she looked at me and said miss mcdowell, i know where you're from, pull your head up, you're not stupid, just uneducated. change my life. so thank you. >> that's it for russ, special report is up next. >> bret: thank you, jessie. welcome to washington. i'm bret baier. tonight, has passed a grim milestone eclipsing the 200,000 mark for deaths due to the coronavirus. that's more than any other country has reported in the world. the race meantime is on to get a vaccine. we have team coverage tonight with breaking news on the push for a vaccine, the economic impact of the coronavirus wishing for more stimulus and we will take you to one country dealing with a major spike in cases. but first, president trump has picked up a major win with a commitment from one of his staunchest republican critics to vote on the president supreme court nominee. utah senator met romney's

decision bolsters the republican efforts to confirm a replacement for the late ruth bader ginsburg before the election. now just six weeks away. six weeks from today. the president said he will tell us who we intend to nominate saturday. chief white house correspondent john roberts starts us off tonight live from the north lawn. >> it was a relief or president trump today to find out that he at least had the votes to bring a nominee forward and while it is still unclear at this point whether a final vote in the full senate will take place before election day, republicans will move as quickly as they can to get that done. >> the timing for the announcement of president trump's nominee is likely saturday afternoon before he leaves for pennsylvania campaign rally. president trump today indicated he has all but made up his mind on who it will be. >> i would say i'm very close to making a decision in my own mind and i'm going to reveal it on saturday. max sources tell fox news a top contender continues to be a make on a barrett of the seventh

circuit court of appeals. also in the running, the 11th circuit barbara lugo, joan larson of the sixth circuit and fourth circuit judge rushing. president trump got good news today when utah senator met romney said he was on board for a vote before the election. >> the decision to proceed with a nominee is also consistent with history and precedent and that's where i come out. >> with senators cory gardner and chuck grassley also saying they will vote, president trump has 51 republicans ready to go forward. the president believes he has the time before election day to get it done. >> we have nothing but time especially since we have the support, we have senatorial support, people have come out and i guess we have all the votes we are going to need and they will be very happy with the candidate. >> they ramped up their efforts to block the nomination offering a scathing indictment of majority leader mitch mcconnell. >> sadly, peter mcconnell has defiled the senate like no one

in this generation and leader mcconnell may very well destroy it. >> from mcconnell's view, the senate will be executing its constitutional duty. >> is all of us pointed out, we have an obligation should we choose to take advantage of it with a president of the same party as the senate. to advance the nomination. and we will certainly do that this year. >> congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez increasingly an influential vote in the democratic-controlled house joined nancy pelosi saying democrats must consider all options including impeaching the president. a threat the white house today found laughable. >> first, to pursue impeachment based on someone executing their lawful duty, their constitutional duty is just preposterous. shows that they've always viewed impeachment as a partisan tool to take down a sitting president

to disempower the american people who voted to empower president trump. >> this afternoon, susan collins the republican became the first of president trump's colleagues to say she will vote no on the nominee if that vote occurs before election day. she says the reason for that is because mitch mcconnell refused to consider merrick garland, and obama nominee in 2016 and that he should follow the same rules that he laid down in 2016. brett? >> live on the north lawn, thank you. says president trump should wait on the supreme court pick. biden will not however say whether he would push to add to the number of justices on the supreme court if he becomes president. he was correspondent peter doo peter doocy. >> stayed home in delaware today as running mate kamala harris hit the campaign trail in flint, michigan. >> should democrats pack the court? >> that's what some democratic

leaders want to do. fed states of the supreme court and fill them with liberals. by then use to stand firmly against the idea. but now he is tight-lipped saying last night it's a legitimate question. let me tell you why i'm not going to answer that question because it will shift the focus. that's what he wants. that nonanswer says a lot to set a majority leader mitch mcconnell. >> former vice president biden himself refused to rule out that he would pack the supreme court supreme court. >> that would require a major change to senate tradition which democratic senator dianne feinstein opposes telling reporters i don't believe in doing that. i think the filibuster serves a purpose when i think it's part of the senate that differentiates itself. two new polls reveal under the radar battlegrounds, george's likely voters by 0.3% and a constitution pole and the likely voters are split. feels like a lifetime since

