Florida Governor Ron DeSantis: Biden’s policies are effectively a mass human-smuggling operation
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis joins ‘The Ingraham Angle’ discusses how he is forced to do Biden’s job.
This is a rush transcript from, "The Ingraham Angle", December 13, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: Unfortunately, that is all the time we have left tonight. As always, we thank you for being with us. You make the show possible. We hope you'll set your DVR, so you never miss an episode.
In the meantime, let not your hearts be troubled. Laura Ingraham, the 'Ingraham Angle' starts right here right now. And it's a great show.
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Do you have blue on blue tonight? Is that a light blue on a light blue? I can't really tell. It's very pastel like.
HANNITY: Yes, it's blue on blue. I just checked. I give it - there's not much thought I give to that. None.
INGRAHAM: It's a very - it's very icy. Well, my next guest has the same outfit as you, meaning because you have jeans on, right? I'm revealing my next guest, pants.
HANNITY: No, I actually have Michigan sweatpants on. You want me to be honest. I have Michigan sweatpants on.
INGRAHAM: Are you wearing crocs too? Oh, great, Hannity. I'm totally taking your fashion advice. All right. Great to see you, my friend.
HANNITY: Have a great show.
INGRAHAM: All right. I'm Laura Ingraham. This is the 'Ingraham Angle' from Washington tonight.
Governor Ron DeSantis not only has a plan for removing illegals from his state, he also has an idea of where he wants to send them. I screamed laughing when I saw this. He's here tonight with more.
Plus, Dr. Jill steps in to save her husband and Kamala's inflation era redecoration. Raymond Arroyo explains that in Seen and Unseen.
But first, the walking dead. That's the focus of tonight's 'Angle'.
Now, a political party, like a company, or maybe a sports team, or school should always have a succession plan. It's about preparing for the foreseen and unforeseen. Who could step in as the next CEO, or the next head coach, or the next school principal? How about the next Speaker of the House of the Senate Majority Leader?
Now, the Democrats have no such plan for their creaky leadership at the top, and they have a very shallow bench. Now, consider their leadership lineup. It looks like a new version of cocoon, this time set in Washington. A faltering debilitated 79-year-old president, who would be 83 at the start of his second-term.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The devastation is stunning. I mean, there's nothing less standard. I mean, they're the God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: The uninspiring 82-year-old house majority leader Steny Hoyer just announced today that he's running for his 21st term, his 21st. I saw that, I said I can't be. While Chuck Schumer is the youngster of the bunch at age 71. But he's been in Congress since I was in high school. OK. That's a long time and he hasn't changed his moves at all.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
INGRAHAM: I think that's the cha cha. And increasingly, cantankerous Nancy Pelosi is speaker who will be 82 by next year's midterms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just to get some clarity here on the social spending bill. So obviously they--
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): And what - some clarity on what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The social spending bill, the Build Back Better.
PELOSI: Oh, you're talking about the Build Back Better for the American people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
PELOSI: What we call it - ok, whatever you - however, you're referencing it is not familiar to me. I just want to know what you're talking about. Make sure you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: That's her humor, by the way. And in case you've been agonizing about how much you're going to miss her when she's gone, she's planning on running for an 18th term in Congress.
Now, considering that Pelosi is essentially making all the important domestic policy decisions for the weak and ineffective Biden White House, I can't say I blame her really. She has real power, whether or not she's in the majority.
But having a wealthy soon to be 82-year-old woman from the failing city of San Francisco leaving the Democrats after what I believe will be a 2022 GOP wipe-out, will also seem really out of touch. Don't you think? Americans know that these dinosaurs should be lumbering off into the sunset.
Now, at least Trump was only in DC for four years. Then there are people like Jim Clyburn, who's been there for 28 years. At age 81, he's in no mood to give up power. No.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): I never ask anybody to die for me. I don't know why people come saying, you need to step aside for me. No. If you want my seat, come get it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: That's the party of the future. You saw it. Yes, sure if your calendar is stuck on, I don't know, 1995. Yes, definitely. The Democrats are in a huge bind. But they will not do the hard work necessary to build their party back better.
