Laura Ingraham on CDC updating mask guidance for vaccinated Americans

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Biden, media want you to believe updated mask guidance is a 'huge victory'

Stanford Epidemiologist Dr. Jay Bhattacharya joins 'The Ingraham Angle' to discuss the CDC updates on mask guidance for vaccinated Americans

This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," May 13, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

INGRAHAM: All right. I'm Laura Ingraham. This is the "Ingraham Angle" from
Washington. Tonight the "Ingraham Angle" features a tale of two cities. Our
nation's capital in all its beauty versus a special city in South Florida.

Plus, could Virginia's gubernatorial race this November prove to be a
bellwether for a Republican resurgence nationwide. GOP candidate Glenn
Youngkin is here to tell us about it. But first, Biden's shiny objects.
That's the focus of tonight's "Angle".

I've always been kind of fascinated by the possibility of what time travel
would be like. What would it really be like to cross dimensions?

(VIDEO PLAYING)

INGRAHAM: Precisely. And now it's official. It doesn't just happen in the
movies though, or as Biden calls them, the talkies. His administration
screwed up all the priorities. And of course, Americans now and at least a
dozen states along the eastern seaboard are feeling the pinch with
gasoline. They're living like it's like "The Wonder Years" of the mid to
late 70s.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of us must learn to waste less energy, simply by
keeping our thermostats for instance, at 65 degrees in the daytime and 55
degrees at night, we could save half the current shortage of natural gas.

If we learn to live thriftily and remember the importance of helping our
neighbors, then we can find ways to adjust.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Now fast forward to today, and you see the same problems. The
colonial pipeline is back online, but it will take several days for
supplies to return to normal. And even then, Biden's response to all of
this, his priorities have made us more vulnerable to future cyberattacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For more on the ransom, were you briefed on the fact
that the company did pay the ransom?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have no comment on that. Thank
you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: No comment on that. What about the ransom, Joe? Again, if they
paid ransom, and we're more susceptible to future hacks, whatever, come on,
does it really matter?

Remember, as his Energy Secretary sniped, "If you drove a Tesla, you
wouldn't be racing around to gas stations trying to fill up", paraphrasing
there. Jennifer Gran, go home. Well, the fact is, it's painfully obvious
that Democrats and their media flunkies are totally disinterested in
solving the problems facing Middle America, because if you drive less
because gas is too high. Good, they hate your big SUVs anyway.

And if you have fewer kids, because the cost of living is so high. Good,
they hate big families. And by the way, if the cost of guns is prohibitive,
and there is a shortage of ammo. Good, they want to gut the Second
Amendment. And if you're worried about more crime and less police. Too bad,
it's all the cops fault anyway. They're racist.

Now, it's not that the liberals don't have their priorities. Oh, they do.
And one of them and one of their tactics is to distract you with irrelevant
sideshows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC NEWS HOST: To be a leader in the Republican Party
right now, do you have to buy the lie?

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): I think it's important for those of us who refuse
to do that to be willing to stand up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Republican rationalizations for demonizing her
dissent are part of a long pattern of caving to extremists for short-term
political gain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a sad and dark moment.

JOY BEHAR, ABC HOST: She is the Joan of Arc standing up to the heretics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: I'd rather than governing as responsible adults. You know what
Biden promised us, all that calm and responsible leadership. His party in
their calm shop, well, they hope to skate over all those problems by
traveling back to January 6.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some Republicans tried to rewrite the history of January
6.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is traumatic to watch that video.

REP. TIM RYAN (R-OH): Our Republican friends are looking the other way
here. They want to sweep this thing under the rug.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know that there were extremist groups that were
part of that mob.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: This is the vision they want you to keep front and center. They
want you to fear Mr. Furball in face paint more than the fact that your
dollar is going to be worth less and less and less in the coming weeks and
months.

Liberals in leadership in their state media, they may not be fretting about
an increasingly volatile Middle East, but they are actively monitoring the
real conflicts that matter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You had an interaction between Marjorie Taylor Greene
and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Do you have concerns about what January 6th
has done to the relationships here on the Hill?

