This is a rush transcript from "The Story with Martha MacCallum," May 26, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Hey, Martha.

MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Hello there, Bret. Good to see you tonight. Hello, everybody. So, here is the question for you this evening. Has the American bounced back begun?

Good evening, everybody. I'm Martha MacCallum and this is THE STORY tonight. After 9/11, the stock market was closed for four days. During the pandemic, trading has been open, although some thought that it should have closed for a time, it did not. But today, two months later, traders return to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. And as the lockdowns unlock one-by-one across most of the country and The Wall Street Journal writes that the worst may be behind us. Let's hope so. The markets took off on that news. And, of course, the President took notice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They're making very good progress on the economy. The numbers are better than anybody would have anticipated. And certainly, I think that's been reflected in the stock market, which had a very big day.

We call it the transition to greatness; I mean it really is. We're going to have a third quarter that's going to be good. We're going to have a fourth quarter that has the potential to be really good. And we're going to have the best year, one of the best years we've ever had next year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So, the Wall Street Journal writing today, truckloads are growing again, air travel and hotel bookings are up slightly. Mortgage applications are rising, and people are applying to open new businesses. These are among the early signs that the United States economy is ever so slowly, they write, creeping back to life.

White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro is here in moments. We'll talk to him about that and also get some clarity on the new remarks this evening from the President with regard to China.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us what you plan to do regarding sanctions against China for its pending actions against Hong Kong?

TRUMP: Your questions early. We're doing it now. We're doing something now. I think you'll find it very interesting, but I won't be talking about it today. I'll be talking about it over the next couple of days. Something you're going to be hearing about over the next before the end of the week. Very powerfully, I think.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Brit Hume also here this evening on the mask controversy that ensued after his tweet about Joe Biden's first public appearance since March. Also, the new Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, weighs his first big question to release or not to release the transcripts of the phone calls between General Flynn and Ambassador Kislyak. KT McFarland was there at the time in the West Wing. And she'll be here tonight.

Also, tonight, the President of Purdue University, Mitch Daniels, on why he says that he would be failing in his duty as a campus president if he did not reopen this fall.

But we begin tonight with White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro, who joins us from the White House. Peter, great to have you with us.

PETER NAVARRO, WHITE HOUSE TRADE ADVISER: Hey, Martha.

MACCALLUM: You saw some of those statistics and the numbers. Hey there. That we put in the intro. So, given what you are seeing, do you believe that the bottom has been reached?

NAVARRO: Without question. Remember that we stopped the car, we put the brakes on, and we did that to save lives. We learned a lot through that experience. And we're ready to go now and this economy is blossoming back up. And I think you're going to see in the next few months a lot of good things happening.

My focus, Martha, is on making sure that a lot of the new jobs that get created, or the ones in manufacturing, because those are going to be the ones that ultimately propel us through this crisis.

MACCALLUM: Yes, I do want to talk to you about that, because I think it's something that is so much on the minds of Americans who have watched too much of our manufacturing go to China. And given the situation that is underway, that needs a rethink.

But I just want to pop up this consumer confidence number for me, which was a surprise to the upside. And then you've got today, the U.S. stock market performing really well in the neighborhood of 25,000 once again.

Now, there's some folks who look at that. And, you know, the consumer confidence number is coming off of a pretty steep low. But the stock market, some think, is hyper inflated that to rebound when we are going to continue to have some economic troubles and some jobs that won't come back is a bit overly optimistic. What do you say to them?

NAVARRO: Well, there's a lot of things going on, forecasting in the stock market used to be my stock and trade. And basically, what the stock market is, is a look forward to a future stream of expected earnings. And as we're getting back to work, things are looking much better in that regard. There's also the practical matter of close to $10 trillion of fiscal and monetary stimulus coursing through the veins of the American economy.

Certainly, some of that is finding that way in the stock market. But what this President cares about and what I care about is not Wall Street. It's Main Street. And what I see basically, as we open up this economy, we're going to have to do it gradually because of the social distancing. But we are going to be doing that. And I think that - what matters here is trends. And we basically crash to a stop and now I think what you're going to see is a steady trend upward.

