Tucker: American citizens are getting punished

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Tucker: American citizens are getting punished

Fox News host reacts to Biden banning Russian oil and natural gas imports on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'

This is a rush transcript of "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on March 8, 2022. 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.

You may have noticed that Joe Biden announced today a new front in his ongoing war against America's middle class. Biden didn't frame it that way, of course, Democrats rarely say what they mean. They tell you, it's about something else.

In this case, Biden told us it was about Vladimir Putin. Biden explained that we're going to hurt Putin by making it illegal for Americans to buy Russian energy. This, he said will amount to a massive moral victory for us, we're going to feel great about ourselves. And at the same time, it will be a crushing defeat for the Russians who, of course deserve it.

So it's one of those rare occasions when we could see the good guys win, and the bad guys lose. Hurray.

Around Washington, you could almost hear the feverish applause as Biden finished speaking, every constituency loved it. The media agreed that Joe Biden had never seen more presidential. Democratic officials seem deeply relieved, for once they could talk about something other than COVID and the Southern border. They'd rather be on offense than defense.

Republican leaders, meanwhile, seemed happiest of all. They barked like seals. Finally a chance to sound tough and decisive without making CNN angry. Thank you, Joe Biden, we can all be John McCain now.

You rarely see unity like this in a city is divided as Washington. The unity was so heavy, in fact, so delightful and intoxicating that no one remembered to ask the most basic question: Why exactly are we doing this? What's the point?

Is the point to bankrupt Vladimir Putin? That might be worth doing. But this won't do it. Putin already has ready markets around the world for his oil, starting in China, in India, and Turkey. So that's not going to work. Maybe the point is to force Russian troops to withdraw from Ukraine. That would definitely be worth doing. But no, that's not the point either.

Joe Biden will typically say absolutely anything, but even Joe Biden didn't claim today that sanctioning Russian oil will end the war in Ukraine because it won't.

So, who exactly are these sanctions aimed at? Think about it. If you want to identify the target of a penalty, consider who is going to suffer most from it. And in this case, the answer could not be clearer. It's middle income Americans. They're the ones who were crushed for two years under COVID restrictions. They're the ones who are about to be pummeled by shutting down more energy sources.

Notice a theme here? The people in charge hate the middle class, above all.

So it's not Vladimir Putin who is getting punished, it is American citizens, it's you. That's not speculation. Gas prices are already the highest they have ever been in history and they are about to get even higher, potentially much, much higher.

So are the price of natural gas and the price of electricity and food and everything else you buy that has to be transported more than a hundred yards from where it was made, which is to say every single thing in your life.

This is not good news for you, no matter what Washington is currently claiming. You are about to get a lot poorer, that's guaranteed.

You'll notice as you watch this clip that that is the one thing that somehow Joe Biden forgot to mention today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, I'm announcing the United States is targeting the main artery of Russia's economy. We are banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy.

That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at U.S. ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to Putin's war machine. It's simply not true that my administration or policies are holding back domestic energy production. That's simply not true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So lying by omission is pretty simple. You just don't mention the truth. You heard Biden do that just there, but it takes something else very different. Whether it's chutzpah or delusion or senility, or whatever else explains Joe Biden's behavior. It takes something like that to tell a lie like the one you just heard at the end of Biden's statement, quote, "It's simply not true that my administration or policies are holding back domestic energy production."

Oh, but it simply is true. It's demonstrably true and everyone knows it. On his first day in office, Biden single handedly killed the Keystone XL pipeline. Then just days before Russia invaded Ukraine, weirdly, Biden's administration shut down all new energy leases and permits on Federal land. That happened.

Vladimir Putin did not do that. Joe Biden did it.

Watch Biden's publicist try to explain that actually preventing domestic energy production, which they have done, is very different from holding back domestic energy production. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Let me give you the facts here and I know that can be inconvenient, but I think they're important in this moment.

To the contrary, we have -- we have been clearer that in the short term, supply must keep up with the demand where we are and here and around the world when we make the shift to secure clean energy future. We are one of the largest producers with a strong domestic oil and gas industry, we have actually produced more oil. It is at record numbers, and we will continue to produce more oil.

There are 9,000 approved drilling permits that are not being used. So, the suggestion that we are not allowing companies to drill is inaccurate. The suggestion that that is what is hindering or preventing gas prices to come down is inaccurate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: "Let me give you the facts here." Now, when they say that, you know the lies are coming, and indeed in this case, they arrived promptly. "Because oil companies have not used all the permits they've received," Jen Psaki told us that means, this is their fault. They're not trying hard enough to produce energy. They could but they don't want to.

But wait a second, Jen Psaki, what if there is no oil or gas underneath the permitted land. In that case, energy producers would want permits for land where the energy is. It turns out, they don't want dry wells, they want wells that flow, but they're not getting them, thanks to the Green New Deal lobby that completely controls this administration, they can't get those permits.

