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Melania Trump takes a three-state tour to promote her 'Be Best' initiative for children

First lady Melania Trump's communications director Stephanie Grisham shares more on the 'Be Best' initiative.

This is a rush transcript from "Justice with Judge Jeanine," March 9, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

JEANINE PIRRO, HOST: Hello and welcome to "Justice." I'm Judge Jeanine Pirro. Thanks so much for being with us tonight and thanks to all of you for once again making "Justice" number one last weekend.

We have a big show on deck for you with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Congressman Jim Jordan, John Solomon, Sarah Carter to name just a few.

But first my open.

So let me get this straight, she and her family flee war-torn Somalia where 500,000 are killed during a Civil War then sent to a refugee camp in Kenya for four years. They are then resettled by our government in Virginia to enjoy the cornucopia of rights, privileges and benefits the United States offers.

The "she" is Congresswoman Ilhan Omar who represents Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District in Congress only about two months, but she's gotten attention far beyond Washington for her anti-Semitism.

But as early as 2012, she tweeted quote, "Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel." Now after an uproar in her home state, she apologized pledging to learn more about anti-Semitism. Apparently she did not.

Once in Congress, she continued with her hate-filled anti-Semitic, anti- Israel tropes first in defending the BDS or Boycott Divest and Sanction Movement calling for the boycott of events in Israel and even for the eradication of Israel because of their so-called oppression of Palestine.

Shortly thereafter, she tweets, "It's all about the Benjamins baby." The Benjamins of course, a clear reference to the hundred dollar bill. Shortly after that, she continues her hate-filled rants accusing another Democratic congresswoman of having a dual loyalty pledging allegiance to Israel.

She is clever though responding with quote, "I am told I am anti-American if I am not pro-Israel," close quote. The House knew it had to take action and after a week of chaos on the part of House members trying to figure out if Omar should be reprimanded, identified by name as well as removed from the powerful Foreign Relations Committee, Speaker Pelosi comes out with a watered down dumb disappointing resolution that neither condemns Omar nor mentions her name. A simple "we shouldn't hate each other."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI, D-CALIF., SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I don't think our colleague is an anti-Semitic, I think she has a different experience in the use of words and doesn't understand that some of them are fraught with meaning that she didn't realize.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PIRRO: Nancy, she speaks perfect English. She graduated from a college in the United States. You say she doesn't understand the words? Are you saying she's stupid? That she doesn't understand? Then what the hell is she doing on the prestigious Foreign Relations Committee.

She speaks fluently using tropes which are figurative and metaphorical, understanding that those words create powerful images and verbal ironies. She is far from stupid. She is clear and pointed in her hatred. Her comments only critical of Jews in Israel; not Italy, not Morocco, not North Korea -- Israel.

Now the fact that you didn't have the backbone grit or gumption to draft a resolution that included her name tells me you are the stupid one and if you don't understand, let me explain.

Omar got you and all your pals to draft a watered-down resolution with a message we all learned in first grade, "Don't hate anybody." Really? That took you bozos a week in the House and yet you were so quick to admonish a white male Republican Congressmen accused of hate to and strip him of his committee assignments.

She then goes on to accuse respected members of Congress who support Israel, our strongest ally in the Middle East of dual loyalty. What she's doing Nancy is starting a movement to shut down pro-Israel speech making it politically incorrect. So when she comes up with her pro-Palestinian agenda, the pro Israel's are reticent to speak because she's already proven that the Dems will not punish her and talk about hutzpah, she takes a victory lap and in an unrepentant and unchastised tweet takes credit by saying quote, "Our nation is having a difficult conversation, but we believe this is great progress."

But she continues her disdain and contempt for Israel, America's chief ally, ignoring how Israel has assisted us advancing our interest in the Middle East preventing victories by radical nationalist movements, as well as assisting us in intelligence gathering.

She then goes on to slam Barack Obama saying he is just another pretty face who got away with murder caging kids and droning people in the Middle East, but she adds, he is a bit more polished.

My question, why the disdain for the government of the country that saved you and your family after you lived in a tent in Kenya for four years? Why the scorn? And as the Democrats scramble to forgive, rationalize and give a pass to a freshman in Congress, the joke is on you, Nancy. You've appeased rising anti-Semitism inside the Democratic Party.

