Hannity: If you don't like Joe Rogan, 'change the channel'

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Hannity: If you don't like Joe Rogan, 'change the channel'

Fox News host reacts to mounting demands for Joe Rogan to be canceled on 'Hannity.'

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," Feburary 7, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Oh, we are out of time and no one sadder about it than we are. You probably want a break. By the way, you can watch a conversation on FOX Nation. If you like, you head to TuckerCarlson.com.

We'll be back tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. and every weeknight. The show that is the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness and groupthink.

And now to the great Sean Hannity.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: All right. And thank you, Tucker.

And welcome to HANNITY.

And, tonight, we are tracking multiple major stories including big news from Canada.

Now, the country's pathetic prime minister is still in hiding as the peaceful trucker protest gains tons of momentum despite GoFundMe trying to steal their donations or not dispense the money that people generously gave to them despite a new injunction making it illegal for people and truckers and supporters to honk their horns. We'll explain all of it. We'll get to the scene as well tonight.

Meanwhile, back here at home, top Democrats, they're getting rightfully slammed over their disgusting mask hypocrisy.

But, first, we're now beginning week two of the left's all-out -- well, attack on Joe Rogan. Boycott, fire, cancel, wash, rinse, repeat. Over the weekend, a far-left group released a montage of Rogan saying the N-word over the years on his podcast.

Let's state up front, this is simple. It's not a hard one. It's a word nobody should use ever. Rogan addressed it immediately. He apologized profusely. He said the clips were taken out of context.

Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE ROGAN, PODCASTER: I'm making this video to talk about the most regretful and shameful thing that I've ever had to talk about publicly. There's a video that's out that's a compilation of me saying the N-word. It's a video that's made of clips taken out of context of me of 12 years of conversations on my podcast.

Now, I know that to most people, there's no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word never mind publicly on a podcast. And I agree with that now. I haven't said it in years, but for a long time when I would bring that word up, like if it would come up in conversation, instead of saying the N-word I would just say the word. I thought as long as it was in context, people would understand what I was doing.

Like that context was part of the clip we were talking about Red Fox. How Red Fox said that word on television in the 1970s and how times have changed so much since then. Or about how Richard Pryor used it as one of the titles of one of his albums.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY : This raises a lot of questions tonight, how will the country -- the marketplace respond to comedians, let's say, Chris Rock, for example, who used the word a lot on stage? Time will tell.

If Rogan had said nobody should ever use this word and said the word in that context, would people be as upset? Should they be?

Now, I've not listened to any of the podcasts mentioned in the montage, but Rogan admits he's wrong, said he's embarrassed. He regrets it.

His apology does sound sincere, kind of like Whoopi Goldberg's apology for her comments on the Holocaust. Well, to me, it was sincere. I know her well enough over the years. I know she's absolutely not anti-Semitic and my rock solid support for Israel, and the Jewish people is well known. I wouldn't tolerate an anti-Semite or a racist.

But again, this is the great thing about freedom. If you don't like any of these shows, you don't have to watch them. You don't like Whoopi Goldberg, you don't like Joe Rogan, turn the channel. No one can force you to watch.

Sadly with many on the left, all they want to do is silence, cancel, boycott and end all dissent. Most people also feign outrage when they're not actually offended. They're using censorship as a political tool, often to cancel conservatives.

Now, think about this: Joe Biden, he's the president of the United States. He ran for president for over a year. He's not a podcast host. He's not the co-host on a talk show and yet, he's never ever apologized for his years of frankly downright racist rhetoric and actions. As a senator, we've told you very few people ever pay attention, didn't even come up except for Kamala Harris in one debate.

He worked with segregationists. He worked with a former Klansman to stop integration of public schools and busing. He's worried that children would go to public schools that are, quote, in his words a racial jungle. His mentor in the U.S. Senate was a former Klansman.

During a hearing in the `80s, he himself used the N-word multiple times uncensored, while reading a quote. He more recently proclaimed that you have to have a slight Indian accent if you want to work at a Dunkin Donuts or 7-Eleven in his state. He also referred to Obama as the, quote, the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean. This is storybook, man.

No other African-American before, Joe, was articulate bright and clean? This is the first time?

He bragged at his home state of Delaware, my state's a slave state, he said. And in Virginia, he'd don that fake African-American accent, told the crowd that Mitt Romney is going to put y'all back in chains.

