This is a rush transcript from "Fox News Sunday," June 12, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I’m Bret Baier in for Chris Wallace.
A mass shooting at a Florida nightclub, many dead, and authorities investigating it as an act of terror. We’ll have the latest.
Plus, Donald Trump looks to hit the reset button.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: No one should be judged by their race or their color.
BAIER: Today, an exclusive interview with a key Trump surrogate, Senator Jeff Sessions, on the criticism over Trump's judge comments some party leaders are calling racist.
REP. PAUL RYAN, R-WIS., SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: It's absolutely unacceptable.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, R-KY., MAJORITY LEADER: I think it's time for him to look like a serious candidate for president.
BAIER: And Trump's strategy for the general election.
TRUMP: We're going to bring our nation together.
BAIER: Then, Hillary Clinton makes history as the first woman to win a major party's nomination.
HILLARY CLINTON, D-PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: As your president, I will always have your back.
BAIER: Securing key endorsements along the way.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I’m with her.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN, D-MASSACHUSETTS: I am ready to get in this fight.
BAIER: We'll speak to a top Clinton reporter, Senator Amy Klobuchar, on the historic week, the Dem's strategy for taking on Trump and the investigations that still dog Clinton.
It's a "Fox News Sunday" exclusive.
Plus, despite growing pressure on Bernie Sanders to drop out, he's still in for now.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, I-VT., DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We’re still standing.
BAIER: We'll ask our Sunday panel if the Democrats can unify after a long bruising primary battle.
All, right now, on "Fox News Sunday."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BAIER: And hello again from Fox News in Washington.
We begin with breaking news.
Police in Orlando say approximately 20 people are dead after a shooting inside a Florida nightclub, at least 42 people have been taken to area hospitals. It happened early this morning at the Pulse Orlando nightclub.
Police described the shooter as, quote, "well-organized and prepared." They say the shooter in their words was armed with an assault-type rifle, a handgun and suspicious device and he died in a gun battle with SWAT officers, after taking hostages and opening fire on the crowd.
The FBI says it is investigating it as an act of terrorism, adding, there are suggestions the suspect had, quote, "some leanings" toward that particular ideology, Islamic radicalism.
We will get a live report from the scene in Orlando in a moment.
But, first, to the politics. The voters have spoken this week after a handful of final contests including California, Hillary Clinton now joins Donald Trump as her party's presumptive nominee. For Clinton, it came eight years to the day she formally ended her last presidential campaign. For Trump, even his supporters concede he has just had his worst week yet on the campaign trail and he's trying to bounce back.
This hour, we will speak with two key supporters for both candidates. Here in Washington, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the first senator to endorse Trump. And in Minneapolis, Senator Amy Klobuchar, who threw her support behind Clinton in 2014.
First to Senator Sessions, chairman of Trump's national security committee.
Senator, welcome back to "Fox News Sunday."
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS, R-ALABAMA: Thank you.
BAIER: I want to get your reaction first to this breaking news out of Florida, and all that we're hearing approximately 20 dead and what we're hearing from authorities so far in this investigation.
SESSIONS: Well, it certainly looks like another one of the extremist attacks, Islamic extremism. Just within the wonderful group of Islamic people are a certain group of radicals and it's been there for a long time and it seems to be growing. And we have to accept that fact, we have to be cautious about it.
Our committee, my subcommittee this week just concluded that we've had over 570 individuals either convicted or charged or connected to terrorism since 9/11.
BAIER: Five hundred seventy. This is the Judiciary Committee report, that 570 convicted or indicted since 9/11.
SESSIONS: Since 9/11. And it's not stopping.
We see apparently today more of these attacks are coming. It's a real part of the threat that we face, and if we can't address it openly and directly and say directly that there is an extremist element within Islam that's dangerous to the world and has to be confronted, we need to slow down and be careful about those we admit into the country.
We know about two-thirds and we haven't completed it yet, but about two-thirds of those people that were charged were foreign born, almost all Islamic individuals.
So, it's a serious matter. I wish it weren't so. I wish there were some easy solution, but there's not. We have to be more vigilant.
BAIER: Authorities are cautious. This is early. We don't know who this person is. At least we don't know publicly.
It was interesting to hear the FBI answer a question about Islamic ideology, saying that this person had leanings toward that ideology, but the investigation continues. You seem to be making that jump already, that I don't know if authorities are there yet. But it did seem like they went further than we usually hear at the beginning of these investigations.
SESSIONS: That's what I took it to be. I think pretty clearly the FBI knew what they were saying. But maybe not. We don't have conclusive proof, you’re correct about that.
It certainly shows, again, the reluctance of them to actually say the words "Islamic extremism" or "Islamic terrorism". Of course most Islamic citizens and visitors to America are not violent, but there clearly is a problem here.
