Rep. McCarthy: No American should fear going shopping, going out on a Saturday night

close

Video

Rep. McCarthy: No American should fear going shopping, going out on a Saturday night

Rep. Kevin McCarthy reacts to the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.

This is a rush transcript from "Sunday Morning Futures," August 4, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MARIA BARTIROMO, ANCHOR: Good morning.

The search is on for answers after two deadly mass shootings in the United States, in less than 24 hours.

Good Sunday morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I'm Maria Bartiromo.

Reaction this morning pouring in, as the nation mourns those lost in Texas and Ohio.

It all began yesterday around noontime Eastern time in El Paso, Texas, where a gunman opened fire on shoppers at a Walmart, killing 20 people, injuring 26 others.

Just 13 hours later and 1,600 miles away in Dayton, Ohio, a suspect wearing body armor began shooting outside of a bar, killing nine people, even as police responded in less than a minute, shooting the suspect dead.

We are awaiting an update from the mayor of Dayton, Ohio, any minute. Plus, doctors in El Paso are briefing the media. They did so overnight.

Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a long night. It was a long day. Large volumes of blood and blood products were used. I know that the blood centers here in town had a tremendous response from the community, people coming out to offer to donate blood, extremely critical.

That's the lifesaving force that we give to people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARTIROMO: President Trump tweeted condolences a couple of times. This is the second and most recent.

He says: "God bless the people of El Paso, Texas. God bless the people of Dayton, Ohio."

I will be speaking exclusively to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy coming up and Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan. That is just in a few minutes.

But we begin with FOX team coverage.

Jeff Paul is standing by with the very latest from El Paso.

But, first, we go to Matt Finn in our Chicago bureau for more on the situation in Dayton unraveling.

Good morning.

MATT FINN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Maria, the latest out of Dayton update this morning, nine people dead, at least 26 people injured.

Police say a shooter opened fire in a popular area of downtown Dayton, Ohio, where thousands of people were out for the night. This morning, police say the unidentified shooter came prepared with body armor and extra magazines.

Police were in the area and responded in about a minute, shooting and killing the suspect. It happened around 1:00 a.m. in Dayton's Oregon District that was filled with people at restaurants and bars. The motive of the shooting is unknown.

The FBI is assisting local authorities. One witness describes the horrifying scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most of us can't get to our cars because there were bodies scattered all over across the street from our cars.

So we can't -- people that were shot. Hit innocent people. We can't even get to our cars. We can't get home to our families now, and now those people aren't going home to their families either.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINN: This rampage happened in Dayton's Oregon District, which is considered a historical area, a safer part of town.

Some people in the area say the nightlife was so loud, it was hard to make out the sound of the gunfire.

Dayton's mayor is now praising the rapid response of police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAN WHALEY, MAYOR OF DAYTON, OHIO: If Dayton police had not gotten to the shooter in under a minute -- and think of that, 30 -- 26 injured, nine dead -- hundreds of people in the Oregon District could be dead today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINN: A short while ago, the president tweeted that information is rapidly being accumulated in this rampage. So we hope to learn much more about the shooter and this tragedy -- Maria.

BARTIROMO: All right, Matt, thanks very much. We will keep following that.

Meanwhile, the Ohio shooting came just 13 hours after police say that a 21- year-old man opened fire at a busy Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing at least 20 people there, injuring 26 others. He is now in custody.

Authorities are looking into whether the massacre was a hate crime.

Jeff Paul is live in El Paso this morning -- Jeff.

JEFF PAUL, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Maria, a lot more activity as the sun comes up here in El Paso.

We're seeing where from police officers to sheriff's deputies to state troopers here at this Walmart that's behind me, because, of course, this is still a very active and now massive crime scene.

And authorities are also looking into the possibility that this could be characterized as a hate crime. They are trying to dive into this manifesto that might have been written by the shooter. They are trying to confirm that still.

Officials who have read it describe a racist and anti-immigrant language within this supposed manifesto.

Now, witnesses who were there at the Walmart during this shooting described a very chaotic scene. They're saying the shooter, a 21-year-old white male from Allen, Texas, who we are not naming or showing his face, appeared to be shooting anyone in his sights.

What made the situation even more dangerous, this store was packed at the time with some 3,000 shoppers taking advantage of the tax-free weekend for back-to-school shopping.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it just took me a second or two to realize what was happening.

And then I rushed my mom back into the car and ran out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just chaos. It was chaos. People started running all over the place. And it's the most horrific thing I have ever seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Police responded within minutes and managed to take the suspected shooter into custody without firing a single shot.