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Probably it's a matter for the ethics committee.
This is beneath the dignity of a person serving in the Congress of the
United States. And it's a cause for trauma and fear among members,
especially on the heels of an insurrection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: I love this hand gesture of hers. Of course, what they really
fear is that her house of card is about to come tumbling down. Of course,
with everything that's happening with the economy, they're worried, all
right. So they want you to just wish all your money was away.

So when the troubling new data on inflation came out, "The Washington Post"
quickly sprung into action with this chart. Inflation even tamer after
removing the effects of volatile gasoline and food prices. Oh, don't worry
about that. Come on, don't worry about it. It's only food and fuel. You
don't spend any money on that, right.

And today, Jen Psaki followed up with this absurd spin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Obviously, we've seen over the last
couple of days, to your point, some reaction to the CPI numbers that came
out just yesterday. Our view on that as it reflects the reality of an
economy that's rapidly turning back on because of a successful economic
strategy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: A successful economic strategy Joey Carter has. Now right now,
Americans at all income levels have less money in their pockets and less
freedom to move about and to travel. Because this was the Democrats' plan
all along. I'm not talking about the pipeline hack, but their policies to
clamp down on drilling and to cancel the Keystone Pipeline. If you have to
suffer because of those policies, so be it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON (D-DC): We're investing not only in Russia to
reduce automobile usage, but also we're investing in pedestrian and bicycle
infrastructure, if you really want to reduce. We really want to get a
climate change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: DC is already a tangle of bike infrastructure by the way. They
made traffic even worse by cutting off access near the Black Lives Matter
Plaza as well. It all looks like a dystopian disaster down there. We'll get
to it in a moment.

But they got what they wanted in DC. They got less traffic, along with less
prosperity, less business activity, fewer tourists, fewer workers. No one's
going back to their offices. It's just great in liberal la la land. So
again, they have their priorities. But they're sure not your priorities.

Wait, wait, but to be fair, there [ph] PIO priorities do include an
infrastructure plan. I want to be clear about that. And it does involve
building, all right. But it's building a country that you don't recognize
and that you don't want to live in. And that's the "Angle".

All right. Joining me now Florida congressman Byron Donalds, and House
Minority Whip Steve Scalise. Congressman Scalise, these shiny objects game
of the Democrats focusing on January 6 and Furman are focusing on AOC's
spat with Marjorie Taylor Greene, this is as people can't find gasoline in
major American cities and suburbs all across the eastern seaboard. How is
this making any sense?

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): Yes. Laura, what you're seeing right here with
the Biden administration is a group of people that are weighing over their
heads. I mean, look at all around the world. It's on fire. You've got
Israel under attack tonight. You got lines at the gas pump. It's like the
70s. Jimmy Carter probably wouldn't want to be compared to this
administration. Inflation's through the roof.

Look lumber prices, probably 400 percent up. Many schools are still close
where kids can't even get an education, and Joe Biden siding with the
teachers unions instead of children in America, millions of who may never
recover from what he is doing to them. On every front, we're seeing
disaster and crisis at the border after crisis.

And this president, it's like he shows up for about two hours, he can't
answer any questions and then he goes away. And they just hope that they
can throw shiny objects to distract the American people. But people are
getting fed up, they're seeing this. They're very concerned about this
direction, the socialist move by Pelosi and Biden.

INGRAHAM: Congressman Donalds, Pelosi did make a pitch for this so-called
infrastructure bill of Biden's. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PELOSI: The country needs a strong infrastructure package. It's an issue of
clean air, it's an issue of quality of life for people to have them out of
their cars with more mass transit and the rest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Congressman, she has the gall to say that she wants people "out
of their cars", as so many Americans are now suffering because of this gas
shortage and their plans for perhaps future gas shortages.

REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): I'm not listening to Nancy Pelosi. She was busy
getting her hair done while salons were sat down in the state of
California. But let's be very clear. Americans want a couple of things.
They just want to get back to work, they want their schools reopened, they
want the economy restored.

They don't want this green policy agenda, they don't want these liberal
crazy policies, which have frankly opened up our southern border, have
created the gas lines like the leader has talked about, like the whip has
talked about, excuse me, Steve, don't want to give you a promotion quite
yet because you're going to get it soon.

