I'm laura ingraham. You're looking live at the trump rally in pennsylvania where the former president is about to take the stage. The state was critical in 2016 to trump and now he's at a statistical tie according to the rcp polling average. Other polls have him up. We'll keep an eye and bring you new breaking news as it happens. First, we have some new details tonight about that wouldbe trump assassin, ryan routh. He's still behind bars after appearing in court earlier today. Now he showed up shackled with his hands and feet and at times he wore a smile. Things are not looking good for him. Seems like the doj has audio of what could be an apparent admission by routh. Now, he made a jail house call to a woman and apologized twice. His female friend told him he did the worst thick he could have possibly done. Things are not looking good for the secret service either. We're learning that routh may have cased the golf club and maralargo multiple times in the month ahead of the assassination attempt. One of routh's cell phones pinged cell towers near both locations on multiple days and multiple times from august 18 to september 15. But apparently just no one noticed him. Now, we know from the first assassination attempt that thomas crooks had cased the area in butler before that shooting. So one would think that the secret service would have been extra vigilant at the places trump frequents and lives. When it comes to protecting trump, seems like the secret service is making some peculiar or even perhaps suspicious choices lately. Such as its decision to release a letter that routh apparently wrote to the world months before he tried to take out trump. Now, in this letter he clearly says it was an assassination attempt and he apologizes for failing. I guess he thought he was going to fail if the letter was found. He offered a sixfigure bounty to whoever can finish the job. Now, you all know that we have urged transparency from the feds in an expeditious investigation. We have to ask the question, does releasing this now with the information that was in that letter before the election, could that further endanger former president trump? now, recall the different approach with the manifesto of that nashville shooter, audrey hale. They said then it could be released because of the risk of inspiring copycats. That was a grave concern at the time. In routh's case, the doj released it even though, again, it puts a bounty on trump's head. Now, the credibility of the secret service and the fbi is already in the toilet and for good reason. Millions of americans want answers to simple questions. Not only should they tell us how routh remained undetected for so long and the golf course and maralargo but also why didn't the fbi follow up on reports about his conduct? how does a man with $68 in his bank account make it on all of these trips, trips to ukraine, trips to florida? joining us now is mat whitaker, former acting attorney general and james r. Fitzgerald, a criminal profiler and former special agent. Matt, i went to get back to this letter from routh. We're for transparency but releasing that with a bounty reference in the letter, does that make sense? well, good to be with you, laura. Makes no sense. It's dangerous, irresponsible and show as really poor judgment being exercised by at least the u. S. Attorney's office, but most likely all of the department of justice. You know, they could have redacted that information. They could have submitted it in camera or had a hearing outside of public view. But this information to be out there was purposeful. That makes you kind of question all of these decisions because they always seem to make the decision that harms president trump the most. Laura: well, here's what agents found also in routh's car. Six cell phones, one contained a google search of how to travel from palm beach county to mexico. They also found 12 pairs of gloves, two license plates, a hawaii driver's license and a passport in his name. A notebook filled with names and numbers pertaining to ukraine, on how to join combat and notes criticizing the governments of china and russia. James, does this sound off the bat and you kind of get this sense from the fbi, certainly in the butler case, but in this case, like alone wolf to you? you know, i've been asked that question a lot about killers and mass shooters over the years. I don't think there's too lone wolfs out there anymore. Everybody out there now undertaking these types of crimes, these offenses, they have they're surrounded by likeminded souls on the internet, dark web, wherever they go. I think routh is no different in this particular case. So he may have been operating on his own that very day, laying prone position outside the golf course, but he's been influenced by lots of other people. I see him as a poor man's james bond from ukraine with love would be his movie. He's bouncing all around. The international world trying to coalesce his belief system. But obviously it didn't work. Why the doj and fbi put those words in that particular affidavit today, i don't understand either. That makes no sense to me. Laura: well, again, at a time, matt, where the fbi and the secret service needs to bolster its credibility, to release that letter and then we find out that he was at these locations on multiple times surveilling or casing the joints, as they'd say. Nobody notices. That's also just very odd, especially since he should have been on everybody's radar given his past. He absolutely should have been on the radar. They should have been protecting president trump all along based on the threat and not on his position as a former president. Obviously they continue to increase his protection, but it's still failing. Now the fbi puts out and department of justice puts out this manifesto and suggested there's now a bounty on president trump's head. I'm glad it looks like people are getting serious about protecting president trump, but at the same time, it's too late. There's already been two assassination attempts on his life. Laura: well, what i see in all of this is mr. Fitzgerald, a country on edge. We have an election in a few weeks, really. People are very concerned that there will be another attempt on this man's life. And i can't tell you how many people have come up to me and asked me, are they going to try to kill him a third time? i don't have anyway to reassure people. I'm just a talk show host. Well, it's one thing with routh writing these letters and this book with a title too long to go in to here where he is some kind of a global citizen. But it just begs to wonder why this