Unconstitutional for Biden to give taxpayer money to illegal immigrants: Arizona AG
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Florida Republican Mike Waltz weigh in on president's open border agenda on 'Hannity'
This is a rush transcript of "Hannity" on October 29, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
JASON CHAFFETZ, FOX NEWS HOST: Welcome to this special edition of HANNITY: THE DANGERS OF THE LEFT. I'm Jason Chaffetz, in tonight for Sean.
And at this hour, President Joe Biden is abroad with his agenda stalled here at home because yet again this week, Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi had their spending plans spoiled by progressives. I did I didn't know that they had such a backbone but I guess they do. They insist that no vote move ahead on the bipartisan infrastructure package without a final agreement on the massive $1.75 trillion reconciliation/Build Back Better plan.
And as it stands now, Democrats still have no deal, and are still searching for answers amid these deep party divisions, and amid the deep distress between far-left progressives and the so-called moderates. House Republicans, they are sounding the alarm, pointing to 31 policies that they believe will, quote, wreck America.
For example, the GOP warns that Build Back Better will do just the opposite, by worsening the labor shortage with more incentives not to work. The green energy tax credits we keep hearing so much about -- well, many of those will be given to the wealthy who can afford pricey electric cars and other green innovative products.
And, of course, the bill is packed with more incentives for illegal immigration, including amnesty.
According to a new editorial from "The Wall Street Journal", the true cost of the Biden spending spree is closer to $4 trillion. Now, ask yourself, how will any of these improve the lives of the middle-class Americans? More cradle-to-grave entitlements, more welfare, and more massive spending, even as inflation surges.
More importantly, does Joe Biden even know what's in it? Because also tonight, we have even more evidence that the president himself isn't aware of major policy decisions coming out of his own White House. Don't believe me, just look at this exchange with French President Macron over the recent botched submarine deal that led to France temporarily withdrawing its ambassador from the United States. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: Thank you, Mr. President.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, no, don't thank me. Thank you.
REPORTER: Is the relationship repaired?
BIDEN: You're asking me? The answer is I think what happened was to use an English phrase, what we did was clumsy. It was not done with a lot of grace. I was under the impression that certain things happened that hadn't happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: I was under the impression? Joe, you're the president of the United States. Who exactly is in charge if it's not you?
Well, here for reaction, former Republican senator and ambassador, Scott Brown, and American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp.
Senator/ambassador, you've held all the titles, you've served overseas. You served in the United States Senate. The president is overseas but it doesn't instill a whole lot of confidence in what's -- what he believes and what he knows and what he's able to convey on the world stage.
SCOTT BROWN, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: No, no, Jason. It doesn't, and listen I -- I like Joe Biden. I've been to his house. I've had a beer with him. I've been to the office.
And I was disappointed he got elected, but I was hopeful that he would do well, because if he does well, the country does well. Well, guess what? He's not doing well. I mean, Afghanistan sent shockwaves around the world, where it emboldened our enemies and really scared our allies, to the point where he has to go around and now apologize.
It's scary. It's deeply concerning and we have a lot of work to do to make sure that this country is safe and secure -- throwing the borders obviously, throw in Afghanistan, throw in the debt and deficit, the defunding of the police. There's so many things there that are creating unrest and uncertainty that the American public when they're paying 30, 40, 50, 60 cents for gallons of -- for a gallon of gas, and bacon is going out of sight, you know, where does it end?
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, this is the concern.
And, you know, the president's plan with Pelosi and Schumer, they haven't been able to draw it together, Matt. And not only am I concerned about the massive new spending but the underlying policies are really what's going to destroy this country.
MATT SCHLAPP, AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE UNION CHAIRMAN: Yeah, Jason. That's exactly right, you know, from your congressional service. We can all see what the dollar amount is. But that's bad enough and not really the horror of the story. The horror, all the policies that are jammed in there.
All this green energy stuff, you nailed it. It's going to hurt the forgotten men and women. It means that they pay more to fill up their truck. It means that you pay more for food. It means you pay more for all the necessities of life that are driven partially by energy costs.
And why, why are we doing that? Why are we going to shed all these manufacturing jobs? Because we have a United States president that would rather apologize and be accepted by the French people than the people of West Virginia and Arizona. And that's really what's going on here.
