This is a rush transcript from "The Story," August 24, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: See you then. Good evening, Bret. But in the meantime, multiple stops today for the president in battleground North Carolina, where the polls are tight with the election now 71 days away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: If we didn't do this for any other reason other than respect for the state of North Carolina, because we said we wanted to hold our convention in North Carolina. And I think you're going to remember that, frankly, on November 3rd, we wanted to hold our convention in North Carolina.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: President Trump kicking off his convention week in Charlotte, giving the small group of delegates there, their money's worth. He gave a one-hour speech to them, a stark contrast to Joe Biden's quieter approach in the advance of his big night.

Good evening, everybody. I'm Martha MacCallum, live in Washington, D.C. And this is “The Story.” The Wall Street Journal making the case that the president may be in better shape than the polls now show. This Wall Street Journal NBC poll found 11 percent of undecided voters say they have a positive image of former Vice President Joe Biden, compared with 22 percent of in-play voters who say they have a positive outlook for President Trump.

So, the Journal writing that these up for grabs voters also say that they prefer a candidate who will confront the Washington establishment, which they write is a hallmark of Mr. Trump's pitch to voters over one who makes an appeal based on competence and compassion, which were key themes during the Democrats convention last week.

Also, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich agrees that the picture may be better than it seems right now for the incumbent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I'm predicting that it will be a dramatically bigger victory than people currently expect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Tonight, with the primetime convention set to get underway shortly, we're joined by Mercedes Schlapp from the Trump campaign and former DNC Chair Donna Brazile. Mercedes Schlapp is - it's her team's week. So, we start with her. Mercedes, good to see you tonight. I'm hearing that literally this convention was put together in five weeks. I'm not sure why the scramble came so late since obviously there was going to be something before then.

But I'm wondering what the Trump team learned from the Democrats convention. Is there anything that you looked at and you wanted to change because of what you saw last week?

MERCEDES SCHLAPP, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: Well, I've got to tell you, the DNC doom and gloom convention was definitely not the right message that I think the American people wanted to watch. And clearly that's going to be in stark contrast with what we're doing this week, where President Trump is focusing on this great American story, the fact that it is about American greatness. And we're going to highlight those forgotten men and women that didn't get any help from the past administration of the Obama-Biden administration. And they're going to be able to tell their stories about how President Trump's policies have impacted their lives, have changed their lives.

And tonight, we see the land of promise, which is that of the promises made, promises kept by President Trump. And of course, so many of these stories are just amazing. I take Natalie Harp, who had bone cancer and because of the experimental drug she took, because of the right to try legislation that President Trump championed, she was able to survive cancer. So, it's going to be those real American stories that are going to highlight--

MACCALLUM: I will look forward to that.

SCHLAPP: Why this country is so great and why the American people are so great.

MACCALLUM: Let me ask you this, today, he gave a very long speech, an hour long, as I said, is there any concern that having him do so many things along the way takes a little something away from how the special nature of the big night on Thursday night?

SCHLAPP: No, I mean, the president one thing we know about him is that he's able to connect to the American people and of course, he is always going to be front and center when he's going to be talking about these issues that matter so greatly, which is that of saving America and ensuring that we don't go Far Left like the Joe Biden agenda that we saw last week in full display at the DNC convention.

So, this is a great way to kick off the RNC convention, having the president there with the delegates. I've got to tell you; the enthusiasm is great. The unity in the Republican Party is great. And I think that's just a stark contrast again, to what we saw last week with the DNC convention, which they were more focused on the anti-Trump hate message than they were in presenting a vision for America, which we even saw some of the liberal outlets said, they had no economic vision for American workers.

MACCALLUM: Joe Biden responded. He obviously the president calls him Sleepy Joe. He calls them Slow Joe. He felt good about his performance last week. A lot of people gave him very high marks for his speech the other night. Here's what he said when he was asked about the names and the creed - and the way that the president paints him. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Watch me, Mr. President, watch me. Look at us both, what we say, what we do, what we control, what we know, what kind of shape we're in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: They're in pretty good shape in the polls, Mercedes. And he says, just watch me. Watch what I do over the course of the next 71 days.

