This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," April 18, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: I'm Laura Ingraham. This is THE INGRAHAM ANGLE. A federal district judge in Tampa has vacated Biden's CDC national mask mandate for planes and other modes of public transportation. We're going to have more on this monumental ruling, ruling for freedom in just a bit. But for now, sayonara sucker. We begin tonight with the old debate trap. That's the focus of tonight's angle.
Now imagine asking Nick Saban to tolerate a game where all the referees are known to hate the Alabama football team. Now in fact, these referees have made public statements saying how much they despise the Crimson Tide. Well, that's pretty much has been the situation with Republican presidential candidates and the moderators chosen by the Commission on Presidential Debates. And after years of conservatives urging the RNC saying please cut ties with this ridiculous organization on Friday, it finally did.
Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement, we are going to find newer, better debate platforms to ensure that future nominees are not forced to go through the bias CPD in order to make the case to the American people. Now, the gnashing of teeth that you can imagine that followed was predictable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a big deal, another blow to our democracy. It's also a virtual guarantee that American will retreat further into its partisan echo chamber.
RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC HOST: Once the Republican Party decided that the American free press is bad, that journalism is something they cannot only do without, but that they are against as a party. Well, yes, this is where that ends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Now, Rach, they're not against journalists, but they are against playing in rigged games.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was not a spontaneous demonstration. Is that what you're saying?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please proceed, Governor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to make sure we get that for the record, because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi, an act of terror.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get the transcript?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He did, in fact, sir. So, let me call it an act of terror.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you say that a little louder, Candy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He did call it an act of terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: In a transcript, Candy. And then there's the time, one of those unbiased moderators began a primary debate with personal questions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your ex-wife gave an interview to ABC News and another interview with the Washington Post. In it, she says that you came to her in 1999 at a time when you were having an affair. She says you asked her sir, to enter into an open marriage. Would you like to take some time to respond to that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, but I will. I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office. And I am appalled that you will begin a presidential debate on a topic like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: John had to adjust his defense there that moment. Then there's the time CNBC turned CNN hack; John Harwood played his preferred role of damn operative.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN HARWOOD, CNN HOST: Mr. Trump.
DONALD TRUMP, 45TH U.S. PRESIDENT: Yes.
HARWOOD: You've done very well in this campaign so far, by promising to build a wall and make another country pay for it.
TRUMP: Right.
HARWOOD: And make Americans better off, because your greatness would replace the stupidity and incompetence of others.
TRUMP: That's right.
HARWOOD: Let's be honest. Is this a comic book version of a presidential campaign?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Even the guys over at C-SPAN weren't immune and went to great lengths to cover up their bias. Steve Scalia was caught seeking advice from the mooch, remember that, who'd become a Never Trumper when his direct message was mistakenly put out as a tweet. Of course, Trump called him out and he ended up being right. Now I can go on and on, but why bother? We all know that these so-called journalists, well, I mean how they feel about conservatives. And as you can see from the way they treated old Romney and Gingrich and Santorum, so many others, this isn't limited to Trump. The notion that democracy somehow requires that conservative candidates submit to a horribly biased questioning every four years. That is ludicrous. Unless democracy of course, was meaningless back in 1858, when Lincoln faced off against Douglas in one of the most storied debates in U.S. political history, with no moderators and no panelists.
I'd say the American people learned a lot more just by reading exactly what the candidates said back then. Now the modern day candidate concept didn't really begin till 1960, when for the first time in history, the debate between two major presidential candidates, back then John F. Kennedy and Nixon was televised. Remember, people who listened on the radio thought that Nixon had won. But on camera, it was the opposite. Kennedy looked really cool and polished, Nixon looked kind of sweaty and a little bit shifty.
After that, there was a debate lull for 16 years. It picked back up in 1976. But by 2012, it was beyond obvious that the moderators were dead set against whoever the Republicans nominated. Obama was their Lord and Savior, and he had to be venerated and protected at all costs. The bias then worsened over the next few presidential cycles in 2016, the commentariat hated Trump so much, that there were serious demands by supposedly respected media figures that the press had a duty not to be objective when covering Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You cannot cover Trump the way that you would cover a normal person, because he is not a normal person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Trump presidency has changed the way we cover news.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have been trying to treat Donald Trump's presidency as if it's normal, trying to normalize what can't be normalized.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Well, there has not been a single moderator from the frat past, I think three election cycles, except maybe, of course from Fox, who viewers wouldn't wholeheartedly believe supported the Democratic Party. Not to say otherwise looking at these fools, laughable. The press shouldn't complain though. They have only themselves to blame. Had they actually made the effort to call balls and strikes to report the truth about the results of both Democrat and Republican policies, on domestic and foreign affairs? Then most Americans would consider the debates important to preserve. Exciting, tough, but fair to both sides.