Let me say that again, you and the whole gang running for President in the Democratic primary in 2020 have appeased the rise of anti-Semitism in the Democratic Party. The sad part is that all this is contrary to the tenets of your party, which is so receptive to the LGBTQ community, illegal immigrants, refugees and on and on.

This is not who your party is. Your party is not anti-Israel. She is.

Think about this, she's not getting this anti-Israel sentiment doctrine from the Democratic Party, so if it's not rooted in the party, where is she getting it from? Think about it. Omar wears a hijab which according to the Quran 33:59 tells women to cover so they won't get molested. Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?

I don't have to tell you, Nancy. Jews have been persecuted almost from the beginning of time when they were forced out of Egypt to the six million killed in the Holocaust and now, we are witnessing the rise of anti- Semitism in Europe where incidents are up 74% in the last year alone in France, where Jewish cemeteries are regularly desecrated with swastikas and people relay the common tropes of Jews with too much money and influence.

We all know how it starts. It starts that way. Hate is hate. Hate leads to violence and violence leads to retaliation, which then leads to unrest and worse.

Yes, Nancy, it's all about hating Israel to promote the cause of Palestine.

President Trump was right when he said the Democratic Party is now the anti-Israel party and don't forget, Nancy, history has proven over and over, when you appease anti-Semitic sentiment, the worst happens and in your case, Nancy, the danger for you is that you're appeasing this behavior will lead to your removal as Speaker and the Democrats, now controlled by socialists and anti-Semites will lose the presidency in 2020.

And that's my open. Let me know what you think on my Facebook and Twitter #JudgeJeanine.

And joining me now with reaction to my opening statement and much more, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. All right, good evening, Congressman. I understand that even you yourself were involved a bit in the -- in some of these tropes where you made a comment and Ilhan Omar actually came after you.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY, R-CALIF., HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Well, that first when she tweeted about all about the Benjamins, that was referring to an article that a reporter wrote that I was asking Nancy Pelosi to stand up to these new Democratic socialists who are making these anti-Semitic comments.

And Judge, this is the week these new Democrat socialists have taken over the party. They've taken over the leadership because they won this week.

Nancy Pelosi said she was going to stand up to her and move a resolution that just dealt with this subject. It wouldn't name her and she couldn't even pass that. She had to water it down. They now own the Democratic Party which is now the Democratic Socialist Party and you were correct, when you appease history has taught us, there is a rise of anti-Semitism.

We already stood up to Congresswoman Omar just a few weeks ago and she just repeated it even which I believe worst, questioning the allegiance and the alliance of American Jews. Could they be true to America? We heard these questions asked history in the past and what did history say? And we can never allow that to repeat itself. That's why it's so important, not one party, but all America stands up to this.

PIRRO: But you know what, Congressman, I understand that Nancy Pelosi is - - you know, look, she's been the Speaker twice and as a woman, I mean she is probably in terms of women in Congress, I mean she's the most powerful woman in Congress, I mean and has been.

MCCARTHY: By far.

PIRRO: By far, so -- and she's the one --

MCCARTHY: Not this week.

PIRRO: Didn't her daughter say something like stab you in the back or cut you and you won't even know you have been cut, so why did she bend? What happened? Is she worried that these young women are going to take over? Is she watching the attention that they're getting and therefore is concerned about her own future?

MCCARTHY: Well remember what took place. She was on the cover of "The Rolling Stones" with the young new congresswomen who call themselves Democratic socialists. That's not what I say. That's what they call themselves.

Then we heard the comments that Congresswoman Omar said. You had the Jewish members stand up and say, "This is wrong. She should apologize," and then the Democratic leadership said, "We're going to stand up," because last time it was the Republican Party who stood up and brought it to the floor.

PIRRO: Right.

MCCARTHY: But they had to backtrack. We know Speaker Pelosi is a very strong woman, but she lost this week. She had to backpedal and say, "No, she couldn't bring that to the floor ..."

PIRRO: Why? I still don't know why.