bernie sanders won the iowa caucus popular vote especially since so much of biden's pitches he's not bernie. >> i beat the socialist, that's how i got the nomination. do i look like a socialist? >> asked the vp nominee a second time today in michigan. >> should democrats try to pack the court next year? we tried, and we will keep asking although if the last two days of campaign events signal anything, it's that the biden brain trust believes other issues are bigger winners for them than the coming supreme court fight and especially the economy and covid-19. brett? >> bret: valiant effort, thank you. one week from tonight, chris wallace will host the first presidential debate. chris has announced the list of topics for that event. they are the trump and biden records, the supreme court,

covid-19, the economy, race and violence in our cities, and the integrity of the election. you can see the debate next tuesday 9:00 p.m. eastern here on fox news channel and will have a special report and a special debate coverage from the debate hall at the cleveland clinic in ohio. as we told you a moment ago, the u.s. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic is now above the 200,000 mark. there has been almost 6.9 million confirmed cases in this country. both of those figures lead the world according to official reporting. steve harrigan has details tonight from the home of the cdc in atlanta. good evening, steve. >> good evening. a real debate under way about when a vaccine could be ready for use in the u.s. "the washington post" reporting today that the fda is going to tighten standards and would make it unlikely that any vaccine could be ready by election day.

however, president trump has been adamant repeating multiple times in recent days that he expects there to be a vaccine ready in the u.s. well before the end of the year. >> we will distribute a vaccine, we will defeat the virus, we will end the pandemic, and we will enter a new era of unprecedented prosperity, cooperation, and peace. >> that debate takes place on a day of a grim milestone, the u.s. passing more than 200,000 dead from the virus. that number is more than the total of combat deaths the u.s. has suffered in its five wars. in the meantime, the presidential spokesperson while recognizing the enormity of this number said without president trump, the figures could have been much higher. >> we are looking at the prospect of 2 million people potentially perishing from the coronavirus in this country. we grieve when even one life is lost, but the fact that we have

come nowhere near that number is a testament to this president taking immediate action. >> right now, 770 americans are dying each day on average from the virus and tomorrow, the senate will get a look at the top doctors, dr. fauci as well as the head of the cdc and the fda while coming to the senate committee to be grilled by the senators and will be the final grilling before the election. back to you. >> bret: overseas, british prime minister boris johnson says life will not return to normal in the u.k. for at least another six months. johnson announced a new coronavirus restrictions today as cases they are have spiked. senior foreign affairs correspondent greg palkot shows us today from london. >> covid-19 hitting the u.k. again with a vengeance. officials talking about a doubling of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations morning of possibly tens of thousands of infections and hundreds of

deaths in the months to come unless the country asked. u.k. prime minister boris johnson went before parliament today and spoke on tv tonight. >> we must take action now because a stitch in time saves nine and this way, we can keep people in work, we can keep our shops in our schools open, and we can keep our country moving forward while we work together to suppress the virus. >> among the new measures, more mask used in more social distancing. stiffer fines enforced by beefed up policing and maybe even the army and after encouraging folks to go back to work, the government is now saying stay home again if you can. johnson taking heat from critics for his handling of the virus including a faulty testing program. we met the prime minister has had months to prepare for this but instead of getting a grip, the government lost control. >> the prime minister telling britt's chafing that this is not