Afraid of the squad's primary challenges perhaps, they abandon the middle and it went way radical. The results for them, politically, at least, are devastating. Biden's lost two-thirds of Americans in the inflation issue. Only 54 percent in his own party now approve of his handling of that issue. And he hit the skids among independents, a 71 percent disapproval rating. Trump would win in a landslide if the election were held today.
Look, you can't build a national movement with a woke ideology that believes in open borders, business killing regs, high taxes, coddling criminals, gender bending, racial fearmongering, anti-American hatred, and unending COVID mandates, and a partridge in a pear tree. Can't do any of that.
Now, none of this is working. None of it. The people rejected in Virginia, and almost did so in New Jersey. The blue states are being left behind, but most don't even care at this point. Even as California is losing business, they're losing population and more congressional seats as a result.
Liberal Gavin Newsom reinstituted an indoor mask mandate today. Ditto for New York Governor Kathy Hochul. I mean, this is complete madness, and it's going to hurt their economies. But they want to control their people period, no matter how unpopular it is. Both Newsom and Hochul have eliminated themselves from national office. So who else is on the Democrat bench?
Well, Cuomo's gone, but Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan; J.B. Pritzker in Illinois, both have failed spectacularly as governors. With their track records, neither would last a month in Pritzker's family business, the Hyatt hotel chain.
Hyatt it would be firing an overnight manager in Cleveland just for being rude to guests, let alone the kind of track record those two governors have. Now, as for the Democrat governors with terrific records really aren't any, certainly not compared to the Republicans. There's Ron DeSantis in Florida who will join me later in the show; Greg Abbott in Texas; Bill Lee in Tennessee; Pete Ricketts in Nebraska; Kim Reynolds in Iowa, and many more.
The GOP may have an aging Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. But it also has a slate of younger-elected officials who are energetic, conservative and smart. Whether or not Trump decides to run again, the main point is that the GOP actually has a very deep edge.
The Democrats are trying to put a good face on all this, but they know they're going to need to replace Biden. And they know that running Kamala Harris would be like getting a root canal without Novocaine, only you lose the tooth at the end.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Slow down, everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Now, what about Pete Buttigieg? Liberals, they'll say, God, (inaudible) We still have Mayor Pete.
Well, if the former mayor of South Bend is your plan B, you better be - you better be in favor of running Joe again. OK. Even if he can form a sense. Now, remember, the Democrats field was super weak in their 2020 primaries, a half lucid Biden, who bombed at every debate, barely even campaigned, lost Iowa and New Hampshire, still wiped the floor with every other Democrat running.
When I thought about that today, it's like, wow, I kind of forgot that. The only stars are the squad members, but they become kind of their own side show. More interested in brand building than in governing.
And it may not be as fun for them, frankly, with the GOP majority. The one Democrat governor who's shown some sense is Jared Polis of Colorado.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JARED POLIS (D-CO): We see it as the end of the medical emergency, frankly. People who want to be protected are. The emergency is over. So, you know, public health doesn't get to tell people what to wear. I mean, that's just not their job.
Public health would say to always wear a mask, because it always decreases flu, it always decreases anything. But that's not something that you require. You don't tell people what to wear.
If you haven't been vaccinated, that's your choice. I respect that. But it's your fault when you're in the hospital with COVID.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: But for that for the Democrats, especially a reasonable statement, the crazies in his own party are blasting him as a heretic. Now, this proves the point. The wild left-wing activist will not tolerate any deviation from their failed policies. They just love endless spending, stay-at-home orders, mask mandates, ripping down statues, and of course, the diversity, equity, inclusion curriculum in the schools.
Now, all this may make you popular, I guess, on social media. But none of it works in the real world. So Democrats are facing a difficult dilemma here. Stick with Pelosi and Biden and they'll join the walking dead with no future in politics. Go your own way. And you'll be isolated, castigated, shunned, and hounded in your own home. Hmm. And that's the 'Angle'.
Joining me now is Indiana Congressman Jim banks, Republican Study Committee Chairman; and Victor Davis Hanson, Hoover Institution Senior Fellow.
Congressman, good to see you tonight. Your reaction to the big news from the last 24 hours that Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi are both going to be holding on a little longer.