MCCARTHY: Congresswoman Cortez stood up and defended Congresswoman Omar. You had the new progressives that are running presidentially and they felt they could ...

PIRRO: So we've got three women there, they are going to scare Nancy Pelosi?

MCCARTHY: They did and I think that is the new movement in this Democratic Socialist Party. They have overtaken this leadership. You watched it happen this week. This is the mark of the date of the week that they have now overtaken the Democratic Party.

PIRRO: And I'm going to ask you one last question. Bernie Sanders made this statement. He said, "What I fear going on in the House is an effort to target Congresswoman Omar as a way of cycling debate and that's wrong." I mean talk about turning the aggressor into the victim. I mean -- and then, by the way, she's taking a victory lap. She never even apologized to anyone. She is going to double down again.

MCCARTHY: Think of this. The first time she went forward when the Republicans threatened to bring a resolution to the floor, the Democrats said she needed to apologize. This time, she repeats it and they don't even say she has to apologize.

When we had somebody of our own party in the Republican Party say something that we disagreed with as Americans, disagreed with as the party of Lincoln, the Republicans stood up and removed him from committees. The Democrats keep her on Foreign Affairs.

I think there's a real contrast here in leadership, but what is scary to me as an American, when I see the rise of anti-Semitism around the world and I see appeasement in what history has taught us about appeasement. I know those people.

I know those people are -- I know the Democrats on the other side of the aisle, many of them did not want to see this in the way it did. They want to stand up to them. That's what I believe is wrong.

PIRRO: Well, they better learn. They better learn. Leader Kevin McCarthy, thank you so much for being with us.

MCCARTHY: Thank you, Judge.

PIRRO: All right, so was Michael Cohen coached? Sources say he met with Adam Schiff's staff for more than ten hours before the House Oversight Committee hearing.

Congressman Jim Jordan grilled Cohen about it in that hearing and the Congressman joins me now. Good evening, Congressman.

REP. JIM JORDAN, R-OH: Good to be with you, Judge.

PIRRO: You know, normally what happens is you have a witness, you know, whether it's in a courtroom or whether it's before Congress, you get to talk to him. The Party presenting him and then the other side gets to talk to him.

Now, before I even get into the ten-hour thing, did you guys ever talk to Cohen?

JORDAN: No, our staff talked to Lanny Davis, his lawyer. We asked to talk to him, Judge. We asked for a deposition, a transcribed interview.

PIRRO: And what did they say?

JORDAN: They wouldn't do that.

PIRRO: Why?

JORDAN: The Democrats wouldn't do that. They just chose not to. Well, I mean why should they? If you don't have to let one team have a fair shake and you can go meet with him for 10 hours, why would you do that? We didn't know they were doing that, but that's exactly what they did.

We asked for it, they didn't provide it. Here's the big irony though. You would think after 10 hours of coaching, he wouldn't come in front of Congress and lie again, but he did.

PIRRO: I agree.

JORDAN: We think at least eight times and two of them, we know for sure. You know when he said he didn't want to go work at the White House, we know that's a lie and we know that he actively sought a pardon, so that's why Congressman Meadows and I have sent letters to the Justice Department talking about, you know, "Look, this guy perjured himself on the stand and you need to investigate."

PIRRO: Well, but what are the sanctions? Is there a sanction if Adam Schiff and his crew talked to this guy for 10 hours, he doesn't get it and I've prepped the witnesses in my career. I mean, you know you don't need 10 hours. I don't think I've ever spent 10 hours unless it was a kid --

JORDAN: Yes, and Judge, I want to be clear, look you meet with witnesses all the time. That's normal for Congress. I get that. But not like this. Normally the meeting is maybe a half hour, an hour meeting. Here's what you're going to report. We may talk about a few things. It's a shorter meeting, but this was four trips, at least what's been reported, four trips it looks like to New York over ten hours, I've actually seen. That is much more than the normal meeting, "Here's how it's going to work. Here's what the subject matter is going to be."

This is coaching and prepping and frankly, my guess is they not only did that, they probably saw these exhibits. The documents that Mr. Cohen unveiled, my guess is the Democrats saw that long before we did on the morning of the hearing, that's the problem.

