Ingraham on Biden's CNN town hall

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Ingraham: CNN's 'tiny' Biden town hall was a sad 'exercise of fawning and futility'

'The Ingraham Angle' host reacts to the president's performance during Wednesday night's event

This is a rush transcript of "The Ingraham Angle" on July 22, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

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(Foreign Language)

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SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: Longest serving prisoner from Bay of Pigs Invasion. 

Let not your heart be troubled. Laura, I know you have a great show as usual tonight. 

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Was that Sarah Carter? Who was interviewing? 

HANNITY: It was. 

INGRAHAM: Oh, god. She's fabulous.

HANNITY: She's very fluent. She's fluent in Spanish. And you know all about her. 

INGRAHAM: Awesome person. And those are people who are truly appreciative of freedom, understand the cost of liberty. And this should be recognized by every American tonight and throughout the country. 

HANNITY: By the way, many people last night told me to tell you hello and others. And you know what? I was so inspired by the people. I mean, it was incredible. One of the great experience and how hard they're fighting for a cause, their family, their friends and neighbors. It was inspiring.

INGRAHAM: Americans, take note. Sean, thank you. 

HANNITY: All right. Have a great show. 

INGRAHAM: I'm Laura Ingraham. This is the "Ingraham Angle" from New York City tonight and we begin with a Fox News alert. Now, this was a scene in Washington DC just a few hours ago. 20 to 30 shots were fired on a popular street filled with very well heeled Washingtonians eating at very popular outdoor restaurants. 

Now, it's being reported right now that two males have been shot with non- life threatening injuries. Now this shooting comes less than a week after gunshots rang out outside Nationals Park that sent the fans fleeing. The

101 homicides in her city should have been a wake up call on their own, but maybe it'll take the feathers of the elite getting ruffled for Mayor Muriel Bowser, to realize that she has a real problem on her hands. 

We're going to monitor this story and we'll bring you all the details as we get them. But we begin tonight with Biden's small, and I mean, very small town hall. That's the focus of tonight's "Angle". 

Now, once a CNN town hall with Biden was such a pathetic exercise of fawning and futility, I was almost going to skip the full dissection tonight. But then I changed my mind. During the 90-minute event, it was excruciating, we saw a sitting president embarrass himself with a combination of lies, obfuscation and purposeful ignorance. And we saw a television host not along as the sad spectacle unfolded. 

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: And the question is whether or not we should be in a position where you are - why can't the experts say, we know that this virus is, in fact - it's going to be - or, excuse me, we know why all the drugs approved are not temporarily approved, but permanently approved. That's underway too. I expect that to occur quickly. 

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Well, that means - you mean for the FDA. 

BIDEN: For the FDA. The federal drug administration. 

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INGRAHAM: Wow, that was clarified. Now, at a time of immense economic health and national security challenges facing the United States, Don Lemon could have done a huge public service by asking tough, fair questions throughout. But instead, most of the time he came off more like an assisted-living aid. 

Now, there's no nice way to put this, I'm sorry, but Joe Biden is losing it. He is rarely capable of starting and finishing a complete thought without kind of wandering off on some meaningless tangent. Like when he was asked about how the administration can promote vaccines in the African- American community. 

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BIDEN: So we've taken literally mobile vans and people to the communities, to the hardest hit communities, and it's beginning to have some impact. But we have to talk about it more. For example, I was just with, I get in trouble because my wife is a Philly girl, a Philly fan and Eagles fan. I just hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And there's a guy, there's a quarterback there, what's his name? 

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INGRAHAM: And meanwhile, the media stand in awe.

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DAVID AXELROD, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: If the presidency were a decathlon, this is sort of his event, right? 

SCOTT JENNINGS, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: His best traits are - were on display tonight. It reminded me why he beat Donald Trump last year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Biden comes across in a way that I think it's difficult to demonize. 

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INGRAHAM: It's also difficult to interpret or figure out. But contrast those reactions with how they poured over Trump's every syllable. 

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JEFFREY SACHS, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR: I think the starting point is that Trump demand and his psychological state. Many people that I speak with, experts, think that he's evidencing dementia. 

