This is a rush transcript from “Special Report," August 21, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: The postmaster general insists, he is committed to election mail security. He's pressed on his plan for that on Capitol Hill. Joe Biden begins his post-convention campaign after an acceptance speech, promising to bring the country out of what he calls a season of darkness. And has California's push toward green energy actually contributed to its current power shortage? We'll take you there. This is SPECIAL REPORT.
Good evening, welcome to Washington. I'm Bret Baier. With one political convention in the books and another about ready to start, the urgency over how Americans will vote is intensified tonight. The head of the Postal Service, says he is committed to election security.
President Trump, meantime, continues to warn of a catastrophic and delayed outcome -- seriously delayed. Correspondent Kristin Fisher starts us off tonight from the North Lawn of the White House, where the president is preparing for his big re-nomination week. Good evening, Kristin.
KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. The Republican National Convention is going to look a little bit different than what you saw the Democrats do this week. The Republicans are planning for an audience on the South Lawn of the White House when President Trump speaks there on Thursday night.
They're also planning for more live and less taped events, but the biggest difference will be the messaging. And already, President Trump is turning one of Joe Biden's signature lines from last night on its head.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Where Joe Biden sees American darkness, I see American greatness. We've mobilized American industry like never before, we've built military hospitals from scratch, produce life- saving therapies, and we're on track to develop the most incredible from a standpoint of time -- record time vaccines.
FISHER: President Trump, defending his administration's response to the pandemic and panning the performance his 2020 rival gave on the final night of the Democratic National Convention.
Speaking today to a conservative group, the Council for National Policy, the president said, it wasn't so much what Joe Biden said, it's what he did not say.
TRUMP: He didn't talk about bringing safety to Democrat-run cities that are totally out of control.
FISHER: President Trump accused Democrats of holding the darkest and angriest convention in American history. Though today, the president delivered an ominous warning of his own about universal mail-in voting.
TRUMP: This will be the greatest catastrophe, one of the greatest catastrophes in the history of our country. That's how serious it is. And they also think I'm trying to steal an election. Just the opposite, I want the fair results of an election.
FISHER: But just a few hours later, the Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, testified under oath before the Senate Homeland Security Committee that he was highly confident the Postal Service could pull off what will likely be the largest vote by mail program in American history.
LOUIS DEJOY, U.S. POSTMASTER GENERAL: The Postal Service is fully capable and committed to delivering the nation's election mail securely and on time.
FISHER: DeJoy told the committee that he will not be bringing back any of the mail sorting machines that have been removed under his tenure due to an increase in package volume and a decrease in mail. But DeJoy did reiterate his promise to suspend more cost-cutting measures until after the election.
SEN. GARY PETERS (D-MI): Did you discuss those changes or are there a potential impact on the November election with the president or anyone at the White House and remind you you're under oath?
DEJOY: I have never spoken to the president about the Postal Service other than to congratulate me when I accepted the position.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FISHER: Now, it was exactly one week ago today that President Trump saw his younger brother, Robert for the very last time. Today, he had a chance to say goodbye to him with a private memorial service that was just held here at the White House. Bret.
BAIER: Some of the images of that there. Kristin Fisher, live in the North Lawn. Kristin, thanks.
As Kristin just mentioned, Joe Biden is promising to guide America out of what he calls this season of darkness. But he may be having trouble convincing some of the progressives in his own party that he has seen the light.
Correspondent Peter Doocy, reports tonight from Wilmington Delaware.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: This is how Joe Biden pitched himself in a speech he's waited decades to give.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'll be an ally of the light, not the darkness.
DOOCY: Just outside, horns honked and headlights flashed as invited guests watched the democratic nominee formally accept the nomination socially distanced from their cars.
The morning after, a first on the campaign trail, a golf cart parade for Joe Biden at the villages in Florida. All week long, convention organizers tried to project harmony among moderates and progressives. But one of the most prominent progressive speakers was never actually asked by convention organizers to appear. And only had time in the show because Bernie Sanders asked her to second his nomination. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT): I think what the DNC was saying is, oh, you know, she's speaking. No, I mean they didn't invite her, I think they should have. That's a whole other story.
DOOCY: Sanders was all smiles with former rivals last night.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Why does my girlfriend like you more than she likes me? But let's --
(CROSSTALK)
SANDERS: Because she (INAUDIBLE) than you.