Remember, in reconciliation, for all the viewers who may know this, when it comes to this one budget vote, they don't need any Republicans, and they control the Senate and they control the House with a pretty good majority, and they got the presidency. It's all on them, and they can't get it done because socialism is dog meat.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, well, we keep talking about, it being progressives. But, yeah, put on your Senate hat for a moment, because I'm guessing you're probably going to be a no if you were still in the United States Senate.
BROWN: Yeah, of course, I was a no. And don't forget, reconciliation happened because of me, and Obamacare. That was the first time they used it on any type of major piece of legislation because they know I would have stopped Obamacare cold and I wanted states to develop plans like they did in Massachusetts. And they want this one-size-fits-all approach that the federal government is trying to ram things down your throat.
Listen, that bill -- you know, you and I both know what happens up there. They pass a bill with a framework, framework, right? And then they plug in whatever they want.
And what they're doing -- what they're doing here is they're trying to affect social change, dramatically change the very nature of our country through legislation and through the pen, and it's completely unacceptable what they're doing and getting these giveaways to illegals who are being rewarded for the illegality. You know, cutting -- basically cutting and putting people who are doing everything correctly, putting them ahead of those people.
You can't make this stuff up, and it's deeply, deeply concerning, and it has to stop and it starts by taking over the House and the Senate in the next election.
CHAFFETZ: You know, Matt, I find it interesting that Senator Bernie Sanders said this the reconciliation is held up by just one or two senators. Well, there are senators that are already a no, and so it's more than just one or two. It's 50 plus, they just don't have the votes.
SCHLAPP: Yeah, two things to keep your eye on. Much like Scott Brown's election in Massachusetts was a wake-up call for the Democrats on how unpopular things like Obamacare were, but, Glenn Youngkin in the Commonwealth of Virginia, look at these polls that are coming out. Virginia's a reliably blue state.
Why are blue voters actually considering voting for a Republican? Because they like the old Democratic Party that had liberals and had moderates. Not, this new socialist party. So the other thing that's amazing about Biden is he's the great senator that was there since he was in his 30s. He can't even sit down with Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins and a couple of these more liberal Republicans to try to get a deal?
Even the most liberal of Republicans find this bill completely obnoxious.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, it is so bad for America.
Gentlemen, thank you for joining us tonight on HANNITY. Do appreciate it.
All right. Now, Biden's fuzzy math is even being spewed by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen who is trying to claim that the trillions in new spending will actually quote push inflation down. I don't -- I don't know how she does this with a straight face. She is admitting that more supply shortages are coming.
Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET YELLEN, TREASURY SECRETARY: It will boost the economy's potential to grow, the economy's supply potential which tends to push inflation down not up and you know for many American families experiencing inflation, seeing the prices of gas and other things that they buy rise, but this package will do is lower some of the most important costs.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Is this going to get worse before it gets better?
YELLEN: Well, there will be some continued shortages.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: Of course, the Democrats can only run away from reality for so long as inflation continues to affect the lives of every American.
And get this, according to FOX Business, the Federal Reserve's inflation measure still stands at a record annual pace for the fourth straight month.
Here for reaction, former Trump Treasury Department official Monica Crowley, along with Republican Congressman Devin Nunes.
Monica, I want to go to you first. I mean, the treasury secretary is trying with a straight face to say that excessive spending by the federal government will push inflation down. I don't know how she comes up with that but that's what she claims.
MONICA CROWLEY, COLUMNIST: Well, Jason, the president has talked about these multi-trillion dollar spending plans as costing zero. And now, we have the treasury secretary saying well if we spend all these trillions of dollars, it will not add any inflationary pressures to the economy. Both of these things are just basically math for dummies and they're now just gaslighting us with pure nonsense.
Look, we have pumped in about six trillion dollars into this economy since the pandemic hit. We had to do a lot of it last year because we were in the midst of an emergency related to the pandemic. The government shut down the economy wholesale across the country. So, of course, the government had to step in in an emergency way.
The problem now is that the Democrats are keeping up emergency level spending absent the emergency. And we know what that (AUDIO GAP) leads down a very dark and unsustainable economic road that involves a lot of inflation. We're already seeing these incredible uh inflationary pressures on everything, from your groceries to your gasoline. And if the Democrats get these multi-trillions of dollars in additional spending, the inflation that we're all suffering today will look like a walk in the park.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, Congressman, I -- you and I served in the Congress together. I had a pleasure of serving with you.
