Dr. Siegel: Moving COVID goalposts replaces 'hope' with 'despair'

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Dr. Siegel: Moving COVID goalposts replaces 'hope' with 'despair'

'Public health needs to be consistent,' FOX News medical contributor tells 'Tucker Carlson Tonight'

This is a rush transcript from "Tucker Carlson Tonight," February 10, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Good evening, and welcome to TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT.  

It's funny how change happens. You thought the big change came on Election Day. That's when the incumbent President lost, but that turned out to be nothing compared to the change that came two months later.  

On January 6th, supporters of Donald Trump swarmed the Capitol Building, some forced their way inside, and Washington has never been the same. It may never be the same.  

As a result of what happened on January 6th, your descendants will live in a very different country. It was a pivot point in our history looking back. Some in Congress have compared that day to 9/11.  

The Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has likened it to Pearl Harbor, the day that spurred America's entry into the Second World War. Every day we hear new and more florid comparisons from Democratic partisans.  

But last night, CNN outdid all of them. Chernobyl? The Bhopal disaster? The Irish Potato Famine? No. What happened on January 6th was worse than any of that. It was, CNN told us, very much like the Rwandan genocide.  

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)  

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: The idea of other rising people is something I think we saw a lot of over the last four years.  

I mean, certainly we've seen a lot over the last decades, but it's so easy to otherwise people, to make people other than, other than American, other than patriotic other than human, you know, and we've seen it in Bosnia, we've seen it in Rwanda where the radio was telling people that you know, Hutus, were telling the radio listeners that Tutsi were cockroaches, for -- you know, getting them ginned up for genocide.  

(END VIDEO CLIP)  

CARLSON: The Rwandan genocide, that's what it was like. Keep in mind that close to a million people were murdered in Rwanda in 1994. That's about 70 percent of all ethnic Tutsis in the country. Entire towns were hacked to death with machetes, they were set on fire, crushed alive by bulldozers. Hundreds of thousands of women were raped.  

It was among the most horrifying crimes in human history. How does a country recover from something like that? From a genocide?  

Well, first, obviously, you punish the guilty quickly and severely. In our case, you impeach him. But then -- and this is more important -- you set about reordering your society from top to bottom to make certain nothing like that ever happens again. So you purge the military, you suspend basic civil liberties.  

To emphasize the point, you send troops to the Capitol. You tear down the old, you destroy all vestiges of the past in order to save the future. That's what's going on now.  

But hold on, before we remake America to prevent future genocide at the Capitol, maybe we should know a little bit more about the crime that occurred on January 6th, if only to understand the justification for overturning our lives permanently.  

What exactly did happen that day? Simple question. You may be surprised to learn how little we know even now. In fact, it's remarkable how many of the most basic questions remain unanswered more than a month after the fact.  

Let's start with the headline of the day. Five Americans died on the Capitol grounds on January 6th. You've heard that, you hear it incessantly including from Republican officeholders -- five dead.  

But that doesn't really tell you very much. It's the details as always that matter. Who were these people and how did they die? That's how you understand what actually happened.  

So with that in mind, here are the facts as of tonight.  

Four of the five who died that day were Trump supporters. The fifth was a Capitol Hill police officer who apparently also supported Donald Trump.  

Why is this relevant? Of course, the political views of the deceased shouldn't matter. But unfortunately, in this case, they do.  

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and many other elected Democrats claimed the mob was coming for them that day. Yet, the only recorded casualties on January 6th were people who voted for Donald Trump.  

The first among them was the 34-year-old woman from Georgia called Rosanne Boyland. Authorities first announced that Boyland died of a quote, "medical emergency." Later, video footage suggested she may have accidentally been trampled by the crowd. We're still not sure, that's the best guess.  

The second casualty was 55-year-old, Kevin Greeson. Greeson died of heart failure while talking to his wife on a cell phone outside the Capitol. Quote, "Kevin had a history of high blood pressure," his wife later said, " ... and in the midst of the excitement, he suffered a heart attack," end quote.  

The third was 50-year-old Benjamin Phillips of Ringtown, Pennsylvania. Phillips was a Trump supporter who organized a bus trip to Washington for the rally that day. He died of a stroke on the grounds of the Capitol. There is no evidence that Phillips rioted or was injured by rioters or even when inside the Capitol Building.  

The fourth person to die, the only person to die that day of intentional violence was 35-year-old, Ashli Babbitt, a military veteran from San Diego. Babbitt was wearing a Trump cape when she was shot to death by a Capitol Hill police lieutenant.  

