This is a rush transcript from “Fox News Sunday," August 2, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I'm Chris Wallace.
Backlash from both sides of the aisle as President Trump raises the idea of delaying the November election.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't want to delay, but I also don't want to have to wait for three months and then find out that the ballots are all missing.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: We will cope with whatever the situation is and have the election on November 3rd as already scheduled.
WALLACE: While Joe Biden considers one of the biggest discussions of his political career, who will be his 2020 running mate?
Today, we speak with two of the front runners on his short-list: Senator Tammy Duckworth, the only contender with military combat experience, and Karen Bass, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Then, a shake-up in the Trump campaign, as polls show the president trailing in key swing states. With 93 days to go, we'll discuss where the president's reelection effort stands with senior adviser Jason Miller.
Plus, millions of Americans on unemployment lose their $600 weekly supplemental with Congress nowhere close to a deal.
MCCONNELL: Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic leader have refused to negotiate.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Ten weeks, we've asked the leader to negotiate, but it's too late.
WALLACE: We'll ask our Sunday panel about the deadlock over the coronavirus relief bill.
All, right now, on "FOX News Sunday".
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And hello again from FOX News in Washington.
President Trump raised the possibility of delaying the November election this week, something he does not have the power to do, but it was a way to dramatize his continuing campaign against mass mail-in voting.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden continues to lead in most of the key battleground states, and he's getting closer to picking his running mate. But top Democrats say not to expect an announcement for another week to build up excitement for the party's convention.
In a moment, we'll speak with two of the front runners on the Biden short- list, Senator Tammy Duckworth and Congresswoman Karen Bass.
But, first, let's bring in Mark Meredith with the latest on weekend talks between the White House and Democrats on the next round of coronavirus relief -- Mark.
MARK MEREDITH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Chris, the White House and Congress remain split over how much money to spend to keep the American economy afloat but leaders from both parties insist they are making progress and will get back to negotiating this week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVEN MNUCHIN, SECRETARY OF TREASURY: There's still a lot of work to do.
MEREDITH: While millions of Americans struggle to make ends meet, the battle in Washington is over who should get help.
MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Addressing the enhanced unemployment and eviction protection still needs to be the very top priority.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: People need resources in order to meet the needs of their families.
MEREDITH: Democrats want to restart enhanced unemployment insurance, giving American $600 a week on top of state jobless benefits. The White House appears willing to extend payouts in smaller amounts but it's unclear for how long.
Meantime, President Trump is doubling down on the comments he first made on "FOX News Sunday" two weeks ago, insisting he has a new health care plan.
TRUMP: I'll be signing it sometime very soon. It might be Sunday, but it's -- it's going to be very soon.
MEREDITH: No details have been released, neither of the president's plan for TikTok. The president threatened to ban the Chinese-owned social media app over privacy concerns, but the company is vowing to stay on American phones by offering to divest its services to a new owner.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MEREDITH: The president continues to question if mail-in voting could lead to major fraud come November. The White House created an uproar last week by suggesting that the election could be delayed, but leaders from both parties, they pushed back instantly, Chris, saying delays were not an option -- Chris.
WALLACE: Mark Meredith reporting from the White House -- Mark, thank you.
And joining us now, one of the leading contenders to run alongside Joe Biden this fall, Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth.
Senator, let's start with the most important question for anybody who's being considered to being a vice presidential running mate, especially given the fact that Joe Biden, if he is elected, will be 78 on Inauguration Day. Are you prepared to step in and become President of the United States?
SENATOR TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): Well, I think any one of the women whose names have been mentioned to be -- being considered are fabulous women and well-prepared to step up and do the job of vice president or step up and take over as president if needed.
But I can tell you this, that I will do everything I can to support Joe Biden to get elected no matter where he thinks I should -- what position I should plan on the team. We need real leadership and Joe Biden is the kind of empathetic, resilient person that we need to really lead this country out of the crises that we're in.
WALLACE: How thoroughly have you been vetted by the Biden team at this point? Have you turned over all of your records to the campaign? Have you had the talk, the personal private talk, with Vice President Biden?
SENATOR DUCKWORTH: Well, Chris, they have their own process. I'm going to leave them to it. Some of it is public, some of it is not. I will tell you that he is being very careful about who he selects, but again, all of the women whose name have been mentioned so far are just wonderful and I've worked with each and every one of them and anyone of us can step up and do the job.
It's about bringing the country together, Chris. It's about getting a real response to this pandemic that President Trump has so miserably failed at. It's about standing up to the Russians for putting bounties on U.S. Troops heads in Afghanistan. It's about reopening our economy and, you know, we have a team that's going to move forward in a systematic way to do that and really I'm happy to be in any position on team Biden.
WALLACE: As we just reported, talks about another coronavirus relief bill are deadlocked, some progress, but basically still deadlocked between the White House, Senate Republicans, and Congressional Democrats and in the meantime, the $600 bonus, the supplemental unemployment benefit, federal benefit, for people who have been put out of work because of the coronavirus has expired and people won't be getting checks this week.
