'Hannity' on Biden, Manchin

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Calling the administration ‘incompetent’ would be too kind: Ron Johnson

Sen. Ron Johnson sounds off on the left’s agenda as polls show Americans are losing confidence in Biden on ‘Hannity.’

This is a rush transcript of "Hannity" on December 21, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

LAWRENCE JONES, FOX NEWS HOST: Tucker, thanks so much. We pick up where you left off. Thank you so much.

Welcome to HANNITY. I'm Lawrence Jones, in for Sean tonight.

And we begin with a tweet from October 15, 2020. On that day, then candidate Joe Biden boldly declare in a tweet: We're eight months into the pandemic and Donald Trump still doesn't have a plan to get this virus under control. I do. He later promised to shut down the virus.

Tonight, if there was a plan to shut down the virus, it clearly is not working. According to Biden's own administration, we're now entering in a period of severe illness and death. But today, Joe Biden didn't change course, or offered a new solution. Instead, he doubled down on masks and vaccine mandates and other draconian restrictions, calling them unpopular but effective. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know vaccination requirements aren't popular for many. Not popular for those who are anxious to get them. My administration isn't to control your life, but to save your life and the lives of others that will save thousands of American lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So you're watching this. And the obvious question is, if Joe Biden's policies are so effective, why are we in the middle of another massive surge?

Here's another question, we're almost two years into this pandemic. Why are we still experiencing a severe shortage of COVID-19 tests? Three weeks ago reporters in the press corps were begging the press secretary for a plan to ramp up testing, then Psaki thought those concerns were stupid and tonight she's forced to circle back. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: A couple of weeks ago, you stood at the podium and there was a discussion about sending tests to people's homes and you said should we send them to every American. As you reflected on the change in omicron, have you reflected on your tone in that answer?

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, Jeff, I would say there's not a day that goes by that I don't leave this podium and wish I would have said something with greater context or more precision or additional information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Yeah, you were mocking the press corps.

Per usual, Psaki's boss Joe Biden was also short on answers. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: What's your message to Americans who are trying to get tested now and who are not able to get tested and are wondering who took so long to ramp up testing?

BIDEN: Come on, what took so long?

REPORTER: I'm hearing that from people who are trying to get tested now before the holidays.

BIDEN: Well, what took so long is it didn't take long at all. What happened was, the omicron virus spread more rapidly than anybody thought.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: He never takes responsibility. According to Joe, it's not really his fault. Fox News is to blame for anything bad that happens in the age of COVID. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Look, the unvaccinated were responsible for their own choices. But those choices have been fueled by dangerous disinformation on cable TV and social media. You know, these companies and personalities are making money by peddling lies and allowing misinformation that can kill their own customers and their own supporters.

It's wrong. It's immoral. I call on the purveyors of these lies and misinformation to stop it, stop it now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So we're the problem.

Wasn't his vice president, Kamala Harris, that told people not to take the vaccine because Trump got it done? Joe Biden is so deeply concerned about COVID-19 that right after bashing cable TV, he took some time to vilify Senator Manchin. In fact, he angrily accused Manchin of hurting little children. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: You strip away all of the dignity of a parent looking at their child -- I'm not joking about this. Imagine being a parent looking at their child you can't afford, you have no house to borrow against. You have no savings. It's wrong. But all of the things in that bill are going to reduce prices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Angry and wrong.

Ultimately, Biden took only four questions after coughing his way through a poorly written speech. And according to Joe, it was four questions too many.

(BERGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: What was inflation? Having to pay more than the money you have because things have gone up. Or bring down all of those costs across the board from child care to -- child care tax credit. I'm not supposed to be having this press conference right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So, his staff is still in control in the White House.

Joining us now for reaction is Fox News contributors Joe Concha and Laura Trump.

Joe, I will start with you first.

I will give the press some credit. They did ask some tough questions. It doesn't seem like Joe is still equipped to answer because maybe he doesn't have an answer, right?

JOE CONCHA, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Lawrence, when he says, I'm not supposed to be having this press conference right now. That's his handlers who told him that, right? And that sums up year one of this administration to a tee. I'm not supposed to be up here being held accountable for my actions.

And this is an administration and president that time after time continues to be completely caught off-guard on things they should see from a country mile away. Wait, the Taliban has captured Kabul? We didn't see that coming.

