'Ingraham Angle' on COVID mandates, spikes at the border

close

Video

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis fires back in COVID feud with Biden

DeSantis: Biden has no credibility on COVID

This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," August 4, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: All right. I'm Laura Ingraham. And this is THE INGRAHAM ANGLE from Washington.

Tonight, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, as I just said, will respond to President Joe Biden, telling him to get out of the way and dealing with COVID. And tonight, Bill Gates made an absolutely shocking comment about the virus. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has reaction.

But first, a moratorium on the Constitution. That's the focus of tonight's ANGLE.

For four years, Democrats complained that President Trump had no regard for the rule of law or respect for the Constitution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): --out there, or at least enough senators here who understand that America is careening over a constitutional cliff to fight back against lawless overreach by an out of control President.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Donald Trump is lawless, that he believes he is above the law.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): The breaking of the law is Trump's point. He is proud of his lawlessness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Well, well, well, where are all those principal Democrats now? And I have principal in quotes.

Now this week, Joe Biden and his party erased all doubt as to whether they actually respect our Constitution, the Supreme Court's authority and the principle of separation of powers? Well, the short answer, they couldn't care less.

President Biden defied a clear directive from the Supreme Court on the question of whether the administration's COVID eviction moratorium was unconstitutional. Now, it was kind of a quirky deal. It was a 5:4 decision, and the court decided to leave the moratorium in place.

But in a really bizarre move, Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined with the majority of activist justices, but wrote separately that he believed the CDC had, in fact, exceeded its constitutional authority. And that if they continue the moratorium after the expiration date, he would vote to strike it down. In other words, it was very clear. Only Congress, not the White House can enact legislation ordering private landlords to forego rent payments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The bulk of the constitutional scholarship says that it's not likely to pass constitutional muster. But there are several key scholars who think that it may, and it's worth the effort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: You heard that. Biden knows that the Supreme Court will rule that his actions are unconstitutional. But he's so scared of the squad that he'll extend a ban on evictions anyway. I'll just do it anyway, on grounds that, did you hear that, several key scholars think it could survive constitutional muster.

Is that the new standard for Democrats? Several scholars can actually Trump the Supreme Court, really? I somehow must have missed that in law school.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president would not have moved forward with a step where he didn't feel comfortable and confident in the legal justification. He asked the CDC and his legal experts to look at what is possible. This is a narrow, targeted moratorium that is different from the National moratorium. It's not an extension of that. It's a different moratorium from a policy and legal standpoint.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Yes. And six is different from one half dozen. That's just embarrassing. This new and targeted moratorium applies to 90 percent of all rental properties in the United States. This is flagrant lawlessness, and it's brought us to a moment of real peril in this country. All because Democrats, again, are terrified of saying no to the squad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.): This is a huge victory for the power of direct action and not taking no for an answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Never has someone spouted such gibberish so often with such confidence, not taking no for --. Is she referring to the White House saying no, or the Supreme Court saying no? Is the standard now that direct action overrules whatever the Constitution says?

Now, remember, these congresswoman actually took an oath to uphold the Constitution when they were sworn into office, instead they're trying to shred it. Yesterday's street activists are today's congressional reps. They don't feel constrained by anything, not by the Supreme Court, not by laws, not by basic norms, basic principles. They believe in governing by stunts, like camping on the Capitol steps with a lot of snacks.

Congressman Cori Bush, a Marxist, BLM supporter, knew the Democrats were weak, knows Biden's weak. So she just demanded that Biden get in line, get in line to prevent evictions for rent cheats, and he did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CORI BUSH (D-MO): All we know is how to put our bodies on the line in a moment like this. And that's what I learned from Ferguson. Ferguson taught me that, St. Louis taught me that. Show up, stand up. Sometimes presence makes all the difference. It doesn't matter what your face, with the adversity is, then it was rubber bullets, real bullets, white supremacist attacks. It was - there were dogs, tear gas, all of that, that we were fighting against while trying to save Black lives. Here, it was structures trying to be able to break through structures.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: What structures does this woman want to break through without legislative authority? What happens when AOC and Cori Bush tell Biden that workers can never be fired? Is that a structure that understanding that should just be knocked down? How about that businesses of all sizes must pay for employee health care, that no students have to pay back their student loans? Those structures that have to come down?