Twenty innocent people died and more than two dozen others were hurt in the shooting. The victims' ages range from as young as 2 years old to people who were in their 80s.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Needless to say, the scene is a horrific one. Unfortunately, because of the nature of the situation, the scene will be in play for a long period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Now, one other thing we should mention is that this community is very strong.

Yesterday, they were calling for people to donate blood for the victims and the survivors of this shooting. There were lines you could see in video that were wrapping around these blood banks.

We have also seen people coming out here helping out the law enforcement community here, trying to bring them coffee, trying to raise those spirits. And that is something the mayor has been talking about all day, that the strength of this community isn't something that you can listen to; it's something that you have to come here and truly feel -- Maria.

BARTIROMO: Oh, God, just terrible.

Jeff, thank you.

We are following these senseless tragedies.

And now, for more, want to bring in House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Congressman thanks very much for joining us this morning.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I wish we were joining you on different circumstances. This nation mourns for just a very sad, sad day.

No one in this country should fear going shopping or out on a Saturday night. These monsters that did this, based upon evil. We need to get the facts, but we need to make sure we do not allow this ever to happen again.

BARTIROMO: Yes. I mean, we are waiting on the facts. And, of course, we're waiting on any motive or information of what was behind these tragedies.

What do you want to say in terms of -- to the public in terms of coming together, in terms of hoping that this doesn't happen again? Is this a mental issue? Is it something else? What can you say?

MCCARTHY: Well, whatever their intentions were, we know it was based on hate and evil, the planning of what took place, the actions of where they went.

I mean, I know today is a day that millions of Americans will go out to their place of worship, that we will lift up those families who are mourning, we will lift up their losses. We will thank the first-responders when we look at their ability to respond in Dayton, Ohio.

In less than one minute, they were there, with an individual that had his own armor on and others. I think it is responsible that we allow those law enforcement to do their job.

But when the job is done, we should come together as one, and find areas and ways that we can make sure that this doesn't happen again. But this is a sad day for this nation, and I know all will mourn together, but we will find how we solve this problem once we get all of the information.

BARTIROMO: You know, we heard from the deputy governor of Texas earlier. And he was talking. It was a very impassioned conversation really.

And he was talking about the tone that the public uses on social media. He was talking about video games, all of these things that could have triggered. Certainly, the video game situation, he was saying, may have triggered the shooter there in El Paso.

But what are your thoughts on that, in terms of understanding that words matter, and that, when we're talking to each other on social media or looking at video games where they're using videos of characters with these weapons? Is there a conversation to be had about that, about the tone that this country is using?

It's become commonplace to say whatever you want to anybody on social media.

MCCARTHY: And I think we should.

And you want to see from these individuals what they wrote and others. But this may be a place that we could find this ahead of time. It may be a place of what's being written can be changed, could be an indication that an individual needs help and others that we can stop.

But the idea of these video games to dehumanize individuals, to have a game of shooting individuals and others, I have always felt that is a problem for future generations and others. We have watched some studies shown before of what it does to individuals.

When you look at these photos of how it took place, you can see the actions within video games and others.

But what I would like to do is make sure just get all the facts. Were there indications? And there's times before that we have found this. And there's times before that we have proven we could come together...

BARTIROMO: Yes.

MCCARTHY: ... just in the last Congress, where we found that there was a shooting in Texas, that an individual shouldn't have been able to have that weapon because he was dishonorably discharged, because there was abuse within inside that he did within his own family.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

MCCARTHY: But we founded the NICS, the National Instant Criminal Background Check.

We came together to make sure that it was our own military that wasn't putting that forward, giving the information at the time, that that could have been stopped, that that weapon wouldn't have been in that individual's hand.

But we did come together...

BARTIROMO: Yes.

MCCARTHY: ... in reforming the NICS, that we were able to move and actually help states at the same time.

Or the bump stock that was actually put forward in a prior administration, we were able to change.

BARTIROMO: Well, which brings up the issue of getting the right balance of gun safety, gun rights, but also gun safety.

We hear this conversation about gun control. You don't want to take it to a political place, but there is a conversation to have about gun rights vs. gun safety.

MCCARTHY: Well, those are discussions to have when you have the gun safety.

But there is also a discussion to have and analyze the laws that are on the books today. When someone goes through in the NICS and they found out that they are trying to purchase a weapon they aren't able to do, the latest stat I saw that only 8 percent of those individuals, something is done about that.

Those are early indications. And when you look in the past from these very sad situations, horrific...

