Trump faces confrontational questions at NBC News town hall
'Media Buzz' host Howard Kurtz tells 'Special Report' such questioning part of 'unmistakable pattern'
Oct. 16, 2020 – This is a rush transcript from “Special Report” October 16, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Good evening, welcome to Washington. I'm Bret Baier.
Breaking tonight, President Trump staking much of his reelection patch with just 2-1/2 weeks until voting day on his response to the coronavirus. As you see there live in Ocala, Florida, the president finishing up his second event in Florida. He actually went for about an hour and 20 minutes. He's currently after he says goodbye to this crowd in Ocala making his way to Macon, Georgia for a rally at the top of the hour.
Now, last night, President Trump participated in a town hall meeting at the same time Joe Biden was involved in another on a different. Chief White House correspondent John Roberts starts us off tonight live from the North Lawn. Good evening, John.
JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Bret, good evening to you. Today, it was a day of policy and politics, though the two things do tend to blend in President Trump's world. The president in the battleground state of Florida where early voting begins on Monday and where polls show a race that's up for grabs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: President Trump begin a busy day of campaigning with the seniors'
event in Fort Myers, telling them he is living proof that with new therapeutics, a senior citizen can beat the coronavirus.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've reached the point where the fatality rate is reduced by 85 percent since April and now it's up to probably 91 percent. Well I'm here, I'll tell you.
ROBERTS: The president again promising to fast track vaccines and medicines like the antibody cocktail he swears all but cured him.
TRUMP: I wasn't feeling great and the next day I wake up and I'm saying, like, who can I fight today?
ROBERTS: There may have been no one to fight today, but last night saw an adversarial town hall in Miami. The president again pressed whether he will accept a peaceful transition of power should he lose the election.
TRUMP: They spied on my campaign and they got caught and they spied heavily on my campaign and they tried to take down a duly elected sitting president and then they talk about will you accept a peaceful transfer. And the answer is yes, I will, but I want it to be an honest election and so does everybody else.
ROBERTS: President Trump also dismissing any national security implications of his business loan burden, said in a New York Times article to be around
$400 million.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you confirming that yes, we do owe some $400 million?
TRUMP: Well, I'm saying is that it's a tiny percentage of my net worth.
ROBERTS: Democrats have raised questions whether any of that debt is held by foreign entities like Russia but the New York Times itself found that that still held by the issuer Deutsche Bank.
While the president's Fort Myers event was about seniors, he also waded into attacks against Joe Biden again hammering the business deals Biden's son Hunter was involved in and what the former vice president might have known about them.
TRUMP: I'll tell you what, it's an organized crime family as far as I'm concerned.
ROBERTS: President Trump also lashing out against Twitter for censoring links to a New York Post article about newly discovered e-mails allegedly involving Hunter Biden's business contacts and criticizing ABC's George Stephanopoulos they're not asking Joe Biden about it in last night's ABC News town hall.
TRUMP: This is the hottest subject there is, they didn't ask him one question about their corruption and the family. They didn't ask him one question about how big tech is protecting him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: President Trump also taking note of what he described as a striking difference in tone between the town hall that he participated in and that Joe Biden town hall. The president though seemed pleased with his appearance last night and ready to get on to campaign events in Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona this weekend. It's going to be busy, Bret.
BAIER: And we'll be. John, one quick thing, getting word that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are scheduled to talk again about coronavirus stimulus tomorrow night. Is there real hope inside the White House that something's going to get done?
ROBERTS: You know, these talks have gone on and on for weeks, even months and nothing has gotten done, that the president remains hopeful, but he says that he wants to do things piece by piece though.
In recent days, he said he's willing to go over $1.8 trillion. If he did that, it'll get a lot of blowback from Republicans. I wouldn't expect much will come of these talks, but Bret, getting this close to an election, you just never know.
BAIER: You'd never known. John Roberts on the North Lawn. John, thanks.
Joe Biden was in another crucial swing state earlier today. He told an office -- an audience rather in Michigan, the president continues to live in a dream world about the coronavirus. Biden himself had his own close call earlier this week. Correspondent Peter Doocy shows us tonight from Detroit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Joe Biden left the Boeing 737 campaign plane that carried him and a charter company employee infected with COVID-
19 on Monday and Tuesday back east, and hopped to a smaller jet to Michigan.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Folks, it's great to be back. It's great to be here.
