Trump is tougher on COVID-19 than Biden would have been, president's campaign says

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Trump is tougher on COVID-19 than Biden would have been, president's campaign says

Trump 2020 communications director Tim Murtaugh joins 'The Story' to respond to criticism of the president's handling of the pandemic and the campaign's challenge to N.J.'s mail-in voting plan.

This is a rush transcript from "The Story," August 19, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: See you then, Bret. Well, tonight, two of the president's fiercest adversaries back in the political arena to try to write the next chapter and fix what they believe they got wrong in 2016. President Obama and Hillary Clinton, each expected to deliver blistering indictments of the 45th president, while promoting someone that they have both known for a very long time during his many decades in Washington, Joe Biden.

Good evening, everybody. I'm Martha MacCallum and this is “The Story” live from the nation's capital. So, according to early excerpts released by the DNC, Secretary Clinton will try to get out the vote, warning Democrats this can't be another would, could, should election. And President Obama will unleash his harshest criticism to-date, President Trump has no interest in treating the presidency is anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves.

All of this ahead of tonight's address from Senator Kamala Harris, as she accepts the nomination for Vice President of the United States. Now, moments ago, the president offered a prebuttal specifically aimed at President Obama during a news conference at the White House. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: When I listen to that and then I see the horror that he's left us, the stupidity of the transactions that he made. Look what we're doing now. Now, look at how bad he was, how ineffective of a president he was. He was so ineffective, so terrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Trump 2020 Director of Communications, Tim Murtaugh joins me now. Tim, good to have you here tonight. I know that the Trump campaign is going to get their opportunity next week to answer a lot of this. But the president went at it a little bit tonight. One of the refrains that we have heard quite a bit when it comes to an indictment on the president's handling of COVID-19 is quoting the president when he said, it is what it is. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY: He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us, it is what it is.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, D-NY: 170,000 Americans have died from COVID and Donald Trump says, it is what it is.

(BILL CLINTON'S SPEECH)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Tim, good evening to you. Thanks for being here tonight. What's your response?

TIM MURTAUGH, TRUMP 2020 COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Well, I think it's really incredible that they would say that because the president has taken COVID very seriously. And in fact, Joe Biden thought that the president took it too seriously because when the president restricted travel from China way back in January, Joe Biden said that was xenophobic and hysteria and called it racist, essentially.

And so, we know that if Joe Biden had been president, he would not have made that decision and restricted travel from China. But President Trump did. And in fact, his Coronavirus Rask Force was already meeting in January. So, President Trump has absolutely taken the Coronavirus situation seriously from the very beginning. And we know that Joe Biden opposed his early measures.

MACCALLUM: So, we see that some of the polls indicate that people do not feel like it was handled very well. So clearly, Democrats are seizing on this. And I thought that what Bill Clinton said was sort of it got to the heart of what I think we're going to hear more of tonight. It didn't have to be that way, he said, it could have been handled better essentially.

Here's President Obama, a little bit of what he will say tonight. So, this is a quote that we have that I'm going to read. 170,000 Americans dead, millions of jobs gone. Our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the country badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before. So, we expect a pretty scathing speech tonight from the former president, Tim.

MURTAUGH: Well, let's remember that this is a global pandemic that is affecting every country on Earth. And it came from China, a country that Joe Biden will not pinpoint as the source of this, continues to make excuses for China and in fact says that he would continue to fund the World Health Organization that helped China cover it up.

Let's also remember that if Joe Biden had been president when this happened, the United States would be in far worse position because Joe Biden would not have restricted travel from China, which and when the president made that decision to actually do that to restrict travel from China, it prevented countless thousands of American deaths. And so, we know that Joe Biden as president would have been an utter disaster.