REP. JIM BANKS (R-IN): I mean, Laura, if you think about it. This has been a pretty lucrative career for Nancy Pelosi. She was worth about $3 million when she started out in Congress. Today, she's worth $200 million. So why not keep doing it? It's awfully lucrative.
But the fact of the matter is, Nancy Pelosi is older than my grandma. I love my grandma. Joe Biden is the same age as my grandma. I don't believe my grandma is capable of leading this country. She's not capable of certainly even filing my taxes. But if that's the future of the Democrat party, it tells you everything that you need to know about what - where they want to drive this country.
A very wise businessman in my district often tells me that you shouldn't put 80-year-old people in a position to make 20, 40, 50 year old - 50-year decisions for a business or for our country. And that's what the Democrats are trying to do.
INGRAHAM: Victor, speaking of grandmothers. Here was Hillary yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: The Republican Party has gone along with him. Honestly, they have hung their spines up on the wall as they walk into their offices. They have no conscience, they have no spine. It's a time to decide whether we're going to be a grown up country or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Victor, I think it's amazing to hear Hillary Clinton, who's still whining about losing the election in 2016, and reading her speeches that she didn't get to give. She's talking about growing up, isn't it time that she grows up?
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON, SENIOR FELLOW, HOOVER INSTITUTE: Well, she's in her mid 70s too. And remember, Dick Durbin, the third man in the Senate, he's 76; Bernie's 80. So they're all octogenarians or septuagenarians and they're not going to retire, Laura.
What else would they do? They've been in politics their entire life. They know they've driven the Democratic Party over the cliff. If they retire now, they're going to take a big beating in 2022-2024. They're going to be blamed for it. They got on this left-wing tiger, and they got on the back of it.
The squad, as you said, AOC, the BLM and even Antifa, they (inaudible) audit out. and they can't get off that tiger. If they were to (ph) re-run tiger and jump off, who would take their place? Some crazy people, and they know it. And they've wrecked the Democratic Party, because they didn't have a graduated retirement. They didn't bring in new people, because they were narcissists and egotist and they thought they could stay there forever.
And now they've been sabotaged or hijacked by the hard left, and they're never - all they have now, as you've reviewed, is they have January 6; Donald Trump is a monster; lockdown forever; and they've got a new one that Hillary is heading out. And they've all got Adam Schiff that if the Republicans win in 2022 or 2024, we're going to have an autocracy, a dictatorship, the end of democracy. And all that means is that the polls are against them now.
Right after the election, when Biden won, they were saying the system has been redeemed, democracy is fresh, and then they had 10 months. And they ran their poles in the ground, and they had the most unpopular agendas in recent--
INGRAHAM: Yes. Let me get back to congressman here, because--
HANSON: --the system is to blame and we don't have a coup because they're unpopular.
INGRAHAM: Victor, we said this last week. And Congressman, we said this last week, the pre-spin that has begun. Democracy isn't really democracy in the United States, there's only one party that matters. I think the Democrats could be a vibrant party if they were enforcing the border, pro- life as they used to be, started being more sensible, a little bit more centrist on some of these. They refused to. So we want a two-party system that's healthy and vigorous.
But MSNBC is already working the spin machine, because they know what's coming down the pike. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKA BRZEZINSKI, MSNBC HOST: My God. How can Democrats move forward with any election? How can Joe Biden move forward to any reelection unless he looks at the threat to our democracy that we still face right now and that is January 6, the attack on the Capitol?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: What else do they have? I mean, they don't really know what else. They have the race issue tearing down statues, abortion, porn, pot, and this I guess.
BANKS: Remember, their only agenda is power. HR-1 symbolically, their most important item that they put forward in the Congress is a bill to give them permanent power by changing election rules to give Democrats an advantage on Election Day. They make DC a state, so they get two more Democrat senators. Public financing of campaigns, so we all get the opportunity to contribute to Bernie Sanders for President every year - every four years with our tax dollars.
That's their agenda, permanent power. It's not to do anything at all to help.
INGRAHAM: But I want to jump in there, Congressman, because we were talking the other day, and I'm concerned about this as well. Republicans take power next year. Let's say that happens, and then what? Are Republicans going to be ready on day one with an agenda that they've campaigned on that's going to be able to be moved quickly? Because the Democrats were ready. They had what they wanted to do.
