Maryland Gov. Wes Moore weighs in on Harris’ push for a key voter demographic and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin discusses the DOJ’s lawsuit over voter rolls.
This is a rush transcript of ‘Fox News Sunday’ on October 20, 2024. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SHANNON BREAM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I’m Shannon Bream.
With just two weeks until Election Day, President Trump and Vice President Harris look to energize critical voters that could make or break them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: November 5th, 2024 will be liberation day in America.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We will win because we know what we stand for.
BREAM (voice-over): With a race in a dead heat, Trump and Harris make their final pitches to America as polls show both candidates struggling with key voting blocs.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore joins us exclusively on the vice president’s full court press to shore up support from Black men, and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin on the commonwealth’s battle with the DOJ over efforts to purge non-citizens from its voter rolls.
Then, our legal panel discusses the election battles taking shape and the litigation that could take center stage after the ballots are counted.
Plus —
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is not the end of the war in Gaza. It’s the beginning of the end.
BREAM: Fallout from the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7th attacks.
Our Sunday panel on whether his death puts new pressure on Israel and Hamas to restart ceasefire and hostage release negotiations, straight ahead on “FOX News Sunday”.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BREAM (on camera): Hello from FOX News in Washington.
We begin with some of your top headlines.
At least seven people are dead and six critically injured after a crowded ferry dock collapsed on an island off the coast of Georgia Saturday. Many were elderly descendants of slaves who were at an event honoring their ancestors.
Israeli forces say they struck Hamas targets in northern Gaza and Hezbollah facilities around Beirut this weekend. Iranian backed Hezbollah militants fired rockets into northern Israel and launched a drone that came down near Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s holiday home. He was not there at the time.
President Trump is set to crisscross Pennsylvania with a number of events today while Vice President Harris is focusing on battleground Georgia. In a moment, we will talk with Governors Wes Moore of Maryland and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia.
But, first, we’ve got team coverage on the campaign trail. Alex Hoff with the Vice President in Atlanta and Mark Meredith covering President Trump in Pennsylvania.
Mark, we start with you. Good morning.
MARK MEREDITH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Shannon, good morning to you.
Former President Trump is going to be all over Pennsylvania today, determined to gain any momentum he can in this battleground state and the candidate himself is also pushing back against reports promoted by Democrats, including his opponent, that he’s exhausted in this final stretch of the campaign.
Overnight, Trump rallying thousands of his supporters in Latrobe, that’s outside of Pittsburgh. He told the crowd that he believes voters in Pennsylvania have an ally in him and that he believes they should also send a message to Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: So you have to tell Kamala Harris that you’ve had enough, that you just can’t take it anymore. Vice President Kamala, you’re fired! Get the hell out of here. You’re fired!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MEREDITH: Our latest FOX survey finding Trump leading Vice President Harris overall when it comes to voter preference. But in the battleground states which will determine this outcome, Harris has the advantage by about six points.
I mentioned we’re going to see Trump at the town hall here where I am, but he’s also going to be stopping at a McDonald’s somewhere in this state today, clearly an effort to counter an attack by Vice President Harris. She completely — she repeatedly talks about her time working at McDonald’s as a young woman and Trump says he wants to show how it’s done — Shannon.
BREAM: We look forward to the video, Mark. Thank you very much for that report.
Joining us now, Alexandria Hoff, live in Atlanta, with the other side of the ticket.
Hey, Alex.
ALEXANDRIA HOFF, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Shannon. Yeah, the vice president is welcoming both entertainment and political star power to give her campaign a final boost of enthusiasm. Yesterday afternoon, pop star Lizzo helped at a get out the vote rally that happened in Detroit, and then here in Atlanta, Usher voiced his support for the vice president. At her evening rally here in Atlanta, Harris said this about her competitor’s rally style.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Have you noticed, he tends to go off script and ramble? And generally for the life of him cannot finish a thought, and he has called it the weave. But I think we here will call it nonsense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOFF: Well, Harris did praise Georgia’s historic early in-person vote totals in just five days, more than 1.3 million ballots have been accepted. Coming up on Thursday, former President Obama will travel to Georgia to campaign with the vice president for the first time side by side. Former First Lady Michelle Obama will do the same in Michigan next Saturday.
And Harris will also be joined by former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney. That’s going to be a series of moderated conversations. Those will take place across Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan — Shannon.
BREAM: Critical states.
Alex Hoff reporting from Georgia — Alex, thank you very much.
Joining us now, Maryland Governor Wes Moore.
Governor, welcome back to the show.
GOV. WES MOORE (D), MARYLAND: It’s great to be back with you.
BREAM: Good to have you.
Okay. So let’s start here. A lot of headlines the last few weeks about Black voters specifically and the campaign’s efforts to try to reach them.
Here’s some FOX News polling and it shows us that while the vice president clearly maintains a large lead with this group over President Trump, we now show her lowest level of support with Black voters since she became the nominee at just 67 percent. Both President Biden, Secretary Clinton, they were in the 90s.
Now you have said Black voters, not monolithic. You got to get out there and earn their vote.
Why are these numbers trending away from vice president?
MOORE: Well, I think, you know, we have to understand that Black voters are sophisticated, and Black voters need to hear, you know, what is the vision? What is the ideas? And what is the — what are the values that we know that we can base our votes off of?
And there’s a natural skepticism that I think a lot of Black voters have and not necessarily about the vice president, not about — about a Democratic Party? It’s about pace of progress in America, is that the pace of progress in America has not been even, and it has not been fair.
