DeSantis will 'absolutely sue' federal government if H.R. 1 is passed

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DeSantis will 'absolutely sue' federal government if H.R. 1 is passed

Florida governor and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott weigh in on election reform on 'The Ingraham Angle'

This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," April 29, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: And this is a special Ingraham Angle Town Hall, it is the Red State Trailblazers. And look, since the pandemic began, states led by Republican governors have far outpaced those led by their Democrat counterparts. And I'm talking from the lowest unemployment rates to the highest GDP growth. Red State governors have cared for their constituents and they've preserved our God given freedoms and when they had to restore them.

Now, while others were eager to take them away. We're joining you tonight live in the Free State of Florida, in Orlando. Whereas you can see, most of the audience mostly audience is mask less which I love to see. And that's because the Governor of this state Ron DeSantis is one of the first state leaders to fight back against the so-called experts and he never imposed a statewide mass mandate. Governor DeSantis thank you for hosting us tonight.

I'm so delighted that all of you are here tonight. We're going to have a great time. To my left is Texas Governor Greg Abbott. His state had the second highest GDP growth in the last quarter. And that's because he put his constituents and their economic wellbeing first and along with us is Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds because her state was one of the first to open up schools for in person learning.

Also, here in Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts his state tied for the lowest unemployment rate in the country at 2.9 percent. Oh my gosh. And our final Red State Trailblazer of course, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, he was one of the first to lift the statewide masks mandate. And the state could soon ease restrictions on all indoor activities as well. Ladies and gentlemen, these are your Red State Trailblazers. Let's give them a round of applause all.

All right, so tonight, this is going to be kind of wild. We're going to go to a lot of different topics, but we're going to talk to them about how they lead their states. The way they lead them the strategies, they decided to use communications, policy wise, all to preserve economic freedom and also advance the freedom that again, we all become accustomed to having, but others were eager to take away.

Now don't think this is just limited to COVID. It's not we're going to discuss how they plan to combat the left's injection of race into every argument, the current antipolice agenda, the efforts to indoctrinate our children and how Democrats in Washington are looking to strip powers from the states completely. Nothing is off limits tonight. So, Governor DeSantis again, thank you for playing host to us tonight.

You watch Joe Biden last night deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress. He repeated twice this proposition that we are a systemically racist country, your reaction.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Well, it's a bunch of horse manure. I mean, give me a break. This country has had more opportunity for more people than any country in the history of the world. And it doesn't matter where you trace your ancestry from. We've had people that have been able to succeed and all and here's the problem with things like critical race theory that they're peddling. They're basically saying all our institutions are bankrupt, and they're - they're illegitimate.

OK, so how do you have a society if everything in your society is illegitimate, so it's a very harmful ideology and I would say, really a race-based version of a Marxist ideology. So, we've banned it in our schools here in Florida, we're not going to put any taxpayer dollars to critical race theory. And we want to treat people as individuals, not as members of groups.

INGRAHAM: And one of the - one of the worst aspects of the lockdowns was the closure of our schools, but now kids are starting to get back to the classrooms. But again, there's a huge discrepancy between the Red and the Blue States. You know, all five of your states have nearly all or a super majority of children receiving in person schooling.

Now compare that to a state like California where just 44.1 percent of the students are actually in school at all. Governor Abbott given these numbers, is it any surprise why Californians are fleeing to your state and we hope maybe not voting the way they voted in California?

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): Well, first they are playing right and left one thing that happens during the course of the pandemic is that businesses that had to make two decisions. One is how they were going to respond to the pandemic. The second is how they were going to operate their business. And one thing that we found is they were choosing Texas to locate their business.

Whether it was Tesla moving his Giga factory to the Lone Star State, whether it was Oracle moving its Headquarters to Austin, Texas, whether it was Hewlett Packard Enterprise, move his Headquarters to Houston, Texas, or the Fortune 500, companies CVRA, moving to the Lone Star State and so much more. One thing all the CEOs told me. They could not operate in California.

And I heard that from so many others, they - they came to the State of Texas because they knew it was great for their employees, great for their workers, great for the staff, but great for their vision of what they wanted to achieve as a business. Elon Musk knows that he has the limitless opportunity to achieve his vision in the State of Texas, and we see so many others copying that mentality.

And that's why Texas, we added more population over the past decade than any other state in the United States.

INGRAHAM: And California lost a seat and the last of course apportionment for the center.

ABBOTT: And we gained too.

INGRAHAM: Your gain too, Florida gained one. Governor Reynolds, your state has 100 percent rating for kids in school. I mean, all your kids are in school.

GOV. KIM REYNOLDS (R-IA): Yep.

INGRAHAM: You were one of the first to push this importance of in person learning. You're seeing kids fall behind and California, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, states where people you didn't think of as a big liberal state. But still these kids aren't in school.

REYNOLDS: Yes.

INGRAHAM: How did you decide this, and you buck the unions to do?