But it's not surprising to us at all that none of the Democrats wants to talk about Joe Biden. All they want to talk about is Donald Trump. They don't talk about Joe Biden because they really can't at their own convention because they know they'd have to talk about his plan to raise taxes by $4 trillion, his plan to open our borders and give amnesty to 11 million illegal immigrants, to give taxpayer funded health care to those illegal immigrants and also provide them all with work permits so that they can compete with Americans for jobs that they need coming out of this Coronavirus crisis. It doesn't surprise me; they don't want to talk about Biden at all.

MACCALLUM: I expect that we're going to hear a lot of that response next week when we cover the whole Republican National Convention. Starting Sunday night, we're going to do special coverage and then going into the following week, of course, as well. One of the issues that we're also seeing push back on, which is understandable since it's been one of the biggest vulnerabilities for the Biden campaign, is Joe Biden's cognitive ability, how sharp he is, how up to the task he is of the job of president.

Here's what his wife, who gave a very strong speech last night, Dr. Jill Biden, said this morning when she was asked on morning television about that. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JILL BIDEN, WIFE OF FORMER VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: It's ridiculous, I mean, Joe's on the phone every single minute of the day talking to governors who are calling him and Nancy Pelosi, he's on the Zoom, he's doing fundraisers. He's doing briefings. I mean, he doesn't stop from 9 in the morning till 11 at night. So that's ridiculous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: She's saying there's absolutely no problem there, Tim. And I guess that we can expect to see that in reality when we watch them pretty hopefully active debates in the coming months, coming weeks.

MURTAUGH: Well, I mean, I think it's pretty obvious to anyone who watches and can see videotape of Joe Biden from just a few years ago versus how he is today and how he handles questions today. It's obvious that Joe Biden has lost his fastball. He's not the same guy that he was only just a few years ago. And this is an uncomfortable conversation to have to have.

But Americans want to know that their president is going to be able to be on the ball. It's a very complex job. You have to deal with global matters, of course, and also very weighty domestic matters. They want a president who is going to be sharp and on the case all the time. And I think Americans have seen that there is really some serious doubts about that with Joe Biden.

MACCALLUM: I think we all look forward to the debates to see an active back and forth on the issues and some tough questions, because we haven't seen the former vice president questioned in the way that we would expect to as everybody makes this enormous decision as a country over the course of the next couple of months.

I want to ask you about the Trump campaign lawsuit against New Jersey, which is now saying that they are going to institute universal mail in ballots. Tell me about that lawsuit. What are the grounds?

MURTAUGH: Well, first, the governor does not have the authority to just change election law in New Jersey by himself. He has to go through the state legislature for that. And secondly, just like in other states, it's a big problem when you're just sending live ballots, not applications, but live ballots to every registered voter, whether they asked for one or not. They just tried this in their municipal elections in May, and it was a disaster.

In Paterson, New Jersey, in those elections, 20 percent of the ballots were tossed out because they were bad votes, fraudulent votes, and in fact, a judge has ordered a redo of that election. So, does that what people are asking for? You think that's a good idea? That doesn't sound like a foolproof system to me. There's no strong measure that would prevent people because they're going to be in-person polling places open on Election Day with the universal mail in voting as well.

There's no real safeguard to prevent people from voting twice. It's going to be chaos. There was no need for the governor to do this because New Jersey already had no excuse absentee by mail voting already. There's no reason to send ballots to all registered voters because we know all the addresses are wrong all the time.

MACCALLUM: Is the campaign open to the idea of extending the window and insisting in return for extending the window that everyone vote in-person or at least have someone drop off your absentee ballot, which you already ordered at the voting place?

MURTAUGH: Well, I think everyone understands that there are a lot of Americans who do have concerned about voting in-person. But states have provisions for people to be able to vote absentee by mail. It's much more secure to vote absentee by mail. A lot of states do it. Florida is a perfect example. That provides security in election. You know that someone has requested a ballot. When you mail ballots to all registered voters, you don't know really who's going to be receiving them.

MACCALLUM: I mean, I'm curious because, I'm registered too as an absentee voter in my home state of New Jersey, so I'm curious to see if I get two in the mail. So, we'll see how this works. Tim Murtaugh, thank you. Always good to see you.