PIRRO: What is the sanction? My question is, I'm always asking about consequences. What is this sanction? Is there any sanction? Should he be precluded? Should he have been precluded from testifying because you didn't have access to him?

JORDAN: No, no, the sanction -- remember what happened two years ago? The sanction a couple of years ago was Devon Nunes stepped down as Chairman for a while, so that that was a self-imposed kind of sanction from Chairman, I didn't think he needed to, but he did.

Now it seems like it's a little bit hypocritical that Mr. Schiff who oh, by the way met with Glenn Simpson this summer out in Colorado and now we learned this, it's a little hypocritical, but that's not the same thing.

Of course, that's a call for him and the committee. That's a call for the speaker Pelosi, but it seems a little hypocritical that they demanded Devin do it and now, they're not even talking about that.

PIRRO: Okay, all right, we have like 10 seconds, you know what is really frustrating is that Paul Ryan didn't give you guys the ability to subpoena all those bozos. Shame on him, anyway.

JORDAN: I wish we had pushed harder much sooner, Judge, but we're pushing now.

PIRRO: How could you push harder? He's the leader.

JORDAN: I know, I know, but we still should have. Here is the thing, though they brought their star witness who's going to prison in two months for lying to Congress, they brought him in front of Congress and he lied again.

PIRRO: Oh, what a shock. Congressman Jim Jordan, thanks so much for being with us.

JORDAN: You bet. Thank you.

PIRRO: A young student forced to wipe ashes off his head on Ash Wednesday, what is going on in this world? We're going to talk about that plus, the First Lady visits multiple states on her Be Best Campaign. My viewers get an inside look when I'm joined by Melania Trump's Director of Communications, Stephanie Grisham and next, investigative journalist, John Solomon from "The Hill" and Fox News contributor, Sarah Carter join us live to talk about Ilhan, Adam Schiff and more of the chaos in Washington. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PIRRO: Welcome back. President Trump calls the Dems anti-hate resolution that did not name Ilhan Omar a disgrace. Joining me now with reaction to that and more, award-winning investigative journalist and executive vice president at "The Hill," John Solomon; along with investigative journalist and Fox News contributor, Sarah Carter.

All right guys, a lot to talk about, but I want to start with John. John, you wrote an article for "The Hill" and you talk about a Congresswoman, a Democratic Congresswoman who was not too happy with Ilhan Omar which is kind of amazing that we only heard about one.

So talk to me.

JOHN SOLOMON, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, THE HILL: Yes, listen, there are actually a lot of Democrats talking publicly --

PIRRO: Yes, well, they're not talking publicly.

SOLOMON: Yes, Eliot Engel has and now you have Yvette Clark from New York and she said, listen, she was on "The Hill" TV show on Friday "Rising" and she said, "My own constituents in New York were harmed and hurt my Congresswoman Omar's statements."

Think about just a couple of months ago, Nancy Pelosi came in and she praised the freshmen class and said, this is a group of lawmakers that was going to help us close the divide in America. Now, you have one of those freshmen sowing division. It goes against everything that Nancy Pelosi promised in her acceptance speech as Speaker.

PIRRO: Yes, and you know it's interesting Tom Friedman said you know, she had a chance to bridge the divide and she's pretty much blowing up the bridge, but all right, so -- but that's only two that I know of who have been very clear. We've got Yvette and Eliot Engel, but all right, let's move on to Ilhan Omar, Sarah Carter, I mean, she -- this anti-Israel, anti- Semitic behavior that Nancy Pelosi says is, you know, she doesn't understand the meaning of her words, which is absurd . She's quite good at it.

This is the beginning, I think of a change in the Democratic Party which is kind of boneless these days, back boneless.

SARAH CARTER, CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I agree with you, Judge. I mean, there's two things here that I think are really important. Ilhan Omar here, and Linda Sarsour and Tlaib -- they're the winners here. The big losers are the Democrats, Nancy Pelosi and everyone else.

The fact that anti-Semitism is on the rise, on the rise in Europe, we've seen it here in the United States and now they've tried to normalize anti- Semitism in their discourse, this is terrible.