a full lockdown. schools, shops, and offices to some degree remain open. still, the economy and society here have been hit badly in recent months and people are concerned but cautious. >> getting back slowly to normal. >> a step in the right direction. they say these measures could stay in place for six months about the time it could take to get a vaccine ready and in circulation. boris johnson also warned that these covid-19 measures aren't followed, tougher winds could be put in place. this virus is still tough in all corners of the world. >> bret: greg palkot in london. getting word the president is talking to reporters and when we get that, we will bring it to you here. meantime, the effort to get a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown hit a speed bump today as top economic officials told congress the need for a new coronavirus relief bill is greater than ever. congressional correspondent chad pergram's on capitol hill. >> congress is struggling to get its work done facing a deadline

to fund the government and talks to craft a new aid bill were installed before for the looming brawl over confirming a new supreme court justice sidelined and a new discussion of a deal. during the first of three appearances before lawmakers this week, federal reserve chairman jerome powell insists need remains. >> the path forward will depend on keeping the virus under control and on policy actions taken at all levels of government. >> warned lawmakers that they've exhausted their tools slashing interest rates and boosting access to credit and that's why they need to legislate. but stymied by state and local governments where there's a divide of $1 trillion between white house speaker nancy pelosi wants and what the trump administration can support. treasury secretary steven mnuchin testified the economy is inching back. >> americas in the midst of the fastest economic recovery from any crisis in the u.s. the august jobs report shows they've gained 10.56 million

jobs in april and nearly 15% of all jobs lost due to the pandemic. >> the democrats flagged the rosy assessment. >> 11 million americans still out of work lost their jobs. i don't think they would agree that we have had a strong recovery. >> when you close the economy and you reopen it, it is strong, but they were still more work to do. >> lawmakers trying to avoid a shutdown but republicans balked at the bill over farm provisions. >> hopefully we will be able to get that worked out, but it basically is a message to farm country to drop dead grade >> the house of representatives hopes to vote tonight on a revamped continuing resolution to fund the government through december 11th, house speaker nancy pelosi have been talking throughout the day. brett? >> chad pergram live on capitol hill, thank you. stocks were up today, the dow

gained 140, the s&p 500 finished ahead 35, the nasdaq rose 185 today. up next, a court appearance for a woman suspected of trying to send poison to the white house. we will bring you there. first, what they are covering tonight. a fox 11 in los angeles as a wildfire scorching its way through brush and timber from the mountains to the desert northeast of los angeles threatening more than 1,000 homes. a california governor gavin newsom says nearly 19,000 firefighters are battling 27 major blazes around california. fox live in atlanta as the centers for disease control and prevention issued new guidance warning against door-to-door trick-or-treating this halloween. the cdc saying the public should avoid higher risk activities such as giving out treats and crowded indoor costume parties. and this is a live look from houston, a refill he get the fox 26 they are, the as a parks itself over the texas coast

raising concerns of extensive flooding in houston and areas further inland, made landfall late monday has a tropical storm laura's north of port o'connor texas. that's denies live look outside the beltway from special report. we will be right back. new advil dual action with acetaminophen fights pain in two ways. advil targets pain at the source... ...while acetaminophen blocks pain signals. the future of pain relief is here. new advil dual action. ♪ here?

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>> bret: president trump on the south lawn telling 5:00 p.m. saturday, let's listen in. >> had a good conference. i've talked to many people, many people. >> why haven't you said anything about the u.s. hitting 20 200,00 deaths? >> overhead, anybody else? >> a new model shows 200,000 deaths of the virus paid what you want to say to the american people? >> i think it's a shame. i think if we didn't do it properly and didn't do it right, you'd have two and a half million deaths if you take a look at alternatives, you could

have two and a half million deaths or something thereabouts. he could have a number that would be more. with all of that being said, we shouldn't have had anybody and you saw my united nations speech, china should have stopped it at their border. they should've never let the spread all over the world, and it's a terrible thing, but have we not close our country down and reopened and now doing well and reopening, the stock market is up, all of those things but i think it's a horrible thing. three and a half or 3 million but it's a horrible thing, should have never happened. in china let this happen, just remember that. i know this, the original numbers were around 200,000 if you do it right if you did a good job and the public worked

