McConnell: 'About time' to discuss SCOTUS nominee instead of process

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McConnell: 'About time' to discuss SCOTUS nominee instead of process

Senate Majority Leader previews the next steps to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett on 'The Story.'

This is a rush transcript from “The Story with Martha MacCallum" October 6, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Hey there, Bret. Good evening to you.

Good evening, everybody. I'm Martha MacCallum. Welcome. This is THE STORY live tonight in Salt Lake City ahead of tomorrow night's big vice- presidential debate. We have four weeks now until Election Day, and it is the president's first full day back at work at the White House. He is making some major waves, pulling the plug on the COVID-19 relief bill, telling his team to stop negotiating until after the election.

While instructing Mitch McConnell to focus full time on confirming Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. That starts on Monday. Majority Leader McConnell is here tonight exclusively with his reaction to that.

And in moments, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, she is one of a growing list on the president's orbit - in his orbit, I should say, that is now infected with COVID-19. Just before we came on the air tonight, reports that Stephen Miller, an adviser to the president has now also tested positive. He was on Air Force One on the way to the debate.

So, the president has urged people though, regardless, not to fear this virus. And then you've got Joe Biden today striking a starkly different tone with this message in Gettysburg a short time ago. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It affects us all. It will take anyone's life. It's a virus.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Don't let it dominate you. Don't be afraid of it. You're going to beat it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany joins me now.

Kayleigh, good to see you tonight. You are off site as you are also one of those, one of the many who are recovering. There is a piece in Axios today with Trump's return risks rise in the West Wing it says. It says that a White House source told Axios, it's insane that he would return to the White House and jeopardize his staff's health while we are all still learning of new cases among senior staff. This place is a cesspool.

We understand there are a couple of people on your staff who tested positive. We just got this news of Stephen Miller. What's going on over there, I guess, is the question. It sounds like a pretty difficult situation.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Yes, look, a lot of us have been teleworking over the last few days, including my staff, out of an abundance of precaution. Stephen Miller, of course, testing positive this evening. He has been self-quarantining for five days, nevertheless tested positive based on a prior exposure. I talked to him just before coming to air and he's doing well.

Well, look, we're taking all necessary precautions. Obviously, there was an outbreak here in the White House, but we've been checking on staff, following necessary contact tracing procedures. And I do want to thank Fox for a second for refraining from reporting the names of junior staffers that you guys have done that at your network and we're thankful for that.

MACCALLUM: Well, it's a long list of the people in it, and I think you accurately describe it as an outbreak and that people are taking precautions to isolate themselves. It does raise questions about the way that things have been handled. There's been a lot of backlash to you for coming out and speaking to reporters after it was learned that Hope Hicks had it. And we know that we heard from Chief of Staff Meadows that they decided to pull you off that plane to the Bedminster trip because of some concerns.

It says, it's not surprising. This is from The New York Times. Michelle Goldberg, not surprising that the White House Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, the very face of administration propaganda didn't wear a mask while briefing reporters on Sunday, even though she had been exposed to the virus. I'm sure you would take issue with that depiction of yourself, but why the decision to go ahead and brief them when you knew you had been exposed?

MCENANY: Yes, I certainly would take issue with that. Let me back up first.

The briefing I had Thursday. Prior to that, I had no knowledge of Hope Hicks testing positive. So, I went into a briefing not knowing I was in close contact. I'm after learning that I was, me and my entire staff started wearing masks, as we've done with prior close contact incidences, with Katie Miller for instance.

I removed my mask for 58 seconds to answer the questions from reporters who by the way, knew I was in close contact. We were outside. We were socially distanced so that they could hear me clearly, just as the doctors at Walter Reed did. I removed my mask for a total of 58 seconds. And notably, a reporter as I was leaving was shouting, how dare you only take two questions all the while knowing I was in close contact. I wore my mask diligently, believe it to the media to once again mischaracterize the situation.

