NYU activists verbally attack Chelsea Clinton during vigil for New Zealand mosque attack victims

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NYU activists verbally attack Chelsea Clinton during vigil for New Zealand mosque attack victims

College students blame Chelsea Clinton for New Zealand massacre; Fox News correspondent-at-large Geraldo Rivera reacts.

This is a rush transcript from "The Story," March 18, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MARTHA MACCALLUM, ANCHOR: Good evening, everybody. I am Martha MacCallum and this is "The Story." Welcome everybody.

There was a time when Chelsea Clinton was eyed with hope. She might be the future of her party. Now, she's under attack for calling out what she saw as anti-Semitism from Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Students at NYU blasted her for coming to a vigil for the people killed in the New Zealand mosque.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEEN DWEIK, STUDENT, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: After all that you have done and all the Islamophobia you have stoked.

CHELSEA CLINTON, DAUGHTER OF FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: I am so sorry you feel that way. Certainly, it was never my intention. I do believe words matter. I believe we have to show solidarity.

DWEIK: They do matter. And this right here is the result of a massacre stoked by people like you and the words that you put out into the world.  And I want you to know that and I want you to feel that deep inside. 49 people died because of the rhetoric you put out there.

CLINTON: I am so sorry that you feel that way.

DWEIK: I don't think -- I don't think --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does "I'm sorry you feel that way" mean? What does that mean?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: That's something. Clinton got very little back up on all of this from her own party. She did, however, get support from Donald Jr. and Kellyanne Conway, grieving, of course, should be universal.

When 50 human beings are slaughtered, a vigil for them should be open to anyone who wants to be there. A moment of coming together to mourn. But these individuals didn't see it this way. One writer on Twitter, calling Chelsea's white tears' dangerous. And understanding the outcry that white people were "taking up space at the vigil."

All of this has fueled the argument that white supremacy is dangerously on the rise, and the president getting criticism for saying their "small group". In a moment, Heather McDonald who is very good at tracking these numbers takes a look at who she believes is right on that.

But first, Geraldo Rivera, Fox News correspondent-at-large, and author of the Geraldo Show, here to respond. Geraldo, good to see you tonight.

GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE: Hi, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Thanks for being here. First of all, just your gut reaction to what happened there with Chelsea Clinton.

RIVERA: I was horrified. I thought it was awful. I have two of my children attended NYU, which used to be a bastion of free thought and free speech to see that, that person confronts Chelsea the way she did with the finger-pointing a pregnant woman -- you know, Chelsea pointing and -- that was an assault. It was so absolutely offensive.

And it was illogical. It had -- it made no sense. What's the connection between Chelsea Clinton criticizing in a very mild and reasonable way, the actions of the Congresswoman Omar, to jump cut from that to being part of a -- you know, complicit in a -- in a cause of mass murder?

It is absolutely appallingly anti-intellectual, it is -- it is disgusting, and it goes a really a bridge too far.

MACCALLUM: You know, and I mean, it goes to this issue of just sort of labeling and pointing it at that something like this, horrible act in New Zealand, is the fault of by extension of someone like Chelsea Clinton because of something she said. And we saw that same thing about the president over the weekend as well.

RIVERA: She is so mild and measured. I really think that she is really a nice person. Chelsea's good is a nice person.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: She did it very -- she did as good a job as anybody could expect trying to hold up for --

RIVERA: And if that were me, I would've exploded all over that room. The intolerance, the hatred, the -- just the anti-manners that, that showed, is that -- it is to me, the actions of these kids wrecking the First Amendment and freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of access, it is really pathetic.

MACCALLUM: You can't do that, you can't fight back in this situation.  Because what has -- she knows that there's a camera there. Right?  Somebody's got their iPhone, perfectly placed in order to capture this entire thing.

And, you know, it feels like what's being said to her is the only food -- if that's the free speech in the room, she is not allowed, Geraldo, you know as well as I do. If she has snapped back at them, the backlash would have been 10 times worse.

RIVERA: I would have snapped back. Bless her for not snapping back, but I submit that she was in her own way, frightened by that crowd, by that mob led by not just the student who was pointing inches away from her pregnant belly. But also for those who backed her up, yes, yes.

They have to find an object of their hatred. They have to find a -- you know, a scapegoat. It is much the reason that President Trump is being dragged into being blamed for these -- for this Massacre. It is so preposterously anti-intellectual.