REYNOLDS: Well, it's unconscionable when you think about what they're doing to these children, and some of them will never regain the opportunity to succeed. And education is the great equalizer, and they've just robbed these young people of that. So from the very beginning, we had probably 90 percent of our school districts that were in person.

Five days a week, we did it safely and responsibly had a few holdouts that were kowtow into the school boards and unions. And I talked to parents, I talked to students, I talk to administrators, I did Town Hall meetings. And the stories were heartbreaking that I was hearing, and I had one where they're telling me I'm failing at everything. I'm not a good mom. I'm not a good wife. I'm not a good teacher, and I'm a bad employee. And I was never meant to be a teacher. And so, I just said enough was enough.

And so, I talked to the legislature and I said in the condition of the state, not only are we going to give parents 100 percent option for online learning, but we're going to give parents 100 percent option to have their child in the classroom five days a week, and every school district in the State of Iowa is going to adhere to that. We have kids in the classroom. They're learning we're playing sports. They're doing it safely and responsibly. And it's going to make a difference.

INGRAHAM: Now, Biden's HHS Secretary is continuing the trend of offering very conflicting guidance on masks watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

XAVIER BECERRA, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: We want people to continue to wear masks. We want you to be safe because we don't want to have to regress from coming back to normal. I'm fully vaccinated. I still wear masks. I asked my family to continue to wear a mask.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Governor Reeves he famously lifted the mass mandate on their citizen's weeks ago. So he's fully vaccinated the HHS Secretary, but he encourages his family members that guess they're vaccinated, and he's going to continue wearing a mask. What freedoms are we getting back for the vaccination, if you can't go mask less?

GOV. PETE RICKETTS (R-NE): Well, that is one of the big problems with what this administration is doing is they don't have a clear communication message about anything, much less, you know, mass immigration, you name it. They don't know what they're doing. And that's why I think you really got to rely on governors in the states, like with the ones you see around here to set the policy.

We've often ignored the CDC, because they're their policies are inconsistent. And so, we do what we think is going to be best in Nebraska. We never had a statewide mass mandate. We never did a stay-at-home order. When we were going through the spring last year, we asked Nebraskans to do the right thing and guess what they did?

Because that's what we do in Nebraska we take care of each other. We were able to manage it based on hospitalizations. And that's how we've got through this. We didn't really listen to the CDC, because they really were giving so much conflicting information.

INGRAHAM: Tate - Governor Reeves you're so young?

GOV. TATE REEVES (R-MS): I go by take.

INGRAHAM: We have not had meetings between the COVID taskforce and this White House and the governors. And I know a number of your governors like what's going on now that Trump Administration had regular briefings multiple times a week led by Vice President Pence, is this concern for you? And is the communication president at all?

REEVES: Well, it is a concern for me and the reason it's a concern for me is because President Trump was on nine different calls throughout the pandemic, Vice President Pence led 40 different calls personally. And that's one of the things that made a huge difference, because we were able to talk directly to those in decision making process. And the fact of the matter is we in Red States, trust Americans.

The Biden Administration simply wants to insult Americas and assume that they can't make their own decisions, they that they can't do what's best for themselves and their families. And that's just the wrong approach. And I think if you look at economic statistics, and if you look at quality of life statistics across America, it bears itself out.

INGRAHAM: All right, Governor DeSantis Lauren Pattison, from Oviedo, Florida has a question, Lauren.

LAUREN PATTISON, OVIEDO, FLORIDA RESIDENT: Hi, Governor DeSantis. How are you this evening?

DESANTIS: Good.

PATTISON: Good. So human beings have a right to free movement and did not have their daily activities infringe upon how our state representatives going to handle if private companies try to enforce vaccine passports?

DESANTIS: Great question. And I'm proud to be the first I think, elected official in the country, certainly statewide or governor to say, we're not having vaccine passports in the State of Florida. And not just saying government can't make you, private businesses can't make you because here's the thing.

You have a right to participate in society, without them asking you to divulge this type of health information, but just to go to a movie, just to go to a ballgame. So, we're applying it across the board. The state legislature has - I did an executive order. But that's only temporary. Our legislature has passed what I asked for, and I'll be signing that in the law very soon.

INGRAHAM: Now, Governor Reynolds, I saw you nodding in agreement. They said, well, we'll call it a vaccine certificate because that passport language is so scary to people. Is it better if it's a certificate? It's all it's all for health? It's all good, right?

REYNOLDS: Right, now we're doing the same thing in Iowa. I'm proud to say I said to the legislature, either I'll issue an executive order, or we'll give the legislature an opportunity to pass legislation to ban vaccine passports.

It's just passed through the house that said no with the senate, I should have it to my desk next week. So, we're following suit, if marginalized society that's to tear society, either in here or be marginalized, and that is ridiculous. That's not who we are as America.

INGRAHAM: Governor Abbott, the cruise industry. I know Governor DeSantis has been all over this one to open the cruise industry. Again, it's important to your state both of your states. But the CDC is going to be recommending that cruises only reopen if vaccines are required for passengers going on cruises.

