This is a rush transcript from “The Story with Martha MacCallum," August 14, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Here we go. Here we go. See you Sunday, Bret. Good to see you tonight. Have a good half weekend.
All right. Good evening, everybody. I'm Martha MacCallum and this is "The Story." American cities are changing before our eyes. People are leaving them, because they don't feel safe ravaged basically by three plagues. You have the virus, then the devastation of the lockdown, and now the looting and destruction and a 37 percent increase in homicide in 20 major cities in America that comes along with that.
And now the language of those who are destroying and stealing is escalating into, not one of shame, but one of purpose. It is a punishment, they say, watch and listen as they explain in this purported video of a Black Lives Matter demonstration that was taken by Concrete Reporting in Seattle the other night. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give up your house. Give black people back their homes. You're sitting their comfortably - comfortable as (bleep) as if they didn't help gentrify this neighborhood. He used to live in this neighborhood I can't live here and my family was pushed out and you're sitting up there having a good time with your other white friends.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You work for Amazon don't you? You work for Amazon don't you? Because a majority people that live in the Central district now work for Amazon, because it's a easier commute to downtown. Guess what? The guy you work for is part of the (bleep) problem too.
So let's not act like you just are oblivious to this (bleep) because you knew about it all along and you were OK with it. But guess what? We're not. And we're bringing it to your front (bleep) door. What the (bleep) do you plan to do about it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The guy in the window is calling the cops.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: In fact, the group was joined by a City Council member who agreed that as a principle "land transfer is really important." Reparations is the new name for all of this, not fact.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARIEL ATKINS, BLM CHICAGO ORGANIZER: I don't care if somebody decides to loot a Gucci, or a Macy's or a Nike, because that makes sure that that person eats. That makes sure that that person has clothes. That is reparations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: So this is no surprise that they feel emboldened because the police are under pressure to back down. At least 19 cities, as well as DC, have voted for some version of defunding the police. Seattle is one of them. New York is another. Where they cut a billion dollars and 600 police officers. Murders are up 30 percent in New York City over last year. So this is the Superintendent of Police in Chicago David Brown, he is holding firm and he's trying to send a message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID BROWN, SUPERINTENDENT OF THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: If you come downtown to loot, CPD is going to arrest you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: So he is trying - his counterpart in Seattle finally gave up. She's Best. She left her posts this week after she made a valiant effort that found absolutely no support from the mayor in Seattle.
So here tonight Bernie Bernard Kerik, former NYPD Police Commissioner and John Kass, Chicago Tribune Columnist and member of the Tribune's Editorial Board. Gentlemen, thank you very much for being here.
Two of our most important cities in this country. And, John, let me start with you. When you hear the language of those individuals outside of that building, yelling at the people who live in the apartments, basically telling them that they have to leave and give up their home or they will find these individuals at the door.
JOHN KASS, CHICAGO TRIBUNE COLUMNIST: The Left believes in the utility of violence they believed that in - during the French Revolution many years ago, and it seems like they believe it now with Black Lives Matter. People supporting the looting and this thing in Seattle.
They might as well put a sign over their heads saying Trump 2020, because people don't take it. They will leave. Don't just leave. Taxpayers don't hold news conferences. They just go. They vote with their feet. And if the cities cannot protect their safety, they're gone.
MACCALLUM: Yes. Obviously, you know, a lot of people point to the mayors. Bernie Kerik, in these situations you've got Mayor Lightfoot in Chicago; Wheeler in Portland. You have Jenny Durkan and Seattle. And de Blasio, of course, Bill de Blasio - we have pictures of all these individuals up for those who don't know them - in your home City of New York, which has just changed so dramatically that a lot of people are heartbroken by it.