You have a situation where President Trump is responsible for what happened in New Zealand. So, who's responsible for what happened in the Charleston, South Carolina church massacre? Who's responsible for what happened in the church in Southern Springs in Texas? Who's responsible for the Orlando Pulse nightclub? Who's responsible for the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut? It all of which happened on the Barack Obama -- President Obama's watch.

It is -- it is pathetic that people look for scapegoats to blame for the things that ail us. And these students to just jump cut, it would have been anybody. It could have been anybody walking into that room randomly, and they would have been the person responsible.

MACCALLUM: I want to play this from Minnesota A.G. Keith Ellison who used to be a congressman. He was the first Muslim congressman to serve in Congress. Here is what he said this morning. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEITH ELLISON, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MINNESOTA: Whether it's Charlottesville or whatever it is, I mean it all seems to point back to he has some sympathy for that, that position and is not willing to condemn it.

He wouldn't condemn David Duke. I mean, there's just so many points of evidence that indicate that for some reason, he is reluctant to condemn white supremacy or recognize it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: It was the debate just a few minutes ago on a special report about this. About whether or not he has vociferously enough come out against these elements.

RIVERA: I just wanted -- before I answer that, let me just preface it by saying I covered the Oklahoma City bombing. When they killed all those children in the daycare that was a white supremacist. That was Timothy McVeigh and his associate.

And that was rights -- and that was during Bill Clinton's administration.  Are we going to forcibly say -- obscenely say that Bill Clinton was responsible for what Timothy McVeigh did?

We have to stop transferring guilt to people that we don't like or that we oppose politically because we are frustrated by what happened. We don't know what.

Now, in terms of the president, I think that the president is tempestuous.  I think he's thin-skinned. I love the guy, and I've known her forever.  He's no white supremacist, he's no racist. There are times that I wish he could reinforce and emphasize his point.

I know that he's not a white supremacist. But I wish that at times he would say, you know something, white supremacy is XYZ. So, is a -- you know, Islamic radicalism and just pick your --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Why do you think it doesn't? I mean, you can find places where he has, but why do you think he doesn't more forcefully?

RIVERA: Of course he is. Because I think that he does not like to be called out. I think he doesn't like to be criticized and he reacts -- he get -- he is -- he gets up in a dander. He gets us, "OK, don't push me.  Don't push me." And, you know, I feel the same way. I feel sympathetic to that.

But I just wish that sometimes he would just let it hang out. I want to hear about these important issues as much as I hear about some of the things that are much less relevant.

When I see his tweets, I want to be a patriot. I volunteer to be his Twitter editor. I want to go there and just say, "Mr. President, I know you're a good-hearted person because I know you. I've known you for 4-1/2 decades."

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Good luck with that.

RIVERA: "Let me -- let me look at your tweet before you send it out there.  Just because I know that sometimes you respond maybe impetuously." He doesn't on the big issues. It's the little things. It's the little things that annoy him that bring out the worst and him not the big things. I think he's done a great job generally speaking as president.

MACCALLUM: Geraldo, thank you.

RIVERA: Thank you, Martha. Glad to be here.

MACCALLUM: So here now, Heather Mac Donald, Manhattan Institute fellow and author of The Diversity Delusion. Heather, good to have you back on the program tonight.

HEATHER MAC DONALD, AUTHOR, THE DIVERSITY DELUSION: Thank you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: So, you know, when you look at the numbers here, right?  Because there is this sort of collective think assumption. People say things like well, white supremacy is definitely on the rise. Hate crimes are definitely on the rise.

And you've been here before. I know that you, you look at the numbers very carefully. So, do you think that, that is true?

MAC DONALD: Well, first of all, let's examine the Chelsea Clinton moment a little more closer, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Sure.

MAC DONALD: As what the left and the mainstream left generally is calling white supremacy, she made an anodyne statement that didn't even name Ilhan Omar, saying, "Public officials should avoid anti-Semitism." That now is being translated into white supremacists, Islamophobia that resulted in the outrageous massacre of 50 Muslims in New Zealand that has nothing to do with it.

The left is so determined to try to paint America as a source of white supremacy, whereas, in fact, there is virtually no institutional support for these -- for a handful of kooks that are insane, they are violating the very premises of Western civilization.

But, we are all on campus now. What happened at NYU is infiltrating the culture at large more and more of the -- of the Democratic Party is adopting this poisonous identity politics that is determined to paint America as a bastion of white supremacy when that is not true.