SCHLAPP: Well, what we've watched so far of Joe Biden has been one gaffe after the other, and we've also seen a candidate who barely leaves his basement. He doesn't give too much time to any of the media. Definitely no hard interviews, Martha. I'm still waiting for this interview between you and Joe Biden at some point.

MACCALLUM: So, am I.

SCHLAPP: And that's simply not happening.

MACCALLUM: We're working on it, Mercedes.

SCHLAPP: That's simply not happening.

MACCALLUM: We are working on it.

SCHLAPP: And for President Trump, his goal has been to constantly communicate to the American people of his great accomplishments, even during this very difficult time of the global pandemic, making sure he's delivering that message of saying, we are making progress to develop a vaccine, we're taking steps to ensure that we rebuild this economy and make sure we're helping the American people--

MACCALLUM: Before I let you go; he's being accused of rushing that vaccine before it's ready. Some scientists came out and talked about that and that he just wants to get it out before the election for his own political purpose. What do you say to that?

SCHLAPP: Like, that's simply outrageous. This president has understood from day one that we needed to work quickly, and that's why he put together this great group of health experts to work on operation warp speed, focus on getting the therapeutics necessary, the testing capabilities that we need, and the resources out to the state and local governments.

Of course, we want to see a vaccine developed. That's why we have these investments being made in our pharmaceutical companies, as well as these several clinical trials that they're going through right now. So, I think we're seeing--

MACCALLUM: OK, Mercedes, thank you.

SCHLAPP: Major progress on that end.

MACCALLUM: All right. Thanks, Mercedes.

SCHLAPP: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: Thanks for coming in tonight. Up next, Donna Brazile, former Chair of the Democratic National Committee and, of course, a Fox News Contributor. Donna, great to have you with us today.

DONNA BRAZILE, FORMER DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIR: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: I just want to put up an op ed in the Hill by Charlie Gerow, which says the trends are running in Trump's favor. While the Democrats chirped about an enthusiasm gap not long ago, it's now Team Trump that holds that card. It's hard to get excited about a candidate who sits in his basement hoping that his purported lead doesn't evaporate. The president is out and about a lot, Donna. Are you concerned that if Joe Biden doesn't do the same, he will not be able to maintain his lead?

BRAZILE: Well, first of all, Martha, my focus tonight is on the Gulf Coast. I'm a native of Louisiana and I'm praying for everyone down there.

MACCALLUM: As are we.

BRAZILE: To buckle up and get ready for these two impactful storms and my other focus is on Kenosha and what happened there. So, let me just say this to all of the opinion writers. Take a deep breath. This is not 2016. The Democrats are not going to sleepwalk this election the way we did in 2016 when we thought we had 18 states and the District of Columbia, which would have given us 242 electoral votes.

And so, while last week we presented the case for the American people was we the people, we included everybody, I thought it was uplifting. And more importantly, I thought that the vice president and his running mate, they were both able to get their message out. At least we've got a little lineup (ph) from Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and many others. But the real highlight was the ordinary people and they had an opportunity to share together.

MACCALLUM: OK. But how about--

BRAZILE: That's what I'm focused on.

MACCALLUM: The question that I asked you, Donna, which is whether or not you think if you were advising Joe Biden in this moment, can he not go to these swing states? Doesn't he need to get out and spend some time with people across America if he wants to maintain this lead?

BRAZILE: Well, Martha, there are many ways to get to the White House, and one way is to try to ride around the country using taxpayers' dollars.

MACCALLUM: It's pretty much the only way we've ever seen it happen.

BRAZILE: Let me get to the basement, because I understand that you want to talk about Donald Trump running around the country trying to reboot his campaign, using taxpayers' dollars to try to give us this false impression that he's not afraid of this virus. The majority of Americans are focused on protecting themselves. Joe Biden is reaching people, perhaps not the traditional way by jumping up and down on the tarmac. But he's reaching them every day in their living rooms, in their workplaces, because he's communicating in ways that we're all now familiar with communicating.

So, I think he's making a good faith effort to do it the smart way and not just try to fly around trying to make headlines by saying goofy things.

MACCALLUM: Well, we'll see if that strategy works. This is the interview that he did do--

BRAZILE: I hope it works.

MACCALLUM: With ABC. This is the first time he and Kamala Harris have sat down for a major interview and he was asked about whether or not he would shut down the economy again. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, if the scientists say, shut it down.

