Grabien

PHILLIP: “The first assassination attempt, you know, Trump and his advisors said that he was a changed man, he was gonna bring the country together. He — he didn‘t try to tear the country apart for about four days. But there‘s clear — it‘s clear he abandoned that mission. I mean, wouldn‘t it be the thing to do right now to take that back up and say, ‘Starting with me.’” JENNINGS: “Yeah, I think any politician could go on TV tonight and say, ‘I am going to take personal responsibility for my own language and my own actions.’ But this point about deradicalization, what I mean is, look, when you‘ve had this kind of language about somebody be the underpinning of a campaign for years, and intensely for the last several months, the only way to unwind it is for the people who‘ve been saying it, chiefly the president and the vice presiden,t to go on TV and say, ‘You know what? We went too far and what we said, honestly, is not true. The country will not end.’” MYSTAL: “I think the Democrats will tamp down their language about Trump the moment Trump tamps down his language about the Democrats, about immigrants, about people of color, about women, and not a moment before.” JENNINGS: “”hat about — how many — how many times you‘re going to shoot at him? How many times is that?” MYSTAL: “Is your argument literally that you are not under threat unless somebody directly takes a shot at you? Is that actually what you‘re saying? Do you have access to Secret Service files about how many threats Harris and Biden have received over the past year, how many threats Barack Obama, the first black president, received for eight years while he was in the White House? Do you have those Secret Service files or are you just out here talking because somebody was caught in the bushes on Saturday.” JENNINGS: “Somebody?” MYSTAL: “If you want something done, if you want to get away from this violence and hatred, the clearest thing to do is to take away the weapons that these people are using to cause the violence and hatred. Rhetoric does not kill people, guns do.” JENNINGS: “So you‘re okay with people being radicalized, you just want to disarm them, but it‘s okay to continue to lie to them about what will happen to the country if your political opponents win?” PHILLIP: “All right, I’m gonna give Tim last word and then we got to go.” NAFTALI: “We — we‘ve got to make steps towards each other.”

JENNINGS: “And look, just to address your point about Harris, I just don‘t agree. I mean, the underpinning of her campaign, I mean, she repeats it herself, ‘Trump will be a dictator on day one.’ I mean, this country fights dictators. That‘s what our history — we fight dictators.” NAFTALI: “Didn‘t he say he‘ll be a dictator?” JENNINGS: “‘There‘ll be a bloodbath. There‘ll be a bloodbath.’” PHILLIP: “When did she say that there would be a bloodbath?” JENNINGS: “‘He wants to terminate the U.S. Constitution.’” PHILLIP: “She didn’t say that there would be bloodbath.” MYSTAL: “The first thing she said, which was true, and the second thing — “ JENNINGS: “It is said by every Democrat working for or around her campaign every day on this network and every other one. The bloodbath thing is stated every single day. But my point is, ‘dictator,’ ‘bloodbath,’ ‘eliminate constitution,’ what do you think — “ PHILLIP: “Hold on, let’s just clear this up. You‘re referring to Trump‘s use of the word ‘bloodbath’ when he — “ JENNINGS:” And what was he talking about?” PHILLIP: “I‘m going to explain it to people, because I think there‘s confusion about this. Use of the word ‘bloodbath’ when he was talking about vehicle manufacturing jobs in the United States. Vice President Harris improperly and unfairly mischaracterized that as him saying there would be a bloodbath if he were elected. However, she did not say that if Trump were elected, there would be a bloodbath. She did say that.” JENNINGS: “I know you have interviewed and had people out here and have watched the same coverage I have. The ‘bloodbath’ garbage, it is a pillar of the Democratic campaign against Trump, as is ‘dictator,’ as is ‘eliminate the U.S. Constitution.’” MYSTAL: “Dictator stuff is true, though.” Does matter of stuff I told you need to. JENNINGS: “If I told you — “ ROSEN: “Do you feel the need to — “ JENNINGS: “If I told you all that about somebody — “ ROSEN: “ — do what Trump is doing, which is this sort of blame the Democrats instead of saying, ‘Oh yeah, maybe both of these guys are screwing up,’ which is sort of what I think the rest of us are saying?”

WILLIAMS: “Ryan Routh was the suspect in an alleged assassination attempt on former President Trump. I immediately recognized the name because I had been in touch with Ryan Routh for over a year in the early stages of the war in Ukraine. Like thousands of other international volunteers, he apparently went to Ukraine to help. I don’t believe that he was fighting himself, but he had put up signs in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, offering to help other foreigners find places in Ukrainian battalions. And that’s how I initially came across him. I spoke with him, I think, once on the phone and texted frequently, and he put me in touch with several foreign fighters. Now, he seemed very genuine and passionate about supporting Ukraine. He mentioned plans to bring in thousands of Afghan and Syrian fighters, which I took, frankly, with a grain of salt. In an interview with the news website Semafor, he claimed he’d been unable to get visas for Afghan fighters, but we don’t know if he was actually in touch with any Ukrainian officials at all. Now, I’ve met American volunteers everywhere from Syria to Ukraine. Some are experienced soldiers and clear about the dangers they’re facing, but others seem less well informed and their motivations can be quite confused. To be honest, Ryan Routh did at seem — at times seemed fairly naive. At one point he sent me an audio track of a song he’d apparently recorded about the carnage caused by the war in Ukraine. In November of last year, he told me he was back in the U.S. in Hawaii, and that was the last time I heard from him. Anne-Marie?” GREEN: “Wow, Holly. Fascinating. Thank you very much.”

