forum. the game is on, folks! there's going to be eight candidates that will be taking the stage in milwaukee. this is where they will be positioned. we're going -- not we're going to reveal that yet. here's where they'll be standing on the stage. that is kind of interesting to see who your neighbors will be up there. my next guests. so according to polling -- the highst polar candidate is in the middle. that's governor desantis. and then vivek ramaswamy. something a lot of people may not have seen a few months ago. he will join us live coming up. first, we have another of the very prominent candidates on stage tomorrow night, south carolina senator tim scott who is making his presidential debut, stage debut tomorrow evening. he joins me now. great to have you with us. how are you feeling with a day to go? >> doing well. the weather is perfect. there's no humidity. i'm excited about it. >> martha: what is your debate prep like? how are you getting ready? >> spending time studying and also in prayer, hanging out with family and enjoying how blessed it is to be in america. i'm so proud to be an american. i think back to the kid who was growing up in poverty, in a single-parent household and now running for president of the united states. only possible in america. it's a great story. >> martha: when we look at the polling, the iowa poll, you're in third right now in this des moines register poll. they have you in third place at 9%. you're getting up in to desantis territory there. are you going to be sort of seeking to land some punches on him tomorrow night? >> i'm going to tell my story why i believe america can do for anyone what she's done for me. we're going to focus on restoring hope, protecting the america that we all love. >> martha: what about landing punches on desantis. >> focus on our message and worry about the candidates another time. >> martha: one of the questions about your lane is whether or not the evangelical vote is coming your way. so far all -- you, desantis and pence have tried to gain that vote. but so far they seem very locked in with the former president, trump. why is that? >> i would say that every single time we have a town hall in iowa, the one thing i continue to see are more people showing up. people are starving for a message of hope as long as it's anchored in conservative and you have a backbone. we're seeing the crowds grow. what i'll tell you people voted, not polls. i'm excited about where we are in iowa. there's a lot of room left. i love the fourth quarter. we're getting ready to head into it. things will be changing. >> martha: do you think there will be fatigue among that evangelical vote when they watch the legal trials over the course of the year? is that something that makes them peel off? >> the average voter will want to know how does the candidate best represent the future for my children. how does the -- >> i'm asking you, is the evangelical vote going to get tired -- >> i heard your question. my answer is people will make a decision based on the future of their family, not what's going on in the legal entanglements of the former president. what i found throughout the state, 1% of all the answers i received have to do with the former president. >> martha: we find that as well. he's the front runner by a lot. you said in the past the evangelical vote is important to your path. >> all voters are. over the next four or five months, we'll find out. i'm confident heading in to december, we'll be in striking zone. >> martha: let's talk about technology. you look around the world. you look at china. the presence and threat of china, intelligence-wise. technology-wise as well, social media, tik tok, all of that. where do you stand on that? >> the former president tried to ban tik tok. i have no problem whatsoever banning tik tok. what we learned in the former president is that the court struck it down twice. since we can't ban tik tok, the question is how do we eliminate the chinese communist party from spying on our kids? we have to separate our segregate the chinese communist party from our kids' data. we have to stop them buying our fall lands and spying on our kids and stealing intellectual property. it's not the strength of president xi that should be our concern. it's the weakness of president biden that is so concerning, a strong american president will separate our kids' information from the chinese communist party. >> martha: one of the big questions is also with a.i. how do you regulate a.i. some have noticed that you have a huge investment in your campaign from oracle, from larry ellison: would that make you reluctant to do the regulation for a.i.? when you become president, can you look at oracle and say we're going to regulate you? >> of course we can. we should not be beholdened to anybody but the american people. i'm committed to serving the people of this country, no executions, no exceptions. i'm thanking the good lord almighty that i'm a proud american. >> martha: our next guest is vivek ramaswamy. you've seen him playing tennis with his shirt off. i think we have a clip of that. you've also been hitting the gym apparently. what did you think of this video? shirtless mr. ramaswamy? >> you know, i haven't thought about the video whatsoever, actually. the last thing i want to think about is a presidential candidate with his shirt off. >> sandra: i'm doing to think about how