But let's be very clear, their policies are a disaster, and they have to
own it. That's why they want to distract us with all this other stuff that
doesn't matter to the American people.

INGRAHAM: Congressman Scalise, Joe Biden wants the best of both worlds,
right. He wants to take credit for Operation Warp Speed and for the economy
that was recovering under the last quarter when Trump urged everybody to
reopen. So, he wants to take credit for that. But he doesn't want to take
any responsibility for what's happening with this inflation. So, he was in
full spin mode today. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We've gone from stagnation to an economy that's growing faster than
it has in nearly 40 years. We've gone from an anemic job creation to a
record for job creation. All of this is a product of prompt action to roll-
out the vaccine and boost our economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Congressman, we are on the verge of an inflationary spiral if
they keep using stimulus when no stimulus is needed, clearly.

SCALISE: Yes, we're seeing a deficit of reality in the Biden
administration. I mean, if you look on the vaccine front, when Joe Biden
took the oath of office, there were three vaccines. Two already approved,
one about to be approved, that's now allowed over 200 vaccinations to be
put in the arms of Americans.

Joe Biden is talking about giving away not just the vaccine, but the entire
technology, the mRNA technology to China for free. You are talking about
intellectual property theft from China, Joe Biden is going to give it to
China. He inherited the hottest economy we've ever seen. He's talking about
raising taxes right now that would kill middle-class jobs.

And oh, by the way, Laura, today there's over 8 million job openings and
Joe Biden is paying people, borrowing from our kids to pay people not to
work. It's probably the biggest reason why you have to wait in line to get
anything from a refrigerator to a new car.

INGRAHAM: Yes. Before we go, CNN's Manu Raju tweeted something earlier
today saying, "Speaker Pelosi told him "No, she isn't changing the rule
requiring masks on the House floor". No, Pelosi said. Wait, are they all
vaccinated?

Quick response from both of you. Should masks go on the floor of the House
and she apparently wants your medical records.

DONALDS: Should have been gone months ago. Most of the members either been
vaccinated, or they have antibodies. It is a dumb rule to have.

INGRAHAM: All right. Congressman Scalise, what about you?

SCALISE: Look, she let Joe Biden take his mask off at the stately union
address, and she wants everybody else to keep the mask on. Just returned to
sanity. Look at states like Florida who are actually doing things right.
They actually have a much lower death rate from COVID than states like New
York who shut everything down and are keeping kids locked out of school and
they're losing a generation now as well as every small business.

INGRAHAM: I don't mean to interrupt, but you're missing the point. I'm
sorry. What she wants to do is shame any member of Congress who made a
personal decision not to get the vaccine for whatever reason. That's what
that's about. It's not - she doesn't think she's going to get COVID or any
of you are going to get COVID. It's a shaming device. So she's trying to
shame anyone and perhaps to watch out medical records.

SCALISE: And it's about controller, she wants to control the House, she
wants to keep the public out of the people's house by the way too. The
American people are done with all of the shut-ins. They want to see their
government in action. They want to see their government working for them,
which has not happened in the last six months.

INGRAHAM: All right. Congressmen, thank you so much. Great to see both of
you tonight.

And in their quest to take down floor Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The
media embraced this so-called whistleblower named Rebekah Jones. Remember
her? She alleged a vast conspiracy by DeSantis' administration to cover up
the severity of COVID. There's one just problem about that. None of it was
true.

Fox chief breaking news correspondent Trace Gallagher is live now with a
story trace.

TRACE GALLAGHER, CHIEF BREAKING NEWS CORRESPONDENT, FOX NEWS: Laura, good
evening. Rebekah Jones is not a doctor, not an epidemiologist, not even a
health expert. She is apparently very tech savvy and is the former manager
of Florida's COVID-19 dashboard, you know the program that tracks cases,
hospitalizations and deaths.

