Vice President Pence gives exclusive update on US coronavirus response on 'Justice'

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Vice President Pence gives exclusive update on US coronavirus response on 'Justice'

Vice President Mike Pence sits down with Judge Jeanine Pirro to discuss the latest coronavirus cases, treatment plans and prevention efforts.

This is a rush transcript from "Justice with Judge Jeanine," March 7, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

JEANINE PIRRO, HOST: Hello and welcome to "Justice." I'm Judge Jeanine Pirro live tonight in our nation's capital.

Thanks for being with us, and thanks again for continuing the streak. "Justice" was No. 1 in viewers all weekend last weekend. Thanks so much.

But tonight, it's a "Justice" exclusive as Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the coronavirus efforts here in America joins me for a two-part interview here in Washington.'

Also ahead, GOP Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senator Tim Scott and Congressman Dan Crenshaw, all of that in just a few moments. But first, my open.

If you've ever had a question whether the mainstream media distorts, whips up, throws things out of focus or has an agenda, especially when it comes to the Trump administration, look no further than coronavirus.

If you listen to the mainstream media, it's time to buy the family burial plot, visit the cemetery where the dirt is definitely cleaner than your kitchen counter or your bathroom handles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: The coronavirus outbreak has the potential to become a global pandemic.

JOY BEHAR, ABC HOST: Don't listen to Trump. Don't listen to him. Let's face it, the President is a reality --

LAWRENCE O'DONNELL, MSNBC HOST: The response to the coronavirus in the United States is being led by the most incompetent and ignorant President in history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PIRRO: So what's the downside of their Doomsday reporting? The downside is predictable. When people are scared, when people think it's just a question of time before they start dropping like flies, they go into survival mode.

They don't spend money. The economy suffers. They don't invest. The market suffers.

They talk about taking their children out of school, education suffers. They talk about canceling March Madness, Coachella and local businesses suffer.

And canceling airlines and cruise ship reservations, the economy suffers.

They go into depression mode because their quality of life is over.

And who better to trumpet a slowing economy than CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Wall Street is rattled by the worldwide outbreak of the coronavirus. The Dow closing down more than 350 points today for a total loss of more than 3,000 points over the past week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PIRRO: My, my. You want to focus on the Dow now? Where were you when the Dow, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ all repeatedly reached record highs under President Trump? You weren't interested then, were you?

Where were you when the Dow closed at a record high more than 100 times since Donald Trump's election? Where were you when animal spirits were driving this country to new economic heights?

And for your information, our economy can sustain a 3,000-point drop because we are at record highs. Job numbers just came out and they're up beyond expectations.

The stock market is up for the week. Long-term interest rates are plunging, so people can refinance and those who need subsidies are going to get them.

And the media complains that there was a lackluster initial response by the Trump administration. Say what?

Let's start with the fact that the U.S. has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. And on January 31st, the Trump administration restricted entry into this country from China in an effort to counter the spreading coronavirus outbreak.

Even "The New York Times" noted the administration barred entry by most foreign nationals who had recently visited China. American travelers were under quarantine, as the administration declared a rare public health emergency.

The President did this knowing that it would send shocks through the stock market, that it would rattle industry between the world's two largest economies.

He immediately put together the smartest, most sophisticated team of doctors, scientists and healthcare professionals to deal with his declared coronavirus health emergency.

And most important, he assigned to Vice President Mike Pence the job of organizing, monitoring a team to contain, mitigate and treat the problem working with states and local governments.

His efforts have been non-stop, keenly focused and heralded the political criticisms by the left like Governor Inslee of Washington State and Governor Cuomo of New York State are nothing more than political gamesmanship that have no place in this effort. The effort to develop a vaccine making testing kits available to every state lab and available to every doctor in this country with a minimum of $4 million going to each of the 50 states is underway.

So, what to do? It's a virus, like the flu. It actually can be mistaken for the flu, a sore throat, a cough, a fever. And by the way, it is flu season.

You say, but people are dying. Sadly, that's true. And not only are condolences in order, but we owe it to their families and all Americans to come up with a vaccine.

Like the flu, tests for coronavirus are now being made available to every state lab. Clinical trials will begin within five weeks for the vaccine.

The Federal government is working continuous, vigorously and forcefully to cut the bureaucratic red tape that often slows down vaccine approval.