DOOCY: But wasn't ultimately pleased with the whole program.
SANDERS: The story is they should have had more progressive speaking -- giving them speaking spots.
DOOCY: Many speakers including the now-nominee, devoted significant time to attacking President Trump.
BIDEN: President keeps telling us the virus is going to disappear. He keeps waiting for a miracle. Well, I have news for him, no miracle is coming.
DOOCY: But Republican critics say all the Trump talk left some questions about Biden's platform.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Democrats just spent four days in a convention, and I don't know one thing is on their agenda except they dislike this president, and they're going to raise your taxes.
DOOCY: One of the closing night's most moving moments came from a New Hampshire teenager.
BRAYDEN HARRINGTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE BOY: Hi, my name is Brayden Harrington and I'm 13 years old. And without Joe Biden, I wouldn't be talking to you today.
DOOCY: Brayden met Biden in February, seeking advice about something Biden struggled with as a young man, a stutter.
BIDEN: You're going to see this kid become president of United States of America someday.
DOOCY: Six months later, Brayden had a global platform.
HARRINGTON: Kids like me are counting on you to elect someone we can all look up to.
DOOCY: Now, the rest is up to Biden.
BIDEN: But while I'll be a democratic candidate, I will be an American president.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOOCY: And just 15 minutes ago, a brand-new Biden interview conducted this afternoon here in Wilmington dropped. ABC News asked him if he would shut the country down during a COVID spike, if that was what scientists recommended, Biden said this, "I would shut it down, I would listen to the scientists." And that represents yet another clear-cut difference between Biden and Trump about one of the issues that voters care about the most right now. Bret.
BAIER: Peter Doocy, live in Wilmington. Peter, thanks.
More on this with the panel. Steve Hilton, by the way, Has an exclusive wide-ranging interview with President Trump at the White House for this weekend's edition of "THE NEXT REVOLUTION". Here is a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: China owns Joe Biden; his son got a $1-1/2 billion. His son with no experience, no brain power, no anything, never did it. Not only Ukraine.
(CROSSTALK)
STEVE HILTON, FOX NEWS HOST: Yes.
TRUMP: He got hundreds of thousands of dollars a month from Ukraine and the $3 million upfront payment. And then with China, he walks out with a $1-1/2 billion to manage. That means millions of dollars a year in fees. It's ridiculous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: You can see the full interview on "THE NEXT REVOLUTION", Sunday night, 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Well, you didn't hear about one country really at all at the DNC but expect to hear plenty about China during the Republican convention next week.
Tonight, state department correspondent Rich Edson tells us that will be a sharp contrast to what we did not hear this past week from Democrats.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICH EDSON, FOX NEWS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Just hours after the Democratic convention wrapped, President Trump, claims Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is avoiding his decades-long record on a major foreign policy challenge.
TRUMP: China was never mentioned in any way, shape, or form. China will own our country if he gets elected.
EDSON: Through their week-long convention, including speeches from former secretaries of state John Kerry and Hillary Clinton, there was little mention of the great power struggle between the United States and China beyond the coronavirus challenge.
TRUMP: I stood up to China's rampant cheating, plunder, and theft.
EDSON: After the spread of the global pandemic to the U.S., the Trump administration says it has led an aggressive foreign policy blaming China for the pandemic, sanctions on Chinese government officials for mass human rights abuses, shutting the Chinese consulate in Houston, an international campaign against Chinese tech company Huawei, tariffs, and forcing popular app, TikTok to sell to an American company.
BIDEN: Then make it clear to our adversaries, the days of cozying up to dictators --
EDSON: Democrats, say the president's China policy has failed to change China's behavior. Arguing, the president flatters Chinese President Xi Jinping and even telling him to continue building concentration camps in Xinjiang China, as former National Security Adviser John Bolton claims.
This spring, Biden wrote that restoring American alliances is the best way to confront China. "The United States does need to get tough with China. The most effective way to meet that challenge is to build a united front of U.S. allies.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
EDSON: A recent Fox News poll, says that by 11 percentage points, voters prefer Biden to handle relations with China. Still, the president is repeating his attacks on Biden's China record and Republicans will have more opportunities to do so when they host their convention next week. Bret?
BAIER: Rich Edson at the State Department. Rich, thank you.