As for the numbers, Martha. It is ludicrous. The number of reported hate crimes, and we don't know how many of those are Jussie Smollett hoaxes.  Last year, was identical to what it was 10 years ago when there were 25 million fewer people in the United States.

And many fewer reporting agencies. And if you go 10 years before that, you have 3,000 more hate crimes -- reported hate crimes. So, the idea that there's been some surge in hate, much less white supremacist hate is completely ridiculous.

MACCALLUM: Let -- let's put up some of the numbers that were published this morning that take a look at the terror incidents in the United States.  Domestic terror incidents by -- that were perpetrated by these groups. And this is the way they -- that they did it. I believe this is Washington Post, right guys? This -- OK, this from the Washington Post.

So, they say they attribute six deaths in 2017 to left-wing groups. 11 deaths to right-wing groups. 16 deaths to Islamic extremists and other unknown is the highest in the group at 62 because this is the last year they tracked these numbers and that includes the Las Vegas massacre. The horrific massacre that happened in Las Vegas.

But, you know, when you look at it that way, at least, in that one year, and the numbers, you know, swing around from time to time. It looks like there's no single group that is sort of dominating this issue. And also that the numbers are relatively low. We'd love to see zero, obviously, across the board here.

MAC DONALD: Well, this is about 0.0005 percent of all violent crimes in the United States. I do not understand the Washington Post methodology because they're unknown categories groups they don't even know what the motivation is.

So, why they count -- they get to count those as extremist hate -- terror incidents -- domestic terrorism when they just may be your average guy going postal. I don't know. But they certainly, their numbers do not show a surge in white supremacist violence. It's just preposterous.

Again, Martha, the mainstream institutions in this country coming out of the campuses are beating into student's heads that it is white people that are evil. The hate is going in one direction. If you want to see a more mainstream demonstration of what hatred looks like in the United States today, let's recall the Covington, Kentucky pile on. Where you had politicians across the Democratic Party, the media, piling onto these kids because they were so desperate to find any representative of their narrative about widespread white based hatred which is a complete falsehood.

But the vitriol, the vindictiveness that were directed at those kids is a direct import from campus victim ideology.

MACCALLUM: Well, I always go back to what Martin Luther King said about wanting to not see white power and black power. He said he wanted to live to see the day when it was human power. And it just strikes me when you look at a vigil, as I said before. You know, you want -- when one person, when one American human being is wrong -- during this case people from New Zealand.

What you want is for the community to come together and mourn the loss of life regardless of who, what religion those people are or what race those people are. And we have seen those moments in the past in our society.  And that is not where we are right now, unfortunately. And this kind of assumption about what's going on out there definitely does not help that situation. Heather Mac Donald, thank you very much.

MAC DONALD: Thank you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Geraldo Rivera, thanks to you as well for being here tonight.  Coming up next, a Republican Devin Nunez, files a bombshell lawsuit against Twitter for "shadow banning and shaming conservatives."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: So tonight, Twitter is facing a fierce new legal battle over allegations that they censored conservative content on the site.  California Congressman Devin Nunes has filed a major lawsuit tonight against the social media platform.

He's accusing the site and some of its users of shadow banning Conservatives in an attempt to influence last year's elections, silencing opposing viewpoints and "ignoring complaints of abusive behavior."

David Spunt breaks it all down for us in "The Story" tonight. Hi, David!

DAVID SPUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Martha! Good evening! This is the 40-page lawsuit. It was filed in Virginia state court late this afternoon. Twitter as you said in the hot seat as Congressman Nunes alleges the social media giant did not remove defamatory and malicious tweets. Nunes says that those tweets are from real people and bogus accounts and the tweets carry Nunez and his family's name.

I want to read some of that suit to you that was filed. It says "Twitter knew the defamation was and is happening. Twitter let it happen because Twitter had and has a political agenda and motive. Twitter allowed and allows its platform to serve as a portal of defamation in order to undermine public confidence in plaintiff and to benefit his opponents and opponents of the Republican Party."

Now, Nunes goes on to allege that these tweets were an effort to distract him from doing his job with the investigation of potential corruption in the 2016 presidential election. "The purpose of the concerted defamation campaign was to cause immense pain, intimidate, interfere with, and divert Nunes' attention from his investigation of corruption and Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election."

And get this, Nunes is seeking $250 million. That number sounds large and it is. And guess what, it's the same number as Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann. Now, he's suing for defamation in his case the Kentucky Catholic high school student, you see him right there. He was plastered all over the headlines for a confrontation with the Native American man back in January.

