This is a rush transcript from "Tucker Carlson Tonight," May 1, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Good evening and welcome to TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT. Friday is here. So, before we begin the last hour of the week, we'd like to wish you a genuinely happy weekend with the ones you love.
At a time like this, family is our refuge from chaos, a blessing among much sadness, and that's something to be grateful for, and we all should be.
Now to what's happening in our country tonight. Last week, we interviewed a longtime partner at the consulting firm, McKinsey & Company called Peter Walker.
Like so many in finance and consulting, Walker spent an awful lot of his career doing business in China. We have no idea how much money he made doing that. We do know that along the way, Walker internalized a lot of the attitudes of China's totalitarian government.
During our interview, we asked Walker what he thought of China's lockdowns, here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Now, credible reports suggest that Chinese authorities locked people in their apartments and left them to die. We know they snatched people off the street and threw them into police vans. God knows where they went. That's the quarantine that you think they deserve high praise for. Why?
PETER WALKER, MCKINSEY & COMPANY: Well, I think, Tucker, if you just look at the results, okay, so, I know there's always going to be questions about exactly what the numbers are.
But I think the harsh action that they took, given the scale of China and the number of big cities and it was exactly what they needed to do to be able to prevent the outbreak from going any further and the reality is, the outbreak hasn't gone much beyond Wuhan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: So the secret police kidnapping citizens off the street, authorities locking people in their apartments from the outside until they starve. Let's just look at the results.
All of that Walker said was, quote, "exactly what they needed to do." This is the view of one of America's most prominent business leaders. He did not seem ashamed to say it.
In fact, later in our interview, Walker suggested that American authorities could have done the same things in New York, if only they'd gotten an earlier start.
Kind of a shame they didn't. Your jaw dropped watching it.
But here's the striking thing. Nobody seemed to notice that he said it. Walker didn't find himself on the front page of "The New York Times" the next morning. No one in American business denounced him. He went home to bed and that was it.
Totalitarianism does not shock us anymore. Maybe that's because all of a sudden, it's all around us. You may have seen this tape already. If not, you've likely seen many more like it in the past few weeks.
Two armed officers arrive at a family's home in Wisconsin, someone has reported the mother to police for arranging a playdate for her daughter. That's now a crime. Here's what happened next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you aware that we're in a stay-at-home order right now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, obviously.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By the government.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I am aware.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, you're aware of that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am aware.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't need to explain that to you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why are you here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because your daughter is going to play at other people's home and you're allowing it to happen. Stop having your kid go by other people's home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are we done here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, we're not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Middle initial and your last name.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not giving it to you. I haven't done anything wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay. We got it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that'll be documented too that you're uncooperative.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: You are uncooperative. That will be documented. Notice the tone they strike with this mother. They are standing on her property uninvited, hectoring her about the so-called crime of allowing her daughter to play outside the house.
They're not apologizing for this. They're not embarrassed to be carrying out an order that has no basis in science. They are utterly self-confident. They treat her with pure contempt like a peasant.
And later, the Calumet County Sheriff's Department posted an account of what happened on their Facebook page. In it, they refer to that mother's mobile home six times, just so you know, she was in a mobile home. Oh, just a prole, just a peasant. Shut up and obey. Who cares what she thinks?
They believe they have the right to do that. The question is where exactly did they get that right? That's a good question. It's a question that we are strongly discouraged from asking. The short answer is, governors told them they could.
Never in American history have politicians been more powerful than they are now. Effectively, they are gods.
In the State of Maine, for example, Governor Janet Mills now has the power to suspend any law she doesn't like. She can seize any state resource she feels like seizing. She can force any citizen or all citizens from their home. She can do all of this for as long as she wants, as long as she believes Maine is in a state of emergency.
In fact, there's virtually nothing that Janet Mills can't now do. Many governors now have these powers.
J.B. Pritzker is the Governor of Illinois. On Monday, Pritzker did his best to explain why his word is now law in the state. It has to be law, he explained, otherwise thousands would die.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): The stay-at-home order has prevented tens of thousands of illnesses and thousands of deaths.
History will remember those who put politics aside to come together to keep people safe. It will also remember those who so blindly devoted to ideology and the pursuit of personal celebrity that they made an enemy of science and of reason.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: In three sentences, Governor Pritzker framed himself as a leader of historic statue. Those who doubt his decrees are, quote, "enemies of science and reason." Enemies of civilization itself, enemies of the state.