What will you do just like Governor DeSantis to say no, that we're not going along with this and these corporations that are getting demanded? What can you do to fight that, you have to go to court?

ABBOTT: So, well, we'll see. We've been working with the cruise line industry in here's a reality that everybody needs to understand. These vaccines have not been formally approved by the FDA they have been approved for emergency use operation. And that means that no one can be required to take the vaccine. And that's why these businesses can't be forcing people to show up with some vaccine certificate or something like that.

INGRAHAM: Now, Governor Reeves Kyra Chambers from Ocoee, excuse me if I don't get that right has a question about the mandates from masks. Kyra?

KYRA CHAMBERS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UCF COLLEGE REPUBLICAN: Hi, hello, governor. I would like to ask about how the masks mandates could potentially be conditioning the American people for other policies down the line?

INGRAHAM: Governor Reeves.

REEVES: Well, that's certainly a concern that all of us have. When you look at what we did in our state. We haven't had a statewide mask mandate in place since the beginning of the summer of last year. And part of the reason that we looked at it at that time was the fact that we didn't really know what we didn't know at that time.

But as data became more and more apparent, and every decision I've made throughout this pandemic has been data base, and it's been based upon the numbers and as Governor Ricketts said earlier, it's not just about total number of cases, it's been about hospitalizations.

At our peak, we had 1444 Mississippians in hospital beds, today, we have less than 170. So, we're down 90 percent, from our peak, and our hospital capacity was able to handle the 1444 that we had. And so, there is no doubt that there are those in the far left of the Democrat party who believe that government should control all decisions made by all Americans.

And that's something that we have to be willing and able to stand up and push back against. And I think your concern about mask being that first step certainly is valid and one that we should pay very, very close attention to.

INGRAHAM: Governor Ricketts another concern for mothers and I'm a mother of three children is that our youngest children will be required to get vaccinated in schools. We're talking about Kindergarten up. And Dr. Fauci I believe it was yesterday said our kids are going to have to get vaccinated against COVID your position on this as vis-a-vis private schools and public schools in your state?

RICKETTS: Yes, so I came out early on and similar to what Governor Abbott was saying. These are emergency use authorizations, but nobody should be mandated to get a vaccine. This is a choice --

INGRAHAM: To attend school.

RICKETTS: To even attend school. This is again - to this point, this is an emergency use authorization. But one of the things we also know about young kids is they're the ones least to risk, right?

We know that frankly, we've looked at our data in Nebraska, and you're twice as likely to have a fatal car accident, as you are to have a fatal outcome from COVID if you're a young child, so it would be completely unnecessary. And again, a huge violation of the parental rights to have the school be - telling them that they had to do this, especially with --

INGRAHAM: So, what about flying? What about airlines? In Florida is a hub for airlines, huge airline travel, I was in the Orlando airport act. What if airlines begin requiring vaccine certificates or passports governor?

DESANTIS: Well, they're not going to be able to do it in the State of Florida. And that'll be statutory very soon. But look, we worked very hard to get it. I mean, we did seniors first on the vaccinations. We never required it. But we offered it many meets and millions of people, you have the opportunity to take it, it's there for you take it if you want to take it protect yourself. But you know, we're not going to condition this, this is not going to be like.

Hey, you're part of the club. You're not, because there are some people that have valid reasons for not doing it. Some people have just decided not to, and to say they can't participate in society, based off that decision, particularly given younger people are just simply at very little risk for this. And so, we can't go down that road and just what we've understand during this pandemic, you give them an inch, they will take a mile.

INGRAHAM: Now one issue where Biden does not think COVID is a big issue is at the border. OK, here he was last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I kept my commandments and a comprehensive immigration bill to the United States Congress. If you believe in a pathway to citizenship pass it. Over 11 million undocumented folks secure protection for dreamers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Governor Abbott, legal immigration exploding, we all - we all know it, we all see it. The media is not covering it as they should. But what's your message to the Biden administration just on what we learned yesterday about the number of COVID positive migrants who are being released into our communities.

ABBOTT: So, the COVID released migrants is one challenge. But I gotta tell you this. The Biden first 100 days has been very successful for the cartels, for the drug smugglers, for the human traffickers who are profiteering off of all the migrants who come across the border illegally. And because so many migrants are coming across the border illegally what it means is that the Border Patrol officers are fully occupies processing all these migrants.

And that leaves open miles of border that the cartels can come across. And that's why I launched what's called Operation Lone Star Operation Lone Star, we have deployed 1000, Department of Public Safety troops, as well as National Guard to our border to secure our border from the people coming across. So, here's what we want to do. Here's the deal I want to cut he is Texas will secure the border and the Biden administration will pay for it.

INGRAHAM: Governor Reynolds, you have said definitively that you will not take migrant children that the federal government has requested to be placed in Iowa communities, right. You're getting pushback from all the usual groups on that. Republicans are heartless. They don't care about the kids. They don't care about the needs of the greater country, your response.

