'The Ingraham Angle' on Biden admin on the ropes

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Ingraham calls out Biden’s new bogeymen

The Biden administration is on the ropes, and it will use just about any possible excuse to change the subject and silence its critics.

This is a rush transcript of "The Ingraham Angle" on February 22, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Sean, is there anything that Biden has done?

HANNITY: No.

INGRAHAM: I mean, anything that has worked out. Is it? I mean, usually you'll get one thing or maybe even a small measure. Did he rename any post offices or is there anything he did that was right? This is just off the charts.

HANNITY: He did one that's good.

INGRAHAM: What?

HANNITY: He seems to be helping out the ice cream business. If he's a good little Joey. They take him out, get him ice cream, and cookies and milk and send them on the bed.

INGRAHAM: I mean, the - you do have to start - is how do we last three more years with this?

HANNITY: It's bad.

INGRAHAM: And all I can say help is on the way in November.

HANNITY: God help us.

INGRAHAM: But awesome show. I can't wait to watch Pence tomorrow.

HANNITY: All right. Have a good show.

INGRAHAM: All right. I'm Laura Ingraham. This is THE INGRAHAM ANGLE from Washington tonight.

Now as the Biden Administration beats the war drums and Ukraine, they're actively gutting our Military with these vaccine mandates. We're going to speak to one former West Point cadet who was forced out.

And speaking of Biden, he wants you to pay higher gas prices. Yes. And they're going up, up, up. Stephen Miller and Congressman Jim Banks are here to explain what's happening.

And there's an eight way contest for the GOP nomination in the Pennsylvania Senate race. We're going to speak to one of the candidates later on in the hour.

But first, "Biden's New Boogeyman" that's the focus of "Tonight's Angle." Now the Biden Administration is on the ropes, as Sean and I just talked about, and it's going to use just about any possible excuse it can find to change the subject and then silence its critics.

Now let's just walk past down memory lane. First, they used the riots of January six as a justification to fence off the Capitol with razor wire. They did this for several months, by the way, costing us 10s of millions of dollars. I don't even think we know the final amount. The FBI treated ordinary citizens who weren't part of any violence at all at the Capitol as dangerous insurrectionists and domestic terrorists.

Second, they used COVID to villainize medical professionals who were actually treating COVID patients, who also saw right through Tony Fauci's bureaucratic bladder, and the CDC is cherry pick data. Remember, our medicine cabinet knew for two years that lockdowns were just going to prolong the pandemic, and closing the schools was going to end up destroying kids' lives.

Doctors who questioned Biden and all of the medical experts that were touted on television every day from the Left, well, the doctors who actually knew what they were doing had their livelihoods threatened. In the end, though, we were right, and the mandates are finally being lifted.

Now, obviously, neither of those topics worked to turn Americans attention away from Biden's mounting domestic problems of crime, inflation, high energy prices, and an open border. A wall of opposition is building against Democrats nationwide.

Now remember Virginia parents, they elected Glenn Youngkin, after saying that the teachers unions are really the ones in charge in education. And in that world, Aristotle loses out to Ibram Kendi, and George Washington is just not as important as George Floyd. Now, this is going to flatten the Democrats this fall, and I think they know it.

So this leaves Democrats with no other choices this election season, but to go with a golden oldie. So forget about the gas, closing in on $5 a gallon, because Russia is on the move.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're united in our understanding of the urgency and seriousness of the threat Russia is making to global peace and stability.

ANTHONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: This is the greatest threat to security in Europe since World War II. Ukraine is in danger. President Putin is blatantly and violently breaking the laws.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I mean, listen, guys. We're talking about the potential for war in Europe. I mean, let's really take a moment to understand the significance of what we're talking about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Do any of these people really care about Ukraine and Russia? Now remember, not long ago, Obama talked about he wanted to make deals with Russia, and then he made fun of Romney for sounding the alarm on Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, 44TH U.S. PRESIDENT: Few months ago, when you were asked what's the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia, not al-Qaeda, you said Russia. In the 1980s or now calling to ask for their foreign policy back, because the Cold War been over for 20 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: The Democrats don't care about Russia, they never have. They care about holding on to power at all costs. They certainly didn't care about Russia when the Soviet Union was actually a real threat to the United States in the 1980s.