JOE SCARBOROUGH, MSNBC HOST: He keeps obsessing over taking a test that is given to Alzheimer's patients. It is a bizarre, bizarre thing. 

NICOLLE WALLACE, MSNBC HOST: Even the President's own supporters may be very unnerved. Is there any effort to reassure people that the commander- in-chief is mentally stable? 

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INGRAHAM: But now, we're all supposed to think that Biden's verbal crutches, he leans on every time he loses his train of thought, are somehow really cute. 

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BIDEN: I'm not being a wise guy. I shouldn't make fun. That's good. It's good. It's good. 

Well, by the way, I think that is - that's happening and because, look, think about this. I'm a big dog person. I'm sorry. 

And so it is - I - I sincerely mean this. Look. No, I'm not being facetious, I'm not being facetious. You think, I'm not joking? On autocracies, democracy has to stand up and. 

No, you deserve, no, no, no. I really mean it. How can you decide? I'm not joking. 

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INGRAHAM: I wish you were joking. It's really just sad at this point for Biden, for the country, and CNN. Or is it common journalistic practice to ignore it whenever your interviewee routinely fails to answer the question posed? 

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LEMON: What do you say to people who are worried about a new round of restrictions and mask mandates and so forth? 

BIDEN: Well, I'm saying look, it's a little bit like when I got elected. 

This pandemic is out of control. We've lost more people in United States, over 630 some thousand people than every major war we've ever fought in the United States of America. And that's come to a screeching halt for those who have been vaccinated. It really has. Not a joke. 

LEMON: Let's get to the questions, Mr. President. 

BIDEN: OK. 

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INGRAHAM: Oh, wait a second. There was a question. But real questions with real follow ups. No, that's asking too much. Don't want to put pressure on Biden after all. Oh, and drum roll, please, for my favorite spooning moment of the night.

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BIDEN: One of the things that we're doing is what I've done, we've done, my team has done. 

LEMON: Can I ask you something, Mr. President? Because it's - by the way you got, I don't know if you heard that, you got to pause when you corrected the I for we, and we're talking about we and I think that's a very commendable attribute to have. 

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INGRAHAM: You know, what else is commendable, Don? Actually telling the truth, which President Biden's repeatedly struggled with last night. First, on that minor issue of how current inflationary trends threaten the recovery. 

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LEMON: So you seem pretty confident that inflation is temporary, but it's pumping all of this money into the economy. Couldn't that add to?

BIDEN: It relates to what in fact, is now needed, because we're growing. I don't know anybody, including Larry Summers, who's a friend of mine, who's worried about inflation. 

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INGRAHAM: Wait a second. Did he mean this Larry Summers? 

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LARRY SUMMERS, FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: I was on the worried side about inflation. And it's all moved much faster, much sooner than I had predicted. And I think that has to make us nervous going forward. 

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INGRAHAM: That's worse than I thought, by the way. And on the big issue of vaccines poor old Joe with a contagion of contradiction. 

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BIDEN: We have a pandemic for those who haven't gotten a vaccination. 

You're not going to get COVID if you have these vaccinations. 

LEMON: Yes.

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INGRAHAM: You may want to buy a little vowel on that one.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three of those Democratic lawmakers have now tested positive for COVID despite all being fully vaccinated. 

BRIAN WILLIAMS, MSNBC HOST: We've also learned a White House official and an aid to Speaker Pelosi have both tested positive for the virus despite being fully vaccinated. 

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INGRAHAM: It's just a few. Well, within the span of a few minutes though, Biden then amended his earlier claim that vaccinated people will just never get infected. 

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BIDEN: This is simple basic proposition. If you're vaccinated, you're not going to be hospitalized, you're not going to be an ICU unit, and you're not going to die. 

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INGRAHAM: Well, there's a very, very small chance anyway, which is what he should have said. But that would, of course, undermine his very important vax pitch. Then there's the Biden claim that, unlike Trump, he has the world eating out of his hand. 

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BIDEN: Those of you who travel abroad, not a joke, not a joke. You asked when I went to this G7, all the major democracies, I walked in and I know a lot of them because of my role in the past. And I walk in and I said "America's back" and I go, I'm serious, heads of state. I give you my word as a Biden. He said, are you really back?