Babbitt's death was caught on video, so hers is the best documented death that took place that day. And yet it is surprising how little we know about it.  

Babbitt was shot as she tried to crawl through a broken window into the Speaker's lobby within the Capitol, and that's essentially the extent of what we know. Authorities have refused to release the name of the man who shot her or divulge any details of the investigation they say they've done.  

We may never know exactly why this unnamed Capitol Hill police officer took her life. According to that officer's attorney quote, "There is no way to look at the evidence and think that he is anything but a hero." Of course, we can't actually look at that evidence because they're withholding it, we can't even know his identity.  

Killing an unarmed woman may be justified under certain specific circumstances, but since when is it quote, "heroic"? When the dead woman has read QAnon websites? Republicans aren't asking that question.  

One Republican Member of Congress from Oklahoma says he immediately hugged the officer who shot Ashli Babbitt. "You did what you had to do," the Congressman said. But did the officer really have to do that? We don't know. It would be nice to know, maybe someone could ask.  

We do know that Ashli Babbitt was not holding a weapon when she was killed. Nevertheless, at the impeachment hearing this week, Congressman David Cicilline of Rhode Island described what happened at the Capitol as quote, "an armed insurrection." Watch.  

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)  

REP. DAVID CICILLINE (D-RI): He incited an armed, angry mob to riot.  

 ... and inciting an armed insurrection against the United States government.  

 ... an armed, angry and dangerous crowd --  

 ... armed violence against the government of the United States of America.  

(END VIDEO CLIP)  

CARLSON: David Cicilline is a former mafia lawyer from Providence, so presumably he knows what it is to commit a felony with a firearm. That is what he does.  

There are no reports of rioters at the Capitol Building that day discharging weapons or threatening anyone with a gun.  

So what exactly is David Cicilline talking about? Well, apparently, he is referring to the death of Officer Brian Sicknick.  

In the hours after the riot, "The New York Times" reported that Trump supporters had brutally beaten Officer Sicknick to death with a fire extinguisher. The fire extinguisher apparently is the deadly weapon, the armed in the armed insurrection.  

Now the news of Sicknick's death by violence was quickly picked up by countless other media outlets. Cable television anchors repeated and then amplified it.  

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)  

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Officer Brian Sicknick died after being hit in the head with a fire extinguisher during the hours' long attack.  

NICOLLE WALLACE, MSNBC ANCHOR: They beat a Capitol Police officer to death with a fire extinguisher.  

COOPER: Officer Brian Sicknick died after being hit in the head with a fire extinguisher during the fight.  

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He died at the age of 42 after he was bludgeoned with a fire extinguisher.  

(END VIDEO CLIP)  

CARLSON: Capitol Hill police officer beaten to death with a fire extinguisher by a white supremacist mob. It's horrifying. And that is the story they were telling. It's a story they still are telling. That account forms the basis of the myth that Democrats have constructed around January 6th.  

Sicknick's remains lay in state at the Capitol Building, streams of politicians, the very same people who just months before had told us that cops were racist by definition, those same people praised Brian Sicknick as a hero. They had finally found a police officer who served their political uses.  

Kamala Harris and her husband, for example, arrived to pay their respects and as they did, they said not one thing about defunding the police.  

But in fact, the story they told was a lie, from beginning to end. Officer Sicknick was not beaten to death, not with a fire extinguisher, not with anything else.  

According to an exhaustive and fascinating new analysis on Revolver News, there is no evidence that Brian Sicknick was hit with a fire extinguisher at any point during the day. None. No video. Nothing.  

The officer's body apparently bore no signs of trauma. In fact, on the night of January 6, long after rioters at the Capitol had been arrested or dispersed, Brian Sicknick texted his brother from his office.  

According to his brother, Sicknick said he'd been quote, "Pepper sprayed twice and he was in good shape." Twenty four hours later, Officer Brian Sicknick was dead.  

How did Officer Sicknick die? The head of the Capitol Police Union has said he had a stroke, no cause given. More than that, we still don't know. Sicknick's body was cremated immediately. Authorities have refused to release his autopsy.  

No one has been charged in his death. No charges are pending.  

Whatever happened to Brian Sicknick was tragic, obviously. But it was also very different from what they have told us. They have lied about how he died.  

They've lied about a lot. For example, how did this riot start? Was it a spontaneous event incited by a reckless President on his way out in a fit of vicious peak? That's one version of the story.  

Or was the riot long planned? Was it a conspiracy? That's another version of the story. Both cannot be true.  