But now that Russia has an economy about the size of Italy's, they care. So how do we get here? Well, the answer, believe it or not, lies over in China, which has now become Russia's biggest booster in this current conflict.

For two decades, elites here in the United States thought it was a good idea to build up China, make them richer and more powerful, even. Biden not only thought it, but he said it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: That a rising China is a positive, positive development, not only for China, but for America and the world writ large.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: And now China has all it needs to prop up Russia, no matter what Putin does in Ukraine. Biden not only got a rising China, they're poised to surpass the United States economically, and already have a larger standing army than we do. So to the extent that Russia is any real threat today, it's only because China is standing beside them.

Biden promised he was going to return us, didn't he, to our proper standing in the global community, the rules based international order. And that he was going to be a unifying force around the world. Remember that? But after one year, he's weakened America, and he's united our enemies - quite an accomplishment.

Mark my words, as long as China is perceived as the most powerful country in the world, the U.S. is going to have a tough time campaigning someone like Putin. Rather than figuring out ways to make China weaker and unite America, Biden and the Hill Democrats are looking for new villains here at home.

"Searching for a strategy to avoid a 2020 midterm disaster, advisers to President Biden have discussed elevating a unifying Republican foil not named Donald Trump." That was from Axios today.

Now that political sage from the islands Mazie Hirono, told Axios, "I wish that we could just find one face that we could point to, such as with Donald Trump - maybe a composite. I'd like us to do a much more effective job, but really drawing the contrast between Republicans and Democrats."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Now, one idea being considered is to substitute Trump with Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. ALEXANDER VINDMAN, FMR NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL DIRECTOR FOR EUROPE: These right wing pundits and the GOP that supports him really, frankly, have blood on their hands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does it safe that you have people like Tucker Carlson in Fox News, drumming up support for Putin?

REP. DAVID CICILLINE (D-RI): Yes, I mean, look, it's not frustrating. It's sickening. It's un-American.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tucker Carlson is one of the most dangerous people alive right now, actually. The voices of the newly radicalized GOP, they're all on the Putin train.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: They're on the Putin train. And then once respected Harvard law professor liberal, Larry Tribe has gone full despot, tweeting then deleting this. "Led by Fox News Channel's Tucker Carlson, the GOP's Trump wing appears to be throwing its weight behind Putin. If Putin opts to wage war on our ally, Ukraine, such aid and comfort to an enemy would appear to become treason, as defined by Article III of the U.S. Constitution."

By the way, he actually, I think, wrote a constitutional law textbook. It's in our law schools right now. But of course, this isn't about silencing critics. Is it? No, calling them traitors or questioning whether inching toward war with Russia is the right choice now?

Now, perhaps Larry has spent too much time in Cambridge. But the entire populist conservative movement was based on the idea of making America so strong economically, that it would be able to avoid future wars or conflicts. But now they have a mumbling imbecile at the White House, bumbling us toward conflict, and they turn around and try to blame us for it? Nice try.

Our nation, of course, remains exceptional. But we've been debilitated by two wars that we didn't win. And now we're sitting on $30 trillion of debt - Republicans and Democrats both responsible for that. But as long as the U.S. stays weak economically, the world will become a harsher and far more cruel place.

That's news to the Left, which has spent the last 15 years attacking our middle class. Rather than trying to fix big problems and make America better, they just used this as an opportunity to demonize their political adversaries.

Now, think about the stupidity of this. We're on the verge of war, and we still have the same Military leadership in place who couldn't get us out of Afghanistan the right way. That's brilliant. And we're on the verge of war, and our trade policies are still making China, Russia's new strong friend, richer by the day.

Biden has driven our energy prices higher by limiting domestic drilling. And who benefits from that? Not us. Putin does. Every time oil prices go up and Biden's supporters, remember, love high energy costs, they are climate crazy. Russia has more money in its pocket to fund its Military ambitions. Putin is happy.