President Trump talked about the Democrats' posture on all of this, this week. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They don't want to do what you should be doing for the people of our country, whether it's unemployment or anything else, and all they care about is the election and they're going to lose the election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: Senator, why not agree to the Republican proposal now for a one- week extension of the $600 supplemental unemployment benefits while both sides continue to negotiate?
SENATOR DUCKWORTH: Well, the one-week extension is not enough, Chris. Americans across this country are hurting right now. There are families who don't know if they're going to be able to pay their rent.
Today is the beginning of the month in August and many families just missed the first rent payment or their first mortgage payment. So many families are not going to know if within two weeks their kids are going to go hungry.
What Democrats want is to extend the $600 payment more than just one week, well into the future, as long as we're still fighting this pandemic. And then we need to get this pandemic under control.
This president has failed to respond to the pandemic. He's failed to pull the Republican Party together. The reason we can't come to an agreement is because there's infighting within the Republican Party. Mitch McConnell has no control over his caucus and they can't come to an agreement. Democrats are united in saying we need to have the $600 a week payment extended well into the future.
WALLACE: This week you called President Trump, your words, the racist in chief and back in 2016 when you were running for the Senate you said that people opposed to immigration reform were racists and bigots and fearmongers. The question I have for you is do you think a sizable percentage of President Trump's supporters are racists?
SENATOR DUCKWORTH: I think that -- of course not, Chris. Of course not. I think that President Trump is trying to divide us as a nation. We need to come together as a nation. We need to unite.
I think most Americans agree that we need sensible immigration reform. We need a way for those who are here illegally to pay fines and go to the end of the line and work their way towards citizenship. We need to be able to bring all of those folks that are in hiding out of hiding and then we need to make sure that we grow our economy.
Many, many groups have said that if we had sensible immigration reform, that is doable, that is humane, that is fair, that we could actually grow our economy by as much as $1 trillion over 10 years and, you know, we can't let President Trump continue to divide us.
There are ways to come to the middle on this and many, many people have come forward with very good ideas that we can work on it, instead of trying to divide us the way President Trump has.
WALLACE: Finally, Senator, back in 2004, you flew -- were flying combat missions in Iraq and you lost both of your legs when your helicopter was shot down. You obviously love America, you have given up more for this country than any of us can even imagine, but I want to ask you about the protests, the violent protests, that are happening now across the country.
Not the peaceful part of it, but there has been violence. Statues torn down, more than eight weeks of attacks on a federal building in Portland and yet you seem to have been primarily interested and critical of the federal officers defending that building in Portland.
And my question, Senator, is shouldn't you be focusing on the violence from some of those protesters?
SENATOR DUCKWORTH: I think violence is wrong. I absolutely condemn the violent protesters. That is wrong.
I fully support the rights of people to express their First Amendment right peacefully. It's why I spent 23 years in the military. I don't always agree with people when they come out and express their opinions but I will defend to my death their right to express themselves peacefully.
If President Trump truly wants to go after violence in our country, he should call Mitch McConnell right now and ask for a sensible vote on uniform background checks. That is, let's get rid of those gun show loopholes. There is so much that could be done between the Federal Government and local law enforcement working together in order to allow people to express themselves in a peaceful way without federal troops coming in in unmarked vehicles and kidnapping peaceful protesters off the streets, throwing them into an unmarked van and driving off in the middle of the night.
WALLACE: Senator Duckworth, thank you, thanks for your time. We have to leave you because we want to bring in another vice presidential contender and that is Congresswoman Karen Bass, Head of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Congresswoman, thanks for being with us.
I want to start with the same first question that I asked Senator Duckworth, because it is the threshold question for someone potentially in your position. Are you prepared? Why are you -- would you say that you are prepared to step in and become president of the United States?
REP. KAREN BASS (D-CA), CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR: Well, absolutely, and I think anybody that is willing to become the vice president if they're invited should be ready and I think that I am.
When I served as speaker of the House of the nation -- of the world's fifth largest economy, managing its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, served in the emergency room, have had life-and-death experience, the issues that are going on in our country in this particular historical moment around race and the division, the 10 years that I have sat on the Foreign Affairs Committee working primarily in Africa -- yes, I would be prepared.
I know that as I've read about it, everyone has said, whoever has been in the Oval Office, that you could never be 100 percent prepared. But absolutely, I do feel that I could do the job.
WALLACE: All right. Let's now talk about the other thing that is always brought up with running mates and the person at the top of the ticket.
You support Medicare for all. Vice President Biden does not. Is he wrong?
BASS: Now, I don't think vice -- I don't think that the vice president is wrong at all.
What I do believe in is that health care should be a right. I believe that we should be like the rest of the industrial nations and provide healthcare. But I believe specifically is that we need to repair the damage that was done and has been done over the last ten years to the Affordable Care Act.
We need to repair the damage, we need to expand that. And then over time, we need to figure as a nation, how do we make health care as a right for everyone?
WALLACE: President Trump ignited quite a controversy this past week when he suggested perhaps delaying the election -- which, of course, as we pointed out, we he can't do.