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INGRAHAM: Reality. Joe said, "America's back" with a stumbler in-charge, America's on her back. Russia, China, Germany, they're laughing at us. They went from being on their toes and held accountable with Trump in the White House, to rolling right over the U.S. with Biden in the White House. 

Now, this week, we learned that China's hacked tens of thousands of public and private internet accounts worldwide. But as the Wall Street Journal properly noted, "The allied powers announced no sanctions or other repercussions. A coalition against Chinese cyber attacks is nice, but not if the result is nothing." Well, that my friends is American leadership under Biden. And that's not all. 

Also, this week, Biden totally caved on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is a multi-billion dollar annual gift to none other than Vladimir Putin. So in foreign affairs, every country's out there right now fighting hard for its own national interest, except ours. Biden's team is undermining America inviting UN monitors in to investigate and then berate us on racism. It's not clear that the President though is even aware of any of this. I'm not sure. 

And when Joe Biden can't think of his own accomplishments, you got to hand it to him because he's really good at playing his greatest hits. 

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BIDEN: I've had a lot of experience internationally. And I mean that not the good or bad just I have. I've chaired the Foreign Relations Committee. 

I've been deeply involved, I did national security for the - the administration with Barack. 

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INGRAHAM: OK. That one thing he got right. Now, like the old codgers at the Elks Lodge, Biden slips back into the past, but has trouble responding to the present. And so do the media, slavishly covering up for him, unwilling to hold them to the same brutal standards they held Trump to. 

CNN has lost their credibility. And last night, despite all the buildup and production and fanfare, Biden and Lemon lost their time slot. And by the way, they lost it to this show by over half a million viewers, even though we air two hours later. And that's the "Angle". 

Joining me now is Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton. Senator, it's fair to say the honeymoon is over. And old Joe doesn't quite know how to balance all of these issues without either not remembering or just downright lying about them, which is what happened last night. 

SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): Well, Laura, first, I would congratulate you on beating the CNN presidential town hall in the time slot. But I know you don't really view that programming as a worthy adversary. 

INGRAHAM: No, I don't. 

COTTON: But I got to say - I got to say those clips that you just played, are not exactly the man who would send Xi Jinping quaking in his boots, when we try to stand up for Americans jobs and America's security. 

And I got to say that Joe Biden looks deeply confused. If he does not think that $6 trillion is going to add to even more inflation driving up the prices of everything from groceries to gas. And also, if he thinks that the rest of the world thinks America is back, he is even more deeply confused, because Joe Biden is putting a kick me sign on Uncle Sam's back to everyone all around the world. 

INGRAHAM: Now Biden has another response, Senator, to the soaring inflation that I think everyone needs to hear tonight. 

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LEMON: If you're pumping all of this money into the economy, couldn't that add to? 

BIDEN: No. Look, here's the deal. Moody's, today, went out - a Wall Street firm, not some liberal think tank, said if we pass the other two things I'm trying to get done, we will, in fact, reduce inflation, reduce inflation, reduce inflation. 

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INGRAHAM: I get - he says that three times then it comes true. Senator, is that true? Especially given what Romney and company are planning to do to give this big bipartisan sheen to Biden on this so-called infrastructure bill? 

COTTON: No, Laura, Joe Biden, again, is deeply confused if he thinks $6 trillion of spending is not going to ignite even more inflation. Remember, that's just on the demand side. On the supply side, Joe Biden is causing inflation as well. They're giving out $300 weekly bonuses still to keep people from going to work. They are sending out checks without any connection to work or having a breadwinner and a household old style cash welfare completely divorced from work. 

So when you have all that money chasing after goods that are hard to find because we're paying people not to work, then yes, we're going to have the inflation we get now and more of it if those bills pass. 

INGRAHAM: Senator, what's happening with this so-called infrastructure, bipartisan agreement, I think is really shocking. Nancy Pelosi said, she's not going to push forward on the infrastructure until the Senate agrees to the framework for the $3.5 trillion spending. So why should these Republicans have marched up to Capitol Hill, essentially give them a huge win on this bill when we have massive spending that's going to be crammed through in a reconciliation leading to all these other economic problems and a massive change the way we live our lives here? Why would Republicans give them that? Why? 

