challengers is trying to dig his way out of what he says is a controversy based on a misquote. correspondent bill melugin is here in milwaukee with a wrap-up. good evening, bill. >> bret, good evening to you. we are now just a little over 24 hours away from what could really be a make or break moment for some of these republican candidates. and one of those candidates in particular is now taking some serious flag over previous comments he made about 9/11. comments are now drawing some new scrutiny. >> you don't think that 9/11 was an inside job, correct? >> of course not. and i have never said it. >> republican presidential candidate vivek ramaswamy looking to clean up comments he previously made appearing to question the origins of the 9/11 terror attacks. he claims the atlantic misquoted him in a recent interview. >> who was responsible for the killing of nearly 3,000 americans on september 11th? >> terrorists from al-qaeda, but, this is a crucial truth that's been left out. aided by the saudi government. and this is a stain on our national history. >> the controversy comes as the field for the first 2024 republican presidential primary debate has officially been set by the rnc. as have candidate positions on stage and party leaders hope any infighting wednesday night is kept to a minimum. >> in my dream world, it would all be joe biden. i don't love seeing republicans attack each other. it's fine to contrast issues. i at this point in time keep focus on what our pledge was which was beat biden. >> conflict may be unavoidable. nikki haley says ramaswamy power of attorney policy ideas would make america unsafe. they will be standing right next to each other on stage and today chris christie took a swipe at governor ron desantis. calling him a quote a florida politician showing he can memorize li lines from his consultants. meanwhile senator tim scott says his focus will be on his own campaign. >> we will focus on the message and worry about the candidates another time, bret, former prest donald trump says he is going to turn himself in ongeorgia. that is where he has been indicted on charges that he allegedly tried to overturn the 2020 election. attorney and his co-defendant in that case, john eastman, actually surrendered at the full county jail already. that happened earlier today. we'll send it back to you. >> bret: bill melugin here in milwaukee. thank you. if president biden chooses to watch the debate tomorrow night, he will do so from the comfort of the home of a rich democratic supporter on lake tahoe while on vacation the president is rolling out his new student loan plan. bucking a u.s. supreme court ruling striking down the original proposal. white house correspondent jacqui heinrich is on lake tahoe in california right now. good evening, jacqui. >> good evening to you, bret. weeks before student loan payments resumed for the first time in over three years, president biden is launching a new program based on income and household size. those qualifying will have monthly bills slashed in half and interest limited. but, once again, there's a chance it doesn't pan out. >> i promise to fix the problems of the existing student loan program. i'm proud we are keeping that promise. >> officials say millions of borrowers will have monthly payments reduced to zero. orioles will save nearly a thousand dollars a year under president biden's latest plan to eliminate the burden of student debt. >> we have already approved over 116,000ness debt cancellation for 3.4 million americans, no matter how many lawsuits, challenges or road blocks republican elected officials or specia our way. >> in the come weeks education department officials will reach out to nearly 30 million borrowers as part of a massive campaign to boost enrollment. it will also serve to counter beliefs the president deserves poor marks for broken campaign promises. >> c minus because of the student loan thing that actually did put a lot of people back when they was looking forward to that. >> the supreme court struck down student loan forgiveness on legal grounds but the president blamed the g.o.p. >> i didn't give any false hope, the republicans snatched away the hope that they were given. >> it was also the court that sidelined biden's promise to block new oil drilling on federal a land. >> the courts overruled me. the courts said i couldn't do it. >> meaning biden's biggest obstacle to a second term may not be in congress at all. this time the white house think legal ground is solid. but house republicans don't. >> how many times does the supreme court have to tell somebody their action is unconstitutional? he cannot move forward with this. and if we have to take action and we have to go to the supreme court again. if we have to pass bills, we will show him what authority he has and what he does not. >> now, right now, there are house and senate republicans pledging to introduce bills to repeal this program when congress returns next month. earlier this year, the president vetoed a similar effort, meaning that any material challenge will likely come in the courts, bret. >> bret: jacqui heinrich in lake tahoe, thanks. stocks were mixed today. the dow lost 175. the s&p 500 fell 12. the nasdaq gained 8. >> bret: the priority in hawaii at this hour is locating the 850 people missing still. they