RUSH TRANSCRIPT: Do you have an antidote for that or a way people can talk themselves out of taking that bait? >> I think that’s really a critical question, and I think there’s a couple of things going on here. You mentioned the press, and sadly, the press is still not able to cover Trump the way that they should. They careen from one outrage to the next, what was outrageous three days ago is no longer on the front pages, even though it threatens the physical safety of so many people, particularly as you point out, immigrants that he and Vance have decided to demonize. And I don’t understand why it’s so difficult for the press to have a consistent narrative about how dangerous Trump is. You know, the late great journalist Harry evans, you know, one time said that, you know, journalists should really try to achieve objectivity, and by that I mean they should cover the object. Well, the object in this case is Donald Trump. His demagoguery, his danger to our country and the world. And stick with it. You know, they were merciless about what they saw as President Biden’s problems in the debate and calling for him to withdraw, I believe Donald Trump has disqualified himself over and over and over again to be a presidential candidate, let alone a president. The second thing, though, is that part of what Trump is counting on is for people to get desensitized desensitized. Did you hear what he said yesterday, did you hear who he attacked? Did you hear the viciousness? It just, like with a shrug, okay, fine, we’re moving on. Well, Americans need to understand that they have to take Trump both seriously and literally. He has said what he wants to do. He and his allies with project 2025, his desire to be a dictator at least on day one. All of that is in the public record. And I believe that more Americans have to be, you know, willing to endure what frankly is discomforting and to some extent kind of painful, to take him at his word and to be outraged by what he represents. And then finally, the hopeful side of this is that I do think more and more Americans are rejecting the kind of chaos that he represents. We can’t go back. That’s what the Harris campaign says all the time. We’re not going back. We’re not going back to, you know, what he failed to do to protect American lives during Covid, we’re not going back to the, you know, romance with dictators that puts innocent lives at risk and America’s security in danger. We can’t go back and give this very dangerous man another chance to do harm to our country and the world.

Wallace: “So, Donald Trump — someone has attempted to assassinate Donald Trump twice using an AR-15. Is Donald Trump doing any rethinking about his views on the weapons that have been used in both of those incidents?” HILLYARD: “It’s a question worth posing to Donald Trump at some point. The press have been able to get some questions to him recently. And of course, there’s maybe going to be another presidential debate. We have seen Donald Trump suggest when he was in the White House, after the likes of the Parkland shooting, suggesting that he would seek to have some sort of gun control reform. That never actually transpired or took place. Instead, he stood by the NRA and said that they had effectively what they needed. They did through, push through an executive order, an attempt to ban bump stocks. In terms of assault weapons, he has not sided with putting on a ban on semiautomatic weapons. Donald Trump has continually gone to the NRA convention pretty much every year, have been to several of them alongside of him. For Donald Trump, I think that there’s little reason to believe that he’ll change his tenor. He’s — we’ve lived through multiple mass shootings now. Of course, there’s a question of whether the potential effort to take his own life, what changes decision or view on this. But that’s something that, at least from Donald Trump’s own mouth, we haven’t heard at this time.”

Biden: “Most importantly, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, Trump is a threat to this nation.”

ROUTH: “I’ve been dealing with Russia for my entire life, you know. We had one period where it was OK, but now we’ve let it slip back into terrorism. So it’s just the world needs to respond, you know. Why world leaders are not sending military is beyond me. We’re going to have to elect new leaders the next go-around that have a backbone and that have the fortitude to say, ‘Hey, we’re not going to tolerate this type of behavior.’”

SHARPTON: “They have literally had to close the schools and cancel town hall meetings because of these threats. And when you look at the fact that he is now admitting they made up a story, as you say, quoting him, that the media wouldn’t cover, maybe the media didn’t cover it because there was no story. It didn’t exist. But again, this is consistent with Trump’s campaign. Let’s not forget Donald Trump as president called Haiti and several African countries asshole countries. You also have to put into the factor in that if you are someone that is anti-Haitians in Springfield or coming in to think you’re defending the people of Springfield whose pets are being eaten up, any black walking around Springfield looks Haitian. I mean, it is racist. It is a clear threat to people. And just like I denounce whoever’s trying to assassinate Donald Trump for whatever reasons, they should denounce the fact that they are inciting nuts to feel that they can go into Springfield and save pets. That’s what those kinds of jaded thinking is what leads to killings. I did the funerals in Buffalo, New York, of a mass killer that felt he had the right to target blacks. I’ve been to others and did eulogies. This is dangerous. This is a threat to people. And the same time we denounce what apparently has happened as a threat to Donald Trump, we should denounce what is apparently a threat to blacks and particularly Haitians in Springfield — in Springfield, Ohio.”

BRADSHAW: “The Secret Service agent that was on the course did a fantastic job. What they do is they have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time to were the president was at, and he was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engaged that individual, at which time the individual took off.” (...) Reporter: “So I just want to understand, there was a rifle — so one of the agents saw, on the golf course, a rifle pointing out of the fence? Was it chain Link — okay. So he saw that and engaged him?” UNKNOWN: “That is correct, yes.” Reporter: “The former president was on the golf course behind him? How close?” UNKNOWN: “It was one or two holes behind.” Reporter: “Why is that?” UNKNOWN: “Because the bubble moves across — through the golf course, so our agents will get there first, clear it. He noticed that the rifle was pointing out, our agents engaged. We are not sure right now if the individual was able to take a shot at our agents, but, for sure, our agents were able to engage with the subject.” Reporter: “Was he hit?” UNKNOWN: “I — I don’t want to — “ BRADSHAW: “It doesn’t appear so. Yeah?” Reporter 2: “How far away was the president? How far away was Donald Trump when this gentleman was fought and stopped?” BRADSHAW: “Probably between 300 and 500 yards. But with a rifle and a scope like that, that’s not a long distance.”

GOWDY: “ — was on the brink of unprecedented peace on the Middle East, so what happened? Joining us is former Director of National Intelligence, John Lee Ratcliffe. Director, I want you to take us on a tour of the globe, but there was a shooting in West Palm Beach, at one of President Trump’s properties, you probably have been at that property, details are very, very limited at this point, but just want to get your initial reaction, even though the questions outpace the answers at this point.” RATCLIFFE: “Well, my reaction, I think, is unfortunately what most Americans would be, which is, I’m not shocked. Why would anybody be shocked at this point in time if they heard that there were shots fired in the vicinity of President Trump, given what has happened, you know, given unprecedented legal cases, indictments against him, legal theories that have never been pursued? And when there was an actual assassination attempt against him, it was minimized by his political opponents. And when Kamala Harris on the stage last week at the debate demonized him and labeled him a threat to democracy, you know, why would any of us be surprised that there continued to be potential threats on his safety and on his life like there have been in the past?”