Wait, wait, inflation isn't transitory? It will be here for sometime, wow, we didn't see that coming.

Wait, law enforcement isn't the problem? Skyrocketing violent crime is happening because police are demonized and criminals don't fear prosecution because bail laws have been neutered? Wow, we didn't see that coming.

And, wait, migrants are flooding the border after we invited them in, stopped building the wall and attacked our own border patrol? Wow, we didn't see what happening.

This testing should have ramped up months ago, Lawrence, as you know. As usual, team Biden, daylight, dime short. For them to say we didn't see this variant coming shows you they are exceptional about complaining and placing blame and not so good on governing, on inflation, on crime, on the border, on education, on Afghanistan, find an issue Democrats can win on and run on in 2022, win valuable prizes.

And they're going to pay for it dearly in 2022 and 2024 at the polls. No question about it, Lawrence.

JONES: I hope you're right.

Lara, I want to go to you because, you know, your father-in-law did something that no other president would be able to do because the businessman wasn't in to the Washington bureaucracy. He got Operation Warp Speed done. He got us a vaccine in record time, because he was able to get all of that red tape out of the way.

The Biden administration had one job, get those vaccines into people's arms and get testing ramped up. But they just weren't able to do it. Why?

LARA TRUMP, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think Joe just laid out some great reasons -- I mean, they have no plan, they never had a plan. They don't take responsibility for anything. And I think it's just been incredibly frustrating as an American citizen to watch failure after failure and feel like we're not getting information whatsoever out of this White House.

If you look at specifically where we are right now with the omicron variant, if this White House wanted people to take it seriously and put a little stock in what they say, then they could be transparent with us. They could tell us that while this variant of COVID is very transmissible, it's likely the least lethal COVID variant that we will see. In fact, there has been one death linked to the omicron variant thus far.

Instead, they tell us we're going to have a winter for unvaccinated people of severe illness and death for the unvaccinated, for their families. We're going to overrun hospitals. There's absolutely nothing to back that up. But all they want to do is just scare tactics, it's fear mongering. It's all about politics.

But they are terrified, Lawrence, Joe just said it. They know 2022 and 2024 is coming up quickly. They know they have failed the American people at every single turn. They don't know what to do about it.

So I guess the answer is more control. I guess the answer is to make people afraid, keep the masks going, keep the mandates going, make sure that our frontline workers are leaving their jobs over these insane vaccine mandates. Keep the issues with the supply chain going because of it as well.

It's all bad for America. We have no transparency. Who knows who is really running the country, and no one believes them, no one buys any of this at this point anymore.

JONES: You know, I -- I was just watching this press conference, Joe, and sealing the president, coughing all over the place, no masks as he's telling other Americans to do the same thing. I mean, if you want to see a super spreader event, see how the president doesn't know basic science and what to do when you're coughing and not to get it all over him and put it all over the podium.

I mean, this is basic stuff. This is rules for thee, and not for me.

CONCHA: Well, it's more like rules for D's as for Democrats and not for me. There's an indoor mask mandate now in Washington, D.C.

I love this whole thing where, you know, for instance, even the press secretary walks out with a mask, then does a to 45-minute press conference without a mask while reporters are wearing masks asking questions and puts it on and walks back out. There's no common sense in this in any way, shape, or form. But, now, look, I just don't understand how the president and the press secretary particularly really is the face of this administration.

And let's face it, continues to attack Joe Manchin as they did over the weekend.

JONES: Oh, yeah.

CONCHA: Joe Manchin did what was common sense, Lawrence, which was in West Virginia polls have President Biden at 65 percent disapproval, right? Three quarters of West Virginians oppose the Build Back Better bill. So, if you're Joe Manchin, what else should you have done than say, you know what? If I'm against this, I'm sure if we spend trillions more, that will increase inflation more, we're at a 40-year high, and we should put pause on this until we have a better idea of where we are from an economic perspective, from an inflationary perspective.

But, of course, the administration tried to go ahead with this anyway, Democrats did. And, again, this is something they will rue the day that they decided to go big on this instead of trying to get individual bills passed, Lawrence, right? Shavings make a pile, get some little wins here and there on certain issues and then maybe build some momentum.

Instead, this was a calculation that when we look back at this presidency, this was the end of it because they went too big and it was too big not to fail.