BERNARD KERIK, FORMER NYPD COMMISSIONER: You know what the Martha, Mr. Kass has a really good point. And I think that's drawn out in the history of New York City. Prior to Giuliani coming in in 1994, that's what people did. People left. Nobody wants to live, visit work, go to school in a place where they're not safe. And what did they do when New York City had 2,200 homicides a year? They left. They got out of town, they moved. And then Giuliani came in and cleaned it up.
And as we cleaned it up, and violent crime and murder dropped, the people started coming back. Economic values increased. The real estate value increased, tourism increased. But Mr. Kass is right. The taxpayer, the everyday taxpayer, they're not going to take this. They're going to take off and they're going to get out of town.
MACCALLUM: So, John Kass you wrote a piece about Demisck Lomax who was a 25-year-old man. He threw a piece of concrete through the window of a Burberry's store and then he threw a piece of the similar material at the head of a police officer. He had to make an appearance in jail, but he was let go on $500 bail. So he's back out on the street tonight, right?
KASS: Yes, he posted - it was $5,000 bail, and all he had to do was post 10 percent, so we walked. He got $500 and walked. But that's not the only story, Martha. There are many, many people in Chicago, in Cook County - hundreds of people accused of arrested for murder, sexual assault, and they are put on either - let go on low bonds or put on electronic home monitoring, which is a joke.
And that's caused a lot of tension between Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx and the Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot. Although, Lightfoot is not pushing the point publicly. Publicly, they're showing themselves as united against violence. But really the dynamics are tearing Chicago apart.
And nationally, Martha, what we're seeing with this Black Lives Matter thing, we've never seen activists actually endorsing looting before or endorsing violence. But now you're seeing like, what was Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth." This is the inconvenient truth right now in 2020. That the hard Left - the hard, hard Left, Black Lives Matter, Antifa were the shock troops of the Democratic Party. They want and they know that violence can produce results for them, they think.
MACCALLUM: Bernie Kerik, we're going to show some pictures from the "New York Post" that suggests that what happens in this situation is it starts to verge on anarchy, essentially, in the cities.
And this is a four-minute beat down of a 14-year-old girl. And I was so struck by the pictures of the other young people who are watching this around them. And you can see how nervous they are and how frightened these other these other young people are when they're watching what's happening to this 14-year-old girl.
This is a police officer walking away, he's looking back. The suggestion is and the accusation is, by the "Post" photographer who was on the scene that the police watches for four minutes and did not move in. I know the New York City Police say that that is - that their story is very different on what happened there. What do you think about all this?
KERIK: Well, listen in on every one of these incidents, Martha, there - these people are emboldened by the fact that prosecutors - and it's not only happening in Cook County, in Chicago, in Portland, you have a prosecutor that sent a memo to the Portland Police Department, basically saying he's not locking up anybody for misdemeanor, violations, during the riots. No matter what they do.
MACCALLUM: I don't know what they think is going to happen.
KERIK: So that being--
MACCALLUM: Yes.
KERIK: So that nothing's going to happen. There's no accountability. So they're going to go out and do whatever they want and they're emboldened and that's going on in every one of these cities run by a Democrat that has this extreme violence, that has these - they have these riots, the - and this arson stuff that's going on.
They're all doing it because they're emboldened by the politicians. And it's just not activists. There are politicians, the mayors support this stuff. Chad Wheeler in Portland is supporting. He's down there walking amongst the anarchist. They're supporting this stuff.
KASS: Yes. But to be fair, not only--
MACCALLUM: We're going to lose everybody in those cities. John, quick thought.
KASS: Not all mayors support it.
MACCALLUM: Go ahead, sir.
KASS: Lori Lightfoot has opposed. But we're still violence being supported by these political activists. And for Sunday - in "The Sunday Tribune", I'm writing a story about the parents - Ronald McDonald's House, stuck inside the house as looters tried to break in and smash the windows and they couldn't even get to the bedside of their children at a hospital just a few blocks away. That's how bad it is now.
MACCALLUM: John Kass Thank you. That's awful. John Kass, thank you. Bernie Kerik, we're going to stay on top of this. It's a story that's not going away anytime soon. Gentlemen, thank you. Great to see you both tonight.