One would think that our journalists and our reporters, anyone what's even a one (inaudible) have a sense of fairness and reasonable standards might have some tough questions for Biden and the Democrats about all of this.

Like, how on earth could the CDC even have the authority to make landlords go broke? Or why doesn't Congress raise this issue on the floor and actually try to do it the old fashioned way, pass legislation? Or maybe what other Supreme Court directives do you plan on ignoring? Or have you considered how devastating this will be for first time renters and poor people? Landlords aren't going to want to rent to them at all at this point. But no, when the squad's involved, everything is legal and just.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN REPORTER: She's single handedly sitting on the Capitol steps, forced the White House and Democrats to push ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congresswoman Cori Bush, thank you so much for lighting a fire under this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So they did a little dance. They're celebrating tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: And they wonder why no one is watching them. Even if they don't care, this is a real constitutional crisis. If a president can just change any law he wants to, because a few legal scholars say, Oh, it might be OK. Why do we even need a Congress?

And we already know Nancy Pelosi doesn't want to force members of Congress to even return to DC to have to vote. She just extended proxy voting, remember, and that was put in place because of COVID. So it all kind of works out perfectly.

There is a silver lining here. We see who the Democrats really are. It's AOC's party now. They're no more moderates. They don't care about the Constitution or the people who suffer from their lawlessness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARENCE HAMER, BROOKLYN LANDLORD: I'm owed over $65,000. We can't take them to court. We still have to provide maintenance. It's coming right out of our pockets. Systems designed to have the small independent landlord to give up. So many small landlords are behind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: The Washington Post is reporting that this moratorium could drive thousands of landlords across the country into bankruptcy. So what lesson should we all learn from this?

Now, first, Democrats only respect raw power. The Supreme Court should strike down this Biden scheme and the vote should be [ph] 9-0. No more needless dithering by Justice Cavanaugh.

The voters have to rise up also in 2022 and end this entire fraudulent regime that they're trying to impose on the rest of us. Because once there's no law and no respect for the Constitution, regular working people are going to be completely shut out of the process. They're out of luck. It's all about whether you have connections or not, which sounds a heck of a lot the way life like - is like today in a third world country. Or is that what Joe meant when he said build back better? And that's THE ANGLE.

Joining me now is Stephanie Graves, a rental housing provider operating out of the Houston area; and Bob Pinnegar, CEO of the National Apartment Association.

Stephanie, is this situation with the eviction moratorium a sustainable one for you?

STEPHANIE GRAVES, HOUSTON PROPERTY MANAGER: Well, we've been going through it for about 18 months. So we're kind of that are - we were really hoping that this would end soon. So, no, it is not a sustainable situation for landlords.

INGRAHAM: What happens if this goes on another three months, four months, five months through the end of the year?

GRAVES: Well, the challenges are for landlords and anyone related to apartment management and apartment ownership. And my fear is, yes, the immediate is challenging and that bills can't be paid, layoffs are going to happen for people, maintenance issues aren't taken care of. Those residents that are paying the rent are suffering from those that are not. So it's been a struggle.

My fear is the long-term situation and that affordable housing is a struggle already. And if we forced landlords to go out of business because they can't afford to pay their rents and their mortgages, then we're not doing anything to improve the long-term affordability at housing.

INGRAHAM: Yes. Rents go up. Well, we'll simplify it. Rents are going to go up and landlords aren't going to rent to poor people, or people who, as I said in THE ANGLE, first time renters. Too much of a risk. So it hoses the people that need the most help. Thank you, squad.