BARTIROMO: Yes.

MCCARTHY: ... that the FBI was warned not once, but twice, called and told about the militant capacity of this individual,how they were treating animals, what they were thinking, and the name was given.

We should never speak of the names of these monsters that do these terrible, heinous actions.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

MCCARTHY: Because I think that's part of what they want. And part can be coming to social media, because of what they do prior. But could we find them?

We found that in Florida, that the FBI was warned twice at two different times months apart, and that that could have been stopped.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

MCCARTHY: So are there places today that we do have an action that we can stop this that is not being moved forward?

And that is why the law enforcement should be able to do their job, find the information, and at that moment in time, we should come together as one, and work through this.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

Congressman, stay with us. We want to talk with you more. We have more to talk about, including the state of immigration in this country, the threat from overseas.

Also, we look at reaction to the mass shootings in Texas and Ohio from Ohio Congressman and Democratic presidential candidate Tim Ryan. He's coming up next.

So, stay with us on all of that.

Follow me on Twitter @MariaBartiromo, @SundayFutures, and on Instagram as well.

Stay with us. We're looking ahead on "Sunday Morning Futures" on a very busy morning, live throughout.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BARTIROMO: The mayor of Dayton giving a press conference.

Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

WHALEY: And if you have any information on the incident, as this in incident is ongoing (AUDIO GAP) 25-6217.

We are grateful for all of the supporters and folks helping us from the American Red Cross, GDAHA, the FBI, ATF, et cetera.

The community blood bank is supporting the hospitals. And we are working with them to set up blood donation opportunities. We will have more information about that in the coming hours.

At 8:00 p.m. tonight, the community will hold a vigil for the families and those that have lost their lives. We will have a location for you, again, in the coming hours.

The Oregon District will be open coming this afternoon in the early afternoon.

OK, I'm going to let some folks speak. And then we will do questions.

First, I would like to have Dr. Semon come forward and make a few remarks. DR. GREG SEMON, MIAMI VALLEY HOSPITAL: Thank you, Mayor Whaley.

Again, I'm Dr. Greg Semon. I'm a trauma surgeon at Miami Valley Hospital, which is a level one trauma center for the greater Dayton region.

Our facility activated our mass casualty incident plan around 1:30 a.m. this morning in association with the mass casualty incident here in downtown Dayton. That mobilized our entire team.

Our facility received a total of 16 patients, of which 12 have already been treated and released. We do have a total of four patients that are currently admitted, and one remains in critical condition.

Some of those patients have undergone or will undergo surgery later today. We are continuing to support many families who are arriving at our facility. And our thoughts and prayers are certainly with all of those families.

We work in conjunction with other facilities in the area to identify, treat, and communicate information in a timely manner to these families.

WHALEY: Thank you.

All right, next, we will have Elizabeth Long, who is from Kettering Health Network.

ELIZABETH LONG, KETTERING HEALTH NETWORK: Good morning.

Kettering Health Network is a health system with nine hospitals. We received patients at three of our nine hospitals. Grandview Medical Center, which is in Dayton, received the most. We had nine people treated. Seven were brought in by squad and two walked in.

Of those nine patients...

BARTIROMO: We are monitoring these developments in both Ohio and Texas, after two mass shootings in just 13 hours.

Investigators in the Texas border city of El Paso are looking into an anti- immigrant manifesto the suspect gunman -- suspected gunman may have posted.

Of course, this comes as the crisis at the southern border has become a front-burner issue from Capitol Hill to the campaign trail. Lawmakers are leaving for August recess without a surefire resolution to fix our asylum laws.

And I'm back with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Congressman, I want to take you there and talk about this, because we were there at the border, and we were in El Paso. And we saw the crisis taking place as we were sitting there.

And here we have Congress leaving town for six weeks without any resolution to these loopholes. And, yes, I know things have gotten a little better, given Mexico's help and the deal with Guatemala, but when are you and your colleagues going to deal with these loopholes that obviously encourage people to come and make believe they're families, come to surge at our borders, with apprehensions looking like a million just in about a year?

MCCARTHY: Yes, Maria.

And before we go to that, I do want to thank those first-responders in both locations, especially in Ohio, getting there in less than a minute. It's unbelievable what they were able to save.

BARTIROMO: Yes, it was.

MCCARTHY: This crisis at the border is a problem that Congress does need to act. They need to find a place that they could come together.

I watched in the Senate they have been taken some actions, because part of this -- what this is happening is our own asylum law. We do want to protect individuals. When someone claims asylum, they are in fear for their own life. And part of that can be if you're coming to your next country, you could claim asylum.