DOOCY: Through Sunday, Kamala Harris remains off the trail after two people on a plane with her last week tested positive for COVID-19. And next Wednesday in Pennsylvania, the campaign is calling in the party's top surrogate Barack Obama. Setting the table for a potentially seismic announcement about court packing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But don't voters have a right to know where you stand?
BIDEN: They do have a right to know where I stand. They have a right to know where I stand before they vote.
DOOCY: That's different than what he said last week.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, sir, don't the voters deserve to know --
BIDEN: No, they don't des -- I'm not going to play his game.
DOOCY: If Biden wins, progressives in Congress including Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez are now on the record demanding Senate leaders refused to confirm corporate lobbyists to Cabinet positions in this letter.
"We therefore write to you today to urge you to oppose Senate confirmation of any nominee to an executive branch position who is currently or has been a lobbyist for any corporate client or c-suite officer for a private corporation. In this or any future administration."
Biden has been careful not to insult progressive priorities like the Green New Deal.
BIDEN: My ideals are crucial framework but not the New Green Deal.
DOOCY: But JoeBiden.com says Biden believes the Green New Deal is a crucial framework for meeting the climate challenges we face. His $2 trillion climate change plan is part of $8 trillion in proposed new spending and he's going into more detail about how to pay for it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to raise the corporate tax; you're going to raise taxes on the wealthy. Is it wise to do even that when the economy is as weak as it is right now?
BIDEN: Absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another 900,000 people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOOCY: And this is the scene outside the driving event Biden will speak at in 15 minutes. The campaign discourages members of the public from just showing up, so there are no campaign signs or Biden supporters out here.
And the campaign also really doesn't want to offend anybody in motor city.
So, when he takes the stage, the Democratic nominee will be flanked by a Ford and a Chevy, Bret.
BAIER: All right, Peter Doocy live in Detroit. Peter, thanks.
Moderator Kristen Welker of NBC News is announcing the topics for the final presidential debate next Thursday in Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. We'll be there.
The topics are fighting COVID-19, American families, race in America, climate change, national security and leadership.
California's Attorney General and Secretary of State will allow state Republicans to have unofficial ballot drop boxes in some areas. Democrats had contended the boxes are illegal. The state says, Republicans made a number of significant concessions such as not condoning the use of on staff or unsecured ballot drop boxes.
We have new information tonight concerning the e-mails allegedly coming from a computer belonging to Joe Biden's son Hunter. Fox News has secured more of those e-mail messages and the dollar numbers involved are staggering. Here's senior political correspondent Mike Emanuel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fox News has obtained more e-mails purported to be from Hunter Biden's laptop. For May 2017, correspondence with Chinese energy executives about remuneration packages which two sources have verified to Fox News. It discusses payment for six people including a reference to 10 percent of the equity in the deal be held by H for the big guy. Sources tell Fox News the big guy is Joe Biden noting this was after he left office.
Another e-mail from August 2017, seeking $10 million per year in a deal that would be interesting to me and my family.
Today, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton offered this assessment.
SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): What these documents reveal if authentic is largely what we've known all along about Hunter Biden and really Joe Biden's entire families, they've been trading on its public office for decades.
EMANUEL: Fox also obtained alleged Hunter Biden e-mails about his business dealings in Ukraine in 2014 and 2015 when his father was vice president, playing a leading role on Obama administration foreign policy.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): While he's talking to the Ukranian parliament about corruption, his son is on the board of the most corrupt gas company in the Ukraine.
EMANUEL: Now, 19 House Republicans led by Arizona's Andy Biggs are demanding the FBI reveal whether it was in possession of the laptop containing those e-mails during President Trump's impeachment last December. Writing, "A large portion of the president's legal defense case revolved around strong evidence that former vice president Biden's son Hunter was peddling his influence to his father to land lucrative jobs overseas that he might not have otherwise been qualified for."
The FBI acknowledges receipt of the congressmen's letter but is offering no further comment. The contents of the purported Hunter Biden laptop were also given to Rudy Giuliani's attorney.
The Washington Post reports the White House was warned Giuliani was the target of a Russian intelligence operation to feed misinformation to President Trump. Giuliani responded today.