And again, what's going to be important here is making sure that we manufacture things here, because that's the only way we're going to be able to have the kind of medicines and protective equipment we need, but also the kind of jobs we need. So that's kind of my focus. We've got to have both the assembly plants here for whatever it is and the supply chains. And that's part of President Trump's strategy to - this transition back to greatness.

MACCALLUM: Understood. Yes, we saw that flow deal last week. We'll see what else is coming in that regard. This is a quote from David Graham at The Atlantic. He says, transition to greatness, which is what we heard the President call what he hopes we're seeing now, he says, is a confession of failure, a corporate style euphemism that tries to spin a collapse as a success, replacing the ambition of 2016 with the one incrementalism of 2020. You're laughing.

NAVARRO: These folks are relentless. Look, President Trump built the most beautiful, strongest economy in three and a half years. China, the Chinese Communist Party took that down by sticking us with a virus in a pandemic. And if anybody doesn't think President Trump can do this again in terms of rebuilding the economy, they didn't look at the first three, three and a half years. So, transition to greatness, we'll get there.

MACCALLUM: Well, let me ask you this. From a political perspective, the Biden campaign is beginning to make the argument that the mistakes that were made by the Trump administration led to this economic devastation, that the crisis of the pandemic would not have been as bad as it has become if it weren't for some of the things that happened from this White House. So, that's the argument that they're going to make and that that led to the shutdown of the economy and economic devastation. What will be your answer for that, Mr. Navarro?

NAVARRO: To Brother Joe, I guess he forgot the eight years he there - was toadying up and kowtowing to the Chinese. And of course, he's not going to basically hold China accountable for this pandemic. This is what astonishes me. The evidence, Martha, is overwhelming that the Chinese Communist Party foisted this pandemic on the world, destroyed trillions of dollars of wealth, and they killed close to 100,000 Americans so far.

If Joe Biden wants to blame President Trump for that and not even talk about China, that's perfectly consistent with the kowtowing he did for eight years as Vice President and 30 years when he was up on Capitol Hill. And that's not going to stand, have at it, Joe, we're coming at you on China, if you're going to pull that kind of stuff.

MACCALLUM: Let me ask you this, the President teased that today. He said, we're going to have some announcements on China coming later this week. Does that look like sanctions? Does that look like audits of Chinese companies and trade on the New York Stock Exchange? What does that look like, Peter?

NAVARRO: Now, Martha, you know, if the President says, I'm going to be talking about that this week, the last thing his trade adviser is going to do is try to steal his thunder. All I can tell you--

MACCALLUM: You think that could lead to an uncomfortable conversation when you go to work tomorrow.

NAVARRO: That would indeed. But I can tell you is what the Chinese Communist Party is trying to do with Hong Kong is take away their promised freedoms 30 years earlier and do what they did with the people in Xinjiang in Tibet, put them in concentration camps. And so, what we have here is a choice by the Chinese Communist Party if they want to end.

Hong Kong is the financial capital of Asia. Then they will go ahead with this crazy insanity of basically trying to basically grind with their jackboots, the people of Hong Kong into the dirt. And it's their choice, not ours. If they make that choice, I think the world is going to react in a way just like they did with Tiananmen Square.

MACCALLUM: Those are strong words.

NAVARRO: Well--

MACCALLUM: How does the relationship change with Taiwan, given what happened with China? Peter, before I let you go, how does the relationship change? Is it stronger now with Taiwan? How we're looking at Taiwan?

NAVARRO: That one is way above my pay grade. I leave Secretary Pompeo, Robert O'Brien, and the President to talk about that. All I can tell you, Martha, is right now, it's important for America is to make it here. If we've learned anything from this crisis is that we don't want to be dependent, particularly on China. But even the rest of the world during a pandemic, it has to be made here--

MACCALLUM: But let me ask you something about that Peter.

NAVARRO: Sure.

MACCALLUM: So, what do you say to pharmaceutical companies? Because, there's a lot of them that get very quiet on this topic because it is much cheaper--

NAVARRO: You noticed.