BIDEN: I would shut it down. I would listen to the scientist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Do you think a lot of Americans want that? Do you think that's going to be a popular thing to hear, Donna?

BRAZILE: Well, the context was much larger than the frame, but I can tell you this much as someone who understands the impact of this virus, having bury people that I cannot say goodbye to. This is - it's very important that we listen to the scientists, we listen to the doctors and had Donald Trump listen to the scientists and listen to the doctors earlier, we would not be in this mess. He mishandles it. He knows it. And that's what he's trying to do right now and come up with a quick cure.

We don't need a quick cure. We need to make sure that we follow the science so that we can have a vaccine that works for everyone.

MACCALLUM: Donna Brazile, always good to speak with you. Thank you very much. And our best of - our thoughts go out to everybody on the Louisiana coast over the next 48 hours, we're going to be watching and praying for them as well. Donna, thank you so much.

BRAZILE: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: Coming up, a Wisconsin city on edge tonight. Protesters take to the streets in response to the shooting of a black man by police. Deroy Murdock on the story and its impact around the country, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Wisconsin bracing for another night of possible unrest in response to the officer involved shooting of Jacob Blake. More than 100 National Guard troops have been deployed after a night of protests and vandalism. They torched the library. They torched a number of public buildings, more clashes with police. One was hit in the head with a brick or a stone.

In moments, Deroy Murdock on how this is playing out on the national level. But first, Senior Correspondent Mike Tobin, who joins us live from Kenosha, Wisconsin, tonight. Good evening, Mike.

MIKE TOBIN, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Martha. I want to show you over my shoulder where you've got the demonstrators emerging, converging now at Civic Center Park. They've just been marching around town. I'll show you the front of City Hall now where you have the police officers. I'd call that light riot gear. They do have helmets. Some of them have shields. Some of them have batons, but they don't have on the heavy riot gear. There was some trouble earlier in the day when the demonstrators prevented the mayor of Kenosha, John Antaramian, from speaking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENOSHA, WI MAYOR JOHN ANTARAMIAN: Once he has the facts--

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Responsible.

ANTARAMIAN: You have to have due process for everyone, the same sense of what is happening in the community, the damage and destruction done the other night is not acceptable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, but that's because people are (inaudible).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TOBIN: Now, after they tried to follow the mayor into city hall, police in riot gear hit the crowd with pepper spray. And this follows a night in which cars were burned, buildings were vandalized. A police officer was knocked out, apparently with a brick to the head. All of it is in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake just after 5 o'clock yesterday. Police responded to a domestic incident.

According to reports, Blake intervened at some point. Police became interested in Blake when he tried to get into the driver's side of the vehicle. Police opened fire with seven shots. New video shows police administering first aid on the scene. Blake was airlifted to a Milwaukee hospital where he's been through surgery. According to his attorney, he is in stable condition.

The officers involved are now on administrative leave. The Bureau of Criminal Investigations says answers as to any wrongdoing. The warranting of criminal charges could take as long as 30 days. The head of the police union urges the public to withhold judgment, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Mike, thank you very much. Mike Tobin. Obviously, a tough situation all around. Joining me now, Deroy Murdock, contributing editor at National Review Online and a Fox News Contributor. Deroy, thank you for being here. Always good to have you with us tonight.

DEROY MURDOCK, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Martha, good to see you.

MACCALLUM: I want to start by showing you this DNC, Tom Perez, the head of the DNC, put out this statement today and he says, our hearts go out to Jacob Blake and his family, one of countless black Americans who have suffered at the hands of bigotry with a badge. What do you think about that statement? Obviously, this video does not look good, but as you heard the mayor say, we're just need to wait and hear more of the details surrounding this.

MURDOCK: I think it makes sense and things like this to try to get more the full picture. This may be all there is to it, maybe there's more to it beyond that, I don't know. Referring to this is bigotry of the badge. I don't know if these cops had a racial motive or not. I think what we need to try to do is try to see fewer American cities on fire. I'm not at all happy to hear that a library of all things was burning. I thought we didn't burn books in this country.

And the fact that a library got targeted, the middle of all this is appalling. And somebody like Tom Perez, who's the head of the Democratic National Committee, ought to be able to say something that is supportive of Mr. Blake and his family without throwing more gasoline onto these fires.

