'Special Report' All-Star Panel on Biden's meeting with Macron, Virginia governor's race

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Ben Domenech 'could not believe' proposed payments to illegal immigrants

'Special Report' All-Star Panel talks Biden's meeting with France's Macron, payments to illegal immigrants and the Virginia governor's race.

This is a rush transcript of "Special Report" on October 29, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL CLIMATE ENVOY: He had not been aware of that. He literally had not been aware of what had transpired.

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What happened was, to use an English phrase, what we did was clumsy. It was not done with a lot of grace. I was under the impression certain things had happened that hadn't happened.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: Now what's important is precisely to be sure that such a situation will not be possible for our future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: It was a major diplomatic blunder, the U.S. not telling France of an end to a submarine deal, a big one, dealing, instead with Australia. And the French were really upset about it, so much so they pulled the ambassador from the U.S., the French ambassador to the U.S. out. Now, the president said it was clumsy mistake. Didn't apologize, but that's the first part of his Europe trip.

We'll start there with our panel, Ben Domenech, publisher of "The Federalist," Harold Ford Jr., former Tennessee Congressman, CEO of Empowerment and Inclusion Capital, and Trey Gowdy, former Congressman from South Carolina. Trey, clumsy, and he didn't even know about it is what he told the French President Macron.

TREY GOWDY, FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA REPRESENTATIVE: Yes, I'm not sure I would have admitted that, even if it were true. I can tell you, imagine how bad your life is when you are happier meeting with the president of France who you stiffed in a submarine deal, you would rather do that than go meet with the Progressive Caucus in the house. How bad is your life if you prefer that?

(LAUGHTER)

BAIER: So let's turn there, Harold. We saw what happened last night up on Capitol Hill, the punt to next week. There is still some thought that it might be two weeks. Some people are saying some time before Thanksgiving where this all gets ironed out. It's pretty ugly. It may still happen, but it's pretty ugly.

HAROLD FORD JR., FORMER TENNESSEE REPRESENTATIVE: Thanks for having me on, and I would agree with you. It's not the way, I'm sure, he orchestrated or choreographed it. But sometimes bigtime legislation is not choreographed, is not choreographable in the way you may like.

At the end of the day, if they get this passed, $1.75 trillion. You have $1.2, $1.25 trillion package for infrastructure, that's $3 trillion he would have gotten in the first year in the presidency. Again, to your point, it has not been pretty. But I give credit to some of the -- a lot of progressives, because they kept their word. I think now the question is whether or not Senators Manchin and Sinema can keep their word as well. And if they do, we will pass an historic piece of legislation, again, not pretty the way they did it. We often don't see this kind of sausage-making. We just happen to be seeing it in this instance.

BAIER: Talk about not pretty, Ben. This story that was from "The Wall Street Journal" and now is moving forward about the possible plans to pay illegal immigrants who have been separated in their families some $450,000 or more. Representative Dan Crenshaw tweeting out "Biden wants to pay illegal immigrants $450,000 for their hardship while breaking our laws. For perspective, if a servicemember is killed in action, their next of kin gets an insurance payment of $400,000. Let that sink in." I'm not sure I believed this story when I first read it, Ben. But there hasn't been push back yet, and we haven't gotten an official shoot down of this story.

BEN DOMENECH, PUBLISHER, "THE FEDERALIST": Bret, as a publisher of "The Federalist" people pitch me, occasionally, stories. And when this one came into my email, I reacted by assuming that it was not true. I could not believe that something like this was actually happening. And yet, we are seeing that there is not pushback of this, that this is something that is ongoing. And the amount of backlash that I think you are going to see to this is just going to be unprecedented. People are not going to accept this and just go along with it.

And just to circle back to Harold's point. I don't think that this dog's breakfast of a bill or a fire festival dinner, if you want the more current recollection, is going to be something that you can actually sell to the American people. The Biden administration seems to be going down this road of meandering through all of these different topics that are of the utmost importance to the American people, and then just sort of saying trust us, what we're doing is going to be something that you like when they have no major thing, no major thing to point to that's actually going to make a difference. And certainly the fact that they couldn't get this done in time for the Virginia election is something that weighs on the minds of a lot of D.C. Democrats tonight.

BAIER: Well, and particularly Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia election.

