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This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," February 7, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: I'm Laura Ingraham and this is The Ingraham Angle tonight from Washington. Why are the Democrats steeped in utter misery tonight? Well, my Angle comes a little later in the show, little different tonight and it lays it all out.

Also, Pelosi's daughter tries to explain away her mother's paper stunt, while Hollywood is fuming as the Oscars are coming this weekend. They're fuming over Trump's impeachment acquittal. Raymond Arroyo explains in Follies.

And this is a shocking report we're going to bring you later on the show out of LA and how a Mexican drug cartel is fueling the homelessness crisis with the help of liberal drug laws.

But first--

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you like to Alexander Vindman out of your White House. Do you want Alexander Vindman--

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I'm not happy with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: That moment from the President this morning should have been a little hand. If you thought this week couldn't get any better, well it got a lot better. A central witness in the impeachment scam, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman and his brother Yevgeny, an NSC lawyer were both dismissed from the White House this afternoon. They've been reassigned and before any of this broke, two administration officials Kellyanne Conway and National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien were on this show and they were voicing their concerns about forces that had burrowed into the White House, who were working against the President.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT: If you're attacking the presidency and you're attacking the agenda. And there are so many people out there who want to serve in this administration.

INGRAHAM: So, are you confident they're not - there are a lot of people in- -

CONWAY: No, I'm not confident and I've expressed that many times.

ROBERT O'BRIEN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: It's something that concerns me because when you work at the NSC or the personal staff of the President and so, it's always disappointing to me when I hear that there are people who believe their job is to resist the democratically elected President of the United States.  (END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: 100 percent correct. Vindman was escorted off the White House grounds today which is customary for all of those who are basically fired, in this case reassigned White House employees and he's being sent back to the Department of Defense. Well that was his area of expertise.

But from the freak out you're hearing all day long in the Left. You think he was actually marched to the gallows. Chuck Schumer said this action was "an extension of President Trump's cover up" and the media like the lemmings they are, all they're echoing the party line

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: it's obviously a vindictive move on the part of this White House.  UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is textbook witness retaliation.  UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not only it's textbook retaliation but you would think that if Donald Trump were smart, he would simply leave Lieutenant Colonel Vindman alone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We seem to be in payback time now. This is not implicit. This is not even how a mob would do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's Friday night massacre it seems.  UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's what I'm sure, the people are going to start calling that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Friday night reassignment. I'll make this simple. And it's for all of you. Maybe the neophyte legal analysts, Vindman served at the pleasure of the President. Something his own lawyer actually had to admit today. He was trying to subvert the President's authority. He thought he was the President when he was over there in Ukraine. And so why should the President want him serving in the White House.

What is so hard to understand about any of this? And let's remember, Vindman didn't just want the President out of office. He's someone whom the Ukrainians asked three times to be their defense minister. I still can't get over that.

Here now is Lee Smith, investigative journalist, author of the book The Plot Against the President aptly timed late tonight. Along with Dinesh D'Souza, conservative author and filmmaker.

Dinesh, we're going to start with you. You and I, Dinesh have talked about this before regarding Mr. Vindman and others like him who find themselves just - they can't stand the fact that I guess they're not sitting in the Oval Office. So, how is reassigning a bureaucrat worse than what the mob does to people as says - the crowd was saying today.  DINESH D'SOUZA, CONSERVATIVE AUTHOR & FILMMAKER: Well, I remember distinctly from the Godfather that when Frank Pentangelli planned - was part of a coup against the boss, he expected recriminations. He didn't think that he could try to take the big guy out and not expect there to be any consequences.

Now, the thing about Vindman is that, Vindman was if can step back from this and look at it. He was part of an attempted sort of palace coup. The coup was mounted from the outside by the House. But what strikes me from the beginning is how impeachment was essentially power driven.

The Democrats had the majority in the House. They voted impeachment. The Republicans had the majority in the Senate. They voted it down. So, Vindman was part of the inside operation working with these outsiders to overthrow the President. The plot failed. The plot was defeated. And now Trump wants to clean house. If you want to call it payback, I say it's very necessary payback.  INGRAHAM: The President has a right to have people that he wants to work in his administration. That's why he's the Chief Executive Officer of the executive branch. I don't know why people can't understand that.

