This is a rush transcript from "The Story with Martha MacCallum," October 4, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Now, this is real. Now, look at that, there it is. The poor mouse. That's SPECIAL REPORT for tonight. Thanks for inviting us into your home. "The Story" hosted by Martha MacCallum, starts right now.
MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: I've seen bigger things than that in the subway, Chris. That was nothing.
WALLACE: Did you scream like that?
MACCALLUM: Probably. Thank you, Chris. We start with this Fox News alert. So, we do expect to get the president's first response this evening to the current unclear status of the Kavanaugh vote. The president is in Minnesota tonight, and we're going to take you there live for his response when it gets underway.
And is worth noting tonight that many of the same Senators who never left any doubt about their Kavanaugh vote from day one are still saying that they need more information. When in reality, they have been clear no's since July.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. CORY BOOKER, D—N.J., SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: You are either complicit and the evil. You are either contributing to the wrong, or you are fighting against.
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN, D—CALIF., SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: His views are outside the mainstream, and there's every reason to believe he would overturn Roe.
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, D—CONN., SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Judge Kavanaugh, you don't belong in this building as a justice.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, D—N.Y., SENATE MINORITY LEADER: I'm going to fight this nomination with everything I've got.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACCALLUM: But they still said that basically, they don't have enough information. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOOKER: Now, I've heard the chairman committee say that there's no hint of misconduct. In plain English what I just read, there are hints of misconduct.
FEINSTEIN: Looks to be a product of an incomplete investigation that was limited perhaps, by the White House.
BLUMENTHAL: This smacks of a whitewash and a cover-up.
SCHUMER: We have many fears that this was a very limited process, those fears have been realized.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACCALLUM: So, all this leaving Chairman Chuck Grassley, clearly exasperated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY, R—IOWA, SENATE BUDGET COMMITTEE: What I've been dealing with since July the 10th to downhill slope, that Schumer's put us on is really dealing with the demolition derby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: So, moments away, an exclusive interview with White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah who shepherded the Kavanaugh process throughout. But first, chief congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel, live on Capitol Hill with a look at where the votes actually stand tonight. Hi, Mike.
MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Martha, good evening. And I should note that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell just set the timing for a critical vote on the Senate floor for 10:30 Eastern tomorrow morning.
All eyes right now are on the undecided Senators who are yet to make up their mind ahead of that critical vote. West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin is one of those undecided. And he told us about that new FBI report that quote, "It is helping," but indicated he needs more time. Saying, "There was some more I wasn't able to get through so I can finish up tomorrow morning."
As for the Republican undecided Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Jeff Flake of Arizona, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Collins told us a short time ago, she's read all the interviews. And she's obviously going to be making a decision very soon, but no announcement tonight.
Flake noted earlier, there is no additional corroborating information in the FBI report. And Murkowski is hard to read at this point saying she's made no decision. Earlier, the Senate majority leader emphasized this point.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, R—K.Y., SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: What we know for sure is the FBI report did not corroborate any of these allegations against Judge Kavanaugh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EMANUEL: Democratic leaders are not happy, critical of the FBI's findings. It was more about process than content of what's in the report. With some suggestion, the White House may have kept the bureau from interviewing more people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHUMER: But it's just a pattern. A pattern of limiting access to facts, limiting access to truth, limiting access to what the American people ought to know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EMANUEL: The secure location in the basement of the United States capital will be open until midnight tonight for those wishing to read the report. Also, open first thing tomorrow morning. So, there is certainly ample opportunity.
Then, the wild card here, Montana Republican Senator Steve Daines is scheduled to walk his daughter down the aisle on Saturday afternoon in a Montana wedding.
I can tell you from speaking with him in recent weeks, he's been very much looking forward to it. But that may be also the timing of the final confirmation vote. So, certainly a stressful time for the father of the bride. Martha?
MACCALLUM: so, I mean, what happens if he -- is the vote that they need, what are they going to do?
MACCALLUM: He is a critical vote, and basically those close to the majority leader are saying it doesn't change anything at the moment, but they have to count heads to see if they're exactly there.
If they are one vote short, then they may have to say to him, "Hey, we need you here," or they may have to adjust timing of that final confirmation vote.
MACCALLUM: Boy, all right, never dull. Mike, thank you very much.
EMANUEL: Sure.
MACCALLUM: Good to see you tonight. So, here now in an exclusive interview, White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah, who as I said has really shepherded Brett Kavanaugh through this entire process which has been probably more of a roller coaster than you ever thought it would be Raj.
But how are you feeling about this tonight? When you hear that Susan Collins is leaving after reading the documents and saying it's not quite ready to say how she's going to go.
RAJ SHAH, WHITE HOUSE PRINCIPAL DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: Well, Martha, thanks for having me on. You know, we were confident this morning when the FBI report went over to the Senate.