And that’s why I think this past week for the opportunity agenda for Black men that the vice president released was so important, because it is detailed policy positions as to what a Harris-Walz administration can do to be able to advance economic opportunities for Black men and focus on work and wages and wealth, and being able to have an opportunity to pass something off to your children besides debt.
Black men need to be — you know, you have to be able to go and make your case, you have to be able to go and make your argument, and I think that’s exactly what the vice president is doing now.
BREAM: So let’s talk about that agenda this week really aimed at specific needs within the Black community. She’s talked about forgivable business loans to help people encourage entrepreneurship, also grants that would go to public school programs specifically for young Black men.
MOORE: Yeah.
BREAM: But the vice president knows that courts across the country, including the Supreme Court, have said that they — they tend to strike down anything that looks like it’s got a race-based preference. A “Wall Street Journal” reporter pressed on that issue and reports this — the campaign now says the programs listed under the Black men agenda will be open to all Americans on a race-neutral basis.
So some feel like this is a bit of a bait and switch saying, we’re going to give specific needs to this voting bloc we need to make progress with, but actually this isn’t specifically for your group.
MOORE: I think what we end up seeing with policy is that the disparities are so distinct when you’re looking at everything from maternal — maternal health to economic advancements, to the racial wealth gap.
You know, the fact that in this country, we have a 10 to 1 racial wealth gap, we’re all very clear that we don’t have a 10 to 1 racial wealth gap because one group worked 10 times harder, that there have been policies that have put in place to make that happen.
And so when you’re looking at the opportunity agenda that’s being laid out about what can we do to actually create measurements of home ownership and providing first-time — providing capital to first-time home buyers, how that, you know, $25,000, the work can be done around addressing procurement policies and procurement laws, and ensuring that Black-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses, et cetera, women-owned businesses are getting the type of resources and supports that they need to be able to grow and thrive. We know that while — that while these are going to have a distinct impact on the African-American community, the Latino community, women, et cetera, and groups who have historically been left behind, we know that there’s a way that you can address policy measures on a broad scale basis, but that will have a distinct impact on groups that historically have been disenfranchised in the past.
BREAM: So, Georgia, “Politico” went down to Georgia, of course, one of the critical swing states. The vice president there today attending church services and other events. They went down to talk to key battleground voters down there, primarily Black voters.
Here’s what one 72-year-old man told him he’s never voted for a Republican presidential candidate before but he’s going to this time.
And this was his explanation. He says: Everything is so high now, groceries are high, clothes, everything, gas. Four years ago, it wasn’t that high. And so, people see the difference in Kamala Harris and Trump, and they want some of what they had four years ago, and I do, too.
So how do you rebut this perception that people have about their own personal circumstances and the way they’ve experienced life under these two different administrations?
MOORE: No, I would say the frustration is real. And I’d say to that person that I understand that we have seen over the process of the past really six-year period that we’ve seen inflationary growth, and it’s not even that things are getting less expensive, they’re just not growing as fast. So I think that frustration is real. And I think we have to acknowledge that and we can’t shy away from it.
The thing that I would say though when you’re looking at the policies that are being laid out by the two candidates, where you have a vice president who’s focusing on things like being able to lower costs of groceries, being able to lower cost of medicine, being able to focus on creating more pathways for home ownership and increasing inventory and making people giving people opportunity to own more than they owe, versus what we’ve heard from Donald Trump when it comes to economic policies — things like the extension of the 2017 tax cuts, which would not only add trillions of dollars to the national — to the national deficit.
When you’re looking at the over the next decade, there’ll be the largest transfer of generational wealth that we have seen in our globe’s history. If you look at the Trump tax cuts, that is not only going to concentrate that level of wealth and people who benefited generationally from wealth, it’ll make closing things like wealth gaps absolutely impossible.
So that person I would just say, I hear you and you’re right. But if you look at the policies that are being laid out, one fundamentally addresses the issues of basic affordability for everyday Americans, and one makes affordability almost a laughingstock.
BREAM: Well, President Trump’s team, of course, you know will say based on IRS data coming from the IRS that people across all brackets benefited under the tax cuts that are going to expire if this new Congress, whoever is running it, decides not to actually extend them, and also unemployment for Black Americans hit a record low under President Trump before COVID.
MOORE: Yeah.
BREAM: They’re going to point to that a success as well.
MOORE: Yeah.
BREAM: Now, I want to talk about the Obamas. They’re wildly popular in your party and I would say beyond that, too, with a number of groups.
President Obama though is getting some backlash for his tough love that he delivered out on the campaign trail recently. It didn’t go well with everyone, and that includes Stephen A. Smith who was not a Trump fan.
Here’s what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN A. SMITH, TV/RADIO HOST: You’re President Obama, how do you ignore that? Inflation, the cost of living, the price of gas, the price of groceries, and this belief that there’s an elevated level of sensitivity towards them as opposed to Black folks struggling, if not starving, in this country. Yes, that plays a role, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BREAM: Makes clear he loves President Obama. He is voting for the vice president but he worries about how that message is landing.
MOORE: Yeah, yeah, and I think what the president, you know, was saying is, is that there can be two things that can exist at once, right? That we do still have a measure of sexism in our society that has to be thought about and addressed. We do have measurements of people feeling like there’s economic pressures.
We’re not watching wages raise fast enough, something that the vice president has actually been talking about, about how can we raise wages for individuals. And then also was saying that having an economic policy that focus on things like apprenticeship programs and trade programs and getting people back into a workforce, having an economic policy that focuses on things like helping our entrepreneurs, be able to gain the capital that they need to go from turning an idea into a growing and a thriving business. That all those things can be true and things we have to be able to address.