Now, Lee, at one point during his public testimony of Vindman sort of bragged about being asked to be Defense Minister. Watch.  (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. ALEXANDER VINDMAN, FORMER NSC EXPERT: The whole notion is rather comical that I was being asked to consider whether I'd want to be the minister of defense.  It is pretty funny for a lieutenant colonel of the United States Army, which really isn't that bad, not that senior to be offered that illustrious position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: False humility. And remember, Vindman snapped at a sitting member of Congress.  (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VINDMAN: I was concerned by the call. What I heard was inappropriate.  UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Vindman, you testified in your deposition that you did not know the whistleblower.  UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ranking Member, I'd saw Lieutenant Colonel Vindman.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you have an opportunity to offer any advice to President Zelensky.

VINDMAN: Stay out of U.S. domestic policy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)  INGRAHAM: OK, Lee, the colonel - this is amazing. He was asked to be the defense minister of another country, which indicates what the other country thinks. He's a good advocate for their interests. Correct.  LEE SMITH, AUTHOR "THE PLOT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT": This is not a common thing that happens all the time in Washington for all that we say about the swamp and for everyone protecting strange interest and their own pet interest in Washington. Nonetheless, that is not a - that's not a common thing.  INGRAHAM: Yes. And he was very like, Lieutenant Colonel. Right, of course. It's fine. He earned that title. He deserves that title. But he doesn't deserve a life tenured position in the White House just because he went and testified. I mean, they want to say, it's witness retaliation under the federal statute. OK, so you're going to have to prove Trump intended to interfere with someone's employment. He intended to do that as Chief Executive Officer of the executive branch. Good luck proving that.

SMITH: It's not a human right to work in the White House or to work in any administration. Obviously, it's up to the President to make the call. And I think was an excellent decision, part of an excellent week for the President to now - this is not retaliation. It's the sound foundation of a national security strategy to make sure he has the people on board to implement this strategy.

He's had many fantastic achievements in the last three years, whether it's getting out of the Iran deal, recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The trade deals. And now he should set the foundations for more foreign policy accomplishments, whether it's the rest of this term or his second term.

INGRAHAM: But you've got to have people on staff who are with you on policy as Robert O'Brien, who's fantastic at - National Security Adviser. He's fabulous. He has good people in place now. But he had some doozies who were burrowed in there and some who are appointees who were frankly never Trumpers. And I don't know why they were ever there. But I want you to remember this moment from Vindman's former boss at the NSC.  (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): You said you specifically that you had concerns with Colonel Vindman exercising "appropriate judgment" as to whom he said what. Is that right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is, sir.

JORDAN: You testified that Colonel Vindman did not always adhere to the chain of command. Is that right?  UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe so, yes, sir.  JORDAN: And you testified that colleagues expressed concerns to you about Colonel Vindman leaking information. Is that right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.  (END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Dinesh, so he could have been removed. And frankly, should have been removed were it not for his testimony. The timing wouldn't looked very good, wouldn't it have for cause because he went right to Zelensky. He, as a junior staffer on the NSC, went to a foreign president and started waving him off on what he thought was inappropriate conduct.  D'SOUZA: Vindman was actually telling the Ukrainians that they could ignore what Trump was saying and indicating on the grounds that Trump was somehow contradicting U.S. policies. Think about this.

According to Vindman, there's a thing called U.S. policy that he Vindman is the spokesman for. And Trump is sort of out of sync. He's marching out of tune. In reality, Trump makes policy Vindman should be advising Trump. If Vindman disagrees with Trump, he should tell Trump.

So, this is a rogue officer and no wonder he became such a useful idiot for impeachment, because after all, this was a guy that he always thought that he knew better than the President.  INGRAHAM: They're concerned tonight, Lee, because his poor brother, his twin brother. Why did he get dragged into this? Apparently, they commute together and they're kind of two peas in a pod. And they're on the same anti-Trump team.  SMITH: It's a carpool. Right. Look, one of the important things that I think that we have to understand is, this is a continuation of the operation that's been going on for three years. I think as good as a week as this has been for the President, we need to understand this will happen again. We know who will be involved. It will be rogue intelligence officials. It will be the press. And it will most likely be Adam Schiff. The way to defend against this is for the Republican Senate to run an offense here. Let's have investigations, find out how the whistleblower operation started off.

INGRAHAM: Stand the offensive. They're going to bury. A friend of mine today who is meeting with - said another guy that he knows in D.C., is a good friend of his, worked for the CIA, trashes Trump all the time. Dinesh trashes Trump all the time. A guy who is so senior, he was stationed overseas for three years and a very high level. He can't stand, the President makes fun of him every day.

So, these are the types of people who are working in the government. Two great guests and a fantastic week and Friday night. Gentlemen, thank both of you. And I got to get to this part of it, because there's a legal aspect we have to talk about. The Left is going to have you believe that these removals are the extension of this cover up.