MACCALLUM: We're about to show the interview that I did with Mitch McConnell just a few - just a short time ago. And I did ask him if he was concerned about the fact that he's now three senators down heading into this very important confirmation process for Amy Coney Barrett. And he said, well, we have done everything that we needed to do here. These senators did not get it here. And I asked him, and everybody will see this in a little bit. Are you suggesting that the White House has been lax? And he said, well, I'll just say that we have done what we needed to do here, and I don't want to intone how he said it. You're going to hear from him in just a minute. But what's your response to that?

MCENANY: Look, we've been having events moving forward with the business of the American people. The SCOTUS event was outdoors. People are encouraged to wear masks when they can't socially distance. But people have been pinpointing that one event as if that is for certain, the event. But no one knows that. This is a group of people who come together, often in different capacities. We're Republicans. We do business together with one another.

Some of us work together in the West Wing.

So, what we've been doing is diligently contact tracing, praying for the president as he comes through this. I spoke to him just before coming to air and he's feeling good, in good spirits. But we're very mindful that while we've had a lot of asymptomatic cases in the West Wing and most of us have been doing just fine and great, that's not to say it's been the same for all Americans which is why this president has worked to get therapeutics, the same ones that helped him or helping Americans across the country even now.

MACCALLUM: Yes, and we're just looking at that Rose Garden ceremony, and I think there are at least nine now who contracted it and they were all tested before they went there, right?

MCENANY: Many of them were, anyone in close contact with the president, I can say for certain it's tested. Our protocols are designed to protect the president, the vice president, the elected officials there of the United States.

MACCALLUM: Would you do an event like that again that way, or would you handle it differently, maybe space everybody out of it and insist that they wear masks at this point?

MCENANY: Look again, no one can point to that event and say, yes, there are a number of people there that tested positive.

MACCALLUM: No, obviously. But I'm just asking if you were going to do an event like that again, given what's going on right now, would you do something differently?

MCENANY: It was an event outside. Some people wore masks, notably several photographers there wore masks and they all tested positive. So, with any event, you take a certain amount of risk.

MACCALLUM: That's interesting.

MCENANY: Nominating a Supreme Court justice, Article 2 Section 2 power.

That's an obligation of the president to do this and we'll continue to fulfill his constitutional duties.

MACCALLUM: OK, I do want to ask you about the president's decision to end the negotiations over COVID bill. A lot of very strong reaction to that, that it might not be the greatest move this close to an election to be the side of the negotiation that is pointed to as the one that said, we're done. This is over. Why would the president do that at this point with four weeks to go?

MCENANY: So, everything the president does, he's a great negotiator, he's pursuant to a larger goal of his. He will work to get relief for the American people. But notably, every time we put forward a proposal, let's say school funding that matched what Nancy Pelosi asked were actually exceeded it by 5 billion. She then rejected it. So, after months of serious negotiations, the president said, fine, if you're not interested in negotiating, let's move forward. He's done everything in his executive capacity with executive orders to protect those facing eviction, unemployment insurance. But we need Nancy Pelosi. She hasn't been there in a serious way. But everything the president does, his pursuant to hopefully getting to a good result for the American people.

MACCALLUM: Well, we know that she has not budged on her number since the very beginning. Are you indicating that we may see some different sorts of deals, other executive actions perhaps for the airlines? Is that something that's on the table right now?

MCENANY: So, we have offered to do straight passing of a clean bill to protect airline workers. I'd met several of these airline workers who said literally, I'm going to lose my job in weeks. I mean, these are real people. That's why we at the White House, we offered the omnibus package, the big one. We offered a piecemeal one. We've offered everything we can possibly offer. And Nancy Pelosi should work with us here.

MACCALLUM: All right, so will there be any sort of smaller deal that the president can enact unilaterally? Is that a possibility at this point?

MCENANY: Look, I know Chief of Staff Meadows is exploring every possible avenue. And certainly, if there is a way to do this in our executive power, we would do it because the jobs of the American people in our airline workers are very important.

MACCALLUM: Got it. All right, Kayleigh, we hope you continue to feel well, and we wish everybody there a quick recovery or hopefully a symptomless experience as much as possible. Thank you, Kayleigh. Good to see you tonight.