JONES: Then they called Manchin a liar essentially in the press release. I mean, Joe Biden is promised to be a moderate just like Manchin? So, who changed?

I think the president of the United States changed, once they won Georgia. And now he wants Joe Manchin to do the same thing. But he has a constituency who the Democrats, by the way, are making fun of. We'll cover that later.

Joe Concha, Lara Trump, thanks so much for joining me tonight.

Now, we turn an important reminder, Christmas is just around the corner. But don't worry, if you're shopping for last-minute gifts for the kids, the state of New Jersey has you covered. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Dear Santa, I don't want games, I don't want toys, just give me the COVID vaccine.

ANNOUNCER: This holiday season, there's no better gift than peace of mind. Get vaccinated today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: That's what kids are thinking about, huh?

Clearly, vaccines have become an identity for many on the left. To the end, Democrats are busy denigrating two classes of citizens, vaxxed and unvaxxed.

Now, some are even trying to block unvaccinated individuals from flying. According to the Biden administration, if we're really, really good and obedient, at some point in the future, we might not have to wear a mask all the time.

Here now to react, author of "Why America Matters," former HUD secretary, Dr. Ben Carson.

Doctor, thanks so much for joining me tonight.

Doctor, you have treated a ton of patients. People know you for what you're able to do that no one else knows is take the twins apart from each other.

Doctor, when you see the medical institution targeting kids directly and not talking to their parents, what goes through your mind?

DR. BEN CARSON, FORMER HUD SECRETARY: Well, it's very disturbing that we would take advantage of children like that. You know, the human brain is an incredibly complex organ. And it is developing at a rapid rate from the time of conception. When a baby is born, almost all of the organs have matured except for the brain. The brain continues to develop into your 20s.

And we are now trying to take these children and take advantage of the fact that their parents are not involved in a decision-making and trying to twist them and manipulate them and it's nothing short of child abuse, quite frankly. You couple that with the fact that we're making them wear masks at a time when they're supposed to be learning how to correlate people's facial expressions with what they're saying, which is a very important part of socialization process.

And we're not taking into consideration any of the ramifications of what we're doing. It's like you're going ahead with blinders on. And almost like zombies, everybody has to have this vaccine, you know?

The fact of the matter is, we have a tremendous medical system here. It and why not let people have the real information and work with their healthcare providers, one size does not fit all. Certainly for elderly people, you know, the vaccination seem to make good sense, when you do a benefit/risk analysis.

But for young people, particularly for children who are healthy, who have almost zero risk from the virus, why would you now subject them to long- term risks that you don't know anything about.

JONES: It's exactly right, Doctor.

I got to ask you something. Dr. Fauci was just on another network, MSNBC, and when a reporter asked him if you should allow a family member to your house for Christmas if they haven't been vaccinated, he said, I would don't that.

For someone that we trust, Doctor, what is your advice on that?

CARSON: Well, my advice is to use some common sense. If they're -- if your family member has had COVID and has natural immunity, they are safer than somebody who's had vaccinations. If they've had vaccinations, that's good.

And if they're healthy and you're healthy, that's good. But, you know, you need to take all those things into consideration.

But, you know, to act like the police, that's not necessary, and particularly, given the fact that the omicron variant is not very virulent. You may get a sniffle and maybe a slight cough. You're not going to be very sick. And it's going to spread very, very rapidly. Everybody is going to have it.

I predict with all of the testing we're going to be doing, we'll have massive numbers of people who test positive and this administration will have no idea what to do with them?

JONES: Should we stop testing, doctor, so much? If people are asymptomatic, they're not showing any signs and perfectly healthy, should we continue to test those individuals?

CARSON: I think we should give thought to not testing people who are asymptomatic. I mean, we're going to end up with a real problem. We're going to have massive numbers of people who test positive. What are we going to do? Are we going to shut everything down? It doesn't make any sense.

And, particularly, if you're dealing with something that doesn't make people very sick, we need to be particularly concerned about our elderly people and the people who have a lot of comorbid conditions and we need to direct our attention to them. But we also need to be looking at therapeutics.

You know, we have the Merck anti-viral, we have the Pfizer anti-viral, which show tremendous promise, decreasing hospitalizations by 89 percent. Are you kidding me? We're not pushing that?

That should be -- that should be an emergency. We should get that out. And then when people do test positive, we've got something to do.