This weekend the former Chief of the Capitol Hill police Steven Sund claimed in a letter to Nancy Pelosi that there was no Intelligence suggesting that a riot might be imminent at the Capitol. Apparently, "The Washington Post" has better sources than Chief Sund does.  

Days after January 6th, the newspaper reported that it was well known that a group of Trump supporters was headed to the city to cause trouble. The F.B.I. almost certainly knew this. The Feds likely had paid informers in the ranks of protesters.  

One of the rioters, we learned this yesterday, was a former F.B.I. employee. Was he still on the F.B.I. payroll? He wouldn't be the first.  

So if the authorities knew that violence might be coming to the Capitol, where was the necessary security? It wasn't there.  

In fact, the response of law enforcement on the scene that day is baffling the more deeply you look into it. In some publicly available videos, Capitol Hill Police seemed to be all but inviting rioters into the building. Here's one example.  

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]  

CARLSON: What does all of this mean exactly? We're not sure what it means, and we're not going to speculate. We do know for certain that the known facts of what happened on January 6th deviate in very important ways from the story they are now telling us, including the story they told us today in the impeachment hearings.  

And in many places, the known facts bear no resemblance to the story they are telling. They're just flat out lying. There's no question about that.  

The question is, why would they lie about this?  

For an answer, think back to last spring. Beginning on Memorial Day, BLM and their sponsors in Corporate America completely changed this country. They changed this country more in five months than it had changed in the previous 50 years.  

How did they do that? They used the sad death of a man called George Floyd to upend our society. Months later, we learned that the story they told us about George Floyd's death was an utter lie.  

There was no physical evidence that George Floyd was murdered by a cop. The autopsy showed that George Floyd almost certainly died of a drug overdose - - fentanyl. But by that point, facts didn't matter. It was too late.  

Cities had been destroyed along with the fabric of this country itself. Scores of people had been killed. Democratic partisans used a carefully concocted myth, a lie, to bum rush America into overturning the old order and handing them much more power. It worked flawlessly.  

So why wouldn't they do it again?  

Joining us from Los Angeles is a man who watched all of this happen, the radio show host and all around great observer and analyst and man, Larry Elder. Larry, great to see you tonight.  

LARRY ELDER, RADIO SHOW HOST, SALEM RADIO NETWORK: Thank you so much for having me, Tucker, I appreciate it.  

CARLSON: It's hard not to feel -- and I'm not alleging conspiracy because it's happening in plain sight -- but it is hard not to feel like a historic event, January 6th, which no person would ever defend, is being used by political partisans to gather more power to themselves and the rest of us are letting it happen.  

ELDER: Well, Tucker, everything you said about needing more facts, of course, is rational. It's reasonable, and it is completely irrelevant because Donald Trump has been impeached twice and is now standing his second impeachment trial for the unpardonable capital offense, capital felony of being Donald Trump.  

The left thinks Donald Trump himself is a crime scene. Look at some of the characters involved in this play. Maxine Waters: everybody knows Maxine Waters urged supporters to threaten Donald Trump Cabinet members. She said "Push back on them, surround them, form a crowd. Let them know they're not welcome anywhere anymore." Forget about that.  

This is a woman who wrote a letter to Fidel Castro when Congress passed a resolution urging Castro to send back to America a woman who had murdered a New Jersey Trooper, broke out of prison and fled to Cuba.  

Maxine Waters writes Castro a letter likens her to a freedom fighter. She is a former Black Panther and says that the only reason she was prosecuted is because she had been persecuted for political beliefs and urged Castro to keep this woman. She remains there as we speak.  

Chuck Schumer, of course, is going to vote to convict President Trump. Chuck Schumer has often played the race card. When asked whether or not Donald Trump is a racist, he said, "Well, he had said racist things."  

In 1974 a young, upcoming ambitious politician named Chuck Schumer met with some racist neighbors in an area in New York called Flatbush. There were two buildings, Tucker, they had black tenants. They weren't causing any problems. They weren't committing any crimes. But these racist neighbors wanted them out.  

The young Schumer met with the neighbors and he said look, here's what I'll do. Vote for me and I'll introduce a measure to renovate these buildings. They'll have a right of first refusal of course, but we will make them so nice they won't be able to afford to come back.  

And voila, he introduced the scheme to do that. Unfortunately, for Schumer and the racist neighbors, the blacks were able to come up with the money to move back into digs that were nicer than the digs they left, but not for want of trying.  