And rest assured the best, the brightest, and the resolute are working nonstop to create this vaccine.

Now, they say the mortality rate for coronavirus is higher than a flu. But consider though that we have a flu vaccine, and yet in 2019, sixteen thousand Americans died from the flu. Imagine if we did not have the flu vaccine, the flu would be a pandemic.

So all the talk about coronavirus being so much more deadly doesn't reflect reality. Without a vaccine, the flu would be far more deadly.

Now, what we do know is the mortality rate is much higher among elderly adults. According to reports, the risk of dying if infected with the coronavirus is higher the older you are, which might explain why they say children are not really affected by the virus.

But in addition to age, as Dr. Anthony Fauci has said, the risk is greater if you, as an elderly person, have an underlying medical condition like diabetes, heart disease, asthma, it is certainly higher if you're a smoker, which might explain why China has such a high mortality rate.

Some studies have estimated that as many as 50 percent of Chinese men are smokers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL MAHER, HBO TALK SHOW HOST: I'm sick of the virus, but not from the virus. People die. That's what happens in life. The BP oil spill was going to end the world and every other [bleep] we've ever had.

And it didn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PIRRO: So what to do? Wash your hands. I know everyone thinks there's got to be more to this. The reason you wash your hands is to get the germs off. The reason why you need to get the germs off is because you can then transfer them to your eyes, your nose, your mouth, risking infection to your respiratory system.

You're looking now at a California genius, a medical doctor from their state health department, lecturing how not to touch your face as the woman repeatedly touches the surface then her face and literally puts her fingers in her mouth.

Whatever you have to do, don't touch your face. And gloves won't matter because the virus can last for hours on them and surfaces.

So whether you need to borrow your dog's shock collar or go out and buy a straightjacket, don't touch your face.

Don't share drinking glasses, eating utensils, clean all high touch surfaces everyday like counters and table tops and doorknobs and stay at home if you feel sick.

And as the Surgeon General said on JUSTICE last week, you don't need a mask unless you're sick and there's no need to go out and clean out the store shelves.

As the weather warms, fewer and fewer people will get sick with the virus. Some of the meds need to be left for people who may need them.

And if you want to complain about something, complain about the fact that we rely on China and even India for ingredients for some of our medication, even the meds themselves.

Like Nuclear Medicine and Moly 99, it is time to have a supply chain for our medicine in the United States. Time to make America first there.

So maybe Bill Maher has the right attitude. Stop panicking, fear mongering, hiding under your bed and freaking out. In fact --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP OF MOVIE "MOONSTRUCK")

CHER, PLAYING LORETTA CASTORINI IN MOVIE "MOONSTRUCK": Snap out of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PIRRO: And wash your damn hands, wash them and then wash them again.

And that's my open. Let me know what you think on my Facebook and Twitter #JudgeJeanine.

As the coronavirus spreads across the globe, people are extremely concerned. Some even panicked about what's to come.

I sat down for an exclusive interview with Vice President Mike Pence who is heading up the White House Coronavirus Task Force to talk about exactly what the administration is doing to combat the known cases and contain the coronavirus spread in the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PIRRO: Mr. Vice President, thank you for taking time to talk to my viewers on JUSTICE and to talk to me. I know you're exhausted.

And in light of that, I thought it was so unusual to hear, you know, certain governors making rude comments, governors saying, you know, we don't have enough of the tests available, when you made it clear at the press conference that all of the labs will have the testing skills available and even make them available to local doctors. Is that -- is that correct?

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Oh, we're in that process right now, but every state lab in the country can actually conduct coronavirus tests today.

And that's just because a week ago today, our leader at the F.D.A., at the President's direction changed the rules of governing the development of a test so that now the state laboratories can do it.

We've all already distributed over a million tests. But I have to tell you the biggest news this week was that the President brought together the leaders of the top commercial laboratories in the country, huge businesses, and he said we need you to work together to put together the test so that the American people at their local doctor, at their pharmacy, at their -- we used to call them a MedCheck when my kids were little -- you know, can go in and get that.

And at the end of this week, two of the largest commercial laboratories in America said that they would have a test ready to go to market on Monday. That's real leadership.

PIRRO: Mr. Vice President, let me ask you, what is that test? You know, sometimes we see people, you know, with something taking the temperature and then we hear about swabs. What is it the test for coronavirus?

