Special Report with Bret Baier 8/30/24 Full End Show | Fox Breaking News August 30 2024
Transcript
00:00Good evening, I'm Bret Baier.
00:02We begin tonight with former President Donald Trump on the campaign trail, the Republican
00:06presidential nominee making headlines on the issue of abortion just moments ago.
00:11The former president telling Fox News he thinks a six-week ban is too short, but that he would
00:17vote against an amendment in his home state of Florida that would enshrine abortion rights
00:22in the state's constitution and overturn a current six-week abortion ban there.
00:28Brian Yen has spoke with the former president ahead of his rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania
00:32a short time ago, and he joins us live.
00:34Good evening, Brian.
00:35I saw you come up.
00:36Bret, good evening.
00:37Well, former President Trump, a Florida resident, maintains that that six-week abortion ban
00:43in Florida is too strict, but for the first time, he confirmed unequivocally that he will
00:48be voting no on Florida's Fourth Amendment, which would have, which will, if voted on
00:54by the people of Florida, enshrine the right to abortion without government interference
00:58into Florida's constitution.
00:59Listen.
01:00I'll be voting no for that reason.
01:04No on Amendment 4.
01:05For that reason, because it's a radical, and when you talk about radical, having a baby,
01:11abort, abortion, doing an abortion in the ninth month is unacceptable to anybody.
01:18There's something in between, but the six is too short, it's just too short a period,
01:23and the nine months is unacceptable, but for that reason, for the radicalization on
01:29the Democrat side, we're voting no.
01:33Trump also was not willing to commit that he would veto a federal abortion ban if it
01:39landed on his desk to sign if elected president.
01:42That is something that his running mate, J.D. Vance, said Trump would be willing to do just
01:47a few days ago.
01:48Would you veto a federal abortion ban?
01:52I'm not going to have to think about it, because it's working out so well right now.
01:56The states are doing it.
01:58It's a state's issue.
01:59I'm only asking that because J.D. Vance said that you would veto an abortion ban if it
02:02was sent to your desk.
02:03Well, what's happening is you're never going to have to do it, because it's being done
02:07by the states.
02:08The states are voting, and the people are now getting a chance to vote, and this is
02:12the way everybody wanted it.
02:14Yesterday, the former president unveiled a plan to provide free IVF to all women in the
02:20United States.
02:21That's in vitro fertilization, but when I pushed him on the details, he admitted the
02:26details are still being ironed out.
02:29Willing to put up guardrails, for instance, perhaps thinking about banning the discardment
02:35of unused embryos, for instance?
02:37We're going to be issuing a statement over the next two weeks on some of the details,
02:41but we're going to be paying for IVF for women.
02:44Same-sex couples, more and more same-sex couples are using IVF.
02:48Are they going to be able to get free IVF under your plan?
02:51Well, we're going to look at that.
02:55And finally, the former president spoke about Vice President Kamala Harris' interview last
03:00night after getting a chance to digest it and watch it like the rest of us.
03:04Listen.
03:05Well, I think it was not exactly a great performance.
03:08It was a low-energy performance.
03:11To take all of that time and get ready for that kind of an interview, it was a softball
03:16interview.
03:17I think she should stop with the flip-flopping because it's not on her.
03:20She'd be better off if she just stuck with what she's been.
03:23She's lived with policies for many, many years, and they've been the same.
03:27And all of a sudden, like a short while ago, for purposes of getting elected, she switched.
03:34Former President Trump's stances on abortion and IVF will loom very large in this election,
03:39particularly for suburban voters, moms here in Pennsylvania.
03:42But tonight, Brett, former President Trump is headed to D.C. to speak to Moms for Liberty,
03:47moms who are fighting for more parental rights for their kids' education.
03:51Brett?
03:52Brian Yennis, live in Pennsylvania.
03:55Brian, thanks.
03:56Jason Miller with the campaign joins us in a short time.
03:58Meantime, Vice President Kamala Harris is defending her shift from some liberal positions,
04:03several of them, but her critics are pouncing on her interview performance over a lack of
04:07clarity and specifics, her first interview on the trail.
04:11Senior White House correspondent Jackie Hundrick has our interview fact check live from the
04:15North Lawn.
04:16Good evening, Jackie.
04:17Good evening, Brett.