Please join Martha MacCallum and me, Sunday night for our "DEMOCRACY 2020 KICKOFF" show to the Republican convention. We'll be previewing the RNC, examining the presidential racist things stand right now. We'll have special guests and reports from across the country, 10:00 p.m. Eastern Sunday night.
Stocks finish the week strongly. The Dow jumped 190 today. The S&P 500 gained 12, finishing at a new record close. The NASDAQ finished ahead 47, also, a record high finish today.
For the week, the Dow lost a fraction. The S&P was up three-quarters of a percentage point, the NASDAQ gained 2-2/3.
There is progress to report tonight on the search for a coronavirus vaccine. That comes amid the continuing drama over whether students should return to class for the fall semester and how to manage those who already have?
Correspondent Steve Harrigan has tonight's report from Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE HARRIGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Syracuse University is the latest college to discipline students for ignoring COVID safety measures.
Among the hundreds of freshmen who gathered Wednesday night in the center of campus, at least 23 have been suspended.
A school official released a statement. "Last night, a large group of first-year students selfishly jeopardize the very thing so many of you claim to want from Syracuse University. That is, a chance at a residential college experience."
Coronavirus has sidelined a Georgia State University football player, who tweeted he will sit the season out after he developed a heart condition while battling the coronavirus.
Other parents of college athletes are protesting the postponement of sports in the Big Ten. They gathered in Chicago to put pressure on the conference to reverse its decision.
NOREEN MURPHY, MOTHER OF UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ATHLETE: For any sport, take the test, if you're negative, you play. That's it.
HARRIGAN: Pfizer announced it could have a vaccine ready for use in the U.S. as early as November. Making it one of the fastest moving vaccines in the world.
That speed is needed in Georgia, the state where per capita, you are now most likely to be exposed to COVID-19. And one of the hardest-hit places inside Georgia is Hancock County, 100 miles east of Atlanta, population 8,000, 85 percent Black.
Just one man works at Hancock Memorial Hospital with a bush hook.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess they feel like this is a poor county. They have got no resources. Sure is tough times looking at it.
HARRIGAN: The hospital was shuttered 20 years ago, the nearest one is 30 miles away. The virus began here in two nursing homes, killing 27, then spread to younger people, killing another 10 in a tightly knit community.
ADRICK INGRAM, CORONER, HANCOCK COUNTY: We not only have to deal with not understanding them, but we don't fully understand what COVID is and how it affects us on a day-to-day basis. It's like a ghost.
HARRIGAN: The local funeral director says, his business has more than doubled since the pandemic began. Bret.
BAIER: Steve Harrigan in Atlanta. Steve, thanks.
There will be no fans at this year's Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs making the announcement today. The run for the roses has already been pushed back from its traditional May date to September 5th.
One of the downsides of cores for employers reopening their businesses is the possibility that the workers may become infected with the coronavirus.
And as correspondent David Spunt tells us that could lead to a whole new set of problems.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID SPUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: As COVID-19 rages on in small towns and big cities, people are beginning to return to work, leaving many employers across the country worried about lawsuits.
JOE SHAMESS, CO-FOUNDER, FLAGS OF VALOR: Any time there's uncertainty in business, it makes business owners -- there's an element of fear that's naturally introduce.
SPUNT: Air Force veteran Joe Shamess, owns a small manufacturing business that makes American flags and other old glory-related apparel.
Flags of Valor has 16 full-time employees and continues to grow.
SHAMESS: It doesn't matter who is wrong or right, the mere process of going through, and the cost associated with it can destroy a company.
SPUNT: According to a recent study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, two- thirds of small businesses with between 20 and 500 employees are worried about COVID related lawsuits.
NEIL BRADLEY, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: The threats are pretty extreme, and we do expect the number of lawsuits to increase as time goes on.
SPUNT: But it's not just small companies in the litigation crosshairs. Walmart, Tyson Food, Safeway, large companies named in COVID related lawsuits.
According to the COVID-19 complaint tracker from independent law firm, Hunton Andrews Kurth, just over 4,000 COVID related complaints have been filed in courts across the country.
Republicans are pushing for a COVID relief bill that protects companies, schools, and churches from lawsuits. Democrats are pushing back, so are trial lawyers.
TOBI MILLROOD, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR JUSTICE: Our mission is really just to hold folks accountable if they act unreasonably.