It really is stunning because the federal government will spend more than - - if the Democrats got their way under the bills that are proposed -- more than one out of every four dollars spent in this country would be spent by the federal government. It is stunning to be above 25 percent of GDP if the Democrats got their way.
REP. DEVIN NUNES (R-CA): It is, Jason. It's great to be on with you. And I would say you're probably lucky when you got out when you did, because we're passing all sorts of new records.
And look, when I watch that recording that you played of Yellen -- I mean, this really reminds me of the 1980s mid-`80s Soviet Union when they had all of those decrepit leaders who were all in their 80s who couldn't function, who couldn't walk, who you never seen in public.
I mean, look, from Pelosi to Biden to Yellen -- and I don't even understand what she's talking about there. I mean anybody who thinks that if you put more money into this economy, after all the money we've already put into the economy, that good things are going to happen.
What they ought to be focusing on is stop these blue states like mine that continue to pay people not to work. If you want to get the supply chain problems figured out, you better stop paying people to stay home and do nothing.
And this whole idea that they're going to spend another trillions and trillions of dollars, this is kind of embarrassing to have somebody like this as the secretary of the treasury quite frankly.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, Monica, there are five million less workers in the workforce than there were previously, and that has an effect. That's why when you go to a restaurant or you go anywhere, they're having trouble just getting the labor in place. That's a big part of why the ports are so full of containers. They don't have the labor to go get it and take it out and bring it to market.
CROWLEY: Well, that's right and you know when President Trump left office, he handed President Biden the fastest economic recovery from any crisis on record. And what we've seen over the last 10 months is this president and his administration squander those gains. And it's a direct result of their left-wing government policies, whether it's the worker shortage, which he has created with disincentives to go to work because the government is paying you so much to stay at home, or whether it's the supply chain crisis with this administration also created and the inflationary pressures the same.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah.
CROWLEY: So there is a direct consequence to these kinds of socialist and collectivist policies and you know who's suffering the most, Jason? The poor, the working class and the middle classes that are being squeezed.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, people that are on the fixed income.
Congressman, I've only got a few seconds left. Last word?
NUNES: I would just say that if President Trump were still president and we had this problem, he would be out at the ports of Los Angeles, not over in the U.K. talking about global warming with all of his -- all of his buddies that we know wanted him to be president. You know, we were going to get United States on the right track with Biden right all these E.U. guys.
Well, look, guess who's not there? Who's not there -- Vladimir Putin's not going to be there and Xi Jinping from China is not going to be there. You know why? Because they're going to burn coal, build nuclear power plants, locate natural gas around the world, pipe it into these places like the European Union who are going to have to buy it.
So they are cleaning our clock. So it's kind of like, well, while Rome burns, Biden is fiddling with his buddies in the U.K. right now.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah. No, it's a great point. Hasn't been to the ports, hasn't been down to the border and these are where the problems are.
Monica Crowley, yes, and, Congressman Nunes, thank you so much for joining us. Really do appreciate it.
All right. Also developing tonight, with just days until the Virginia's governor's race, Republican Glenn Youngkin has all the momentum. A new FOX News poll shows Youngkin up a whopping eight points over the struggling McAuliffe. And remember, just two weeks ago, that same poll, McAuliffe was up five, a massive shift.
And the McAuliffe campaign, they are showing more and more signs of desperation, as new emails reveal a botched effort to kill a FOX News story about McAuliffe hiring Clinton lawyer Marc Elias to possibly challenge the election results.
Here to break down the state of the race -- the race, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, along with FOX News contributor Charlie Hurt.
Thank you both for joining us.
Ronna, you got your ears to the ground, understand what's going on there in Virginia. What's the latest from your vantage point?
RONNA MCDANIEL, RNC CHAIRWOMAN: Well, Glenn Youngkin is running a Virginia-focused race. He's focusing on education, lowering taxes, making sure that we back the blue, lowering crime rates.
And McAuliffe is floundering. He's bringing in all his, D.C. swamp friends, Stacey Abrams, Kamala Harris, Biden. He's resorting to terrible tactics in this race.
And the Virginia people are looking at Youngkin and they're recognizing that he is a candidate that will represent them and do good things for Virginia and that's why he's surging.
CHAFFETZ: And, Charlie, you know, they're -- my understanding of the race, they're trying to nationalize it. But I think the people of Virginia are smart enough to figure out that things like education are really important and that the governor actually does have a say in it. What -- you're a Virginian.