PENCE: Yes, what the doctors tell me is that it's a cotton swab in your nose and -- but we send it in and process it. The test takes about four to six hours.

But the state labs can do it once they receive the swab and hospitals can do it as we've distributed these tests around the country.

But the exciting thing about having these commercial laboratories is because they can transport these materials all over the country very rapidly overnight and give that level of reassurance to the American public.

I will tell you though, you know, we've seen -- you know, we've seen this community spread of the coronavirus in Washington State where I was just yesterday and in California I want your viewers to know that as we've been ramping up the tests, since the coronavirus first really came ashore in the United States that we've been focusing tests at the point of the need, where states have requested them, state labs said they needed them and particularly in the Seattle area and in parts of California that have seen multiple coronavirus cases and tragically, families have seen the loss of life.

PIRRO: But when does someone go for the test? If someone has a cough or a sore throat, do you self-quarantine? Do you call your doctor and hope that it goes away? Or do you, you know just insist on getting a lab test?

PENCE: I think that's an individual decision for everybody, but remember, we're still in cold and flu season, even though March has finally arrived.

And so it's just -- it's a good time of the year to use commonsense to, you know, if you know of someone who is ill, encourage them to maybe stay home from work for a day.

Wash your hands on a very regular basis, hot soap and water for 20 seconds is fine. But I would -- for me personally, if I came into -- if I came -- became aware that I'd been in contact or in proximity to someone who was found to have the coronavirus and then I had the symptoms, flu-like symptoms that might be the right time to go to your doctor and to seek a test.

PIRRO: Now, you talked about the Grand Princess and 19 of those who have the coronavirus were crew members, and I suspect that the healthcare professionals as we go forward and it's a good thing that it's March and spring is coming and I suspect the number of cases, although, we expect they'll increase, might go down as the weather gets better.

But are health care providers, in -- you know, in a more -- in a in a danger zone that where normal people might not be?

PENCE: Well, they are. I mean, the President made it very clear to our Task Force from early on. We want to make sure that anyone that contracts the coronavirus has the support and in the resources and we're working with companies not just to develop a vaccine that could be ready within a year and a half, but the kind of therapeutic medications that would give relief.

The good news is that the risks to the average American of contracting the coronavirus remains low, and even for those who contract the virus, the vast majority, other than a small few percent at the top, will go through flu-like symptoms, in some cases serious, but they'll recover.

But for our part, we're just -- we're focusing on the patients, focusing on Americans' health first, but the reason I was in Minnesota this week, Jeanine, is because we're also focusing on making sure that our healthcare workers have the protective equipment, have the masks, have the gloves, have the eyewear to be able to work with patients without being concerned about their own health.

And I was very encouraged in Minnesota to hear from 3M that they're actually, as of January, at full capacity. They ramped up when they heard about the coronavirus. They're producing 35 million masks a month, and we're going to work with Members of Congress to make sure that all 35 million can be available to healthcare workers.

PIRRO: And speaking of masks and mixed messages, Matt Gaetz, the congressman is walking around with a full on gas mask. If the administration's message is, you know what, pretty much to what you're going to do unless you're a senior with some kind of underlying illness. Just keep clean. Just watch yourself and pretty much monitor how you're doing

PENCE: Right.

PIRRO: How do you deal with these mixed messages?

PENCE: Well, you put it exactly right, and in the press conference on Friday, I thought Dr. Fauci explained it very well.

For the vast majority of healthy Americans of every age, the risk of contracting the coronavirus is low, and even if the contract it, the risk of any serious outcome is also low.

But for any elderly American with a serious underlying health condition, this might be the time to reconsider certain activities and we want to make that message really clear because as we look at the data around the world, and Dr. Debra Birx, who is one of the leading experts in Infectious Disease on the planet, she is my right arm in all of this.

She actually looked at the data in Italy, Jeanine, and found that the average -- the average age of people who had passed away from the coronavirus in Italy is 80. The average age of people that contracted the coronavirus in Italy was 60.

And so we're really focusing at the President's direction on elderly Americans with serious underlying health issues.

