Rep. Kildee: New info could come forward from Kavanaugh probe

This is a rush transcript from "Your World," October 1, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: My White House will do whatever the senators want. I'm open to whatever they want.

The one thing I want is speed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: Whatever you want, whomever you want. Just make sure it is all wrapped up by Friday.

Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto, and this is "Your World," where the president United States making it very clear today, go ahead and talk to whoever you want on this whole Brett Kavanaugh thing.

That includes all the additional accusers beside Christine Blasey Ford.  That would also include Deborah Ramirez and one that surprised a lot of folks, Julie Swetnick, the Michael Avenatti client, the same lawyer that the president has referred to as a lowlife.

The president says, go ahead, talk to all of these folks, wrap it up by Friday.

Then you just heard Mitch McConnell tell the nation, no matter what Democrats are doing to push this back, he says they're going to vote on this by the end of the week.

Kevin Corke at the White House on these fast-moving developments.

Hey, Kevin.

KEVIN CORKE, FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Neil. Always good to be with you.

And, by the way, you may have heard reporting that Tuesday is actually a possibility of wrapping up this FBI probe. And there has been some push back and forth. I can tell you, I can actually back that up based on at least some of what I heard over the weekend.

You may have heard Lindsey Graham in his conversation with Maria Bartiromo say explicitly this thing could be wrapped up in a few days, say, on Tuesday, maybe midweek. So, keep that in your hat, even though I think politically it might be indelicate, frankly, to maybe to push it that quickly.

That said, as you pointed out, the president today in the Rose Garden was very clear he wants this to get over with. He wants them to move forward.  He wants them to go ahead and do their investigation.

But here's the thing. Just how far and in what direction that supplemental FBI background investigation will go, Neil, is still anybody's guess. The White House is adamant it doesn't want this to turn into some prolonged fishing expedition, as you put it.

Now, for his part, this is the seventh background pro for Judge Kavanaugh.  Still, the president says, look, I want the bureau to do its job, but quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I want them to do a very comprehensive investigation, whatever that means, according to the senators and the Republicans and the Republican majority. I want them to do that. I want it to be comprehensive.

I actually think it's a good thing for Judge Kavanaugh. I think it's actually a good thing, not a bad thing. I think it's a good thing. Now, with that being said, I'd like it to go quickly.

I think the FBI should interview anybody that they want within reason.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORKE: Anybody they want within reason.

Now, there have been the three allegations that we know of, of misconduct, all of which have been denied by Judge Kavanaugh. But Democrats, as you can imagine, are beginning to hope to expand the pool of possible interview subjects.

Let me share a letter from the Democrats to Don McGahn and Christopher Wray: "We believe that all three allegations, including Swetnick's, should be included in the supplemental investigation. We're providing a list of individuals who we believe should be interviewed at a minimum as a part of this investigation, along with any others identified by witnesses or the bureau in the course of its investigation."

There could be dozens of former students that the interview -- that the Democrats want interviewed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, D-CONN.: We are demanding that these 23 people be interviewed at a minimum, including Mark Judge, who allegedly was in the room when Brett Kavanaugh allegedly assaulted Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORKE: OK, so you see where this is going.

First, it was Dr. Ford. Then it was, OK, there are a couple of others.  Now they want everyone who may have talked to someone who may have been there. This could really go on well beyond this week if Democrats have their way.

But, again, my sources telling me, Neil, they are going to move forward with this. You heard Chuck Grassley say as much. You have heard Mitch McConnell says much. This thing, they want it wrapped up by the end of the week ,period.

CAVUTO: All right, buddy, thank you very, very much, Kevin Corke at the White House.

I want to explore this more with A.B. Stoddard with RealClearPolitics, ahead of talking to a Democratic congressman on what he makes of the soap opera going on here.

But, A.B., one of the things that occurred to me is that, if they do wrap up interviews as soon as tomorrow -- and I don't know how truthful that could be -- a number of people on both sides would probably say, boy, they rushed it, or they had an understanding that that wouldn't too include anyone connected with, including Julie Swetnick.

What is your understanding of who is being interviewed or who is being approached?

A.B. STODDARD, REALCLEARPOLITICS: Well, I think, actually, Neil, they have kept that sort of purposefully unclear.

CAVUTO: Right.

STODDARD: And I think that the president's comments today, obviously, made it sound as if it could last a very long time, because he wanted the FBI investigators to lead -- to go wherever the information they receive in interviews lead. And those interviews...

CAVUTO: Was that your understanding? I'm sorry to jump on you, but was that your understanding?

STODDARD: It's not what the senators want, Neil.

CAVUTO: Right. Exactly. Right.

STODDARD: So, the president makes comments like that, and they can be interpreted as if this is going to be a broader probe than we originally understood.

That gets shut down by Mitch McConnell immediately. He needs to emphasize again this is a limited probe, we are going to finish this by Friday.  Tomorrow sounds not plausible, basically, that I can't imagine that they would do it.

But, remember, it really doesn't matter what Mitch McConnell thinks.

CAVUTO: Right.