MURTAUGH: Thanks, Martha.

MACCALLUM: So, coming up next, Goodyear response to this viral image, it's getting a lot of attention today telling employees that it is OK to wear Black Lives Matter gear to work, but that anything that says MAGA is strictly prohibited. And they say it didn't come from them, but they're not backing down on the sentiment here. So, we'll talk about that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: President Trump called for the boycott of the Ohio based Goodyear Tire Company after a social media post suggested the company banned employees from wearing MAGA gear but deemed Black Lives Matter gear was acceptable. Correspondent Kristin Fisher explains all of this for us live from the White House tonight. Hi, Kristin.

KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Martha. Well, believe it or not, President Trump actually rides around on Goodyear tires right now. Those are the tires that are actually on the presidential limousine or the beast, as they call it. But during the briefing, President Trump was asked if he would be open to an alternative, if perhaps he'd be interested in swapping out those Goodyear tires on the beast. And the president said yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm not happy with you because what they're doing is playing politics when they say that you can't have blue lives matter, you can't show a blue line, you can't wear a MAGA hat, but you can have other things that are Marxist in nature. There's something wrong with the top of Goodyear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: All right. So, let's back up a bit. This all started earlier this week when a Goodyear employee at a plant in Topeka, Kansas, shared a slide that he claims came from the company's corporate office in Ohio. The slide looked very similar to this, and it split the employees dress code into two categories, acceptable and unacceptable. In the acceptable, category, you have Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ pride. On the unacceptable column, you have blue lives matter, all lives matter, all MAGA attire and any political affiliated slogans or material.

Well, earlier of the day, earlier today, the White House Press Secretary actually asked Goodyear to clarify their statement. But so far, the company is sticking with this, we asked that associates refrain from workplace expressions in support of political campaigning for any candidate or political party, as well as similar forms of advocacy that fall outside the scope of racial justice and equity issues.

Well, now Joe Biden is actually weighing in with a statement of his own to the Beacon Journal, writing, to President Trump, those workers and their jobs aren't a source of pride, just collateral damage and yet another one of his political attacks. And now, it'll be very interesting to see just how much the president's call to boycott Goodyear tires is going to impact their bottom-line, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Kristin, thank you. Kristin Fisher tonight at the White House right behind us this evening. So, in Portland, Oregon, overnight, protesters set a government building ablaze, igniting it with lighter fluid inside. Investigative journalist Drew Hernandez has been following the violence there, capturing this video of an activist yelling about what she wants to see happen to police officers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They need to see you to the electric chair and then you cry like a piece of bacon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Drew Hernandez joins me live and then Secretary Ben Carson on how to restore peace to America's cities and more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: When you look at Portland or New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, sometimes Los Angeles, Democrat run cities, they're a mess because they don't get it either, they don't get it or there's something that nobody else understands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: We have not heard a lot about these situations over the course of this week at the DNC. But last night in Portland, rioters smashed windows at a county government building. They sprayed lighter fluid inside it and then they set it on fire. Now, that building had recently been used as a center for distributing COVID-19 supplies to the area. It was also the site of the first same sex marriage in Oregon.

Meanwhile, more coming to light about the horrific beating of a man by protesters in Portland, where residents who supported the early marches now say that it's like living in a war zone. New video released today shows a closer and more disturbing look, a warning that this video is graphic.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

MACCALLUM: Unbelievable. A manhunt is underway for the suspect. We also know that earlier that day, activist and activist named Letha Winston had this message about the police when she spoke downtown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LETHA WINSTON, ACTIVIST: Just because you light again, you got a permit that I've got one too. You need to be charged with murder. They need to behave, and you die. Not hanging you low. They need to send you to the electric chair and let you cry like a piece of bacon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Well, she also said, we are at war, are you guys ready, referring to the police. According to reports, her son was shot by police after he shot two others. There was an investigation and no charges were brought against those officers.