along it if you didn't do it right, you'd be at two and a half million, those were the numbers but that should've never happened, should have never come out of china, should have never let it happen. i don't want to talk about who i am meeting with i've spoken to many and we are getting close to a decision, going to be doing it on saturday, meeting on saturday, a lot of paperwork to do and i think it's going to go very quickly. i don't think so. we need nine justices. you need that. with the unsolicited millions of ballots that they are sending, it's a scam, it's a hoax, everybody knows that and the democrats know it better than anybody else, so you're going to

need nine justices up there. it's going to be very important because what they're doing is a hoax with the ballots. they are sending out tens of millions of ballots unsolicited, not where they're being asked, but unsolicited. and that's a hoax. and you're going to need to have a nine justices so doing it before the election would be a very good thing because you're going to probably see it because what they are doing is trying to sell confusion and everything else and when they talk about russia, china, and all these others, paper ballots are very simple whether they counterfeit them, forge them, do whatever you want. it's a very serious problem, and the democrats know what they're doing is wrong and all they want to do is go forward with it so i think you are going to need the justices. also, i have a constitutional obligation to put in nine

justices, so i think you're going to be very impressed when you see all of them. they're all great. these are all very talented people and i think you will be very impressed by the person chosen. >> bret: president trump on the south lawn of the white house on his way to marine one and a trip to pennsylvania, the president saying he will announce his nominee for the supreme court vacancy at 5:00 p.m. eastern time on saturday, something to see live on fox news. up next, the president has some tough words for china and president putin has an unusual offer for u.n. staffers. first beyond our borders tonig tonight, an explosion rocked the stronghold sending thick gray smoke billowing over the village. the cause was not clear. no media reports on casualties. the european union cement is postponed for a week because the president of the e.u. council has gone into quarantine after a close collaborator was diagnosed with coronavirus.

the u.s. ambassador to russia visits an american detained by the moscow government paul whalen serving a 16 year sentence for spying. ambassador john sullivan says he is in good spirits but should be at home in the u.s. with his family. just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. we will be right back. for one strange time in our lives, got very quiet. some lost work and invented new ways to get by. others were busier than ever, and found strength they never knew they had. we sheltered with the people who matter most, sometimes finding how far apart we'd drifted. we worried over loved ones, over money, over our planet. and over take-out. and we found a voice

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>> bret: breaking tonight, woman suspected of emailing an envelope with poison to the white house. good evening, alex. >> good evening, faces federal charges of threatening the president of the united states. investigators releasing the image of this canadian woman saying that she mailed in six fillable letters and one was intended for the white house bit although the way never reach the president, the affidavit says the canadian woman called the president and ugly tyrant clown and the writing "to give up and remove your application for the selection, so i made a special gift for you to make a decision. this gift is in this letter great if it doesn't work, i will find a better recipe for another poison or i might use my gun. the suspect appearing in a buffalo, new york, federal court room today with a french translator. a customs and border protection officers found the suspect trying to enter the u.s. carrying a knife and a gun.

rest of her race speaking today about the effort to take her into custody near the border crossing. >> there is an individual in custody, the product of great partnership not just between federal law enforcement here in the u.s. but also with our key partners at the rcmp up in canada. >> yesterday, the royal canadian mounted police executed a search warrant at montreal being connected to the suspect. not her first arrest in the u.s. in 2019, police in texas charged her with unlawfully carrying a weapon and tampering with a government record and those charges were later dismissed. asking the judge not to release her because they think she is a flight risk. she will be in custody in buffalo until her next court appearance which is set for monday. brett? >> bret: president trump is demanding the united nations

hold china accountable for the coronavirus pandemic. the president giving a taped address today to the general assembly and says in an attempt to politicize the crisis should be rejected. senior correspondent eric shawn is at the u.n. tonight. >> we must do everything to avoid the new cold war. >> a stark warning to the united states and china from the u.n. secretary general at the nearly virtual assembly because of the coronavirus. >> the two largest economies split for no great fracture. >> president trump with the blame for the global pandemic directly on china calling covid-19 the china virus. >> we have waged a fierce battle against the invisible enemy, the china virus, which has claimed countless lives in 188 countries. >> the president accused the w.h.o. of being complicit in the virus explosion around the world.

