This is a rush transcript from “Your World with Neil Cavuto," August 28, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: What an incredible week, Bill.
Thank you very much, everyone. I'm Neil Cavuto, and this is "Your World."
The president of the United States, he's already campaigning. After addressing the nation last night, he's busy traveling to a number of states. He will going to New Hampshire tonight. I believe that makes five battleground states that he has visited, and will pick up the tempo, so much so, we're getting word that, well, the former vice president might be feeling compelled to get on the campaign trail himself, indications that he too will be visiting some battleground states, but after Labor Day.
Let's get the latest right now with Kristin Fisher at the White House -- Kristin.
KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Neil.
Yes, a lot of activity today. You have got President Trump heading up to New Hampshire. The vice president was in two battleground states today. And former Vice President Joe Biden says that he, too, is going to be really hitting the campaign trail in earnest right after Labor Day.
Here's Senator Kamala Harris talking about what we can expect from the Biden campaign earlier this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm looking forward to this campaign and connecting with the American people in every way we can.
Joe, that's one of the things that he and I have in common. We love to interact with people.
QUESTION: So, you're going to get out there?
HARRIS: Well, in every way that we can in a way that will be safe for the people that we are meeting with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER: Now, there was a lot of talk that the final night of the RNC -- there's been a lot of criticism that a lot of the people, the roughly 2,000 or so that were in attendance on the South Lawn of the White House, were not social distancing. Very few were wearing masks.
But the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, he was just asked about that. And his response to it was essentially that he believes your average American is far more concerned about what is happening in their own backyard than in the backyard of the White House, namely, a lot of the violence that is taking place in cities from Portland to Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Now, the White House chief of staff was also asked about these stalled negotiations for the latest coronavirus relief bill. He says that they are indeed still at an impasse with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. But he did say that President Trump is willing to increase the amount of aid that he would be willing to spend in this next package.
Listen here, Neil.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Wouldn't $1.3 trillion dollars of aid that goes largely to agreed-upon and shared goals of helping people that are hurting the most, 1.3, which is more than the aid that we sent during the 2008 meltdown -- $1.3 trillion of aid she said no to.
She would rather have zero and keep it at 2.2.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER: So, it sounds like there is a little bit of wiggle room happening here at the White House, but, overall, Neil, these two sides are still very far apart in terms of getting closer together to negotiate the next coronavirus stimulus relief bill -- Neil.
CAVUTO: I had heard that was a 25-minute phone call, but that it was icy and they barely talked to each other. So what was it? Did they just breathe in the -- I don't get it.
Well, that's today's inquiring question.
FISHER: I wished I could have listened in.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: Yes, a lot of people do. Thank you, Kristin, very, very much.
Great job, Kristin Fisher at the White House.
We're trying to find out what, if anything, they agreed to on that phone goal, outside of maybe we will have another phone call. I don't know.
In the meantime, though, they are busy, right? The candidates are very busy. Donald Trump has been busy. He was busy during the Democratic Convention week. He's going to be busy right now after the Republican Convention week.
So, he is working on that trail. We are just getting word, of course, that Joe Biden is getting out of the bunker himself. Republicans have criticized him for playing it too safe. And, apparently, a number of Democrats are worried that playing it too safe could come back to bite him. So get out on the stump.
We just don't know much details exactly how aggressive he will be when it goes out and how he will go about doing this. The states we do know that he's going to visit include Pennsylvania and Arizona, Wisconsin. And all of that will start after Labor Day.
In the meantime, let's get a read of the significance of this, as the pace picks up dramatically now that the conventions are over.
We have got Francesca Chambers here. Francesca, of course, is the McClatchy White House correspondent. We have also got Robert Patillo here, the Democratic strategist, coming to us via Skype, and, last but not least, Beverly Hallberg, District Media Group president.
Beverly, I end it with you, so let me begin with you on this idea that this is a different posture for Joe Biden to take. He's been resting comfortably -- or we're told resting comfortably on this poll lead he has.
Is he now prepared to leave his home or get out more because he fears or others are telling him that he should fear that lead could be evaporating?
BEVERLY HALLBERG, PRESIDENT, DISTRICT MEDIA GROUP: It has to be because of whole numbers.
Now, he has gone from the basement to upstairs, so he's been doing interviews in different places in the house. But I do think it's important for him to get out there for a couple reasons.