BASS: Right.
WALLACE: But part of it clearly was to criticize the idea of mass mail-in voting for this election.
Here is the president.
BASS: Uh-huh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is going to be the greatest election disaster in history. It will be fixed. It will be rigged. People ought to get smart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASS: Well, let me just --
WALLACE: In 2016 -- well, let me -- let me ask the question first, Congresswoman. In 2016, some 33 million people voted either absentee ballots or mail in, but through the mail. By every estimate, this year, it's going to be many times that 33 million.
Isn't it legitimate to question whether or not the system can handle that?
BASS: Well, I think that what we have to do is to make sure the people can vote safely. People shouldn't have to risk their lives voting. You know, the state of Oregon has had vote at home elections for over the last 20 years. They have perfect -- perfected a system, I would suggest that we look at what they are doing.
But I really believe though that the reason why the president said this, and you remember this, he said this a few hours after the economic news that said that our economy has tanked, tanked more than it has ever in U.S. history. I think that he is a master at diversion and I think that's the main reason he did that. He knows he can't delay the election.
WALLACE: As your star has risen as a vice presidential possibility, so has scrutiny over your record and your past, understandably.
BASS: Yes.
WALLACE: You've taken heat for this statement that you made back in 2016 upon the death of Fidel Castro. Let's put it up on the screen.
BASS: Sure.
WALLACE: The passing of the comandante en jefe, or commander-in-chief, is a great loss to the people of Cuba.
But, Congresswoman, what many people may not know is that in fact he visited Cuba eight times during the 1970s.
What was it about Castro and Cuba that you found so appealing at that time? And do you now regret your involvement and considerable time spent in a communist dictatorship?
BASS: So, let me tell you that, first of all, when I went to Cuba over 40 years ago when I was in my teens and early 20s, I went to help the Cuban people, we were building houses. The other reason why I went was to meet and work with Americans from around the country that were involved in a lot of different social issues.
I think that over the past 20 years, my involvement in Cuba has centered on health care and promoting democracy.
Do I know an awful lot more now? Do I understand that the Castro regime did not have the same freedoms as we do in the United States, was a brutal regime? They don't have freedom of press, freedom of protest -- which was kind of ironic because when I went in my youth, the majority of us that were there were antiwar activists. We were protesting against police abuse and understood then and now that the Cuban people did not have the same freedoms.
But what I also believe is that the best way to deal with change is to have relations. And so, I support what President Obama and Vice President Biden did in opening up relations with the island of Cuba, that's 90 miles away.
In fact, one time when I went to visit Cuba, I visited the U.S. political prisoner actually with one of your panelists that's going to be on a little later, Donna Brazile. We went and visited Alan Gross.
For the last eight years, I've served on the board of National Endowment for Democracy, which funds democratic activists on the island of Cuba.
So my perspective has definitely developed over time. I am interested in two products that the Cubans have -- one to address diabetes, the other to address lung cancer. And I'm hoping that both of those products will be tested and marketed in the United States if they are safe.
WALLACE: But -- but I have just a minute left, Congresswoman, and you make it sound as if this was just -- when you were young and irresponsible, you were young and irresponsible.
(CROSSTALK)
WALLACE: You put out that message about Cuba -- about Castro's death six years -- or four years ago in 2016. Shouldn't you have known by then that Castro's death was not a great loss to the Cuban people?
BASS: I absolutely would have not put that statement out and I will tell you that after talking to my colleagues who represent the state of Florida, raised those concerns with me, lesson learned, would not do that again for sure.
WALLACE: Congresswoman Bass, thank you. Always good to talk with you. It's going to be an interesting couple of weeks for you and all the other women on the list.
BASS: Thanks for having me on.
WALLACE: Up next, we'll bring in a key member of the Trump campaign to discuss Vice President Biden's running mate search, and the president's lagging poll numbers, Trump senior advisor Jason Miller joins us, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: Even in the midst of the pandemic, the presidential campaign starts to gear up this month. Joe Biden picks his running mate and then both parties hold their national conventions.
Joining us now, Jason Miller, senior advisor to the Trump campaign.
Jason, does the Trump campaign, does the president, care who Joe Biden picks as his running mate?
JASON MILLER, SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Well, Chris, good morning.
It is consequential in the fact that for Joe Biden his VP pick is in many ways his political living will. He's already said that he's going to be a transition candidate onto the next generation. He's refused to say that he would run for a second term. So it really does matter who is picked.
But the power center in this Biden campaign and what a potential Biden presidency would look like is the radical left wing mob. It's Bernie Sanders. It's AOC. It's Ilhan Omar. And those are really the ideas that are for the American people right now.
I mean, Chris, the big question that folks are going to be asking as they go to the --
WALLACE: Well, let me -- wait, wait, wait, wait, let me -- let me just -- wait, wait, let me push back at this, Jason. Let me -- since you're getting off on a campaign speech. Let me push back on that right away.
Joe Biden has not come out for Medicare for all. Joe Biden has not come out for the green new deal. Joe Biden has not come out or defund the police. I understand that you're talking point, but it's not so.