Two days later on Wednesday, this Wednesday, it emerged that Pritzker's own wife who has her own state employees, was one of these people.
His wife apparently had violated the lockdown herself. Governor Pritzker was asked about this, here is how he responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: What is your response to people who say the stay-at-home order and nonessential travel bans aren't being abided by your family? I believe there's a report from "Illinois Rising Action" that says that she recently traveled to Florida.
PRITZKER: Well, first of all, I want to say that in politics, it used to be that we kept our families out of it. You know, my official duties have nothing to do with my family. So, I'm just not going to answer that question. It's inappropriate. And I find it reprehensible honestly that, that that reporter wrote a story about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Yes, how dare someone cover that? Asking about whether or not J.B. Pritzker's own family is obeying the order that your family is morally obligated to follow is, quote, "inappropriate."
Indeed, the governor says, it is reprehensible. How dare you?
It would be very useful in moments like this to have an independent media. News organizations exist to hold the powerful to account. Here we have the powerful acting with no accountability at all, and our news media, they are cheering it on, besotted fan girls.
No abuse is too grotesque for them. No talking point is too stupid to repeat. Reporters will do whatever they are told. They are all in.
MSNBC recently sent a camera crew to document one of the latest and most Orwellian developments in America's descent into Chinese-style social control, barking drones that harangue citizens from the air. MSNBC was delighted by it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please go away from each other and separate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Elizabeth, New Jersey is now using drones to spread the life-saving message.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're not immune to this virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Move away from each other, commands the State of New Jersey. Break it up, your God-given right to free assembly has been suspended indefinitely. Back inside, proles, or you will face the consequences.
MSNBC applauds this, as if it's all completely normal. In fact it is. They tell us, a life-saving message. Handmaidens to the corona security state.
But to their credit, at least MSNBC put it on television. Most outlets don't even bother to cover stories like this.
The other day, prosecutors in New Jersey charged nine people for daring to participate in a Jewish wedding in their backyard. A few months ago, that would have made the news.
For 250 years, Americans have enjoyed the unfettered right to practice their faith as they choose. Now, they don't. It happened overnight.
Last month, Christians across the country were legally prohibited from celebrating Easter in their own churches. The national media barely noted it.
How exactly is this happening? Well, it turns out that's not clear. Strangely, not very many people have asked. Politicians have no right to do any of this. They cannot make it illegal for people to go to religious services.
The Constitution of the United States expressly prohibits that. The words could not be clearer. The First Amendment explicitly prevents government from making any law that inhibits the exercise of religious faith. That's not a detail or a footnote, it is a cornerstone of our history and of our legal system.
Millions of people, probably your ancestors fled to this country from around the world precisely because our Bill of Rights gave them this guarantee. It's why this country was founded.
And in a moment, it's gone. How?
Where did politicians get the authority to do this? Because some elderly power drunk epidemiologist told them to do it. That's not how our system works. It can't work that way.
Occasionally, you'll hear someone complain about this, some lonely civil libertarian will fret that we may be on a slippery slope toward losing our rights.
If only. We're already there. We've slid to the bottom of that slope. Our rights are gone. No one has explained how politicians are allowed to do this. Where does the authority come from? How can they override the Constitution? Nobody seems to care. They're too afraid.
But if you think this moment is scary, consider what might come next. Now, that we've seeded all authority in the country to our political leaders, what can't they do? What are the limits to their power?
That's not a theoretical question. It's not an argument over philosophy or political theory, it is the most practical possible question. The answer will define where this country goes next. What can't politicians do in the name of public health?
As it stands, politicians won't let people worship or work or go to school or see their aging parents. They placed the nation under house arrest. That's happening today, right now.
But let's say we all get more afraid. What then? What couldn't they start doing? Could they intern people? Seriously? You can dismiss the possibility of that if you like, but remember that just a few months ago, most of us would have dismissed as ludicrous the possibility that propaganda spewing drones would be hovering above. Now, we have them.
So, what's next? What can't they do? Let's draw a line at some point.
Will O'Neill is the mayor of Newport Beach, California. He's not obeying, or at least denouncing Gavin Newsom's order to close the beaches in Southern California. He says it's unreasonable and against science.