SPUNT: COVID-19 hit Tobi Millrood personally, but not in the courtroom. His mother died from the virus in April after what he calls multiple mistakes made by her medical facility.
MILLROOD: We don't really have any intention at all in bringing an action, but we would have that right. That is a fundamental American value and right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SPUNT: As of today, the majority of lawsuits involve businesses. Legal experts expect to see more involving schools as kids begin to crack open the books. Bret.
BAIER: David, thank you.
Bringing legal moves, "BREAKING TONIGHT", a federal appeals court says it will not step in right away to delay New York prosecutor's efforts to get President Trump's tax records. That potentially leaves the U.S. Supreme Court as the president's most promising option to block the prosecutor's subpoena. The Second U.S. Court of Appeals has denied the president's request to immediately put Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.'s subpoena on hold, while the president appeals to try to get it invalidated.
The appeals court says it will hold a hearing on this request for a delay but not until September 1st. Again, a setback for the Trump administration and the president, but it continues tonight.
Up next, the Massachusetts Senate race that is shaping up as a power struggle within the Democratic Party.
First, here is what some of our Fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight.
WFXT in Boston as actress Lori Loughlin is sentenced to two months in prison for paying half a million dollars in bribes to get her two daughters into the University of Southern California.
Her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli was sentenced to five months in prison. The couple pleading guilty in May.
Fox 40 in Sacramento, as the former police officer known as the Golden State killer, is given multiple life sentences. 74-year-old, Joseph James DeAngelo eluded his fellow investigators for four decades. He pleaded guilty in June to 13 murders and 13 rape-related charges, stemming from crimes in the 1970s and 80s under a plea deal that spares him the death penalty.
And this is a live look at Honolulu. Sunny Honolulu from our affiliate, KHON. One of the big stories there tonight, the National Science Foundation launches an informal outreach to Hawaii about possible funding efforts for the stalled Thirty Meter Telescope project.
Opponents who demonstrated for months say the project on the state's tallest mountain would desecrate land considered sacred by some native Hawaiians.
That is tonight's live look "OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY" from SPECIAL REPORT. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BAIER: The man accused of brutally beating a truck driver in Portland over the weekend has turned himself in. Marquise Love surrendered this morning. He's charged with assault, riot, and coercion.
At least two federal buildings in Portland have been closed as the FBI is investigating a car bomb threat that was made Thursday.
Protesters clashed again last night with federal agents outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building. The facility has become a new focus of those demonstrations that have gripped Portland for months.
Police, say people in a group of about 100 sprayed the building with graffiti, hurled rocks and bottles at agents, and shined them with laser lights. Agents set off smoke or tear gas, and used crowd control ammunitions to try to disperse those demonstrators.
A primary battle between an incumbent democratic senator and an establishment challenger is now really becoming a power struggle between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and progressive leader Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Here is senior political correspondent Mike Emanuel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: There is a political proxy war underway in the Massachusetts senate race with prominent Democrats on either side.
SEN. ED MARKEY (D-MA): The election begins now.
Senator Ed Markey is trying to hold on to the seat with progressives Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supporting him.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): We have to have conversations not just about holding this administration accountable, but changing the Democratic Party for the future.
EMANUEL: But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is backing a young member of a political dynasty, Congressman Joe Kennedy.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): He knows that to achieve progressive change, you must be on the front lines leading movements of people. Massachusetts and America need Joe Kennedy's courage and leadership in the Senate.
EMANUEL: Democratic leadership had urged progressives not to challenge Democratic incumbents. But in this race, Pelosi is backing the challenger. AOC called the Speaker out. Calling it less a policy and more a cherry- picking activity.
Markey and AOC bonded over sponsoring the progressive Green New Deal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The great Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
EMANUEL: Early voting is already underway in Massachusetts ahead of primary day, September 1st. With Kennedy, arguing it is time for new leadership.
REP. JOE KENNEDY (D-MA): I believe you deserve more out of your senator. We have a government that is disconnected from its people.
MARKEY: We have to think big in 2021. And not only do we need to increase taxes, we also need to cut the defense budget.
EMANUEL: The one prominent figure on the left staying out of this primary fight is Senator Bernie Sanders.
SANDERS: I am not going to get involved in every race that is out there. We kind of pick and choose --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
EMANUEL: Kennedy jumped out to a big lead early based on the strength of his family name in Massachusetts. But Markey has surged recently with his progressive endorsements, suggesting this will be a fight to the finish. Bret.