Biden's son Hunter, long-time crack addict, frequently used the N-word and text messages with his attorneys. Is there anyone on the left that was as outraged that the president of the United States his son and he himself with his racial history, meaning Joe, is anybody offended anyone speak out? How often did you hear about it?

If you're a Democrat, if your last name is Clinton, Biden, no outrage from the Democratic left. There's no calls for boycotts, cancellations or censoring at all, whatsoever.

If you're a conservative or God forbid you have the last name Trump, I think the reaction we all know would be very different. The last time I checked, the president of the United States is a lot more powerful than a podcast host no matter how popular that host may be.

By the way so is the new mayor of New York City. His name is Eric Adams. No one's calling for his cancelling, his firing, his -- or even of an apology that I've heard for these comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK CITY: Every day in the police department, I kicked those crackers' ass, man. I was unbelievable in the police department with one of the Black law enforcement. Came a sergeant, a lieutenant and the captain, you know, the stories.

I would rather wear white all day, grow a big, smoke some weed and leave this stuff alone. Really?

Man, you think rose boy, you think they wake up every day and unlike themselves? They're going to beat me up. The people who say, where's our real black leaders, they're going to say, listen, who's Eric? You know, why does everything, he should be mayor (ph), well, Negro, you run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Mayor Adams later apologized. Did he mean it? As with everyone else, time will tell. There are now -- there were no calls for him to be canceled in any way. There wasn't even a lot of criticism.

You know, how far back do we go here? We're going to talk about Howard Stern in the -- in the `80s. What about the times all these people dressed in blackface on many occasions, said many things that they wouldn't say today.

Do we need to go back through the archives of anybody and everybody that might have said something that through today's prism is different? I don't think the answer is yes. What about Jimmy Kimmel, Madonna, Quentin Tarantino? Their use of the N-word, Pulp Fiction in that case.

What about the hundreds of songs right now on Spotify that probably degrade women, call them derogatory names? Are there any other songs glorifying violence and murder and drugs? They use the N-word.

To their credit, Spotify says they're not canceling Joe Rogan, at least not as of today. If they do, the growing streaming platform rumble, they've offered Rogan $100 million to make the switch. Now, whether you like Joe Rogan or not, there is a good sign that there is a movement in this country that's willing to accept the idea of freedom and turning the channel and not being forced to listen or watch something that you find offensive.

And that's why I'm so adamant about this. Why? Because it's a very simple reason, nobody can force you. You get to decide. You have full control of this.

Now, not everyone agrees. You got fake news CNN, they would love for Rogan to be ripped off the airwaves. Of course, no one watches CNN, and their dear leader is now long gone.

And now as one guest told Humpty Dumpty over the weekend, I would be nervous if I was at CNN after Mr. Potato Head's ouster. And according to "The Wall Street Journal," multiple hosts are lashing out. Humpty is in a panic, putting his resume together in all likelihood. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN HOST: And you can draw a straight line from Andrew Cuomo's downfall to Zucker's. It is almost Shakespearean. But the people who say we're lacking journalism, that we've become an all talk channel, that we've run off and we're all opinions all the time, that Jeff Zucker led us astray, those people aren't watching CNN. They're not watching CNN.

They're watching complaints about CNN on other channels that don't know what they're talking about. That's the truth.

We lost our leader this week but we're not going anywhere. So we'll see you back here next week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: They're not watching CNN. First time he stumbled on the truth.

But really, what do you expect from Jeff Zucker's stenographer?

Now, of course, Humpty is not a journalist nor is fake Jake news Tapper or Don Lemon. They're all opinion hosts, talk show hosts just like me except I'm honest. They are like me, members of the press for sure. They're not fair and balanced journalists.

And by the way, if you're one of the few that do watch CNN for any length of time, you'll know it's true. Look at Jeffrey Toobin, recently masturbating on a Zoom call in front of his coworkers. He's not a journalist either.

Fake news Jim Acosta who just called a called Virginia soviet style police state, that's journalism? That's not an opinion? Because they ended mass mandates? Yeah, not journalism.

In the daytime, more opinion from other Trump-hating obsessed Democrats that they say are journalists. They're not. They're talk shows. They're members of the press, they're talk show hosts. They occasionally do straight news, but they give a lot a lot of opinion.

Then we got Jonah Goldberg, by the way, he just joined fake news CNN. The anti-Trump pundit is now so desperate for a platform that he joined CNN three years after tweeting this meme right there. Yikes!