KASS: Thank you.
KERIK: Thank you.
MACCALLUM: So while the virus and the election dominate American thinking, a huge deal in the Middle East is getting near universal praise, and that is something worth talking about. US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien here exclusively on that. And breaking news on Iran, tonight, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: even The New York Times gave it great coverage and editorials today.
This is something we've been working very hard on. And I saw where Sleepy Joe tried to claim credit for it, and I'm trying to figure out how that one works.
What you'll see now is other countries will come into that deal, and you'll have peace in the Middle East.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: President Trump on the historic deal between the UAE, the United States and Israel, "New York Times" Opinion Columnist Thomas Friedman, not a Trump fan wrote this today. "The agreement brokered by the Trump administration for the United Arab Emirates to establish full normalization of relations with Israel in return for the Jewish state forgoing, for now, any annexation of the West Bank was exactly what Trump said it was in his tweet: a "huge breakthrough." May it one day soon turn into a howling wind of change that spreads across the whole region." By Thomas Friedman, who has covered the Middle East for many, many years.
Joined now by Ambassador Robert O'Brien, the US National Security Advisor. Ambassador Good to have you with us tonight. I mean, obviously, Tom Friedman is not a big fan of President Trump, but he acknowledged in a very big way that this was a huge accomplishment.
But he talked about the howling wind of change that he hoped would happen. And that would mean a similar deal with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman. We've heard that those are in the works. When do you believe that those will happen and do you believe they will happen?
ROBERT O'BRIEN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, Martha, it's great to be with you. And any morning that you wake up and find a unqualified endorsement of your policies in the Trump administration from Tom Friedman, you know it's a good day. And that was a great deal.
And it was really quite an accomplishment not just for the president of United States, but also for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. It took a lot of courage for those men to come together and, and bring peace to their countries. It's only the third time it's happened with Israel and Arab countries.
It happened with Egypt and it happened with Jordan. And now we're going to have Netanyahu's name associated with - with Rabin (ph) and with our President and Rabin. And we're going to have Mohammed bin Zayed's name associated with King Hussein and Anwar Sadat. So it was a historic event and I was glad to see that Tom Friedman recognize it as such.
As far as your question goes, we've got diplomats fanning out across the region. The president has already been on calls to leaders. I've been on calls with leaders. Jared Kushner has, Secretary of State Pompeo is working on this on his road trip through Eastern Europe. So we're already taking steps to try and make this work with the momentum that we've gotten and turn this into that howling wind that Tom referred to.
MACCALLUM: Yes. I mean, a deal like this with Saudi Arabia would be an enormous move. And I heard Jared Kushner talking about it this morning. He has had a good relationship talking back and forth with Mohammed bin Salman. And that's the situation we're going to watch very closely.
Now, all of this, obviously, makes Iran very nervous and isolated. And I think it also has an impact on China, which has been trying to build its relationship with Iran and with Saudi Arabia. So how do you wedge China out of their relationship with Saudi Arabia to convince them that an alliance with Israel and the United States is the way to go.
O'BRIEN: Well, look, you have the most innovative country in the Middle East in Israel. It's been called the startup nation. It's the Silicon Valley of the Middle East. You've got the United States, which is the tech leader in the world and, and the great engine of the world economy.
You have the UAE now, which is the financial capital of the Arab world, all coming together. And so there are tremendous opportunities, economic opportunities, people to people opportunities, tourism opportunities, but there's also tremendous security opportunities for these countries.
The UAE, many people don't realize, is a very capable - small, but very capable military. Israel has the premier military in the region. Of course, the United States is - remains a major player in the Middle East. So there's security cooperation, there can be economic cooperation, and I think other countries are going to be rushing to follow the path that was trod by President Trump and Mohammed bin Zayed and MBZ and Bibi Netanyahu.