CHARLIE HURT, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah.
CHAFFETZ: Give us your perspective.
HURT: Yeah, it's really -- the desperation on the part of Terry McAuliffe is truly palpable in Virginia right now. They -- you know, and as -- you know, it's kind of -- it's sort of amazing to step back and think about the fact that forever -- for so long, education has been sort of a strong point for Democrats and it's been the issue that Democrats have managed to win on. And for Terry McAuliffe to turn this around and allowed education to become the issue the singular issue that is unifying Republicans and that Glenn Youngkin is using to very much surge here at the end and I think probably wind up winning comfortably, I think it's a -- I think it's a new day in Virginia, and I think it's a new day, I think it'll be a new day outside of Virginia once Democrats in Washington realize what their voters in Richmond, in Virginia think of these crazy policies.
CHAFFETZ: Now, Ronna, the presidential election -- Joe Biden won Virginia by 10 points. But it's really those people that are the true centrists, right? The people that are in the middle, the unaffiliated that are swaying hard to the right in this -- in this election.
MCDANIEL: Yeah. Virginia's a blue state. You've got a Democrat governor, two Democrat senators, Biden won by ten.
But it is moms, moms like me, in blue states who were watching our kids be shut out of the classroom, who were on the front lines of those Zoom classes and working to get them educated through this pandemic, and be insulted by someone like McAuliffe to say parents have no say in their kids education, as we have been the ones going through this day after day with our kids as they suffered not being in the classroom, not being with their friends, dealing with the pandemic. It has really awakened parents in these suburbs of Virginia and that's why you're seeing the McAuliffe surge.
But it's going to take everyone getting out and vote. Everyone needs to vote. We need a strong election day turnout and every Republican everywhere in Virginia needs to get a friend and go to the polls on Tuesday.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah. I think there are a lot of people who -- they've made up their mind but they need to get out and vote. And if they're afraid that the vote's already done, the last few days has a lot of stupid shenanigans in it, but showing up and actually voting is what it all comes down to, Charlie.
HURT: Yeah, absolutely, and I think it's really also very interesting to look at the cast of characters that Terry McAuliffe has dragged into the state to campaign with him. He can't campaign alone apparently. He can't make the deal, and to look across the other way and you see Glenn Youngkin standing there by himself campaigning on his own, making his case to voters.
And as Ronna points out, I think -- I think Virginia voters do appreciate that.
And I also think it's interesting that Terry McAuliffe, he -- and Joe Biden, when Joe Biden went into the state earlier this week, all they could talk about was Donald Trump. That's all they wanted to talk about. They didn't -- whether they can't talk about the issues and they can't talk about the person they're running against because he's running a great campaign and he has identified issues that that voters care about a lot more than whatever it is that Terry McAuliffe is afraid to talk about.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, Youngkin has run a very impressive race and stayed so focused on the issues that people actually really care about.
Isn't it amazing, when you talk about issues and you talk about what actually affects people, you win elections, and that's what I think we're in the midst of seeing right now.
Thank you both.
All right. Coming up, outrage is growing over the report Biden may pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to illegal immigrants. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Congressman Michael Waltz join us with their reaction as this special edition of HANNITY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAFFETZ: Now, Biden's open border agenda is on full display tonight after "The Wall Street Journal" revealed that the Biden-Harris administration wants to pay illegal immigrants who broke our laws $450,000 each, stemming from allegations that they were separated from their families and suffered psychological trauma back in 2017 and 2018.
And common sense Americans, they are rightfully outraged at the administration, for giving preferential treatment to illegal immigrants who broke our laws.
Now, Republicans are demanding answers, firing off a letter to the Department of Homeland Security secretary, the attorney general, and the health and human services secretary, quote: The rationale for this egregious abuse of taxpayer dollars is to compensate these persons for lasting psychological trauma. Do however note that these persons crossed into our country in a knowingly illegal manner, fully aware of the consequences of violating our rule of law.
And as Congressman Dan Crenshaw pointed out, quote: Biden wants to pay illegal immigrants $450,000 each for their hardship while breaking our laws. For perspective, if a service member is killed in action, their next of kin gets an insurance payment of $400,000. Let that sink in.
And as we speak, another massive migrant caravan is making its way to our southern border, now traveling through Mexico on the trek to the United States.
