'Hannity' on Whoopi Goldberg's Holocaust remarks, Joe Rogan

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Hannity: I believe in second chances

Sean Hannity reacts to Whoopi Goldberg’s Holocaust remarks and cancel culture at-large in the opening monologue of ‘Hannity.’

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," February 1, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

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

And welcome to HANNITY.

All right. Tonight for the hour, we're to highlight the serious device a problem that persists all of this country, mainly among Democrats, their friends in big tech, and the media mob. Time and time again, these powerful individuals and they are powerful, they create rules they themselves don't follow.

Now, some call it hypocrisy. Others refer to it as a double standard in reality it's fraud deception for the purpose of political gain and power. It's about forcing your kids to wear a mask during recess even while adults pack into a crowded arena, not a mask in sight. It's about Twitter, Facebook, they censored the very true Hunter Biden laptop report, while allowing the fake salacious claims in the dirty dossier the Russian dirty dossier that Hillary paid for, oh that could circulate all day, every day, every way -- every place, everywhere.

It's about Joe Rogan becoming enemy number one for having an open dialogue and daring to ask questions that I guess are inappropriate.

Rachel Maddow, she faces zero repercussions for deliberately lying to her viewers about -- oh, Trump Russia collusion for how many years?

It's about fake news CNN absolutely

made comments about the holocaust minimize the horrors of what was racist genocide here's what she said take a look then let's be truthful about it because the holocaust isn't now she was right on the evil portion of her comments but of course she was wrong on everything else now she has since acknowledged it rightfully apologized clarified her remarks

It's about fake new CNN obsessively condemning January 6th, the riot that took place, but then never talking about the 574 riots in the summer of 2020 that left dozens of people dead. They characterized those rights as mostly peaceful, even when the city is burning behind their reporter right over the shoulder.

It's about Whoopi Goldberg. Whoopi recently made comments about the Holocaust. Minimized the horrors of what was racist genocide. Here's what she said. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST OF THE VIEW: The Holocaust isn't about race.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

GOLDBERG: No. It's not about race --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it is --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, they consider Jews a different race.

GOLDBERG: But it's not about race. It's not about race.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is it about?

GOLDBERG: It's about man's inhumanity to man. That's what it's about.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But it's about white supremacy.

(CROSSTALK)

GOLDBERG: But these are two white groups of people.

(CROSSTALK)

GOLDBERG: But you're missing the point. You're missing the point. The minute you turn it into race, it goes down this alley.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: She was right on the evil portion of her comments, but, of course, she was wrong and everything else. Now, she has since acknowledged it, rightfully apologized, clarified her remarks.

But think about this, if Whoopi Goldberg were a conservative or Republican, wouldn't she be fired already or at the very least being bombarded with boycotts and serious repercussions? You know, on this program and over the entire course of my career, I've steadfastly refused to join calls to boycott and fire and have people canceled.

Now, look, I've known Whoopi for years. We haven't talked recently. I'll say that, haven't gone back on the show in a long time. But and we never agree politically.

I simply see her being inarticulate and maybe not even understanding the evil ideology that was Hitler and Nazi Germany. She's not anti-Semitic from the person that I knew, and I read people pretty well. It's obvious her comments were grossly inaccurate. She's rightly apologized. She's clarified her remarks.

I don't know, maybe I'm old-fashioned. I just believe in second chances and I'm pretty confident she's never going to make that same mistake again. Yeah, and I know, nobody at "The View" would ever do this for a conservative ever. Hell would freeze over.

But here's the great thing about living in a free country, if you don't like what Whoopi Goldberg said, guess what? Change the channel. If you don't like her show, change the channel. You don't like Stephen Colbert, Kimmel or Fallon constantly shilling for Democrats, telling bad jokes, don't watch it. No one is forcing you to. You don't have to tune in. Censorship via big government, corporations is never the answer.

Tonight, I'm calling on everyone on all these other networks, you're on ABC, NBC, CBS, MSDNC, fake news CNN, you need to denounce censorship and stop with the boycotts and stop with the feigned moral outrage and you know what? None of you are perfect either and when you make a mistake, you should get the same forgiveness if you're sincere in your apology. That's never going to happen.

Dishonesty hacks, you know, the Humpty Dumpties of the world, they love censorship. They want Fox off the air. They want conservatives on talk radio silenced. They want Republicans out of power forever, and they detest even the sight of Donald Trump.

They detest competition, especially because they're losing so badly. So they don't care about truth, fairness, freedom, forgiveness, none of that.

That's why just a few hours after Joe Rogan apologized, which I don't think he should have done, for potentially spreading misinformation, the media continued to attack him. In Joe Rogan's case, I'm arguing he didn't need to apologize at all. The left wants to squash all dissent. They won't -- they won't stop until everyone that disagrees with them is silenced. We'll have more on my monologue coming up.

But joining us first with reaction, Outkick founder Clay Travis, co-host of "The Five", Geraldo Rivera, and FOX News contributor Ari Fleischer.