Now, some elected officials are celebrating this new eviction moratorium.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARREN: This is a case where it was a crisis that was unfolding and that was unnecessary. We're not going to tell people to get out and couch, surf and double up with relatives. It's the wrong thing to do. I think what we saw happen is power to the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Bob, what is she missing?

BOB PINNEGAR, CEO, NATIONAL APARTMENT ASSOCIATION: So much. It's like Groundhog Day all over again. This is the seventh time this moratorium has been extended, and it's causing real damage to the industry. And if you look at who owns rental housing, if you just look at one to four (inaudible) properties, this is the true independent rental owner. That's 53 percent of the nation's housing stock.

And we are looking at information that's coming out of different industry groups that are researching this. And 23 percent of independent rental owners that own single family homes have been forced to sell one, or all of their rental units. So we could come out of this with a much smaller industry.

But with still the demand ever growing, which is ultimately going to increase the cost of rental housing. And all of the challenges that we're facing through this are really forcing the industry to reevaluate risk and how much risk they're willing to take. And so ultimately, this will end up with tighter policies with regards to how much risk you're going to take on new residents. And some people simply are not going to have a place to live if this continues to play out.

INGRAHAM: Now, when the government comes in and distorts the marketplace, that's why the whole lockdown was a mistake from the beginning. Coming in and shutting down the free market always ends up blowing up in the faces of the people who, again, work the hardest in my view.

Now, the lawmaker - just one sec, because the lawmaker who pushed this entire episode in the country is now attacking people like you, Stephanie. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: The people that are looking to us, they don't care about the blame game, they don't care who did what, when and how, they care about right now. Today, there is a notice on my door saying pay or vacate and I don't have the money. What do I do? Because my landlord does not care. That is what we have to deal with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Stephanie, your reaction to those comments?

GRAVES: Well, it's really disappointing. We have a large association. And I'm not quite sure what landlords she's talking about, because the landlords I know are assisting residents in getting rental assistance. The amount of rental assistance that's available, which I know is a whole another story on your show, but the amount of assistance that's available, you should - the residents that, oh, should be applying for those funds. There's lots of it available. So there's no need to have an eviction moratorium if there's funds to pay for the rent that they owe. So it really doesn't make sense.

INGRAHAM: Bob, it also allows for bad actors. And not everybody is a bad actor. But, again, government interventions like this allow for bad actors to exploit the eviction moratorium. We were seeing all these reports on people who couldn't pay their rent, but they're driving around in $90,000 cars. And so the landlord said, Wait a sec, I'm going to have to sell my unit. I can't - I've worked my whole life to try to do this. And yet the people who can't, they're driving around in these nice (inaudible) What's that?

PINNEGAR: And that's - I'm hearing reports of that. I'm also hearing reports of violence. There was a - a husband and wife that were attempting to serve a notice on a resident in Richmond, Kentucky, yesterday and they were both shot dead. Things are escalating around the country at a very quick rate. And this, we need to find a way in offering from this craziness.

INGRAHAM: Yes. Well, people who pay their bills and work hard are being penalized because other people don't. And that's upside down. Stephanie and Bob, you made sense in this for us. Thank you.

And instead of just talking about how unconstitutional the never-ending eviction moratorium is, Republicans need to do something about it. Phil Klein of National Review has an idea. Shut the Senate down. The move would bring the added benefit of slowing down consideration of that horrific infrastructure bill that 17 GOP members are still on board with. Far from roads and bridges, this monstrosity includes things like breathalyzers and cars, diversity recruitment in the transportation sector, and a miles driven tax program.

Here now is one of the infrastructure bill's chief critics, Utah Senator Mike Lee. Senator, wonderful to see you tonight. How does any of this make sense, given the economic situation our country is in right now?

SEN. MIKE LEE (R-UT): It doesn't, Laura. That's the thing. This bill is a massive inflation bomb being dropped on an already carpet bombed economy. It can't take any more government. We've been pumping the government so full of money and that into the economy - it's causing the dollar to lose its value.