And that's what's happening here, and if you doubt it, ask anyone who works in the energy business. Jen Psaki just lied to you. They are all lying to you, you probably guess that already. But you can't say it because if you wonder what these policies may be doing to your country, or to your family, you are selfish and disloyal.

In fact, you're unpatriotic because real patriotism is caring about Ukraine first. And by the way, caring about Ukraine means prolonging a bloody war in Ukraine, until the entire country of Ukraine has been destroyed and millions of Ukrainians are refugees. We know we can do it because we did it in Iraq. We can do it in Ukraine. That's patriotism.

Once you spell it out, it all sounds kind of complicated. So we're going to hand it over to our late night moral leader, Stephen Colbert to explain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT: Today, the average gas price in America hit an all-time record high of over $4.00 per gallon. Okay? That's things, but a clean conscience is worth a buck or two. I'm willing to pay.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]

COLBERT: It is important, it's important. I'm willing to pay $4.00 a gallon. Hell, I'll pay $15 a gallon, because I drive a Tesla.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Well, turns out a guy who makes $16 million a year is willing to pay a little more for gas, if that's the right thing to do. He's willing to make that sacrifice, because that's the kind of caring and decent man Stephen Colbert is.

Now, it's true, as you just heard, he doesn't actually use gasoline, he drives $150,000.00 electric car, but he will do it anyway. He's the kind of man who will take you out to dinner and let you pay. And at the end, he'll let you leave a big tip, because he cares about the server.

Sometimes Stephen Colbert reminds us life is about making tough moral choices, and that's especially true now.

If at the end of this project, this protracted exercise and social reorganization achieved through COVID plus a war with Russia, if at that point, wherever it is, we no longer have a self-sufficient middle class, if people who make under 100 grand a year are more desperate and demoralized and dependent on government than they've ever been, if the only Americans who remain truly free at that point are the oligarchs, well, at least we can say we helped democracy.

When Mark Zuckerberg controls everything in America, you will know it's a truly democratic system.

Justin Trudeau understands this. He ran over members of his middle class with horses because that's what it took to preserve democracy in Canada. And then he went farther, he seized truckers' bank accounts, and then he shut down a coffee shop that served people who didn't vote for him. That's what democracy looks like.

Elizabeth Warren was excited when she saw this kind of democracy at work. Warren knows if we are going to preserve democracy in America, if we're going to fight Russia, then Elizabeth Warren is going to need fingertip control of your family's finances now and always. And by the way, don't try and hide anything from Elizabeth Warren say in cryptocurrency, because if you do, Elizabeth Warren will know you are working for Vladimir Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): As I mentioned earlier, we're going after two things, trying to squeeze the Russian economy and also trying to squeeze those oligarchs, right?

The problem is we're doing that only through the formal banking system, and a really good job on that and that is very effective. It's historic. I am a hundred percent behind it.

But there's a hole in the dike here, and the hole is crypto.

In other words, you've got to pick it, crypto. If you want to continue to trade and provide the trading platforms and so on and the wallets, you can do business in Russia or you can do business in the United States. But you can't do business in both.

CARLSON: Here's an idea: Let's keep dumb people and crazed partisan demagogues away from our financial system and our power grid. They can keep the Sociology Department, have fun, but why don't you stay away from the fundamentals that keep the country running. How does that sound? That was the arrangement for decades, but no longer.

You must submit to total personal control by irresponsible lunatics like Elizabeth Warren, or you can serve Russia as she put it, quote: "You can't do business in both."

And by the way, you better not complained about this. Good Americans love higher gas prices. They love suffering for a cause they don't understand. CNN looked into it and that's what they found. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People we've spoken to over the last couple weeks, they're okay paying higher prices, if it means holding Russia accountable for what they are doing in Ukraine, but these prices are likely going to creep higher.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: It turns out Americans are delighted to be poor and helpless. They love it. Because poverty means holding Russia accountable. Not Putin's poverty, that's not going to happen, your poverty.

Well, how exactly does your poverty hold Putin accountable? CNN didn't ask that question. But the polling company, Rasmussen did ask, that's what they do. They asked this question, quote: If a wider war breaks out in Europe, should the U.S. military be involved? Pretty simple question.

The answer was not simple, though. The answer varied by income. This may not surprise you. The people who actually fight our wars, the people making under 30 grand a year, were overwhelmingly opposed to this war, only 37 percent of them supported military action.

And then it changed going up. The richer and more cut off from physical reality people got, the more ardently they supported war with Russia. And it turns out, that's the subset you see. Those are the people on television. The people with fake jobs and inherited money, they're totally for it.

And they are for it, because you're going to pay no cost, but they'll still get a feel virtuous about promoting it. Then they'll tune into Stephen Colbert at night with a clean heart.