this country has afforded me and my family the great opportunity to serve the most remarkable country on earth. >> martha: i should point out, we've seen a video with you in the gym and bible versus and how you're focusing. that's you presence on social media. >> we're very excited. my favorite verse is ephesians 3.20. when you think about growing up in tough times, you think about time circumstances. the one thing that has kept me steady is my faith. if you have faith in the lord jesus, all things are possible for you. philippians 4:13, i can do all things through crist who strengthens me. >> martha: we look forward seeing you tomorrow night. it's an exciting night and a big moment for your candidacy as well. great to see you. >> see you tomorrow. >> martha: as i mentioned, vivek ramaswamy will also be on the stage. he's gained some ground in the latest fox poll trailing behind only former president trump and ron desantis. vivek joins us live from milwaukee coming up next. >> vivek ramaswamy has been very impressive. i think he's an underdog. we agree with his ten commandments, which we thought were quite interesting. there's a lot about each candidate that we like. tim scott, he brings some -- a new dimension to the country and the politics. he's been around for a little while. vivek is new to the political arena. so that's not a bad thing. so hard to say right now. jury is still out. we're interested in the next steps. my late father-in-law lit up a room, but his vision dimmed with age. he had amd. i didn't know it then, but it can progress to ga, an advanced form of the disease. his struggle with vision loss from amd made me want to help you see warning signs of ga. like straight lines that seem wavy, blurry, or missing visual spots that make it hard to see faces like this one, or trouble with low light that makes driving at night a real challenge. if you've been diagnosed with amd and notice vision changes, don't wait. ga is irreversible. it's important to catch it early. talk to your eye doctor about ga and learn more at gawontwait.com my father didn't know his dad. with ancestry i dug and dug until i found some information. birth certificate. wow. and then you add it to the tree. it's like you discover a new family member. discover even more at ancestry.com we handcraft every stearns & foster® using the finest materials, like indulgent memory foam, and ultra-conforming innersprings, for a beautiful mattress, and indescribable comfort. for a limited time, save up to $800 on select stearns & foster® adjustable mattress sets. ♪ (cheery music) - they get it. they know how it works... and more importantly... it works for them. - i don't have any anxiety about money anymore. - i don't have to worry about a mortgage payment every month. - it allowed me to live in my home... and not have to pay payments. - [narrator] if you're 62 or older and own your home, you could access your equity to improve your lifestyle. a reverse mortgage loan eliminates your monthly mortgage payments and puts tax-free cash in your pocket. call the number on your screen. - it was the best thing i've ever done, and- - really? - yes, without a doubt! - just like these folks, aag can show you how a reverse mortgage loan uses your built-up home equity to give you tax-free cash. - it's a good thing. - why don't you get the facts? like these folks did. - [narrator] call right now to receive your free, no-obligation info kit. call the number on your screen. so, you've got the power of xfinity at home. now take it outside with xfinity mobile. like speed? it's the fastest mobile service around. with the best price for two lines of unlimited. only $30 bucks a line per month. that's hundreds in savings a year when you wave bye to the other guys. all on the most reliable 5g network nationwide. you really shouldn't walk out the front door without it. switch today at xfinitymobile.com. every business that's why comcast business de is launching theal. mobile made free event. with our business internet, new and existing customers can get one year of unlimited mobile for free. it's our best internet. powered by the next generation 10g network and with 99.9% reliability. plus one line of free mobile for an entire year. it's the mobile made free event-happening now. get started for just $49.99 a month. plus, ask how to get one free line of unlimited mobile. comcast business, powering possibilities. >> martha: all right, candidate vivek ramaswamy, his support has more than doubled over the past couple months with republican voters earning him a center stage spot. nobody is smack in the center tomorrow night, but he will be close to the center. florida governors allies says that he needs to hammer this rising newcomer. we asked him about that yesterday. he said that wasn't a memo that he paid any attention to. "the new york times" asked republicans for the first thing that comes to mind when they hear mr. ramaswamy's name. here's what they said. "interesting, young, is hmm, a word, confidence and underdog." so what will voters take away from seeing him on stage tomorrow night? they'll have their own words to describe him. vivek ramaswamy joins me now. >> good to see you. >> martha: what has your prep been like? >> i've been trying to spend a lot of time with the family. i've been on the road so much. getting workouts in, playing tennis. >> martha: we see that. why do you