04:18Vice President Harris earned some praise for an interview that did just enough to keep
04:22up her momentum without any big stumbles that would cost her politically.
04:26But she kept her answers to the big picture, forcing another cycle of pressure to fully
04:31explain her positions.
04:35Vice President Harris says her values haven't changed since she last ran for president,
04:39even though her positions have.
04:41Do you still want to ban fracking?
04:43No, and I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020.
04:47Harris made Joe Biden's position clear as his running mate.
04:50Joe Biden will not ban fracking.
04:53That is a fact.
04:54Even CNN's fact checker calling Harris out.
04:57The fact check, bottom line, Abby, is that she did not actually make clear at a 2020
05:01debate that she had changed her previous support for a fracking ban.
05:05While Harris's campaign says her evolution stems from three years governing at Biden's
05:09side.
05:11Her positions have evolved.
05:12She leaned into her position on fracking.
05:15It's not her own position she's leaned into.
05:17It's Biden's she adopted.
05:20Harris's 2020 campaign pitch said after immediately halting all new fossil fuel leases on federal
05:24lands and waters, Kamala will use existing authorities and work with Congress to phase
05:29out existing leases.
05:30The Biden administration did the opposite, outpacing Trump in approving permits for drilling
05:34on public lands, leaving open questions about how Harris would govern if her values haven't
05:40changed.
05:41What she's going to do through the regulatory environment, is she going to actually embrace
05:44it?
05:45If she's serious about bringing down inflation, she's got to be serious also then about drilling.
05:50Lack of detail extends to other issues.
05:52A New York Times opinion piece states she was vague to the point of vacuous.
05:56She evaded the question of why it took the Biden administration more than three years
05:59to gain better control of the border, which it ultimately did through an executive order
06:03that could have been in place years earlier.
06:06And Harris has not deviated from Biden's approach at all.
06:09But is framing herself as a change agent.
06:11He acts like he's the incumbent and she's the insurgent when it's really just the opposite.
06:16Harris said last night she believes the U.S. should hold itself to deadlines on climate,
06:21but it's not clear what they are.
06:23Her 2020 campaign said by 2030, all new buildings would be carbon neutral and there would be
06:28no new gas powered cars by 2035, Brett.
06:35Law.
06:36Jackie, thanks.
06:37Thanks.
06:38He had crashed in large part, all of that because of mismanagement by Donald Trump.
06:43Donald Trump said he was going to do a number of things, including allowing Medicare to
06:46negotiate drug prices.
06:48Never happened.
06:49We did it.
06:50Well, there's a lot of takes on the vice president, Harris, Tim Walz interview.
06:56Some of the headlines, Harris defends her record, slams Trump in first TV interview
07:00with Tim Walz.
07:01A good enough primetime debut.
07:03Kamala Harris is much hyped.
07:05First big interview was radically normal.
07:08Well, there's other takes as well.
07:10Let's get reaction to Vice President Harris's interview and the issues of the day on the
07:13trail.
07:14Joining us now, senior Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller.
07:17Jason, thanks for being here.
07:18Brett, thank you for having me.
07:19What was the biggest takeaway from from that interview on your from your campaign's perception
07:26and your perception of how the media digested it after a day of digestion?
07:32Well, Brett, simply put the Kamala Harris's values have not changed.
07:36So all of the crazy ideas, whether it be completely repealing the Trump tax cuts, whether it be
07:41banning fracking, whether it be legalizing amnesty and decriminalizing illegal entries
07:47into the United States, cashless bail, defunding the police, all of the radical positions that
07:52Kamala Harris has put out there is still what she believes.
07:55She might go and try to nibble around the edges and say, well, I'm going to describe
07:58it a bit differently.
08:00But she said that her values have not changed more often than any other policy position
08:05that she discussed in that interview.
08:07Another thing, too, is that Kamala Harris is going to have to own the fact that she's
08:11the one who's taking the country in the wrong direction.
08:14She can't get up there and talk about turning the page and going to a new chapter in the
08:18U.S. when you're literally in the White House right now.
08:21For the last three and a half years, she could have taken action on all of these things.
08:25But it's on her.
08:26So there has to be some accountability there.
08:29She doesn't deserve a promotion.
08:30She deserves to be voted out of office.
08:33This is a common answer when asked questions about the border and their actions on the
08:39border.
08:40Here's what she said last night.