Mayor O'Neill joins us tonight. Mr. Mayor, thanks so much for coming on.
MAYOR WILL O'NEILL, NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA: Thank you, Tucker.
CARLSON: So, as I understand it from the other coast, your governor has said, people have told me with advanced science degrees that beaches in Orange County should be closed and you must do it now. What's your reaction to this?
O'NEILL: Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom closed 43 miles of Orange County beaches, not because of data, but because of politics. And how do I know that? Because here's the data.
Orange County has 3.2 million people who live here. It's bigger than 22 states, bigger than states like Nevada, Mississippi, Iowa, and of all of those people, we've lost 50 people to this virus. That's 0.001 percent of our population.
In our local hospital, we have 475 beds. They have never treated more than 25 people at any given time. And yesterday, they had nine people that they were treating, and only one percent of their ventilators were being used.
And this beach closure idea to keep people safe, it's been tried in Los Angeles County. They have closed their beaches up there for over 30 days now, and the results just haven't borne out.
Every single city that is along the coast in Los Angeles has a higher per capita COVID rate than every open beach community in Orange County.
And let's talk about San Diego for just a second. They've got over two times the number of people who have died because of this virus than Orange County, but their beaches are open.
This has nothing to do with data, and it has everything to do with politics. And I agree. I think what our governor did was he looked at photographs that were showing a mile of beach condensed into about a meter. It looked like everyone was on top of each other, but he should have called me.
I'm the Mayor of Newport Beach and he should have asked me what we are seeing on the ground and I would have told him.
Our Police Chief, our Fire Chief, our lifeguards, even our local sheriff's all said universally the vast majority of people, they were families on the beach. They were social distancing.
But of course, there were people who weren't. So, they got to spend some time talking to our law enforcement about making sure they understood what social distancing really means.
Our governor should have fought beside us. He should have fought against this national narrative. Instead, the first time we heard from our governor was yesterday, last night, when he had someone from his office call us and tell us your beaches are closed.
CARLSON: So, he has no problem ignoring Federal immigration law. Do you think that he'll enforce this order? If you kept your beaches open? What do you think would happen?
O'NEILL: Well, our local sheriff has already said he has no intention of enforcing this, and so the question at that point is, what will the governor do?
And I'll tell you, Tucker, I have to say, my dad has given me some great advice. He is one of my heroes. He is a former police officer. He is a retired Federal judge and I've talked to him about policy a number of times.
And recently he told me, look, if it's a close call, you always go on the side of liberty, not restrictions. I don't think this should have been a close call for the governor. But if it was, I really hope he will take my dad's advice to heart and reverse this call.
CARLSON: I hope -- I hope so, too. Mayor O'Neill, thanks so much for explaining that so calmly and reasonably -- thoughtfully. Appreciate it.
O'NEILL: Thank you, Tucker.
CARLSON: We're joined now by Fox's senior judicial analyst, Judge Andrew Napolitano, a legitimate expert on the Bill of Rights. Judge, thanks so much for coming on.
So, I started to be fixated on this one question because I can't get it out of my mind.
Is it possible in this country under our system, the one we've lived under for 250 years for a politician to say, I'm just not obeying the Constitution. Explicit rights guaranteed there and I'm just going to -- I'm going to take them away. How is that allowed?
JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO, FOX NEWS SENIOR JUDICIAL ANALYST: Well, it will be allowed if a politician believes he can get away with it because the public accepts the illusion of safety, rather than the idea of liberty, for which many of our wars have been fought and many of our forebears have died in order to preserve the liberties, which now has been taken away by these politicians, because they think they know what's better for us than we know for ourselves.
They're not interested in choice. They're not interested in the Bill of Rights. They're not interested in their oath to uphold the Bill of Rights.
Tucker, the constitutional guarantees, free speech, Free Press, the right to assemble, the right to worship are only as good as the human beings in whose hands we have reposed the Constitution for safekeeping.
CARLSON: That's right.
NAPOLITANO: And the governors that you have referred to in Maine, in New Jersey, in Illinois, in California have no regard for the Constitution, because they have public sentiment behind them, because they've scared the daylights out of the public, and very few people, unlike the mayor, God bless him, he is willing to do this -- are willing to stand up and say enough.