Now, the man who was attending this meeting is named Jay Homnick. He's a writer Tucker, for "American Spectator." He wrote about this in 2006. I've interviewed him several times over the years on my radio show. And I've asked him, has anybody from "The New York Times" or "The Washington Post" asked you about this?  

He said, no, the media are completely uninterested in this racist scheme to purge the New York neighborhood in 1974 of black people. Now, in 1974, it is a long time ago, I'll give you that. But that's the same time that Donald Trump, a young Donald Trump and into a consent decree with the F.H.A. to discontinue practices that the F.H.A. felt were discriminatory against would be black and brown winters.  

And that is often cited as a reason for Donald Trump's alleged racism. Around the same time, Chuck Schumer introduced this racist scheme to purge a New York neighborhood of black people, and nobody gives a damn.  

This is the kind of double standard that we've been up against for years, and I am sick of it. I am sick of it.  

These characters involved in getting rid of Donald Trump, impeaching him and now convicted him have done horrific things and the media could not care less.  

Who writes a letter to Castro? Who in 1974 introduces a plan to get rid of black people? Who does that? Media indifferent.  

CARLSON: Hard to take a moral lecture from these people, I completely agree. They win because they scream louder. They are more aggressive.  

ELDER: It is.  

CARLSON: That's totally true. Larry Elder, it is great to see you tonight. Thank you for that.  

ELDER: It is. Thank you, Tucker. Thanks for the time. I appreciate it.  

CARLSON: Thank you.  

So Mark Cuban is a billionaire. Mark Cuban is not a genius. You think that would make him very grateful for America, a country where geniuses and people who are not geniuses can make a billion dollars, but it's not. He is not grateful.  

He has just announced that his NBA team is no longer playing the National Anthem. You're not going to hear it anymore. That's how much he dislikes the country that made him rich. We've got details after the break.  

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)  

CARLSON: Mark Cuban is a billionaire. He owns the Dallas Mavericks, the NBA team. Like other NBA owners, Mark Cuban makes a lot of his money in China and that's why according to Mark Cuban, the non-genius billionaire, it is fine for China to commit genocide. They're good customer says Mark Cuban.  

But when Mark Cuban hears the United States National Anthem, he takes a different position. He is disgusted by it. He wants to take a knee. That's how awful this country is.  

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)  

MARK CUBAN, OWNER OF DALLAS MAVERICKS: If they were taking a knee and they were being respectful, I'll be proud of them. You know, hopefully, you know I'd join them because I think we've learned a lot since 2017.  

I think we've evolved as a country, and this is really a unique point in time where we can grow as a society, we can grow as a country and become far more inclusive.  

(END VIDEO CLIP)  

CARLSON: Well, this week in the name of inclusivity, and making China happy, by the way, when you include people, it almost always means excluding them, Mark Cuban has decided the National Anthem can no longer be played before any home game in Dallas.  

The NBA initially supported this decision, but this afternoon, the NBA changed its mind.  

The league released a statement quote, "All teams will play the National Anthem in keeping with long standing league policy."  

Will Cain is the co-host of "FOX & Friends" Weekend. We're happy to have him on tonight. Will, good to see you.  

WILL CAIN, FOX NEWS CHANNEL COHOST, "FOX & FRIENDS": Thanks, Tucker.  

CARLSON: So it seems to me the NBA could have said, you know, it's not just long standing policy, we -- you know, we kind of appreciate the country where our sport was invented and that sustains us. Why not take the chance to kind of defend America in the face of the attack on it?  

CAIN: Because that would be unfashionable, Tucker. The fashionable point of view and the one that Mark Cuban seems to have adopted perhaps because some of his employees hold this point of view, perhaps some of his players hold his point of view, but it's certainly a radical point of view, is that America is irredeemably flawed, that were defined by original sin of slavery and the residual racism.  

And so it's fashionable to believe that America's symbols, her flag, her National Anthem, therefore, are politically divisive. Of course, you and I know that's not true. I think most people know that's not true.  

The United States is a unique experiment in human history. We're defined by our aspirations, our goals, by our documents, like the Constitution, and ultimately, Tucker, we know those are unifying elements, unifying symbols.  

But Mark seems to have adopted this idea and it is totally dictated by the terms of the left that the United States, its symbols are divisive, that we see the worst in America, and therefore we must cancel all of these symbols that the rest of us see as our aspirations and our unifying factors. That's why they won't take a principled stand.  

CARLSON: I think that's really smart and nicely expressed. I mean, those symbols amount to our culture and our culture is the only thing that unites us. I mean, without a common culture, what do we have at that point?  