08:44A bill was crafted, which we supported, which I support.
08:49And Donald Trump got word of this bill that would have contributed to securing our border.
08:55And because he believes that it would not have helped him politically, he told his folks
09:03in Congress, don't put it forward.
09:05He killed the bill.
09:08So what is the response to that?
09:10It's clear that the former president did tell lawmakers that politically they shouldn't
09:15go forward.
09:16But what about this bill and what the stance of the campaign is?
09:20Well, this is just a fake shiny object, Brett.
09:22I mean, the fact of the matter is, is that Kamala Harris did not need an act of Congress
09:26to go and ruin the border.
09:28She didn't need an act of Congress to go and fix it.
09:30All they had to do was put President Trump's policies back in place.
09:34But they're trying to gaslight the American people on this issue.
09:37The other thing, too, with regard to this legislation is this was not some big, broad
09:41bipartisan action.
09:42This still would have allowed in hundreds of thousands, if not millions of illegals
09:46into this country.
09:48And we can't do that anymore.
09:49You look at what's driving up housing prices.
09:51You look at what's driving up migrant crime all across the country.
09:55We can't do this anymore, Brett.
09:56That's why when President Trump gets back in, he has said that two things he's going
09:59to do on day one, secure the border and drill, baby, drill.
10:03We need someone to come in and turn it around.
10:05The great thing is with President Trump, since everyone was better off with Trump, we know
10:09he can do it on day one.
10:11All right, where is the IVF idea, paying for IVF?
10:17That's very expensive.
10:18As you know, it could be tens of thousands of dollars.
10:20If the federal government's picking up that tab or forcing insurance companies to do it,
10:26there are real concerns in GOP lawmakers already.
10:30The Hill had a write up from Senator Mullen saying, I haven't talked to him all the way
10:33through with it.
10:34I think there's going to be an issue on how you pay for it.
10:37There's always that issue.
10:39So where did that idea come from?
10:40And is there conservative backing of that?
10:43Well, there are a lot of people who support IVF, and everybody has someone, whether they're
10:48a friend or family member who's had trouble with starting a family.
10:51And this is something that we want our country to continue to grow the right way.
10:55We want to make sure Americans can go and actually create babies.
10:58That's a good thing to go and have.
11:00So yes, obviously, they'll be paying for it.
11:02But hold on.
11:03But when you look at where money is going already, I would much rather be spending our
11:07money here in the U.S. to make our families stronger and better, as opposed to sending
11:11it overseas.
11:12You look at all the foreign aid that gets sent out the door.
11:15The other thing, too, is the Biden administration.
11:18Just look at the student loan giveaways, for example.
11:20There are much smarter, better things we can be doing, such as this IVF proposal from President
11:25Trump.
11:26Now, obviously, the details will continue to get fleshed out on this as it moves along.
11:29But this is something that's really groundbreaking.
11:31I think, Brett, this is something that really cuts through with President Trump, in that
11:35he doesn't come from the traditional political sense of what the politicians in Washington
11:40do.
11:42are going through, and he takes steps to try to help them.
11:46That's why he was able to bring such dramatic changes right away.
11:49And other politicians would take decades to try to do it.
11:52I mean, take a look at, say, coming up with peace in the Middle East.
11:56People laughed when President Trump said he would bring peace to the Middle East.
11:59And he did it.
12:00We actually had peace in the Middle East.
12:02Putin did not invade Ukraine.
12:04That did happen, though, under Kamala Harris.
12:06And so people like the bold ideas, the vision.
12:09And I think this IVF proposal will be a big winner.
12:12OK.
12:13Obviously, it needs to be fleshed out, as you said.
12:16I want to wrap this up with this week.
12:20There was the controversy about the Arlington National Cemetery and the visit there.
12:25The U.S. Army says the issue is closed, but they put out a rare statement defending their
12:29employee there, who was, they say, defending the rules and the law that you couldn't take
12:34pictures and video at this certain section, Section 60 of the gravesites.
12:40And specifically, there can't be anything in a campaign.
12:42Do you have any regrets now that, you know, you all put out this video on the TikTok campaign
12:47site of that visit, despite the fact that the president was there at the invite of these
12:52families?
12:54President Trump and the campaign team did not do anything wrong.
12:56Again, President Trump was invited by Gold Star family members, followed all of the rules
13:01as they were explained to us.
