larry: how damaging is that, hugh hewitt? byron make as good point i think. my favorite option, but if there's a conviction, even though there's an appeal how damaging politically do you think that's going to be? >> well i think the conviction is baked into the polling now, i really do not believe anyone will believe it is a legitimate conviction, who has not already decided to vote for joe biden or against donald trump. i just don't think america is persuaded. it is very damaging to the rule of law and to the reputation of new york justice for this trial to have unfolded this way. i want to point out two other things, byron is completely right about the lack of specificity about the second crime. it is basic constitutional law that defendants are, have to know what they're charged with so they can prepare their defense. it is also to me, very, very obvious that this judge should not have been on this case. he made very symbolic, very small, donations to joe biden and to two anti-trump, $35 total. what do you make of symbolic contribution for? to make sure you

the former president went on hugh hewitt's radio show and this is what he had to say about the debate challenge . -- challenge. >> i wonder whether or not he will show up. he also challenged me to golf, and he knows he will never play. this is sort of like that, but i hope not. i hope he knows he has to debate and he just gets it over with. host: he also put on true social, it is my great honor to accept the cnn debate that will take place at the end of june against crooked joe biden, the worst president in the history of the united states and a true threat to democracy on june 27. likewise, i accept the abc news

larry: welcome in hugh hewitt and fox news contributor jonathan. thank you, gentlemen.man university, all of these years and i want to talk to both of you about possible jury instructions. is this right or wrong: it's been reported one of the instructions that merchan will give to the jury. if the payment has been made in absence of candidacy, then payment should not be treated as a contribution. meaning an election, presidential election year contribution. hugh, i think that's what one of the instructions is going to be and i want you to tell us how important is that because it seems on the surface like one of the brighter spots for mr. trump but you tell me. >> allowing brad smith to 26 on the election commission as well as chairman and knows the law and hi could have helped the jumped out but the judge wasn't having anything of expertise. larry: non-disclosure grooms don't violate the campaign log. i mean, he's a member of that election committee. >> that was asked andeningsed -- and answered and should have never got here. larry: do you agree with what hugh said on

hugh hewitt, you're take on what's sort of the next catalyst in this. very tight national polls and when you look at the likely voters versus registered voters in the swing states, those get very tight as well. >> i listen to kelly and when it comes to polling and i have for more than 2 decades because she's the expert but i'll tell you what i thought was interesting yesterday, president biden doesn't want the debate but he has to debate. president trump wants to debate so he eagerly accepted the debate. i think what we saw yesterday was president biden looking at the members and consulting with his team and panicking especially about the new york times book coming out of nevada that showed trump 12 points, 12 points. >> martha: and he won nevada, biden did last time. >> i think it means latinos are rather significantly -- rather significant. in the debate could be in freefall. >> martha: robert wolf you're take? >> obviously hugh is as great as kelly and i would disagree with them on a few things. with respect to the excitement around president biden.

time, anywhere, quickly agreed to the debates, adding let's get ready to rumble and saying on the hugh hewitthow, i really think he has to debate. he might as well get it over with. probably should do it early so that he can, you know, he's not going to get any better . oh, that's. but june in september is great. a down factor for him. in a break from tradition, the candidates going around the commission on presidential debates to instead face off with no live audience in a tv studio. first up, cnn. i think we're in such a momentous moment, and i think these are two there's questions about both of these candidates capabilities. the first debate set to come in the wake of former president trump's ongoing new york hush money trial, a chance for a massive audience to hear him directly address whatever the outcome may be. but while the former president's legal troubles loom, voters in several recent polls rank him higher on the critical issue of the economy, president biden saying today, quote, fighting inflation and lowering costs is my top economic priority. as a new report showed inflation eas

trump also said this on the hugh hewitt show. >> i really think he has to debate. he might as well get it over with. probably should do it early, so that he can, you know, he's not going to get any better. >> june and september is great. >> a down factor for him. >> reporter: and cnn will host the first debate on june 27th in atlanta, but there will be no audience. the second will be hosted by abc on september 10th. no details have been released about the location or format for that debate. frances? >> a lot of preparation until then. brie, thank you. >>> meantime, donald trump will be back in court today. where his defense team will try to hammer away at michael cohen's credibility. a source with direct knowledge tells nbc news, trump's lawyers plan to focus on cohen's previous lies under oath during today's cross examination. meanwhile, senator mitt romney, who is often a fierce critic of mr. trump told nbc's stephanie ruhle that president biden should have issued a pardon. >> i would have immediately pardoned him. i would have pardoned president trump. why? beca