We have been cautiously optimistic throughout the day. We like the reaction from Senators Flake and Collins. Guess they're not ready to make a decision, but it seems like there, what they're saying is moving in the right direction. So, we're cautiously optimistic. I'd say, we remain confident at this hour.
MACCALLUM: So, the pressure that is coming towards some of them is similar to what caused Senator Coons to be able to peel off Senator Flake the last time we went through this process. And this time, the discussion -- the dialogue is based on the fact that they feel the White House was too restrictive in this FBI investigation is supplemental, that you framed it too closely and that there are -- you know people who still want to talk, people who still have stories that they want to get into the mix.
SHAH: Well, let me just say that broadly speaking, that charges coming from Democrats who've already pledged to vote no, and they're claiming they want more information. They don't actually want information for a decision, they want to delay this process from moving forward.
A case in point, one of the people clamoring to speak is a person who claims to be able to corroborate one of these allegations who in fact has no first-hand knowledge, has not spoken to the accuser making this allegation, and the person who told them the story has no idea what he's talking about.
This is somebody who's been featured in The New Yorker. There are scores of people who are claiming second, third, fourth hand knowledge or some sort of abstract understanding of Brett Kavanaugh is drinking in high school or college. This is the kind of stuff that is meant for delay tactics, not for serious Senators who are persuadable.
Those who are persuadable have asked for additional information about these allegations. And as leader McConnell and many other Senators have said, the FBI's report which came back today does not corroborate these allegations.
MACCALLUM: All right, two people whose temperature, I'd like you to take for us and let us know how they're doing right now. Brett Kavanaugh, you have known him and you've helped him through this entire process. They've had obviously some rough times through all of this. How are they holding up at this point?
SHAH: Well, Judge Kavanaugh, you know, he and his family have gone through a ton, as you've mentioned, this unfair -- we think, unwarranted smear campaign that the Democrats have launched has really taken a toll on him, his family, those close to him.
But, you know, he is resilient. You got to give him credit for the stamina and he's looking forward to the Senate taking action tomorrow on the cloture motion. And then, later on at some point for the confirmation vote.
MACCALLUM: what about the president? We're going to hear from him in just a little while. You know, and you say the mood in the White House this morning was very confident. It does still feel that way and what's the president's reaction to how it's going right now?
SHAH: Well, you're going to hear a little bit more from the president in Minnesota pretty soon. But, you know, throughout the day and throughout this process, he's been pretty confident in Brett Kavanaugh.
He believes in this pick and is invested in this, in remaking the Supreme Court in the federal judiciary. And in Brett Kavanaugh, we have a great jurist and the president is very proud of his pick, very proud of his testimony last week, and looking forward to kind of whipping the votes and getting us across the finish line.
MACCALLUM: All right. We hear from him soon, Raj. Thank you very much. Good to see you tonight.
SHAH: Thanks so much, Martha.
MACCALLUM: Up next, Andy McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor and Fox News contributor. Andy, good to have you with us tonight. You heard in our discussion something that you wrote about today which is this idea that they should have done more, that this FBI supplemental fell short, they never spoke to Dr. Ford, they didn't speak to Brett Kavanaugh, so, therefore, how could they have really moved the ball further in terms of discovery?
ANDREW MCCARTHY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, Martha, this has always been about trying to transfer responsibility for what this is about. This is a Senate inquiry, it's not an FBI investigation.
But you know, there was no FBI in this country until 1908. You wonder how on earth did the Senate for over a century manage to confirm people. This is a Senate process. The Constitution requires the Senate to exercise advice and consent. The FBI provides some assistance by interviewing some people and flagging issues to the Senate.
But the Senate is ultimate -- ultimately the decider to this whole idea of -- you know, why didn't they interview Ford, and why didn't they interview Kavanaugh?
These people gave eight hours a testimony to the tribunal that has to make the decision. Why would the FBI go out and interview them again?
(CROSSTALK)
MACCALLUM: But I heard -- yes. I heard one of the Senators saying this morning. Well, you know, each one of us only got five minutes to do that questioning. And the FBI knows how to question people better than we do.
MCCARTHY: Oh, for God sake. I mean, come on. They got five minutes, but collectively they were -- you know, get what --
(CROSSTALK)
MACCALLUM: That's what they said, I'm just telling you.
MCCARTHY: Yes, well, I know. But I mean, yes, you know -- look, it's a Senate process that's what they're supposed to -- it's they who has to make the decision.
(CROSSTALK)
MACCALLUM: So, you're saying they're advocating their responsibility and pushing it on to someone else?
MCCARTHY: Yes. But, Martha, if they -- if the FBI went out and interviewed Ford, and they came up with something that was a discrepancy in her testimony, the Democrats would be saying it was a perjury trap and we needed more time to look into that.