Now, we can go on and on and on. Straight news has been extinct for a long time over there, all hosts pretty much now giving their opinion. But here's this thing, fake news CNN still pretends that all of these hosts are nonpartisan journalists. They're not. They're talk show hosts, they're giving their opinion.

Which reminds me of a famous Russian quote, we know they are lying, they know that they are lying, they know we know they are lying and we know they know we know they are lying but they're still lying. This is fake news CNN.

Now, I don't call for anyone to be fired, but if I were Humpty Dumpty, now, I'd probably be sweating a little more than he usually does.

Here with more, author of "Here's the Deal," Kellyanne Conway. Her book is out very soon, along with FOX News contributor Leo 2.0 Terrell.

All right. Leo, let's get your overall broad view of Rogan and this tape that came out the montage that came out. His response to it, Spotify's response to it, and what do we do -- are there going to be exceptions like does Chris Rock that continue to do his act?

LEO TERRELL, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you for asking that question. Listen, let me -- bravo for Spotify for sticking behind Joe Rogan.

And let me tell you right now, the only reason why the left is upset with Joe Rogan, it's not because of N-word. He's not on their team. He's not on their team. He's not one of their guys, and therefore, they want to control Joe Rogan.

You gave a beautiful montage of the Democrats using the N-word, the racial animus. All those individuals, they're on the team. They're on the Democratic team. If you are a Democrat, you can get away with that.

Joe Rogan, they are upset with him because of the fact he's not on their team. Let me -- you missed one last point.

Remember what Biden said, hey, if you don't -- if you vote for Trump, you ain't black. How dare him? He is a racist, but it's okay because he's on the Democratic team.

And that CNN montage, same thing. All those guys are agents, Zucker on down, agents of the Democratic Party. They were the people behind Andrew Cuomo, but Joe Rogan, I'm glad he is still on Spotify. And I accept his apology because I know was taken out of context and they're out to get him because of the fact he is a free agent, not on their team.

HANNITY: How is it Kellyanne that you look at Joe Biden's racial history, you look at what Kamala attacked him on during that one debate for example. Then you look at Hunter Biden using the N-word again and again and again, barely anybody showed any offense whatsoever to the president's son doing that.

What if it was Donald Trump's son on tape saying it, an email saying it?

KELLYANNE CONWAY, FORMER SENIOR COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, they're just a bunch of hypocrites as you know. I really have to commend the way Joe Rogan handled this. His apology is sincere. He's asking for mercy and redemption. People should grant it.

And I also have to give a lot of credit to someone I've never met, which is the CEO of Spotify, this Daniel Ek. I mean, he basically said I disagree with the content, I'm glad Joe has removed it. And by the way, we're not going to go any further. We're not going to cancel or censor people because of something that they've said and apologize for it in isolated incidents. That's not what's in somebody's heart. Why don't we cancel people according to what's in their heart, not an errant word here or there?

It reminds me of what John Carp, the head of Simon Schuster said when last year he had a lot of people in the company saying, you know, all the wokesters saying don't publish conservatives, and he said, we come to work every day to publish not to cancel. And I think that's the way to look at this.

Now, on these comments about race, don't forget that it was Joe Biden who also described his primary opponent in 2008, Barack Obama as a clean articulate.

HANNITY: It was story book, man.

CONWAY: It was just wild, Harry Reid, right.

HANNITY: Yeah.

CONWAY: Yeah, and what about -- and what about Harry Reid? God rest his soul, but he had said that to Mark Halperin in that book called "Game Change". I mean, he really insulted President Obama based on his race. He thought he was complimenting him but there's no other way to read it.

The difference is, are you Republican or Democrat? You're a conservative or liberal? And that's what's happened to CNN. You know, CNN's problem is not that it based its business model around Jeff Zucker.

CNN's problem is that it based his business model around Donald Trump. They left the podiums open for 30 minutes in March of 2016. In 2015, over a two- week period, 78 percent of their political coverage was about Donald Trump, even though 16 other Republicans were running.

I can -- I can forgive them for not wanting to show us more Hillary and Bernie Sanders. But 78 percent of the coverage went to Donald Trump. They gave the Trump campaign -- I know it, I was on their every day on that network every day, up to $5 billion of free coverage.

Then we get into office, instead of saying that the media and the White House have joint custody of the country for four years, Sean and Leo, how can we work together, 93 percent of the coverage, according to Harvard University, 93 percent of the coverage of Trump in the first days was negative. Now their ratings are down 90 percent year after year.