COTTON: Well, Laura, what Nancy Pelosi said today is actually worse than you portrayed it. You said the budget framework now. Now, we expect Chuck Schumer bring that budget forward in the Senate in the next month or so. 

But what Nancy Pelosi is saying is the House wouldn't pass an infrastructure bill until the actual implementing spending deals is passed,

$3.5 trillion of spending, months and months of work. 

So I got to say, Nancy Pelosi didn't do any of the senators working on this package any favors today, when she said that she was going to hold hostage any bill that passes the Senate until the Senate agrees to pass a bill that includes $3.5 trillion, but other things like we now know, they're going to try to sneak an amnesty for millions of illegal aliens into that bill as well. I mean, I guess that's another example what they call so-called soft infrastructure, which again, is just far left liberal priorities. 

INGRAHAM: I mean, these so-called Republicans are getting played every minute. Thank you, Senator. Good to see you. 

And there was this other moment from last night's debate that was quite telling and it has to do with something that senator and I just talked about. 

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BIDEN: There's a - Portman is a good man. Portman is a congressman from this area. I talked to him before and I really mean it. He's a decent, honorable man. And he and I are working on trying to get this infrastructure bill passed. 

LEMON: But you're talking about Senator Rob Portman of Ohio. 

BIDEN: Look, no, I'm not being facetious. I'm not being facetious. You had up to 20 Republicans signed a letter, saying we think we need this deal. We think we need this deal. 

LEMON: You think it's going to move forward in the Senate on Monday?

BIDEN: I do. 

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INGRAHAM: The Republican insistence that Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer are allies in this push free. Again, so-called infrastructure has given Biden the opportunity to use this bipartisan gloss right before the road to reconciliation, and that literally will change our country forever. And I'm using a Joe Biden word. 

Is that the thinking that led Philip Klein of the National Review to write the following? And it is. "For months, a seriously misguided group of Republicans have been keeping up the charade that there is a bipartisan infrastructure process going on, but Democrats keep making them look like idiots." 

I love this piece. Philip Klein, editor at National Review, joins me now. 

Philip, why do you think this is happening with this particular group? I know Portman's retiring, others have routinely had missteps like this. But explain to our viewers what's really going on here. 

PHILIP KLEIN, NATIONAL REVIEW EDITOR: I mean, it's completely perplexing. 

And I think that it's almost trying to be too clever by half. I think that they convince themselves that somehow if they get into this bipartisan negotiation, that somehow it would - it maybe would kill the bigger bill, or maybe convince the so-called moderate senators, Democratic senators, Senator Manchin and Sinema to somehow oppose the bigger bill, or strengthen their opposition to the filibuster. But there's no evidence at all. 

If anything, this is actually making it more likely that Democrats get the whole $4 trillion. Because now Manchin and Sinema could say they voted for this, they worked for this great bipartisan bill. And then Democrats have a smaller lift in their overall bill. If they try to, on their own, pass a $4 trillion bill to begin with, then maybe it would have been a lot harder to get these moderates. So I think they're actually greasing the wheels for this. 

INGRAHAM: Absolutely. 

KLEIN: And it just makes no sense, because normally in a negotiation when there's compromise, both sides give up something. But in this case, Republicans are going through this whole charade of a negotiation. And then in the end, Democrats, regardless of what happens with the deal, Democrats are just going to pass whatever they want anyway. So what are Democrats giving up? 

INGRAHAM: And Republicans get no leverage. They have zero leverage and what are they going to go to the voters with next year? 

Well, I worked with them on the infrastructure, and then they just rolled us on the $3.5 trillion and making all these new permanent entitlements. I

- and they look stupid. They are just like complete morons. 

KLEIN: And to that point, I didn't just pull the word idiots out of nowhere. If you recall, a few weeks ago, they had that big announcement in front of the White House, and Biden said, I'm a man of my word, I'm going to stand by what we made here. And then a few hours later, he said, "Oh, well, I'm not going to sign these bills unless they both come to my desk." 