Ari, let me go to you first because you're the communications expert.

Let's look at Joe Rogan, for example. He's a talk show host. He's an inquisitive talk show host. He asks questions. He interviews people from -- you know, all different points of view.

He gets COVID and he goes public with it and he says, my doctor and I decided to throw everything we had at it, monoclonal antibodies, HCQ, ivermectin. Okay, why -- am I the only one that says Joe, I'm glad you're better, thank God you're not a statistic, you know?

And then the second thing is he interviews, for example, Robert Malone, one of the main doctors behind the technology for mRNA vaccines. In other words, without Dr. Malone, we likely wouldn't have the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

And how is it we got to this point that this guy can't even ask that doctor, you know, a question or if they don't like his answer, they want to you know shut this guy down and boycott him and you know his entire company is in financial jeopardy tonight?

ARI FLEISCHER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: The answer, Sean, is because for too long, it's been a creeping movement for years and it's hitting crescendo. The ideological left has engaged in intolerance to refuse to clash with them, and it really has been. It started on college campuses where people who took views that were opposed by a lot of young people, found comrades among the leadership, the administration, the faculty.

And it started to spread throughout the workforce, where if you don't say what is required to be said from the point of view of the left, you should be drummed off of campus and now drummed out of the workforce. And it's insidious.

You know I am a old-line ACLU liberal when it comes to speech and I wish the ACLU would defend speech again. You said something profound, Sean, when you said, if you don't like it, change the channel. Isn't that simple and elegant? And isn't that what America should be?

HANNITY: Wait a minute, there is an exception to that rule.

FLEISCHER: Say what we want. What's that?

HANNITY: You can't turn off the channel here. You have to -- you have to watch it. It's mandatory.

(LAUGHTER)

HANNITY: Let me go to my friend Geraldo on the left. You know, you look at Neil Young, these -- you know, old rockers. You know, so much for rocking in the free world now, Geraldo.

And, you know, they want some notoriety, attention. They're out of the spotlight. Okay, they're entitled to their opinion.

But if Taylor Swift wanted to take out Joe Rogan and she did the same thing they did, guess what? Spotify is in deep trouble or Adam Schiff as I call it.

GERALDO RIVERA, CO-HOST OF "THE FIVE": You're absolutely right, of course, if it were Taylor Swift or Drake, it would have been a far different uh explosion. I think it would have been nuclear, if these young stars who were so popular, decided to boycott because of Joe Rogan.

But there's a couple of points I want to make sure. First of all, I think you're absolutely right about the Russia-Russia-Russia collusion and how the media colluded with the Democrats to perpetuate that phony story for years, leading up to a fake impeachment, the first impeachment which was absolutely a fraud. So I agree with you up until that point.

I think the problem with the Joe Rogans of the world and I congratulate him for his enormous success is that they have to self-censor. It's not a question of what the corporation is doing. It's a question about what -- Joe Rogan is a very smart guy. He does his homework, but you can't put Alex Jones on your station and expect --

HANNITY: But wait a minute, why does he have to self-censor? When people get to pick and choose if they want to watch or listen to his podcast, why can't he just be who he is? You know, what happened to liberty and freedom and choice and nobody's forcing anybody to watch or listen?

RIVERA: What happened was those little six-year-olds were slaughtered and that phony piece of crap made -- you know, said it was a fake story and Joe Rogan has to bust that guy, he has to prevent that guy.

You know, it is really very troubling to me that Republicans and Democrats have a different idea about the peril presented by COVID. Why aren't we all on the same page about it?

HANNITY: Because human beings are individuals, Geraldo.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: All right. Let me bring Tray -- let me bring in Clay here for a second.

Clay, I contend Joe Rogan made a huge mistake. He shouldn't have apologized. He and his doctor made the decision and I've not seen a study on ivermectin a medical study that I've that convinced me anything. Merck says they don't support off-label use of it.

But I have seen studies on HCQ, but the gold standard, according to every doctor, is monoclonal antibodies and now these antivirals are getting very great reviews from every doctor I know.

Why did he apologize for interviewing somebody and asking questions? And why did he have to apologize what him and his own doctor decided to do with his body?

CLAY TRAVIS, OUTKICK FOUNDER: It's a fantastic question. You should never apologize if you believe that you didn't do anything wrong, and I don't personally believe that Joe Rogan did anything wrong. I think he probably apologized because the Spotify CEO asked him to help take some of the heat off of the company and the reality is apologies don't work anymore. I think Ari Fleischer would probably agree with that.

And Geraldo, I want to talk about your situation a moment. But first, I want to mention this happened to my radio show, Sean, the one that comes on right before you all over the country. We had Senator Rand Paul on the show, he's a medical doctor. He's running for re-election in 2022 in Kentucky. YouTube refused to post the interview that we did on our radio show. That is a direct contravention of the marketplace of ideas.

I am also an old school liberal in the context of everyone should be able to speak. Whoopi Goldberg was wrong. She deservedly got called out for being wrong. But in the process, we learned more as a nation by having that discussion. I don't believe she should be canceled.