13:03And then everything was done in memory of these 13 fallen service members, service members
13:09who, quite frankly, would still be here with us today if it wasn't for Kamala Harris and
13:13Joe Biden's incompetence.
13:14It's because of Kamala Harris that these 13 service members are dead.
13:18And by the way, Brett, where was Joe Biden on Monday on the third anniversary?
13:23He was at the beach.
13:24Where was Kamala Harris?
13:25A no show.
13:26That was disgraceful.
13:28And the fact that they wouldn't even respect the names of those 13 service members was
13:33a shame.
13:34That's why so many Gold Star families, members of the active duty military, retirees are
13:38so supportive of President Trump, because he is going to get us out of these endless
13:42wars and he's going to be smart.
13:44He's not going to do stupid things like take our troops out first.
13:47Brett, I can't believe that Kamala Harris didn't address this in the sit down interview
13:51last night.
13:52This is something that's going to come up in the debate on September 10th.
13:55OK, Jason Miller with the Trump campaign.
13:58Jason, thanks.
14:00The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation indicator, the personal consumption expenditures
14:05price index, increased by two tenths of a percent in July, 2.6 percent from a year ago.
14:10That news led to a rally on the stock market predicting interest rate cuts to come.
14:15As a result, the Dow gained 228 for a new record close.
14:19The S&P 500 added 56.
14:21The Nasdaq jumped 197.
14:23For the week, the Dow was up nearly one percent.
14:25The S&P 500 added a quarter percent.
14:27The Nasdaq fell nearly one percent.
14:30Up next, a delicate balancing act as Ukraine seeks to use additional U.S. artillery inside
14:35Russia and U.S. officials look to avoid escalation.
14:40Tonight we have fresh perspective on the foreign policy challenges facing the U.S.
14:45Former Secretary of State, former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice has a new
14:49essay out on this subject.
14:51Here's a preview of our conversation.
14:54Years ago, and it's hard to believe how many years ago, when I was covering the Bush administration,
14:59I sat down with you a number of times at the State Department talking about the issues
15:03of the day.
15:04The Middle East has changed since then.
15:08How do you see this, especially with Israel-Gaza, Israel-Hamas, and where that is going right
15:13now?
15:14What happened on October 7th to Israel was an act of barbarity and sophistication on
15:20the part of Hamas that I didn't think I would ever see.
15:23The Israelis will have to establish, reestablish deterrence.
15:27They will have to weaken Hamas to the degree that they can, something, by the way, that
15:32most Arab states want to see.
15:34Iran's fingerprints are all over October 7th and supporting Hamas financially.
15:41It's also moving quickly on its nuclear front.
15:44They are moving forward, even as the Supreme Leader says maybe it's time to renegotiate
15:49with the U.S.
15:51They're a bad actor.
15:52How do we deal with them?
15:53They're a terribly bad actor, and anybody who keeps looking for moderates in Iran is
15:58also delusional.
16:00The real power brokers are the Revolutionary Guard and the Quds Force and those proxies
16:07that are operating, whether they're Houthis who are challenging international shipping
16:12or proxies still trying to attack our troops in Iraq and Syria.
16:17And so the only answer with Iran is to recognize that, never give another penny back to Iran
16:24from frozen assets, continue to put pressure on that regime, which is extremely unpopular
16:31with its people.
16:34We will have the rest of my exclusive interview with Condoleezza Rice Monday on Special Report.
16:41Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has fired the commander of the country's air force.
16:46That move comes four days after an F-16 fighter jet that Ukraine received from its Western
16:51partners crashed during a Russian bombardment, killing the pilot.
16:55Zelensky says Ukraine needs to strengthen its military on the command level.
17:00U.S. experts have joined the Ukrainian investigation into that crash.
17:04Ukraine's military is pressing ahead with its ground counteroffensive inside Russia.
17:09This comes as high-ranking Ukrainian officials met with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
17:14at the Pentagon.
17:15It's part of an effort to convince the U.S. to relax restrictions on using American weapons
17:20inside Russia.
17:21Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin has that story from the Pentagon.
17:30Ukraine's defense minister arrived at the Pentagon to make his case for the U.S. to
17:34relax restrictions on the use of American weapons inside Russia.
17:38The United States has set a powerful example to encourage other partners to stand by Ukraine
17:45in this critical time.