We have to make America more affordable for individuals. We have to make ownership more real for people within our — within our communities. And frankly, we have to be able to address the level of skepticism and cynicism that a lot of African-Americans feel about, do they see themselves in this idea of American progress?
We can do all those things simultaneously.
BREAM: Well, and we know you’re busy on the campaign trail, doing those things for the Harris-Waltz ticket. Thanks for dropping in, Governor. Always good to see you.
MOORE: It’s my pleasure. Thank you.
BREAM: And joining me now, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.
Governor, good to have you on the show today.
GOV. GLENN YOUNGKIN (R), VIRGINIA: Yeah, Good morning, Shannon. Thank you for having me.
And thanks for giving us an opportunity to talk about this most important topic in Virginia right now which is the Department of Justice suit when we’re trying to make sure that only citizens vote in Virginia and we’re trying to stand by our Constitution and our law.
BREAM: Yeah. They have instituted a lawsuit against you. They’ve done it in Alabama as well, saying this purge goes in violation of the 90-day quiet period that federal law that says you can’t do systemic or large purges within 90 days.
Here’s part of their lawsuit. They say systemic removal programs are more error-prone than other forms of list maintenance and eligible voters placed on the path to removal days or weeks before election day, may be deterred from voting or unable to participate in the election on the same terms that they would have but for the commonwealth’s error.
You say this is not a mass purge. It’s not systemic and you — apparently, your team has uncovered something else involving the DOJ on this specific case.
YOUNGKIN: Yeah. To be clear, this is not a purge. This is based on a law that was signed into effect in 2006 by then-Democrat Governor Tim Kaine, and it starts with a basic premise that when someone walks into one of our DMVs and self-identifies as a non-citizen, and then they end up on the voter rolls, either purposely or by accident, that we go through a process, individualized, not system — not systematic, an individualized process based on that person’s self-identification as a non-citizen to give them 14 days to affirm they are a citizen and if they don’t, they come off the voter rolls.
And, by the way, they have one last safeguard which is they can come and same-day register and cast a provisional ballot. And so, to des — to describe this as something that’s a purge is completely inaccurate. It’s wholly consistent with the U.S. Constitution, the Virginia Constitution and Virginia law.
And just recently, of course, what we found was that back in 2006, the then Justice Department actually approved of this law and said that it is not only further — further constitutional, but we have given it thorough review and we’re OK with you moving ahead with it.
And now, 25 days last week before the election, a Justice Department decides they are going to bring suit after this law has been in effect for 18 years, administered by Democrat and Republican governors. And this is the reason why I believe that Americans and Virginians wonder what the Justice Department is up to.
It’s been in effect for 18 years. It’s been applied universally by Republican and Democrat governors. And now, all of a sudden, when Virginia is getting tight, it launches a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Virginia when we are trying to make sure that citizens vote, not non- citizens.
BREAM: Well, here’s a couple of questions to follow up to that. You talk about the DOJ giving approval back in 2006 or early on in conjunction with when this law was actually passed, as you note, under Democrat Senator who’s now — or excuse me, now Democrat Senator, he was a Democrat governor. But has it been used within that 90-day quiet period before? Is that why the DOJ is honing in on it this time?
YOUNGKIN: It had been used within the 90-day quiet period most recently by Democrat Governor Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam. And they said nothing about it at the time.
The reality is that this is not a purge. It is not systematic. It is individualized. And it starts with someone identifying as a non-citizen and then ending up on our voter rolls, as I said, either purposely or by accident.
And the reality is, how can we as a nation and how can I as a governor allow non-citizens to be on the voter roll? This is just not right. It’s not just constitutionally correct. It’s common sense.
BREAM: OK, so we know a federal judge, by the way, nominated by President Trump down in Alabama of similar suit with the DOJ. They’ve got a different program, but the judge there did put Alabama’s program on hold, but did say if you have individualized cases, you can take those individuals off. You just can’t do anything systemic.
So it’ll be interesting to see what a federal judge decides with respect to Virginia. How far are you guys prepared to fight this if you lose?
YOUNGKIN: We’re going to fight it because we’re right. And again, this is not a systematic process. This is individualized. And it starts with someone who, in fact, declares that they are a non-citizen. And of course, there are multiple safeguards. They get 14 days to affirm they are a citizen. And if they don’t, they can same-day register and cast a provisional ballot. This is constitutionally correct. It’s consistent with everything that Virginia stands for. And on top of that, it’s common sense.
Listen, elections in the United States should be decided by citizens and non-citizens just shouldn’t be on the voter rolls. And we’re going to make sure that elections in Virginia are fair and accurate and safe. We have paper ballots. We have counting machines, not voting machines. We have great custody laws, and we’re going to make sure that we have the cleanest the cleanest voter rolls in the country.
BREAM: And of course, we all know it is illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections. I want to get to the campaign itself, because that’s why this is such a big issue. You have campaigned for President Trump this week in a sit down with our own Bret Baier. This is what the Vice President had to say about President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Even people who worked for him in the Oval Office worked with him in the situation room and have said he is unfit and dangerous and should never be president of the United States again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BREAM: She cited retired General Mark Milley, who served, of course, in the Trump administration. He is quoted in Bob Woodward’s new book saying this. “He is the most dangerous person ever,’ meaning President Trump. ‘I had suspicions when I talked to you about his mental decline and so forth, but now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is now the most dangerous person to this country.”