Geraldo's point about Republicans and Democrats -- Democrats when it comes to COVID are overwhelmingly terrified no matter their age despite what the data reflects. They're the ones who are insisting that kids wear masks in school even though "The Atlantic" is now saying there's zero evidence of it, even though "The New York Times" is now running editorial saying kids don't need to be in masks. A lot of this is about risk tolerance.

Joe Rogan's audience tends to be younger. If you are in your 20s and 30s, your danger from COVID is much lower than if you are in your 80s. I got three elementary school age kids --

(CROSSTALK)

TRAVIS: Total failure here.

HANNITY: Geraldo?

RIVERA: There should not be two standards for medical information about a disease. If President Trump had joined early on as he later did with President Biden and together they had presented a united front to the American people --

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Hang on a second. It was Joe Biden -- you want to talk about misinformation, Anthony Fauci, Joe Biden, the CDC, NIH, take the vaccine, you'll never get COVID.

TRAVIS: Yes.

HANNITY: They have been the biggest purveyors of misinformation of anybody during this pandemic. Oh, we'll never have a vaccine mandate. Excuse me, where is the science that young people need a vaccine five to 11 when the death rate is almost the equivalent to influenza? Ari?

FLEISCHER: Yeah, here's the problem what Geraldo said. He says there shouldn't be two standards when it comes to COVID. Do you remember when Senator Tom Cotton said publicly for the first time when COVID first hit, that it is possible it came from a lab in Wuhan, that it didn't come from a black market? And then others started to say it.

And what happened? They were told that's misinformation. Facebook, YouTube, electronic media censored them, took those posts down, said you're not allowed to speculate it could have come from the lab.

And you know what? Then, Biden's team came along with intelligence reports saying it actually might have come along -- come out of the lab. And all of a sudden, Facebook says, now, you can post it.

The problem, Geraldo, is the left and all their organs, especially social media, silence the right when it's speech that they don't like, whether that speech is accurate or inaccurate, truthful or not, they silence it, they shut it down. And in this case, it turned out to likely be the truth.

So you shut down the truth --

RIVERA: Simple question, should President Trump --

FLEISCHER: -- when you say there can't be two standards of free speech?

HANNITY: All right. We're going to have to roll, guys.

RIVERA: After Operation Warp Speed, after the president created these vaccines by urging these scientists to get it done, after he did that, and he lost the election, then he dropped it. He should not have dropped it.

HANNITY: No, he didn't.

RIVERA: He should have continued --

HANNITY: No, he didn't --

TRAVIS: He's talking about it all the time, Geraldo.

HANNITY: He got the crap out of him recently for admitting --

(CROSSTALK)

TRAVIS: He talks about it all the time.

HANNITY: All right. I got to let you guys.

RIVERA: He does now.

HANNITY: Thank you all. Clay, Geraldo, Ari, we appreciate it.

All right. We're going to turn to another blatant double standard on the left. This time, it does involve President Trump. Over the weekend, he vowed that he might pardon some January 6 rioters if he runs and is re- elected in 2024.

Right on cue, there you go, the media mob is triggered. They erupt into their state of hysteria and naturally, a lot of people were very angry with Trump's remarks. Okay, predictable, that's fine. People who riot, assault police, destroy property should be prosecuted.

I said it on January 6. I'll repeat it tonight, we believe that, and we believe in the rule of law.

But for many Democrats -- no, the rule of law depends on who's committing the crimes. Look at the -- look at these numbers. Ninety-one of those arrested during Portland's wave of violence, they're not being prosecuted at all, 91 percent.

According to the Portland D.A., violent rioters should be excused because they are, quote, angry and they're deeply frustrated with what they perceive to be structural inequities. Well, people on January 6 ain't the same?

Now, meanwhile, in Minneapolis, more than a thousand buildings were burned or damaged.

And, by the way, Kamala helped with the bail fund, tweeting out support. Criminal charges have only been filed for 1 percent of those criminal acts, 1 percent. One rioter actually charged, burned a local pawnshop right to the ground, destroying a man's dream and killing a man in that fire. Prosecutors requested his sentencing guideline be cut in half.

Here's the reason why. Mr. Lee's motive for setting the fire is a foremost issue. Mr. Lee credibly states that he was in the streets to protest unlawful police violence against black men. Mr. Lee only was sentenced to ten years. He killed somebody.

In Philly, hundreds of rioters avoided jail time through something the prosecutor is calling restorative justice. In Houston, the D.A there dismissed nearly 800 charges against rioters. In L.A., 93 percent of cases were never filed. In New York City, hundreds of people that were looting and rioting and involved in arson, they were all spared charges while most others avoided jail time.

And all told, according to a report, in a dozen major jurisdictions, at least 93 percent of charges against the rioters in the summer of 2020, they were dropped. They were dismissed, and many of those acts of violence were caught on camera.