BOYKIN: “Can I say something about this? Because this is what really bothers me when we have this discussion. I never really talk about this because it’s not politically correct to say it, but he’s in a dead heat because of white people. I mean, the majority of white people support Donald Trump, and they have supported him in 2016, they supported him in 2020, and they’ll probably support him in 2024. If it were up to black people, Latinos, and Asian Americans and other people of color, he would lose in a landslide.” GESSIOTTO: “But he’s gaining a lot more — “ URBAN: “To be fair, he’s gaining African-American men and Hispanics.” BOYKIN: “I understand that.” STELTER: “But it’s still about white dominance. It’s still about white dominance.” BOYKIN: “He’s in the lead because he protects and projects the idea of protecting white supremacy. And that’s what resonates — that’s what resonates — people were talking about economic anxiety in 2016, and then Trump went off and he let a cavalcade of racism.” URBAN: “It’s not even serious.” BOYKIN: “I’m a hundred percent sure.” PHILLIP: “And that’s your theory, Keith.” BOYKIN: “Yes.” PHILLIP: “Then to answer what Urban is asking, why then is Trump improving with voters of color?” BOYKIN: “He’s not improving with voters.” GESIOTTO: “He is.” BOYKIN: “No, I’m sorry. He’s not improving with — no.” STELTER: “I think he is.” URBAN: “Keith, you’re delusional.” GESIOTTO: “We have more support than Republicans in the past with both Hispanics and black people right now.” BOYKIN: “I understand that he has done better than other candidates have done.” GESIOTTO: “But he’s improving.” PHILLIP: “Okay, let’s put it this way. He improved on his 2016 performance in 2020, and the polls suggest that he’s improving now.” BOYKIN: “The Washington Post/Ipsos poll that came out today — “ PHILLIP: “So, even if you go by 2016 or 2020, then why — “ BOYKIN: “The Washington Post/Ipsos poll that came out today said that he’s actually losing support in the black vote.” GESIOTTO: “New York Times/Siena said the opposite.” BOYKIN: “And he’s actually — and Kamala Harris is gaining support. The third-party candidates are declining in their support. So, you know — “ URBAN: “Brian’s disagreeing with you!” STELTER: “He’s clearly growing support.” BOYKIN: “No, no — “ STELTER: “And this is not just about white dominance. It’s about male dominance.” PHILLIP: “Hold on, hold on, guys. Brian — “ NAVARRO: “I don’t think any of us — I don’t think most people will be surprised if Donald Trump does better with Latinos and blacks than he did in 2016, than he did in 2020. Listen, what do I hear? I hear people tell me that they like how — they like his mouth. Some people — what turns me off turns some people on. They think he’s being authentic. They think he’s being unfiltered. They think he’s tough.” URBAN: “True.” NAVARRO: “They think, you know, he stands up for what he believes. So, it antagonizes most Latinos. It antagonizes most African-Americans. But certainly, there are some people for whom it appeals.” BOYKIN: “That’s exactly my point though. What I was trying to get at is that, yes, there are — there are a significant number of people of color who support Donald Trump, but that’s still a small, small minority. Especially in the black community, you’re talking about 85 to 90 percent of black people will support Kamala Harris. That — even among black men, you know. So the idea that somehow Donald Trump is winning in large numbers — “ NAVARRO: “It’s the same issue we were talking about with RFK.” BOYKIN: “No, no.” NAVARRO: “When you’re talking about the Latinos — “ BOYKIN: “Yeah, I agree with you on that. The margins are very important.” NAVARRO: “At the swing states where Latinos are, you know, five, six percent in Georgia, they are five, six percent in Pennsylvania, Michigan — “ BOYKIN: “I totally understand. I get that. I’m not saying that that can’t make the difference. I’m just saying that we’re misrepresenting who these communities are. To pick a few unrepresentative black men and say, oh, well, black men are supporting Donald Trump, when 85 to 90 percent of black men are supporting Kamala Harris, obviously it’s completely misleading.” GESIOTTO: “I think that’s very dismissive of black men.” PHILLIP: “To be clear, we didn’t say that at this table.” BOYKIN: “No, I’m not saying you, I’m just saying in general.” PHILLIP: “But I think Ana’s point is correct, that there is, even if it’s a slight move — “ BOYKIN: “It only takes a few to make a huge difference, yes.” PHILLIP: “It only takes a few.” BOYKIN: “Yes, exactly.” STELTER: “I just want to say, in addition to white dominance, it’s also about preserving the status of men. And we should interrogate, what is it that appeals? I’m not perfect. I learned some of this stuff since I was five or six years old. Men in this society are in a very interesting place right now with what the messaging is from the Trump campaign, and I just think that’s worth interrogating.” PHILLIP: “All right, everyone.”