MILLER: Chris -- Chris, have you read the -- Chris, have you read his 110 page communist manifesto with Bernie Sanders? I mean cashless bail, they're talking about radical tax hikes, talk about redirecting and reimagining funding for police, amnesty for 11 million illegals. These are the questions people are going to be asking as they go into vote. These are way outside of the mainstream, Chris, absolutely.
I mean no one --
WALLACE: I understand --
MILLER: As we're going through this coronavirus recovery right now, no voter is going to go into the polls and say, you know what, I'm going to vote for the guy who wants $4 trillion in tax increases and his own version of a green new deal and wipe out the American energy sector. That's not a compelling message going into Election Day.
WALLACE: Despite what you say about the Biden campaign, the fact is, it is the Trump campaign that just replaced your campaign manager. It's the Trump campaign that just paused all television advertising for six days to recalibrate.
And I want to put up these poles. First of all, the latest Real Clear Politics average of nine polls, nine separate poles, shows the president trailing Biden by 7.4 points nationally. And in these three swing states, he trails Biden by almost 8 points in Michigan, by more than 6 points in Florida, and six points in Pennsylvania, all of those based not on one pole but multiple poles in each state.
Question, how do you turn this around, because at this point, Jason, you're losing?
MILLER: Well, we think we're in great shape and well-positioned to win this. And, in fact, for all the states that President Trump needs to win to get to 270, he's either leading or within the margin of error. We take a look back at 2016, heck, Fox News polling had us down nine points at this same stretch. Right now President Trump is that a 50 fav (ph) 48 unfav according to Rasmussen. This exact point four years ago President Trump was eight points lower. And, heck, President Trump is even three points higher than where Barack Obama was eight years ago. So we're well-positioned in this thing. Even the Monmouth polling that came out this week --
WALLACE: I -- I think that the Fox poll looks -- compares very favorably to the Rasmussen poll in terms of accuracy. And we're not talking, because I knew you were going to attack one poll. As I said, the national poll is based on nine poles, the state polls based on multiple poles as well.
Are you really going to blame this -- I mean it seems to me that you hurt your credibility if you don't admit, yes, we're losing and we've got to turn things around.
MILLER: No, I disagree. President Trump's -- the trajectory lines are going very well. I feel the campaign is in a good place. I think, in particular, when you look battleground by battleground state, we're doing much better than the public polling, which always tends to lag behind what our private polling is showing us. We think he's in good position right now. And, in particular, will be back up on the air on Monday, have two great, new ads that are definitely going to leave a mark. And I think this is a stark contrast to where Joe Biden isn't pushing for bigger tax hikes and his own version of a green new deal. It's, this is the fundamental question, do people want to keep going and improve, get back to the greatest economy that President Trump built, order do they want to put in the u-turn and go back to higher taxes? I don't think that's a winning strategy for Joe Biden, Chris.
WALLACE: Can you state flatly that neither the Trump administration nor the Trump campaign has received any information from foreign groups, foreign nationals, about either Joe Biden or his family, and can you state flatly that neither the administration nor the campaign will accept foreign assistance?
MILLER: Chris, that's a silly question. I mean the folks who have actually taken foreign assistance with the Clinton campaign four years ago. I mean that entire shady dossier they put together was from a British spy.
No, we're going to go and beat Joe Biden fair and square here, absolutely. But I think you should have asked the same question to his perspective running mates in Senate Duckworth and Karen Bass because, just as we saw four years ago, it was the Democrats who took foreign assistance.
WALLACE: But can you flatly state that the Trump campaign and the administration will not accept foreign assistance this time?
MILLER: Chris, I said that's an absolutely silly question. We're going to go and win this race fair and square and it's the Democrats who are going to --
WALLACE: I'm just asking for an -- I'm asking for an answer. It's a -- it's a yes or no question, Jason.
MILLER: Chris, there is no foreign assistance that's happening in this campaign. But I would ask you to make sure that the Democrats aren't going to do what they tried to pull four years ago because that's exactly -- they're going to try to find every possible way to cheat and steal this selection, 100 percent.
WALLACE: I -- I -- I promise you, if I get an interview with Vice President Biden, I will ask him exactly that same question.
I -- I want to put up the Trump --
MILLER: Well, that's a good -- how -- why won't Joe Biden come and join your show, Chris?
WALLACE: Well, that -- well, we've -- we've asked him. We'll ask him again.
And as I -- you know, we put that on the record last week.
I want to put up the Trump Tweet that created such a controversy this week, Jason. Here it is. With universal mail-in voting, not absentee voting, which is good, 2020 will be the most inaccurate and fraudulent election in history. Delay the election until people can properly, securely, and safely vote.
Do you acknowledge that the presidential election will not be moved, that Election Day will be November 3rd, and that, in fact, the president cannot move it?
MILLER: The election is going to be on November 3rd and President Trump wants the election to be on November 3rd. The problem here, and what I think President Trump was doing a good job in highlighting, is the fact that these Democratic governors are the ones who want to go and move the election.