STODDARD: It doesn't matter what President Trump thinks. It only matters what three Republican senators think.

It doesn't matter how many witnesses the Democrats demand and how many extensions they ask for and how huge they want to make this. It just matters whether Flake and Murkowski and Senator Collins as well can defend this process and take a vote on Friday, and in an investigation that they deemed credible, especially those two women who are not retiring from the Senate, like Senator Flake.

They are up against a national force of division, people who support Kavanaugh and want them to vote yes, people who oppose him and want them to vote no. They are under a lot of pressure. And they did not -- the Republicans didn't have their vote on Friday. That is was why they agreed to this probe.

These two women will have to be able to say on Friday, this was a thorough enough investigation for me to vote yes.

CAVUTO: So, wouldn't that be less the case or appear to be -- and I don't know this is proceeding or whether the FBI is going in its own direction and now with the blessing of the president go further to seek out more people, witnesses, et cetera, yes, but please go ahead.

Is there a sense that you have from those same senators or their people that they would be nervous if it all wrapped up tomorrow, which, again, seems very unlikely?

STODDARD: Yes, exactly. That's why I think it's not likely, because it wouldn't indicate a thorough enough of process, and obviously we all spent Sunday seeing conflicting reports about how much the political interests of the White House and the Senate majority was -- were succeeding in limiting the investigation.

You and I, we're not FBI agents, but we know that at the end of every interview, they say, is there anyone else I should speak to?

CAVUTO: Right.

STODDARD: These things can grow and grow. But the limit was put on this for seven days. And I think those senators that were talking about expect to be able to tell their constituents that enough of a broad range of witnesses were spoken to, enough of the allegations were explored, that it was a credible process.

And I do think, if it just ended tomorrow, it would be very tough for them to make that case.

CAVUTO: Still doable by the end of the week to have a vote?

STODDARD: Well, they are going to have a vote no matter what.

CAVUTO: Right.

STODDARD: And we know that everyone -- the Democrats made clear that the FBI investigation of Anita Hill's allegations all those years ago took only 72 hours.

And so Republicans really are not going to move on an investigation with the resources of the FBI at their disposal that lasts seven days. I just think Friday is absolutely the limit.

CAVUTO: OK. Always good catching up with you, A.B. Thank you very, very much.

STODDARD: Thanks so much, Neil.

CAVUTO: Let's get a read on all of this.

You might not think the House has any say on this, but it does have influence and some sentiment at the grassroots level how this is all going down.

Michigan Democratic Congressman Dan Kildee joins us right now.

Congressman, thank you for taking the time.

REP. DAN KILDEE, D-MICH.: Thank you very much.

CAVUTO: Good to see you in the flesh.

KILDEE: Yes.

CAVUTO: What is your sense about where this is going?

Mitch McConnell was saying, as you might have heard, no matter what we do, we Republicans, and then get this investigation going, get the FBI on it, they will move the goalposts, they will move the deadlines, they will start complaining about something.

You say?

KILDEE: Well, I think there are a lot of senators who have made their minds up. And we ought not focus on them.

There are handful of senators who actually could benefit from the information that this investigation might reveal. So, rather than focusing only on how quickly the process moves, or whether those who have already made up their minds can either criticize the process or confirm it, we ought to leave up the possibility that some information will be revealed that will either confirm or somehow negate the claims that have been made.

And there are handful of senators who I think actually want that information. So, that may seem a little Pollyanna.

CAVUTO: Yes.

KILDEE: But I took Jeff Flake's comments at face value that he wanted to know more and he felt like he needed to know more.

Let's leave open the possibility that the FBI, which clearly can get an extensive investigation done in the seven-day time period...

CAVUTO: So, you would be probably concerned if it were wrapped up tomorrow?

KILDEE: Well, if they interviewed 24 people and were able to synthesize that information. The date isn't so important. This is a lifetime appointment. We ought to get it right.

CAVUTO: But the Friday deadline to get it done -- what Mitch McConnell is saying, Congressman -- this is maybe where we get into what is the mood of the House and the mood in the Senate.

It's going to be a big election year issue. It's going to be a big issue in five weeks. Do you think it will be? When you talk to your constituents, do they say, this is a big deal to me, how this thing goes?

KILDEE: I think there are some people out there that feel that if this confirmation were rammed through and there were unanswered questions, they might hold some senators responsible for that.

But I think, generally speaking, in something like this, a lifetime appointment, as hard as it might seem it is to do this, we just need to set aside the electoral impact and just get it done.

CAVUTO: Well, it's interesting. There were two different polls out.

Republicans, by and large, think that Republicans are doing a good job with this. Democrats, by and large, think Democrats are doing a good job trying to fight this.

Is it government the way you like to see it function?

KILDEE: No, no. I'm really tired of this. I...

CAVUTO: Some of your colleagues, you know, had talked about, we are not even done with this even if he makes it to the court. We will look at ways of getting him off the court.

Is that productive?

KILDEE: Well, it depends on what the information reveals.

CAVUTO: Right.

KILDEE: I'm not sure how productive it is.