We got your face right here, but we are not going to prosecute you. Surveillance cameras as well, news organizations as well, they have footage. Yet most of the rioters and looters and arsonists, they got a free pass. In fact, they are being applauded.

Remember Kamala Harris, the bail fund. Remember, she praised defunding the L.A. police department.

Get this, look in Seattle. City officials in Seattle we've now learned reportedly considered turning over a police building to Black Lives Matter organization during the height of the violence. How stupid is that?

So my message to the people in the media mob, the Democratic Party, they get the vapors, oh, over the January 6th -- what happened on January 6th. Fine, if you share that outrage, show me the same outrage on the 574 riots.

By the way, where is that committee? Where is that indignation?

Here with reaction, FOX News contributors Joe Concha, Leo 2.0 Terrell.

Let's start with the media, Joe, and specifically, the part where, oh, the mostly peaceful protests. Far more severe consequences in total and no committee, why?

JOE CONCHA, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Mostly peaceful riots, they should be called, Sean, right? And you are 100 percent correct on the consistency here.

Let's be candid, though -- Donald Trump is profoundly wrong for saying that Mike Pence could overturn the election of January 6th. He could not, okay?

He also shouldn't be talking about pardons for January 6, because if that applies to police officers getting hurt -- sorry, nobody supports that.

To your point though, it is also it's also blatantly hypocritical for Democrats and Cheney and Kinzinger to pretend all those nearly 600 mostly peaceful riots that result in so many businesses destroyed, police officers, former police officers injured or killed did not happen.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: All right. Joe, but I have a question.

CONCHA: Let me finish.

HANNITY: What is the difference -- what is the difference when you don't charge people and you give them a pass for rioting, for arson, for looting, for burning, pelting bricks, rocks, bottles, and Molotov cocktails at cops, you don't charge them, you've got them on videotape, isn't that a pardon? Isn't at the same thing?

CONCHA: Those district attorneys, those mayors --

HANNITY: Isn't it the same thing. Ostensibly.

CONCHA: It is the same thing. That is my point, that you need to be consistent across all levels. You're either for riots or you're against riots.

HANNITY: Exactly.

CONCHA: Destruction of property, assaulting and killing police officers, that all has to be convicted.

HANNITY: And we've been consistent.

CONCHA: What's that? Go ahead.

HANNITY: We've been consistent on this show.

Leo 2.0 Terrell, you're a lawyer. From a legal standpoint --

LEO TERRELL, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah.

HANNITY: -- OK, what's the difference between a pardon and not prosecuting somebody that you've got video evidence of committing violent crimes?

TERRELL: It's great to be a lawyer here, Joe. I want to throw him under the bus, because let me tell you right now, nothing preventing -- Donald Trump was president. He would've at the constitutional right to look at every one of those individual cases and hand out a pardon. If you're going to be a prosecutor, you have prosecutorial discretion like these prosecutors used, to decide whether or not they are going to prosecute these people who commit murders. These people who commit arson. That's called prosecutorial discretion. It is within their legal rights.

So I would submit to you that Donald Trump, if elected, I hope he does get elected, would look at those cases on a case-by-case basis. There is no difference. It's absolutely the right and the only reason why the left is yelling is because those are Democratic voters who they let get off of murder, crime, and arson.

HANNITY: You know, Joe Concha, Donald Trump, we now know from Mark Meadows, we know from Kash Patel, chairman of the joint chiefs, secretary of defense on January 4th were in the Oval Office, and lo and behold Donald Trump them as required by law, authorized up to 20,000 National Guard troops to be called up. Then the jurisdiction went to Muriel Bowser, the D.C. mayor, and Nancy Pelosi.

Why didn't they call up knowing large crowds were coming, knowing tensions were high, coming off a summer of rioting, how come they are not being brought into this sham committee to kick off Jim Jordan and Jim Banks to put on the two biggest Republican Trump haters they could find?

CONCHA: Because Jim Jordan and Jim Banks are not on the committee, right? Or else they would be asking the right questions here as far as if the president and President Trump at the time it ordered all those National Guard troops to be there but he needed approval from those two entities, why weren't they there?

Guys, I am not justifying the riots in any way, shape, or form over 2020. I've been on this show and in print. I've been very clear about that.

HANNITY: I'm not accusing you that. You're consistent, so am I.

CONCHA: We need consistency.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: I was condemning these riots in real time.

CONCHA: -- the former president talking about how Mike Pence could overturn an election when he can't overturn an election, all right? We have to stop that kind of talk.

HANNITY: You are dealing with a separate issue and Mark Levin agrees with you.

TERRELL: That's a totally separate issue.

HANNITY: But that's not the issue here. I will give you the last word, Leo. Quick.

TERRELL: Justice has to be equal.

CONCHA: OK.

TERRELL: Justice has to be equal. And giving out a pardon is a right of any president, prosecutorial discretion and what's happened is very clear. The numbers that Sean show is that none of those people who rioted, looted, committed murder, have been let -- have been given a get out of jail card simply because that represents the Democratic base.