MACCALLUM: For them to make what they make in China. OK. So, how you know - everyone wants this, I think. There is a lot of momentum behind it, but I think that a lot of us would be surprised, happily surprised if it actually happens. What are you saying to those pharmaceutical companies?

NAVARRO: I love that question, Martha, because I think one of the epiphanies that Americans have to have and that President Trump learned 30 years ago is that these multi-national corporations, whether it's pharma or aircraft or automobiles or whatever it is, they tend to want to operate like the Vatican and kind of run their own foreign policy and chase the bottom-line.

What this President's about, what we're here about at the White House is American jobs for the American people. And these pharma companies need to get that memo. And they need to be Americans first, if they operate here. And so that's the discussion we'll be having it. And those supply chains. I mean, from a pure risk point of view, Martha, from a pure risk.

MACCALLUM: Well if that's going to--

NAVARRO: Labor. It's too risky to put your supply chains out there. Full stop. Too risky.

MACCALLUM: I hear you. I'm going to be watching that closely because I think there's going to be some interesting wrestling matches over that in the future.

NAVARRO: Indeed.

MACCALLUM: Peter, thank you. Good to see you tonight.

NAVARRO: Always pleasure to talk to you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: You too. Joining me now is Jason Wu, Taiwan's Minister of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Wu, thank you so much, Minister Wu, for being here this evening. It's good to have you with us. What is your reaction when you hear the President say that there may be some tougher stances towards China coming even at the end of this week in terms of sanctions or possibly in terms of audits being done of Chinese companies here in the United States?

JOSEPH WU, TAIWAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Well, the Chinese government is about to do to Hong Kong, legislating its national security law, is something that the whole international community has been watching very closely. And I for respect of what the United States is ready to do against China in order to save and protect Hong Kong's freedom and democracy.

And I think Taiwan is also trying to do the same. We have been watching very carefully and we also are telling China that don't do it. And we are telling China that what they promised 30 years ago, freedom and democracy in Hong Kong should be honored. And we want to support Hong Kong the way we can so that Hong Kong can continue to stay free and prosperous.

MACCALLUM: China is taking advantage of this moment when everybody is so focused on COVID-19 in their own countries?

WU: Yes, that's what appears, when everybody is getting very busy in dealing with pandemic. And the Chinese government seem to be trying to expand and trying to take actions in many places around the world. Look at South China Sea. China seems to be gearing up its military actions over there. China is also putting pressure on Taiwan. China is also taking up some actions in the East China Sea.

It's also trying to impose some restrictions on other countries, especially in the Western Hemisphere, not to deal with Taiwan. And look at what they are trying to do to Hong Kong right now. And I think that it's quite obvious that the Chinese government is trying to take advantage of the situation that everybody is busy.

But I think we need to stay vigilant and we are staying vigilant. If Hong Kong falls or if the Chinese government imposed a national security, the legislation on Hong Kong, we don't know what is going to happen next. It might be Taiwan and we are staying very cautious on this issue and we try to protect ourselves.

MACCALLUM: Do you think that it's possible that China makes a military move against Hong Kong or Taiwan during this period?

WU: What the Chinese government is trying to do is to impose its own rule on Hong Kong, even though the Chinese government promised Hong Kong a one country, two systems, and the system in Hong Kong will not change in 50 years. But what they are trying to do is fully taking over Hong Kong's administration. And we are also concerned that China might take some military action against Taiwan. That's what I said all along.

When the Chinese government is facing crisis domestically, the best way forward is to find a scapegoat outside. And Taiwan can be a very easy scapegoat for China. And we are watching very carefully. And of course, we don't want China to think that Taiwan is so vulnerable that they can take over Taiwan very shortly by military means.

So, we're trying to get the support from the United States and from around the world diplomatically. And at the same time, we are trying to beef up our own defense capabilities so that China will be deterred.

MACCALLUM: Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu. Thank you. Good to have you back on the program, sir. We appreciate it.

WU: Thank you, Martha. Thank you. Goodnight.