I've got to tell you, they are with somebody, Asra Nomani who is a former "Wall Street Journal" reporter. She's Muslim. She is just a phenomenal, phenomenal human being who was very close to Daniel Pearl who was executed basically in Pakistan by terrorists but she said something important.

She said, "This is Muslim supremacy." Muslim supremacy. We can understand that. That visualized that. This is not about her being a victim. This is about her believing she's more important and better than anyone else and Americans have to understand that.

PIRRO: Well, you know, John when they talk about it, you know, she came in and she came to this country of course as a refugee, but it is clear, I think that this is Sharia adherence behavior and it is somewhat disturbing if she is someone who is Sharia compliant, do we know anything about that?

SOLOMON: You know, I don't know that well, but I will say this. It is the politics of division. It is the sort of language that divides and makes people feel uncomfortable and there's no place for it in Congress. There's no place for it in Washington. I doubt there's a place for it in Minnesota.

The people that I talk to here are deeply disturbed and it's thrown the Democrats off their game. They're spending their time defending or trying to excuse bad behavior and it's a nightmare for Nancy Pelosi. It really is.

PIRRO: Well, you know, but let's talk about Michael Cohen. Michael Cohen testifies. You know, I mean, to bring a liar back in before the very group that he lied to, that he's been convicted of and then get coaching for 10 hours, Sarah, I mean this is -- you know, do you think the DOJ will prosecute him for lying to Congress?

CARTER: I think they have no other choice, but to look into this. I mean, we've seen this over and over again. We have Michael Cohen, but then just look.

I want to go back to Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, right, Mueller goes after him and prosecutes him basically for one count of lying, right? One count of lying, which by the way, the FBI, the agents that interviewed him said he didn't lie.

PIRRO: Didn't think he lied, right.

CARTER: Didn't think he lied at all, but he goes after him on that, anyways, but you know, we have multiple people lying before Congress, multiple people. We've got Glenn Simpson, we've got Michael Cohen who lied over and over and over again. We have Bruce -- we have all these people that need to be investigated. Absolutely.

PIRRO: Okay, last word. I am going to give the last word to John Solomon. Any chance the Department of Justice is going to do anything? This guy, I mean, he's just outrageous.

SOLOMON: Rudy Giuliani was on "The Hill" TV show Friday who said to me, it would be an outrage if they don't, but here's the big thing, before Cohen went in, we did a poll at the Hill. He was at 51% of Americans said they believed him. After he testified, it went down to 37%. This really backfired on the House Democrats.

This was their lead witness and he's been nothing but a boomerang.

PIRRO: Interesting. John Solomon and Sarah Carter, thanks so much for being with us tonight.

And Rob Smith from Turning Point USA, First Lady Melania Trump's Communications Director, Stephanie Grisham are still on deck. Plus a personal announcement you don't want to miss. But next my political panel is ready for battle, Stephanie Hamill: and Jonathan Harris standing by to debate the week in politics. "Justice" rolls on in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AISHAH HASNIE, CORRESPONDENT: Live from "America's News Headquarters," I am Aishah Hasnie. Two apparent tornados causing damage in Central Arkansas right now. The twisters damaging buildings, but so far no word on any injuries or deaths. Several states are on a tornado watch, the highest threat of course in the region from Western Alabama to Southern Illinois. The widespread storms coming nearly a week after a large tornado killed 23 people in Alabama.

Venezuelan officials deploying in the country's capital ahead of planned demonstrations by supporters of opposition leader, Juan Guaido. He's staging those protests part of his campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro and hold elections. Maduro claims he is a target of a U.S.-backed coup plot and has planned his own rival demonstrations. I'm Aishah Hasnie. Now back to "Justice with Judge Jeanine."

PIRRO: Welcome back to "Justice." A lot to discuss with the political panel tonight, so let's have at it. Conservative columnist Stephanie Hamill joins me along with Democratic strategist, Jonathan Harris.

Okay, guys first of all, thanks for being here and I want to start just with one question on Paul Manafort. He was sentenced to, I think it was over 47 months instead of 24 years which is what the guidelines maxed out at. Is he, Stephanie, a victim or the villain?