And speaking of which, final days before Tuesday's Election Day, we saw the poll that we had last night, a big shift in that race. Now, you have got a lot of different things happening, the Youngkin communications director saying that "Terry McAuliffe's campaign has been the dirtiest, nastiest, most dishonest campaign in Virginia history. This morning they are closing out his career by going even lower."

There was this moment this morning where there were these guys with tiki torches, Trey, in front of a Youngkin bus saying we are all in for Glenn, suggesting -- hearkening back to Charlottesville and the Nazis and the white supremacists who marched in that march. Late today -- there was a lot of allegations that they were Democrats, actually. The Lincoln Project said that they are taking credit, or saying that they were behind it. The Youngkin people are saying they think they are Democrats.

Bottom line, you have got a lot of stuff going on. Then you look at this. This is a flier that came out in which you would think that it's Youngkin just being endorsed by Donald Trump, and that's a Republican thing, and Trump next to Youngkin and thumbs up. But if you look closely, on the back of this flier it's the Democratic Party of Virginia and specifically the McAuliffe campaign that really wants that tie between Donald Trump and Glenn Youngkin.

GOWDY: Yes, Bret, if people say that it was Democrats and the Lincoln Project, they are both right. The Lincoln Project is a bunch of Democrats. So this is why people hate politics. There may be reasons to not vote for Glenn Youngkin, but he's not a white supremacist. So the fact that Democrats are on the verge of losing in Virginia for, what, the first time in 20 years, when you run a candidate who has been around since the Hamilton-Burr duel, and he is a Clinton acolyte that no one is excited about, Virginia Democrats found a way to make that state competitive.

BAIER: I will give you the last word, Harold. We're going to do without Winners and Losers, but you get the last word here.

FORD: If Glenn Youngkin, who has, I think, run a great campaign so far, who reminds me a little bit of Trey Gowdy and some of the Republicans that I served with whom I respected to greatly, if he decides to bring in a guy, which I think he is going to bring in Donald Trump in the last few days, who lost that state by 10 points, maybe he doesn't have it locked up yet.

This campaign has not been the prettiest campaign, but we'll have an outcome Tuesday. And I agree, it will portend what will happen in next year's midterms. But I wouldn't count Terry McAuliffe out, and I certainly, for Glenn Youngkin to bring Donald Trump in, it leads me to believe he doesn't have this locked up yet.

BAIER: All right, Ben. I owe you next time. Thank you, panel. Have great weekend.

When we come back, "Notable Quotables."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Well, it's Friday, you know what that means -- "Notable Quotables."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, when you're president -- see all these people here? They are with you all the time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bongiorno, Bill.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, no, doing the hokey pokey, one foot in, one foot out. So we need certainty.

BIDEN: No one got everything they wanted, including me.

SEN. MITT ROMNEY, (R-UT): A trillion seconds ago Neanderthals walked the earth. So a trillion is an enormous amount of money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you get a chance, go vote. Because we're chasing you. We are calling you. We are texting you. We're knocking at your door.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe this election will be fair. I believe this election will come out big time in our favor.

BIDEN: Extremism can come in many forms. It can come in a smile and a fleece vest.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY, (R-LA): Somebody at the White House has been smoking the devil's lettuce.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think we have a problem in a caravan coming towards the border now? Wait until the word gets out that you actually get paid for breaking the law.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't believe it's reasonable to read this memorandum as killing anyone's rights. It's about threats of violence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank God you are not on the Supreme Court. You should resign in disgrace, Judge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live long and prosper with candy.

FORD: Your book "To Rescue the Republic" is number one on the "New York Times" bestseller list. Congratulations.

BAIER: Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: I still owe Harold for that one. And smoking the devil's lettuce, that's a new one for Senator Kennedy. Monday on SPECIAL REPORT, we'll talk with Laura Ingraham about the news of the day, plus, her new FOX Nation special about California. Also have our political panel discussing the Virginia's governor's race on the eve of Election Day. We have a special Tuesday.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in Florida, Republican Senator Rick Scott will be guests on FOX NEWS SUNDAY with Chris Wallace this weekend. So check your local listings for that.

Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for the SPECIAL REPORT, fair, balanced, and still unafraid. "FOX NEWS PRIMETIME" is still hosted by Brian Kilmeade. It starts right now. Brian?

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