play tennis without your shirt on? >> this is heavy hitting. it's scorching in central ohio. that's how i grew up playing. my wife and i got a workout, spent time with the kids. just got into milwaukee. so it's been good to take a couple days. i've been in nine states the last seven, eight days. a couple of days with the family was good to take arrest. >> martha: i want to ask you about something that's gotten a lot of attention with regard to your comments about september 11th. let's play your quote from the interview, this is with the atlantic. here it is. >> it's legitimate to say how many police, how many federal agents were on the planes that hit the twin towers. probably zero for all i know, right? no ran to say anything other than zero. if we're doing a comprehensive assessment of 9-11, absolutely that should be an answer that the public knows the answer to. if we're doing a january 6th commission, those should be questions that we should get to the bottom of. >> martha: do you think there were federal agents on planes on september 11th? >> of course not. >> martha: that were part of the attack? >> per the clip that you just played, of course, that was my point. however, i have a different view of january 6. we know for sure there were federal agents in the field -- >> martha: were you relating the two things? >> no. the reporter asked about them. he said why should we ask that question if you're not asking of of 9-11. i always favor getting to the truth of what the government tells us. the deeper point is we have a government that has systematically lied to the people of this country. i'm a millennial. i'm 38. i grew up in the era where the clinton administration, the bush administration or the obama administration they lied. they got us in foreign wars in iraq and elsewhere on false pretenses. even know, we have a government that lies about the origin of covid-19, about the voracity of the hunter biden laptop, about government technology censorship. increasingly about even how our money is being spent in ukraine. one of the things that i'm going to do as the next president of the united states is restore truth in government. people cannot handle the truth. they can handle the truth. >> martha: you know, it is a confusing statement that you made. so just to be crystal clear here, who was responsible for the killing of nearly 3,000 americans on september 11th? >> terrorists from al-quaida. but this is a crucial truth that's been left out. aided by the saudi government. this is a stain on our national history. the fact that the fbi and the 9-11 commission lied back in 2001 and 2002 saying there was no saudi intelligence involvement. we now know in declassified documents quietly from the government that omar al-bayumi was a saudi intelligence operative. we cannot sweep these facts under the rug. is it a main element in my campaign? but when asked about it, am i going to sweep under the rug the truth? no. we have to stand for the truth. if we don't learn from past government lies, we risk making the same mistakes. >> martha: i read into your comments about potential saudi involvement. i think people should read it. there's a lot of september 11th families that feel that there was more saudi involvement than we have been privy too. i think that the comments about federal agents on planes, you know, really sort of sent people sort of wondering what you were talking about. >> as you probably experienced with the left wing media as well. the atlantic scripted out something taken in a different context. >> martha: we just played your sound bite. i want to ask your question having to the with israel. you've said that you'd like to see israel get to a place that they don't need u.s. economic aid, right? >> i'm going to be very clear about that. >> israel as our most important partner in the middle east. >> martha: of course. one of the top jobs the u.s. and israel share in common is making sure that we never get to a nuclear armed iran. by the end of my first term, our relationship with israel will with deeper than it ever has been because it won't just be a client relationship. it will be a true friendship. what do friends do? they push each other to be the strongest version of themselves. i've said that i would lead israel to abraham accords 2.0. it's good for israel, good for the united states. i also believe we have a lot to learn from israel. i love their border policies, tough on crime policies. let's bring that home to the united states. >> martha: so you're not saying that israel should be treated the same as every other country in the middle east? >> no. it's funny. i'm learning a lot about political media. i'm an outsider. a lot of the -- my rise has threatened other people. that's no secret. things that i've said on the russell brand podcast, nonquotes that are attributed to me. it's fun learning in how this game is played. >> martha: vivek, thanks very much. we look forward to seeing you on stage tomorrow night. thanks for being with us in milwaukee today. certainly your workout part of your debate prep is making rounds. so we look forward to seeing you on the stage tomorrow night. vivek ramaswamy joining us here in milwaukee. we've been working on our questions. all of the candidates are working on their answers. the big question is what do voters want to hear from the candidates on stage? i'll talk to them after this 