MCENANY: Thank you, Martha. Good to see you.

MACCALLUM: So, still ahead, that interview, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is here with us. He breaks down why the next round of COVID relief negotiations fell apart today. Also, his response to how on track the Coney Barrett hearings will be. Also, Dana Perino and Juan Williams join me from Salt Lake City as we kick off Democracy 2020. Special coverage after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: President Trump back in the White House, but off the campaign trail as he works to recover from COVID-19, his opponent, Joe Biden, spent this afternoon in Pennsylvania, a state that could prove crucial to victory in 2020. To deliver a message of unity and healing is why he was there. He was in historic Gettysburg, a turning point, of course, in the Civil War and the site of its bloodiest battle. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Too many Americans seek not to overcome our divisions, but to deepen them. We must seek not to build walls but bridges. We must seek not to have our fists clenched, but our arms open. We have to seek not to tear each other apart. But seek to come together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Here now, Dana Perino, anchor of the Daily Briefing and co-host of The Five, Juan Williams is also co-host of The Five and a Fox News political analyst. Good to be with you guys earlier and great to have you back now. So, your thoughts Juan on this speech that we just saw a bit of from Gettysburg. Obviously, he's going for the unity message and the country does feel very divided.

JUAN WILLIAMS, THE FIVE CO_HOST: I don't think there's any question. We are a polarized country, Martha. But this is interesting to me because obviously Gettysburg is a moment in our history. Everyone remembers four score and seven years ago where Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of the Civil War reaches back to the founding fathers and says we have to come together to survive as one. And I think Joe Biden was doing that today.

But to your point, is he really thinking that he's going to reach Republicans who are Trump supporters? The polls don't show that. I think with a more this strategy is about reaching independent voters who are getting tired of constant bickering and finger pointing. And it's having success with women voters who really want to see some healing. And that message, I think did come through in Biden's speech today.

MACCALLUM: So, President Trump tweeted, how does Biden lead in a Pennsylvania poll when he is against fracking, the Second Amendment and religion? He called them fake polls and he said, I will win Pennsylvania, Dana, obviously, Pennsylvania is always a very important state.

DANA PERINO, THE DAILY BRIEFING ANCHOR: He won it in 2016. And, of course, Joe Biden claims that as it's his home, he says even though he didn't spend all of his life there, but he was born there and he says, these are where my roots are. Biden is trying to figure out a way to get people who voted for Obama and then Trump to get them back to his corner.

Now, some of the polls look very good for him. But the thing is, I don't necessarily think it's just women. It's senior citizens.

MACCALLUM: Right.

PERINO: And that's showing across the board, including in Florida. And also, just three weeks ago, we did a story, maybe even two weeks ago, we did stories about how was it that Biden was going to stay in Delaware at his house? Well, President Trump was in all the battleground states. And now here we are. President Trump has to be home because he's recovering from Coronavirus. I'm sure he'll be back on the campaign trail as soon as he can.

But now you have Biden out there and he's preaching that unity message. I felt something in that speech today that he feels like he's got the wind at his back. The media has been helpful and soft, like a little soft touch. He feels like he's got the money advantage. He thinks President Trump is on his heels and he's feeling pretty good.

WILLIAMS: I just want to make one quick point to pick up on what you're saying. I saw today that Trump is pulling ads out of Ohio. Biden is putting money into Ohio for advertising.

MACCALLUM: Yes, I mean, it's very interesting when you look back at this period in the Obama race, President Obama was leading by less than Joe Biden is right now. And when you look back to 2016, Hillary Clinton was a bit back on her heels at this point in the race. There was the email story.

Jim Comey had launched another email investigation. So, she was playing a little bit of defense. It feels like Biden with a month to go and I would point out that the news cycle changes pretty much every 48 hours. So, we could be talking a very different story any moment here. He does feel like he's in the driver's seat at the moment.

WILLIAMS: Right. So, I think there's been more stability to this race in just the way you described it, Martha. And so, you go through the conventions, not much change. And then you hit that first debate. And what we've seen subsequently, and I wouldn't point to any one poll or certainly any one state poll, but I would say in totality, what you see is a trend line. And the trend line is to by former Vice President Biden's advantage.

