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00:00Good evening, I'm Bret Baier.
00:02A shocking watchdog audit brings to light recurring failures within the FBI to protect
00:07child sex abuse victims years after promised policy changes.
00:11The migrant crisis reached far beyond the southern border as the threat of violence
00:16from a Venezuelan gang forces Colorado residents to pack up.
00:20We'll take you there.
00:21And President Biden's last stand to stand up to China.
00:31I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions
00:38is my values have not changed.
00:41That was Vice President Kamala Harris in an interview, her first interview since becoming
00:46the Democratic nominee 40 days ago.
00:48That's an excerpt that came out from CNN.
00:51She says her values have not changed, but many of her Republican critics say her policies
00:56sure have, sometimes 180 degrees.
01:00Vice President Harris and running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, are now in southern Georgia
01:04finishing up their bus tour as part of a wider emphasis on Sunbelt states.
01:09That comes as the Harris and Trump teams work to find common ground on debate rules for
01:14September 10th.
01:15Correspondent Mark Meredith is in Savannah traveling with the Harris-Walz ticket.
01:19Good evening, Mark.
01:20Brett, good evening to you tonight.
01:22The vice president is wrapping up a two day swing through this battleground state of Georgia
01:26and you can see this area is already cleaned out in this arena because the rally is over,
01:31but it's what Harris did before the big event that's making news, sitting down for her first
01:36big interview since becoming the Democratic nominee and it's an interview that could once
01:40again shake up this race.
01:42My values have not changed.
01:44For the first time ever, Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walz faced in-depth questions
01:50about how they'd govern if elected.
01:52We should meet certain standards for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as an example.
01:57That value has not changed.
01:59The CNN interview, taped this afternoon, comes amid heavy criticism Harris has ducked the
02:04press for five weeks, all while raking in record cash.
02:08Former President Trump, among those watching tonight, he posted the interview will quote
02:12expose her as being totally inept and ill-suited for the job of president.
02:16Tonight, both the Trump and Harris campaigns are fighting over how next month's debate
02:20will be conducted.
02:22The Harris team says it's still in discussions with ABC as it wants both candidates' mics
02:27on at all times, unlike the June debate between Trump and President Biden.
02:31We're here to speak truth and one of the things that we know, this is going to be a tight
02:36race until the very end.
02:39So let's not pay too much attention to the polls because we are running as the underdog.
02:46As Harris courts South Georgia's rural voters, a Quinnipiac poll out today shows Harris trailing
02:51Trump on key issues, including immigration, the economy and Middle East.
02:57Georgia Democrats say people will be swayed as they learn more about Harris.
03:00I do think the numbers will rise.
03:02I'm very excited.
03:03The last rally I went to was for Bill Clinton in 92.
03:06So I'm very excited.
03:09Democrats also insist they can keep their momentum alive, even as reports emerge of
03:13friction at Harris campaign headquarters.
03:15Axios writing today, Harris's team has been wary of making the Biden people feel set aside.
03:20But that has led to some internal confusion about who's in charge.
03:25We'll be looking for any of that friction next week as President Biden prepares to hit
03:29the campaign trail for his vice president.
03:31That'll be happening at a dual rally in Pennsylvania on Labor Day.
03:35And Brett, we're also learning more about what kind of administration Harris would like
03:40to see if she were sent to the Oval Office.
03:42She says she would appoint a Republican to serve in her cabinet.
03:45Take a listen.
03:46You had a lot of Republican speakers at the convention.
03:50Will you appoint a Republican to your cabinet?
03:52Yes, I would.
03:53Anyone in mind?
03:54Yes, I would.
03:55No one in particular in mind.
03:56I got 68 days to go with this election, so I'm not putting the cart before the horse.
04:01But I would.
04:02I think it's really important.
04:06I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion.
04:11I think it's important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions
04:15are being made that have different views, different experiences.
04:19And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my
04:24cabinet who was a Republican.