JONES: What's holding it up? You've been in the private sector and also in government. What holds -- what holds something like this up?

CARSON: Well, when I was on the controversy task force, there was a sense of urgency. I don't see that sense of urgency now. Why aren't they really anxious to get it under control?

And you know, think about it, if we were so afraid of this virus, if this administration were so afraid of it, why are they letting people come through the southern border, 20 percent of whom are infected. There's a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense if you're talking about logic and common sense.

JONES: Those are the people we know of. That doesn't include the got- aways, Doc? We thank you for what you've done with this country.

CARSON: Thank you. It's always a pleasure to be with you. Thank you.

JONES: Thank you so much.

Coming up, Biden's poll numbers are worse than ever. But don't worry, Democrats unveiled a brand new political strategy -- blame West Virginia and the people who live there. We'll explain after the break.

Plus, a shocking new report from the southern border, as HANNITY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JONES: Welcome back to HANNITY.

Now more bad news for Joe Biden. A new poll for Fox Business found a whopping in Americans think 2021 was a bad year for the country. And it doesn't stop there. According to a new poll from the Morning Consult, just 10 percent of voters say Democratic accomplishments more than they expected. Surge in inflation, rise in energy costs, with no end in sight is a stark reminder of the failure of Joe Biden and the failure of the Democratic agenda.

Get this, according to a new CNN poll, Biden's economic numbers have cratered to a point even lower than Jimmy Carter. It shows you how much people are losing confidence with the Biden presidency.

Here now in reaction, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson.

Senator, thanks so much for joining us tonight.

I think a lot of voters are starting to have buyer's remorse because they see that Joe doesn't only not have the stamina, but everything that he promised as far as being a moderate, he sure had lied to the American people and now he wants to blame your colleague, Joe Manchin.

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): Well, hello, Lawrence, and Merry Christmas.

Let me first say --

JONES: Merry Christmas.

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNSON: -- saying it's so refreshing to hear Dr. Ben Carson, you know, coming out and speaking out and being the voice of reason. We need one when it comes to COVID.

JONES: I agree.

JOHNSON: But to answer your question, Democratic governance, the Biden administration has been a disaster for America, started immediately when he cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline. That's certainly contributed to rising gas prices. He opened the borders, so we had a record surge of illegal immigration. The embarrassing and dangerous surrender in Afghanistan.

And then, you know, the only solution is spending more money. That's a double whammy. Not only do you create way more -- you know, way more dollars chasing too few goods, so that's the definition of inflation, but you're spending those dollars to make it possible for people not to re- engage in the workforce. So, you don't have the manufacturers to hire enough people, so that also exacerbates the supply of goods.

So the policies of the Democrats, this is what we are seeing the results of, but it is their policy. It's accurate to call the Biden administration incompetent, but that's way too kind. These are their policies. The results of their policies were obvious from the start. And now, Americans are waking up to it.

JONES: Yeah, they are.

I want to take you to your colleague, Joe Manchin. You know him. What was going on behind the scenes? Because it seems like he was very transparent on where he stood on this piece of legislation.

He thought it was way too much spending. He communicated that to the White House, he communicated that to the American public. But it seems like the Biden administration weren't willing to, you know, compromise on the issue. And when he said he was done, they decided to have his staffers out there and leak and smear this man.

JOHNSON: It sounded to me like he laid out in very great detail what he'd accept and the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress just simply figured they could pressure him into rolling and just accepting whatever they try to shove down his throat. And, of course, they developed a plan of incredibly dishonest scoring, scoring something that's really about $5 trillion in spending, scoring that at $1.75 trillion.

And when the CBO score came out, Joe Manchin said I can't buy this. Plus, he was highly concerned about inflation, as we all should be. Six-point- eight percent consumer price index for the last 12 months, 9.75 percent producer price index, this is disastrous for the very people Democrats purport to represent -- seniors on fixed income and people at the lower income of our income spectrum. Inflation hurts them the most.

You know, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, they're -- they're not going to be harmed by inflation. They're rolling in the dough based on these COVID shutdowns. It's the poor people. It's the elderly that are really hurt by inflation -- again, inflation caused by Democrat policies.

JONES: You know, Senator, I have to ask you, it seems like the Republicans are going to take back the House. You've got the possibility to taking back the Senate.