BAIER: This comes -- and usually this -- an incident like this, a mass shooting, eventually the discussion quickly goes to guns and this comes about a week after Hillary Clinton on a Sunday show seemed to have an issue getting to the answer definitively that an individual's right to bear arms is a constitutional right. You've talked about that and her trouble in answering that question.
SESSIONS: The Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms. If her view and the Heller court were to be reversed what that would mean is -- and this is what she said she favors -- it would mean that any city, county or state could completely ban the use of firearms in America.
It would be the greatest evisceration of the protections of the Second Amendment since the founding of the republic. It was 5-4 in the Supreme Court. Scalia was the fifth vote. Now that he has passed away, the next president will appoint the fifth vote.
If she is elected president, count on it. She will appoint a judge who will declare it not to be a personal right, guaranteed against any state, federal and local government, but would say that it could be constricted by local governments and that would be a huge thing.
BAIER: You know, she says and her campaign says that's way over the line as far as where she is.
SESSIONS: Bret, it's not. Imagine the cities in America that would immediately if had the power would ban firearms in their cities. Washington, D.C. had to have a federal court overrule their ban of all firearms in Washington.
This is not an extreme position. It's absolute fact. Heller is the only thing that protects us, it was 5-4 and it could flip 5-4 the other way if she appoints the next justice.
BAIER: We'll get back to the breaking news and that shooting in Florida in a bit.
Now to politics. How would you describe Donald Trump's week politically?
SESSIONS: Well, it was a rough week because it got him off message and allowed people to -- and put members of Congress having to answer questions they don't like to answer and it was just not the best of week. But I was with him Friday at the speech to the Faith and Freedom Group, it was well received and strong. He's going to make another big speech on Monday night and I think that will address the weaknesses and differences he has with Hillary Clinton.
This man communicates. He's talking about the issues people care about.
People's wages are not up, they're down. The percentage of Americans actually working with a job continues to decline. It was a terrific -- terrible week last week on those numbers.
So, I think he's gotten the message and the hope that people want. We're going to make change. We're going to protect you from excessive and unfair imports. We're not going to allow excessive illegal immigration to take your jobs and pull your wages down, as is happening today. And I think people are ready to hear it.
BAIER: The horrific nature of today's event this morning also brings into mind national security. Do you think that this event changes the perspective, changes this -- the focus of this election now?
SESSIONS: Well, I think it's further movement in the direction that Donald Trump has set forth. We need to defeat the radical extremists around the world and he will do so and use whatever force is necessary. And we need to be careful about how many people we bring in and be sure we can vet them properly before we admit them to the United States.
BAIER: The last GOP nominee as you know is saying that he cannot in any way support the presumptive GOP nominee. Here is Mitt Romney Friday talking about the comments of Donald Trump about that judge in the Trump University case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, R-FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't want to see trickle down racism. I don't want to see a president of the United States saying things which change the character of the generations of Americans that are following. Presidents have an impact on the nature of our nation and trickle down racism, trickle down bigotry, trickle down misogyny, all these things are extraordinarily dangerous to the heart and character of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: Your reaction to that, Senator.
SESSIONS: Look, this is -- was one off the cuff comment that he probably shouldn't have made. He has explained it and I’ve said he is going to stay off this subject.
BAIER: Not to interrupt but he did say it numerous times, in a couple of interviews, and he was pressed on it.
SESSIONS: Well, it was -- it's not the kind of comment that is focused on the main issues facing America. It's something he was irritated about because he felt he was not being fairly treated in that lawsuit.
But what I would say to Governor Romney is, we’ve got a nation at risk. We are about to elect a person like Hillary Clinton who will take this country one way and Donald Trump another.
I cannot understand the differences that he might have there. He is an outlier on this. The leadership in the House and the Senate have endorsed Donald Trump. They like to give advice on how he ought to conduct his campaign, but they are supporting him and we are going to be victorious in November.
BAIER: Last thing on this and the judge comment. He’s -- you're right, he has expressed frustration with this particular judge. He said it differently at the beginning, he has since said that race nor religion should be used to determine if someone can do their job fairly.
That said, his supporters will say this Judge Curiel has an affiliation with the Hispanic National Bar Association, La Raza Lawyers Association, which is separate from the National Council of La Raza, and they say that he had past statements about his company or Trump, these organizations did.
But through all the proceedings, Trump's lawyers never made a motion to move the trial or to have the judge recuse himself. You are an attorney. You are the former attorney general of Alabama. If he had a real problem with this judge on these issues, shouldn't they have filed a motion?
SESSIONS: Well, the recusal motions require a very specific proof of very specific acts and statements to recuse a judge. Maybe they don't think they meet those legal tests.
Still, obviously, Mr. Trump believes he has not been having fair treatment there.
But he's correct, Trump was correct in that statement you just showed. Every American should be treated on the content of their character, not their race, not their ethnicity, not their religion. That's an important principle for all of American leaders to understand and notice and I believe we will move beyond this and focus on the key issues for next election -- this next election.