But we have an obligation to follow the facts. And I think we ought to do that. But the fact that it seems as though, on every question, the parties retreat to their poles and hold on to those positions, rather than just allow the process to move forward, take the information, make a judgment -- this is a lifetime appointment. We ought to do it right. We ought to get it done.

CAVUTO: Sir, while I have got you here, you represent a big industrial state, important state, Michigan.

The president getting the Canadians on this accord, this Mexican-Canadian- U.S. accord, at just the 11th hour.

And I'm wondering, he has to get congressional support for this, which would presumably happen after the midterms, so we could have a different makeup in the House.

KILDEE: Right.

CAVUTO: We could have a different makeup in the Senate. And I'm told that this is very worker-friendly, actually union-friendly, so the president might have an easier time with you guys, Democrats, than he would Republicans. Is that true?

KILDEE: It's possible.

I mean, the change with the so-called rules of origin could actually be helpful.

CAVUTO: In other words, how much is North American content.

KILDEE: Right. Right. It goes to 75 percent, which could be a step in the right direction.

CAVUTO: Right.

KILDEE: For me, the dairy provisions supporting some of our producers, milk producers especially, could be important.

The piece that we need to know more about is what those labor provisions actually look like and what enforcement mechanism is. That's one piece.

And, secondly, our consideration of this new agreement, which I can't come up with the name of it yet -- it's not going to be NAFTA.

CAVUTO: Right. It has like a...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: ... but it is the USMCA, the U.S.-Mexico Canada agreement.

(CROSSTALK)

KILDEE: Our consideration will be in part triggered by Mexican government action.

And I need to know what that's going to look like. The most important variable in any of these agreements is what the worker protections and the worker rights and wages are, so that our workers don't have to compete against people making a dollar an hour.

If that comes together the way it possibly could -- I make no judgment yet -- then I think we could see this thing move forward.

CAVUTO: All right.

KILDEE: If not, it won't.

CAVUTO: OK.

Congressman, thank you. They have all got to stick to whatever promises they are making. And you got to find out what those promises are.

KILDEE: That's right.

CAVUTO: Congressman, thank you very, very much.

As the congressman was alluding to, this agreement with Canada -- and it's a mouthful, but NAFTA goes away, and then you have this three-patty deal, Canada, the United States and Mexico.

The markets were relieved to see this happen, because they seem to think that China is the odd man or odd country out, the only major country with whom we haven't struck a trade deal, even verbally.

So, whether the Chinese blink or whether the markets interpret they soon will, that's why we were up a lot.

More after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Without tariffs, we wouldn't be talking about a deal. Just for those babies out there that keep talking about tariffs. That includes Congress. Oh, please don't charge tariffs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: I like when he does that, oh, please don't -- anyway, that was the president today referring to the USMCA, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement.

That would mean that NAFTA is gone.

Blake Burman at the White House with more.

Hey, Blake.

BLAKE BURMAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Neil.

President Trump earlier today described as this U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement as historic. He says it's going to be a big win for the auto sector, a big win for farmers, especially dairy farmers. He says it will return the U.S. back to a manufacturing powerhouse.

But the reality of this going forward is that the 2019 Congress will have the ultimate say on this one, as they will eventually give this a thumbs-up or thumbs-down vote.

And the president today in a Rose Garden press conference acknowledged that on that end at least there's some political uncertainty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: You're a confident guy.

TRUMP: Not at all confident. I'm not.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Tell me, are you guys going to sign it? Tell me.

I think -- I think they will.

QUESTION: If Congress is controlled by Democrats.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Could happen.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Yes, they might be willing to throw one of the great deals for people and the workers. They may be willing to do that for political people or political purposes, because, frankly, they will have 2020 in mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURMAN: Neil, the president's top trade rep, Bob Lighthizer, said this afternoon that they feel confident that eventually Congress will give it the thumbs up on this one.

But the reality is no one knows what the makeup of the Hill is going to look like after November -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Yes, no, they do not.

All right, thank you, buddy, very much, Blake Burman.

All right, let's get the read on whether this does put the pressure on China regardless.

Brian Brenberg is a business and finance program chair over at King's College, also Susan Li.

Susan, end it with you, begin with you, this idea that it's cornering China, isolating China.

SUSAN LI, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: USMCA doesn't really roll off the tongue.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: I thought it was like a Marine agreement or something.

(LAUGHTER)

LI: Yes, U.S. Marine Corps.

CAVUTO: Right.

LI: I think it does, because now he has a deal with Canada, with Mexico, with the E.U., with South Korea, verbal agreement with Japan.

That pretty much gives him the negotiating heft that he needs to negotiate with China right now, especially I think China is more than just a commerce pact. It's also political. He needs their help in North Korea.

How do you squeeze them? Trade?

CAVUTO: What do you think of the approach he has taken?

Because we talk about these other countries, right, from obviously South Korea, and even the deal with Japan, the promises we are getting out of Europe, and now this three-way deal including the United States, Canada and Mexico, isolating China.

What do you think?