Look at just the last few years, look at the press did. They sold the phony Russian collusion narrative. They buried Hunter's laptop, they silenced those who are actually reported on it. Then they pushed the destructive lockdowns and vilify those who question the lockdowns. They touted universal masking even of little kids. They sided with BLM at the same time covered for violent ANTIFA and anti-government protesters. And of course, can't forget this, they obsessed endlessly over January 6th, and then they downplayed inflation.
And come on, they're still covering for China, we know that, even when they're starving, China is, tens of millions of their own people. So unfortunately, as we've seen in so many other areas of American life, the media lost its prestige and credibility long ago, just like the public health sector has lost the respect of a huge segment of the American people, just like the courts, just like the prosecutors, just like the Intel agencies, even the Pentagon, they've all become hyper partisan.
But remember, they're supposed to work for us. But too often, it seems like they're working against us. And the ideals that made our country great. For many years, the GOP was run by the Bush's and the Cheney's and those folks have proven over and over, that they would rather lose to the Democrats than actually do what the Republican voters want. So, I think they were kind of happy to live with a bias press corps, because they hated their own voters more than they feared the Left.
Even Romney who was treated horribly in 2012, you just saw that clip, he was happy to go down quietly, rather than rock the bipartisan establishment vote. But my friends, those days are over. Republicans have new leaders now. Leaders who actually think we're right and that giving power to the hard Left is bad for America. So, the GOP is finally, finally beginning to stand up for itself. And the country as a result will be better off. And that's the angle.
Joining me now is Ronna McDaniel, Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee as well as Mike Huckabee, man who stood on that Dyess that stage as a presidential candidate, former Arkansas Governor. Ronna, why was the time right now to do this.
RONNA MCDANIEL, RNC CHAIRWOMAN: Well, the time has been long overdue as you just chronicled, Laura, but it was time to get rid of a bias middleman who was negotiating debates, who had the Democrats' best interest at heart and the Republican Party took a huge step to say you know what, we can negotiate for ourselves. We don't need a middleman anymore. We need to do what's best for our candidates and for our voters and that's giving a free and fair debate and an opportunity for our candidate to not deal with bias moderators and a bias commission like the Commission on Presidential Debates.
INGRAHAM: Well, Governor, here's what some in the media are suggesting happened in retaliation for withdrawing these rigged debates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FERNAND AMANDI, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: The Republican National Committee voted unanimously to say, we're out of the presidential debates. The reason for that also is to get literally those debates and their viewers from watching mainstream networks and to keep them isolated in their information bubble, unless the FCC steps in and regulates this false disinformation speech, I think it's going to mean more problems for information discourse in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: What a jughead. Disinformation. What is he talking about? Governor Huckabee, tell us your perspective having stood up there on that stage with this decision?
MIKE HUCKABEE (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, having been on that stage in two different presidential election cycles, first of all, let me reach out and give a great big electronic hug to Ronna McDaniel and the members of the RNC. Thank you, thank you for finally waking up and getting this right. And I cannot express enough how much I appreciate the gutsiness that Ronna and the RNC has shown.
Rule one of politics, Laura never help load a gun if it's pointed at your own head. And every one of these debates have basically been asking Republican candidates for President to help load the gun that was pointed at their own heads. And it's insane. And I'm glad that it's going to stop. There are a lot of things that we can do to improve this process. The first one is, who needs a moderator, you only need a clock keeper, give everybody exactly the same amount of time, don't let the networks for their own purposes of getting ratings decide who gets the most time, give everybody exactly the same amount of time, put it on a clock and when their time is finished. It's over. They're mics cut off. That's one way that would improve it a lot. And I've got a lot of other things that could do it.
But the big step has been done today. And thank God, Ronna that you and others have done it. And I hope the press will just slowly melt away like water on the Wicked Witch of the West.