04:26Harris, of course, is still struggling with some progressives.
04:30Even at this event tonight, Brett, she was interrupted twice by pro-Palestinian protesters
04:34indicating they aren't happy with her Middle East stance.
04:37So there may still be some issues there for her.
04:39Brett.
04:40OK, more on this with the panel.
04:42Mark Meredith in Savannah.
04:43Mark, thanks.
04:44As the Democratic ticket targets the Sun Belt, the Republican nominee is canvassing in the
04:49Rust Belt with the VP nominee.
04:51Former President Donald Trump will participate in a Wisconsin town hall tonight after delivering
04:56economic remarks in Potterville, Michigan.
04:59Correspondent Aisha Hasni is in Potterville with the latest.
05:02Good evening, Aisha.
05:03Brett, good evening to you.
05:06In a pretty direct appeal to women and growing families, the former president made a very
05:10big announcement here in Michigan today, saying that he's going to have the government, if
05:15he wins the White House, have the government pay for or force health insurance companies
05:20to pay for IVF treatments, connecting the reproductive rights issue to the economy,
05:25saying that for far too long, too many American families have been hurt very badly by inflation.
05:33Congratulations on 76 years of manufacturing in Michigan.
05:38Former President Trump back in Michigan for the eighth time this year, with Democrats
05:42deploying second gentleman Doug Emhoff to counter program in the battleground state.
05:47Trump is running made barnstorming the Rust Belt this week, focusing on the economy and
05:52pitching themselves as the most pro worker Republican ticket in history.
05:56With this administration, they won't even know what's happening.
05:59They'll take every single job.
06:00You're not going to have any auto workers within two years, maybe three years.
06:04Nobody's going to be making cars here.
06:06That message, however, getting mixed reviews at a pit stop in Boston, where Senator J.D.
06:10Vance got booed at the International Association of Firefighters Convention.
06:15I want to talk about why we're fighting for working people, why we're going to fight for
06:20unions.
06:21Governor Tim Walz received a standing ovation at the same event on Wednesday.
06:25The Trump fans ticket is performing better on the economy, though, in brand new Fox News
06:29polling.
06:30In down ballot races in Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina, the Democratic candidate leads
06:36by double digits, overperforming Harris by at least five points.
06:40While the Republican candidate trails Trump by seven or more.
06:44They're still introducing themselves to voters.
06:46It's totally normal to see them a little bit behind in the polls.
06:49In battleground Michigan, Republican Mike Rogers, who faces Congresswoman Alyssa Slotkin,
06:54thinks the Democrats momentum won't last and that Trump can give him a bump.
06:59What do you need from the Trump campaign?
07:02Run hard, focus on the economy.
07:05And did I mention the economy?
07:09The former president during this rally took a few moments to also slam Vice President
07:14Kamala Harris for doing this joint interview as her debut one on one sit down interview.
07:20Of course, doing that with her running mate, saying that he does solo interviews all the
07:24time, did one backstage right before he came out today.
07:28And adding this, if you can't do an interview, we got the wrong person.
07:32Brett.
07:34As you have seen, thanks.
07:36Stocks are mixed today.
07:37The Dow gained two forty four to finish a new record close at a new record close again.
07:43The S&P 500 dropped a fraction.
07:45The Nasdaq lost 40.
07:50A scathing report from the Justice Department's internal watchdog says the FBI is still failing
07:55to protect children who have been sexually abused.
07:59These findings come years after promised policy overhauls over the scandal involving
08:04the bureau and U.S. gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
08:08Correspondent David Spahn has details from Washington.
08:11A new report reveals little has changed at the FBI three years after the Justice Department's
08:17internal watchdog slammed the agency over its failure to properly investigate and report
08:23child sexual abuse cases.
08:25In nearly half of the three hundred twenty seven cases reviewed, mandatory reporting
08:30requirements to local law enforcement of alleged abuse were not followed.