CARLSON: Then may I ask you a question, if our politicians have no regard for the Bill of Rights, upon which the country is founded, of course, then why should the rest of us have any regard for their orders?
I mean, it's not their country. They don't own it. It's our country. So, why are we obeying them if they're contravening our Bill of Rights?
NAPOLITANO: We have no obligation to obey them. Governors don't write the law and don't assess punishments, only legislators do.
Every single one of the 50 governors in this state -- in this country -- has written new laws and assessed new punishment utterly and totally without authority to do so.
Even if the state legislatures of the states of which they are the governors have authorized them to do it, that legislation would be invalid because as you have pointed out, it directly contravenes guarantees in the Bill of Rights.
And every one of those governors when they became governor took an oath not only to their state law and their state constitutions, but to the Federal Constitution as well, which includes the Bill of Rights.
They have forgotten it. They have looked the other way. They are just interested in telling people how to live because they can get away with it.
It will take a determined minority, like the Mayor of Newport Beach, like some of the people that you and I know, pushing, pushing hard to point out how they're violating what we have hired them to do, because the majority is willing to accept this nonsense and believes it's the law.
I go into a supermarket to buy a newspaper. The sign says it's the law. You can't come in here without a mask. I said to the owner, you can tell me I have to wear a mask because you own this business. And if you think my not wearing a mask will harm your business, you have a right to keep me out.
But there is no law that says I have to wear the mask. There's just the governor's musings and whims. That's all it is.
CARLSON: I can't control myself. I've got to say shame on many of our religious leaders for following these illegitimate orders and taking their orders from the government. That's not what they should be doing -- for sure.
Judge Napolitano, great to see you tonight. Thank you so much.
NAPOLITANO: Pleasure.
CARLSON: Well, after two months of this, many of America's small business owners have been pushed absolutely to the limit. They don't work for the government and unlike private equity, the system is not rigged in their favor. They're paying full freight, not a fraction of it and they are desperate to get back to work.
In some cases, they're desperate enough to break the law. Yesterday, an anchor on CNN, one of the dumber ones, shamed a barber shop owner who said he was reopening his business even if it put him at risk personally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: I had read something you told my producer where you basically said I don't care if I get it, meaning COVID-19. Do you do you still feel that way?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. I mean, a lot of us are going to get it. The statistical data is that -- we're not going to -- most likely we're not going to die, we have 99 point something percent chance of living whether we contract it or not.
Now, the people that feel at risk --
BALDWIN: Hang on. Hang on. Hang on, Juan, because let me -- let me jump in because I think neither of us are doctors and I know there's a lot of numbers being thrown out.
I've had it. It was -- it was not fun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: So, the barbershop owner endured that self-righteous scolding from dumb people over on CNN. He joins us in just a minute. We'll be right back.
Actually, while some states are crushing civil liberties. Others are letting life slowly return to normal, cautiously.
Trace Gallagher joins us with more on the state of reopening around the country. Hey, Trace.
TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CHIEF BREAKING NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tucker. Georgia really is kind of the bellwether because it's the first big state to significantly ease restrictions and so far, based on rolling averages, Georgia's numbers on new infections are still dropping, although because of test results being delayed and the fact that symptoms can take up to 14 days to appear, we won't really know the impact of the reopening in Georgia until next week, but the early numbers certainly provide cover for Governor Brian Kemp's decision to lift the mandates.
For a week now, the governor has been pilloried in traditional and social media. Georgia's northern and southern borders are also South Carolina and Florida reopening at a more gradual pace and the number of new cases in those states are also trending down.
And today, 21 other states have also loosened restrictions. All of them are taking a step by step approach, but it's interesting that Oklahoma is opening restaurants, bars, movie theaters, fitness centers and places of worship.
And finally, we should note, the NBA has now postponed its draft lottery and draft combine set for this month in Chicago. Still no word if the actual draft in late June will also be postponed.
But there is talk of pushing the start of the season now to December -- Tucker.
CARLSON: Amazing. Trace Gallagher. Thanks so much for that.
GALLAGHER: Sure.
CARLSON: Well, many of the media were thrilled at the prospect of North Korea having a female leader #GirlPower. The first female dictator since Catherine the Great, but breaking news reports tonight suggests that that won't happen because Kim Jong-un is actually alive.