17:46Umarov arrived with a list of Russian targets Ukraine wants to strike using long-range missiles,
17:52some of the billions in military aid supplied by the U.S.
17:56The visit came a day after Ukraine's foreign minister made a similar plea to European allies.
18:02If we are allowed to strike, we will significantly decrease the capacity of Russia to inflict
18:10damage on our critical infrastructure.
18:13The Biden administration has barred Ukraine from using American weapons to strike Russian
18:17air bases from which Moscow is launching glide bombs that are terrorizing Ukrainian civilians,
18:24like this girl in Kharkiv, whose apartment block was hit today, killing six, injuring
18:2955, including kids on a playground.
18:33Ukraine's request has been rebuffed in the past by U.S. officials, who argue such a move
18:38could be escalatory, perhaps provoking Putin to launch a nuclear weapon.
18:43As it relates to long-range strike, deep strikes into Russia, our policy has not changed.
18:49Concerns have mounted that with Ukraine diverting thousands of troops from eight brigades in
18:53the east, it has opened itself up to Russia taking Pogrovsk, a key logistics crossroads
19:00town in Donetsk.
19:01So far, Putin has not taken the bait and diverted his forces to expel Ukrainian troops from
19:07inside Russia, preferring to push further into Ukraine.
19:11Brett?
19:12Jennifer Griffin at the Pentagon, Jennifer, thanks.
19:15Up next, tragedy strikes the world of hockey.
19:18The latest on the investigation into the deaths of NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his
19:23brother.
19:24First, beyond our borders tonight, an Israeli missile hits a convoy carrying medical supplies
19:29and fuel to a hospital in the Gaza Strip.
19:31The aid group says several people were killed.
19:34Israel claimed without immediate evidence that it opened fire after gunmen seized that
19:38convoy.
19:39And this is a live look at Manado, Japan.
19:43Breaking tonight, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice has ordered Internet providers to
19:47stop access to social media company X, formerly Twitter, in that country.
19:53The move comes after X owner Elon Musk refused to name a legal representative inside Brazil
19:59and refused to suspend certain accounts there.
20:02Also tonight, here in the U.S., a federal judge in Texas is allowing a lawsuit filed
20:06by Musk's X against the group Media Matters to proceed to trial.
20:11The lawsuit was filed after the group published a report showing pro-Nazi posts and other
20:15hateful content on the platform appearing next to advertisements from major U.S. corporations.
20:22X alleges it was all a manufactured smear.
20:25Several companies paused their advertising in response to the Media Matters posts and
20:29controversy.
20:30Now, X and Media Matters are heading to trial.
20:34Also breaking tonight, a suspect is in custody over the deaths of NHL player Johnny Gaudreau
20:39and his brother Matthew.
20:40Sean Higgins is suspected of being under the influence of alcohol when his vehicle struck
20:45the brothers while they were riding bicycles.
20:48This is a horrific story.
20:50Correspondent Griff Jenkins has the latest tonight.
20:52Good evening, Griff.
20:53Just heartbreaking.
20:54Good evening, Brett.
20:55Hockey fans are calling it one of the darkest days in the sport's history.
20:58Both brothers were said to be groomsmen in their sister's wedding today.
21:03A wedding now put on hold.
21:05The Gaudreau family releasing this statement.
21:07Last night, we lost two husbands, two fathers, two sons, two brothers, two sons and brothers-in-law,
21:13two nephews, two cousins, two family members, two teammates, two friends, but truly two
21:18amazing humans.
21:20The 31-year-old NHL all-star, known as Johnny Hockey for his style of play, a blend of speed
21:26and skill, and his 29-year-old brother Matthew, who played in the minor league, were killed
21:30after 8 p.m. last night.
21:32The brothers were biking on a two-lane rural road in New Jersey.
21:37Police say the driver of a Jeep was attempting to pass a vehicle on the left-hand side.
21:41When the vehicle was passing, moved to the left side to avoid the brothers.
21:45At that point, the Jeep tried to pass again, this time on the right-hand side, running
21:50the brothers down in the process.
21:52The driver, 43-year-old Sean Higgins, as you mentioned, suspected of being under the influence
21:57of alcohol.
21:58He has been charged with two counts of death by auto and is in custody, awaiting a detention
22:03hearing next week.