MACCALLUM: That would be huge. That would be huge in the words of President Trump quoted by Tom Friedman. This is what Joe Biden said about this in a statement today. He said the coming together of Israel and Arab states builds on the efforts of multiple administrations, including the efforts of the Obama-Biden administration. How so?
O'BRIEN: Well, I think that Vice President Biden's claim for some sort of credit in this deal is the sincerest form of flattery. I think even Vice President Biden and Senator Harris realize that this is a huge deal as Tom Friedman suggested. I'm sure everybody wants to get on the bandwagon. But this was 100 percent President Trump and his team, Secretary Pompeo, Jared Kushner, Avi Berkowitz, our team at the NSC. Folks really worked hard on this over the past year and a half.
And, look, the reason we were able to do this deal and others weren't, is because President Trump built up credibility and confidence in the region. He destroyed the caliphate. He brought justice to Al Baghdadi. He stood up to the Iranians were the past administration gave them $150 billion that they spent on terrorism. We stood up and put maximum pressure on the Iranians.
So I think the part - both parties, the Arab parties and the Israeli parties realized that they could trust President Trump. They had confidence in him. He had a lot of credibility. And he used that political capital to help broker this deal. So it was really an outstanding accomplishment for the president, a remarkable accomplishment and the other two who was involved as well.
MACCALLUM: The oil situation has changed so dramatically with fracking in the United States. And these countries all need to build their economies in other ways now and find a way out of the violence that has plagued the region for so long. And it looks like they're looking for some other options, which is obviously a very good sign.
With regard to the Iran deal that was voted down at the United Nations, to extend the embargo against their ability to purchase arms, which is now going to run out in October. Obviously, China and Russia were against extending it. But there was also abstentions by France, Britain and Germany, who are all still ancillary in the agreement with Iran. What's your reaction to that tonight?
O'BRIEN: Well, listen, this was baked into the cake five years ago when Secretary John Kerry and the Obama-Biden ministration agreed to allow Iran, as part of the JCPOA - it's somewhat unfathomable - agreed to allow them to buy advanced fighter jets and advanced main battle tanks and, and rockets and missiles.
The idea that Iran would start buying those products from Russia and China within five years, it's just hard to believe. But for the countries that are still committed to the JCPOA, this was just part of the deal that they signed up for. So it's disappointing, but not surprising.
We're going to - we have other tools in our toolkit. We're going to take some severe measures up at the UN. And I think you can expect snapback sanctions to come into play. And this isn't over yet. We lost today, but it's not over yet. But this was something that was baked into the cake by the Obama-Biden administration back when they signed this flawed deal.
MACCALLUM: Ambassador O'Brien, National Security Advisor to the president, thank you very much. Great to have you here tonight, sir.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Martha. Wonderful to be with you.
MACCALLUM: So we also today I have the first guilty plea in John Durham's probe of the Russia investigation now in. President Trump calls it proof that the FBI spied on his campaign. So the big question is what's still to come? We're going to talk with that to Sarah Huckabee Sanders about that and some other things when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Kevin Clinesmith, a corrupt FBI attorney who falsified FISA warrants in James Comey's very corrupt FBI is expected to plead guilty. That's just the beginning, I would imagine. Fact is they spied on my campaign and they got caught and you'll be hearing more--
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: Just the beginning is the message from President Trump on that as we learn today that former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith is expected to plead guilty to changing an e-mail to keep the surveillance going on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. The wait for the Durham report is over. We do expect that there is more to come, though. But AG Barr says this.
"We will develop this case to the extent we can before the election and we'll use our prudent judgment to decide what's appropriate before the election and what should wait until after the election."
Here now Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former White House press secretary for the Trump administration and Fox News Contributor. Sarah, you answered a lot of questions about this and your time at the White House. It does seem unlikely that that it stops hear that. This 38-year-old lawyer decided on his own that he should find some way to write this e-mail in such a way that this would keep going, right?