BAIER: Mike, thank you.
Up next, a leading critic of Russia's president fighting for his life tonight and foul play definitely suspected.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BAIER: Federal prosecutors have charged a former Army Green Beret with spying for Russia. 45-year-old Peter Debbins of Gainesville, Virginia is accused of working with Moscow as far back as 1996.
Prosecutors say he periodically met Russian intelligence and was even assigned a code name by Russian agents. Authorities say Debbins was arrested today.
Russian doctors, meantime, say they will allow a leading critic of President Vladimir Putin to be taken to Germany for further treatment after what his allies suspect was a poisoning.
Correspondent Benjamin Hall reports tonight on another mysterious illness to befall a Putin adversary.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BENJAMIN HALL, FOX NEWS FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The most prominent opponent of Vladimir Putin, Alexei Navalny, today, lies in a coma, stretched off a plane yesterday after screaming out in agony, then, collapsing.
German doctors have been allowed to see him and a specialized medical jet sent to take him to Berlin. But there is some confusion about when he would actually leave the Siberian hospital.
Doctors initially refused to release him before reversing their decision, while the Kremlin is denying they tried to stop the transfer.
Navalny's wife claims the authorities prevented his departure and that the German doctors were harassed.
YULIA NAVALNAYA, WIFE OF ALEXEI NAVALNY (through translator): This situation is outrageous. They prevented us from taking Alexei.
Russian doctors say there are no signs of poison and that Navalny only had low blood sugar. But others have no doubt what happened.
VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA, RUSSIAN DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST: What happened to Alexei Navalny is a deliberate poisoning. I have absolutely no doubt about this. It's a deliberate poisoning directly motivated by his political activities over the years in a Russian opposition.
Alexei Navalny is one of the most prominent, effective, and powerful voices in opposition, not only to the authoritarianism but also to the corruption and nepotism of Vladimir Putin.
HALL: There has been international outrage, both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have offered their support, and the E.U. has now called for an investigation.
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): Full light will have to be shed on the circumstances. Above all, I hope he can be saved.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HALL: Alexei Navalny is the one man thought to be able to unify the Russian opposition. He has millions of followers. But the great fear now is that one of the major critics of the Kremlin has been silenced. Bret?
BAIER: Benjamin Hall in London. Benjamin, thank you.
Wildfires that have claimed at least six lives in forced tens of thousands of people from their homes are raging tonight again in California. Three major groups of fires are threatening homes in the San Francisco Bay Area and central California. More evacuations are expected as hot, gusty weather continues there.
California is also experiencing rolling blackouts this month, and some California lawmakers say the state's push to get green energy fast may be to blame. National correspondent William La Jeunesse is in Santa Monica tonight. Good evening, William.
WILLIAM LA JEUNESSE, FOX NEWS NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bret, this heat wave is a challenge to firefighters but also the grid. Peak demand is about two hours from now, and today the state does not expect any blackouts because of conservation, cooler weather, and more capacity. But critics this week expose California's flawed strategy, an aggressive green energy mandate that forced utilities to drop coal, nuclear, natural gas in favor of renewables, falling short of megawatts when Californians needed them most.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM PATTERSON (R), CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY: You can't run a 21st century economy that's the fifth largest on the planet with wind and solar.
LA JEUNESSE: In the name of climate change, the state has closed a nuclear and dozens of gas plants that provide power when renewables don't, days of no wind and sunset, nor, consumer groups say, did it buy or develop enough batteries to store clean power.
MARK TONEY, UTILITY REFORM NETWORK: So, when we are thinking of backup, they are two ways to go. One is the gas fired plants. But the other is the emerging battery storage. And we're going to need both for a while.
LA JEUNESSE: Governor Gavin Newsom blamed the blackouts on what he called a gap as utilities transitioned from gas to wind and solar but refused to say the state wow state went too far too fast.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We are committed to low carbon, green growth future. We are going to radically change the way we produce and consume energy for one reason -- we believe in climate change.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LA JEUNESSE: So a majority of consumers want clean energy, but they want it reliable as well as affordable, and during this heat wave, Bret, it was neither. This provides a warning, many believe, to those who want a sweeping green new deal that rejects natural gas as a bridge fuel until they get storage. Back to you.
BAIER: William, thank you.