CAIN: Right. And I'll tell you something more than that. Part of that culture is sports. I love sports, Tucker. If you know anything about me, you know, I came from the world of sports.  

I believe it brings us together across racial barriers, across socioeconomic barriers. We arbitrarily root for these ridiculous jerseys and laundry that we grew up around.  

I love the Mavericks. By the way, I'm coming to you live from Dallas. I'm from the DFW area. I'm a lifelong Mavericks fan. I suffered through the 90s. I celebrated the Dirk years.  

I'm excited about Luca Doncic. If Mark is watching, I'm a true heartfelt fan of the Dallas Mavericks. But if you make me choose between the United States of America and the Mavericks, it will not be a hard choice.  

CARLSON: Nicely put. Will, it's good to see you tonight. Thank you for coming on.  

CAIN: Thanks, Tucker.  

CARLSON: Of course, Mark Cuban and the other decadent moron like him was always invited on the show to explain his point of view.  

Joe Biden is pushing to raise the Federal minimum wage to $15.00 an hour. That may help some of the people who get raised wages, it will definitely hurt others.  

According to Congressional Budget Office, a $15.00 minimum wage would eliminate almost a million and a half jobs and increase the Federal deficit dramatically.  

Neil Patel has thought a lot about this topic. He wrote a column about it for the Boston Herald. He is the publisher of "The Daily Caller." He joins us tonight to assess. Neil, thanks a lot for coming on.  

So economic arguments aside, it does seem like the minimum wage is popular in general with the public and this is likely to happen given who controls Congress. Given that, what's the wise way do you think to raise the minimum wage?  

NEIL PATEL, PUBLISHER, "THE DAILY CALLER": Tucker, thanks for having me. If you're going to have a minimum wage, it doesn't make any sense to have it the same in every location in America. It costs more than twice as much to live in Manhattan as it does in a small town in Kansas, and there is no earthly reason both those places should have the same minimum wage.  

Similarly, it doesn't make any sense to have the same minimum wage for huge multinational companies with thousands of employees, and billions of dollars in profits, as it does for say, the deli on the corner of your block at home.  

The deli owner is probably working in his own store, he may want a few hours off in the afternoon and bring in a high school kid. The concept of - - the left's concept of a livable wage, I think it's much easier to apply that to a Walmart or a Target than it is to the deli guy. And yet, we don't.  

We have one minimum wage applying in every place for every business, it makes zero sense.  

CARLSON: Could it have something to do with who donates to which political party? I mean, it seems like some of these big businesses would actually be in favor of a higher minimum wage if they thought it would drive their competitors out of business.  

PATEL: So the huge multinational companies that dominate Washington, and these policy debates are actually mostly for the minimum wage increase. The retailers, the big real retailers, like Target and Walmart, Amazon, they're definitely in for it. They're publicly in favor of it. And it's because it crushes their small business competitors.  

They can afford it. They're already mostly paying a $15.00 an hour wage, and they know that the ones they compete with, these small town businesses can't afford it. So that's another reason why, you know, why doesn't Washington call their bluff? How about $20.00 or more on huge multinationals, but $10.00 or less on the small business in the corner?  

CARLSON: I mean, this is pretty much the last thing after a year of COVID and riots that small businesses need right now, is it not?  

PATEL: It's the last thing small businesses need. It's the last thing our country needs. I don't know if you saw the stats today. Sixty percent of the people involved in the Capitol Hill riots had gone through extreme economic hardship recently -- meaning bankruptcies, massive credit, layoffs.  

So the problems we are having in our economy, especially in the small business sector, where small businesses just lost 30 percent of their revenue this year, and 30 percent of all small businesses just closed down. Washington needs to start looking at this and coming up with more innovative policies than ones that only are aligned with the big business agenda.  

CARLSON: It's such a smart point that I've heard from nobody else, $30.00 minimum wage for Amazon warehouse workers, no minimum wage for the dry cleaner on your block. I love that.  

Neil Patel, I appreciate you coming on tonight. Thank you.  

PATEL: Thank you, Tucker.  

CARLSON: Well, you may have thought that once the coronavirus vaccine arrived, you could visit your elderly relatives who were locked away in the hospital or a nursing home, but no. Our public health experts want you to know that the vaccine does not mean you're getting your freedom back, just the opposite. That's straight ahead.  

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)  

TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Live from "America's News Headquarters," I'm Trace Gallagher.  