REYNOLDS: Well, I push back and say this administration is heartless. They've created this crisis at the border. They are putting these children at risk by the policies that they've eliminated that we all know we're working. I'm the governor of the State of Iowa.

And my number one responsibility is to protect the health and safety of Iowans. And it would be irresponsible for me not to keep that in the forefront of every decision that I make.

INGRAHAM: All right, governor, stay right there. We have three-minute break. But we're going to get back to the voter integrity issue, the pushback from the federal government to take states' rights away what's happening to our police, of course, the racial question in this country, the Red State Trailblazers doing their part. We'll have more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We have a giant opportunity to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice, real justice. And with the plans outlined tonight, we have a real chance to root out systemic racism, plagues American and American lives in other ways the chance to deliver real equity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: It plagues American lives what an incredibly dim view of a country he was elected to lead and before that Barack Obama two times elected. Now even a President Biden is just putting out an Act to appease the hard left. It's having a profoundly negative effect on our country and our psyche, and he's feeding the fires of racial strife and antipolice fervor.

So, what's worse, the leftist pushing this poison in our schools? That's why it's important for our leaders to call out this lunacy, which Senator Tim Scott did in his rebuttal divide last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): Hear me clearly America is not a racist country. It's backwards to fight discrimination with different types of discrimination. And it's wrong to try to use our painful past to dishonestly shut down debates in the present.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Like Senator Scott, the governor is with me on this set tonight. Don't share Biden's grim view of America now. I know Governor DeSantis touched on this very briefly at the beginning. But I want all of your reaction to the hideous response to Tim Scott's rebuttal to Biden yesterday.

Governor Abbott let's start with you. The #uncletim was trending through Twitter all day long. Because the biggest threat to the left is a individual who disagrees with the left but happens to be a minority your reaction.

ABBOTT: They use race to divide and then attack each other and is wrong. In Texas, we use everybody to unite. Let me give you a quick example. It shows you the opportunity that exists in Texas, Texas is the ranks number one in the nation for black owned business job creation for black women owned business job creation for Hispanic own business job creation for Hispanic entrepreneurs. And so it doesn't matter what your color what your background is. Texas is a land of opportunity for absolutely everybody and we want to unite everybody not divide.

INGRAHAM: Governor Ricketts, Kamala Harris This morning said when she was pressed on this issue, I guess we can - we'll play it so you can react.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think America is a racist country. But we also do have to speak truth about the history of racism in our country and its - and its existence today. And I applaud the president for always having the ability and the courage, frankly, to speak the truth about it.

One of the greatest threats to our National Security is domestic terrorism manifested by white supremacist. And so these are issues that we must confront.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Is that what you're facing in the State of Nebraska, an outbreak of white supremacy, Governor Ricketts? Because it sounds like that when you hear Vice President Kamala Harris?

RICKETTS: Yes, that is not the single greatest threat to our safety and security in Nebraska. In fact, if you look over the course of last year with the riots, what and I think you see this across the country. The real threat to security is the dangerous defund the police movement, which is in some states, not in ours, but in some states underlying law enforcement and preventing them from doing their job.

And frankly, when I talk to my county prosecutors, my law enforcement, you know, who that harms, the worse. It's our folks in the minority communities because they know that the police are there to help them now. We've got to change this narrative. With regard to law enforcement, it has never been harder to be a law enforcement official than right now. We need to support our police, not attack our police.

INGRAHAM: Now, Governor DeSantis, you recently signed into law what's called the anti-riot legislations pro law enforcement bill. But the ACLU is saying that the bill would silence and criminalize Floridians who want to exercise their first amendment right to peacefully protest. Governor, you're going after peaceful protesters, aren't you? And the ACLU is very angry at you?

DESANTIS: Well, I think it's - it's interesting that they would say that what we do is a couple things. One, if a local government tries to defund law enforcement the State of Florida will not let that happen. We will stand by law enforcement. We also will make local governments protect folks, if you do have a riot, you need to get in there and protect people.

If you don't, people can sue the local government for their damage to themselves or their property. And finally, if you riot, if you loot, if you're violent in one of these assemblies, we're putting you in jail period.

INGRAHAM: Now, Florida isn't the only state with anti-riot legislation. In Mississippi there was signed a similar bill into law just last June and an anti-riot bill was introduced in Nebraska but didn't pass yet. Texas also has a bill under consideration. So does Iowa. So Governor Reynolds, would you sign that bill if it came across your desk?

REYNOLDS: Oh, absolutely. And we actually in the middle of this civil unrest last year, I brought legislators from both parties to my office. In the senate in the house, we sat down and with three days, we hammered out the more perfect union that passed the House, the Senate and I signed in one day.

And actually, it was supported by law enforcement and civil rights organizations. You can come together, and you can do the right thing. It just encouraged and enhances training. It limits chokeholds and it just punishes bad actors. But we also are doing back the blue that actually does a lot of the things that Governor DeSantis just talked about, we do not fund cities they'll get no more state dollars if they defund the police.