We have found that many of these cases when they come to America, that when they go through the judicial system, that 80 percent of them do not hold up. So is there a way that we can help those who truly need it while at the same time securing our own border?

BARTIROMO: Yes, you're right.

And I don't know why its gotten to this, where now we have got this recess for so long, and we haven't been able to deal with it.

Why is it that these loopholes cannot be changed faster?

MCCARTHY: Well, I think this is a problem with Congress.

Congress has got to find a way that we can deal with it. And there are bills up. Doug Collins has a bill up, just a fix, not an overall immigration reform. And I know, at times, that it's difficult.

We have tried so many times before in Congress. In the last Congress, we had a couple bills come to the floor, and it came very close to being passed.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

MCCARTHY: And the Senate at times has moved things as well.

This is where we need to find our ability to find common ground, because no one side could have 100 percent of what they want. Our Congress is designed and our government is to find compromise.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

MCCARTHY: But this is something that I think everybody sees that there's a problem.

The New York Times has editorialized, not once, but twice this year about the crisis along the border.

BARTIROMO: Right.

MCCARTHY: Everybody knows there's a crisis on the border.

(CROSSTALK)

MCCARTHY: We could solve this problem.

BARTIROMO: Yes. Initially, it was a manufactured crisis and then finally your colleagues on the left admitted that, in fact, this is a real crisis and we're dealing with this every day.

The Border Patrol people can't even stay in their space to actually do their jobs because they are taking babies to hospitals.

Look, before you go, I have got to ask you about all these retirements. Now you have got more of your colleagues retiring. And a lot of people say, well, when you have congressmen retiring, and they don't want to run for relationship in 2020, they think the House can't win.

Do you have a plan to take back the House?

MCCARTHY: Yes.

And don't misread into what retirements -- if somebody retires because they have been there more than 10 years, because that's the average time a member serves, but also maybe they were chairmen and they're termed out in the process, maybe a certain part in their age.

What you would look at is, where are these districts? Well, these districts are coming from very Republican areas. Remember, on the side of the Republicans, there are only three members who sit in seats that Hillary Clinton carried, whereas, on the Democratic side, there are 31 members of Congress on the Democratic side who currently sit in seats that President Trump carried. Thirteen of those seats, he carried by more than six.

Republicans have -- only have to win 19 seats to take the majority. The Democrats had to win 23. Yes, there's a very clear plan to win the majority, and it has not changed based upon retirements.

And there will be others who retire, and it will not change in that course either. So, yes, I think what will happen is...

BARTIROMO: Yes.

MCCARTHY: ... it'll come down to the policy differences. There will be a presidential election.

But when you look at where the map is currently today and where these districts naturally perform, Republicans will gain.

BARTIROMO: Yes. Yes.

All right, we will leave it there. And we will be watching.

Congressman, thanks very much for joining us this morning.

MCCARTHY: Thank you.

BARTIROMO: Kevin McCarthy.

The only Democratic presidential candidate from Ohio is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BARTIROMO: Welcome back.

We're back now to our coverage of two deadly mass shootings just 13 hours apart, the first at a busy Walmart yesterday, in the border community of El Paso, Texas. Then, last night, at least nine people were killed, 26 others injured, in a shooting in Dayton, Ohio, a busy negotiating full of bars and restaurants.

We are monitoring the Dayton mayor's press conference for new information this morning. City officials also held an update earlier this morning.

Joining me right now is Ohio Congressman and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Tim Ryan of Ohio.

Congressman, thanks for being here on a tough day.

REP. TIM RYAN (D-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Tough day. Tough day for America. Tough day for Ohio. Tough day for Texas.

My heart goes out to my buddy Beto O'Rourke and his hometown. What happened there is tragic. What happened in Dayton is tragic.

This has got to stop, Maria. We have got to do something. I'm calling on the president and the Congress to come back into session, Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. Let's get back to work in Washington, do the background check bill that we passed out of the House.

We have got to ban these assault weapons. This is ridiculous.

And I got to be frank here, that the environment that we have created in the United States, that the president has created in the United States, honestly, for a guy to drive 10 hours to go kill Mexicans, like what happened in El Paso, is sickening.

And I think that the environment around anti-immigrant, the race issues that are so polarizing today that the president throws gasoline on, its got to stop, Maria. We have got to bring this country together.

Kids are scared to go to school. Parents are scared. And they have been telling me -- and we have got kids, too, three of them. They're afraid to send their kids to school.