MACCALLUM: Yes, that was one of the also tragic parts of this story, that his young children were apparently in the car with his partner as well in the back seat of that car. And we don't know how this spun to the place that it's fun to. And as I said, it's under investigation.

With regard to the Black Lives Matter movement. And obviously, when something like this happens, it ignites a lot of passions on all sides. And we see the protesters out there tonight, peaceful protests, maybe understandable in this situation. But here's what Kamala Harris had to say in an interview about how Joe Biden approaches all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Joe speaks the words and actually knows how to say the words Black Lives Matter. Contrary to what the United States, the current president in states does, which is to sow hate and division full time and has never spoken those words and will never speak the words Black Lives Matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: How significant or not significant is it that the president doesn't say those words, Deroy?

MURDOCK: Well, I think it's very interesting to see Kamala Harris speaking on behalf of Joe Biden rather than letting Joe Biden say that himself. Look, I've been always very impressed with what President Trump has done, despite all the claims that he is a racist and he hates black people, so on and so forth.

One of the big things that he's done in this country was to sign the First Step Act, which was a criminal justice reform effort that has allowed 3100 predominantly black prisoners who are locked up for nonviolent offenses to get out of jail, go back to their communities or turn to their families and their loved ones. And this is something Black Lives Matter wanted, that they scream for this under Obama and Biden, they didn't get it. And under Donald J. Trump, they did.

And he gets zero credit from that on the Left. There's something that Left wanted. And he actually had a bipartisan group. Democrats and Republicans came together. He signed into law, and they ought to be thankful for that. Instead, he just got the constant lies and nonsense about him being anti- black and hating black people. If he did, he would be very happy to keep all these promptly black former prisoners locked up, which he did not do.

MACCALLUM: It's worth mentioning that Alice Johnson, who was one of the first people, I think she was the second one who was freed in this program that you point out has freed 3100 individuals to give them a second chance at their lives, will be speaking at the Republican National Convention this week. And that is expected to be one of the more interesting speakers that we look forward to hearing this week.

With regard to the discussion about homicides, about the rising crime rates, I looked at numbers in New York City this morning that said that black victims, the number of black victims of shootings has risen 177 percent. This is a story that we did not hear much about at the Democratic National Convention. And you would think, if Black Lives Matter, this is something that would have been also brought up, Deroy.

MURDOCK: You would have thought. I mean, the idea here is all black lives matter, presumably not just black lives that are ended at the hands of the police or at the hands of white people. But you've got, as you say, scores, if not hundreds of black folks who have died since the George Floyd killing. The number of shootings has climbed. The number of murders and homicides also has climbed. And a lot of these are black victims. These are generally not white victims. These are generally black and Hispanic victims. And you think black lives matter, ANTIFA, you think they have something to say about this that had nothing to say about this. The Democrats said nothing about this at all.

And in fact, they had a speaker. One of the folks they had on the podium was a woman by the name of Donna Hylton. That's H-Y-L-T-O-N. She actually was convicted for a second-degree murder and kidnapping involving a man who was tortured, who was sodomized. His testicles were attacked with pliers. She and her and the people with whom she worked basically kidnapped him. He ended up dead in a steamer trunk. And this woman, who was, again, 27 years in jail for double for, I should say, second degree murder and kidnapping, was one of the speakers at the Democratic National Convention.

MACCALLUM: Why was she, why was she one of the speakers?

MURDOCK: She got out of jail. She's been involved in criminal justice reform. I'm all for taking people who were previously in jail and made something of themselves and highlight them as role models. But I think they could have picked more carefully than somebody who's involved in the kidnapping, torture, and murder of an American citizen and for what she did 27 years in jail.

MACCALLUM: Deroy Murdock, always good to talk to you. Thank you very much, Deroy. We'll see you soon.

MURDOCK: Thank you very much.

MACCALLUM: So, Joe Biden says that if he wins, another shutdown is possible, if it means saving lives. Special adviser to the president, Dr. Scott Atlas responds to what the former vice president had to say with his opinion, when we come back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Shutdowns caused problems too, with suicide and depression and loss of jobs and loss of a lot of other things. So, we have to get your state open. We have to get a number of states open that are run by Democrats, because I really believe - I really believe on November 4th, they're all going to be open.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: More than 30 million Americans are currently unemployed, nearly doubled since March of 2020 when COVID-19 lockdowns began to wreak havoc on businesses large and small in this country.