We, of course, reached out to Twitter about this lawsuit. I just heard back from them within the last five minutes though. They say that they are not commenting on this case. But we did hear from Nunes' personal attorney. I want to read that statement. It says, "Twitter is a machine.  It is a modern-day Tammany Hall. Congressman Nunes intends to hold Twitter fully accountable for its abusive behavior and misconduct."

Now, right here, it says very clearly. Trial by jury is demanded. And Martha as you said, Devin Nunes not just talking about himself and his family but also talking about other conservatives that he says are under attack. Martha?

MACCALLUM: It's going to be interesting to watch. Thank you very much, David. Also breaking tonight, new information on the deadly shooting in the Netherlands leaving at least three people dead and several wounded after the Turkish-born suspect who is now in custody, you see him in the middle of the screen there, opened fire on a tram in the city of Utrecht.

Authorities say at this hour that the motive is "still unclear and terrorism is not off the table." Trace Gallagher is live tonight watching all of this that has -- that has unfolded this evening from our West Coast newsroom. Hey there, Trace!

TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi Martha! Witnesses on the tram gave contradictory statements. Some saying the suspect 37-year-old Gokmen Tanis was firing indiscriminately at passengers and others, believed he was targeting a woman. And when people tried to help that woman, he then fired at them.

Those on board also say because the conductor didn't immediately open the doors, they started kicking out windows and jumping out. But the gunman certainly didn't appear to be trying to hide his identity and there were numerous surveillance cameras. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FERDINAND GRAPPERHAUS, DUTCH JUSTICE MINISTER: We were able to very soon spot him to also connect him through a runaway car in which he had fled from the place of the assault.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: A surveillance photo of the suspect was then posted across the Netherlands and after an eight-hour manhunt, the suspect was arrested.  We're told Tanis does have a criminal history and is currently facing a rape charge. His associates say he appeared to be religious and had a history of strange behavior.

The mayor of Utrecht was very blunt saying this does appear to be terrorism but the prime minister of the Netherlands was more cautionary saying a link to terrorism has not been established and police later added that the motive could be a personal matter.

Still, the national coordinator for anti-terrorism did initially raise the terror threat level in Utrecht but it has now been lowered to the pre- attack level. The attack also happened in an area of Utrecht with a very large Muslim community.

There's no word if that plays a part but in the wake of the New Zealand attack and to play it safe, authorities in the Netherlands evacuated the mosques in Utrecht and increased security at mosques across the country. A second person has been arrested in connection with the attack. Police won't say what if any role that person may have had. Martha?

MACCALLUM: Trace, thank you very much. Coming up next, Bernie Sanders says when Americans get what Democratic Socialism actually is they're going to love it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, ANCHOR, CNN: How can any kind of socialist win a general election in the United States?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, I-VT.: Well, we're going to win because first, we're going to explain what Democratic Socialism is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: We have come a long way in the last four years. The American people have made it clear they are sick and tired of billionaires running our country. They want justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: That was Bernie Sanders on Saturday saying that the secret to success for him is to do a better job of explaining his vision for democratic socialism in America telling NPR "Obviously, my right-wing colleagues here want to paint that as authoritarianism and communism and Venezuela and that's nonsense. What I mean by Democratic Socialism is that I want a vibrant democracy.

Here now Jason Riley, Wall Street Journal Columnist and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, Jessica Tarlov Senior Director at Research at Bustle.com and a Fox News Contributor. Welcome to both of you. So is Democratic Socialism, Jessica, a vibrant democracy?

JESSICA TARLOV, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I guess so if Bernie says so. But he's really the only one and the only presidential candidate that's claiming that they, first of all, are a Democratic Socialist or continuing to pump up socialism. Elizabeth Warren, for instance, was asked about it and she said I'm absolutely a Democrat. We need a more just system of capitalism. That's the line that Beto O'Rourke used as well.

I know that the polling shows that younger Democrats are more partial to Socialism than in past generations that we've seen there, but he seems to really be the only one that's hanging on to that terminology. And he says I want to -- I need to better define Democratic Socialism and then he just repeats the word democracy. That's not a definition of Democratic Socialism.

MACCALLUM: Do you think he's going to go anywhere this time?

TARLOV: I think that he has an incredibly strong base. He obviously has huge fundraising capabilities. It will be easier for him to get through because there are so many people. It won't just be him versus Hillary.  But there are a lot of people with similar policy positions that are bringing a lot more on the table.