One is that many Americans are having to figure out how to live with this pandemic. They're going back to work. Some are going back to school. I think they expect whoever is the president to do the same. But there's a second part, which is he, of course, has been knocked, as -- the narrative is, is he actually physically fit in order to be president?
That's going to require him getting out there. He's going to have to talk to the press and answer tough questions. And he is going to have to debate. He did say yesterday he would. I'm waiting to see whether or not it's going to be three presidential debates, or if he's only going to agree to one.
But he's going to have to get out. And I think the polling is pointing to that.
CAVUTO: You know, Robert, there is an ad on just out now by the Biden camp that really zones in on the virus and how this president has handled it, or, to hear the Biden folks tell it, not handled it correctly, that it's a sacrifice of sports, that we don't have that now because the president essentially botched it.
So they want it to get back to the virus, and maybe take the momentum away from the law and order issue that seemed to be and seems to be working very well for Republicans. What do you make of all of this?
ROBERT PATILLO, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think the average American is far more interested and far more concerned with the coronavirus.
Many of us have been in quarantine or been in some form of having alterations to our life for six, seven months now. And there seems to be no clear plan on what has to happen going forward.
If there was clear federal guidelines in March or in April explaining how to restart college sports, putting together plans such as the NBA bubble that we have seen be very effective, the NHL bubble has been very effective, we would not have many of the issues that we have going into the fall.
But, instead, what we heard from the Republicans was, well, we will have the entire economy open by Easter, it will all go away by April, it will just magically be gone, instead of putting in the hard work that's needed.
I had a conversation with the CDC director, Redfield, this morning. And there are very clear protocols that could have been put in place and a clear understanding of exactly what needs to happen in order to prevent the spread and to mitigate the damage caused by the virus.
But Republicans seem to be intent on fighting this 1968 culture war, a return to Nixonian politics of law and order and the silent majority, instead of working towards the solutions that are needed to help the American people. And that's being borne out by the polling.
And no amount of fireworks on the Washington Monument are going to fix that.
CAVUTO: First of all, I don't think it's a culture war, a '68 kind of a development, Robert, to sort of minimize what's been going around the country with these violent protests, whether it's in Wisconsin, whether it's in Portland, Seattle, Chicago. Those are very real issues.
They didn't come up at the Democratic Convention. They have come up at this convention. So, I think the safety issues is maybe more important than you know. That is not to rip you, Robert, but to say that maybe -- and, Francesca, you can help me with this, these are twin issues that are going to galvanize the campaign.
I suspect the course of the virus, whether it gets better, and all this violence going on right now, Republicans are seizing on those -- those rallies and demonstrations, and some of the looting that's occurred, to say that your safety is in question. Biden doesn't talk about it. We are.
He has twice now this week during the Republican Convention addressed that, so he must be responding to that pressure. Your thoughts?
FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, MCCLATCHY D.C.: Well, and he also said that he could go to Wisconsin. That was the context in which Joe Biden potentially getting out on the campaign trail came up in the first place, was whether or not that he would go to Wisconsin, whether he would talk to protesters.
He says that he is looking for a way to do that safely.
But we really got some insight into what his campaign strategy is moving forward, because he also said yesterday that he's thinking about going to Minnesota, Arizona and Pennsylvania, as well as Wisconsin. So it really tells you that they see that these polls that it is narrowing, his lead is evaporating.
And he didn't get the kind of bounce in a state like North Carolina after the convention, his convention, that they maybe would have expected. We still don't know what kind of a bounce that Donald Trump could get, Neil, but we do know that he will be out on the campaign trail more frequently.
Campaign officials on his side telling me that, and his kids, Donald Trump's kids, will also be out on the campaign trail quite aggressively this fall campaigning for him.
CAVUTO: All right, we will see how it goes.
Guys, thank you all very, very much.
I want to go to Kevin Corke right now, because he's been following something very, very different going on this, the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, of course, speech on the Mall in Washington during the Kennedy administration.
And now large crowds gathering, what, almost six decades later, this time under a Trump administration.
Kevin, how did it go?
KEVIN CORKE, FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I have to admit, Neil, I didn't know what to expect when we came out here this morning, especially given the heat.
I mean, it was sweltering here in the nation's capital today. That, plus the coronavirus, is always a factor when it comes to public gatherings. And so they were hoping for gathering of around 100,000 or so.