information would in fact be published. He even refers to natural selection, sort of an element of darwinism as if he was selected through some evolutionary process to carry out this act. If he didn't do it, others should do it for him. This guy is all over the place. No doubt there's going to be some mental health issues that surface about him. That may be part of his defense. Who knows down the line. But this guy is he's dangerous and he's not only dangerous in what he tried to do 1 1/2 weeks ago to president trump, but the words he's putting out there and now that are available for everyone to see. I was with you after the nashville shooting. I wanted that manifesto released. I said redact any threats to anyone. Laura: bingo. That should have been followed here today, too. Laura: that's the difference. That part could have been redacted. Matt, in court today, prosecutors say they intend to ask a grand jury to consider a charge that routh attempted to assassinate trump. I mean, isn't that why is that i don't know why that's a question. That is obvious, don't you think? yeah, when they arrested him, obviously they wanted to keep him in jail, so they filed the firearms charges. Certainly they're going seek that. They're going to get that. The question is, there's no doubt that everybody wanted this guy detained and kept in jail pending his trial. Whatever the ultimate charges are. He probably will spend the rest of his life in prison. At the same time, you just can't put this out on the public so recklessly, really for the whole world to understand there's now a stated bounty and a number on president trump's head. I just this is so outrageous that it's incomprehensible to me. Laura: it's like the people have everything against him. James, we learned something else today that the shooter, mr. Routh, was in direct sight in the next hole toward trump. So they were trying to down play that earlier on. But he was in the exact place he needed to be to get a clear line of sight of where trump would be in the next hole. Again, that acting secret service director, the first night, was like well, we were effective. The shot didn't go off. But that was almost luck that the shot didn't go off given the proximity of the barrel of the gun to the next hole. Yeah, this isn't a casino where you have to depend on luck to win or prevent something bad from happening. The secret service cannot use that logic anymore or that pretense in terms of protecting this former president and certainly the republican candidate. This should not have been should not have been allowed to happen. I'm worried, too that we're going to have lee harvey oswald situation or an epstein situation where all of a sudden this guy just decides to be suicided somehow. I think he has a lot of information, follow the money that could tell us about this guy, who he met with over the years which would open doors for us. Believe me, i hope he stays in jail but i hope he stays alive to talk about it. Laura: $68 and somehow he gets to ukraine. I don't think we could swing that. Thanks to you both. The debate is over. That's the focus of tonight's angle. I can't tell you how many times over the course of just the past weekends i had friends a quain tenses, total strangers that approached me to ask whether trump can still beat kamala. My response is always the same. Of course he can beat kamala. Don't fall for the propaganda being pedalled by the regime media. Keep this in mind. The next 43 days, most everything that you read and see about this race is going to be designed to do one thing. One thing only. Demoralize the gop base in to believing that all hope is lost, that kamala has this in the bag. This is the largest increase that we have seen for any politician since george w. Bush in the wake of the september 11th attacks. Now you're seeing a different story. What goes into that? that new level of popularity she has. It's one that the history books will study when i think she takes this to victory. Laura: this is ludicrous. If the harris team and their media mignons really thought that she had the election wrapped up, they would not be desperately trying to goad trump in having another debate. He needs it. She agreed to the cnn debate. She knows that will be the least agreeable venue for him. She wants to debate again. Donald trump doesn't. He can't talk about the issues. Laura: that's funny. Trump is the one that doesn't talk about the issues, joe. But why take a chance on disrupting all that kamala momentum? the answer is they know they have several high hurdles to clear in order to beat trump. First, the polls indicate the race is very close according to the real clear politics average. Harris' lead nationally is only 2. 2 percentage points. The rcp average for the top seven battleground states shows it's a tie. Remember, that in 2016 and 2020, the polls underestimated president trump's support. So my guess is when the harris team runs the numbers internally, they know the race is even closer than it looks. It might be really tough for them. But another debate isn't going to be the thing to help her. Now look, at these numbers from the brand new new york times sienna poll in arizona, before the debate, harris had a fivepoint margin. Post debate, the thing that she won it handily? trump is up five points in arizona. And then in georgia, trump was up four before the debate. Stayed that way after the debate. No effect. In north carolina, harris predebate edged trump by two. What about now? well, after the debate, trump is ahead by three. Whoops? so much for that kamala he men tunnel. Second hurdle. After that embarrassment of the oprah extravaganza, one thing is clear. Harris is incapable of generating favorable publicity for herself. Now they're not allowing her to make any significant policy announcements because her judgment and presentation is that bad. If we had objective journalists at other networks, they would be raising holy hell, demanding the democrat nominee do a real press conference, but instead, they do the soft shoe on the issue. We've heard other democrats suggesting that they want to see more from vice president harris and governor walz in terms of not necessarily speeches and controlled environments but town halls with voters, more interviews, mixing it up, press conferences. Would you like to see more of that? they have shown they're happy warriors, they're able to answer tough questions. Laura: of course she doesn't want to with itmer with itmer doesn't want to see that. She's the encincumbent. 