One convention ends, another is about to begin. We'll get reaction from the panel when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Somebody said what's the difference between Clinton and Biden? Clinton is much smarter, but not a likable person. And Joe is not nearly as smart, but he's more likable. Maybe I'd rather have the smarter person. Who cares about personality, right?
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: The current president has cloaked America in darkness for much too long. I'll be an ally of the light, not the darkness.
Character is on the ballot. Compassion is on the ballot. Decency, science, democracy, they're all on the ballot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: Joe Biden accepting his party's nomination, said by many pundits, including this one, that it was the best speech many had seen him ever give as far as a political speech. But the difference between talking about the style and the substance, criticized for lack of policy detail. In that, what about the fallout, at least some, even his allies were surprised, and I guess pleased.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That sound you hear all across the country is the sound of Democrats exhaling. Sometimes when he gets up there, you're afraid he's going to make a mistake, he's going to have a gaffe. The expectations are just so low. And then he came out there and he gave an extraordinary speech.
We were prepared for it to be a terrible speech. As long as he didn't embarrass himself, we were going to come out here and praise it. You don't have to make nothing up tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: "You don't have to make nothing up tonight," is what Van Jones said.
The campaign is saying they are making up a lot when it comes to money, $70 million over the four days of the Democratic National Convention.
Let's bring in our panel, Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at "The Federalist," Julie Pace is the Washington Bureau Chief for the Associated Press, Steve Hayes, editor of "The Dispatch."
Fair to say that it was a great speech in the way it was delivered, Julie, but there were questions about whether it portrayed what the governing vision is for the specifics of the Biden-Harris administration?
JULIE PACE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "ASSOCIATED PRESS": I do think that that is fair. Joe Biden is not a big speech politician. This is not the kind of moment where he really shines. And yet in terms of delivery, in terms of emphasis, I do think that he really did meet this moment here.
I do think the speech also, though, really clarified the bet that he is making in the general election, which is that this is not a general election that is necessarily going to be about policy, that is not going to be about specific ideology. And it is going to be about character, and that his best way to win is not to lay out a detailed policy prescription, but it is to present himself wide swath of the electorate both liberal Democrats and the moderates, maybe disaffected Republicans, as the alternative to Donald Trump. And I think that was very clear in that speech.
BAIER: That's the issue. Matthew Continetti, Mollie, called this the sleight-of-hand convention, what does it mean policy-wise and the prescriptions that they're saying the country needs?
MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE FEDERALIST": I think there is a lot of confusion about 2016. People think that Donald Trump won because people didn't like Hillary Clinton. And that was part of why he won, but he also won by laying out his policy agenda and doing it in a way that showed how different he would be from a lot of establishment Republicans and establishment people in D.C. And that was completely missing from this convention.
Usually after a convention, you have a little bump in the polls because you've got these four days of marketing and publicity and whatnot, and I expect that that would happen with this one as well. But just hours after that convention ended, it's Republicans who sound most giddy about what they just went through. The convention was not a success. It didn't lay out a strong case other than and we absolutely, viscerally loathe this man that is our political opponent.
And Donald Trump went out a gave a speech where he talked about his accomplishments over the last four years, and he went through all sorts of policy, foreign policy, domestic policy. He talked about what he wants to accomplish in the next four years, and he talked about the threat that he sees facing average Americans from an increasingly politicized left. So just because Joe Biden doesn't want it to be a policy race doesn't mean that everybody else has to agree with that.
BAIER: And it may turn that way. Here is the preview of what's coming up this week with the Republicans. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: You're going to see a great lineup of leaders, and you're going to see a great number of voices from all across this country to talk about what this president has done.
RONNA MCDANIEL, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRWOMAN: We'll see Donald Trump every single day. There will be more live programming. And there's going to be some surprises in there. I can't give those away yet, but it will look different than the Democrat convention.
TOM PEREZ, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIR: That's why we are not taking our foot off the gas next week. While Republicans put together their chaos convention, the DNC war room will be working around the clock to speak truth to power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: Steve, what do you think for the Republicans, to Mollie's point? Does it become more of a contrast of substance and what exactly is listed policy-wise?