08:34Forty two cases were considered so disturbing the inspector general's office contacted the
08:39FBI directly to urge immediate action.
08:43Investigators say in one case, a two year old was sexually abused and agents added only
08:48one document to the case file in twenty one months.
08:51In another case, the report says the bureau sat on information so long an offender was
08:57able to sexually abuse another victim.
09:00Following a damning twenty twenty one IG report over the FBI probe into convicted sexual abuser
09:06and former U.S. gymnastic team doctor Larry Nassar, FBI Director Christopher Wray promised
09:11swift action.
09:13I'm especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop
09:18this monster back in 2015 and failed and that is inexcusable.
09:25It never should have happened.
09:26And we're doing everything in our power to make sure it never happens again.
09:30In April of this year, the DOJ announced a nearly one hundred thirty nine million dollar
09:34settlement with more than one hundred people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling
09:39the allegations against Nassar.
09:42Critics say the bureau has not learned from prior mistakes.
09:45Nassar victim attorney John Manley told Fox News in a statement, the FBI is simply not
09:49doing its job when it comes to protecting our children from the monsters among us who
09:53stopped them.
09:55Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin is promising a congressional hearing this fall, writing
10:00it's shameful that the FBI is continuing to fail victims.
10:04This afternoon on a conference call with reporters, a senior FBI official said new procedures
10:09have been put in place to protect children.
10:11The official said, quote, this is a no fail mission with children at stake.
10:15Any mistake or deficiency is unacceptable.
10:19End quote.
10:20Brett, back to you.
10:21David, thank you.
10:24Residents of Denver area, the Denver area, are on high alert tonight as officials raise
10:28the alarm there that members of Venezuela's most notorious gangs are likely operating
10:34inside Colorado.
10:36The fear of violence is forcing people in certain areas to pack up and move out.
10:40Senior correspondent Alicia Acuna is in Denver with the story.
10:45Two disturbing doorbell videos from an apartment building in Aurora, Colorado.
10:49One shows a group of armed men in a stairwell and hall approaching a doorway.
10:54In another, two men force their way into the unit.
10:59There are several buildings actually under the same ownership, out of state ownership,
11:03that have fallen to these Venezuelan gangs.
11:06Senior Mike Hoffman says the gangs have pushed out management at three apartment complexes
11:11and are likely extorting residents.
11:13He could not confirm reports the gangs are part of the federally designated transnational
11:17criminal organization Tren de Aragua, or TDA, which originated in Venezuela.
11:22I'm not going to surrender any part of this city to a criminal element.
11:26The hallway incident was the last straw for Edward and Cindy Romero, who decided to move
11:30out.
11:31Every time we try to go to bed at night, we have to keep it like this so nobody can kick
11:36in the door.
11:37The Romeros say a gunfight this month left their car riddled with bullet holes.
11:41They say things changed when migrants moved in.
11:43Aurora PD won't connect the video to the gang, telling Fox News in a statement, quote, based
11:48on our initial investigative work, we believe reports of TDA influence in Aurora are isolated.
11:54But Aurora is not alone.
11:56Last week, the U.S. attorney in Colorado announced a federal grand jury indicted four Venezuelan
12:01nationals for the armed robbery of a Denver jewelry store.
12:05Homeland Security Investigation says at least one is affiliated with TDA.
12:10And in nearby Douglas County, the sheriff's office this week made arrests in an auto theft
12:14ring.
12:15Three of the suspects are Venezuelan nationals.
12:19Back to the apartment complexes, Mayor Kaufman told Fox News he does not know how the gang
12:24members got into the buildings to take over, but he believes the federal government needs
12:28to step up.
12:29Brett.
12:30Alicia, thank you.
12:32Up next, we go live to Israel, where the large-scale incursion in the West Bank is complicating
12:37ceasefire negotiations.
12:38First, here's what some of our Fox affiliates around this country are covering tonight.