She is also a self-proclaimed whistleblower who alleged without evidence
that Florida had under counted COVID-19 deaths claiming her superiors
instructed her to alter raw data so that Florida's COVID response would
look better. And of course, anything that might make Florida Governor Ron
DeSantis look bad is immediately embraced by the liberal media. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REBEKAH JONES, FORMER DATA SCIENTIST, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH: This is
just a very thinly veiled attempt of the governor to intimidate scientists
and get back at me while trying to get to my sources as he's been firing
DOH staff left and right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Except as the National Review's Charles C.W. Cooke has
reported, Jones doesn't have the power to alter raw numbers on the COVID
dashboard quoting here, "Were this charge true, it would reflect one of the
most breathtaking political scandals in all of American history." But it's
not true, indeed it's nonsense from start to finish.

And while Jones couldn't manipulate the dashboard, she did crash it and
locked her supervisor out, which ended up getting her fired and having her
home raided by police. Jones says this about police quoting, "They pointed
a gun in my face. They pointed guns at my kids." "They claimed it was about
a security breach. This was DeSantis. He sent the Gestapo."

But as we showed you body cam video, does not show police pointing guns at
anyone. Rebekah Jones, you should know, has been charged with serious
computer crimes. Laura.

INGRAHAM: That story takes my breath away. Trace, thank you. Unbelievable.

Now the Commonwealth of Virginia has become ground zero for battles between
race baiting educators and concerned parents. One of those parents is here
next. Plus, how does this poisonous curricula factor into the governor's
race next year - this year. Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Glenn
Youngkin tells us in moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: If there is one state that is perhaps due for a political shift
to the right, it's the Commonwealth of Virginia. Over the past year, we've
seen parents in affluent Northern Virginia suburbs turn on the Democrats.

Now when the schools were shut down for ridiculous amounts of time, some of
them are still aren't fully, fully operational, parents rose up to
challenge the closures and to take on the unions. And once some schools
reopened, those parents then had to contend with the obscene critical race
theory that's poisoning their kids' curriculum. And now parents are
learning of a new perversion, anti-racist books laden with vulgar and
sexually explicit content.

Now, parents in Loudoun County were so disgusted by this, they stormed a
school board meeting and read aloud the filth that's being pushed on their
kids.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "I kept dancing lost in the music until some bully
pushed me up behind me holding my hips and I froze. Looking to Megan for
help, she nodded and mouthed, "It's OK, it's cool. This is what girls do at
parties." I told myself and kept dancing with the boy. I couldn't see the
alcohol making my waist wind faster".

If this is inappropriate for me to read to you, this is inappropriate for
our children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Joining us now, the woman you just saw, Patti Hidalgo Menders,
Loudon County parent. Patti, this is suggested reading for ninth graders?
And that's, by the way, the tamest of the passages we have for everybody
tonight.

PATTI HIDALGO MENDERS, LOUDOUN COUNTY PARENT: In three high schools here in
Loudoun County, there is a list of books that are part of a diversity
library that English teachers can select. And in this case, we read from a
ninth grade English honors class that made this mandatory reading.

INGRAHAM: Honors class? There's nothing honorable about that. Now, Patti,
one of your fellow concerned parents also read a passage from the book
"Monday's Not Coming". Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Me and Monday, we did something. We did do something.
He took a deep breath. She sucked my d***. I really didn't want it to
happen. It just kind of did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Again, this is for 13 or 14 year olds, correct?

MENDERS: Yes. It is disgusting. I wouldn't even want to read this myself
and they are mandatorily telling our children that for them to pass this
class they need to select one of these diverse books.

INGRAHAM: Yes. I just want to get this so people understand we're not
exaggerating this. A Loudoun parent reading an reading an excerpt from
another book called "Hashtag Murder Trending". Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jasper wasn't even my boyfriend, just this dude I did
some hacking with once in a while. He was pretty basic-library systems, low
security s***. Not my league at all. But he had a big d*** and sometimes a
girl just needs a big d***.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Now, Patti, I guess one of these books wasn't actually mandatory.
But if it's one of the offerings, that's for sure. And if you said any of
this in a professional setting, it would be actually called sexual
harassment. They're trying to make some social commentary, or talk about
abuse or something, or choices kids have to make. But why is this
appropriate in a school setting? And how is this going to advance their
knowledge about the great works of Western civilization?