Yesterday it was Trump, the villain they could run against. Then it was January 6th, then it was COVID, then the parents protesting at school board meetings, and now it's Russia and Fox News. But the important thing to remember in all of this, is that after 25 years of establishment leadership, except for the four years of Donald Trump, who got it right, America is dramatically weaker.

So going forward, it's the job of our leaders to fix America, rebuild the military culture, and find a way to get more leverage over China. Meanwhile, the Democrats are slowly committing political suicide. And that's "The Angle."

Joining us now, Tucker Carlson, Host of "Tucker Carlson Tonight," and of course on Fox Nation, "Tucker Carlson Today." Tucker, the Left is clearly trying to use this Russia scenario as a way to silence critics - you, myself others on Fox News, who are merely asking questions about this slow roll in the Ukraine with U.S. Military support. Your reaction to what you've heard.

TUCKER CARLSON, TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT HOST: Well, thank you for that monologue and for not being intimidated or mindless as so many Republicans, I hate to say it, have been. The question that I think the country needs answer is a really simple one, and it has nothing to do with the intricacies of Russia and Ukraine's border dispute.

The question is, why does intervening in Eastern Europe, in this conflict benefit the United States? What a Central American principles interests are at stake here? And simply by asking that question, you're immediately denounced as unpatriotic by the very people who openly hate America.

I mean, one of the many layers of irony here is that the people are constantly telling you it's a racist country, founded on slavery, it's an evil place, are the quickest to whip around and accuse you of committing treason - a death penalty offense as Larry Tribe that you put it on the screen.

So ignore the barking and ignore the name calling and the moral posturing, and the moral blackmail, which is their specialty, and I think it's important to just keep precisely focused on that question, how is it worth it for the United States facing a lot of turmoil at home, economic and social and this immense rivalry from China, how does it make sense for United States to intervene in this conflict, given our very limited resources? And they can't answer that question, which really should make us nervous, I think.

INGRAHAM: Well, Tucker, for some reason, the same individuals who are pushing the war - you know, the war narrative in Ukraine for U.S. forces, they're the same ones who seem to soft pedal criticism, oftentimes, of China.

CARLSON: Well, of course.

INGRAHAM: And so why love China and be absolutely committed to war against Russia, when the Russia's economy - again it's about the size of Italy's. I'm not saying they're not an adversary, they are.

CARLSON: Sure.

INGRAHAM: But compared to China?

CARLSON: Right. I mean, they're not getting rich from Russia. The Biden family got rich from Ukraine, which is presumably the main reason they've decided to pretend as if we had some treaty with Ukraine, which we don't.

What galls me personally - look, I you know, I believe in acting in whatever ways are necessary to enhance the interest or protect the interest of United States, period. It's a super simple guide to action abroad in my opinion, and it's a traditional one. It's not isolationism. I'm not against all wars. I don't think you are either. Just stupid, counterproductive wars that costs the lives of Americans and hurt our economy, of course.

But what's so galling, what's infuriating is to hear these people who don't respect the basic precepts of democracy, the most basic of all of which, of course, is the people rule. They don't respect that at all. Are telling us that Ukraine is a democracy, therefore, we have a moral obligation to defend it.

You can't say that. Ukraine is not a democracy. Ukraine is a country in which the President, the ruling party, supported by Joe Biden, essentially managed by the State Department, has arrested the main opposition leader. Has closed opposition media, newspapers and television stations. That's not a democracy.

And by the way, if the Biden Administration believes that is a model democracy, we got to be very concerned. Because it's not. It's authoritarian.

INGRAHAM: Well, and Tucker, it seems that again, the elites, the people who you and I have spoken about written about for decades, who got rich off globalization and the deindustrialization of the United States.

CARLSON: Yes.

INGRAHAM: they are absolutely committed to keeping this entire dynamic with NATO going. Long after Germany, even with the stopping of the Nord Stream pipeline, at least temporarily, Germany clearly is far less interested in containing Russia than we are. And we're not even enforcing our own border, and we're supposed to enforce Ukraine's border. How does that make any sense to the average American out there?