STEVE HAYES, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I think it'd be smart. I think it would be a good thing for Republicans to do would be to focus on Donald Trump's accomplishments, let him lay out his accomplishments, let others lay out the accomplishments on his behalf and stick as closely as they can to policy, because I think that's where he is likely the strongest. I think the biggest challenge is that Donald Trump is Donald Trump, and so if you've got the president upstaging the carefully planned out convention or giving speeches where he rambles on says things that might frighten suburban voters or turn off independents or frustrate Republicans who aren't enthusiastic about the president, I think that's where he runs into trouble.
I think the president's -- the intensity of support among the president's base is probably as strong as it ever has been, and that may be where Mollie sees the giddiness among Republicans. But it's a smaller party overall, there are fewer Republicans overall, and I think one of the keys to the president if he wants to win reelection is going to be expanding the number of people who vote for him. And that I think remains a big challenge both in part because of the president and who he is, but also in part because of the environment in which he is running. The economy is not doing well. The coronavirus is continuing. We have good weeks and bad weeks. But this is a difficult environment for the president to be running in to be sure.
BAIER: Yes, but I guess, Julie, the question is, is it enough to not be Donald Trump for Joe Biden, to be a decent guy who has a long history of being nice to people and being a solid human, but 47 years in Washington, it's an effective line by Republicans to say why hasn't he got the things he's talking about done over 47 years?
PACE: Certainly. I do think in this election, it might be enough to not be Donald Trump and to be the alternative. I think certainly Democrats are united and mobilized behind their opposition to Trump, and you do have, to Steve's point, you do have a segment of independents, Republicans who also don't want to see the president reelected and feel that Biden is, if not someone that they align with on policy, they are at least comfortable with him. And I don't think coming out of the convention that Democrats gave that segment of the electorate a lot to be scared of. They didn't lean -- because they weren't focused entirely on policy, they didn't lean too far into things like a green new deal or a big expansion of health care. And so I think that there was an effort to try to preserve space for those independents and Republicans to vote for Joe Biden in November.
BAIER: I know, but it doesn't mean that that's not there on a policy front. It's in the platform, it's just not talked about at the convention.
Mollie, last thing. The postmaster general up on Capitol Hill today, there were a lot of questions about is he trying to stop or screw up the election. And the answer came back no in a lot of different ways, shapes, and form. In his falling apart, or do you think it's still going to a big deal?
HEMINGWAY: Even by the standards of Democratic conspiracy theories that have been peddled in the media in recent years, this one is remarkably stupid. There's just nothing to this conspiracy theory that Donald Trump is trying to steal the election by securing the election or caring about mail. And I just think today what happened on the Hill is that every question was answered by the postmaster general explaining that the conspiracy theory that has been peddled in social media was not lacking in -- did not have substance to back it up.
But I do think Democrats are trying to lay the groundwork for once again refusing to acknowledge an election should Donald Trump win. That's what they did with their Russia collusion hoax, and I think that's what this post office conspiracy theory is.
BAIER: Last word on the post office, Steve?
HAYES: I think it's definitely true that some of the media and certainly some Democratic partisans have let their conclusions outrace the evidence here, but it's not like the president hasn't said things that have raised eyebrows, including among some Republicans. The post office itself sent out a letter warning about potential snafus. So I think Mollie is right that they've gone overboard here, but there are reasons to have asked some of the tough questions that DeJoy got today.
BAIER: Here, here. Next up, the Friday Lightning Round, China, Iran, plus Winners and Losers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: The president takes no responsibility, refuses to lead, blames others, cozies up to dictators, and fans the flames of hate and division.
TRUMP: China was never mentioned in any way, shape, or form. China will own our country if he gets elected.
There's been nobody that has ripped off the United States like China for so many years. Presidents before me allowed that to happen, and especially the one just before me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: I think we're going to hear five letters a lot next week, C-h-i-n-a, China. Back with our panel. Mollie, it's going to be a factor at the RNC.
HEMINGWAY: Right, you'll hear a lot about China because they are our country's greatest geopolitical threat. They're the most powerful threat that we face. They're not just responsible for the coronavirus that has done so much damage to the entire world, but even before all of that, they were a serious threat.
The fact that the Democratic National Committee -- I think I watched all of it. I never heard China being mentioned.
BAIER: Once, 10:57 on Thursday. That was about it.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMINGWAY: People generally just avoided talking about foreign policy at all was a thing that they didn't need to do, and they just gave that wind to the Republicans on the Trump campaign.