HANNITY: And, Leo --

CONCHA: And, Leo, anybody who hurts a police officer in January 6th also should never be pardoned in any way, shape, or form.

TERRELL: That's the individual choice of the president.

HANNITY: They already got there pardon, they are not been prosecuted, 574 riots.,

CONCHA: They all should be prosecuted. That's the point, Sean.

HANNITY: Most of them go free, that's the equivalent of a pardon.

We need consistency. There I agree with you.

CONCHA: I agree.

HANNITY: Coming up, shocking new report about Congresswoman Maxine Waters, allegedly now paying her daughter a massive amount of money with campaign cash. If Republicans win back the House, will these scandals be investigated? In other words, will now Minority Leader in the House Kevin McCarthy go after Nancy Pelosi and the likes of Maxine Waters and others?

He'll answer the question, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: Now, more evidence tonight about how Democrats in the swamp and D.C. use their political status and enrich themselves and their families. Now, we're learning that since 2003, Karen Waters, she is the daughter of Congresswoman Maxine Waters, has received over a million bucks in payments from her mom to her and her company called Progressive Connections for alleged campaign-related services.

We reached out to Congresswoman Waters' office for comment, we have yet to hear back. Imagine that.

This comes amid continuing momentum on Capitol Hill to pass legislation to restrict stock trading by members of Congress, but Pelosi, she is sending mixed messages. She going to join a group of bipartisan lawmakers to bring about accountability to the corrupt swamp, and what can we expect from a GOP majority if they take back control in November?

Here now, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Listen, I want to know a lot of things. I want to know if you -- if you would investigate Maxine Waters' daughter and the money there. Pelosi's stock trading, I want to know if you investigate that.

I want to know if you would form a committee looking into the riots of 2020, and maybe even an investigation into the biggest purveyor of election lies in history, and that's Adam Schiff.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Sean, we will look at everything, because you need to trust your government. And right now, people don't.

If we were given the ability to be in the majority, this is exactly what we'll do. And it's not something that I'm waiting around. Right now, you do have the ability to pay a family member. I think that's just wrong with your campaign. But they have to do the work and the compensation has to be equal for the work done.

This raises amazing questions. A million dollars, what really have they done with the campaign?

I raised this issue long ago and already said we would look at whether members can buy individual stocks, but this is much different. Nancy Pelosi is the one member in Congress that can control what comes to the floor, what can come out of committee, and what can pass.

Now, her husband didn't buy individual stock, but bought options, much riskier. Bought options when it came to tech companies -- at the same time the Democrats said they were going to overhaul the tech community.

You know what was interesting what his options came due that month? That's when the tech bills went in committee. They made $5 million in one month. You wonder why she fights so hard to keep that the rule.

If we were in the majority, we will look at not just this, but we'll hold this administration accountable.

What about looking at the origins of COVID? We have 900,000 Americans killed from this coming from China. And next week, they're going to celebrate with the Olympics there.

But what about the attorney general going after parents, saying they are terrorists? And did the secretary of education have something to do with that?

And what about Afghanistan? How did that take place?

Now, we've got a president and administration that works and hide from us when they put illegals on airplanes and sends them throughout the country. They are more concerned about illegals getting into America than Americans getting back from Afghanistan.

This is just the start of what we'll do, but we are prepared to change on day one. That's why not just you, but all your viewers to go to Fire Pelosi, and join the team of bringing trust back to your government.

HANNITY: But you know something, Congressman? This can't be like the 65 show votes to repeal or replace Obamacare, and then Donald Trump's president will sign the bill, and then, oops, never mind. You're saying these things will happen.

MCCARTHY: Sean, they're not just going to happen. We're running them today trying to get them through, but Pelosi is stopping it.

We will come out with a commitment to America long before the election where we will tell the American public, if you trust us with the majority, this is what we promise our commitment to you to do, a laundry list of bills, a parent's bill of rights, streets become safer again.

Why would you ever get a cop grant if you have a D.A. that will only pick and choose which laws they want to prosecute?

What about looking at small business? What about securing the border? What about making America into energy independent, and then holding this administration accountable?

That's why we need to fire Pelosi and that's why we need everyone to join with us.

HANNITY: All right. Thank you, Kevin McCarthy. We appreciate your time.

When we come back, just hours ago, breaking , USA Swimming has just issued a brand new policy for transgender athletes. We have a live report on this.

And Governor Glenn Younkin rescinding Virginia school mass mandates. Students, they're still being suspended if they don't wear the mask. Did they get -- missed the message or they don't care what the governor says? Straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. This is just breaking. U.S. Swimming has now just released a new policy for transgender athletes. Here with the very latest, our own Matt Finn.

Matt, this could be big.

MATT FINN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Sean, controversial transgender swimmer Lia Thomas's swimming career at the University of Pennsylvania might be coming to a halt because of new USA Swimming rules just released today. USA Swimming says it will continue to champion gender equity but acknowledges a competitive difference in its male and female elite athletes.