BRIAN BRENBERG, ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS PROFESSOR: No, I think is he isolating China.

And he's playing tough here. And it's working. And I love how we try to read the rhetoric. At the end of last week, the story was Canada is out.  This isn't going to happen. The weekend goes by. We get to Monday morning. We have got a deal.

The problem for people watching this too often is they pay close attention to what he is saying, not what he is doing. He wants to get these deals done. That's abundantly clear. He wants China to come to the table.

And what he is really saying to them is, you are isolated. Everybody else is coming on board. We have identified a problem with you. You need to solve your intellectual property problem. If you can do that, we can get a deal.

And right now China is just treading water trying to figure out how to respond.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: But there is a pattern to it, right, by isolating the leaders of the respective country, saying, I didn't want to meet Trudeau when he was in the United States last week, and then saying good things about him after the fact.

LI: Right, right, because is he being a professional. I'm a professional.  He's a professional. We are just trying to get a deal done.

But I think also it shows how well his hard-line tactics work. Those tariffs, it did bring Canada to the negotiating table. Right? It's a last-minute deal that they signed, last-minute.

That was kind of squeezing Canada as well. They are thinking we want to be part of this. We don't want to be left out in the cold,especially when you are dealing with $1.2 trillion in trade.

CAVUTO: Right.

You know, Professor, one thing I thought of. The president will be leaving soon on another campaign trip and arguing on behalf of candidates running for office right now. He's very optimistic about the midterms in five weeks.

Does stuff like this, Professor, provide the wind at his back?

BRENBERG: Oh, yes.

This is a huge boost to the economy. Look at the stock market today, up 200 points. Every company in America saying, OK, good we are going to have some clarity of where we are going with this trade deal. We can make plans. We can invest. We can hire. The economy has been waiting for months for this to get done. Companies are happy.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: That's a secret issue. The president en route to Tennessee late on, Susan, has been saying, this is the backdrop that is not being reflected in polls. Do you believe that?

LI: Yes, I do, because look at how well the economy is doing. We're at 4 percent GDP growth. The markets are looking at another -- and we did close at another record high.

And it goes to show that when you talk tough, you play tough, you get the results that you are looking for. I think ultimately...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Well, there are no deals yet, right? There are a lot of promises and all that.

BRENBERG: But I cannot believe Democrats wouldn't pass this thing next year. If they control Congress and they decide to reject this, they own all the economic consequences.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: I still think -- you have and I have chatted about this.

I think there is more support for this on the Democratic side than there is on the Republican side.

LI: Higher wages. Labor unions also get more control as well. You have manufacturing jobs coming back. I think partisan politics, you know, all politics are local. You can't really go against that if you are in Wisconsin or Detroit.

CAVUTO: All right, so the president, of course, with a busy campaign.

He is going to be visiting about five or six states in the next little more than a week here, where he is going to be making that pitch. We will hear that pitch and what he really wants to do. We will also get a sense very soon of how the president picks and chooses what he wants to talk about.

It's one thing when he announces all out good economic news at the start of the press conference, but he went a little further today by at least getting the order of the questions right. And it was really good. It was funny, actually pretty funny -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: What does that have to do with trade? I don't mind answering the question. But I would like to do the trade question.

QUESTION: It has to do with the other headline in the news, which is the Kavanaugh nomination.

TRUMP: I know, but how about talking about trade and then we will get to that? We will do that a little bit later.

Anybody have a trade? Go ahead.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: I do have a second question on the Kavanaugh thing, when you get back to it, if you would take that.

TRUMP: Let's go.

QUESTION: You will take that now?

TRUMP: No, no.

QUESTION: OK.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: I would like to turn to Judge Kavanaugh.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Excuse me. Do you have a question on trade? We will do one or two more questions on trade.

QUESTION: You answered several questions on trade.

TRUMP: OK, don't do that. That's not nice. give her the mic, please.

QUESTION: Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: All right.

I don't know whether journalists get apoplectic at that or shake their head, but this is a first for the president of the United States, who loves to get the economic news, usually his best news, up top, out front, and this deal with Canada now coming along to do a trade deal with Mexico, a sort of reworked NAFTA, without calling it NAFTA.

But the president went one step further. I want pretty much the bulk of the questions initially to be on this historic trade agreement. That's his prerogative. But no other president has done it quite like this before him.

He did take questions and he did make news on that and later on, of course, on the Brett Kavanaugh situation and whether he is trying to manipulate this FBI investigation. He said no. They can talk to anyone and everyone they want to say.

The read on all this "MediaBuzz" Howie Kurtz.

Howie, what did you make of that?

HOWARD KURTZ, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, the president was taking his Rose Garden victory lap, Neil, and he obviously decided he is going to produce this show. And he is saying to the reporters, no, no, no.  We are doing trade in the A block. We will get to Kavanaugh in the B block. But it's not time yet.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: That's a very good comparison.

You're right. You're right. Have other presidents done it to that extent?  Other presidents like to get their own news out and say that at the start of a press conference, what have you. But he was actually timing to the questions what they would get into and he would decide when they could switch.