In moments, we'll speak with Dr. Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, about what's going on in our cities and other topics that we want to get to with him tonight. But we start with Drew Hernandez, a reporter and producer who's been covering all of this in Portland and witnessed a lot of the violence and today released the new video of what happened there that evening. Drew, good to have you with us today.

DREW HERNANDEZ, LIVES MATTER HOST: Thank you for having me.

MACCALLUM: Thank you. Is there a connection between the woman that we just saw, Letha Winston, speaking about what she wants to do to cops? She also suggested - she also said that she wished that the police officers involved in the killing of George Floyd had been strangled in the womb before being born. Who is this woman and is there any connection to what we saw later in this beating that night?

HERNANDEZ: I would say yes, because part of the other clips that I actually posted on Twitter, she actually said and stated very clearly that was unrelated to police and her statement was that she said that we, I am ready to achieve this goal and mission of justice by any means necessary. She said it multiple times. So, this is the type of dangerous rhetoric that is coming out of the mouths of Black Lives Matter, faces and guest speakers at their rallies and obviously here in Portland.

And so, this was about an hour or an hour and a half before these violent acts took place in the streets of downtown Portland. So, there is a connection with violent rhetoric that's coming from Black Lives Matter speakers and that is being followed up by their occupants or attendees of their rallies.

MACCALLUM: Do you know, if the individuals who we see beating that man, whether or not they were at that place, it doesn't look like there's a huge crowd standing there when she's speaking. It's a little hard to tell from the shot.

HERNANDEZ: Yes, they were definitely there. It looked like they were providing some kind of security, some of the people, if you're there in downtown Portland, right around the corner from the federal courthouse, right in front of it, there's actually a so-called Black Lives Matter ribs section where they make ribs and dish it out to the public and sell it to people via Venmo and PayPal, which is interesting because they're communists and they don't believe in capitalistic systems.

But - and we're like in the time of the pandemic and it's very dirty. It's very disgusting. And every other business in Portland is getting shut down, but not a Black Lives Matter one. But anyways, some of the people that were actually physically assaulting some of the people in the video that you see actually were sitting down and hanging out at that Black Lives Matter little rib spot on the corner. So, there's BLM all over this thing.

MACCALLUM: What's interesting that you see some of the guys in that video wearing jackets that say security on them and they're providing anything but security for the man who was beaten in that situation. They've been a lot of stories floating around about what he did know, how all of this came about, whether or not it was provoked, even if it was provoked, that behavior is just horrific and inhumane. Tell us what - fill in some of the blanks here for us, Drew.

HERNANDEZ: Yes, so basically what happened was about, like I said, about an hour after that speech right in front of the federal courthouse, the protesters, they were protesting, saying the same things they always say. And it seemed like a slow night. But if you watch the video on my YouTube channel, you can see the full thing. It's 30 minutes long. Just go to Lives Matter on YouTube. Drew Hernandez, what you see, what began the event was the so-called security guards were offended and accusing this young white male of recording them.

So, they begin to aggressively escort him away from the justice center, away from in front of the courthouse, down the street in front of a 7- Eleven. And as they're escorting this young man away, they're saying they're going to assault him, they're going to hit him. They tell him to walk, not run, because if he runs, they're going to chase him down the street and beat him. They eventually do. And you see this on the video.

They start beating this one man -- they were accusing him of filming them in front of the 7-Eleven.

And in the process of beating this young man, this is where you see the transgender woman, I don't know what she identifies as, but she stepped in or he or they stepped in and started to defend this young man getting jumped just telling the so-called security guards to leave them alone and let them run away.

Their anger, they got so offended by that that their anger shifted to her, or they come or whatever she identifies as. They robbed this person, they beat this person, they teed off on this person even though this person was defending themselves because they were surrounded by all of these thugs and criminals.

So, what you see in the video, Martha is --

MACCALLUM: Yes.

