Gowdy: 'Squad' on the verge of guaranteeing McCarthy is next House Speaker
'Special Report' All-Start panel discusses Democrats' split on Israel-Hamas conflict
This is a rush transcript from "Special Report," May 17, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Shortly after the strike we did request additional details regarding the justification for it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You requested additional information. Have you received it, have you seen it, and did you find it credible?
BLINKEN: I have not seen any information provided, and, again, to the extent that it is based on intelligence that would have been shared with other colleagues, and I will leave that to them to assess.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We share with our American friends all that intelligence, and here's the intelligence we had. It's about Palestinian terrorists, an intelligence office for the Palestinian terrorist organization housed in that building that plots and organizes the terror attacks against Israeli civilians. So it's a perfectly legitimate target.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRET BAIER, HOST: The secretary of state and the prime minister of Israel talking about this targeting of this building that, as the Israelis said, housed Hamas, but also housed the Associated Press, and there is concern in the administration, as you heard there from the secretary of state.
Late this afternoon President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu about the now two weeks of fighting in between Hamas and the Israelis, saying that he firmly supports Israel's right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks, but at the same time encourages Israel to make every effort to protect innocent civilians, and is expressing support for a ceasefire, and that the U.S. is going to engage with Egypt to try to help that along. It does not seem like that's heading that way any time soon. We'll see.
Let's bring in our panel, Bill McGurn, columnist for "The Wall Street Journal," Harold Ford Jr., former Tennessee Congressman, CEO of Empowerment and Inclusion Capital, and Trey Gowdy, former Congressman from South Carolina. Trey, first to you. Your thoughts on where we are with this. Obviously, we have seen this many years before, but it is intensifying, it seems, and how the administration is handling it.
TREY GOWDY, FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA REPRESENTATIVE: Well, I don't know the administration's policy. The right to defend yourself? I don't think Israel needs Biden to tell them that they have the right to defend themselves. What has changed, Bret, is there are House Democrats that are having a really difficult time telling our allies from terrorist organizations. Last summer they couldn't tell the cops from the robbers, or the arsonists from the peaceful protesters. I tell you what, Bret, the Squad is on the verge of doing something no other group of Democrats can do by themselves, which is guarantee that Kevin McCarthy is the next speaker of the House. If they keep equivocating between Israel and a terrorist organization, they will guarantee that Kevin is the next speaker of the House.
BAIER: Yes, to that point, that political back and forth up on the Hill, take a listen to some of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Palestinians aren't going anywhere no matter how much money you send to Israel's apartheid government.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Israel is a democracy, the only Jewish state in the world, and our friend and ally.
REP. ILHAN OMAR, (D-MN): Many members of Congress have instead fallen back on a blanketed statement defending Israel's airstrikes against civilians under the guise of self-defense.
DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, (D-FL): These terrorist organizations do not care about people or peace. They seek only to destroy the Jewish state. Israel has every right to defend herself.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY) SENATE MINORITY LEADER: We're already seeing some push, push the false narrative that this conflict is a tragic dispute between two legitimate combatants where both sides share blame that is roughly equal. What nonsense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: Harold, what do you make of all of this?
HAROLD FORD JR., FORMER TENNESSEE REPRESENTATIVE: Well, Israel certainly has the right to defend herself, and I support that. I think the measure that Joe Biden and the tone that President Biden has struck this afternoon and this early evening is exactly the right one.
Some of the tragic parts of this are that the Palestinian, the PLO is no longer, or I should say is weak and corrupt, and the Palestinians are having to rely on Hamas, which I think is going to make it difficult to find peace here at the end. I think some of the commentators and congressional voices that you did not play today calling for containment, calling for ceasefire, calling for a longer conversation. We can't have peace talks right now. We have to have a ceasefire. But we have to think about all that we have done in the past.
President Trump worked hard to move the embassy to Jerusalem, the U.S. embassy, and he worked hard for the Abraham Accords, and they clearly did not advance the kind of are arrangement we would like to see between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Does this call for a more sustained engagement by the U.S.? We will have to see. But I hope it does not come at the expense of a pivot to Asia because that's where our focus has to be as a nation over the next five, 10, 20 to 30 to 40 years.
BAIER: Bill, Harold mentions Trump administration policy. When they moved the embassy to Jerusalem, there was a lot of pushback, including former secretary of state John Kerry, saying it was going to ignite the Arab street. Then with the Israel -- the Abraham Accords, that that was never going to happen or hold strong. And even through this, it is holding strong.