RUDY GIULIANI, DONALD TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: One would think if I were dealing with some kind of agent of this and that, someone would have warned me. No one did. I have never heard that before.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
EMANUEL: The office of the Director of National Intelligence referred our call to the White House. And a spokesman for the National Security Council says National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien does not comment on sensitive intelligence topics or on the advice he provides President Trump, Bret.
BAIER: Mike, one clarification. You said at the May 2017 e-mails that two sources have verified them to Fox News. So, are we saying that they saw them contemporaneously at the time that kind of verification?
EMANUEL: Yes, one of the sources was actually on the e-mail chain. There are a variety of people on the e-mail and so, we reached out to one of the people and that person responded back and said yes, this is a valid e-mail.
I was involved in the communication. I can verify that that was the communication at the time. We went back and asked some more questions and that was kind of the limit of what the -- what the source was willing to say. But that source and another source who came forward with the e-mail gave us two sources on this particular e-mail, Bret.
BAIER: OK, sorry about that noise. Mike, thank you.
The Republican National Committee has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging the censorship of the New York Post article about Hunter Biden's e-mails amounts to an illegal corporate in kind political contribution to the Biden campaign.
Also today, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey posted straight blocking of URLs was wrong and we updated our policy and enforcement to fix. Our goal is to attempt to add context, and now we have capabilities to do that.
The CEOs of Twitter, Facebook and Google will speak to a Senate Committee later this month.
A federal judge has ruled prosecutors provided enough evidence to move toward trial for five Michigan man accused of plotting to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The next step will be bringing the cases to a grand jury.
The judges also denied bond for the five suspects.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider President Trump's policy to exclude people living in the U.S. illegally from the census count. A lower court has blocked the rule. Arguments are set for the end of November. A decision is expected by the end of the year or early January when the Census Bureau must give its numbers to the house.
Doctors in Europe say the continent is at a turning point as the coronavirus surges back across that region. Back here at home, the U.S. is seeing its biggest spike in new cases in months. And the country has eclipsed another grim milestone in the pandemic. Correspondent Jonathan Serrie has tonight's recap from Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. surpassed eight million coronavirus cases today. Daily case counts are above 63,000 reaching their highest level since summer and Americans are not alone.
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The situation in Greater Manchester is brave and it worsens with each passing day.
SERRIE: New surges have appeared across Europe with 37 hot spots in 13 countries. Even the Kremlin admits concern about increasing daily cases in Russia which set a new record today.
After his hospitalization for COVID-19, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says a false sense of security lured him into going to a September White House super spreader event without a mask.
CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY: Fortunately because the great medical care I got and I thank to all the prayers that I received from a lot of people all over the country, I was able to recover but it doesn't make it any less a mistake, I was wrong.
SERRIE: Opponents of mask requirements point out that public health officials discouraged face coverings early in the pandemic before embracing them. But Dr. Anthony Fauci says, scientists tweak their guidance as a new evidence comes in.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS
DISEASES: One of the things that I think we need to do a better job at is to get across the concept that science is really in so many respects self- correcting.
SERRIE: A joint study from United Airlines and the Department of Defense finds that when air travelers wear masks, the chances of infectious particles spreading from one passenger to the next are 0.003 percent because of robust air filtration systems on board aircraft.
Today, Pfizer announced it may be ready to submit its experimental vaccine to the FDA for emergency use authorization by the third week in November.
The company says it's waiting for enough COVID-19 cases to occur naturally in trial participants, so it can see how vaccinated individuals fair compared to those receiving a placebo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SERRIE: Coronavirus continues to disrupt the NFL schedule including the postponement of Thursday night's game between the Bills and the Chiefs.
A source tells the Associated Press, the Patriots canceled practice today after a member of that organization tested positive, Bret.
BAIER: Jonathan Serrie in Atlanta. Jonathan, thank you.
Up next, why residents are scrambling to leave San Francisco? We'll take you there. First, here is what some of our affiliates around the country are covering tonight.
Fox 31 in Denver as the district attorney says a television station security guard accused of fatally shooting a pro-police demonstrator will be charged with second-degree murder. 30-year-old Matthew Dolloff is accused of killing 49-year-old Lee Keltner, following opposing rallies last Saturday.
Fox 2 in San Francisco as Pacific Gas and Electric says it expects to restore electricity today to all homes and businesses in Northern California. Power had been cut off to reduce the risk of wildfires.