As for the Americans who will do the actual fighting, and then the suffering here at home, they don't count. Because in a democracy, you can safely ignore the middle class. And so our leaders are doing that. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): But the truth is, which we should be thinking about the fact that when Americans go to fill up their cars, that they should think about sticking it to Putin, when they put that gas hand panel in your gas tank, it's going to cost a little more and part of its going to be because of Russia, and just stick it to Putin.

REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): Now, here in America, we've got to be ready for the fact that will drive up oil prices, that will drive up gas prices and if we're really standing with Ukraine, we have to be prepared to absorb that.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Ban all Russian imports into the United States in terms of oil and gas. Four percent of our oil supply comes from Russia, we can easily make that up. So what we haven't done yet, is go after oil and gas sector in Russia. That's the Achilles heel to Putin's war machine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: They don't care about you at all. They have complete contempt for you and your interest. Notice, they don't even bother to apologize to you for what they're about to do to you and your family, which will change your life. We are not overstating it. And who are they?

The first two men you saw on that montage were Democrats. The third was Lindsey Graham and we'll let you decide what he is, apart from utterly loathsome, obviously.

But we have to tell you that virtually every elected Republican in Washington, D.C. is fully on board with this, which is another way of saying they are totally committed to screwing their own supposed constituency, which would be America's shrinking desperate middle class. Those are the people who vote Republican and this is what they get in return.

No apology. Shafted.

It's hard to remember a betrayal at this scale. And yes, we have been here before, by the way. We've been in conflict with Russia for a long time. The United States traded with the Russians through the height of the Cold War, when the Soviet Union and the United States had nuclear weapons pointed right at each other, and we worried one might go off.

We traded with Joseph Stalin in the middle of his terror at the very moment he was murdering four million, yes, Ukrainians. That happened. And then we armed Stalin, we armed the Soviet Army as he was killing Ukrainians, and "The New York Times" endorsed all of it.

But now, because Putin invaded Ukraine, effectively encouraged by the Biden administration to do that, which is true, because that happened. We are going to send billions of dollars to the Saudi theocracy, and then to the Iranians, and then to Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.

And at the same time, we're going to embrace green energy, which means giving the government of China complete control over a power grid here in America. That's our plan. Are you confused by it? Don't be. It's a moral victory. Let us know when you get tired of winning.

John Tammy is an economist. He is the Director of the Center for Economic Freedom at FreedomWorks. He joins us tonight.

John, thanks so much for coming on. I have so many questions.

The first is, you know I'm not an economist unlike you. I don't see how this crushes Vladimir Putin. No one is even pretending it will cause the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine. If it did, I'd be open minded, it won't.

So what is the purpose here? Do you know?

JOHN TAMMY, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR ECONOMIC FREEDOM, FREEDOMWORKS: Well, as you well know, it's not lost on you that war is always in everywhere of the health of the state. And so we have this humanitarian disaster occurring over there for the Russian people and the Ukrainian people, and the elites won't suffer it in Russia.

In the United States, we have a Biden administration staffed by individuals who will never suffer the pain at the pump, who will never suffer higher grocery prices who are actively getting in the way of the ability of the American people to trade with others overseas to import certain goods and services.

And so basically, we have a scenario whereby government expands its power always and everywhere at the expense of the American people. And certainly during wars. Wars are the oxygen for the state and its growth.

CARLSON: Well, that is so true. Wars are engines of change. So if you have designs on changing a country's structure, its economic and social structure, war is the perfect engine to leverage to get that done, or am I making this up in my mind? Or is that the lesson of history?

TAMMY: No, the lesson of history is very clear that the war is the engine of the state's growth for expanding its power to do things, to do things that it couldn't do in an otherwise troubled times. In this case, we have a President who wants to change the subject about his policies, about his presidency so far. So here's the opportunity to take massive control over where American companies trade, where individuals trade.

I mean, America -- we can talk about big business, small business, but bigness employs a lot of people. And so ask yourself the question, suddenly, so many businesses are pulling out their activities in Russia. Does that hurt or help the typical American worker? I submit to you that it hurts the typical American worker.

CARLSON: Well, sure. I mean, this is the same rhetoric we heard after George Floyd died, another sad event that was real. The invasion of Ukraine is real. It is very sad.

But they told us, we're doing this to help Black people. I don't notice Baltimore getting better or Detroit getting better at all. I noticed the people who force the change getting more powerful and richer.

Why is that not the same thing that's going on now? Are we really helping Ukrainians? Seriously?

TAMMY: Oh, of course we're not helping the Ukrainians. What about this helps the Ukrainian people? And we're hearing about, well, we're going to cut off Russian exports to the United States in terms of gasoline. Well, as you pointed out, the gasoline market and the oil market is a global market. The very notion that we can starve the Russians by saying you can't sell here, the gas is going to flow. The oil is going to flow somewhere.