have not been seen since the devastating wildfires two weeks ago. correspondent matt finn is on maui right now. >> the death toll on maui increasing to 115. some of the fire victims were in their 80's or 90's and now maui county says it has searched 100 percent of the single story structures in the fire zone and it's now moving on to multi story units. president biden and the first lady met with fire victims and walked through the charred streets of lahaina monday the historic colorful town reduced to gray ash. [siren] >> the president who is being criticized for not appearing empathetic toward lahaina stood underneath the 150-year-old banyan tree promising full federal support. >> we will be respect offul of the sacred grounds and traditions that rebuild the way the people of maui want to build not the way others want it build. >> tim is hanging these posters on the island looking for his step-father. is he one of the countless number of people bearing the excruciating pain of a loved one. >> i haven't heard from my father since the fires had started. he might have left early and ran into another area. >> phil casper has owned boss frog rentals for 46 years. he said businesses plummeted 90% since the fires. is he encouraging people to visit maui with respect. >> i try to penetrate the barriers that they have around the town or take selfies next to burned out structures. >> hawaii's governor asking tourists to come support the suffering economy. >> all of the other areas of maui, friends, and the rest of hawaii are safe. the aloha is here for you. >> and, bret, here in the historic town of lahaina, you might be able to make out some of this heart breaking devastation behind me. the governor here has been gently warning that some of these structures have been reduced to ash and some victims may never be fully recovered. bret? >> bret: matt finn live in maui. matt, thanks. again, you can help the victims of the wildfires go, to red cross.org/fox forward. you can scan the qr code on the screen right now. make a donation. or text hawaii to 90999. you can make a $10 donation doing that a power outage at a los angeles hospital has prompted the evacuation of at least 21 patients in critical condition to other facilities. more than 200 other patients were being moved to other buildings. the specialty care center was the only building on the white memorial campus affected by that power outage this comes in the wake, of course, of the tropical storm hilary dumping record rain fall on the city. >> it will be a job fair on the stage in the debate, rather than to be a place where the truth is told. >> bring it on. people can do what they want. i'm not running to be a contributor on cable news. we're running to win. >> i want to see our candidates contrast our vision for america versus the failure of joe biden. >> well, we are getting ready. back to politics. countdown is on. let's bring in fox news chief political analyst brit hume. brit, good evening. we were talking about the issues and you heard a little bit about that as all these candidates get ready how much do you think foreign policy plays in this election, you know, at large? >> it's not been the issue that people are talking about the most. you know, it's not considered where biden is most vulnerable if you want to talk about the economy and there are other issues, the border, which could be argued is a foreign policy issue. but i think this issue of ukraine and whether to continue the level of support or even increase it is important here because republicans are not in agreement about it. and, of course, if you say continue the aid, you are basically saying furthering the biden policy, that's politically dangerous for republicans. on the other hand, hearing this refrain conflicts for decades about how we are spending that you will money over there that we should be spending over here. i think it's -- i have salse thought it was a shaky idea because foreign policy and defense are primarily, not exclusively the province of the federal government. something that every president has to attend to first because, you know, desk issues can be handled by other bodies. and there is real disagreement there. i think, you know, the old reagan vision would be you support them to the hilt, you try to defeat russia and so on but, boy, there is a lot of sentiment in the republican party that doesn't go that way now. >> bret: there is contrast likely on that stage. there is the commander-in-chief test. not necessarily going to win an election for you but it could lose an election. >> brit: that's exactly right. people might like you on domestic issues but if they think you are not solid on that, you are not likely to win, and that's why you see choices of vice president sometimes be somebody who is thought to have foreign policy chops to sure up a standing on that general election. >> bret: hence joe biden who was thought that way. vivek ramaswamy has risen in the polls but now he has a bigger target on his back. >> he sure does. i think he is kind of heart throb at the moment because he is the flashiest talker i have seen in a long time in either party. and people are interested in him. and he is kind of a compelling guy, you know, is he real cheerful and friendly and he has been successful and he is young, is he a