12:42Fox 13 in Tampa, as CDC data shows a listeria outbreak linked to boar's head deli meats
12:49is the cause of death in at least for at least nine people and hospitalization of 57 others.
12:56The outbreak is the largest of its kind in the United States since 2011.
13:00Fox 10 in Phoenix, where a series of water main breaks forces visitors out of hotels
13:05at Grand Canyon National Park.
13:07The restrictions will run throughout Labor Day holiday when hotels are near or at capacity.
13:14One of the handful of F-16 fighter jets Ukraine has received from its Western partners has
13:19crashed.
13:20The warplane went down this week when Russia lost a major missile missile and drone barrage
13:24throughout Ukraine.
13:26The pilot did not survive.
13:30The Ukrainian defense ministry is investigating.
13:33A confidential report from the United Nations nuclear watchdog finds Iran has further increased
13:38its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons grade levels in defiance of international
13:44demands.
13:45Uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity is just short a technical step away from weapons
13:51grade levels of 90 percent.
13:55Republicans working towards a ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas
13:58are underway in Qatar, but without any meaningful movement in the talks, families of Israeli
14:02hostages are becoming restless.
14:05National correspondent Jeff Paul reports from Tel Aviv.
14:09Carrying missing posters and wearing shirts stained with red handprints, families of hostages
14:15frustrated by the lack of progress over a ceasefire deal attempt to cross into Gaza.
14:21Authorities near the border stop them, but it doesn't hold back their anger.
14:25We're calling our prime minister.
14:27If you can't do this, we'll get inside and we'll bring them back ourselves.
14:32Bring them home.
14:34American Hirsch Goldberg Poland is one of the more than 100 Hamas abductees who's now
14:38spent three hundred and twenty eight days in captivity.
14:41His mother, Rachel, sending this message towards Gaza.
14:46We are working day and night and we will never stop.
14:52Talks over a deal between Israel and Hamas are ongoing.
14:55White House officials say they'll keep pushing until they get it across the line.
14:59It's in the nitty gritty and that is a positive sign of progress.
15:06But at the end of the day, nothing is done until it's done.
15:11Complicating peace efforts, the major operation Israel launched in the West Bank on a second
15:16day of raids.
15:17The IDF says it killed five more militants.
15:20The U.N. says the operation is deeply concerning and is fueling an already explosive situation.
15:26Palestinians there agree that they bulldoze streets.
15:30They destroyed parts of houses.
15:32They bombed places of worship, which affected us the most and made us cry.
15:38Starting on Sunday, there's expected to be a series of pauses in the fighting in Gaza
15:42after the reemergence of polio there for the first time in 25 years.
15:47Both Israel and Hamas have agreed to allow the U.N. to get in there and help vaccinate
15:52the more than 500000 kids who call Gaza home.
15:55Brett.
15:56Jeff Paul, live in Tel Aviv, Jeff, thanks.
15:59The suspects in the foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna earlier this
16:03month were seeking to kill tens of thousands of fans before the CIA discovered intelligence
16:09that disrupted that planning and led to arrests.
16:12That's according to the deputy director of the agency.
16:15The intelligence and subsequent arrests led to the cancellation of three sold out shows.
16:20Up next, a lame duck president and an antagonistic adversary.
16:24How President Biden is dealing with China in his final days in office.
16:29First, beyond our borders tonight, a Hong Kong court convicts two former editors of
16:34a shuttered news outlet in a sedition case widely seen as a barometer for the future
16:38of media freedoms in a city once hailed as a bastion of free press in Asia.
16:43The trial was the first in Hong Kong involving the media since the former British colony
16:47returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
16:51A Brazilian Supreme Court justice is threatening to shut down the local operations of X, formerly
16:57Twitter.
16:58A court order from the justice says ex owner Elon Musk must name a legal representative
17:02in Brazil within 24 hours.
17:06And this is a live look at London.