As Dr. Fauci said, not if you're on high blood pressure medicine, but if you have a serious health condition, it might be a good time for you, for your family to have a conversation about keeping yourself safe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PIRRO: And next, part two of my exclusive interview with Vice President Mike Pence, including what the President is saying to leaders in China about the virus.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PIRRO: And now for Part 2 of my exclusive sit down with Vice President Mike Pence on the fight against the coronavirus and the administration's message all Americans need to hear.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PIRRO: You're the tip of the spear. You were on JUSTICE just a few months ago, and we were talking about the 2020 ticket and your role on the ticket.

Well, right now, you're the most essential person in this country and dealing with probably the biggest issue you have ever dealt with in your career, and you have a very esteemed and a long career in government.

PENCE: Thank you, Jeanine.

PIRRO: How does that make you feel?

PENCE: Well, I'm very humbled by the President's confidence in me in this role, and I think he asked me to lead this, not just because I was his Vice President, and he wanted to make sure the country knew the priority that he was placing on our nation's response to the coronavirus.

But also because I'd been a Governor. In fact, the very first MERS case, which is much more deadly than the coronavirus came to Indiana when I was Governor in 2014.

It was then that I realized the vital role that local healthcare providers, state health officials and the Federal government and the C.D.C. play in dealing with the threat of serious Infectious Disease.

And as a President and I talked, he asked me to help lead this effort and I'm going to continue to bring the best and brightest minds in America together, and with the kind of decisive leadership that the American people have already seen from President Donald Trump, I know that we'll get through this together.

PIRRO: There's an issue that's very important. As you go into supermarkets and some of these bigger stores, you see, the shelves are empty.

And you know, is this stockpiling? Is it making any sense? Or is it overreacting? And more to the point, when people start buying medicines that might be necessary for other people who are getting the flu or coronavirus, doesn't it bring home the whole idea that we have to have that supply of medicine in the United States?

And the President, of course, is you know, America First, we shouldn't have to rely on China. After all, you know, a lot of this started in China. We shouldn't have to rely on them for the medications or ingredients or India or anyone else.

When can the American people start to see that the supply chain is in America than everywhere else?

PENCE: The President raised that issue with pharmaceutical companies right around the Cabinet table this week when we were talking about the coronavirus, and no one has done more to reset our trading relationship with China than President Donald Trump.

But the President has always said it's about the strength of our economy, but he also understands it's also about the health of the American people and we will continue to drive in that regard.

But let me also say to you, there's no need for Americans to stockpile food, stockpile water. The risk to the average American of contracting the coronavirus remains very low, and the risk of a serious outcome, even if you contract the virus is also very low.

And Jeanine, we're just going to continue to bring the facts to the American people, but to your point, it is very important if people understand how they can be helpful, I think -- I think there's two ways.

Number one, they can make sure that the supplies that Americans that are struggling with the coronavirus and other health challenges have are available, the supplies our healthcare workers need. The American people don't need to buy masks.

And frankly, when people go out and buy masks and buy other personal protective equipment, it reduces the overall supply for healthcare providers in communities that need it.

The same goes with many medicines, but you know, I think it's the thing that the American people can do is to make sure that those resources are available at the point of the need, and the American people can also avail themselves of that great wellspring of American strength.

And it's a good time to pray for those in this country who have contracted the coronavirus and around the world. The vast majority of people who have contracted it here are recovering and doing well.

But just praying for the communities that are facing this, praying for our healthcare workers, it is something that the President and I would be grateful for all of your viewers to do.

PIRRO: And finally, what can you tell us about the President's contact with China and President Xi about how they first handled this outbreak?

And is the Trump administration looking to hold them accountable in any way for not doing a better job in the early stages?

I mean, I know that the President, as soon as he knew, started quarantining and preventing travel, that kind of thing.

PENCE: Well, I appreciate the point you made that the American people should know that the reason that we don't have a much greater prevalence of coronavirus around this country today is completely owing to the unprecedented decision that President Trump made to suspend all travel from China, and to quarantine Americans that returned from China, and from the cruise ship.

No American in history -- no American President, rather, in history had ever done that, Jeanine. And it's really given us space as a country to deal with this in a much more thorough and effective way.

But with regard to China, I will tell you, the President enjoys a strong relationship with President Xi. He took a strong stand on trade, but he's had interactions I know with President Xi on this issue.

