, look, we were doing great. We got hit by this terrible thing. You know what happened. But now we're coming back fast, and it won't happen under Joe Biden.

BAIER: Take a listen to Joe Biden and Kellyanne Conway, Chuck, then I'll get you on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I had a quote here from Kellyanne Conway. She said the more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns, it's better for us. It's a very clear choice it presents for us.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: There was a quote today from a restauranteur in Wisconsin saying, are you protesters trying to get Donald Trump reelected? He knows, full stop. And I guess Mayor Pete knows, full stop, that the more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns, the better it is for the very clear choice on who is best on public safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: So the quote Biden read in that interview with Andrea Mitchell wasn't exactly what Kellyanne Conway said. But what about this prospect of Donald Trump's America and that the Trump campaign really wants to see more violence, the charge Biden made today?

CHARLES LANE, OPINION WRITER, "WASHINGTON POST": Well, I sure hope they don't want to see more violence. But I think Kellyanne Conway was intimating, and probably threatening that the see political advantage in the perception that Democratic based cities -- violence. They've been saying it for months, too. And I think this is going require a lot of political skill by Joe Biden to navigate. He is going to have to be emphatic in his --

BAIER: Chuck, your audio is just cutting out just a little bit there. Mollie, let me go to you about this Biden charge.

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE FEDERALIST": It's not surprising that Joe Biden would be lying about what Kellyanne Conway actually said because he's been lying about this as part of a centerpiece of his campaign where he had been falsely accusing Donald Trump of saying something he didn't say about the Charlottesville riots. He's been lying and saying that he praised white supremacists when he explicitly denounced them, and that's actually like a centerpiece of his campaign.

What's interesting about this is that the Republican Convention is fighting back hard against this charge. It's very common for race-baiting to be something that is done in the -- at the end of an elections. But Republicans usually cower. Instead what you've seen with this convention is night after night of prominent black speakers talking about some of those lies that have been told and responding to them, and also making the case for voting for Trump based on actual policy substance, not just platitudes, but saying he is the guy who did criminal justice reform, he's the guy who is getting funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He's the guy who achieved historic gains in job growth and wage growth for black men and women. And it's almost like Republicans are really excited to talk about it, and it's very much neutralizing what Biden thought, I think, would be a typical Republican race where you get to just accuse people of racism and the Republicans don't fight back. This time they're fighting back and they are working hard for that black vote. And it's been unlike he we've seen in a Republican convention going back decades.

BAIER: And clearly they're seeing numbers on the inside that have shown good things for them. Here's, Brit, the evolution we talked about, about the coverage of this, the issue of violence in different cities from the media. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to be clear in how I characterize this. This is mostly a protest. It is not -- it is not, generally speaking, unruly. But fires have been started, and there is a crowd that is relishing that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are real problems in Portland. But it is made up on FOX News like it's this raging fire out of control. And that is a gross exaggeration. It just is. It's a gross exaggeration.

REV. AL SHARPTON, NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK: We cannot have the message be that we are responding in violence.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: The rioting has to stop. Chris, as you know and I know, it's showing up in the polling. It's showing up in focus groups. It is the only thing -- it's the only thing right now that is sticking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: And then we had this week the coverage from Kenosha, fiery but mostly peaceful protests after police shooting on CNN, Brit. So there clearly is an evolution, and you heard it in Don Lemon's explanation there.

HUME: Yes, there is. And it seems pretty evident from what he said, which is one of those things where you inadvertently say something out loud you might later wish you said in a different setting, that they're seeing it in the polling so all of a sudden now we Democrats have got to come out and try to quell the violence, or at least urge people to stop it. So that's really where we are.

And of course, it feeds right into what we're talking about earlier, this is beginning to sink in with people. You look at this stuff, Bret. A guy standing in front of a big fire in the middle of an urban center and saying this is mostly peaceful just doesn't compute. You almost can't make this stuff up. And I think people see this. It's got to be alarming. It would be to anybody, certainly to me, just as an ordinary American citizen. And it's beginning to take hold around the country. Democrats can only hope it dies down or that they are able to do something to quell it.

BAIER: Chuck Lane, we got you back. Sorry to interrupt. Your audio was cutting out there. Jump in on this conversation.

LANE: I just want to say two quick things. First, let's not forget what the gravity this violence is for the Black Lives Matter movement itself. And getting lost in all of this is the underlying -- policing that movement was trying to address.

Secondly, the president has it within his power, he's the leader of this country, to call for calm, to call for unity, to call for people to come together and -- not go over the brink of violence. He has the whole world watching and listening to him tonight, and I'd say it's amazing nobody here expects that he would do that. And maybe we'll be wrong, but it's extraordinary. He has that opportunity tonight to try to calm --

BAIER: I think he's called for calm. But to your point, that shooting is another example. We don't have the final investigation, but seven times being shot in the back, Mollie, shocks the soul when you look at the video and when you hear about it.

HEMINGWAY: It's actually true that people need to get the facts on all of these cases. It happens time and time again that people with limited information, such as last night Minneapolis was looted because people falsely believed that someone was killed by police when he actually committed suicide. I don't think the full facts have been told even about Kenosha where a guy was resisting arrest. They were calling because a woman had said that he was in her house and he was not supposed to be. He was not responding to police orders.

And this is something where the media have a responsibility not to fan the flames, but to accurately report things if they genuinely care about interactions with the police. We're not getting that, and its' spiraling out of control where you have athletes now trying to sabotage their own seasons because on false information that was reported in the media.

BAIER: Byron, last word, quickly.

YORK: Look, I think for the president, this is a really simple case to make. In the past when there's been violence and disorder, the government has usually been on the side of order. But in these cases, the government is all Democrats in Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, have been on the side of disorder. And President Trump stands on the other side for public safety.

BAIER: Panel, thank you very much.

The final night tonight. When we come back, in sickness and in health.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Finally tonight, tying the knot. Soon after Carlos Munoz was admitted to the hospital for coronavirus. His condition actually became critical. He was placed on life support. The wedding he had planned with his fiance canceled. So nurses at the hospital in San Antonio, Texas, arranged a special wedding ceremony almost a month after he was admitted. Smiling health care workers looked on as he married his fiance Grace. COVID-19 could not keep them down.

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