This is a rush transcript from "Special Report," June 19, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS HOST: Good evening. I'm Mike Emanuel in for Bret Baier.
Breaking tonight as tens of thousands of people converge on Tulsa, Oklahoma, this weekend for Juneteenth activities and President Trump's campaign rally. The World Health Organization is warning of what it calls a new and dangerous phase of the coronavirus pandemic.
Brand new Fox polls indicate most Americans think having large events and rallies right now is a bad idea. Just 23 percent think it's a good idea and 16 percent say it depends.
A large majority still concerned about the virus spreading, 84 percent. It's down however from the last two months. We have Fox team coverage. Casey Stegall is in Tulsa with what's happening on the ground there tonight. We begin with Correspondent Kristin Fisher at the White House. Good evening, Kristin.
KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Mike. Despite all of those coronavirus related concerns, the White House and Oklahoma's highest court say tomorrow's rally is a go.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FISHER: On the eve of President Trump's first rally in nearly four months, the World Health Organization is out with a new warning that the pandemic is accelerating.
TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The world is in a new and dangerous phase.
FISHER: Oklahoma, the side of tomorrow's rally just logged its largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.
Are there any discussions, any reservations within the last wing about going forward with this indoor rally tomorrow in a state where COVID cases are on the rise?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, PRESS SECRETARY, WHITE HOUSE: So we are all on board with going to Oklahoma. We're taking appropriate measures like hand sanitizing and temperature checks and masks being provided at the door.
FISHER: But rally-goers will not be required to wear them, even though a new Fox News poll shows 80 percent have a favorable view of people who do wear masks. The Press Secretary says she will not be wearing one but the president's campaign manager says he probably will and is preparing for a massive crowd.
BRAD PARSCALE, MANAGER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: This is more of a festival like, much more looking almost like a convention. Tens of thousands of people will be able to be in attendance and we're going to have multiple places where the president can speak.
FISHER: The chair of the Democratic National Committee says the presidents, quote, reckless apathy for coronavirus health and safety standards is a reminder of why he's unfit to be president.
But Oklahoma's Supreme Court just rejected a legal bid to delay the rally and the states Republican governor says he thinks tomorrow is the right time.
GOV. KEVIN STITT (R-OK): We have the freedoms to stay at home. You have the freedoms to come to this rally.
FISHER: People are also coming to Tulsa to protest the rally. The city's mayor says he's so worried about people who've been involved in violent protests in other states coming to Tulsa that he's declared a civil emergency.
And President Trump is warning that quote, any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma, please understand you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene. But the White House Press Secretary says the president was not threatening peaceful protesters, only violent ones.
She also opened her briefing by noting a bright spot in the U.S. economy, unemployment falling in 43 states in May as a Fox News poll shows almost half of Americans approve of how the president is handling the economy. Americans returning to work as President Trump returns to the campaign trail.
MCENANY: We are back and we will be booming.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FISHER: And already, President Trump has another event involving a lot of people plan. The White House has just announced that President Trump will be doing something very similar to what he did last year for the Fourth of July, a salute to America. This time on the South Lawn of the White House with music, military demonstrations, flyovers, and of course, fireworks. Mike.
EMANUEL: Should be a big event. Kristin Fisher leading us off in the North Lawn. Kristin, thanks a lot.
Let's find out what's happening right now in Tulsa. Here's correspondent Casey Stegall.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY STEGALL, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Days before the president's scheduled rally on Saturday, dozens of supporters had already started lining up outside the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa.
BLAKE MARNELL, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I really thought this was an important rally for me to go to, it's the ninth one I've been to.
STEGALL: Most not at all concerned about the health warnings from Oklahoma officials about the recent surge of new coronavirus cases in the state or about being packed inside a venue with about 19,000 other people.
SUE WILLIAMS, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I could get the flu someday and you never know. So I'm not going to worry about it.
STEGALL: Temperatures will be taken upon entry, hand sanitizer and masks will be handed out to attendees. Though, face coverings are not required.
MARC LOTTER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: We want to make sure is that the tens of thousands of people who will be in that arena feel like that they can take their personal health safety precautions if they want to.
STEGALL: The barricades are going up around the venue. Streets are being closed off and some businesses are boarding up. City officials are planning for crowds of 100,000 to converge on the area. A mix of Trump supporters and counter-protesters.