Adam Schiff, the gang, they're going to be back in action when they get their teeth sunk into this. But is this the case? Well, joining me now is Robert Ray, former Whitewater Independent Counsel, former member of Trump's successful team defending in that Senate trial.

Also, with me is John Eastman, Claremont Institute Senior Fellow and constitutional scholar. Robert, I want to start with you. The President clearly has the authority to do everything he did today. There's no intent to interfere with employment, so forth. So, why are all these legal experts calling this illegal under the federal code?  ROBERT RAY, FORMER MEMBER OF TRUMP'S DEFENSE TEAM: Because they want to jump to witness tampering in the same way they wanted to claim that the President's right to fire the FBI Director was somehow obstruction of justice. It doesn't have any more merit than that previous allegation did. And the President, I think, understandably reacted to - I essentially agree with the notion with regard to Lieutenant Colonel Vindman of dealing with deep state rogue and with regard to - further with regard to Lieutenant Colonel Vindman.

He's going to the Army War College in May. It's three months from now. So, seriously, we all need to move on from this. It's in the President's interest to move on and it's in Ambassador Sondland's interests to move on and the Vindman's to move on. There's no conceivable way you could imagine them remaining at the National Security Council.  INGRAHAM: John, you have to have an intent to interfere with another's employment if it's a retaliation claim. And here's what how one MSNBC commentator characterized Vindman's removal.  (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HEILEMANN, MSNBC ANALYST: He's trying to send a message. This is mafia territory as usual, it's like - he hates. It looks at the Vindman and he says their rat is a rat and says, I'm going to punish the rat, not just because of the spectacle, but also to send a message to other rats, because the President knows that he's done a lot of bad things and he wants to make sure that everyone who might come forward in the future recognizes that he will want to pay a price.  (END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Now, as I mentioned, John, one CNN legal analyst says this is pure witness retaliation. Why is he wrong?  JOHN EASTMAN, CONSTITUTIONAL SCHOLAR: Well, you've got the inner circle of the White House that have to be the President's top advisers and he has to have their confidence. Somebody perhaps it was Vindman disclosed a private conversation with another foreign leader to the CIA. And they're all operating, you know, kind of under John Brennan's, you know, still watchful eye.

You cannot have the administration full of moles like that. And it was perfectly within the President's right to have in his immediate circle in the national security apparatus, in the White House, people that he has a full confidence in. If they had fired Vindman you know, but they didn't do that. They just relocated him back to his other position. Holy cow.  INGRAHAM: Well, otherwise, you could get a lifetime guarantee, Robert, of employment in any federal department by merely going to testify and some modestly truthful manner or claiming something, claiming some, you know, aggrieved status in some official proceeding. And then you can never be touched. That would make no sense according to the law. It would make zero sense, practically speaking.

RAY: Working at the White House is a privilege, not a right. Which part of that is unclear? I mean, it's absolutely the President's prerogative to have people at the White House in whom he has 100 percent confidence.  INGRAHAM: How many more Vindman's are there. That is my concern. How many more are there?

RAY: Clearly, that's not the case here. And as I say, you know, he has a right to also root out what he perceives to be the deep state. He doesn't have to be right about it either. He needs to you know; he has the right to go in there to do what he thinks is right. Just to further his administration.

INGRAHAM: All right. I've got to get other moment. I've got to get - there is a moment tonight at the House managers appearance on CNN. They taped it, I think yesterday, but they all sat down, and they did like this greatest hit review of the impeachment trial. And this was one of my favorite moments. Watch.  (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened in that moment?

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): Well, you know, we tried to choreograph our questions so that each of us would have a different subject matter and each of us would know when we would go up to the mic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We didn't have the questions.

SCHIFF: We couldn't do it perfectly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was the belief that you knew it was the last thing you wanted to have the last?

REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): No.  (END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: He was referencing that moment when, of course, Adam Schiff says to Jerry Nadler, Jerry, Jerry, Jerry, because it was supposed to be the last question, remember? And Nadler was so annoyed both in the moment. But tonight, he's like, no. And then they did a really abrupt to edit there, Robert. What was that like in the room when you saw it?  RAY: All I could think of as this latest episode is, this is Groundhog Day all over again. I mean, what are they retrying the case now on CNN? I don't really understand the purpose of putting seven impeachment managers up as a panel to discuss why they did, what they did or why they didn't do what they didn't do.  INGRAHAM: Well, we choreographed. We choreographed. He said the questions. I think he met. We just kind of defeat him up. That's what you did. And they won the emoluments case in the D.C. Circuit. John Eastman, which is just another cherry on the Sunday this week for the President.  EASTMAN: They did. But before we move from this, you owe me a big one for having to watch that Anderson Cooper thing. I mean it's just--

INGRAHAM: OK, sorry. Sorry, John. Dinner on me in D.C. All right. We've got to get out. Thank you so much.