MENDERS: Well, it started when they took away [ph] Dr. Seuss. They said
that he was racist. And then we find out that they allowed the school
board, approved these diverse books in our schools and they started with
the high school and parents found out about it. But the day that we spoke
to the school board, did you know that they approved this diversity library
for the middle schoolers? So now, what are we going to expect for the even
younger students?

INGRAHAM: Oh, it's going to get worse and worse. Do you all think ever,
maybe it's time not to just go to meetings, but run them? Run for school
board? Try to try to take these school boards over? I mean, they do. The
left is doing this. And they're just rolling over to critical race theory
and alike.

MENDERS: We've tried different avenues. We've tried, hey, let's have a town
hall, so you can tell us exactly what's going on with our children. We've
tried - now the new strategy is where we're recalling six of the school
board members.

INGRAHAM: Good.

MENDERS: We used to accept this kind of behavior. This past Saturday, we
probably collected over 1700 signatures. So we're going to continue to
collect signatures and recall six of the school board members.

INGRAHAM: Well, that's progress. I think they are going to run really good
people. Patti, thank you. We'll stay on this.

And the issue of education gives the Virginia GOP an incredible opening.
And with the state gubernatorial election just months away, we wanted to
know how the Republican nominee plans to address it.

Joining us now Glenn Youngkin, Republican candidate for Virginia Governor.
Glenn, good to see you tonight. How big of an issue will this be for your
campaign given how accelerated this radicalism has become in our schools in
Northern Virginia? And how will you hand it over the next six months?

GLENN YOUNGKIN, (R) VIRGINIA GUVERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: It is just an
extraordinary moment in our education system in Virginia. I mean, the
McAuliffe-Northam dynasty has been dismantling Virginia schools. And thank
goodness for parents. I mean, they're the last line of defense. And we
don't see anyone standing up from the McAuliffe-Northam administration
actually trying to help them. And in fact, they're the ones doing the
dismantling.

You can just add to this list, expectations that accelerated math won't be
taught anymore up through the 11th grade, that in fact they're going to try
to stop awarding advanced diplomas. We're actually going to take the 4th of
July and the Pledge of Allegiance out of the list of things that bind us.
This is just part of the agenda of the liberal left led by Terry McAuliffe
and Ralph Northam.

And thank goodness for parents. I mean, I need them to keep saying
(inaudible) pushing back because I can't get there for seven months.

INGRAHAM: Yes. Well, Democrat - a candidate Terry McAuliffe, who was
governor before, he is not serving now but I see what you're doing there.
He attacked you on Twitter this week. No surprise there. He said, "Folks,
here is the truth: extreme Republicans like Glenn Youngkin want nothing
more than to roll back the progress we've made over the past 8 years. They
aren't interested in lifting up Virginias, just culture wars and division.
It's time to move forward not back."

Glenn, so you want to go back to what? The 1950s and you want the culture
wars and you're not going to talk about economics or any of these issues?
Is that what your campaign is going to do?

YOUNGKIN: Yes. What I find most amazing is that here's Terry, talking about
culture wars, when in fact, they support a school system that is actually
teaching the most divisive curriculum, a political agenda and critical race
theory. And then all they want to do is actually talk about trying to pin
us against a wall based on trying to do the right thing for families, for
our kids.

I mean, they're the ones actually trying to fight the culture war and our
kids sadly are the ones getting hurt. Right now the biggest issue is--

INGRAHAM: Glenn, I'm sorry to interrupt. But why do this race matter?
People are watching from all over the country. Laura, you know, Virginia,
it's a Democrat state now. They're not going to win that. But why does this
matter in an awful election year and remember what happened in 2009. Real
quick.

GLENN YOUNGKIN, (R) VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: This is the year for
Virginians to stand up and say no more. We've watched the left liberal
agenda in Washington, we've watched it in Richmond for the last two years,
and Virginia families are ready just say no. And I have seen this
groundswell of support across Virginia where this isn't about Republicans
versus Democrats. This is actually Virginians against the left liberal
policies that have put Virginia in the ditch, and our kids are suffering as
a result.

Education will be the top issue in this election this year along with
getting our economy open and moving. And the Democrats led by Terry
McAuliffe are on the wrong side of this issue once again. And this is,
again, not Republicans versus Democrats. This is Virginians against the
left liberal policy.