CAPT. RICHARD MEULENBERG, TULSA POLICE: This will be the first undertaking that I'm aware for the department to handle this massive of the situation.
STEGALL: There's also anger in this community over the timing of President Trump's trip. Juneteenth celebrations are being held here and across the country. But they're especially raw here in Tulsa and the city's Greenwood District. This is where in June 1921 white residents torched some 35 blocks of African-American owned homes and businesses, killing some 300 people. It's known as the black massacre and some say the president's visit has galvanized the people who live here.
DWIGHT EATON, COFFEE SHOP OWNER: For the community itself ironically, it mobilizes the community, get them to come together.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STEGALL: Live here in Tulsa tonight, later the Reverend Al Sharpton will be speaking at that Juneteenth celebration where thousands are expected to attend and the organizers are urging people who go to practice social distancing measures and to wear face masks amid the COVID threat, Mike.
EMANUEL: Casey Stegall live in Tulsa. Casey, thanks a lot.
In tonight's Democracy 2020 report, you can scratch Amy Klobuchar from your list of possible running mates for Joe Biden. The Minnesota Senator says Biden needs to pick a woman of color. Correspondent Peter Doocy reports tonight from Wilmington, Delaware.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Joe Biden says he'll name a running mate by August 1st and it won't be Amy Klobuchar.
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): I think this is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket.
DOOCY: Klobuchar dropped out in March to help Biden stop a surging Bernie Sanders.
KLOBUCHAR: I cannot think of a better way to end my campaign than joining his.
DOOCY: But now she's urging the vetting committee to focus on a woman of color.
KLOBUCHAR: If you want to heal this nation right now, my party, yes but our nation, this is sure a hell of a way to do it.
DOOCY: But the Minnesota Senator standing may have already been diminished in Biden's inner circle. Congressman James Clyburn was asked last month by Vanity Fair, do you think the Floyd killing will end Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar's chances of being picked as Joe Biden's running mate? And he said, it's certainly won't help but it's not just this. Her history with similar situations when she was a prosecutor came up time and again during the campaign.
Klobuchar's advice for Biden may not bode well for another contender, Elizabeth Warren who spoke at a Juneteenth event today.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): I have not personally experienced and can never truly understand the fear, the oppression, and the pain that confronts black Americans. But none of us, none of us can ignore what is happening in this country.
DOOCY: Also thought to be on the Biden short-list, Susan Rice.
SUSAN RICE, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: Vice President Biden who served in that role and knows what he need.
DOOCY: The Biden campaign is shooting down the Trump team's idea of more than three debates. So now the Trump team is urging them to think about at least agreeing to move the debates up.
PARSCALE: What we see is them wanting to have debates after voting's already started. We're going to see probably some record mail-in voting and absentee voting this year because of COVID.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOOCY: Some senior Biden staffers were posting today a reminder, this is the halfway mark between the Iowa caucuses and Election Day. A lot can change between now and then just like a lot has changed since that first contest won by Pete Buttigieg, Mike.
EMANUEL: Peter Doocy in Wilmington. Peter, thanks a lot.
A federal judge hearing the administration's attempt to stop the release of former National Security Adviser John Bolton's book says the horse seems to be out of the barn. More than 200,000 copies of the memoir have already been distributed and media outlets have used excerpts. The administration says the book contains classified information and threatens national security.
The judge says he will review the book before making a ruling. Bolton will speak with Bret Baier Tuesday night here on SPECIAL REPORT.
One of the Louisville police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a black woman in her home during a narcotics raid has been fired. The city's mayor the interim -- says the interim police chief has started termination procedures for Officer Brett Hankison.
Breonna Taylor was shot eight times by officers who burst into her home using a no-knock warrant. No drugs were found at her home. Two other officers remain on administrative reassignment while the shooting is investigated.
Colorado Democratic Governor Jared Polis has signed a police reform bill, it eliminates the qualified immunity defense that protects officers from lawsuits and allows them to be sued for misconduct. The law also bans chokeholds and limits other uses of force.
The George Floyd death in subsequent focus on racial issues are making this Juneteenth different from any other. There are several rallies and marches happening around the country including a gathering at this hour in New York City. Tonight, Lauren Green looks at what the (INAUDIBLE) means and how it's changing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAUREN GREEN, FOX NEWS CHIEF RELIGION CORRESPONDENT: The mood in the country is different this year. Juneteenth celebrations are getting national attention and promotion of following weeks of protests over systemic racism and police brutality. Juneteenth, once seen as part of African-American tradition is being embraced as American history.