22:05Johnny was just a few weeks from beginning his third season with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
22:09The team saying this in a statement.
22:12Johnny played the game with great joy, which was felt by everyone that saw him on the ice.
22:17He brought a genuine love for hockey with him everywhere he played.
22:21Now, both brothers played hockey at Boston College.
22:24Johnny helped win an NCAA championship in 2012, their coach remembering them fondly
22:29today.
22:30They lit up the room when they came in, so I don't, you know, we've had lots of brothers
22:38at BC, but when you add those two in the room, you know, it's just everything was amped up.
22:47Johnny leaves behind a wife and two young children.
22:50Matthew is survived by his wife, who is expecting their first child.
22:55Police say the accident remains under investigation.
22:57Brett.
22:58So sad.
22:59Griff, thank you.
23:02In tonight's Whatever Happened To segment, the iconic cathedral at Notre Dame.
23:06It was devastated by a fire five years ago.
23:09This evening, we get an update on its reconstruction from correspondent Alex Hogan.
23:15Rebuilding a piece of history, the Notre Dame de Paris.
23:19Translating to Our Lady of Paris, it's one of the world's most recognizable cathedrals.
23:24It's a Parisian landmark and an iconic piece of medieval architecture more than 670 years
23:29old.
23:30Home to religious relics dating back to the time of Christ.
23:34In 2019, fire broke out, ripping through the roof spire and some of the vaulting of
23:38the Gothic Cathedral.
23:40After the flames, a promise to rebuild roughly 340,000 people from 150 different countries
23:46donated adding up to more than 916 million dollars.
23:51We will call upon the greatest talents and there are a lot of them that will contribute
23:55and we will rebuild.
23:57That work would not mean restoring it to its original state, but instead matching the centuries
24:02of wear and tear the building had experienced.
24:05We were rebuilding the timber frame of the nave roof for the cathedral, starting with
24:09logs, oak logs that had been shipped to us from all around the country.
24:13Among the workers mobilized from around the world was Will Gusikov, a carpenter from Vermont.
24:18They used hand axes just as medieval craftsmen would have.
24:23By 2021, the structure was secure and interior work could begin like dismantling the grand
24:28organ where lead dust settled from the fire or cleaning the iconic stained glass by delicately
24:34rubbing off smoke stains with cotton soaked in water and ethanol.
24:38But there is still work to be done.
24:40By February of 2024, workers removed scaffolding to unveil the new spire.
24:45The holy site and architectural marvel is one of the most visited tourist attractions
24:49in the world with an estimated 12 million visitors every year.
24:53An opportunity to rebuild a cathedral like this is just a once in a millennium opportunity.
24:58Over the next few months, furnishing and artwork are expected to be brought back into
25:02the cathedral.
25:03The initial goal was to reopen ahead of the Olympic Games.
25:06The official reopening is now set for the end of the year.
25:09Brett.
25:10Alex, thank you.
25:12Up next, the panel with the latest on the campaign trail and the reaction to Vice President
25:16Harris's interview.
25:17Keep it here.
25:18Question, I'm in favor of banning fracking.
25:19Do you still want to ban fracking?
25:22No.
25:23What made you change that position at the time?
25:26Well, let's be clear.
25:27My values have not changed.
25:29You don't change like that.
25:31Every single policy change and it doesn't happen.
25:34She's a no fracker.
25:35She's always going to be a no fracker.
25:38No fracker.
25:39A lot of reaction to the vice president's first interview.
25:43New York Times opinion page, a vague, vacuous TV interview didn't help.
25:48Kamala Harris is in New York Times.
25:51She struggled to give straight answers to her shifting position.
25:53She evaded the question of why it took the Biden administration more than three years
25:57to gain better control of the border, which it ultimately did through an executive order
26:01that could have been in place years earlier.
26:03It also didn't answer the question of why she reversed her former policy positions or
26:08whether she has higher values other than political expediency.
26:13With that right now, the real clear politics average of polls on the national level as
26:19this race essentially tied.
26:21All these are within the margin of error.
26:24Candidate matches are polling from a lot of the battleground states.
26:28Let's bring in our panel.
26:30Matthew Cotton, any fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Molly Hemingway, editor
26:34in chief at The Federalist and Jeff Mason, White House correspondent for Reuters.
26:38Jeff, I'll start with you.
