good evening, bill. >> bret, good evening to you. as you know, all eyes are going to be on the city of milwaukee wednesday night. that is because for voters out there, it is going to be the very first time they get a chance to see all these candidates on stage together all at the same time face to face. and for these candidates, a chance to maybe have a moment and potentially break out of what is a very crowded g.o.p. field. >> everybody should debate. everybody has a responsibility to earn people's votes. nobody is entitled do anything in this world. >> florida governor ron desantis sounding off today ahead of wednesday's republican presidential primary debate. at least 8 candidates are expected to attend. having met rnc requirements in polling, fundraising, and signing a flowage support the eventual g.o.p. nominee. and each of them are looking to capitalize on the opportunity. >> i'm looking to introduce myself to the country. six months ago, many people in this country did not even know who i was. >> once this debate happens this week, it's off to the races. >> i think i'm going to be the only one on that stage that grew up, you know, working on a farm. >> former president trump says he won't be debating, period. posting on truth social sunday that he has a commanding lead in polling over his opponents and saying in part, quote: the public knows who i am and what a successful presidency i had. i will, therefore, not be duke the debates. the latest polling out of iowa shows trump still hold as sizeable lead at 42% with florida governor ron desantis at 19%. and no other candidate reaching double digits. one of trump's most outspoken republican critics is calling him out for ducking the debate. >> he's a coward. there is no other conclusion to come to that he is both afraid of me and afraid defending his record. >> nikki haley's focus is vivek ramaswamy who has seen his poll numbers and popularity surging with g.o.p. voters. haley criticized ramaswamy of his support of reduce being funding to israel saying quote between abandoning israel, abolishing the fbi and giving taiwan to china, his foreign policy proposals have a common theme. they make america less safe. and, bret, earlier today, the judge in donald trump's federal case in fulton county, georgia, where he has been indicted, the judge set trump's bond at $200,000. now, as part of that bail bond agreement, trump is now banned from posting about anybody involved in the case on social media. it also goes a step further. that agreement says trump is not allowed to repost any comments about anybody involved in this case on social media as well. even if it's posted by somebody else. send it back to you. >> bret: all right. bill melugin just across the street. bill, thanks. please join martha and me as we host the first republican debate of the primary season right here fox news channel august 23rd. you may have seen the promos. the second debate by the way can be seen on fox business september 27th from the ron reagan presidential foundation and institute? sim any valley, california. brit hume will join us in just a minute. as republicans get ready for their initial debate, president biden's campaign is announcing a major advertising campaign of its own aimed at voters in battleground states including here in wisconsin. the president is in maui at this hour looking at the devastation from the historic and catastrophic wildfires on the hawaiian island. white house correspondent jacqui heinrich is in lake tahoe, california right now. good evening, jacqui. >> good evening, bret. the president just toured the scorched town of lahaina by air. and next up he will meet with first responders, local officials, and survivors in that town where more than 100 people are dead and hundreds more are still missing. but this visit carved out of a week long vacation in lake tahoe may not remedy criticism it's coming too late. >> maybe we should start refer to him as commander of the cabana rather than commander-in-chief. the first blaze in hawaii broke out august 8th. he announced a statement on the 9th and aid on the 10th. gave no comment death toll on the 13. >> when you say no comment that's tell me you really didn't care or you didn't have nothing planned for today's visit casting a long shadow over the island's response effort amid reports hawaiian electric failed to adopt emergency plans and update its equipment despite known fire risk. biden said in a statement sunday i know how profoundly laws can impact a family and community and i know nothing can replace the loss of life. is he earning low marks for empathy in east palestine, ohio. after promising to visit 170 days ago. more than 200 families are still out of their homes with epa testing still unfinished. >> they are a no-show here and haven't been arnold. haven't really heard from them. >> biden faces pressure from democrats declare a national climate emergency. blumenauer telling politico i refuse to accept people burning alive or jump into the ocean hours on end is new normal. the white house may be sensing political risk heading into election year marked by high gas prices and inflation. >> he has taken historic action. just marked the anniversarirer s sear of the most significant climate bill in history last week. >> the biden campaign is putting its focus on black and hispanic voters with a $25 million ad buy in seven battleground states, highlighting what they call maga