HERNANDEZ: -- that guy that drove the truck that got pulled out of the truck and kicked in the head, he actually started to defend this transgender woman. It was actually heroic what he did.

So, when he started to do that is when these black lives matter thugs turned on him and his wife or his girlfriend and --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: What we saw.

HERNANDEZ: -- what you see in the video is what happened.

MACCALLUM: It's horrific.

HERNANDEZ: They start punching him.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

HERNANDEZ: They tackle his wife to the ground --

MACCALLUM: Well --

HERNANDEZ: -- and they chase his car all the way down to the street and (Inaudible).

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: And they are looking for someone named -- I'm sorry. They're looking for someone named Marquise Love who they believe is the person who leveled that side kick to his head that round kick to his head.

Drew, you were down there, you put this video online and you reported it. Unfortunately, there is no police officers around to document any of this - -

HERNANDEZ: Yes.

MACCALLUM: -- because of the situation in Portland and they have no support from the leadership in Portland to be there anymore. So, Drew, thank you. Good to have you here tonight.

HERNANDEZ: Thank you. Thank you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: So, joining me now, Dr. Ben Carson, secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Dr. Carson, thank you for being here.

BEN CARSON, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: You know, when you hear this woman, Letha, who obviously -- you know, she is upset and she lost her son which is a horrific thing to have to go through. But she is translating that into hatred for all police officers and inciting violence against them saying this is a war. She says you have weapons but we have weapons too. Your thoughts?

CARSON: Well, first of all, people need to recognize that police officers are people too. They have feelings and they have families and if it weren't for them, we would have total chaos. So that's number one.

Number two, there are so many people who are buying into the whole idea of being a victim. And if you think you are a victim, then you are a victim. It doesn't mean that life is always going to be sweet and mellow and you are going to have no obstacles in your way. You will. Everybody does. And it really depends on how you relate to them.

And we've got to start putting these principles out once again, particularly so that our young people here more than one side of the story. Not that America is evil, not that somebody else is causing all your problems. But what about the can-do spirit that caused America to go from nothing to the pinnacle of the world in record time?

All those things are still very relevant today. That's what we really have to start thinking about. And the leadership in the cities, they have to support the police. The police really are in a difficult situation.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

CARSON: Because if they do their job, you know, they could be pilloried, they could be punished they could be or put in jail. All kinds of things can happen to them. And they have families to go home too. So as long as we tolerate this, it will continue to escalate. At some point, you know, the reason people pay taxes so that they can be protected. Go ahead and protect them.

MACCALLUM: Indeed. I do want to ask you about this issue that you seem to at different points in speaking about it have been on a different side of it. With regard to what the president has talked about quite a bit lately in terms of not promoting urban housing in the suburbs, multifamily housing.

And you, and the president wrote an editorial that was in the Wall Street Journal, and in it, you said, we reversed an Obama-Biden regulation that would've empower the Department of Housing and Urban Development to abolish single-family zoning, compel the construction of high-density stock and pack apartment buildings in residential neighborhoods, and forcibly transform neighborhoods across America so they look and feel the way far- left ideologues and technocratic bureaucrats think that they should.

So, are you or are you not in favor of multifamily housing in the suburbs?

CARSON: I'm very much in favor of having situations where teachers, and firemen, and nurses, policemen can live in the same neighborhood where they work. But the decision about how those neighborhoods should be formulated should be left to the local officials, to people who have to answer to the voters, not to unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. That is what I am emphasizing now. So, yes --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: But you said back in 2019, just to be clear, when you look at some of the areas of the countries where homelessness is the greatest, you see the greatest number of zoning restrictions. The more zoning restrictions and regulations, the higher the prices and the more homeless people arguing against protecting single-family zoning.

CARSON: Well, areas where you have single-family homes and areas of peripheral to that where it's perfectly satisfactory to put something that's multifamily, but here's the key points, Martha. Those people who lived there and the officials who live there should be the ones making that decision.