New pictures, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: Well, for more than a week now, rumors have swirled all over the internet that the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un might be dead. At least one reporter tweeted out that he was.
Members of the press seem thrilled by this not because a murderous tyrant is gone, but because he might be replaced by his very female sister Kim Yo- jong, girl power. It will more than make up for Hillary losing.
But now those celebrations appear to be premature. According to North Korean state media, Kim just made his first public appearance in 21 days. A source in American Intelligence, meanwhile, told the show that Kim appears to be, quote, "alive and well."
Is this true? What can we believe? Gordon Chang is author of "Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World," and very informed on the subject. We're happy to have him tonight. Gordon, do you believe this?
GORDON CHANG, SENIOR FELLOW, GATESTONE INSTITUTE: Well, you know right now, Tucker, we have the photographs. Now, he also -- Kim Jong-un also visited the same fertilizer plant on January 7th. So, we've just got to make sure that these photos are not recycled and we haven't had a chance to do that yet.
But one thing we do know is that there was a serious health emergency because he missed two very important events. He was no show. He didn't issue statements. That's never happened before. So, something occurred, we just don't know what.
CARLSON: Huh. Does he look different? I don't have my glasses on. So, I can't see the picture very well. But does he look like he is altered in any way? I mean, has he lost weight? I mean, is he the same Kim Jong-un we knew?
CHANG: Yes, he's the same Kim Jong-un. He is wearing the same clothes. You know, he looks pretty much the same. I thought he looked a little thinner, but I wasn't quite sure about that. So, I have to check that. I have to go back to some of the pre-April 11 photos.
CARLSON: So, his train apparently according to satellite photographs was parked outside a North Korean resort facing the Sea of Japan. What do we think that was about?
CHANG: You know, that's a great question because there are a lot of different interpretations that Korea watchers put on that. One of them is that train was there because Kim just wanted to play around. The other was that they sent the train there to take his body back to Pyongyang.
If he is alive, you know, I guess it really was that he was messing with us, at least for a little while. But clearly, you know, he has got us sort of in a tizzy right now.
CARLSON: Apparently, the Chinese government sent some sort of team, news reports say into North Korea. Do we have any idea what that consisted of?
CHANG: People thought that it was a team to try to recover Kim from botched stent surgery. I think that it was also possible that because it was a Chinese team and not something from Western Europe, that the team was there for coronavirus, because right now Chinese doctors are in the lead on coronavirus recovery. So, perhaps that was what was going on there.
But in any event, you know, for someone with Kim's underlying problems, you've got diabetes, you've got heart problems. You've got gout. COVID-19 would be a near fatal disease for somebody like Kim.
CARLSON: For sure. For sure. Gordon Chang, the mystery continues. I hope you'll come back with updates. Good to see you tonight.
CHANG: Thanks, Tucker.
CARLSON: Well, Joe Biden this morning finally responded to the allegations of his former staffer, Tara Reade that he sexually assaulted her.
It took place on MSNBC, which we will say is very friendly venue. Even there. Biden had a very tough time. We'll show you what happened.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: Two years ago, "The Washington Post" won a Pulitzer Prize for its, quote, "deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage on Russian interference to the 2016 presidential election and its connection to the President-elect's transition team," end quote.
For writers, they're bad at writing. So purple. So filled with adjectives and adverbs that don't need to be there.
But with a topic like that, really it was all that mattered. It was hard not to win a Pulitzer that year. Trump is bad. So, what did they win for exactly?
Well, one of "The Post's" winning articles ran in February of 2017. The piece in question cited unnamed officials who suggested that General Michael Flynn was in fact, a secret Russian operative.
The article noted with some gravity the existence of, quote, "an F.B.I. investigation looking at possible contact between Trump associates and Russia." Sounds very serious.
But what Jeff Bezos's personal newspaper didn't tell you was that the so- called investigation into Flynn was a sham. The F.B.I. had cleared Flynn completely a month before the article even ran in "The Washington Post."
As we've now learned, the investigation continued only because Peter Strzok demanded it for partisan political reasons. But somehow, "The Washington Post" omitted that part of the story. Instead, they pretended the whole thing was real and extremely scary.