KURTZ: Yes, look, can I recall presidents, particularly when they are with foreign leaders on foreign soil, saying we are here to talk about this, not the scandal back at home.

CAVUTO: Right.

KURTZ:  the idea is, look, as you know better than anyone, this trade deal with Canada is a very big deal. Even "The New York Times" calling it a win.

But the press is far more interested in the controversy and the debate and the emotion surrounding the Kavanaugh nomination. I think it would have been a better look for the press corps to let a few more questions go by bye on trade. Take the economy seriously. So many people affected by this. And then get to Kavanaugh.

You know he is not running out of there. You know he's going to answer, unlike other presidents, the most controversial questions about his embattled Supreme Court nominee. But it was fascinating to watch the way he tried to dictate the timing and the pacing of the thing.

CAVUTO: I like what you said about we are dealing with this in the A block, and later on, I will let you know what we are doing.

One of the things I found interesting was the fact that he did not say he was not going to take questions on Kavanaugh, all the drama around that.  Just not right away.

I'm wondering if what he tried here, because it was a first for him, I believe. You follow it more closely in the media than I do. He might try this again in the future. Like, he does another press conference, even a - - one of these ones where he is getting off Marine One or getting back on Marine One, that this might be sort of like the model.

KURTZ: I think what happened last week at the U.N. where he went on for about 80 minutes, some people said, oh, he was rambling, whatever, but he was having a good time. He was kind of playing with the press, criticizing, sometimes praising.

I think he really enjoyed himself. I think the people around him would like to see the president do more of that. So, this went on for quite a while. There has been some grumbling in the press corps, Neil, here in Washington about, why aren't there more White House press briefings?

And I think there should be a lot of press briefings. But it's so much better to hear from the leader of the free world and for journalists to have the chance to push back. And, you know, it's not like he was choking off the thing that is, you know, a huge story, what's going to happen with Kavanaugh.

And he made news on that as well, as you noted, in terms of expanding the scope of the FBI investigation. So, this is a president who was a reality show guy, who loves fencing with the press, who knows he has got to provide not just one storyline, but two or three storylines a day, and we saw that all on display in the Rose Garden today.

CAVUTO: All right, so when he mentioned Kavanaugh, which was eventually the story he would get to at his own timing, and said that he was not trying to rig or limit this FBI investigation, and said if they wanted to talk to Julie Swetnick, the Michael Avenatti client, have at it, is that likely to be deemed the case?

Or will the media still beat him up on these now new fears that it could all wrap up tomorrow, not enough time to get to all of these people?

KURTZ: Well, the press wants a longer, more complete investigation.

The Democrats are obviously moving the goalposts. Originally, it was one week, limited to, you know, just the witnesses and Christine Ford. I think this was probably inevitable.

I think the president doesn't want to be seen as sort of choking this off unfairly if it takes another week. But obviously the clock is ticking, and the more the investigation goes on, the more new questions could be heard.

So, yes, I think you have a collision here between a president and his party who wants to get this done so they can get Kavanaugh on the high court and many Democrats and some in the media who say, no, no, no. It's not fair unless you talk to this person and this person and this person.

And, remember, it's not a criminal investigation, it's a background check.

CAVUTO: Right.

KURTZ: So, I think this debate, this collision is going to go on for some time.

CAVUTO: All right, well, Howie, this is all I have time for. We are going to have to put the rest into another show, another time.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Seriously, good job, my friend. Good seeing you again.

KURTZ: Good to see you, Neil.

CAVUTO: Howie Kurtz.

I do like that analogy, the A block thing.

All right, when we come back here, trying to decipher exactly, exactly what Mitch McConnell was saying. He wasn't talking about whether interviews, when everything was would be wrapped up with this FBI probe tomorrow. He was saying that, come Friday, maybe by the end of the week, we will be able to vote on this one way or the other.

After this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: You are looking live at the Senate floor right now.

Not too long ago, Mitch McConnell was there addressing senators, saying, you know what? We're going to get this FBI investigation done. We will get to anyone and everyone. And we will vote by the end of the week.

How doable is that?

After this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: If the FBI doesn't find something, and Brett Kavanaugh falls, is there a plan B?

TRUMP: I don't want to talk about Plan B, because I think -- I hope that he gets approved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: All right, the president saying pretty much it's Brett Kavanaugh or bust for the time being.

And is that the right strategy to take? Certainly, the president wants to stand by his choice to be on -- the next justice of the Supreme Court.

Michael Goodwin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York Most, actually agrees with that, the train might have left the station for other options.

What do you think?

MICHAEL GOODWIN, THE NEW YORK POST: Well, practically speaking, there isn't time.

Most of these things take up to two months from time -- and I think the other day, Chuck Grassley said the Kavanaugh nomination will have run 80 to 85 days, something like that, so longer than normal.

I don't think there is clearly -- clearly isn't time before the midterms.  And I don't think -- if the Democrats were to win the Senate, for example, you wouldn't want a lame-duck Senate.

So, reality speaking...

CAVUTO: But a lame-duck Senate could do it?