This bill is sort of a reverse Robinhood. It's stealing from the poor to give to the rich. There are a small handful of very well connected wealthy interests who will get richer off of this bill. But everybody else will get poorer as we inflate the dollar. That's not fair to hardworking Americans. It's bad for Utahns, it's bad for all Americans everywhere.

INGRAHAM: Now, I want to get back to this measure in the bill that would track your vehicle miles. The objectives of the pilot program are to address the need for additional revenue and to provide recommendations relating to the adoption and implementation of a national motor vehicle per mile user fee.

Senator, we have Romney, McConnell, Portman, Bill Cassidy, Hoeven, et cetera, et cetera, supporting what will ultimately lead to another tax on Americans. And then the $3.5 trillion bill, which is joined at the hip with this. Why is McConnell doing this?

LEE: He will have to speak for himself. I can speak only for myself. And I can tell you, look, this - look, they'll say it's only a pilot project, but a pilot project is a little like a pilot light. It's there to make sure that it moves forward. And, look, there's no way that that can actually develop into a full fledged program without a massive intrusion into privacy and liberty interests that the American people hold dear.

When you add this to all of the other problems with the bill, including the fact that it will make it more difficult for first-time homebuyers to get into a home at a time when Utahns and all Americans are struggling with the high price of housing and health care and gasoline and groceries, this is not fair. It's not right. We shouldn't be doing it.

INGRAHAM: Well, it seems like and I know you don't want to criticize your fellow senators. I understand there is Senate protocol and all that. But this infrastructure bill, contrary to what Senator Cassidy said on this program a few nights ago, is going to pave the way to the $3.5 trillion permanent entitlement nightmare. That is the squad's dream legislation. They want a few more things, but they're pretty happy with it.

Again, what does this do to the Republican Party's credentials for being smaller government, less reliant on government dependency, more control? What are these 17 senators doing here? And why are they doing it?

LEE: Well, I think it's horrible for the brand. I mean, look, Laura, it wasn't very long ago before both parties would have absolutely recoiled at the idea of a $1.2 trillion spending bill. And sure, they claim that the $550 billion of it, it's new, is paid for. It's not. The pay fours are fake.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget looked at it and concluded that over half of the pay fours are fake. There's no pay in the pay four. And as a result of that we're just inflating our way through this business.

By the way, the reason we have to rely on that committee's report is because the Congressional Budget Office, the CBO, hasn't issued a score. That's wrong too. We shouldn't be voting on it when we don't have a score. And we're not going to have one by the time we have to have vote on this.

INGRAHAM: Do you think yes or no, Republicans have lost, if they go forward with this infrastructure bill? Have they lost their leverage in stopping the $3.5 trillion nightmare coming down the pike? Yes or no?

LEE: I believe we lose a substantial amount of leverage as a result of this, which is why I have thought this was a mistake from the beginning. But, look, Laura, we were told for months that they were working on this, that this would go somewhere, and we were told to be patient.

We finally received the bill for the first time Sunday night at 9 or 10 pm Eastern Time, 2700 pages long. And I can't imagine that any of them could read it. It doesn't read like a fast paced novel. They worked on it for four months and then they expect us to process this thing in four days. This is no way to run a railroad, certainly not a way to run a Republic.

INGRAHAM: Yes. $3.5 trillion is going to be 10,000 pages. And then (inaudible) she wrote. Senator, thank you for being principled on this. All 17 Republicans, you should be ashamed of yourselves for what you're doing on this infrastructure bill. Thank you.

President Biden went out of his way to take direct aim at Governor Ron DeSantis at yesterday's press briefing. The Florida Governor fires back in moments. Plus, a part of the Cuomo drama you haven't heard. Raymond Arroyo is here, all the details, seen and unseen, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We need leadership from everyone. If some governors aren't willing to do the right thing to beat this pandemic, then they should allow businesses, universities, who want to do the right thing to be able to do it. I say to these governors, please help. If you aren't going to help, at least get out of the way. The people are trying to do the right thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Get out of the way. That was the President's message to my next guest, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Governor, thanks for being with us tonight. It seems to me that the Biden administration sees you as this kind of way to almost change the subject from their own failures. Your response?