LOPEZ MATTHEWS, HOWARD UNIVERSITY: I think that celebrating Juneteenth nationally will help heal the wounds of slavery because it will educate people.
And so by learning about slavery, by learning about the effects of slavery and learning about the lingering mistreatment of its large group of people in the United States, I think people will begin to understand.
GREEN: Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when the last slaves of the South in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free. The Union soldier, Major General Gordon Granger announced to them that President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation had ended slavery nearly 2-1/2 years earlier.
Celebrations of Juneteenth usually include parades, picnics, and community events. The coronavirus pandemic forced many to be canceled but rallies and marches took their place along with online celebrations.
Most states recognize Juneteenth in some way. Now as the Black Lives Matter movement gains momentum, protesting police brutality and racism, there is a push to make it a national holiday.
ALVEDA KING, MARTIN LUTHER KING JUNIOR NIECE: I believe it's very important that there be an executive order declaring Juneteenth as a national holiday. That won't be a time to just celebrate but to use transformation, love, and peace, to have America come together.
GREEN: Target, Nike, the NFL, and many others have now made it a company holiday and more are following their lead as change is happening.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GREEN: Texas Senator John Cornyn, a Republican, says he plans to introduce a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday. A group of Democratic senators also announced plans to introduce similar legislation, Mike.
EMANUEL: Lauren Green in New York, thanks very much.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says if there's another coronavirus relief bill, it will be written next month in his office. This comes as the public's approval of Congress takes a big dip. It's down to 24 percent in tonight's Fox News poll. That's off 11 points from April when lawmakers were spending big on stimulus package.
This evening, Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram looks at why that cash flow has been interrupted.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was bill --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bill is passed.
PERGRAM: -- after bill, after bill. As Congress spread it earlier this year that pumped nearly $3 trillion into a cratering economy. That negotiations on another coronavirus package are virtually silent. Some Republicans told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in May that Congress spent too much too fast.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): We think we ought to take a pause here, do a good job of evaluating what we've already done.
PERGRAM: That's partly why McConnell didn't commit to a new bill.
MCCONNELL: I think if there's another one, it will come together in July.
PERGRAM: Still, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned lawmakers to keep their quote, foot on the gas.
JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: It would be a concern if Congress were to pull back from the support that it's providing too quickly.
PERGRAM: Fiscal conservatives wrote to President Trump and McConnell saying paying workers to stay home is inhibiting the fast recovery we want in jobs and incomes. Republicans blasted House Democrats for approving a $3 trillion coronavirus package in May. White House Advisor Peter Navarro floated a cheaper measure.
PETER NAVARRO, WHITE HOUSE TRADE ADVISER: The president is very interested in something on the order of at least two trillion with the bulk of that focused on bringing home our manufacturing base.
PERGRAM: Democrats accused Republicans of wasting Senate floor time confirming judges in the voting days to pass the Great American Outdoors Act.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Unless we do more, the economy is going to get worse, So, delay won't work and we need to act now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PERGRAM: The extra $600 unemployment people received each month expires July 31st. McConnell says that benefit made it harder to get people back to work. He says the $600, quote, will not be continued, Mike.
EMANUEL: Chad Pergram, thanks a lot.
Stocks were mixed, the Dow lost 209. The S&P 500 dropped 18. NASDAQ gained three.
For the week, the Dow was up about one percentage point. The S&P 500 gained almost two. NASDAQ picked up 3-3/4.
Up next, President Trump is lashing out but could his brash style also be a winning one?
First, here is what some of our Fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. FOX 4 in Anchorage, as state officials say the abandoned bus in Alaska's backcountry that was popular -- popularized by the book, Into the Wild, and movie of the same name has been removed. The state natural resources commissioner, says the decision prioritizes public safety.
FOX 9 in the Twin Cities as the Minnesota Twins remove a statue of former owner Calvin Griffith at Target Field citing racist remarks he made in 1978. The team says Griffiths' "disparaging words" displayed a blatant intolerance and disregard for the black community that are the antithesis of what the Minnesota Twins stand for and value.