And tonight, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, says President Trump has approved his major declaration -- disaster declaration request of a wildfire damage. Earlier in the day, the administration had rejected that request.
This is a live look at Honolulu, from our affiliate KHON, sunny day in Hawaii. One of the big stories there tonight. About 8,000 people land in Hawaii on the first day of a pre-travel testing program, allowing travelers to come to the islands without quarantining.
The travelers must produce a negative coronavirus test. The state-run program is an effort to stem the devastating downturn the pandemic has had on Hawaii's tourism-based economy.
That's tonight's live look "OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY" from SPECIAL REPORT. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BAIER: The federal budget deficit hit an all-time high of $3.1 trillion in the 2020 budget year as the coronavirus pandemic cut revenues and sent spending soaring. That is more than double the previous record, three times the size of last years.
Stocks were mixed today. The Dow gained 112. The S&P 500 was up a fraction, the NASDAQ lost 42. For the week, the Dow gained almost a tenth of a percentage point. The S&P 500 rose two-tenths. The NASDAQ led the way up more than three-quarters of a point.
At least 44 schools in San Francisco could see their names changed because some officials believe they were named after those with potential connections to slavery, genocide, or colonization.
But there is some pushback, some principals and parents question the wisdom of devoting energy on this issue when so many children continue to take remote lessons.
Tonight, a look at the exodus from San Francisco. Senior correspondent Claudia Cowan shows us why so many people are leaving that town.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLAUDIA COWAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: The city by the bay used to be one of the most desirable and expensive places to live in the world. But people are leaving San Francisco in droves, looking for a better quality of life, more space, safer streets, and fewer big-city problems. Fueling the exodus, tech employees seizing the chance to work remotely and save money.
JEFF ZUCKER, SENIOR ECONOMIST, ZILLOW: If everyone's working from home, we need room for a zoom calls, we need to make sure that our kid can sleep in the other room, and so, there are all these reasons we suddenly need more space, and San Francisco has got to be about the worst place in the country to find square footage for your dollar. So, these people are looking for bigger homes where working from home actually works.
COWAN: Some of those leaving are young or single, moving back in with their parents to save money. Others don't see the point in staying, since they can't enjoy cultural dining, and sporting attractions that drew them to San Francisco.
Thousands of businesses are shuttered permanently, while crime, rampant homelessness, and open-air drug use have only gotten worse.
According to Zillow, year over year, housing inventory is up 72 percent with condominiums taking the biggest hit.
MARYBETH LAMOTTE, REAL STATE AGENT, COLDWELL BANKER: You know, who wants to ride in an elevator with strangers? It's just not safe.
COWAN: Marybeth LaMotte put her $2.8 million condo on the market in May, but no offer yet.
LAMOTTE: Pre-COVID, I think we would have had a much better chance, absolutely.
COWAN: Along with high-end home prices, apartment rents have plunged to historic lows. Realtor.com reports the average price for a studio last month was just over $2,000, down 31 percent compared to the same time last year. One bedrooms, down by 24 percent.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COWAN: That's the biggest drop in rent prices anywhere in the country, a sign the pandemic is prompting a reckoning in one of the nation's most beautiful and troubled cities. Bret.
BAIER: Claudia Cowan in San Francisco. Claudia, thanks.
NATO allied Turkey has test-fired an advanced Russian air defense system for the first time. That's according to U.S. officials speaking to Fox News. The Russian S-400 air defense system arrived in Turkey last year over the objections of the Trump administration.
The State Department says it has expressed to the Turkish government that acquisition of the system is unacceptable.
Up next, we'll look at some of the highlights from last night's dueling town halls. But first, "BEYOND OUR BORDERS" tonight, more overseas news.
French President Emmanuel Macron denounces what he calls an Islamist terrorist attack against a history teacher decapitated in a Paris suburb.
Authorities say the teacher had discussed caricatures of Islam's prophet Muhammad with his class. The suspected attacker was shot to death by police.
National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, says the U.S. is rejecting a proposal from Russian President Vladimir Putin to extend the new start treaty. O'Brien, says Putin's proposal does not include a freeze on nuclear warheads. He calls it a non-starter. The treaty is set to expire in February.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, says the U.K. must prepare for a no- deal break with the European Union. Johnson, says the E.U. must make a fundamental change of position. European Union leaders say the U.K. must change its approach to the negotiations.