CARLSON: Well, I mean, at one point, the Biden Administration got ahead of the President of Ukraine in calling for some sort of conservation. Even Ukrainians were like whoa, settle down Joe Biden, much less the Germans. I mean, it's a whole separate conversation.

But in one sentence, energy matters. You can't run a civilization without it. I don't care what Sandy Cortez claims. The truth is, we have progress. We have lights, we have hospitals, we have airplanes. We are not living in caves, because we have cheap energy. That's a prerequisite for civilization.

Germany cares about gas from Ukraine and Russia period. Why wouldn't they? We should care. We're pretending as if we don't need energy. They're going to wreck our economy with this nonsense. We've been rich for so long, we don't fully understand what that means. But it's a disaster. You don't want to be a poor country. And they're on the road to making us one.

INGRAHAM: Well, the same individuals, who in the 1980s, when I was in college--

CARLSON: Yes.

INGRAHAM: --were making excuses for the Soviet Union.

CARLSON: Yes.

INGRAHAM: And had the no nukes concerts. Remember those Tucker all over Europe--

CARLSON: Of course, very well.

INGRAHAM: It was Jackson Browne and No Nukes. And it was Ronnie Reagan, and they hated this Strategic Defense Initiative. All those people are now like, well, this much weaker Russia is our biggest problem facing the United States.

And meanwhile, you have people on television like Joy Reid, who thinks that anyone isn't beating the war drums is basically a Kremlin apologist. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOY REID, MSNBC HOST, "AM JOY": Trump's ties to Russia, to help his campaign excepted from them and his adoration of Vladimir Putin, are all too real. And worse, Trump's Putin love has seemed to infect many in his party, so much so that the Republican Party once stalwart opponents of Soviet aggression during the Cold War, are now essentially Kremlin apologists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Tucker, that's the line, you're going to hear that a lot.

CARLSON: I mean, I just - I have to say you got to just like, pull back a little bit. That woman who is a moron went to Harvard. I went to Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. So who's got the privilege? Exactly. This is someone who's not capable of thinking clearly, or expressing yourself clear, or writing a coherent sentence, and she got into Harvard.

So it does tell you that our system is producing - its elevating and producing like the most mediocre people imaginable. That's the core problem. And they run every American institution, these people have been brought up through a system that is designed to create compliant brain dead, dumb leaders. And it's doing that very effectively.

INGRAHAM: You think the American people, given what we're facing this, this push for higher and higher energy prices, because the Left thinks $10 a gallon isn't high enough. I mean, they want gas to be so unaffordable that we're all going around in those green scooters all day long or so.

CARLSON: Of course.

INGRAHAM: So do you think when they're facing those high gas prices at the pumps and heating oil at home, do you think any of this - the war drums beating, is that going to bring people along to Biden's cause in the Democrat party?

CARLSON: I mean, look, it's pretty clear if you're closing pipelines in this country, and now you are provoking conflict with the largest gas supplier in Europe. Maybe you're making a play against fossil fuels. This has two effects. One is ideological, they hate fossil fuels on principles that Sandy Cortez's position.

Kamala Harris doesn't believe in anything. But she has donors and friends who are making a ton from alternative energy - from renewables, which are not sustainable and real energy sources, actually. But if you hike, the cost of fossil fuels way up, all of a sudden, those investments become more profitable.

So, yes, of course, it's about energy, actually and no one's saying. It's not about democracy, I can promise you that. There's one thing that these people are not in favor of, it's democracy. So don't let them tell you otherwise.

INGRAHAM: Tucker, so great, I haven't even talked to you for the longest time. So this is longest we got to talk. All right, Tucker, great to have you on. Thanks for joining us.

All right, the latest developments in Ukraine in moments.

Plus, Biden finally admits what you'll have to give up in order to secure Ukraine's borders. We hinted at it. But stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: Let's go now to a Fox News Alert on a situation unfolding in Ukraine. Fox's Lucas Tomlinson is on the ground Lviv, Ukraine with the latest, Lucas.

LUCAS TOMLINSON, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Laura some of the American diplomats that evacuated this city in Western Ukraine have started to trickle back in, as new satellite photos from Maxar show Russian forces moving closer to the border, including Ukraine second largest city.