Here for a reaction, Arizona Attorney General and Senate Candidate Mark Brnovich, along with Republican congressman from Florida, Michael Waltz.
Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us.
I'll start with you, Mr. Attorney General.
This is so offensive to me. They're saying that they're separated from their family, so each person would get $450,000. That's $900,000 that they would be paying these people -- it's just -- I cannot believe even anybody would even consider this.
MARK BRNOVICH, ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Yeah, it's absolutely mind- boggling, Jason. I appreciate you having me on again.
But let's just put this in context. You know, Congressman Crenshaw mentions those terrible tragedies of the military families. But even the victims of 9/11 didn't get this kind of money. I mean, in the Biden administration literally, he's going to have the federal government snoop on your bank transactions even if you've committed no crime and done nothing wrong, and yet they're going to allow people that broke the law to send have the IRS send them half a million dollars essentially of your taxpayer money. Think about that.
President Biden cares more about the children in Haiti and Honduras than he does the children of American taxpayers. It's not only unspeakable, it's unconscionable, it's unconstitutional. And that's why we have so many lawsuits against the Biden administration, just trying to get them to obey the Constitution and care about the American taxpayers more than they care about people that have broken the law.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, abide by the Constitution and just abide by the laws that are already on the books. They have a -- they have a duty and responsibility to do that. Now, Congressman, it -- I mean, we have open borders and they say that the border is closed.
But this is just more evidence that there are incentives to bring people magnets to come to the United States. And if you're -- if you're trying to come north to the United States, you'd probably accelerate your time coming here because you think you're literally going to win the lottery.
REP. MICHAEL WALTZ (R-FL): Yeah, that's absolutely right. The tractor beam for around the world to come in the United States continues. Mexico has now said it's going to give people visas for the migrants along the way.
And what has me so upset is with our borders wide open, with people coming from 60 to 70 countries, including people on the terrorist watch list. Meanwhile, you have 5,000 of the most hardened ISIS, al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists released from Bagram prison in Afghanistan. We have no idea where they are.
Now, you have the Pentagon saying ISIS may be ready to strike us within six months. And lo and behold, we have an ISIS terror threat now in northern Virginia against a specific threat against shopping malls.
This isn't just an immigration issue. This isn't just a -- you know, taking jobs and services away from the American people issue. This is a national security issue and we have a White House that's asleep at the switch.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, Mr. Attorney General, I went to -- go to one of the detention facilities there in Arizona while I was in Congress. There were people there from 150 different countries. These aren't just people surging from one or two or three countries. To Congressman Waltz's point, they come from all over the world. They know this is how they get there.
Who's paying for all this, to bring all these people? Is there any evidence of who's doing this? We know the drug cartel's involved, but do you have any other specifics?
BRNOVICH: You know, Jason, we are trying and we've sent a letter recently to Facebook because they essentially are helping facilitate people illegally crossing our borders.
And you know that border security is national security. And as the congressman just alluded to, we know the people on the terror watch list have been apprehended. But we also know that the cartels are becoming richer and more powerful as a result of Joe Biden and Cartel Kelly and his enablers in the U.S. Congress.
So we need to be doing everything we can because it's not only the terror question, but it's the terrible issue of drugs. We know the price of fentanyl is falling now. Just we recently had seizures where, you know, fentanyl was seized, literally, in one stop that could kill the entire population of Washington, D.C.
So this is going to be a problem that's going to affect all of us, not only here in Arizona but throughout this country. And shame on the Biden administration for not only decriminalizing but now monetizing people breaking the law.
This is not a crisis anymore. This is a catastrophe, and people are going to die as a result of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Cartel Kelly. Shame on them.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, I know you're running against Senator Kelly. But there's little to no evidence that he's doing anything to curb what's going on not only in Arizona but across the whole -- I mean, he's -- his president and his vice president, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, are absolutely totally absent from this crisis.
So, Congressman, it just begs the question -- what are we to do? I mean, it seems as if Biden and Harris are doing everything they can to accelerate and bring in as many people as they possibly can before Republicans are able to get involved.
WALTZ: Yeah, you know, I mean we have some great attorney generals in Arizona and Florida, Texas, that they're doing what they can to stop this in the courts. We will have to get the majority back in the House. Pray to God in just 12 months and fire Pelosi, send her back to her ice cream in California I think before we can do anything about it in the Congress.