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Absolutely. We've known for a long time for that under liar and leaker James Comey that the FBI illegally spied on the Trump campaign, used a fake dossier funded by the Clinton campaign to try to destroy the president and to launch this ridiculous witch hunt in the first place.
This scandal just continues to grow. And I think every day we learn more and more about just how far and how wide this scandal went. The real problem for Democrats is the scandal that they tried to push was never the big problem. It was actually the origins of this whole thing, and about Democrats and their media allies who spent two years trashing the president, spreading these malicious lies. It was really all about the Democrats abuse of power and trying to overturn the 2016 election.
MACCALLUM: I want to play a soundbite for you from the president in his interview with Maria Bartiromo about the Attorney General. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Bill Barr has a chance to be the greatest of all time. But if he wants to be politically correct, he will be just another guy, because he knows all the answers. He knows what they have--
MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK ANCHOR: Mr. President, you --
TRUMP: He knows what they have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: What did -- what did the president mean by that?
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Look, I think the president wants to see justice done here. Again, we know that there was corruption at the highest level, those individuals should be held to the full extent of the law, they should be fully accountable for their actions and for using a federal law enforcement agency to try to under -- overturn the entire election process. Democracy at its best and they tried to destroy it and tried to destroy the president and everyone around him.
They attacked maliciously, they spread lies and they did it through the hands of the media. I think each of these individuals should be fully accountable --
MACCALLUM: Well, I guess --
SANDERS: -- and punish of the full extent of the law for the actions that they've taken.
MACCALLUM: You know, it seems like there's -- it seems like there is frustration on the part of the president. You know, some people have been pointing fingers to the Senate too, they had an opportunity for quite a long time to dig into this, they've been criticized for not using their subpoena power to get Jim Comey and Andrew McCabe before they are committees in a more forceful way.
And it sounds like the president is potentially frustrated with Attorney General Barr as well at this point because he wants to have this out before the election. Because it seems pretty obvious that if Joe Biden wins this investigation that John Durham is doing, and potentially, the current attorney general will no longer be in a position to keep this investigation going.
SANDERS: I think the president has every right not just to be frustrated, but frankly to be mad as ever and so should the American people.
MACCALLUM: Yes.
SANDERS: The fact that one of our own federal agencies worked illegally to destroy a duly elected president and tried to overturn the will of the American people is outrageous. He's not the only one that should be mad, every single person who cast a ballot should be furious. And they have a right to be and we have a right to know the truth.
And I fully expect and have total confidence that Bill Barr will continue to do a great job and expose the truth and make sure those that took part in this are held accountable. And I think the American people deserve it.
MACCALLUM: Yes.
SANDERS: And I think they should all match the president's anger until we see those results.
MACCALLUM: Well, everybody is going to be watching to hear because it felt like, you know, this was the beginning of that news but it feels like there's a lot more behind it and the more we learn about the documents that were produced after the Mueller investigation it just throws a lot of circumspect on that investigation as well in terms of why we didn't get all that information out of the two-year investigation. But we'll see where that goes.
With regard to Kamala Harris, your thoughts on the fact that the president did not throw immediate cold water on the question about whether or not she is eligible to be vice president?
SANDERS: I think what disqualifies Kamala Harris to be vice president is her far-left policy agenda, the fact that she supports higher taxes, bigger government, open borders, liberal judges, a complete government takeover of our healthcare. That's the place that I think the Trump campaign is going to focus their fire --
(CROSSTALK)
MACCALLUM: But that's not what I asked you, Sarah. Do you think that it was --
SANDERS: And that's what disqualifies her from holding the --
MACCALLUM: -- a detraction to the Trump campaign to bring that up? Should he have just have thrown, you know, squashed that right away and moved on? Because it becomes a whole news cycle which I know you know a lot about.
SANDERS: Again, I think that they need to focus their fire on things that truly disqualify her from being the vice president. That's her policy agenda. I think it would be disastrous for our country.
