Democrats paint Covington students as new deplorables

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Democrats paint Covington students as new deplorables

Left paints MAGA hat as a symbol of white supremacy; Bishop Talbert Swan debates Dan Bongino on 'The Ingraham Angle.'

This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," January 23, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

LAURA INGRAHAM, HOST: All right. I'm Laura Ingraham. This is “The Ingraham Angle” from a contentious Washington tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The State of the Union speech has been cancelled by Nancy Pelosi, because she doesn't want to hear the truth. She doesn't want the American public to hear what's going on, and she's afraid of the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Well, Nancy Pelosi is actually denying the President of the United States access to the House Chamber for a State of the Union Address. Now to lawmakers going to join us with some inventive ideas and the latest, most up-to-date information on this - this is a standoff, you don't want to miss it. And also where should Trump deliver the speech.

Plus, a prosecutor in Kentucky is saying now that those who lob those threats against the Covington Catholic students could face domestic terrorism charges. We have an exclusive with him in just moments. And Raymond Arroyo took to the streets to ask folks whether they know much about any of the Oscar picture nominees? Wait until you see the reaction in "Seen and Unseen".

But, first, the hat that dare not show its brim, that's the focus of tonight's ANGLE. There's so much news to cover every day in Trump world that you'd think the press would stick to real reporting and analysis on important political developments. But, no, so move over Anna Wintour, because left-wing malefactors are now in the business of dissing fashion accessories.

Oh, no, no, not that one. No, no not ugly flip-flops, no, no. Yes, that one, bingo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: The MAGA hat carries a certain connotation that provokes a conditioned reaction from many people, especially from marginalized people--

CHRIS HAYES, MSNBC HOST: America is already the most punitive developed nation on earth for poor people, for people of color. We throw millions of lives on to that bonfire every year. They just don't normally look like the teenagers in MAGA hats.

ANGELA RYE, CNN COMMENTATOR: This Make America Great Again hat is just as maddening and frustrating and triggering for me to look at as a KKK hood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Well, they've triggered me. In the wake of the Covington Catholic High School fracas, the red MAGA has now become a talisman of evil and a symbol of white supremacy. Savannah Guthrie brought it up with a student at the center of the controversy, Nick Sandmann, today on the "Today Show".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, CO-ANCHOR NBC NEWS: Do you think if you weren't wearing that hat this might not have happened or it might have been different?

NICK SANDMANN, COVINGTON CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL, STUDENT: That's possible. But I would have to assume what Mr. Phillips was thinking and rather let him speak for why he came up to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: So the red hat now is apparently the Annabelle of head coverings, a thing capable of unleashing evil wherever it's seen. There is also a subtext here that's meant to intimidate, we're going to get into that.

The left wants to take away your right to wear whatever the heck you want. Now, this is kind of a - it's weird it's a left-wing version of puritanism. Their own version it, where they get to dictate what goody fill-in-the- blank is allowed to wear. And anyone who dares to violate their dictates is either shamed or just labeled hateful and a phobic, misogynistic, unreasonable, stupid and of course, racist.

Bishop Talbert Swan, a Harvard Divinity School grad tweeted, "When Trayvon Martin was murdered, y'all said Black parents shouldn't let their boys wear hoodies if they didn't want them perceived as thugs. But y'all don't want your boys perceived as racist little jackasses for wearing MAGA hats. #CovingtonBoys." Mr. Swan will join us in a moment.

This leftist narrative that a Make America Great Again hat is akin to wearing some Nazi uniform, it's patently ridiculous and its offensive. It's just plain stupid. But this is the defamation and intimidation that the left happily perpetuates, by the way, with little to no pushback.

Predictably, of course, "Never Trump Republicans" are also taking up the chorus. Ross Douthat of The New York Times tweeted in part, "Good rules for life: Don't let your Catholic school's students wear MAGA hats on for a field trip for the March for Life".

And of course Bill Kristol never misses an opportunity to hit the President and his supporters even when he has his facts wrong said, "The contrast between the calm dignity and quiet strength of Mr. Phillips and the behavior of MAGA brats who have absorbed the spirit of Trumpism - this spectacle is a lesson which all Americans can learn."

Whether a piece of clothing says Feel the Bern or I'm with Her, it's all the form of political expression, and thus it is speech protected by the First Amendment. You can be offended by it, but you can't purposely use it to intimidate and frighten people and even terrorize them.

But today's left, joined by the rabid "Never Trumpers" are so desperate to be proven right about the President. They seize on symbols instead of solving problems. All right, guys it's a lot easier isn't it to brand kids races for what they're wearing then to debate adults on things like immigration and trade policy.

But for some MAGA, well, it symbolizes something very different.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KANYE WEST, AMERICAN RAPPER: It was something about when I put this hat on, it made me feel like Superman. You made a Superman. That's my favorite superhero, and you made a Superman cape --"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Well, Kanye kind of saw this all coming when he said, "He didn't want people to control him, to tell him what or how to think, because of the color of his skin".