Now Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden is vowing to shut down again if, he believes, it is necessary. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I will be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives because we cannot get the country moving until we control the virus. That is the fundamental flaw of this administration's thinking to begin with. In order to keep the country running and moving and the economy growing and people employed, you have to fix the virus. You have to deal with the virus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, if the science is saying shut it down --

BIDEN: I would shut it down. I would listen to the scientists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Dr. Scott Atlas joins me now. He is special advisor to the president and senior advisor at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Doctor, welcome. Good to have you here tonight.

SCOTT ATLAS, SENIOR FELLOW, HOOVER INSTITUTION: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: We hear so much about listening to the scientists, although we know that scientists have different opinions on how they interpret what is going on. What do you, do you believe that there might be a necessity if this comes roaring back in the fall, more complicated with the flu? It gets worse in the second wave that it might merit another shutdown?

ATLAS: Thanks for having me, Martha. Well, I mean, that kind of statement is really for somebody who hasn't been paying attention to actually the science. Because by now, I think we all know that the prolonged lockdown is severely harmful to our country. In fact, it's killing people.

We don't just talk even about the medical care that's been missed, we're not just talking about the unemployment-related suicides and other harms. We have the latest data from the CDC that showed that there is a massive increase in people with psychiatric illness and depressive and anxiety disorders.

MACCALLUM: Yes, incredible numbers.

ATLAS: And when you look specifically from people who are young adults. We are talking about people 18 to 25. There is a shocking figure here. And that is, that 25 plus percent of our young adults 18 to 25, have contemplated suicide in the past 30 days. This is really has got to end.

And we know the president here has a strategic and appropriate policy, which is protecting the vulnerable. We know who's at risk here. It's not everybody. It's not about all the cases that's the most important metric. It's about saving lives by protecting the vulnerable, by preventing hospital overcrowding, which we are really doing well, and by opening up the economy, opening up the schools.

Because American lives are being destroyed. And this is true, by the way all over the world. Even the U.K. and other countries are recognizing --

MACCALLUM: Yes.

ATLAS: -- the lockdown must end. This is really an inappropriate use of policy here. And by now we should have learned that.

MACCALLUM: Yes, it said the despondency among that age group is so awful. I mean, it's just a terrible outcome of this whole thing. Do you think that there are signs that the virus is winding down and do you think there will be another wave in the fall that could escalate?

ATLAS: Well, I mean, we could say this. From the data, the case fatality rate in the United States has gone down by about 90 percent from its peak in March and April. And part of that is that we are much better, of course, at treating patients.

One third of length of stays, one-half the mortality if you are hospitalized, less need for a ventilator, less need for an ICU, and we also realized who is not going to get sick or severely ill. And that is young people. And we know the data.

We know that even JAMA Pediatrics studied 46 -- pediatrics in North America and said, quote, "the risk of a severe illness from COVID-19 is far less for young people than from seasonal influenza."

We have to really understand what the actual science shows. No one knows that there's going to be a second wave. And I think there's been a massive amount of mobilized resources by this administration really, a massive amount of production of ventilators, massive amount of development of drugs and life-saving therapies.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

ATLAS: And this is, we're in much better shape. If there is a second wave, we are going to be in much better shape to deal with it.

MACCALLUM: I need a quick answer if you can, doctor, because I'm running out of time, but what would your advice be to these universities that are seeing cases when they bring the kids back. They are starting to see cases, 80, 100 cases, in some cases even more than that. What would you tell them about what they should do?

ATLAS: I would tell them to be open because we have a very low risk environment in universities. Ninety-eight percent of university students are under 35. Ninety percent of public four-year college students are under 25. And these are very safe environments.

When you start testing people who are asymptomatic or mildly ill, then you end up getting the schools closed by definition because there is some kind of an outbreak.

MACCALLUM: Right.

ATLAS: Which is really a misnomer. But then you end up sending them back home to a high-risk environment, which is where their elderly parents live. It's totally nonsensical really and anti-science to close schools on the basis of --

MACCALLUM: Yes.

ATLAS: -- patients who are really asymptomatic and have very low risk.