This is -- I just refuse to take this seriously when it's never been serious. You have 49 Democrats who do not want a fifth conservative on the Supreme Court. And they told us that from the moment that Kavanaugh was nominated.
So, this has never been about anything other than delay. And they look at it as an opportunity perhaps to push this beyond the midterms so that maybe they can swing the Senate and have the votes to defeat the nomination on the numbers.
MACCALLUM: Yes.
MCCARTHY: But, I refuse to credit this as being serious when I don't think they've ever been serious about anything other than delay.
MACCALLUM: Andy McCarthy, thank you very much. Good to see you, sir.
MCCARTHY: Thanks, Martha.
MACCALLUM: You bet. So, here now, Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, from Wyoming. She knows Brett Kavanaugh and his family very well from Kavanaugh's years working in the Bush administration. Congresswoman, welcome. Good to see you tonight.
REP. LIZ CHENEY, R—WYO., HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Thank you, Martha. Good to be with you.
MACCALLUM: So, Democrats are angry at Kavanaugh because they say that he showed too much partisanship at the hearing. You know, what -- what's your reaction to that because he revealed that he was very angry at the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee?
CHENEY: Well, I think it's a ridiculous charge. I mean, the Democrats accused him of everything including running rings of people that were gang- raping women. And then, when he came in and he very -- I think effectively and strenuously defended the truth, defended his family, defended his honor, they said, "Oh my gosh, you're so angry.
I think that we all would frankly ought to be wondering it what was wrong with him if he hadn't defended himself so strongly. So I just -- I think that's one more the Democrats attempts to try to destroy this very good man and terrific jurist.
MACCALLUM: I mean, we've been down this road before with Clarence Thomas, and he also was very angry. And I don't know that, that same criticism has followed him throughout the process. Let's play a little bit of what he said when he spoke out against the Judiciary Committee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARENCE THOMAS, UNITED STATES ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT: This is a circus. It's a national disgrace. And from my standpoint as a black American, as far as I'm concerned, it is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different ideas, and it is a message that unless you kowtown to an old order, this is what will happen to you. You will be lynched, destroyed, caricatured by a committee of the U.S. Senate rather than hung from a tree.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: Your thoughts on that Liz, and light of what we're hearing and seeing today.
CHENEY: Well, I think that you know, clearly what the Democrats have done in this situation is they've tried to take a page out of the playbook of Justice Thomas's confirmation hearings. And I think, you know, when you look at what people like Senator Feinstein have done, it is just an absolute disgrace.
And you know, I think it really is evil if you think about it. They claim that they stand for women and then they have tried to weaponize these accusations which we know to be false now of sexual assault against Judge Kavanaugh.
There was a very clear way and ethical way to have handled Dr. Ford's allegation and that is not what Chairman Feinstein did, or sorry, what ranking member Feinstein did. So, I think it's just been -- it's been a circus. And it's been a situation that not only has drug Judge Kavanaugh and his family through the mud, but also has been a real disservice to women, and disservice to the Constitution, a disservice to due process.
And we need to get Judge Kavanaugh confirmed, and then we need to move on. And we need to -- I think, all of the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee need to think very carefully about their oath to the Constitution and their duty and their duty not to create this kind of circus and attack that we've seen over the course of the last several weeks.
MACCALLUM: What is this -- what does it say about the MeToo movement do you think?
CHENEY: Well, look I think that there's clearly a situation where we've got to make sure that women who are sexually assaulted have the resources that they need to be able to seek justice. But the MeToo Movement does not mean that you hold men accountable who are innocent. And if the MeToo movement starts to believe that that's what it means, then I think that we're going to see again women who actually have been sexually assaulted their claims are not going to be held with the same kind of legitimacy they should be.
And we all have obligations to the Constitution those of us who are elected and we need to remember that. And that means to due process and that means you know, not to be out there thinking that we can bring innocent people down with false accusations.
MACCALLUM: Congresswoman Liz Cheney, good to see you. Thank you very much for being here.
CHENEY: Thank you, Martha. Good to be with you.
MACCALLUM: You too. Fox News alert now. We are expecting that President Trump will take the stage any moment there to campaign event in Rochester, Minnesota. And the reason that we want to take you there tonight is because we do expect that we're going to get some reaction to the senators who are still noncommittal and could move this vote either way from the President. So we're going to take you there live when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACCALLUM: So we are moments away from President Trump campaigning in Rochester, Minnesota tonight for two Republicans in two tight key House races. It comes as the Cook Political Report has shifted eight more matchups from red to sort of leaning towards more blue. We'll explain in just a second. It's the opposite of what we're seeing on the Senate side where we have seen in new Fox News polls Republicans appear to be getting a bit of a boost from the Kavanaugh confirmation chaos. So why is it different in the house and the Senate?