INGRAHAM: The reason this matters, and that was the question I asked you.
The reason this matters is because if you can win in the commonwealth of
Virginia, as Democrat as it has become in Fairfax County, which is where
all the population is, if you can win in the state, then that is a
bellwether, I believe, for what happens in 2022. It will be a wipeout for
the Republicans against the Democrats. It often is when the Republican is
able to win in an off-year election, as happened in 2009.

Glenn, it's great to see you tonight, and we appreciate you being here.
Thank you so much.

And what does lockdown versus liberty look like in visuals? We took a tour
of D.C. today, a city full of boarded-up businesses, homeless encampments,
drug abusers on the street, and this is just like feet from the seat of
power, even with offenses and the wire all around it. Compare that to where
FOX's Lisa Boothe is for us tonight in Miami, Florida. The two sides of the
COVID coin, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA BOOTHE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: As you can see here, I'm standing
outside of the Clevelander South Beach. It is happening. There are so many
people out and about, people eating, listening to music. It is lively.
People are walking in the streets. Florida is wide open for business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Homeless encampments have become commonplace in the
nation's capital. As you see her, tents are packed into what was a patch of
grass less than one year ago. While this is an onset eyes are for
struggling local businesses, it doesn't seem to bother lawmakers who walk
past these tent cities every day as they head into work just across the
street.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Like many Democrat-controlled areas of the country, Washington
D.C. is a city in squalor. Before the pandemic it was bustling with
business and tourists. Now it's a shell of its former self. But you really
have to see the decline to believe it. So we dispatched one of our
producers to document the decay.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The U Street Corridor used to be a hub for D.C.
nightlife, providing homes to some of the most popular bars and restaurants
in the district. But after more than year of strict COVID protocols, the
once vibrant neighborhood is a dead zone. Mayor Bowser plans to lift
capacity restrictions for all bars and nightclubs in June, but by the looks
of these boarded-up buildings, the damage is already done.

ANTHONY HARRIS, OWNER, BULLFEATHERS: I don't think you understand what we
suffer through these kinds of situations. Running a business is a very
difficult thing, meeting that payroll every couple of weeks and making the
rents and everything else Fred.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anthony Harris is the owner of Bullfeathers, an iconic
bar just blocks from Capitol Hill. He's been in the business for 53 years.

HARRIS: It has been very, very difficult for us, with the price of doing
business, the overhead has gotten even higher. I think inflation is setting
in on a few of our food prices. So it's been very difficult for us. We're
only at 25 percent seating, and in this business, 25 percent doesn't cut
it. The local government is going to increase the percentages up to full
bore eventually, I believe, the 21st of this month.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you wish this would've happened sooner?

HARRIS: My goodness gracious, yes. We're hanging on by threads, for
heaven's sake. And at this point of my life, I don't want to invest a lot
more money into the business because I have to think how I'm going to live
the rest of my life if these places fold on us.

KELSEY WOBBLETON, MANAGER, TORTILLA COAST: This is the hardest year we've
ever had here. It's definitely been hard to keep the motivation to stay
open for a while.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just two doors down at Tortilla Coast, a D.C. staple,
manager Kelsey Wobbleton said it's been tough to stay afloat.

WOBBLETON: That's probably been our biggest struggle is staffing, so we've
got interviews, people come in, and about I would say 50 percent actually
show up are interested in the job. A lot of those people that used to work
in the restaurant industry, they are now pursuing different careers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's also hurting businesses in Washington D.C. is
the lack of tourism. It went down significantly during COVID, with some
experts estimating it will take years to recover.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's restrictions that weren't here before, and
fell a little, almost like you're doing something wrong if you are coming
up here. Everything is closed. You've got the museums, people come to the
museums, there's no museums. A lot less people, a lot less restaurants that
are open.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It feels more shutdown, because before I left San
Francisco, we went out to eat inside restaurants. So lots of people are
vaccinated back home. I'm sure they are here, too, but it just feels a
little more shut down indoors.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it different from what you into anticipated?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Different for me, for sure, because I've been here. So
I was not expecting that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you recommend friends or family members visit
D.C. right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. I would tell them wait.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Wow. Let's compare that bleak picture to what life is like in
free American cities. So we go live to South Beach in Miami, Florida, were
lucky FOX News contributor Lisa Boothe is standing by. Now Lisa, it's
absolutely a lively night out there tonight. Tell us what you found, what
you're experiencing.