If you're going to peacefully protest. Absolutely, you have the right to do that. If you're going to riot, if you're going to block highways in and roads, you're going to pay a price for that we're increasing the penalties for that we won't stand for it. So we've got a great bill that's working its way through the legislature that really supports our law enforcement and all the great work that we've done. We've done both.

INGRAHAM: Governor. I have governor reads on this. I want to play something that the Vice President says - keep saying by the Vice President - President Biden said about law enforcement. Again, this was from last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We've all seen the name and justice on the neck of black Americans. We have to come together to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the people they serve to root out systemic racism in our criminal justice system, and police reform in George Floyd's name.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Governor Reeves, activists say it is criminal to say there is not systemic racism in the country. That video of George Floyd, other law enforcement involved shootings of African American men, the video plays and unrest often erupts. Your reaction to what he claimed about the systemic racism.

REEVES: There is not systemic racism in America. We live in the greatest country in the history of mankind. And I'll just tell you in Mississippi, I was very proud of the fact that last year we had, we had peaceful protesters, but we did not have one event in which there was a riot. And the reason for that is because in our state, we back the blue, we support the Police.

In fact, just last Friday, I was in the Mississippi, dedicating a brand-new police station that has a large training facility. We're not trying to defund the police like the far left. We're actually investing in our police because we know that we are indebted to them for keeping our communities safe.

INGRAHAM: But Governor Abbott, how do we recruit young men and women to go into law enforcement if they know during a peaceful protest, someone will come up to them with an inch away from their face, spit at them, which I think is an assault, but spit at them, call them every name in the book, come a millimeter from their face, or club them in the back of the head, and they can become heroes in this society today. How do you recruit people?

ABBOTT: Your question is the right question, because if you look at cities across America right now, police officers are retiring and quitting, and cities are going to be less safe. These are men and women, our police officers, who do something that few of us do. They put their life on the line to protect you. They need to be supported, not criticized or condemned. We must support law enforcement to make sure that we can hire law enforcement.

(APPLAUSE)

INGRAHAM: Governor Ricketts, John Feiler from Brandon, Florida, has a question about where this mindset begins. John?

JOHN FEILER, RETIRED NAVY LIEUTENANT COMMANDER: Why is K through 12 education, especially in the early to middle grades, permitting or enabling socially questionable curriculums that border on experimenting with our kids and, in fact, infringe on a parent's and family's desire to protect and teach their children the best they can?

INGRAHAM: Governor Ricketts?

RICKETTS: Yes, actually we have got this issue in Nebraska with regard to what our state board of education is trying to promulgate with regard to health and sex education standards starting in kindergarten, and teaching things that are age inappropriate, things that are not science, things that are politically sensitive, but some things parents should teach.

Talking about in grade school, gender fluidity when kids haven't even reached puberty yet, and it really is something where we had to -- and the state board of education does a report to me. They're separately elected. Call them out and get parents engaged. And they had a hearing on it. Sixty people showed up to say hey, this is terrible. Only 16 people showed up in favor of it. We've generated a lot of outcome by saying, hey, this is wrong. You have to contact your state board and change it. And that's what it's going to take is parents getting involved and saying enough is enough. We're not going to teach this kind of thing to our kids, we're not going to sexualize our kids.

(APPLAUSE)

INGRAHAM: Governors, hold on, because we have more to get to. There's something very nefarious happening in Washington because the Democrats are attempting to use the federal government to strip states of their ability to stop, again, on this issue, biological men from competing against women in sports.

(APPLAUSE)

INGRAHAM: They're even trying to do away with voter I.D. Up next, these governors will tell us how they're standing up to this power grab on two important issues. Stay there.

(APPLAUSE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I also hope Congress will get to my desk the Equality Act to protect LGBTQ Americans.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: It will all change under Americans watching at home, especially young people who are so brave, I want you to know your president has your back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: What about the female athletes, though? Equality Act will mean the end of women's sports as we know it. Now, it's obvious to most Americans that allowing biological men to compete against women is just fundamentally unfair. A recent Rasmussen survey found that 54 percent oppose transgender participation in sports teams, only 32 percent support it.

So it's time to find out how the governors with me tonight are fighting back. I'm once again joined by our red state trailblazers. Governor Reeves, Mississippi became the first start to enact legislation to protect female athletes when you signed it back in March. So we did you think the issue was so important for the people of your state?

REEVES: This is an issue I'm passionate about. And the reason I'm passionate about it is because I have a 16-year-old daughter, a 14-year-old daughter, and a nine-year-old daughter. And they play basketball, and they play soccer, and they play every sport they could possibly play. And the reality is, biological males should not be allowed to compete with them for athletic scholarships. They should not be allowed to be able to compete with them for opportunities.