17:07One of the big stories there tonight, British prime minister.
17:10The matter involving an incident between an Arlington National Cemetery employee and a
17:14Trump staffer is considered closed, according to a statement put out by the U.S. Army today.
17:19Former President Trump went to the cemetery this week to mark the anniversary of the 2021
17:24Kabul airport terrorist attack that killed 13 service members.
17:27The former president was invited by two of the grieving families.
17:31The tense exchange, what the Army called the altercation, occurred about where the Trump
17:36campaign, the staffers, could film.
17:39The Army statement says the worker was abruptly pushed aside by a Trump team member, but the
17:45employee does not want to press charges.
17:47Trump campaign staffers dispute that there was any altercation and says it is considering
17:52releasing footage from the event.
17:55It is against the rules and the law to use the cemetery and images of the grave sites
17:58for any political purposes.
18:00The families and the former president say they were honoring the fallen service members.
18:08The Biden administration is keeping an open line of communication with China as tensions
18:13rise over global security and industrial policy.
18:16National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping today.
18:20Senior White House correspondent Jackie Heinrich has the story live from the North Lawn.
18:24Good evening, Jackie.
18:25Good evening, Brett.
18:26This trip was in the works for months.
18:28The Chinese first sent their foreign minister to the U.S. and this was less a response to
18:33any single incident than a follow through with plans that Biden and Xi made last year
18:37to recalibrate.
18:39Now the two sides are finding a date to talk before a possible meeting.
18:44It is likely that both President Biden and President Xi will be at APEC and the G20 later
18:50this year.
18:51And if they are, it would only be natural for them to have the chance to sit down with
18:54one another.
18:55National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan holding rare talks with China's Central Military Commission
19:00vice chairman, the first at that level since 2018.
19:03Also meeting with China's foreign minister and President Xi Jinping.
19:06The visit comes amid continuing tensions in the Indo-Pacific.
19:09Right now, there's no U.S. naval aircraft carrier in the region as the buildup in the
19:13Middle East continues.
19:15And though leader level military communications between the U.S. and China were restored after
19:19Biden met with Xi last November, contact at the theater level has not resumed.
19:24Something Sullivan wanted to fix after China bristled at this.
19:28Escort of one vessel to the other is an entirely reasonable option within our mutual defense
19:35treaty.
19:36The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command suggesting American forces could escort Philippine ships through
19:41the South China Sea after a months long series of violent confrontations with China.
19:46Nobody is looking for a crisis, not the Philippines, not the United States, and we hope not the
19:52PRC.
19:53There are broader reasons to stabilize U.S.-China relations.
19:56They want to be able to take Taiwan by 2027.
19:59And right now, they're assessing us.
20:01Especially before there's a new president in the White House.
20:04Let me translate Sullivan's words in Beijing for you.
20:08We are desperate to find whatever concession we can to keep China, Taiwan, and that area
20:14quiet while we deal with the fiasco in the Middle East.
20:19Fox is told as a result of this trip, there are now planned talks at the theater commander
20:24level.
20:25And there was also progress made cracking down on fentanyl precursors and streamlining
20:29rules for A.I.
20:31Brett.
20:32Jackie Heinrich, live in the North Lawn.
20:33Jackie, thank you.
20:34Tonight, we take a look at media coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop story in the wake
20:39of those revelations from META CEO Mark Zuckerberg about content censorship over government
20:46pressure.
20:47The Hunter Biden story was initially flagged as potential Russian disinformation and was
20:52treated that way by the media and on social media.
20:56But the story was factual.
20:58So how is it being covered now?
21:00Here's Fox News media analyst, host of Fox's Media Buzz, Howard Kurtz.
21:05It was at this Delaware computer shop that Hunter Biden's infamous laptop became a symbol
21:10not only of the president's son's personal and legal problems, but of a major media embarrassment.
21:15Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg admitted in a letter to Republican Congressman Jim
21:19Jordan that his company suppressed a New York Post report on the computer shortly before
21:24the 2020 election.