Joining me now Daron Shaw and Chris Anderson, both our pollsters and members of the Fox News decision team. Good to see both of you tonight. Thanks for being here. Daron, let me start with you. Why is that the case? Why is it -- why does the Kavanaugh back-and-forth appear to be hurting Republicans in the House races and helping them in the Senate races?
DARON SHAW, POLITICS PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS: Well, I guess the obvious answer is that the House races that we're really focusing on whether it's Indiana with Donnelly, whether it's North Dakota with Heitkamp, you know, these races -- Joe Manchin in West Virginia, these races where Democrats are defending in Republican states. You know, the state-by-state dynamics are different. There's a lot of Republicans than those states who like Trump and like Kavanaugh. And you know, you have senators at play in what is essentially a Senate run you know, process.
And so to the extent there's disaffection with what's going on there, it gets levied on the Democrats. With respect to the House, they're a little more distant. You know, a lot of the House districts that we're talking about here, these are districts where they were competitive or where Clinton even won in 2016. And so the dynamics are a little different. That general affect is you know, not arrayed evenly across the country and it seems to help Republicans a little in the Senate, maybe hurts them a little in the House.
MACCALLUM: So Chris, when you look ahead a little bit in this process because we do expect there's going to be a vote this weekend, however, we don't know because this process has been taking twists at every turn. Do you think that the impact of this is significant in these races ultimately or are other things bigger factors?
CHRIS ANDERSON, PRESIDENT, ANDERSON ROBBINS RESEARCH: I think it's too soon to tell. We still don't know the ultimate outcome. Presumably, it's starting to sound like Kavanaugh will become a Supreme Court justice. So once that happens, what does that do to the Republican enthusiasm that's been increasing? Do they feel like they've won and they can sit back? And conversely, Democrats, do they get even more energized?
You know, in an important note about the polls that we just did in the -- in the five states, five red states, the Democratic enthusiasm has not come down it's that the Republican enthusiasm is up and now matching it. So we've now got to supercharged partisan sides here and I think it's likely that it stays that way but you know, there's -- the one thing I'm sure about is there's 33 days to go until the election. That's a lot of time for things to happen.
MACCALLUM: Absolutely. The window is closing but there's still plenty of time. So when you look at this in terms of -- Daron, you know when you look at it in terms of how much Kavanaugh matters and also what the next moment is and whether or not that begins -- you know, there's a lot of -- hundreds of protesters that got arrested today in Washington D.C. Is it going to fire up Democrats if he does get confirmed? Will they then say you know we need -- we need all hands on deck?
SHAW: Yes. You know, I think we seem to lurch from crisis to crisis these days so it's a little tricky saying well, here's the crisis on October 5th and you know how -- you know what are the legs under that particular crisis. I do think -- you know people focusing Martha on this procedural issue though. I think there's something to that. You know, there's sort of the conventional wisdom that Jeff Flake may have saved the Republican Party by insisting on this FBI report perhaps against some of their you know, more partisan instincts because Independents and some Democrats even you know, think like well I don't like Kavanaugh, I don't want to know -- but what I would like to see more than anything else is procedural fairness, a process that I have confidence in and trust in.
And what's interesting now is based on the very preliminary reactions I've heard to the -- to the FBI report it's not clear to me that Democratic elites are giving their stamp of approval to this process and if that's the case, if they continue to say this thing was politicized, then this thing could continue to kind of you know, play in the polarizations.
MACCALLUM: Yes, it sounds like it's going to continue to be an issue when you listen to Senator Feinstein and Senator Booker. They're going to hang their hat on you know, saying that the White House restricted this process, that it was totally unfair. So 33 days until we see you guys in New York I guess, so I look forward to that. Thank you very much. Great to have you both.
ANDERSON: OK. Thanks, Martha.
SHAW: You're welcome. Good to see you.
MACCALLUM: So coming up next, the psychology of the Senate. How wreaking havoc on the people and the process appears to be working for Democrats and why it could quickly become the new norm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN, D—MASS.: Our Democracy has been hijacked by the powerful who don't plan to share it. So yes, I am angry. But let me make it clear. I have a plan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMERICAN CROWD: We believe Christine Ford! We believe Anita Hill! We believe Christine Ford! We believe Anita Hill! We believe Christine Ford! We believe Anita Hill!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: So that was the scene. They arrested 300 people today in the Capitol Hill area. That scene could have been perhaps the same scene that you see in a lot of college campuses in protests these days. Protesters descending on the Hill over the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh as the issue of constitutional due process divides the nation. My next guest writing "the polarizing atmosphere of the university has now spread to Congress."