Let's take Nevada, Chris. In the dark of night on Friday night, this is Assembly Bill Four in Nevada, they went and passed universal vote by mail. That's where they're sending out these ballots to everybody. They're sending out universal vote by mail. And listen to the craziness in this. They want to keep it open after November 3rd for another week if it has a postmark, but even if there's no postmark on this universal vote by mail, they want to keep it open by another three days. So it's these Democratic governors --
WALLACE: So --
MILLER: These Democratic legislators who want to extend the election. That's where the problem is, there are lawsuits all around the country, whether it be Pennsylvania --
WALLACE: So -- so --
MILLER: A number of other places where they're trying to extend the election.
WALLACE: So let me ask you this. I --
MILLER: We believe the election's going to be November 3rd.
WALLACE: I -- I got it. So -- so the question I have --
MILLER: Democrats do not.
WALLACE: Jason, the question I have is, the president is talking about the dangers of mail-in voting, that's clear. What is he doing as the president, running a national administration, to fix it?
MILLER: Well, ultimately, this is the governors at the state level who have to be responsible for their states. There's been a lot of money that's been appropriated to these governors that have already been passed through Congress. Congress should be back in right now, both the House and the Senate, taking care of these unemployment benefits, but I guess they've already decided to go home for their vacation. So Congress can come back and give more.
But, Chris, the thing that you're missing is that with 90 days to go before a general election, for states who have never done this universal mail-in voting, it will be a disaster. We've seen the examples, whether it be in Paterson, New Jersey, where we had 20 percent usage of fraud. We still know who won the 12th congressional district of New York. There are 100,000 ballots in California that didn't get counted in the primaries earlier. The fraud and the waste and people being disenfranchise and unable to vote is all around us.
WALLACE: But --
MILLER: We have to stop this, Chris.
WALLACE: But some people -- but, Jason, some people say the problem --
MILLER: You can't change it 90 days beforehand.
WALLACE: Jason, the -- some -- some people -- I'm trying to give you some leeway here, but, you know, I -- I can't let you just make speeches. Some people say that the reason that we've had a failed coronavirus responses is because we've left it to the governors and there hasn't been more of a national plan. You seem to be saying what didn't work for coronavirus is what you're -- the president is going to do when it comes to mail-in voting.
MILLER: I think you're missing what I'm saying, Chris. President Trump is providing the leadership and calling attention to the fact that these partisan Democrats governors are trying to change the rules with just a couple of months to go and their states do not have the infrastructure to be able to handle it. There are a half-dozen or so states that are vote by mail and they have that in place. But this universal mail-in voting that they're trying to change it to -- and the other thing, even with Nevada, they want to leave the polls open, some of the polls open, in addition to the vote by mail, which we've already seen from examples in Philadelphia and other places, you're going to get double voting. And so I think President Trump is doing exactly the right thing by calling attention to this problem.
WALLACE: OK, I --
MILLER: These governors need to step up.
WALLACE: I got to ask you one final question.
You talk about these infrastructures, the system not being able to handle it and being overwhelmed. The postmaster general of the United States, who was a big Republican contributor and a former Trump fundraiser, has just instituted some sizable changes at the U.S. Postal Service. Let's put them up on the screen.
Prohibit overtime pay. Shutdown sorting machines early. Require letter carriers to leave mail behind. And the result is that there is a delay in mail being delivered.
Question, isn't the postmaster general increasing the chances that the Postal Service will be overwhelmed that the very infrastructure that you talk about being overwhelmed will be overwhelmed coming up to the election?
MILLER: No, Chris, not at all. And, in fact, I think you're confusing a couple of different arguments here. The fact of the matter is, what we saw from Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, who went and wanted to have the prepaid postage envelopes for ballots, well, guess what, normally the Postal Service doesn't go into the postmark on something that's -- that's - - that has a -- this pre-paid.
WALLACE: No, no, no, wait a minute. Now, Jason, the -- Jason, Jason, Jason, we're talking about the postmaster general, Mr. DeJoy, and we're talking about crosscutting reforms that he instituted in July.
MILLER: Chris, Chris, the U.S. Postal Service -- Chris, the postal --
WALLACE: I'm not mixing up anything. If you won't answer my question, but please don't go -- please don't go into -- please don't go into what Andrew Cuomo was doing, answer my question.
MILLER: I am answering your question. The Postal Service has been a disaster for decades.
WALLACE: Pardon.
MILL: I am answering your question. The Postal Service has been a disaster for decades. I'm glad that we're getting some financial accountability and trying to get this thing right -- rightsized. But to go and try to put it off on that, it's the state governors trying to change the rules 90 days before an election that's going to lead to millions of Americans being disenfranchised. That's the issue, Chris, we can't go and change it away.
WALLACE: Jason, thank you. Thanks for talking with us. Always interesting to talk to you.