lot of things other candidates are not. but he has made some rookie mistakes. you know, it's not that everything that he said or thought or ended up turning out to be for or against have been so bad. but when you speak about issues like support for aid to israel, about the ukraine conflict and so forth. you have got to speak with care on this stage because, if not, you are going to get picked apart and it's starting to happen to him a bit. >> bret: we will see. it's great to have you on set. >> brit: great to see you, man. >> bret: what voters in wisconsin are telling us about the big issues, determining their vote but after tomorrow's debate milwaukee has another big g.o.p. political event to get ready for. ♪ >> bret: joining us now ted counter, the ceo of the host committee, this means that basically you are setting the for the upcoming rnc in july. >> that's a good description, bret. that's exactly what we are doing. we work on hotel rooms, convention center, credentials, transportation. i draw the analogy we are going to set the table for the rnc and they are going to run the convention. >> bret: and you were going to do the same for the dnc and got scaled back because of covid. >> that's correct. i was the treasurer of the dnc. >> bret: this is a nonpartisan operation. >> it's totally a. political i say that to all of my friends milwaukee. it's about showing milwaukee in the best light that we can. >> bret: what about wisconsin being the center of the political universe? every election it comes down to just thousands of votes. >> it does come down and we are going to be a swing state in risk. so it's going to be very interesting starting tomorrow night with this convention or with this debate and the convention next year. >> bret: if had you to tell somebody the elevator pitch about milwaukee and about what you do, what is it? >> our job is to make this the best experience for 50,000 delegates next year. the people that are here tomorrow night and everybody that's part of this convention so when they leave milwaukee, they say what a great city. >> bret: ted, thank you so much. >> thank you, bret. >> bret: "special report" continues after this. ♪ ♪eed mlb partners with t-mobile to not only enhance the fan experience, but to advance how the game is played. aaa relies on t-mobile's network to stay connected nationwide, so they can help get their members back on the road. and we're helping pano ai innovate, to stop the spread of wildfires. now's the time to see what america's largest 5g network can do for your business. he snores like an angry rhino. you've never heard an angry rhino. baby i hear one every night. every night. okay. i'll work on that. save 50% on the sleep number® limited edition smart bed. plus, 60-month financing on all smart beds. shop now only at sleep number®. i'll always take care of you. ♪ i'm gonna hold you forever... ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ be by your side... ♪ ♪ i'll be there... ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ from no drill mud flaps and water-repellent seat protectors, to our laser-measured floorliners, weathertech has everything you need. order yours today at weathertech.com. the ultimate protection for your vehicle. ♪ ♪ >> bret: welcome back to milwaukee. with a lot of campaigning ahead, candidates still have plenty of time to appeal to voters. many here in wisconsin are still undecided. we spoke to some voters around milwaukee about what issues matter most to them and what candidates need to do to win their vote. >> working on paperwork doesn't bring that same joy and so i realize that the trades would be a better calling for me. >> bret: jesse grew up visiting job sites alongside her father who ran his own plumbing business at 80 years old still takes up projects from time to time. but he didn't want you to be a plumber. >> no. he did not. my dad just turned 08 last month. is he very old-school and part of it he wanted to protect me. didn't think that the world was ready for women in nontraditional roles. dad had a vision of grandchildren and he thought that would mean no grandkids. but you can do both. you don't have to pick and choose. >> bret: thanks to the exposure she had at a young age, jesse now owns her own plumbing business. next year she plans to take over as chair of the associated builders and contractors of wisconsin. she hopes to inspire more young people to pick up trade skills. >> bret: you mentioned careers in trades often get overlooked. i mean, that's a concern for you, right? >> a huge concern. so i spend a lot of time advocating for two different associations. we go into schools. we used to just do high school and try to get to those kids and let them know that there were opportunities in the trades that existed. >> bret: artificial intelligence is this thing that everybody is focused on taking jobs. but for plumbing, that's not really the case. >> no. it's not. and, you know, there are some advancements with, you know, different technology that's come out. but you still need a service person to come to your door. >> bret: jesse says she is currently undecided on who will get her vote in 2024 but hopes candidates begin to highlight the need for more skilled workers. >> bret: when you look at the presidential election, this is an issue for you? >> a