Here not to explain Victor Davis Hanson, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Author of the upcoming book The Case for Trump. Victor, good to have you with us tonight. You put it that -- you see that campus creed used to stay in the Ivory Tower -- and it looks like the Ivory Tower is right behind you in that picture there -- but now you say it is running the country. Explain that.
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON, SENIOR FELLOW, HOOVER INSTITUTION: Yes, I think the progressive movement has been driven and fueled by the campus so if a senator walks to his office and he's disrupted or Jeff Flake is confronted and screamed at an elevator or Ted Cruz can't eat because the crowd mobs him or people docks the intimate information of a senator, that's sort of the Antifa, Black Lives Matter culture that's on campus and it's worked very well. When you have that clip of Cory Booker when he said that Dr. Ford had her truth, he -- that was a campus trope where there's all sorts of truths. There's not one truth that can be ascertained by cross- examination evidence or testimony of witnesses. Empathy leads to sincerity and sincerity is synonymous with credibility regardless of evidence.
We also have that therapeutic culture that we saw with the cross- examination of Dr. Ford, that even though you are an adult, and you are an adult on campus, there is trigger warnings or safe spaces, there is all sorts of therapeutic mechanism so that you're not -- you're not subject to undue stress.
And yet, these are pretty high-stakes games when you are accusing somebody of sexual battery or even attempted rape--
MACCALLUM: Absolutely.
HANSON: -- and you are going to destroy that person. So, and then, you kind of combined the Victorian parlor in the '60s morays of anything goes as it suits you, and so you can retreat back into, I can't be stressed, I'm claustrophobic or I'm afraid of flying or that's out-of-bounds, I can't mentions that.
But you can also then in a passive-aggressive fashion mention that your friend has health challenges and pretty much defame her without a chance to reply to that.
So it was asymmetrical and typical of passive-aggressive schizophrenia that we see on campuses.
MACCALLUM: That's fascinating. I just want to play, the moment that you mentioned when Cory Booker spoke of her truth as opposed to someone else's truth, just watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CORY BOOKER, D—N.J.: She gave credible meaningful testimony, the woman who had courage to come forward and tell her truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: And that is very much the concept that we've seen on college campuses, Victor, where we have a campus court that decides sexual harassment or sexual assault cases based on the measure of a preponderance of evidence, meaning that it's more likely that it's true that it happened than unlikely.
Now the Trump administration is trying to eliminate that, they're trying to put a much tougher standard on college campuses and it looks like they are sort of ahead of the game in evolving in this process, but it's landed right in the United States Senate.
HANSON: Yes it has. Because the particular doesn't matter. Evidence, witnesses, corroboration doesn't matter, it's the generalized idea that you must always be believed. At least if your ideology, and we've seem to forget that the ideology of the accuser and the accused is paramount in determining truths.
If you are Keith Ellison or you're a Bill Clinton it's a very different matter of evidence. But what's really scary is we've embraced the culture and protocols of the French Revolution not the American Revolution. That was the difference.
MACCALLUM: Fascinating. Thank you very much, Richard Davis Hanson.
HANSON: Thank you.
MACCALLUM: You are fascinating as always. Thanks for being here. So we are waiting for President Trump. We understand that he is walking out on stage in a rally in Minnesota, so we are going to squeeze in it -- we're going to just take a quick break here and be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACCALLUM: All right. We are back and President Trump is on stage. We want to see what he has to say about the current wobbly status, I guess, of the moment of the Kavanaugh confirmation vote and we'll see if he weighs in on that.
Rochester, Minnesota tonight, he is there campaigning for two House seat candidates. He really has been canvassing the country and we expect that he is basically going to have these every other night, something like that. The pace is maybe even 20 more of these in the 33 days that remain between now and the election.
Tonight, we are going to dip in because we do want to see he's been talking about the Kavanaugh situation quite a bit over the past couple of days with these rallies and kind of using these venues as a way to say what's on his mind about the situation where it stands.
So he's taking in the applause which he likes to do, so let's listen to this for a little bit.
TRUMP: So this is supposed to be a Democrat state. I don't think so. I don't think so.
(CROWD BOOING)
TRUMP: I don't think so. They have a very big surprise coming, don't you think?
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Hello, Minnesota, great state, thank you. And I'm thrilled to be back in the heartland with thousands of hardworking and truly great American patriots. You know that.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: In less than two years of Republican leadership, America has achieved the biggest comeback in our history. True.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Jobs are booming, wages are rising and the number of Americans working right now today has reached an all-time high in our history.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: We are defending our great Second Amendment.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Taking care of our wonderful veterans, who we love and respect.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And our military will soon be more powerful than ever before, by far.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: But the radical Democrats want to take it all away.
(CROWD BOOING)
TRUMP: They want to destroy our prosperity. We have had great prosperity, you see what's happening. You don't want your 401K's being cut in half and if you vote Democrat, that's what's going to happen.
