Trump campaigns in Arizona while Biden campaigns in Delaware
President holds two campaign rallies battleground state as voting day nears; John Roberts reports.
This is a rush transcript from “Special Report” October 28, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I can guess, Jesse. Thank you. Good evening, welcome to Washington. I'm Bret Baier.
Breaking tonight, we're following three big stories. Chaos on Wall Street over COVID spikes and European lockdowns, urgency on the campaign trail with new state and national polls, and violence and looting in Philadelphia. We'll go live there shortly as authorities braced for another night of protests after the fatal police shooting of a black man.
President Trump and Joe Biden continue to campaign in vastly different ways as we enter the final week before Election Day.
The massive sell-off on Wall Street tied to investors amid fears of the new coronavirus surge and its effects on the global economy.
We begin though with politics. Joe Biden sticking close to home voting and making remarks about the coronavirus in Wilmington, Delaware.
President Trump is in Arizona tonight trying to keep what was once a reliable Republican state from turning blue. He's making a speech right now in Goodyear following an earlier appearance today in Bullhead City.
Tomorrow, both the President and Joe Biden campaign in Florida.
Chief White House correspondent John Roberts is in Doral tonight. Good evening, John.
JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Bret, good evening to you. The president of course has made law and order a big part of his campaign. Today, the president appearing to agree with Pennsylvania's Democratic Governor Tom Wolf that the National Guard did need to be called in to quell the violence that has been raging in Philadelphia but the president also blaming Democratic politicians for allowing it to happen in the first place.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank everybody --
ROBERTS: At a Las Vegas roundtable with trucking retail and builders'
associations this afternoon. President Trump weighing in on the riots that have gripped Philadelphia for the past two days, reinforcing his law and order platform.
TRUMP: What I'm witnessing is terrible and frankly, that the mayor or whoever it is that's allowing people to riot and loot and not stop them is also just a horrible thing. You can't let that go on. Again, a Democrat-run state, a Democrat-run city.
ROBERTS: The president saying the federal government is looking at the shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. and hammering Joe Biden for condemning the violence but not the groups behind it.
TRUMP: This is a group that he supports. He doesn't want to condemn them. I saw that he doesn't want to condemn them. You have to condemn. You have to be strong. You can't have chaos like that.
ROBERTS: President Trump made the remarks before departing for Arizona. Two rallies in a must-win state where the RCP average of poll shows Joe Biden with a slight lead.
TRUMP: A vote for Biden is a vote for the biggest tax hike in the history of our country. He wants to knock out your Medicare, your Social Security and he wants to abolish a thing called American energy.
ROBERTS: Arizona has been among the reddest of states voting only once for a Democrat Bill Clinton in 1996 since Harry Truman won it back in 1948. But shifting demographics and concerned about coronavirus, President Trump now fighting to hang on to it.
TRUMP: Under Biden's cruel and senseless lockdowns, countless Americans will die and you know this, from suicide, drugs, deferred medical care. The Biden plan will crush you, will crush your family. We will crush the virus.
ROBERTS: On the campaign trail and on Twitter, President Trump trying to move the needle past COVID. Tweeting this morning, COVID, COVID, COVID is the unified chant of the fake news lamestream media. They will talk about nothing else until November 4th when the election will be hopefully over.
Then the talk will be how low the death rate is, plenty of hospital rooms and many tests of young people.
Campaigning for his former Vice President, Barack Obama suggesting, President Trump is frustrated with sharing the limelight.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: COVID, COVID, COVID, he's complaining. He's jealous of COVID's media coverage.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And after years of speculation, we finally learned today who anonymous is, Miles Taylor the former chief of staff for the Department of Homeland Security came forward to say it was he who penned the anonymous op-ed in The New York Times and wrote the book.
It should be pointed out that since Taylor left the Department of Homeland Security, he has been very publicly under his own name slamming President Trump.
The White House today firing back referring to Taylor as a "Low-level disgruntled employee, a liar, and a coward", Bret.
BAIER: That was a big decision by The New York Times. John, thank you.
We will hear what Tony Bobulinski told Tucker Carlson last night in just a bit. Eight million of you watched that on Tucker Carlson last night here on Fox.