And so, it is pure symbolism that makes it apparent that Biden is doing something, when in fact all he's doing is expanding his footprint, his control the American economy.

When has that ever worked in history, that you give the state more power over the massive miracle and complication in his economic activity? It's never worked and it won't work this time.

CARLSON: I think that's really smart. We're going to hurt the other guy. No, they're going to hurt you and Republicans are going along with it and at some point, we are going to read all their names because they deserve to be punished for the betrayal, I would say.

John, great to see you tonight. Thank you so much.

TAMMY: Thanks for having me.

CARLSON: So the Biden administration's solution to rising gas prices is you should be Stephen Colbert. Why don't you have $150,000.00 electric car? What's wrong with you? That's Pete Buttigieg's solution. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Clean transportation can bring significant cost savings for the American people as well. Last month, we announced a $5 billion investment to build out a nationwide electric vehicle charging network so that people from rural to suburban to urban communities can all benefit from the gas savings of driving an EV.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Imagine being someone who makes under a hundred grand a year and having to watch that character sneer at you on television, patronize you, someone who has never done anything in his life, who has no discernible skills of any kind telling you, you've got to change your life. And don't worry, you'll be better. Learn to code.

Casey Hendrickson has watched that man up close for a long time. He's a radio show host in South Bend, which Buttigieg once ran into the ground. Casey, thanks so much for joining us tonight. So why don't you just buy -- why don't you stop whining and buy a Tesla?

CASEY HENDRICKSON, RADIO SHOW HOST IN SOUTH BEND: Well, yes. Well, they don't even want you to buy a Tesla because the tax credit doesn't even go to Tesla. It only goes to UAW made electric vehicles anyway. Oh, and electric vehicles really suck in the snow. It's very cold here in Michiana, in the South Bend region.

And again, if you are a farmer, shouldn't he know that, Tucker, he's from a farming state. You kind of live far away from civilization and electric vehicles kind of make that a problem, don't they?

CARLSON: So how -- yes, how exactly are -- I mean, most farms are enormous. They're owned by big companies and they are complete mechanized is an understatement. So, all those farm vehicles are going to be powered by what? By batteries?

Where does the food come from, Casey, do we know?

HENDRICKSON: Well, exactly. Farmers have a lot of debt. You know they pay a lot of money for their equipment. They don't need to be going out there and buying even more expensive things that don't work in the snow and don't work in the sticks and don't work very well in the mud, so that way they can get to the store where they can pay more for food and more for their basic daily supplies and necessities that Pete Buttigieg doesn't have to worry about because he gets a lot of money and a cushy government job.

CARLSON: If someone came to you and said, I want to be your financial advisor and you say: Well, what's your track record? Well, I've lost billions. You would say, you can't be my financial -- can be my friend, but you can't be my financial advisor.

Does Pete Buttigieg have any discrete achievement that you're aware of that qualifies him to change our energy grid for all time?

HENDRICKSON: Yes, there is nothing in Pete Buttigieg's resume that says he is successful at anything other than running away from problems. That's what he's always done and that is what he has done as Transportation Secretary. That's what we warned everybody would happen and that's exactly what his record as Transportation Secretary has been.

But it's good to know that the brave fart sniffers out there in Los Angeles and New York like Colbert who are super rich, it's great to know that they can afford $150,000.00 electric car. But if you're struggling to afford $4.00 and $5.00 a gallon gas, guess what? You can't buy that expensive electric car.

CARLSON: Yes, they don't care about the population. If you treated your kids the way they treat Americans, your kids have been rehabbed. That's true.

Casey, I appreciate coming on tonight. Thanks.

HENDRICKSON: The political class versus all of us, Tucker. Thank you.

CARLSON: That is clearly what's going on. Thank you.

We've got a FOX News Alert for you. A new video into FOX News just a few moments ago, it shows big explosions in the sky over Ukraine, hard to know exactly what is happening, so the best way is to check in with our team on the ground like Lucas Tomlinson and Benjamin Hall. We're going to go first to Ben Hall who is Kyiv tonight.

Benjamin, what do you see?

BENJAMIN HALL, FOX NEWS CHANNEL, FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hi, Tucker. Well look, across the past day, we've seen an increase in shelling around where we are in Kyiv. The sense that they really are moving towards the capital city now. Some people are saying that it could happen, an assault far sooner than people had previously thought. So we're waiting for that tonight.

And as you say, big explosions across the country from the north to the east to the south. This, as humanitarian aid struggles to get to the places it is needed, and people struggle to get out. Take a look at this one explosion that we just -- that has just come online now.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

HALL: Meanwhile, in the city of Sumy, shortly before a humanitarian convoy managed to get out about 3,500 people, 21 civilians were killed in a single attack on the city. Rescuers desperately trying to find survivors there in the rubble of this collapsed building. In the city of Kharkiv, similar scenes as 27 civilians were killed.