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! your paint is really bad. what? i said, “best coffee i've ever had.” (slurps) should've used behr. sorry, sign where? no, i said, “should've used behr." today let's paint. right now, get america's most trusted paint brand at a new low price. behr. only at the home depot. she runs and plays like a puppy again. his #2s are perfect! he's a brand new dog, all in less than a year. when people switch their dog's food from kibble to the farmer's dog, they often say that it feels like magic. but there's no magic involved. (dog bark) it's simply fresh meat and vegetables, with all the nutrients dogs need— instead of dried pellets. just food made for the health of dogs. delivered in packs portioned for your dog. it's amazing what real food can do. (♪) ♪ you're just like a satellite ♪ (♪) ♪ like a satellite ♪ viasat satellite internet. learn more about our plans at viasat.com >> martha: what i will say about wisconsin is it's a purple state. you cannot win the white house electorally without a state in the midwest and wisconsin is going to be a pivotal state to winning back the white house for republicans. >> martha: so of course wisconsin has proven to be a key state winning the white house. former president trump narrowly beat hillary clinton and four years later, biden won it by less than 1% over then president trump. joining me now, our wisconsin republican voters on what they are going to be watching for tomorrow night. melissa is joining me. she's a wisconsin voter. bill is here as well. lou ann and helario is also here. melissa, you're a pilot and you're from wisconsin. you voted in the last election for president trump, right? >> right. >> martha: who are you really watching tomorrow night? who do you hope does well? >> i'm looking at ron desantis. that's who i'm leaning towards. i love donald trump. i think going into this next election, it's all about kind of the mid voters. that's what i want to see, someone that can bridge the divide. i'm not sure that donald trump can do that. i'm polarizing. i'm looking for a lead candidate like a ron desantis to come out. >> martha: okay. bill, what about you? what did you do last time and what is your think something. >> i voted for trump gladly last time. i would vote for him again if he became the nominee. he's making a big error not being here. he's leaving the field open. i'm looking to see who will be the other candidate that emerges to go one-on-one with trump. i'm hoping to see the candidate that actually talks about the issues in the country about not about each other. we have to put our fire on joe biden and the policies and failures to have a solid shot of winning the general election, to bring the centrist voters in to a place where everybody is feeling it. everybody knows what is happening and we want to see somebody that will address those failures. >> martha: you think he should have shown up. why do you think he didn't? >> i'm sure he's distracted. i'm sure he's confident. he has reason to be. the numbers say so. if you're a frontrunner, you have to act as hey, i have competent people next to me but i'm training my firepower on the general election. tomorrow is a missed tomorrow. bat strategy leading to a bad tactical decision. >> martha: lou ann, what do you think? >> i was disappointed he wasn't coming. i think it's an opportunity for him to work with others or play nice with others, which he's not always known for. i think he wasted an opportunity. >> martha: do you have favorites heading into tomorrow night? you know, are you -- do you go into it very open among a number of candidates? >> i'm anxious to hear from everybody. i'm most anxious -- i was telling your staff, i want to hear them tell me why i should vote for them. i don't want them to tell my why i should vote for the other person. tell me why you, going in, i've always thought desantis and ramaswamy are my two favorites. i'm going to listen to everybody. >> martha: helario, where do you stand on the former president and these candidates tomorrow night? >> so i voted for the former president in 2020. i do plan on voting for him again in the primary. but i think -- i want to be nice. i disagree with both bill and lou ann here on the former president being here. i think that it makes -- gives a unique opportunity for a lot of these other candidates that many people don't know or they're just starting to get to know a little bit more on where they stand on policies to come out, articulate why they should be the commander-in-chief and what separates them or what policies do they agree with with the former president. so i think it allows them to give their time to tell the american people exactly where they stand. i'm looking forward to actually seeing vivek ramaswamy, who is my second choice if it isn't the former president. i'm also interested in seeing what senator tim scott has to say too. two very good people. >> martha: maybe you got to meet them. i have a hand raise question for you guys. how many of you think that it will ultimately be trump versus biden? if you think yes, raise your hand. three of you. you don't have to go along with the group, lou ann. you think it will be trump versus biden in the end? >> yeah. he will have my full support. >> martha: great to meet you. thanks for coming out on this gorgeous but warm day in milwaukee. we're grateful for