In doing that, they defamed an innocent man and badly hurt his family. They mindlessly repeated an absurd conspiracy theory that most children could have deduced was false.
And because the top echelons of American life are so corrupt, and so rigged, they won a Pulitzer Prize for doing it anyway, it tells you a lot. The foot investigation wasn't the only sham in progress, so were the Pulitzers.
Plus, you've likely heard Joe Biden went on MSNBC this morning to deny that he sexually assaulted his former staff member, Tara Reade.
In the last four years, MSNBC has transitioned from a left-leaning news into a highly aggressive political operation dedicated to doing rapid response for the Democratic Party.
If Media Matters had a TV station, it would be MSNBC. Needless to say, the has shilled relentlessly for Joe Biden.
But surprisingly, and to her credit, this morning host, Mika Brzezinski asked a legitimate and pretty tough question of Joe Biden, and then she kept asking it.
Why she wondered, doesn't Biden simply order a search of his papers at the University of Delaware for any references to Tara Reade? Simple question. Biden seemed completely baffled by it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To the best of my knowledge, no one else has done that either.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI, MSNBC HOST: I am just talking about her name, not anybody else in those records, a search for that. Nothing classified by the President or anybody else. I'm just asking why not do a search for Tara Reade's name in the University of Delaware records?
BIDEN: Look, I mean, who does that search?
BRZEZINSKI: The University of Delaware, perhaps, you set up a commission that can do it. I don't know. Whatever is the fairest way to create the most transparency.
BIDEN: Well, this is -- look, Mika --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Mika Brzezinski went after Biden in a fair way, totally legitimate way. But she was tough enough. You sort of wonder what is this about? This is someone who sucks up to Democratic politicians relentlessly, but she is pretty hard on Biden.
Could it be a sign that the Democratic establishment has decided we can't win with this guy. It's over. Maybe it's time to get him off the stage.
No evidence of that. But it's interesting.
Another interesting thing is that Biden has already ordered a search of his papers housed in the National Archives for references to Tara Reade, but refuses to order a search of his vast archive at the University of Delaware.
Those papers are sealed. We can't see them. And at this point, we can't even know why we can't see them. Because the gift agreement that Biden signed with the University of Delaware is also sealed.
It is possible Biden received a hefty payment first for his papers, many people do. The school denies that, and so for now, we have no choice but to take their word for it because we're not allowed to know. No transparency at all, and that seems odd.
The University of Delaware is a public institution. Doesn't the public have a right to know what deals the schools they fund are making with politicians?
And as it turns out, no. The public has no right to know what the University of Delaware is doing with its money.
Biden cut his deal with the University of Delaware's Board of Trustees. You won't be too shocked to learn that the head of that Board is a longtime credit card salesman called John Cochran. He is the former CEO of MBNA.
Joe Biden spent much of his Senate career as a dutiful water carrier for the high interest credit card business, even as so many of his constituents drowned in debt, and Cochran appears to be a key reason why Joe Biden did that.
Cochran regularly sent Biden money over the years. He gave Joe Biden's son a lucrative job.
At one point, Cochran even bought Biden's home in Wilmington for what was clearly an above market price. And by the way, Cochran is not alone.
According to reporting by Gregg Re at foxnews.com, as least seven other Board members at the University of Delaware have also contributed to Joe Biden's political campaigns, and now they're protecting him when he needs it.
Even by the standards of a small state that looks like corruption. This show has filed an open records request with the University of Delaware to find out more. We have a right to and we'll tell you what we find.
In the meantime, Emily Larsen is a political reporter at "The Washington Examiner." She recently interviewed Tara Reade and she joins us now.
So, thanks so much, Emily, for coming on. What was your -- as a reporter, what was your take away from that conversation with Tara Reade? What did you conclude?
EMILY LARSEN, POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER": Well, I've talked to Tara on a couple of occasions. Most recently on Monday of this week, and she was very clear in that interview that she does not want her story to be politicized. That's something that she is very worried about.
And so she is not trying to play up one side, she is just trying to be heard and trying to find the right avenues for doing so.
She is handling all of her media requests herself and so it's -- she is being a little bit overwhelmed right now. But another thing that she has said is one of the reasons --
CARLSON: I'm sorry, Emily, may I stop you there really quick. I just -- I don't know the answer to this. She is not a conservative -- I mean, is she still a Democrat, I guess, is the question.