Russia has also hit a number of critical infrastructure targets today -- pipelines, cell phone towers, and this oil depot in the Zhytomyr region, which led to a huge blaze.

Putin's attempt to control infrastructure gives him yet another weapon in his arsenal. In the same way that he seeks to control the nuclear stations, it gives him power to shut off the gas and electricity as he wishes.

It is freezing cold in Ukraine at the moment, the ability to turn off the heat in the dead of winter is a real weapon that he can use, and it is feared he will -- Tucker.

CARLSON: Benjamin Hall. We'll be getting more live reports from Ukraine as warranted later this hour.

So of all the people who've seen weigh in on Ukraine, maybe none has put the American position more succinctly or expressed it more wisely than a man called Bryce Mitchell. We played a portion of his comments on this show yesterday.

Bryce Mitchell is a cattle farmer from Arkansas. He's also a fairly well known UFC fighter.

Last week, he was asked: What do you think about Ukraine and here's part of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYCE MITCHELL, UFC FIGHTER: I'm not going nowhere to fight none of these works for these politicians. I'm staying at home and when the war comes to Arkansas, I will dig my boots in the ground and I will die for everything I love and I will not retreat.

If this country is invaded and everybody is saying, we've got to evacuate. We've got to leave. We've got to -- I will not. I will dig my boots in Arkansas soil and I will fight for the people that I love, for the land that I love and a way life that I love, but I'm not going overseas to fight.

I don't know what's going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: A lot of people you see on TV would leave instantly if we were invaded. There has been polling on it. It shows it pretty clearly. You should pay attention to people who wouldn't leave, who'd fight for their country and for their people, the ones they love.

Bryce Mitchell is obviously in that category. He won his fight on Saturday, we should tell you. He promised to give half the purse to a charity in Arkansas to help children with medical conditions. We are honored to have Bryce Mitchell join us tonight.

Bryce, thanks so much for coming on and for what you said.

I haven't seen anybody express it better than you did. Why did you say that?

MITCHELL: Well, thank you so much for having me, brother.

And I said that because that's the first thing that I thought when he asked me. And I was trying to give him the best answer that I could and that's just my genuine thoughts on the subject.

CARLSON: How do you get to be so honest, when everyone else is afraid to say what they think, and you just kind of say it?

MITCHELL: Well, I don't have to be worried about being fired from my job for saying what I want to say.

There's a lot of people out there that do agree with me, but they can't say things that I get to say, even though they think them. They will get fired from their job if they come out and say it.

CARLSON: That is...

MITCHELL: Dana White is pretty good with how he lets us talk and say what we want.

CARLSON: That is -- that is absolutely right, and a fair thing to say.

Now, people who say what you have said are often denounced as unpatriotic or traitors to their country. Does that confuse you, since the first thing you said was, I will fight and die for Arkansas?

MITCHELL: That'd be the greatest honor I could ever have, brother. So I'm far from not being a patriot, you know, that would be the greatest thing I could do, is die defending this land. So I'm not afraid to do that.

I'm just not wanting to go waste my life fighting for some of these battles that I don't even believe in, where I believe our leaders, a lot of these elites, are guilty of treason. What they have done is just treasonous.

And I'm sure you know what I'm talking about a little bit.

CARLSON: It's funny that they're accusing you of treason.

Why do you think almost everyone in the media, and I mean almost everybody, in both political parties, and of course, the White House, are all on the same page that you need to get behind this war with Russia? Why is that so important to them? Do you have any sense?

MITCHELL: Well, I don't exactly know what their agenda is with the whole war on Russia.

But I do know that all that money that's going to the Biden family through Hunter Biden, he's not -- he doesn't have the merit for that position he's got over there. They have used our tax dollars to bribe him a job.

If me or you did what Nancy Pelosi did and got millions in stocks, we'd go to prison for insider trading. But she does it, and she's filthy rich. So, these -- their families are getting very greatly compensated while they're taxing us to death. Inflation is higher than ever. They closed down all of our pipelines, and wonder why the price of oil has gone through the roof.

These people are trying to destroy our country, because they are profiting off the downfall of our country. And if you all don't see what's going on, you are blinded. Every day, our inflation gets worse, our debt gets worse. Our actual currency is controlled by a small group called the Federal Reserve that ain't federal and ain't a reserve.

So, it's insidious in nature. It's made to control. We have a lot of problems. And it's going to take a lot of things to fix it.

CARLSON: It's amazing. It's amazing what you're saying, all of which is, in my view, true.

So, for our viewers who aren't familiar with you, because we were so struck by that clip that we played last night and part of it tonight, we wanted -- we've got another clip. This is you training at your ranch in Arkansas. We're going to play it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITCHELL: I'm training here all the time when nobody is looking. I've got a log out there I curl, and then I lift it over my head. And then I run in a circle. And then I'll fill up the wheelbarrow with dirt and push it around.