MACCALLUM: But, Dana, anything can happen. Everybody watched that first debate, wondering how sort of forcefully Joe Biden would comport himself on that stage. And he, by all accounts, did well. But anything can happen going forward. And the president is going to have to really pull a rabbit out of a hat at this next debate. He's going to have to blow everybody away.

PERINO: Well, also but first, we have to look at tomorrow night's debate.

And I think that Vice President Pence is going to be able to, one, reassure seniors that President Trump is going to take care of them when it comes to Social Security and Medicare. Their issue is COVID. So, Kamala Harris is going to talk about the Coronavirus response and that's their in with seniors.

But the economic message for Vice President Pence tomorrow night, that is the most important thing that he can do to try to help turn things around.

And I think President Trump goes into the Miami debate with many people thinking he's the underdog. And I bet you'll see a different president.

It'll be a different type of debate. I think he'll probably be declared the winner of that debate and then it'll just be going into the playoffs for that third debate in Nashville.

MACCALLUM: You've got that one more. And I'm also just struck by one thing I want to say before we leave this topic. Coronavirus will end eventually, and the president who is elected will be the president for four more years.

So, people do really need to focus on the policies that these people are bringing to the table, because mark my words, this virus will be in the rear view mirror probably sooner rather than later after this person takes office in January. And so, it really is, it's the underlying issues that will be more important, even though COVID gets so much of everyone's attention right now.

Dana, thank you. Juan, thank you.

WILLIAMS: My pleasure. Thanks for having us.

MACCALLUM: So, Kamala Harris among the Democrats blasting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for moving ahead with the Supreme Court nomination confirmation hearings, the senator responds to that. And also breaking news tonight that the president said to his team, no more negotiating on another round of stimulus. Why did he do that at this point? That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris off the trail today to focus on tomorrow's big night. On Twitter this week, the judiciary member slammed her Republican colleagues writing this, moving forward with SCOTUS confirmation hearings in exactly one week threatens the health and safety of our members, our staff and the hard working people who keep the Senate complex safe, clean and operational. This is completely reckless, she says. Chairman Graham must delay the hearings.

I'm joined now by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Leader, good to have you with us today. Thank you very much.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (D-KY): Good to be with you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: It won't surprise who - it's good to have you with us, Chuck Schumer. Senator Schumer has also chimed in on this. Here's what he had to say about the possibility of holding virtual hearings. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): The idea of having virtual hearings where no one is with the witness. For the highest court in the land, for a life appointment that would have such effect on people's lives makes no sense. A virtual hearing is virtually no hearing at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So, sir, you are up against the clock and COVID in your effort to move this nomination through. And you hear these criticisms from your colleagues. What do you say today?

MCCONNELL: Well, we've been up against COVID since May. We've had numerous hearings remotely with senators calling in remotely, occasionally, witnesses remotely. I think the nominee will be there in person. Some members of the committee may choose to be remote. We've been dealing with this since May. All of a sudden, it's become disabling. This is just another effort to try to delay the process on this outstanding Supreme Court nominee that the president has sent up to the Senate.

MACCALLUM: So, you plan to start on Monday. I mean, give us a window into how you're going to kind of push this through and what is the markup look like on the 15th of October? That might be a bit tricky.

MCCONNELL: Well, the chairman has indicated that there are two dates that will be essential. One is the 15th, one is the 22nd. The nominee will come out on the 22nd and then be dealt with as soon thereafter. So that's the flow chart leading to consideration of the nomination. It's about time we quit talking about process and start talking about the nominee herself. An absolute sterling choice. The president could not have picked a better nominee, outstanding scholar, wonderful family, seven kids, two adopted children and a special needs child as well. A very supportive husband, a working couple, quintessentially American. And it's a great success story.

And she'll be a great member of the Supreme Court.

MACCALLUM: So, how would you rate the possibility that you can get this through and get it done? Ted Cruz is saying he believes that there are still the votes, 51 votes, but there could be numerous roadblocks ahead.