And this is a live look at New York from FOX 5. One of the big stories there tonight, the countdown to the Belmont Stakes. What is usually the final jewel in the crippled trout -- the Triple Crown -- excuse me, of horse racing, will be held tomorrow. It will be the first of the big three races this year. The schedule was scrambled by the coronavirus pandemic.
That's tonight's live look "OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY" from SPECIAL REPORT. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
EMANUEL: The Navy will not reinstate Captain Brett Crozier as commanding officer of the USS Teddy Roosevelt aircraft carrier. An initial probe had recommended Crozier get his old job back. But the chief of naval operation, says Crozier and his commanding officer both fell well short of expectations.
Crozier was relieved of command after the leaking of a letter he sent to superiors, pleading for help with the coronavirus outbreak aboard his ship. His commanding officers' planned promotion is on hold for now.
President Trump has never been one to mince words, but he's becoming particularly aggressive as he continues to trail Joe Biden in the polls. The media is, of course, a favorite target.
Fox News media analyst and host of Fox's "MEDIA BUZZ" Howard Kurtz, takes a look tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOWARD KURTZ, FOX NEWS MEDIA ANALYST: President Trump hasn't just had his administration sue John Bolton over a book, he called the former national security advisor a wacko, incompetent, a disgruntled boring fool, and a sick puppy.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (via telephone): In terms of Bolton, he broke the law. He was a washed-up guy, I gave him a chance.
KURTZ: The president has escalated his attacks on all kinds of targets, assailing the Supreme Court for two decisions, he called, shotgun blast into the face of Republicans and Conservatives. One ruling on gay rights was written by his appointee, Neil Gorsuch.
President said Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Washington Governor Jay Inslee should be ashamed to themselves for seeding control of one area to protesters.
Now, The New York Times is quoting unnamed Trump advisors is saying after he tweeted, "when the looting starts, the shooting starts," that his political self-sabotage has damaged his reelection chances and questioning whether he really wants a second term.
What this misses is 2016, and all the media predictions that Trump's slashing attacks would doom him, and that's why since his supporters often overlook his harshest rhetoric, he believes he can prove the establishment wrong again.
As for the press, the president accused the far-left fake news media of trying to COVID shame him by focusing on the risk of tomorrow's Oklahoma rally. Twitter itself has felt the president's sting as he's ordered a legal review of social media firms.
Twitter last night slapped a manipulated media warning label on a Trump post of an obviously fake scene and video with the tag line, America isn't the problem, fake news is.
The president is often punching back. Bolton's book denounces Trump as unfit for office. CNN's coverage of him is largely negative. And the media rarely mentioned the coronavirus risk of the racism protests.
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I would encourage all of you to cover the protests in the same way that you cover the rally-goers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KURTZ: The president had few defenders when he went after an injured elderly Buffalo protester, but what's clear is, he is not going to change. As the Times' quoted him as telling aides who urged him to tone it down, I have to be myself. Mike?
EMANUEL: Howie, thanks a lot.
Up next, the wildfire season is already doing damage in the Western U.S. We will show you. First, "BEYOND OUR BORDERS" tonight. The Russian representative to the United Nations' atomic watchdog agency, says its board has adopted a resolution calling for Iran to provide inspectors to access to sites where the country has thought to have stored or used undeclared nuclear material.
The Russian official, says his country and China voted against the resolution, which he says can be counterproductive.
An Indian government source tells Reuters, China has returned 10 Indian soldiers captured during a deadly border clash earlier this week. India, says 20 of its soldiers were killed in hand-to-hand combat Monday night, making it the deadliest clash on the India-China border in more than five decades.
The Pakistani teenager shot by the Taliban for daring to want an education has completed her degree at Oxford University. Malala Yousafzai is now 22. She posted images on Twitter of her celebration early today upon completing a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
Just some of the other stories "BEHIND OUR BORDERS" tonight. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
EMANUEL: "BREAKING TONIGHT", while summer does not officially start until tomorrow, wildfire season in the west appears to be well underway. That is particularly true in Arizona.
National correspondent William La Jeunesse shows us tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM LA JEUNESSE, FOX NEWS NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The fire burning in Arizona is now the fifth-largest in state history. 240 square miles or larger than the city of Chicago. Just seven percent contained, evacuations are underway.