BAIER: Do you think it's a conflict of interest for President Obama to endorse Hillary Clinton while his FBI still investigating her on not only the e-mails but also the Clinton Foundation?
BAIER: Look, he has a right to endorse her. Presumably, he is not managing that investigation personally. Although in fact he did cause a lot of concern when he met right after endorsing her with the attorney general who will make the final decision, Bret. The FBI can make a recommendation, they make -- present the facts to the attorney general, but a charge has to be approved by the Attorney General Lynch.
So, that was very problematic to me. I thought that was a bad signal. He should not have done that. He's got to show that he supports the FBI and the prosecutors totally in doing their duty, whatever the facts say.
BAIER: Finally, Senator, here is Donald Trump over the weekend talking to a crowd about who he should pick as V.P.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have some great people in the Republican Party. Everybody wants to know who I’m going to choose for vice president. Who do you like?
He says Newt.
Who do you like?
They say Sessions. Sessions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: So, Senator, you had some people in that crowd. What do you think? One, would you take the job, if offered? And two, understanding it's Donald Trump's choice, what qualities do you think he needs to look for in V.P.?
SESSIONS: I really think that this will be a big decision for him. I think he's given it serious thought.
He needs somebody that people recognize could be a good president first, because they could become president. He needs somebody that he can work with and trust and if they can bring some political advantage because of a state or a group of people that trust him and like him, I think that's helpful, too. But I just said when pressed, you know, of course I would consider it if I were asked but I don't expect that to happen.
A lot of better people out there than I and I look forward to supporting this ticket, though, until November.
BAIER: Senator, we appreciate your time. And thanks for rolling with the breaking news.
SESSIONS: Thank you.
BAIER: Up next, we'll bring in our Sunday group to discuss some of his GOP colleagues who are wavering in their support over some of Trump's rhetoric. Plus, more on that mass shooting at that Orlando nightclub. Authorities are investigating it as terrorism. Keep it here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Do you have any reason to think there’s a connection to radical Islamic terrorism?
RON HARPER, ASST. SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, FBI: I would say, at this time, we’re looking into all angles right. We do have suggestions that individual may have leanings towards that particular ideology. But right now, we can't say definitively.
JERRY DEMINGS, ORLANDO SHERIFF: It appears he was organized and well-prepared.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: That was Fox's Peter Doocy asking the FBI about the possibility of an Islamic terror connection in the deadly mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub.
Let’s go live to Peter in Orlando for more.
Peter, the latest?
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: And, Bret, we know that seven hours ago pulse, which bills itself as Orlando's premiere gay nightclub, came under attack and things were so dire they tweeted desperately, "Everyone get out of Pulse and keep running."
Things started at 2:02, just about a block and a half behind us here in Orlando, about a ten-mile drive from all of the theme parks when an officer, an Orlando police officer who was working security engaged this gunman in a fire fight. There were some backup officers that came, the gunman ran back inside where about 320 club-goers were enjoying themselves late on a Saturday night, early on Sunday. Many managed to escape, but 30 hostages were held until about 5:00 a.m., so for three hours this person held 30 or so hostages until the SWAT team decided at 5:00 a.m. while they still had the cover of darkness, they needed to go in and try to rescue those people.
During the rescue they did -- a nine-man SWAT team managed to shoot and kill the attacker, but once he was neutralized, they realized that there were approximately 20 dead club goers laying inside.
Now, we do not have a precise victim count yet because the facility still being swept for devices. We know that the shooter had a long gun, a handgun and some kind of a device that concerned authorities enough that they have had the bomb squad in there all morning.
This is still an unfolding situation. Keep in mind it has been just over seven hours since the first shots rang out and we have an update coming from the FBI here in a few minutes. They say that they are not ruling anything out, but that they do have indications this shooter has leanings towards radical Islamic terror -- Bret.
BAIER: Peter Doocy live in Orlando.
And again, when we get that news conference, we will bring you the latest and all the information from that.
Peter, thank you.
It's time now for our Sunday group. Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume, Julie Pace, who covers the White House and the campaign for The Associated Press, syndicated columnist George Will, and Fox News political analyst Juan Williams.
Brit, I was surprised in that press conference to hear that FBI agent go down that road this soon in this shooting.
BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: They must have something that suggests that to them. We don't know what that is. We don't know who the shooter is. And, of course, we don't know, as even the FBI acknowledged, what the motivation for this was.
So, you know, beyond that it's interesting that they said that, but we'll see if it pans out. It's early days and perhaps wise to reserve judgment about what this is really all about.
BAIER: Julie, we're just getting a White House statement coming in right now that the president was briefed this morning by the assistant to the president for homeland security, Lisa Monaco, in counterterrorism on the tragic shooting in Orlando, saying, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones for the victims. The president asked to receive regular updates as the FBI and other federal officials work with Orlando police to gather more information and directed that the federal government provide any assistance necessary to support the recovery."