STEPHANIE HAMILL: CONSERVATIVE COLUMNIST: So in this case, I would say he is a victim. I'm not going to defend his crooked axe, like obviously he had some shady deals going on. This is about bank fraud. It has nothing to do with Russia collusion, but we have to accept the fact that no one would have investigated him had he not been part of the Trump team, Trump orbit or had some sort of association to Trump.

This is again another example of the Mueller team investigating people, finding a crime and hence, this is probably why the judge gave him a lesser sentence of a little bit less than four years rather than the 24 years that the Muller team wanted.

I read a report by the New York Times that the Muller team seemed very disappointed that he didn't get the full 24 years. Keep in mind, he's almost 70 years old and his health is deteriorating.

PIRRO: Yes, all right, so Jonathan, villain or victim?

JONATHAN HARRIS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I would definitely -- I want to stop short of calling him a villain, but he's definitely a criminal. This idea that somehow just because you're a criminal that was found out to be a criminal as a part of another investigation means that you shouldn't be punished is I think a bit absurd.

He is a criminal. The judge said that he has a clean -- has had a clean life or something to the effect of --

PIRRO: Blameless. He used the word. T.S. Ellis used the word "blameless."

HARRIS: Yes, that's right. He said he had a blameless. I am like, I am not sure you're blameless when you're blatantly a criminal and then facing more sentencing in the coming days, so maybe not a villain, but definitely a clear criminal and he was punished as he should have been.

PIRRO: Okay, yes, go ahead Stephanie.

HAMILL: Judge, I just wanted to say that this is really frustrating for many Americans that sit back and realize that we have a two-tier justice system. Some people have the book thrown at them while others are completely let off the hook. Why? I mean, every single day people are asking why aren't the Democrats being looked at if anyone were to look into the Clintons and anyone in the Clinton circle, I'm sure some people would be serving time.

PIRRO: Well, go ahead, Jonathan.

HARRIS: I just -- I knew that agreement would be very short-lived.

HAMILL: You know it's true. I am not wrong.

HARRIS: There's very much a two-tiered justice system, but it's usually for the wealthy and the politically connected and then everyone else, which is what we saw play out here.

HAMILL: Which would also include the Clintons and her orbit.

PIRRO: Yes, all right guys, I want to move on to Ilhan Omar. All right, so the amazing part of all this and Jonathan, I'll start with you first. The amazing part, she is not named in the resolution. She has not kicked off the prestigious Foreign Relations Committee and the best part is the resolution includes make sure that we don't engage in any kind of Islamophobia.

So what she did by ranting on Israel and the Jews, she got the resolution to say "Poor us, we Muslims, we're getting hate." I mean, how did that work?

HARRIS: I think the best part of this was watching sort of seeing how democracy works and how parties especially, big tent parties like the Democratic Party come together.

Look, you had Nancy Pelosi coming out and saying she didn't believe that Ilhan Omar was anti-Semitic that she may not have understood that her words would be taken that way, but what I found really surprising is that you had all these Republicans coming out and saying, "Look, the Democrats are anti- Semitic. They're anti-Semitic," but then when it comes time to support a resolution to condemn hate, the only people that did not vote in support of it were the Republicans.

It was 23 Republicans who did not vote to condemn hate, so --

PIRRO: Stephanie?

HAMILL: Jonathan, I knew you were going to go there with this. This is the new narrative. Like I said, the Democrats flipped the script on Republicans with this one, so originally this was a resolution to condemn Omar and her anti-Semitic remarks, then they removed her name from the resolution, then they just made it so broad that it watered down what this was all about, that's why the Republicans voted against it.

It's not that they're racist or bigots. It's the fact that Democrats cannot condemn their own and they can't just condemn anti-Semitism. This is absolutely appalling and it's very revealing -- wait let me finish.

HARRIS: I cannot imagine --

HAMILL: Let me finish, it is very revealing of where the Democrats are today. They are not the party that are defending minorities, they're the party that are just letting anti-Semitism slide.

PIRRO: Give me five seconds for Jonathan and then we're going to go. Just say it.