huge issue. we have to start leading from the top to let people know that the trades deserve just as much respect that think college degree job also deserves. >> bret: richard is the director of apartment life at a student housing complex within the milwaukee school of engineering. >> >> bret: you go in your job you work closely with students. do you talk to them about politics. >> all the time. i was a history teacher. and try to tell them this is what it was like. this is this. it's fun to challenge them. >> bret: it's one of your top issues, really, is education. >> yeah. so it's not issue of subject matter. i'm in favor of having the school board decide that with the teachers, they are the professionals what should be done in those schools. >> bret: richard, too, is up decided whether it comes to who he will support in presidency. candidates such as will hurd, mike pence and robert f. kennedy jr. have piqued his interest are you looking for the dark horses. >> i love dark horses i think that's why none of my candidates have won in the past. >> richard has supported candidates from both parties over the past decades. >> you have been eclectic. bob dole, hillary clinton, donald trump. >> i truthfully thought dump was donaldtrump was going to come id shake me up. what could go wrong. he surprised me every day what could go work. hillary, glass ceiling. i didn't vote for her when she ran against trump but i voted to are her in the primary i felt at that particular moment she might have been the best democratic candidate. >> bret: we're at a big point in our country, which way do we go? >> i will tell you, we need somebody who going to come in and work on w. both sides. >> amelia never misses an election and is the executive director of a local civic group. >> bret: does your family factor in to how you vote or how you think about voting. >> oh, absolutely. >> melio lives in milwaukee with his wife and three kids. he plans to vote for a democrat in the election but is undecided and wants to hear from candidates addressing families like his. >> bret: you said issues you care about healthcare and minimum wage. do you see interaction between those two? >> yeah. i think that a stroong economy and quality of life are interdependent and should be quo equal goals. healthcare is wildly expensive. and for families choosing how to go and ensure their loved ones and family what they have to knock off the table, that's a very costly option to weigh in when you are also taking a look at what you are making per hour. >> amelio says the nonprofit he works for $16 minimum wage. >> bret: should that be the national level. >> when i came on three years ago it was considerably less. we found with some folks having difficulties hiring people we needed to make it something so that people who work there feel comfortable working there and maybe begin to think this is a job i would like it stay in. >> bret: sarah grooms is also focused on economic issues. she works in finance and chairs the policy committee for the waukesha county business alliance. >> bret: you mentioned that the economic aspect of national security is important to you. why is that? >> so much to talk about. i mean, we can kind of see it just with semiconductor chips recently. right? that's one little instance the way a foreign economy could affect ours if they choose to say we're not going to sell you those anymore. >> bret: she says her background aligns with libertarian ideals and plans to vote in the republican primary. >> bret: is there a candidate that has kind of hit on that for you yet? >> there is never a perfect candidate. really comes down to who can work with as many people as possible to get what america needs. >> bret: these debates, these moments help you? >> to some extent. >> bret: sarah hopes hearing more from candidates will help her better decide who she plans to vote for eventually. >> bret: wisconsin voters, i talk to a lot of them. they run the gamut. but they are pretty politically savvy. >> i appreciate you saying that. >> bret: you are engaged. >> a reason why it's always a battleground state. >> bret: there is that. in wisconsin you don't have to register with a political party to vote in the primary. the voters we talked to could move either way really between now, the primary, the general election. we'll follow up with them when we head back to milwaukee for the 2024 republican convention to see if they are any closer to finding a final decision on who they will vote for. up next, why san francisco is suffering so badly during america's crime crisis and how some are fighting back there. first, here is what some of our fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. fox 19 in cincinnati as one child dies and dozens of others are hurt in a rollover crash involving a school bus this morning. authorities say another vehicle sideswiped the bus about a half hour northeast of dayton. fox 26 in houston as tropical storm harold makes landfall along the south texas coast. it's expected to move inland over south texas in northern mexico, weakening to a tropical depression. harold is forecast to produce 2 to 4 inches of rainfall in south texas through early wednesday. and this is a live look at chicago from fox 32. one of the big stories there tonight, white sox owner jerry wise doppler is reportedly considering moving the team out of the city and possibly selling the club entirely. cranes chicago business says wine doppler could take the team out of the stadium when the lease expires in six years. might move it to chicago. maybe the suburbs or another city such as nashville. that is tonight's live look outside the beltway from "special report." we'll be right back. ♪ anyone can understand ♪ the way i feel ♪ oh, put me in coach ♪ i'm ready to play today ♪ 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. what do we always say, son? 