The number one reason I won't go to a big gym is because of the secrecy. Your plans need to be dark as night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So, that's where you live.

So, I mean, I think it's fair to say you're pretty -- you're pretty rooted in the ground of this country.

MITCHELL: Well, this country is made up of small businesses and people like myself that are anything from rich, but that work hard every day and have goals.

And that's -- and that's what this whole thing is attacking. It's attacking the small business, the ma-and-pa shops. They're paying the consequences. All this COVID stuff, it's killed small businesses. What they're doing, they are giving bailouts to the big businesses.

In Arkansas, they shut down businesses for three or four months, for however long it was. They wouldn't let us open up our gyms and this and that. And we're tired of this politics crap that's going on. It is evil is what's going on. Evil has took over this nation. And we ain't afraid of it, and we're ready to fight.

CARLSON: Right. I think you're exactly right in your assessment.

Tell me about -- since that clip of you saying that at the press conference has spread so widely -- I have -- 20 people have sent it to me. What are your friends and neighbors in Arkansas say to you? Do they agree with you?

MITCHELL: I have had people coming out the woodwork just supporting me. And then they have been telling me also, you need to load your guns up, because somebody's going to come out there and try to take you out for what you're saying.

And that's how -- that's how worried people are about the state of their country. My friends think that my life is -- could be at risk because I'm coming out here and speaking truth. I have people saying, hey, load your guns up, be ready. So, you know, and that's just -- I'm just telling you, that's what people are telling me right now.

CARLSON: Yes.

MITCHELL: They are worried about my health because I'm coming out and speaking the truth.

That's the type of suppression and oppression that we're living in, brother. People are worried about it.

CARLSON: Yes. Well, you hate to think that's true, but I know where they're coming from. There's a lot of malice out there.

I think you speak for many people and I'm really glad you were brave enough to say that.

Bryce Mitchell, thank you for joining us.

MITCHELL: Thank you so much for having me, brother. God bless you. I love it.

CARLSON: God bless you. Thank you.

So masks are over, unless you're a little kid because the teachers unions control the mayors in cities across America, so children still have to be masked despite the fact it's really hurting them.

So one mother from Washington, D.C. is upset about this and tells us why her child has to remain masked and the answer is pretty amazing. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: So we can now finally admit in public without being penalized or fired what many of us have known for years, cloth masks are useless against COVID. So people are not wearing them really except the super neurotic and we feel sad for them.

But in Washington, D.C., children are still required to wear masks indoors all day at school. Now, that's terrible for them. We know that for a fact, but they have to do it because the teachers union, which is sadistic, demands it.

In fact, the unions contract the city of Washington demands masks and schools in the city signed it. So Washington, D.C.'s mayor has been sued over this thing, thank heaven, in response to that lawsuit, the School's Chancellor released a statement, by the way, did not even mention parents, but said instead he will, quote "Engage our union partners on next steps."

Margot Athon is fighting back against this on behalf of children. She is a mother in Washington. She's with the Mask Choice for D.C. Kids Movement and we are grateful to have her join us tonight.

Margo, thanks so much for coming on. So it sounds like this is a very straightforward cause. It's not that anyone's arguing this is helping the children stay safe from corona. It's only because the teachers union for whatever perverse reason is demanding it or am I missing something?

MARGOT ATHON, MASK CHOICE FOR D.C. KIDS: No, you're exactly right, Tucker, and in case your viewers don't know, the last two places in the United States that are still requiring indoor masking in schools or Hawaii and the District of Columbia.

And as a parent, you know, we kept wondering why the mayor is digging her heels in and ignoring the advice of the C.D.C., the N.I.H., all of these bipartisan governors, and as of a few hours ago, her own Health Department and we came to that conclusion that she had struck a deal with the teachers unions.

And as a parent, you know, that's incredibly frustrating. I have two young children and I really do not want teachers unions interfering in their education. And unfortunately, Tucker, that's what's going on.

CARLSON: So the Mayor of Washington, D.C. doesn't have children. You do in the public schools. I've had kids in those schools. She's not interested in your view at all. She only cares about the unionized thugs who fund her campaigns.

I mean, is it that simple? I hate to think that.

ATHON: You know, I hate to think that, too, Tucker, and we love living in D.C. but there is this level of bureaucracy. I mean, this is government overreach with my kindergartner. And so I'm just saying, let the kids take their masks off.

I mean, do your union dealings wherever else you need to do it, but don't mess with our kid's education and we need to unmask these kids, Tucker. I mean, their friends in Virginia and Maryland have their masks off. Our cousins in New York have taken their masks off. This is a bipartisan issue. So, we've got to get the masks off these kids.