So they built their model Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump. And for all the reasons that you already mentioned, but I think race has been a big part of that too. They love to call the race card. I write in my book, you'll see very quickly, abortion used to be what all the Democrats talked about in their last convention in 2020, they ignored that. They talked about race, not abortion.

HANNITY: Leo, let me go back to you with a final question. It's -- and I said it's a bad idea for anyone to say it, even in the context of you saying, saying it is evil, okay? Joe said in his statement as a white person, I should not say this word.

What would you say -- what does this mean going forward for somebody like Chris Rock who I think is funny as hell?

TERRELL: I'll tell you right now, no one should say the word, but I'm going to tell you right now, it depends on what side you're on. I mean -- I mean, there's no -- that's never going to go away. Should the word be used? No.

Can it be used? Yes. Who's going to use it? Those on the left who will condone that type of activity but attack others if they're not on that side.

And one last point about Eric Adams. That guy was in a position of power when he used that term white cracker. That's what -- that's one thing to be a podcast and give an opinion, that guy used his power to hate white American white crackers. That's a difference. I don't forgive him. I do not forgive Eric Adams.

HANNITY: All right. Kellyanne, looking forward to your book.

TERRELL: I want to be clear about that.

HANNITY: And Leo good to have you. Books out soon. We'll tell you when it does.

All right. Now we turn to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez who just proudly announced the capitalism just is not a redeemable system for us. Really? Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY6): To me, capitalism at its core what we're talking about when we talk about that is the absolute pursuit of profit at all human environmental and social cost. That is what we're really discussing. To me that is not a redeemable system for us to be able to participate in, for the prosperity and peace for the vast majority of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Here with reaction, Senator Marco Rubio who, by the way, just introduced legislation that would ban the use of arrest papers as identification for illegal immigrants at airports.

The fact that you have to bring that as legislation is a little mind- numbing.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): Yeah.

HANNITY: You know, there's a very large -- and we were down in Miami together. We did this town hall, there's a very large Cuban American community, vibrant community in Miami. And -- I mean, the people that suffered under the Castro regime I know have a very, very different opinion than AOC on this issue of capitalism, the greatest wealth-producing system for anybody that wants to work hard and drive themselves to success.

RUBIO: Yeah, I mean, I'm not surprised by those comments. Those comments are now the mainstream of the Democratic Party, and either people believe that, or they have to pretend they believe in some of their policies do. You know, they woke up one day and I guess decided that Marxism was right all along and that the Cold War should have never ended.

And I don't understand how people that feel that way don't just move to one of these other countries. There's so many other countries out there that actually agree with that sentiment about socialism being better than capitalism.

In the real world, the world I come from, the neighborhood that I grew up in the people I've grown up around my family, capitalism is not these big corporations. Capitalism is the small business owner, it's the person that started it out of the -- you know, basement of their -- of their home or their garage and now owns a small business and employs four people. That's not possible in any other system but the capitalist free enterprise system.

That's the only system in the world that's ever been possible where someone can come here legally from another country and in a short period of time be the owner of a business and control their own economic destiny provide for their families and jobs for others like them.

So, look, I think it's a great debate to have, we should have it. And it's important to reinvigorate in every generation the belief in capitalism. But this -- this sort of rejection of it and this embraces socialism by the congresswoman you just said -- I mean, that that's now the mainstream of the Democratic Party.

HANNITY: The -- so she wants this Green New Deal which would basically be, you know, cradle to grave, womb to the tomb redistribution of wealth. My question is, I have a hard time understanding where this belief that government can be successful?

Now, the same government that bankrupted Social Security and Medicare, they're both headed for insolvency. There was no lock box. They raided the lock box and squandered the money.

The same people that destroyed our school system in many towns and cities across the country, the same people that promise keep your doctor, keep your care and save money, while millions lost their doctors, millions lost their care, and we're all paying about 200 plus percent more. The same people that can't keep law and order.

Why would we trust them with any other aspect of our daily lives?

RUBIO: Because socialism is not about economics. It's a big mistake that we make it. Socialism has nothing to do but it's about power. It's about the ability to control people.

If you control where people work, if you control how much they make, if you control who owns what, then you can control what they say. You can control who they hire. You can control what they can sell, what they can do, what hours they can open.

It's about power. It's about control. That's what socialism has always been about.