So if you get the power back in your hands, what are you going to do for the American people? Because I don't want to hear the squishy nonsense. They want people going to be strong for an America First agenda. What's the agenda for you guys if y'all take back the House?

JOHNSON: I think we should, you know, continue with the successful Trump agenda -- reduce regulation, make sure that we maintain a competitive tax system and, by and large, stay off of the backs of the American public. Let them live their lives, let them build their business, let them produce products and services we all value, and try and get the federal government out of their lives as much as possible.

It's successful. That's what works. That's what made America great -- our freedom, our ability to dream, aspire, build and create. Not big government.

JONES: You know, it's a simple formula, Senator. Let's just hope your colleagues follow it. Thank you so much for joining us on HANNITY tonight.

Democrats continue to point fingers at Joe Manchin for dealing their far left spending spree a much-needed realty check. But ask yourself, who do you think knows West Virginians better, far left Democrats or Senator Manchin who has to represent the state?

So, Fox News Digital went to the Mountain State for reaction. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I support Joe Biden 120 percent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely support him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Support him not backing down to Biden.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing in that bill was going to help West Virginia. And, in fact, it would have cost us jobs, for which we would, of course, be paying the tax base.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was the right thing to do. Too much money going the wrong direction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he did a good choice of denying it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So, that is West Virginia. But, of course, Democrats and their allies in Hollywood can't help but launches more smear attacks against everyday Americans. Just look at this disgusting tweet from Bette Midler, quote, he sold us out. He wants us all to be just like his state in West Virginia, poor, illiterate, and strung out.

Now, Midler later apologized for the post, but we all know how she really feels.

Even worse, New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman said this about the West Virginia senator. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-NY): It's tremendously frustrating for me as a black man in America because once again, it's an example of Joe Manchin as a white man showing that he doesn't care about black people. He doesn't care about Latinos. He doesn't care about immigrants. He doesn't care about women. And he doesn't care about the poor.

He is a millionaire and he has the privilege to kick the can down the road and not vote for this bill while the people in my district are suffering.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Here we go, the same old tactics.

Here for reaction, Congressman Byron Donalds, and author of "All-American Christmas", FOX News contributor Sean Duffy.

Gentleman, thank you all so much for being with me today.

Congressman, I will start with you first. This is the same tactic. But I would like to educate the congressman about how black votes and Latinos are doing under the Trump administration.

REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): Well, look, let me tell you quickly -- whether you are black, whether you're Hispanic, it doesn't matter whether you're Jamaal Bowman or Bette Midler, they are dealing -- they don't understand the economics going on in this country. If prices are rising out of control, that damages your ability to live in your life. Bette Midler doesn't understand that because she's a very wealthy actress, and God bless her for her success.

And for my colleague from New York, he's forgotten that the money that is spent by this administration and the terrible COVID policies, from the two governors of New York now, are what crushed the poor people of my former home state of New York.

Democrats need to learn from their mistakes but they're more committed to politics than they are the economics of the American people.

JONES: You know, Sean, you listen to these folks in West Virginia, they obviously respect their senator telling the American people what they -- how they really feel about this legislation. And, yet, it doesn't seem like the Democratic Party cares. I mean, he's the only Democrat really there.

SEAN DUFFY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, but the one who cares about West Virginia is Joe Manchin. Donald Trump got 68 percent of the vote in West Virginia and here you have, you know, Joe Manchin, a Democrat, trying to run and win in a state that's heavily Republican. You have to be smart about your votes. So when you have Bette Midler and attacking West Virginia, West Virginia understands that Build Back Better has a slew of green new deal provisions that kills energy that kills West Virginia jobs and raises their taxes.

But if I can make one other point on the race issue, I mean, whether you're socialism or communism, massive debt or inflation, it doesn't care about the pigment of your skin, it affects all of us with different pigment on this panel the same. That's why if you go to Venezuela or Cuba, you can have people with more pigment and they're getting destroyed by this policies. They destroy families and economies equally.

And that's why good smart Republicans are standing up and pushing back. Thank God for Joe Manchin saying, listen, this will destroy the American Dream, I don't care if you're poor, or rich, or black, or white, or man or woman, it's going to kill us all. So, I'm going to say no to it. Good for him.

JONES: You know, Congressman, it wasn't just a racial smear. It's about calling these voters dumb, strung out on drugs, poor. They don't know any better. So we have to rescue them.