But I would probably argue may have been a little bit smaller than that, but certainly not by much. And, in particular, when you look at the crowds -- and we have pictures -- I think, all things considered, COVID-19, sweltering heat, middle of the summer, I think you could argue this was very well-attended indeed.
Now, you also discuss the march that happened 57 years ago. Incredible, when you think about the history, right? 1963, that one was about jobs and getting America to live up to its promise to its people.
By comparison, today's march was about ending police brutality, and looking within for solutions to problems that affect us all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN LUTHER KING III, PRESIDENT & CEO, REALIZING THE DREAM: If you're looking for savior, get up and find a mirror. We must become the heroes of the history we are making.
And us means all of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORKE: All of us, indeed.
And, as you can well imagine, there was a cavalcade of voices today, including many representing the families of those felled by violence involving police, many speeches also emphasizing the need not only to end police brutality, but to defund and -- quote -- "demilitarize" the police and use that money elsewhere.
The march actually itself took place from the Lincoln Memorial over to the MLK Memorial. It could still be ongoing. I was just walking away from that area, a lot of people still on the streets.
And, of course, we will have the pictures for you throughout the day -- but, for now, Neil, back to you.
CAVUTO: Thank you, my friend, very much, Kevin Corke in the middle of all of that in the nation's capital here.
Speaking of capital, this is a different kind, like the money kind. Some records on Wall Street, the S&P, another record. We have the Nasdaq at another record. And look at the Dow. It is getting close to another record for the markets right now.
For example, you look at the S&P, it is having its best summer surge since 1986, since Ronald Reagan was president, all the major averages, with the Dow the exception, now, not in record territory, but within 3 percentage points, are up at least 53 percent from their lows.
Back in March, they were given up for dead and a depression was on the way. That was then. This is now.
We're going to explore a little later why Kamala Harris, among others, says the president's fixation on the markets and Republicans constantly talking about the markets really comes in the face of a spike, not in stock prices, but a spike in coronavirus cases.
It's the disconnect that she says we don't get. Republican say, we do get it.
By the way, on this issue about whether it's the markets or civil rights, or whether all of that is sort of bashing together, we're going to Martin Luther King III with us on my "Cavuto Live" show tomorrow morning, assessing where we stand right now, and this look at an economy and civil rights, and what's going on with all the violence in the streets, and what his dad would be saying about that.
In the meantime, we're also looking at the aftermath of Hurricane Laura. Of course, it did a lot of damage, hit the golf as a Category 4 storm. We know the president will be visiting the region this weekend.
We have the latest reports on what he might see.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: Well, it looks like a war zone.
That's putting it mildly right now. As you look at these aerial shots of Louisiana and South Texas, you wonder how it was that the casualty death count was as low as it was. Could have been much, much worse.
Bryan Llenas joining us right now in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where the cleanup has just begun -- Bryan.
BRYAN LLENAS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, good afternoon.
The cleanup just beginning, but it is hot. And it has been raining all day. People have holes in their roofs and they're dealing with the elements. This storm was a wind event. Look at this home, trailer home, completely -- well, relatively completely fine.
You have some debris on the ground, but look to my right. This is the devastation that wind and twisters that come from that eastern wall. A lot of the twisters and hurricanes in that eastern wall that hit Lake Charles, they all -- they come from those -- those tornadoes come from that area.
But you can see this. This home is just -- it's just demolished. This is a family -- a family of five lived here, three children. They are cleaning up now, trying to pick up anything that they could have.
In fact, they're looking for family photos. And that's because they didn't have any -- enough time before the evacuation to grab everything. They made the last-minute decision, just hours before Hurricane Laura made landfall, to evacuate. And they moved to Texas.
But that didn't give them enough time to grab all of their belongings. So, if you just keep looking over here, you can see, yes, what's left, bikes and children's toys. And you can see what was the living room here. The ceiling is just completely gone.
This appears to have been, like I said, a tornado, a twister. And they are now looking for as many family photos as they can. This is just some of what we saw. Yesterday, we were at Holly Beach where Hurricane Laura made landfall; 400 people live there. That was also coming completely devastated as well.
And if we walk over here, you will see.
Governor John Bel Edwards is -- was just speaking now to the press. And some 3,000 people have been moved to shelters through all of this, the National Guard moving them to hotels.