So, USA Swimming's new rules require in part that transgender athletes have their testosterone levels monitored for at least 36 months before applying to compete to determine if their testosterone level is greater than the average female. It's not clear exactly when 22 year old Lia Thomas began taking testosterone suppressors, but the "Daily Mail" reports it appears she might fall a few months short of the new 36-month monitoring rule.

The NCAA follows USA swimming guidelines affecting Thomas. FOX News reached out to the NCAA and Penn for clarification. An anonymous teammate previously spoke out against the transgender swimmer for being an undefeatable competitor. However, today, members of Penn swimming released a statement supporting Thomas.

We'll keep you updated, Sean.

HANNITY: All right. Matt, thank you.

Caitlyn Jenner on this show said, I'm not really worried about testosterone levels now, what were they like when a person was 16 or 17? Interesting comments. We'll follow the story.

Also tonight, more evidence of how draconian COVID restrictions and frankly unhinged lunacy is wrecking the lives of America's kids in school. Fairfax County in Virginia is now bullying families, they're suspending students who are making a decision to not wear a mask following Governor Glenn Youngkin's order which gives parents and students the choice if they want to wear one or not. According to parents, Fairfax public schools, they're now trying to amend the school's dress code as a workaround to push their never-ending pandemic power grab.

And the school district told us in a statement in part, quote, we are required under Virginia law, Senate bill 13-03 to follow CDC guidance to the maximum extent practical and current CDC guidance for K-12 education is universal masking.

But that response is entirely misleading if not outright false, and co- sponsor of that legislation said, quote, SB13-03 has been used against our children and against its intent this school year to advance an agenda. So SB13-03 does not mandate the use of masks in schools because the CDC does not mandate masks.

But the school district, they're refusing to follow the science, refusing to give students and parents the choice refusing to hold themselves accountable for their obvious and undeniable failures.

Anyway, here with more, Stephanie Lundquist-Arora, now she is the parent of three kids suspended for not wearing their masks in school, along with FOX News contributor and a parent or own right, Lara Trump, is back with us.

All right. These are your three kids. I want to -- and though now we now have the author of that law saying that's not the intent, that's not what it says. This isn't required. But why is the school district forcing you to do it and what do you plan to do?

STEPHANIE LUNDQUIST-ARORA, MOM OF 3 WHO ARE SUSPENDED FOR NOT WEARING MASKS: Well, Sean, I'm not really sure that this is even about masks anymore. It kind of feels like it's a liberty versus tyranny debate, and a local government trying to have as much control over its people as possible. So I asked my sons in the beginning of this whole thing, I said, you don't have to go to school with your mask off if you don't want to. It's entirely your choice.

And they've been complaining over time about their heads hurt, it's hard to be in a mask all day. They don't want to be in a mask. So my three sons collectively decided that they didn't want to be in a mask and I told them I will follow your lead 150 percent. It's your choice, let's do it.

So every single day we've gone in, they're told, put the mask on, put the mask on, because that's what FCPS is saying is they're trying to follow Senate bill 1303. And my sons say, my mom has opted us out and then they get sent to the office every single day.

So the office calls me and says, they are failing to comply with the mask mandate and you need to come get them. So, every single day since Tuesday, January 25th, Monday was a work day for us, I went to school and I picked them up 10 minutes basically after the bell rang and I've been given suspension papers.

HANNITY: Yeah.

LUNDQUIST-ARORA: And I think the real story here is about the fortitude of the boys who keep doing this. I'm very proud of them for their kind of civil disobedience or their civil obedience depending on how you see things.

So what do I plan to do? I've been appealing every single time they get suspended to the superintendent and the FCPS school board and saying, this is unfair, it's draconian, that you're suspending them. Why are you even suspending them? And they say -- well, not to me, nobody's responding to me. But they say dress code violation is what it says in the paperwork. So --

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: I just can't believe you're going through this. Yeah, let me -- let me bring Lara Trump.

And, Lara, you know everything that they told us, Fauci March 2020, masks don't work, then one mask, then two masks, and three masks, and vaxxer masks, then vax mask and then unvax mask, booster -- I mean the bar shifts and changes. That's why nobody trusts any of these people.

But as a parent, it is so stifling and the science does not support it. So what happened to follow the science?

LARA TRUMP, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Oh it's a great question. And I want to say kudos to Stephanie. Thank you for standing up for your children. Thank you for giving them the choice.

LUNDQUIST-ARORA: Thank you. I appreciate it.

TRUMP: You know, if you would have told people two years ago that there would be any student in America who would be suspended for not wearing a mask to school people would have said, you are crazy, Sean, this is not even possible in the United States of America, and yet it is happening right now.

So let's back up, yes, Governor Youngkin signed an executive order giving parents the choice as to whether or not to mask their kids. He never said, if you want to ask your kid, you are not able to.

And then to your point, Sean, the science. The science has been very clear. The only masks that actually prevent transmission of COVID-19 are N95 masks. If you were wearing anything other than that, basically, it is just for show. Stephanie just talked about the headaches that our kids get.