>> the chinese government and the world health organization which is virtually controlled by china falsely declared that there was no evidence of human to human transmission. the united nations must hold china accountable for their actions. >> the chinese u.n. ambassador pushed back against the president's attack. >> china rejects the baseless accusation against china. >> in his videotaped speech, chinese president xi jinping has "no intention to fight a cold or hot war with any country" and said any responsibility for fighting the virus should will rest with the world health organization. >> we should follow the guidance of science playing to the world health organization. >> russian president vladimir putin also backed the w.h.o. claiming russia has its own vaccine and will share it with u.n. staffers free of charge. >> we are ready to continue

cooperating with all states and international entities including supplying the russian vaccine which has proved reliable, safe, and effective to other countri countries. >> the iranian president like in his achievement to that of george floyd by the minneapolis police department, and french president emmanuel macron reiterated his support for the iranian nuclear deal despite the u.s. withdrawal. >> bret: eric shawn life outside the united nations, thank you. up next, the effort to prevent another government shutdown runs into some trouble. hi, i'm dorothy hamill.

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>> bret: republicans will ask the u.s. supreme court to review a pennsylvania state court ruling extending the eligibility datday for mail-in ballots. and sylvania high court last week to push back the states

deadline, the ruling allows ballots postmarked by election day to be accepted as long as they arrive within three days of election day. the state of maine will use ranked choice voting in the november presidential election and that will be a first in the u.s. the main supreme court ruled today republican petition drive aimed at rejecting the state law did not get enough signatures. the system allows voters to rank all candidates on the ballot. no one wins a majority of first-place votes, then there are additional tabulations and which last last-place finishers are eliminated and votes reallocated based on those supporters second choices. critics say the complicated system hurts voters who do not understand it. there is even more uncertainty tonight over the coming supreme court term following the death of justice ginsburg. correspondent david sponge has that story from the supreme court. >> with their courtroom draped

in black in remembrance of justice ginsburg, the remaining eight justices return for the start of the fall term on october 5th to the court in limbo and an election with a potential pitfall over ballots just week away. just two decades ago in the year 2000, a full quart of nine justices had to rule on bush v gore. as an anxious nation waited to know who would be president. a similar situation happen this year and the president's nominee is not yet on the bench, major constitutional and political upheaval may lie ahead for a nation already gripped by a pandemic. >> there was always the possibility with a 4-4 ruling which would be particularly unsatisfying i think if it's a ruling involved a postelection case that might have some effect on the outcome. >> the court this time could be confronted over whether the account rejected or challenged ballots.

the extension of voting deadlines past election day and allegations of voter fraud with pressure to decide matters quickly and cleanly. in 2000, the justices took six weeks to rule for george w. bush. now just one week after the november 3rd election, the court will also hear arguments in favor of dismantling the entire affordable care act which could leave millions without health care. in other critical decisions about religious liberty and the power of congress to subpoena mueller related documents may end up with a 4-4 tired. the president gets his way, the scenarios i mention might not even happen. he wants to have someone installed on the court bench before the election. meanwhile here at the supreme court for two days the public incumbent honor the memory of justice ginsburg. she will lie in repose wednesday and thursday and on friday she will buy in-state at the u.s. capital across the street. >> bret: the first woman to do

that. some breaking news, we told you earlier that it didn't look like things were heading in the right direction for a continuing resolution on capitol hill but in the past few seconds, bloomberg is reporting that it is a deal reached between democrats and the g.o.p. that includes food aid and a farm support. we will check with our own chad pergram and see exactly what that looks like. we have heard of deals before but this one looks promising. up next, except a key supporter in his quest to put another justice on the u.s. supreme court. we will get reaction from the panel when we come back. [ engines revving ] ♪ ♪ it's amazing to see them in the wild like th-- shhh.