21:26At the time, more than 50 former top intelligence officials, including Leon Panetta, John Brennan,
21:32Michael Hayden and James Clapper, signed a letter saying the laptop story has all the
21:36classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.
21:40This generated headlines first in Politico and drew substantial TV coverage.
21:44The story will expose you all as fools and useful idiots for the Russians.
21:49Serious questions tonight about whether the Russians are using Rudy Giuliani to interfere
21:54in the U.S. presidential election.
21:55We do know that it's a very active Russian campaign.
21:58That's according to the U.S. intelligence community.
22:00Joe Biden took the same line in a debate with Donald Trump.
22:03Look, there are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what this he's accusing
22:09me of is a Russian plan.
22:12Others such as NPR refused to cover the story, then managing editor Terrence Samuel saying
22:16we don't want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories.
22:21When the New York Times and Washington Post confirmed the laptop's authenticity a year
22:25and a half later, Scarborough said he'd just been raising questions, but that it doesn't
22:29let the media off the hook.
22:31Zuckerberg now says Facebook was wrong and there was no Russian disinformation involving
22:36the laptop.
22:37When pressed, some of the former officials still defend signing the letter.
22:41In hindsight, most of the media badly blundered by dismissing the story based on ex-officials
22:45who never examine a laptop.
22:47The question now is whether the news business has learned a lesson about avoiding propaganda.
22:52Brett.
22:53Howie, thanks.
22:55Up next, we go to the touch screen to dive into our new Fox polls on the issues in Sunbelt
22:59states and then the panel joins me to discuss those polls and the state of the presidential
23:03race.
23:04Also, that interview next.
23:07Very few people want what Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are actually talking about.
23:12So I would ask you a question that Donald Trump asked America in 2016.
23:16What the hell do you have to lose?
23:18Welcome back to Special Report.
23:20As we mentioned earlier, President Trump is campaigning in Wisconsin and Michigan today
23:25telling voters about his goal for the U.S. economy.
23:28If we look at our latest Fox News polls across the Sunbelt, Americans continue to say the
23:35economy is by far the most important issue with immigration and abortion coming in a
23:40distant second and third.
23:42Now the former president leads Vice President Harris in all four Sunbelt states.
23:48When asked who would do a better job on the economy, North Carolina, he's ahead by nine
23:54points, his largest lead on that issue in all four states.
23:57The state saw a population increase in recent years as wealthy Americans from urban areas
24:02and surrounding states moved into North Carolina suburbs.
24:06The Tar Heel state even gained an electoral vote because it expanded after the 2020 census,
24:12giving it a total of 16.
24:14Turning now to the issue of immigration, who does a better job on immigration and border
24:18security?
24:19Vice President Harris is making headway outpacing where President Biden was, but voters still
24:24perform or prefer the former president.
24:28He is ahead again in all four states.
24:30In the border state of Arizona, check this out, he leads by 15.
24:34The Hispanic vote there has been growing.
24:36While Republicans are pursuing those voters with some success, the majority still vote
24:40Democrat.
24:42Overall, Hispanic voters in the Sunbelt states prefer Harris to Trump, 56 to 42.
24:49In 2020, Hispanics favored Biden by 19 points in Arizona.
24:54Nevada also has a large Hispanic population, large working class population there.
24:59But on the issue of immigration, former President Trump, his platform is preferred in that state,
25:0555 to 42.
25:07Now here's the one that changes.
25:09Who does a better job on abortion?
25:11You can see these numbers.
25:12Voters in all the Sunbelt states trust the vice president to do a better job on this
25:16issue.
25:17In Georgia, she's ahead on this issue by 20 points.
25:20Atlanta metro area has seen an increase in younger voters who typically prefer Harris
25:25and this abortion agenda, how she talks about it.
25:28This week, she's campaigning alongside her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz,
25:32in Southeast Georgia, focusing on abortion rights and economic issues.