CARLSON: Well, it is, and if you want to go over pay your teachers, fine. And you know, there are a lot of things people put up with, but masks hurt kids. We know that. I mean, they affirmatively hurt children. Have you told the mayor that?

ATHON: Yes, I mean, we have told her, Tucker. We've called. We've e-mailed. We've organized and we're going to keep doing that and we are saying, you know, masks impair children's cognitive learning, their socialization, I have a daughter who has a speech impediment and the speech therapist has said until we lose that mask, you know, we're not going to make any progress. So we're angry.

And we're not going to give this up and we're not going to be intimidated by a teachers union. We are parents and I think Governor Youngkin said it best. We want choice for our kids and we are willing to stand up for that.

CARLSON: It is beautiful to hear you say that. Your bravery is inspiring. You're fighting for your children's lives, literally, and we're just glad you chose to do it here.

Thank you very much.

ATHON: Thank you.

CARLSON: Margot Athon.

So we're getting a lot of hysterical coverage over a new bill in Florida that bans gay people from the state. Oh no, they're telling us it bans instruction on sex and gender for elementary and preschoolers. They're telling you it bands the word "gay." But that's a lie. We have details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CARLSON: You hate to say this is happening, but it is. Physicians all over the country are violating the most elemental medical ethics by prescribing puberty blockers and hormone treatments to minors. Long term effects: Totally unknown. These are life-altering procedures that are given to children below the age of consent. It is totally immoral, it should be illegal.

In many cases, kids are pressured into these procedures by the people in charge and that means teachers and administrators and school therapists and nurses and then doctors.

So, in response to this, the Florida Senate has just passed an education bill to stop it. The bill tries to stop schools from discussing gender identity in kindergarten through third grade classes, like maybe teach the kids to read before you tell him to go trans. Is that not reasonable? Who could be against that?

Democrats have voted against it and they are representing what the bill does. They're pretending it bans anyone from using the word quote, "gay" in school. That may be why several Florida Democrats just strolled down a hallway yelling the word "gay" because everything is theater. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD (chanting): Gay. Gay. Gay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Oh, God. So every one of the media is pushing the same narrative, the bill is homophobic. It has nothing to do with gays. You shouldn't be talking to kindergarteners about gender identity, especially if you're not their parents. That's creepy. You should be arrested for that, in fact.

You talk to a normal person's kids about sex in kindergarten, you get beaten up. You should be beaten up, please.

So yesterday, the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis humiliated a reporter who tried to lie about this bill. Watch the exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Governor, I want to ask you about the Parents' Rights in Education, what critics call the "Don't Say Gay" Bill. It's on the Senate Floor.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Does it say that in the bill?

QUESTION: No, that you support --

DESANTIS: Does it say that in the bill?

QUESTION: I'm asking you.

DESANTIS: I'm asking you to tell me what's in the bill because you are pushing false narratives. It doesn't matter what critics say.

QUESTION: Hold on. It says Advanced Classroom Instruction on sexual Identity and Gender Orientation.

DESANTIS: For who?

QUESTION: For --

DESANTIS: For grades pre-K through three.

QUESTION: I know you said --

DESANTIS: So, five-year-old, six-year-old, seven-year-olds, and the idea that you wouldn't be honest about that, and tell people what it actually says, it is why people don't trust people like you because you peddle false narrative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: They just never stop lying, do they? Finally, someone stands up to them.

Matt Walsh is the host of "The Matt Walsh Show." He'd be a good governor. In the meantime, we're happy to have him on our show. So Matt Walsh, like, is there a single person in America who thinks some creepy teacher ought to be allowed to talk to your kindergartner about genitals and gender identity? Like what? That's so obviously wrong. Who is for that?

MATT WALSH, HOST, "THE MATT WALSH SHOW": Well, nobody, that's why they have to lie about it. And by the way, I like the fact that Democrats are now at the point where they are just walking through the halls screaming the word "gay" because that's really all they have to offer right now.

It's a totally empty party with nothing to offer the world and they have to lie. And we know that -- well, look, we are used to false narratives from Democrats in the media, but what they are doing with this bill is even amid the torrential downpour of nonsense that we get from these people, it manages to stand out, because what we know about them is look, the left, they are very -- they have no integrity. They are liars. They're also good at branding.

So they've taken this bill and branded it the "Don't Say Gay" Bill when not only does the bill not do that, the bill doesn't even mention the word "gay" anywhere in it. All it says, as the Governor points out is very specifically that you cannot -- there cannot be classroom instruction by a teacher about gender identity or sexual orientation for kids up to grade three.

So I think you actually could criticize the bill. I criticize it only because it shouldn't stop at three. There shouldn't be that kind of instruction by teachers at any grade. There is never a time when a teacher needs to sit down with kids and tell them that: hey, you know, you're a boy, but you might actually be a girl. That's never appropriate. It's especially not appropriate for young kids.