INGRAHAM: Yes, they act like they're the story, Ronna. And this has been going on since I've been watching presidential debates, which is since I was really in college, like 1988, 1984. But it's not about the press. It's about the people and the issues. But I think Democrats are really afraid to be out on that stage with none of the protective bubble wrap they've had, as governor Huckabee noted over all these years, I think they're petrified of having to defend their policies.
MCDANIEL: Exactly right. And let's look at 2020. They started the first debate after 26 states had started voting, they picked a moderator that worked for Joe Biden. We went to the Commission, we sent them a letter a year ago and said, can you give assurances to 74 million Republican voters that you will not do this again, and they said pound sand, they didn't want to work with the Republican Party. So, we just said to them, we don't need you. We can negotiate on our own. We're removing the middleman and we're removing the bias. And we're going to put it in the hands of the American people and Republican voters and make sure that our nominees given a fair platform, because if we're given a free and fair debate, we're going to win.
And thank you, Governor Huckabee, for your great suggestions. I look forward to talking to you more, because we're going to use those as we go forward. But we are absolutely committed to debates. And the media is lying again, when they're saying we're walking away from debates. We're walking away from a bias middleman that we don't need anymore.
INGRAHAM: I like the idea of - if it's - just the Democrat versus Republican, it's like trading cards, OK, we'll give you this moderator for this moderator. Or we'll just go five minutes on the economy, 10 minutes on the border, but then you - no one can complain afterward, because you had your chance to make your point or to get your moderator or no moderate at all. But that's the way to do it. But Governor, they are so afraid of this. And I want to put this on the screen for everyone to see.
Now this is just a small sample of 2020 Left-wing outfits calling for a complete elimination of presidential debates forever. Now, Governor, how quickly they forget like look at all the New Republic. Let's cancel them forever. They didn't want any of this. And now suddenly, how can you do this, democracy is over. We had salon, we had Vox. The list goes on and on New Republic. Are they still publishing? Yes, I guess they are, Governor. again, the hypocrisy reigns supreme.
HUCKABEE: Well, they may forget but Republicans are the party of the elephant and elephants never forget. Let me also mention something. People forget that the purpose of the debates, particularly in the primaries is not to give the network's high ratings for a TV show. The purpose is to let the voters of that particular party hear their candidates and make the decision, it's the party's primary, not the network's primary. The party ought to take total control of it. They ought to control every aspect of it, where it's held. Who gets to broadcast it? Who gets to ask questions, if there are questions, maybe don't have questions, maybe just let each candidate make statements and react to each other? But they have the same amount of time, quit having an A and a B, the so-called kiddies table, that's insulting. It's also destructive.
But keep in mind more than anything else, we've got to educate the American voter that the purpose of these debates is to give them the voters the opportunity to hear about what the candidates think, Laura, I can't tell you how many times a reporter or a questioner on the debate stage would ask me a question would spend two minutes asking the question and then say to me, OK, there's my two minute question. You've got 30 seconds to answer it. Are you kidding me? I'm running for president, you're not, I want to say, shut the heck up and let me have the two minutes, you take the 30 seconds.
INGRAHAM: Yes, Gov, if they want to go on America's Got Talent and have it been all about them, they should go into a different line of work because again, it is not about any of us. It's not about a reporter. It's about the American people in the issues. Ronna, it took a woman to get this done. I'm so happy, the masks are gone on the planes and the Debate Commission is back on its heels. This is a great day. Governor, Ronna, thank you so much.
MCDANIEL: Thank you.
INGRAHAM: And speaking of institutions that of course have suffered greatly in the eyes of the American people. And a court filing late Friday, Special Counsel John Durham argued that the CIA concluded data from Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, alleging this coordination supposedly between Trump and Russia was not technically plausible, and was user created. In other words, it's phony.
Durham also alleges that in February 2017, Sussmann provided an updated set of allegations including the Alfa Bank claims that additional allegations related to Trump to a second U.S. government agency that Fox News confirmed was indeed the CIA.
Joining me now. Jonathan Turley, George Washington University Law, Prof and Fox News Contributor. Professor, why did Durham find it necessary to get this information, this new information out and file it, so it's obviously in the public domain?