MACCALLUM: Coming up, Brit Hume is here to respond to the backlash over this tweet of Joe Biden in a facemask and the frenzy that followed after it was retweeted then by President Trump. He's next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Biden can wear a mask, but he was standing outside with his wife. Perfect conditions, perfect weather. They're inside. They don't wear masks. And so, I thought it was very unusual that he had one on. But I thought that was fine. I wasn't criticizing him at all. Why would I ever do a thing like that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: So, Surgeon General Jerome Adams urging Americans to continue covering their faces in public. Just as this image is going viral online, showing President Trump and Joe Biden both taking part in separate Memorial Day services yesterday. As you can see clearly, one side is masked. The other side is not.

The President's decision not to wear a mask has prompted some outrage in some corners and praise from others. But this contrast between these two photos prompted our Brit Hume to tweet this image with the caption. This might help explain why Trump doesn't like to wear a mask in public. The President later retweeted that post, fueling some backlash like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're either in shutdown mode or you're ready to reopen the country. You're either weak or you're strong. That is the absurd dichotomy that is presented about wearing the mask.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Criticism that Donald Trump amplified yesterday seemed to be that it didn't look cool on Joe Biden. Is that really where we are? That it doesn't look good to wear a mask?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Fox News Senior Political Analyst Brit Hume joins me now. Brit, good to have you with us this evening. So, what point were you trying to make with your tweet?

BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Martha. Well, Biden, like anybody else wearing a mask, look ridiculous. And the mask that he had on with his black sunglasses, it seems to me, made him look especially ridiculous. And added to that is this Martha that he's outside at a war memorial. He is with his wife, with whom he's been quarantined for, what, 10 weeks? Something like that. Nine weeks.

He's not a COVID carrier. So, the idea you're wearing a mask to protect someone else doesn't seem to apply here, especially the fact that he's outdoors, where there's very little empirical data indicating that the virus spreads very easily outdoors. In addition to that, if you look at all the other video of the event, he said, well, out of six foot range for nearly everybody he comes in contact with, and you really don't get it by simply passing somebody. I mean, that's not or somebody opens a door for you. So, I mean, he didn't really need to be wearing mask.

MACCALLUM: So, it's interesting because the White House is sending out, I think, some mixed messages here, because you have the Surgeon General saying when you go outside, please wear a face covering and then demonstrating how to do that. Then you have Dr. Deborah Birx, and I think this is sort of the fine print that no one ever brings up. She says if you can't social distance when you're outside.

HUME: Exactly.

MACCALLUM: Wear a mask.

HUME: Exactly. That's right.

MACCALLUM: That's the line that no one ever talks about.

HUME: No. But, I mean, look, it's amazing to me that this issue of whether it's a mask or not mask has become this huge flash point and it's breaking down on the same line that every controversy around this whole COVID-19 outbreak has broken down. And that is, it's largely political. People who tend to be conservative and or support Donald Trump tend to think that the danger of this outbreak has been overblown and people who think it's absolutely terrifying. And that we all might likely to die. I think are tend to be people who do not support Mr. Trump and are not conservatives.

And that's just the way it goes. And it's remarkable because, you know, there's a lot of hard data out there that one can look up and read that will tell you that, you know, you look at the models, for example, that had so much to do with the imposition of this lockdown. And they've all blown up because they were wildly off base and exaggerated everything. So, that's kind of where we are.

MACCALLUM: All right. So, here's Joe Biden. He was asked about why he wore the mask today when he was in an interview. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I think you've got to supposed to lead by example. And I watched the President yesterday wearing no mask, you know. And so, I'm making fun of the fact I wore a mask. The truth of the matter is that I think he's supposed to lead by example.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Supposed to lead by example, Brit.

HUME: Well, you can argue that, but I don't think it makes much of an example to wear a mask where in a situation where nearly all the data we have indicated that it's not necessary. And on top of that, it looks absurd. And, of course, you know, as vintage Donald Trump is, I mean, think of what he goes through every day to prepare himself to be seen. You know, he goes to this whole ritual with his hair, he sprays it into submission, and he's got it all combed up in a certain way so that it covers his forehead. He's obviously very, very concerned about his appearance. A lot of people don't think he has very good taste.