You have also have water systems that are completely down. And so they're looking at nursing homes, and they're looking at hospitals, moving people from those facilities that do not have water to hotels as well.
And, yes, you can just see this damage. And over here, just some people were luckier than others. And this is why we know and we think it was a tornado, because one trailer is completely demolished, another one is completely fine.
And so that's the kind of damage that we're seeing here, Neil. And, bottom line, 10 people have died in Louisiana, five to carbon monoxide. But on the same day, 30 people died of COVID-19.
So, while all this cleanup is happening, we're also still dealing with that as well -- Neil.
CAVUTO: That's interesting. I did not know that.
Thank you, Bryan, very, very much, Bryan Llenas in the middle of all of that.
Major General Diana Holland joins us right now with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
General, thank you for taking the time. I know you're quite busy.
How do things look there, General?
MAJ. GEN. DIANA HOLLAND, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: Hey, Neil, thanks for having me on the program.
And I'd like to start by extending our thoughts and prayers for everyone affected by the storm. There's a lot of folks that woke up this morning or returned to their homes in the last 24 hours and realized that they have a long road ahead of them.
As to how the situation looks, I had the opportunity to fly over some of the impacted areas in Southern Louisiana. And there's no doubt that a very strong storm came through, a lot of storm surge, a lot of wind damage.
And there's a lot of work to be done.
CAVUTO: General, I hear, in the entire region, hundreds of thousands of people are still without power. That obviously complicates your job, doesn't it?
HOLLAND: Well, absolutely. Everything starts with power. So, we look forward -- there's a lot of utility trucks that came from other states to assist Louisiana to help restore power.
But the other thing, as you have already identified, that really complicates this is the concern about the pandemic, how we -- how the state evacuates people, how you keep people socially distanced, how you bring in responders, like our own Corps of Engineers employees to help the situation. It is definitely complex.
CAVUTO: And you're right to mention the COVID situation, General, because that was why a lot of people didn't evacuate when they were told to evacuate.
A lot of them, A, didn't want to leave their homes. They were afraid of going into a shelter where that could be a big risk, the whole distancing thing and everything else. So, they were kind of trapped between two bad choices.
HOLLAND: Well, they were.
But the state of Louisiana, anyway, did a really good job of contracting options to get people into hotels, so that they weren't evacuating them to a shelter.
And, in fact, I have been around some hotels in the last couple of days and seeing a lot of those evacuees take advantage of that program. So, Louisiana truly had thought ahead on this particular point.
And if I could just say real quick about Louisiana, I want to thank the leadership of Louisiana, as well as FEMA, that brought us in early, that we have been a great team. We were -- we have been planning for a couple of storms for about 10 days now, because, as you remember, Marco was also out -- out there looming in the Gulf.
CAVUTO: That's right.
HOLLAND: And we have been a part -- we have been a part of the planning process. Louisiana has welcomed us, as have all the states in the region, welcomed us in with open arms.
And that will make our response even more effective and more -- and more time-sensitive.
CAVUTO: And you're a big reason for that, General.
Thank you very, very much, and all your folks trying to make things right down there, Major General Diana Holland of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
We're waiting, obviously, on a busy campaign night for the president of the United States. He will be good in New Hampshire. Obviously, he will be visiting these affected areas in Louisiana. I don't quite know about the Texas coast here.
But we will get the details on that and a lot more -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, Steve Scalise saw this video of Rand Paul getting chased down by protesters, and he immediately thought, when things get out of control.
Scalise on why he's worrying it's happening all over again.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: Charges have been formally filed in the case of that 17-year-old suspect behind, allegedly, Tuesday night's shooting against two protesters.
Garrett Tenney has much more on that, joins us from Kenosha -- Garrett.
GARRETT TENNEY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Neil, Kyle Rittenhouse is facing six charges. The most serious is first-degree intentional homicide, which carries a mandatory life sentence in Wisconsin.
We're also getting a better picture of what unfolded Tuesday night. According to the criminal complaint, Rittenhouse was carrying an AR-15- style rifle and was there as part of a militia group to help protect businesses.
Video by eyewitnesses shows a protester chasing Rittenhouse, throwing something at him, and Rittenhouse then fatally shooting the man, 36-year- old Joseph Rosenbaum. Rittenhouse then calls a friend on his cell phone, telling them: "I just killed somebody."