But meanwhile, America needs to understand that this isn't just a border problem. This is a national problem. These migrants are being shipped all over the country, we can't get any straight answers as to locations or where. Thank God for "The New York Post" that caught some of it.
The drugs are being sent all over the country. We have -- I talked to veterans and others that aren't getting the services that they need and our schools are being overwhelmed, our medical services are being overwhelmed, and yet, we get a shoulder shrug from the border czar.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah.
WALTZ: And we get -- I don't know what we're getting from the White House but it's not much.
(CROSSTALK)
CHAFFETZ: Yes, yes.
Gentlemen, thank you for joining us tonight on HANNITY.
All right. Straight ahead, the left's COVID mandates are threatening public safety in several major American cities. We'll bring you an update as Joe Concha and Leo Terrell join us with reaction as this special edition of HANNITY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAFFETZ: Now, even more troubling developments tonight surrounding the consequences of vaccine mandates because New York City is now facing a possible major city worker shortage ahead of today's vaccine deadline, including the potential loss of thousands of police officers, firefighters and first responders.
For example, the New York Police Department now says they're bracing for a wave of retirements in response to the mandate and the Fire Department is warning that 20 percent of fire companies could be closed as soon as this Monday, with around 35 percent of firefighters choosing not to get the vaccine. That means thousands less cops and thousands less firefighters, as soon as Monday.
And it's not just in New York. Out in California, the Los Angeles County sheriff is calling the mandate an imminent threat to public safety that will cripple resources and make it even harder to investigate violent crimes.
So you got to ask yourself, if cities already struggling to maintain public safety, can we really afford to lose police and firefighters?
Well, joining me now for reaction, FOX News contributors Joe Concha and Leo Terrell.
Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us tonight.
Leo, what's life like with less cops and less firefighters?
LEO TERRELL, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Terrible, horrible. And if it wasn't for the courage of this particular sheriff, Jason, in California, he had refused to lay off the deputies because crime is a problem in Democratic cities. I want to be very clear, I don't want to mix any words. The progressive left of the Democratic Party, they hate cops and the Democratic Party have abandoned law enforcement since 2020. They have basically looked the other way, they don't care.
What's happening is they have put power and control over the rights and protection of citizens. Every civilized society has a law enforcement, but we have increasing murders, arson, shoplifting every day in broad daylight. The Democrats do not care about law and order and that's what you're facing in California right now and in New York with that 5:00 p.m. deadline.
Law enforcement, firefighters, first responders are in jeopardy because of Democratic-controlled city.
Last point, Chicago is a nightmare because you can expect every weekend, black on black crime, crime in these cities and notwithstanding that they are dismantling law enforcement.
CHAFFETZ: Joe, you know many of the Democrats did take a position that said, hey, you know what? We want to defund the police department. This is kind of another way to look at it and get at it to actually have the number of police and firefighters reduced through another method. Was this part of their game plan all along?
JOE CONCHA, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: It appears so, Jason, and we're also told by those same leaders to follow the data and look at the science. Okay, so let's look at the death toll from COVID in New York City yesterday. Zero COVID-related deaths in a city of more than eight million people, the seven-day rolling average is in the single digits an overwhelming majority of adults in New York have been vaccinated.
The transmission rate is well below one, it's at 0.73 as of yesterday. That means the virus isn't spreading. That is the data. That is the science.
So what the hell are we doing here? Is this vaccine mandate really in the name of public health? Because the facts say no.
And by the way, this comes after we've already seen a record number of resignations and retirements in 2020 at many police forces across the country. And when you speak to veteran police officers directly, friends of mine, you hear the same thing over and over again, we are overworked. We are underappreciated. We're portrayed as the bad guys when we're putting our lives on the line.
And the media portrayal particularly by two thirds of major cable news and publications like "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post", they assume some police officers are guilty until proven innocent, and the absentee president, by the way, has been MIA in praising law enforcement.
You point to me any major speech addressing rising violent crime in major cities and violence against police officers and you win valuable prizes because you know why? It don't exist and this hurts morale when mayors like de Blasio in New York, Lightfoot in Chicago, Bowser in D.C., Garcetti in Los Angeles, they demonize police to score cheap political points. And to institute -- you know, these mandates now, Jason as COVID deaths and cases continue to go way down, it will reduce already depleted police officers and forces that will result in the loss of life particularly in the poorest communities where they are sorely needed most, Jason.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, and I think it's going next to the federal workers such as the border patrol. They don't want the border patrol, so rather than just firing or defunding them, just put these mandates in place. They know that a huge percentage will walk away.