There are ads with quotes from former Trump staffers, people who served under him, saying similar things. Why should Americans not have some concern if people who worked closest with President Trump are describing him this way?
YOUNGKIN: I think what this whole line of attack on President Trump reflects is the fact that we have a candidate in the Democratic Party who is unable to really convey a future vision for the country and what she’s going to do to attack the most important issues. And so what do they do? They actually have to revert to old adages about what they have been calling him for a long time, which is sadly the lie that he’s unfit for office.
And the reality, of course, is if they would just focus on what voters are focusing on, which is the economy, the border, national security, and of course, feeling safe in our own country because of the number of illegal immigrants that have come across the border and changed every state into a border state.
Shannon, I’m a governor in a state that is purple. It just is. And I travel around the Commonwealth consistently listening to voters. And what I hear over and over and over again is a massive concern about their economic future, their ability to afford, groceries and gas and tuition and to buy a home or make their rental payment. What I hear over and over and over again are major concerns about the millions of people who have come across the border and the hundreds of thousands of violent criminals that have come across the border just identified two weeks ago by senior ICE — senior ICE officials. And what I also hear is major, major concerns about safety.
And these are the topics that President Trump is talking about. And the reason why the other side can’t talk about them and they want to distract everyone is because they have demonstrated over the last three and a half years they don’t have any answers. They’ve unleashed unprecedented inflation that has been a gut punch. Every time anybody walks into a grocery store, they’ve allowed millions upon millions of illegal immigrants to come across the border and turn every state into a border state.
And what’s happened around the world is just a representation of a weak presidency, a weak vice presidency and a weak America. Americans and Virginians want strength back in the White House and they want someone who will stand for a strong economy and build one that lifts up all Americans like we had before.
High growth, low inflation, not low growth and high inflation where people can get great jobs and manufacturing comes back to the United States. This is the future that Virginians and Americans are talking to me about. And that’s why we see President Trump surging in the polls around the country.
BREAM: Well, the message about what to accomplish sounds very much like the one that Governor Moore gave us as well. So we will see which one is more convincing to voters as they have been voting and they can — continue to head to the polls ahead of November 5th.
Governor, thanks for your time.
YOUNGKIN: Shannon, thank you for having me. God bless you.
BREAM: You too.
All right, from the campaign trail to the courtroom, Trump and Harris both beefing up their legal teams in anticipation of both pre- and post-election challenges.
Our legal panel on what it means for the transfer of power. They’re live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH MCKOON, GEORGIA REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN: You work for the best outcome, but prepare for the worst. So we’ve got our legal team in place. We’re certainly prepared for a close election to deal with those post- election legal processes you go through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BREAM: All right, GOP Georgia Chair Josh McKoon already preparing his team for a potential post-election legal showdown, not alone. Democrats are also gearing up for litigation that could take center stage before and after the ballots are counted.
Let’s talk about it with our legal eagles, Jonathan Turley, George Washington University Law Professor, and Tom Dupree, former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General. Welcome back, gentlemen.
TOM DUPREE, FORMER PRINCIPAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Thank you.
JONATHAN TURLEY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.
BREAM: OK, so you heard the conversation I was having with Governor Youngkin about what’s going on in Virginia and the DOJ suing there. Here’s what the “Wall Street Journal” editorial board says about this. “Mr. Youngkin is being sued for doing what any governor is supposed to do. Many Americans have doubts, some justified, some not, about the integrity of their elections. But Mr. Garland’s 11th hour intervention will do nothing but stoke them.”
What do you make of this case, Tom?
DUPREE: Yeah, you know, it’s interesting. This is a super aggressive approach that the Biden administration is taking, one that I think breaks with prior departments of justice in terms of their suing states right before the election on this basis. As the Governor explained, this is something that Virginia governors have done before. It’s hard to quarrel with the notion that non-citizens should not be voting in federal elections.
And instead of suing Virginia, you would hope that the Justice Department would recognize that this is an issue and that our elections need to have not just fairness and truth, but also just the perception of fairness so that people have assurance and confidence that non-citizens are not voting. And you would hope that the Justice Department, instead of suing Virginia, would work constructively with Virginia to ensure that the voter rolls don’t contain non-citizens who are improperly on those rolls.
BREAM: Yeah, so Jonathan, I want to get your comment on that, but also to the other side of this. Florida is suing DHS because they said, listen, we’re trying to work with the feds to clean up our voter rolls, but you guys have immigration information that we need and you’re not turning it over. The Florida Secretary of State said this, “We’re calling on the federal government to dismantle the barriers blocking the states from obtaining critical information needed to prevent non-citizens from voting in our elections.”
So they’re saying we’re going to the feds to try to get this information. You won’t give it to us.
TURLEY: Well, that’s a complaint that various states have made and they’ve made this complaint that, look, at every stage, the Justice Department and the administration has harassed these states on voter identification and other laws. And this is an extension of that.
When it comes to Virginia, the key here is that they don’t know who these voters are. So they’re not trying to purge some group. These are people that either failed to say they were citizens or said that they were non- citizens. And the question for the state is what do you really expect us to do here?
But the other thing is that the law itself is quite reasonable. These people get a warning. This is, look, there might’ve been a mistake. Let’s correct it. You’ve got 14 days. And even if that doesn’t happen, they can still go in and do a provisional balloting.
And so the question is why the Department of Justice decided to go with the nuclear option here. And a lot of these states are saying this is par for the course. This is what it’s been like. Every time we try to do any type of identification, voter identification laws, we get hit with these types of opposition and they won’t give us information we need to protect the elections.