Moments later, several protesters start chasing him. And when he trips and falls, 26-year-old Anthony Huber allegedly hit Rittenhouse with a skateboard and tried to take the gun away, before he was fatally shot in the chest.
Another man then comes at Rittenhouse. He appears to be holding a handgun, and Rittenhouse shoots him in the arm.
As for Jacob Blake, who was shot seven times by police on Sunday, he remains in the hospital, in stable, but serious condition. Today, his father shared this message in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACOB BLAKE SR., FATHER OF JACOB BLAKE: There are two systems of justice in the United States. There's a white system, and there's a black system.
The black system ain't doing so well. But we're going to stand up. Every black person in the United States is going to stand up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TENNEY: And, Neil, we're about three-and-a-half-hours away from this curfew going into effect.
And after two relatively calm, peaceful nights here, folks are hoping that trend continues going into the weekend, when several protests are scheduled -- Neil.
CAVUTO: What effect have the National Guardsmen who arrived there to help with local police had to calm things down?
TENNEY: Well, since that presence has been ramped up, we have seen a significant decrease in a lot of the violence and the riot and the destruction that we saw the first several nights.
And that has continued just this past hour at a press conference. The head of the National Guard for Wisconsin said there are now more than 1,000 National Guard soldiers here on the ground in Kenosha, with more on the way from surrounding states as well.
Going into the weekend, they said that presence will continue for the for the unforetold now -- Neil.
CAVUTO: All right, Garrett Tenney, thank you very, very much.
Want to go to the former governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, who joins us right now.
Governor, it's interesting. Things did settle down once more Guardsmen were brought in. To the present governor's credit, he asked for them, he got them, and things have, we hoped, calmed down.
Again, what do you make of that?
FMR. GOV. SCOTT WALKER (R-WI): Well, it's calmed down. And that's great, because it was tragic since Sunday.
But the reality is, it's not because of the current governor. Congressman Bryan Steil reached out to the president. The president's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, called the governor. And he initially -- one, didn't respond, and initially turned down the offer.
It was after three nights of riots, burning and violence and, sadly, two deaths, that finally the governor approved support from the president from surrounding states, thank goodness, because the president's forceful action in that regard, in helping to bring in additional resources, has really quieted things down. And we hope that will continue.
CAVUTO: You just wonder, if they had done that in Portland, I mean, Seattle, all these other places, a lot of grief it could have saved.
Having said that, Governor, there are a lot of reports now where police are investigating outside agitators. They have -- I think they have arrested at least nine people who came from quite far to be here and to do whatever they could.
Whether they're outright instigators provoking violence, we just don't know, but nine arrests, more apparently pending, out-of-state vehicles, many of them carrying fireworks and other such things.
What do you make of all that?
WALKER: Well, unfortunately, this is a trend we're hearing about around the country. And what I asked for early on and what others were locally is to say, hey, we need help. We need more folks from local law enforcement, from surrounding jurisdictions. We need the Wisconsin National Guard to step up and other state authorities.
And we need federal assistance. But we need help when it comes to law enforcement.
How you defuse a situation like this and not cause the mass chaos, not cause the mass property damage, and, in the worst case, as we saw the other night, death, is by keeping things under control, have an overwhelming show of force and disperse people, particularly those coming in from other jurisdictions.
Whether it's those who are rioters, anarchists trying to create a chaos, or, as we saw the other day, even some people coming in as part of a militia, what we need is local and state and federal law enforcement agencies working together.
Sadly, as The Kenosha Times -- News, a local newspaper who traditionally endorses Democrats, pointed out yesterday, the governor's statements early on Sunday only inflamed the problems. Joe Biden didn't comment on the violence until three days later.
We needed leadership early on. And thank God, again, the president has stepped up and provided that assistance.
CAVUTO: All right, Governor, thank you very, very much. Good catching up with you.
Hopefully, cooler, calmer heads prevail, Scott Walker, the former governor of Wisconsin, a presidential candidate as well.
I was mentioning a little earlier how the surge of the markets today -- the Dow, by the way, for example, even though not at a record, it's at its high. It's right now in positive territory in a year when it was careening north of 25 percent just a few months ago.
The Democrats have had an interesting take on how this can work against the president. Kamala Harris was saying, he's more focused on stock prices going up than coronavirus cases going up.
Is that a good strategy as a campaign message for either?
After this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, let the playoff games resume.