republicans extreme out-of-touch views. but in the background, there is also an effort underway to revamp the vice president's public image. they are letting reporters tag along and watch her interact with constituent groups behind the scenes and she is even giving comments on her underwater polling and poor media coverage, brushing it all off. bret? >> bret: jacqui heinrich live in lake tahoe. jacqui, thanks. can you help the victims of the wirs, can you just go to red cross.org/fox forward. make a donation there. or you can scan the qr code on the screen. you can also text hawaii to 90999 and make a $10 donation. stocks were mixed today. the dow lost 37. the s&p 500 was up 30. the nasdaq gained 207 today. ♪ much of southern california dealing with the remnants of hurricane hilary which dumped records amounts of rain on that region. it's the first tropical storm to hit los angeles in 84 years. and as if that were not enough, an earthquake rocked the area just north of the city. national correspondent william la jeunesse is in los angeles right now. >> seeing the damage that it can do. it's nothing to take likely. >> historic flooding. mud slides, thousands without power. tropical storm hilary slammed southern california sunday turning roads into rivers. this man lost his house. >> it sucks to see it go. but, lives can't be replaced. material objects can it's better to just replace a house, fix whatever gets damaged somebody drowning over something avoidable. >> with peak fire season just two weeks away, the storm is emblematic of the late hate relationship with rain. >> los angeles was tested. but we came through it. >> the downpour a record for august, makes brush fires less likely. but it came at a cost. closing roads and scores across the region. >> some will say dodged a bullet i would say we dodged a weather bomb. worst hit, palm springs, which got almost a year's worth of rain, four inches in 24 hours. >> tropical storm hilary was the first three-point line sigh dlon directly impact southern california since the 1930s. >> l.a. typically gets 15 inches or 36 days a year. yet, sunday, beverly hills in mid city got 4.7. l.a. fire responded to 97 traffic accidents but no fatalities. >> things are looking much better. you know, we prepared early. >> we were all in place and so we were able to weather this. >> so a big concern were the homeless living along the l.a. riverbed and others like it. but police moved them into shelters safely before the storm. another big surprise, bret, as you he mentioned 5.1 earthquake over the line ventura some to dub sunday the day a huraqu ake hit california. >> bret: william, thanks. >> i think he owes it to people. i don't think our voters, even people who appreciate what he did. >> and i'm actually one who appreciated a lot of what he did, too. i don't think they will like kindly on somebody who thinks they don't have to earn it. >> bret: governor desantis on the story with martha mccallum earlier talking with the former president not showing up in milwaukee and talking about that and more with fox news chief political analyst brit hume. brit, good to see you. >> good see you in person, brit. >> brit: i know. first of all, what do you think about what governor desantis said? will there be any fallout? any negativity about the former president not coming? >> i think on paper his refusal to participate in the debate makes a certain kind of sense. is he way ahead. he thinks he has much more to lose than gain. if he is under attack in the debate there are risks in his decision tore a coming reasons. one is i remember vividly, this is a long time ago. >> bret: you have done a number of these things. >> brit: this one goes back 40-some years. ronald reagan was by far the leading candidate in 1980 to get the republican nomination and he skipped a debate in iowa. george h.w. bush went -- attended the debate, won the state and became instantly the frontrunner. reagan recovered. he won the nomination, won the presidency and all of that. but it highlights the fact that if you skip a debate, people in the state look at you and say this guy doesn't care about our state. he doesn't care about us and it can hurt you. as strong as it was it, hurt him in that state. he showed up in new hampshire and debated and he wasn't great but it was all it took. but i think there is some risk. >> let me interrupt. 2016 donald trump skipped the second key debate in sioux city, iowa. >> lost the state. >> lost to ted cruz. >> exactly. the other thing is, you know, i do think that if somebody shines in this debate, really shines, stands out. all the talk of the media, that might not have happened. one thing trump did is he stomped over everybody in 2016, 2020 was a challenge, of course. but by showing up to debate that's kind of how he got the nomination. he about himself. interrupt everybody. he dominated, force of personality. you can't have force of personality if you are not there. >> bret: if you are one of these candidates. what are you trying to do? we have been through this many times when there is -- it looks like there is going to be eight on the stage when we are all said and done still a lot of people. you have to have breakthrough moment. >> brit: you can't -- if you had some new revelation to make, you know, you might be able to do it that way by making news. you know, you have got to be incredibly agile on the debate stage to stand out in the field