Today's real rebels are the kids who dared to show up for the March for Life last Friday. Today's real rebels are the faithful who refused to genuflect to what's popular and instead defend what they think is right. Today's real rebels, they reject the collectivist mindset of Hollywood, the media, and the universities that obliterate history, instead of actually teaching it.

And, yes, today's rebels will wear MAGA hats knowing that they might be abused for doing so like the Covington kids were. Even in the end, it's really not about the hat, is it? It's about 2020. Trump hating fanatics aim to deprive the President of any opportunity to brand his re-election campaign. In other words, any Trump paraphernalia will be verboten.

I thought about this today and it's actually in its own way a form of voter intimidation and potentially lethal with consequences that are incredibly destructive. By the way, you can't scream fire, right, in a crowded theater, and you can't scream racist when someone in a crowd wears a hat you don't like and that's THE ANGLE.

All right. Here now on what promises to be a pretty fiery debate, Pastor and Activist Bishop Talbert Swan and Dan Bongino, Host of the Dan Bongino podcast. Bishop, I was - looking at Twitter last night, couldn't sleep. And I came across your tweets. We quoted one of them in THE ANGLE.

And I really appreciate - first of all, I know we disagree on some issues. I really appreciate your being here tonight to share some thoughts and maybe even get somewhere, so thank you for coming.

BISHOP TALBERT SWAN, SR PASTOR, SPRING OF HOPE COGIC: Thanks for having me.

INGRAHAM: The video evidence that we're now seeing, when we see all of the evidence, not just a snippet, does show, Bishop, that these boys did not start this confrontation. But you still see them, I believe, as the villains in this story. Tell us why?

SWAN: Well when you look at the video, it's true. These young men were ridiculed by the Hebrew Israelites, there's no doubt about that, and there's no excuse for the behavior that those men displayed in terms of how they came at them.

But you cannot deny what your own eyes see when you see these young men mocking, jeering, ridiculing, the Native American. You can't deny what you see on other videos when you see them accosting and yelling at women and saying things like, "It's not rape if you enjoy it".

INGRAHAM: Bishop, bishop, what's really important tonight and I would not interrupt you--

SWAN: Let's not put in that they were not guilty of any wrong doing.

INGRAHAM: Bishop, this is where we have to agree on just the basics, otherwise it's not going to be a great conversation. Again, just facts, that's all I'm interested in. The fact is, that--

SWAN: But those are the facts. That video is out there.

INGRAHAM: --that person who made the comment about rape is not a Covington Catholic High School student. He's not part of their group. None of those kids were very jeering at African-American activists. They weren't doing that bishop. I'm just telling you. They weren't doing that. They are 15- year-old kids who are standing - they were - he was standing there.

SWAN: They will mocking, they were jeering, they were ridiculing--

INGRAHAM: --Nick Sandmann has been threatened and he was standing there. No, they weren't. They were not doing that. And if you look at the whole tape--

SWAN: Laura--

INGRAHAM: --then you can actually see that.

SWAN: --I've seen the whole video. And they definitely--

INGRAHAM: OK. So you're saying - so Covington Catholic is lying that student is actually a member of Covington Catholic. Dan Bongino, I got to get you in here, and I'm really glad that bishop came on. But we have to get these facts straight. It's very important for an honest conversation. Just like you have to get the facts straight on other issues--

SWAN: Absolutely.

INGRAHAM: --like Trayvon Martin and I agree with you on that bishop, by the way. We got to get those facts straight. We got to get the facts straight on something where someone did - that where somebody did not die--

SWAN: No doubt about that. And I would love to talk about that.

INGRAHAM: --but where kids have been threatened, badly threatened. Dan Bongino, did these boys, standing there did they trigger this behavior on the part of this activist - that we're learning a lot more about tonight, by the way, and the Black Hebrew Israelites. Did they trigger them with these MAGA hats?

DAN BONGINO, HOST OF "DAN BONGINO SHOW": Laura, with due respect your other guest, I have no idea what he's talking about. I have a monitor in my office. I mean, we're all watching the same - it's like we live in a post- fact Bizarro World universe.

You have a kid standing there in a MAGA hat with a political expression on it motionless, with the smile on his face, while an adult confronts the kid and yet I don't know what tape the bishop is watching. What did these kids do wrong?

And then to throw in this random fact and I'm using the dreaded air (ph) quotes because it's an anti-fact, a non-fact that someone scream this about rape which they did, but they were not part of that group, is clearly either an effort to distract from the lack of a point which, I don't believe the gentleman has, or to distract from the video on the screen that we can all see.

These were a bunch of kids waiting for a bus while a group of activist confronted them. What video are you watching, I don't understand.

SWAN: Well, if you want to pretend if - I was watching the same video you were watching. And if you want to pretend that the few moments where Mr. Sandmann was standing in front of Mr. Phillips--

INGRAHAM: What was he doing?

SWAN: --say all and the be all to the video, then go right ahead. But there's a lot more to the video than just that one point.

INGRAHAM: OK.

SWAN: --and you cannot sit here and tell me that these young men were not ridiculing, that they were not jeering, that they were not mocking.