. >> trump responded to the challenge on the hugh hewitt show and accepted it, saying biden might aset it over with. the first debate will happen on june 27th at cnn studios in atlanta. it's unlikely third party candidate robert f kennedy jr will be there. the second debate will be at abc news studios and will take place september 10th. nancy pelosi isn't the biggest fan of debating trump. >> i myself would never recommend going on a stage with donald trump, but the president has decided that's what he wants to do. i think the format he is suggesting is a good one. >> the rules are different for these debates. there will be no live audiences, and the candidates microphones will turn off when their time is up. >> investors enjoyed a day of historic gains on wall street. it's as consumer price index data shows inflation may now be trending down. that led to record highs today from all three major indices. the dow closed less than 100 points away from 40,000, a major milestone. the nasdaq gained 231 points. the s&p gained 61. stock futures for tomorrow are also all trending up. >> a sta

the former president went on hugh hewitt's radio show and this is what he had to say about the debatehallenge . -- challenge. >> i wonder whether or not he will show up. he also challenged me to golf, and he knows he will never play. this is sort of like that, but i hope not. i hope he knows he has to debate and he just gets it over with. host: he also put on true social, it is my great honor to accept the cnn debate that will take place at the end of june against crooked joe biden, the worst president in the history of the united states and a true threat to democracy on june 27. likewise, i accept the abc news debate against crooked joe on september 10. your reaction to this proposed format of the debates, the host of them, rob in new york, independent. good morning. caller: good morning. this is going to be hilarious. i remember the last debate, trump made biden look like canadian. he kept saying, that is not true but everything he said was true. what do you think biden will say when trump brings up those shell companies or the money that hunter or his brother and all these bidens h

. >> trump responded to the challenge on the hugh hewitt show and accepted it, saying biden might aswill happen on june 27th at cnn studios in atlanta. it's unlikely third party candidate robert f kennedy jr will be there. the second debate will be at abc news studios and will take place september 10th. nancy pelosi isn't the biggest fan of debating trump. >> i myself would never recommend going on a stage with donald trump, but the president has decided that's what he wants to do. i think the format he is suggesting is a good one. >> the rules are different for these debates. there will be no live audiences, and the candidates microphones will turn off when their time is up. >> investors enjoyed a day of historic gains on wall street. it's as consumer price index data shows inflation may now be trending down. that led to record highs today from all three major indices. the dow closed less than 100 points away from 40,000, a major milestone. the nasdaq gained 231 points. the s&p gained 61. stock futures for tomorrow are also all trending up. >> a state bill aimed at keeping certain s

. >> martha: always interesting when the former president talks with hugh hewitt.mer trump white house secretary kaylee machen great to have the with this. and want to break that into 2 parts. the first part the discussion of doug brigham who is star appears to be rising although as you know better than anyone you always have to be a little bit wary of where it looks like the former president is going, it may be ahead faking may be going somewhere else. >> maybe and doug also said in the interview he is good on energies so immediately they went to secretary may be. doug i have no doubt they have a great affinity, bareboat successful businessman. he would compliment him well and trump clearly likes and. who are you adding to the ticket create our think that something that should be at the top of the campaign's mind. someone like marco rubio know does not only is a fantastic on form policy he is learned hard lessons during the 2016 campaign. 1 thing discussed about him often is he has it 10-point on in helping women, a huge issue on the campaign. these laconic candid

hugh hewitt is always putting chips on you for v.p.how in which he said that you would be best positioned. have you thought about that? have they reached out to you? where is that status? >> no. the president and the campaign has not reached out to me. i suspect only donald trump knows who is really on his short list. when we do talk. we talk about what it's going to take to win this election in november. to elect president trump to another term in the white house and elect a republican congress so we can begin to repair the damage that joe biden's presidency has inflicted on this country. >> bret: senator cotton, we appreciate your time. we will follow it all. >> thank you, bret. thanks. >> bret: breaking tonight, the past few minutes, the white house now saying the chairman of the federal deposit insurance corporation fdic will step down from his post once the successor is appointed. martin grudenberg's announcement -- announced departure comes after a report about the agency's toxic workplace culture. that was released earlier this

>>> donald trump discussed the presidential debates yesterday on the hugh hewitt show.esident questioned whether president biden would actually debate him and then tried to offer up his own guidelines for the contest. >> i wonder whether or not he shows up because, you know, he actually challenged me to golf, so i'm a very good golfer. he can't hit a ball 50 yards. he said i'll give him three, but he knows he'll never play. i hope not because i really think if he has to debate, he might as well get it over with. probably should do it early so that he can -- you know, he's not going to get any better. he's sort of accepted it, but let's see if he shows up. it's all misinformation, disinformation. oh, sure i'd love to debate, i want to debate, i want to debate, and then you can't make a deal with the guy. let's see if he shows up to a debate, but i've accepted i'll go anywhere, anytime, anyplace, and we'll see what it is, you know. >> i think they have to go at least two hours. you think the president can stand up for two hours. >> i think we should go two hours. i think