But this is the way he wants to look, and he cares a lot about it and doesn't like to look at any other way. And I think, you know, he put on that mask out at that plant without in Michigan or wherever it was the other day. And I don't think he'd like the way it looked on him. And I think he looks - when he looks at that picture of Joe Biden, he thinks Biden looks ridiculous and he kind of does. And he didn't want to look that way.

And in fact, the fact that he retweeted that tweet of mine, which I certainly I didn't expect, suggests that he agrees with what I said. This is why he won't wear a mask. He doesn't want to look funny.

MACCALLUM: I mean I just think people need to read the guidance. And granted, the guidance has been all over the place. I mean, in the beginning, they said you don't need a mask because they were trying to protect the masks for the people on the front lines who needed them. So, no one needed one. Then they came out and said, yes, you do, but nobody paid attention to the fine print that says that if you are not able to keep a social distance, then you need a mask.

But then you have this quote from this guy in Alabama, a beachgoer who basically said, you know, that Trump was setting the tone for people who are big supporters of his to ignore the Surgeon General's recommendation. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, if he's not wearing a mask, I'm not going to wear a mask. If he's not wearing. I'm not wearing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Yes, very little social distance between the bathing suit people on that beach, Brit.

HUME: Well, yes, that's right, Martha. But remember this also and I mentioned this earlier. If you're outdoors, all the evidence we have suggests that the virus doesn't transmit very effectively outdoors, that it doesn't live very long in sunlight.

MACCALLUM: That is true.

HUME: And the open air, it doesn't travel very far. It doesn't do very well. So, you combine outdoor social distancing and the fact that in the case of Biden, he quarantined for weeks and weeks. You don't have a formula for his being a transmitter and therefore you don't have a case where his wearing a mask.

Trump, it seems to me, was outdoors yesterday. And look at, you know, I think when he's indoors at a factory or somewhere, it might be a good idea for him to wear a mask. But he doesn't. But outdoors yesterday or on the golf course, I don't think he needs one.

MACCALLUM: Well, Dr. Fauci said, when he goes for his run, he doesn't wear one outside because he doesn't feel like it's necessary and he keeps his distance from everybody, which seems to be a pretty good rule of thumb. This is a huge political issue. The mask thing has become--

HUME: Amazing.

MACCALLUM: Very politically obviously. It is incredible. Brit, thank you very much. Always good to see you.

HUME: You bet, Martha. Thank you.

MACCALLUM: Take care. So, tonight, we could be getting closer, I guess, to finally seeing what was said on the phone calls between these two gentlemen, General Michael Flynn and Russian Ambassador Kislyak, because we've been so much talk about this phone call, except nobody has actually seen what was said on the phone call. But now we might. KT McFarland was there at the time in the White House serving under Flynn. And she spoke to him a lot about all of this. So, she's up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Ever since General Flynn was scrutinized and ultimately fired for matters related to his phone calls with the Russian ambassador, one small element of the story has been missing in a big way. What exactly did he and the ambassador say to each other on that phone call about sanctions being lifted, or perhaps about reactions to the expelling of diplomats, being tempered.

And while we have seen many new documents in this case, we still haven't seen the transcript of the actual calls. Do those transcripts exist? It appears that they do and that now we may be one step closer to getting a look at them.

In a final move by acting spy chief Richard Grenell, he'd declassify those transcripts along with additional Russia investigation document, so now it is up to President Trump's newly minted Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to decide whether or not he will make those public. Here's President Trump on that matter. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you prepared to release the transcripts of the Flynn/Kislyak conversations?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Yes, I'd like to hear it, too. I mean, I'd like to hear, the FBI agent now said that he didn't lie. So, I would like to hear that conversation, yes, I would like to hear it personally, so whatever they want me to do I'll do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Joining me now, K.T. McFarland who served to General Flynn's deputy on the National Security Council. She's the author of "Revolution: Trump Washington and We, The People." K.T., good evening to you. Do you think that the new DNI, Ratcliffe, will release the transcript of phone calls? There were a handful of them.