They want to erase our gains and plunge our country into a nightmare of gridlock, poverty, chaos and frankly, crime. Because that's what comes with it.
So we are just five weeks away from one of the most important congressional elections in our lifetime. You see what's happening in Washington right now, so you know how important it is. You see what's going on.
(CROWD CHANTING)
TRUMP: By the way, look at back there, look at all that media. Look at all that.
(CROWD BOOING)
TRUMP: If we could ever get them on our side, we would win for a thousand years.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: For a thousand years. On Tuesday, November 6th, I need your vote. I need your support to stop radical Democrats, and to elect proud Minnesota Republicans, and we have some great ones right now up for election.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: This week, I announced another historic victory for our nation. We are replacing the job killing disaster known as NAFTA--
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: -- with the brand-new U.S. Mexico Canada Trade Agreement. It's called the USMCA, that works, right? USMCA. I didn't want to use NAFTA, that has been a disaster to our country. Fifty thousand plants and factories moving out, millions and millions of jobs lost, one of the worst trade deals ever.
I actually know one that's worse but I won't tell you because we're going to be doing something with that, too.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: But, NAFTA has been one of the great disasters of all time and now we have a great and fair deal. We have a fair deal and that's what we want.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Great for our workers and really great for our farmers, it's about time. We are opening it up, the barriers are coming down and this is tremendous from Minnesota. This is tremendous for Minnesota. And you've waited for a long time.
And by the way, we got plenty coming. You know what's going on with China? They want to make a deal. They want to make a deal.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: But I say they are not ready yet. They want to make a deal but I told them, you want to make a deal, but you are not ready yet. So we will talk later.
We have secured landmark protections for the medical innovations being produced right here in your great state. You have great medical in your estate.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And we've removed unfair trade barriers for our proud Minnesota farmers and our dairy producers like it has never, ever been done before in our country.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: America is winning again and America is being respected again all over the world, right now, and we will keep it that way forever. It's called, America first.
(APPLAUSE)
(CROWD CHANTING)
TRUMP: You even have people sitting behind the flag. It's OK, great people. And by the way, you've got thousands of people outside and you have thousands of people who -- I just saw it's a lovely room but I said next time you have to get here a couple days earlier. Right?
The only reason to vote Democrat is if you are tired of winning. That's really it. Because you are winning. You are winning a lot.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: There has never been an administration that an already less than two years, but can you believe we all did this together? We are coming up on two years. Can you believe it? There's never been an administration with you that's done so much in so little time. two years. No administration has come close. None has come close.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And we've got a lot coming. If Democrats take over Congress, the stock market will plummet. They will, it will, it will plummet. There's a reason for it. Every day we hit new highs, new highs, I think we had 103 new highs. Think of it, all time. That means jobs.
To a lot of people, it means great 401Ks, it means great. But to a lot of people it means jobs. It's jobs. Your 401Ks will be devastated if Democrats take control, and our political system will grind to a really messy halt. And you will see what's going on in Congress right now with one of the most respected people potentially, hopefully, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
(APPLAUSE)
(CROWD CHANTING)
TRUMP: What they are putting them through, and this family, his family is incredible, what they're putting them through.
Democrats want to raise your taxes. They want to restore job killing regulations that have no administration ever that's cut as many regulations. And we have regulations.
We want clean water, we want to crystal clear air. We want a beautiful environment. we want. But you don't have to have a regulation that makes it impossible for our country to compete with other countries. And that's what we are doing.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: The Democrats want to cripple law enforcement. They want to get rid of ICE. How about ICE?
(CROWD BOOING)
TRUMP: ICE, they're tough and they love our country but you need tough ones. They're tough. They love our country. They get rid of MS-13, they get rid of these gangs, you wouldn't believe it, they throw them the hell out or they bring them to jail.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: The Democrats embrace socialism.
(CROWD BOOING)
TRUMP: We're not going to be Venezuela. You see what's happening. And open our borders to deadly drugs and violent gangs. And I've said it, and I'll say it as many times as you want to hear it, and it's because of their policy that Democrats are truly the party of crime because, that's what happens. Open borders, that's what happens.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And the Dems are willing to do anything, to hurt anyone to get the power they so desperately crave. All they know is how to do, you know what the words are. They want to resist, they want to obstruct, they want to delay, demolish, they want to destroy. That's what happens. That's what happens.