JONATHAN TURLEY, GWU LAW PROFESSOR: Well, for one reason, Sussmann, the former Clinton campaign attorney has been really taking a scorched earth approach to the trial, which I understand but he's trying to keep out evidence trying to oppose witnesses receiving immunity, all as an effort to keep out some of these facts. And so that has forced the hand of the Special Counsel who told the court why this is all important. And these are very important disclosures we haven't seen before.
You know that this, the finding by the CIA, is quite telling because we know that the law firm Perkins Coie had two of the critical figures here, Sussmann, who's under indictment and the General Counsel of the campaign, Mark Elias. Mark Elias is the figure most associated with the Steele dossier. And the campaign was just sanctioned by the FEC after they hid the funding of the Steele dossier as legal costs at that firm.
So well, Elias was accused of hiding the funding of the Steele dossier, Sussmann was accused of hiding the Clinton campaign's role in the Alfa Bank. Both of them were debunked Russian collusion claims.
INGRAHAM: Well, Professor, let me just say that on a Friday was news, very few of the other networks actually covered it. And I mean, really covered it. And I wonder why. I mean, you just laid it out for us perfectly. And you might have heard me, or seen me throw the mask off literally at the beginning of the show. But tell us why Judge Catherine Mauzy's decision, essentially vacating the CDC's mask mandate was important here. And basically, she said it was beyond the scope of the CDC's authority, both arbitrary and capricious. And here's how Americans began to respond when they heard the news, professor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you would like to take them off if you can.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You'd like to continue wearing your mask, please feel free to do that. You do have extra, if you like one. First time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Professor, will the administration even fight this at this point or is this kind of a - is this kind of a gift to them as we move into the midterm elections?
TURLEY: Their reaction may have more impact on the White House and a recommendation of the CDC. The expectation of all of us was that they would instantly announce an appeal and sync to join this. But while all of that deliberation was going on, people were ripping off their masks. The White House was asked, do you think masks are required? And the press secretary said, well, we think they're important. And we recommend that people wear them.
Well, before that sentence ended, you could hear masks coming off at 40,000 feet. And so, the question is, do they want to pay the price of appealing this? The judge said that she accepted that masks might have an impact on transmission of the disease. But she said the public has a right to be heard here. The CDC cannot become a government unto itself. And it said that the CDC didn't even bother to explain why they didn't do - notice common requirements. And just simply said, this is common sense.
Well, they can--
INGRAHAM: Yes, well, I think and also look, if they want to pass a law mandating masks on planes, I suggest they pass the law. Let's actually do that or try to do that and see how that rolls with the American people. Professor, thank you. Great to see you. And remember, if you can't watch us live, make sure to set a series record on your DVR. You won't miss us every week night at 10 PM. And with Biden floundering, some media organizations are already handicapping what a 2024 Democratic primary might look like, guess who was leapfrogged. Up next with Tulsi Gabbard.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: There are some curious editorials today that the angle feels compelled to answer. First, our friends over at the journal are posting that we have a labor shortage, OK. If we had a true labor shortage, wages would be rising faster than inflation. Instead, it's the other way around. Well, that doesn't seem like a very difficult economic concept. But apparently it's in some corners to be the case.
Now, it should also be noted that the results of a true labor shortage, wages rising faster than inflation is what we had under President Trump. And that's what most of us think of as prosperity. And the other editorial, the journal claims that we could fight inflation and help Ukraine by eliminating tariffs.
Well, first off, the tariffs were in place in 2019. And we did not have inflation. So, it makes no sense to say that that's what's causing inflation now.
Second, making China richer and more powerful and causing our supply chains to depend more on the CCP. That's not going to help Ukraine. It will hurt Ukraine since China is supporting Russia behind the scenes. Now many Republicans have stopped listening to media outlets that don't seem to reflect the reality on the ground. These two editorials may provide an explanation as to why that is happening.
Look, we all have to grapple with what's happening, the real thing that's happening on planet Earth, and at some point leave the old libertarian idealism of the past behind. Most Americans are not pro-China. They're not pro-open borders. They don't want unlimited trade with China, even if many on Wall Street still want that.
Now, something interesting caught our eye this morning, the Washington Post released their 2024 Democratic presidential power rankings. Now think about that. Just 15 months into his first term. OK, into Biden's first term and an influential liberal publication finds Biden's performance so troubling that it's already handicapping a potential successor. Now, they were kind enough to put Joe on the top of the list. That's just to be nice, but that's not the most interesting part. His natural successor of course, is the Vice President Kamala Harris. But she is in third place behind Wonder boy Mayor Pete.