INGRAHAM: Bishop, you're man of a cloth--

SWAN: That's obvious. That's what I see.

INGRAHAM: Bishop you're a man of the cloth.

SWAN: Absolutely.

INGRAHAM: And I know you don't advocate - you don't advocate violence and you don't - and you agree, I would imagine, that nonviolent standing there, even wearing a piece of clothing that people find objectionable is not grounds for them threatening to kill them, to burn them, to destroy their lives, to dox them?

SWAN: Well, Laura, you and I completely agree - you and I completely agree that there's no excuse of anybody threatening to kill or to burn or to harm anyone. Matter of fact, I've been getting death threats and phone calls from people on the other side, because of my tweets.

I emphatically condemned that type of behavior. But I also condemned the type of behavior that I saw from those young men on that particular day.

INGRAHAM: What were they doing? They were standing there Bishop.

SWAN: And if we want to - they were not standing there. Are you and I seeing the same video? Are you not seeing those young men--

INGRAHAM: What is Nick Sandmann doing? Nick Sandmann didn't speak.

SWAN: We're not talking - Nick Sandmann was not there by himself. There was an entire group of young men who were mocking, they were jeering, they were ridiculing--

INGRAHAM: They were reacting. They were reacting to being called incest babies--

SWAN: And for you all that sit here and pretend that we don't hear that--

INGRAHAM: Yes.

SWAN: Well, it wasn't Philips who called them that.

INGRAHAM: They were being called incest babies--

SWAN: And you can't - what you can't do--

INGRAHAM: Yes. OK. All right--

SWAN: --what you cannot do is blame their behavior on what their interaction with the Hebrew Israelites were--

INGRAHAM: So someone should - OK, so people should be called incest babies and crackers and swear words, and not be able to - not respond. And when they do respond, they're the ones. I mean, first--

SWAN: At the beginning-- INGRAHAM: --of all, I mean, Nick Sandmann didn't say a thing. And those other kids weren't part of the school. But I got to ask you a simple question.

SWAN: Laura at the beginning--

INGRAHAM: Is the MAGA hat - simple question, Bishop, is the MAGA hat racist?

SWAN: Well, at the beginning I condemn the behavior of the Hebrew Israelites, so let's not pretend you all--

INGRAHAM: All right. Is the MAGA hat racist?

SWAN: When it comes to the MAGA hat, it's a piece of clothing that represents Donald Trump and everything that comes along with Donald Trump. Donald Trump--

INGRAHAM: So is that a yes?

SWAN: --what is an unrepentant racist. He is an unrepentant racist.

BONGINO: What?

INGRAHAM: OK.

SWAN: The MAGA hat, to many, is representative of a Klan Hood or various other symbols--

BONGINO: What?

SWAN: --of racism. Absolutely. It absolutely is.

INGRAHAM: How, how--

BONGINO: What's going on here? Is this real? Did he just say that on a cable television? Bishop--

SWAN: I absolutely said that.

BONGINO: --I don't want to - I not willing to defer to the man of god line to you anymore after you just said one of the dumbest comments--

SWAN: Well, it really doesn't matter what you refer to me as you don't define me.

BONGINO: That is the dumbest thing I have ever hear in seven years of doing cable news that Make America Great Again, by the way, a slogan used by Bill Clinton at times too--

INGRAHAM: Reagan - that was Reagan's time by the way--

BONGINO: --is racist? Are you serious?

SWAN: But let me--

BONGINO: So let me get this straight. Donald Trump - wait, wait hold on - I didn't interrupt you. So Donald Trump who gives you back more of your money, has fought for school choice, has black unemployment at the lowest in modern American history we've seen. Donald Trump, if he's a racist, he's the worst racist we've seen in American history--

INGRAHAM: Criminal justice reform--

BONGINO: And call this--

SWAN: Come on, come on - Donald Trump--

BONGINO: Are you serious? I'm embarrassed for you and you should be too.

SWAN: Donald Trump calls African nations A-- hole nations.

INGRAHAM: No, he calls third world nations--

SWAN: Donald Trump calls Mexicans rapists. Donald Trump calls black athletes sons of (EXPLETIVE).

INGRAHAM: Bishop. Bishop. Hold on guys. Hold on, hold on--

SWAN: --that the racism that oozes from Donald Trump has not happened?

INGRAHAM: OK. Bishop, I have a question. Is the Criminal Justice Reform Legislation that is passed into law which President Obama wanted to do, I think George Bush talked about, which civil rights leaders for years have been trying to get people to pass. He actually did it. Does that count at all?

SWAN: Well - it absolutely counts Laura.

INGRAHAM: OK. That's good.

SWAN: And the entire team of Van Jones and those who worked with him--

INGRAHAM: Right, Van Jones worked with him.

SWAN: --on getting that passed.

INGRAHAM: That was smart.

SWAN: That piece of legislation will have benefits to African Americans and people across this spectrum.

INGRAHAM: So why would a racist do that?

SWAN: And so there is no doubt.

INGRAHAM: What would a racist do that?