Up next we'll bring in our Sunday group for their take on how Biden's choice of a running mate will reshape the 2020 campaign with 93 days to go.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: Coming up, coronavirus relief talks remain at a stalemate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: I would say there are more issues that we're apart on than -- than where we are closer to consensus.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Republicans said they wanted to take a pause. Well, the virus didn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: We'll ask our Sunday panel when they'll come up with a compromise, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to have the result of the election. I don't want to be waiting around for weeks and -- and months and literally, potentially, if you really did it right, years, because you'll never know.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): We'll cope with whatever the situation is and have the election on November 3rd as already scheduled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell quick to shut down President Trump's suggestion this week that the November election should be delayed because of the likely surge in mail-in voting.
And it's time now for our Sunday group.
Co-founder of "The Federalist," Ben Domenech, former DNC Chair Donna Brazile, and Lanhee Chen from The Hoover Institution.
Well, Ben, why do you think that President Trump suddenly raised this issue of delaying the election and why do you think he is arguing so fiercely, and you heard this campaign senior advisor, Jason Miller, just now arguing so fiercely against an expansion of mail in voting.
BEN DOMENECH, CO-FOUNDER, "THE FEDERALIST": Well, I think the president was trying to make a point about mail-in voting, something that is based on the terrible experience that we've seen in a couple of different instances here where the American U.S. Postal Service had a real problem with handling the level of mail-in ballots.
Chris, speaking purely anecdotally, the level of drop-off that we've seen in recent months, given the sending of packages and the like that has overburdened the USPS has been significant. And there's a "Washington Post" report from yesterday that doubled down on that.
I do think that there's some challenges with mail-in voting and that this could extend, potentially, the counting of ballots.
The president was maybe trying to highlight that, but I think he did it in a pretty sloppy way. One that could be -- I think Republicans should concede is indicative of an approach to this election that maybe scares some folks who feel like the president drifts towards this kind of authoritarian, you know, I'm not going to leave office kind of thing. But this is a situation that I think does deserve some respect for the fact that mail-in voting could be a challenge in the fall.
WALLACE: Yes, I want to pick up on that with you, Donna.
Forget the question about delaying the election. Although it's a substantial question. But aren't there legitimate questions about whether this search -- as I said four years ago, 33 million either absentee or mail-in votes, probably going to double or triple that, isn't there a question about whether the system, and by that I include the Postal Service, state election boards, is going to be overwhelmed and whether that could have a very negative effect on vote counting as we get up to Election Day?
DONNA BRAZILE, FORMER DNC CHAIR: Well, Chris, let me first say that the president is showing once again how desperate he is to sow confusion and disinformation about our voting system here in the United States of America.
I would hope that the president would work with state and local officials, that all members of Congress would give state election officials whatever guidance, whatever resources they need to conduct fair elections this fall. The integrity of our democracy is at stake and there's no reason to sow confusion into a process that has been underway now for many, many years in so many states.
We're in the middle of a pandemic, Chris, as you well know, and give, I think, the important priority is to give people the flexibility to cast their ballots, whether it's absentee, mail-in voting, or in person voting if there are enough polling sites.
WALLACE: OK.
BRAZILE: But the bottom line is, we need to inform the American people and to ensure that our process works.
WALLACE: Lanhee, I want to switch subjects on you to Vice President Biden's big pick he's got to make in the next week or so, whose going to be his running mate in 2020.
Back in 2012, you played a key role in Mitt Romney's selection of a vice presidential running mate. Briefly take us inside the process. What are the keys to who gets picked, in that case Paul Ryan, and who doesn't get picked?
LANHEE CHEN, FELLOW, THE HOOVER INSTITUTION: Chris, I think the most important point that people often don't catch up on is that there is a deeply personal kind of part of this, which is, does the presidential nominee feel comfortable with the vice presidential nominee? And that's why these one-on-one meetings coming up this week are really going to be so important.
What I saw in 2012 was that bond that Mitt Romney had with Paul Ryan. That really was the decisive factor because you're never going to have a perfect vice presidential pick. There's always going to be some element of that candidate, whether it's the record, whether it's their geography, what other factors that might come into play that's going to make them less- than-perfect. And so what it really does come down to, beyond the vetting, beyond the issues you've got to catch in that process is really that relationship that will develop between the presidential nominee and the VP nominee. Is there trust there? Does the presidential nominee know the VP nominee is going to be out there on message making the right case? I think that's going to be the most important factor. And that's why all of this conversation up to date really is short.
WALLACE: Real -- real -- really -- really briefly, Lanhee, on this, did -- because I wonder about a conversation, you sit down, you talk for an hour or whatever it is. Did -- did Mitt Romney favor Paul Ryan before any of those conversations happened or was there something in those conversations that changed his view?
CHEN: Well, I think the conversations were important, but I also think that the -- the record of Paul Ryan, their experience together on the campaign trail, I don't think -- you're right, it's not just one conversation. But, oftentimes, if the two candidates haven't had a chance to come together and actually have that conversation yet, it can be very, very important and critical.
WALLACE: OK.
I'm going to ask you each the same question, you get one sentence for each.
Who should Biden pick as his running mate? Who will he pick as his running mate?
Lanhee, one sentence on each.