BURNETT: “He fled, he didn’t take his own life. He’s now in custody. He had those ceramic tiles ready. What does the fact that he wanted to survive say to you?” CLEMENTE: “It says that he‘s not — he‘s not suicidal, apparently, he wasn‘t going to take his own life if he was almost being captured. Clearly, we saw that he was captured without that. And it tells me that he‘s probably much more politically motivated. The last shooter in Pennsylvania, I don‘t want to say his name because I don‘t want to promote him in any way, but he was cleared well, the guy that was looking for the notoriety of taking that shot. I would think we‘re going to find that this guy is extremely politically motivated and that he probably was spurred on by much of the political diatribes that are going on these days, talking about Trump, equating him to Hitler and things like that. So I don‘t think this is the last we‘ll see of crazies out there trying to do this.” BURNETT: “So now, can you put in context this moment, which I feel like sometimes in this country we‘ve all become immune and numb for so many — for so many reasons, to so many things that we shouldn‘t be? But Tim, we‘re talking about the second attempted assassination of a former president in nine weeks. When the first one happened, I think the entire country was in complete shock, and then today there‘ll be more numbness by people. But can you just put into context what it is like to see something like this? Just to state the obvious, this has never happened before. It is unprecedented.” CLEMENTE: “You know, Erin, it‘s unprecedented in a civilized society. And I think we‘re becoming more and more uncivilized, sadly, with the political diatribes that are going on and the political indictments of either candidate. And sadly, the finger-pointing at Trump has lead to — you know, the line about the bloodbath, talking about the auto industry, being used as if he‘s going to create a bloody coup if he loses, that kind of the verbiage is something you use in a third-world country when you‘re talking about a dictator. That sadly has led to, I think, these attempts on Trump‘s life, and I don‘t think it‘s going to end. I think we just have to realize, look, we‘re political opponents, you and I might not agree on 50% of what we care about politically, it doesn‘t matter, it doesn‘t mean we can‘t be friends, neighbors, relatives, and have a regular dialogue every day. We have to get back to that, talk about our differences but not in a way that makes us feel like you‘re the enemy and I‘m all good.” BURNETT: “All right. Well, Tim, thank you very much. I’m glad to speak to you tonight. Thank you.”

RUSH TRANSCRIPT: RADDATZ: “There is a clear difference there, governor. I want to in terms of the economy, vice president Harris says she has a plan for lifting the middle class, but right now the middle class under the Biden-Harris Administration, eggs are up 119%, chicken up 25%s the median home price is up 39%. This is the Biden-Harris Administration, and Donald Trump is leading on the economy and immigration. What are your people saying to you? You must hear that as a governor.” HEALEY: “Yeah, and look. I try to explain to people as governor, here’s how we got here, okay? We had Covid which Trump did not handle well. There had to be a huge infusion of money to save our small businesses and to help our — all of our states. Inflation rose as a result, and what’s happened under the Biden-Harris Administration is they’ve actually worked to bring down inflation. There is still work to do. What’s important, Martha, going forward, is that Donald Trump wants to make permanent tax cuts for the ultra wealthy among us, okay? Which is only going to burden us with more debt. He also wants to put on more tariffs which are going to raise consumer prices for all of us. In contrast, Kamala Harris has said, I’m going to lay the foundation to see further reductions in the interest rates which I think we’ll see soon, and prices are going to come down, but —“ RADDATZ: “Okay, governor.” HEALEY: “It’s very unfair to start that in the middle of the movie when the Biden-Harris Administration came in, and they were dealing with a lot. We have the strongest economy in the world right now, and they are committed to making life more affordable for people on housing, drugs, groceries, and the likes.”