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>> bret: breaking tonight, a deal on the continuing resolution to fund the government and avoid a government shutdown. a speaker nancy pelosi putting out a statement just seconds ago we have reached an agreement with republicans on a continuing resolution to add nearly a billion dollars of desperately needed nutritional assistance were hundred school children also funds for farmers and she goes on to say that this deal is extending a key flexibility for states to lower administration requirements for snap and families in the middle of this

crisis, bottom line a continuing resolution deal. what has not been dealt with is the coronavirus bill which is still in limbo and still being negotiated although it doesn't seem promising. the big news out of washington, the president saying he will make it on saturday. >> have you made a decision and you're just going to reveal it? >> i am very close to making a decision. i will reveal it on saturday. we have a lot of time. we have nothing but time especially since we have the support, we have senatorial support, people have come out and i guess we have all the votes we are going to need and they were going to be very happy with a candidate, they know most of the candidates anyway. and we have great support, great support from the people also. >> 5:00 p.m. saturday he told reporters late this afternoon. let's bring in our panel, executive director of the institute of politics, katie pavlich news editor at

townhall.com and publisher of "the federalist." your thoughts as the day was about clearing the way. one senator met romney, former governor mitt romney said he was going to be okay with voting for the president's nominee. opened the door to this path that seems inevitable. >> this is one of those one areas where republicans both conservative and folks who are more in the establishment really do stay united and all along in talking with the people who are at the center of this discussion, people on the judiciary committee, i was hearing all along that they expected met romney to be a "yes" and he confirmed it this morning. there is no gamesmanship here, no hand-wringing. people want to move forward and want to do it for the most part what i'm hearing is they want to do it with the choice who isn't a stealth candidate who doesn't have a short record that can't be dealt with in political

terms. instead, would prefer to work with someone who they are familiar with, who is already proven to have steel in their spine and that's an indication to me that i think amy comey barrett is preferred by a number of the key senators in this ca case. >> bret: obviously, she's been through vetting before. she is someone that was considered for both the neil gorsuch appointment and also the kavanaugh appointment, and it was rumored that she was being saved for the potential appointment of ruth bader ginsburg should that happen. there is not really a way that democrats can stop this once those votes are there? >> in politics, it's not over until it's over but i do think it looks like republicans say they've got the votes, so i would not be surprised if they do move forward, and that kind of have to come i don't they? they know that if they wait for

election day, it's potentially a very different landscape, so i think you're going to hear democrats continue to lean into this and call on republicans to wait until after the election, making it uncomfortable for some of those republican senators who might find themselves either out of a job on election day or facing a minority status come january, make it very difficult for them. the core message you will continue to hear from democrats between now and the vote and maybe even afterwards is that republicans went back on their own standard in order to put someone on the court to vote against the affordable care act in the middle of a pandemic. that i think is the message that they are hoping will get them some leverage.

>> bret: let me ask you this. it was a president joe biden and a set of minoritie majority lear chuck schumer and this appointment, a vacancy came up 46 days, 44 days from an election. don't you think that they would move forward? >> i think they would've never changed the standard in the first place back in 2016. the argument that democrats are making is that republicans were the ones who change the standards that republicans were the ones -- merrick garland was the first nominee to not be given a vote in an election year. they change that standard, and so they probably would've never changed in the first place. they are changing in order to strip away the affordable care act. >> bret: met romney on this issue. >> in a circumstance where a nominee for president is in the party of the senate then more