MACCALLUM: Dr. Scott Atlas, always good to talk with you, sir. Thank you very much.

ATLAS: Thank you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: So, former FBI director James Comey seeming to mock U.S. Attorney John Durham's probe of the Russia

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) investigation.

JAMES COMEY, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: Next, I'm sure there will be in investigation of the investigation of the investigation. They just want to have an investigation to talk about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Former White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders weighs in on that. And the speaker that she says is the one to watch tonight. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Former FBI director, James Comey dismissing the DOJ probe into the FBI's Russia investigation as a political tool for President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMEY: I can't imagine that I'm the target. I saw the news report that John Brennan was a witness. Given that I know what happened during 2016 which was a bunch of people trying to do the right thing consistent with the law, I'm not worried at all about that investigation of the investigation. Next, I'm sure there will be an investigation of the investigation of the investigation. They just want to have an investigation to talk about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Joining me now, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former White House press secretary and Fox News contributor. Sarah, welcome. Good to have you here tonight. He says he is sure that he is not a target of the John Durham's investigation. Do you think that that is true?

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I don't know but I think he should be. I mean, he's a disgrace, a liar, and leaker. And the entire premise of two years wasted on the Russia witch hunt was in large part because of his failings as the leader of the FBI. I think that, you know, he has a lot of talk about investigation after investigation.

We spent over two years wasting time because they refused to report the results of the 2015 elections. The people that actually asked for this investigation weren't Republicans. It was Brennan. It was Comey, it was Obama, it was Biden.

Because, again, they failed to accept the results of the 2016 election and they were part of one of the biggest political scandals we have ever seen and that we have ever had. And they tried to take down a duly elected president. And I think each and every one of them should be held to the fullest extent of the law for whoever was involved.

Last week, we heard a lot of rhetoric from the Democrats about democracy. The only people we have seen to be unwilling to really support democracy in this country were the Democrats who participated in this illegal political scandal that we have learned more and more about over the last several months due to the Durham investigation and some of the congressional hearings that have taken place.

MACCALLUM: John Brennan and James Comey seem to -- seem to think that they are going to not be involved in this, that they are not targets. So, it's going to be very interesting to see what John Durham comes out with. I know he has interviewed and spoken with, obviously, many people and the attorney general is watching that closely, as well. So hopefully that's going to come out in the next few weeks, we hope.

SANDERS: Yes.

MACCALLUM: What about tonight. You know, Nikki Haley tonight, Tim Scott tonight. What's their job? Because every speaker who goes out there has a mission, something that they want to do to help the team win. What is it for them?

SANDERS: Well, I think for each person it's a little bit different. For Nikki Haley, she worked very closely with the president. She has run a state. She is a successful governor. But she also has a very strong foreign policy chop. I think she will talk about the things that the president did to make America stronger, to fight back against our adversary, to work closely with our allies.

I think we'll see a lot of that come from Nikki Haley. She is a very strong conservative woman. And to hear her opinion, I think is going to be very important.

Senator Scott is somebody who's worked with the president on opportunity zones, HBCU funding, as well as a number of other things. And I think he will probably highlight some of those. But I think more than anything, it's going to be about the relationship that these individuals have and what they see behind the scenes from this president. What his heart is. How he cares about this country and how he's working to make it better.

I think tonight is actually going to be an incredibly powerful night. You mentioned those two speakers. I think there are several others that have great stories to tell. Andrew Pollack, one of the -- father of Meadow --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Yes, we've -- yes.

SANDERS: -- from the Parkland shooting, I got to know him during my time at the White House. What a tremendous person of courage. I think his story will be really powerful tonight as will so many others.

MACCALLUM: Yes. We've had him on the program many times. We have a lot of respect for him. And we look forward to hearing from him tonight. Sarah, thank you. Always good to see you.

SANDERS: You bet. Thanks, Martha.

MACCALLUM: So, former GOP Senator Jeff Flake on why he is abandoning the party to support Joe Biden. He is going to tell us why. And then one of tonight's headliners at the RNC is Republican Congressman Jim Jordan. He is up next as well after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: On day one of the Republican convention, nearly 30 former Republican lawmakers have endorsed Joe Biden throughout a Republicans for Biden effort launched by the Democrats' campaign. The list includes former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, former Virginia Senator John Warner, and former Congressman Charlie Dent, among the others who you see on this list.