LARSEN: Tara told me that she does not consider herself a Democrat anymore and she does not consider herself a Republican. She is going to sit out of this presidential election. She is not going to vote for either party.
And she told me that she does not see herself participating in any national election anymore. She still plans to vote in some of her local elections, but this whole process of how she has been treated has really turned her off to voting for the Democratic Party at a national level.
CARLSON: I think that's totally fair. Has she been -- this has gotten almost no coverage. Has she been attacked?
LARSEN: Has she been attacked? I mean, she has received -- she has told me that she has received threats. She has received threatening messages and e- mails and notes on Twitter.
She is active on Twitter, so she is receiving many threats and she is very concerned about this and she is concerned about where they're coming from. That's something that we're looking into as well.
But one of the other things is that she is very clear is that she wants -- she wants to do anything she can to come forward. She filed a police report, in part to protect herself from these threats. So, there's a paper trail that police can use to show that there is a pattern.
But this police report that she filed about Joe Biden is also a signal she says that she is willing to do anything it takes. She is willing to go under oath to talk about this, and so she is very serious about this.
And I think that seriousness from her is being matched from Joe Biden and what you saw today, where he is trying to find the records. She says that her complaints, her personnel files are not in his records. Yes.
CARLSON: Interesting. I don't -- it doesn't sound like this is going away.
Emily, thank you for that.
LARSEN: Thank you.
CARLSON: Quite a story. Well, at the start of the hour, we told you about an owner of a California barbershop who plans to defy his state's shutdown order. He want on CNN to try to explain that and got hectored for it. He joins us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: At the top of the hour we told you about a California business owner called Juan Desamarais. He was getting grilled on CNN yesterday after he dared to say he planned to reopen his barber shop even if he was punished for it.
He was lectured by someone with a guaranteed income, some airhead. Now, Desamarais says he has already received a cease and desist order from the State of California, but he is continuing forward.
Barber Juan Desamarais joins us tonight. Juan, thanks so much for coming on.
JUAN DESAMARAIS, BARBERSHOP OWNER FROM CALIFORNIA: Thank you for having me.
CARLSON: So, you've received a cease and desist order from the State of California. What's your reaction to that?
DESAMARAIS: Well, it's actually from the City of Vacaville. They came in here, the cops came in here today and gave us a cease and desist order from the City of Vacaville. And --
CARLSON: Are you going to abide by it?
DESAMARAIS: Definitely, I'm not. I'm going to continue working on. We are going to continue to stay open. Our barbers are going to continue to work and they're going to continue to serve our community.
CARLSON: What did you think -- and I'm not just saying this because CNN is another, but I was really struck by the pompous lecture that you received from one of their anchors yesterday, someone who will not be out of work when you are out of work. What did -- how did you feel about that?
DESAMARAIS: Well, you know, overall, she definitely had like she was somehow better than me tone. I think she does have a secure job. Her hair looked amazing and I think she's not in the same boat as I am. Maybe we're all in the same storm together, but we're definitely not in the same boat.
I have barbers that are living day-to-day doing undercover garage cuts in unsanitary locations. When we're here in California, in our shop, we have the cleanest shop in town and we follow a lot of sanitary regulations.
CARLSON: Yes, I mean we're not all in the same boat, that is absolutely right. So, do you think that Vacaville, the authorities there will try to prevent you from operating tomorrow? And do you expect customers?
DESAMARAIS: Well, we're fully booked. We have -- we have a full staff and we're fully booked. Everyone is still coming. Everyone is being extra generous with you know, their pay, and we're doing really well.
We're happy to be back serving our community. We're happy to be back serving first responders like we always have. And we're just going to continue to do it.
Do I expect Vacaville to come and cite me, absolutely, and they're going to. They've said they're going to, you know, I think that there's no plan in place, so I'm just going to be the escape pill for the city.
CARLSON: I can't resist asking you. I mean, they're trying to prevent you from working. Is the City of Vacaville paying your mortgage while you're not working? Are they helping your family eat while you're not working?
DESAMARAIS: Absolutely not. And you know what else they're not doing is they're not -- they are not going to the building owners that where we lease our space from. They're not going to PG&E. They're not going to the, you know, the water department of their own city.