GOODWIN: They could, legally. There is nothing to stop them. But I think that would be a whole new ball game, wouldn't it?

CAVUTO: Yes, it would.

What is your sense of what Democrats do now? If Mitch McConnell was more or less telegraphing, no matter what we do, no matter what the final report is, no matter who it includes and covers, even, you know, all of those who have charged inappropriate behavior or worse on the part of Brett Kavanaugh, Democrats will still move the goalposts, still complain. I'm kind of paraphrasing.

GOODWIN: Sure.

Well, they have already started, haven't they? The minute this week, rights extra week begins, oh, it's not going to be enough. We need more time.

I think if Flake really thought he was trying to build a bridge with the Democrats, it was built on sand, because they were never going to be satisfied. Look, their M.O. here all along has been, we must kill Kavanaugh. We must keep this seat open, because if there are five reliably conservatives -- constitutional conservatives on the court, that really screws up the Democrats' entire game plan, which is big government things that you can't get through Congress, but we can get them imposed on the nation by the court.

It's been that way for the better part of 60 years going back to Eisenhower. This is a real change. This will be a Supreme Court, if Kavanaugh gets affirmed, confirmed, it will be a Supreme Court, Neil, like we have never really seen.

CAVUTO: And, by the way, he could be the first to, even if he were confirmed and on the court, there are a number of Democrats, Nadler and others in New York, who are going to see if they can impeach the guy.

GOODWIN: Right, and only because they don't want that fifth vote. They don't want that sort of guaranteed constitutional conservative Supreme Court.

CAVUTO: I still don't know where they would go with the impeachment thing.  Would do they say, that he lied about something or misstated how much he drank in high school?

GOODWIN: Sure. Look, they are running this like a standard political campaign. You dirty the guy up. You create some doubt about him. You go negative. That's all they have done is go negative on this guy, as though he is running for Congress or running for president.

CAVUTO: But you seem to anticipate the worst is yet to come as far as the treatment here, what Democrats might do.

GOODWIN: Yes. Look, I think they are never going to stop.

And if they're going to -- they're going to -- this week, I think we're going to hear a lot more, a lot more accusations, and they are going parade them out there. They are going to try to create a groundswell, so that Republicans like Flake and maybe Susan Collins are afraid to go near him.  Make him toxic. That's their goal.

CAVUTO: Well, is it enough if you go by Friday and talk to all the interested people, and Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez and her allegations and Julie Swetnick and her allegations, by Friday, everyone has been reached -- I don't know how many witnesses they can get to or those who could or couldn't corroborate things.

GOODWIN: Right.

CAVUTO: Would that be enough? Forget about Democrats who might flip, a Joe Manchin maybe, maybe, maybe Heidi Heitkamp. Is that enough to get a Sunni Collins, a Lisa Murkowski, even a Jeff Flake?

GOODWIN: I think if there's no sexual misconduct that you -- that's provable in any way, right, and then the Democrats, of course...

CAVUTO: Well, none of these are.

GOODWIN: Right. And then the Democrats will then go to drinking.

They will go to, oh, his checking account or something like that. The question is, as you say, the Collins, the Flake, will they say, that's it, we are done, we are standing with him, because this was all about the sexual misconduct, not whatever else you could drag up in the meantime?

So, I think if nothing comes back on those three allegations, then I think he probably will get the votes, in which case then Manchin and Heitcamp will join.

CAVUTO: Interesting.

GOODWIN: I don't think they will give -- they won't the majority, but they will join.

CAVUTO: So, you think he will make it onto the court?

GOODWIN: Oh, I -- look, I think it's down to a couple of days now on those allegations only.

CAVUTO: OK.

Thank you very, very much Michael Goodwin, New York Post columnist extraordinaire.

All right, speaking of public sentiments on this issue, there's a new Quinnipiac poll that shows about 50 percent of Americans think that Judge Kavanaugh is the target of a politically motivated smear campaign.

Democratic strategist Cathy Areu, The Weekly Standard's Kelly Jane Torrance.

Kelly Jane, that was interesting. Within a subset of another poll, you found a majority of Democrats thought the Democrats on that committee and approach were doing a fine job. Republicans thought Republicans were doing a fine job as well.

So, it is still very deeply divided, still half-half kind of a nation.  What do you think?

KELLY JANE TORRANCE, THE WEEKLY STANDARD: Yes, you're right, Neil.

And I have say, I -- watching the hearings myself, I thought at times both sides performed very badly. And so maybe that's because I'm not partisan.  I don't belong to either party.

But I think Americans are seeing -- you know, obviously the Democrats are going to agree with Democrats. But no matter who you are, you cannot deny that those -- those hearings on Thursday were a partisan circus. I mean, maybe some people would disagree with the circus part.

But there's no question that this got partisan. And I think that poll is very interesting. We have seen -- we have been hearing from Democrats that, oh, Judge Kavanaugh has very low approval ratings for a Supreme Court justice nominee.

Well, now we are seeing how many people think that he is the target of a political smear campaign. So, I do wonder if the Democrats' actions are backfiring against them. If they had stuck to his qualifications, his judicial philosophy, that seemed to actually be working better for them than this stuff.