How optimistic are you that she will be on the bench by the election or nomination cleared by the election?

MCCONNELL: Yes, that's the plan. And there's nothing I can see that would keep that from happening. We can operate successfully in a COVID environment. The Senate done that for quite some time. In fact, the current members who have a problem got it somewhere else, not here in the Senate.

So, we've been operating successfully with masking and social distancing since May. We're going to continue to do that.

Look, you don't shut down a fire department because one of the firemen ended up coming up sick one day. We're going to continue to operate. The American people are entitled to that. And that's what we're going to do.

MACCALLUM: In terms of the full vote on the floor, are you going to have to change rules to get that through? And you just mentioned that those senators likely didn't get it there. Do you hold the White House at all responsible for this Rose Garden ceremony and some of the other behaviors that some people think have been too risky?

MCCONNELL: Well, we don't have to change any Senate rules to deal with this, either in the committee or on the floor. So, no rule change are required whatsoever. I do think there have been risky behaviors in other areas, but not in the Senate. And this nomination is now in the Senate. We know how to handle this. We've been dealing with this since May and we'll handle it successfully.

MACCALLUM: So, you're saying you think that the White House has taken too many risks?

MCCONNELL: Well, there's no question that some of the infections occurred elsewhere and not here. So, what I'm telling you is, since May, we have operated successfully here in the Senate. We know what we're doing. We're following the CDC guidelines and we'll get the job done.

MACCALLUM: All right. Before I let you go, I got to ask you about the president signaling that there's no further negotiation on a COVID relief bill. Nancy Pelosi saying this is who they are when she heard this news.

The president urging you to move forward with the nomination, but to put this to the side for now. What's your response to that?

MCCONNELL: Well, this has been going on for two months, we reengaged in July. The speaker never made a reasonable offer I put on the Senate floor.

A lot of people forget it. A proposal to deal with kids in school, small businesses --

MACCALLUM:  That's right.

MCCONNELL:  -- and healthcare. We couldn't get a single Democrat to even take it up. I think it's clear, Martha, they didn't want to get a deal this soon. We will reengage after the election, as the president said. I think we do need another rescue package but because of the impending election we simply weren't able to get together.

MACCALLUM:  Do you think you are going to get punished for that in the Senate races which are very close. And I know you've said it's 50/50 whether the GOP will be able to hold the Senate. Is this going to hurt that?

MCCONNELL:  Well, what's going to really hurt the Senate race I think is putting the Supreme Court justice front and center, let the American people take a look at her, evaluate her credentials. Every single challenger to every one of my incumbents is opposed to this nominee, every single one of them so we'll let the American people in each of these states that are hotly contested decide how important the United States Supreme Court is in casting their vote November 3rd.

MACCALLUM:  Leader McConnell, thank you very much. I know there is a lot on the plate right now and we look forward to speaking with you again soon, sir. Thank you.

MCCONNELL:  Thank you, Martha.

MACCALLUM:  Democracy 2020 special coverage after this. Stick around.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MACCALLUM:  We are in Salt Lake City, Utah, home to 10 colleges and universities, and we are about to sit down with a group of students and talk to them about what's on their mind as we head into this presidential election.

Democracy 2020 rolls on after this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACCALLUM:  Big night tomorrow night in the vice-presidential debate, it will take place right here in beautiful Salt Lake City, Utah, which is home to 10 colleges and universities and a lot of students who will be voting for the very first time in a presidential election.

Look at this recent Fox poll that shows a large majority of voters under the age of 30 favored Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. So we sat down with five students registered in this historically red state and asked him about the issues that will guide their vote with four weeks to go.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MACCALLUM:  Overall, how does COVID weigh on your vote and how you might vote? You think the president has handled it well, do you think Joe Biden would handle it better?

BETHANY, STUDENT, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY:  I watched the debate last week and I felt like Joe Biden did blame President Trump for a little much.

However, that being said, I do think that there are a lot of things he could have handled better. He knew about it pretty early on and I think it helps to not shut down the economy, might have not taken action that would've been beneficial to do early on, which has endangered a lot of Americans' lives.