HARRIS: Just real briefly, I'm going to say, again when it comes down to it, we don't have a President that's lashing out and calling Mexicans rapists.

PIRRO: Oh, don't even go there. Don't even go there.

HARRIS: And we are supporting resolutions against hate.

PIRRO: Stephanie, Jonathan. Thank you so much for being with us. See you next week.

All right, Stephanie Grisham is standing by to talk Melania Trump, but next, an Ash Wednesday outrage. A student is targeted by a teacher for displaying his Christianity at one of the holiest days of the year. We're going talk about that next and I am not happy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PIRRO: A disturbing story out of Utah this week, a teacher forcing a nine- year-old Catholic boy to use a disinfectant wipe to remove ashes from his forehead on Ash Wednesday. That Salt Lake City teacher has now reportedly been put on administrative leave, but is this just another sad example of political correctness gone completely awry in our society?

Here with reaction to this controversial story and more, Turning Point USA spokesperson, Rob Smith who joins me now. Good evening, Rob. Thanks for being with us.

ROB SMITH, SPOKESPERSON, TURNING POINT USA: Good evening. Thanks for having me.

PIRRO: All right, so here you have this little boy. He's nine years old. His grandmother said, "You know, when you go to school you might, they might make fun of you because you have dirt on your head," and what happens literally is that the teacher says to him, "Here's an antiseptic wipe," and she made him remove the ashes at the front of the class, in front of his classmates.

And the sad part is it was his first time getting ashes on his forehead for Ash Wednesday and of course, his mother was furious. Should she have been?

SMITH: She should have been furious. She should have been absolutely furious. Look, the teacher's job is to teach, it's not to humiliate children and it's certainly not to embarrass a child because of his religious beliefs.

I think it's outrageous and I also think, Judge that it is indicative of this attack on Christianity that we have in schools right now.

Let me tell you something, if that child was any other religion other than Christian, we would not have seen something like that and I think there needs to be disciplinary action.

PIRRO: Well, I agree with you and it appears right now that the district has apologized for the ordeal and we're sorry, apologized to the student and family. The actions were unacceptable. No student should ever be asked to require to remove an ash and the question is whether or not there will be an additional sanction, what do you think should happen to this teacher?

SMITH: I mean, the teacher did apologize. It has become a national case. I really do think that honestly, like I am all about just kind of I don't want to let it slide, but I also really think that there needs to be an example made out of this teacher.

I think that everybody has already been embarrassed enough, but I really do think that she needs to be disciplined in some way that is a formal letter or something like that just so that we can make sure that this never happens again.

I want to believe that it was an honest mistake. I want to believe that after all of this, it will never happen again, but I think there needs to be something in writing so that we can make sure that this never happens again.

PIRRO: You know, the interesting part of it, Rob, is that she didn't just tell him to leave the room and go to the bathroom. She handed him the antiseptic wipe. She told him to come to the front of the class. She humiliated him. She made him essentially deny his religion or made him feel embarrassed because of his religion in front of the other kid.

Now, I mean, I'm outraged. I mean, she should be suspended for a period of time, but that's just me. Go ahead, Rob.

SMITH: Yes, well I would say like if that was my child, this would be a problem. If that was my child, I would be in the school. I would be in your studio. I would be making sure that everybody knew that this was an outrage and I think you're right. I think that she definitely needs to be disciplined, but I really do think that we need to make an example out of this because I think that there should be more religion in schools, not less, and for a teacher, for somebody who is supposed to be teaching this child to not only embarrass the child, not only to make them take off that sign of their religious beliefs, but to humiliate that child in front of the classroom, I think is awful And I do agree that she should be disciplined.

PIRRO: And may be a Federal lawsuit, anyway Rob Smith. Thanks so much for being with us tonight.

SMITH: Maybe. Thank you.

PIRRO: All right, the First Lady taking your message on the road, next. Melania Trump's Communication Director, Stephanie Grisham joins me live to talk about Melania Trump, her Be Best campaign and more. Back in a moment.

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PIRRO: This week, First Lady Melania Trump took a three-state tour to promote her Be Best initiative for children. Stephanie Grisham, the First Lady's Press Secretary and Communications Director joins me now with more. Good evening, Stephanie. Thanks for being with us.