Now someone who shared the debate stage of the Democratic debate stage with these three Democrats. We just mentioned, of course 2020, presidential candidate former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. Tulsi, first there seems to be this palpable concern, not just among the downs, but all their media boosters, about Biden and Harris. So, they're leapfrogging kind of both to go right to Wonder Boy, what do you think about this?
TULSI GABBARD, FORMER 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Laura, well, first of all, this Washington Post article is just another example of how the mainstream media is essentially the propaganda arm of the Democratic Party elite. It doesn't really matter, kind of how they're ranking these people because ultimately we know that they'll never nominate anybody or promote anybody who you know believes in and supports the Constitution or Bill of Rights. They'll never nominate anybody who doesn't toe the line.
Their woke cancel cultural, pushing their policies, things like taking away parents' rights, making sure that they have open borders and canceling our free speech as Americans. They will never nominate anybody who doesn't bow to the interests of the military industrial complex.
So you mentioned we're 15 months into this administration. We're going to keep seeing more articles like this from the mainstream media as they push different candidates or promote people that they like. And we've just got to know, every time we see this, this is propaganda coming from the Democratic Party elite.
INGRAHAM: I think people are just discounting all of this at this point. And that's why to hear them in the media so upset over the last few days about the Republicans finally pulling out of these obscene debates was just laughable. You got completely hosed in the debates, as I recall, and I think you said something at the time on stage, like hello, I'm here.
(LAUGHTER)
INGRAHAM: What's your reaction to the decision by the RNC to say no thanks?
GABBARD: I don't blame them. As you said, having been on that stage and hearing the rhetoric coming from the organizers and the mainstream media news channels they partner with, like, oh, this is going to be fair, this is unbiased, all the candidates will get an equal shot. That's B.S., Laura. I think on average in every that I participated in, usually they went two hours, maybe I got seven total minutes of talk time on there.
And so to say that this is an unbiased service to the American people, upholding our democracy, it's nonsense. Really what it is is a political theater that's being organized by the propaganda arm of this permanent Washington establishment, the Democratic Party elite. And so good for the Republican Party for walking away. By the way, looking at the things the Republican Party was asking for, very reasonable request, very reasonable requests. And the fact that they rejected them kind of shows their hand about their bias.
INGRAHAM: Tulsi, they're just fanatics. What's your reaction to Chris Coons actually floating the idea of American troops on the ground in Ukraine, Tulsi? What are your thoughts on that?
GABBARD: It is incredibly dangerous for a U.S. senator to push this idea. There are so many issues with this. Number one, Congress has not debated, the American people have not had their chance to say that this is what they want or they don't want. So they're defying the Constitution even putting this forward.
Number two, how does it serve our interests as the United States? How does it serve our national security? It does not. It will undermine it. I think of my brothers and sisters in uniform who would be the ones whose lives that are put on the line in what would essentially kick off World War III and a direct challenge to nuclear armed Russia. Risking nuclear war, that is exactly what he's proposing, and everyone should be very clear-eyed as they hear this kind of rhetoric coming from Washington.
INGRAHAM: A lot of people thinking it's the drip, drip, drip. Tulsi, it's great to see you. Thank you.
Now we're going to be unveiling our Wit's End segment at the end of the show tonight. Here's a clue -- a famous media outlet inadvertently reveals how anti-science it has become. Which one is it? Tweet your guess to me @IngrahamAngle, and tune into the end of the show for the big reveal.
But up next, Joe Biden laid an egg at today's White House Easter egg roll, and people are very upset with the actress portraying Michelle Obama in a new miniseries. Raymond Arroyo, of course, has it up next, "Seen and Unseen."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: It's time for our "Seen and Unseen" segment, where we explore the big cultural stories of the day. And for that we turn to FOX News contributor, Raymond Arroyo. Raymond, I can't believe that you weren't there. I looked for you in the crowd, but the big Easter celebration at the White House today.
RAYMOND ARROYO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: That's right. It was the return of the White House Easter egg roll, Laura. Two years it's been missing, though it looked more like the White House presidential roll. No matter what President Biden attempted today, somebody rolled him. He was either being told where to go, what to do, or utterly confused and left wandering.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're not going to let me read it all.