We know the kids sitting for eight hours a day and these masks all day, they can't concentrate on learning. It is so bad for them. They can't have great communication with their peers because they can't see the peers face. They can't communicate well with the teacher because they can't see the teacher's face. If you have young kids like I do my daughters too, and you know this is when they're forming their speech.

They need to be able to see the mouths of an adult and other kids to actually learn how to speak. Now, the mass prevents something, they prevent other viruses that your child needs to develop a robust immune system from getting in. So, we are preventing our children as well from developing that.

And then I understand as well that at some of these schools, Sean, they actually had police officers outside to force kids as young as seven to put on masks. So you look at how ridiculous that is.

Meanwhile, all over this country, we have crime through the roof, police are not allowed to do their jobs. You have people able to commit robberies, murders, anything in broad daylight, shoot people, anything they want get away with it and these kids are being forced to wear these masks, and it is absolutely outrageous. There is no science backing to this.

Anyone that's forcing a kid to wear a mask ought to be ashamed of themselves.

HANNITY: You know, Stephanie, I really feel sorry for you, and I feel sorry for other parents in your situation and what are your plans? Real quick, we don't -- we have some breaking news we got to get to. What are your plans real quick if they don't, in fact, you know concede and allow your children to make the choice that you want them to make?

LUNDQUIST-ARORA: Well, I think in the end, Sean, justice will prevail. So I'm confident even if Fairfax County were to have some success tomorrow suing the state government, I think the Supreme Court of Virginia would have something else to say and I think the attorney general is confident about that too. So hopefully, in the end, the suspensions will be overturned. But you know, you don't -- you don't know unless you try.

HANNITY: I want to thank you for being with us.

Laura, you're going to stay with us right there. We have some breaking news.

A FOX News alert, the president of ABC has now announced that Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended for two weeks from "The View".

Lara Trump is sticking with us on this particular issue.

Let's get your initial reaction. I'm -- you know, I've -- I know Whoopi. I'll go to my points in a second. I want to get your initial reaction -- Lara.

TRUMP: Well, I heard you at the top of the show, Sean, say that you didn't believe that you know she should be suspended and we know what the calls would be if the shoe were on the other foot, if it was somebody on FOX News, for example, who had said something like this. Every media outlet out there, every Democrat out there would be calling for their suspension.

But you know what? I think you were very kind to say that. It is nice to see that people are taking this seriously because look Whoopi Goldberg is a very influential person. She reaches millions of people every single day. What she said was flat out wrong.

It sounded -- maybe she didn't intend it to sound this way, very anti- Semitic and very hateful. And so, although she came out and corrected herself and apologized, I think it's nice for once to see that perhaps a step has been taken by an outlet that that we know otherwise kind of lets people get away with these things if they -- if they agree with them politically. So interesting to see this outcome and quite frankly, I'm happy to see them taking some sort of action.

HANNITY: And let's get your take -- Joe Concha back with us. This breaking news, ABC, if you missed it just suspended Whoopi Goldberg over her comments on the Holocaust.

You know, look, I've done this my whole career, Joe, and I -- and people have pressured me and some people get angry with me. Hannity, that you know that they would do that to any conservative, why do you say -- why do you - - why do you not support boycotts? Why do you never call for cancellation or firing?

I said, well, I think her apology is sincere. I think she's learned a lot in the process. If two weeks off is the penalty, it's better than being cancelled, and I just -- I have a just a reflexive reaction to cancel because I don't like what somebody says, because you don't have to watch "The View". I hate to tell you, I don't watch "The View".

Reaction?

CONCHA: Yeah. I'm not surprised you don't watch "The View". Look, you've been very consistent on this, Sean, the transcripts show it, that you never call for anybody to be canceled, that in the past, you've always said that people deserve second chances. I think that this is a good compromise in terms of what you're calling for and what others are calling for in terms of Whoopi Goldberg being outright fired, right, because a suspension -- at least there's accountability for her words that offended so many people. I mean, the backlash on this has been incredible.

It should be noted that Whoopi Goldberg, she resigned with ABC just a few months ago. Four-year deal, goes into seven figures, so there's a business aspect to this in terms of not firing her.

But staffers were particularly upset about those comments. They felt they were bad enough and then her explanation on Colbert last night they think was even worse.

So, look, it should be underscored, the one quote that she has but I think really ticked people off is this is white people doing it to white people. So this is y'all go fight amongst yourselves. On a program or some truly craptastic things are said, this actually stands out, and Whoopi said this isn't about race.

I mean, well, this was Hitler's entire insidious argument, right? Germanic people are superior, Jews are an inferior race, therefore justified, genocide, 6 million people systematically murdered.

So, ABC I think makes the right move here. Suspend her for two weeks, show people that you care, that words do have consequences. Whoopi comes back and maybe she is better for it.