trump appeared on the hugh hewitt radio show, and he was asked whether the north dakota governor hason locked up. trump responded by saying, quote, no, but doug burgum is very good. he made his money, made a lot of money in technology, and yet i think he's more of an expert on energy. he's a very talented guy. quite an endorsement but in commitment to vp if position. trump also went on to say that the opportunity to debate joe biden would be an event, that event should be at least two hours long with the candidates standing at a podium insinuating that the president would struggle under those conditions. and he also said, by the way, on the show that he believes biden will be replaced at the democrat convention in chicago because, he says, the party has no other choice. stu. stuart: okay. thank you, ashley. there are nearly a dozen names floating around as potential trump veeps. one of them is dr. ben carson, and dr. carson joins me now. sir, you've not been on campaign trail with donald trump, but if asked, would you take the job? >> well, i'm not sure that it's accurate that that i

he did hugh hewitt's radio show and he said, i think we should go to ours, yeah, i think we should god a stand-up podium is important. if he wants to sit down, he wants to do thing, a debate should be standing up. so by cutting out the commission on present shall debates, the major parties are cutting out rfk jr., he is furious, accusing biden and trump of colg against him and he says by excluding me from the stage, president biden and trump seek to avoid discussion of their eight years of mutual failure, including deficits, wars, lockdowns, chronic disease, and inflation. the biden team is also insisting microphones must be cut to prevent anybody from speaking out of turn, and they insist that this is not tied to recent poor polling. >> should we see this sudden offer from the president to debate as a signal that you guys realize you need to change the subject after some really bad polling? >> you know, we had a back and forth on polling yesterday. he is laser focused on making sure we do everything that we can to give people, americans, a little bit of breathing room. >> donald trum

i want to let you hear from donald trump, just earlier this morning on the radio with hugh hewitt. take a listen. >> president biden just issued you a debate challenge for june and september with the veeps talking in july. do you accept? >> oh, absolutely. i really think he has to debate, he might as well get it over with. probably should do it early so he can, you know, he's not going to get any better. every day. >> but june and september is great. >> every day is a down factor for him. >> for donald trump here, i think there is one other benefit to this, but as well for joe biden, it is the fact this will be a one on one matchup. by forgoing debating with the commission, where there has been historically a threshold that would allow a third party candidate, like robert kennedy jr. to debate, by forgoing the commission and going forward with this debate on june 27th, both men, whose campaigns both fear the siphoning votes away from their candidates in favor of kennedy, both of them are now going to have a one on one matchup without having to give the platform to kennedy. >> and,

so that would be a dream dramatic difference in just a few moments ago on the hugh hewitt radio show,he former president said he doesn't mind the moderators. he said he will do whoever. so if this continues, we could have a set up pretty soon. >> very interesting are in before they're even officially the nominees for their parties. i mean, that's fascinating fascinating that's one. thank you very much. that's discussed with former republican governor of arkansas, aissa hutchinson. he ran for the 20 presidential nomination for the republican party governor hutchinson, what do you, what do you make of this challenge from the president to donald trump? he did say, make my day channeling clinics. would there a little bit what do you think is donald trump going to make? because day i think it's going to happen and i'm with you that it is surprising that the first debate suggested is in june before the national convention. so i think it reflects the fact that joe biden sees the latest polls that he's dropped, he's worried about the third party candidates. so he's setting this in motion, hop

listening to him talk to hugh hewitt, that voice i just heard that guys now ready to debate. that was low energy donald. that guy's not making any sense. he's talking about golf that joe biden that we watched that video. i love that joe biden, i think democrats love that joe biden that's the joe biden that comes to play. and look, donald trump has debated five times in the general election in the last, whatever, seven years, he's lost all five. and boys trump doing biden a huge favor as long along with his campaign, the whole republican party, they keep saying that joe biden going to show up and fall over, that he can't stay the wake, they can't do this. there and then the bar who said he lost all five, obviously that's subjective. >> some republicans, i'm sure in trump's allies, would, it would argue otherwise. but i think the question is, is, you know, you prepped hillary clinton for the debates in 2016. now that you saw him in 2016, but also at those two debates with biden himself you get a case study of what they're actually like. i mean, what would you advise president b

run with it and they think that this is going to be the motivating factor we heard one republican hugh hewitt a commentator, say, this is almost like the dobbs decision for democrats. i don't know if that is true interested. this is the kind of rhetoric that we're hearing out. they're from republican polo. >> we expect trump to begin speaking any moment. >> yeah, it could go for an hour, as kristen said, whether it takes questions or not, it is unknown how focus is his legal team now and on moments like this, right? this isn't just a minute or two outside the courtroom. this is going to be an hour to potentially do things like violate the gag order yes. >> yes. yes. that is exactly what his legal team is going to be thinking about because the gag order is still in place. there were questions about well, why didn't todd blanche moved to have it lifted right after the verdict i spoke with the team this morning and i'm told that they believe they still have an active appeal on wednesday, they filed a request for expedited review of the gag order with the court of appeals. so they believe that is