MACCALLUM: I got you.
SANDERS: I think a Biden-Harris ticket and a win for them would be something America may never recover from and I think it's a reason we have to do everything we can to make sure President Trump and Republicans are elected up and down the ballot.
MACCALLUM: I hear what you're saying. Sarah, thank you very much. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, always good to see you.
SANDERS: Thank you. Thanks for having me, Martha.
MACCALLUM: You bet. So the latest Fox News poll shows a bit of a narrowing in the race right now. Chris Stirewalt, our expert breaks it all down for us as we gear up for two big weeks in this process, folks. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACCALLUM: So, the latest Fox News poll there are signs that President Trump, while still behind, is slowly gaining some ground nationally. Forty- two percent favored Trump, that's a 4 percent increase from June. While meanwhile, the other polls out there this week show that the president continues to outperform Joe Biden when it comes to voter enthusiasm.
In the NPR PBS NewsHour/Marist poll out today, 76 percent of the president's supporters say they strongly support him versus 64 percent of Biden's.
Here to tell us what he thinks about all that, Fox News politics editor Chris Stirewalt joins me now. Hey, Chris. Good to see you. What do you think of where the president is right now?
CHRIS STIREWALT, FOX NEWS POLITICS EDITOR: How are you, ma'am? Happy Friday.
MACCALLUM: Happy Friday.
STIREWALT: So, in our halftime report average of poll -- our halftime report average of polls, from one week ago Trump is up two points. Now Biden is up two point, two points. Biden is up two tenths of a point so he is not losing any ground but there are some reasons for Republicans to think that their team is getting together.
They had -- they had a lot of disaffection among traditional Republican voters so this could be a sign of party unity because here's the deal. They are facing down the potential, lose the Senate, smaller House minority, a lot of bad news shaping up for them. And nothing like bad news to clarify the mind of voters to say look, we've got to tighten up here and they're going to come home and this is maybe a sign of Republicans coming home to roost for Trump.
MACCALLUM: Yes. So, this is an interesting poll. Who do you think your neighbors are supporting for president? And 34 percent, I love this. Thirty-four percent say -- my neighbors are all voting for Joe Biden. Thirty-nine percent say I think my neighbors are all voting for Donald Trump. Seven percent say it depends, you know, my neighbors -- my neighbors are different. And 20 percent have no idea what their neighbors think at all. What you think, Chris, about this one?
STIREWALT: I think that we project in politics, right? We project our views onto other people.
MACCALLUM: Yes.
STIREWALT: So, you -- if you live in a Democratic neighborhood, I assume, everybody around here is of like mind and the Republicans are very quiet. And then if you're a Democrat living in bright red Texas or someplace you might be quiet but, and not let on what people are thinking so it's interesting to hear what we think of each other. Maybe we don't trust each other that much, I don't know.
MACCALLUM: I want to play this because it sounds like a Hillary Clinton is more than happy to get back in the mix, I think every time you and I talk there is a new Hillary Clinton take on what her role should be --
STIREWALT: Right.
MACCALLUM: -- in the future of her party. I don't know how much her party wants that but here she is. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm ready to help in any way I can because I think this will be a moment where every American, I don't care what party you are, I don't care what age, race, you know, gender, I don't care. Every American should want to fix our country so if you are asked to serve you should certainly consider that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: Chris? What do you think?
STIREWALT: If she -- if she wants to help her party win the presidency, she should consider a five-month long cruise. Maybe from pole to pole, leave the nation, get aboard a giant catamaran and set sail and say no more until after November.
MACCALLUM: Long walks in the woods like we saw after 2016, perhaps.
STIREWALT: Yes, exactly, exactly.
MACCALLUM: Well, we're going to hear enough.
STIREWALT: Exactly.
MACCALLUM: We've got a lot of conventions ahead, my friend, and lots to talk about. So, it's great to see you, have a great Friday night. Thank you, Chris.