And it -- you know, obviously when you do public-private partnerships and you use some of the modern building techniques, you can build very beautiful multifamily things. But these are decisions that should be left to the people who live there and not to people --

MACCALLUM: At the local level.

CARSON: -- who simply have imposed.

MACCALLUM: All right. Secretary Carson, thank you. Good to have you here tonight.

CARSON: Absolutely. Thank you.

MACCALLUM: So, the new president of America's largest teacher's union says that keeping faculty and students safe is her priority. And she says that means not re-opening our schools. NEA president-elect Becky Pringle is here exclusively when “The Story” continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: There is nothing like being with the teacher as opposed to being on a computer board. It's been proven, a lot better, it's a lot better. The iPads are wonderful, but you are not going to learn the same way you do by being there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So, one of the nation -- of the nation's 25 largest school districts, I should say 20, are opting for remote learning only as their back-to-school model. Three are choosing a hybrid model, mixing remote and limited in-person learning and only two are planning to be fully in-person.

And the incoming president of America's largest teacher's union says that she will do what it takes to protect teachers and students by keeping them home.

Becky Pringle, president-elect of the National Education Association, joins me now. Becky Pringle, thank you very much for being here tonight.

Obviously, educating our children and making sure that they don't miss out on any more learning is the most important thing to all of the parents across the country.

I want to just put up on the screen, this is part of the NEA's guidance on re-opening school buildings. And it says this. Ensure that school building reopening plans are inclusive and equitable for all educators and students by humanizing learning environments and designing spaces that are situated in the experiences of communities of color, not just through white, cis- hetero, and able-bodied lens -- lenses.

What does that mean and what does that have to do with making sure that kids and teachers don't give each other COVID-19?

BECKY PRINGLE, PRESIDENT-ELECT, NEA: So, I'm glad to be with you this evening.

Let me begin by saying that as an educator with over 30 years of experience I taught eight grade science. I know because I've talked to teachers every single day, that they want to be with their students. They want to be in schools with their students.

They know that that interaction between them and their students and their colleagues is absolutely essential to the learning of our students.

MACCALLUM: Of course.

PRINGLE: But we know that if our students are not safe, if we are costing lives by opening school buildings because we will not take the basic precautions to keep them safe, then we have to make sure --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: But these are not basic precautions --

PRINGLE: -- that we do everything we possibly can --

MACCALLUM: -- that are in your --

PRINGLE: -- to ensure their safety.

MACCALLUM: -- your own organizations guidelines talk about, you know, not just through a white, cis-hetero, able-bodied lens and designing spaces that are situated in the experiences, what does this -- what does any of what I just read have to do with what you just said. And this one of the guidelines and demands of the NEA.

PRINGLE: We have said from the beginning that we need to focus our resources and plans on opening our schools safely and equity -- equitably. That means that we want to make sure that we finally, finally do something about the disparities in access and opportunities resources for our students of color, those who are differently abled, those who have been marginalized by the society. We need to make sure --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: I understand those goals.

PRINGLE: -- that our teachers --

MACCALLUM: I understand those goals, Ms. Pringle, but a lot of people are going to look a situation that is desperate in terms of the basics, in terms of just making sure that the kids can get into the classroom, they can learn math, they can learn, science, they can learn English.

And they are going to look at some of the things that are on your guidelines and say those things are good, they are aspirational, they are good things to think about and maybe after we get through all of this we should address those issues, but there's so many basics that don't fall in there.

And I want to ask you this because New York City Catholic schools are said to return fully in person in class five days a week. A lot of charter schools are doing the exact same thing. So why can't the public schools do but what those schools are doing?

PRINGLE: Ninety percent of our students go to public schools. We need to ensure that the resources that the majority of our students need are there for them. We have been saying from the beginning it is not safe if the infection rates in the community are not low and low for two weeks. We are saying -- we've been saying it is not safe if they don't have the resources for mask and other protective gear. It is not safe --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Well, I think obviously, it depends --

PRINGLE: -- if they can't sanitize regularly and ensure they have a plan.