MACCALLUM: Yes. That's what I'm thinking about. I mean, he may call it different things but I think there's a lot of similarities in some of these --

JASON RILEY, COLUMNIST, WALL STREET JOURNAL: Yes, no matter how he wants to define it, what it boils down to is a bigger role for government, a more intrusive role for government, higher taxes and so forth. People know when they hear Democratic Socialism what he's talking about.

I think he's trying to appeal to the activists in his base and he's assuming that that is what Democrats more broadly and perhaps Independents also want to hear. But I'm not so sure, Martha. I think this is basically a center-right country. I think they've seen a faster economic growth and lower unemployment even among minorities from this president who is not moving toward socialism.

MACCALLUM: Here's Joe Biden over the weekend. And listen closely to this. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: I know I get criticized and totally gets criticized by the new left. I have the most progressive record of anybody running for the -- if anybody who would run.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: I didn't mean --

(CROWD CHEERING)

BIDEN: Did anybody who would run --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: What do you think of the slip, Jessica?

TARLOV: Well, there are two slips in there. So, there is the I'm running slip which we're all expecting him to announce soon that he is running for president and then there's the comment about having the most progressive record of anyone who is running or who would be running.

Which if you look at the votes that people have taken it's not the case that Joe Biden would be the most progressive candidate. And then you have a lot of people that are shaping any platform now we don't have as long of a history where people can be digging up clips of them, you know, from the 70s, from the 80s, and from the 90s to pin on them.

So, the slip, he is coming into the race which I think will be a great addition. And then we'll see how things shake out. And on the progressive point, I wouldn't be campaigning on that necessarily in that exact phrase.

MACCALLUM: The president chimed right in there, "Joe Biden got tongue tied over the weekend when he was unable to properly deliver a very simple line about his decision to run for president. Get used to it, another low I.Q. individual." Is the way that the president is beginning his branding work on Joe Biden, Jason?

RILEY: Well, I think among the candidates currently running, Joe Biden is one of them who could give Mr. Trump some trouble. I think he has the potential to win back some of those upper Midwest states, the Michigan's, the Ohio's, Pennsylvania's, Wisconsin's.

So, if you are going to go after someone in the field, I think the president is right to go after Joe Biden early, early and often.

MACCALLUM: Well, let's listen quickly to the Newark Mayor, Ras Baraka who is planning on testing universal basic income in Newark, New Jersey. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAS BARAKAD- NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: The city is currently exploring a pilot for universal basic income. We believe in universal basic. Martin Luther King believed in universal basic income, especially in a time where studies have shown that families that have a crisis of just $400 in a month may experience a setback that may be difficult even impossible for them to recover from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Four hundred dollars a month. Newark is in trouble.

RILEY: The problem is when you give able-bodied people were able to work money instead of not working, you're going to get more people who don't work. When he rewards unproductive behavior, you are going to get more unproductive behavior.

That's the lesson of the welfare expansion in the 1960s that we saw under the great society. And I don't see why this program would be any different at the end of the day.

MACCALLUM: Jess, quick thought.

TARLOV: I don't think that this is going to catch on. Andrew Yang I believe is the only Democratic hopeful who is pitching this. I think that a federal jobs guarantee will be more of a conversation on the left. That's something that Cory Booker has been talking about, Bernie Sanders has been talking about.

I'm interested to see the pilot goes just as a thought experiment. But my guess is that it's going to be very difficult.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Unemployment is so low right now.

TARLOV: Unemployment is low. But he is correct in pointing out how many families in this country are missing, you know, one paycheck missed away from calamity or one trip to the emergency room or you know, one child with special needs.

MACCALLUM: Quick because I got to go.

(CROSSTALK)

RILEY: But relieving people of any personal responsibility is not the solution, it's the problem.

MACCALLUM: Thanks, guys. All right. We'll continue. So, coming up next, he has been a Democratic candidate for about four days now. But Beto O'Rourke did a lot of apologizing already for his hacker past and what he calls his white privilege and even his parenting style.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. REP. BETO O'ROURKE, D- TEXAS: But I'll be much more thoughtful going forward in a way that I talk about our marriage and also the way in which I acknowledge the truth of the criticism that I have enjoyed white privilege.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Reuters is taking some heat tonight for sitting on a story during the 2018 Senate campaign between Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke. On Friday, the outlet publishing previously discovered information that Beto O'Rourke was a former member of the hacking group known as Cult of the Dead Cow, which I'm sure it you are all very familiar with.