(APPLAUSE)

REEVES: And so, I was so blessed that the Mississippi legislature sent me a bill to ban that in our state, and I was honored to sign it.

INGRAHAM: Governor DeSantis, a bill of a similar nature is about to cross your desk. Are you going to sign it?

DESANTIS: Oh, yes. We're going to protect our girls.

(APPLAUSE)

DESANTIS: I have a four-year-old daughter and a one-year-old daughter, and they're very athletic. And we want to have opportunities for our girls. They deserve an even playing field. And that's what we're doing, with what Mississippi did, with what Florida did, and I know what other states are going to do. So, I look forward to being able to sign that into law.

INGRAHAM: The NCAA put out a statement on transgender athletes. "Inclusion and fairness can coexist for all student athletes including transgender athletes. We're committed to ensuring that NCAA championships are open for all who earn the right to compete in them." Governor Reynolds, how is it fair to have biological males compete against women athletes?

REYNOLDS: It's not fair.

INGRAHAM: So, what if the NCAA isn't so generic with its language and says we're going to pull out of your state, we're not going to have competition in your state?

REYNOLDS: I'm going to do what is right for my state. I'm going to do what's right for girls. I'm a mom of three daughters and a grandmother of three granddaughters who compete. And it's the right to do. They should have the same opportunities. And we're working on legislation, too. I should have that to my desk by, hopefully the end of this legislative session, and we'll be signing that bill.

(APPLAUSE)

INGRAHAM: Governor Abbott, the corporations are lined up on this issue. It reminds me, and we're going to get to the voter integrity issue, but they've all lined up on the side of transgender athletes should compete in the sport of their choice with the gender of their choice. What are you going to say to these corporations if they say we're pulling out of Texas?

ABBOTT: They're tardy to the party. First think, what if they don't participate in Florida and Texas. Will they even able to have sports events anymore in the United States? I don't think so.

(LAUGHTER)

ABBOTT: But for five years the University Interscholastic League in Texas has had a rule in place prohibiting boys from playing girls in girls' sports. But the Texas legislature is working on a bill to codify that, which I will sign.

INGRAHAM: Governor Ricketts, on this issue of athletics, the Ivy League last year -- this entire year had no sports. Of course, other important conferences, the SEC and others, had full participation in sports. What do you anticipate for this fall? And will you have 100 percent attendance in stadiums in Nebraska?

RICKETTS: Well, this was a big issue for the Big 10 because they did not allow crowds to be in the stadium. We could have done that in Nebraska. We could have done that last year in Nebraska. So, my anticipation would be that we will have full stadiums for Nebraska football this fall, and working with our university, I think it's going to happen.

INGRAHAM: Is the conference going to with you?

RICKETTS: We can do it in Nebraska.

INGRAHAM: The SEC, Nick Saban said it is going to be 100 percent stadiums. I know Texas and Florida are both going to be 100 percent.

DESANTIS: Yes. And UFC last Saturday in Jacksonville, the first full capacity indoor sporting event since COVID hit. We hosted that in Florida.

ABBOTT: Hold a second.

(APPLAUSE)

ABBOTT: When governors get together, we start bragging.

INGRAHAM: Here we go. Here we go.

ABBOTT: Texas hosted the first 100 percent capacity Major League Baseball game with the Texas Rangers outdoors.

(APPLAUSE)

INGRAHAM: OK. Anyone want to -- this is a one upmanship here.

REEVES: I'd like to jump in.

INGRAHAM: OK.

REEVES: Ten days ago, Yankee Stadium, they had 10,400 people at a baseball game.

INGRAHAM: That's not a baseball game.

REEVES: Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Mississippi State versus Ole Miss, we had 13,300 at a college baseball game.

(APPLAUSE)

DESANTIS: These great events are awesome, but we all worked hard to make sure youth sports happened. We did that last summer. And if you look, we had kids moving from other states to Florida because they weren't allowed to play in California, they weren't allowed to play in Michigan. So, they're literally coming to high school here to be able to play football or something. And so, the amount of opportunity that was taken away from these kids in these lockdown states, that has devastating consequences.

REYNOLDS: We did the same thing, summer sports, summer softball, summer baseball, and we had 95 percent of the teams that started completed. We did it safely and responsibly and went into fall sports. And believe it or not we actually had people moving to Iowa to play, too.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

RICKETTS: This is where the Biden administration has been so out of touch. Remember when President Biden got on the air and said we want everybody to be playing sports again. Like, we were doing that last summer. We want everybody to gather Fourth of July. We were doing that last summer, too. He's completely out of touch with what is going on in our states. He does not know what's going on. That's why we were talking about, he should talk to governors more often. He would find out what is actually going on in the middle part of the country outside of his little bubble in D.C.

REYNOLDS: I think he thinks that COVID just started. I just returned $95 million because they sent an additional $95 million to the state of Iowa to get our kids back in the classroom by doing surveillance testing. And I said we've been in the classroom since August. Here's your $95 million back.