With just under a week before the voting stops, Joe Biden has filled out his ballot and turned it in. Biden is once again remaining close to his home base in Delaware. Correspondent Peter Doocy reports tonight from Wilmington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: The Bidens were wearing matching stickers this afternoon because that state-building in Wilmington is 45 minutes away from Philadelphia and the Democratic nominee has been monitoring the unrest there overnight.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think to be able to protest is totally legitimate. It's totally reasonable. But I think that the looting is just as the victim's father said, do not do this, it's not what my son -
- you're not helping. You're hurting. You're not helping my son.
DOOCY: The victim, Walter Wallace Jr. was killed following a standoff with police. Biden and Kamala Harris issued a joint statement that says in part, we cannot accept that in this country a mental health crisis ends in death.
Now, Biden is using the shooting itself to remind people he's got plans for police reform.
BIDEN: I know the local folks (INAUDIBLE) thinking about it as well, and that is how we deal with how you diminish the prospect of lethal shooting in circumstances like the one we saw.
DOOCY: He talked about one such suggestion at a recent town hall.
BIDEN: Instead of anybody coming at you and the first thing you do shoot to kill, you shoot them in the leg.
DOOCY: The Democratic ticket is trying to expand the electoral map. Biden told that Texas Attorney hosting a virtual fundraiser today, you're bringing Texas into reach, old buddy. It's amazing. You told me, but I wouldn't have believed it. And last night, it was Georgia.
BIDEN: Folks, it's go time.
DOOCY: But today, Biden remained in Wilmington as Harris hit Arizona.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Joe and I have been clear from the beginning, we are going to talk with voters. We'll do it in a way that we don't risk their safety and their -- and their health.
DOOCY: A new ABC News Washington Post poll finds that in Michigan, Biden leads Trump 51 to 44. Close enough for campaign officials to announce, that's where Biden will appear in person for the first time this cycle alongside Barack Obama in a campaign that's been mostly about COVID-19.
BIDEN: This is not political, it's patriotic. Wearing a mask, wear one, period.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOOCY: Today, I stood as close as I could get and shouted for the former vice president. Hoping to ask about these accusations of wrongdoing by Hunter Biden's former business partner Tony Bobulinski, but Biden only fielded questions today from the small protective press pool that's been assigned to be in his bubble with him this week. And those questions were about Philadelphia and health care. We will try again tomorrow in Florida, Bret.
BAIER: Keep trying. Peter Doocy, thanks.
The U.S. Supreme Court has just issued orders refusing to fast track an effort by Pennsylvania Republicans to block an extended deadline for mail- in ballots. Newly sworn-in Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not rule on this order. It's the second time the High Court has ruled for state Democrats in recent days.
COVID infection rates are reaching new highs across much of the country especially in rural areas that previously had been spared cases on the rise. Cases are on the rise in all but two states Hawaii and Delaware.
Deaths are climbing in 39 states tonight.
A member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force says the increase in U.S. cases is not just because of more testing. Admiral Brett Giroir says the proof of the increases in deaths and in the uptick in hospitalizations which have risen in at least -- by at least 10 percent in the past week in
32 states according to COVID tracking project data.
A record surging coronavirus cases is pushing hospitals to the brink in the border cities of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The metropolitan area there is home to three million people.
Less than a week after beginning the season, the University of Wisconsin has paused all football activities after a dozen positive tests. Saturday's game against Nebraska will not be played.
And the Boston Marathon scheduled for next April has been postponed until at least the fall of next year.
Well, that sent markets tanking. Stocks sank on the concerns about coronavirus and economic recovery. The Dow lost 943 for its worst drop since June. The S&P 500 fell 120, the NASDAQ plunged 426.
Let's get some analysis now from Connell McShane of Fox Business Network.
He joins us from New York. That was a tough one. Good evening, Connell.
CONNELL MCSHANE, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK ANCHOR: Well, it was a really tough one. It's been a tough week for (INAUDIBLE) -- you know, everything you're talking about leads to more fears that we might headed -- be headed back to an economic lockdown situation in this country.
You kind of combine that with some of the election uncertainty that's still out there. You know, there's more talk now that stimulus is less likely than ever.
And you get a day like this in a week like this, today the worst on Wall Street in four months. And it was really the usual suspects if you look at the stocks that were hit hard. You know, the airline stocks for example, really taking it on the chair and the likes of American United and Delta all in the red today.