of 8. it's very hard. so many candidates saying so many things and going by in a blur with the public over however long it is. i think it's hard to do. it's not impossible. are and somebody can get some start out of it. that will be interesting to watch. you know, all the legal troubles, every indictment has led to higher poll numbers. i mean, can that be sustained all the way through? >> it's hard for me -- look, my theory about this race is in the general election, for trump to win, he would have to win back over millions of voters who voted for joe biden. it's a little hard to imagine that indictments help that process. >> bret: in a general? >> in the general. in the primary season so far it seems to have done him no harm and it may never do him any harm. i think it's a killer in the general election. >> steve: brits as always, see you. >> brit: good to see you too. >> bret: why wisconsin is a battleground of battleground states. >> we're here at the wisconsin state fair park. the events wrapped up here last week. including the milwaukee county republican straw poll. former president donald trump won by 33 points. governor ron desantis came in second. vivek ramaswamy, nikki haley, tim scott and mike pence followed along in single digits. matches the polling. the state park was also one of the location of president trump's 2016 victory tour. democratic presidential candidates dominated here for more than three academic cadz until the former president's narrow win in 2016. >> tells you how important every single vote in america is. >> bret: next on "special report" how wisconsin voters really helped president trump in that 2016 victory. right after the break. ♪ [sneeze] (♪) astepro allergy, steroid free allergy relief that starts working in 30 minutes, while other allergy sprays take hours. with astepro's unbeatably fast allergy relief you can astepro and go! age is just a number, and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. boost® high protein. now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. learn more at boost.com/tv (dad) we got our subaru forester wilderness to discover all of the places that make us feel something more. 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[cheers] >> hello, wisconsin. >> i love wisconsin. >> in 2016, donald trump defeated hillary clinton by less than 1 percentage point in wisconsin. the state helped secure his path to victory. >> we knew wisconsin was going to be a different picture. but donald trump had 232 electoral votes is now 38 electoral votes away from winning the presidency of the united states. >> i can remember talking to you as they were still counting and seeing whether those numbers were going to materialize. is it going to be that tight again, you think? >> well, there is no reason it won't be. >> president barack obama dominated wisconsin in 2008 defeating arizona senator john mccain. his victory was more narrow in 2012 over massachusetts governor mitt romney. >> what changed from obama years you won over voters here and president trump defeats hillary clinton in 2016? >> i think there is a huge independent streak. voters here, like someone that they feel -- even if they have a ten did he den is i to vote one party or the other. they don't like to be strictly one party. >> bret: donald trump consistently trailed hillary clinton leading up to election day. in august her lead in the real clear politics average of poll was more than 11%. by november, clinton was still ahead by more than 6 points, according to the polling. obviously president biden won wisconsin. squeaked it out. hillary clinton did not. and she didn't visit here. and there were a lot of democrats who said that could have been the difference back then. >> i was one of the people distraught that hillary didn't visit wisconsin. this is not a place for anybody to take for granted, including the absent donald trump. >> bret: in 2012 when romney lost to obama, he received about 2500 more votes than trump did four years later. hillary clinton had about 250,000 fewer votes than president obama. but there was another factor that impacted the 2016 wisconsin outcome go for third parties. the green party did well in 2016. and that was one thing that was missing in 2020. there was no green party ticket in 2020. and that could make a huge difference in a state like wink in 2024. >> bret: you are talking about hundreds of votes. >> that's all this is. >> bret: more than 188,000 votes went to third party candidates in 2016 that far surpasses the 23,000 votes hillary clinton needed to win wisconsin. >> as much as the electoral college is all over the place, a few votes matter. in a state like wisconsin, one issue could matter. having the convention in wisconsin could matter. anything could make the difference. >> which is why some of these states where you see democrats moving towards putting abortion on a referendum and we have seen what democrats have been able to do in the 2022 election, it seems like that's a strategy where they are trying to fire up their base and make that number go down. >> when you are only dealing with a few thousand votes per state. wedge issues make a huge difference. >> bret: ballot drop boxes became an ongoing legal fight in the state following the 2020 election. wisconsin was one of 11 states to ban the practice. >> h how much a factor are the absentee ballots, the fight over that, the drop boxes? >> i think