(LAUGHTER)
JILL BIDEN, U.S. FIRST LADY: I'll let you -- here, you can start us off.
JOE BIDEN: You want me to read it backwards?
(LAUGHTER)
JILL BIDEN: I'm the teacher.
JOE BIDEN: She's teaching.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much.
JOE BIDEN: By the way --
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's so funny.
JOE BIDEN: Thank you all for being here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARROYO: Laura, I have never ever seen a president just abandoned by his guests, and even his own wife, like Joe Biden. They just leave them there on the stage. Even the kids weren't paying attention to them.
INGRAHAM: The bunny couldn't have hopped away fast enough. He was just hopping. Let me go find some carrots, I don't want to go near this. That's sad.
ARROYO: Laura, the first lady even had to tell the president what to do after he officially said happy Easter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Happy, happy Easter.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: All right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
ARROYO: Wave, wave, Joe. The Easter eggs weren't the only thing lost at this event, Laura. At one point a journalist tried to ask the president a question about Afghanistan. When he tried to answer, he was saved by the Easter bunny who started the president, but successfully led him away from the press corps. It turns out that was the White House director of message planning Meghan Hays in the bunny suit. Maybe they all dressed as different festive creatures.
INGRAHAM: They had to dress her undercover, though, but otherwise it would be really bad if it's just like some staffer. But I do think, and this is not an original thought, but I do think you will have some type of customed character at most future events to perhaps move things along. Maybe the new press secretary.
ARROYO: A minder, you mean a season minder. Yes, a season minder to just move them along.
INGRAHAM: Yes, exactly.
ARROYO: And a pumpkin, it will be various teams.
If you haven't watched it yet, Laura, I'm sure you're setting your DVR to watch Showtime's "The First Lady" miniseries. This is that starry mashup of first lady's from Eleanor Roosevelt to Michelle Obama. We reported on it a few weeks ago. Well, the first episode aired, and critics as well as the public are roasting Academy Award winner Viola Davis for her attempt at becoming Michelle Obama. See what you think.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIOLA DAVIS, ACTOR: Really, John Edwards had Secret Service? What about John McCain, Mitt Romney?
You're running for president of United States, so yes, there's a little difference between you and those other candidates.
We can quit and go back to Chicago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That would be nice.
DAVIS: Hot damn.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
ARROYO: Laura, the pearl clutching from the media has been absolutely hilarious. "TIME" complained "The First Lady" is an egregiously miscast, emptily inspirational, missed opportunity." "Esquire" moaned "Davis's portrayal is downright offensive, befuddling, perma-pursed lip situation."
(LAUGHTER)
INGRAHAM: Oh, no.
ARROYO: Davis had this to say about her portrayal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIOLA DAVIS, ACTOR: It definitely is not like any other job because we're applying iconic characters. With Michelle Obama anyway, they now how she talks, how she walks, how she wears her hair, the different incarnations of her eyebrows.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
ARROYO: Laura, I just want to say this. The reason you're seeing this ferocious backlash at Viola Davis, it's not that she was particularly wrong in her portrayal. It's that Michelle Obama has been immune to impressions or satire throughout the entire eight years she was the first lady and continuing. So now you have an Academy Award winner who sees the mannerisms and the little ticks, and she exaggerates them, and it's an offensive act.
INGRAHAM: They cannot take any criticism, or not even criticism nothing. All right, Raymond, "The Obama Diaries," you forgot about that, that we wrote. Of course, they got tweaked. Lots of people online were attacking Viola Davis's makeup as well, her eyebrows. But early this is how Michelle Obama's eyebrows actually looked. Are we going to see it? Yes. So a big deal. I think she looked pretty there. I actually liked her before she had all the makeup on.
ARROYO: When Laura Benanti was doing Mrs. Trump, nobody complained. She was exaggerating features. People had a laugh, and everyone went on. Michelle Obama should be open to the same fun, and impressions.
INGRAHAM: Think of what they did to poor Nancy Reagan. They didn't care about Nancy Reagan the way she was portrayed. All right, Raymond, thank you.
Now, after police involved shooting, the usual suspects rushed in to fan the flames of the division. But are they neglecting the very voters that they claim to stand for?