your participation. so pete hegseth is coming up explaining why critics are blasting president biden's visit to hawaii. and bret baier who will be here with me tomorrow night co moderating coming up. veteran homeowners. if you're on a fixed income, inflation can hit you extra hard, especially if you're using high rate credit cards to take care of your family's expenses. even minimum payments are tough. it's too much and it's time to hit back. with a newday 100 va loan, you can borrow up to 100% of your home's value to pay off those high rate credit cards and other debt. and you can save $500 a month. that's $6,000 a year. i suffer with psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis. i was on a journey for a really long time to find some relief. cosentyx works for me. cosentyx helps real people get real relief from the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis or psoriasis. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to or if ibd symptoms develop or worsen. i move so much better because of cosentyx. ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. >> martha: busy day here on "the story." we just heard from two of the candidates who will be on the stage behind us tomorrow night in milwaukee. and some republican voters that will be watching very closely joined by my co-moderator for the first debate, special report anchor, bret baier. we've seen a lot of you lakely. >> working on questions. it was fascinating not only the panel but the two interviews with the candidates as they're getting ready. >> martha: tim scott is cueing to his positive message. you can tell talking to him that that is his focus. that's where he wants to stay. he doesn't want to be drawn into any sort of negative on trump or the other candidates. >> we'll see how that plays. there's obvious contrasts in the questioning and in the issues that they're doing to want to separate on stage about how they view things. the optimism is something that people are hungry for. they want to know how everybody stands. in the end of the day, i think they want it to work, whether it's one way or another. they want people to come together and work. >> martha: vivek ramaswamy has had a lot of response to some of the things he's been saying on the campaign trail lately. here's a sound bite from our discussion moments ago. let's watch it. >> even now, we have a government that lies about the origin of covid-19. about the voracity of that hunter biden laptop, about government technology censorship. increasingly about how our money is being spent in ukraine. one of the things i'm going to do as the next president of the united states is restore truth in government. >> martha: first-time candidate, political outsider and now he's climbed in the polls and he's taking a lot of incoming. >> martha: yeah, his message is that we can handle the truth. the government should be more truthful with us. in some of these interviews, he got caught up. the 9-11 detour, he explained it today, but, you know, he said that wasn't the quote that he said. you played the quote from atlantic. i think that he's very smooth. we'll see how that translates on stage and interacting with other candidates that may be trying to go after him as he climbs in the polls. >> martha: he's feeling that at this point. nobody that starts to rise in the group is going to feel some of that pressure. let's take a look at this iowa poll, a majority of caucus growers say they could be persuaded to change their minds about who they back. 52% say that they could -- they're open to what they might hear on the stage tomorrow night. this lines up with the other numbers we're seeing out there. makes tomorrow night interesting, doesn't it? >> there's national numbers in 62% that say they could vote for somebody else besides former president trump. clearly he's in the lead. but these folks on this stage are trying to beat the one person that is the lead alternative to him. >> martha: what i heard from the voters that we just spoke to, i think all of them, if it is the former president, would vote for him again based on what they said. but they all sounded open to some of the arguments that will be made tomorrow night. so i wonder how all of this legal process kind of weighs. is there any fatigue that comes in to some of those lean trump voters when they watch this? >> we'll have to see. as we get closer and closer to voting, there will be actual cases that move forward for the former president that interact, enter change with all of these electoral moments. it's a big deal. >> martha: thank you, bret. >> see you in a bit. >> martha: we're still working on our questions and getting ready for the big night. we'll see you on "special report." coming up, president biden catching flak for stretching the truth, zoning out while he visited the areas affected by the deadly hawaiian wild fires. pete hegseth will weigh-in from milwaukee next. >> long story short, i almost lost my wife, my 67 corvette and my cat. all kidding aside, i watched the firefighters the way they responded. right, you have to do it yourself. in 2015, my dad had the idea to revitalize american textile manufacturing with bedding crafted from cotton grown on our family farm. we created red land cotton to give you the best farm, the home products possible. because it's more than quality products. it's a labor of love from our family. go