Just some of the other stories "BEYOND OUR BORDERS" tonight. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BAIER: As we told you at the top of the program, President Trump and Joe Biden engaged in simultaneous town hall meetings on differents last night.
Let's get some highlights from Fox News media analyst, host of Fox's "MEDIA BUZZ", Howard Kurtz.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: As I don't take the position --
(CROSSTALK)
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, HOST, NBC NEWS: As you're the president, you're not like someone's crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever.
TRUMP: No, no, no, no.
HOWARD KURTZ, FOX NEWS MEDIA ANALYST: The contrast between the dueling town halls was like night and day. NBC Savannah Guthrie began with 20 minutes of confrontational questions for President Trump and often looked like she was debating him.
GUTHRIE: You don't know if you took a test the day of the debate. Shouldn't you have known better? Shouldn't the White House know better than to hold an event like that? You were asked point-blank to denounce white supremacy.
In the moment, you didn't.
TRUMP: I denounced white supremacy, OK?
(CROSSTALK)
GUTHRIE: You did, two days later.
TRUMP: I denounced white --
KURTZ: And many of the audience questioners were openly skeptical. ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked Joe Biden far fewer questions, most of the audience questioners were friendly, and allowed the former V.P. to give long discourse of answers. While he pressed Biden about his evasive stance on court-packing, Stephanopoulos mainly focused on policy, not credibility.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, CHIEF ANCHOR, ABC NEWS: There's no record of you calling for social distancing, limited social gatherings, mandatory masks in January or February.
(CROSSTALK)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Not back then.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Right. How can you contain the pandemic without crushing the economy?
If you lose, what will that say to you about where America is today?
BIDEN: It could say that I'm a lousy candidate and I didn't do a good job.
HOWARD KURTZ, FOX NEWS MEDIA ANALYST: As for all the attention on the alleged Hunter Biden emails, Stephanopoulos didn't even raise it.
Guthrie's pugilistic approach, which was matched by Trump, did produce news, such as the president's uncertainty about his COVID testing, and his partial defense of the conspiracy group QAnon. ABC's loftier discussion with Biden made less news and led Trump to recall his recent Stephanopoulos sit down.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He was nasty. He was nasty.
He was tough, he's a tough guy. I watched last night, the little stuff I watched, and what I heard, it was like softballs.
KURTZ: Guthrie faced pressure to be tough because some at NBC and MSNBC objected to the network even giving the president that airtime.
RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC HOST: Are you as mad as everybody else is that NBC is doing a town hall with President Trump tomorrow?
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KURTZ: The anchors and candidates, of course, have strikingly different styles, but these events fit a larger and unmistakable pattern of the media giving the president a much rougher time than his challenger. Bret?
BAIER: Howie, thanks.
We continue to look at some of the key U.S. Senate races tonight as we get closer to Election Day, and tonight we'll take a look at the battle in Montana. Senior Correspondent Alicia Acuna shows who is running and what's at stake.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALICIA ACUNA, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It's a high-stakes matchup between two Steve, incumbent Republican senator Steve Daines --
SEN. STEVE DAINES, (R-MT): We need help from those all across our country that want to make sure that this Senate seat stays in Republican hands.
ACUNA: -- and Democrat Governor Steve Bullock who hopes to trade the state capital for the nations.
GOV. STEVE BULLOCK (D), MONTANA SENATE CANDIDATE: What I'm able to do as governor, I want to bring that to the Senate.
ACUNA: Montana sits at the epicenter in the battle for control of the U.S.
Senate. The never-ending battle over public land use has the power to push voters across party lines. Daines' base wants natural resources available for economic development, while Bullock supports press for more preservation.
ERIC AUSTIN, MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY: Something like 80 percent of voters see it as one of their major issues, and particularly among independent voters, public lands is even more critical.
ACUNA: Experts estimate a record shattering $80 million could be spent on this seat. In September alone, The Wesleyan media project found Montana had the highest number of Senate related ads in the country. Montana is notoriously difficult to pull but tilts red. Voters here have been known to split tickets.
BULLOCK: About 25 to make 30 percent of my voters voted for Donald Trump as well.