This is what -- what they really feel about voters.

DONALDS: Listen, the truth will always be that people in their ordinary lives know far more than liberal elites, especially those who might live on the coasts or in Washington, D.C. I will take what the people of West Virginia or Florida or Missouri or Texas say about government overspending than somebody who has basically lived at the top of American life and doesn't understand the economic realities on the ground of every American's face.

And as a member of Congress, I will tell you, there's far too many members who know the true impact of economic policy and how Washington has made that worse year-over-year over year. I'm staying with the people.

JONES: Yeah.

Sean, you've been there. You've been through the halls of Congress. You see how this thing operates every two years, Congress is there. Every -- every six years, you got the Senate.

What do you see happening?

DUFFY: So, the best thing that happens is, if Republicans take over the House. It's very simple. It's the stop of the Biden left wing agenda.

Republicans, Bryon won't be able to do anything, you know, pass any legislation because Joe Biden will never sign it. So, the best hope for America is we stop this craziness. And if you in the Senate and have a good 2024, you can actually roll back some of these policies.

But Democrats understand if you get build back better in the place, they know it's almost impossible to roll those policies back.

Remember when John McCain said no to Obamacare and they hailed him as a maverick, isn't he a wonderful Republican who voted no against the reformed Obamacare. Where are the Democrats right now? Saying, you know what? I love Joe Manchin. He's a maverick. He's going his own way.

They don't quite say that right now. They hate mavericks in the Democrat Party. But they love them in the Republican Party.

But we're going to say no to the agenda and hopefully have a great 2022 and 2024, and get America back on track. And as you said, is to put America first. America first policies which will get us on track to economic prosperity.

JONES: I do find it so comical that you're only a maverick when you're on their side. The moment you go to the other side, then, you know, you have to get out. You have to get out. You've got to get out of the party. We don't want to be associated with you. You're evil. You're racist.

I mean, this guy has been a Democrat for years. They accept Bernie. They accept crazy Bernie, but Manchin has to go. I mean, I just find it comical.

Gentlemen, thank you so much. Congressman, Sean, thanks so much for coming on the program tonight.

Up next, a breaking new report from the southern border where drugs, criminals, and COVID-19 continue to pour across.

And later, we'll check in with Chicago pastor Corey Brook who's taking a stand against the violence in the city.

Stay with us. More HANNITY next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JONES: Welcome back to HANNITY.

The self-inflicted Biden border crisis is worsening. Tonight, we're learning more about a potential terrorist from Saudi Arabia with ties to Yemen who tried to cross the Arizona border last week wearing an EMT jacket.

Now, authorities say he's linked to several subjects of interest and they don't know how he got the jacket he used as a disguise. And get this, a new report from FoxNews.com citing multiple sources saying even Uber drivers are aiding in the transport of illegal migrants into the U.S. interior.

Now, conditions at the border are getting so bad that even Biden is being forced to face reality. The Department of Homeland Security announced they will use funds left over from president Trump to fill in the gaps for the border wall. And even the left-wing media is admitting that the border response is failing, with an editorial arguing that Biden's own border policy is contributing to the surge of migrants and the death toll.

Here now for reaction, Senate candidate and Arizona attorney general, Mark Brnovich, along with Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz.

Thank you all so much for joining me today.

Mark, I want to go straight to you. You're a border state. I've been covering Yuma as well as what's happening in Texas. Can it get any worse down there, sir?

MARK BRNOVICH (R), ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, every time you think, Lawrence, we hit rock bottom, something else happens. As you know, there's a record amount of people flooding into this country this year. Just this last week, our officers were involved in a record fentanyl seized.

And so, Americans are dying. Our cities are more dangerous as a result of the failed Biden administration's policies, and it's one of the reasons why I've been battling in the courtroom and whether it's suing over the failure to build the wall, or deport those with criminal records, the Biden administration is making more -- America more dangerous and the cartels have seized operation control of our border.

Don't forget. Two milligrams of fentanyl can kill you and this past week, we seized more than 6 million fentanyl pills just in Arizona alone. That's here now, but it's gone throughout this entire country. People are going to die.

(CROSSTALK)

JONES: I'm sorry, Attorney General. Have you heard anything from Mark Kelly? He promised to be a moderate. That he didn't believe in open borders. He's got a big race coming up.