The NBA announcing that playoff games that were delayed by these player protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake will now commence tomorrow. First, it was the league announcing that, and then, later on, we heard separately from the players to confirm all of that.
So, it all seems back on the same page.
Kat Timpf, it is going to be kind of an iffy situation here, right? I mean, there's talk of other sports looking to also postpone games, postpone other things. They're not quite on the same page on this, are they?
KATHERINE TIMPF, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: No, but when it comes to the NBA specifically, I think that it's been a little interesting to sort of hear all this talk about whether or not the NBA is becoming political, because, if you think about it in terms of activism, there's a really long history of activism in the NBA specifically, going all the way back to the civil rights era.
You could talk about Bill Russell. You could talk about Elgin Baylor.
CAVUTO: Right.
TIMPF: This isn't new.
And I'm talking, of course, again about the protests for Jacob Blake. There is a difference. Of course, there's some players directly speaking out against Donald Trump. That sort of thing is, of course, obviously, by definition, political.
But these sorts of protests, there's a very long history of this sort of thing in the NBA.
CAVUTO: You know, some owners don't flip over it, though.
There was confusion with the cancellation of a Mets game, when the players wanted to protest and not be part of that. It's quite another when an owner finds out his players are junking the game, and he's not happy.
So, I'm just wondering now, going forward, Major League Baseball's kind of dealing with this, or trying to, the NBA, even in soccer, the WNBA, at the very least looking at delays.
But I get the sense that they're just not in synch on this.
TIMPF: Yes, they're certainly not.
And it is certainly a controversial issue. There will be fans, I'm sure, that are also upset by this. There will be people who love this. I just think it's important for everyone to recognize this really isn't anything new when it comes to the NBA specifically, because, yes, it's true that now pretty much everything is political, more so than it ever has been overall, but when it comes to basketball, not necessarily a new thing.
But, because of that, everyone has to ask these questions. Everyone has to engage in this sort of thing. And it is a little difficult when it is something that's so controversial.
When you own a sports team, and you know about sports, and this gets involved, it is something difficult that you might not be prepared for, especially when you're still probably reeling from everything with the coronavirus and not having had games for quite some time.
CAVUTO: Yes.
And if you're a fan who likes to watch, and...
TIMPF: Right.
CAVUTO: ... really, one of the few options is TV, it's confusing. So they have got to consider that.
(CROSSTALK)
TIMPF: Yes, I also don't know why Trump...
CAVUTO: Finish that thought. I'm sorry.
TIMPF: I don't know why Trump would be upset about it, because, due to the canceled game, I'm sure more people might have been watching him last night.
CAVUTO: Ah, very, very, very shrewd.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: I didn't think of that.
All right, Kat, always good seeing you, my friend.
TIMPF: You too.
CAVUTO: Be well.
All right, in the meantime, we were telling you a little bit about how dicey things got after the president's speech, and everyone was leaving the White House yesterday.
There were a lot of protesters waiting for them, including waiting for one Rand Paul. It got pretty hairy, pretty scary.
Steve Scalise on why he was getting a sense of deja vu and urges us all to bring it down a notch.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, you are looking live at Manchester, New Hampshire. That's where the president will be later tonight.
He barely lost the state four years ago to Hillary Clinton. But it's a tight battle right now once again.
I should point out, too, for all of the attention it gets, it's only four electoral votes, but it is considered a swing, crucial state. So we shall see.
The Biden campaign will be busy looking at some of these battleground states as well right after Labor Day. The president's pouncing a tad before that, as he was just last week during the Democratic Convention.
Speaking of the Democrats, to Peter Doocy right now, following all things Biden and Harris in Rehoboth, Delaware -- Peter.
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, Joe Biden is planning to resume in-person campaign events on the trail within the next couple of weeks.
But, first, he's got some things to say about Donald Trump's campaign event today -- quote -- "Trump's mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in 430 New Hampshire lives lost, hundreds of shuttered small businesses, and thousands of people out of work across the Granite State."
Biden campaign officials are also today disputing President Trump's warnings that communities would be less safe from violence and riots in Joe Biden's America, pointing out recent violence and riots have been in Donald Trump's America.
But Democrats seem most eager to counter Trump about COVID.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: He was fixated on the stock market over fixing the problem.
He tweeted about it consistently during this period. He was convinced, that is, if his administration focused on this virus, it would hurt the market and hurt his chances of being reelected.