Nothing out of the ordinary with that White House statement, but the FBI engaged early on.
JULIA PACE, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: Absolutely. I think that the White House and counterterrorism officials are certainly going to be looking for what Brit talked about, more information to expand on that somewhat vague comment that we heard which was unusual to hear a law enforcement in one of their very first briefings raise a possibility. Usually, they wait until they have much more information to put that out there, knowing that doing so really will get a lot of attention and raise a lot of questions.
So I think that we'll hopefully have more from them in their next update.
BAIER: George?
GEORGE WILL, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: First of all, not every act that the terrifying is terrorism. When the FBI says this is being investigated as an act of terrorism, they are either telling us way too much, which is that it's associated somehow in the public mind with international terrorism or they're telling us nothing at all, which is that they're not ruling out the possibility that there could be some connection.
If it's an international terrorism, it's implausible it seems to me that al Qaeda or one of its franchises would target a gay nightclub in central Florida. Now, we're told that this gentleman has leanings. If all that means is he doesn't like gay people and ISIS doesn't like gay people, that, I’m sorry, is not enough to establish leanings towards terrorism.
So, this would be an excellent time for everyone to take a deep breath.
BAIER: Deep breath.
On the politics, Juan, Donald Trump tweeting out already this morning, "Really bad shooting in Orlando. Police investigating possible terrorism. Many people dead and wounded."
Whenever something like this happens, a massive event, tragedy like this, and we'll get to the bottom of how and why it happened, it does change the dynamic politically and nationally about the conversation.
JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, it raises the temperature and raises the degree to which the American people feel that we need to do a better job of protecting the homeland and protecting Americans, but also going after the terrorists. I think that's why we saw this morning Senator Sessions here, I think, push a little precipitously towards the idea that it is a terrorist attack linked to Islamic extremist or Islamic radicalism.
BAIER: I tried to dial him back there.
WILLIAMS: We all saw that. We appreciate that.
But I think that that's why, you know, like there was a shooting at Love Field on Friday here in the United States, people initially think, oh, my God, is this a terrorist incident at an airport.
We are all sort of alert to this, especially in the political arena, because, again, if it happens, I think that you see Donald Trump and the Republicans have the sense that it would be to their advantage to say, do you know what, President Obama and Hillary Clinton as his former secretary of state have not done enough to go after ISIS and to wipe out the terrorist threat.
BAIER: One thing, though, Brit, Senator Sessions said is his judiciary committee working on these numbers -- 570, what he said, indictments or convictions of radical Islamists since 9/11. That seemed like a new number today.
HUME: Well, it might have been a new number but this is what we're looking back, what, 15 years now and, you know, you think about it makes sense. I just think, you know, everybody is going to go to battle stations here on gun control and on the question of terrorism, and it's too soon to do that on either cause and I think it would be well to, you know, kind of hold our fire here.
BAIER: Julie?
PACE: I think that's right. We, sort of, get into these modes after these shootings where we initially -- or immediately go to our corners. You have Republicans that will immediately stake out their positions in terms of what the administration is or is not doing on terrorism. You have Democrats that will immediately start calling for more gun control.
I think in some ways it has actually frozen our ability to do anything about these issues because you do have people that go to their corners and it ends up being very little overlap in terms of what you can do to prevent both terrorism and just shootings that happen at a really alarming rate in this country.
BAIER: George?
WILL: When the Egyptian airliner went down in the Mediterranean, America's foremost tweeter said instantly this is an act of terrorism. Now, maybe it was, I don't know if Mr. Trump is right about that, but 25 days have passed and we still know absolutely nothing about what happened to that plane. So, let’s --
BAIER: Understand that we can take the pause. But if it turns out to be an effort of terrorism here on the homeland, it does dramatically potentially change the presidential race and the focus of the last few days.
WILL: Sure, but then the question is we have to make distinctions or the idea of terrorism becomes a classification that no longer classifies anymore. If this is some person deranged by his hatred of gay people and he says, well, ISIS got that right, that doesn't make this into an international episode.
BAIER: All right. Turn to the politics of the past week. Donald Trump, how his week unfolded, even Sessions saying it was a pretty bad week.
WILLIAMS: Well, I think the effort at this juncture for Republicans should be to unify. And what we've seen to the contrary is Republicans coming apart largely in response to Donald Trump's comments about the judge, Judge Curiel, in which he said that, you know, he is a Mexican and I want to build a wall and therefore there's some bias.
I think Republicans were wise to say, that's not the way we think. We don't play identity politics like that on the conservative side. We usually leave that to the Democrats. Donald Trump not only damaged himself in that way but I think that when you start to hear Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House, say that was textbook racism, usually Republicans like to say, you know, we have policy differences and we wish you Democrats would stop screaming racism.