ACUNA: Daines freely touts tight alignment with the White House, including the confirmation of the president's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
DAINES: I support the nomination and the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Steve Bullock opposes it.
BULLOCK: First, I don't support anybody, any judge getting confirmed literally a week and a half before the election, or will look at any other thing that might be suggested, including adding justices.
ACUNA: The Trump campaign sued Governor Bullock over his pandemic directive to allow counties to opt-in for mail voting. The bulk of them did.
AUDREY MCCUE, LEWIS AND CLARK COUNTY, MONTANA, ELECTIONS SUPERVISOR:
There's just a lot of questions, and the main ones really are, how do I make sure I get to vote in this election, and how do I know more about my processes so I feel comfortable and secure?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACUNA: FOX News power rankings ranked Montana as a toss-up. Bret?
BAIER: Alicia, thank you.
Up next, reaction from the panel to last night's town halls, plus Candidate
Casino.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My message to America's seniors today is one of optimism, confidence, and hope. Your sacrifice has not been in vain. The light at the end of the tunnel is here.
Don't listen to the cynics and angry partisans and professional pessimists.
We are Americans and we will prevail.
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: He's still determined to destroy the Affordable Care Act. Getting rid of Obamacare is why they are racing to get this nomination through the Supreme Court. And if I have the honor of becoming your president, we'll build on the Affordable Care Act, no matter what they do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: Former Vice President Biden in Michigan, President Trump in Florida, now on his way to Georgia. This as the average of recent polls nationally has Biden still holding a lead in the RCP average, and then in the battleground states you can see the lead in the various states, the key battlegrounds. Some new polls out the president is referencing, saying he's closing the gap in places like Michigan and Pennsylvania, we'll see how that all pans out. We have 18 days to go as the candidates make their closing arguments.
Let's bring in our panel, Jeff Mason, White House correspondent for "Reuters," Kimberley Strassel, a member of the editorial board at "The Wall Street Journal," and Jonah Goldberg, editor in chief of "The Dispatch." All right, Kimberley, where do you see this race, and what about each candidate's closing pitch?
KIMBERLEY STRASSEL, WALL STREET JOURNAL: It is getting closer, and if you go back to four years ago, it was exactly this last stretch, the last two- and-a-half weeks where the polls really started to tighten, and you got down to a two or three point race in these battlegrounds, and we got the results that we did. And so both candidates obviously trying to capitalize with closing arguments.
You have Biden pretty making the same argument he's made all along, which is coronavirus and the character of the president. I think you see the president trying a little bit harder now to make his own argument about the economic restoration, about a promise of trying to triumph over the virus, and then using things like the Barrett confirmation hearing to talk about promises kept. So we'll and see how those play out.
BAIER: Jeff, speaking of the Barrett confirmation hearings and SCOTUS overall, Supreme Court, that was asked about and talked about in the Thursday town halls. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: If they vote on it before the election, you are open to expanding the court?
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm open to considering what happens from that point on.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So you'll come out with a clear position before Election Day?
BIDEN: Yes, depending on how they handle this.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC HOST: You've mentioned that you would like to see Amy Coney Barrett confirmed to the Supreme Court in case any challenges come up in connection with the election. Do you expect her to rule for you?
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Believe it or not, I never asked her about it, I never talked about it. I didn't talk about any of the obvious things that you could talk about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: What about Biden's answer on the court packing question? Obviously, he's been asked about it a lot. He went a little bit further in that town hall, saying there will be something before Election Day depending on how the process goes.
JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: Yes, that's right, Bret.
And I think he in some ways boxed himself in with that answer by forcing himself or suggesting that he will give some sort of an update on his position before November 3rd. That's not something he or the campaign have said before, so it's begging further questions of him in the coming weeks before November 3rd as to what his actual position is on court packing.
But in general, this issue seems to be more positive for President Trump, and the fact that these hearings with Judge Amy Coney Barrett went off pretty much without a hitch is something that he can now continue to emphasize in these coming weeks.
BAIER: It looks like, Jonah, that Senator Grandma is going to have a vote in the committee on the 22nd, and Senator McConnell may move it to the floor on the 23rd.