These cruise ship stocks like Royal Caribbean and Carnival, these cruise ship operators wondering whether they'll ever get back to normal. Carnival down more than 10 percent in the trade today.
And then, the casino stocks. The Winds Resorts, MGM they both lost a lot of ground as well.
So, you know, to put this in perspective rather than just run through names that were down, the S&P 500 is made up of 11 different sectors. They were all down today, every single one of them.
The worst performers were energy and technology. We're watching tech very closely, to begin with because we're in the middle of earnings season right now, which is actually where some of the "good news" can be found from time to time.
As a matter of fact, so far of the 206 S&P companies that have reported, about 83 percent have topped expectations. But you're looking at these big tech names selling off today. Their CEOs testifying on Capitol Hill, so they were under pressure. And a whole slew of the tech companies report earnings tomorrow.
Now, Boeing reported today, that revenue was down 29 percent. Still, beat expectations but Boeing gave a pessimistic outlook predicting weaker aircraft demand for years to come and an airline industry that won't recover for fully at least for another three years according to Boeing.
So, all that is out there will make a final point on politics. Spoke to some investors about it today, what they said, many of them is that there had been a bed in the market in recent weeks that Democrats might sweep into power. They might take the White House, the Senate and the House, so that was actually seen by some as a short-term positive for stocks because it made stimulus more likely, Bret.
Well, now, some on Wall Street see that outcome is being less likely. They point to the tighter polls in key Senate races and even in some of the key battleground states in the race for the White House. And many of those same investors were betting on the economy to continue to reopen and move beyond the talk of lockdowns. But now, both of those trades this week being reversed, Bret.
BAIER: OK, Connell, thank you.
Italy has become the epicenter of outrage against expanding lockdowns in Europe because of the coronavirus. Senior foreign affairs correspondent Amy Kellogg reports tonight from Milan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMY KELLOGG, FOX NEWS CHANNEL SENIOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: This time around, Italians aren't taking it lightly. New restrictions have been put in place as coronavirus cases surge. Most dramatic, restaurants and bars which had sprung back to life over the summer are now forced to stop serving tables at 6:00 each day.
France tonight announced a new lockdown starting Friday but Italy is trying everything to avoid that. Still, people are already at the Boyle from Milan to Turin where protesters trashed a Gucci store to Rome where police resorted to water cannons. There is anger fueled by fear of falling into poverty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We can't have class A citizens and class B citizens. We all have the right to bring food to the table for our children. Well, in this way, it's not happening.
KELLOGG: In Germany which just announced a lockdown light, closing restaurants, and some entertainment venues for a month, demonstrations took on a carnival atmosphere but the message was dire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): How does it feel to be banned from working virtually overnight since March, and not a cent has fallen into your wallet since then? Warm words are of little help here.
KELLOGG: Around Europe, they worry about not having the staff or beds to handle this second wave. In France, military and commercial planes have been deployed to move patients from overtaxed regions to those that have beds.
In Belgium, reports of some asymptomatic medical staff with COVID being asked to keep working.
And in Russia, a nationwide mask mandate went into effect today as the government took its most drastic action yet to curb the spread of the virus.
Italy had drawn praise for being one of the most coronavirus restriction abiding countries. The pope, the only high-profile person who often skips the mask for fear it keeps him too distant from his flock. But now it's proving not so easy to convince people here and across the continent that staying shut and staying home is best.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KELLOGG: And Bret, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, this time around, we have two enemies, the coronavirus itself and corona fatigue growing weariness towards taking any further protective measures here, Bret.
BAIER: Amy Kellogg, live in Milan. Amy, thank you.
Up next, the latest accusations from the man who says he was Hunter Biden's business partner. Plus, technology companies' CEOs answer tough questions about that over the reaction to that story on Capitol Hill.
First, here is what some of our fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. Fox Richmond in Virginia, as a judge rules in favor of the Democratic governor's plans to remove an enormous statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. That said the state cannot immediately act on his directive.
The judge suspending his order, pending the resolution of an appeal by a group of residents who live near that statue.
Fox 2 in St. Louis, as a couple facing felony charges for waving guns at racial injustice protesters who marched near their home, asked a judge to remove the city's top prosecutor from the case. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, contend the prosecution is politically motivated.