BASH: “Here with me now is Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance, who represents Ohio in the U.S. Senate. Thank you for being here, sir. So, the mayor of Springfield, Ohio, Rob Rue, said, ‘All these federal politicians that have negatively spun our city, they need to know they’re hurting our city, and it was their words that did it.’ Before Donald Trump talked about eating dogs and cats on a debate stage, it was you, Senator, who first elevated this baseless rumor. These are your constituents. So, why are you putting them at risk by continuing to spread claims about Haitian immigrants, despite officials in your state saying that there’s no evidence and pleading for you to stop?” Vance: “Well, Dana, first of all, what’s putting the residents of Springfield at risk, which was a town completely ignored by the American media until Donald Trump and I started surfacing some of these concerns, is that they can’t afford housing, they can’t afford health care. The schools have been overwhelmed. The hospitals have been overwhelmed. And they’re overwhelmed because Kamala Harris allowed 20,000 Haitian migrants to get dropped into a small Ohio town of about 40,000 people, and it’s completely overwhelmed the services. Now, you ask, why have I talked about some of the things that I have been talking about? Let me just say this. My constituents have brought approximately a dozen separate concerns to me, 10 of them are verifiable and confirmable, and a couple of them I talk about because my constituents are telling me firsthand that they’re seeing these things. So I have two options, Dana. I could ignore them, which is what the American media has done for years to this community, or I can actually talk about what people are telling me. And, of course, many of the things that the media says are completely baseless have since been confirmed. For example, I was told, Dana, that the American — by the American media that it was baseless that migrants were capturing the geese from the local park pond and eating them. And yet there are 911 calls from well before this ever became a viral sensation of people complaining about that exact thing happening. So my attitude is, listen to my constituents. Sometimes, they’re going to say things that people don’t like, but they’re saying things that people don’t like because their town has been overwhelmed, and it’s my job to try to fight for them and to protect them. Kamala Harris opened the border, and now these people are suffering. That’s what I’m focused on, Dana.” BASH: “Senator, I have to go through several things that you just said. First of all, the Clark County sheriff and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources reviewed 11 months of 911 calls. They only identified two instances of people alleging Haitians were taking geese out of parks. They found zero evidence to substantiate those claims. Also, other evidence that you have talked about, even you’ve retweeted, alleged evidence, are unsourced social media videos from a different city, apparently no connection to Haitians. And this is from a conservative activist who offered a $5,000 reward for such things. And then going just back to the schools and the hospitals and so forth being overwhelmed, nobody is disputing that the town of Springfield, Ohio, needs help. But you’re not just a bystander. You’re the senator from Ohio. So instead of saying things that are wrong and actually causing the hospitals, the schools, the government buildings to be evacuated because of bomb threats because of the cats and dogs thing, why not actually be constructive and helping to better integrate them into the community? Because there are a lot of employers there who say that the Haitian workers are helping fill jobs that they need desperately filled.” Vance: “Dana, first of all, let me just respond to a couple of things that you said. But I want to start with something you said, which I think is, frankly, disgusting and is more appropriate for a Democratic propagandist than it is for an American journalist. There is nothing that I have said that has led to threats against these hospitals. These hospitals, the bomb threats and so forth, it’s disgusting. The violence is disgusting. We condemn it. We condemn all violence and threats of violence.” BASH: “Senator, this happened after you and President Trump were on — on the debate stage said that cats and dogs were being eaten.” Vance: “But to say — no, no, no, Dana, no, Dana, to say — Dana, no, you asked — you asked a question, Dana. And I’m going to go ahead and answer it.” BASH: “And after that — after that, there were threats.” Vance: “And I’m going to go ahead and answer it. What we have said is that this town has suffered terribly under the problem — under the policies of Kamala Harris. Now, you just accused me of inciting violence against the community, when all that I have done is surface the complaints of my constituents, people who are suffering because of Kamala Harris’ policies. Are we not allowed to talk about these problems because some psychopaths are threatening violence? We can condemn the violence on the one hand, but also talk about the terrible consequences of Kamala Harris’ open border on the other hand. Now let me just fact-check a couple of other things that you said, Dana, because it’s important. You said that all of these migrants are in the country legally. They’re in the country through what’s called temporary protective status.” BASH: “Right.” Vance: “That is when Kamala Harris waved a magic amnesty wand, taking people and giving them legal status. That is not a — that is not to say that they’re here legally. That is a terrible indictment of her amnesty policies that have further opened the border and further caused terrible migration into this country.” BASH: “But they’re not — but it’s not illegal. You might be — you might not agree with the policy — and, obviously you don’t, which is totally fair and legitimate. There are policy disagreements all the time. But the fact is it is the law because President Biden and Vice President Harris are — “ Vance: “Dana — the point is, Dana — “ BASH: “But I don’t want to get — I don’t want to, frankly, go down this conversation about policy, because — no.” Vance: “No, no, no, Dana, I — I — you made — you made a point. You don’t — I agree, you don’t want to talk about policy, Dana, which is why you’re talking about other distractions, instead of about the fact that — “ BASH: “No, what I want to talk about — what I want to talk about — Senator, it was your distraction. You were the one who started talking about eating dogs and cats.” Vance: “ — Kamala Harris, Dana, granted amnesty at a mass level. She granted amnesty at a mass level.” BASH: “You were the one who brought this up.” Vance: “Dana, my constituents were the ones who talked about eating dog and cats.” BASH: “The president said it to 60 million people.” Vance: “And I talked about it because you were ignoring this community. My constituents talked about it.” BASH: “Have you been to Springfield?” Vance: “It is my responsibility to surface their concerns when the American media ignore them.” BASH: “Have you been to Springfield?” Vance: “Dana, I have been to Springfield probably 100 times in my life.” BASH: “How about recently, since you have heard this — “ Vance: “I have taken my children to get ice cream at Young’s Jersey Dairy.” BASH: “Have you heard — recently, since you have gotten these calls?” Vance: “Have I been in the last four days?” BASH: “No, I’m talking about — “ Vance: “No, I haven’t been in the last four days.” BASH: “ — since you have gotten these calls from the constituents.” Vance: “But I have talked to a lot of people in Springfield, Dana, and they’re telling me this stuff is happening. Dana, would you like to ask me questions and then let me answer them, or would you like to debate me on these topics? I noticed that when you had Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, you gave them multiple-choice answers to the questions that you asked and you allowed them to answer the questions. I’m happy to here — to be here to talk about policy, but if you’re going to interrupt me every single time that I open my mouth, then why am I even doing this? So, please, ask a question, and I’d ask you to be polite enough to let me answer it.” BASH: “Yes. Yes, I am. And I think that if Kamala Harris and Tim Walz were making unsubstantiated claims that had racist undertones about people eating dogs and cats, I would — and they didn’t answer the questions about that, then I would have similar interactions with them. As you know, I am very grateful that you come on the show, as I am for other Republicans. But this is something that I — you’re hearing from constituents. I did a lot of reporting. I talked to people in Ohio over the weekend, and they’re really worried about these claims. The policies, yes, I am agreeing with you that what I heard is that there is concern that these migrants, there’s a lot of them and the integration isn’t being done fast enough and well enough. And that’s a totally legitimate conversation. But there are other conversations that are happening, like Aiden Clark, who is an 11-year-old boy who was killed in Springfield last year. It was a car accident involving a Haitian immigrant. You said that he was murdered. His father said that’s not true. It was an accident. Here’s what he said to you.” [Clip starts] Clark: “Politicians, Bernie Moreno, Chip Roy, J.D. Vance and Donald Trump, they have spoken my son’s name and used his death for political gain. This needs to stop now. (...) They are not allowed, nor have they ever been allowed to mention Aiden Clark from Springfield, Ohio. I will listen to them one more time to hear their apologies.” [Clip ends] BASH: “Senator, he’s asking for you to apologize. Will you?” Vance: “Dana, first of all, my heart goes out to the Clark family, and I don’t bring their son’s name up because they have clearly expressed a preference for politicians to not bring their son’s name up. I wish them all the best. I can’t believe what kind of a tragedy they have experienced, but I’m still going to keep on talking about what the migrants have done to Springfield, Ohio, and what Kamala Harris’ open border has done to Springfield, Ohio. And, Dana, I think this illustrates the entire contrast between how we’re trying to go about this debate and how a lot of the Democrats are trying to go about this debate. They’re talking about 12 Proud Boys marching in Springfield, Ohio. They’re talking about the, frankly, fake debunkings of a lot of these stories that are out there. I’m talking to my constituents and I’m hearing terrible things about what’s going on in Springfield, and Kamala Harris’ open border policies have caused these problems. The hospitals are overwhelmed, Dana. The schools are overwhelmed. The local services are completely overwhelmed. You have people who can’t afford housing. Homelessness has gone up. Murders are up by 81 percent because of what Kamala Harris has allowed to happen to this small community. I’m going to keep on talking about that. Now, of course, we can criticize violence. We can also still talk about the problems that are happening in Springfield, and we should be able to do both those things simultaneously, Dana.” BASH: “Just once and for all, you, again, started this in part by saying that — which Donald Trump repeated on the debate stage, that — and he didn’t say anything about the policies that you’re talking about. He just said, Haitians are eating dogs and cats. Can you affirmatively say now that that is a rumor that has no basis with evidence?” Vance: “Dana, the evidence is the firsthand account of my constituents who are telling me that this happened. And, by the way, I have been trying to talk about the problems in Springfield for months, and the American media ignored it. There was a congressional hearing just last week of Angel moms who lost children because Kamala Harris let criminal migrants into this country who then murdered their children. The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes.” BASH: “But it wasn’t just a meme, sir.” Vance: “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do, Dana, because you guys are completely letting Kamala Harris coast. You had one interview with her. You talk about pushing back against me, Dana. You didn’t push back against the fact that she cast the deciding vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which is why a lot of Americans can’t afford food and housing.” BASH: “You just said that you’re creating a story.” Vance: “We ought to be talking about public policy.” BASH: “Sir, you just said that you’re creating the story.” Vance: “What’s that, Dana?” BASH: “You just said that this is a story that you created — “ Vance: “Yes.” BASH: “So, the eating dogs and cats thing is not accurate?” Vance: “We are creating — we are — Dana, it comes from firsthand accounts from my constituents. I say that we’re creating a story, meaning we’re creating the American media focusing on it. I didn’t create 20,000 illegal migrants coming into Springfield, thanks to Kamala Harris’ policies. Her policies did that. But yes, we created the actual focus that allowed the American media to talk about this story and the suffering caused by Kamala Harris’ policies.” BASH: “Do you condemn the Proud Boys, even if it’s just 12, even if it’s just one marching in Springfield?” Vance: “Dana, I condemn all white supremacists. I’m obviously not — I’m married to a non-white person. I don’t like these people, but I think that we have to keep our focus, not on 12 marchers going down the street, but on the fact that thousands of residents have had their lives destroyed by Kamala Harris’ policy. I find this very unusual, Dana, that the American media is more interested in a bunch of losers marching down the street than they are in the fact that Kamala Harris has made these people’s lives worse. I’m not talking about 12 Proud Boys. I’m talking about 40,000 residents, 40,000 constituents of mine, many of whom can’t afford housing and food because of Kamala Harris’ open border. That is what I want to focus the media’s attention on. We’re going to keep on doing it,because I think the American people deserve a government that puts their interests first.” BASH: “Just to — “ Vance: “Can I make just one more final point about this, Dana? You have heard a lot of the media focusing on every possible distraction from the story in Springfield. You have heard them focus on these Proud Boys marchers. You have heard just in this interview, Dana, the suggestion that because some psychopath is calling in a bomb threat, somehow we have to then ignore 40,000 Springfieldians — “ BASH: “That’s not what I suggested.” Vance: “ — who are having their lives worsened by Kamala Harris’ policies. Well, what is the implication, Dana?” BASH: “Yeah.” Vance: “I would actually love to have this conversation right now live on air.” BASH: “Right.” Vance: “What is the implication when you say you calling out these problems has caused a bomb threat? You accused me of causing a bomb threat. Doesn’t that mean, ‘You should shut up about the residents of Springfield?’ Don’t you realize you’re engaged in basic propaganda to silence the concerns of American citizens? Please.” BASH: “I was quoting the actual mayor of Springfield, Ohio, begging after the — he said, after the bomb threats, begging federal officials, you, to please stop putting negative attention on his city. And I’m not talking about the policies. I’m not talking about the very real challenges that Springfield has. I’m talking about baseless rumors about Haitians eating dogs and cats. And that — after that was said on a debate stage, that is when these bomb threats started. And that is a fact. Senator, I just want to move on. I have two other quick issues separate from this that I want to talk to you about.” Vance: “Dana, again — “ BASH: “Go ahead. Please, go ahead.” Vance: “I think this is actually — I think this is an important conversation.” BASH: “Okay.” Vance: “Look, the Springfield mayor, he’s dealing with a lot of terrible things. I certainly sympathize with the guy and we’re going to try to help him out. But he did not accuse me of inciting a bomb threat. He just didn’t. And if we’re going to take the firsthand accounts of people who are on the ground in Springfield, why don’t you bring on some of the people on your program who say that the migrants are eating their pets? You’re applying a double standard here. You’re saying, ‘If one person accuses J.D. Vance, I’m going to take that person’s word as the gospel truth, even if you misrepresent it.’” BASH: “You have somebody who is named?” Vance: “If you have another person who’s saying they’re eating the cats, you’re going to completely ignore them, attack them, silence them and harass them. That double standard is why that people don’t trust the media and why we’re not talking about public policy 51 days out from a presidential election.” BASH: “Okay. If you have somebody you want to tell us about, who has proof that somebody ate their cat, of course, we want to hear that. We certainly have had no evidence that that is actually something that happened. And I just want to say, I have not accused you of anything. I am quoting the mayor, who said, ‘After these bomb threats, federal politicians are negatively spinning our city. They need to know they are hurting our city. It was their words that did it.’ Okay? That’s — I’m quoting him. And it is — it seems to be a cause and effect.” Vance: “Dana, roll — roll the tape. You just accused me of inciting a bomb threat. There is no evidence of this. I condemn violence and threats of violence.” BASH: “I’m glad.” Vance: “We should be able to do that and also still talk about what’s going on in Springfield.” BASH: “Okay, I’m glad to hear that you condemn it. That is very important. We had a lot of other issues to get to, but I really hope that you do come back, so we can talk about other issues.” Vance: “Sure.” BASH: “Senator, thank you so much.” Vance: “Thanks, Dana.”