But his campaign was not affected by this, folks. A record $6.1 million raised during the first 24 hours of the launch putting Beto ahead of all the other Democratic candidates on day one.

Kristin Fisher live in Washington tonight with more. Hi, Kristin.

KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Martha. Well, this was a quite a scoop by Reuters, a prominent presidential candidate's involvement in America's oldest hacking group. The problem is that the reporter that wrote it had known about it for over a year.

Joseph Menn says he sat on it because he struck a deal with members of that hacking group that you were talking about, Cult of the Dead Cow which he was writing a book about. They've confirmed O'Rourke's involvement in the group but only if Menn agree to hold the piece.

Reuters is now defending the deal as a common arrangement between journalist and sources, and apparently, the candidates himself. Quote, "In an interview in late 2017, O'Rourke acknowledged that he was a member of the group on the understanding that the information would not be made public until after his Senate race against Ted Cruz in November 2018."

Well Cruz responded by saying, "So Reuters had evidence in 2017 that Beto may have committed multiple felonies which Beto confirmed on the record but deliberately withheld the story for a year to help him win the Senate race? But when he is running against Bernie, et cetera, now it's news?"

Well, the group O'Rourke was a member of was responsible for things like hacking into computers and stealing credit card numbers. Though, the report says that O'Rourke never engaged in the, quote, "edgiest sort of hacking activity."

But he did contribute to the group's electronic magazine under the handle, "psychedelic warlord" including a fictional story that he wrote when he was 15 that involve running over children with a car.

And here's a clip -- or an excerpt of it. He wrote, "as I neared the young ones, I put all my weight on my right foot, keeping the accelerator pedal on the floor until I heard the crashing of the two children on the hood. And then the sharp cry of pain from one of the two. I was so fascinated for a moment, that when after I'd stopped my vehicle, I just sat in a daze, sweet visions filling my head."

Well, after the story resurfaced O'Rourke said "I'm mortified to read it now, incredibly embarrassed but I have to take ownership of my words. Whatever my attention was as a teenager doesn't matter, I have to look long and hard at my actions, at the actions I have used. And I have to constantly try to do better."

So, O'Rourke is acknowledging that it is really hateful stuff when he was writing. Those are his words. But he's asking everybody to remember that he was only 15 years old at that time that he wrote it, Martha.

MACCALLUM: That is a important fact. Kristin, thank you very much.

Joining me now, Ben Domenech, publisher of The Federalist. Ben, great to see you. Thanks for coming back tonight.

(CROSSTALK)

BEN DOMENECH, PUBLISHER, THE FEDERALIST: Good to be with you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Where to begin? OK, the hacking. Is that -- is it awful, is it bad, is it going to hurt him?

DOMENECH: Well, first off, it's very on brand for a gen X candidate for president to be a member of a hacking group. I think it really fits with us over all, skateboarding and punk rock sort of message.

But let's step back for a moment and recognize this. There was no candidate who the press was more in the tank for in 2018 than Beto O'Rourke. And the fact is that if his name was Bob and he had been running against somebody other than Ted Cruz that would just not have been the case.

The fact is that everyone who was really part of the media in that state, profile after profile glowingly portraying of this as a guy who collected all the right vine, knew all the hip things and was totally engaged in, you know, in culture and that kind of thing.

And now that he is actually up against a couple of other Democrats in a race for the presidency, the standard is different. Now these early fund- raising numbers they are impressive, but to me, the real question is can this cult a personality around Beto O'Rourke survive the test that are going to come with running for president. Particularly in a moment when the Democratic base seems to be a lot more engaged in identity politics, intersectionality and the like. And a lot are more skeptical of maybe nominating another white guy.

MACCALLUM: Here's what he said about his wife and his family that got blowback. Let's see what you think. Play this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'ROURKE: I just got a call from my wife Amy who's back in El Paso, Texas, where she is raising sometimes with my help, Ulysses who is 12 years old, Molly who is 10, and their little brother Henry who is eight years old.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So, he got some heat for saying, you know, occasionally sometimes with my help. So, then he comes out and he says this. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'ROURKE: Not only will I'll not say that again, but I'll be much more thoughtful going forward in a way that I talk about our marriage and also the way in which I acknowledge the truth of the criticism that I have enjoyed white privilege.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOMENECH: Look, --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Unpack all that, Ben.