And so, while I wouldn't blame the entire like crash of the economy and COVID on President Trump, I do think that it should've been handled better.

SOPHIA, STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH:  Each state has their own governor and they created their own response, and so I think Trump has done like tried to shut the borders and got the PPE equipment all these governors, he's actually been praised by Democrat governors for doing that.

LIBAN, STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH:  With Donald Trump's rhetoric against masks, and acting like it's not a big deal when it's a simple, scientific fact is detrimental to us. You see Republican areas like Utah County with higher cases and less people are wearing masks when this can actually be prevented by a mask in a lot of ways.

So, I think Donald Trump handled this poorly, because he's setting a terrible example for the American people and the citizens of the world at large of how to take measures to prevent this from happening.

MACCALLUM:  I'm going to ask each one of you. You know, what's the number one issue for you, Ben?

BEN, STUDENT, WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY:  I would probably say climate change is --

MACCALLUM:  Climate change?

BEN:  -- is definitely one of the most important.

KWAK, STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH:  I would say economy.

MACCALLUM:  Economy. Bethany.

BETHANY:  I'm big on foreign policy.

MACCALLUM:  Foreign policy. Liban?

LIBAN:  I'm going to have to pick three. So, I'd say rebuilding the economy given the state that it's in.

MACCALLUM:  Yes.

LIBAN:  Climate change, and then also healthcare.

MACCALLUM:  OK. Sophia?

SOPHIA:  The economy.

MACCALLUM:  Economy. Yes, OK. So, I want to do the same thing and I want to ask you each, you know, if you -- one word to describe President Trump.

LIBAN:  One word to describe President Trump that I would use is irresponsible.

BETHANY:  Reactionary.

SOPHIA:  Powerful.

MACCALLUM:  Powerful.

BEN:  Selfish.

KWAK:  Very outgoing.

MACCALLUM:  OK. Interesting. Let's do the same thing with Joe Biden. Ben, you want to start?

BEN:  Leader.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:  Very old.

BETHANY:  Dedicated.

SOPHIA:  Slow.

LIBAN:  Confident.

MACCALLUM:  Interesting. So, when you look at the State of Utah, do you think, regardless of how you feel, raise your hand if you think that President Trump will win this state? Everybody. When you look at the United States right now, do you feel like it's headed in the right direction or do you feel like it's headed in the wrong direction?

LIBAN:  I would say that given our current state, we are backpedaling by decades, especially when it comes to civil unrest. All the progress that we made over these years is being retracted by leaders of the conservative party currently. And I think with the Joe Biden election we can get back on track and take some steps forward.

MACCALLUM:  So, you support Joe Biden. Do you have any concerns about him?

There've been a lot of talk about, you know, about his abilities to do the job. Does that concern you at all?

BEN:  Well, he certainly wasn't my number one choice in the primary. He wasn't even my top five but I think as I've gotten to know him a little bit better as a candidate, I've become more confident in him. I think he's the steady leader that we need right now.

MACCALLUM:  Is it hard for you guys in college, the Trump supporters, do you find that people are comfortable with your support for the president?

SOPHIA:  In Utah it's pretty conservative but I definitely have some friends who have a hard time with my views. So --

KWAK:  I feel like, especially on college campuses, and free speech is I feel like is under attack. As a conservative group on campus, when we bring our right-wing speaker on campus, when we or even holding meetings, or just simply tabling our properties are vandalized, we're harassed, we're called names.

And there is an amount of sabotage from left-wing student groups that try to get us to not hold meetings. And in that sense, it's extremely hard. I believe conservative speech is under attack in college campuses.

MACCALLUM:  Do you feel like Kwak and people who feel like him have the right to speak out and hold their meetings and say what they want to say, Ben?

BEN:  Absolutely.

MACCALLUM:  Yes.

BEN:  I mean, so at Weber State University I'm the V.P. of the Democrats, the college Democrats and we also have a college Republicans chapter and we try to work together whenever we can to do joint events and that something we're looking -- we're looking to do because if we can't have conversations with someone with different views, then we can't make any progress at all.