BREAM: Yeah. I’ll be very interested to see how all of these cases turn out and whether we have — we’re likely to get a decision in Virginia pretty quickly, I would think because Alabama has been decided down there.
OK. I want to talk to you about to the federal case that we’ve all been following. The January 6th Special Counsel, Jack Smith case against President Trump, clearly not getting to trial anytime soon, but the release of information, which is from Jack Smith’s side of things, not the defense side. We don’t have that out there just yet. There’s been a trickle of that information coming out.
Now, Judge Chutkan, who’s overseeing it, said this in an order allowing the release of more information. She said, if the court withheld information that the public otherwise had a right to access solely because of the potential political consequences of releasing it, that withholding could itself constitute or appeared to be election interference.
She went on to say that any argument about what needs to happen before shouldn’t happen before the elections, not relevant to her courtroom.
DUPREE: Oh, look, there’s a bit of an Alice in Wonderland approach to that, needless to say. But the bottom line is that that evidence that actually was released was in a word anticlimactic. There was nothing in there was about 2000 pages, heavily redacted material, nothing in there that we didn’t already know.
So I think all the talk about is she going to be interfering with the election? The answer is no, because there was nothing in there that was new. I think the significance of this release is that it signals the final pre-election chapter in the whole January 6th prosecution.
In other words, nothing more is going to happen between now and the election. There’s a straight shot to the election. We’ll see what happens on election night, and then the world will probably change depending on whether former President Trump is elected or not. But as far as the litigation goes, this is the final chapter before the election.
BREAM: Is it, though? It does provoke headlines and people want to know what’s in there. And it certainly reignites the conversation about this January 6th.
TURLEY: Well, the whole statement of the court was curious. You know, she admitted that this was procedurally irregular. And then she went ahead and yielded to it and said, I’m still going to do it.
Now, there’s no trial scheduled. There’s no need to have this unsealed. This could have all been filed, left under seal. It was the judge that decided at the encouragement of Smith to release this publicly. And you compare that to like Judge Merchan in New York who said, look, we’re just too close to an election. We’re going to wait until after the election.
I think the judge is dead wrong here. And I think that she has fueled this view of critics that this is like opposition research that’s — that’s being fed through a court docket.
BREAM: OK. We don’t have much time, but I want to touch on the fact that both of the parties, both of the candidates, the campaigns, they have really geared up. There are already hundreds of lawsuits in a lot of critical states all across the country.
“The New York Times” notes this about these huge teams, these legal teams that have been built up. The legal arms race, it’s the new reality of American elections since Mr. Trump’s election victory in 2016. The battle over whose votes count, not just how many votes are counted, has become central to modern presidential campaigns.
Final thoughts from, a little bit from each of you. Start with you, Jonathan.
TURLEY: Well, we’ve seen this in every presidential election. You have the ramping up. As elections get closer, the number of lawyers increase. And some of this litigation are really placeholder lawsuits.
The key about the stuff happening now is that the first round is the only round. If you get an injunction, it’s unlikely in places like Alabama, Virginia you’re going to get a second bite at that. And we’re seeing a lot of them maneuvering, but some of it’s also place holding cases where they’re saying, oh, we filed. We had concerns before.
And then we’re going to see the real action unfolding on election day and afterwards. But the indications are, we’re going to have an act of legal season.
BREAM: All right. Quick thought.
DUPREE: And look, my sense is we know that we’re getting close to the election because the lawyers are flooding the zones and —
BREAM: Here, darn lawyers.
DUPREE: Here, I think it is the new reality, right? It’s like these are elections. Unfortunately, at least in some states, are getting decided in the courtrooms, not at the ballot boxes. That’s not the way the founders drew it up. It’s not the way it should work. But I do think it is the new reality we have to confront.
I think both parties recognize this new reality and they’re taking steps to ensure that their votes are counted. And we will see.
I hope all of this gets wrapped up before the election, but I do fear there could be more post-election litigation to come.
BREAM: I think we all know that’s coming.
OK. Gentlemen, great to see you. Thanks for coming in today.
TURLEY: Thank you. Thanks, Shannon.
BREAM: Up next, the epic battle to gain balance of power on Capitol Hill. We’re going to break down the possible paths for the parties in the Senate with our Sunday panel. And as key voting groups ship their alliances, which candidates tends to benefit most.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BREAM: All right. We’re back with a closer look at the fight for control of the Senate.
Currently, Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate with 51 seats when you add in the independents that caucus with them. Republicans are hoping to gain control by picking up some of the seats you see here in yellow. Those will be critical. Thirty-four seats total are up for grabs.
Democrats face an uphill battle. You’ve got incumbents fighting to hold on to seats in six different states, Montana, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and of course, Pennsylvania.
While independents in Arizona and West Virginia are not seeking re- election, and, by the way, Maryland’s race kind of competitive too.
Now, on the flip side, Republicans would need to capture only two seats to take control. Only one of President Trump wins re-election more on that in a minute.
But early on election night, the GOP is expected to pick up this prize for their column, West Virginia. They’re also mounting a very strong challenge in Montana. You see how that flips the overall number.
But let’s take a closer look at a couple of those seats that we mentioned there. And we’ll start with West Virginia.
Former Wheeling Mayor, Glenn Elliott, and current Governor, Jim Justice, are facing off for a seat that’s in play because of the retirement of Independent, Joe Manchin. Fox News Power Rankings rate this race as solidly Republican.
Now, let’s look at Montana. Incumbent Jon Tester is facing a stiff challenge from Trump-backed Republican candidate, Tim Sheehy. Recent polling put Sheehy up by eight points.