EASTMAN: You've got it.

INGRAHAM: Have a great weekend. Do you have any sense of just how great a week this was for Trump, how bad it was for the Democrats? Don't worry. Because if you don't, my Angle is going to lay it all out next.  (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: Best week ever. That's the focus of tonight's Angle.

It's not even close. This was the best week of Donald Trump's presidency on every front. He's winning. He's winning on the economy, national security, judicial appointments and even legislatively, his policies and his strategies are working, and the American people are reaping huge benefits.  (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you're American looking for work, this is good economy.

STEPHANIE RUHLE, MSNBC HOST: Historic low unemployment numbers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Trump economy doing pretty well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the best number I've ever seen in my life.  (END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: And he now has the best cabinet that I can recall any president having in my lifetime. And as we just discussed on the show, the White House is finally doing some much-needed housecleaning. So, keep it up. Get rid of the radicals undermining from within and replace them with people who believe in your agenda, Mr. President, who are competent enough to carry it out.

For three years, the liberal intelligentsia predicted doom for Trump's presidency, remember, at every turn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's an acknowledgment inside the Trump campaign that they don't know how their candidate can survive this at this point.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got me again talking that many hours. One little anecdote that he tells could cause on Donald Trump, a lot of problems.  UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are we witnessing the end of the Trump presidency?  (END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: I love those clips. Wrong. You know, when Trump delivered the State of the Union on Tuesday, he did so with the highest approval rating of his tenure at 49 percent. By the way, that's higher than Obama's approval at the same time in 2012. And he easily remembers Obama cruised to re-election later that year.  These were the same geniuses, by the way, I'm thinking about it. Who are predicting cracks in GOP unity heading into impeachment?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)  UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you give a high end of who would vote for a conviction of Republicans?  UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would give the high end probably five to 10. I think that's a realistic number.  UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a chance that there will be 20 Republicans. I'm not predicting that I wouldn't bet on it, but I think there's a chance.  BILL KRISTOL, MSNBC HOST: I think Romney has helped reassure maybe Speaker Pelosi, that there is the possibility of Republican support. Maybe the Senate.  (END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: OK. A good rule of thumb, if Bill Kristol predicts it, bet the other side. Romney was the sole peire de facto and Utah now want his head. Now, not only did Republicans stick together, they had a reason to celebrate it like it was 2016 all over again.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

INGRAHAM: We don't really play all the - it was crazy. I was in the room. That was the least of the applause. But the Left hasn't been right since about 2012 if you think about it. And since then, it's been one bust of a prediction after another.  (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.S. economy is growing at an unsustainable rate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wages adjusted for inflation are actually worse under Donald Trump than they were under Barack Obama.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And yet I keep hearing from people who say they are still struggling.  (END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Not quite kids.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fresh economic numbers today show a booming, resilient labor market.  UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The economy added 225,000 jobs in the first month of the year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pretty remarkable, 3.1 percent wage growth.  UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've just got to say to the top, the middle-class boom, the blue-collar boom continues.  (END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: These are the good old days, folks. And surveys are showing that Americans are happier than they've been for four decades, even happier than under Ronald Reagan. This is great news for America, which means its terrible news for the Democrats. I think Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, she might have summed it up best.  (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): Everybody wants to get out of town today. I think this has been, quite frankly, in my career, not just here, but in my professional career one of the worst weeks that I can remember.  (END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Now we all know why the ladies were wearing white during the State of the Union. They're already surrendering. And that's the Angle.  All right. Joining me now is Tom Bevan, co-Founder, President of REALCLEARPOLITICS, and Doug Schoen, Bloomberg 2020 Pollster. Tom, it's not just me, Jim Carville. He offered damning indictments of Democrats all week long. It was insane. He just went bananas. I mean he basically said, you know, you're missing America, guys. You're missing America.  TOM BEVAN, PRESIDENT, "REALCLEARPOLITICS": Yes, Carville had had really two there are two things that were driving him nuts. Number one is that that the Democratic candidates and the base are really getting pulled far to the Left on issues that he said were a distraction, things like free health care for illegals, he mentioned, and some other things.