STIREWALT: See you soon, my friend.
MACCALLUM: So, the college athletes who want to play and be heard in the debate over football, we are going to speak with two of them coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACCALLUM: Across the country, college programs are grappling with how to proceed with their sports. Just yesterday, Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburg halted practice due to COVID concerns but many of these athletes, as you know, really want to play and they are backing the hashtag we want to play which has become a rallying cry for a safe return.
Joining me tonight, Rashad Weaver, is a defensive end at the University of Pittsburg, and Treyjohn Butler is a quarterback for Stanford -- cornerback for Stanford University where they are not scheduled to play this season as members of the PAC-12.
I just want to first of all say, Rashad and Treyjohn, that I have a tremendous amount of respect for college athletes and college football players. And for how hard I know you work and have worked with your schoolwork and your athletic endeavors, so I want to just praise you first of all, for how hard you guys work.
Treyjohn, let me start with you. What are your thoughts on the fact that after all of that, Stanford and the PAC-12 have decided that they will not play this fall?
TREYJOHN BUTLER, STANFORD UNIVERSITY CORNERBACK: My thoughts really, kind of frustrated because you're hoping that the conference can come to a great solution that would be able to play every team the best situation that we keep everybody safe, that each player would feel comfortable going out there, going out there each week and having a great season, that's what you really hope for.
Unfortunately, it came down to, you know, I think a lot of factors played a part and ultimately, I do believe they made the best decision because they knew all the logistics behind the doors some of us players did not know but it's still upsetting, because you do put a lot of work and you hope to play out, go out there and play.
MACCALLUM: Of course. Of course. Rashad, I know you guys have had a couple of practices cancelled this week. I believe that you practiced today. And it was COVID concerns that put your other practices on hold. What can you tell us about that, and how do you feel about all of that?
RASHAD WEAVER, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DEFENSIVE END: You know, the best way to look at it, I'm kind of glad it happened. You know, we have so much time to the season. You know, the ACC look out for out and our games is going to start to mid-September. So, it's just being precautionary, you know, why we have so much time we can take the day off, those guys test they get the test back, they'll come back negative and we are back the next day, there's no reason to rush. We're doing it smart and that's what's going to be allowed to able to allow us to play this fall.
MACCALLUM: Yes. Rashad, Rashad, were you surprised, I mean, are you -- how do you feel about the fact that the ACC is playing, are you comfortable with going out there and traveling and seeing other teams and playing against them?
WEAVER: Very comfortable. I'm excited about it, I'm glad the way we are handling it, you know, we have a very strict protocol, we answer daily forms, we are going to get tested weekly and we have our own bubble, that's what we call it. You know, we're very -- we are on a strict, a strict time schedule during the season so we will only be around certain people.
And you know, I'm more worried about going out around regular people, and we're not about people. People that don't play a sport or people who aren't in our bubble.
MACCALLUM: Right.
WEAVER: So, I feel safe, you know, being around these guys.
MACCALLUM: Yes. You guys are, you know, practicing so much obviously, you are basically sort of a bubble because you're together almost all the time and that does provide sort of a hopefully protective atmosphere.
Treyjohn, when you look at the impact on your future of not playing this season, what do you think, what's the impact of that for you, do you think?
BUTLER: The impact for not only myself but for many athletes in the two conferences that canceled, their future with the school, whether they're not going to come back for next year eligibility, do they look kind of further their expectation of going into the NFL or, you know, whether they're not going to transfer, you know, in regards to their degree aspirations. There's a lot of factors that come into play. Even myself, you know, I'm still taking a time to think, and you know, adjust to everything, and you know, sitting down with family and having those conversations, as I understand will be the best options.
MACCALLUM: Would you consider transferring?
BUTLER: Myself personally really would not, Stanford University is one of the greatest universities in the world, greatest place, greatest coaching staff, I love it there. Academic opportunities are out of this world. If I had the opportunity to get a degree there as well as playing another year, and definitely my look forward to taking the opportunity.