Socialism ultimately is not possible. The socialism she's talking about and they talk about it's really not possible without a government that actually controls every aspect of your life, because -- and that's why I think -- I don't think they're that troubled by inflation.

I think they like the fact that inflation's run amok and that prices are high because that just means that they can come in with the argument that you see, the market can't provide for your needs, only a government check can, only government guarantee can. It plays right into their hands.

But again, socialism is not about economics. It's about power. It's about control.

That's why people flee. That's why Miami, you know, has inherited 800,000 to a million people from Latin America who flee socialism because it fails and it destroys lives.

HANNITY: I'll quote Ronald Reagan and end the segment with government is the problem.

Senator, always great to have you. Thank you for being with us.

Straight ahead, we have a live reporter on the ground in Ottawa tonight. Things are heating up there. Freedom convoy truckers, they continue to pledge. They will stand against these draconian vaccine mandates. That's next, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: Support continues to pour in tonight for the Canadian truckers as they stand up for human dignity, liberty freedom, medical privacy, but to the left, anybody that stands against one-size-fits-all medicine with no exceptions whatsoever and for prosperity, they immediately become you know enemy number one.

Get this, an Ottawa judge has actually granted an injunction to stop honking your horn in downtown Ottawa as momentum for this convoy continues to grow and grow and grow. Now, the truckers from what we can tell, they have been peaceful. We've not heard of any incidents of violence. Honking is part of how they are making their voices heard. Ask yourself this, you know, where's Trudeau and his left wing minions. Are they really outraged over honking a horn?

And, of course, failed far left excuse for a leader Trudeau, he remains cowering in fear, nowhere to be found, calling the truckers every name he can in the book, still refusing to hear them out, address their valid concerns. Joe Biden doesn't know what day of the week it is and Trudeau is just a gutless, spineless child.

He's in way over his head. Instead, he claims truckers are racist and transphobic, despite no evidence that we could find of any of that. I've yet to see anything.

And here with the very latest, live on the ground in Ottawa, we have Rebel News reporter Lincoln Jay.

Lincoln, from what I can see here in the States, this is staying strong, rock solid, they're not caving and they're not going anywhere.

LINCOLN JAY, VIDEO JOURNALIST FOR REBEL NEWS: Yeah, the -- we -- I've been on the ground here since the 28th of January and it's become quite clear at this point that the truckers are not going anywhere. We've seen pretty much exactly the same amount of trucks on the ground here in Ottawa. None have left, considering there's a state of emergency now in the city. And like I said, it's become quite clear that they're not going anywhere anytime soon.

HANNITY: Well -- and the support they're getting from the people seems fairly universal, almost seems like a street a block party what we call in New York.

JAY: Yeah, it's -- the best way to describe it is -- it's like -- it's like a Canada Day festival every day here. It's nothing but positivity on the streets. I would honestly describe it as a family environment and that's why it makes it -- it's really hard to wrap your head around the way that the legacy media here in Canada is trying to spin the narrative and really turn this into something it's not.

You -- when you're on the ground here, you really see people from all walks of life that just want their freedoms back. It's been really hard to be a Canadian for the past almost two years, you know? And people just want these mandates lifted and that's why the truckers are here, and the truckers have brought a lot of hope to Canadians that we might actually see these mandates lifted. So, here we are.

HANNITY: All right. Lincoln Jay, appreciate the report. Thank you.

Also tonight, we're following the efforts by the left and their allies to censor the trucker convoy like GoFundMe. They actually froze and gave no good explanation as to why and shut down the fundraising page, which had amassed over million dollars, trying to claim the convoy was connected to violence which again there's little to no evidence that we have found to support this phony allegation. But GoFundMe had no problem promoting the Seattle CHOP, CHAZ, Summer of Love zone back in May.

This is the -- I don't know trucker's winter summer of -- winter love zone, I don't know. Anyway in 2020, that CHAS, CHOP, Summer of Love zone was plagued with violence, plagued with lawlessness. That's not the scene here.

After heavy pressure, GoFundMe now says they will issue refunds. Attorneys generals all along with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, they're demanding answers and rightly raising questions about possible deceptive trade practices.

Here with reaction all of this is former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

Big difference between the summer of 2020 and what I see here, Governor, is that they are peaceful and that they are getting the support of people. They haven't taken over, you know, police precincts and city blocks, but they are making their voices heard and they have the support of the people. Your reaction?