CHEN: He ought to pick Val Demings. I think she brings a lot to the ticket in terms of the law and order background that she has. I think he's going to pick Kamala Harris because it's a safe campaign and that's what they've tended towards so far.
WALLACE: Donna, one sentence, who should he, who will he?
BRAZILE: As you well know, I've been a very strong supporter of a black woman. So I'm hopeful that Susan Rice, Kamala Harris, Val Demings, Stacy Abrams, and all -- Karen Bass at all of the other women are more than qualified to be president of the United States. So I'm going to stick with a black woman.
WALLACE: All right, well, you -- you know, you'd be no fun at a racetrack, you'd put your bets on all the horses.
Let's bring in Ben, who should he, who will he?
DOMENECH: I've got a long shot for you, Chris. I -- I would like for Joe Biden to pick the most qualified person who's out there, Amy Klobuchar, who was an excellent senator and someone who could, I think, very much help them in those Great Lake states. I think he will pick Susan Rice, because I think he's going to double down on the idea of restoring some kind of Obama era political period. Normalcy is his real claim to fame. And I think that he's going to double down on that.
WALLACE: Even though she's never, never run for office before.
Panel, we have to take a break here.
But when we come back, negotiations continue this weekend on Capitol Hill over a coronavirus relief bill, but there is still some heavy lifting to be done.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: We're still a long ways apart and I don't want to suggest that -- that a deal is imminent, because it is not.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): It was the best discussions we've had so far and I'd call it progress, but a ways to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer agreeing after talks yesterday they made some headway on a new coronavirus relief bill, but tough negotiations will resume tomorrow.
And we're back now with the panel.
Ben, which side do you think runs a greater risk from the continued stalemate, the continued failure to pass a coronavirus relief bill, House Democrats, who passed a $3 trillion bill back in May and are pretty much insisting on something close to that, or Senate Republicans who had just offered their plan this last week, but are offering a one-week extension of the $600 unemployment benefit?
DOMENECH: Well, I think pretty obviously the Senate Republicans are running into a more difficult, political situation given that, you know, frankly, I think everybody agrees that Republicans are behind at this point, that they need to try to get this economy moving again in order to have the type of optimism that would elevate them and the chances of President Trump in the fall.
But I do think that this is a situation where Republicans shouldn't be so willing to give up so much in terms of the leftist agenda that the House Democrats have advanced, trying to take advantage of the situation to achieve things that have nothing to do with coronavirus relief or anything else related to that.
So, I mean, it is a challenge in this moment and I do think that you're going to have to see this type of negotiating play out in -- in a typical Washington way, sloppy, not actually connected with what people need and divorced from the reality that we all face.
WALLACE: Donna, let's -- let's say that Ben is right and at this point in the negotiations the Democrats have more leverage because they're more united. Does Speaker Pelosi risk overplaying her hand?
BRAZILE: Absolutely not, Chris. For the 19th straight week, over 1 million Americans have filed for unemployment. Millions of Americans are now on the verge of losing their homes or their apartments and it's time -- and -- and, of course, millions more are food insecure. So how do you overplay your hand when there's so much pain, so much uncertainty in the middle of a pandemic. The Republicans are nickel --
WALLACE: So why not give them a one-week extension, Donna? Donna, why not give them a one-week extension?
BRAZILE: Well, because -- because we -- because -- Chris, they introduced and passed this bill on May 15th. Give the American people an opportunity, not just a one-week extension on -- on the so-called unemployment benefits, which is very important, $600, but also, what about the rent? What about the eviction notices? The moratorium needs to be extended as well. We don't want to give the Republicans one week and they go back to, you know, filing more judges and go home when the American people are hurting. The American people are hurting, not just Democrats, every American out there --
WALLACE: Let --
BRAZILE: Thirty million, they are hurting.
WALLACE: Let -- let me -- let me pick up on that with you, Lanhee, because all of this comes amid some new economic numbers. Second quarter GDP contracted at an annualized rate of 33 percent. As Donna points out, another 1.4 million people filed for new unemployment claims.
To the degree that -- that the -- the bill is put off and the new stimulus is put off, doesn't that endanger a fragile economy even further?
CHEN: Yes, I do think it does endanger the economy. I mean the challenge with the economy now is that as the restart or the reopening of the economy has stalled in some states because of the coronavirus and because of the continuing numbers, it's going to be difficult for this economy to get going whether we have a stimulus package or not, quite frankly. So I think a lot of what happens with the economy is so closely tied with what happens with coronavirus, yes, we do need a relief package, yes, it's got to come soon, but, ultimately, the economy is not going to get going until we get this virus better under control in more parts of the country.
WALLACE: Well, let's turn to the virus because President Trump complained this week about the fact that in the polls more people trust Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease specialist, and his handling of the coronavirus then trust President Trump.
Here's the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's got this high approval rating. So why don't I have a higher approval rating? A man works for us, with us very closely, Dr. Fauci, and Dr. Birx, also highly thought of, and yet they're highly thought of but nobody likes me. It can only be my personality, that's all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: Ben, why do you think it is that the president is having so much trouble convincing voters about the wisdom of his handling of the -- of the pandemic and how much of an obstacle is that for him getting re-elected?