LISA BOOTHE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: It is. And I'm so lucky to live here.
It's just the complete opposite of what we just heard. Bars, restaurants,
nightclubs, all open for business. I don't know if you can hear. The music
is blaring next to me. Down the street is absolutely packed. People walking
up and down. And I spent the day talking to folks who came here from across
the country, many from cities and states that are more locked down, and
they said they came here for just a little taste of freedom that they're
not getting back home. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOOTHE: Coming from Chicago is it nice to be in a more free environment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hell, yes. It feels like 100 percent right now. It feels
so good to be out. I am wearing a tank top and shorts and no mask at all.
Everywhere it feels safe, it feels good. It feels good to be back to
normal. And that's how it should be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just really amazing to me how the world could just
shut down just like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we were still locked down, everything would go to --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been a whole year already. We've already been
doing this for so long. I just feel like, how is it not done yet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It feels like the old. Obviously, it's not the same, but
it feels good. I'm glad everything is getting back to open, and people can
have fun again.

BOOTHE: Is it time to reopen the country?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes.

BOOTHE: Are you glad you're visiting here versus maybe a place like D.C. or
back in New York where things are pretty closed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Part of the reason we came here was because everything
is open and it's great.

BOOTHE: Do you feel free and Florida right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, absolutely.

BOOTHE: Are you guys glad that you're in Florida versus --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BOOTHE: Do you guys feel free here in Florida?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's way more free out here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so much better out here, honestly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOOTHE: So Laura, as you heard there, so many people from California, New
York, Chicago, just talking about how things just aren't the same there.
Life has not been the same. Here is so different, wide open, free, so many
people out and about just living their life.

INGRAHAM: You forget, Lisa, you forget when you live in a place like D.C.
like I live, you forget what the rest of the country is like. You really
can forget freedom if you don't fight to reclaim it. You just get used to
it. While 72 percent of the country says they are still going to socially
distance even when they get the vaccine, at least for six months, according
to that recent full. I read that and I almost fell over.

BOOTHE: So much of it doesn't make sense, either. You can get on a plane,
but you can take off your mask when you're eating and drinking. So a lot of
these rules and regulations, they don't make sense. I think people are
ready to live their lives again. I was in New York City earlier this week.
It felt so different, felt so dreary. People seemed depressed there. Here
everyone is happy, living life, enjoying life, because life is meant to be
lived.

INGRAHAM: Absolutely. Lisa, thanks for that hard assignment down there with
all the fun people. That looked like a fun group.

BOOTHE: I will do it again, Laura, any time.

INGRAHAM: All right, I got it.

BOOTHE: Any time.

INGRAHAM: Thanks so much, Lisa.

And speaking of the mask issue, the CDC's big announcement today was
heralded by Biden as a big win, but what science is clear now that wasn't
clear a month ago, and for many of us like a year ago. Why doesn't this go
far enough? Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is here next. He's going to answer those
questions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: Did you see this today? Biden and the poodles in the media, they
want you to think that it's somehow a huge victory that the CDC is now
saying that if you're vaccinated, you can actually drop your mask, OK. But
here is my question. Has the science really changed in the last month? Of
course, it hasn't. In fact, it was just a couple of days ago, right, that
Fauci was spewing his usual nonsense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, BIDEN CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER: I think people have gotten
used to the fact that wearing masks clearly, if you look at the data,
diminishes respiratory diseases. We have had practically a nonexistent flu
season this year merely because people we're doing the kinds of public
health things that were directed predominately against COVID-19.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: It's completely false. Here is what the CDC own research says.
CDC is not aware of any randomized controlled trials that show that masks
or double masks, or a clothed face coverings are effective against COVID-
19. That is in response to a FOIA request of the CDC.

Joining me now, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Stanford University professor of
medicine and epidemiology. Dr. Bhattacharya, this mask thing has been a
charade from almost day one. Fauci actually was right the first time he
said that it might make people feel a little better, maybe a little around
the edges, but that wasn't going to be a key tool in ending the pandemic.
So what about this new announcement today?