24% of americans say the country is going in the right direction. It doesn't have to be this way. We can't afford we can't afford four more years of this. I've been saying that. Laura: never has a truer word been spoken by tim walz. Under these circumstances, you can see why the harris campaign wants another debate. The first place, it won't be a real debate. It would be a joint press conference with cnn. If it takes place over there at cnn as the harris people propose, then the harris team can know the moderators are going to protect harris. They'll of course attack president trump. Now, you just saw this a few weeks ago at the abc debate where the moderators plainly believed it was their job from the getgo to help harris win this election. Plus, another debate would give harris supporters in the press something new to promote. As much as the press loves harris, her strategy of avoiding any serious conversation on the issue deprives them of anything to write about. You can only do so many great futures what a great cook she is, gardener. And the last thing this campaign wants is harris out there. Ever since president trump came down that escalator, he's been involved in a continuous debate with the establishment over what is the best path forward for america. He has decisively won that debate. Why do i say that? let's look at the nbc poll from sunday. There's a lot of good news in it for harris. Showed her ahead by five points nationally. Look at what else it shows. By 4840, americans think trump would be better at dealing with inflation and the cost of living. The number 1 issue in the country. By a margin of 5041, voters think trump would be better at dealing with the economy. That's also number 1 and 2 issue. Americans think trump would be better at securing the border and controlling immigration. Those are issues 1, 2 and 3, my friends. In other words, on the key points that america's really worried about, voter as agree with trump. Even in a proharris poll issued by nbc. So tonight i'm telling you, the debate on the issues is over. Trump won. The establishment lost. Those margins are not close. Trump is ahead by nine points on the economy, 21 points on the boarder. If it's about the issues, trump will win easily. That's why the media and the harris campaign want to talk about anything but the issues. Kamala is running against trump. We have two choices. There's some things you might not know her answer to, and in 2024, unlike 2016, we know exactly what trump will do. I don't think it's a lot to ask her to sit down for a real interview as opposed to a puff piece in which she describes her feelings of growing up in oakland. I'll say to that, when you move to nirvana, give me your real estate broker i number and i'll give you my number. We don't live there. Democrats laugh that know issues are being discussed by harris. They know it's a disaster for her. Brett stephens is a never trumper. Since trump has won the most important debate of all, which of the two candidates is right on the issues? he and the republicans should just hammer harris and the democrats on those issues every single day. A vote for harris is a vote for open boarders, it's a vote for more inflation. A vote for harris is to vote to take away your gas powered car and you remember gas stove. A vote for harris is a vote for war with russia and perhaps even a draft. Don't be distracted. Don't give harris any more options than to discuss the issues. No more excuses to change the topic. So keep making these points every day for 43 more days. And then let's see what the polls look like on november 5. That's the angle. Joining me now is missouri senator, eric schmidt. Great to see you tonight, senator. Trump wins on the top issues. What else does he need to do to win on november 5? i think keep hammering the issues. Kamala harris is the most radical candidate any major party has ever put forth. That's her record. She's for reparations, she's for not deporting people. Video surfaced a few years ago where she's chanting no deportations. She doesn't believe in that stuff. She's true open borders, amnesty. She believes in defunding the police and ice. She was the border czar. We've sen 10 to 15 million people come illegally. She's the deciding vote on the inflation causing measures that the democrats passed in the senate when she was vice president. That's her record. She's not flipflopping. She's just lying. So whenever she's got two things that she's doing right now. One is sort of scripted stuff with the teleprompter. The other is unintelligible word salads like with oprah. You alluded to this. I'll close with this. If you look at the polling, what is interesting is trump by all accounts is doing better than he was in 2016 at this point in the campaign and he won, including battleground states. All the major issues, he's winning on. And this is the most important point, this is a change election. Donald trump is viewed by a 2 to 1 margin as the change candidate. That's all the fundamentals is why i think he wins in november. Laura: senator, you're not going to be surprised to hear this. She likes to tout endorsements. That's the other thing she does. So 700 national security officials endorse harris for president. Nine of those officials signed the infamous letter dismissing the hunter biden lab top as russia disinfo. Your reaction. The military and security state apparatus, the industrial complex doesn't want trump. Are you surprised? not at all. Normal americans want donald trump. Laura: thanks, senator. Coming up, a former border patrol chief is calling out biden and kamala for trying to cover up the migrant crisis. He joins us next. ( ♪ ) my back got injured very bad. I was off work for about a year. I heard about relief factor from my wife. I took it every day, three times a day, for three weeks. Look at her and i said, the pain is gone. And she said, i'm glad it helped. I said, no, you don't understand. It's gone. You, too, can feel better every day with relief factor, a daily supplement that fights pain naturally. Call or go online now for our 3week quickstart, just $19. 95. Laura: now the border crisis that kamala says wasn't a crisis, it's fixed now, is so bad that former gang members are warning us about what they're capable of. What kind of guns semiautomatics, anything you name. You're going to see it on the streets. These boys have so many big guns, if they're 150 pounds, the gun is bigger than them. They come from the gang land. This gang apparently rougher than the ones of the streets of chicago. They're infiltrating migrant shelters now. The nypd told the new york post that they're hiding in plain sight. The guys go so far to wear uber eats