CAVUTO: We all know I guess it will sort out in a few weeks at the polls here.

But, Cathy, one other thing that has come up is this expectation -- maybe Mitch McConnell was the latest to raise it -- that no matter what Republicans do or no matter how many people they talk to or how many witnesses they reach out to or how many women have made allegations that they are able to query, Democrats won't be satisfied.

What do you say to that?

CATHY AREU, PUBLISHER, CATALINA: That could be right.

I mean, the Democrats are upset about Merrick Garland not getting that seat. So...

CAVUTO: So, this is all for that? I mean, because...

AREU: I think so.

CAVUTO: ... let's say you are right about that. And I have heard that as well.

AREU: Right.

CAVUTO: Anger over that. And then Republicans are going to be angry if they see this good candidate, in their eyes, torpedoed.

AREU: Yes.

CAVUTO: And they're going to be vindictive as well, and back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.

AREU: Back and forth and back and forth, right.

CAVUTO: It's crazy.

AREU: Yes. It's a new America, it seems like. It's a circus. It's Trump's new presidency, new world under Trump, where the nation is divided.

CAVUTO: No, no, no, no. But wait a minute, wait a minute.

This world was put in place. You could go back to Harry Reid and how he handled things and the filibuster stuff.

(CROSSTALK)

AREU: Right. And it finally gave us Trump. And now it seems like we're just such a divided nation.

CAVUTO: Or Joe Biden.

I always say, when I kids do this sort of stuff -- I can't believe I'm referring to it in this parlance here -- but where -- and, Kelly Jane, this might worry you.

That each side has reason to be angry at the other for whatever, and can't let go. But we have to let all that go to move forward. And no one is.

TORRANCE: No, you are right, Neil.

And both sides are very angry with each other. And I don't see it stopping, no matter what this investigation does. If it doesn't find anything, Democrats and their allies will say that it wasn't thorough, it wasn't long enough. If they find just allegations of drinking and people saying stuff, then the Republicans are going to say, well, the Democrats found these people. They put them up to it. They got into the FBI. You guys are not focusing on the right thing.

And, yes, it is really disappointing.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Cathy, let me ask you about that aspect.

If they find out that they get more details that he had -- he drank more than he said...

AREU: Right.

CAVUTO: ... and was trashed more than he acknowledged, but that none of this, necessarily, indicated the kind of behavior that's at issue here and the charges of these woman now, would that satisfy you, or do you need more of a connection to indict the guy?

AREU: I had said two weeks ago on your show I think that -- I didn't think any of this should go on. He should have just been confirmed. The vote should have just gone without anything, without even an FBI investigation, without even Dr. Ford going to speak.

CAVUTO: Right.

AREU: So, I think it just divides the country. He is going to be confirmed anyway. He is going to be part of our Supreme Court. And it's going to be a memory, just like Thomas and Anita Hill. So, it's just hurting our country. I think it's just dividing our country.

CAVUTO: All right, we will watch carefully. We will watch carefully. Certainly, a pall over the country, as we go back and forth on this.

Ladies, thank you all very much.

AREU: Thank you.

CAVUTO: Also want to let you know, on the billionaire who made a deal with the government, and it's making his company look just great, Tesla -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: Well, he lives to fight another day.

Elon Musk and Tesla joined at the hip, and that's a good thing for investors.

Charlie Gasparino here to explain.

What happened?

CHARLIE GASPARINO, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, he got a good deal from the SEC on his funding secure tweet, which wasn't really secured.

CAVUTO: It looks like they were going to throw the book at him.

GASPARINO: Yes, they were, and they didn't.

He remains as CEO. He has to give up chairman, but that's pretty weak tea.  The stock was up $8 billion today in just one day, 17.4 percent.

CAVUTO: Wow.

GASPARINO: I will say this, if you are an average investor out there.  This is still a company you have to be worried about. OK, take out that he gets to stay at the company. Whenever you have a stock...

CAVUTO: He can't have both titles, chairman and CEO.

GASPARINO: Yes, but he's going to really run it still. He is still the CEO. And that's why people like that. They think he is the visionary.

(CROSSTALK)

GASPARINO: And they think he's the reason for the company.

But put that -- digest that for a second. Any company that is totally reliant on one guy whose future and he is the innovator, he's everything to that company, that's not a good bet.

I mean, GE Has the same market cap, a little less actually then Tesla, something like $50 billion. Tesla's at $53 billion. Yet GE makes $10 billion a year in profits and produces 10 million cars a year, some astronomical amount of cars.

Tesla makes no money, loses money.

CAVUTO: Are you comparing GE or GM?

GASPARINO: Excuse me, GM.

(CROSSTALK)

GASPARINO: I have GE on the brain right, because that's another sob story.

CAVUTO: Their CEO was kicked out, right.

GASPARINO: But GM.

And Tesla loses money and produces a fraction of that.

CAVUTO: But he is still the face and force of the company.

GASPARINO: But I'm just saying, if you're going to bet -- remember, don't bet in cult of personalities.