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Well, I think you're right, Laura. I mean, this is a guy that ran for president saying he was going to shut down the virus. He wasn't going to shut down America, or the economy and shut down the virus. And yet, what is he doing? He's bringing in people from over 100 different countries across the southern border.

Every variant on this planet, some we don't even know about, are absolutely coming into our country that way. And what they're doing is, people are coming and then they're farming them out all over the United States, putting them on buses, putting them on planes. And so when he's lecturing people about imposing COVID restrictions and lockdown policies on the one hand, and yet not only doing nothing to stop the border surge, but actually facilitating it. On the other hand, he just loses all credibility when it comes to COVID.

INGRAHAM: Do you know how many migrants have been shipped to Florida? Are you given any notice?

DESANTIS: No notice. They do not tell us. We have to sometimes do - we try to do investigation. Sometimes we've gotten some documents given to us where we put two and two together. But they do fly people in, they fly in the accompanied minors. But then also, Laura, you've got a lot of Military age males coming through the border. And it's not mostly Mexicans, it's people from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Haitians, you name it, and they're getting on buses and going.

I have law enforcement, they're helping Governor Abbott and we've been there for over a month. And they say of the my - the illegal border crossers that they come in contact with, a majority of them are telling our guys that they want to end up in Florida. So we're working on strategies to be able to deter that. But this is a huge issue. And obviously, it's an issue beyond COVID, because it's about the security of our country. But you can't impose restrictions on Americans and say Americans have to do all these things. And then just willy-nilly let in everyone from around the world.

INGRAHAM: Now, there's a narrative being spun, Governor, by the White House and, of course, the media there, that Florida hospitals are busting at the seams. But we found part of a roundtable from Florida hospital CEOs this morning. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLOS MIGOYA, CEO, JACKSON HEALTH SYSTEM: Right now we're down to 25 percent of our inpatients in ICUs. Other hospitals in South Florida are seeing even less numbers in that between 15 and 20 percent of their patients in ICU.

SHANE STRUM, CEO, BROWARD HEALTH: 80 percent of our patient census is non- COVID patients. These are critically ill patients, many of whom delayed care during the Pandemic.

JOHN COURIS, CEO, TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL: At TGH right now we have 126 COVID patients. We're 1041 bed hospital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Governor, what's the real story here?

DESANTIS: Well, I think those CEOs told the story, we have had a summer wave, we've had seen significant increases in COVID patients. But as the CEO of Tampa General said, that's 10 to 15 percent of their total census. And it's important when the media is spreading this misinformation and actually lying, it could deter someone from going in to get care for things like heart problems or stroke. And so all those CEOs said, we are treating everybody. We're open for business. We're busier with COVID than we were six weeks ago, but please come in and get care.

And so I understand the media's got narratives they try to spend, I understand they have a partisan agenda. But just be careful when you're spreading that misinformation that people somehow think that they shouldn't go in. You can go in and every one of those CEOs invited people to come in and they're running and they're running well.

INGRAHAM: Now, like you, Governor, many parents are concerned about what the - well, some of the misinformation about COVID in kids is doing to our youth. And this morning CNN did a piece about a 12-year-old from Duval County. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LILA HARTLEY, STUDENT: Dear superintendent, Dr. Green, and school board members, I would like to encourage the requirement of masks at school in Duval County.

I am so worried that if masks are not required my brother could go to school one day, and the next be dying in the hospital.

WILL HARTLEY, STUDENT: At school I wear two masks because I want to make sure I don't get sick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Governor, I feel for these kids. They are really scared. But what is going on here? And why would the media obviously being using kids to try, I guess, backhanded way of hitting you?

GOV. RON DESANTIS, (R) FLORIDA: Well, they did this last summer, Laura, when we went to in person schooling. We said we're going to have kids in school. And we understood it was a low-risk environment. Oh, man, they were saying all kinds of stuff, and we had a very successful school year. We're going to do it again this year.