K.T. MCFARLAND, FORMER DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, there were really a handful of them because they were -- supposedly five on that one day but they really weren't. Because General Flynn who is in the Dominican Republic on vacation, he had a really hard time making the calls.

So, I think there was really only one important call that actually got through. And so, the second, yes, I hope he releases these calls. This one phone call has been the excuse that the Obama administration that the intelligence chiefs, that the media had used as a sort of fulcrum of the whole Russia probe which I think was a total fraud from the beginning.

And if we find out what's in that transcript, we'll let the American people decide. I've never seen that transcript. I talked to General Flynn right before he talked to the Russian ambassador and right afterwards but, I, unlike several Washington Post journalists, I've had never seen a transcript of it.

MACCALLUM: Do you think these journalists actually saw a transcript or that they were just told what the transcript said?

MCFARLAND: Well, when I was in the White House we got a phone call from the Washington Post. General Flynn was still on his job, I was in mine, and the Washington Post reporter said that they either had a transcript or read a transcript of General Flynn's phone call with the Russian ambassador and it said doesn't saw.

Now did they possess a physical transcript? I don't know. But they certainly seem to have information, at least selective information about what was discussed on that phone call.

MACCALLUM: Well, I mean, I think it's interesting that all sides, Sidney Powell (Ph) on this program last night, she wanted to -- she wants them released.

MCFARLAND: Yes.

MACCALLUM: The other side wants them released. Everybody believes that they will speak to their side of the story.

Here is a letter that Richard Grenell who was the acting DNI, as we know, sent this to Senator Mark Warner as sort of a parting shot as he is leaving his position.

"My declassification determination was made in the interest of full transparency. Given serious unanswered questions about the potential misuse of intelligence for partisan purposes following the 2016 election. Cherry picking certain documents for release while attacking the release of others that don't fit your political narrative, is part of the problem the American people have with Washington, D.C. politicians."

What do you think about that?

MCFARLAND: I think he's right. You know, something that's happened in the Trump administration that I've never seen the extent of this is the anonymous source. Now the anonymous source probably fed from the intelligence community in this case, they are spinning and selecting and they're presenting their own narrative, and none of us have any ability to know what's true and what's not true.

So not only should the phone call transcript between General Flynn and the Russian ambassador be released, let's see the whole thing. I mean, let's really see. Was there any reason to launch the entire Russia hoax, was there any reason to keep the American people and President Trump at locker heads with each other for these three years? I don't think there ever was.

I talked to General Flynn right before the call, we discussed what he might say to the Russian ambassador, I talked to him right after, there was nothing wrong with his phone call. It was absolutely on the up and up. And yet the Mueller investigation and all the various congressional Russia probes, they all pointed to that as something really sinister. Really? Well let's see what they said to each other and let's see what everybody else was saying, too.

MACCALLUM: Yes. Well, you know, I can't help but wonder, I think back to the phone call that the president had with the president, the incoming president of Ukraine or the newly minted president of Ukraine. Right? Let's put the phone call out.

MCFARLAND: Yes.

MACCALLUM: So, they with the phone call out and the president said it's perfect, the other side said that it's not perfect. And everybody sort of, does the same thing even once they get the transcript, sort of look at things in a very different way and I just wonder if this call --

MCFARLAND: Yes.

MACCALLUM: -- does come out if that is exactly what will happen again.

MCFARLAND: It probably will. But the reason the Democrats have seized on that the call was a bad call, was because they accused President Trump through me to General Flynn to the Russian ambassador of trying to somehow cut a deal, to somehow undo the sanctions that President Obama had put down.

I think you're going to find out that there was no deal cut. There was certainly President Trump didn't tell them to direct Flynn to talk to the Russian ambassador in that way. So, there was no there there.

Now will other people say well, yes, maybe, I suppose. You know, you can't talk about anything in Washington. The weather face mask, everything is a political lightning rod.

MACCALLUM: That's for sure. K.T., always good to see you. Thank you very much.