MIKE HUCKABEE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, first of all, these are people who are not stealing things from local stores and burning and looting and robbing. These are people who are making their voices known. You know, it's interesting that some of the socialists of Canada are most offended by this. They might want to remember the words of Karl Marx, workers of the world unite.

That's exactly what these truckers have done and they have united Canadians and frankly they've united Americans south of their border. And people appreciate the fact that these very people who two years ago were hailed as the heroes of the pandemic continuing to deliver the things that we had to have, facing down the pandemic in every kind of way. And now, Trudeau thinks that they're the enemy.

And I cannot help but remember that it was a year and a half ago when you had the CNN reporter standing in front of a burning fire and he says, yeah, the protests here are mostly peaceful. Come on.

HANNITY: Yeah, the city block was on fire, you know, or there was a moment where MSDNC had a reporter in the CHAS, CHOP zone and making a comment like, oh this is mostly peaceful, somebody, no, we're not -- no, no, that's not the case here, being corrected live on air.

There's something deeper here because we see these protests all across Europe. Now, we're going to have a trucker convoy here in the U.S. and they've already raised a couple of million dollars I read today. And they're going to drive straight to Washington, D.C.

And I think, my read on it is people have had it, any -- the argument over the vaccine is pretty much over. You've decided, you've listened to all sides, and you've made your own personal decision. And also people feel -- especially in the U.S. like they've been lied to.

That we were told originally, if you get the vaccine, you're not -- you're not going to get COVID. Wrong.

We're told there won't be vaccine mandates. Wrong.

We were told masks don't work, then one mask works, then two masks, then vax or mask, and vax and mass, then vax and mask and booster, and nobody ever talks about therapeutics now that we have breakthrough cases for people vaccinated, boostered and with natural immunity.

HUCKABEE: Well, and the lockdowns don't work, and that's what the Johns Hopkins study did come up with.

What makes this a really delicate situation for the left is that they claim to be the party and the voice of the blue collar, of the working man. Well, you don't get any more blue collar and working man than people who drive the trucks, who deliver the things that we desperately need and get them from coast to coast. This is the very heart and soul of the working class of Canada or America.

So when you start saying that these are bad evil people, now who do you go to and say you're fighting for? If you start fighting against them and then you have a GoFundMe site that steals the money of the people who gave it, many of whom I'm sure did not give it out of wealth but out of their own poverty, and then you defraud them by telling them they can give it for one thing and yet they take it for something else until they get caught red- handed, then they say, oh, no, we'll give it back to you.

But that's what makes this a very sticky point for the left and I think they have stepped into a pile of it that they're not going to be able to get out of no matter how -- how big their boots are.

HANNITY: You know, it's interesting, they were the heroes. All the -- all the medical workers were the heroes just over -- you know, a year and a half ago. The media ignores completely the science of John Hopkins, you can't even make this up.

Governor, always great to see you. Thank you for being with us.

When we come back, Joe Biden's DOJ actually going to enable people to use hard drugs. Really?

Plus, Congress -- wait until you see this ad. Congressman Mike Waltz and an NBA player talking about creating an ad that exposes the ongoing genocide in China. Maybe you should call -- I don't know -- the communist Chinese Biden genocide Olympics.

And by the way, nobody's watching. And the skiing and all the stuff on snow, it's fake snow. They don't even have real snow, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: We're learning tonight, the Biden Justice Department is signaling it is willing to give the green light to the so-called use of safe injection sites where users can shoot up heroin and use other drugs. Brilliant.

Here to explain live from West Coast newsrooms, our own Trace Gallagher.

Really, Trace, we're going to enable people to slowly commit suicide?

TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: And, Sean, this is an astounding about-face, especially when you consider that just last year, the DOJ fought against this thing. That's when a Pennsylvania federal appeals court ruled against opening these so-called safe injection sites.

The court said it would violate a 40-year-old drug law that targets crack houses and other illegal drug sites. But now, the DOJ might be willing to allow places where you go in, shoot up heroin and other narcotics and go out.

Under Bill de Blasio, New York City opened up two of what they call overdose prevention centers and the city maintains these sites have saved more than a hundred lives, people from overdosing. But critics counter that by saying the best way to save tens of thousands of live is put drug dealers behind bars and help addicts get medical help to overcome addiction.

We should note that while New York City is the only official drug injection sites in the country, many cities and states have been operating these types of drug dens for years. And now, the White House drug czar, Dr. Rahul Gupta, says he is interested in the data behind these injection sites, which gives you, kind of an idea, Sean, of where this whole thing is going -- Sean.