So, joining me now exclusively is former Arizona Senator, Jeff Flake. Senator, thank you for being here tonight.

FORMER. SEN. JEFF FLAKE, R-AZ: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: You once wrote an op-ed, by the way, that was urging lawmakers to abandon the president and, quote, "save your soul." Which we all remember well and I think we spoke to you about that back then.

So, my question for you tonight is that, you know, with regard to Joe Biden, he has said that if I'm elected, I will be the most progressive president in history. So, why, how do you as a lifetime Republican, support someone who has that goal?

FLAKE: Well, I think if you look at Joe Biden's record is not --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: But that's what he said.

FLAKE: I think it's -- right, and this is a primary too that he's just been through. He also said during this primary that he would work with Republicans. That he would work across the aisle. That's not a popular thing to say in the Democratic primary, but he did.

So, I think if you look at his record and what he has been all about for so many years, he's a creature of the Senate. He knows how to compromise. He knows how to work across the aisle and I'm confident he'll do that in the future.

MACCALLUM: It's interesting the Wall Street Journal showed polls today that showed that more people wanted someone who is willing to buck the establishment than someone who was, you know, wanted to sort of make peace and find -- find common ground. You know, does that surprise you? And do you think that someone who is more willing to be a bully in a China shop as the president has been, is what's resonating with Americans ultimately or do you think that they want, they want, you know, someone who is more, you know, copacetic and calming like a Joe Biden?

FLAKE: Well, I think at the primary season, it's easy to say that you want somebody who is going to buck the establishment. But as you get closer to the election and realize that if you want policy legislation laws that actually endure, they need to be bipartisan. There needs to be some buy-in from both parties. So, I think you'll see both parties tucking a bit to the center.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

FLAKE: And then like I said, Joe Biden has been through this for a long time in the Senate.

MACCALLUM: Well, I'm just trying to figure out in terms of actual policy what it is that you really like in Joe Biden as a lifelong Republican. You pushed for the First Step Act. We are going to hear from Alice Johnson. President Trump was actually able to sign that into law.

FLAKE: Yes.

MACCALLUM: We had eight years of the Obama-Biden administration and they did not take action on that. So why support Joe Biden over President Trump when that was clearly something that was very important to you?

FLAKE: Well if that were the only thing, certainly President Trump pushed that. I voted for it. I voted for that while I was in the Senate. I'm glad to support the First Step Act. Joe Biden has been supportive of criminal justice reform for as long or longer than that --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: But he has in for eight years with President Obama and it never happened, is my point.

FLAKE: You bet. But things happened during that time also that haven't happened during the Trump administration. We passed the bipartisan immigration bill that appropriated $40 billion for border security. That was when President Obama and Joe Biden were in the White House. We did that in the Senate.

So, they are different policies and I've been supportive of many of the things that the president has pushed, the (Inaudible) reform, regulatory reform --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: But you just don't like his character.

FLAKE: It's not just that. You know, Republicans have traditionally been for free trade. The president is very much a protectionist. The Republicans have stood for strong American leadership across the globe.

MACCALLUM: Well, he pushed for a better trade deal with China, which I think got a lot of broad appeal in terms of finally pushing back on China which is really never happened --

(CROSSTALK)

FLAKE: But before doing that, he canceled --

MACCALLUM: -- over all of the decades. Go ahead.

FLAKE: Before he did that, he cancelled the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

MACCALLUM: Correct.

FLAKE: The Trans-Partnership Partnership if anything would have helped keep China in check by allowing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia to go somewhere else for their trade.

MACCALLUM: All right. Before I let you go, are you in favor of school choice?

FLAKE: You bet. You bet. Yes.

MACCALLUM: Yes. So, Joe Biden says he's not in favor of that. He wouldn't -- he would not want any public --

(CROSSTALK)

FLAKE: There will be a lot of things.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

FLAKE: No doubt.

MACCALLUM: So, I'm just trying to figure out why --

(CROSSTALK)

FLAKE: And I would disagree with President Biden. None.

MACCALLUM: You are.

FLAKE: But he will stand up and have reverence for our institutions of government. But there is something to be said for that. And I think he will preserve the public space where we Republicans and Democrats can go back to disagreeing about policy and not just this kind of rank tribalism that we see today.