JONAH GOLDBERG, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, it looks like Amy Coney Barrett just simply wiped the floor with everybody on that. I think the Democrats actually played their hand fairly poorly in all of this. And the question is, if we are talking about the politics of all of this, the question is, if you put a third Supreme Court justice on the bench before the election, how does that play out for the various Senate races where they no longer have to say you need me there to vote to confirm, and it takes one of these major persuasive things for President Trump, who in 2016, that was one of the main things that got them across the finish line was the promise of putting new justices on the bench. If he gets three on, it kind of gives some people permission saying, OK, we got what we wanted out of this. But it's a clear win for the administration on the merits.
BAIER: Let's take a quick trip down to the Candidate Casino. We only have
18 days left. You have $100 in chips. You've got to tell us where you're thinking. Kimberley, let's start with you.
STRASSEL: OK, this could come across as sounding like very chickeny, but actually I'm saying it's very bold.
(LAUGHTER)
STRASSEL: So I'm putting $50 on each. And that's because if you look at the polls right now, everybody is suggesting that this is in the bag for Biden, and I am saying, as we just talked about, as you get closer, these are going to be the days that matter. More likely you are already seeing polls start to tighten, and in the states that matter. So this is a race, and I think it's entirely up in the air.
BAIER: All right, Jonah, are you going to be a little bit bolder?
GOLDBERG: A little bit bolder. Betting 50/50 means you don't lose money either way. It's a push. But I think Donald Trump has essentially a one in four, one in five chance of pulling it out at this point. I don't think it's all that similar to 2016 for a host of reasons, and so I'm putting $80 on Biden and $20 on Trump.
BAIER: We've got $85-$15, I think the dealer changed your bedding. Let's go with Jeff. What do you got?
MASON: A little bit more conservative, but I'm going to go $55 with Biden and $45 with Trump just because of where we see the polls right now. But I'm not going higher than that because I think all of us learned in 2016 that even polls a couple weeks before the election aren't necessarily going to stay the way that they are at the moment.
BAIER: All right, we will keep these bets. Stand by, panel.
Up next, the Friday lightning round, Senate races to watch, plus Winners and Losers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMY MCGRATH, (D) KENTUCKY SENATE CANDIDATE: He's not just a member of the Senate. He's the Senate majority leader, and he still can't get it done.
MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY) SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: If she goes to Washington, the first vote she'll cast in the Senate is to make Chuck Schumer from New York the majority leader.
SARA GIDEON, (D) MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: When we think about the fact that Susan Collins has voted to undermine or repeal the Affordable Care Act multiple times, we need to know that we are electing a senator who is going to fight to protect and expand our health care.
SEN. JOHN CORNYN, (R-TX) SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: The amount of money coming into the races, including into Texas, that we've never seen before is really making things a little more questionable than they would otherwise be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: Eighteen days, big, obviously, presidential election, we are following it closely. But all of these Senate races very important, with the control of the United States Senate hanging in the balance. We are back with our panel. Asked each panelist to pick a Senate race they're following. Jeff, let's start with you.
MASON: Sure. The one that I'm following is in Michigan, one that I don't think has been on a lot of people's radars. Vice President Biden was campaigning there today and included a shout out for Senator Gary Peters, who has been leading in that race, but Republican John James has been gaining on him according to recent polls. So if the Republican were able to win over that seat, that would help keep the control of the Senate in the Republican hands.
BAIER: Yes, and if the recent poll that the president touted is right, that he's close the gap in Michigan, that obviously makes a big difference in that race. Kimberley, your choice?
MASON: For sure.
STRASSEL: So I've been looking at South Carolina and the all-powerful Judiciary chairman head Lindsey Graham, mostly because I think this is somewhat representative of what we've been talking about, some changes we're seeing in the polls. I remember three or four weeks ago, all the headlines were about just how bad it was for every Republican candidate, so bad that they were worried about Texas and Kentucky, Mitch McConnell and the Lindsey Graham. But what you're seeing in these final weeks is because of some good issues Republicans have, and had in particular the Supreme Court hearing, which Mr. Graham has really capitalized on, you see some Republican on the fence and voters coming home, and you see those polls tightening to the extent that some of the races now seem to be pretty much in hand for Republicans.
BAIER: All right, Jonah, what are you looking at?