So the bipartisan bill is in tandem. 

And then Lindsey Graham comes out and said, "You got to be kidding me. I'm never going to support this. It makes us look like idiots." And then Biden reaches - releases a so-called clarification read, like, "I'm sorry, I said the quiet part out loud." And Lindsey Graham is suddenly back on board. 

And Mitt Romney is going on saying, "Well, we could trust Joe Biden." This is the guy that went on national TV during an election and said that Mitt Romney was going to put black Americans in chains. And this is the guy that Mitt Romney is suddenly saying, he's a man of his word. 

INGRAHAM: It's embarrassing. I mean, they have no ability to strategize. 

They have no leverage. They are outflanked by the Democrats step by step. 

Every American should see what's going on here. 

Philip, your piece was great. Thank you. It's great to see you. 

And our own, Raymond Arroyo, took his talents to the sidewalk outside of New York City gallery that is poised to sell Hunter Biden's art. 

(inaudible) this report ahead. Plus, in Chicago where a teacher was fired for criticizing Black Lives Matter on Facebook during the peak of last summer's riots. She's now suing the school district. She's here to tell us about it. Next. 

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INGRAHAM: An Illinois teacher has just filed a civil rights lawsuit against her former school district that fired her after she criticized Black Lives Matter last July. Jeanne Hedgepeth who taught for roughly 20 years at a Chicago area school was so incensed by the violence that she saw unfolding in her city after the death of Floyd that she took to Facebook during a vacation and typed the following. "I don't want to go home tomorrow. Now that the Civil War has begun, I want to move."

Another post said she found the term white privilege as racist as the N word. According to The Washington Times, when she returned from vacation, she found out that the school board was holding a meeting considering her termination and in a 5:2 vote, the board moved to fire her. 

Jeanne Hedgepeth and her attorney Christine Svenson join me now. Jeannie, you say that you've suffered substantial damages. Explain what happened briefly last summer - since last summer.

JEANNE HEDGEPETH, FIRED AFTER CRITICIZING BLM RIOTING: Well, I've worked for the district for 20 years. I really took pride in my work. I love my job, my students, everybody. I'm a sole supporter of my daughter. When on vacation, I was really upset about the rioting. Protesting, I think we need more of it. But rioting, none. And people were supporting it, and it was freaking me out. 

And so I made a few comments, I was having a conversation with a young lady, who told me to shut up with my white privilege. And then I wrote my longer post, which really bothered everybody. I might have more conservative views, but there's nothing racist about what I had to say. And of course, I'm being accused of being a racist, which I have no history of whatsoever. 

INGRAHAM: Now we reached out to the high school district 211 and they had a statement that said, "We are aware of the lawsuit. At this point, it's a legal issue. We as a district cannot comment any details. We can confirm that our board approved a resolution at our July 2020 meeting regarding the suspension and dismissal of Ms. Hedgepeth. 

You say the dismissal, Christine, though, was behind your clients back? 

CHRISTINE SVENSON, ATTORNEY FOR FIRED TEACHER: It was, actually. So thanks for having us, Laura. So just for the record, I'm here as local council working with Judicial watch. And so what Jeannie did was, it was basically first amendment protected speech in a public square. It was as American as apple pie and baseball. And right, her dismissal, I mean, she came back from Florida, she was told that she was under investigation. And within six weeks of coming back, they had a closed door hearing. And then she was terminated. So it's highly unusual to be terminated in Illinois, at least, as a tenured teacher within six weeks of an investigation beginning. It's very (inaudible) 

INGRAHAM: Now, I tenured teacher, Jeannie, who had perhaps posted a different message, perhaps supportive of the protests, not the violence, but supportive of the protest, and mentioning things like white privilege, you probably would have gotten a better parking spot. That's my theory on this. But have you ever had from any colleagues in the school district, or are they all terrified about speaking out? 

HEDGEPETH:  I think they are terrified. I've only heard from -- three people are my friends, so I stayed in touch with them, but I really only heard from two people. That was heart breaking, because they are scared, I guess. Everyone is scared. It took a whole year to get to this point because I called many lawyers, many people don't want to touch it. Even Trump's lawyers got demonized because he got defended. It's OK if you are a murderer and you defend a murderer, but can't defend a teacher. 