So, have you heard anything from him? Is he linking arms with you to get this under control?

BRNOVICH: No, I think that he is essentially voting with Chuck Schumer percent of the time and he's been co-opted by the D.C. globalist elite.

JONES: Of course, he has.

BRNOVICH: It's almost like the old Waldo thing. Remember the old where's Waldo? It's like, where's Kelly? Because no one has seen him in Arizona. As someone who grew up here and a lifelong prosecutor, it just disgusts me because this isn't a right versus left, it's fundamental of right versus wrong, Lawrence.

JONES: So, Jason, we knew this was going to happen. When you allowed a criminal enterprise to get away with it, they take advantage. You heard that the Crips and Bloods are now aiding the cartel. We have Uber drivers, we have American citizens that are helping to make this happen. But this was expected, right?

JASON CHAFFETZ, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah, no surprise. I mean, they probably get a little Uber Eats along the way.

JONES: Of course.

CHAFFETZ: This is big business. This is -- this is billions of dollars. This is the drug cartel taking over the border, human trafficking, drug trafficking. They're bringing across COVID in record numbers. It's just totally out of control.

Look, when I was in Congress, I was on the immigration subcommittee there and the judiciary committee. When it was Biden working with Obama, it was similar. But Biden has taken it to a whole other level and Kamala Harris, I mean, she is absolutely nowhere. They have totally ignored this problem.

They never bring it up. If you go to the good state of Arizona, I think the attorney general, by the way, is just doing a fantastic job there.

But if you go to the Eloy Detention Center, you're going to find 150 different countries represented of people pouring across that border. It's not just a Mexico issue. It is a world-wide funnel that is passing through our southern border.

JONES: And, Jason, and then -- you know, I'm from the great state of Texas. You know, the governor has to build his own wall for the sake -- it's never been done before.

CHAFFETZ: Yeah.

JONES: They have to pay for the national -- the Texas state troopers to do the majority of it because the Border Patrol are overwhelmed. I mean, this is not compassion what's happening right now?

(CROSSTALK)

CHAFFETZ: -- how many of these people are being raped, it's unbelievable. It's just -- the attack on people and human life is just disgusting.

JONES: Attorney General?

BRNOVICH: Yeah, absolutely. The president has the apex of this power constitutionally and statutorily when it comers to the border. We saw the abject failure of the Biden administration in Afghanistan, and we know as a result of their failed policies, Americans will die.

We know the people on the terrorist watch list have been apprehended. Lawrence, you just mentioned the story of someone from Saudi Arabia with ties to Yemen. And so, this is a real catastrophe. It's not global warming. This is the manmade disaster, and the Biden and his enablers like cartel Kelly have brought it on the country and people are going to die as a result of the failed Biden administration's policies.

Shame on the Biden administration, shame on Cartelly (ph), and that's why we have to fight. People like Jason I know who have talked about this issue, and he's absolutely right. We sued the Biden administration because people are literally being released from our prisons and from our jails that have been convicted of crimes like arson, rape, and manslaughter and they're just being released into our community.

Shame on the Biden administration. Shame on Cartel Kelly, and shame on Nancy Pelosi.

JONES: You're exactly right.

Jason, every state, every city is a border state, a border town. All these drugs that are coming to the country, they're dropping people like a rock.

CHAFFETZ: Yeah, the administration has not come clean, despite many requests from Congress as to where you're shipping these people. The reports are they're putting them in airplanes. They're putting them in vehicles. They're moving them to other parts of the country, just flowing them in to society.

And what are they supposed to do, Lawrence, once they get here? How are they supposed to provide? How are they supposed to buy food or get a job or do something like that?

You can't just dump hundreds of thousands of people and just end up being millions of people into the society and not have a major economic and crime impact.

JONES: Oh, they know who's going to pay for it. We, the American public are going to pay for it. That's why they keep -- including funding for illegal immigrants in all of the bills you want to pass because they have a plan.

I think we're under this illusion that the left doesn't know what they're doing. They know exactly what they're doing. Americans will pay for that.

Thank you so much, gentlemen, for joining the program tonight.

Coming up, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is now begging the federal government to help fight violent crimes. But one local pastor is taking action in his own hands and he joins us after a quick break. Stay with us. More HANNITY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JONES: Welcome back to HANNITY.