MACCALLUM: -- every region is different story.

PRINGLE: Not for when.

MACCALLUM: Some regions are very safe. Some regions are less safe. And everyone understands that. Everyone understands if you are in a hot spot, you are going to have a different situation than if you're not. But a blanket statement, you know, across the board that says that they don't have the resources is going to leave a lot of children without the learning that they needed. And they do have alternatives, apparently so they could, you know, do some of those other --

(CROSSTALK)

PRINGLE: Without the resources it is going to put our students at risk and we know because the CDC just revised their guidelines again. To say that -- to reflect the reality that there is a 20 percent increase in the infection rate and the rate of hospitalization in our young people. We cannot stand by --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Well, each family should be able to make the decision and have an option for them.

PRINGLE: -- and be complicit --

MACCALLUM: And I know that there's a lot of discussion about making that money portable so that they can make a different choice if the parents decide that's what they want. We all want everyone to be safe.

Ms. Pringle, thank you for being here and for telling us your story tonight. Thank you.

So, we now know what former President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will say when they take the stage tonight. We can show you a little bit of that and give you a sneak peek. Guy Benson -- Guy Benson and Richard Fowler as we gear up for a blockbuster night tonight, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: We are just one hour away from the start of night three of the Democratic National Convention. Tonight's headliner, Senator Kamala Harris who will be accepting the nomination as Joe Biden's V.P.

But first, some of the party's heaviest hitters, President Obama and Hillary Clinton will step back into the ring. Both expected to level blistering attacks on the current president akin to 2016.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: He wants to divide us from the rest of the world and from each other. He is betting that the perils of today's world will blind us to its unlimited promise. He is taking the republican party a long way from morning in America to midnight in America.

FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Ronald Reagan called America a shing city on a hill. Donald Trump calls it a divided crime scene that only he can fix.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Joining me now, Guy Benson, host of the Guy Benson show and political editor of Townhall.com. And Richard Fowler, New Leader's Council senior fellow. Both are Fox News contributors.

Good to have both of you with us.

GUY BENSON, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Let me start with you, Richard.

RICHARD FOWLER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Good to be here, Martha.

MACCALLUM: You know, in terms of, what we're going to -- we expect that we are going to see a lot more Trump bashing tonight, I think that's, you know, expected because obviously they are running against President Trump. But is there enough of a message of where this party would take the country in the next four years?

FOWLER: Absolutely. What you've seen over the past two nights, I think what you will see tonight is that there will be some Trump bashing as you just mentioned. But they will also be going to talk to everyday people.

We saw yesterday, you know, Joe Biden engage in the conversation about health care. The day before, he engaged in the conversation with a Connecticut nurse who got coronavirus. And he is laying out, and they are beginning to lay the framework of what will be --

MACCALLUM: Yes.

FOWLER: -- the build back better Biden agenda. Which is they are going to -- which what they are going to say is a stark contrast to Donald Trump and Mike Pence.

And let's remember, right, that this is not the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan. Even when you think about fiscal restraint. Right? This party is not the party of Ronald Reagan. That's the other argument you're going to vote for Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, former President Barack Obama they will make tonight.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Well, it's interesting, you know, I mean, we've heard about how progressive the Democratic Party is. They just dropped their demand and fossil fuel subsidies from the party platform. So it sounds like, Guy, they are trying to, you know, kind of get some of those voters who they would love to grab in the middle as well.

BENSON: Yes, I do find it interesting that there is always strange new respect for the last Republicans or Republicans in the past. They savage Ronald Reagan. They called him a dunce. They said that he was going to dissent the world into, you know, global war and nuclear annihilation.

And now they look back and say, we wish the Republican Party were the Reagan Republican Party.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

BENSON: Now look, I kind of do wish the republican Party looked more like it did under Ronald Reagan, but I think there's a little bit of unseriousness there and cynicism from the Democrats where they sort of pined for the good old days of the party that they also hated back then.