So, I certainly can respect people with different opinions than me.

MACCALLUM:  Raised your hand if you think that you, that your friends, the people you know in college that do you think -- raise your hand if you think they will all definitely vote, a few.

LIBAN:  There is always going to be those people who may be are in the middle ground and feel like they shouldn't vote. However, I disagree with them and think they shouldn't vote third party or shouldn't stay at home.

And they should get out to the ballots and exercise their right to vote.

MACCALLUM:  Do you have concerns as a young person in America that there's a fundamental change coming, that people are leaning more to the left? Does it concern you, or not?

KWAK:  It is very concerning. I really wish in the vice-presidential debate especially, V.P. Pence and Senator Harris would be able to talk about policy substantive and have substantive arguments, constructive arguments so that voters can really make an informed decision. And I believe that it just sets a precedent and it sets a climate for the political atmosphere.

BETHANY:  It's hard to see myself voting for like Republicans like President Trump just because I do care about like immigration and several other issues and I think many younger voters are in the same boat where socially they might be a lot more moderate or even liberal and would love to be able to support conservative candidates.

MACCALLUM:  Raise your hand if you think that Joe Biden will win, three. Do you think President Trump will win? You are not so sure.

SOPHIA:  Yes.

BEN:  No.

MACCALLUM:  Thank you guys very much for your time today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACCALLUM:  Small group, interesting poll there. Moments ago, Joe Biden answering a question about the fate of the second presidential debate, his surprising response, and Brit Hume coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:  I learned so much about coronavirus. And one thing that's for certain, don't let it dominate you. Don't be afraid of it. Don't let it take over your lives. Don't let that happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM:  So, a bold message coming from the president last evening. It prompted praise from some corners and harsh criticism in others. Today, former First Lady Michelle Obama put out this closing message in support of Vice President Biden, former vice president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES:  A man who knew how deadly this virus is but who lied to us and told us it would just disappear, who, in the greatest crisis of our lifetimes, doubled down on division, and resentment, railed against measures that could have mitigated the damage, and continues to hold massive events without requiring masks or social distancing, knowingly exposing his own supporters to a dangerous virus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM:  So, joining me now, Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume. Good to have you here tonight, Brit.

Clearly, the president wrestling with this virus himself, has put this issue squarely back in the center of the conversation, at least for the time being, and the president has a very different take, obviously than Michelle Obama. Your thoughts?

BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST:  Well, I'm not sure exactly what Michelle -- if Michelle Obama was making any kind of direct reference to the president's returned to the White House last night and his upbeat message that he announced and has repeated. If she was, I would be -- I would tend to quarrel with her.

Obviously, the mistakes have been made along the way by nearly everybody involved in handling this manner by the president. I think his worst mistake was doing all the talking during the early coronavirus briefings when he made the whole thing all about him. And now it's all about him.

And of course, his catching the ailment makes it even more so. It's an issue that is not good for him. So politically speaking, not a good situation. However, when it comes to the disease and whether we should let it dominate our lives, I think he is on the right track.

I mean, everything we now know about who gets this disease and how sick they get tells us that for people 65 and older it's quite dangerous but even there according to the CDC, the survival rate is almost 95 percent and for every other age group it's 99 percent and above.

MACCALLUM:  Yes.

HUME:  And we are now seeing, you know, that they've have all these waves and batteries of tested colleges, lots and lots of cases, virtually no hospitalizations and in the 50 colleges surveyed, nobody died. That's remarkable.

MACCALLUM:  Yes.

HUME:  And for that we have this wave of shutdowns that has done such terrible damage to our economy. The doctors are now warning have been very hard on people's health because of healthcare foregone during the worst of it and very great harm to children's mental health and so on.

So, you have to -- there really was never a good balancing of the risks involved. The risks were all on the disease side and none on the collateral damage from the steps taken to fight it side, and that was -- that I think is the --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM:  Yes, I mean, it's -- I think we have the numbers that you referred to of the survival rates. Age, plus -- 70 plus has a 94.6 survival rate and we know that the comorbidity issues are also very, very significant in terms of how this disease plays out for people.