And this is a live look at Los Angeles from Fox 11, our affiliate out there. The big story there tonight. The Dodgers capture their first World Series Championship since 1988.
They defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning -- Tampa Bay last night rather, to win Game Six and take the series, four games to two. Third base Justin Turner celebrated without a mask, a short time after being pulled from the game because of a positive COVID-19 test.
That is tonight's live look "OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY" from SPECIAL REPORT.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BAIER: The Joe Biden campaign is not commenting on a claim from a businessman who says he met at least twice with the former vice president to talk about his family's business dealings.
Tony Bobulinski spoke exclusively with Tucker Carlson tonight, almost 8 million of you watched. Senior political correspondent Mike Emanuel has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Former Hunter Biden business partner, Tony Bobulinski, spoke in great detail about his alleged meetings in 2017 with former Vice President Joe Biden.
TONY BOBULINSKI, FORMER ASSOCIATE OF HUNTER BIDEN: Why at 10 38, on the night of May 2nd would Joe Biden take time out of his schedule to sit down with me in a dark bar at the Beverly Hilton, sort of position behind a column so people couldn't see us, to have a discussion about his family and my family, and business at a very high level?
EMANUEL: Bobulinski described a second purported face-to-face with Biden after the former vice president spoke at the 2017 Milken Institute Global Conference.
BOBULINSKI: And he asked me to walk with him out to the car, and then, he just sort of asked me to keep an eye on his son and his brother.
EMANUEL: He says, he asked Joe Biden's brother, Jim, in 2017 if family overseas business dealings could damage Joe Biden's political future.
BOBULINSKI: I remember looking at Jim Biden and saying, how are you guys getting away with this like -- or aren't you concerned? And he sort of looked at me and he laughed a little bit and said plausible deniability.
EMANUEL: Bobulinski made reference to a document allegedly showing a loan of $5 million to the "BD family", which he says is the Biden family. And Bobulinski, says it wasn't his document, it was generated by the Chinese partners.
BOBULINSKI: So, I think Joe Biden and the Biden family are compromised.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
EMANUEL: When Fox reached out to the Biden campaign for comment about the alleged meetings, they declined to offer a response. Capitol Hill sources say they carefully studied Bobulinski's interview as the process of combing through his text messages, e-mails, and documentation continues in the hope of piecing together the larger puzzle about Biden business dealings. But their assessments of his credibility seem to break along party lines. Bret.
BAIER: Continue to follow it. Mike, thank you.
The heads of the three big tech firms faced-off against the Senate panel today over censorship accusations. Those claims come in the wake of social media's response to the New York Post's reporting on Hunter Biden's alleged business dealings with foreign adversaries.
The New York Post Twitter account was still locked today. Correspondent Gillian Turner has that story tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GILLIAN TURNER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Democrat and Republican senators agree social media is now playing god with American democracy, choosing whose posts stay up, who's come down, and whose gets blocked during a presidential election.
The CEOs of Facebook, Google, and Twitter faced bipartisan heat.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Who the hell elected you and put you in charge of what the media are allowed to report and what the American people are allowed to hear? And why do you persist in behaving as a democratic super PAC, silencing views?
JACK DORSEY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, TWITTER: We're not doing that. And this is why I opened this hearing with calls for more transparency.
TURNER: The heart of the matter for committee Republicans, what they say is censorship of Conservatives, including President Trump.
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): There's real mistrust among the American people about whether you're being fair or transparent.
TURNER: Democrats though see the bias tilting the other way.
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): I am appalled that my Republican colleagues seem to want to bully and browbeat the platforms here to try to tilt them toward President Trump.
TURNER: Mark Zuckerberg, argued Facebook has improved access to the polls.
MARK ZUCKERBERG, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, FACEBOOK: We estimate that we've helped more than 4.4 million people register to vote, and a hundred thousand people volunteer to be poll workers.
TURNER: At issue is whether Congress should revise a federal law known as Section 230. It gives Internet companies general liability for material posted on their networks, a so-called, safe harbor.
SUNDAR PICHAI, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, GOOGLE: I would urge the committee to be very thoughtful about any changes to Section 230 and to be very aware of the consequences, those changes might have on businesses and customers.