BAIER: I want to turn to Iran. Steve, the administration trying to get these snapback provisions. They're seeing a lot of pushback at the U.N. Security Council on Iran.
HAYES: They are. They seem to have lost the Europeans, and we knew Russia and China weren't going to likely go along. This is something I think that should have been done much earlier in the administration. They've got a very good case to made, I think, on the substance of their claims. It's coming too little, too late, though.
BAIER: Julie, they didn't get the arms embargo push. And now they're obviously pushing for more sanctions against Iran.
PACE: And one of the things we are hearing from the president is that he feels like if he gets a second term that he can make a deal with Iran, and I do think there was an opportunity for him if he chooses to lay out what that would look like. It's clear that pushing for a re-imposition of the sanctions at the U.N. is not going to happen, so what would an offer to Iran look like if he were to get a second term?
BAIER: All right, a lightning Winners and Losers. Mollie, first to you, winner, then loser?
HEMINGWAY: My winners are the Colorado Avalanche who made it out of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for hockey and they're headed on to the next round. And my loser is Kevin Clinesmith. He was the Mueller probe attorney, the first one of the Mueller probe attorneys to be invited for defrauding a federal court and falsifying evidence to secure a warrant to spy on a Trump campaign affiliate.
BAIER: Winner and loser, Steve?
HAYES: My winner, sadly is QAnon. You had GOP leader Kevin McCarthy welcoming a QAnon adherent to the party. The president passing on an opportunity to denounce the conspiracy. You have state Republican parties offering wink and nod support to QAnon. I think they are growing.
My loser is Steve Bannon. Not only is Mexico not paying for the wall, many Trump supporter's volunteered to help through this fund that Steve Bannon helped set up. And now, according to prosecutors, they didn't pay for the wall. They were defrauded. So it's the swamp, only swampier.
BAIER: Swamp, only swampier by Steve Hayes. Julie Pace, winner and loser?
PACE: So my winner is Brayden Harrington. He's the 13-year-old with a stutter who spoke at the convention last night. He was really brave and remarkable and I think is a great role model for all of us.
And my loser coming out of this convention week is the Trump campaign, which really lowered the bar for Joe Biden so far by saying he was mentally diminished and senile that it allowed Biden to really clear those expectations. And I think the campaign has to figure out if that is a worthwhile messaging strategy for them going forward.
BAIER: OK, my winner, and I'm getting breaking news right now, that the panda at the National Zoo has had a baby panda.
HEMINGWAY: Yay.
BAIER: And I don't think we have the panda cam up, but we've been watching it, and now it is a baby panda. It actually was pregnant, and there's a new baby panda at the National Zoo. So there you go. That's good news. Panel, thanks.
When we come back, "Notable Quotables."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BAIER: It's Friday. You know what that means -- "Notable Quotables."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just trying to make sure she gets in the car and I get on the car and we both get out of there, and by the end of it, I am wrecked and unconscious on the side of the road.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did hope for the sake of our country that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously.
TRUMP: By the time I'm finished, I'm going to have a nice sunburn right here. Where's my sunblock?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I-VT): Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Trump golfs.
TRUMP: And if they did a good job, I wouldn't be here. I'd be building buildings someplace and having a good time.
MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: It is what it is.
TRUMP: I think it's a very sad thing for Mr. Bannon.
I want to make the post office great again, OK?
LARRY KUDLOW, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: What did he say about Goodyear?
TRUMP: I would be very much in favor of people who don't want to buy there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has not at all looked into who QAnon is.
TRUMP: I've heard these are people that love our country.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I accept --
BIDEN: -- this nomination
HARRIS: -- for vice president of the United States of America.
BIDEN: -- for president of the United States of America.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Joe and Kamala can win by 3 million votes and still lose. Take it from me.
BIDEN: United, we can and will overcome this season of darkness.
TRUMP: The Democrats held the darkest and angriest and gloomiest convention in American history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: One week in Washington.
OK, we have the update, the panda cam. This is Mei Xiang. She is cuddling her new cub, about the size of a stick of butter. Congratulations, Mei. We're proud of you. National Zoo, new cub.
This weekend on FOX News Sunday, Chris Wallace will speak with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Delaware Senator Chris Coons. Check your local listings for that.
Sunday night, Martha MacCallum will join me for a kickoff special, or maybe I will join her, ahead of the start of the Republican National Convention, 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
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