That mattered to him more than saving American lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOOCY: The Biden campaign is also trying hard to get football fans upset about missed tailgates this fall, to blame Trump for that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: And now, to honor America, please join in the singing of our national anthem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOOCY: So, the Biden campaign, at the same time that they're trying to get Trump -- get football fans to blame Trump for empty stands later on this season, they are also saying, through their candidate, that, if scientists recommend the entire country should be shut down again, they will do that - - Neil.
CAVUTO: Both, the president can't win for love or money. They were against pushing things back and reopening and getting back to sports as usual and all of that.
Man, the times we live in, Peter. All right, thank you very, very much, Peter Doocy on all of that.
We will be monitoring these developments, also monitoring Manchester getting ready. In that state, they want to hear from the president of the United States, and they will later tonight.
And a little bit more on the concern that we're all getting a little bit too nasty with ourselves here. It got really scary for people who were attending that White House event, when they encountered protesters, and lots of them, including a U.S. senator.
Steve Scalise on why he says we all have to dial it back, like now.
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SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): They were shouting threats to us to kill us, to hurt us, but they're also saying, shout -- shouting, "Say her name," Breonna Taylor. And it's like, you couldn't reason with this mob.
But I'm actually the author of the Breonna Taylor law to end no-knock raids. So, the irony is lost on these idiots that they're trying to kill the person who's actually trying to get rid of no-knock raids.
And they were shouting and screaming and just -- it -- really, these people were unhinged.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: All right, these are very polarizing times, to put it mildly.
Steve Scalise knows that very, very well. He barely survived someone who did not really adhere to keeping things calm. He's alive and well. I'm happy to have him here right now, Steve Scalise, the House minority whip.
Congressman, good to have you.
You must have been looking at those crowds and all of that craziness and wondering, hey, we're going right back to where we were a few years ago. What do you think of all this?
REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): Yes, Neil, it's good to be with you.
CAVUTO: Same here.
SCALISE: And when you see this, I mean, look, we know how this can add.
I mean, some of these -- these mobs, when you see them out there throwing bricks at police, they're injuring people, they're killing some police. They have blinded police, and yet they keep doing it.
And this is where you have seen President Trump very vocal that we have got to stand up against it. And, for whatever reason, Joe Biden won't stand up against it. I think people are fed up with seeing this kind of mob rule, anarchy in the streets.
I mean, you can peacefully protest. That was no peaceful protest. When you're trying to hurt people, potentially even killing people, it has consequences, and it's got to end.
CAVUTO: Now, you were at this event last night, correct, sir?
SCALISE: That's correct. Yes, I was at the White House last night.
CAVUTO: Right.
SCALISE: And it was a wonderful ceremony.
And you heard so many different speakers and very uplifting messages. The president talked a lot about America's promise, some of the great things that we have already done. And you had some of those people there in the crowd who the president helped get out of jail for life sentences for one- time nonviolent offenses, those kind of things.
And then, ultimately, you go to -- you go to the vision of how we're going to get this country back on track as we confront COVID. And President Trump has done a phenomenal job confronting this hidden enemy, getting a vaccine.
We're on the brink of a vaccine right now because President Trump got red tape out of the way to say, let's go, and put all the weight of the federal government behind this.
CAVUTO: I know, but, Congressman, I guess -- I'm sorry I wasn't clear. My point was that you were there.
And I know, covering this last night on FOX Business, I was aware the crowds and the protesters were growing. Did you see a Guard presence out there? Were you hearing, hey, Congressman, be careful leaving this place, it's looking dicey out there?
What were you guys hearing?
SCALISE: Well, you could hear -- they were blowing bullhorns and things before the president spoke.
CAVUTO: Right.
SCALISE: And when he spoke, you really couldn't hear them, but you knew that they were out there and they were trying to cause -- cause a stir.
But, again, there's one -- one thing to have a First Amendment right to peacefully protest us. It's another thing to try to hurt people, injure people, or even worse in the case of Rand Paul, and even my colleague Brian Mast, where they were literally just running up to people, getting in their face, and trying to start a confrontation.
There's no place for that in America. That's not what our country is about.
CAVUTO: You know, speaking of that venue where you were sitting for the president's big speech, you all looked like you were pretty packed together there.
Were you worried that, oh, my gosh, I might get COVID now, this is a little too close for comfort?