And we are encouraged, at least, that according to publicly available data, there's actually less new cases in China every day for the last few days than there are in other places around the world.

That represents the beginning of a hopeful trend, if correct. And the President has made it clear that that while we're always going to put America first and the health and safety of America first, we're also going to develop these therapies. We're going to develop these medicines, we're going to be there to help people around the world.

PIRRO: All right, well, Mr. Vice President, I know that you've had a long day and I want to thank you very much for joining us.

And I just have one more request, can you put an end to Daylight Savings for everyone who is frustrated with their clocks this weekend.

PENCE: I'll let you know.

PIRRO: Okay. Thank you so much.

PENCE: Thanks, Jeanine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PIRRO: Senator Tim Scott and Congressman Dan Crenshaw still on deck tonight.

But next, what is Congress doing to keep you informed and safe from the coronavirus? G.O.P. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy joins me live right here in Washington to talk about that and respond to my interview with the Vice President, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AISHAH HASNIE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Live from "America's News Headquarters," I'm Aishah Hasnie. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arriving for their final official engagement as members of the Royal Family.

Both Meghan Markle and Harry attended the Mountbatten Festival of Music in England after stunning the world in January with an abrupt announcement that they would be stepping back as Senior Royals.

The couple's next public event will be on Monday where they will be joined by the Queen, herself.

And moments ago, President Trump participating in a working dinner with Brazilian President Bolsonaro. The leaders of the Western hemisphere's two largest economies reportedly talking about everything from trade, infrastructure and most importantly, Venezuela.

Brazil has been America's strongest ally against the communist dictatorship.

I'm Aishah Hasnie, now back to JUSTICE WITH JUDGE JEANINE. For all your headlines, log on to foxnews.com.

PIRRO: Welcome back. You just heard in my exclusive sit down with Vice President Pence that every state lab in the country can conduct coronavirus tests today.

House Minority Leader Congressman Kevin McCarthy joins me now right here in D.C. to react to my interview with the Vice President and all the developing news today. Welcome.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Well, thanks for having me.

PIRRO: Thanks for having me here in Washington. I always love coming here. Let's get right to it. You saw in my interview with the Vice President a bit of discussion about China, and I'd like to know about China's role in the coronavirus.

We know it started in the Wuhan Province, but what can you tell us about that?

MCCARTHY: Well, it started there, but the real problem is, President Xi denied it, where he did not allow when President Trump requested bringing American scientists doctors in to help, he did not allow us in.

We would have had more information. We would have been able to combat this sooner, maybe we would have been able to contain it for the entire world right there in China.

The doctor who warned him in November, no longer with us, but no longer allowed going forward that they knew it was happening. That's a problem that happened.

Thankfully, President Trump ended flights from China so early when the Democrats criticized him.

PIRRO: Right.

MCCARTHY: Now, we just -- he just signed more than $8 billion that focuses on testing, treatment, and also telemedicine which is very important on how to deal with this, so you're not running into the hospital, you could be home.

You could go over the phone, rural areas as well. This is an ability to actually treat it better.

Now, the sad --

PIRRO: The doctors always say that, well, I have to see you. You have to come in before I can even give you a prescription.

MCCARTHY: Yes, but technology today, so we waived it. So have you seen a doctor in the last three years especially in rural areas or others? Should you really be going into the emergency rooms and making everybody else contagious?

PIRRO: Yes.

MCCARTHY: And so it's a better way about treating it. That's the way we're looking at it. Remember, in the last five years,, we've increased funding to N.I.H. and C.D.C. by more than 40 percent.

The Republicans even created the Infectious Disease Rapid Response Fund. We are prepared for this and that's -- we've got the best minds.

Remember, Gilead is already in a trial testing how to best treat it. You've got Johnson & Johnson already working on a vaccine and other companies as well.

This is the ingenuity of America and I give the President a lot of credit for bringing not just government, but the private sector.

PIRRO: Right.

MCCARTHY: Look what he did last week, the pharmaceuticals in looking for a vaccine and treatment, down at the N.I.H., down at the C.D.C.

This is a place of how we should treat this with the leadership and get it done. We should have had this done last week, but the Democrats held up the supplemental bill, $8 billion.

PIRRO: Why?

MCCARTHY: So they could run ads against Republicans. This is not a time for politics. But that's what the Democratic Campaign Committee did on seven Republicans last week.