TURNER: Now, the Justice Department also weighing in, arguing in favor of revisions to Section 230. They cite the recent controversy surrounding the New York Post's reporting about Hunter Biden as well as a recent Supreme Court opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas. Bret.
BAIER: Gillian, thank you.
Up next, we continue our in-depth look at the issues in this election with a focus on the U.S. Supreme Court.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BAIER: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is singing his own praises tonight. McConnell, tells The New York Times, he has done what no other majority leader had in getting three U.S. Supreme Court justices confirmed.
"At the risk of tooting my own horn, look at the majority leaders since L.B.J. and find another one who was able to do something as consequential as this."
On the other side of the spectrum, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calls the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, one of the darkest days in the 231-year Senate history.
We continue our series tonight on the big issues in this 2020 campaign.
This evening, the U.S. Supreme Court. The bench is full tonight following this week's confirmation and swearing-in of Justice Barrett.
The controversial last-minute process led to an even further politicization of the High Court, according to Democrats. Correspondent David Spunt has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMY CONEY BARRETT, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES:
I, Amy Coney Barrett is solemnly swear --
DAVID SPUNT, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Now, that Justice Amy Coney Barrett is officially on the Supreme Court, the Conservatives hold a 6-3 majority, and Americans are sounding off one week before the election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To put her in right now, right at the end of it, I just feel like it's not how things should work.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that we need folks that follow the Constitution. The work didn't end with the forefathers. We have to continue the work and keep it to the original text. And Amy Coney Barrett would be perfect.
SPUNT: One of the biggest cases to come before the high court in recent years, the future of the Affordable Care Act. One week after the election, the justices will see whether the individual mandate forcing Americans to buy health insurance is unconstitutional. If so, the entire law could collapse.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've done a great job with it, but much better would be if we come up with brand-new health care.
We'll see what happens in the Supreme Court.
SPUNT: If former Vice President Joe Biden wins the election, he can only fill a spot on the court if someone leaves, that is unless he packs the court. Biden wants a bipartisan commission to study the idea. He was asked just yesterday about justices on the court serving for life.
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: There is some literature among constitutional scholars about the possibility of going from one court to another court, not just always staying the whole time on the Supreme Court.
But I have made no judgment.
SPUNT: How will Justice Barrett rule? When President George W. Bush appointed Chief Justice John Roberts to the court, conservatives rejoiced, but he sided with the liberal wing on several important cases.
THOMAS DUPREE, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Trying to predict how a Supreme Court justice is going to rule during his or her tenure on the bench is always a bit of a hazardous business. That said, I think it's a safe bet that a Justice Barrett would be a fairly reliable conservative.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SPUNT: Justice Barrett will participate in our first oral arguments on Monday, but she will do so remotely because of the pandemic. It may be months before she physically sets foot in the courtroom behind me. Bret?
BAIER: Davis Spunt at the U.S. Supreme Court. David, thank you.
One of the U.S. Senate races that could determine the balance of power in that chamber is in North Carolina. Incumbent Republican Senator Thom Tillis is trying to hold off Democrat challenger Cal Cunningham. Correspondent Mark Meredith takes a look this evening from Cornelius.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK MEREDITH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Senator Thom Tillis cast his ballot this morning near his home north of Charlotte. The first term Republicans is facing a competitive race against Iraq war veteran and former state senator Cal Cunningham. The latest polls show Tillis trailing his Democratic opponent by a slim margin. Tillis says he hopes undecided voters will focus on how the next Congress will impact the Supreme Court.
THOM TILLIS, (R-NC) SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: The first vote that Cal Cunningham would make would be for Chuck Schumer for leader, and Chuck Schumer will absolutely work to pack the courts and take this country in a direction it's never been.
MEREDITH: Democrats have outspent Republicans on the race with Cunningham's campaign spending $47 million to Tillis's $22 million. And while Cunningham is leading, he has avoided the media most of this month after admitting to having an inappropriate relationship with a woman outside of his marriage. Political experts say the scandal does not appear to be impacting the race.
MICHAEL BITZER, CATAWBA COLLEGE: He seems to be holding his own. Voters who are voting for Cal Cunningham in this post Trump world really don't see what the big issue is.