INGRAHAM: Christine, the loss of income and loss, I imagine, of future income after being summarily dismissed for what ultimately is personal political speech, that has to be substantial amount of income. And if you can prove punitive damages, that goes to a whole new level. 

CHRISTINE SVENSON, ATTORNEY FOR FIRED TEACHER:  That's right. And we are seeking punitive damages against many defendants as individuals. But people have to realize that what my client was accused of, quote, "harming students." How were her -- 

INGRAHAM:  What? 

SVENSON:  Correct. That's what they decided, that she was harming students because she discussed matters, keep in mind, the context, in Chicago, in Memorial Day of 2020, it was crazy here. It was mayhem. There were the riots, the mob, the looting. She was terrified as an American citizen. And she teaches diversity of opinion in her classes, and somehow the board found that she was harming students and talking about, quote-unquote, racial issues. I can guarantee you, I do wonder about this. Are they parsing through the social media posts of all of the other teachers in the district? And what about the Capitol riots in January, were they going through their posts then? Lots of questions here.

INGRAHAM:  All I can say is Jeanne and Christine, I hope all those school board members, all those faculty members, I hope they all kept their text messages, preserve the record, because you're going to have some wild depositions in this case. Great to see both of you.

And as long as we're on the subject of troubled midwestern cities, we now go to St. Louis where the radical, out of control circuit attorney Kim Gardner is putting her citizens at even greater risk than they already are at. Her prosecutors failed to even show up to multiple hearings on a murder case, forcing the judge to dismiss them. FOX's own Matt Finn has been following this story, has all the details for us tonight. Matt? 

MATT FINN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT:  Laura, right now police are looking for a man who was in custody on first degree murder charges but now is at large. A St. Louis prosecutor failed to show to the man's hearing and the judge set him free. Judge Jason Sengheiser dropped murder charges against 30-year-old Brandon Campbell. Local reporting says prosecutor Kim Arshi was assigned to the case while she was on maternity leave and then missed a hearing last Thursday. She has resigned. 

Police have now issued a new warrant for Campbell's arrest. In a statement Judge Jason Sengheiser slammed that prosecutor's boss, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, writing in part, quote, "The Circuit Attorney's office is ultimately the party responsible for protecting public safety by charging and then prosecuting those it believes commits crimes. The Circuit Attorney's office has essentially abandoned its duty to prosecute those it charges with crimes." 

Kim Gardner's office responded with a statement, writing in part, quote, "Upon review of our internal policies and procedures regarding medical leave, we have determined that corrective measures are needed to prevent any repeat occurrence of the incident in question."

However, two other cases were also recently dropped against murder suspects as either the case fell apart or the prosecutor was a no-show. But in a statement, Kim Gardner's office says the claim that those cases were dropped from a no-show prosecutor has not been substantiated. 

Today, the mother of a man who was killed in St. Louis last year told FOX News that St. Louis city prosecutors are negligent, and that she was kept in the dark about a lenient plea deal struck with her son's alleged killer. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your office has a new prosecutor, which your office did not make me aware of. The prosecutor was in and of himself not prepared to handle my son's case. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINN:  And the head of the St. Louis police officers' association says people there on the street in St. Louis will see murder suspects walking free because of Gardner's handling of these cases. We'll keep you updated on that murder suspect on the loose. Laura?

INGRAHAM:  Matt, unbelievable. Thank you. 

And as you can see, we are in New York City, which also happens to be where the art gallery Hunter Biden hopes to sell his hype art for a small fortune. We sent our own Raymond Arroyo down there to find out what is going on. That can't miss report is next. 

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INGRAHAM:  New York looks empty, doesn't it? It isn't often that we find ourselves in New York City. It's been, what, 18 months I haven't been here. 

And it isn't often that the president's son has, well, prized some really phenomenal art just a little high, and it's being displayed right down the street. For that reason we sent our own Raymond Arroyo downtown to see what all that commotion was about. 

