>> ed: we get to do it all over again tomorrow. >> sandra: see you tomorrow. thanks for joining us. "outnumbered" starts right now. >> fox news alert. president trump's impeachment trial is about to enter a whole new stage as we wait the beginnings of the question-and-answer session. this is senate majority leader mitch mcconnell telling colleagues the g.o.p. does not yet have the votes to block impeachment witnesses. an initial vote is expected on friday. president trump today tweeting that house democrats allowed no witnesses for his side and republican senator josh hawley also says that democrats can't have it both ways. >> exactly. if we are going to do witnesses, my view is we need to call hunter biden, joe biden, and adam schiff. we know he talked to the

whistle-blower. what did he say? what is staff advised him? >> senate minority leader chuck schumer says trial like this needs witnesses. >> i remain hopeful that four republican senators will join us in supporting witnesses and documents. it's an uphill fight, as i've always said but the public is on our side and truth above all is on our side. that's why we are still in the fight. >> meanwhile, fox news has learned senate republicans are developing a plan b strategy. if republicans break away and support of calling witnesses, one option, a resolution calling for a package of witnesses including hunter biden. that's unlikely to win support in the senate. a second option, the white house exerting negative privilege to block witnesses like john bolt john bolton. this is "outnumbered." i am melissa francis. harris faulkner. dagen mcdowell, executive director of the serve america pac and fox news contributor,

marie harf. in the center seat today, senior editor of "the federalist," christopher bedford. he is outnumbered. chris, before i get your reaction, i want to play for you, we heard republicans calling for hunter biden but now there's at least one democrat on board. listen. is hunter biden irrelevant witness, senator? >> i think so. i really do. i don't have a problem there because this is why we are where we are. now, i think that he can clear himself. what i know on what i've heard, but being afraid to put anybody that might have pertinent information is wrong to matter if you are democrat or republican. >> melissa: chris, i'm starting to feel like this witnessing is a game of chicken. both sides, i think it could be out of control for both of them. maybe the democrats' best position is to have it not happened and then they can say we were denied witnesses. >> i think you're right.

it's a win-win for democrats too do that. if they can scream and yell and the republicans say we are not going across the witness rubicon, it can help delegitimize the public american senate in the eyes of the american people and it could score clinical points that way. if they start allowing witnesses, this could drag on for months and months and months. if there is a major thing that comes before the senate, may be a supreme court vacancy or something like that, the democrats get tied up with investigations, hobble the president we have seen this playbook before. kavanaugh 2.0. >> harris: i am concentrating on what's going on with senator lindsey graham this morning. he came out and made a statement a short time ago and answered back. it looked like he was talking directly to the president and what he said. the president makes the calculation often to help himself and his defense. senator graham saying "i am concerned when john bolton's credibility is attacked, it makes it more likely some will feel the need to call him as a

witness." put it into context, the president said "for a guy who could get approved to ambassador of the u.n. years ago, couldn't get approved for anything sense, beg me for a nonsenate job i gave, takes the job. "it goes on. that's just the first one. what do you make of it? >> chris: john bolton is someone who has been an ally of senator lindsey graham, george w. bush, people who are more hawkish in the g.o.p. it seemed clear for a lot of people in washington scratching their heads when he came on with the trump administration. his foreign policy and theirs aren't the same. he had hawkish foreign policy positions. >> harris: why do you think the president hired him? >> i think the president likes people who are sharp and combative. john bolton, say what you will about him, he certainly very combative.