DOMENECH: You've given me the rare moment of self-deprecation on the part of the president, Chris, as something to react to.
I do think -- I do think that in this instance, you know, we -- we do see the president frustrated by the fact that the way that the media has framed this story is often divorced from the results in various situations. I think in particular of Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has, you know, frankly, done a terrible job in handling this at any kind of database measure and yet has seen his performance levels and his polling numbers spike, you know, even as things have gone so horribly in New York.
The president is frustrated by that. He feels like that he should be getting more credit for things. But he's not going to get credit for things because the media is, frankly, in -- you know, out to get him. And -- and it's not going to give him any credit for anything that he does right and is not going to give him, you know, any kind of lack of attention for anything that he does wrong.
WALLACE: Well, we're going to have to leave it there.
Donna, I know that you'd love to talk, but we're out of time.
BRAZILE: I know.
WALLACE: Thank you, panel. See you next Sunday.
Up next, our "Power Player of the Week." From being told he'd never walk normally again, to tracking to the ends of the earth. Stay tuned for a real-life adventure story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: After suffering a terrible accident, he chose to make feats of extraordinary endurance his brand. As we first told you last January, he wants people to test their own limits. Here is our "Power Player Of The Week."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: Why? Why take on these challenges?
COLIN O'BRADY, PROFESSIONAL ENDURANCE ATHLETE: You know, for me, I think it's two-fold. One, I want to push my own limits for the human potential, but I also, for me, my larger purpose is really to inspire other.
WALLACE (voice over): Colin O'Brady is talking about his athletic endurance achievement.
O'BRADY: The tallest mountain I've ever climbed.
WALLACE: In a world full of records, his are astonishing --
O'BRADY: Summit (ph) of Mt. Vincent (ph). Whoo!
WALLACE: Becoming the first person to walk across Antarctica solo.
O'BRADY: It's official.
WALLACE: And rowing across some of the world's most treacherous waters, from South America to Antarctica.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did it.
WALLACE (on camera): Do you ever think, in the middle of one of these challenges, expedition, what the hell am I doing?
O'BRADY: All the time. All the time. You know, I've definitely thought, like, whose idea was this anyways? Oh, wait, it was my idea.
WALLACE (voice over): His idea started with a freak accident in Thailand in 2008.
O'BRADY: There was a flaming jump rope that other people were participating in. It looked like a good idea to me. And, unfortunately for me, it went terribly wrong. The rope wrapped around my legs and lit my body completely on fire to my neck.
WALLACE: Doctors said he'd never walk normally again.
O'BRADY: That was kind of the deepest, not just physical pain, but also emotional sort of downward spiraling to be kind of told that my life would never be the same.
WALLACE: He says his mother pulled him out of it.
O'BRADY: Colin, your life's not over. What do you want to do when you get out of here?
So I -- first, I didn't want to play along. But, eventually, I -- I closed my eyes one day and I opened my eyes and I said, mom, I just, you know, pictured myself crossing the finish line of a triathlon.
WALLACE: Eighteen months later, O'Brady finished first in the armature field at the Chicago Triathlon.
He went on to climb Mount Everest and break ten world records.
O'BRADY: Top of the world!
WALLACE: Which brings us to 2018 and that solo trek across Antarctica.
O'BRADY: I was carrying a 375 pound sled, mostly full of food and fuel, just enough kind of food to get me to the end, which I was nearly running out of when I finished.
Still a long way to go.
WALLACE: He was alone with his camera for 54 days, braving windchills of 80 degrees below zero and brutal storms.
O'BRADY: I'm hoping these tent poles hold.
WALLACE (on camera): Did you ever think either, one, I'm not going to be able to finish this, or, two, it may finish me?
O'BRADY: You know, when you're alone for that long, it's like throwing a party for yourself, but all of your angels and all of your demons are all invited. They're all kind of competing in there -- in your brain.
I'm trying to hold it together.
WALLACE (voice over): Then, late last year, the row across the 600 mile Drake Passage in 13 punishing days.
O'BRADY: We had to keep the boat moving constantly 24 hours a day because the currents and the swells would push us around too much. The only way we thought to do that was to do 90 minute shifts.
I just threw up.
Ninety minutes rowing, 90 minutes resting. Ninety minutes rowing, 90 minutes resting.
WALLACE: O'Brady explains what drives him in his new book, "The Impossible First."
O'BRADY: I made it!
WALLACE: He hopes people will seek out their own challenges.
O'BRADY: I want them to set this down and say, now my impossible first is to do this and go out and take action in their own lives.
Anything is possible if you believe in yourself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: During the pandemic, O'Brady challenged fans to join him in running a mile April 1st, then add a mile each day all month long. So 2 miles on the second day, 3 miles on the third day. When you add that all up, it totals 465 miles or nearly 18 marathons. People in almost 20 countries signed up.
And that's it for today. Have a great week and we'll see you next FOX NEWS SUNDAY.
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