BANKS: And I believe that we are. I mean, it starts with big tech, it starts with securing the border. I mean, those are the issues that are--
INGRAHAM: But those are general issues. We need pieces of legislation and it needs to be clear. That's what I'm saying. It needs to be a Contract with America like document. I'm going to jump on you with that, but can't be just anti - can't just be anti-Biden, Victor. That's what I'm concerned about. Anti-Biden, anti-Pelosi, that's fine. But what are you for?
HANSON: They have an energy policy that gets us a lot more boil - barrels of oil pumped every day. We've got to go back to being the - free of the Middle East dependency. We've got to stop this critical race theory, discriminate - to end discrimination, be racist in races, and go back to Martin Luther King's content of our character, not the color of our skin.
And we've got to say, that if you're going to be in the United States, and you're going to vote in an election, you've got to be a citizen. You can't have 800,000 people that are foreign nationals voting in a city election. There should be a federal law that supersedes state laws, just as there is- -
INGRAHAM: Tax cut for the middle class. That's what Biden said. Tax cut across the border, especially for the middle class. It's got to be the first get government off the backs of the people.
Victor, Congressman, you're my first guest, like back in the studio.
Banks: It's an honor.
INGRAHAM: I think. I mean, it's one - you get a fruitcake later on. Congressman, thank you. Good to see, Victor.
And while aiding law enforcement, a man smuggling illegal slams into a mother and daughter killing them both. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick sounds off in moments. Plus, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just made a big announcement on how he'll deal with the influx of illegals in his state. He's here to tell us, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: Now, for months we've been warning that Biden's open border policies wouldn't just put a burden on our country, it would have violent consequences. And just days ago, a mother and daughter were killed when a smuggler T-boned their car after running a stop sign in Mission, Texas.
The suspect was speeding away from police, while trafficking six illegals into the United States. All seven of them have been arrested. Joining me now is Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. Dan, this story is so enraging on so many levels. It is tragic, it is needless. And it was aided and abetted by this administration.
DAN PATRICK, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF TEXAS: Laura, this hit me to my core. And I've seen a lot of death in this job as lieutenant governor from domestic shootings and police violence, and disasters. But this one hit me to my core.
Last Saturday morning at 11:30, (ph) Carmen Sosa and (inaudible), mother and daughter, 59 and 21, were sitting in the car to stop sign. Little did they know that the minutes before some wild crazy smuggler was racing through stop signs and red lights in the town of Mission right on the border. And when they pulled out from that stop sign, Laura, as you said they were T-boned and they were killed instantly.
The flame of their life put out in a moment. Their future going forever. Their family grieving. Did I see any comment from the White House? Did I see a condolence and prayers from either Biden or Kamala Harris or Mayorkas? No. Nothing. They don't care about American lives. The blood is on the hands of the president.
And Laura, this is a strong thing for me to say. But I believe it in my heart, if these policies don't change, these won't be the last people to be killed. They don't care about the smugglers and the gang members who killed innocent Americans. They don't care about law enforcement who are killed by illegals. They don't care about the flood of drugs coming in. Mayorkas, I'm asking you to resign tonight. Tonight. If you won't resign, and if, Mr. President, if you won't reach out to the family, then you have to look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, do you care at all about them?
Laura, he should come to the funeral or send Kamala Harris and look this family in the eye and say, We were wrong. We're sorry. But nothing from this White House. Nothing, not a word, like he doesn't know.
INGRAHAM: Yes. This is nothing new. This is nothing new for the Democrats. Obama didn't make calls when things happened under his watch. Again, it's pick and choose. You'll call when it advances your own narrative. Police are bad. Racism marks the entire society.
But when it comes to these border crimes, and sadly, this is just one of hundreds, if not thousands of violent - thousands and thousands of violent acts against Americans. And a lot of them Hispanic-Americans as well, which is why, frankly, as you pointed out before, they're moving toward the Republican Party in the Rio Grande Valley and all the way up the east coast as well.