26:40You know, I guess one of the big things about that interview was, you know, the constant
26:45disconnect between turning the page and wanting to be a fresh start and getting out of the
26:51era, as she said.
26:54Then realizing she's been vice president for the last three and a half years.
26:57It's a it's a tough needle to thread, as it were.
27:01And I think she tried to do that by saying when she was pressed by that, by Dana Bash,
27:05that she's referring to a broader period of time sort of extending beyond the Biden-Harris
27:12administration.
27:13And the implication was the time that President Trump has been in the political arena because
27:19she started talking then about the issue of lifting people up, which is something she
27:23likes to talk about on the campaign trail and did at the DNC as well.
27:27So she she tried to make that broader, but certainly she's aware of and addressed this
27:31as well, whether it was satisfactorily or not, the fact that people are upset with the
27:37Biden economy and Biden and Bidenomics and certainly prices.
27:41And that's why she's come out with some policy positions about trying to bring prices down.
27:46But there's no question that that is a part of her legacy and President Biden's legacy.
27:51In addition to going back to post pre-Biden and the Trump era, as it were.
27:57Yeah.
27:58Molly, I mean, numerous times you said she was very proud of the fact that inflation
28:01was down below three percent.
28:02The problem was, is that when they took over, it was one point four percent.
28:06So, you know, double of that.
28:09Your thoughts and the reaction to this interview and kind of where it moved.
28:13It didn't seem like it moved the needle that much.
28:15But what do you think?
28:16Well, the Harris campaign had put all their eggs in this one basket.
28:21Normally in a presidential campaign, you do quite a few interviews.
28:24You open yourself up for questions from the press, from the public.
28:27And the Harris campaign knows that she struggles on in any sort of live event situation.
28:33And so they wanted to have a really protective interview.
28:36And so they did that.
28:37There weren't tough follow up questions.
28:39There weren't even follow up questions.
28:41And yet she still seemed to struggle.
28:43And the problem here is that Kamala Harris did get a bit of a bounce coming out of the
28:47convention.
28:48I mean, the polls are not horrific for her right now.
28:51But when you look at where her Democrat predecessors were four and eight years ago, Clinton and
28:56Biden, she's trailing them by like five to seven points.
29:00And that's a problem.
29:01Clinton lost and Biden barely won.
29:03And so she's going to want to be performing much better.
29:06But she just seemed to struggle so much with answering what her positions are, whether
29:13her values not changing means she really is as radical as she's always claimed to be.
29:17And those are things that voters are going to want to know answers for.
29:20Yeah, I mean, to be fair to Dana Bash, they were given 20 minutes, I think she got 27,
29:27but 16 with Kamala Harris.
29:29Remember, Tim Walz was there and she did have some follow ups, Matthew, that tried to pin
29:34Vice President Harris down on some of those flip flops and other aspects of it.
29:40The Walz answers also, after all of this buildup to this interview, to say that the
29:47whole military dust up and his history was because of grammar, it didn't seem like it
29:54met the moment.
29:55But that's just what a lot of people seem to say.
29:58One day later.
29:59Well, a lot of people are right.
30:00You know, Kamala Harris had 39 days to prepare for this interview, Brett, and whatever preparation
30:05she did did not show.
30:07She couldn't answer the first question, which is a gimme if you're a presidential candidate.
30:11What will you do on day one?
30:13And as much as Dana Bash tried to provide her options to answer some of these questions,
30:18Harris seemed, I think, lacking confidence and uncertain in many of her answers.
30:23But her fundamental problem is that she's running as a change candidate while still
30:28in office.
30:30And you can pretend that she's somehow going to chart a new path forward.
30:34But nothing she said in that interview suggests that a Harris administration will be any different
30:39than a Biden administration, unless it's a little bit more to the left than the four
30:44years under Biden.
30:46You know, Jeff, I'm intrigued by the role of RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, on the campaign
30:53trail.
30:54She just did a town hall with the former president.
30:57And RFK Jr. was on the All In podcast talking about his interactions with former President
31:02Trump and what he thinks a second term would look like.
31:05Take a listen.
32:32Look at the sound.
32:44Look at the gene.
32:52Look at the man.
33:03Look at the woman.
33:22Look at the man.
33:32Look at the man.
33:46Look at the man.
34:02Look at the woman.