This is unbelievable. Synagogues, churches, schools. I mean, what is going on here? We have got to bring this country together. We have got to heal. And it's got to start at the top. The president has to take a leadership role in this. He's got to stop being so divisive. He's got to stop tipping his hat to the white nationalists, and sometimes overtly to them, to where he's talking to some crazy guy who is going to drive 10 hours to shoot Mexicans.

I mean, what the hell are we talking about here? This is insane.

BARTIROMO: Well, wait a minute. You're saying a lot of things there.

And the president obviously came out and offered his condolences this morning. He said that we are waiting on information in terms of what the motives are in this situation. You just mentioned immigration.

The president has said many times he's not against immigration. He's against illegal immigration. Are you saying that it's the same thing, whether it's illegal or legal immigration?

RYAN: I'm saying I read the manifesto that this person who committed the crime in El Paso wrote. And it was all about Mexicans.

It sounded like part -- parts of it could have come out of a Trump rally, I mean, honestly. Like, this guy was going to kill Mexicans because of the environment that this president has created in this country.

And the president is not always talking to a person who -- people who are stable. He's talking to people who get guns and drive 10 hours and go shoot Mexicans.

Its got to stop, Maria. Look, I'm as bipartisan of a guy as you want. I want to work across the aisle. I want to work with Republicans. But this president has got to do a much better job of trying to heal this country, as opposed to trying to divide it, because this guy comes in, and he's killing -- he's killing people in a small town in Texas.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

RYAN: I mean, come on.

BARTIROMO: Well, everybody is responsible for the tone out there.

You look at the tone on social media, and people say whatever they want. We're dealing with this right now with the social media companies, trying to understand why some people, they take down the tweets that they say are hateful, and others are there.

So it goes beyond the president. But I get your point in terms of the tone. It is important. Words matter. And you can't just say whatever you want to say to whoever you want to say on social media, and not think it's going to have an impact.

RYAN: Well, I agree.

And, of course, the lowest common denominator is going to behave in a certain way.

The president of the United States, the most powerful person in the world, has to set a high standard. And he's not. By saying these guys should go back to their countries, where they came from, I mean, that type of toxicity has now permeated the entire country, to where some jackass in Texas drives 10 hours to go shoot Mexicans.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

RYAN: I mean, come on.

BARTIROMO: But -- but...

RYAN: That -- the president has a higher responsibility than the one he's executing today.

He -- the president, more than anything, Maria -- and you know this. You have been covering it for a long time. The president is a cultural figure, more than anything.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

RYAN: And you set the cultural tone of the country.

We're either going to go to the moon or we're going to tell people to go back to the country they came from. And that -- those are two completely different examples of how to use your cultural position.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

But you mentioned immigration. And immigration is not a race situation. This is a national security situation, immigration.

And I just asked your colleague on the right Kevin McCarthy why all you guys left without dealing with the immigration issues, without dealing with the border loopholes. Why? You're gone for six weeks now, and nobody has done anything about the loopholes that are encouraging people from Central America to come to our borders, make believe their families?

RYAN: Well, they're leaving these countries in Central America because of how dangerous it is there. And so they're coming here to seek asylum.

And I think America should always be a place where people can seek refuge and feel safe, and there should be a process in place. Look, this doesn't mean -- look...

BARTIROMO: But don't we have a process in place, Congressman?

I mean, we let in 1.3 or 1.4 million people legally every year. They go through the citizenship process. They get their green cards. We're talking about illegal immigration, and that's happening. It's at the tune of one million people this year.

RYAN: Well, it's...

(CROSSTALK)

BARTIROMO: They're getting in front of the line. They're cutting the line of those that are doing it responsibly and legally.

RYAN: That's right.

We don't want anyone cutting in front of the line. I'm for border security. I'm not for decriminalizing people coming over the border. I think it should be a crime.

And -- but the problem is, in Central America, and what's happening in Guatemala and Honduras and El Salvador is gangs are running the country, so people are fleeing with their kids and their families are sending them here.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

RYAN: And so the president's response to that is, cut the State Department budget that would fix those problems in those countries.

We have got to play offense and make sure that we are dealing with the problem where it is, which is in Central America. This is about having a bigger vision for how to solve these problems.

And, look, I'm for border security. We all are. We should be for people seeking asylum and being able to be safe here in the United States if they are going to get killed or their daughter is going to put in the sex trade...

BARTIROMO: Yes.

RYAN: ... in a country in Central America. And then let's work on a pathway to citizenship.

BARTIROMO: Look, you mentioned -- you mentioned the president's role in all of this, but what about your colleagues on the left?