that's significant. you had a couple hundred thousand ballots by any measure no matter what you think about the outcome were not cast in 2020 to the way the statutes requirement. >> bret: since at least 2,000 wisconsin voters have been able to use absentee ballots without providing a reason. the state has also allowed early voting if using absentee ballot. >> bret: wisconsin has had the option for absentee voting available for decades. but people really just started taking it up in 2020. >> it used to be when it was snowing in wisconsin they would say oh, great. it's going to be good for the republicans because we assumed republicans were better voters an are in off elections. it's true. but now if it's snowing or raining on election day, the democrats are saying oh, great. >> bret: our votes are banked. >> we can't do that. >> bret: in 2016, 27% of voters utilized absentee in wisconsin. that number rose to about 60% in 2020. >> how much do you think thible absentee ballots, the fight over how the election goes, plays out here. i mean you, is it significant? republicans in this state knowing how close the margins are. knowing that they are outnumbered, have put in place some of the most onerous, have attempted voter restrictions voter restrictions possible. gerrymandering, which has been all the way up to the supreme court. republicans realize that cheating is probably the best way to win wisconsin. >> bret: you don't think they cheated last time? >> stopping people from voting? have. >> bret: voter turnout over all has been consistently high in the state of wisconsin. since 2000, wisconsin one of the four states in the country two thirds of its citizens heading to the polls each presidential election. >> microcosm of america. you have the suburbs which are a little more republican but not as intense as the big urban areas you have the rest of the state mid sized industrial cities that are a toss-up. they always have been and very much like toss-up states across america. >> bret: people are engaged there why do you think that is? because it's been so close. >> because it's been close. because both political parties. the republican party of wisconsin, the democrat party of wisconsin, these are two of the best state political parties in the country. >> bret: you know, you look to the democrats who had the convention here but covid kind of scrapped it i know you were sad. and republicans have it? >> let me tell you we are absolutely thrilled to have the republican convention here. i'm kind of jealous. >> bret: democrats hosted their last convention here in milwaukee but it was dramatically scaled back due to the 2020 covid pandemic. that event and next year's republican convention show how both parties have worked to appeal to wisconsin voters specifically. it's a purple state. up next, we begin our look at what is keeping voters up at night with the number one issue. can you guess it? but you can. 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[ting] ♪ live in the moment. ask your doctor about otezla. ♪ >> bret: president biden's administration is preparing another program to encourage americans to get booster shots for covid-19 in the coming months. the centers for disease control and prevention has reported an increase in covid-19 infections across the u.s. though it remains far below levels seen during the pandemic. the news comes days after the cdc and world health organization revealed they are tracking another variant of the virus that causes covid-19. >> bret: tonight we take our first look at what is keeping voters up at night. this evening and probably first, it's the economy. the president says bidenomics is working. poll numbers clearly show americans disagree. here is correspondent griff jenkins. >> cost of living, groceries, everything is literally through the roof. >> americans across the country are voicing concerns over the issue hitting them hardest in their wallets. >> it's more expensive than ever to go out to eat or pick up food at the grocery store and things like that. >> i had to pick up a second job teaching in the evenings to kind of compensate. >> you are still working twice as hard but it's not doing anything. like the prices are still going up and your income is not changing that much. >> the latest fox news poll polls show a majority of voters think the president has made the economy worst. just 25% say it's better. >> i think the bidenomics some networks call it, it's working. it's amazing. >> but eight out of 10 registered voters say the economy is in bad shape, with only 35% saying their personal financial situation is in good shape. >> one grandmother says she is more concerned about her grandkids' financial future and the disconnect between politicians and main street. >> this isn't a republican problem or a democratic problem. this is a problem with our government that's lost touch with the american people ♪ the rich men north of richmond, lord knows they all just wanna have total control. >> griff: that will sentiment is driving viral sensation oliver anthony's song. he says people need to come together. >> i'm nothing special. i want people to preach the each other. try to find similarities with each other instead of division. >> griff: it's too early to tell what state the economy will be in come election day next year. but an early indication may come when fed chair jerome powell delivers a speech in wyoming in economists gather