Steve Hayes: Biden admin is 'faltering' trying to explain legality of vaccine mandates
All-Star panel discusses Republican Governors pushback against Biden's vaccine mandates and 9/11 remembrance on 'Special Report'
This is a rush transcript of "Special Report with Bret Baier" on September 10, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. Today our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: President Bush in the Oval Office on September 11th, 2001, 20 years later. Let's start there with our panel, Leslie Marshall, Democratic strategist, "Washington Post" columnist Marc Thiessen, and Steve Hayes, editor of "The Dispatch." Steve, 20 years, a long time fighting the war on terror, but now with the Taliban in control, it's not going away any time soon.
STEVE HAYES, EDITOR, "THE DISPATCH": No, it's not going away. I think there is a pretty good argument that it will escalate. There is a sad sort of bookend to those remarks from George W. Bush, and it's the Taliban tomorrow coming into office, 20 years to the day, since the attacks on 9/11, taking over the country officially, 20 years to the day.
If you go back and you look at the rhetoric from Al-Qaeda leaders, from Taliban leaders in the years since we have been fighting this war, they basically predicted this. Usama bin Laden in letters that we recovered from the compound where he was killed suggested that really what Al-Qaeda needed to do, what the jihadists needed to do, what the global jihadist movement needed to do was simply be patient and outwait the Americans. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, told his interrogators, and I'm going to read the quote to make sure that I get it right, "We will win because Americans don't realize we do not need to defeat you militarily. We only need to fight long enough for you to defeat yourself by quitting." I actually read that in a Marc Thiessen column in the "The Washington Post"
several years ago.
But that was their plan all along. And I think, unfortunately, when you look at what is going to happen tomorrow and what's happening today, they were right.
BAIER: Leslie, the president is going to attend various memorial services, but as of now, he is not speaking. We may get a video some time tomorrow, but it's not a speech. It's interesting in the wake of Afghanistan, that choice on the 20th anniversary.
LESLIE MARSHALL, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think, also, because, as we know he lost his son, and his son had fought in Afghanistan, and that's not where he lost his life, but that he fully understands loss, having lost also his daughter and his first wife in that terrible car accident when he was younger.
I think he understands that tomorrow is a day for reflection and for remembrance. There was a clip that we had here right before the show, Bret, where somebody said that grief is cumulative, and it never really goes away. And he understands that. The people tomorrow honoring their family members fully understand that. So I think he is being respectful of those family members and of those that lost their lives. It's not a time to talk politics or policy. I applaud his decision to do that.
BAIER: Marc, to Steve's point, the Al-Qaeda websites are already touting this video supposedly upcoming from Ayman al-Zawahiri, the now leader, and new books, some 852 page book that he has written about the Al-Qaeda movement, obviously all in the wake of this Taliban resurgence.
MARC THIESSEN, COLUMNIST, "WASHINGTON POST": Yes. And Bret, as you know, I was in the Pentagon on 9/11. And if you had told me back then that on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 the Taliban would be back in power and KSM would still be alive, I would have never believed it. And the fact is Joe Biden had a hand in both of those travesties.
People forget, but in June, 2008, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed appeared before a military tribunal and offered to plead guilty. And I have a KSM quote, too.
The judge said "You understand this could bring the death penalty." And he said "I understand very well. That is what I wish. I wish to be martyred."
He wrote a letter to the judge.
BAIER: So why is this trial not happening. Is it because the U.S. thinks we'll lose? Is that why this is not going forward?
THIESSEN: What happened was he pleaded again in December of 2008, saying I want to have a hearing to have my confession. And what happened was, the Obama-Biden administration came to power, and they rejected his guilty plea and suspended the proceedings because they wanted to shut down Guantanamo Bay and move the trial to a civilian court. And then they reworked the military commissions process. So if they had not done that, if Obama and Biden had not tried to shut down Guantanamo Bay and moved the trial to civilian court, KSM would be dead by now.
BAIER: This is a big story because it's 20 years and Gitmo does not look like it's going anywhere after four administrations saying it was. I want to turn to the next topic when that's the vaccine pushback. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RON DESANTIS, (R) FLORIDA: How could we get to a point in the country where you would want to have someone lose their job because of their choice about the vaccine or not? I think forcing this and coercing people I don't think is the right decision. So I would imagine that you are going to see a lot of activity in the courts.
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Have at it. This is -- this is -- we are playing for real here. This isn't a game. The vast majority of the American people know we have to do these things. They are hard but necessary, and we're going to get them done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: Vaccine pushback, but vaccine mandate pushback, and what's happening with businesses potentially. Already states attorney general are drawing up these court plans, Steve.
HAYES: Yes, look. I'm vaccinated. I'm very pro-vaccine. I'm frustrated with people who are not choosing to get vaccinated. But I don't think the president of the United States has the authority to do what he is trying to do here. And I think we have seen them falter again and again as they've tried to explain this authority.
We have seen this in the reporting on this. We have seen generous interpretation of what the Biden administration is trying to do here.
Certainly, under the Trump administration when Donald Trump pushed the limits of the law, he was condemned for breaking norms, and I think correctly criticized for that. When Joe Biden does it, though, the reporting on it suggests that this is novel and creative. I don't think it's novel and creative and I don't think it's a good idea.
BAIER: It's amazing the different reporting.
Quickly, Winners and Losers. Leslie, winner first, then loser.
MARSHALL: My winner are the candidates for prime minister in the nation of Canada who all came together to record an ad or a PSA to tell everybody in Canada to get vaccinated, because even though they are competing for the same job, they know that we Canadians are all in this together. And you want my loser now?
BAIER: Yes.
MARSHALL: OK, my loser is Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel for comparing the vaccine mandate, what we just spoke about, to the Gestapo knocking on your door. Nothing like it at all.
BAIER: All right, Winner and Loser, quickly, Marc.
THIESSEN: My winner is Kevin Dowdell, the New York firefighters who died in the twin towers. He left behind two sons, one son Patrick who went to West Point and fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, and another son James who joined the FDNY and is now in his father's old house. America is a great country because of families like the Dowdells.
My loser is Joe Biden. Imagine screwing up so badly that even you recognize that you don't have the moral authority to address the American people on the anniversary of September 11, 2001.
BAIER: We'll save a winner and loser for you next time, Steve. Got to go.
Thank you, panel.
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