In Florida, though, we think it's really important that parents make decisions about whether kids go to school with masks or not. So if certain parents feel that they want their kids doing that, we're not going to prevent that. We have a lot of parents, including me, who doesn't think that's healthy for our kids to be wearing masks all day.

And I know people like Joe Biden think the government should force kindergartens to sit there under these masks for six, seven, eight hours a day. I could just tell you, Laura, in Florida last year in our school districts, we had some that had mask requirements, others that didn't. The ones that didn't, those counties had lower per capita cases than the ones that did. And so it's not proven to really impact viral transmission in schools. And so that's why I think it should be the parents' decision, and it shouldn't be mandated by the government.

INGRAHAM: Governor, we learned that the administration is considering -- I'm going to ask all my guest this tonight -- a vaccine mandate for foreign visitors coming into the United States. Apparently, they're working on that, it will be announced soon. Your reaction?

DESANTIS: I think that'd be a big mistake. I think that would chill commerce. I think that would hurt tourism. At the end of the day, in Florida, for example, we have 91 percent of our seniors have gotten shots. I do believe, and those hospital CEOs said that that has reduced mortality, particularly among our elderly. But ultimately the vaccine is protecting you. I think it's pretty clear people are getting infected even if they're vaccinating. So it's effect on transmission hasn't been what we anticipated. And so that's just the fact. And so I think that those types of requirements I think would do more harm than good.

INGRAHAM: Governor, great to see you tonight, thank you.

And the Cuomo Bro show has an unexpected spin off, while a famous actress dumps some friends over the vaccine. Raymond Arroyo has it. "Seen and Unseen" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: It's time for our "Seen and Unseen" segment where we unpack the big cultural stories of the day. And for that we turn to FOX News contributor Raymond Arroyo. Raymond, what did happen to the old Cuo-bro show?

(LAUGHTER)

ARROYO: The old Cuo-bro show. It looks like it might have finally been cancelled, Laura. For the better part of a year, the Cuomo bro show over at CNN, complete with jokes and props, even as New Yorkers died in old folks' homes, it looked something like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Was it this, or was it this?

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO, (D) NEW YORK: I was trying very hard.,

A. CUOMO: You're both in the meatball of the family.

I am the love gov.

I'm a cool dude in loose mood. You know that. I just say let it go. Just go with the flow, baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: That show didn't air last night, Laura. Following the New York attorney general's report that Governor Andrew Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women, CNN viewers got this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Chris Cuomo. Welcome to primetime. We are focused on COVID here, especially until we get the Delta variant under control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: That was it, Laura. Not one word about his brother. The New York attorney general says Chris Cuomo helped craft a response to these allegations made against his brother, the governor, all the while he was hosting Andrew Cuomo on his show. Now, remember, Laura, in the old days when sitcoms would spin off beloved characters? "Maude" and "The Jeffersons" got their own shows after appearing in "All in the Family." A new bro show emerged at CNN last night, sans the love gov.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN HOST, "DON LEMON TONIGHT": I love you, brother.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I love you, D. Lemon.

LEMON: All right. This is "Don Lemon Tonight." The calls are getting louder and louder. This is what I'm talking about, top Democrats from New York to the White House calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign. Should Governor Andrew Cuomo resign? Answer -- yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: I hate to say it, but this should have been CNN's approach the whole time, Laura. There's no way you can cover your own sibling or a family member dispassionately. Chris should have rescued himself from the beginning from covering his brother. Shame on CNN for not insisting on that.

INGRAHAM: The governor has denied those harassment charges, did he not.

ARROYO: Yes.

INGRAHAM: It's staffer Charlotte Bennett claimed that he sang the song "Do You Love Me" to her over the phone? Cuomo testified, did he, that he didn't know the song, Raymond?

ARROYO: Correct.

INGRAHAM: Roll the tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO, (D) NEW YORK: Are you ready?

CHARLOTTE BENNETT: I am ready.