And just take a look at what's going on. Democrats have been trying to destroy Judge Brett Kavanaugh since--
(CROWD BOOING)
TRUMP: -- the very first second he was announced and he was announced for one simple reason. He is an incredible intellect, an incredible person, an incredible talent.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: He's been and incredible judge. Because they know that Judge Kavanaugh will protect, uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States as written.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: But all you have to do is look at the polls over the last three or four days, and it shows that their rage-fueled resistance is starting to backfire at a level that nobody has ever seen before.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Nobody has ever seen it. Up 11, up 10, up 14, nobody has ever seen this before. We love it, do we love it? We love it.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Because people see what's happening, and they don't like it. The people of Minnesota and the people of America are going to reject the Democrat politics of anger and destruction, and they are going to vote to keep making America great again, greater than ever before.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And in two years, they are going to vote to keep America great. Right?
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Keep America great. We are almost at that point already, but I can't -- I love make America great, but I can't use in two years. They'll say, what have you been doing, right? What have you been doing? Boy, I tell you, it's been a while, but we've had fun, right?
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: This is -- and they don't even correct me when I say it. They don't even correct me, fake news media. But this is--
(CROWD BOOING)
TRUMP: But look. As an example, thousands of people in a room next door. Thousands and thousands of people outside trying to get in. This big stadium is fact, always, in all fairness to Minnesota, in Las Vegas, in Missouri. You know, in Missouri, thank you. I love you too but you are not my type.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: No, but, hey, Missouri, they have 44,000 people outside of a big arena, 44,000 people. Las Vegas, we went to -- West Virginia was incredible. West Virginia, Tennessee. Tennessee. And do you see how far Tennessee went up over the last couple of days? It's incredible.
Missouri, wow. Have we done great. Just. Just. So we are thrilled to be joined by a number of your terrific Republican leaders, and I just want to introduce somebody that has been such an incredible help to me in getting your tax cuts. I mean, not so bad.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: How about this? How about this? The Dems want to raise your taxes. We want to lower your taxes. We don't want crime, crime is OK for them, they want open borders. How the hell do we not win --
MACCALLUM: All right, we're just going to dip in here for a moment and bring in the Wall Street Journal editorial board members who have been watching all of this. Along with this, Bill McGurn, Mary Anastasia O'Grady, and Dan Henninger, deputy editorial page editor who is also a Fox News contributor. Welcome to all of you.
Dan, you wrote an interesting piece today basically saying that we are at the point in this Kavanaugh saga of the showdown, which I thought was very interesting. Because the president has really been urging the GOP to fight. One of the things that people often say about the GOP is that they don't fight. That they don't battle, that they given too easily. Has the president taught the GOP how to fight?
DANIEL HENNINGER, DEPUTY EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Yes, I think he has given them some back backbone. And I think it's taken a few other people as well. That testimony by Brett Kavanaugh where he ripped into this Senate judiciary Democrats, I think that gave them some backbone, and as well Lindsey Graham's remarkable statement at that hearing.
It has all kind of I think made it clear to the Republicans that they are in a gunfight here, there's politics -- if Democrats have gone outside the grid of normal politics, I think the Republicans have finally figured that out and concluded it's time to fight back. And that's pretty much been Trump's modus operandi from the beginning. Always fight back.
MACCALLUM: You know, it's interesting, Mary, we had look, the Washington Post just put out on editorial urging people to vote -- the senators to vote against Brett Kavanaugh and they say, we haven't done this, except once, in the history of the paper and that was for Robert Bork. What do you think about that?
MARY O'GRADY, COLUMNIST, WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well, I mean, the Washington Post I think was predisposed to not wanting Brett Kavanaugh in the first place. So what's interesting here is that almost nobody has moved.
I mean, the Democrats have said they want more investigation, they wanted to have this, you know, very public hearing, but they're exactly where they wanted to start with.
And I think, you know, what's interesting about the president is that I'm not sure another presidency, say President Bush would have stuck by Kavanaugh through this. I mean, and it's been really ugly.
But having said that, I don't think that President Trump has been helpful all the time. I don't think he was helpful when he attacked Christine Ford. And I think the real hero for me here is, Mitch McConnell, because he's really been hurting these cats and been very determined to hold the vote and make this everybody, you know, put up or shut up.
MACCALLUM: Yes. I think that's a great point. I think that if Brett Kavanaugh does get confirmed, Republicans and conservatives can point to those two heroes in this story.
President Trump for giving them spine, as Dan puts it, and Mitch McConnell who has been just so stalwart and focus, Bill, and continuing to keep them. And nobody bailed on this nominee--
WILLIAM MCGURN, EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER, WALL STREET JOURNAL: Right.
MACCALLUM: -- which I think a lot of us thought at some point they are going to, you know, cut their losses and move on.
MCGURN: Right. And I agree with Dan. Look, we wouldn't be where we are today if Brett Kavanaugh had not given the speech that he gave at the -- I mean, knowing him as I do, I could see his body language getting comfortable but also give him credit because he said he would not withdraw. Vote against me but if we're going to have accountability.
MACCALLUM: Right.