This Russian field hospital, just 12 miles from the border right now. And this second photo shows more Russian armored units being delivered by rail. U.S. officials say all signs continue pointing to a potential full scale invasion.

In Washington Ukraine's top diplomat met his American counterpart and later visited the White House. His message regarding sanctions against Russia was simple.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hit Russia's economy now, and hit it hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TOMLINSON: Some in the West want to turn up the temperature on Moscow. The British sanctioned five small Russian banks. The four were previously sanctioned by the U.S. Now U.S. officials tell me they're seeing more fuel shipments being delivered to frontline Russian forces, concerning sign here on the ground in Ukraine. Laura.

INGRAHAM: Lucas, I'm confused about what President Biden has said today. He said - and I just want to make sure I get it right. He said, we have no intention of fighting Russia. But we want to send an unmistakable message that the U.S. together their allies - NATO allies will defend every inch of NATO territory and by the commitments we've made.

Is that confusing to hear if you're Vladimir Putin and you're thinking of moving in, in a full scale invasion?

TOMLINSON: Well, U.S. officials say what the President's referring to there is supporting NATO. Of course, Ukraine is not in NATO, and President Putin does not want to see Ukraine become part of NATO. It's one of the reasons we're in this situation.

So President Biden is moving forces, some 5,000 are in Poland, some are going to be pushing out to the Baltic States. He's also moving 32 Apache gunships to Poland and the Baltic States. That's what the President's furring to is supporting NATO countries, not Ukraine. Least militarily, besides weapons shipments, of course.

INGRAHAM: Lucas, thank you so much for staying up for us. We really appreciate it.

And after slapping sanctions on Russia today, Biden admitted something, we warned you about before, he got elected. He wants you to pay more at the pump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Defending freedom will have costs for us as well, here at home. We need to be honest about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Joining me now is Stephen Miller, America First Legal Founder and former Trump Senior Adviser at the White House and also with me is Indiana Congressman Jim Banks, Republican Study Committee.

Steve, is this just giving the Democrats cover to stick it to Americans and continue this war on private vehicle ownership and use in the United States?

STEPHEN MILLER, "AMERICA FIRST LEGAL" FOUNDER: Well, it is very convenient. They shut down America's pipelines, the cancelled leases for oil and natural gas drilling. They put enormous new restrictions on the ability to explore and expand energy domestically. And now they're saying oh, well, you're really paying more for energy, because of Vladimir Putin, so really it has nothing to do with any of the policy choices that we've made here in America.

The truth is, there's one problem, America should truly never have - and that is paying high prices at the pump or paying high prices to heat or cool your home, because we are one of the most energy rich nations on planet Earth. We had energy independence under Donald Trump. And they made a decision - a voluntary decision to end our energy independence.

INGRAHAM: Congressman Banks, think of where would be today vis-a-vis Russia and the leverage they would have over us or not, if we had just left Trump's policies in place. This is just yet another example of the situation around us crumbling, because Biden stayed on the fanaticism and away from common sense.

REP. JIM BANKS (R-IN): Yes, Laura, across the board, whether you whether you're talking about going overnight from being an energy independent nation, to one that's reliant on oil coming from foreign countries, especially from our adversaries, like Russia, whether you're talking about the border crisis, or crime rates around this country.

On almost every crisis and issue facing America today, there is a direct line between decisions that Joe Biden and this administration made in the very first days on - when they came into office, and the crisis that we're facing in this country today.

And the very fact that across the board, on average, Americans are spending a buck and a quarter more per gallon for gasoline at the pumps, that's directly related, as Steven said, to stopping drilling on federal lands and in ending construction of the Keystone Pipeline. That's why you're spending more at the pump. It's not because of Vladimir Putin.

INGRAHAM: And, Stephen, the numbers for Biden in the new Gallup Poll on Russia, are abysmal. We keep asking how low can he go in polls? The question is, is there even a floor for Biden support? I'm not sure there is. But it keeps edging lower and lower and lower. And do you think there's a hunger for more Military involvement in this situation, ever precarious as it is, in Ukraine?