The first full day of arguments in the second impeachment trial against former President Trump has just wrapped up on Capitol Hill. House impeachment managers presenting previously unseen security video from the January 6th attack. It shows just how close the mob got to senators and Vice President Mike Pence.  

Trump's legal defense team which claims the trial is unconstitutional will get the chance to make their arguments later this week.  

To convict Trump on the single charge of inciting an insurrection, 17 Republicans would have to join all Democrats.  

Meantime in other news, "Hustler" Magazine founder and First Amendment rights advocate, Larry Flynt has died. Flynt's nephew says he died earlier today of heart failure at his Hollywood Hills home. Larry Flynt was 78 years old.  

When news breaks out. We'll break in. I'm Trace Gallagher. Now back to TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT.  

CARLSON: You thought the coronavirus vaccine would change your life? You thought for example, you could finally see your elderly relatives, but the goalposts have moved again.  

A Northwestern Medical School Professor called June McKoy told NPR this week that your parents should stay isolated until we achieve herd immunity.  

McKoy warned, and we're quoting here, "You still pose a clear and present danger to your parents," despite the vaccine.  

Dr. Marc Siegel is a FOX News medical contributor. Of course, we're happy to have him join us tonight to assess this. Doctor, good to see you.  

DR. MARC SIEGEL, FOX NEWS CHANNEL MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Tucker, good to see you. When you move the goalposts, hope is replaced by despair and public health needs to be consistent.  

And a lot of emphasis will put on these vaccines, which is why I'm really glad to see Dr. Mitch Katz, of all people, who is the CEO of Health and Hospitals Corporation right here in failing New York City, the right arm of Mayor Bill de Blasio, say on Monday at a press conference, hey, this vaccine, I'm extremely excited about it. It works, and it's the way back.  

He said it's the way back and he also said, "My 98-year-old father," he said, " ... and my 93-year-old mother are now going to take visitors from their children." I was so happy to see that, Tucker, especially when you consider what is public health anyway? It's an overall cost, isn't it?  

And there was a big study out of Boston in September that said that 25 percent of Americans are suffering from clinical depression. That means that 75 or 100 percent of Americans, that's you and me and everyone have some kind of anxiety or depression and it is permeating us not to have hope, and this vaccine meant hope.  

And I have to admit something to you tonight, Tucker, that I'm embarrassed to admit, which is last spring, as you know, my parents had COVID-19, but when they came back to New York, I was permeated with a fear, too. I met them on the porch. I was afraid to come too close, even though I knew they were immune. I knew they were immune, and I knew I could come close, wear my mask, come close. But I was afraid for more than a 10-minute visit.  

But I'm happy to report tonight, Tucker. My father has had the vaccine. My mother has had the vaccine. I've had the vaccine, Tucker. Hey, Dad, I'm hopping on a plane and I'm coming to see you. I'll wear my mask, but I'm coming to see you -- Tucker.  

CARLSON: Have a great reunion. Dr. Siegel, good to see you tonight. Thank you.  

SIEGEL: Thanks, Tucker.  

CARLSON: Well, according to some of our public health experts, everything that happens -- good or bad -- is more proof that we need more lockdown. As coronavirus cases go up, we need more lockdowns. If they go down, you know what that means? More lockdowns because that's science.  

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)  

CABRERA: We've seen this before, metrics improve, states rollback restrictions. A few weeks later, cases spike. What goes through your mind when you see states rollback restrictions right now? Is it -- are we in the clear?  

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Oh, no, this is such a bad idea. Who slows down once you break into the lead? It makes zero sense.  

(END VIDEO CLIP)  

CARLSON: So the Biden ministration is taking this advice seriously. Instead of reopening all of the schools right now as the science calls for, the White House has a new plan. They are promising that in a few months, about 50 percent of schools will be open and by open, they mean for one day a week.  

Well, that sounds terrible for kids, just relax, that's how science works, and you have to make it up as you go along out of nothing.  

For example, just a year ago -- today, a year in the pandemic, the C.D.C. declared that everyone really should be wearing two masks. So if you're only wearing one, you're a science denier.  

Alex Berenson knows this routine well. He is the author of "Unreported Truths about COVID-19 and Lockdowns Part Three: Masks." He joins us tonight from an undisclosed location.  

Alex, it's great to see you tonight. What -- so you've been calling for schools to reopen on the basis of the actual science for quite some time. What do you make of where we are now?  

ALEX BERENSON, AUTHOR: It is -- it is absurd. And, you know, it's been obvious actually, since last May really, arguably late April that schools should be open. You know, in places like Australia, they were talking about reopening schools that early.  