Tonight we continue to spotlight the ongoing violence in the city of Chicago where week after week, crime surges, shootings spike, and residents live in fear for their lives. And this week, far left Mayor Lori Lightfoot begged the Biden administration for federal resources to combat the violence.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT: But we must build on the efforts, the help from the federal government. That's why I have formally asked the attorney general of the United States, Merrick Garland to, with all delivered haste, detail ATF agents to Chicago for six months so that we can increase the number of gun investigations and seizures in Chicago. We need these additional resources well in advance of next summer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Didn't the former president of the United States Donald Trump offer the mayor help? But she denied it.

In 2021, Chicago is seeing the highest number of homicide in years. But rather than address the core issues, the mayor is more focused on the vaccine mandates. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIGHTFOOT: To put it simply, if you have been living without having a vaccination, it's time for a change. If you wish to live life as normally as possible, with the ease to do the things that you love, you must be vaccinated in the city of Chicago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So, just so we're clear, kids in Chicago are more likely to die from a gun shot than COVID. But COVID is the issue in Chicago. But one pastor in Chicago said he's ready to take action. He's doing a 100-day roof top vigil living on top of a church building outside of a tent to raise money for a new community center to help combat the Windy City's violence.

And here to explain more is Pastor Corey Brooks.

Pastor, thank you so much for joining me. It's always a pleasure to see you.

PASTOR COREY BROOKS, PROJECTHOOD.ORG: Thank you.

JONES: It is very clear that the time to act is now. A 30-year high in Chicago. I've been there, I talked to you on numerous amount of occasion. What can with do to stop this right now?

BROOKS: Well, the time is now. And the urgency is at hand. But we have to do everything we can to stop out the violence in Chicago. It's going to take an all out effort by everyone.

That's the reason I'm on this roof. That's the reason why Project Good is trying to build a center so we can tackle the issues that we're facing every single day. So we can transform lives.

We believe that government does policy. But we major in transforming lives. That's what it's going to take to change the violence in Chicago, a transformation of people's lives.

JONES: Pastor, I go to Chicago. Numerous amounts of days, I talk to the boys on the block, I talk with the gangsters, I talk with the families that have been impacted by this, losing their daughters and sons.

One thing that I have noticed is because there's a lack of enforcement and lawlessness, that the kids don't have a choice. You've got gangsters telling kids either join or we're going to harass you and your family. You're going to end up dead.

So, there are multiple factors that are happening right now, Pastor. Am I correct on that?

BROOKS: Yeah. You know, there's a sense of lawlessness in Chicago at this time. And that's the reason why it is good that the ATF will come in and help out. We need them desperately, without a shadow of a doubt. One of the things that we never need to do is defund the police. We need to invest in our police so we can make sure that we have law and order.

We need to make sure that we give our opportunity -- our police officers every opportunity that they can have to make sure that they have law in the city of Chicago. And so we need to support them and we need to support their efforts.

JONES: Sir, I know you talk with so many family members that have been impacted by the violence that have lost folks, sons and daughters. What are they telling you right now with the surge?

BROOKS: You know, there's a sense of hopelessness, there's so many people recently, an article written by the "Chicago Sun-Times," children have been shot and kill in the city of Chicago. That's alarming. That's not something that we should be used to. That's not something that should be normal.

That's the reason we're doing everything we can with our organization to help as many parents as we can to change this situation to change this narrative. We need all of the help we can get. That's why I'm thankful to Fox for giving me the opportunity to talk and bringing our attention. We need people across America to help us with this situation.

JONES: You know, we do need more people. We wish more people in the mainstream media will tell me about this story. Why don't you forget about Chicago, I can't, I just can't.

As my brother Sean Hannity calls it, it's the American family. We have people in our American family being shot every single day, we cannot let this happen in another American city. Thank you so much, Pastor, so much for joining us.

BROOKS: Thank you, appreciate it.

JONES: You bet.

More HANNITY after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JONES: Welcome back to HANNITY. Well, this is different. I'm used to being Sean's man on the street, the correspondent, talking with you, the audience out there.

Anyway, has been great. My mentor Sean will be back soon.

Unfortunately, that is all the time we have left you tonight. Thanks so much for joining us. Be sure to follow on Twitter and Instagram @LawrenceBJones. And have a great night.

Let your heart not be troubled. Jesse Watters is filling in for Laura Ingraham tonight -- Jesse.

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