(APPLAUSE)

INGRAHAM: All right, I have to get to this. We can talk sports the rest of the hour.

(LAUGHTER)

INGRAHAM: The Big 10 has got to get back, Pac 10, SEC, they've all got to be back playing. It's really important, and kids sports, you guys have been leaders on that.

But the Democrats are pushing a bill called HR-1 that would amount to a federal takeover of your state election laws, including voter I.D. requirements. And a recent FOX News poll found that 77 percent of the country supports voter I.D. laws. But of course, HR-1 threatens to eliminate all those election safeguards. Governor DeSantis, Florida's legislature passed a bill to add security to your elections. Do you plan on signing that, and your response to this HR-1?

DESANTIS: For sure. In Florida, we have voter I.D. we've had voter I.D. It works. The right thing to do.

(APPLAUSE)

DESANTIS: We didn't do unsolicited mail ballots this last election. We made sure the right people were place. And we counting 11 million votes by midnight on election night. It was free, it was fair, it was transparent.

(APPLAUSE)

DESANTIS: And the reforms we have coming are going to make it even better. We're banning ballot harvesting. We're making sure that these Zuckerberg groups can't come in to spend private money to administer elections like they did in Pennsylvania and some of these other states. So, we think we led the nation, but we're trying to stay ahead of the curve to make sure that these elections are run well. But in Florida, you can have confidence that your vote counts.

INGRAHAM: What are you going to do if HR-1 passes? What are you going to do then? Are you going to take them to court?

DESANTIS: We will absolutely sue. It's unconstitutional. But here's the thing. It clearly doesn't apply to state elections or presidential. And so, you could be in a situation where the federal government is trying to run Congress elections and we're running our presidential and governor's elections.

INGRAHAM: Governor, so following the footsteps of Georgia and other states like it, Texas considering its own voter integrity laws, SB-7 made it through the state Senate. Here's what Texas Congressman Sheila Jackson Lee said about the bill, Governor. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE, (D-TX): Is it about race? Yes, it's about race. Is the SB-7 bill about race? Yes, in Texas it is about race. And that is tragic. Why they focus immediately on voting rights, it was because they lost the 2020 election. Rather than getting back on their feet, putting their issues forth and running, this is truly about race.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Governor, your response.

ABBOTT: First, in Texas, Republicans won the 2020 election.

(APPLAUSE)

ABBOTT: Second, in SB-7 we are increasing the hours for early voting. We maintain the same number of early voting days, days that New York and President Biden's home state of Delaware do not have. Are they calling Delaware racist? Are they calling New York racist or voter suppression? No. But we have voting capabilities in Texas that far exceed what those states have.

INGRAHAM: It's not about race?

ABBOTT: It's not about race. All about the vote. We had a record voter turnout, and Republicans won the state.

(APPLAUSE)

INGRAHAM: Governors, stay with me. True freedom is more than just economic prosperity. It's also the ability to live your life and speak your mind without getting cancelled. So how are these red state trailblazers protecting your freedom to speak out? We'll find out next.

(APPLAUSE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: The Oxford Dictionary defines "liberty" as freedom to love as you choose without too many restrictions from the government or authority. The red state governors you see right next to me on this stage tonight, they understand the meaning of liberty. They understand why it's necessary to have freedom to go to school, to practice your faith, to worship, to run a business, to choose how you want to act and live.

So why do those that espouse those traditional beliefs increasingly find themselves just a subject of ridicule and cancellation attempts? And how do you prevent those same Americans from being purged from the workplace, universities, and even the military?

Governor DeSantis, you've recently pushed back on this issue through legislation. A bill you support would punish big tech companies for de- platforming conservatives and other traditional Americans. You kind of see this coming. The effort to purge the military of extremists, which means traditionalists. But how do Americans out there very demoralized about this, how do they fight back?

DESANTIS: We're fighting back in Florida. So, the bill has passed. I'm going to sign a bill that will hold big tech accountable.

(APPLAUSE)

DESANTIS: It will allow you to sue big tech if they censor you or de- platform you, and also provides protections for political candidates' speech.

But here's the thing. We cannot let the discourse in our country be controlled by leftist oligarchs in Silicon Valley. And that's what happened over these last few years. Silicon Valley, allied with corporate media, and quite frankly, the party in power, it's almost like state-run media. And conservatives are seeing we're on the odd side out. So, we've got to fight back. And I think this is the strongest piece of state legislation that anyone has attempted, and I think it will make a difference. And so, we look forward to signing that very soon.

INGRAHAM: Governor Reynolds, a lot of people you chat with are like, I don't want to say, I don't want to talk, but my friend's teacher, my daughter's teacher, my daughter's coach, I can't speak out. People are afraid.

REYNOLDS: Yes.

INGRAHAM: I've never seen anything like I see now in the climate in this country. So, to all the people watching across the country, I say don't be afraid. It's your truth.