25:37The former president has said he wants to leave abortion policy up to the states.
25:42You can see he's trailing in all four of these, but on the big issues of economy and immigration,
25:48he leads.
25:51How should voters look at some of the changes that you've made, that you've explained some
25:56of here in your policy?
25:58I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions
26:06is my values have not changed.
26:08My value around what we need to do to secure our border, that value has not changed.
26:12People just want to see if she can get through the interview.
26:14Nobody knows what's going on.
26:16I've done so many interviews in the last couple of months.
26:19Every time I go out, I have an interview.
26:22Well, it's a piece of that interview with CNN.
26:25We haven't seen the whole thing.
26:26We've only got a couple of excerpts, but we have two new national polls out.
26:30The Wall Street Journal national poll has Vice President Harris up one on former President
26:36Trump, and the Suffolk USA Today poll has Harris nearly five points post-DNC polling
26:43here.
26:45The Wall Street Journal matches some of our polling that we've had in the Sun Belt and
26:51Rust Belt states.
26:52Let's bring in our panel, syndicated radio host Hugh Hewitt, Amy Walter, publisher and
26:57editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report, and New York Times opinion columnist Roth
27:01Douthat.
27:03Thank you all for being here.
27:04Amy, I just want to get a sense of where you think this race is.
27:07We get inundated with these polls, and right about this time, everybody starts to glaze
27:11over on numbers.
27:14I think what you could definitively say is that it's a very close race.
27:18I think that's a very good way to think about it.
27:20I think if you go back where we were, say, six or seven weeks ago, it was pretty clear
27:26that Trump Republicans had a decided edge in the presidential race, and even trickling
27:34all the way down ballot because, quite simply, the Democratic base, those voters who maybe
27:41they turned out for Joe Biden in 2020, vote for a Democrat, just weren't enthusiastic.
27:46They didn't want to pull the lever for Biden or turn out to vote.
27:52That has changed tremendously with Harris on the ticket, and so now what you have is
27:59both candidates basically bringing their bases back into this game.
28:06That means what we have is, I think about it kind of like a football game.
28:11Both sides now have their full team on the field, and we're basically within three yards
28:17of the end zone either way.
28:19You know, Hugh, there's a lot of interest in this interview.
28:23We've only gotten, as I mentioned, a couple of excerpts, and I want to be fair, I assume
28:27Dana may have followed up about how the evolution on some of these big issues has changed, but
28:32that first answer that my values haven't changed, being confronted about, for example, banning
28:37fracking or not being confronted about some of these other terms, that's an interesting
28:42answer that didn't seem to reach a conclusion, at least in that excerpt.
28:47You're right, Brett.
28:48It's a non-answer answer, and I think going into this interview, I think Dana will do
28:52a fine job.
28:53We'll see the whole thing tonight, and we'll be able to judge for ourselves, but the two
28:56clips that have been released have done nothing to resolve the essential challenge facing
29:02Vice President Harris.
29:03I want to draw from history going all the way back to Johnson.
29:06She has a credibility gap about whether or not she has the skill sets necessary to do
29:11this job, and to erase that credibility gap and somehow break away from what is essentially
29:18the tie greens, you're going to have to get people to believe that you have command of
29:23facts and the ability to communicate in an effective way.
29:26The other clip that's been released where she talks about deadlines around time is already
29:32much mocked on the internet, and it's been less than an hour that it's been out there.
29:37If there's another face plant like that in the course of however many minutes she talks
29:41to Dana or if Tim Walz has to pull her out of a jam, that credibility gap about her capacity,
29:48her skill set to be president is going to grow larger, and I think the polls show that
29:54the convention did not give her the bump.
30:32Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
31:00yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
31:28yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
31:56yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
32:26yeah
32:33you
32:39yeah
32:51yeah
32:56We're going to move on to the next step, which is to add a little bit of color to the