to redland cotton dot com and receive 15% off your order with code fox news. ♪ 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. the first time you connected your godaddy website and your store was also the first time you realized... well, we can do anything. cheesecake cookies? the chookie! manage all your sales from one place with a partner that always puts you first. (we did it) start today at godaddy.com (♪) ♪ you're just like a satellite ♪ (♪) ♪ like a satellite ♪ viasat satellite internet. learn more about our plans at viasat.com ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ what do we always say, son? liberty mutual customizes your car insurance... so you only pay for what you need. that's my boy. now you get out there, and you make us proud, huh? ♪ bye, uncle limu. ♪ stay off the freeways! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ here's why you should switch fro to duckduckgo on all your device duckduckgo comes with a built in engine like google, but it's pri and doesn't spy on your searches and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooki and creepy ads that follow you a from google and other companies. and there's no catch. it's free. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you around showing the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. >> martha: okay. this just crossing. former president trump says that he will turn himself in on thursday morning to face the charges in the election interference case in georgia. one day ahead of the judge's deadline. he will do that on thursday. his bond was set at $200,000. the former president says that he did nothing wrong in this case. two of his co-defendants including john eastman turned themselves in today for processing. eastman says the election challenges were lawful and appropriate. he spoke with reporters outside the jail in atlanta. >> have you talked to the former president at all? >> no. >> do you regret attaching your name to the former president? >> none whatsoever. >> martha: eastman says he expecting to be fully vindicated. president biden once again accused of stretching the truth and sort of talking about his own life in the middle of other people's disasters. it happened during his visit in maui where the deadliest u.s. wild fire in more than a century killed at least 115 people. watch what happened here. see what you think. >> i don't want to compare difficulties, but have a little sense, jill and i, what it's like to lose a home. lightning struck at home on a little lake outside of our home. not a lake, a big pond. almost lost my wife, my 67 corvette and my cat. all kidding aside, i watched the firefighterers, the way they res responded. >> martha: here's what the associated press reported on that fire when it happened at the biden home in 2004. firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the house but were able to keep the flames from spreading beyond the kitchen. said the fire chief, luckily we got it early, he said. the fire was under control in 20 minutes. with that, we bring in pete hegseth. he's here with us in milwaukee this afternoon. he's going to be hosting coverage on fox nation before and after the presidential debate starting at 8:30 p.m. we're thrilled about that coverage. great to have you here. >> great to be here. >> he does this often. >> often. >> martha: comparing his own situations, trials and tribulations to what other people are going through. is it effective as a commander-in-chief to the people you're trying to comfort? >> no. look at the response he got from the crowds that expressed their displeasure with his reaction to this from the beginning. it's been too little too late. didn't make any comments. gave the no comments. waited two weeks to go out there. this is the type of thing where you're on top of it as a leader that believes that our 50th state is the same as washington d.c. and it important to the citizens, you're getting daily undates, what is happening, where is the money going. how are we addressing it. instead, it's drips and drabs. when he goes there, he tells a story about a small kitchen fire and his corvette and cat? he looks down and says that is hope. i hope you're wearing reinforced boots? he looked like he fell asleep. it's all over the internet. there it is right there. looks like he fell asleep hearing from victims of this. we were supposed to get return to normal. weren't we, martha? we were supposed to get the adults in the room. compassion and empathy. if we had a press that was fair in this country, this would be similar to a katrina moment what the press did with the george w. bush response in new orleans. instead, they're keeping it at arm's length. they don't want to talk about it. he's not fully there. as a result, you get untrue stories that pale in comparison to the absolute tragedy on the ground. >> martha: i was surprised he brought up the 67 corvette. most people that follow the news associate that with boxes of documents found behind it. so maybe that's not something that you want to be reminding people of. it reminded me of what we heard from some of those families that lost their loved ones at the abbey gate in afghanistan and were told that he understood how they felt because his son also came home in a coffin from serving in iraq. >> martha: which he didn't from combat in iraq and afghanistan. they believe he made have