MACCALLUM: OK. Senator -- former Senator Flake, thank you very much for being here tonight. I appreciate it.

FLAKE: You bet. Thanks for having me.

MACCALLUM: Joining me now is someone who is going to speak tonight, Congressman Jim Jordan, judiciary committee ranking member. Set to lay out the president's accomplishments as he sees them. Hours from now we'll hear a lot of that over the course of the next few days, I guess.

Congressman Jordan, thank you for being here.

REP. JIM JORDAN, R-OH: You bet.

MACCALLUM: Any comment on Senator Flake and the 30 other Republicans? More than that, I believe, who signed a Republicans for Biden document.

JORDAN: Well, he just told you why. The coziness of the swamp. He talked about Joe Biden who is a creature of the Senate, bipartisan, working with people in the swamp to make sure the American people get left behind.

That's not what President Trump is about, obviously. He is about standing up for the American families. He told you he was against the president. new NAFTA agreement. The new trade deal that he is working on. He told you he is against the president's administration policy. Decided that we actually need a border security wall to protect this country from the illegals who are crossing who were bringing drugs and trafficking, human trafficking.

So, I think Senator Flake told you why he is against the president. What I know is the American people support what this president has done in his first term and I think he is going to get re-elected in a big way in a few months.

MACCALLUM: So, you know, I know that you want to talk a little bit about the personal side of the president. We heard a lot of the personal side of Joe Biden last week. It was clearly the whole issue of being a decent person and being a man of character, which I would say really the backbone, the cornerstone of what they talked about over the last four days of their convention. What point do you want to make on that tonight? And what will we hear from you?

JORDAN: Well, I think the president said it best last night on your network on Steve Hilton show. He talked about the amazing potential of the American people. That's -- that's who he is fighting for. Doing what he said he would do. That's why the American people so appreciate this president. He is doing what he said. He's fighting for them. Not the swamp. Not the swam who wants to limit where American families their goals their dreams. Not the mob out there who wants to stop Americans from achieving the goals and the dreams that they have.

So, I think that's going to be a key theme throughout this convention. The amazing potential of the American people. And you are going to hear from a wide, from Alice Johnson to Dana White. You are going to hear from them in this convention. Those amazing American people who the president has been fighting for and delivering for.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

JORDAN: That's what you're going to hear about, and that's what this is about.

MACCALLUM: You know what I think? I mean, I remember I was on the floor of the convention four years ago. I remember Ted Cruz coming out there and he got booed. He wouldn't even say President Trump's name. A close freedom caucus ally of yours. So, boy, what changed? I mean, you all totally changed your opinion about President Trump.

JORDAN: No, no, the freedom caucus was formed. We talked about the countless number of American people, our mission statement. The countless number of American people who feel like this town is forgotten and not fighting for them. So, our mission has been the same as the president's.

We're here to do what we told the American people we were going to do. Fight for the forgotten men and women of this great country. Those families out there who are fighting every day, this president is fighting for them. We know -- and I think they see clearly.

It's evidenced by the independents and the polls, CBS poll which showed that independents are moving now towards the president, because they now see this contrast where the Democrats, the cancel culture mob where they want to go with.

We'll not denounce the mob that's attacking people in our cities. We'll not denounce this crazy policy of defunding the police. They see the difference between what the president has done and how he's fighting for American families where the Democrats and the hard-left want to take this country.

MACCALLUM: Yes. I mean, just one last thing before I let you go. You know, when you look at -- look ahead in this whole thing, you know, do you think that this is going to be tight. Obviously, all the polls showed Joe Biden ahead in most of the battlegrounds. Real quick. Ten seconds if you can.

JORDAN: I think, look, I know in our state the president is going to win. He may -- it may not happen (Inaudible). I think he's going to win by more. I think this president is going to win this race. I think he is going to win as strong and may be better than he did a few years ago.

MACCALLUM: Thank you. Representative Jim Jordan, we'll be watching tonight. Thanks for being here. Good to see you tonight.

JORDAN: You bet.

MACCALLUM: That's “The Story” of Monday, August 24, 2020. But it's not over. Ten o'clock, join Bret and me as we take on, take you through the RNC tonight.

END

Content and Programming Copyright 2020 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2020 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.