MACCALLUM: Well, Treyjohn, we wish you well and we thank you so much. And Rashad, I hope to see you guys, I hope to be there when you play Notre Dame. So, thank you very much. Both of you for being here and we look forward to, wish you both a great season. Thank you, guys.
WEAVER: Thank you.
BUTLER: Thank you.
MACCALLUM: Great young men. All right. So, 75 years ago on August 15th, celebrations filled out into big cities and all across America when news spread of Japan's surrender in World War II. What a moment that was. The heroes who were overseas that day relive the joy of finding that out and coming home. Special piece, don't miss this, coming up next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE COLBURN, IWO JIMA SURVIVOR: We just returned from Iwo Jima and it meant life, actual life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACCALLUM: Tomorrow marks 75 years since Japan's surrender -- surrender in World War II. After six long years the brave soldiers who lead America to victory were finally going home. We recently connected with some of them virtually to relive the emotions of that joyous day. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let there be no mistake. We shall completely destroy Japan's power to make war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I deem this reply a full acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration which specifies the unconditional surrender of Japan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the east coast to the west, Americans, millions that have been waiting for the official word to go completely wild.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember a skipper called us and it's squat (Ph) fax and said the war was over, that was the 14th of August. We were steaming into the southern Kyushu, Nagasaki, Sasebo, Japan, a little out on a walk that night for celebration.
JOHN BOSCH, 95-YEAR-OLD WWII VETERAN: The field marines went to Hollywood and Vine to celebrate. The celebration was just like that one in New York. When I went back to my room at midnight, all I had left was a pair of trousers and my shoes. Happy VJ to all veterans that served in the Pacific. Semper fidelis.
COLBURN: We had just returned from Iwo Jima and it meant life, actual life. That we were not going to have to invade Japan. We were going to be able to come home to our loved ones in the United States. I love that American free world type of life.
DONACIANO GUISADO, WWII PURPLE HEART RECIPIENT: It makes me happy to know that I fought to save this country. And I'm very grateful that I came back alive and all in one piece because the real heroes are the ones we lost. All the friends that we lost.
GENE BELL, IWO JIMA SURVIVOR: We were going to be sent in and 75 percent of us would not return. And they drop the bomb and that saved our lives and I thank God.
ANTHONY LOMBARDI, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: The war ending meant that the killing of millions of men, women, and children finally came to an end. I was one of the fortunate ones who was able to come home to my family and friends to begin a new life under the American flag.
CALVIN HAVECOST, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: I'm grateful to be able to talk to my family about my service. I love my country.
COLBURN: We were all jumping with joy and we were happy. Our company commander broke open the beer and we celebrated with great honor that happiness of having the Japanese surrender and we did not have to go and die in Japan.
RONALD "RONDO" SCHARFE, IWO JIMA SURVIVOR: Your mind takes the memories, which is, which are the same ways, some are good, some are bad. Some are happy, some are sad. But the thing is I'm here above ground and I really miss all my brothers that I left over there, I wish they were here with me getting the chance to live the kind of life that I have.
GEORGE MENDONSA, U.S. NAVY: They put the lights on and they said the Japanese have surrender, the war is over. All the people in radio city went wild, we went down there to Times Square, a million people, and the bartender put all the glasses up on the bar and he's pouring the booze and whatever he poured, you drank.
So, what comes down into Times Square, the war is over and boy, I have to tell you, Times Square was wild. And I had quite a few drinks in me and I saw the nurse. If that girl did not have a nurse's uniform on, I never would've done that. And what I remembered out there. And that's what fit it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: God bless all those men. Some of them are friends, George Colburn and Rondo. You can read "Unknown Valor" my book which covers this whole period. I hope that you'll get it and remember these men this weekend on August 15th.
Good night, everybody. Have a great weekend. The Story goes on. We'll see you on Sunday for our special.
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