MILLER: No, there most assuredly, is not. And I will say if you study the history of World War I, what you know is that complex networks of alliances, combined with foolish, hasty or rash thinking, can potentially lead to enormous and deadly conflict. And so we have to tread with extreme care and caution here.

We have to keep in mind, part of the reason why people are so upset at Joe Biden is while they're seeing him stumbling and bumbling around Europe, talking about Ukrainian sovereignty, they're also keenly aware of the fact that Joe Biden has actually launched a full scale assault on American sovereignty and has erased our own Southern border.

So while we are paying more for energy prices because of this failed Europe policy, we are paying an American lives for his failed border policy.

INGRAHAM: And there is an interesting comment made by the Pentagon spokesman about this burgeoning bromance between President Xi and Putin, Congressman. I want to play it for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We have certainly been watching the at least public burgeoning relationship here between Russia and China. We would say that their tacit support, if you will, for Russia is deeply alarming, and frankly even more destabilizing to the security situation in Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: More destabilizing, I believe he said, than even what Russia is doing in Ukraine, Congressman. Who is responsible for driving Putin into Xi's arms? Are we still saying it is Donald Trump's fault?

REP. JIM BANKS, (R-IN) HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Without a doubt we have the weakest president perhaps ever in the White House who on a daily basis projects weakness and appeasement to our adversaries. For four years, the world was far more safe on Donald Trump's watch than any single day that Joe Biden has been an office. That is a fact. With everything that we see from Russian aggression to China continuing to move toward their ultimate goals, Iran on the rise again acting out and firing missiles and rockets at our greatest ally in Israel. Across the board, the world is far more safer four years under Trump than it has ever been with Joe Biden in the White House. And it's that weakness that Putin is seeing. That is why he is acting out this moment. I'm telling you, Chairman Xi and the Chinese Communist Party, the PLA, are watching the Biden weakness as well, which is going to have even more disastrous consequences down the road.

INGRAHAM: Steve, why do the elites think that Americans care more about defending Ukraine's border than our southern border? I never did figure that out.

MILLER: I think for some of them, there's obviously a lot of financial interests involved, and we have seen that with President Biden's family. I think in other cases, I think there's always been amongst both neocons and Democrats a segment who are excited by the prospect of foreign adventure overseas while being completely emotionally disconnected from and having no, in fact, emotional attachment to their own citizens, their own country, their own borders.

And this administration typifies that, personifies it as no administration ever has before. They truly do not care about the fact that you have Chinese fentanyl pouring through Mexico into our communities, murdering our citizens. You have criminal illegal aliens being freed, preying on innocents, and they don't even care, no compassion for the American lives being lost.

INGRAHAM: Gentlemen, thank you both for being here tonight.

And as the Democrats do saber rattle over Ukraine, Biden's vax mandates are gutting our military. We're going to speak to a former West Point cadet who was forced out for refusing the jab. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: Think about this. Right now, Biden is attempting to deter Vladimir Putin with a military that he is trying to woke-ify. First the, remember, targeted conservatives under the guise of rooting out extremism after January 6th. And now they're discharging soldiers for refusing the COVID vaccine. So thousands of men and women have actually applied for religious exemptions from the military, and they don't want to take the jab. They thought it was completely unnecessary. But out of the 16,000 plus who applied, only 15 were granted those approvals.

I should note that the exemptions were only granted in the last few weeks. In the preceding months, not a single exemption was even issued by the Biden administration.

Worse, the servicemembers who wouldn't get the vax were treated like pariahs, and that includes my next guest. Joining me now is Nickaylah Sampson, a former West Point cadet. Nickaylah, I know you did not apply the exemption. You just got fed up because you refused to get vaccinated. Tell us how this all went down and what the thoughts are of your former fellow cadets.

NICKAYLAH SAMPSON, FORMER WEST POINT CADET: Yes, so the actual date that the mandate came down was September 27th last year. We were all brought into a briefing room in order to get the vaccine. And we knew that what they were doing was illegal because they wanted us to get a non-FDA approved vaccine. The only available vaccine was not FDA approved. The real vaccine that was FDA approved is the Comirnaty one, and when we asked for this specific vaccine, they said it wasn't available, and that it wasn't even in distribution. But this vaccine and the other vaccine were made the same, that was their justification for the mandate. And it was obviously deceitful.