Plus, as we look ahead to the midterms, the Angle is launching a new segment. We unveil it next with a look at one race in particular. Stay There.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: Last week you might have seen these videos of a police involved shooting in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In those videos that were released by the police it show that now deceased Patrick Lyoya wrestling with a police officer. The officer repeatedly ordered him to let go of his taser, at one point demanding drop the taser. As with all of these incidents, it's a horrible tragedy. But rather than seek solutions and get to the root cause of why this man was pursued and why he resisted, BLM and their media allies took a memorable and different tact.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: They won't identify the policeman. Does that mean that he has a record of doing things that are abusive?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is literally the reason for the Black Lives Matter movement. Clearly the officer was not in danger, as if that officer believed that this man's life did not matter, was not valuable.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What exactly will it take to stop this level of execution-style killing a black men and black women at the hands of law enforcement?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Now, BLM and the folks that you just heard do a huge disserve to those that they claim to be fighting for. According to the new report from Pew, violence and crime along with economic issues are black Americans' top priorities right now, something to keep in mind while watching MSNBC or reading these editorials in "The New York Times."
It's also why we're launching a new segment, "The People's Turn," where we will hear from candidates looking to win this November. And one of those is former Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon who is now running in the GOP primary for Senate. T.W., law and order as the number one issue for black Americans along with the economy, does this surprise you today?
T.W. SHANNON, (R) RUNNING FOR SENATE IN OKLAHOMA: Yes, I'm not surprised at all, Laura on my website, T.W. for Senate, we talk about this very thing, how law and order is the announcement of the day. We have liberals who have been telling African Americans for years that the only way that we can survive is dependence on government. The reality is America's not the home of systemic racism, Laura. It's the home of systemic opportunity.
And the reason African Americans are waking up to the fact that Democrats have tried to keep us on the Democrat plantation for so long, it's really because of the legacy of Donald Trump. It was Donald Trump who provided the lowest unemployment rate for African Americans. And right now public safety is the order of the day, and the Democrats have no credibility because Kamala Harris and Joe Biden ran on lawlessness of defunding the police, and they had the full support of BLM, the "black lying Marxists."
INGRAHAM: Now, FOX is reporting that a South Carolina judge set a $25,000 bond for a suspect in that mall shooting on Saturday. Now, that shooting left 14 people injured according to a Columbia Police Department report. Now, Jewayne Price, 22, is going to be on house arrest but allowed to travel to and from work while wearing an ankle monitor if he posts bond. Now, T.W., to me this is exactly example of the system failing the people - - 14 people injured, and he's out and about?
SHANNON: No, this is a travesty of justice. And when you hear the liberals talk about what the issue is, they try to pretend like the issue are guns. I come from a state where I was rated with an A rating from the NRA and where most people in Oklahoma have guns and they use them legally to protect their families because the Second Amendment guarantees that right.
But liberals would have you believe that guns of the problem. Guns aren't the problem. The problem, Laura, is really fatherlessness in the homes. When you don't have fathers in the home, it creates all sorts of issues. And this violence that we see that liberals only answer to it is more government intrusion, bigger government, more taxes. And what it has done is created a sense of lawlessness. You just take these liberal that they've made almost completely unlivable --
INGRAHAM: It's a disaster.
SHANNON: It's a disaster. And on my website, T.W. for Senate, we talk about this very thing.
INGRAHAM: T.W., we will be watching the primary race for that Senate seat in Oklahoma. Thank you.
UP next, our Wit's End segment. A famous media outlet inadvertently shows how anti-science it has actually become. Did you actually guess it? Did you tweet me @IngrahamAngle? The answer is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: Now to our new Wit's End segment. Just a few minutes ago, I asked you which famous media outlet revealed how anti-science it had become. A few of our guesses, Jericho Hardin tweeted "MSNBC. I have more comments, but I shall refrain for the moment." Christian Wareham writes "CNN. Ohh, wait, you said top media outlet." All right, guys, very funny.
The answer is, "The Washington Post." Earlier today "The Post" tweeted "As scientists study how climate change is affecting human health, pregnant people and their unborn babies are emerging as a vulnerable group." Someone should tell "The Post" about what abortion does to unborn babies born to women.
That's it for us tonight. "GUTFELD!" next.
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