DEE HINES, BUSH FIRE MANAGEMENT TEAM, TONTO NATIONAL FOREST: It's just so important for people to be so careful because the fire can start and take off and it's just frightening how fast it can happen.
LA JEUNESSE: The bushfire began last Saturday, and while burning away from Phoenix, it's now at 7,000 feet and closing roads to popular lakes and cabins.
SAMANTHA BEAL, BIGHORN FIRE EVACUEE: We don't want to lose our property and our livelihoods but that can all be rebuilt. So, if that goes, it's OK.
LA JEUNESSE: Evacuation centers are open but because of the coronavirus, evacuees cannot stay overnight. This blaze began after a car caught fire, but many others are caused by downed power lines.
BILL JOHNSON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC: On behalf of PG&E, I apologize, and I apologized personally for the pain that was caused here.
LA JEUNESSE: This week in California, in a highly unusual case, the CEO of Pacific Gas & Electric pled guilty on behalf of the corporation to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter, after one of their power lines caused a massive fire in 2018.
MICHAEL RAMSEY, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, BUTTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: 84 people did not need to die if PG&E had done its job in a reasonable way.
LA JEUNESSE: The downed power line cut through deep forest as many do throughout the west, where 17 fires currently burned in six states.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LA JEUNESSE: Because of liability issues raised in the PG&E case, officials predict power companies around the west will cut power when winds exceed about 35 miles an hour. Promising another summer of blackouts as the sides argue over loss of power and possible loss of life. Mike.
EMANUEL: William, thanks a lot.
Professional golfer Nick Watney has withdrawn from this weekend's tour event in South Carolina after testing positive for COVID-19. Watney is the first member of the circuit to test positive for the novel coronavirus.
The Philadelphia Phillies, say five players and three staff members have tested positive at the team's spring training facility in Clearwater, Florida.
The nation's largest movie theater chain is reversing itself on its rules over wearing masks. AMC's initial plan to reopen July 15th had masks optional in places where they are not required. But it tweeted today, it is listening to its guest and making masks mandatory at all locations.
European Union leaders during a four-hour video summit today agreed that they must have an ambitious common sponsor to the coronavirus epidemic and its economic ramifications. They just cannot agree on what that responses. In Italy, economic recovery has a lot to do with tourism. Senior foreign affairs correspondent Amy Kellogg is in Florence tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMY KELLOGG, FOX NEWS SENIOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: All alone with Leonardo, quiet time with Caravaggio, and I love it when it's just me and my boy, Botticelli. The jewel Florence's crown, that Renaissance treasure chest the Uffizi, is open again after the long coronavirus lockdown. Black dots on the floors mark out social distancing, masks are required, and groups can include no more than 10 people. When I filmed, the museum is closed, but even during open hours it provides a much different experience these days. If you're lucky, there is still the opportunity, if you hit it right, to have one of these rooms all to yourself.
EIKE SCHMIDT, UFFIZI GALLERY DIRECTOR: It's really a situation that I think we can only compare to when that Medicis themselves had the Uffizi as their art collection. It is so quiet, and you can really concentrate on these great masterpieces from the past. It's truly overwhelming in a positive way.
KELLOGG: This has got the Uffizi's director thinking hard about how to make tourism more pleasurable and less frenetic in the future. From Pompeii to the Coliseum, it's a rare moment to experience slow tourism in Italy. Venice, whose canals went crystal clear during lockdown, is already protesting the inevitable return of mass tourism, though they need the tourists to come back.
SCHMIDT: What is important is these next few months is to really set a new gold standard for visiting museums, and then to stick to it in the future.
KELLOGG: In Florence, Italy, Amy Kellogg, FOX News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
EMANUEL: Tulsa's mayor declares a civil emergency ahead of President Trump's rally there Saturday. We will talk about it with the panel when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUCE DART, TULSA HEALTH DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR: I recommend that it be postponed until it's safer, until the data tells us that it's not as large a concern to have people indoors in enclosed spaces with the threat of COVID-19 transmission. So if we could push it back when they tell us it's safer, that was my recommendation. That's what I personally would like to see happen.
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We are all on board with going to Oklahoma. We're taking appropriate measures like hand-sanitizing and temperature checks and masks being provided at the door.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EMANUEL: President Trump returning to the campaign trail, Tulsa, Oklahoma, tomorrow. Expected to be a huge crowd on hand. Many cannot get into the venue but are still expected to show up.