PATRICK: Yes. Laura, and this isn't about politics. It's about human life. This family, by the way, they are (ph) Carmen's family in law enforcement. Her sister has retired from law enforcement and her brother-in-law. This President - this President shows that he doesn't care. He doesn't care about Americans left behind in Afghanistan, he doesn't care about what inflation is doing to the American family. He just doesn't care. He's put these radical policies of the left and open borders on the line. And people are paying a price.
You know, Laura, when our soldiers are killed in line of duty, the federal government reaches out to the family, offers condolences. Sometimes the President will go to Delaware, see the coffins, come back in. Well, I would argue that these people on the border are on the front line, Mr. President. And they deserve the same dignity from your office. So at least call that family, Mr. President.
Ask Jen Psaki tomorrow at the press conference, if the President even cares, if he knows. Carmen Sosa 59, her daughter Vera Deanna 21. They were probably sitting there at that stop sign a moment before their death by this 18-year-old smuggler racing at 70 miles an hour. He never hit the brakes when he hit them. And they were probably talking about Christmas and family and the new year ahead. And their life is gone and their future is gone, because of these policies by this President.
INGRAHAM: Well, it's horrific. And this has been - I keep saying this. But this has been happening for decades in the United States, hit and runs, DWIs. Trump was maligned for bringing this up after he came down that golden escalator. And--
PATRICK: It's worse than every, Laura.
INGRAHAM: Maybe he didn't phrase it
PATRICK: Hundreds of these happening now. (inaudible)
INGRAHAM: Yes. We got to go, Dan. We got to go. We got to get -
PATRICK: We normally have 300, about 400,000 a year. We will apprehend over 2.2 million. There'll be millions more getting in. They're infiltrating this country.
INGRAHAM: Dan, we got to go. because I got to get to DeSantis.
PATRICK: And the latest are (ph) Carmen and (inaudible).
INGRAHAM: Sorry - to DeSantis. Now, what's happening at the border isn't staying at the border. Illegals are flooding across the country. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has proposed working with bus companies to transport illegal aliens out of his state. He has a good idea for a destination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): It's somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but it is true. If you sent to Delaware or Martha's Vineyard or some of these places, that border would be secure the next day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Governor DeSantis joins me now. Governor, it's good to see you tonight. Now, critics say, this isn't about safety. It's about 2024. And to that you say?
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): So, the border is obviously a disaster. And some people say, Well, that's a problem for Texas or Arizona. Well, actually, the Biden administration puts people on planes and flies them into Florida in the wee hours of the morning. So they've done over 70 flights in the last six months, dumped people here.
And we had a few weeks ago, one of those people that (inaudible) but for Biden's recklessness. And so our view is, if they are going to be dumping, we want to be able to facilitate transfer to places like Delaware. And so we have $8 million in my new budget to be able to do that. But we also look to these carriers that the federal government's contracting with, and we're going to pass legislation that says, If you are facilitating Biden's policies, which is effectively a mass human smuggling operation, you are not going to be eligible to do business with the state of Florida, or other local governments.
And we're going to charge you restitution for each individual that you're bringing, because, yes, they're drugs, they're crimes. But you also have things with health care costs, education, all these services that get taxed because of Biden's reckless policies. And so, we have a responsibility to fight back. And that's what we're doing.
INGRAHAM: Now. I want to get to a Washington Post op-ed that came out tonight. I know you won't be surprised to hear this. "Ron DeSantis is paving his path to the White House on the backs of vulnerable migrant children" You're laying the groundwork to kick vulnerable migrant children out of Florida shelters. Not about public safety, it's about matching other presidential hopefuls' performative cruelty to immigrant children.
As Dan Patrick just noted, congressman, as Dan Patrick just noted, did the lives of the American people or legal immigrants matter at all to these Democrats? Because they're being impacted?
DESANTIS: Yes, exactly. So in Florida, if you house a foster child in Florida, you get paid a lot less than what the federal government pays for bringing people from the southern border from foreign countries. So my view is, let's use our resources to help kids who need help in the state of Florida, American kids, Floridians. Let's not be a repository for people coming from all over the world, illegally through the southern border, and then brought to the state of Florida.