PIRRO: Well, you know, speaking of Democrats, when Chuck Schumer this week, criticized two Supreme Court Justices put there by Donald Trump, Gorsuch and as well as Kavanaugh, basically threatening them with violence, you'll pay the price, you won't know what hit you.

You know, should he be impeached? Chuck Schumer, Minority Leader in the Senate? What should happen to him?

MCCARTHY: I'll tell you what? If this was a Republican going to the Supreme Court, intimidating individuals -- America is supposed to be an exchange of ideas, not just when you agree with them -- to intimidate them and incite violence against them, I think Republicans would change their leadership. Democrats should do the same.

PIRRO: But they're not.

MCCARTHY: It tells you a lot. So do they support what he is saying? I would stand up against this if I was a Democrat. I would say, I've watched before where a Republican leader had to leave office based upon something they said.

PIRRO: Yes, yes.

MCCARTHY: And I think the same thing should happen here. Look what the Democrats are doing. They didn't like the President that he won, so they impeached him. They don't like conservatives on college campuses, so they try to intimidate them.

He doesn't like what's happening in the court system, so again, they're trying to intimidate him.

This is what the new socialist Democrats believe. They want to -- they want to control your production. They want to control what you're saying. They want to control your thought.

If we had the Democrats plan for healthcare here, we wouldn't be having the money to work on a cure, we wouldn't have the private sector out there working on a vaccine and others.

This is dangerous, that if they were able to win in November and go forward, that's why we have to take the House back.

PIRRO: Okay. And, you know, it's rather amazing that they would delay a vote on the money in order to put out ads.

Anyway, it's always good having you here and we appreciate it. It's good to have you.

MCCARTHY: Well, thank you, Judge.

PIRRO: All right. Okay. Congressman McCarthy, thank you. And thanks to Senator -- and hello to Senator Tim Scott of joins JUSTICE next. Sorry about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PIRRO: This past Tuesday -- Super Tuesday -- support for President Trump was through the roof. That's right. I said President Trump, who doesn't even have a Primary opponent, but you wouldn't know how well he did for the mainstream media.

Here to talk about that and more South Carolina Republican Senator, Tim Scott. Senator, welcome to JUSTICE. It's great to see you tonight.

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): Thank you.

PIRRO: We've got a two-person race on the Democratic side and I'll talk about that in a moment. But first, some of the numbers of people who are voting for President Trump in the Primaries last week were amazing when you compare them even with President Obama's voter turnouts in the same Primaries in his election year.

What do you attribute that to and do you think this is another reason why we shouldn't trust these traditional polls when it comes to the President?

SCOTT: Well, President Trump taught us to not trust pollsters in 2016. He blew them away. Here's what I've seen at the rallies.

He had a rally here in South Carolina just a couple of weeks ago, and the momentum, the enthusiasm, and frankly, at capacity in the Coliseum, thousands outside the Coliseum for one reason, the Trump economy blows everything we've seen in my lifetime away.

The enthusiasm around his presidency is palpable. It is one of the most amazing scenes I've ever been a part of, and the electricity in the room.

He actually attracts more folks to the party and when you look at the cross section of who is coming to the rallies, who's voting for President Trump, the one thing you find is not just your traditional Republicans, it is Democrats attending the rallies. It is Democrats coming across the aisle to vote for him.

It's African-Americans and Hispanics, the women, all coming together because we are celebrating the success of the Trump years.

We haven't seen anything like this since the Ronald Reagan years.

PIRRO: Very interesting. But, look, we've got Primaries this week including states like Michigan and Washington and Missouri, all delegate rich. Do you think the Biden momentum continues or does Bernie draw or even take delegates away from Biden?

SCOTT: I think it's still a two-man race. Here's what we're seeing. I heard earlier this week that the Empire strikes back. That really is the Democratic leadership deciding they do not want Bernie Sanders as their nominee. They've all got on one page to do one thing, not help Biden win, but to stop Bernie from taking what seems to be in many ways his rightful place on top of a progressive liberal socialist agenda.

And they are doing everything in their power to rebrand their party that supports socialism into something that's more moderate and mainstream, and I don't think Biden gets across the finish line in November, but he will do so between now and the Democratic Convention in July.