>> melissa: marie, his point was, mr. president, the more you attack john bolton, the more likely it is we need to call him as a witness because otherwise we could just take what he is saying and put it in the mix with everything else. like you're not doing yourself any favors by attacking him on twitter. >> marie: absolutely. john kelly yesterday said he thinks john bolton is telling the truth. what bolton has reportedly written in the book is consistent with a lot of other testimony that we are hearing. what i've heard is that a number of republican senators are saying look, if we don't hear from him as part of this trial and his book comes out in three months and has even worse information for the president, we need to get it out now. if we vote to acquit him or vote not to have witnesses in his book comes out, that's a problem for us. one thing yesterday that a lot of democrats are picking up on, her home state, the caucuses on monday. she said caucus goers in iowa, they may change their minds about joe biden. they may be changing their minds

based on what we are putting out about joe biden. that's a paraphrase. a lot of democrats are saying wait a second. you are using this to hurt joe biden politically? that's what would been accusing you of doing. she gave the game away publicly. that's an interesting piece of this. >> melissa: meanwhile, three vulnerable democrats reportedly considering going to acquit president trump on at least one of the two articles of impeachment. politico naming senators joe manchin of west virginia, kyrsten sinema of arizona, and doug jones of alabama as democrats who remain undecided. president trump weighing in, tweeting quote there is much talk that certain democrats are going to be voting with republicans on the impeachment hoax. so that the senate can get back to the business of taking care of the american people. sorry, but cryin' chuck schumer will never let that happen!" dagen, i will go to you first. i hear juan williams quote to you on "the five" a lot when

you're there that 51% of the americans want the president ask that's an old poll or out of date. real clear politics, 47% say yes, remove. 47.9 say no. there's one poll where it's 51. it's going in the president's direction. what does that mean for democrats? >> dagen: i think for all the senators, at the end of the day, they only need to step back and ask are we going to vote to remove a president nine months from an election? do we believe in the right to vote and allow the american people, the american citizens, to make that decision? that's the only question that any of the senators have to answer. i will point to karl rove because he called this a week and a half ago. he said it on the fox news channel more than once. he said you've got a number of democrats, joe manchin, doug jones in alabama, who have made some temperate comments about voting for acquittal.

restrained comments. he said you have camel here is she's going to vote -- you have kamala harris. she's going to vote to remove the president. talking about comments that joe manchin told another network at one point and i think it weighs on everybody. i am very much torn by this. they are being very careful. are you going to leave it up to your constituents, the american people? or are you going to take it in your own hands? >> harris: i think being careful is what they are supposed to be. there was going to be a penalty if you speak up and now we have some people not even paying attention. the whole trial is going on. some senators being accused of snoozing or playing with toys or whatever. >> chris: they don't like to pay attention. >> harris: there was going to be punishment for speaking up so this is the opposite of what we are actually seeing. i don't trust what people say until they actually take a vote. >> marie: i totally agree with that. i totally agree with harris. some of the things happening behind the scenes. until they pull the lever, i'm

with her. >> chris: thinks there's undecided senators on this. >> marie: i think there could be. >> melissa: it's political on every side. they are hypocrites, everyone of them. [laughter] do joe biden crossed the line? while he's under fire for how he handled a voter in iowa. the testy exchange and why it's hardly the first time. i have huge money saving news for veterans. mortgage rates just dropped to near 50-year lows. one call to newday usa can save you $2,000 every year.

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>> harris: fox news alert. potentially game changing new phase in president trump senate impeachment trial as we await the beginning of the q&a period. senators will submit written questions to house managers and president trump's defense attorneys. the fight over potentially calling witnesses. special coverage begins with it all at the bottom of the hour. bret baier, martha maccallum. keep watching. >> what are you going to do about climate change? you say you are against pipelines but you want to replace these gas lines. it's not going to work. we have to stop building and replacing pipelines. >> thank you. we are going to have you -- thank you so much. >> i'm going to vote for you in the general. >> you're asking, coming up to tell me that you don't support me.

my plan. >> i said i was going to vote for you and the general. >> i am running in a primary. >> harris: did you get it? go vote for somebody else. joe biden raising eyebrows in iowa after getting in a heated confrontation with environment activist. poking and touching. the man served in iowa's general assembly, telling him to take his vote elsewhere. fallon told biden he's backing tom steyer he called the interaction disturbing. and then he wrote this "what was even more shocking was how biden pushed and poked me. took hold of my jacket with both hands as he lectured me. his demeanor on the stump will inevitably come back to bite h him. this is hardly the first time joe biden has snapped people on the campaign trail. here is a taste. >> you're getting nervous, man.