And it should be noted, by the way, also, Sean, that "The View" in 25 years and having thousands upon thousands of hosts, they've had exactly two Jewish co-host and not one in six years, just saying.

HANNITY: You know, I look at this whole controversy, though, and then you can bring Joe Rogan back into it, Lara. And in the case of Joe Rogan, I don't think he should have apologized.

Joe Rogan made a decision with his doctor on how to treat COVID-19 when he contracted the virus. Okay. He threw everything they had at it -- monoclonal, HCQ, ivermectin, that was him -- between him and his doctor. He gets the crap beat out of him.

Then he interviews the guy that was pivotal in creating the mRNA technology that led to the Pfizer, Moderna vaccines that every liberal loves, but he would use it -- he would be more restrictive in its use for all the people, people with comorbidities, obesity, et cetera. OK, that's one doctor's opinion and people want to shut him down and called disinformation.

Has there anybody that has given more false information than Fauci, than Biden, than Jen Psaki, than Walensky, than the CDC, than the NIH? Because they're the biggest misinformers in this entire pandemic.

L. TRUMP: Well, and that's why no one trusts them at this point. You know, it used to be in America the people came to the table, there was a place in public discourse where you could share ideas and you didn't have to always agree with someone's idea. But -- or their thought or their opinions about things but at least you got to hear that.

And perhaps it got you to think a little bit and you know what? I agree with you. I don't think Joe Rogan should have apologized at all. I don't know that he did anything wrong.

And to your point, this was a doctor on there, a guy that was very pivotal in developing these vaccines and had a lot of knowledge of this subject. So if you're putting a lot of weight in someone like Dr. Fauci, who has proven himself time and time and time again to be wrong about just about everything, why can't Joe Rogan have someone on his show and just let this guy share his opinions?

There should be no reason we have to have disclaimers. My gosh, there's disclaimers on everything in life now, so much so that no one even pays attention to them anymore. It's absolutely pointless. But it would be nice if we could get back to a place where everyone could equally share their opinions no matter their political views, no matter what you think or you don't know what their political view is, that's what America is all about.

HANNITY: Let's go back and play Whoopi's original comments that led to the suspension just announced. Hang on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOLDBERG: I feel, being Black, when we talk about race, it's a very different thing to me, so I said that I felt that the Holocaust wasn't about race. And people got very, very, very angry and still are angry. I mean, I'm getting all of the mail from folks in the very real anger because people feel very differently.

But I thought it was a salient discussion because as a Black person, I think of race as being something that I can see. So I see you and I know what race you are.

And let's be truthful about it because the Holocaust isn't about race.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

GOLDBERG: No. It's not about race --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it is --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, they consider Jews a different race.

GOLDBERG: But it's not about race. It's not about race.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is it about?

GOLDBERG: It's about man's inhumanity to man. That's what it's about.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But it's about white supremacy.

(CROSSTALK)

GOLDBERG: But these are two white groups of people.

(CROSSTALK)

GOLDBERG: But you're missing the point. You're missing the point. The minute you turn it into race, it goes down this alley.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: You know, Joe, as I watch first, I thought it was very inarticulate that it appears on Colbert. It was -- it was a sloppy attempt at cleaning up but her original comments. There's no bigger supporter in my entire career of Israel than I have been, and virulent anti-Semitism. We better pay attention to it, because it's real and it's all around the entire world at this point. It's a real danger to the state of Israel, our closest ally, in the Middle East.

And she recognized the evil, but did she not know the history, or did she just negate the history? She recognized evil, man's inhumanity to man, 6 million Jews were slaughtered, millions other slaughtered.

I wrote a book about evil. I wrote directly about the evils of the Holocaust and how they were exterminated in Nazi Germany.

What are your thoughts? We have a minute.

CONCHA: Sure, and it's not like there were exterminated immediately. They were worked to the bone to the point where they are were no longer productive in terms of working at those Holocaust camps. If you've actually read about it, then they were exterminated. I mean, that's how horrible it was.

So, Whoopi Goldberg's I guess, you know, study of the Holocaust which have been seeing "Schindler's List" 30 years ago.

But here's an idea for people on TV in general. Stop making comparisons to the Holocaust.

HANNITY: That's a good advice.

CONCHA: Stop comparing modern politicians like Donald Trump to Hitler, because you know nothing about how horrible it was. And when you make those comparisons, it's an insult to every single surviving family member that knows somebody who was lost in the Holocaust and all those Jews, 6 millions, that were killed. That's all it got to say.

HANNITY: You know what, in the last century, we lost 100 million human souls, Mao, China, Stalin, Russia, Hitler, fascism, you name it. A lot of evil.

And Whoopi is out for two weeks.

More HANNITY next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. Unfortunately, that is all the time we have for tonight. As always, we thank you for making the show possible and for joining us. Please set your DVR so you never miss an episode.

And in the meantime, with a lot of breaking news, Whoopi Goldberg suspended for 2 weeks by ABC.

Let not your heart be troubled because Laura Ingraham, she'll give you her take in all of the news of the day.

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