I will say this, Martha, I was looking to the lineup tonight Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, Barack Obama, and Kamala Harris, and I'm like I'm going to need a stiff drink, I think, to get through this evening. It is going to be a demagoguery derby. We'll be watching. But I think it's going to be really pointed.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Well, there are some of the biggest stars of the party, and of course they are going to bring them out the night before Joe Biden's nomination. But you know, last night was Bill Clinton's night. This comment really caught my attention this morning. I want to play this from CNN, Richard, and get a quick thought from you on this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT JENNINGS, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, CNN: I have to say, I am dumbfounded --

FORMER MICHIGAN GOV. JENNIFER GRANHOLM: Joe Biden -- because Joe Biden save -- to help to save the auto industry?

JENNINGS: I am dumbfounded by this bill. How is it that Bill Clinton has not been canceled by the Democratic Party? How has he survived all of these waves of cancellation when he has been one of the biggest violators of these rules all these years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Dumbfounded faces on that set, Richard. What you say?

FOWLER: Look, I understand folks have criticism for Bill Clinton and I think that's a very fair criticism, but you have to also understand that Bill Clinton was also the president ushered in the tech boom. He was the president a lot of folks got homes under. My mom got her first home under Bill Clinton.

And so, he speaks to the part of the Democratic Party that wanted -- wanted to hear from him. And I think for those voters, they heard from him last night and they were very happy about it. They also voted (Inaudible) --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: I -- you know, that was the argument. That you have to look at the whole person --

(CROSSTALK)

FOWLER: -- from Stacey Abrams and Ocasio-Cortez last time.

MACCALLUM: -- and you have to look at the whole of everything they have done. A lot of people don't get that treatment and canceled culture these days. Guy, just two seconds, Guy.

BENSON: I mean, there is a photo that came out yesterday of Bill Clinton getting a back rub --

MACCALLUM: Yes.

BENSON: -- from an alleged Jeffrey Epstein victim.

MACCALLUM: Yes, I saw that. All right.

BENSON: And it got almost no attention.

MACCALLUM: I got to go. Sorry to jump in. Guy, Richard, thank you, guys.

FOWLER: You bet.

MACCALLUM: So, a few hours from now, as I said Senator Kamala Harris is going to address the Democratic convention and accept their nomination for vice president. Here's a look back at some of those nights in the past. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TIM KAINE, D-VA: I humbly accept my party's nomination.

JOE BIDEN, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I accept your nomination.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I probably accept your nomination for Vice President of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this year of 1960, we have come to the beginning of a new era and a new day for our land.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I pray to Almighty God that I shall have the strength and the wisdom to major up to the confidence and the trust that has been placed in me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To build a peace, to heal our country. To work with each other, to think of each other as neighbors.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will rear restore the dignity of the Office of the Vice Presidency. It will not be a cheap rhetorical attack that divides our nation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are blessed to be Americans. We are an example to the world. Don't let anyone tell you that we are less than we have been. And don't let anyone make us less than we can be.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: By choosing a woman to run for our nation's second- highest office, you send a powerful signal to all Americans. There are no doors we cannot unlock.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We Americans write our own history. And the chapters of which we are proudest are the ones where we had the courage to change.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We may wonder tonight where the next frontier really is. Tonight, I believe the next frontier isn't just in front of us. But inside of us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We choose hope over despair, possibilities over problems, optimism over cynicism.

BIDEN: Failure at some point in your life is inevitable. But giving up is unforgivable.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: That was you Joe Biden back in 2008. Big night for him tomorrow night. Big night for Kamala Harris tonight. We will be watching and covering it all tomorrow night. We'll look at the presidents when they accepted their nomination.

That's “The Story” of Wednesday, August 19, 2020. The story goes on and we will see you tonight alongside Bret Baier at 10 o'clock Eastern for our live coverage of night three of the Democrat National Convention. See you then.

END

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