calm down. it's okay. >> you're a damn liar. that's not true. no one is ever said that. let's do push-ups together. let's run. let's do whatever you want to do. >> harris: wow, where do you even start. i thought it was interesting that joe biden told the man to vote elsewhere in the man said but i'm going to vote for you if you make it through in the general if you treat me right. >> chris: that was obviously a play to get some air time. i think it's really unseemly to ever see a grown man complaining. he pushed me. he poked me. that happens. the guy was fine. he was physically fine. that shows you some of the tiredness and fatigue with these politicians. their willingness to get angry at people and also to block out opponents of their political ideas. >> melissa: i totally disagree. you can't put your hands on anybody anymore for any reason.

you just can't. we don't live in that society anymore. even if he didn't hurt him or whatever you think about him complaining, you can put your hands on people. on the other hand, i love his feistiness. rather than lying and kissing tuckus to get the votes come he's saying no, this is my position. >> marie: it's what people like about joe biden. he's a straight shooter. sometimes he's not always slickly correct or whatever but he will say -- the push-up things. often in the room, people laugh. it's funny. he's not overly rehearsed. you hear on the campaign trail that he's very good and real on the campaign trail. i think democrats will take joe biden getting in someone's face up against donald trump and how he treats people any day of the week. >> dagen: women feel differently about the poking and the grabbing. you can't do it to anybody. i don't care. >> harris: he has a history of putting his hands on people that took three weeks to answer back.

different circumstances but what he calls -- >> dagen: the most important thing is, you must listen. that's all you need to do is carefully listen to what the person is saying and respond to it. joe biden gave himself away. there is much to dissect in this but he immediately thought the guy was a bernie sanders -- i know. >> harris: any set i'm voting for tom steyer but i would vote for you in the election come in the general if you make it through. >> chris: it is him and tom, i guess. >> melissa: dagen is so right. he gave away his weakness. he said are you of bernie sanders supporters? speak to trick us before we all know it's biden and bernie at the top. >> harris: we have an abbreviated "outnumbered" because of our coverage of the impeachment trial continues at the bottom of the hour. "the new york times" reporting biden officials floated the idea of forming an alliance with amy klobuchar when they get to

iowa. "the two campaigns could encourage their supporters in the state to back the other candidate in precincts where they fall short of the 50% threshold required to reach the second round of balloting." but amy klobuchar is reportedly not interested. chris. >> chris: what do they think the voters of iowa are? pieces to be traded amongst the campaigns? >> that's how a caucus works. your people in the room trying to move people to your side. this is smart because klobuchar has been gaining and i think it's supersmart because she has been taken away from biden. >> melissa: what would she get in return? >> harris: too much moderate on one ticket? if they were to get together. what are you going to do with all those bernie supporters. >> chris: not of the other ticket is donald trump and pence. the left might support a moderate democrat. >> dagen: there are no moderate emigrants. they all want to raise your taxes. even joe biden wants to raise

your taxes 50%. >> harris: a cnn panel facing major backlash today after bashing president trump supporters as being gullible and illiterate. the host, don lemon, trying to defend himself and how republicans are trying to use this to their advantage. stay tuned. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪

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>> harris: this is developing. just minutes from now our special coverage begins. president trump's evidence impeachment trial enters the question and answer phase. the president's defense team wrapped opening statements yesterday. >> donald trump couldn't find ukraine on a map if you have the letter u and an picture of an actual physical crane next week.