BASH: “Here with me now is Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance, who represents Ohio in the U.S. Senate. Thank you for being here, sir. So, the mayor of Springfield, Ohio, Rob Rue, said, ‘All these federal politicians that have negatively spun our city, they need to know they’re hurting our city, and it was their words that did it.’ Before Donald Trump talked about eating dogs and cats on a debate stage, it was you, Senator, who first elevated this baseless rumor. These are your constituents. So, why are you putting them at risk by continuing to spread claims about Haitian immigrants, despite officials in your state saying that there’s no evidence and pleading for you to stop?” Vance: “Well, Dana, first of all, what’s putting the residents of Springfield at risk, which was a town completely ignored by the American media until Donald Trump and I started surfacing some of these concerns, is that they can’t afford housing, they can’t afford health care. The schools have been overwhelmed. The hospitals have been overwhelmed. And they’re overwhelmed because Kamala Harris allowed 20,000 Haitian migrants to get dropped into a small Ohio town of about 40,000 people, and it’s completely overwhelmed the services. Now, you ask, why have I talked about some of the things that I have been talking about? Let me just say this. My constituents have brought approximately a dozen separate concerns to me, 10 of them are verifiable and confirmable, and a couple of them I talk about because my constituents are telling me firsthand that they’re seeing these things. So I have two options, Dana. I could ignore them, which is what the American media has done for years to this community, or I can actually talk about what people are telling me. And, of course, many of the things that the media says are completely baseless have since been confirmed. For example, I was told, Dana, that the American — by the American media that it was baseless that migrants were capturing the geese from the local park pond and eating them. And yet there are 911 calls from well before this ever became a viral sensation of people complaining about that exact thing happening. So my attitude is, listen to my constituents. Sometimes, they’re going to say things that people don’t like, but they’re saying things that people don’t like because their town has been overwhelmed, and it’s my job to try to fight for them and to protect them. Kamala Harris opened the border, and now these people are suffering. That’s what I’m focused on, Dana.”