INGRAHAM: Now Nickaylah, you say that at on one point, that to coerce you to take this non-FDA approved vaccine, that West Point advisors kept comparing it -- is this right -- the Advil and Tylenol, which, as most people no, they are not the same drug. So what did you make of that line of reasoning on their part?

SAMPSON: I was shocked. It was clearly deceptive. It was clearly deceptive. The COVID coordinators consistently compared the Comirnaty vaccine and the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine with Advil and Tylenol, saying that they are the same, they are made the same, they do the same thing, therefore, the secretary of defense is justified in him mandating this illegal vaccine to us.

INGRAHAM: And Nickaylah, how did you feel as someone who had a dream, a lifelong dream of graduating from West Point and serving our country in uniform, that this is what changed your whole life plan? I can't imagine how that must've felt you.

SAMPSON: Honestly, I just prayed to God that everything would work out. I did not have any plans. I didn't identify to any school. I just left on a win. I was willing to drop everything because I was not going to compromise my morals for this agenda. I was willing to drop everything right then and there with the faith of knowing that everything was going to be all right in the end.

INGRAHAM: Now the Pentagon is standing by the destructive vax mandate. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: It remains a lawful order. It remains a readiness issue. The vaccines work. And we want everybody to take them and to keep safe, to keep their unit safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Nickaylah, how does it help readiness to needlessly purge the ranks of -- our million ranks of those who, for whatever good reason, don't wish to get vaccinated? Maybe you've already had COVID, may be religious issues, other conscious issues. How does that help our readiness, especially with everything that is happening in Ukraine now?

SAMPSON: It doesn't at all. In fact, it hurts our army way more than people seem to realize. I saw my friends get way more sick from this vaccine than I ever saw them benefit from this vaccine, which was the beginning of my doubts and which is why I decided to do some of my own research and judge for myself whether this vaccine is truly as they say it is. At the end of the day, this was hurting mission readiness, and I sorry for our military.

INGRAHAM: Nickaylah, thank you for speaking out. And thank you for following your conscience on this and sharing your story with us tonight. Are you at Hillsdale? I see your Hillsdale sweatshirt.

SAMPSON: Yes.

INGRAHAM: Oh, my gosh, what a great school. Say hi to Larry Arnn for me, he is my old body. So fantastic.

SAMPSON: I will.

INGRAHAM: I just noticed the Hillsdale sweatshirt. All right, Nickaylah, thank you so much.

And our Democrats trying to get Republicans elected? Wait until we tell you what one liberal candidate's efforts to brainwash kids with CCP propaganda. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: And now it's time for a little midterm mania. Meet Jay Chen, a Democrat running for Congress in California. Back in 2010, he used a seat on the Hacienda La Puente school board to introduce students to the Confucius Classroom Program. Sounds innocuous, right? But as "The Washington Free Beacon" notes, the program is funded and run by China's Ministry of Education, an arm of the Chinese Communist Party.

Thankfully, concerned parents made sure that Chen's attempt to brainwash kids was defeated. Now, you think that Chen would kind of learn from this experience, but instead he is doubling down. In a recent fundraising email, Chen dismissed critics and tried to spin this blatant CCP propaganda ever as a Chinese language and culture program. OK. What a total fraud.

And now to our latest edition of taking back the Senate, it brings us to Pennsylvania, where eight Republican candidates are vying to win the primary in May there. All eyes are on the top two candidates, one of them served in the Turkish military, Dr. Oz, everyone knows him from TV. And the other went to West Point and served as an Army Ranger in the Gulf War. The latter, Dave McCormick, joins me now. Dave, it's good to see you tonight. Thanks for joining us.

DAVID MCCORMICK, (R) PENNSYLVANIA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Good evening, Laura.

INGRAHAM: Now, an earlier poll this month had your opponent, Dr. Oz, up by 11 points, but I guess a new poll by McLaughlin shows you moving ahead, now leading by six points. I think the poll has about 600 primary voters in it. So my question to you is Oz has name recognition, he's very funny, charming. He's a smart guy, he's America's doctor. So how do you overcome that?