SWAN: Well, Laura, because someone got a piece of legislation passed, does not mean that we ignore a long 40-year history. And what I can't believe is that, you all are telling me from the channel who - one of your Anchor's said when Trayvon Martin was killed that, "If you don't want to be perceived as a thug you shouldn't wear a hoodie".

From you all who said that black young men who wear hoodies should have a certain perception to tell me that a MAGA hat should not viewed in a certain way - it's absolutely hypocritical.

INGRAHAM: Bishop, I have to say - I think - putting aside your comments about the channel. I think you're making a really good point about profiling people based on what they wear. I think that's an excellent point. You shouldn't profile. Someone wants to wear a hoodie, let him wear a darn hoodie. Someone wants to wear a Hillary button or a Bernie button or a Bernie hat or - good for them. It's their political expression.

I don't judge them on the clothes they wear, you shouldn't. And if I've ever done that, I'm wrong. But I think we have to apply that standard across the board. And I actually think that you actually can work with President Trump--

SWAN: And we agree on that.

INGRAHAM: I think you could actually work with President Trump on a lot of issues. I'm not saying that to try to be cute here. I actually think, if you and Bongino and Trump got together in a room, I bet you guys could do some really good things together. I really do. This conversation about what's racist--

How about solutions? Let's help each other get this country on the right track. I think you could actually do it, I really do. I think you got a lot of passion, got a lot of supporters.

BONGINO: Donald Trump has solutions, Laura. A lot of black men and women are working right now, because of Donald Trump and are supporting their kids--

SWAN: Well, there were lot of black men and women who are working before Trump came into office. Let's not pretend that--

BONGINO: No kidding--

SWAN: --the unemployment rate being drop down 16.8 percent down 7.8 percent under Obama, before Trump ever came into office.

BONGINO: The economy right now is - you know, your comment is so ridiculous--

SWAN: It dropped another 1 percent under Trump--

INGRAHAM: But again, I'm trying - OK.

SWAN: So no - when you try to give him credit for what someone else did, that's what's absolutely.

BONGINO: Right, right, give him right.

INGRAHAM: I think in the end--

BONGINO: Racial tensions were high under Barack Obama - very hot.

INGRAHAM: Guys, I think in the end, people - we all do this, I do this too. You kind - you want to see the world in the way that you absolutely believe it has to be at that moment. We all do it. But I'm saying on national television, I really believe if people just think about what works, basic things that work.

OK, probably having some immigration laws work, because we want to protect our people. We want to have - some better trade policies will probably help all Americans. Like how do we get from A to B and who can get us there.

And I just think, a lot of times we're talking past each other and I think it's sad. And I think people watching a lot of these shows, they get sad.

BONGINO: But, Laura, let me ask you a question, though, how - I agree with you. And I would love - I started this debate with an open mind with the gentleman, and I still have an open mind. But how do you talk to someone who claims when you put a MAGA hat on that you're the worst scum on the planet, which would be a racist.

SWAN: Well, those are your words. Don't put words in my mouth. Don't put words in my mouth. I'm well able to articulate for myself. I'm well able to articulate for myself and I didn't say that, you said that. But let's not sit here and pretend that symbols don't have meaning.

BONGINO: This is the whole basis of your commentary.

SWAN: Let's not sit here and pretend that things have meanings - that symbols don't have meanings.

INGRAHAM: All right, guys.

SWAN: And the MAGA hat has a meaning, it's a sign that is attached to Donald Trump and everything that he stand for.

INGRAHAM: Guys, we are out of time. But I can say that there are hundreds of thousands of Americans who have those hats, and I think it's really dangerous for any of us to judge them as individuals based on the fact that they voted for President Trump, because they just thought he had better ideas. Not that they're not bad people.

SWAN: Well, those young men didn't vote. They are not old enough to vote.

INGRAHAM: I mean, there are always bad people in every group. All right, there are lot of bad people in every group, I get that.

BONGINO: They are old enough to think.

INGRAHAM: But I just think we should profile people based on the clothes they wear. I should do it, I don't think anyone should do it. I think it's bad, and I think it's toxic. But I really - we might get somewhere eventually. But I really appreciate both of you joining us. Thank you both. I probably talked too much in this segment. But that's what I want.

SWAN: Thanks Laura.

INGRAHAM: All right. Could those who threatened those Covington teens be charged with domestic terrorism? A prosecutor from Kentucky joins us next exclusively to explain. Plus President Trump's defiance saying, "He'll deliver a State of the Union next week even if it's not on Capitol Hill. Steve Scalise will join us, Andy Biggs also here. And where the President could make the next speech?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: Covington Catholic School has reopened but the violent threats against the students have not stopped. In fact, the Covington Diocese received a suspicious package just tonight. We share tweet after tweet with you from celebrities, liberal commentators calling for attacks and even the death of these teenagers. Tonight some hope that this hate speech will not go unpunished.

Joining me now exclusively for his first national television interview, is Rob Sanders. He's a prosecutor for Kenton County, Kentucky where Covington Catholic High is located. Rob, it's good to see you. What kind of charges could realistically be filed and against whom?