The other thing that really had him upset is that this disconnect between the elites and the sort of Main Street regular working-class people. He talked about, you know, it's the deplorables, it's the folks on CNN that are laughing and snickering. This is - James Carville knows that this is a disaster brewing for his party. Unless they can get focused, get on message and reach out to those people and bring them in and try and pry them away from Donald Trump, because right now they're sticking with Trump and it's a real problem.  INGRAHAM: I mean, Doug, they threw everything at this President. He was a Russian co-conspirator. He was more working with Putin. Mueller didn't deliver. Then they impeached him, predicted doom for the Republican Party. They were going to crack all these defections. None of it happened. More people rallying to Trump. Economy booming. And where are the Democrats? The misery index of the Democrat Party is up to here. Most people are, meanwhile, happy.  DOUG SCHOEN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, look, you know, I'm involved. I'm supporting Mike Bloomberg, who I think is the only one who can beat Donald Trump. But your analysis is right, Laura. Let's be honest. The best week of the Trump presidency, the Democrats through an ill guided impeachment that we discussed many times on this air, the wrong thing for the Democrats to do. It backfired in their face. The State of the Union, a rousing success.

And frankly, how bad could Iowa have been for the Democrats? That five, four days, five days later, they can't even figure out who won or if they've counted the votes. So, look, this is a very bad situation for my party. I happen to be working for the only guy, I think, who can give Donald Trump a run for his money.  INGRAHAM: Well, that's not going to happen. But we love you, Doug.

SCHOEN: Well, thank you.

INGRAHAM: I'm going to give you your due because you're working for him, but--

SCHOEN: Well, he's seven points ahead, Laura in the Morning Consults poll. That's real.  INGRAHAM: All right. Well, look, you and I will have our own side, but I'm not going to be like Mitt Romney and bet you $10,000. I'm not going to do that.

SCHOEN: We don't have to. We don't have to do that.

INGRAHAM: We'll do our own side bet. All right, Bevan.

SCHOEN: That's fine.

INGRAHAM: Joe Scarborough had a very unique take on this economic boom that we're experiencing. Watch.  (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE SCARBOROUGH, MSNBC HOST: While the Democrats are fumbling around with a caucus results in Iowa, this is what America is saying. A strong economy roars on 11th year of the Obama recovery.  (END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: So, the wage growth that didn't happen under Obama, that's happening now. The USMCA that's going to bring back thousands of jobs. China deal. I mean. OK, Tom, go ahead.  BEVAN: Yes. I mean, look, this isn't going to fly. And it does - it sorts of highlights the fact that Democrats who are running for President are going to have to confront Trump on the economy. It's the number one or number two issue. As you mentioned, his approval ratings are at all-time highs. And on the economy, they're even higher.

And so, if Democrats don't take this issue head on and try and challenge him on it some way, they're going to fail. And I just don't think that trying to say that, look, this was all Obama and Trump gets no credit for that. That is not going to fly with the American people.  INGRAHAM: All right. The Biden campaign is shaking up its leadership, elevating Anita Dunn to have final decision-making authority. Now, remember, back in 2017, she helped Harvey Weinstein. And before that, she expressed her admiration for Chairman Mao. So, Doug, I know you might know Anita.

SCHOEN: I do.

INGRAHAM: Do you think that you can make a difference for the Biden campaign?  SCHOEN: No. The Biden campaign is not what I think could be a terminal spiral. Biden is in fourth - in most of the New Hampshire polls, third in a couple, but he's around 13, 12 percent. And frankly, he's running out of money. And while Anita may be and is a friend of mine, I don't think she or anybody else is going to turn around a failing campaign for a guy who's never been a good presidential candidate and proved this time that he doesn't have the right stuff.

INGRAHAM: And Tom, I want to go to you finally, because I can't ask Doug this, but come South Carolina, let's say Biden is really faltering. They thought that was going to be his moment. Bloomberg comes in and says, I'm the only man that can really do this. I have the money; I have the backing. Would Obama come in and support him? Then what are all the radicals do in the party who trash the billionaires all the time?  BEVAN: I don't know how this is going to work out. And certainly, if Biden does falter, it looks like he's not going to do well in New Hampshire. He even conceded that as much during tonight's debate. This race could shift. It is certainly setting up. As Bloomberg has strategized this thing, it's going along to his plan. The question is whether he will be able to capitalize on it or whether Buttigieg becomes the alternative or someone else. But I do think Joe Biden, he doesn't have to win New Hampshire, but he has to bounce back and have a strong finish. If he finishes in fourth place there and he's double digits behind the leaders, it's going to be a long couple weeks before he gets to his, quote-unquote, firewall in South Carolina, and a lot can change in that time.

INGRAHAM: All right, gentlemen, thanks so much.