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>> bret: claudia, thank you. alarming new video tonight from across the bay in oakland. a woman is seen being violently dragged on the ground during an armed robbery. it happened last week that woman sustained severe injuries. m.r.i. police say it's just one example of what is occurring across that city. one of the major topics in republican presidential debate will likely be government spending. the conversation may include the billions being given to ukraine and its fight against russia. congressional correspondent aishah hasnie takes a look at that tonight from capitol hill. >> conservatives on capitol hill are warning not to cut a blank check to ukraine. >> i think the american people are tired of giving more money to ukraine while we can't each do our own job defending the united states of america. >> the issue is wrapped up in a spending showdown as congress and the white house barrels towards a government shutdown. a number of conservatives want ukraine funding separate from a short-term government funding bill, which they say should focus solely on desk issues. this week house freedom caucus members made their demands public, including securing the border. addressing weaponizing the justice department and ending woke policies in the pentagon. democratic leader hakeem jeffries posting house republicans are determined to shut down the government and crash our economy. but house speaker kevin mccarthy's allies say he will find the votes to keep the government open. >> we're not going to shut the government down. the fight over spending and ukraine aid also spilling onto the campaign trail. >> first thing i would do is end the ukraine war. >> according to a new fox news poll, 56% of republican voters say the u.s. should be doing less to help ukrainians fight russia. and 18 point jump in less than a year. the topic expected to set off fireworks at the first g.o.p. debate. >> franklin roosevelt could have said this is a european problem. as many are saying today about ukraine. >> and,bret, tonight foxconn firms ukraine's ambassador to the u.s. will be watching tomorrow night's first g.o.p. debate to hear what the candidates have to say about that country. she says it is, quote: important for us. bret? >> i bet the topic will come up. aishah, thank you. >> you got it. >> up next, a pair of milwaukee media members discuss tomorrow's republican presidential debate, what it means here. first, beyond our borders tonight, army commandos using helicopters and a makeshift chair lift rescue 8 people from a broken cable car as it dang geles hundreds of feet above a canyon in a remote mountainous part of pakistan. take a look at this. six children and two adults became trapped earlier in the day when a cable snapped while they were crossing a river canyon, the children were on their way to school. firefighters find the bodies of 18 people while scouring the people of a major wildfire burning out of control in northeastern greece. authorities are examining whether the group might have been migrants who entered the country through the nearby border with turkey and this is a live look at sebastian spain, one of the big stories there tonight, spainens acting prime minister praises the country's women's world cup champions during an audience at the presidential palace. pedro sanchez criticized the head of the spanish soccer federation for a much publicized kills on the lips to a team member without her consent. the person apologized monday just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. we'll be right back. ♪ the winner takes it all ♪ sk ♪ 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. there's nothing like clearer skin and better movement-and that means everything! ask your doctor about skyrizi today. learn how abbvie could help you save. we, the first generation of moms to lose our kids to social media are sick of waiting. for 25 years, there's been no new laws protecting kids online while our children are dying. we can pass the kids online safety act. join us. join us. join us. join us. 