ROB SANDERS, KENTON COUNTY, KENTUCKY PROSECUTOR: Well, we have a number of different charges in Kentucky that might apply. The one that jumps out the fastest is terroristic threatening. Now there's three different degrees of terroristic threatening in Kentucky, two of them are felonies.

The most common one, I think that might apply in this situation is terroristic threatening second-degree, that's any time that someone threatens death or violence against a educational institution in Kentucky or any student in the educational institution in connection with the school function.

Now that is a Class D felony. It's one to five years in the state penitentiary. That could rise to five to ten years in a Class C felony if the person threatens that violence or death in connection to an educational institution in it the use of a device of mass destruction or weapon of mass destruction.

INGRAHAM: Yes. Well, you have - this is happening on Twitter though.

SANDERS: --that would double up the--

INGRAHAM: Mr. Sanders, this is happening on Twitter from different states.

SANDERS: Yes, ma'am.

INGRAHAM: --different locations, does that hinder the prosecution? I mean you don't really need an - I mean, you have to interview these people, they're in different states. You're going to have to get to them somehow.

SANDERS: Well, it makes it much more difficult. It makes it much more difficult, much more complicated, #1. There's a number of misdemeanors that could apply in a lot of these cases, but we can't reach across state lines and extradite for misdemeanors--

INGRAHAM: Right.

SANDERS: --which means, we would have to wait for the person to come back to Kentucky or make a stop in Kentucky before we could ever arrest them. But when it comes to the offenses that rise to the felony level, we can extradite.

Now it's not as easy as staying a Twitter handle. We can't reach out and just arrest someone who - half the time they're using a fake name, fake profile picture that sort of thing. We have to go through a process of issuing subpoenas, search warrants, getting--

INGRAHAM: Are you going to do this?

SANDERS: --information that goes with - it's already underway. I've had detectives in and out of my office all day today. We were starting with some comments, some threats that were made in state, because those are people that we don't even have to extradite. And we are moving on then to the ones that are out of state.

We've had the detective that works in my office has already been busy issuing Grand Jury Subpoenas and composing search warrants for detectives at other agencies.

INGRAHAM: Good.

SANDERS: --sending out, so we can get the information associated with the ownership of these accounts.

INGRAHAM: All right.

SANDERS: We get the IP addresses that are registered--

INGRAHAM: You got to get these people.

SANDERS: Then we find out.

INGRAHAM: I mean, it's only - you are only one office--

SANDERS: That's right, we find out who uses the internet, those IP addresses.

INGRAHAM: Yes, we get the IP addresses. We're going to follow-up with you later in the week to find out where you are on this. But--

SANDERS: Yes, ma'am.

INGRAHAM: --this has to happen. Because, until people--

SANDERS: Well, it's going to happen. Everybody's got to realize that these- -

INGRAHAM: --have to got jail. They have to go to jail. That's got to hurt. Otherwise someone is getting hurt and I fear - we're about to talk to Steve Scalise who felt it in a different way. Someone is going to get hurt or someone is going to get killed. Prosecutor, I really appreciate you joining us.

SANDERS: Yes, there is no doubt.

INGRAHAM: And we'll have you back. I know it's a longer segment. We've got a lot of people to talk to, so we appreciate it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY PELOSI, D-CALIF., SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Let's work together on a mutually agreeable dates and welcome you to the Capitol to get a State of the Union address. Government is still shutdown. I still make the offer.

TRUMP: Just so you know, she uses on the basis of the shutdown - when she asked me to make the address, she did it during the shutdown, well into the shutdown by a couple of weeks, so the shutdown was going on. Now she is blaming the shutdown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Well, the gloves are off, and the State of the Union in the House Chamber has officially been canceled. Very adult of Nancy Pelosi. But if you thought Trump was backing down, think again. There's going to be some version of the State of the Union next Tuesday, whatever they call it. It's not called the State of the Union, but it's not going to be on Capitol Hill.

Here now, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise and Congressman Andy Biggs. Congressmen, you both offered the president an alternate location. Congressman Scalise, where?

REP. STEVE SCALISE, R-LA, HOUSE MINORITY WHIP: Frankly, I think the president ought to do a State of the Union, and let him choose. We've talked but a number of locations. But ultimately it's the message that is so important.

This is about securing the border of our country. Clearly Nancy Pelosi doesn't want the American people to hear the president's message. But you know what, Laura, the American people want to hear the president's message. Nancy Pelosi can't stop this. It just shows how petty she is and how disgraceful this action is. She will go down as the first speaker in the history of our country -- George Washington gave addresses to Congress. This is a constitutional requirement. She's now going to have stain on her record.

INGRAHAM: He could do it in writing, though, right?

SCALISE: The President is still going to give a State of the Union, and frankly I think a lot more people will listen to it now and hear the message about why it's so important to protect our border.

INGRAHAM: Why is she afraid of the people hearing the president and what he's going to say? Congressman Biggs, you have an idea. What is it?

REP. ANDY BIGGS, R-ARIZ: Yes. We've invited the president to come to Arizona. It's a border state. It's a great backdrop. He is loved in Arizona. I don't want it to be a rally. I want it to be a true State of the Union, but let's do it -- why not do it in a friendly environment? Bring the Democrats in. Maybe they'll go to the border and see what's really going on and understand the crisis as well.