What about, you know, the Squad and the comments that they make about Israel, the comments about others that they're making? This is all the same conversation, isn't it?

RYAN: We need to heal...

BARTIROMO: Yes.

RYAN: ... in America.

And it's -- as I said in the debate the other night, it's not about left or right. It's about new and better.

BARTIROMO: Right.

RYAN: And the most powerful person in the country with the most authority and the most power should set the example.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

RYAN: And he's not. He's a disappointment, Maria.

And he creates an...

BARTIROMO: Congressman, stay with us. Stay with us.

RYAN: OK.

BARTIROMO: I want to talk more about the debate.

Quick break.

RYAN: OK.

BARTIROMO: And then we will be back with more Tim Ryan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARTIROMO: Welcome back.

I'm back with Ohio Congressman 2020 presidential candidate Tim Ryan.

And, Congressman, I want to talk to you about your debate that you were in last week and this divide going in on the -- going on in your party, where you have got really the progressives resonating with many Democrat voters, while you are a moderate trying to break through, talking to people about jobs, about economic issues.

How are you going to break through, when you have got your colleagues talking about giving health care to illegals before Americans or going through Medicare for all and dismantling the health care for 180 million Americans who get their health care from the private sector?

RYAN: Yes, well, I was pretty clear that I think that message, those issues are a disaster for Democrats, to say we're going to confiscate private health insurance, that we are going to provide free health care for undocumented people in the country, and that we're going to decriminalize crossing over into the United States.

And I just think that's a really -- that's not where I am personally, and I don't think it's a good message for Democrats. And, look, I mean, if an undocumented person wants to purchase and buy health care, I'm fine with that. That's OK. We want them -- they're here. We want them to be able to buy it.

But they got to pay for it like everybody else. So to go into these industrial states, into Ohio, into Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and say we're going to give free health care to somebody who is undocumented in the country, while you're busting your rear end trying to make ends meet for your own family, and you have to pay for your own health care, I don't think that makes a whole lot of sense.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

RYAN: And so I -- but I will tell you this. I had the best fund-raising day of the year the day after the debate.

My crowds in Iowa -- I was there yesterday -- doubled or tripled. So we're getting a lot of interest. And I think there are a lot of Democrats out there who are saying, wait a minute, that's going way off the reservation.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

RYAN: I like what Tim Ryan is saying. He's talking about jobs and the economy.

BARTIROMO: So, you had the best -- you had the best fund-raising day after that debate that you did well at.

But candidates need to have 130,000 unique donors. You need to register at least 2 percent support in four polls. You have until August 28 to reach those benchmarks ahead of next month's debate in Houston.

RYAN: Yes.

BARTIROMO: Are you going to make the stage?

RYAN: We're going to find out. We're going to have a hell of an August.

I tell you, we're off to a really great start. Like I said, we had much bigger crowds than I ever had in Iowa. And we're rolling.

And I think people are really looking. I was in Nevada yesterday, and people were grabbing me at some of the hotels we were at, and saying: "Hey, I saw you on the stage. Keep doing what you're doing. We -- you got to get the party back on track for us."

So I think there's a move afoot behind Tim Ryan to be able to take this party and get us in a position where we can win those industrial states, those Rust Belt states that we need to win in order to beat Donald Trump.

And I will tell you, Maria, Donald Trump doesn't want to run against me. He doesn't want me on the ballot running against him in Ohio, talking about jobs, and the General Motors factories that have closed, and the fact that working-class people are still struggling in making ends meet.

BARTIROMO: Well, he won in Ohio, though.

RYAN: He's going to have a hell of a time beating me in Ohio.

(LAUGHTER)

RYAN: And he's going to have a hell of a time beating me in Western PA and Michigan and Wisconsin.

BARTIROMO: All right.

RYAN: He is going to have his hands full.

BARTIROMO: Well, we're going to be watching.

RYAN: OK.

BARTIROMO: And we appreciate your time, Congressman. Come back soon. Thanks so much.

RYAN: Thank you.

BARTIROMO: And, of course, our condolences to all of the people of Dayton and throughout Ohio.

RYAN: Yes.

BARTIROMO: Thank you, Congressman Tim Ryan.

RYAN: Let's get Congress back in session and fix these laws.

BARTIROMO: Well, and we're following the developments after two deadly mass shootings in the span of 13 hours, at least 29 people killed in separate rampages in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

Want to bring in former Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy of South Carolina. He was the chairman of the House Oversight Committee. He's now a FOX News contributor.