DOMENECH: Martha, I think he was trying to be self-deprecating, first of all when he was --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Absolutely. The initial comment is harmless.

DOMENECH: Yes. But again, this is just the line that everybody has to tread on now within the Democratic field. You know, CNN the other day after he announced used -- pointed out that he was a white male 52 separate times in one day. OK? And this is going to be I think a real aspect of this race. Do you want something that's forward-looking and does that require, you know, sort of more diversity and more wokeness on the part of the candidate? You know, Beto O'Rourke --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: He said it's a disadvantage.

DOMENECH: He does say it's a disadvantage. And I think that, you know, to a certain extent, you know, we saw the dynamic that played out with Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio in 2016. This could be a similar situation with O'Rourke and Joe Biden. Competing for kind of centrist lane in a time when people may want something very different.

MACCALLUM: Neither one of them got the nomination.

DOMENECH: No. We know how that turned out, Martha.

MACCALLUM: So, who's that person?

DOMENECH: That's the big question.

MACCALLUM: Who was the Donald Trump equivalent --

DOMENECH: That's the big question.

MACCALLUM: -- to bust it all up?

DOMENECH: And I think that that's going to end up being someone who may end up challenging a lot of the assumptions that are reigned in establishment Democratic quarters about what they want in a candidate for the general.

MACCALLUM: Interesting. And he said, you know, that he would definitely put a woman on the ticket.

DOMENECH: Yes.

MACCALLUM: So, he is trying to make it very clear that it will be a diverse ticket no matter what.

DOMENECH: He's trying hard early on. I'm not sure that's going to be enough for him.

MACCALLUM: Ben, thank you very much.

DOMENECH: Good to be with you.

MACCALLUM: Good to see you tonight.

So, a 24-year-old construction worker from New Jersey is now accused of crossing the river to kill reputed Gambino family mob boss Franky Boy Cali. Not a wise move. This is not the sopranos, this is a real story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Alleged mob boss killer Anthony Comello appearing today in New Jersey court room. He faces murder charges in the death of Gambino family boss Franky Boy Cali who was shot and run over outside his New York home last week. And tonight, there are new details about a possible motive.

For that we turn once again to Trace Gallagher in our West Coast newsroom. Hey, Trace.

GALLAGHER: Hey, Martha. Authorities have not confirmed the Gambino crime family has posted a bounty on the back of 24- year-old Anthony Comello, but one source told our corporate cousin New York Post that the general feeling is there is an axe on this guy's back.

Police say last Wednesday Comello drove his truck to Frank Cali's Staten Island home and used it to ram Cali's Cadillac Escalade and when the mob boss came out to see what happened, police say Comello shot him 10 times and drove over his body.

Investigators do not believe the killing was related to organized crime, there's been speculation it was revenge for Frank Cali not allowing Comello to date his niece. But police don't have the evidence to support that.

Anthony Comello was arrested at his parent's waterfront home in Brick Township, New Jersey. In court you could see pro-Trump, pro-conservative and other writings on his hand. And because he waved extradition, he'll be brought back to stand trial in New York.

Meanwhile, experts say for his own safety he will likely be placed in segregation at the Staten Island jail. Those who cover organized crime say Comello's real threat will come once he arrives in state prison, which is where they believe Frank Cali's cronies will try to avenge his death.

Even a high-ranking member of the NYPD told the New York Post that, quote, "Comello is going to have some issues in jail."

The last time a mafia don was murdered in New York was 1985 when Paul Castellano was gunned down outside of spark steak house in Midtown Manhattan. The hit was thought to have been ordered by John Gotti who then became head of the Gambino family.

In 1992, Gotti's right-hand man, Sammy the Bull Gravano testified against him and sent him to prison for life. John Gotti died in 2002 of cancer. Martha?

MACCALLUM: Who can forget that whole story. Trace, thank you very much.

So last track, Lori Loughlin's girls are still enrolled at USC. But is he crazy admission scandal overturns more rocks, are lots of parents making some big mistakes?

Rachel Campos-Duffy here on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: So, this big college admission scandal is the ultimate in the helicopter parenting of course, the kind that can actually put you in jail. But a new poll shows that there are lesser offenses that may also be damaging for your kids.

It's surveyed parents of 18 to 28-year-olds and found that 76 percent reminded their adult children of deadlines that they needed to meet including school work, 74 percent made appointment for them including doctor's appointments, and 15 percent of parents with children in college had texted or called them to wake them up so they didn't sleep through a class or a test.