INGRAHAM: Very interesting. Congressman, also a surprising twist, there appear to be some defections among the Democrats who may have just had about enough of this shutdown. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARK WARNER, D-VA: I know we are going to have to add additional border security.

Where folks say we need additional barrier protections, I'm all for it.

REP. STENY HOYER, D-MD, HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: Physical barriers are part of the solution.

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: So you don't share Nancy Pelosi's view that a wall is immoral?

HOYER: It's protecting people. It's moral.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give Trump the money. I would give the whole thing that he wants and put strings on it so that you make sure he puts the ball where it needs to be.

Why are we fighting over this? We are going to build that wall anyway at some time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: I think the president is getting some push from certain quarters, it's all turning against you. Everyone is blaming you. You've got to give in. You've got to stop. I think he's doing exactly what needs to be done. It's a lot like the Obamacare thing. The longer you let this thing play out, the more clear it becomes what a crisis this is and we need to do something.

SCALISE: Laura, the American people are for securing the border. And if you look, President Trump is gaining momentum because people are seeing what this is about. Frankly, these kind of actions by Nancy Pelosi only heighten the awareness of what's going on. And the more she does this, she's got more of our own Democrats in her party that are moving away from her. They are taking a dangerous position by opposing border security. They are on the wrong side of this issue.

INGRAHAM: They don't want a wall. Repair some existing fences. But the 30 more centrist Democrats wrote a letter to Pelosi, right? That's not nothing. There are cracks in this resolve on their part.

BIGGS: Yes. I talked to them on the floor. I try to get out of my echo chamber, and a lot of them are like, well, you know, maybe we need to move on. And I think that's part of it. They just want to move on and resolve it. And I'm not sure how keen they are on building a wall. They just want to resolve the issue to get the government open.

INGRAHAM: I also think, look, a lot of people, it's been a month they haven't been paid. That's a rough deal for a lot of people. They need to get paid. And they need to have their jobs, and they want to do their jobs. And really, it's not great for this to continue to go on for anybody.

SCALISE: We need to reopen the government and we need to secure the border. We can do both. President Trump has worked overtime to come up with different ideas. Nancy Pelosi has not offered one single alternative. And now she thinks by holding the State of the Union hostage, she's going to be able to win this. The people in this country want to see the border secure. She is on the wrong side.

INGRAHAM: Freshman Congressman, Democrats on the House government -- or Oversight Committee, I guess, right, it's the Oversight Committee. So you've got Ilhan Omar, she's from Minnesota. She's quite a firebrand. And a number of others who are -- they've got them all. Pressley, a Democrat, Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts, Tlaib, these are far left, very popular in their own way. How's that going to be different on committee life?

BIGGS: You know what, the reality is they have kind of stacked that committee for the one reason they are there. It's to impeach the president. If they can't impeach them, they want to force him out somehow. That won't happen. The bare minimum is to try to embarrass him. That's really what it is. And they want to further try to delegitimize President Trump. That's the whole purpose of that committee now. That's the way they've structured the rules and their membership. That's where they are going.

INGRAHAM: Well, we are going to be following at every step of the way. We hope the president delivers the State of the Union. I hope he delivers it at Ellis Island. How about that. That would be great.

(LAUGHTER)

INGRAHAM: Have you seen Best Picture nominees, any of you guys? Can you name any of them? Our own Raymond Arroyo took to the streets to ask people if they saw any of these films. You won't believe the reaction, "Seen and Unseen."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: It's time for our "Seen and Unseen" segment where we expose the big cultural stories of the day.

Oh, well, we hit the streets to find out who you thought will win Best Picture at the Oscars or if you've actually seen any of these movies. Plus, the personal days and nights of a certain Congressional star. Joining us now, all the details, Raymond Arroyo, FOX News contributor, "New York Times" bestselling author of the upcoming book, fantastic, "Will Wilder, Amulet of Power." Raymond, you hit the streets today.

RAYMOND ARROYO, CONTRIBUTOR: I did indeed.

INGRAHAM: It was a little warmer for you. What did you find out?

ARROYO: Laura, last year's Academy Awards ceremony, I don't have to tell you, watching was the lowest on record, down from even the year before. These films used to bring the country together. So I took to the streets to see if people had seen these eight Best Picture nominees. When I found was surprising.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: Are you excited about any of the Best Picture nominees for the Academy Awards?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know anything about them.

ARROYO: You didn't see any of them? Did you see "The Favourite"?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did not.

ARROYO: "Green Book"?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did not see "Green Book."

ARROYO: "Vice"?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

ARROYO: "BlacKkKlansman"?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

ARROYO: "Roma"? "The Favourite"? "A Star is Born"? "Black Panther"?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

ARROYO: "Bohemian Rhapsody"?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

ARROYO: "Vice"?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

ARROYO: "Roma"?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

ARROYO: Roma Downey?