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RAYMOND ARROYO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR:  This Soho gallery is offering Hunter Biden's first premier collection for anywhere between $75,000 and half-a- million dollars a painting. The question is, will people pay that much for them, and are they worth it? We asked New Yorkers. 

There's a gallery down the block selling this work of art for selling

$75,000 and half-a-million dollars. Do you think it's worth it? 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think I could make that with some stamps, some ink. 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems like they put in a lot of time, too.

ARROYO:  You question the artistic merit? 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. 

ARROYO:  What does it make you think of? 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Abstract artwork with flowers, I would say. 

ARROYO:  Not baby droppings, or bird droppings?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe. I don't know. I can't tell because it's a photo.

ARROYO:  Is that worth $80,000? 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, forget about it.

ARROYO:  You don't like it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

ARROYO:  What about if it's Hunter Biden, the president's son, painted this? 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hunter Biden? 

ARROYO:  Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then its nice. It's amateur. It's fine.

ARROYO:  Is it $200,000, $300,000, $400,000, $500,000? What do you think? 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like $200,000.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think $75,000 could go to something much, much more useful.

ARROYO:  What about this? This is another piece. The same artist, by the way. Would you pay, do you think --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mom could make that. 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like a dog.

ARROYO:  It looks like dog droppings maybe, but not a dog.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like something my daughter used to paint, you know what I'm talking about, in elementary school. 

ARROYO:  Something you create on a computer for free. 

ARROYO:  A tough crowd. 

What if I told you Hunter Biden painted this, with his own blow pipe? That doesn't change the price at all for you? 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe, but just because of the name, I guess. 

ARROYO:  Is $75,000, $25,000? 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe an asset to sell later on in life. But I don't think it's going to be -- 

ARROYO:  Is it $10,000?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is not an artist. So I don't think so. 

ARROYO:  What if I told you it was created by Hunter Biden, Joe Biden's son? Would that increase the value for you? 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would I get for the donation? 

(LAUGHTER)

ARROYO:  There is an interesting question. What would you get? 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. Is there a menu I can choose?

ARROYO:  What do you think it's worth? 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not much. Depends on who is paying for it and what they got. 

ARROYO:  And the fact that Hunter Biden painted it? 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It devalues it, in my opinion.

ARROYO:  You don't care about Hunter Biden being the artist? That doesn't increase the value at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely not. 

ARROYO:  No, not $100. 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I could care less about Hunter Biden. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO:  No matter how much people are willing to pay for this, Laura, there are ethical concerns here. Remember, the White House said they were avoiding any hint of influencing peddling by keeping the buyers of Hunter's art anonymous. Now we learn Hunter Biden is scheduled to speak not once but at two prospective buyer events at galleries in October. A White House spokesman responded this way. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How does this square with the goal of keeping him in the dark about the buyers of his art as a means to prevent any appearance of undue influence? 

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY:  He's not going to have any conversations related to the selling of art. That will be left to the gallerist, as was outlined in the agreement that we announced just a few weeks ago. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

INGRAHAM:  Wait a second. Wait a second. Wait a second. It's not about what the gallerist knows or doesn't. All Hunter Biden needs to do is like, hey, dad, this guy, he spent $150,000. He's a good guy, lives in Long Island. He has some interest stuff he wants to talk about. He might give him a little tour. Come on! What if Eric Trump did this?

ARROYO:  Are we to believe, are we to believe that Hunter Biden, is he going blindfolded into these events with prospective buyers? Here's the real rub -- if we didn't have a pattern of this, influence peddling, with Joe Biden and his son Hunter sharing bank accounts, where Hunter was paying some of Joe's bills. That's what the laptop said. They met with billionaires on Air Force 2 in 2014. All of this is a pattern of corruption that the White House needs to dispel, because right now this art heist scheme is as messy and blotted and checkered as one of Hunter's paintings, which look, I want to gift you. 

INGRAHAM:  It looks like the coronavirus. 

ARROYO:  This looks like an STD under glass, I think. I have never seen one, but I imagine it would look like this.

INGRAHAM:  Did he do that with toilet paper rolls?

ARROYO:  Laura, this will be wonderful in your guest bathrooms, and I expect a check for $1 million. You got two there. 