But they can't -- the Democrats, they cannot defend what's actually happening in schools, so they have to lie about it. It is their only option.

CARLSON: But the kids can't even read. I mean, Reading scores, Math scores are on their way down in every state over time, like real testing, standardized testing, not the lying, not the grades, but the tests.

Nobody seems to care that no one is being educated anymore.

WALSH: Right. They can't read. They don't have the basic competence. They also obviously then are not able to engage with these concepts. As I pointed out many times, you know, when you tell a young boy that well he could really be a girl The young child doesn't even really know what a girl is or what a boy is.

He doesn't grasp these basic concepts, but that's also why -- look, there is a reason why the Democrats are treating this bill like it is the apocalypse.

All we're telling them is you can't groom young children, and to them it's Armageddon and that's because they know they have to indoctrinate the kids into this madness very, very young. They have to get to them very, very young because if you wait until people are a little bit older, they're going to know that it's insane. And so that's -- their entire worldview, kind of hinges on being able to get to the kids really young and Florida hopefully stop that from happening.

CARLSON: Yes, can't commit sexual abuse against my kindergartener, and that's what this is. It's sexual abuse. You're not allowed to commit it, and if you do, there are consequences. There should be real consequences. Like for real, I think. But anyway, Matt Walsh, great to see you. Thank you.

WALSH: Thank you.

CARLSON: We've got a FOX News Alert. More new video into FOX from Ukraine.

Lucas Tomlinson is live in that country and we're happy to have him join us now.

Lucas, what do you see?

LUCAS TOMLINSON, FOX NEWS CHANNEL PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Tucker, the city of Kharkiv is about the same size as Dallas, San Antonio, and San Diego and imagine those cities coming under attack by Russian forces. That's what's going on in Ukraine's second largest city with massive evacuations. Here's how one woman described the violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Russia dropped here bombs and you can see that the whole area is totally destroyed. Houses are without windows. The place is completely ruined.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TOMLINSON: Ukrainian officials say up to two dozen civilians were killed today. We spoke to one of them earlier who evacuated the city. Tucker, she used to own a coffee shop in town. She was educated at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

She's now driving with her mother. Her coffee shop was destroyed by a Russian cruise missile a few days ago. A Russian fighter jet she says crashed and destroyed the power grid. So they made the difficult decision to pull up everything. They're driving tomorrow. They're sleeping in a church tonight. They don't know what their final destination is.

More tragedy from Ukraine -- Tucker.

CARLSON: Lucas Tomlinson for us tonight from Ukraine.

Well, late tonight there is new pressure to establish a so-called no-fly zone over Ukraine, a group of so-called foreign policy experts are backing. That that would mean a Hot War with Russia.

Who are these foreign policy experts and how many Republicans are falling into this trap? It is a trap, the most obvious trap ever laid for any political party ever. It's a deep betrayal of this nation, and many are falling for it.

We've got details after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: There are growing calls tonight to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine which of course would immediately result in a Hot War with Russia. FOX's Matt Finn has that story for us. Hey, Matt.

MATT FINN, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tucker. A group of 27 people calling themselves foreign policy experts have now signed an open letter urging President Biden to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine and make clear to Russia that the Alliance does not want confrontation.

These individuals include former high level Pentagon and State Department officials and a former top NATO Military Commander. They wrote in part that they quote: "Urge the Biden administration together with NATO allies to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine starting with protection for those humanitarian corridors."

NATO's Secretary General, Jen Stoltenberg rolled out a no-fly zone last week. The letter said that despite the truly heroic efforts by Ukrainian soldiers and average citizens to resist Russia, Putin's military is poised for further attacks on major cities.

The letter also wrote that Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine was premeditated and unprovoked and unjustified, and has created the greatest crisis on the European continent since the end of World War Two.

We'll keep you updated on how this all plays out -- Tucker.

CARLSON: Matt Finn, thanks so much.

FINN: Sure.

CARLSON: We should tell you that one of those so-called foreign policy experts is a frothy partisan called Evelyn Farkas, who may know less about the rest of the world than the average person picked from a phone book. So if Evelyn Farkas is a foreign policy expert, we're in deeper trouble than we realized.

As noted, the airwaves are thick with propaganda, all of us designed to get you to back something that's not good for you or the world. So we're trying our very hardest to find reasonable, knowledgeable people to explain what's happening in Ukraine. We're really, really trying hard to do that.

And because we are, tomorrow tonight, we'll be joined by former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who will react to these calls for a no-fly zone and what that would mean for you and for our nation.

In the meantime, let's hope more Republican leaders don't fall for what is obviously terrible for this country and their own voters.

On that note, have a great evening with the ones you love. That's still the greatest source of joy. We're going to turn over to Sean Hannity for 9:00 PM, seven seconds early.

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