Leo, do you think -- do these -- do the firefighters, to the policemen that you know, do they understand who's doing this to them? Because I have never seen a major political party be so derogatory towards the workers who help us when we dial 911.
TERRELL: They do. They do, Jason, and Joe hit a lot of points but they do. The law -- the law enforcement, firefighter, they know is coming from Democrats, not Republicans, not people, not the independents, but Democrats, extreme Democrats.
And then they look at Florida -- no mandates, no mask and the lowest COVID infection rate in the country, half of California, and they're scratching their heads. They know that the Democratic Party is anti-police, anti-first responders. They know it.
And they also know there's a progressive wing of the Democratic Party that hates the police. I'm talking about the Squad. They hate law enforcement, and they want to totally dismantle it. But they get it, and it will be over in 2022. There will be a reckoning in 2022 and 2024.
CHAFFETZ: Well, I hope so because, you know what? Ron DeSantis is offering $5,000 bonuses to come to Florida and hire the people that are being let go or put under these terrible situations in these other countries.
But, Joe, to your point, you can't just flip on the switch and suddenly hire up a whole bunch of police officers or firefighters. They got to go through years of training to get to that point and the loss of the intellectual capabilities that these people have is stunning.
CONCHA: Right, and one police officer I spoke to recently, Jason, he said that, well, if you start to lower standards in order to entice more people to come in or get more people to pass these tests that you spoke about, then you're going to have policing that isn't on the level that we've seen over the years, and that's going to be a bad thing.
But to Leo's point, I'm old enough to remember the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, she said that Republicans want to defund the police, not Democrats. So, yeah, of course, we should take her at her word, right?
(CROSSTALK)
CHAFFETZ: Gentlemen, thank you. I got a hard out I got to go.
CONCHA: Sorry --
CHAFFETZ: I got to go, I got to go because we got a commercial.
The woke culture gone too far? Stay with us. You'll learn about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAFFETZ: Welcome to this HANNITY special.
Well, the World Series is underway, and the animal rights group PETA is calling on the baseball world to stop using the term bullpen. Instead the group is suggesting the name be changed to the woke-friendly arm barn. You can't make this stuff up.
Earlier, I spoke with Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker, along with Outkick founder and the co-host of "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show," Clay Travis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAFFETZ: Gentlemen, thank you so much for being here. Lots happening in the political world, but also a lot's happening in the sports world, and you guys are together.
Clay, I want to talk to you because wokeness knows no bounds. It's trying to eject itself into sports yet again. I can't believe they actually want to change the term bullpen into the arm barn. Is there any end to this?
CLAY TRAVIS, OUTKICK FOUNDER: No, there's no end to it, which is why sooner or later, Hershel and I were talking about this, you just got to stand up and say we're done, right? The Atlanta Braves, they do the tomahawk chant because of Deion Sanders and the connection there. It's a phenomenal fun event.
And this idea with everybody having to change their mascot names, it never ever is going to end because the woke element stays angry. That's what they predicate all of this on. You can't negotiate with them. And PETA, God bless him for all the insanity, I do think the phrase arm barn is pretty funny. But let's be honest, nobody out there was thinking that the bullpen was a remotely offensive term.
HERSCHEL WALKER, GEORGIA SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think what is terrible about it is anyone talk to the bull and see if he's upset about it and we got to stop that. That's the reason I decided to run for office. This is ridiculous.
And, you know, I think PETA has done a lot of great things, but I think this right here is going a little bit too far.
CHAFFETZ: Now, Herschel, you're putting your name and it into the -- into the ring there. You're going to have to deal with this wokeness and all this other garbage. Why did you decide to get in here and run and say you know what, I want to be part of that mix and I want to help solve this -- these problems?
WALKER: Well, this is the reason why. You see things like this that nobody has common sense. You know, I think now we have leaders in Washington that don't want to have common sense and do what's right by the people of this country, the people of Georgia.
And I said you know, it's not right. We have good people here. We have good police. We have good military. We got to protect them.
But at the same time, we got to get some of this nonsense out. You know, you talking about bullpen, let's be real here.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, Herschel, now, you picked up some big endorsements. The Senate majority leader, along with a whole lot of other senators, they're lining up behind you. For where you are in the race at this point, with the name recognition you bring, you certainly are bringing an A-game to that fight.