in a billionaire's playground to forecast how much pain ordinary americans may face. bret? >> bret: griff, thank you. >> bret: we have another hunter biden revelation. legal team for the president's son at one point threatened to put the elder biden, then president, in a very tough position. congressional correspondent aishah hasnie has details tonight from capitol hill. >> a 2022 letter written by hunter biden's lawyers is revealing they were ready to put president biden on the stand. politico reporters chris clark warned justice department prosecutors president biden now unquestionably would be a fact witness for the defense in any criminal trial. what followed was a wide ranging plea deal shielding hunter from any future charges. >> you have these big bad justice department prosecutors who aren't supposed to be afraid of anything but they are scared to death to charge him because they don't want to charge joe biden's son. this is exactly what access to joe biden is. this is why people were willing to pay millions of dollars to get it. that's what the scheme was. >> but what republicans call a sweetheart deal fell apart after two irs whistleblowers came forward accusing the justice department of mishandling the investigation. now washington waits to see what special counsel david weiss does next. but his previous work and past working relationship with the president's late son bo is sowing deeper doubts that he can be trusted. oversight chairman james comer pushing forward with his committee's probe between hunter and joe biden and the alleged influence peddling scheme. >> so the biden attorneys know exactly where we are headed with this investigation. they have lawyered up. i mean, they are building fort knox around these bank accounts that we're going to subpoena next. >> and fox did reach out to the white house and hunter biden's legal team for a comment about chris clark's letter to the doj. we did not hear back. bret? >> bret: aishah hasnie on capitol hill. aishah, thanks. up next, our special panel here in milwaukee previews wednesday's debate. breaks down the field. first, beyond our borders tonight, canadian firefighters make progress battling blazes in a british columbian region known for picturesque resort towns but hundreds more fires raging across the province have pushed hundreds of people from their homes. also threatened a capital hundreds of miles to the north. north korean state leader reports leader kim jong un observed the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles. this comes as the u.s. and south korean militaries kick off major annual drills that the north denounces as invasion rehearsal. the leaders of several balkan countries gather greek capital to discuss the region's future. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy was expected to attend a dinner for the guests. zelenskyy was in denmark earlier monday where he thanked danish lawmakers for helping his country resist russia's invasion. just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. we'll be right back. to milwaukee. ♪ it's easy. ♪ ♪ all you need is love ♪ ♪ ♪ hit it ♪ ♪ it takes two to make a thing go right ♪ ♪ it takes two to make it outta sight ♪ ♪ one, two, get loose now ♪ ♪ it takes two to make a... ♪ stay two nights and get a $ 50 best western gift card. book now at bestwestern.com. how can you sleep on such a firm setting? 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obviously he is not here this time. but he will have to come back and campaign here, right? >> wisconsin is the swingiest of the swing states. we made a big play for wisconsin in 2016 and won for the first time in 1984. hillary clinton ignored. orioles ignore at their peril. important in 2016, scott walker then the governor had softened the ground here. his victories were incredibly important showing how somebody with that message of economic growth and blue collar acentric ideals could make a play in wisconsin. directs democracy demands this kind of accountability and argument and access to the candidates on wednesday. so good for fox news for covering that and then participating. but the former president will be hovering. he is dominating in the polls. i think the argument from his camp will be that nothing will change much after this debate. i think some things will change. i think vivek ramaswamy had the best line of the ones that you played there. which is this is your opportunity to look into the camera and introduce yourself to america. if you are going to attack donald trump, you're going to alienate his voters. if you attack him, are you doing it on his legal woes, his personality, policies? i want specifics on the economy. people in this country and the state are suffering. and they don't deserve soundbites. they deserve substance. what is your economic plan. your five or 10 point economic plan to get us out of this mess. >> bret: yeah. guy, thoughts? >> i'm interested by the thursday arraignment. going to engage in counter programming it seems like wednesday and then the next day he is going to step over all kinds of post debate coverage and, again, dominate headlines for a different reason the next day. i wonder if there is some gamesmanship there on the timing. they had until friday to show up. an option. do it the day after our debate in which he is not participating. that's interesting. one of the thing that strikes me. one of the soundbites is governor desantis