it's an administration defined by ignorance of the world. that's partly him playing to their base and playing to their audience, the credulous boomer rube demo that backs donald trump that wants to think donald trump is the smart one and y'all elitists. >> you elitists with your geography and your maps and your spelling. your reading. >> melissa: that portion of a cnn panel discussion prompting anchor don lemon to address the mockery of president trump and specifically his supporters, suggesting they are uneducated and illiterate. the clip blowing up on social media with cnn's former digital producer tweeting "the arrogance, the dismissiveness, the smug cackling, the accents. i've donald trump wins reelection this year i will remember this brief cnn segment is the perfect encapsulation for why it happened."

last night, don lemon offering this explanation. >> ask anyone who knows me, they will tell you. i don't believe in belittling people. during interview on saturday night, one of my guests said something that made me laugh. in the moment, i found the joke humerus. i didn't catch everything that was said. to make this perfectly clear, i was laughing at the joke. not that any group of people. >> melissa: i don't understand how that would make it better. very sorry, not sorry. he was trying to make it clear that he was laughing at the president as opposed to his supporters. you could hear clearly when he said the boomer rube supporters. >> dagen: the word goulash, nobody's gobbling up that explanation. what did happen, those guys pulled back the curtain on what's really going on. the liberal media elite and many liberals in this country, to

quote greg gutfeld, they don't just hate donald trump. they hate you. i have lived this my whole life. let them underestimate you. let them call you a rube and they redneck and a hayseed and a hillbilly and an ignorant nobody but you know what? you will sneak up on them and you you will win and you will take them by surprise and you can watch them weep and moan and clutch their chest when you win again. >> marie: wait a second. rick wilson who made the first joke is a republican. >> dagen: no he's not. >> chris: republican strategist. >> dagen: and i am dolly parton. >> marie: you don't get to decide who's a republican. he's a g.o.p. strategist. >> melissa: what difference does that make? >> marie: let's be very clear. this was a bad cable segment that got out of control. it was bad tv. got out of control. but to be fair, all of the pearl

clutching about liberals being demeaning to donald trump and his supporters, donald trump says the most demeaning things about people every single day. >> dagen: i'm not offended by them because i'm used to it. before i started working in tv, somebody very, very brilliantly told me you go home at the end of the day. don't go to cocktail parties. these people hate you. they despise where you come fr from. you don't live in new york city. >> marie: i'm a liberal who lives in washington. >> dagen: they laugh at anybody who speaks with an accent. the go to is that you're ignorant. somebody told me, you call your mom and call your daddy and remember where you came from. your life in your direction is about community, friends, family, country, and god. that's what they forget. >> melissa: i am not pearl clutching because i'm offended. i can't believe how dumb they are to insult the people that support president trump when they wanted different president. they don't realize if you don't agree with the left, you're du

dumb. >> dagen: >> harris: i watch all of this and i think of what happens in this country when breaking news happens and i loon and i think your credibility -- we were some places, serious point in our history. there are serious things to talk about. as i look at him hitting his forehead on the desk, we all find things funny at different times. but it matters in those moments when you've got everybody looking at you and depending on you to bring them serious news. are they going to take them out of that chair when it gets serious? it's a dig at cnn's credibility too. >> marie: i think it's a segment that got out of control. >> dagen: i have lived with this for 25 years and they mock you and laugh at you behind your back and that reveals how they really feel. >> marie: when you say they are all of them are all the liberals, it's what you're criticizing about what you think liberals are doing. all liberals don't feel that way. you and i are friends. >> dagen: they don't know why

hillary lost, clearly. >> marie: all liberals don't feel that way. don't do the same thing they do to you. >> melissa: that was an exciting show. thank you for being here. we will turn it over to martha maccallum and bret baier in washington. >> good afternoon. this is special coverage of the senate impeachment trial of president donald j. trump. i am bret baier. >> i am martha maccallum. good to be with you. senators are set to begin the questioning face of all this. they will ask questions of house managers through the supreme court justice. president trump's defense team will do the same. >> bret>> bret: senate majority leader mitch mcconnell warned republicans they do not have enough votes yet to block witnesses, like john bolton, from testifying. republican senator susan collins of maine says she wants to vote but has no idea how the votes would fall.