than often the senate does not confirm. on the other hand if there is a nominee that is in the same party as the senate, then typically they do confirm. so the garland decision was consistent with that and the decision to proceed now with president trump's nominee is also consistent with history. i came down on the side of the constitution and president as i've studied it and make the decision on that basis. >> bret: points to the affordable care act case and that will come before the court right after election day, a lot of cases that will come before the court and politics vies, democrats of course will hit on the health care issue. >> health care is certainly at the top of the minds of voters with a pandemic, and it's been a top issue in elections for years now in terms of health care and obamacare, but luckily, republican senators are putting politics aside as does the president and doing their

constitutional duty to move forward with this nomination. democrats are accusing the president and republicans of the raw power grab, but really, they are the ones to blame for putting themselves in this position and being in the position that they are today. this was really about politics, which it's not, justice ginsburg could have retired under president obama could have replaced her with the justice as easily as progressive as they think that ginsburg was an mitch mcconnell was the one who reminded harry reid and warned him that changing the rules on judicial nominations leads to regret. democrats don't seem to be doing any kind of self reflection on how they change their own standard in order to push through a couple of short-term issues when harry reid was in charge, but now are accusing republicans of simply following precedent in history when it comes to filling this seat. not to mention it doesn't help democrats that they have been threatening to do things like pack the court for years for

them to bring up that threat now really reeks of politics rather than seriousness about debate about a qualified nominee. >> bret: let me go back to you and what about the talk about packing the court, eliminating the filibuster, moving forward with impeachment trying to block the potential filling of this vacancy. notice that joe biden and kamala harris have not talked about the vacancy on the trail over the past day and a half. seems like it's not on brand for them if joe biden is pitching himself as the moderate bipartisan consensus candidate to talk about those kinds of things. >> i've heard joe biden in the past talk about the need to have conversations about court reform. this isn't the time to do it. this is the time to stick to the precedent that was set that gives every election year -- it

has always been up until merrick garland the precedent and then the republicans changed it, so we should stick to that, let the voters way again and then go from there. that's his argument and at the same time pointing out to voters the ramifications of this, not the process ramifications, but the very real ramifications when it comes to issues like civil rights and health care. >> bret: we have crossed this grim milestone as a country of 200,000 deaths tied to the coronavirus. the president was asked about that, take a listen. >> while i think it's a shame, i think if we didn't do it properly and do it right, you would have two and a half million deaths. it's a horrible thing, should have never, ever happened. china let this happen, just remember that. >> bret: expanded on the speech that he gave to the u.n.

on tape about blaming china for the coronavirus. >> is honestly going to continue to do that in his closing argument and you can expect to see in these debates. this is a very interesting moment for the president because he knows that republican voters tend to glom together and have an impact when it comes to their reaction to these judicial fights, they view them as culture war issues and situations where they have the edge. i do think that is going to benefit him in the short term in terms of presenting to the voters have a choice as opposed to perhaps a referendum on decisions that he made back in march or april which is what the biden campaign would vastly prefer and to your point about the normalcy dynamic there, i think that's a really difficult situation for democrats to navigate particularly if their own base continues to engage in this kind of radicalism and threats of riot and violence and that type of thing in a reaction to the president's nomination.

>> bret: covid-19 is one of the debate topics that will be talked about by chris wallace, the moderator at the debate on the 29th. we will be there as well, panel, thank you very much. when we come back, priorities. given my unique lifestyle, that'd be perfect! let me grab a pen and some paper. know what? i'm gonna switch now. just need my desk... my chair... and my phone. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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they are in pennsylvania. the president will land in moon township and he will be speaking to the crowd on the ground. there we go, there they are, waiting for the president to arrive. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. that's it for the "special report." >> martha: if that was the president, he just flew right by. he would have to come back around. thank you, brett. good evening, everybody. i am martha maccallum in new york and this is "the story. president trump is about to hold a rally into in pennsylvania. biden has visited the home of 20 electoral votes ten times since becoming the nominee. several work during the dnc. we are watching and we will take you there shortly. meanwhile on capitol hill, the supreme court prepares to remember justice ruth bader ginsburg. she will lie in repose there tomorrow and thursday, and then