SCALISE: Well, we all had masks on before. They don't show people walking to their seats. Everybody had masks on when they were going to their seats, and then you sit down.
And, again, this is outside. And everybody knows...
CAVUTO: Right.
SCALISE: ... that the protocols for inside vs. outside are very different.
But, at the end of the day, we were spread out and we were outdoors. And it was a very -- it was just a wonderful environment to see the beauty of the White House, and then the president and his family and a very uplifting message. That's -- that's what we saw last night.
CAVUTO: Getting back to that message, law and order came up quite a bit, Congressman, to your point, and enough now that I'm beginning to wonder, talking to a number of Democratic operatives, that they're concerned they're not talking about this violence enough themselves, talking about black lives matter, but not so much about blue lives or the violence around that.
No less than three times over the last, I think, 48 hours, you have had Joe Biden addressing this, but some apparently around him are concerned that this issue is resonating more than they can appreciate, and it's a problem. It's a big problem.
What do you say?
SCALISE: Well, look, people are definitely paying attention to the violence in the streets in some of these large cities, where the mayors have let mob rule take over.
And it's very clear what's going on out there. Some mayors are allowing it and some mayors aren't. But where it's happening, everybody's watching that this is what Joe Biden's condoned for so long.
And this is where you can't play it both ways. And I think Joe has been trying to be too cute. On one hand, he will go and tell privately groups -- and it's on video -- that he will redirect money away from police. He said it. It's on video.
And then he realizes it's not popular. And he comes out and tries to say, oh, but I'm not for defunding police. Does he think people are stupid?
I mean, look, if you're going to redirect money away from police, you have just defunded police. It's the same thing. He was saying that when he thought nobody was watching. And then all of a sudden, they see the polls go South, and he tries to change his tune publicly.
People aren't going to let him get away with playing both sides. They know what he's really about and who's around him. It's really who's calling the shots behind Joe Biden.
And I think that's what we have seen this whole debate. He campaigned not really on an agenda, but just on, hey, he's a nice guy that can beat Trump. And then, all of a sudden, you realize he's embraced the entire Bernie Sanders agenda. Bernie, who lost, is now running the show. AOC is probably going to be a secretary of energy.
Her agenda, by the way, the Green New Deal, is being carried out in California, where they have rolling blackouts. That's what that gets you. You want rolling blackouts in America, where you don't have your power when the wind isn't -- isn't up -- or the wind is not blowing and the sun's not shining...
CAVUTO: Right.
SCALISE: ... that's California right now. That's not where America wants to go.
CAVUTO: Well, these are divisive -- no, these are divisive times, to your point.
And, by the way, the Biden folks say he never talked about defunding police. He wanted budgetary items that could be better utilized elsewhere.
SCALISE: He's on video saying he wants to redirect money away from police. That's defunding them.
CAVUTO: Well, let me ask you. Then let me follow up on that, then.
Democrats quickly counter that the president had some doozies last night, arguing about the largest tax cut of all time, that he's the best president for blacks since Abraham Lincoln.
When you heard that latter one, did you just say, all right, this is a little over the top?
SCALISE: Well, look, I know how much this president cares about people.
When we say -- President Trump said this at the State of the Union address a few years ago, when the tax cuts were first taking effect, and we had this great economic boom, and it was helping everybody, but especially people at the lower income levels. Our middle class was being rebuilt.
And he said at the State of the Union, we have the lowest unemployment in the history of the country...
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: No, I get that.
But then to say that he's the best on helping minorities since Abraham Lincoln, is that -- do you worry that that sends a message that ignores what LBJ did and others did, or are you fine with that?
SCALISE: Look, ultimately, you see a president who cares about the African- American community...
CAVUTO: OK.
SCALISE: ... not just pandering to them during the election, but actually improving their livelihoods and giving them more opportunity where they didn't have it.
He did it in criminal justice reform...
CAVUTO: All right. We got it.
SCALISE: ... where you had so many African-American leaders calling for years to do it. Joe Biden didn't do it when he was chairman of the committee.
CAVUTO: All right, Steve.
SCALISE: Donald Trump delivered.
CAVUTO: Thank you very much. And I appreciate that, Steve Scalise.
SCALISE: Always good to be with you.
CAVUTO: I just wanted to get that straight with you.
We'll be exploring this tomorrow live at 10:00 a.m.
Now "The Five."
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