INGRAHAM:  How many paintings will be bought by the Chinese? They have better taste than that. 

ARROYO:  You can afford, Ingraham. Just pass the check --

INGRAHAM:  You got it. No corruption. Eric Trump, he couldn't even raise money for St. Jude Hospital. They went after him for that. He wouldn't sell this crap.

ARROYO:  This looks bad. They have to put this down. It looks bad. And to have him meet prospective buyers --

INGRAHAM:  We've got to go. But Hunter, go into another line of work. The old-fashioned corruption will do. All right, Raymond, thank you.

And one TV doc has not just been more alarmist that most, but wants your freedom totally snuffed out. We're going to expose her next. 

Plus, could the Biden administration really be considering taking us backward, going backward on COVID? We predicted it. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM:  CNN's medical expert du jour is Dr. Leana Wen. The former Planned Parenthood president has been on CNN morning, noon, and night. And she was actually disappointed that Joe Biden wasn't alarmist enough last night. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST:  I think that President Biden actually led people astray when he said if you're vaccinated, you can take off your mask. We don't know that. I think he let go of a really important opportunity tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM:  She was back at it today, offering the Biden administration some free advice. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST:  There is one thing the Biden administration can be doing right now that would change the equation when it comes to incentives, and that's to use proof of vaccination. Vaccine mandates are something that will have to come. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM:  What an authoritarian nightmare she is. And then came the victory lap. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST:  I am really relieved that the White House is considering to revise their guidance because the circumstances on the ground have changed. The realities have changed, the science has changed. And you would expect the policy changes accordingly. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM:  Nothing is going to be enough for these experts. You could have

100 percent of the country vaccinated and there would be another reason to mask everyone. What started as 14 days to slow the spread has turned into masking, lockdowns, vaccine mandates. Take precautions you're comfortable with, but it's time to tune out Dr. Leana Wen and the rest of the so-called expert class.

Speaking of masks, there is now a sustained push from the Biden administration and the CDC for those little kids two years old and up to wear them in schools this fall. So let me understand this, they now argue that that kids need to wear masks to protect themselves, but for a year we have been told that masks only protect you from spreading COVID. So which is it? 

Joining us now is Dr. Peter McCullough, internist, cardiologist, epidemiologist, and professor of medicine at Texas A&M. Dr. McCullough, every loss, of course, is tragic, but just over, I think the last number is

300 children have tragically died with COVID. And of those we don't even know how many died of COVID since the CDC will not tell us, obviously far fewer than have died most years from the flu. Your reaction? 

DR. PETER MCCULLOUGH, MD, MPH, INTERNIST AND CARDIOLOGIST:  Well, things have really dramatically changed, and very quickly. Last time I was on, we were at 30 percent Delta variant. We're right now as of July 17th we are at

83 percent Delta variant. It's a completely different viral syndrome. It's much more mild. I'd expect we will manage right through it. We are about 10 percent of our peek back in December, so we are having a mild outbreak at this point in time. We will be able to treat our way through it. I don't think we have any need for drastic measures at this point. 

INGRAHAM:  And the Biden administration last night, still no talk of natural or adaptive immunity from those who have been previously exposed to the virus. Why?

MCCULLOUGH: Natural immunity is our backstop, and we know 25 percent of people who took the vaccine, they actually had natural immunity. They were needlessly vaccinated. But it's still the backstop. If anybody really wants to take an inventory in terms of their employees, especially small businesses, they should know who has natural immunity, who has had the virus. Those are individuals who are fully protected. 

INGRAHAM:  Dr. McCullough, as always, a voice of reason and calm. 

When we come back, final thoughts about those other alarmists out there. 

Don't go away. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM:  Now, discussing the January 6th committee, Nancy Pelosi today was channeling all the clarity and cogency of Joe Biden. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA) HOUSE SPEAKER:  We named our commission, and it was -- committee. And it's bipartisan, and again, and we have a quorum. Staff is being hired to do the job. We're there to seek the truth. We're not there to get the truth, not to get Trump, t-r-u, truth. Trump. That seems to be what the other side is obsessed with. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM:  T-r -- you spell it with your hands.

Gutfeld is next.

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