died from complications from that, which is sad. we recognize that. not that his family was left behind guarded by the taliban and left to die on a terrible evacuation. i wonder if there's advisers that try to get through to him. this is an 80-year-old guy that is stuck in his ways. he tells stories and they get less and less true and there's less and less connection. and then you end up talking about a 67 corvette and your cat in front of people that may know six or seven people that died, that don't have lives, that don't have houses. >> martha: still waiting to see if their family is alive. >> you know how many kids are miss something by the hundreds. the local response has been terrible and so has the federal one that lands at the white house. >> martha: what are you looking forward to tomorrow night as the candidates take the stage? >> you guys are going to do a phenomenal job. this is a make or break moment for ron desantis considering the expectations that he had. if he doesn't perform really well here, then the fade continues. you had vivek on. he will shine. he's always good. there's a lot -- for me, it's hard to see how tim scott or nikki haley renews themselves as voters. a lot of people know about them. they're impressive. how do they break out. i don't think the anti-trump will sell that great. chris christie will try that. trump is the elephant in the room. no doubt, a lot will be about him, this is a big moment for candidates. i was in there. it's a big stage. lights are bright. >> martha: pete, we're glad you're here. look forward to your coverage and just to have you as part of the team. great to see you today. so house republicans issuing news subpoenas to find out more about an october 22 meeting, october 22 meeting in which a whistle-blower now says that special counsel david weiss told the rest of the people on this team, i don't have the authority to bring charges against hunter biden. >> yes, he told me he was not the deciding person whether or not charges were filed. he told us the d.c. u.s. attorney declined to allow charges. he told us he requested special counsel authority from the main doj and was denied. >> were you the only guy in that meeting? >> i was not. >> how many other people were there? >> seven total people including me. >> martha: gary shapley changed his whole story and the course of events. he joins me next. veteran homeowners. are you applying for a car loan? the monthly payments can be expensive. with an affordable home loan from newday, you can pay cash and own the car or truck of your dreams. the all-new ergo smart base from tempur-pedic automatically responds to snoring. so, no more hiding under your pillow. because this system actually detects snoring then adjusts to help reduce it. for a limited time, save up to $700 on select tempur-pedic adjustable mattress sets. i've struggled with generalized myasthenia gravis. but the picture started changing when i started on vyvgart. vyvgart is for adults with generalized myasthenia gravis who are anti-achr antibody positive. in a clinical trial, vyvgart significantly improved most participants' ability to do daily activities when added to their current gmg treatment. most participants taking vyvgart also had less muscle weakness. and your vyvgart treatment schedule is designed just for you. in a clinical study, the most common side effects included urinary and respiratory tract infections, and headache. vyvgart may increase the risk of infection. tell your doctor if you have a history of infections or symptoms of an infection. vyvgart can cause allergic reactions. available as vyvgart for iv infusion and now as vyvgart hytrulo for subcutaneous injection. additional side effects for vyvgart hytrulo may include injection site reactions. talk to your neurologist about vyvgart. every day, more dog people are deciding it's time for a fresh approach to pet food. developed with vets. made from real meat and veggies. portioned for your dog. and delivered right to your door. it's smarter, healthier pet food. [city ambience sounds] [car screech] [car door slam] [camera shutter sfx] introducing ned's plaque psoriasis. [camera shutter sfx] he thinks his flaky, red patches are all people see. otezla is the #1 prescribed pill to treat plaque psoriasis. [ned?] it can help you get clearer skin and reduce itching and flaking. with no routine blood tests required. doctors have been prescribing it for nearly a decade. otezla is also approved to treat psoriatic arthritis. don't use otezla if you're allergic to it. serious allergic reactions can happen. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. some people taking otezla had depression, suicidal thoughts, or weight loss. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. [crowd gasp] ♪ with clearer skin, movie night is a groovy night. [ting] ♪ live in the moment. ask your doctor about otezla. >> martha: house republicans demanding more answers about the hunter biden investigation. they say the justice department and the irs have refused to let them interview key witnesses. so now they're going to send subpoenas to the witnesses. gary shapley joins me in just a moment. he spoke out and changed the entire story. first mark meredith reporting live from washington. hi, mark. >> good afternoon to you. it's clear house republicans are not satisfied with what the justice department is getting about how the hunter biden probe was conducted. now they're answering new demands for accountability. two irs agents had concerns about how the investigation was being handled and believed limits were placed on who could be charged and investigation. the chairman of house oversight, the ways and means committee all demanding the justice department's inspector general give an update on what he's learned. these lawmakers say their testimony raised serious questions about the federal government's commitment to even-handed justice. the inspector general received the information from the whistle-blowerers but have not indicated that their office is meaningfully investigating the disclosures. yesterday the same committee issues a fresh round of subpoenas to four government employees. two at the irs, two at the fbi. lawmakers demanding these agents sit down for a deposition to explain what they knew of alleged limits in the hunter problem. meantime, pressure remains on special counsel david weiss to lay out his next steps. this is a case that will go to trial at some point. as to when and where, that is unclear. republicans have publicly floated the idea of subpoenaing members of the biden family to testify. given that this investigation is still on going, we don't know how soon that may happen. martha? >> martha: mark, thanks very much. all right. with that, we bring in irs whistle-blower gary shapley. thanks for being here. we spoke to your attorney, mark lytle yesterday. he said that mr. weiss has to be removed from this case. do you agree? >> so for david weiss to continue on as a special counsel in this investigation raises so many questions for the american people. his credibility is just nonexistent at this point. he played his cards in this investigation. he decided what was going to be charged, he was at one point based on the information released from this weekend was at one point not even going to charge him. he was the part of the investigation that allowed the investigative steps not to occur. >> martha: you know, that was stunning that revelation over the weekend, that he was going to do absolutely nothing in this case. not tax charges, not the low level tax charges or the gun charge. what changed the course of this was when you came forward as a whistle-blowerer. what did you think when you learned that? >> so the release this weekend was really shocking. there's -- i refrain from talking motive here. but as more information is released, it seems to be painting the picture of what was happening behind the scenes. this was information that the department of justice never expected to be released. they never anticipated zeigler and i coming forward. they're being held accountable now. i hope continue pushes forward to make sure that the american people that our department of justice is equal. >> martha: yeah, this is from "the washington examiner" today. it says seven prosecutors that worked in the delaware u.s. attorney's office the last several years of the hunter biden investigation appear to be democratic donors. one of them appears to have a previously unreported personal relationship with the biden family, referring to hunter biden as a good friend. it was also revealed that david weiss had at one time worked with beau biden. it's kind of shocking that he hasn't said that he wants to step aside from this whole thing given all of these ties. isn't it -- are you surprised that at this point in this process that he wanted to be the special counsel on this case? what do you think will happen now? >> well, what we really need is a special counsel to investigate this investigation. that includes the actions of u.s. attorney weiss, attorney general garland, the statements made to congress, the letters sent to congress. over and over again. as information comes out, proven that what they told the american people, what they told the congress was not accurate. and at the end of the day, i came forward for the american people and i put myself at risk with the american people. at the end of the day, they need to be confident that this investigation is actually looked at independently and fairly. >> martha: seems like one of the ways they can do that is to bring you and mr. zeigler back in to this investigation to give it legitimacy. is there any chance that that will happen? >> so i would be full on board to assist moving forward, whether it was with mr. weiss or with a different special counsel. i don't know really how it moved forward without it. over the weekend, information comes out that really hits the retaliation, especially agent zeigler and i have had. may 15 when we were being told that we were being removed from the team and that -- so the case keeps moving forward, we have leslie wolf contacting defense counsel saying that we're going to enter into a dpa. so it's clearly retaliation. they wanted to remove special agent zeigler and i. >> martha: i know. we're out of time. we're continuing our conversation. thanks for being here. >> neil: thanks. we're one day for the big show down. the gop hoping to throw down in milwaukee. it's the eve of the first presidential debate here on fox. here's how the candidates will be lined up on stage with donald trump opting out. the big question is who from this pack can breakaway. we have bill melugin in milwaukee, former republican governor scott walker with some advice for all of those running