With that, let's bring in our panel, former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr., who is currently chairman of RX Saver, Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at "The Federalist," and Jonah Goldberg, editor in chief of "The Dispatch." Welcome to you all.
Congressman, I am supposing as a former elected official you can understand a politician wanting to get back out there on the trail with his name on the ballot. Your thoughts?
HAROLD FORD JR. (D) FORMER TENNESSEE REPRESENTATIVE: So if you're the president and you think about the position he finds himself in as we sit here today with the polling, FOX's polling showing that he's behind, the Supreme court not giving him the best of weeks this week, if his tweets are any indication, and then even COVID cases rising in some states, you would want a rally. So I get it. And I hope that they do in a safe if they're all going to be there.
But the reality is that the president is probably facing more headwinds than this rally alone can solve. My hope is that those who argue, Democrats who argue that he shouldn't do this remember that there were protests just a few weeks ago, and I didn't hear those voices. But I would hope the president and his team would be as responsible as possible, and I would hope that those in attendance would do the same as well.
EMANUEL: Take a listen to Oklahoma's governor on the whole mask issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. KEVIN STITT, (R) OKLAHOMA: I'm very reluctant to mandate wearing a mask. And so if you feel the freedom and you want -- we just believe in freedoms in Oklahoma. If you want to wear a mask, we want you to do it. If you feel safer at home, we don't want you to come to the rally. But if you do feel OK, we want you to come to the rally and have a good time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EMANUEL: Mollie, your thoughts as the president heads back out on the trail?
MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE FEDERALIST": You would be forgiven for forgetting it in recent months, but it is a free country, and people should make decisions that are best for them. It is fascinating to me to see so much pushback against this rally, though. The violent riots and the protests that we saw in cities across the country ended the lockdown. And you don't get to cheer on protests with tens of thousands of people, whether you are a public official or media figure or government figure, and then turn around and say we don't think conservatives should be gathering to peaceably assemble for their causes. It's really alarming to a lot of people to watch people turn on a dime to go from celebrating some of these things to then saying, oh, but they are not OK if Republicans or conservatives do it. And that type of lack of confidence that that induces is really threatening, actually.
EMANUEL: Jonah, your thoughts heading into the big campaign weekend?
JONAH GOLDBERG, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, I basically agree that elites of either party have lost any credibility about trying to enforce lockdowns in any way. President Trump wants to forget that there is a coronavirus, that's what his rhetoric is all about, and the Democrats want to selectively say, as Mollie and Harold said, that only gatherings that we approve of are socially responsible, all others are shameless and reckless.
The problem here remains is that the virus doesn't care why you're doing it. And so at this point the most important thing that can be done is just simply properly inform the American people of the risks, of the dangers. The campaign's own website actually makes you waive away any right to sue if you get coronavirus from doing this. And just hope putting your faith in the good sense of the American people will help you keep the contagion rate down to a manageable level.
EMANUEL: Another huge issue heading into this weekend, of course, is the John Bolton book. A federal judge saying the horse may be out of the barn on it. Take a listen to this from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president makes hiring decisions based on the fact that he likes to have countervailing viewpoints. I spoke to him this morning about the hiring of John Bolton in particular, and he said I like to counterbalance my own opinion with individuals that oftentimes have the very opposite opinion of my own. He likes the model of having a team of rivals like what we saw in President Lincoln's administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EMANUEL: Harold, your thoughts on the book heading into this weekend?
FORD: It's unlikely the book, they will be able to stop the book. The book seems to already be out. Media outlets have it. Legally speaking the DOJ will probably have a hard time because you have to show that a publication presents a clear and present danger to the president. I don't see how that happens. I think it may present some dangers for his reelection, but certainly not to the presidency.
Just one last point on this thing in Oklahoma. I just hope that I hear everything by saying I think Democrats need to be careful in being too critical. But Jonah said it best. The virus doesn't pick Democrats or Republicans. So public defiance and political defiance shouldn't trump public health, and I just hope everyone keeps that mind as they go to this rally.