And, Congressman, it's always a pleasure to see you.

Your reaction to these deadly acts.

TREY GOWDY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Just depravity, evil.

The right to life is the most fundamental, basic, primary right that we have. It is the right from which all other rights emanate. It doesn't matter if you have a right to a lawyer if you're dead. It doesn't matter if you have the right to free speech if you're dead.

It doesn't matter if you have the right to keep and bear arms if you're dead. So, on a personal level, I'm killing to have subrogate any of my other rights to avoid another Sandy Hook, another Pulse nightclub, another day like we had yesterday.

But I'm out of politics. And I'm not going back, so the legislators need to look at the laws we have on the books. Are they being enforced? If the answer is yes, and we still have gaps in our laws that need to be fixed -- keep in mind, you don't have a single right for which there's not some corresponding responsibility or restriction.

Every right you have has a restriction. So if we need more restrictions, then draw the causal scientific link between what you're proposing and what you hope to be the outcome.

But just more laws that aren't going to be enforced is a panacea and it's not going to work. Show me a law to prevent the next Sandy Hook, and sign me up as a husband and father.

BARTIROMO: Wow.

GOWDY: Show me the law and sign me up, and I will give up any other right I have.

BARTIROMO: Do we have the right balance when it comes to gun control vs. gun rights?

GOWDY: Well, we have controls on who can have firearms. We have controls over where you can have them.

And we have controls over what kinds of firearms you can have. So those are three areas of control. Whether or not you can plus-up one of those sections and then raise your safety, the public safety, is a scientific.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

GOWDY: To me, I need to see a causal link between what you're proposing and the outcome.

I'm a big believer in background checks. I mean, Maria, I was a gun prosecutor. I was a homicide prosecutor. So I have seen all of the laws people are willing to break to do evil and depravity towards their fellow man. I have seen all of that.

But I'm also open to additional laws if there's a causal link. But I'm not open to a political discussion while people die.

BARTIROMO: You are making a lot of sense, Congressman.

I want to take a short break, because I have got other things to ask you about. I want to get your reaction to the Mueller investigation, the special counsel's testimony before Congress, and as well as your insights into how the FBI went about investigating former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos.

We talked about that transcript before. We're going to talk about why we haven't seen the FBI transcript between Papadopoulos and that informant.

That's next with Trey Gowdy when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BARTIROMO: Welcome back.

We continue to monitor the aftermath of two deadly mass shootings in Texas and in Ohio. In less than 24 hours, at least 29 people were killed in El Paso and Dayton. Dozens more were injured.

We will bring you any updates the moment we get them. We are waiting on a motive. And we will bring you that when we know it.

Meanwhile, new developments on another front, as fallout continues from the Mueller investigation and the former special counsel's recent House testimony.

One name connected to the launch of the Russia probe was mentioned more than 30 times during the Mueller hearings. That name? George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign adviser.

My guest this morning says the FBI owes America an explanation on how that investigation began.

We're back with former South Carolina Congressman Trey Gowdy. He was the chairman of the House Oversight Committee. He is now a FOX News contributor.

And, Congressman, I want to ask you about a conversation you and I had a couple of months ago which really went viral after we talked about it. And it was about talking about an informant having a conversation with George Papadopoulos, which you actually saw the transcript. And we have not seen that transcript.

It's still classified. And I'm wondering, why not? You said that's a game-changer, that one transcript.

GOWDY: It certainly has the potential to be.

Why you haven't seen it yet, I am lost. I am clueless. It is not that level of classification that's going to impact relationships with our allies. It goes to a fundamental precept we have in this country that, when there is exculpatory information, information tending to show a person didn't commit a crime, that that information is every bit as important as any inculpatory.

So the transcripts are important for two reasons, number one, to buttress that fundamental precept. But, also, think about all of the questions you and your viewers have, Maria. When did the investigation begin?

The FBI and the DOJ said it was never intended to investigate the Trump campaign, just Russia. OK, great. Show us the transcripts. Show us what questions you coached the informants or the cooperating witnesses to ask of the Trump campaign officials.

If it's not about the campaign, then you win. You're right. But if you're veering over into the campaign, or your questions are not solely about Russia, then you have been misleading us for two years.

The good thing about transcripts, they don't have to remember. All you got to do is read them.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

GOWDY: They don't have bad memories. Just release the transcripts, and we can tell for ourselves when it began and what it was about.

BARTIROMO: Now, I want you to know that I spoke with George Papadopoulos last night, because I was wanting to get ready for this interview, because you have alluded to this. You haven't told us enough. You haven't told us much, because I know it's classified and you can't, but I know you saw it.