So, focusing on your citizens first, I think is common sense. And we want it to be, we do not want to facilitate Biden's reckless policies in any way, shape, or form. Their policies are wrong and if the States band together and do things like Florida is proposing to do, it would be more likely that they're going to have to reverse course. But if you're facilitating, then they're going to continue to do what they're doing.
INGRAHAM: Now, Governor, really quickly, on this issue of mask mandates, I know you've rejected them across the board. What's your reaction tonight to both Newsom in California and Hochul in New York going back to mask mandates with this Omicron, which seems to be, thankfully, so far, a mild virus -- and that's the data we have so far on that -- what's your reaction to the blue states' reaction to this?
DESANTIS: What are we on, like day 700 of the 15 days to slow the spread? The fact of the matter is, I think we've learned, you give these people an inch, they will never let go. They are going to take a mile, they are going to restrict, they are going to mandate, they are going to lock you down. And we cannot accept that. Obviously, in Florida we do not accept it. So there's no reason to be restricting or mandating anybody throughout our country.
And the fact that this is still going on in these blue states and may even intensify over the coming weeks and months, it just shows you if you value your freedom, in 2022 if you are in those states, you can make your voice heard and you've got to do a change of direction, because I fear that they're going to continue to do this until they suffer at the ballot box.
INGRAHAM: Yes, New York has now a higher case rate than Florida, Governor. New York City, New York City, just to be specific about that.
DESANTIS: Yes, and so here's the thing, Laura. It's a seasonal pattern. Southern states have a different season. Northern states are going through their season. Mandates and restrictions have not been effective, but they've been very costly. And I think the proof is in the pudding. You have people that want to come to Florida to vacation, buy homes. You don't have the opposite where people are leaving free states to try to go to New York or some of these other places.
INGRAHAM: Governor DeSantis, great to see you tonight, thanks so much for joining us.
And Biden finally sits for a big interview on late night, and the first lady tries to save her husband. "Seen and Unseen," Raymond Arroyo, in the studio next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: It's time for our "Seen and Unseen" segment where we reveal the big cultural stories of the day. And for that we turn to FOX News contributor, and if you didn't know, he's the author of the "The Spider Who Save Christmas," haven't heard that before, Raymond Arroyo. Raymond, after months, Biden finally sat down for a big interview, I heard.
RAYMOND ARROYO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: He did, with that probing journalist, Jimmy Fallon. On a Friday night. PBS cooking shows, Laura, get more eyeballs than they show did. But it was perfectly timed to hide Biden's confusion. Fallon raised the important issues, like how wonderful it was to see Biden at the Kennedy Center Honors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Trump arm of the Republican Party, which seems to be the Republican Party now, did not even show up at the Kennedy Center. They wouldn't go to the awards.
JIMMY FALLON, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Your bringing class back to the office.
BIDEN: You're very kind to say that.
FALLON: And I thought it was amazing that you did that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARROYO: When did attending the Kennedy Center Honors become a constitutional prerequisite for the president?
INGRAHAM: First of all, amazing that you did that, that you took the motorcade about four minutes to get to the Kennedy Center?
ARROYO: And talk about this, in 2017, as we said last week, Norman Lear, then a Kennedy Center honoree, refused to attend if Trump shut up. So Trump, to honor the Kennedy Center, said OK, I'll just stay home so we don't disrupt your gathering. But look, when it got to the actual topics, Laura, Biden had to check his notes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: How much do you pay attention to approval ratings?
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, not anymore.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: People are afraid, people are worried, and so they are -- you know, they're being told that, you know, Armageddon is on the way.
One of the things that I find, Jimmy, and I think you really would associate with this, and I think most Republicans -- there's an awful lot of Republicans in Congress I think would agree with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: What?
ARROYO: Throughout the interview he lost his way repeatedly. He would occasionally just trail off. And Jimmy gleefully went on to the next question. But there are serious consequences, Laura, for performances like this. Our allies and our enemies are watching. And this is why his domestic agenda is having so many problems. He is falling apart, and politically he's tanking.
INGRAHAM: Well, he's doing all this crazy stuff because Pelosi is running domestic policy, so she is all captive to the squad, so she's just doing the radical stuff. Meanwhile, Biden is just like get me through the day. Get me through the day.