STEPHANIE GRISHAM, FIRST LADY'S PRESS SECRETARY AND COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Thank you for having me.

PIRRO: All right, well you know, you have a very important position and one that I am -- I have a feeling that a lot of Americans would like to be a fly on the wall in your office with Melania Trump, but let me start talking about what the First Lady is doing with this Be Best Campaign.

I understand that she is you know, leaving the three-state tour to promote her anti-bullying campaign, Be Best. Tell us about that campaign.

GRISHAM: yes, so Be Best has three pillars and so there's well-being, the well-being of children and then there is social media safety and then opioids abuse.

So we just finished our West Coast tour. She visited three states and it was one state per pillar to talk about those three topics.

PIRRO: And what grade was she's speaking to?

GRISHAM: The first school that we visited in Oklahoma, she visited three classrooms that's Pre-K, Second grade and Sixth grade and she talked to them about the importance of character and kindness and treating each other well.

When we went to Seattle, that was a visit to Microsoft headquarters and they showed her some really amazing applications on how to have parents know how long their kids are spending online, how to turn it off if there's family time necessary and then some great stuff for kids who are disabled and showing how they can play video games with their peers which was great.

PIRRO: Well, you know technology, corporate America, they can add so much to people in government and I know when I was in government, I relied on them a lot to do things that maybe schools couldn't afford to do, so that's like a public-private partnership somewhat.

But the idea of opioid abuse for kids so young, I think is excellent, but it's very unusual.

GRISHAM: Well, yes so the administration as you know, has been doing so much opioid abuse, the West Wing and the East Wing both and she understands that this is just such a deadly topic on behalf of young children all the way up through college, so she's expanding her reach right now. She's not just focused on younger kids. She's talking to children of all ages.

A few months ago, she spoke to college kids at Liberty University and then when we were in Las Vegas for the West Coast swing, she spoke to an audience of all ages again and just about the dangers of opioid abuse.

She's a mother first and foremost. Obviously, that's a fear and a concern for her, so that has been added to our pillars.

PIRRO: I'm curious as to how she is received? I mean, she's got incredible numbers in this country. I mean, the percentages, when she polls, is she like 70% or something?

GRISHAM: Yes, she polls very, very well. She is so well received everywhere that we go. Everybody loves her, which I don't blame them. She's an amazing First Lady. She's so focused on her job as First Lady and I'm very, very proud to work for her.

PIRRO: You know, she's the kind of woman who is not only focused, but you can tell that she doesn't let the petty stuff get in the way. She doesn't let it bother her and I have to tell you, I mean, while you're here and on television or just between us, everybody talks about the President and the First Lady, and I know them and I've known them, can you tell the viewers, I mean what they're like when they're together?

GRISHAM: Yes, I'm lucky enough to see some behind the scenes things and they're great. They have a great relationship. They laugh a lot. She's really a rock for the family, especially with all the nonsense and the noise that's out there. So they have a great relationship despite what some of the critics might say.

PIRRO: Well and you know, you can really see it. I mean, if you know them they are an incredible couple and it's good that she's getting out and I think that she's going to be a tremendous advantage for the President gearing up to the 2020.

Anyway Stephanie Grisham, it's so good to have you on "Justice." Thanks for joining us.

GRISHAM: Thank you so much. Have a great night.

PIRRO: Thank you and we'll be right back with an exciting announcement you don't want to miss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PIRRO: Big news to share tonight. I did an amazing photo shoot last week with my dog, Sir Lancelot and Stella for my next book. It's called -- I'm not going to tell you, but if you guess correctly on my social media @JudgeJeanine, you may be chosen to get a signed copy of "Liars, Leakers and Liberals," just for being so smart or funny.

And by the way, you remember Stella, my rescue that I got in September. When I got her she was skin and bones. Take a look at her now. She has grown to be a diva and she's living large.

Keep up with me throughout the week on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It's worth it. Anyway, thanks for watching again. I'm Judge Jeanine Pirro advocating for truth, justice and the American Way. "The Greg Gutfeld Show" is coming up and I'll see you next Saturday night.

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