MCGURN: Mitch McConnell has a constituency of three. Jeff Flake, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski. And he's been very shrewd about how to -- how to go about it. I think actually in the end, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, I think they are fair-minded people. There is no evidence. I don't see them depriving a man of the seat based on an unsubstantiated allegation for so many years ago with no evidence.
And in fact, the evidence that we've got since she's made the charge contradicts her claim by the people that she supplied.
MACCALLUM: So you were pointing out, Dan, that the Wall Street Journal has just released an editorial by Brett Kavanaugh. And he says, I am an independent, independent jurist, independent judge. And he also at the top of it in italics, he says, when I spoke in that hearing, and he's been criticized for being too emotive and too angry, I spoke as a father, I spoke as a dad, I spoke as a son.
HENNINGER: Yes, that's right. The article by Brett Kavanaugh is on the Wall Street Journal web site right now, it will be in tomorrow's paper and essentially is again, another defense of his temperament. He said, look, when I spoke to those Democrats I was protecting my family and my name and my reputation in public life.
And probably he said I said a few things that I may be should not have. But he says I'm making it clear, I believe in the rule of law, I'm an impartial judge. I've always been an impartial judge on the appellate court and will continue to be so if confirmed to the Supreme Court.
MACCALLUM: I mean, you can see where is coming from here. Because he is already facing opposition from some people who say that the things that he said in that hearing with regard to President Trump, and you know, this is all just payback from the Clintons that it might urge some people to say that he has to remove himself, recuse himself from certain cases, Mary.
O'GRADY: But you know, this is just proof that really they just want to get rid of him no matter what. And so they try to get rid of him through this personal smear. It didn't work. So now they've moved to another, you know, battleground which is to say, well, forget all that, it's his temperament that's wrong.
And you know, I mean, I thought that actually seeing that human side of him, was comforting to me. Because if he had gone up there and been very robotic and unemotional, I think that might have been even more damaging to him than what he did.
You can say that maybe he shouldn't have had the exchange he have with Senator Klobuchar, that's probably true.
MACCALLUM: But he came back and apologized for it essentially.
(CROSSTALK)
O'GRADY: He apologized. He apologized. And you know, a lot of those senators who are questioning him also owe him an apology. Because, as Bill says, I mean, there's absolutely no evidence for these charges. That would make anyone furious.
MACCALLUM: You know, this isn't going to end. We saw the protesters in Washington.
MCGURN: Right.
MACCALLUM: So even if he does secure his seat on the Supreme Court as a justice, I mean, I'm imagining that the day he has his first day in court, those steps are probably going to be flooded with protesters. I don't -- I think this will be very invigorating in some ways to Democrats.
MCGURN: I think it is but I think it's been invigorating through Republicans, you know, just from my informal nonpolitical contacts of what people say, especially the moms who have sons. And to see the unfairness, I think Mary makes a good point.
There are lots of people who owe Brett Kavanaugh an apology for their behavior. The way they throw around unsubstantiated charges, and there's nothing too crazy to throw up on the air or print or something to say about this guy.
And I'd like to know, look, when he gave that speech, I wanted to stand up and cheer. Because I know him, I know his wife, and I know his kids. And I thought he defended himself ably. And I would like to know if that's not right, but what is the proper comportment for a man accused of gang rape with no evidence? I mean--
(CROSSTALK)
MACCALLUM: It's been pretty tough as far.
MCGURN: Right.
MACCALLUM: You know, in terms of what Bill touches on, Dan, how the press has handled this, because the press has been criticized for having a pretty low bar for what could be printed. You know, you got letters from friends, you got this woman who says, you know, I saw him stand near the punch. I mean, it's incredible.
HENNINGER: Well, the thing is they keep repeating in every story written that the details of the accusations against Brett Kavanaugh, which has an effect after a while. People begin to think well, maybe there is something here, and it was for that reason that, as Bill suggest, he had to stand up and defend himself. If nobody in the press was going to do it for him.
I think that's essential in a large part why President Trump does many of the things he does. He feels he's got to defend himself because there will be no support whatsoever in the press.
MACCALLUM: I wonder what it says about the Me Too movement, because we haven't seen really a man who sort of fought back and won. And if he does get past this process, and you know, keeping in mind, that these are not corroborated allegations, but basically insinuation has been accusation, has been an indictment in these cases. Quick thoughts on that?
O'GRADY: Well, we've seen some of that. I mean, we had the Duke Lacrosse, you know, the truth finally came out there. But I think it remains the same going forward.
MACCALLUM: Thank you very much. Good to have all of you with us. That's our "Story" on this Thursday night. We'll see you back here tomorrow night at seven. Tucker Carlson up next.
Copy: Content and Programming Copyright 2018 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2018 ASC Services II Media, LLC. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of ASC Services II Media, LLC. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.