SCHOEN: I don't think it's a firewall, Laura. That, I don't think, we have any disagreement about.

INGRAHAM: We have got to get out, but thank you both. Great seeing you on a Friday night.

And up ahead, Hollywood is livid that Trump was acquitted this week. And what excuse is Nancy Pelosi's daughter using for her mother's State of the Union rep? Friday Follies with Raymond, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: It's Friday, and that means it's time for Friday Follies. I was trying to trick you. Joining us now with all the details, Raymond Arroyo, FOX News contributor. All right, Raymond, after Pelosi's little angry stunt, madam paper-ripper, her daughter is now offering a reassuring explanation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE PELOSI: Her reaction to that speech, I thought to myself that's an Italian grandma move.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: What?

RAYMOND ARROYO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Laura, I almost fell out of my chair when I heard this, OK. I thought for a moment, Christine Pelosi must have watched our show from earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: This tantrum is not totally unexpected. I am half-Italian, Laura. When you cross an Italian woman of a certain age, stuff happens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get the out of here.

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: Now Pelosi is an Italian grandmother, Laura.

INGRAHAM: So it's OK for her to say that, but, you are Italian.

ARROYO: And Italian grandma. She is more Lucrezia Borgia that Mama Leone, OK. Nancy Pelosi, and her own daughter even said --

INGRAHAM: When was the last time she made a pot of sauce?

ARROYO: Exactly. Her own daughter said my mother will cut you and you don't even know when you're dead. That's what her daughter said of her.

INGRAHAM: That's kind of the part of Pelosi I like.

ARROYO: She's tough, but don't try to make her out to be Grandma Leone. Give me a break.

And as long as we're talking about people losing it, Laura, Hollywood is coming apart over the news that Trump was acquitted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOY BEHAR, HOST, "THE VIEW": Acquitted doesn't mean you didn't commit a crime. He's made me crazy this week. This weekend, I am not watching the news. I'm going to get a massage, and I'm going to drink.

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW": Republicans are lying when they say that Trump didn't do anything wrong. Most of these guys are talking out of their --

Nothing means anything. Right is wrong. Up is down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: I have a question. Is Stephen Colbert doing the impression of a liberal? Remember when he used to be funny? When he was doing O'Reilly. He was channeling O'Reilly, that was funny. Now he's just an angry liberal. It's not funny.

ARROYO: Laura, there is a burden of proof. There is a trial. We've been through that. Here we are, Bette Midler, she was particularly incensed by a Trump tweet that shows the years of his candidacy going on and on, OK.

INGRAHAM: A joke.

ARROYO: In response she wrote "You think this is a joke? It's not. He will rule until he dies, you die, or both." Calm down, darling. There is a statute of limitations here. He'll only get one more term.

INGRAHAM: I have one word for Bette Midler.

ARROYO: What's the one word?

INGRAHAM: "Beaches." Do you remember that movie? That was tragic.

ARROYO: Son of a beaches.

INGRAHAM: No, "Beaches." It should have just ended the whole thing.

So why aren't these celebrities worried, though, about the Oscars, which are this weekend? Probably because it's easier to talk politics. It's cathartic. And politics in the Trump era is more entertaining than whatever is at the cineplex, for a lot of people, at least.

ARROYO: Yes, but Laura, I'm going to give you a preview of the Oscar- nominated films so you don't have to watch them. There was this beautifully shot world war I flick, "1917," a tedious, slow Scorsese mob flick where the aging actors, they looked like they were used doing a Benjamin Button app, Brad Pitt in a movie that looked as if it was Brad Pitt circa 1970s. Then a lousy, depressing Judy Garland impersonation, this woman, Renee Zellweger, A marriage story that was so bleak and indulgent it made me want to permanently divorce Netflix, ditto for "Two Popes," a blabby, bore of a movie with some great actors, but it falsely destroys the reputation of Benedict while turning Francis into a --

INGRAHAM: Shocker there.

ARROYO: You would have liked it, Laura. It should have been called a pope and a dope.

And finally, there was Joaquin Phoenix acting crazy in clown makeup, though he hasn't given up acting crazy without it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOAQUIN PHOENIX, ACTOR: I think that we send a very clear message to people of color that you're not welcome here. This is not a self-righteous condemnation because I am ashamed to say that I'm part of the problem.

We have to really do the hard work to truly understand systemic racism. It is the obligation of the people that have created and perpetuate and benefit from a system of oppression to be the ones that dismantle it, so that's on us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: Laura, when social causes and politics are bigger and more entertaining than what you do for a living and you work in Hollywood, it's time to reappraise the way you do what you do. I'm sorry, audiences are vastly uninterested in most of these movies. There's probably two of them, "1917" and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" that anybody even watched at length or enjoyed. A dreary affair.