CUOMO: You don't know that song?

BENNETT: No.

CUOMO: It's before your time.

BENNETT: It's before my time. But I appreciated the singing.

CUOMO: Do you love me? Do you really love me? Do you love me? Do you care?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: Laura, he testified that he not only didn't know the song but he had no recollection of singing it to her. This is a little bit like his Italian defense. I'm Italian, so I'm handsy and I have to kiss everybody. And then he puts a picture of Biden up kissing and smelling women's hair. This is like Biden saying I'm Irish, I have got to smell the Irish Spring on everybody. None of this washes. It's a disgusting display, and he really should go.

Politicians are performing, though, and the performers are getting political, Laura. "Friends" star Jennifer Aniston in an interview with "In Style" confesses, you'll love this, "I've just lost a few people in my weekly routine who have refused or did not disclose whether or not they'd been vaccinated. And it was unfortunate. I feel it's your moral and professional obligation to inform. It's tricky, because everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but a lot of opinions don't feel based on anything except fear and propaganda." She won't be there for you because you are not vaccinated.

This is a not so subtle caste system I think that we all feared. People who refused or did not disclose their vax status are considered unclean or untouchable. Maybe they have natural immunity, Laura, but that's not even concerned. And then she talks about fear and propaganda. I'm sorry, I don't like this. I think it sets up something really wicked in a society.

INGRAHAM: Well, Raymond, I think you are being too hard on her. Things can get pretty tough in malibu. And when you made $1 million an episode, OK, it's tough. It's very tough. So we have to cut her some slack.

ARROYO: But when you look at a debate that happened in the 80s, Laura, Bill Buckley, then when the AIDS crisis was raging, he said all people with HIV should be identified and tattooed. Others said that is ridiculous. We are moving towards something like that here, and I don't like it.

INGRAHAM: Raymond, thank you, great to see you tonight.

And the Biden administration now working to require all foreigners who come here to be vaccinated. I mentioned this earlier. But now we're going to Mike Pompeo's take on this and why this is, well, perhaps not a wonderful idea.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: Don't the Democrats always seem kind of jealous about the way other countries do things? They love Europe's high gas prices because of climate change. And they certainly envy what some others are doing on the COVID front.

In Australia the military is now patrolling the streets to enforce the lockdown. About 300 troops have been sent to Australia's large city to help overstretched police monitor home quarantine for coronavirus patients and potential set up roadblocks. The troops will help the police on a door-to- door search to check if people who've contracted COVID are isolating. Dystopian? You bet.

In Germany, they are now banned from even protesting COVID dictates. But thousands still showed up in Berlin to voice their anger anyway. Here's how they were met. After participants did not heed orders to abide by hygiene rules, masks, and social distancing, police used pepper spray and truncheons to break up the crowd, 600 were arrested. Sounds like China and Hong Kong.

Here now is Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state and FOX News contributor. Mr. Secretary, great to see you tonight. This is terrifying to me personally, but you do get the sense that there are some Democrats who wish this was playing out the same exact way in the United States.

MIKE POMPEO, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Laura, thanks for having me on. It would be an enormous mistake to try anything that was remotely like what you just described what was happening there in Germany. To go to the lockdowns that are happening in other countries across the world would make no sense for the United States. There is scant evidence that these kind of lockdowns do a whole lot of good, and we know they do an enormous amount of damage to the economy, to the mental health of the people that live there.

It saddens me when I see Democrat governors and even Democrats in Washington, D.C., who want to head down that path, who want to go back to lockdowns, back to the kind of the things that we tried. It was 15 days to stop the spread. The right answer was to give people good information, sound information, truthful information, let them make their own decisions for themselves. And then the work that our administration did to develop Warp Speed and these vaccines also has delivered good outcomes all across the world.

INGRAHAM: Mr. Secretary, these are allies, our vaunted allies. Biden is lavishing praise on them for how they're -- he's working with them. They have a great new relationship. This looks like China and Hong Kong.