MCFARLAND: Thank you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: So, Purdue University's president, Mitch Daniels says it would be a failure to take on -- if he didn't take on the job of reopening. It would be seen as not only unscientific but as an unacceptable breach of his duty. His thoughtful plan to safely bring students back to campus, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The schools are going to be open. I was seeing the other day Purdue, great school, great college and university. And Purdue is opening and others are opening and they are all announcing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I watched a very good governor, former governor of Indiana, proceeding -- he proceeded Mike Pence, a good governor. And he is the head of Purdue. It's a great school. And I saw him the other day he wants to go back, he's going back, Purdue. Big school. fantastic. They are going back. We have to go back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: My next guest receiving some praise from President Trump during our town hall for his decision to open his campus in the fall, justifying that move by saying this. Quote, "failing to reopen Purdue University would be an unacceptable breach of duty given that COVID-19," quote, "poses a near zero risk to young people."

This comes as colleges and universities across the nation wrap up their unusual semesters with virtual commencement ceremonies and both parents and students anxiously waiting to find out what they will be doing come the end of August or the beginning of September.

So, joining me now, glad to have with us president of Purdue University and former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. Good to see you, sir. Thank you for being here.

What did you mean when you said that a failure to reopen would be unscientific and a breach of your duty?

MITCH DANIELS, PRESIDENT, PURDUE UNIVERSITY: It would be unscientific, Martha, because we've learned, and we didn't know this, in fairness, two or three months ago. We've learned that the survival rate and the fallacy danger to young people who make up more than 80 percent of our campus community is near zero.

On the list of risks which sadly are always present on our campus, car wrecks and other accidents, cancer and heart disease and others dramatically, statistically outrank this new virus. So that was the starting point.

When I said it was a duty, what I meant was that at least in our case and we don't assert that our situation is instructed for anybody else, but in our case we got 40 plus thousand young people who have indicated that they want to be on our campus.

They sent money and deposits in record numbers. And for us to say we're just not up to this, we can't figure out how to protect those who are vulnerable, so you all take a year off or find another option we believe would not be to live up to our assignment and our duty.

MACCALLUM: Yes. So, you've suggested that you are going to have mandatory mask wearing in class, and is that all over campus or just in class? We have a very active discussion about this issue earlier tonight. So, what's it's going to look like on Purdue campus?

DANIELS: The mandatory indoors and in any close quarters space which theoretically could involve some outdoor spaces. Now this will be one of literally dozens of things we do. We are going to make dramatic transformations of the density in our classrooms in our work spaces and in our living spaces.

We will make a lot of other physical changes and everything from HVAC enhancements and Plexiglas in our classrooms. We will -- we will limit the occupancy to 50 percent or less of what it has been, there will be a minimum of 10 feet usually more distance between the nearest student and the faculty member who will be behind the Plexiglas screen.

And I'm just giving you a few of illustrations, but in those classrooms --

MACCALLUM: Yes.

DANIELS: -- the students will wear a mask because we do know that that alone is a dramatic reducer of transmission.

MACCALLUM: What if they -- we've seen some people take a stand on this. So, what happens if a student says I'm not going to wear a mask in my class? I don't have to and I don't want to.

DANIELS: We got a lot of rules. We'll do the same thing we do if they are drunk in public. We will probably give them a second chance but it will go on the record and if they are defiant about it well, at our school at least, we don't -- we don't tolerate repeated rules violations, and we ask them to depart.

MACCALLUM: OK. There is an interesting poll that shows that 18 percent of teachers say that they are not likely to return to teaching. And 69 percent say that they will.

You were given some criticism recently for sounding, you know, somewhat unsympathetic to a teacher who said that, she wasn't ready to face hordes of students until there was a vaccine. Well, what's your comment on that at this point, sir?

DANIELS: Complete mischaracterization, I couldn't have been more sympathetic. It's a very -- you know, fear is probably the most basic human emotion and we shouldn't criticize anyone who expresses it.

However, what is important here is our entire focus all those things I just mentioned and dozens more I could is aimed at protecting those might be vulnerable. It starts with our faculty. It includes our staff too. It will include some students --

MACCALLUM: Yes.