Kamala Harris opened the border, and now these people are suffering. That’s what I’m focused on, Dana.” BASH: “Senator, I have to go through several things that you just said. First of all, the Clark County sheriff and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources reviewed 11 months of 911 calls. They only identified two instances of people alleging Haitians were taking geese out of parks. They found zero evidence to substantiate those claims. Also, other evidence that you have talked about, even you’ve retweeted, alleged evidence, are unsourced social media videos from a different city, apparently no connection to Haitians. And this is from a conservative activist who offered a $5,000 reward for such things. And then going just back to the schools and the hospitals and so forth being overwhelmed, nobody is disputing that the town of Springfield, Ohio, needs help. But you’re not just a bystander. You’re the senator from Ohio. So instead of saying things that are wrong and actually causing the hospitals, the schools, the government buildings to be evacuated because of bomb threats because of the cats and dogs thing, why not actually be constructive and helping to better integrate them into the community? Because there are a lot of employers there who say that the Haitian workers are helping fill jobs that they need desperately filled.” Vance: “Dana, first of all, let me just respond to a couple of things that you said. But I want to start with something you said, which I think is, frankly, disgusting and is more appropriate for a Democratic propagandist than it is for an American journalist. There is nothing that I have said that has led to threats against these hospitals. These hospitals, the bomb threats and so forth, it’s disgusting. The violence is disgusting. We condemn it. We condemn all violence and threats of violence.” BASH: “Senator, this happened after you and President Trump were on — on the debate stage said that cats and dogs were being eaten.” Vance: “But to say — no, no, no, Dana, no, Dana, to say — Dana, no, you asked — you asked a question, Dana. And I’m going to go ahead and answer it.” BASH: “And after that — after that, there were threats.” Vance: “And I’m going to go ahead and answer it. What we have said is that this town has suffered terribly under the problem — under the policies of Kamala Harris. Now, you just accused me of inciting violence against the community, when all that I have done is surface the complaints of my constituents, people who are suffering because of Kamala Harris’ policies. Are we not allowed to talk about these problems because some psychopaths are threatening violence? We can condemn the violence on the one hand, but also talk about the terrible consequences of Kamala Harris’ open border on the other hand. Now let me just fact-check a couple of other things that you said, Dana, because it’s important. You said that all of these migrants are in the country legally. They’re in the country through what’s called temporary protective status.” BASH: “Right.” Vance: “That is when Kamala Harris waved a magic amnesty wand, taking people and giving them legal status. That is not a — that is not to say that they’re here legally. That is a terrible indictment of her amnesty policies that have further opened the border and further caused terrible migration into this country.” BASH: “But they’re not — but it’s not illegal. You might be — you might not agree with the policy — and, obviously you don’t, which is totally fair and legitimate. There are policy disagreements all the time. But the fact is it is the law because President Biden and Vice President Harris are — “ Vance: “Dana — the point is, Dana — “ BASH: “But I don’t want to get — I don’t want to, frankly, go down this conversation about policy, because — no.” Vance: “No, no, no, Dana, I — I — you made — you made a point. You don’t — I agree, you don’t want to talk about policy, Dana, which is why you’re talking about other distractions, instead of about the fact that — “ BASH: “No, what I want to talk about — what I want to talk about — Senator, it was your distraction. You were the one who started talking about eating dogs and cats.” Vance: “ — Kamala Harris, Dana, granted amnesty at a mass level. She granted amnesty at a mass level.” BASH: “You were the one who brought this up.” Vance: “Dana, my constituents were the ones who talked about eating dog and cats.” BASH: “The president said it to 60 million people.” Vance: “And I talked about it because you were ignoring this community. My constituents talked about it.” BASH: “Have you been to Springfield?” Vance: “It is my responsibility to surface their concerns when the American media ignore them.” BASH: “Have you been to Springfield?” Vance: “Dana, I have been to Springfield probably 100 times in my life.” BASH: “How about recently, since you have heard this — “ Vance: “I have taken my children to get ice cream at Young’s Jersey Dairy.” BASH: “Have you heard — recently, since you have gotten these calls?” Vance: “Have I been in the last four days?” BASH: “No, I’m talking about — “ Vance: “No, I haven’t been in the last four days.” BASH: “ — since you have gotten these calls from the constituents.” Vance: “But I have talked to a lot of people in Springfield, Dana, and they’re telling me this stuff is happening. Dana, would you like to ask me questions and then let me answer them, or would you like to debate me on these topics? I noticed that when you had Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, you gave them multiple-choice answers to the questions that you asked and you allowed them to answer the questions. I’m happy to here — to be here to talk about policy, but if you’re going to interrupt me every single time that I open my mouth, then why am I even doing this? So, please, ask a question, and I’d ask you to be polite enough to let me answer it.” BASH: “Yes. Yes, I am. And I think that if Kamala Harris and Tim Walz were making unsubstantiated claims that had racist undertones about people eating dogs and cats, I would — and they didn’t answer the questions about that, then I would have similar interactions with them.”