But Ohio, a much tighter race, much less certain. You’ve got incumbent Sherrod Brown facing Trump-backed Bernie Moreno.
Currently, this is the only Senate toss up in our Fox News power ratings. If the map ends up 50/50, as you know, the newly elected vice president, whoever that is, is going to be the one casting those tie breaking votes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BREAM: So let’s talk about it now with our Sunday group, “USA Today” White House correspondent, Francesca Chambers. Marie Harf, former State Department spokesperson. Former U.S. Army Intelligence Captain, Jeremy Hunt. And Josh Kraushaar, editor-in-chief of “Jewish Insider.”
Have magically made it back to the desks after our little show and tell.
All right. Josh, which of the Senate races do you think is really — are there any surprises that you see on the horizon?
JOSH KRAUSHAAR, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, JEWISH INSIDER: Well, look, Republicans have a lot of good reasons to feel confident about their chances of retaking the majority because of what you just showed on the map, Montana and West Virginia looking like very, very strong Republican pickups.
The big question for me is that there are so many states in these purple battleground states. They’re all neck-and-neck, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, with Elissa Slotkin and Mike Rogers.
These are the matchups that are going to determine whether Republicans have a really good night or whether, you know, perhaps we’re in a much more evenly divided Senate where — you could see coattails on either presidential, for whoever wins the presidential campaign.
FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, USA TODAY WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And if I could just take it a step further, Republicans are now saying they think that they’re having a good night if they pick up both that Montana and the Ohio seat. Those are two red states that could hinge on the presidential election. They think that they’re having a really great night if they pick up those blue wall states.
On the flip side, Democrats are saying that they think that even if Vice President Kamala Harris goes on to lose those blue wall states, that the way the polling sits right now, the fact that in Pennsylvania, as well as Wisconsin, you’ve got incumbents on the ballot, that they can still pull out the wins in those Senate races.
BREAM: Well, and it’s interesting that we’ve seen a number of Democrat Senate candidates who are using President Trump in their ads and not in a negative way. I mean, we’ve seen Senator Casey, Senator Baldwin and Congresswoman Slotkin, who’s running for that Michigan Senate seat, using Trump in a way like, oh, look, we work together. They signed my legislation. That’s interesting in those blue states.
JEREMY HUNT, FORMER U.S. ARMY INTELLIGENT CAPTAIN: Exactly. I mean, if you have Democrat Senate candidates who are using, you know, president — using imagery of President Trump in a — in a positive way, basically, that is not looking good for Vice President Harris in a lot of ways.
But I do think, too, on the Republican side. I think one thing that we learned in 2022 is that candidate quality matters, right? And I think that with someone — look at we mentioned Montana earlier Tim Sheehy, someone who’s a Navy SEAL who, you know, got back from combat and is — and, you know, had a very successful business.
I mean, people who are — we need better messengers, you see better results And I think that’s one of the reasons why this — why the race is so close there and in West Virginia. I mean — so I think those are — those are going to be kind of critical things that Republicans have to do moving forward, is making sure we have candidates, especially, I mean, I’m a little biased as a veteran. I think veteran candidates are great, people who have served their country. And I think that makes a big difference and will make a big difference on election day.
BREAM: Yes. How much do you think that these Senate races will impact the top of the ticket? Because there’s always conversation, Marie, about down ballot, but there is a lot of talk about how the up ballot could actually be a difference maker.
MARIE HARF, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: That’s true. I mean, there’s a big question about how many split ticket voters still remain out there. And I actually think on the Republican side, on the Republican Party side, there’s probably a lot.
We know that a lot of Republicans don’t want to vote for Donald Trump, but maybe they want to vote for Dave McCormick. Maybe they want to vote for Mike Rogers.
I agree that candidate quality matters. What is so interesting to me about the Montana race is that Tim Sheehy now, in multiple accounts, has lied about whether he was shot in combat. He said he was. Now it turns out he shot himself accidentally while visiting a national park in the United States. So he’s under a ton of fire in Montana.
I wonder if in the last 16 days, those numbers will shift a little more towards Tester because of his line in this case.
But when you look at a Sherrod Brown in Ohio, my home state, for example, I think he is going to win. I think he is — he is beloved in that state. He has — he has bucked the tide of Democrats losing in that state.
And you will see people in Ohio vote for Donald Trump and vote for Sherrod Brown. I don’t think there are a ton of those voters, but in some of these close states, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, in particular, I do think there are a lot of Republicans and Independents who do not want to vote for Donald Trump under any circumstances, but might vote for a Republican in the Senate, and that’s why Democrats are pretty nervous about the Senate right now.
BREAM: Yes. And so there’s also — there are nerves on all sides about all kinds of things. The ground game, there are worries now that the — that the Trump campaign has outsourced some of the get-out-to-vote, door-to- door, more retail politics kind of thing.
“Wall Street Journal” says this, Republicans in swing states are rushing to shore up their ground game in the final stretch of the campaign, fearing that former President Donald Trump’s outsourcing strategy has faltered and won’t drive enough voters to the polls in key battlegrounds.”
Jeremy, you know, we can talk about these specific voting blocks and groups all day long, but if they do not get off the couch, register and actually vote, that’s what matters.
HUNT: That’s exactly right. I mean — so I mean, I’m from Georgia and we are getting tons of ads. I mean, you look at the —
BREAM: Nonstop, I’m sure.
HUNT: Nonstop. I get texts constantly from random numbers like, please leave me alone. And if you text, no, it does not work.