EMANUEL: One issue Bolton writes about is the possibility of replacing Vice President Mike Pence with Ambassador Nikki Haley. Take a look at this, quote, "Trump also raised the widespread political rumor he would dump Pence from the ticket in 2020 and run instead with Haley. Ivanka and Kushner favored this approach. The political argument in Haley's favor was that she could win back women voters alienated by Trump. By contrast, it was said that the evangelicals supporting Pence had nowhere else to go in 2020, so their votes were not at risk if Haley took his place." Mollie, your thoughts?
HEMINGWAY: John Bolton has a lot of stories, and his stories are not viewed with the same level of credibility by everybody. George W. Bush, the previous president, said he lacked credibility, and a lot of people who are involved in these stories say they don't remember things quite like they seem to have written about in the book.
But I think it's good to look where people do think that he's telling the truth, and he writes of having a very different foreign policies than President Trump, that he supported military intervention in Venezuela and North Korea, Iran, Syria. And I think a lot of the challenges that some people have had with his administration are a result of frustrations that President Trump really is moving away from a more interventionist foreign policy that marked the previous administrations, and focusing on national interest foreign policy. And John Bolton definitely didn't like getting fired, immediately talked to all of his reporter buddies about it and writes a tell-all book. But I think we can all agree he's much more interventionist and that that was the true nature of the conflict here.
EMANUEL: Jonah, briefly, your thoughts, and should have waited until the Trump administration was done?
GOLDBERG: I think ideally he should've waited. I think ideally he should have testified during the impeachment hearings. But it's also worth pointing out some of the other things people think John Bolton is telling the truth about. The president's own former secretary of state, former secretary of defense, former chief of staff, and department of Homeland Security secretary all basically agree with Bolton that Trump is unfit for the job, that he doesn't put the due diligence on homework that is required for the job. And that should tell us something.
EMANUEL: Next up, the Friday Lightning Round, Juneteenth, Candidate Casino, plus Winners and Losers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say his name.
CROWD: George Floyd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say her name.
CROWD: Breonna Taylor.
ALVEDA KING, NIECE OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: I believe it's very important that there be an executive order declaring Juneteenth as a national holiday, that won't be a time to just celebrate, but to use transformation, love and peace, to have America come together.
REP. VAL DEMINGS, (D-FL) IMPEACHMENT MANAGER: Dr. King put us on notice when he uttered these words. We've got some difficult days ahead. But Dr. King was not talking about the past. He was preparing us. He was preparing you and preparing me for the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EMANUEL: Juneteenth holidays today is today. After working in Texas a number of years, I knew it was a big deal down there for the past at least 40 years or so. And we are back with our panel, Harold, Mollie, Jonah. Harold, your thoughts on Juneteenth.
FORD: I happen to be in agreement. I've come to this position after thinking long and hard about how we as a nation have come to celebrate freedom. And Juneteenth should be a holiday, and one in which every American, particularly black Americans, come to understand freedom granted, freedom denied, freedom resisted, and really understanding the status and the role of freedom in every Americans life.
I was astonished when I saw the movie "12 Years a Slave" and a dear friend said to me it gave him a totally different perspective on slavery, and I wondered what his previous perspective on slavery was. Hopefully if we have these bigger conversations, and a holiday might allow us to do that, we might all come to cherish freedom a lot differently and better, and even think more equally about how we disperse it to every American.
EMANUEL: Here is the White House press secretary on Juneteenth. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I wanted to share some words from President Trump. Juneteenth reminds us of both the unimaginable injustice of slavery and the incomparable joy that must have attended emancipation. It is both a remembrance of a blight on our history, and a celebration of our nation's unsurpassed ability to triumph over darkness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EMANUEL: Mollie, some are pushing to make it a national holiday. Your thoughts?
HEMINGWAY: I come from Colorado, which is a state where Juneteenth is also widely celebrated. I know it has particular regional connotations and people in other parts of the country celebrate different days, but I love the idea of Juneteenth being a national holiday. It's at the right time of year, it's its own day. And America didn't create slavery, but we fought a war to end it, and we are great and prosperous country. And having days that remind us of these battles and what it takes to end bad things is worthwhile for all Americans, I think.
EMANUEL: Jonah, briefly, your thoughts?
GOLDBERG: I think that's exactly right. Reminding people that we had slavery is important, also reminding people that we ended it is important, and that that's part of us striving to become a more perfect union.