Here now Fox News contributor Rachel Campos-Duffy who is mother of eight upstaging all of us. I have three. So, I might be slightly guilty of a couple of things on this list once or twice.

RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.

MACCALLUM: To me there is a big difference between 18 and 28.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Sure.

MACCALLUM: But what you think of what's on that list so far, Rachel?

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Well, bad. But let me just say this. You know, helicopter parenting, you mentioned that, that's so passe, Martha. We're now on to what we are calling snowplow parents or lawn mower parenting where they just sort of plow out all the obstacles, and that's really the problem.

Because we all want to help our kids out, but when you clear out all of the obstacles you really robbed the child of any opportunity to experience, you know, what it's like to fall down and get back up.

We talked about this a little this weekend on Fox & Friends weekend when I was hosting and we had a viewer right in and say, I think we should be tow truck parents where we let them go into the ditch and then we are there to help them, you know, help pull them out when they are in trouble.

And what we are also seeing, Martha, is a lot of psychologists are warning us of the really deep results of this. They are seeing kids or young adults in their late 20s on getting into deep depression and anxiety, just for facing the everyday struggles that we all face, because they are facing them for the first time in their late 20s and early 30s. That's when we know that we are doing a really bad job.

MACCALLUM: It's a great point, one more step from that. Eleven percent of parents with adult children would call their child's employer if he or she had an issue at work. I mean, that one I can't -- I can't believe that 11 percent of these parents, 18 to 28 --

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Yes.

MACCALLUM: -- would pick up the phone and say -- excuse me, to the employer.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: And they are calling prof -- and they're calling the kids' professors when their grades aren't --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: No, we can't do that.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: -- what they expected. Can I just say one last thing, Martha? Because I think it's really important. My mommy motto, I have a mommy motto. It's, help me simplify parenting has always been, I tell this to my kids all the time.

My job isn't to help you -- my job is to help you get into heaven, not Harvard. And I think if we all took that as the basis of parenting, we probably wouldn't see a lot of the scandals. Raising good, kind kids is really what it's about. Not all these fake achievements and over parenting that in the end end up hurting them.

MACCALLUM: It's a great point. And according to this latest scandal, you know, living a good life is free. And getting your job into Harvard --

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Yes.

MACCALLUM: -- could cost half a million dollars in some of these cases. You know, I just want to get circle back on one thing.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Sure.

MACCALLUM: You know, this issue of the depression and anxiety, because, you know, we are joking about some of these things, but that's a very serious issue.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Yes.

MACCALLUM: And there is a lot I think of factors that are going into that for these young people. You know, what's your advice to parents on that, Rachel?

CAMPOS-DUFFY: You know, again, I think that helping kids manage problems when they're small, you know. It's just -- you know, not always doing everything for them, reminding them of everything, even when they are little when they are in elementary school.

And you know, if they are late to the game and the coach doesn't let them play --

MACCALLUM: Right.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: -- don't defend the kid, he was late to the game. All those little experiences build character and help them learn lessons.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: And then when they grow up and leave the nest, which is ultimately what we are supposed to do as parents, is help our kids fly. They are not encountering it for the first time and wondering what the heck happened.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Yes. No, it's a great point. And also like, you know, that it's OK to get in trouble. Like, if you are late, you know, you're going to survive that.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Yes.

MACCALLUM: You're late you're going to sit on the bench for the game or you are going to, you know, run around the field 10 times, but the coach will get past it, you know. I think so often they just feel like they can't do anything wrong. And that getting in trouble --

CAMPOS-DUFFY: So true.

MACCALLUM: -- is going to be so devastating. And it isn't. Life goes on.

Rachel Campos-Duffy --

(CROSSTALK)

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Life goes on.

MACCALLUM: -- expert mother of eight. Thank you very much.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Thanks, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Good to see you. So that is "The Story" on this Monday night, but "The Story" goes on, as you know, and we join you back here tomorrow night.  So be here for that. And don't forget to download the newest episode -- which is one of my favorites -- of the Untold Story podcast.

This is writer Sohrab Ahmari who tells us about his journey from life under the Iranian regime to becoming Catholic. It is a fascinating story. So, check it out. We will see you back here tomorrow night at 7 o'clock. Our friend Tucker Carlson is about to take over in Washington, D.C. Have a great night everybody. We will see you back here tomorrow. 
 
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