(LAUGHTER)

ARROYO: I am trying here. "The Favourite"?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

ARROYO: "Green Book"?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait, I might have.

ARROYO: You look like a Hollywood type.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do I?

ARROYO: You do. Have you seen any of the Best Picture nominees for the Academy Awards this year?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have not.

ARROYO: Does the Academy Awards have the same power and influence it once had, do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no it doesn't.

ARROYO: Why not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like what the fans want now and what the film creators are deeming as what is best and what the fans want as best are very different.

ARROYO: Are you excited about the host of the Academy Awards this year?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, I'm not watching it.

ARROYO: Which one do you think should be Best Picture?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The "Green Book."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say "Vice."

ARROYO: We have a live one. I didn't even have to ask her and she came up to offer. What do you think should win Best Picture?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "A Star is Born."

(MUSIC)

ARROYO: You liked "Black Panther." Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love those Wanda Wanda.

ARROYO: What was Wanda Wand? I think you saw a different movie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously "Black Panther."

ARROYO: Wakanda forever.

What was your favorite?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Black Panther."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. The main character was seen as the royals but they were super humble. I loved that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love the way Africans were portrayed. It was amazing. We're seen as royalty. We had better technology than the rest of the world.

ARROYO: So I think it's unanimous. Wakanda forever.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

ARROYO: Here's the real question. You saw "Bohemian Rhapsody." Can you sing a lyric from a queen song?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are the champions, my friend.

ARROYO: The Academy Awards list of Best Documentary nominees were announced. Mr. Rogers documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" was not on the list. Was he snubbed?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been a long time since I have watched Mr. Rogers.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please won't you be my neighbor?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought he did a wonderful job.

ARROYO: Please won't you be --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My neighbor?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be my neighbor.

ARROYO: Won't you please be my neighbor?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I will.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: Laura, these films cumulatively made $1.2 billion at the box office. That's on par with 2010. This is actually one of the years when you had big films that made a lot of money that made it to the Oscars. "Black Panther" is clearly the one most people saw. But these other films, once you get past "A Star is Born" and "Bohemian Rhapsody," these other films, "Green Book" and "Roma" --

INGRAHAM: I'm embarrassed. OK, I'm actually embarrassed. This tells you how busy I was this past year. I saw not one of these.

ARROYO: None of them?

INGRAHAM: None, not one.

ARROYO: They were not seen. They were unseen.

INGRAHAM: I actually have them at home because I'm a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

ARROYO: You'll be happy to know the RBG documentary was nominated for Best Documentary, but Mr. Rogers, dissed.

Now, Laura, we have all seen and heard the political side of 29-year-old New York socialist Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, one of your favorites.

INGRAHAM: I like her.

ARROYO: Her every move is covered with such attention, but you might have missed the personal side of the Congresswoman. So tonight we are unveiling a new miniseries, "The Days and Nights of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez." Yes, the young Congresswoman, when not staging sit-ins in Nancy Pelosi's office and advocating a 70 percent tax hike eight for upper income earners, she is something of a homebody, Laura. She regularly takes to Instagram to share her favorite recipes, mixing politics with mac and cheese.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRA OCASIO-CORTEZ, D-N.Y.: These really, there's no special sauce to it. You've just got to be good at getting things done. So here's the final product, everybody, before I sign off. Here's the final product. We've got some of our mac and cheese.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: I'm hungry.

ARROYO: There is brilliance here. She personalizes her -- she films herself washing the laundry, cooking, walking outside. I

INGRAHAM: I've been getting pushback because I find her impressive. I don't agree with her probably in most things. I wish I could spend some time with her. I could maybe make her agree on some things. You never know.

ARROYO: Like Donald Trump, there's a lot to work with. Politicians and the public have a lot to learn.

INGRAHAM: She is -- and conservatives, don't freak out -- she is connecting with people.

ARROYO: She's a storyteller.

INGRAHAM: She's a storyteller. And she is young. She hasn't been around here a long time.

ARROYO: Laura, lest you think she is just a gourmand, make no mistake, AOC is a full-fledged star now. She's gracing the cover of "Hollywood Reporter" and is about to take Sundance by storm. She is the subject of a new documentary appearing at the film festival.

INGRAHAM: Already.

ARROYO: Already, just out the box, called "Knock Down the House," about her climb from bartender to Congresswoman. She uses the platform, again, to set her own political narrative. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OCASIO-CORTEZ: The darkness of this administration really forces a certain clarity, I think, in the country. And there's a lot of people that know, or feel like what the Trump administration is doing is wrong.

When our back is to the wall, you're going to see way more courage, and in a way, that darkness can bring out the brightest lights in some communities across the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: It's amazing -- she is worthy of a Hollywood production because she is recasting reality. Where's the darkness? These communities have low crime, high wages, low unemployment. She should be celebrating. But she's recasting. It's rather brilliant what she's doing here. People should take notice, Laura.

INGRAHAM: Yes.

ARROYO: Finally, it's not all politics with Ocasio-Cortez. She knows how to have a good time. She's coined a new game which she plays regularly in the halls of Congress called, "Where's Mitch?"