ARROYO: But Laura, they sent first lady Jill Biden out, and she was quizzed on CBS about her husband's obvious mental decline. She was having none of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Quite a few Americans have some questions about the president's current mental fitness. As somebody who spends -- I can see you shaking your head. So what's your response to that?
JILL BIDEN, U.S. FIRST LADY: I think that's ridiculous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARROYO: That's it, no follow-up. No follow-up.
INGRAHAM: OK.
ARROYO: Moments later, Biden joins his wife, and Rita Braver and Dr. Jill had to rescue him. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Every time a helicopter lands when we get out and I come home from wherever I am, she is standing on the balcony. I'm serious.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're a lucky man.
BIDEN: I am. I am a lucky man.
JILL BIDEN, U.S. FIRST LADY: Smile.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: She says Joe, you're too emotional.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARROYO: Smile, Laura. Imagine if someone were giving emotional cues -- stand up, Laura, smile, look sad, Laura. This is so bad for him. It looks like he's being coerced and told what to do and when to do it. But you saw the dead space.
INGRAHAM: There is a pattern in older gentleman who do get quite emotional at odd moments.
ARROYO: You mean like Boehner when he hit that fifth wine of the afternoon.
INGRAHAM: John Boehner -- John Boehner would cry the second time he had to mow the lawn on a day.
(LAUGHTER)
INGRAHAM: Don't worry. Raymond, I do not want you to worry about that, because Kamala Harris is ready to assume the presidency. She was out doing some important work today at an electric car charging event in Maryland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's it.
HARRIS: OK. There we are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's it.
HARRIS: And there's no sound or fumes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARROYO: I love how she's holding the cord of the electric charger, like she's pumping gas. No sound or fuel. Welcome to electricity, Madam V.P. Wait until she comes across a curling iron. Wow, the heat, no fumes.
But we may be underestimating Kamala here, Laura. Last week she launched, and it's cruel of you not to have covered this --
INGRAHAM: Sorry.
HARRIS: She launched a huge initiative that got way too little coverage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am issuing a nationwide call to action to both the public and the private sector. Our Department of Health and Health Services, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, are launching a new initiative to designate birthing-friendly hospitals. So this is a brand-new designation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARROYO: Brand-new, Laura.
INGRAHAM: No one's ever had babies before.
ARROYO: No woman understood how to find obstetric or neonatal care until now. Thank goodness this day of action. I know you all were leaping into action to locate those birthing centers in your community. What is she talking about?
INGRAHAM: First of all, Raymond, their party and the trial lawyers who pour money into it, are the reason we have so few OB-GYNs left in the United States.
ARROYO: Right. And when we're pushing money to abort children, what you need a birthing center for? We'll leave it there. Great to be back.
INGRAHAM: Birth men and birth mother --
ARROYO: Birthing people.
INGRAHAM: Birthing people. All right, Raymond, thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
INGRAHAM: And the world is paralyzed by fear over a new COVID variant that we know is more mild, but why is that? Our medicine cabinet has answers in moments. Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should we be expecting yearly boosters?
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER: If it becomes necessary to get yet another boost, then we will just have to deal with it when that occurs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Spoiler alert, Fauci and friends will almost certainly push yearly boosters, but of course he's ignoring the latest science. A new CDC analysis of 43 Americans, that's a small group, but that's what we have, they were infected by the Omicron variant, found that 34 of them were fully vaccinated. That includes 14 individuals who were fully vaxxed and boosted. Meanwhile, only six people with natural immunity caught the variant.
Why is that? And Oxford University study published today found that two dose COVID-19 vaccines generate a lower antibody response against the Omicron strains, suggesting that the variant could lead to more infections among the fully vaccinated.
Joining me now is Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Stanford School of Medicine professor, and Dr. Kirk Milhoan, pediatric cardiologist. Dr. Milhoan, is this a stunning study, or is it too small to really tell us much?
DR. KIRK MILHOAN: No, I don't think it's stunning or too small. I think this is early in the state of a new variant, and we are seeing some interesting data, which is what you would expect. You would expect as there are now 30 mutations of the Omicron variant, you would imagine that a vaccine that was prepared against the legacy, pre-Delta coronavirus, that you would expect it to not be as successful.