BREAM: You too. Yes.
HUNT: But anyway, you know, but that’s because, you know, we’re in a swing state. But none of that matters if you don’t get people to, you know, actually vote.
You can pump hundreds of millions of dollars into ads, hundreds of millions of dollars into, you know, text campaigns, digital, all those things. It does not matter if you can’t get people to actually register and then go vote.
One thing that we’ve seen, especially in my home state of Georgia, I’ve talked to a lot of the leaders who are — who have specifically focused on this issue, not just this year, but for the last several years trying to see how do we improve the ground game, how do we improve the door knocking.
So I’m confident in, you know, in my home state. I think there are other states where it’s, you know, there are some concerns and just some of the, you know, some of the relationships between the different party leaders.
I think it’s going to be important for Republicans to be able to come together and actually employ a ground game that makes a difference on election day, because we know that Vice President Harris has legions of folks, you know, who are — who are going out there and are — and are very well-versed in the ground game. So — but that’s what it comes down to. And I think we have to be able to perfect on that.
BREAM: Well, and not that there aren’t nerves on the other side, because here’s some of the headlines about Democrats, how they’re feeling. Reuters, “Harris campaign shifts strategy as anxiety rises over Trump gains.” “New York Post,” Pennsylvania dem’s rip campaign, Harris campaign just weeks before election, calling it AWOL, being out-messaged. “POLITICO” says, “Dems see warning signs for Harris with Latino men in Pennsylvania.”
Josh, quick comment from you on that.
KRAUSHAAR: Yes. Look, actions speak as loudly as polls. And when you have Kamala Harris trying to reach out to African-American men in the final few weeks of a campaign, it shows she’s worried about her base.
When she’s trying to win over Republicans, she’s going to be in Pennsylvania with Liz Cheney this week. Maybe she needs that extra boost from an unusual constituency to push her over the top.
It does seem like after avoiding the press for so much of the campaign, she’s been doing a whole lot of interviews. On one hand, that’s a good thing. I’m glad she’s talking and doing interviews.
On the other hand, it shows she’s need a — she needs to make up some ground and she’s worried about where the polls show.
BREAM: Well, she is welcome to come on FOX NEWS SUNDAY, anytime.
OK. Panel, don’t go far.
Just days after the leader — after IDF took out the leader of Hamas, Israel’s prime minister is facing new pressure to wrap up the war in Gaza. We’ll take you live to Israel and then debates.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BREAM: The conflict between Israel and Iran-backed militants in Lebanon and Gaza continue to escalate despite hopes that the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar might restart peace negotiations.
Trey Yingst joins us live from northern Israel with the very latest.
Hello, Trey.
TREY YINGST, FOX NEWS CHIEF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Shannon, good morning.
The northern front heated up this weekend with Hezbollah launching hundreds of rockets over the border and Israel resuming air strikes against Beirut. Smoke could be seen rising from the Lebanese capital as Israeli fighter jets targeted the Dafia (ph) neighborhood, a Hezbollah stronghold. Large explosions could be felt throughout the city as the Iran-backed group vowed in recent days to keep fighting Israel and escalate its attacks.
That’s exactly what we’ve seen on the ground with an uptick in rocket fire here in northern Israel. On Saturday, one man was killed by shrapnel just across the bay from our position. A Hezbollah drone also slipped passed air defense, slamming into the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He was not home at the time.
With Israeli ground forces continuing to go after Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, an additional reserve brigade has been called up to fight. New video released by the IDF shows Hezbollah’s underground infrastructure being blown up. And on the southern front, that does remain active as well, with new ground fighting and strikes ongoing in northern Gaza. Two Israeli soldiers were killed, as well as dozens of Palestinians according to local reports.
Overnight, the IDF released a video showing former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a tunnel beneath Gaza with his family the day before the October 7th massacre. More information is expected to be declassified following Sinwar’s death last week. With no diplomatic solution on the horizon to end the war, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to the region on Tuesday for meetings.
Now, the big x factor here in ongoing ceasefire conversations is Iran. The Israelis are expected to launch an attack following the ballistic missile attack against Israel earlier this month.
Shannon.
BREAM: All right, Trey Yingst in Israel for us today.
Trey, thank you very much.
We are back now with the panel.
“The Hill” reports this about what comes next in the wake of Sinwar’s death. It says, “The Biden administration has sought to craft a day after scenario for the Gaza Strip absent Hamas leadership, to include ideas of a multinational Arab security force and a Palestinian civil administration. But Netanyahu has held back on endorsing any of these ideas.”
Francesca, I mean this is a real kind of legacy conversation for the Biden administration wanting to get this thing wrapped up.
CHAMBERS: And right now what the U.S. sees as the most important imperative is getting to that ceasefire deal. They believe that this is the best possible chance that they’re going to have this now that Yahya Sinwar is dead, that they say there is a unique opportunity to try and get these talks restarted right now. They believe that that’s the best way to get the hostages back alive at this time.
But as we talk about the ticking clock on President Biden’s legacy in roughly three weeks from now, either Vice President Kamala Harris will win this election and that will be largely viewed as a reaffirmation of President Biden’s worldview, or Donald Trump will win this election and it will be interpreted as a rejection of Biden’s worldview and foreign policy.
So, whatever President Biden is going to do, he’s got a short amount of time to do it. And that’s partly why you saw him overseas this past week in Germany.
BREAM: Yes, our colleague, Andy McCarthy, writing over at “National Reviews” says this about this administration’s attempt to try to persuade folks in the Middle East to follow their vision.