(APPLAUSE)

REYNOLDS: Don't be afraid. Speak up. They have to take it back. That's what they're trying to do is to shut us down by intimidation, and we need to stand up for what's right. We need to stand up for our rights. We're driving free speech on our campuses. We've talked about diversity of training in Iowa. And we just need to encourage people to step up, do the right thing, and fight back. It's worth fighting. We have to fight back.

INGRAHAM: Governor Ricketts, when you see people get de-platformed for no reason on these big social media companies, I go back to the time that Republicans had the House and the Senate, and they did nothing. They did nothing to reign in big tech. I think they thought that they could cozy up to big tech, maybe get some campaign contributions along the way. That didn't work out well.

RICKETTS: No, it didn't. And when you see companies like Facebook actually editing "The Wall Street Journal." "Wall Street Journal," that's been around forever, right? Isn't that like a regular mainstream news source? That's a real one, right? And Facebook thinks they should edit "The Wall Street Journal"?

I think what we have to do is recapture the House and the Senate and the presidency, and there has to be regulation on these companies at a federal level, because what they are doing is making decisions that have impacted all of us. They need to be treated more like the utility that they're acting like.

INGRAHAM: Governor Abbott, you agree?

ABBOTT: Completely. I think these high-tech companies, social media companies, they need to lose their exemption --

INGRAHAM: Yes. Why do they have that exemption?

REYNOLDS: Elections matter, right?

(APPLAUSE)

ABBOTT: But we're working on a bill in Texas, SB-12, that will allow individuals who have been de-platformed to sue these high-tech companies to get back on. It's structured in a way that will avoid the preemption that these high-tech companies think they have. So, Texans will be empowered to sue bit tech to get back on the platforms.

INGRAHAM: I want to get to another issue, Governor DeSantis, the issue -- actually, we're going to question first, then we'll go to that other issue. Charles Hart from Orlando, right here in Orlando, has a question. Charles?

CHARLES HART, CHAIRMAN OF THE ORANGE COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY: First off, governor, I'd like to thank you personally for keeping Florida free.

(APPLAUSE)

HART: The question I'd like to ask, though, is this. As many people are beginning to believe that America is no longer exceptional or great, so what can we do to reinvigorate the belief that America is too great for small dreams?

DESANTIS: I think it's a great question. And I was very disappointed after the 2020 election. But I told people when your back is against the wall, Americans respond. And I think we're responding here in the state of Florida. Not only are people coming from all over the country to live here, to visit here, I get correspondence from people in other countries, in Europe, saying we're now looking to Florida as the focal point of the free world because they're suffering under the yolk of lockdowns.

(APPLAUSE)

DESANTIS: So, we have the ability to lead here. People in Florida have responded and people throughout the country, and even very humbly to see this throughout the world. So, I think we're doing it right. I think Greg and Kim and all these governors are doing it right. And we will have a resurgence of freedom in this country in 2022. I think it's going to be a great year for us.

INGRAHAM: Governor Reeves, when you look at the economies of all of your states, and I know you're not all at the same level, but where freedom does ring through, all of the difficulty we've lived in. And then you hear people such a negative view of America, whether it's on race question or any other question that we heard the president talk about last night. Kids today, what do they need to learn first and foremost in our public schools about this country?

REEVES: It seems like many people in the Democrat Party, and it's not just the far left, many people in the Democrat Party are putting down America day in and day out. It's almost as if they want to act as if there's not this thing called the American dream. And they are absolutely wrong. America is a great place because anybody, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to succeed in this country. Opportunity is there for any and everyone. And I hope that certainly the kids in Mississippi understand that, and I hope the kids across America understand that as well.

(APPLAUSE)

INGRAHAM: Governor Abbott, on this question of our children being taught this is a systemically racist country, the founding documents are imbued with racist ideology, "The 1619 Project," this is all being force fed to our kids at the youngest ages through high school. Quickly?

ABBOTT: Let's be clear. America is the most exceptional nation in the history of the entire world.

(APPLAUSE)

ABBOTT: We're working on curriculum program in our session right now to teach kids about the founding documents, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Federalist Papers. So, students --

INGRAHAM: Wow, Federalist Papers.

ABBOTT: -- can truly learn what did make America the greatest nation in the history of the world.

INGRAHAM: Governors, stay right there. We have final thoughts from Florida when we return. The red state trailblazers, stay there.

(APPLAUSE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(APPLAUSE)

INGRAHAM: Tonight, I hope we've proved to the American people once and for all that the real people in this country resides not in Washington D.C. but rather in the state houses and the governors' mansions across the country. And the governors with me tonight are using that power in the right way. They are not constraining their citizens. They are empowering them.

I want to thank all of you for being here tonight, participation was fantastic. Let's give them another round of applause.

(APPLAUSE)

INGRAHAM: We are going to do another one of these next time in Texas.

Governor Ricketts, DeSantis, Abbot, Reynolds, Reeves, thank you all. And I want to thank the great free state of Florida for hosting us, our wonderful audience. Good night from Florida. I'll see you tomorrow night at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

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