What it would have liked to see in that U.K. study is that they would have actually tested the serum of those who have been previously infected and see how that did against the Omicron variant.
INGRAHAM: Yes, well, they didn't do that, and they tend not to do that, as we have discussed before, because they don't want to really look at the natural immunity question. But Fauci hit the Sunday show talk circuit, Dr. Bhattacharya, to continue to push the vaccines on kids. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER: If your child is five years of age and older, please get them vaccinated. We need to protect the children. This idea that children are not vulnerable at all is not so, George. The number of cases of children, now well over 2 million children from five to 11 have been infected. There have been over 8,000 to 9,000 hospitalizations, and well over 100 deaths.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Dr. Bhattacharya, he just kind of undermined his own argument, did he not, by highlighting how rare it is for children to have severely adverse effects to this virus?
DR. JAY BHATTACHARYA, STANFORD UNIVERSITY EPIDEMIOLOGIST: Yes, I mean, children, thank God, have been relatively protected from the severe disease from this virus, even without a vaccine. There's a thousandfold difference in the risk of severe disease and death from children to old age, older people being much, much, much more affected by this infection.
He is playing on a straw man. He's saying that children can be infected. No one ever doubted that. The issue is, do they respond to this infection with a severe outcome? And the answer is they don't. He's fearmongering again to parents for reasons I do not understand. We should be assuring parents that, compared to other things like the flu or many, many other risks that children face, COVID is not among the most severe that children face. They should be getting back to normal life.
INGRAHAM: Well, I want to play something by this woman named Elie Mystal on MSNBC tonight, Dr. Milhoan, because apparently now the blame shifting after a year of a lot of deaths with a vaccine goes back to Trump. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIE MYSTAL, JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT, "THE NATION": A monstrous thing that we have to wrestle with is a country is that allowing people to die COVID was a policy choice by Donald Trump. It is now a policy choice by the Republican Party. We are now getting into the realm of crimes against humanity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Dr. Milhoan, the man is totally unhinged. Crimes against humanity last year? What does this mean?
MILHOAN: I'm not sure what this all means, but if I consider a crime against humanity, I would consider that we haven't explored other ways and promoted early treatment of those who are infected. I see hope in our medical creativity in this situation. We've had almost two years -- we've almost had really a year of vaccines, but for those of us who are going and seeing patients in their homes and seeing them in our clinics, with the legacy we tried one thing, much from Dr. McCullough's work and Dr. Zelenko's work, and then as Delta came, we shifted some, changed the doses with success. And now with Omicron I feel that we'll do the same thing. If we need to change our early treatment, we will do that.
But I think the concern for me is that the only hope that seems to be coming out of a lot of the medical community is vaccine. What about early treatment, helping these people? I go see these people all the time, and they were sent home with no treatment. Some of the basic things I use our basic asthma meds.
INGRAHAM: And we've talked about this before, but it bears repeating, Dr. Bhattacharya. From the very beginning when we were fighting on this issue back in March of 2020, we were having frontline docs tell us is a vitamin d deficiency in most of these patients, zinc deficiency. They were using things from hydroxychloroquine, then ivermectin, steroids. There was a whole range of treatments that were either banned or summarily discounted. Why?
BHATTACHARYA: I don't know the answer to that question, Laura. But I can tell you there are now early treatment that are not controversial. For instance, Governor DeSantis, who you had on the show earlier, promoted the use of monoclonal antibodies, which are, you know, NIH -- FDA approved, NIH documented.
So I think that kind of thing should have been part of our toolkit from the beginning. The NIH actually has a trial they are doing on ivermectin that's due to be completed in March of 2023. It should have been an all-hands-on- deck effort to evaluate these treatments from the very earliest of the epidemic.
INGRAHAM: There was only one path, and it went through the big pharma companies. There was only one path for these people from the beginning. Doctors, great to see you both. Thank you.
Up next, an inspiring moment comes out of a terrible tragedy. The Last Bite.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: In the wake of the horrific tornadoes that devastated the Midwest, south last week, one Kentucky man decided to make something really beautiful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: You can support the victims of this terrible disaster by donating to the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund. The website is listed below. Pray for these people.
I'm Laura Ingraham.
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