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OCASIO-CORTEZ: We're marching over to Mitch McConnell's office to show him what's up, isn't that right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: Hash-tag, #WheresMitch. You can run but you can't hide.

(LAUGHTER)

OCASIO-CORTEZ: We went to his office at the Capitol. We went to his office in the Russell Building. We went to the floor. We went to the cloakroom. He's not in the cloakroom. He's not in the Capitol. He's not in the Russell Building. He's not on the floor of the Senate, and 800,000 people done at their paychecks. So where's Mitch?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: She hasn't set up a regional office yet. That came out today. Maybe we should spend a little time doing the nuts and bolts of politics.

ARROYO: A million followers on Twitter. The only politician that exceeds or is Donald Trump. Don't underestimate her, particularly on social media.

INGRAHAM: And don't steal my lines. I'm not underestimating her. Great point. Great new mini-series that we started here.

Up next, the disturbing new abortion law signed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Roman Catholic, by the way, that could endanger women and their babies. Yes, you'll hear the whole story, things you haven't heard before. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: Whatever happened to abortion being safe, legal, and rare? A bill just signed into law by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo takes the radical and inhumane and barbaric step of legalizing abortion up to birth in many cases. Now, you would think the passage of a bill like this would be greeted in a much more muted fashion due to the cruelty of it. But here the New York Assembly basically celebrated its passage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The bill is passed.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: They got a standing ovation for death. Now, we want to show you just want a fetus looks like at approximately 24 weeks gestation. OK, about that. And remember that this bill would allow abortions after this date. So 11.5 inches long, almost 1.5 pounds, the faces almost fully formed, has eyebrows, eyelashes, and hair. The baby can hear your voice and will recognize these sounds after birth.

Here to debate, Madeline Morreira, a research attorney at the Bioethics Defense Fund, and Asha Dahya, a reproductive health advocate. Madeline, let's start with you. This New York bill allows, and this is key here for women's health, it allows not only doctors for OB-GYNs, but health care practitioners to perform abortions. That's not necessarily a doctor, right? Could it be a dentist, could it be a chiropractor? What does it mean? And why is it dangerous?

MADELINE MORREIRA, PRO-LIFE ATTORNEY: What this law does is effectively legalizes abortion on demand up until the due date. The reason is because that it not only legalizes abortions for cases where it threatens the life of the mother but where her health is threatened. And that is defined as including mental or emotional health. So you can effectively go to your doctor or your nurse practitioner or midwife or physician's assistant even and have them determine that your health on some level is threatened by the pregnancy or the impending birth of your baby and up to the due date have an abortion performed, and a doctor is not involved. And not only that --

INGRAHAM: Asha --

MORREIRA: -- this new law removed the protections for babies born alive would survive abortions.

INGRAHAM: Asha, you have no problem with that?

ASHA DAHYA, REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ADVOCATE: I think the most important thing for me is seeing this law taken out of the state constitution's criminal code and put into the health care code. This is a law that was put in to the state's constitution dating back to 1970, and now that it's in the health code, I think the State Assembly and I hope the leaders will take a look at it and make it so that they can better serve women and children and their families --

INGRAHAM: How are you serving women, Asha? First of all, I'm really happy you came on. I really appreciate you coming on. I'm really curious to understand, how does this law help a child who is -- has an 80 percent chance after six months of being viable if born? This is a child that feels pain. This is an unborn child that hears, knows sounds, voices. When someone is pregnant, they don't say we are going to have a fetus shower. They say a baby shower because it's a baby. How is this not Hitlerian, to say you can for economic reasons, when a baby could be born - -

DAHYA: Let's remember that --

INGRAHAM: -- be killed. The baby is being killed in the womb.

DAHYA: Let's remember women are choosing abortions at a late stage because they are excited about it. It's often a very difficult decision. And they are making these decisions with their doctors, with their families. And I think they should be given the dignity and the respect and make these tough decisions in a way that they're not going to be threatened with criminalization.

INGRAHAM: Does the infant deserve any dignity? Does the infant in the womb deserve anything? I mean, they don't give any say. It's not their fault they are there.

DAHYA: I think these are important questions. These are important questions, and and they should be discussed in privacy with respect and with intelligence with the doctor, with the family, as opposed to criminalization and threatening these women.

INGRAHAM: OK, Madeline, quick last word, like 15 seconds.

MORREIRA: Is 24 weeks not long enough to tell that you don't want to have the baby or that it will affect your mental health? There was no point of passing this law. It goes way past what Roe v Wade requires. New York State may well be the most radical state in the nation on abortion today.

INGRAHAM: Shocking.

MORREIRA: New York already aborts one-third of every single pregnancy.

INGRAHAM: We are out of time, Madeline. I'm sorry to cut you off. It's shocking and shame on Andrew Cuomo. Shame on you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: It's time for the Last Bite.

Dem darling Beto O'Rourke has been referred to as a rock star, and apparently that's kind of true.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Is that him or -- OK. As Raymond said, if you can't sing, don't. That's all the time we have tonight. Shannon Bream and the "Fox News @ Night" team, take it from here.

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