The Biden plan is ridiculous. It actually is a step back, believe it or not, from where we are right now. The reason Joe Biden doesn't want to call for an immediate reopening of schools is he knows he can't do it.  

Donald Trump tried that and he failed. Donald Trump was not beholden to the teachers union, so it didn't cost him anything, except embarrassment, I guess or it just showed that he couldn't do it.  

For Biden, he will anger his constituency. He'll look weak. So he's not going to do anything that's going to anger the teachers unions, instead, he is going to have these ridiculous metrics that can't be met, and you know, meanwhile, every day goes by is another day when tens of millions of kids don't get socialized, don't get to see their friends. Don't get, you know, don't get potentially out of abusive homes.  

CARLSON: Yes. I've got to ask you something. I just -- I just -- because I can't control myself, and it's about you specifically.  

So you've been on this show for almost a year. I've never asked for your politics. You used to work at "The New York Times."  

BERENSON: Yes.  

CARLSON: You're a novelist. I assume you're a Democrat? Don't answer.  

BERENSON: Yes.  

CARLSON: But I don't think you're any kind of right-winger, okay. I never have been.  

You've been talking about science for almost a year on the show, and because of that, people have really started to be mad at you. You're also a novelist. Tell me like what effect is speaking out about what the data tell you had on your life? I just can't -- I can't resist asking you.  

BERENSON: So Tucker, you know, the data -- listen, I wrote a book that came out yesterday, that book is called "The Power Couple." It's a novel, it's got nothing to do with COVID. I wrote it before COVID. I wrote it in 2018 and 2019.  

I cannot get anybody to cover that book. "The New York Times" -- all the places that covered all the previous novels that I wrote for the last 15 years won't cover it. And I can only surmise that that's because they don't like what I'm saying about COVID, that I'm not on the train, that I point out the problems with masks that I've recently been talking about the question of whether vaccines are as efficacious as you know as a clinical trial data made them seem.  

All the stuff that is science based, they don't like and so they can't hit at me because I don't work for them anymore. But they can prevent me from getting any publicity for "The Power Couple." And now -- and I haven't, and it hurts me a little bit. But you know what? I'm a big boy, those are the rules of the game, we'll move on. I'll keep telling the truth.  

CARLSON: I hope maybe some time, you will take your ample energies and think through and write a book maybe on what this is about. How did science get so political? Why does quoting studies make you persona non grata in certain parts of the country? I think it would just be interesting to hear about that. Good luck.  

BERENSON: Yes, my next book will be nonfiction, I can tell you that.  

CARLSON: Good. Congrats on the novel. Good to see you.  

BERENSON: Thanks, Tucker.  

CARLSON: Well, women's rights, their most basic rights like to be acknowledged as females are under attack in this country, but what we're seeing is not unprecedented, it has happened before. It is happening on a large scale in Europe.  

Ayaan Hirsi Ali has seen it. She knows what it is. She joins us next to explain it.  

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)  

CARLSON: Cases of sexual violence against women appear to be rising rapidly in many parts of Europe in measurable ways. Why is this happening?  

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, our old friend is one of the very few people who seems to be trying to understand why. She is a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, author of the new book "Prey: Immigration, Islam and the Erosion of Women's Rights." She joins us tonight to explain.  

Ayaan, thanks so much for coming on. So is this happening? Do we know for a fact it is happening? And if we do then, why do you think it is happening?  

AYAAN HIRSI ALI, RESEARCH FELLOW, HOOVER INSTITUTION: It's happening because the people who are elected to manage immigration in Europe have failed to do that. Elected officials have pretended that they were managing immigration, but they weren't.  

There are large numbers of people that are coming from the Middle East, from Africa, from South Asia and most of them are young men, and when they come to Europe, they behave in exactly the same ways that they behave towards their own women, and elected officials pretend that there is a policy when there isn't.  

And women are affected, and other vulnerable groups. For instance, minorities such as homosexuals, Jewish people. This has been going on for decades.  

Now, the subject of my book "Prey" is focusing on women's issues.  

CARLSON: Yes.  

ALI: But the real truth is that sexual violence against women and especially, Tucker, against women who live in low-income neighborhoods are affected more than other women, and that's why the whole #MeToo Movement hasn't gone there, but this is a story of incompetence -- incompetence of elected officials.  

CARLSON: Some of these countries in Scandinavia for example, apparently have lied about the rape rates, tried to suppress public understanding of what's actually happening. Is that to cover their own mistakes or sins, do you think? Why would they do that?  