INGRAHAM: But what I don't understand about this is, is there really an effort in the academy, the British academy or in the American academy, to shut out people of color? If that is true, then --

ARROYO: Hollywood is filled with racists.

INGRAHAM: I am shocked and I condemn it, but I don't think that's the case. From what I see it looks like a pretty diverse group.

ARROYO: Tell that to Tyler Perry who is raking it in from multiple sources.

Laura, we have some news from the campaign trail to share with you. Joe Biden abandoned the trail today, leaving his wife Jill Biden to address the throngs in New Hampshire, or whatever.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL BIDEN, JOE BIDEN'S WIFE: Whatever it takes to get you to vote for Joe, I am so committed, I'm so excited about his running as a candidate. We are all in. We are in this to the end, to the finish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: Laura, this is so pitiful. She had literally 10 people in someone's living room. Or as I call it, a place for mom.

INGRAHAM: The sad thing is that she dropped off Joe in the memory care unit as she then wrapped up the event.

ARROYO: You've got to get voters where you can find them. It's pitiful, and it shows you this campaign is really morose.

INGRAHAM: Raymond, thank you so much.

And up next, I expose the left's latest attempt to explain away their disaster of an Iowa caucus. Plus, we are going to bring you a shocking report out of L.A. The homeless crisis there is being fueled by a violent Mexican cartel and the state law enabling it all. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: The left is peddling a new conspiracy theory now about who's really responsible for the Iowa debacle. Trump supporters, they are the ones to blame, of course. Of course. An NBC report based on a few anonymous online postings led, yes, led MSNBC's Rachel Maddow last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC HOST: NBC News and other news organizations have tracked down messages like these from pro-Trump political message boards online which show Trump supporters in real time on caucus night explicitly encouraging one another to call and call and call again specifically to clog up the lines, specifically to mess with the Democrats ability to carry out the caucus, quote, "f them up."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: OK, a tinfoil hat may not be big enough for Rachel. A tinfoil crown would look really nice, though.

Two things here. First, the posts in question came from something called 4chan and were from after the caucus had ended. And second, there's no evidence that those Internet trolls were the ones clogging the election hotlines. A more likely reason, the phones were busy from Democrats frantically calling. They were calling about the faulty technology that was failing them at the time.

That brings me to my next point. While Maddow and others were mired in all these wild theories and casting about, the real conspiracy was staring them right in the face. Months ago, the DNC secretly hired the firm Shadow Inc. And it was hired to develop the glitchy tech that was causing all the problems in Iowa. Last year the liberal nonprofit Acronym reportedly became the sole investor in Shadow Inc. Acronym has deep ties to the party establishment, and its political arm called Pacronym, isn't that cute, is bankrolled by liberal megadonors. Are you connecting the dots?

In 2019 they even got a seven-figure contribution from George Soros' Democracy PAC. Acronym was cofounded in 2016 by a woman named Tara McGowan. She is married to Michael Halle. He's a senior official with Pete Buttigieg's campaign. I seem to remember Pete declaring victory before he even got on the plane for New Hampshire.

We know the establishment is scared of Bernie Sanders, is slowly realizing Biden is dead in the water. So wouldn't the more likely, if you're going to come up with any conspiracy, and we're not trying to peddle it, but if you're going to come up with the theory that has any legs, wouldn't it involve the DNC's choice to contract with such a politically connected firm? I wonder if MSNBC or any other network, frankly, will investigate that.

Now I want to take you 1,700 miles west of Iowa to Los Angeles, California, where, of course, we have been reporting for a couple years now where the homelessness crisis is just out of control. But now we are finding out it's being fueled by a violent Mexican drug cartel, and they are only able to do so because of a new state law. KTTV investigative reporter Bill Melugin has the story for us tonight. Bill?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL MELUGIN, KTTV INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: CJNG's leader is DE L.A.'s number one target. His name is Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, aka, El Mencho. His cartel is responsible for one-third of all the drugs in the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are pushing the drugs that are coming into the community here. They are responsible for part of the homelessness.

MELUGIN: But most troublesome to Wagner (ph) is the amount of CJNG drugs finding their way to Los Angeles where the cartel has an extensive network.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It comes into Los Angeles in wholesale quantities. It's not unusual for us now to seize 100 pounds of meth, 200, 300, 400 pounds of meth at one location in Los Angeles.