WALKER: Well, you know, that's one thing I said when I got into this race. I said, I'm not going to come out trying to promise you anything right now, because you can't do anything unless you can bring people together. And I think right now, people are starting to see that I'm bringing people together.
I think one of the biggest endorsement I got from Senator McConnell and I thank him for it, and also from President Trump. You know, these are two guys that, you know, they've been at each other a little bit, but right now, they agree that I'm the right man for the job right now in Atlanta, Georgia. And so, they're going to do whatever they can to get me elected.
So, there -- I'm bringing people together right there, and I think that's what we got to do in this country if we want this country back. Because I love America, I love this country, I love what this country stands for and I think people need to recognize that right now. You see what's going on, and you you've got to see what's going on with the gas prices, with food, with everything that's going on, this economy. Look at the border and people got to know something is wrong.
TRAVIS: And by the way --
CHAFFETZ: Herschel --
TRAVIS: -- you're going to be Saturday at that Braves game. Guys, I don't even know that you've said this yet, but that's going to be a heck of a scene we were talking about the idea of the Braves, the tomahawk chant and everything else.
As a native Georgian, World Series back in Atlanta for the first time since '99, that's pretty awesome.
WALKER: Well, I'm excited about it because, you know, they moved all-star game.
TRAVIS: Yes.
WALKER: And the Braves -- we got to give them credit, because they're going to bring some economy back to Atlanta because they lost a lot when they moved the all-star game. So I'm excited to be at the game, to see the Braves back into the World Series.
They're playing well and that just goes to every team out there. Just because you may start out a little slow, that if you continue to focus and play together, you can do some amazing things. Look at where the Braves are at right now. They got a good opportunity after winning the second game, not a win at all and I think that's where it starts -- well it starts tonight, and then tomorrow night.
CHAFFETZ: Now, Herschel, who are you going to the game with?
WALKER: I'm going with President Trump. You know, President Trump asked me to go and I was like, I was really excited to go with him because you know he's a friend. He's been a friend for what, over 30-something years.
When he asked me to go and I don't have to buy -- well, I shouldn't say that because now I'm going to get in trouble that I didn't pay for my ticket. So I'm going to pay for my ticket, so I can go to the game, so -- I'm going to go with President Trump and I'm going to be up there in the booth and that's what I was saying, bringing this country together.
You know, I got one guy, you know, Senator McConnell, a great, great leader, and you know, people can say what they want to say but he endorsed Herschel Walker because he knew I was right for the job. President Trump did the same thing. I talked to him a couple of days ago, and I'm talking to President Trump just about that -- bringing the people together because that's how we get it done.
This is the greatest country in the world only because we have -- we're so diverse and we have everybody that can have their own mindset.
CHAFFETZ: Hey, Clay, do you think anybody's going to notice if Herschel Walker walks into that game with -- you know, President Trump? Do you think anybody's going to notice?
(LAUGHTER)
TRAVIS: I -- look, I will tell you tonight they are going to be playing in Atlanta first World Series game since 1999, it is going to be absolutely electric there, and come Saturday night when President Trump and Herschel Walker, the next senator from the great state of Georgia, are there -- there's going to be a lot of fired up Atlanta Braves fans, they're going to be tomahawk chopping like crazy, and I think there's probably going to be a few "let's go Brandon" chants that may echo out.
WALKER: Well, maybe, Herschel Walker's chant, I'm hoping Herschel Walker, Herschel Walker, and then think about this here -- the Bulldogs winning the national championship, the Braves winning the world championship, and Herschel Walker went into the Senate, is that not something? Man (ph), only made in America.
(LAUGHTER)
CHAFFETZ: Herschel Walker, Clay Travis, thank you so much for joining us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHAFFETZ: More of this HANNITY special after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAFFETZ: Welcome back to this special edition of HANNITY.
Unfortunately, that is all the time we have left this evening. Many thanks to Sean Hannity for allowing me to sit in for him.
Now, I want you to make sure you check out my podcast. It's called "Jason in the House". You can find it anywhere you listen to it to podcasts, "Jason in the House". This week, we're on with Cynthia Lummis, the senator from Wyoming, "Jason in the House". I think you'll enjoy it.
Thanks for joining us.
THE INGRAHAM ANGLE is up next. Have a great and wonderful weekend. Happy, happy Halloween. Hope you really enjoy it. Have a great day.
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