HANNITY: It sounds like madness to me. Trace Gallagher in the west coast newsroom, thank you.

Now, the Biden communist Chinese genocide Olympics, they are off to a rough start, as viewership for the opening ceremony down a whopping 43 percent compared to 2018. And why is team Biden continuing to down play the atrocities committed by the Chinese communist party? Why is Nancy Pelosi telling our athletes to cower and don't dare speak up because they might get mad at you, and Joe saying, oh, they just have different norms than we do here.

Forced labor, genocide, different norms, Joe? That's how you're going to characterize that? Maybe you tell President Xi, we won't pay them a single penny that we owe them. I want to take that money, we're going to compensate every single family in this country that lost a loved one from COVID. I'd respect that decision.

Does anyone doubt at this point that with all of the money the Biden family foreign syndicate made from China, more recently revealed in Peter Schweizer's book, $31 million, $1.5 billion Bank of China deal that Beijing doesn't have a massive leverage just like Russia and Ukraine over the Biden family? The whole Biden family has to be compromised by China, Russia and Ukraine.

Why are they silent on the treatment of the Uighur minority Muslim community and censorship, and China's push for reunification, in other words, taking over Taiwan? And, of course, their crackdown and oppression in Hong Kong.

And as an aside, why on the Earth are the Winter Olympics in China? They don't even have snow. They are using fake snow for the Olympics.

And get this, even the media mob is helping China push their censorship agenda. Congressman Mike Waltz says, he has an ad, he's willing to get it paid for, NBC refused to air. This ad that he puts together along with NBA star Ennis Kanter Freedom. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, POLITICAL AD)

REP. MIKE WALTZ (R-FL): The world's greatest athletic showcase. Just outside of the show, rape, genocide, slave labor. American companies are drunk on Chinese dollars, entangled with communist dictators committing atrocities and propping up these genocide games staged by the Chinese communist party. And what can we do?

ENES KANTER FREEDOM, NBA STAR: Stand for freedom, defund the dictators. When you see "made in China" --

WALTZ: Put it down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: NBC get a double dose of coverage, run the ad. Pretty gutless.

Here is Celtics player Enes Kanter Freedom, along with Republican Congressman Michael Waltz.

Congressman, you're willing to pay for the ad. What was the reason they gave you that they wouldn't they take your money? Because that's not a common practice?

WALTZ: You know, Sean, they said we're not rejecting it. We just want you to strip all those corporate logos and materially change it. So, it was kind of a non-rejection, rejection.

And we're going to -- we're going to keep calling them out, all these woke corporations that want to preach social justice here at home, yet they turn a blind eye as the Chinese unleashed COVID on the world, massive military build up, threaten our supply chains, and commit these gross atrocities to millions of their own people.

You know, enough is enough. These American corporations are profiting it up. So, we're going to take the message directly to the American people.

And as Enes said, you know, everybody wants to talk about defunding the police that's protecting our communities. Let's defund these communist dictatorships and the American people can vote with their wallet. When you see "made in China", put it down.

HANNITY: Enes, it's interesting, the NBA does make a lot of money from China. They make an awful lot of money. Yet you decided to bravely take a stand.

I don't know if there's going to be any retribution for taking that stand. Why did you take it?

FREEDOM: Thanks for having me, Sean.

I think -- you know, someone had to do it. You see, there are so many athletes, actors, you know, celebrities, or singers, or rappers, or people with platform are, you know, unfortunately, when it comes to China, they remain silent.

So, I feel like someone has to do it and talk about all the human rights abuses done by the Chinese communist party, and obviously, it does -- it takes a lot. But, you know, someone had to do it, and it's important to talk about human rights, not just in my home country Turkey, but all over the world.

HANNITY: Yeah, I mean, it's pretty amazing.

Now, if you take the advertising out of it -- so basically, NBC saying, we're not going to lose money. We'll overlook the genocide, we'll overlook the slave labor, the persecution of the Uyghur minority community, we'll overlook the territorial ambitions with Taiwan, we'll overlook the COVID lies -- we'll over look the crackdown in Hong Kong. As long as we get our money, we're okay with it. We'll take your money then.

That's what they're saying, Congressman?

WALTZ: Yes, that's basically it, Sean. And the American people see right through all of this.

I just got a call from someone in my district. They were at a diner in north Florida. One of the customers asked a waitress if they would turn on the Olympics and another one said, you know what, we don't support genocide in this establishment.