But there were a number of people in the Republican ranks this week who said, do you know what, that's a step too far.
BAIER: George?
WILL: Well, Senator Sessions said it's a bad week because Mr. Trump got off message. This is his message which is a constant barrage of that sort of thing.
Now, senior Republicans are going to him saying change your persona. It's like going to the Rolling Stones and telling Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, rock and roll has been good to you and you’ve been good at it, but it's time to go for chamber music.
I don't think they do that and I don't think he does that.
(LAUGHTER)
BAIER: Brit, your thoughts of wrapping up this week.
HUME: Well, Trump must appeal to a much larger universe of voters than he did during the primary season and he seems not to recognize what that means. And what it means is that you simply have to be very careful and disciplined in what you say, and as George suggests it may not simply be in the man to do that. We will see.
But, you know, these kind of reactions to things, this is -- this is a personal reaction to what he claims is unfair rulings by a judge and he shot from the hip and it worked like crazy this sort of stuff during the primary season. It will not work during a general election when you need to gather in people who previously weren't for you. That’s -- it's as simple as that. And he needs to recognize that and act accordingly if he can.
BAIER: We'll see if he can.
Panel, we'll take a break right here. We’ll see you a little later.
Next, we will talk to a key surrogate of Hillary Clinton about the impact of the president's endorsement and Clinton's strategy versus Trump, plus the breaking news today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BAIER: A look along the C&O Canal in Georgetown as the nation's capital prepares to vote in D.C.'s last in the nation primary. Her supporters and many politics watchers will tell you that Hillary Clinton had a great week making history and picking up key endorsements, but the specter of the investigations of her private e-mail server and the Clinton Foundation still linger.
Joining me now from Minneapolis, Senator Amy Klobuchar, a supporter of Hillary Clinton.
Senator, welcome back to "Fox News Sunday."
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR, D-MINN., CLINTON SUPPORTER: Well, thank you. It's great to be on, Bret.
BAIER: Senator, obviously the breaking news today has dominated the morning. At least 20 dead. The authorities down in Florida looking at this as an act of terror. Possibly the shooter with a -- a leaning towards radical Islamic ideology. Your thoughts on this as it develops this morning.
KLOBUCHAR: Well, I can't even imagine what the families of these victims and those injured are going through. We're praying for them. But as your commentators just pointed out from Brit to George Will to Julie to Juan, it is just too early to know. We know this was a premiere gay nightclub in Orlando. We know that there was one question asked about what connections that this man might have to Islamic extremism. And we just don't know enough about what happened here. And as being the local prosecutor during 9/11 when they caught Moussaoui, of course, in our state, I know that when these things come together, you want to make sure that you have the evidence clear before you make statements about what the solution was, what could have happened here.
But, once again, if that is in fact the case, I think we know some of the things that have to happen here. The continual work to root out this evil at its roots at the enclave of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, to stop the flow of the international money, to go after the recruiting that we've seen in the U.S. over the Internet.
BAIER: Now, understanding with all the caveats in place as we learn more about this and the investigation, in Minnesota, for example, there have been numerous cases about people being recruited to go to ISIS or to be a part of the ISIS campaign.
KLOBUCHAR: Yes. In fact, FBI Director Jim Comey was just in Minnesota commending our U.S. attorney's office and local FBI here for the work they've done, dozens of indictments, recent jury verdicts. And what we've found here is that this is not always these terror cells and those kinds of things, that just individual people are recruited over the Internet. No mom wants their kid recruited to go fight for ISIS. And one of the things we're proud of here is our Muslim community, our Somali community. We have the biggest Somali community in the country and they have come together against this kind of evil and have been helpful, have worked with law enforcement. So I thought it was important what Senator Sessions said at the beginning of this show, which is that you don't want to indict an entire religion, you don't want to indict an entire community over a lone wolf.
BAIER: Also Senator Sessions raised concerns about these events eventually leading to conversations about guns and gun rights and had a problem with the secretary, Secretary Clinton, not being able to answer last weekend that definitively, that an individual's right to bear arms is a constitutional right.
KLOBUCHAR: Well, I didn't see that interview, but I -- I know that she believes in the right for individuals to have guns and -- and I believe in the Second Amendment. I believe she does as well.
But what she's been talking about here is simply something that the vast majority of the American people believe in, and that is some background checks, which the Supreme Court has left open in its gun decision, that, in fact, you could have more enhanced background checks. The idea that you shouldn't have stalkers be able to go out and get a gun and some of the -- the things that I think would be a --a vast hope in saving lives, including the fact that people on the terror watch list can still get guns. So I think what she's talking about here are some sensible reforms.