ALI: So not all countries are the same.  

CARLSON: Yes.  

ALI: Countries like Denmark are actually doing a great job of saying okay, we have a problem. We have to do something about it. We have to work on integration. And when they say integration, that really means spelling out that there is such a thing as national identity and national values.  

And here's how we treat our women, and if you're coming from some other country and you have a different attitude to women, we're happy to invest in programs where we can teach you, and we want to make you a part of the society. If you fail to do that, there'll be consequences.  

But there are basket cases like Sweden, where they're not doing that. And it's not just Scandinavia, it is wider Europe. There are areas in France, in Germany, in the United Kingdom, in any country that has had a substantial number of immigrants from Muslim majority countries, where you're seeing neighborhoods that have become women-free zones, and these women-free zones, mainly working class, you know, women who are affected in this way.  

And first, it was immigrant women, and we've had these debates and activism and it took quite a bit of time to convince these people and say, you know what, female genital mutilation, child marriage, all of this. So we looked away from immigrant women and how they were affected.  

Now, all women are being affected in the public space, but mainly working class women, so it is really -- the big picture story is that our elected officials in Europe are really failing to manage these migration, this large movement of people and we're not having those conversations. And here -- here we are.  

CARLSON: I hope that your book will start that conversation. I appreciate your bravery and your honesty. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, thank you very much, and congrats on that book, "Prey."  

ALI: Tucker, thank you very much for having me.  

CARLSON: Pete Buttigieg is little, but he's deep. He is a man with deep thoughts. Now that he is the Secretary of Transportation, the nation's roads and railways are like the pen and paper of his mind.  

He has produced some new insights. We'll share those with you if you can handle them. That's straight ahead.  

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)  

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)  

ANNOUNCER: And now, deep thoughts with Mayor Pete.  

PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: It's not a sizzling glamorous issue, but the shape of our democracy is the issue that affects every other issue.  

(END VIDEO CLIP)  

CARLSON: That was the elven Pete Buttigieg, professional Barack Obama impersonator, former mayor of South Bend. That was him in February.  

The rest of world did not recognize his intellect at the time, but we did. Now finally, the world has caught up with what's going on inside his head.  

Pete Buttigieg is the Secretary of Transportation now, the most coveted job among America's best and brightest. All the McKinsey alums want it.  

Already, Secretary Pete is transporting us into another world, a world where everyone is free to walk in the middle of the highway.  

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)  

QUESTION: What's the biggest way that transportation has been permanently changed by the pandemic?  

BUTTIGIEG: It's too soon to know for sure. But I think it's safe to say that our old patterns of life, the nine to five, Monday through Friday commuting patterns are not going to be exactly the same.  

QUESTION: Yes. And so how might that change what your staff does?  

BUTTIGIEG: You know, we think trains, planes and automobiles, but what about bikes, scooters, wheelchairs, for that matter?  

QUESTION: Those are things you plan to pay more attention to?  

BUTTIGIEG: Absolutely, yes. Look, roads aren't only for vehicles. We've got to make sure that pedestrians and individuals, bicyclists and businesses can all coexist on the same roadway.  

(END VIDEO CLIP)  

CARLSON: That's right, man. They're not just for vehicles. Businesses live in highways, too.  

Mark Steyn is a bestselling author. He likes the sidewalk. He joins us tonight to assess this. What do you make of this, Mark?  

MARK STEYN, AUTHOR AND COLUMNIST: Well, he is deep. I mean, he was prescient in that shape of our democracy thing because it turned out our democracy was not quite as shapely as it ought to have been, so I'm with him on that.  

What he means here, I have no idea. I assume somewhere in the back of his mind, he is thinking that I-95 could be turned into one giant wheelchair ramp for seniors from Andrew Cuomo's blood soaked old folks homes fleeing New York for Florida. That would be a transformative idea for a young Cabinet minister trying to make his mark at the Department of Transportation. That would be great. I'm all in favor that.  

CARLSON: So ADA accessible interstate highways, that's the future.  

STEYN: Yes, I think so. I mean, what he was -- I mean, we were -- in some states such as Vermont, you already have bicycle lanes down the middle of town roads. Why not have that also on interstate highways?  

The bike-pathization of America, he is onto it.  

CARLSON: That is so deep. Mark Steyn, as always, great to see you.  

We'll be back tomorrow. Thank you, Mark -- 8:00 p.m., the show that's the sworn enemy of lying pomposity, smugness and groupthink.  

Sean Hannity next. Have a great night.  

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