POMPEO: Laura, everything about the Biden administration has demonstrated that it wants to look more like Europe, right, wants to have bigger government, spend more money, have people work less. European socialism is the model that the Biden administration has adopted. They have gotten in bed with them on Iran. They've done the same with respect to climate change. You're right, I suspect with respect to how they're approaching how to respond to this virus, they are thinking about things the same way. It's not about freedom, it's not about the American tradition, it's not about the things we know best about how to make sure people have the information they need to stay healthy.

INGRAHAM: Mr. Secretary, at the same time, we have Biden promising that we're going to get Europe to work with us against China. And yet even NBC is saying the U.S. struggles to unite the democratic European Union allies against China. It's just not happening. So they are just ignoring Biden altogether and cutting their own deals with China. What does that do to U.S. national security?

POMPEO: It's really dangerous. We began the effort to convince the Europeans that it was time to get serious with respect to responding to the Chinese Communist Party. We've begun to make progress. We made real progress in getting them to kick Huawei out of their country, right, telecommunication systems that were going to spread not only their information but American information into the Chinese system.

Now, the administration hasn't yet been able to convince the Europeans, certainly the big two, France and Germany, to work alongside of us, but I think there is real opportunity. Besides those two countries, there are many European countries who I do think understand this threat from China in the same way you and I do. And I hope the Biden administration can rally them and those two large economies to say that the west must stand together from the tyranny and communism that are emanating from China today.

INGRAHAM: But the problem is there's no price to be paid from Biden. He's not going to end up doing anything to them. They're just going to keep rolling forward, cutting their own deals. That's the concern.

But speaking of China, Mr. Secretary, just moments ago Bill Gates was on CNN, and he was asked about the investigations into the origins of COVID.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: How important do you think it is to understand how this happened, how it started? Is that critical in terms of preventing it in the future?

BILL GATES, CO-CHAIR, BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION: No, the source isn't going to change the need for masks and vaccines and the need to have a very different regimen so that all countries can get on top of the cases very quickly and be more like Australia than Europe or the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: So Mr. Secretary, it's not vital that we find out what happened to prevent the next pandemic?

POMPEO: Wow, that's really something. It's absolutely essential that we understand how this virus escaped, where it escaped from. Remember, too, Laura, that lab, the lab that I believe this virus came from is still operating. It's still conducting research on viruses. The military and their biological experts are still working there. This could happen again tomorrow or the next day. It's absolutely imperative that we understand how the Chinese Communist Party foisted this virus upon the world. To say otherwise is, well, frankly, it's at best naive.

INGRAHAM: Yes or no, are you in favor of Biden's about to be announced policy that foreigners visiting the United States have to show vaccination status?

POMPEO: No, makes no sense. There are much better ways to protect the American people than to begin to have interview standards for who can come in showing some kind of card. It doesn't make sense. It's unlikely to actually work for the American people.

INGRAHAM: Secretary Pompeo, great to see you. Thank you so much.

POMPEO: Great. Thank you, Laura.

INGRAHAM: And whatever happened to those fugitive lawmakers who fled Texas for D.C.? We have an update for you. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: Texas State Reps Jessica Gonzalez and Julie Johnson fled to D.C. to bring attention to that voting bill that they labeled Jim Crow 2.0. They quickly became fixtures on the cable news circuit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This issue is coming more to life. People are paying more attention. And here we go again for round two. And so yes, I think they are starting to realize more and more the urgency here in Texas. This is a life or death situation here if this isn't happening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One thing, us girls, we stick together. And so we are all here to help each other out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Well, it does seem that those girls do stick together, but maybe not in a life or death situation. Those two lawmakers reportedly skipped town, leaving D.C. for vacation in Portugal. Hopefully, they endure the shame they so richly deserve. Maybe they'll get some pottery when they're there.

That's all the time we have tonight. Gutfeld is next.

Content and Programming Copyright 2021 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2021 VIQ Media Transcription, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of VIQ Media Transcription, Inc. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.