MEREDITH: North Carolinians are voting in record numbers. The state board of elections reports more than 800,000 people have returned mail-in ballots, more than 2.8 million have voted early in person. That's nearly half of the state's total number of registered voters.
MIKE PENCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Hello, North Carolina!
MEREDITH: Vice President Mike Pence held multiple rallies in North Carolina Tuesday. Republicans are eager to hold onto the state's 15 electoral votes, and on to Tillis's seat, which could decide the balance of power in the Senate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MEREDITH: Tillis may be getting a last-minute boost from President Trump.
The senator is expected to campaign alongside the president at a rally tomorrow night in Fayetteville. Bret?
BAIER: Mark Meredith in North Carolina. Mark, thanks.
The Trump campaign says local road closures and construction were to blame for hundreds of supporters being stranded in the cold following last night's rally in Omaha. The campaign says it deployed 40 buses instead of the usual 15. Police say six or seven people were taken to the hospital.
More were treated there for a variety of medical conditions.
Up next, we go live to Philadelphia where rioting and looting have been happening, are expected to continue for a third straight night with the National Guard being called out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BAIER: Hurricane Zeta is slamming into storm weary Louisiana tonight. New Orleans is squarely in its path. The storm is pelting homes and businesses with rain and high winds, threatening to push up to nine feet of seawater inland in a Gulf Coast region already pounded by multiple storms this year.
We will keep an eye on this storm as it goes through.
Meantime tonight, authorities in Philadelphia are preparing for another night of violence following the police involved fatal shooting of an African-American man Monday. This afternoon, the police commissioner said her department will release 911 tapes and bodycam footage of the incident in the very near future. Correspondent Leland Vittert is on the ground in Philadelphia again tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LELAND VITTERT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Flatscreen TVs float out of a Walmart as looters took out a five-block area of Philadelphia and helped themselves to everything from cases of liquor to new sneakers to artificial Christmas trees. One man pushed a washing machine on a dolly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in there recording. I didn't take anything.
VITTERT: Police say they arrested 81 people, representing a small fraction of the massive groups captured on video. Police responded to nearly a dozen shootings overnight, including disputes between people who were looting that ended in gunfire. Twenty-three officers were injured. The lawlessness went on for four hours and was 10 miles from where protestors clashed with riot police near where police shot and killed Walter Wallace. His family and their attorney addressed the media a day after the shooting. The lawyer didn't dispute police claims Wallace had a knife.
SHAKA JOHNSON, WALLACE FAMILY LAWYER: I saw a man get gunned down with at least a car-and-a-half length in between, who was not charging and was not lunging at police, who was in a mental health crisis. And they were notified of that by at least three previous occasions on the same day. I have problems with that.
VITTERT: Amateur video shows Walter Wallace coming close before they open fire. Earlier the same video shows police with weapons drawn, pleading with Wallace to put a knife down and retreating. The police commissioner acknowledged that neither officer had a taser, and says they hope to deploy them force-wide, but are short on funds. John McNesby, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police, defended his officers will standing in front of a looted retail store.
JOHN MCNESBY, PHILADELPHIA POLICE UNION PRESIDENT: We are calling on the city leadership to release the facts of this case. It's not hard. It's cut and dry. Release what you have, support your officers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VITTERT: Here on the streets the current focus is tonight where a new citywide curfew goes into effect in just about two-and-a-half hours. The National Guard may not arrive until this weekend. And last night, looters proved they can easily overwhelm the Philadelphia police. Bret?
BAIER: Leland Vittert live on the ground again tonight in Philadelphia.
Leland, thank you.
Up next, the panel with less than a week to go before the election where things stand. As we go to a break, let's go to President Trump in Goodyear, Arizona. He just pulled up. Martha McSally, Senate candidate, she's the current senator, she's in a tough race herself. We will hear Senator McSally as we got a break.
SEN. MARTHA MCSALLY, (R-AZ): -- President Trump for the great American comeback and a strong military to secure our borders and your Second Amendment rights, then I'm your girl, Arizona. I'm your girl.