BAIER: Let's turn to politics now, senator. Secretary Clinton told The Wall Street Journal she’ll deliver a speech about this speech will be the right track/wrong track question. The average of polls has about 65 percent of Americans saying the country’s currently on the wrong track. The latest poll to ask the question, who would do a better job of creating jobs has Donald Trump beating Secretary Clinton by 11 points.
So, given those numbers, I asked Secretary Clinton Wednesday what she would do as president that would be different than President Obama on the economy. She didn't have too many specifics. She said infrastructure projects and blamed the Republican Congress for holding that up. So I -- I put the same question to you. How would a President Hillary Clinton deal with the economy differently than President Obama would?
KLOBUCHAR: Well, I think, first of all, because there's been a primary on the Democratic side that's just ending, she hasn't had that opportunity to show this clear contrast with her opponent, Donald Trump, in terms of what is going to be -- what her economic plan is. What we do know is that his plan right now would cost $30 trillion added to the debt in 20 years, $11 trillion in ten years. We know that he has called himself the king of debt and that he has even put the country's full faith in credit at question.
Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, has worked very hard to find paid fors for the things she proposes, like infrastructure investment. And when you look at what President Obama inherited, he inherited a mess. The first month he took office, we were losing more jobs than there were people in the state of Vermont and we’ve had steady, stable job growth since that time.
What I see this is that the next president is going to be governing from opportunity, not from crisis. President Obama saw us through this crisis and now we have an opportunity -- an opportunity to invest in more roads and bridges and opportunity to do something about immigration reform, an opportunity to move forward to help middle class people to pay for college and other things that are really going to help us in a highly competitive, global economy.
BAIER: Do you think it's a conflict of interest that President Obama endorses Hillary Clinton, even while the investigation with his FBI continues on the e-mails and the Clinton Foundation?
KLOBUCHAR: OK. So, first of all, I think that President Obama, you would expect the sitting president to endorse a candidate from his own party. He's going to have some incredible credibility to talk about this. He started out as her adversary and he’s seen her, he’s worked next to her, he’s seen how she responded to crisis.
But in terms of your question, I'd say this investigation, if he was so bias or the administration was so bias, wouldn't have even began. It began and it has been ongoing and, in fact, it is overseen by the head of the FBI, Jim Comey. I happen to go to law school with him. I, obviously, have not discussed this investigation with him. But when you spend three years with someone in a class of less than 200 people, you get to know their reputation.
BAIER: Yes.
KLOBUCHAR: And he is a man of high integrity. He was a Bush U.S. attorney. He is a Bush appointed deputy attorney general. And that is the man who is overseeing this investigation. So I see that as separate from any political endorsement that the president may make.
BAIER: Well, you know, there are more e-mails that have markings we're told that -- that were classified from their origin. House -- House lawmakers are looking for more answers on that. But either way they were -- they were on the server, the home brew server. This is from the "Associated Press" just this last week. Quote, "at least 47 of the e-mails contain the notation ‘B3 CIA PER/ORG,’ which indicates the material referred to CIA personnel or matters related to the agency."
It seems, senator, that we're getting more and more nuggets about this investigation every few days. So how can Secretary Clinton definitively say that there won't be an FBI referral and that there won't be an indictment?
KLOBUCHAR: Well, again, as a former prosecutor, I haven't seen those documents, but I think what she knows and what has been widely accepted is that, in fact, number one, no evidence of actual hacking. There's been some hackers out there talking about it, or attempts. Number two, that it appears that classified systems have not been used. And, number three, we have to look at the totality of the evidence here, and that's something that the FBI will be doing and the Justice Department will be doing.
But I think one glaring question I have is, the media, of course, it is your job, Bret, to go on these kind of fishing expedition, to look at every page of the 55,000 pages of e-mails she's released. But on the other hand, you have Donald Trump not releasing one page of his tax returns. Something every major candidate on every major ticket has done for years. Secretary Clinton has released hers going back 30-some years. And so I do think that that is something that's going to be also a big deal during this campaign because of the allegations and all the questions raised about how he's not paying people that worked for him for the casinos, questions raised about Trump University. And so I think you're going to have, on both sides, but you can't even drop the line into the water here --
BAIER: Yes.
KLOBUCHAR: On his tax returns and here she has released 55,000 pages of e-mails.
BAIER: And we continue to ask questions about those tax returns.
You mentioned Trump University. The Clinton campaign out with an ad about Trump University, attacking Donald Trump. And, obviously, Trump University has gotten a lot of attention and focus in recent days. But another education controversy has not gotten as much coverage, that's Laureate Education. Since 2010, the former president, Bill Clinton, has brought in just short of $16.5 million for his role as an honorary chancellor of Laureate Education. Bloomberg examined this -- this nonprofit run by Laureate’s chairman called International Youth Foundation, IYF. It's public filings show that 2010 they got 14 grants versus -- worth $15 million from the U.S. government, state or USAID, 2011, 13 grants, $14.6 million. The following year they jumped up to 21 grants worth $25.5 million, including a direct grant from the State Department. So you’ve got $55 million in three years, senator, going to this group when Hillary Clinton is secretary of state and the former president is then the chancellor of this education. Is there a problem with that? Will that be a focus in the election?