DANIELS: -- who may have the comorbidities which we now know --

MACCALLUM: Sure.

DANIELS: -- are the real threat. So, you know, I understand that. And we will make individual accommodations for those who are vulnerable or think they are.

MACCALLUM: I want to squeeze in one last question, because I think that you address this when you talked about how much students wanted to come back, you gave a very interesting virtual commencement speech and you talked about one of our biggest concerns for this age group is loneliness.

And you said that 50 percent -- that being lonely or lacking strong relationships raises the risk of premature death by 50 percent, is worse than smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Why are you so concerned about loneliness among young people?

DANIELS: I never expected to be but I'm hardly alone. There are a lot of studies and books out which alerted me to this issue. I'm concerned because I think it so sadly ironic.

In the first place we live in the richest, freest and despite the current pandemic, safest world that's ever been. A terrible irony to be sad, let alone lonely there in that situation.

And I'm also concerned that much about the current society that plummeting birth -- in birth rates mean that a lot of these young people have fewer siblings or relatives, they can't control that but they could control it. And I mentioned this, the social media addiction which I guess all of us from time to time fall prey to.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

DANIELS: But which --

MACCALLUM: That's true.

DANIELS: I think is having more negative than positive consequences.

MACCALLUM: Yes. Well, you talked about the important of youthful interaction and that's what we want to see on campuses and safety, of course.

Thank you so much, President Mitch Daniels of Purdue University. Good to speak with you tonight, sir.

So, we have some encouraging signs about the return of pro sports with Jim Gray right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: We may soon hear the words play ball in New York. The Brooklyn Mets reopen their practice facility today. And in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy tweeted professional sports teams in New Jersey may return to training and even competition if those leagues choose to move in that direction.

In Florida, the owner of Miami Dolphins, Stephen Ross says he wants fans in the stadium come kick off season.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN ROSS, OWNER, MIAMI DOLPHINS: I think there definitely will be a football season this year. The real question is, will there be fans in the stadiums? I think right now today we're planning on having fans in the stadiums.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Joined me now, sportscaster and Fox News contributor Jim Gray. Jim, good to have you here tonight. How does all this look to you, what do the coming months look like for sports?

JIM GRAY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think that the NBA is going to return. They'll have a meeting this week and then they will take a vote to the board of governors, it looks like they'll sequester everybody and they will go into quarantine in Orlando and they will decide whether they are going to finish the regular season or just go straight to the playoffs. So, the NBA it looks good.

Major League Baseball has a tremendous problem with the union. Those players are going to have to come together, they are going to take pay decreases and the owners and the players are going to exchange proposals and that's not looking too good.

Football will play. I believe Stephen Ross is right, he would know, he's an owner in the National Football League. Whether or not they have fans is going to depend on these municipalities. So, I think that there are some hurdles with that, but certainly playing, as long as they can keep all of these people healthy and the virus cooperates in the summer, I believe the NFL will kick off on time.

MACCALLUM: Yes. Just 30 seconds, but it's amazing one NBA player testing positive changed so much in that sport. What's going to happen now if people test positive? Will it be very different?

GRAY: Well, I think they know a little bit more about the virus, and as long as the rest of the team (AUDIO GAP) contaminated and they don't test positive you'll have to take that player out for however long it takes them to get well. Quarantine them and then recirculate and bring them back if they're healthy enough to play.

The problem would be for football. If you had three or four offensive lineman, if they got injured in a meeting and they got -- came down with this virus, then you've got a quarterback whose stand back and back there is going to get killed without his regular guys, then you've got a much bigger problem.

So, there are a lot -- a lot of logistics --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Good point.

GRAY: -- and a lot of hurdles to overcome, but I think the best foot is being put forward by the NBA and by the NFL.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Well, we look forward to seeing it and hopefully seeing some good sports. Jim, thank you very much. The Story continues coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: That is THE STORY of this Tuesday, May 26, 2020. But as always, THE STORY continues so we will see you right back here tomorrow night at seven. Have a great night, everybody.

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