RUSH TRANSCRIPT: LINE: “Here it is a big opportunity for Vice President Kamala Harris to knock the first big single interview out of the park. And put those nay-sayers aside that say she does nothing but answer questions with word salads and then we ask — this young — local Reporter says we need specifics. It is kind of sad that here we are — you know, weeks and week and weeks into this campaign still begging for specifics. And you get this long-winded answer from Vice President Kamala Harris going in — about her life story and the middle class before she starts to address the question. Your thoughts on how she did in that first big first solo interview.” RUFFINI: “This was a reminder of the Kamala Harris Democrats were so nervous about — running in Joe Biden’s place initially. You know, many people said that at the time very early after that first debate that you know, replacing Biden would be too risky. Because of exactly these sorts of appearances that she made throughout her time as vice president. You know, giving answers exactly like the ones she gave with word salad that didn’t really make very much sense could not speak convincingly. Now, on the debate on the debate stage, she did just fine. Right? And that’s, you know, she had a week locked away to memorize the answers but when she doesn’t have the opportunity to do that she just can’t seem to speak convincingly not only to the issues. I was struck by the lack of passion, you know, when it came to explaining her life story. And for better or worse, presidential elections are not just about interviews. They’re not just about, you know, they’re not just about policies. They’re about taking the measure of a person, and I was surprised that even in this kind of a softball local news interview setting that she couldn’t connect.”

RUSH TRANSCRIPT: LINE: “What are your thoughts, we haven’t really gotten too much farther along as the game of trying to drag out further specifics from Vice President Harris continues. But what did you make of what she had to say in the first solo interview yesterday?” ANTONI: “Well, as far as increasing the tax credit to small businesses, let’s not forget she wants to also increase tax rates, she wants to increase marginal tax rates, she wants to increase net investment taxes. So this is essentially the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing and there’s no reason to believe it wouldn’t be a complete Wash for businesses in other words they would not be better off because while they are while less of their income is being taxed it is being taxed at a higher rate.”

RUSH TRANSCRIPT: WITT: “That wasn’t short a detail that you mentioned, he did not look at her was. She looked at him and the camera. Had a normal conversation between people. Alexi, the majority of the news outlets on both sides of the aisle say Harris won. Why does the campaign wanted debate Trump again? ? Are they that confident that they could shellac him a second time or something?” McCAMMOND: “May have room to grow with other voters who were not checked into the first debate or still might be on the fence, who want to hear a more he substantive policy debate on certain issues. I do not think gun control was mentioned or asked about in a really deep way at the debate. That is one issue that comes to mind that voters might want to hear more about from Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Also because it gives her another chance to create and show voters the contrast between her and Donald Trump and what their presidencies will look like, what they look like as human beings and how erratic Donald Trump is. Lastly, a second debate would give voters the opportunity to really ss, I would argue, Donald Trump’s mental acuity and we can say at the very least, cognitive fatigue.”

RUSH TRANSCRIPT: WITT: “Brendan, should there be a second debate the two ? is it to Trump’s advantage to do so?” BUCK: “I certainly think it is. He may say he doesn’t want to do another debate, but I think find points down, three or four weeks from now he will be singing a different tune. Actually, I agree with basil. I am not sure that Harris ’ folks, they have really been leaning into this doing another debate. She had one of the best debate you could ever ask for. If he realizes he needs to get his act together and does a little bit better, that could be very beneficial for Trump. I would expect there probably would be another one.”

RUSH TRANSCRIPT: GATES: “We should have free speech, but if you’re inciting violence, if you’re causing people not to take vaccines, where are those boundaries that even the US should have rules? And then if you have rules, what is it? Is there some AI that encodes those rules? Because you have billions of activity and if you catch it a day later, the harm is done.”

SMERCONISH: “So, give me — give me the 20-second takeaway to people who are viewing this from all over the country now and contemplating voting by mail. Are you spooking them into not casting a mail ballot and instead making sure they show up?” SCHWAB: “Not really. Always — voting in person is always the most secure way to secure that your vote gets counted. But if you‘re doing it in advance by mail, use a dropbox that‘s run by the county and is secure. Give it to the county election officials, give it to a polling place, give it to any advance early voting place. But don’t ever give your ballot to the federal government.”

RUSH TRANSCRIPT: Velshi: “You testified before Congress about the dangers of these lies, like Speaker Johnson’s and Donald Trump’s. What kind of threats come from these lies being done around carelessly?” BENSON: “The real threat is the threat to election officials, people who have been fed these lies. I understand the fear of an election system where anyone but U.S. citizens are participating but it is an unfounded fear. When people who have been misled to believe that this is actually happening, when it’s not, then they direct their ire at us. Those who are angry doing everything they can to protect the integrity of the process. That is the irony of the whole thing.”

TRANSCRIPT: Pope Francis [via translator]: “You must vote and you must choose the lesser evil. Who is the lesser evil, that lady or that gentleman? Both are against life, whether it’s the one who was chasing away migrants or the one that kills children. Both are against life.”

Trump: “She can’t talk without maybe getting the answers. What’s the story with that? Did she get the questions, you think? So I hear she got the questions, and I also heard she had something in the ear, a little something in the ear: ‘No, Kamala, do this. Say it this way, Kamala. OK, be quiet.’”