Bret Baier: They are going BANANAS

[0:00] So Brett Baer is with us here in New York. Good morning to you. Good morning. Always good to see you in person. Yes. Yes. Okay. Don't get sick of us, by the way, because we're here for a couple days. Yeah. Many hours. You think about this. Go ahead and put it up, guys. Advanced voting. All right. The early vote by mail and in person is nearly 2 million in Michigan. Okay. 1.8 voting as of 6 a.m. today. That's an extraordinary figure. Apples to apples four years ago, 2022. Gretchen Whitmer is on the ballot. [0:30] Unopposed, you had 930,000. This is a big difference four years later. We've already surpassed 2018's midterm. It is the biggest midterm turnout early vote already across the nation. So when you look at Michigan, this, all that has happened over the past day, you know, a lot of those people have already voted. But could it move the needle? Maybe. And, you know, that's why it's such a big story, this endorsement by Haley Stevens. [1:00] I don't think she had to do that interview last night because the earthquake was yesterday. But we'll see what the fallout is. Clearly her party is going bananas. I mean, Chuck Schumer with this statement, despicable betrayal, we Democrats equally united in our total revulsion at the racist, Islamophobic and over-the-top false attacks on Abdul by Republicans, saying that criticizing Abdul is Islamophobic. [1:30] I think that there will be plenty to pick out afterwards to look at all the things that Haley Stevens was asked to swallow this entire time. She was called an idiot. Abdul El-Sayed was the one who said she intimated she would have dual loyalties with the United States and Israel because she's Jewish. [1:45] And a lot of Jewish voters in Michigan were saying, what are we doing here? This is not an option for us. And this is one of the reasons that I think the straw that broke the camel's back. It's an ad that was put out by Scent Yeager. [1:57] It is the one that is the most anti-Semitic ad of the entire cycle. And there have been a few. Watch here. [2:02] We have to set that $7 aside for killing Palestinians. Don't we give Israel $4 billion a year anyways? Yeah. And now we're giving them another $26 billion. [2:14] And then last night, after all of this was happening, Haley comes out. She had asked him to decry the ad and condemn the ad. His campaign would. He wouldn't specifically. [2:24] Last night on 60 Minutes, he was also asked about Israel. Didn't give her another reason to go back to his camp. Here's what he said. [2:31] I don't ever get the question of, does Palestine have the right to exist? Does Palestine have the right to exist? [2:37] Yes. Does Israel have the right to exist? Yes. If there is a shared understanding. [2:43] Wait, you said, you said, yeah. Let me just, let me just, let me just understand. I believe, and this is the, this is the problem with this debate. [2:48] We start from where we sit rather than start from principles. I believe in equal rights to peace, dignity, and self-determination for Palestinians and Jewish Israelis alike. [2:56] So I think this morning she's thinking she probably made the right decision. [2:59] Yeah, I think Democrats are really losing their mind because of the transition and how quick it happened. [3:06] There were some communications with Haley Stevens the night, the day before, and then the decision was made in the morning about the church service. [3:13] You know, the process there, New York Times goes into it. [3:16] But as far as this issue on this ad, it's pretty cut and dry. [3:19] I mean, Abdul El-Sayed has said something similar on the trail back in August about Israel being an affordability issue. [3:26] And so I don't think there's any doubt here. [3:30] She made a decision. [3:31] She stood on her principle, and now the party is really condemning her. [3:35] She's lost her friends. [3:36] Yeah. [3:37] So let's look at number two. [3:39] Here's Piker's response since he's in the conversation. [3:42] She's a self-interested striver who's weirdly obsessed with Israel, has been paid handsomely for this strange obsession. [3:48] And then I guess it was, yeah, Sunday a bit earlier. [3:54] If you're confused why she keeps saying my name, like it's an MK ultra activation code whenever she's asked about why she endorsed Abdul and endorsed Rogers in AIPAC-affiliated circles, [4:05] I am seen as the number one boogeyman. [4:08] I guess we don't have that made. [4:09] So Piker's in this conversation. [4:11] Maybe Michigan matters. [4:14] And maybe it doesn't. [4:16] Maybe on Wednesday all this stuff is like water under the bridge because Democrats have won in places where, frankly, in normal times, they shouldn't have. [4:26] And maybe on Tuesday night we're looking at places like Nebraska, right, and Kansas. [4:33] And that's places like, these were easy double-digit victories for Trump two years ago. [4:39] And maybe they are again, but not by the same margin. [4:41] I don't think when we look back at this midterm, we're going to see a midterm that is this much in focus. [4:47] This much, I think Republicans are engaged in some of these states. [4:51] I think we're going to be surprised by day of vote totals. [4:55] You know, early vote, day of vote. [4:57] And I think this is going to be a battle. [4:59] And some of these states are going to be really tight despite all of the polls all over the place. [5:04] And if Republicans come home in some of these places, you're going to have really tight swing states [5:10] that determine the balance of power, specifically in the U.S. Senate. [5:14] I think there's no doubt that he helped close some of those. [5:17] Whatever the total was going to be, President Trump made it better for Republicans in this last month by getting all of those people out. [5:24] And think about how much money has been spent. [5:27] 12 billion. [5:28] 12 billion. [5:28] It's now up to like $12.7 billion. [5:31] This is the most ever spent on a midterm ever. [5:34] Wow. [5:35] Thank you, Brett. [5:36] Let's talk throughout the day. [5:37] You bet. [5:37] It's great to have you in the building. [5:39] Yes. [5:39] It's good to be here.