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(♪) 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. wisconsin a pivotal state to winning back the white house for republicans. >> bret: rnc chair ronna mcdaniel there. wisconsin area media members. mark cass the editor and chief of the milwaukee business. and vince the host of morning news wtmj radio. thanks for being here. >> thanks for being in milwaukee. >> happy to have you here. >> bret: fun to be here and talking to voters is really neat. this is a big deal and then the convention itself is a big deal right? >> it's a huge deal for us. economic impact of $10 million. a lot of visitors come here never come to milwaukee before. it's great for the city great deport region. international spotlighted we never had. we were close to having it in 2020 with you covid took care of that everybody is excited about it. from an economic impact it can mean a lot for the city. >> bret: democrats and republicans excited about it. >> interesting in milwaukee because unlike kind of other cities nashville who they beat out, you hear our mayor and our are not republicans but, yet, we are out front on this and actually helped us win it. so it's very unusual. >> bret: it's a purple state, vince. >> it is. >> bret: look at wisconsin, 2020 the spread, biden beats trump 49.4 to 48.9. 2016. it's so tight. it goes back and forth. >> talking about a state where you will have 3 million and some votes cast and it's about 60,000. if you look at 16 and look at 20. it was president trump carried the day in 2016. i'll add that the green party ran a very effective campaign here and jill stein is a green party candidate siphoned a lot of votes from secretary lindt. a lot of people think she might have gotten 10 electoral votes had it not been for that then biden by 30,000 votes. talking about 60-some thousand votes there is no margin. >> bret: does the economy still drive the day. >> it does. >> inflation. people are still talking about inflation. they are talking about high taxes it impacts all of our readers. that's the number one issue i hear about, still. >> i think bret, can i add because abortion has come to nateed the last gubernatorial election, our statewide elected offices at the end of 20 2022. boat raced the conservative. unheard of. it was 100 percent abortion. not sure if that will still be a dominant topic as we go forward. but that was definitely. >> bret: really quickly what are you looking for tomorrow night. >> looking for a spotlight milwaukee. milwaukee to look good in the spotlight. looking for energetic debate have fun and talk about milwaukee. >> voters here are looking for is there someone here other than former president trump who can appear presidential, who can appear viable. who can appear like he or she cannot only win the nomination but win the general. >> bret: gentlemen, i appreciate it? >> thank you for having us here. >> bret: up next, we will talk politics with our all-star panel. first as debate preparations are underway we visit another historic spot right here in milwaukee: we're at lake park home to the 74-foot north point lighthouse. it was built in 1855 to mark the northern end of the milwaukee harbor. it required a rebuild and additions over the next several decades to bring it to the height it stands today. it was decommissioned in 19 # 4 and now is a museum with a great view of lake michigan. 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>> dana: i love the kickoff. even though we have been covering this it feels like now we are ready are to the big time. >> bret: by the way you and bill will tee it up at 8:30, right? >> for the debate, yes. we will do the newsroom tomorrow morning and i'm so excited to see everything that you and martha have planned now that we have the debate stage set. so i'm looking for a couple of things. ron desantis in some ways he has done pretty well to keep this in his mind as a two-person race but he has taken a lot of slings and arrows and he is sure to be a target tomorrow night. can he figure out a way to deflect those while not punching down to the others and given a chance for people to say ron desantis, there's a lot of hype around him. why was that? also, i think nikki haley and tim scott are south korea's are south korea' --south carolinian. have a chance to hear from chris christie. people think he is only about going after trump. maybe tomorrow night he will say there is a lot more range here. excited to see governor burgum on the stage. he has been very interesting lately. vivek ramaswamy has been a crowd favorite for the last couple of weeks though he has been taking punches on foreign policy so he have a lot. i think nikki haley probably comes after him pretty hard? there will be a lot of contrast and issues getting into. how much do you think candidates worry about how they look. whether they are nice. whether they are kind of not too angry against somebody? i think they worry about it a lot because i this matter a lot your can at that time if you want donald trump to show up at future debates you have to make him show up when you are up by 40 points. john vander birth shouldn't have hit 18. >> bret: golf analogy. >> he didn't need to. donald trump doesn't need to show up unless and until you make him show up so to dana's point ron is going to get a lot of flack tomorrow. the frontrunner will be almost immune from the attack. person in second place who is actually slipping a little bit about will be the object of everyone's ire. >> bret: your advising summary, josh, what do you say to them? >> typically the first debate is about survive and advance and that's basically what you had up until this point. i do not think that is the case for this debate for precisely a what is he talking about. 