MELUGIN: Wagner (ph) says L.A. street gangs act as intermediaries with the cartel. They'll break the meth up and put it out to street dealers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And those street dealers will then prey upon the addicts in Los Angeles.

MELUGIN: Wagner (ph) tells me he believes California's Prop 47 which changed drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor, is enabling this addiction cycle and playing right into the cartel's hands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's difficult to find part of L.A. now where there is not needles on the street. There is no reason to be afraid for shooting up in public. There's no motivation to go to treatment. They used to be given a choice. Do you want to go to jail, do you want to get a felony conviction, or you go to treatment? There is no hammer now. Now they get a ticket. They get a ticket, they tear it up, they walk away, they're using drugs the same day again. So it has not worked.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

INGRAHAM: It's a devastating report. KTTV's Bill Melugin joins me now. Bill, this is incredible, and it's infuriating. And you are shedding light on something that I think most people don't connect, they don't connect the dots here. Does the DEA think there are any solutions outside of just doing away with Prop 47?

MELUGIN: First off, thanks for having me, Laura. The DEA is about as strong as of critic of Prop 47 as you're going to find. They genuinely believe that the ongoing drug crisis that we have here on the streets of L.A., in particular the meth addiction epidemic in our homeless population, is fueled in part by California's Prop 47. This was passed back in 2014. The idea behind it was to end the war on drugs. What it did was it reduced drug possession from a felony down to a misdemeanor.

But what we have seen happen now is police departments are no longer able to arrest any of these addicts. And portions of L.A., our camera crew went down there and got some of that video, certain blocks look like a scene out of "The Walking Dead." It's gotten so bad, people are walking around like zombies. People are shooting up in public with no fear, no consequence. They are not forced into treatment anymore under Prop 47.

So the situation has gotten so bad, so out of control, the DEA is fed up, and they are slamming Prop 47 now.

INGRAHAM: Bill, we are seeing this happening slowly but surely in Washington, D.C., right over near where we broadcast from in Union Station. My staff going over there to get lunch, they are stepping over people doing drugs. The cops can't do anything. Chicago now legalized marijuana. You're going to have the same situation there. I just lost my earring. But this happens, Bill, so you're really part of the family if it happens during your segment.

(LAUGHTER)

INGRAHAM: But I want to show my viewers another clip from your investigative report, and I have to warn everyone watching what you're going to see is quite graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELUGIN: FOX 11 filmed this video just across the street from LAPD Central Division in downtown L.A., this addict openly shooting up in front of us, another smoking meth from a pipe. Perhaps even more shocking, a random man walks up, asks if he can have some. He takes a hit, and then he's on his way. Moments later, this hooded drug dealer approaches our crew, offering to sell meth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: The fact that they were doing this just out in the open, broad daylight, in front of a police station. Stunning.

MELUGIN: There is just no fear anymore, and they don't have any reason to be afraid because they know they're not going to be arrested. And we talked to LAPD about this, they expressed a lot of frustration, because the law still allows them to arrest these folks under a misdemeanor crime, but nothing's going to happen. They can take them to jail, but one of the main ideas behind Prop 47 was to reduce the state inmate population. So when they show up to jail with a misdemeanor warrant for drug use, nothing's going to happen. They're going to be let out that night. They're going to get maybe a citation, and it's just this endless cycle with police telling us that they arrest the same people over and over and over. And that's why nobody is afraid anymore. Within a 10-minute span you can go anywhere in downtown L.A. and find three or four or five people just shooting up meth in public, and nobody even blinks an eye anymore.

INGRAHAM: Bill, thank you for the great work. Stay on it for us. And I can't wait to have you back.

My final thoughts on this incredible week when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: Can you believe the Democrats are just wrapping up another three- hour debate in New Hampshire? And I say, thank the good Lord you didn't have to sit through. That that would have been torture. They rip each other to shreds this week has revealed one unmistakable truth, a lot of truths, we talked about them a lot this week, but no matter who gets nominated at the end of the day here, Donald Trump is firmly in the driver's seat. He's the president who has defied every skeptic, pretty much every critic, he's primed to do it again in November.

But you must stay vigilant and don't let false accusations against him, his team, or his policy stand. If you're in a conversation, be polite, but you have the facts, you've been watching the show. But it's been a fantastic week, a fantastic few weeks. Thanks for watching us. You make this all possible. We have a great team that puts a show on every single night.

And we will be covering the New Hampshire primary next week. I'm going to be up in our decision desk in New York, and we have great people on the ground in New Hampshire. You don't want to miss any of it. FOX News will have the best coverage, of course.

Have a great weekend with your family, have some free time, relax.

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