(APPLAUSE)
MCSALLY: Vote Trump, McSally, let's save the country. God bless this earth.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you, thank you, Martha. Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: -- Chief Justice Roberts previous decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act in hopes that they can destroy the Affordable Care Act once and for all through the courts, no matter how many Americans they hurt in the process.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Under Biden's cruel and senseless lockdowns, countless Americans will die, and you know this, from suicide, drugs, deferred medical care.
The cure cannot be worse than the problem itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: Countdown to Election Day now. Here's the schedule for today. You just saw the president in Arizona, actually made two stops, Bullhead City and currently in Goodyear, former Vice President Biden stayed in Wilmington, Delaware, Vice President Pence in Wisconsin and Michigan, and Senator Harris in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona. This as polls show still nationally across the board that former vice president has a lead, but how big we don't know.
Let's bring in our panel, former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr., Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at "The Federalist," and Jonah Goldberg, editor in chief of "The Dispatch." Jonah, where do you put this race as we close in on Election Day?
JONAH GOLDBERG, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, as of the last time I checked earlier this evening, 75 million votes had already been banked, which is about 54 percent of the total vote in 2016. And while you can go crazy try to figure out the partisan breakdown of early voting and all of that, it does seem that if the national polls have been right in this remarkably stable way for a very long time, that even if the tally were being banked evenly in correspondence the polls, Joe Biden is the odds favor for winning.
It doesn't mean Trump can't win. We are hearing a lot of people who think that rallies are more important that polls, and that will be put to the test. But Joe Biden has the wind at his back right now, and the fact that he has banked so many of these votes has to be of real concern for the GOP, particularly if they are going to get out the vote on Election Day.
BAIER: And that is the question, the Election Day turn out. Mollie, there is the story that has not really been covered. It was this interview with Tony Bobulinski last night on Tucker Carlson. Again, I said earlier, almost
8 million people watched it. Here is just a brief clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BOBULINSKI: Why at 10:38 on the night of May 2nd would Joe Biden take time out of his schedule to sit down with me in a dark bar at the Beverly Hilton sort of positioned behind a column so people couldn't see us to have a discussion about his family and my family and business at a very high level.
I didn't request to meet with Joe. They requested that I meet with Joe.
They were putting their entire family legacy on the line. They knew exactly what they were doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: It was a very interesting interview. You can make your assessment of Tony Bobulinski yourself, but as far as the story, it is quite something. And we'll talk about the tech CEOs up on Capitol Hill today in a minute. Mollie?
MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE FEDERALIST": It's good to remember that Joe Biden's position is that he never, quote, never spoke about Hunter Biden's business with Hunter Biden. And what Tony Bobulinski, who was the CEO for the Biden family firm, Sino Hawk, says on the record and has supporting documentation to back up what he's saying is that that is not true and that Joe Biden was lying when he said that.
So we have two scandals here. One is the scandal of Joe Biden being part of a scheme to sell influence and not telling that, selling influence to foreign government linked firms such as this Chinese energy concern that is quite scandalous. And the second scandal is that the media are working so hard to cover it up, not just big media, but also big tech, that they have censored this story, really shamed anybody who tries to cover it, really tried to downplay it in one way or another.
And so we have two pretty massive scandals out of this one story, and that it's happening at such an important time should be of concern to all Americans.
BAIER: Now, whether it moves the needle with voters, Senator Ted Cruz and others have said they don't think that this story does, but as far as the story, here are the tech CEOs answering questions up on Capitol Hill about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ, (R-TX): Mr. Dorsey, who the hell elected you and put you in charge on what the media are allowed to report and what the American people are allowed to hear?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not doing that. And this is why I opened this hearing with calls for more transparency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you any of you have any information whatsoever they're not authentic or that they are Russian disinformation? Mr. Dorsey?
MARK ZUCKERBERG, FACEBOOK CEO: We didn't censor the content. We flagged it for fact-checkers to review, and pending that review, we temporarily constrained its distribution to make sure it didn't spread wildly while it was being reviewed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: Harold, "The New York Post" Twitter page is still locked down, and no indication these fact-checkers are on the move with just days to go before the election.
HAROLD FORD JR. (D) FORMER TENNESSEE REPRESENTATIVE: First, thanks for having me on.
I thought it was good for these tech CEOs to be on the Hill today. I thought they might be on the Hill also to talk about new ways to think about antitrust and the heavy mega-concentration they have in influencing how we find things from things we buy, et cetera.