8 candidates on the stage have a 40 point deficit here. you are going to have to figure out how to stand in the crowd. you have to figure out if you could possibly be the person the republican voters can consolidate around as alternative to donald trump if that even exists. so playing it safe. figuring out how to stick in your talking points and not get absolutely killed is typically the strategy. it can't be tomorrow for any of them. >> bret: vivek ramaswamy i talked about this with brit, has a bigger target on his back as he ascends here. he has said some things that raise some eyebrows, dana. >> dana: he certainly has. part of it has mostly to do with foreign policy. right? the questions about should we just call the ukraine war right now and say these are the new boards? he'll make comments about 9/11. was the government know more. actually i didn't really say that well how many federal marshals on there? there weren't federal marshals because 9/11 hadn't happened yet. foreign policy is interesting thing. if you look at any of the polls, it's not the top of mind for most measures. however, what's interesting to me and i always like to remind people of this, in the year 2,000 near al gore nor george w. bush were ever asked about al-qaeda. on foreign policy it's important to find out what do you believe? what are your principles, for example, president trump, when he is asked about foreign policy now in today's like your interview did with him knocks it out of the park because he has all of that experience. >> bret: it matters though, foreign policy? unfortunately to dana's point people only focus on it when they have to. is the economy, i think everything else add together may equal the economy and it's tough to make that exciting. so that's the challenge for the candidates tomorrow night. how do you make jobs exciting? it's really exciting if you don't have one. how do you make the economy, you know, visiting theater? >> when the president goes out and says i'm campaigning on bidenomics and, yet, you look at the polls and they are upside down, josh, on the issues of economy. >> a giant disconnect. it's been the case basically the entirety of the biden administration where they like to talk about all of the accomplishments, accomplish. s that they have gotten across the finish line, not only are people not feeling it. macronumbers may be showing some improvement. it's not getting down to the average family. biden has a huge liability try to ignore the pain somehow projecting this confidence that people don't see. you will see that tomorrow night republicans talking about kitchen table issues they are hearing because, listen, they have been working the states hard. they are talking to people at their table and they are getting a lot of feedback from it. >> dana: the other thing we haven't mentioned former vice president mike pence. and he is on the stage. he will be right there. he has persevered. and it will be interesting how does he drive a distinction between what they accomplished during the trump administration and what he wants to do next and he has an opportunity to try to make a first impression a third time around. >> bret: you can see how they are stacked up. it's done by polling and the highest polls are in the middle of the stage with ron desantis, vivek ramaswamy, there is not one person because obviously there are 8. does the former president take anything negatively poll wise after one person has a good night. >> i don't. i think donald trump supporters are going to remain his supporters unless and until a trial begins and you see some of the evidence and some cross-examination or until somebody makes the point on the weaponization of doj, look, mr. president, with all due respect you hired jeff sessions, you hired bill barr, you hired rod rosenstein. you kept jim comey and you hired chris wray. if you think the department is weaponized where should we look for the blame? until that point is made, if it can be made, then, no. >> bret: we will see if it's made tomorrow night. >> yes, sir. >> bret: all right. thank you. ♪ tuesday extras thanks to one of our six sick of the tweets. john asks do you and it martha have final say on the questions asked at the debate. we have a lot of say. it is a team effort. it's a really good team effort but martha and i, you know, are doing the questioning. so, also, finn zim wants question asked to each candidate how do you plan to weak countries from powerful countries like russia and ukraine. there will be bucket of ukraine questions. i promise you that. last, kathy wants to know do you predict you will sleep better tonight or tomorrow night. i'm guessing tomorrow night. i'm going to put a lot of the chips on tomorrow night. okay. all the preparations for the debate. the behind scenes look at the stable. actually see that with bill and dana in the morning, first. please remember if you can't catch us live set your dvr 3 p.m. in the west and 6 p.m. in the east. that's it for "special report," fair balanced and unafraid. debate is coming. laura is here. ♪ ♪ >> laura: hi, everyone. i'm laura ingraham. the actor and comedian rob schneider that's going to be fun joining me later in the show on what would be and should be a wake-up call for the elites. but, first, when donald trump traveled to puerto rico after the devastated by cat 5 hurricane, the tv jackals were not happy. >> people suffering treating basically like peasants, here, a paper towel for you. here's a paper tall for you. >> it's totall