EMANUEL: All right, it's Friday. Let's head to the Candidate Casino, $100, we're looking at the Veep-stakes, and a prominent name dropped out. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR, (D-MN) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think this is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket. And there are so many incredibly qualified women, but if you want to heal this nation right now -- my party, yes, but our nation -- this is sure a hell of a way to do it.
SUSAN RICE, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think there are advantages in bringing the country together and healing along racial lines. But at the end of the day Vice President Biden, who served in that role and knows what he needs, has to make the judgment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EMANUEL: Harold, your thoughts on the Veep-stakes?
FORD: First of all, I don't like being told what to do, and I hesitate to tell vice president -- the presidential nominee what to do. I would be pleased if it was an African-American woman. I put my names up. Demings I think it making a rise. I think Rice, who you just showed, is making a rise, and Keisha Bottoms out of Atlanta. But Kamala Harris probably remains in the pole position.
EMANUEL: Mollie, where are you putting your money?
HEMINGWAY: Out of my $100 in chips I'm putting $75 on Kamala Harris just because of her role as a U.S. senator. She has a ton of weaknesses, and I think that does give an opportunity for Val Demings of Florida. I'm putting the rest of my chips on her. She was an impeachment manager. She has so fewer downsides than Kamala Harris has, even if she's only a member of Congress, only a House member.
EMANUEL: Jonah, where are you betting?
GOLDBERG: Almost for similar reasons, I'm making different bets, though. I'm putting $50 on Val Demings precisely because I think at the end of the day she'd be the smarter pick. It's a way to both placate the base and to send a signal that the administration, or the Biden campaign is not actually anti-cop because Val Demings was chief of police in Orlando. And $40 on Kamala Harris because I think she has an inside track, and then $10 on to-be-determined.
EMANUEL: All right, we need to quickly get to Winners and Losers. Harold, lead us off.
FORD: The assistant secretary of state Mary Elizabeth Taylor who resigned is my winner, talking about her conscience dictating her decisions. We need more courage like that and honesty in politics. And the losers are baseball fans because Major League Baseball can't get its act together and get us a season.
EMANUEL: Mollie?
HEMINGWAY: My winner of the week are leaders of the Jewish community in Brooklyn who took bolt cutters to open up a playground so that their kids could play after the same borough had had huge protests the day before. I think that type of ingenuity is needed.
My loser is Chief Justice John Roberts. He has been on the wrong side of many decisions. He's never won an election, but he's appointed himself a legislator, coming up with these really difficult, horribly written opinions to justify outcomes that have not been good for the country.
EMANUEL: Jonah?
GOLDBERG: My winner is Joe Biden, because even though he kind of needs to be out of the limelight and hide in a basement, that was a risky strategy, and so far looks it looks like it's working for him, a sort of virtual front porch campaign. My loser is Elizabeth Warren because when Amy Klobuchar pulled the trigger on her suicide vest for her V.P. slot, he took out Elizabeth Warren, and she's not going to get the V.P. pick either because of it.
EMANUEL: Panel, many thanks. When we come back, "Notable Quotables."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
EMANUEL: Finally tonight, this week's edition of "Notable Quotables."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Father's Day is coming up, and all I can do is just think about what if my husband was still here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are staying with the Brooks family to make sure that justice is served.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: You know who wants bad cops gone? The good cops.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's not do something that is a token, half-hearted approach.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You call this a token? Process hurts my soul for my country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today is a landmark victory for LGBTQ equality.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The specter of deportation has been lifted for the time being.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They've ruled and we live with their decision. That's what it's all about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think he's fit for office.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did not know this guy was a backstabber and a liar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, John Bolton, for being the firefighter that shows up to the building that's already burned.
TRUMP: Any conversation with me is classified.
REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA) HOUSE SPEAKER: There's no room to memorialize people who embody violent bigotry and grotesque racism.
MIKE PENCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Are going to move an agenda that promotes public safety.
CHUCK SCHUMER, (D) SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Dr. Pence would not be someone I'd go to for a medical checkup or for medical advice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The campaign has taken certain measures to make sure this is a safe rally.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anyone planning to attend a large-scale gathering will face an increased risk of becoming infected with COVID-19.
TRUMP: And now we are entrusting you with the most noble task, preserving American liberty.
(APPLAUSE)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EMANUEL: Quite a week. Feels like that every week these days.
Thanks for watching SPECIAL REPORT. I'm Mike Emanuel in Washington.
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