KLOBUCHAR: OK. Well, first of all, I don't know what that has to do with her being secretary of state. I do know -- and I don’t know the facts of this --
BAIER: Well, because the grants came from the State Department.
KLOBUCHAR: OK. Well, I have no -- I have -- OK, thank you. I just haven’t looked at the facts of this. But I -- I just -- first of all, believe all these things are going to be vetted out through the next few months. I also believe that that Clinton Foundation has given 89 percent of the money that it has to charitable causes, including reducing AIDS greatly around the world. And so there's no doubt, and commended by former President Bush and others, that it has done good work. And so all of these things are going to be vetted out.
But what I really want to have this discussion start on, what the people that I talk to in Minnesota care about, is which candidate is going to be the more stable leader for our economy going forward, for our world going forward, who is going to be the one that can bring the country together. And for me that answer is Hillary Clinton.
BAIER: Last thing, senator. You’re on the Judiciary Committee. And, quickly, how potent an issue will the Republicans lack of action on the Supreme Court nomination on Judge Garland be, do you believe, in 2016 for your side?
KLOBUCHAR: Well, I believe this hits right in the senators races. The senators who have not even allowed a hearing to go forward. For me, when I look at history, and for those that want to protect the Constitution that says that we should advise and content on the president's nominees, and you go back to when judiciary hearings started for -- since 1916, we have had a hearing for every nominee except ten or so of them that confirmed within two weeks. And so if you respect history, if you respect the Constitution, we should at least have a hearing and an up or down vote on this man that oversaw the Oklahoma City bombing, he oversaw the Unabomber investigation. He’s a man of integrity. Someone who works well with Republican appointed judges. Someone who is a consensus builder, the exact type of judge that should be nominated during this difficult time.
BAIER: Senator Klobuchar, thank you again for your time today and thanks for dealing with the breaking news.
KLOBUCHAR: Well, it was good to be on. Thank you, Bret.
BAIER: When we come back, we'll bring back the panel to discuss President Obama's endorsement of Clinton and the impact on the active federal investigations involving her.
But first, sad news to report. The Associated Press is reporting that George Voinovich, former Republican senator and two term Ohio governor, has died. Voinovich was one of the most popular buckeye state politicians of his generation. His death comes weeks before Republican National Convention that his home city of Cleveland will host. George Voinovich dead at 79.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I guarantee that there is no political influence in any investigation conducted by the Justice Department or the FBI.
BAIER: The Clinton Foundation investigation, the FBI investigation into the e-mail, you're saying zero chance that this is a problem for you in this election?
CLINTON: Absolutely. That's what I'm saying. That happens to be the truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: President Obama telling "Fox News Sunday" in April there are no politics involved in the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private server and Clinton this week telling me it won't affect her run for the White House.
We're back now with our panel.
Julie, what about that? I mean she's had arguably, if you even talk to anybody who’s running against her, a pretty good week politically, but this is still lingering and hanging over the Clinton campaign.
PACE: She's had probably her strongest week of this primary season. Not only did she essentially put Bernie Sanders away, but she got very quickly President Obama, Vice President Biden, Senator Warren to rally around her. I think you're going to see Senator Sanders, in the next couple of days, meeting with her and likely backing her as well.
At the same time, if you look over these next five months, the biggest challenge that Hillary Clinton will have will likely be this perception that she is not honest, that she is not trustworthy. And it's not necessarily about one matter. It's not just the e-mails. It's not just the Clinton Foundation. It is this general impression that if the Clintons are back in the White House, that these types of things will continue. And if the election becomes a referendum on that, then I think that she's going to be in trouble. Obviously her campaign is going to try to make this about Donald Trump and not these -- these issues, and that will -- that will be one of the questions that we have to ask going forward, what is this about?
BAIER: Brit, the latest Fox News poll shows that more than a third of Democrats think that Hillary Clinton lied about her e-mails, 64 percent of independents say she's lying about her e-mails. That's politically a problem.
HUME: Politicians as a whole are not trusted and are thought to be habitual liars, but her numbers on this are sort of over the moon. And it’s -- and it -- and it embodies the paradox of this campaign, which is that each candidate is the other's best hope. Hillary Clinton, with her untrustworthy reputation -- reputation for being untrustworthy, Donald Trump with -- with his very high negative each represent the other's best chance. And -- and that was -- that was perfectly illustrated when you asked Amy Klobuchar to identify what it was that Hillary Clinton would do differently from Donald -- from Barack Obama on the economy. And she answered by talking about Donald Trump and what he might do. That's what we're in for and that's where this goes.