campaign not gone the way he had hoped so far turn it around. he made some changes. his campaign is not playing the typical expectations management game. lowering expectations. are charging into this raising expectations. they are saying is he going to be the center of attention. all a tacks are coming for him. is he ready he needs a moment on wednesday. he knows it and his camp is saying it's coming. >> bret: just to be clear i said arraignment. it's a processing. the arraignment is actually in early september. martha, inside the g.o.p. primary brit was talking about. it may actually help him. all the indictments, all the focus, inside a general election with independents and suburban moments moms it, may be a different story. >> martha: intensified his support. the more he gets hit, the more i want to stand up for him. i said how about the fact that he is not coming to the debate? they said he is very busy. he has a lot going on. it's too much for one person to manage. that is that, i think, kind of sympathetic support in some ways. on the other hand, once you get deeper into this process, i do think you are going to see suburban moms paying attention to the people on the stage tomorrow night and listening to what they are saying about the economy and security, parenting, education, all of those issues. and i think that they may say why isn't the former president engaging on all of this stuff? >> you said tomorrow night. it is wednesday, isn't it? i think i need one more day. [laughter] >> martha: i think i might have just done a promo. >> martha: say it like it's tuesday and it's tomorrow night. we have two nights. >> bret: you talk about the economy. it is what drives everybody. even though bidenomics is on the trail and the president is out there talking about that, it's how people feel at their kitchen table is what matters. >> yes. bret, we are so far beyond the conversation about the cost of gas and groceries. it's a 3-year-old conversation. people say they can't afford an emergency bill of $1,000. they say they are living paycheck to paycheck. they are saying that their wages haven't kept up with inflation. the economy means different things to different people. and it was a general election strategy but, in september of 2016, when trump came out with his economic plan, i think it helped him win. i would counsel these folks to do it now. transport yourself into a general election strategy where you put yourself against joe biden and you say i have got a man or a lady with a plan for energy independence. fewer regulations, lower taxes. also, people are just trying to make -- they are not trying to afford mercedes and tesla. they are trying to afford bacon and eggs and tuition and insurance. those granular issues are on the podium on wednesday night in this debate along with some other things. martha makes an important point. i want to see these candidates talk about abortion. they should have the peacock strategy not the ostrich strategy. they should all be for a 15 minimum federal ban if you ask me because states' rights is one thing but if you say it's only states' rights now i never want to talk about them policing or homelessness. >> bret: some are six weeks, desantis, burgum. >> desantis signed into law what florida put into his desk. it alienated a lot of his donors. if you are going to show bright line distinction, charter schools, educational freedom. i could never be a democrat for that reason alone. they're leaving kids in failing schools. leaving kids of all back grounds out. let that money we all pay for them right who i have for they m to better schools. bright line distinction between two parties it. can help one of these candidates with a breakout moment. >> bret: the president is in maui. we are going to pop over there and talk about the recovery of that disaster. those wildfires. catastrophic. our panel is back just after this. but, first, wisconsin and presidential politics goes back a long way. >> we're in the park in milwaukee, you know, wisconsin has been a final stop for presidential campaigns for many years. in 1964, president lyndon johnson spoke to some 50,000 people in this park four days before winning 62% of the vote in the state and re-election. president ronald reagan made a stop here in milwaukee. three days before he won re-election with 54% of the vote in wisconsin. a republican presidential candidate would not win this state until donald trump did so 32 years later. it more "special report" from milwaukee after this. ♪ ♪ directv sports central gives you access to every game. but terry doesn't have directv. come on. work for dad- here... now, you can find the game easy. my barbecue is saved! get in the redzone with sports pack. call 1-800-directv my barbecue is ruined. to help prevent bleeding gums. try saying 'hello gumwash' with parodontax active gum health. it kills 99% plaque bacteria. and forms an antibacterial shield. try parodontax active gum health mouthwash. it's because of tiktok that i had to go out and get a website. i'm at a point now where i've outgrown my house. growing up, every time i'd get out of the shower, i would itch. my first experience with goat milk soap, it kinda was like a light bulb moment. tiktok is a fantastic platform for diy. if you'd have told me three years ago that i would own my own business and be expanding into a separate building, i would've told you you'd lost your mind. if you have moderate to severe crohn's disease skyrizi is the first and only il-23 inhibitor that can deliver clinical remission and endoscopic improvement. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. liver problems may occur in crohn's disease. control of crohn's means everything to me. ask your gastroenterologist about skyrizi. ♪ control is everything to me ♪ learn how abbvie could help you save. rebuild. >> bret: president biden in hawaii. take a listen. >> by understanding the deep history and meaning of this sacred ground and establishing your community not to change it -- its character but reestablish it. we're also going to bring the capabilities to help you rebuild critical infrastructure more resilient in the future. all this matters. let me close with this: from stories of grief we have seen so many stories of help and heroism. of of the aloha spirit. every first responder, neighbors helping neighbors, native hawaiian leaders offering solace and strength in this wi banyan e one called it the diamond in the hope. the another a fire cannot reach its root he said. a fire cannot reach its roots. that's maui, that's america. and for the people of hawaii. we are with you for as long as it takes. i promise you. may god bless all those we have lost. may god find those who haven't recovered yet and may god bless you all. may god protect our troops. i'm happy to turn this over to the governor, governor green. >> that's president biden in maui. wanted to have him finish up there as he is visiting and seeing the catastrophic results of those wildfires. we're back with the panel. guy, what about how they have handled. this obviously he is there now. wasn't there for some time. there is a lot of criticism of the administration in response to this particular disaster. >> deserved criticism in my view. you saw just the back drop of that shot. hellscape so horrifying. the numbers i have seen are 800 to 1300 still missing. this death toll tragically is going to grow higher and at the beginning of this. you had the president sitting on the beach on vacation with the famous no comment moment. i think is he taking a pause from now yet another vacation in tahoe to come. i'm glad he is the maui. the absolute least he could do. commit whatever federal resources he can. but talking to people who are reporting on the ground, there is an anger with every level of government from a lot of the people are there because they feel like they have been failed because they have. >> bret: also a vacuum of media coverage. a real shutdown. it's very bizarre. >> yeah. i think his terse no comment. that question was shouted a couple of times it wasn't if there wasn't a moment to realize this is somewhat they are talking about and big catch up play after that. and then karine jean-pierre came out the next day. we are taking this super seriously. the president is going to go there. this is one of the moments in a presidency where he is playing catch up. goes to the question of how attune he is to what is going on and how well he is able to communicate. >> bret: yeah, kelly anne? >> one of the most important things that a commander-in-chief and president does which is show up promptly owe emotionally. you don't always have the answers. people are suffering. are you getting in the way? you can't take critical resources and divert them away to welcome a president or vice president or first lady. in this case the split screen presidency of joe biden was in sharp when it came to hawaii. is he literally on the beach in another vacation and takes his time getting there for no good reason and meanwhile there is r. no good answers. i think your point about the dearth of media coverage is an important one -- we don't need conspiracy theories so much as to say the more we would be able to see the more we would be able to help. >> bret: it's quite something. we will continue to follow it. thank you very much. see you. ♪ ♪ >> bret: finally tonight, a special day. >> over 11 hours riding my bike, beautiful sunrise and a beautiful day. >> bret: okay. you can hear the accent. bicyclists tracked across the great state of wisconsin 235-mile journey from across milwaukee. hundreds of riders up saturday morning 5:00 a.m. to participate in the race. the ride raised questions for wisconsin bike. a nonprofit bike friendly laws and projects. riders faced strong headwinds in the afternoon and reaching the finish line at the american family field. there you go, wisconsin-nice. tomorrow on "special report" we will talk to wisconsin voters about the issues on their minds ahead of wednesday's debate. and, remember, if you can't catch us live, set your dvr 6:00 p.m. in the east. 3:00 p.m. on the west coast. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. that's it for this "special report" from milwaukee, fair, balanced and unafraid. here's laura. ♪ >> laura: hello, everyone. i'm laura ingraham. this is the ingraham angle from washington tonight. thanks for being with us. president biden has finally arrived in maui. he said a few words a few moments ago about the damage from the wildfires and the government's response. we'll monitor his visit and bring you any breaking news. plus, my angle about the so-called threats to democracy only if trump wins, later in the show. but, first, well, the truth is coming out about hunter biden slowly but it is coming. we now know that the only re

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