I mean, I just paid my City of Vacaville business license and didn't waive that from me either. It seems like there's little to no sympathy. Everyone is following suit with whatever the governor decides day-to-day, and listen, they've got 45 days to get things back in order to build up the PPP, to build up the communities, and they still are talking about us being in Phase 4 and it being August before we can make a living again.
CARLSON: It is very confusing to me that so many Americans are continuing to pay their taxes after how they've been treated by their government.
DESAMARAIS: Absolutely.
CARLSON: Juan, you know, good luck tomorrow. It's great to see you tonight. Thanks so much.
DESAMARAIS: Thank you. Yes.
CARLSON: Well after the break, if you were watching last night, you saw one main restaurant owner Ron Savage who came on this show and said that he was defying the governor of his state, Janet Mills and opening up today no matter what. So what happened? We'll tell you after the break.
Also, Dr. Siegel is just on the frontlines of fighting coronavirus. What did he find out? That's ahead, too.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: We just spoke to a barber called Juan Desamarais who said he is willing to defy his town of Vacaville, California to reopen his business. The town even as they're strangling him, is still collecting fees for licensing, of course.
Last night, we spoke to a man called Rick Savage. He is a restaurant owner outside Bethel, Maine. He's got a restaurant there. He said he was going to defy Maine Governor Janet Mills by reopening his business today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SAVAGE, RESTAURANT OWNER IN MAINE: We've had enough of it. We're encouraging all businesses in Maine to open up. We should have never been shut down in the first place.
We need to open back up and get this summer tourist business going or we're going to lose a third of our restaurants. Who knows how many motels and other businesses -- so we're advocating for everybody. Not just for my restaurant. It's time to go back to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Well, today, Savage did it. He reopened his restaurant. It was flooded with grateful adults who know the risk and have decided to go eat at his place.
State authorities working for Janet Mills promptly revoked his business and liquor licenses, trying to destroy his business. Well, since Janet Mills has made it illegal for Savage to support his own family, he has a plan. It's the only one left. You can read more about it on the TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT show Facebook page.
Around the world, only four countries have had more deaths from the Wuhan coronavirus than New York City. But even in New York, the worst it appears may be over.
Fox medical contributor, Marc Siegel is also a Professor at NYU Langone Health. We sent him to take a look at the hospital's coronavirus ward and report back on what he found. The doctor joins us tonight. Hey, Doctor.
DR. MARC SIEGEL, FOX NEWS MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Tucker. Things looks like they're starting to get better. We are not completely out of the woods yet. The Javits Center Hospital closed after treating 1,100 patients.
My own hospital, NYU Langone Health is sending more and more patients home.
But they're also transferring patients to the Langone Orthopedic Hospital, which has repurposed itself to a COVID recovery hospital.
It has multiple COVID wards where orthopedists are working together with medical personnel and nurse practitioners around the clock, taking care of COVID-19 patients.
It's not always predictable what's going to happen as they try to get patients off of oxygen and treat blood clots. I spent several hours there over the weekend, and I was amazed at what I saw in there.
There's a 93 year old woman. They said she was going to be fine then all of a sudden in the middle of the night -- this is an unpredictable virus. She suddenly turned blue. Her oxygen went to the ground. They thought she wasn't going to make it.
They put her in a prone position on her side, she recovered, and went home three days later. Unpredictable.
It requires constant care. This hospital, Langone Orthopedic is clearly on the front lines of the final stages of recovery for placement and stabilization.
I want to end by talking about one physician. I'll show his picture. His name is Dr. Adam Karp. He is geriatrician, well-regarded, Tucker that I've known for many years.
Dr. Karp is there at around the age of 60 on the frontlines, caring for people, getting them off oxygen, working tirelessly, putting his health and his life on the line.
I couldn't figure out why. And then suddenly, I realized why. He is a deeply religious man, Tucker. He is there doing God's work -- Tucker.
CARLSON: I love that. Amen. We beat up on religious people, but the most decent people I know are. Dr. Siegel, great to see you tonight. Thank you so much for that.
SIEGEL: Thank you, Tucker.
CARLSON: That's it for us tonight. We hope you have a great and very well- deserved weekend and if there is one upside of being locked inside with the ones you love, you love them.
Sean Hannity takes over the next hour. We'll see you Monday.
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