Bet with your heart -- bet with your mind, not your heart. And, Neil, look at the numbers. They miss production forecasts. They're not profitable.  They're run by a guy...

CAVUTO: They're beautiful cars.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Cult of personality.

There are some people who watch FOX Business because of Charlie Gasparino.

(CROSSTALK)

GASPARINO: They are run by a guy that blew a doobie on a podcast in front of everybody.

CAVUTO: Oh, like you haven't.

All right, thank you very, very much.

(LAUGHTER)

GASPARINO: Yes. Not on the air. I haven't done it on air yet.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: All right.

We have a lot more coming up.

This FBI probe into sexual misconduct allegations, the fallout for the midterms. Yes, not whether the judge makes it to the court, for the midterms and whether you take it out on either party.

After this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, so, what are we, five weeks away from the midterms?  And a lot of people wonder, well, how much impact will this back and forth on Judge Kavanaugh have?

Who better to ask than bestselling author, historian, UVA Center for Politics Professor extraordinaire Larry Sabato?

Larry, good to have you.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: Hello, Neil.

CAVUTO: What do you think?

How much of an issue is this? The reason why I ask is, I think it defines each party and their rage. And I see this one poll that shows the majority of Republicans think Republicans are handling this fine. Majority of Democrats think the Democrats are handling this just fine. What's the reality?

SABATO: The reality is that midterm elections see lower turnout. Turnout falls pretty dramatically from the presidential year, though this year it may fall less than usual.

And I think the Kavanaugh hearings and the event actual outcome of the Kavanaugh nomination will be one reason why turnout may be higher than it usually is for midterms.

Our favorite word, Neil, is anger. Anger always produces more votes than happiness or satisfaction. That's human nature. Maybe it shouldn't be that way. But that's human nature.

So the side that loses this confirmation battle -- and who knows which side it will be at this point -- the side that loses will get a bump up, I think, in enthusiasm and turnout.

CAVUTO: I just find it offensive, as an Italian American, much like yourself, to assume that our favorite word is anger. It just seems offensive.

(LAUGHTER)

SABATO: Neil, I know you personally. It is your favorite word. Don't lie on television.

CAVUTO: All right. What do you mean by that?

(LAUGHTER)

All right, so let's stop back and look at this, because while you are here, I did want to get your reaction. You are a great historian.

The president in this press conference in the Rose Garden where he was fielding questions wanted to focus on the Canadian trade pact with the Mexicans and said, we will get to these other issues on Kavanaugh, but I want to some questions on this first and then we will get to these other issues.

I don't think I have ever seen anything like that.

SABATO: Well, actually, it was an improvement, because, as we all know, the president often steps on his good news, on whatever story he is trying to promote at the time, whether it's in a tweet or it's in a press conference or it's in a rally.

CAVUTO: Right.

SABATO: Well, he tried not to do that this time. He says, hey, we are here for this trade agreement and I want to talk about that. And I want you to report on it.

But then, of course, the press conference drifted into all the controversial things that will be the headlines now tomorrow.

CAVUTO: Perfectly fine to take those questions.

I guess -- and here's where you can enlighten us historically. Whether it was John Kennedy or others, if he wanted to focus on a series of questions over the announcement of the day, let's say, I don't know, like tax cuts or whatever, but they were invariably going into other issues.

It's rare to see a president then step back and say we are going to keep the questions on this and then I will get to some of these other issues in that order. And I'm wondering whether a precedent was set here.

SABATO: Probably.

A lot of precedents are being set by this president. So, that wouldn't be unusual. And, look, it's not a bad thing as long as the president really does move along to the other subjects and doesn't just say, well, that's it. I'm sorry I didn't get to your other questions.

And he didn't. I mean, it was an hour-plus. That was a long press conference. And he covered lots of subjects. I think the press would be somewhat amenable to that, believe it or not.

CAVUTO: No, I think you are right about that.

Real quickly, the president going to be speaking in Tennessee today. He's going to be stumping for a lot of candidates. He wants to keep the House.  He feels that he could be the magic to make it happen. What do you think?

SABATO: Well, he might be, but he is right to focus more on the Senate races.

CAVUTO: Right.

SABATO: Because this year, really by accident, more Senate seats that are competitive are showing up in deeply red states.

When the president comes into a state that he carried by 20, 30, 40 points, he creates a bubble for that candidate of three, four, five additional percentage points. The key is, though, it disappears after two, three, four days.

So what I'm looking for, Neil, is where the president goes on the Saturday, Sunday, and Monday before Election Day, November 6, because he could actually create additional votes in those states for those Republican candidates.

CAVUTO: OK. See, neither of us got angry at each other. So, touche, Professor.

Always fun, my friend.

SABATO: I didn't show it. I didn't show it, Neil, but I'm angry. Yes, I'm angry.

CAVUTO: Is he done? Is he done?

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: All right, Professor, thank you very, very much.

All right, in the anger and all of this back and forth, bottom line, we had a great day at the corner of Wall and Broad. So, that's working.

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