BILL MCGURN, COLUMNIST, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Yes, the conventional wisdom in the Middle East is almost always wrong, underestimates things. It's extraordinary to me in terms of equivalence that people are talking about Israel has done this, Israel has done that. And no one really talks about, well, what about Hamas? Is there a call on Hamas to stop firing rockets into civilian areas? And to equate striking a building, which I believe the Israelis warned the people that are in the building to get out first. Until we come to grips with this fundamental thing, that Hamas shouldn't be allowed to launch rockets. I believe if someone were launching rockets into Manhattan from Long Island, I don't think we would have any mercy.
BAIER: Trey, last thing on this, the Iran equation and Iran part of this definitely has it tied to policy and the ability to funnel money or support to Hamas.
GOWDY: There's no question. And I'm sure Israel is wondering why the Biden administration is so heck-bent on restarting talks with Iran. There is progress being made in the Middle East with Jordan and with Qatar and United Arab Emirates. But Israel has the right to exist. And when you are surrounded by people who want to push you in the sea, including Iran, they are not surrounded by them, but Iran is funding it, yes, I would say they have the right to not only defend themselves -- here's a novel thought. If you don't want rockets going into Gaza, quit firing rockets into Israel. There, I fixed it. I did it.
(LAUGHTER)
BAIER: After all these years, that's all we needed to do.
It seems small, but I'm going to turn to this other topic, and that is the mask mandates and what's happening across the country, a bit of a mixed message as we talked about here before. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: We're not a homogeneous country, right. There are some places that have more disease than others and less vaccination rates than others. And what I would say is in those communities, they should still be looking within those communities before removing mask policies.
DR. JEROME ADAMS, FORMER SURGEON GENERAL: I understand why people are confused. I want everyone to know the science behind this is sound. We know that cases are going down, vaccinations are going up. The CDC made the right play call, but they fumbled the ball at the one-yard line. The communication was just, quite frankly, abysmal on this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: Former surgeon general there. These are the mask policies, and in fact during this show, after we made this graphic, it changed. Mask mandates still in place while reviewing CDC guidance two states plus D.C. But D.C. actually changed its mask mandate just before this show. And 23 states say it will be soon. There are still a number of them in the red there.
Harold, thoughts on this, and is it too much about too little?
FORD: I think it's a little too much about nothing. The numbers are going in the right direction in everything, everyone. Vaccinations are going up finally. I hope we can get above the 36, 37 percent to 50 percent before midsummer. That would be a positive thing. Infection rates are going down, hospitalization rates, death rates, all have been going in the right way.
Reasonable people should cut her some slack. Think about this, every year - - I will make this up -- we read some scientific data that says something I like, like red meat might be unhealthy. They I read another scientific study a year later that says moderate amounts of red meat are OK. The science changes, evolves, and we have to be willing to adjust.
How does the CDC been a little clumsy at times? Sure. But I don't think there is science in the foundation has been. I think perhaps Mr. Adams had it right. Maybe they fumbled a little bit around the communications. But I have got to tell you, if we were going with the wrong direction with the health matters, I would be worried. The fact that we are not, I will take the good news, and we all should.
BAIER: Yes, Bill, final word?
MCGURN: Yes, I agree here. The problem with the CDC is not the science. It's the way that they present. They fumbled this long before this decision. It's the way it's been presented as sacred and absolute and beyond question. Nothing wrong with not knowing something in the beginning of a crisis and learning more later. But there has been absolutely no modesty in pushing forward these dictates, and so people are very skeptical today.
BAIER: Panel, stand by. When we come back, tomorrow's headlines tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BAIER: Finally tonight, a look at tomorrow's headlines tonight with the panel. Bill?
MCGURN: My headline is Bernie Sanders rubs the SALT deduction in Joe Biden's wounds. I know this is the headline because I just wrote it for my column, and it's about the class between Bernie Sanders and the progressives and the other Democrats over this tax break for the rich which is the SALT deduction.
BAIER: SALT in the wounds, there you go. Harold?
FORD: Harold Ford, my son, had a great sixth birthday with his parents, his older sister Georgia, and a few friends. Reports say his mom and dad are exhausted. Harold Ford, happy birthday, young fella. I love you.
(LAUGHTER)
BAIER: Happy birthday, my man. You read good papers. Trey?
GOWDY: Happy birthday to Harold's son. My headline is Snoop Dogg and Justin Bieber break ties with Bill Gates claiming he is out of control and they are worried about him.
(LAUGHTER)
BAIER: I knew we could count on to you end the show. All right, guys, thank you.
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