This is -- I do want to play this. It just came in, Brit. This is Joe Biden on the tarmac just a short time ago being asked about the second debate.

Let's watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE:  I'm not sure that what President Trump is all about now. I don't know what his status is. I'm looking forward to being able to debate him but I just hope all the protocols are followed, what's necessary at the time.

(OFF-MIC)

BIDEN:  Well, I think if he still has COVID, we shouldn't have a debate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM:  So, he was asked that question and that's how he responded. You know, opening the door to potentially not having a debate if he thinks that it's within that time frame that's dangerous, Brit.

HUME:  Well, look, have we been -- haven't the medical authorities been telling us all this time that to avoid infection you stay a certain distance apart and you wear masks and then even in certain circumstances you might have a partition that separates you from others and that way you can get on with life.

There is a real need in this country to get on with life. And presidential and vice-presidential debates are part of that, so the idea that the president potentially infected in some way, that you couldn't stage and in person debate I think flies in the face of all that we've been told about this disease.

Now if we are now to believe that all the precautionary measures that we've talked about, that people who have that are carrying the virus can transmit it despite distancing and despite masks and other precautionary measures, then we are in a whole new ball game. I don't think we are.

MACCALLUM:  Brit, thank you very much. We will be watching together tomorrow night, the vice-presidential debate when it gets underway here in Salt Lake. Thank you, Brit. Good to see you.

HUME:  You bet. Thank you.

MACCALLUM:  So, the newly declassified documents from an Obama era intelligence briefing point to a Clinton-backed plan, alleged Clinton- backed plan to smear President Trump by tying him to Russia. We've got some new documents on this. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM:  As the long wait for the Durham report continues, the Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe declassifying documents revealing former CIA director John Brennan briefed then-President Obama on a purported Hillary Clinton plan to tie candidate Trump to Russia in 2016 and distract from her private e-mail scandal.

Senior political correspondent Mike Emanuel gives us THE STORY tonight.

MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT:  Martha, good evening. These are handwritten notes from former CIA director John Brennan written, according to a source familiar, after Brennan briefed President Obama. At one point, Brennan writes, quote, "approved by Hillary Clinton, a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisors to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service."

The notes say on 28 of July, in the margin Brennan writes POTUS, but that section of the note is redacted. Then it says any evidence of collaboration between Trump campaign and Russia. The remainder of the Brennan notes are redacted except in the margins where it says J.C., Denis, and Susan.

That could be reforming to former FBI director James Comey, former Obama chief of staff Denis McDonough, and former national security advisor Susan Rice. The CIA sent a memo to former FBI director Comey and Peter Strzok writing, quote, "the following information is provided for the exclusive use of your bureau for background investigative action or lead purposes as appropriate."

One example the CIA includes, quote, "an exchange redacted discussing U.S.

presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's approval of a plan concerning U.S.

presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S.

elections as a mean of distraction -- distracting the public from her use of a private e-mail server."

At a hearing before the Senate judiciary committee last week, Comey was pressed on what he did with information provided by the CIA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC):  We got a letter now from Ratcliffe saying that there's a -- the intercepted information about an effort in July where Hillary Clinton approved a camp -- an effort to link Trump to Russia, the mob. Did you have an investigation to look and see if whether that was true?

JAMES COMEY, FORMER DIRECTOR, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION:  I can't answer that, I've read Mr. Ratcliffe's letter, which frankly I have trouble understanding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EMANUEL:  Hillary Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill says the mention of her name in recent days is, quote, "baseless B.S." Martha?

MACCALLUM:  Mike Emanuel, thank you very much, Mike.

So that is THE STORY of this Tuesday, October the 6th, 2020, but as always, THE STORY continues and it changes every day. So, Bret and I will be back here with you tomorrow evening at six Eastern for our special coverage of tonight -- tomorrow night's vice-presidential debate. We'll see you then.

Have a good night, everybody.

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