GOLDBERG: I'm looking at the Georgia Senate race with Senator Perdue versus Jon Ossoff. I will admit one of the reasons why I'm looking at this is because I'm lazy and like to go to bed early, and on election night, I think this is a real bellwether to tell whether the Republicans are going to hold onto the Senate. Right now it's a toss-up with Perdue a one point advantage, basically a statistical tie. Jon Ossoff is very much a very woke liberal Democrat, and if he actually topples Perdue, that is a bad sign for the Republicans overall in a state like Georgia.
BAIER: OK, let's go around the horn, Winners and Losers. Jeff, our first, winner, then loser?
MASON: So I picked Amy Coney Barrett as the winner for this week for unflappable testimony during a Supreme Court hearings. And for losers, I went with airlines and other companies that are hoping for some stimulus help from the Congress. It may still happen, but not happening nearly as quickly as they were hoping.
BAIER: Yes, as we were saying, the negotiations continuing tomorrow night, apparently between the Treasury Secretary and the House Speaker. Kimberley, you're next, winner and loser.
STRASSEL: So my winner is actually Laura Wolk, who was the Supreme Court's first blind law clerk. Amy Coney Barrett was her teacher. She gave the most eloquent appraisal and recommendation of Amy Coney Barrett this week. It was something to watch.
My loser is Nancy Pelosi and her meltdown with Wolf Blitzer this week, an indication of how Democrats too often react when they are asked simple questions.
BAIER: Jonah, winner and loser?
GOLDBERG: So my winner is the satirical site "Babylon Bee," one of the funniest sites on the web, because Donald Trump did them a huge favor of tweeting them as if they were serious news just this morning, and not since the judge in "Miracle in 34th Street" declared the existence of Santa was a greater gift given to the satire site.
On the loser side, I'm sad to say this because he's a very nice guy, but Steve Scully of C-SPAN, I don't think we've seen a more unforced error in Washington politics in a long time where he claimed he was hacked and he wasn't, and it's sad to see the hit to a guy who is very well respected around here.
BAIER: All right, panel, thank you very much. We are going to head out to Detroit as we head to the break. This is former Vice President Biden speaking at an event there. We will listen to that for a little bit, head, to break, and then we'll do "Notable Quotables" on the other side.
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: -- I grew up surrounded by hardworking families in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Claymont, Delaware. How many people today, though, can look at their kids in the eye and say everything is going to be all right, and mean it? These times are hard.
Unemployment is way up due to the pandemic. Just this week, over 1,200,000 more people filed for unemployment. The economic outlook for next year remains uncertain. And across Michigan and the country, folks are worried about making their next rent payment or their mortgage payment or their car payment. They are worried about whether or not they can purchase the prescription drug they need, or put food on the table, have to make a choice, worried about sending their kids to school, worried about not sending their kids to school.
They see the people at the top doing a hell of a lot better while the rest of us are left to wonder, who's looking out for me? That's Donald Trump's presidency.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BAIER: Finally tonight, it's Friday. It's Friday, so "Notable Quotables."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got his dance moves ready to go in every swing state from now until the election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I felt like Superman, and I said let me at them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a really difficult, some might say excruciating process.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, (D-CA) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Allowing President Trump to jam this confirmation through would roll back right for generations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I assure you I have my own mind. I'm not here on a mission to destroy the Affordable Care Act.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope you got some rest last night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did have a glass of wine. I will tell you that I needed that at the end of the day.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Suburban women, will you please like me?
(APPLAUSE)
REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA) HOUSE SPEAKER: I don't know why you're always an apologist, and many of your colleagues, apologists for the Republican position.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY, (R-LA): These accusations are as serious as four heart attacks and a stroke. The foreign policy of the United States of America can be bought like a sack of potatoes.
SEN. TED CRUZ, (R-TX): Twitter and Facebook and big tech billionaires don't get to censor political speech.
TRUMP: Are you listening? I denounce white supremacy. What's your next question?
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: You are open to expanding the court?
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm open to considering what happens from that point on.
TRUMP: I'll kiss the guys and the beautiful women, and everybody. I'll just give you a big, fat kiss.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's improv.
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: One week, with 18 days to go.
This weekend on FOX News Sunday, Chris Wallace will speak with Trump campaign senior advisor Jason Miller and Biden campaign advisor and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg. Check your local listings for showtimes.
Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for this SPECIAL REPORT, fair, balanced, and still unafraid.
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