George Papadopoulos told me last night that the memo and the transcript that you're referring to is from a conversation that he had with Stefan Halper. And it was in London.

It was the Sofitel Hotel in London, where Stefan Halper said something to him like, well, Russia has all these transcripts -- all these e-mails of Hillary Clinton, and, you know, when they get out, that would be really good for you, right? Would you help? That would be really good for you and the Trump campaign if all those e-mails got out, right?

And George Papadopoulos answered and said: That's crazy. Are you kidding me? That would be treason. People get hanged for stuff like that. I would never do something like that.

That is the transcript that George Papadopoulos told me is still classified.

Now, I know you can't admit if that's it or not. But let me just say, if that is basically the conversation, that should have been given to the FISA court, right? That should have been made public to at least show us that George Papadopoulos had that question asked of him, and he said: Are you nuts? That's treason.

GOWDY: Only if you want a justice system that's fair.

That's the only reason it should be produced to a court is if you just a just it's system that treats people justly and fairly. That -- what you describe is textbook exculpatory information. It tends to show the person didn't commit a crime, a crime, by the way, Maria, he was never charged with.

I mean, Papadopoulos was charged with a process crime, but never with colluding with Russia.

But it also speaks to what the FBI and the department were doing back in 2016. Was their target Russia or was their target the Trump campaign? We're not going to know until you make the transcripts public.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

GOWDY: The one you referenced is a single transcript. There are going to be others.

BARTIROMO: Wow. There are going to be others.

And that happened in September of 2016, so that was breaking news. That's the transcript. I got the confirmation from Papadopoulos yesterday.

Trey, I want to take a short break. Then I have got to ask you about one of your good friends, John Ratcliffe. We have got breaking news on that as well. He withdrew his nomination for the DNI job.

We will be right back with that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARTIROMO: Welcome back.

And I'm back with former South Carolina Congressman Trey Gowdy, who was the chairman of the House Oversight Committee. He's a FOX News contributor.

And, Trey, I want to get your take on John Ratcliffe. He's been a frequent guest on this program. The president nominated him to be the director of national intelligence. And he withdrew his name.

Here is what my sources are telling me. I am hearing that Mitch McConnell and Richard Burr basically blew him off. He wanted -- he called them to have a meeting with them. And they said, no, no, no, we're busy, we have the budget, we can't do it.

Then they came out publicly and said, well, I don't know. I don't really know him.

They could have been more forceful in following the president's nomination and the president's pick, but they didn't.

And I understand that partly it was because they felt they could not deliver Susan Collins' vote, because Susan Collins said John Ratcliffe was -- quote -- "awfully rough on Mueller."

So am I to believe right here that John Ratcliffe didn't get the job because he did his job too well in questioning Mueller?

GOWDY: I hope not.

And John Ratcliffe was offered the DNI job before Mueller ever set foot on campus, on the congressional campus. So all those stories about Johnny auditioning for the DNI, he was offered and accepted the job before Mueller ever set foot on Congress.

I can't speak for Leader McConnell. I know Senator Burr really well. He called me Sunday. I was on vacation with my wife. He called me looking for John's number.

So I'm sure that John was something of an unknown commodity to the senators. I would have hoped that they would have done what I did, Maria. When I -- I opposed John Ratcliffe coming to Congress. I supported and endorsed his opponent.

And then I did the strangest thing. I got to know him. And he became my favorite member of the House. So last week was a tough week for those of us that know and care about him on a personal level. It was also a tough week for people who care about facts, while I'm reading he's auditioning for a job he's already accepted.

And it was also a tough week for people who care about equality and being treated justly.

I want you to contrast two people for me, Maria. Contrast Kamala Harris' background. She's the only member of the Senate that's on Intel, Judiciary and their version of Homeland Security.

BARTIROMO: Right.

GOWDY: John Ratcliffe is the only member of the House that is on those same three committees.

They're both former prosecutors. Johnny's been in the House longer than she's been in the Senate. She's qualified to have her fingers on the nuclear code.

BARTIROMO: Wow. Wow.

GOWDY: She's qualified to be the leader of the free world, according to the media, but Johnny is not qualified to lead an obscure agency that almost no one has ever heard of.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

GOWDY: That is duplicity.

And if the media is wondering why the Republicans think they are in the tank for Democrats, look no further than last week.

BARTIROMO: Yes, there you go, and the Senate Republicans letting them down.

Trey Gowdy.

Content and Programming Copyright 2019 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2019 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.