I don’t -- I -- whether she's indicted or not, she's going to carry this burden of not being trusted into the general election. No question about it. Whether -- whether that will be -- whether Trump's negatives on that and other issues, this trustworthiness, will be enough to deliver her the election is the question.
BAIER: So, to Brit's point, Juan, who can make the other candidate more untrustworthy or paint them in a way that affects voters’ thoughts about that is better positioned to win?
WILLIAMS: Without a doubt. I mean that's why this is going to be a real, you know, dirt bag-type campaign. I mean I think you already see the kind of --
BAIER: Should we put that in quotes or --
WILLIAMS: Well, I mean, it's pretty obvious. You guys look at the advertising, look how the money’s being spent, and it's, you know, for example, on the Hillary Clinton side, putting out ads using Trump's words against Trump as he makes obnoxious statements about one group of people or another.
The question I think is, well, knowing that Hillary Clinton had a good week but that her numbers remain highly negative, so what are the chances that she would be indicted? We see no indication at this point from FBI, from legal authorities, no leaks in the press, that, oh, an indictment is pending. To the contrary, we've seen that if someone was going to do that, you would have heard something, especially with the conventions approaching and before the highly politicized general election season.
BAIER: We don't have a timing, George, but we do have these nuggets about the actual e-mails and the classified nature of them and what they discuss and the CIA personnel and the drone operations. And more and more every day we seem to get little things that suggest that maybe there's more there.
WILL: And we don't know the timetable, but director Comey of the FBI is a big boy and he's vastly experienced in Washington and he knows this is taking place in the context of this election of the next chief executive. So it's inconceivable to me that they’re not going to act with more than deliberate speed on this.
So much attention has been focused on this, however, that I think she stands to win big if nothing happens. That is, if there's no criminal referral sent to the Justice Department because people will say, this took a long time. It was extremely thorough. They found nothing. That's what -- the way it will be presented. This is a binary choice, yes or no. And the way it comes out is potentially very good for her.
BAIER: You know, Julie, we see these stories about Donald Trump and how he ran his businesses, the casinos and the allegations that he didn't pay people to finish work. But on the flipside, the Clintons have all of this Clinton Foundation stuff, the Laureate Education, that hasn't even been delved into yet. I asked Senator Klobuchar about it. It is a wash when it comes to the public and looking at the back stories here?
PACE: It -- it might end up being that. that might be the effect of it. There -- there is -- there are so many stories on both sides about so much money floating around that really for most Americans is just inconceivable to think about. I do think that the argument that the Clintons are going to make about Donald Trump and some of these stories is that the controversies are focused on him trying to hurt or -- or con average Americans and that they will say that that is the difference, that he is creating businesses like Trump University or not paying contractors for some of his casinos and that the fallout is on average Americans while he benefits. So I think that that is where they’re going to try to push that story line with Trump.
BAIER: But the Trump people are going to push the Clinton Foundation line.
HUME: Of course they are. And isn’t it interesting, Bret, that now that Trump is officially the nominee, we know he has it, that stories that were lying out there to be picked up off the street, like the stories about the people who got hurt in his bankruptcies while he prospered, the stories about, you know, his refusal to pay contractors on time and trying to chisel down the payments that he’s, you know, contracted to make in his building projects and so forth. They’re certainly appearing there -- you know, they’re -- they’re -- they’re flourishing everywhere. They could have been done earlier. One has suspicions as to why they were held.
BAIER: Last thing, Juan, we look at a lot of polls, but Gallop has a poll out about the president's job approval rating, now up to 53 percent. At this time, George W. Bush was in the 20s in 2008. Is that a -- a sign that Democrats are well positioned for Hillary Clinton, no matter what kind of candidate she is?
WILLIAMS: Well, you and I both know historically that the president's approval rating, when it’s -- he is, you know, believe -- well, his party is a key indicator of the success -- likely success of his party going into that election. So very good news at the moment for Hillary Clinton.
BAIER: Panel, that's all the time we have. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you all next week.
Coming up, a final word on the mass shooting and the investigation in Orlando.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPECIAL AGENT DANNY BANKS, FL DEPT. OF LAW ENFORCEMENT: Do we consider this an act of terrorism? Absolutely. We are investigating this from all parties' perspective as an act of terrorism. Any time that we have potentially dozens of victims in any of our communities that I think we can qualify that as a -- as terrorist activity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: Breaking news now. We can confirm that the shooter, the suspect in this case, who is dead, was, in fact, Muslim, and that authorities say the number of fatalities will increase dramatically we're told.
Stay tuned to this channel and Fox News Channel for continuing coverage of that mass shooting at that nightclub in Orlando. Again, right now the number stands at 20 killed, 42 others wounded after that gunman took hostages and opened fire earlier this morning. The gunman shot dead.
We’ll have continuing coverage here on Fox. Thanks for joining us here in Washington. I'm Bret Baier.
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