MCCORMICK: I'm a Pennsylvania kid, seventh generation. I grew up in Pennsylvania and know my way around. I've spent more than half my life there and been a job creator there. So I'm in my Ford F-150 pickup, and I'm driving from county to county, and I am doing a grassroots campaign, kind of an insurgent campaign. And I'm also doing TV advertising to introduce myself to the voters. And it has been great. We're differently building momentum, and it is validating because the commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a great state and the people there want great leadership. They feel like the country is headed in a terrible direction and they are terrified that we are going to lose the Senate. They need a great senator from Pennsylvania representing their interests.

INGRAHAM: Now, the wrap on you, I think, is going to be that you worked my very good friend Ray Dalio. He runs a hedge fund you were CEO of called Bridgewater. Bridgewater has made a lot of money over in China. And he is a big defender of China, and Ray Dalio is a big defender of China. But you wrote for a piece in FOX Business saying "it is past time for America's leaders to confront head on the CCP which poses the greatest economic and national security threat to the U.S." You said you "will do everything in your power to end our dependence on China."

But, Dave, you were CEO of Bridgewater, and they have a deep engagement with China. So what gives? How will anyone think that you're going to be tough on China without background?

MCCORMICK: I think China really does present this existential risk to our country. Our dependence on China is something we have to break that dependence, and we need a whole nation strategy to do it. And so the case I'm going to make the people of Pennsylvania is, listen, I've spent my entire life doing the things that are going to make me a great leader and a toughminded fighter in China. I spent the first phase of my career in the military focused on fighting the communists, it was just the communists of the USSR.

And then I spent the second phase where I was 2005-2006, at the highest levels of our government negotiating against the Chinese. I've written and spoken about the technology stealing and the human rights abuses and the modernization of the PLA, and was really viewed as a very strong China voice and a China hawk.

And then the first phase of my career you mentioned, which is I ran a big investment firm which did business in 20 countries around the world, including China, about two percent of our business in China. And the way I described that is just like Donald Trump did, which is that international business experience is going to meet me someone who really understand how the global economy works, understand how the Chinese operate, and understand what it takes to go head-to-head with them and beat them. And what it really requires is a whole nation strategy that decouples in key industries --

INGRAHAM: But Dave, Dave.

MCCORMICK: Yes, go ahead.

INGRAHAM: So you are closer to Trump and his position on China then you are with George W. Bush on China? Yes?

MCCORMICK: Yes, absolutely. And I think even in 2006 I was a really strong voice on China. But what happened, as you know well in 2013, is that when Xi came on board, he took China in a much more aggressive direction then it had ever gone before. And that is posing a real risk to our national security, our economy, and so forth. And so it requires a real whole of nation strategy to deal with it and reduce the risks national security wise, but also reduce the risk to our economy.

INGRAHAM: Dave, so you are not in agreement with your former partner, Ray Dalio, on China and the closeness that he believes we should continue to foster with China?

MCCORMICK: Yes, I think we definitely have a different view on the long- term prospects for China, the motivations of China. And that's something -- differences we have held for a long time. And that's OK. He can have its view. I have my view. My view is the one that I think is most important right now in terms of I am making my case to the people of Pennsylvania that I can represent them well on this most critical of issues.

INGRAHAM: That means we need jobs.

MCCORMICK: And I think I've got a track record to do so. What's that?

INGRAHAM: Dave, you've gotten a lot. That means Pennsylvanians need jobs, and you can't keep deindustrializing our country. You clarified a lot, Dave, tonight, and we really appreciate your joining us. We'll be watching this race very closely.

When we come back, the Last Bite.

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INGRAHAM: Aberli and Hank Spear had their daughter at 2:22 in the morning on February 2nd, 2022, and the baby was delivered in room two. Is that the coolest birth time and date ever? Yes, it is.

Everybody, go to LauraIngraham.com and get the great freedom mandate, and Freedom Matters gear all for great charities. And remember, "GUTFELD!" is next.

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