The indignation from some of my old friends in Congress around the press and the media is to be expected late in the campaign. I'm a little surprised that this is part of the best that some of my Republicans have to fight to get their messages across. But I hope that this matter, they get to the bottom of it. I hope there's no censoring of any information whatever the viewpoint may be.
But I also hope we figure out some way to be responsible about how things are spread, particularly big untruths. And whether or not this story about Joe Biden is an untruth or not, we will have to see. But I do know this network among many others decided not to look at this anymore from a news story standpoint. Perhaps politically it's interesting --
BAIER: That's not true, Harold. That's not true. It actually was not presented to us before "The New York Post" went with their story, and after they did, we started looking into it. That story somehow got out there, and it's a talking point.
Jonah, let me just say this. We'll turn this to a political side. And that is, I don't think anybody really believes that the story is the closing argument that President Trump should be delivering -- the economy and his pluses. But the lack of coverage of it is a story in and of itself.
GOLDBERG: Yes, one about the most remarkable things about the moment that we are in is that so many institutions and personalities in our life are doing things that are at odds with their own self-interest. I don't think this story helps Donald Trump very much. I think Ted Cruz is right that it doesn't move the needle very much. I personally don't find Bobulinski's story all that credible. The idea that he was this incredibly stand up, honest guy who just wanted to be a business partner of Hunter Biden who is supposed to be the most corrupt person in the world strains credulity a little bit.
But the social media platforms were idiotic in what they did to "The New York Post." It gave the story more oxygen and amplified it. And meanwhile, a lot of media outlets could actually apply some scrutiny to the story and poke holes into it, but rather what they are doing is they're saying it's too radioactive out of this desire, much like not covering the riots in Philadelphia out of just a flop sweat panic about maybe, just maybe changing the narrative of the trajectory of the race for Joe Biden.
So I think it's a weird time. I think the Republicans are completely wrong about section 230. I think the Democrats are completely wrong about this.
And I think that the social media platforms are constantly shooting themselves in their own foot. It doesn't help that Jack Dorsey looks like he was one of Charles Manson's running buddies. But it is astounding to me how stupid a lot of this debate has become.
BAIER: All right, one more thing, and that is this revelation about Anonymous. Remember Anonymous? "New York Times" gives this big op-ed, senior administration official, where it says I'm part of the resistance inside the Trump administration. This is the guy. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Are you aware of who that is?
MILES TAYLOR: I'm not. Look, that was a parlor game that happened in Washington, D.C., with a lot of folks trying to think of who that might be.
I've got my own thoughts about who that might be, but --
COOPER: You are not anonymous?
TAYLOR: I certainly don't want to -- I wear a mask for two things, Anderson -- Halloweens and pandemics. So no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: So yes, Miles Taylor actually was. He was the chief staff for DHS, clearly not the high-ranking senior administration official, Mollie, that "The New York Times" kind of implied that it was to give that much space.
HEMINGWAY: "The New York Times" over and over use this anonymous source.
They ran an information operation, essentially, saying that there was a very, very high level in the Trump administration, possibly Mike Pence, possibly a cabinet official, possibly a high-ranking ambassador who had horrible things to say about the Trump administration. And it turned out it was a low-level person nobody has had heard of. If they are willing to lie about their anonymous sources when it's a really high-level information operation they are running, imagine how much they're lying about all the other anonymous sources they use day in and day out as part of their anti- Trump campaign.
BAIER: Miles Taylor is a contributor at another network. Very quickly, Harold, should he have gotten that much time in "The New York Times"?
FORD: He was the chief of staff to our Department of Homeland Security --
HEMINGWAY: He wasn't at the time that he wrote that op-ed, incidentally.
FORD: Voters have a lot to take in. If this is the best closing argument my friends on the other side have, Joe Biden is going to have a good night next week.
BAIER: All right, we'll leave it there. When we come back, dance fever.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BAIER: Finally tonight, moving and grooving. Residents and employees alike break it down every Friday at Florence Hand Home in LaGrange, Georgia.
Despite having to shut down visitation due to the coronavirus, the staff says this is a way to bring joy back to the building. You get down now.
Share what's going on with family and friends. They show it. It's pretty good.
Thanks for inviting us into your home now.
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