They say, “Attempts by the American administration and its fellow progressives in European chancelleries to stop Israel from conclusively defeating the jihadists only ensure that the world will continue and many more hostages will be taken.”
They suggest, Marie, deference to Netanyahu, who has been executing this thing in a way he wants to, taking out the leadership of Hezbollah and Hamas. Stand back and let him do his thing.
HARF: Well, I mean, to be clear, the reason Israel – one of the main reasons has been able to have such success against Hamas and Hezbollah is the large amount of American weaponry that the Biden administration has continued to send them, even in the face of some significant, I think misguided, but significant domestic political pressure. So, the U.S. has stood by Israel throughout this entire process.
Tony Blinken, right now, is negotiating with the Israelis, with Ron Dermer, a key Netanyahu ally, with the Emiratis, and the Saudis and the Egyptians to try and come up with a day after plan. What does Gaza look like without Hamas in charge? How do you get to a place where Israel is secure, there is no terrorist threat coming from Gaza, where the hostages importantly, including American hostages, can come home? And there is a different path forward for the Palestinian people, who have suffered in Gaza tremendously as we know.
And so I agree that there’s a small window here, but I think that at least some Netanyahu confidants and the Arab states are now focused on what this might look like. And when President Trump goes on stage and says he’s calling Prime Minister Netanyahu, telling him not to listen to Biden, trying to get him involved in our political election, that is a very concerning thing for those of us who believe support for Israel should be bipartisan and should be an honest and open conversation and not part of our political game here.
BREAM: Well, and there’s been a lot of conversation this week about a letter that went over – “Axios” reporting on this letter from Secretaryies Blinken and Austin to Israeli leaders saying, “The Biden administration sent the letter to Israeli leaders Monday demanding Israel take steps within 30 days to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza or risk the supply of U.S. weapons to Israel being affected.”
I mean, Josh, that – that happening before Sinwar was taken out.
KRAUSHAAR: Yes, there’s been sort of a schizophrenic approach where I agree with Marie that the Biden administration and its policy has been largely supportive of Israel, but every so often you hear these – this pressures coming from the administration that they need to put more humanitarian aid into Gaza, that they are worried about any strike against Iran, which is continuing to be – to dominate the news. And also the issue of Rafah. The administration, Biden and Harris both in the spring told Netanyahu, don’t go into Rafah, which is where Sinwar was found, and which is where some of the most effective counter-terrorism operations have taken place since then.
So, that’s – that’s – that’s the challenge. They’ve been worried about escalation, but they also have affected the Israeli’s ability to do – and finish the job.
BREAM: A quick, final word to you, Jeremy.
HUNT: Yes, I mean, that’s exactly right. I mean thank God that Israel did not listen to the – to the Biden-Harris administration on this saying don’t go into Rafah. We had all the social media, all eyes on Rafah. Well, guess what, we know now that Sinwar was hiding, like a coward, hiding among civilians there. And thank God that Israel still went in. They’ve been decisive, even though this Biden White House has been indecisive from the start.
BREAM: Well, and, Marie, as you mentioned, Secretary Blinken is there and trying to get the talks restarted and getting those hostages home is the priority.
Panel, thank you very much. We will see you next Sunday.
Up next, world-renowned chimpanzee expert Dr. Jane Goodall has spent decades as a research pioneer. As she turns 90, she is not slowing down. My conversation with her, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BREAM: Dr. Jane Goodall, known for her pioneering research with chimpanzees, says her priority now is to inspire the next generation. I talked with Dr. Goodall about her life’s work. It is our Sunday special.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE GOODALL, PRIMATOLOGIST: We need young people to grow up knowing about the importance of the environment.
BREAM (voice over): As a child, Dr. Jane Goodall knew she wanted to work with animals. Inspired by the book “Tarzan,” she decided she wanted to travel to Africa.
GOODALL: I saved up the money being a waitress. Finally got there and met the late Lewis Liki (ph). He wanted someone to study chimpanzees. I’m the first person every. And that study led to understanding the need to conserve chimpanzees and their forest habitat with everything living in it.
BREAM (voice over): In 1960, at just 26, and despite pushback over her lack of experience, Goodall began observing chimpanzees in the wild, with not much more than binoculars and a notebook.
Over the last 60 years, Goodall became one the world’s leading primatologists and conservationist, pioneering groundbreaking research, including the discovery that chimps make and use tools.
GOODALL: Everything in nature is interrelated. So, the importance of biodiversity, the mixture of species that make up an ecosystem.
BREAM (voice over): In 1977, the Jane Goodall Institute was founded to broaden chimpanzee research and protection, conserve their environments and educate local communities and the world.
At age 90, Goodall isn’t slowing down, continuing to inspire and teach younger generations.
GOODALL: And so that’s led to me traveling the world 300 days a year and meeting with people, giving lectures, meeting decisionmakers, talking to young people.
BREAM (voice over): Goodall is also spearheading the Vote Nature Initiative.
GOODALL: Voting nature. Yes, a vote is important. Look at the candidates and ask yourself, which one is most likely to care about my future. And so, you know, I’ve been going around with – with this sign just telling people, vote for nature. That’s your future. It’s the future of your children and their children. And it’s the future of the very planet on which we depend.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BREAM: Dr. Goodall’s life and work are also the subject of an award-winning new documentary entitled “Reasons for Hope.”
That is it for us today. Thank you so much for joining us. I’m Shannon Bream. Have a wonderful weekend. We’ll see you next FOX NEWS SUNDAY.
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END
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