DR. JAY BHATTACHARYA, STANFORD UNIVERSITY EPIDEMIOLOGIST: In a sense it was
a good first step, but I have no idea why it's taken this long. They should
have told people that are vaccinated that they didn't need the mask to
begin with. It's amazing. And as a result, they created vaccine hesitancy.
They signaled through their behaviors and their words that the vaccines
don't work by saying we'll keep wearing masks.

So I'm glad they finally did this, and I hope states and businesses take it
to heart and get rid of these mask requirements that have done very little
good to slow the spread of the disease.

INGRAHAM: We've seen kids under the age of 10, I believe, in France never
had to wear masks. Sweden, they never mandated masks. Texas, when they
dropped their mask mandate, they didn't see any increase in cases. South
Dakota never had a mask mandate. So the mask mandate versus non-mask, they
showed no difference in the transmission in the states. But Fauci, by the
way, still thinks that kids should not really be able to enjoy life
unmasked. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: What is your message to parents who are out there
thinking, well, I'm vaccinated, my kids are not, but the odds of them
getting the virus are very low. Would you tell them no, no, no, the kids
still need to wear a mask?

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, BIDEN CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER: Yes, the children do when
they're out there playing with their friends, and particularly in an indoor
situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Dr. Bhattacharya, is there any real scientific proof that
supports Fauci's recommendation that kids would still be in masks?

BHATTACHARYA: No, there is not. Kids spread the disease very inefficiently.
Thank God for that. We don't fully understand why, but it's absolutely
true. Lots of scientific evidence backs that up. And furthermore, you'll
have to balance the potential benefits, which are very low, against the
harms to kids. Masking kids potentially harms their emotional and social
development. It does not make sense to mask children. We should not be
asking them to do that, especially when adults everywhere are going to be
taking their masks off as a result of the vaccination campaigns.

I think the problem is in public health messaging, when you go far outside
what the science is actually saying, you make these confusing kinds of
orders, people will stop trusting public health. It has real consequences.

INGRAHAM: No one believes them. When people say the CDC says, it's not
exactly considered the good housekeeping seal of approval anymore, Dr.
Bhattacharya.

There is a medical analyst, Leana Wen, over at CNN, who thinks that
vaccinated people not wearing masks is somehow extremist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I was shocked by this announcement. I
think they went from one extreme to another, and the major step that's
missing here is how do we know that people are telling the truth? Who is
going to be checking to see if others are also vaccinated? So what does
that mean, if I'm bringing my son, my four-year-old who is not fully
vaccinated, now he's going to be in a grocery store potentially exposed to
people who are not vaccinated who could be of danger to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Dr. Bhattacharya, she wants vaccine monitoring. She wants a
checker of credentials and papers before you can move in this country.

BHATTACHARYA: It's just bad public health messaging. She's spreading fear
were it doesn't belong. Children are incredibly low risk for bad outcomes
from this disease. More children died of the flu last year than died of
COVID. It's not close.

I just don't understand the thinking behind that. If you are an adult and
you are scared of COVID and you haven't had COVID before, get vaccinated
and you don't have to worry about other people around you being vaccinated
or not. If your child is not really at high risk from severe disease from
COVID, don't spread fear to your children where it doesn't belong.

INGRAHAM: Dr. Bhattacharya, great to see you, thank you.

And Mayor Pete gets taken to school, how cute. The Last Bite, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: Little Petey had a rough go on the playground this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: I don't want to get bogged down
in a semantic or philosophical argument over what to call something if it's
a good policy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Secretary, come on.

BUTTIGIEG: These are things the American people want.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Secretary, you might as well just tell me, you know,
you need those roads to drive to free college and free childcare.

BUTTIGIEG: You can organize it around what the lives of human beings in
this country are actually like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then you could make that to everything under the sun is
infrastructure and we should spend $100 trillion and give everything to
everyone.

BUTTIGIEG: We abundantly do have the money because the bill is paid for,
right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Right? Wrong. What a lightweight.

Gutfeld takes it all from here.

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