And that's why you're seeing no one watch these games. People are tuning them off. And they're tuning them out, because they don't trust these corporate CEOs anymore than I do to actually have a spine and do the right thing.

But that's why made in America is the national security issue. It's a jobs issue and it's a basic human rights issue. And we are going to keep fighting this fight even despite the spineless media and corporate America.

HANNITY: All right. I appreciate -- that ad needs to run.

Enes, I also congratulate on everything in your personal life. I've read a lot about you. And thank you for taking the stand.

When we come back, no limit on the left's COVID hypocrisy. Wait until you see what Stacey Abrams did before a bunch of school kids in masks. Tulsi Gabbard is next, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. You had again far left Democrats caught in more blatant mask hypocrisy. This time, it's Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams who recently visited an elementary school outside of Atlanta sitting in a room with masked students while she was maskless and able to breathe freely, unlike all of those kids with masks on.

Abrams responded in a statement saying in part, quote: It is shameful that our opponents are using a Black History Month reading event for Georgia children as the impetus for a false political attack.

What's false about it? Anyway, no, Stacey Abrams, it's your hypocrisy. Did you notice or not notice every kid had a mask on? This is not the first time that a liberal politician is that wanted draconian measures that are hypocritical on all things COVID. Look at your screen, oh, remember Gavin Newsom? Yeah, caught there in that restaurant not socially distance, without a mask out, dining at the ritzy French laundry. How nice of him.

And he did the same thing at NFC championship game. Remember that?

And then my favorite of all is the failed L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti claiming he's not wearing a mask, L.A. has a mask made, and it was okay because he was holding his breath when the picture was being taken. OK.

Remember Pelosi maskless? Remember? This is a great moment, because she was getting her hair done. I don't see a mask there either. And the list goes on and on.

Now, some Democrats are seeing the writing on the wall, finally catching up to reality, as Democratic governors in California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, all announcing they are ending the mask mandates in schools. Hello, Mayor -- Governor Hochul.

Anyway, here with the latest is Tulsi Gabbard is with us.

Welcome back, Tulsi. I know you don't want them -- I know you didn't come prepared to ask a question tonight. But I came prepared to answer any question you have because I'm going to let you turn the tables on me anytime you want.

TULSI GABBARD (D), FORMER U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN: All right.

HANNITY: I think this is more than hypocrisy when you look at all of this. Why aren't they following the John Hopkins science? Nobody mentions it. Why aren't they following the science on therapeutics and the science on young people not having big problems with COVID?

GABBARD: You're right, Sean. This is about something much bigger than the masks. This is really emblematic of this perverse relationship between the power elite and every day Americans. And you see it right there, you got Stacey Abrams sitting there in the front representing the power elite. They make the rules but don't follow them, or feel like they have to, and then you got these kids sitting behind her who represent us every day Americans who have to follow those rules or else face the consequences.

So, you got one set of rules for the power elite, a different set of rules for the rest us. One set of rules for the people like Hillary Clinton and Stacey Abrams and Gavin Newsom and those like them, and a different set of rules for the rest of us. You can talk to Nancy Pelosi about that. You've seen it with public gatherings. You've seen it with criminal justice reform.

There are so many different examples of this that really point to this deeply troubling and dangerous state of our nation, where we have the power elite who believe they are above the law, that the rules and laws they make don't apply to them. They apply to the rest of us.

And you see how that is eroding. People's -- any semblance of faith and trust in fairness and justice and the laws that are being made in this country.

HANNITY: Are you going to run for office again?

GABBARD: I don't know.

(LAUGHTER)

HANNITY: All right. You just give me a list of 10 topics you're going to ask me that you might ask me about. You can pick one the next time you are back on. Maybe we'll even put on the fill-in list because I can't get Leo Terrell to fill in.

GABBARD: All right.

HANNITY: Tulsi, we love having you. Thank you for being with us.

More HANNITY coming up, straight ahead, right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. Unfortunately, that is all the time we have for tonight. As always, we thank you for being here, because you are the ones that make the show possible. You give us this camera every night and we work hard to earn your viewership every night.

Like I said, you have a choice. I can't make you watch. But I'm picking up ways to try. No, I'm kidding.

Anyway, we hope you'll set your DVR so you never miss an episode. And I've got good news. In the meantime, let not your hearts be troubled, Laura Ingraham takes it away this Monday night.

Laura, how are you?

END

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