I suspect that the party leadership plus the strong Biden bounce from South Carolina where he put together African-American voters plus church goers to create his coalition, but that's a coalition that may actually help us elect -- re-elect President Trump.

PIRRO: All right, but speaking of that, I only have a few seconds left, since one of Bidens' greatest assets is the fact that he is so strong in the African-American community, what does it mean if it comes down to a Trump-Biden race in the battle for the White House?

SCOTT: Well, for President Trump, it's good news because promises made, promises kept. Strong employment numbers. Stronger wage growth. Criminal justice reform. Historically Black Colleges and Universities receiving permanent funding and opportunity zones -- all done by our President, President Donald Trump.

PIRRO: And I have to commend you, Senator Tim Scott, for the opportunity zones and all that you've been doing.

SCOTT: You're very kind.

PIRRO: Hopefully, next time, when you come on JUSTICE we can talk about it. But that's all the time we have. Thank you so much.

SCOTT: I look forward to it.

PIRRO: Okay, great. All right, and G.O.P. Congressman Dan Crenshaw joins me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PIRRO: Texas will be a huge factor in the 2020 race, and Congressman Dan Crenshaw joins me now to discuss that and more.

Congressman Crenshaw, thanks so much for being on JUSTICE. We very much appreciate it.

I want to talk about Texas. You know, there are polls that have some matchups in the 2020 race where Trump is 47.8 percent against Biden at 45 and Trump is 47.8 against Sanders at 45.4.

Those numbers Congressman are closer than we've seen with Donald Trump certainly in the last election, and obviously, we don't know if we can always believe these polls.

But is Texas turning purple?

REP. DAN CRENSHAW (R-TX): Well, you know, we can't ignore the data. We can't ignore those polls. You know, we have to speak to all kinds of Texans.

I speak a lot to young Texas and when we are worried about Texas turning purple, I think it is because our kids tends to vote for Democrats. Democrats have a very -- you know, they have a very -- kids are susceptible to the Democratic message. Okay. It's will revolution. It's about feeling good. It's about giving you stuff.

And it is up to us to explain to our students and our youth what that really means. What those false promises really are. You know, I pointed out today that -- after Bernie tweeted to young voters that this is their election -- what I had to point out was, you know the Democrats' plan is to actually increase senior citizens' benefits and tax young people in order to pay for that.

These are totally unsustainable policies. It is making our Social Security go broke and we have to point this kind of facts out to them.

PIRRO: And you know, the amazing point is though that unemployment for young people is up along with all of the other categories and yet, they seem to be attracted to socialism.

CRENSHAW: Yes, it is mind blowing. I mean, unemployment is down across all categories. There is a plethora of jobs out there. There is a huge amount of opportunity.

And you know, young people fundamentally want a gig economy where you can choose to sell your own labor in your own time. What do Democrats do? They attack the gig economy.

All right, one of the recent bills that they passed would all but destroy that ability to independently contract and sell your labor and time as you want to do. I don't think young people understand what these Democratic policies actually are.

Because again, they are susceptible to this romantic language of revolution and socialism and everybody living together and looking out for one another.

And of course, we should look out for one another, but we have to do it at the community level. You can't pretend that you are more moral because you ask the government to do something you yourself are not willing to do. All right, that's basically what socialism is.

PIRRO: Well, and finally, I mean, with the significance of Joe Biden's win, as you look at the election going forward, Joe Biden has to, it would seem to me, implode before the next election, assuming that he even is the candidate.

CRENSHAW: Yes, I mean, he doesn't seem to have the energy to keep going. But, we need to pointing out a very simple fact, life is better now than it was four years ago across every metric.

So Biden has to make a very difficult argument which is that we should go back in time four years ago into the Obama presidency, when we were on the slowest recovery that we've ever had after a recession.

And here is an important statistic that we need to point out. The C.B.O. estimated we would have five million less jobs than we do back in 2017, so what does that mean?

It means the baseline of job growth was way lower back under the Obama presidency. After the Republicans took control, and we implemented conservative pro-growth policies, we had five million more jobs than expected. We have got to point that kind of stuff out.

PIRRO: All right, Congressman Crenshaw, thanks so much for being on. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PIRRO: Finally tonight, thanks for watching. I'm Jeanine Pirro advocating for truth, justice and the American way.

"The Greg Gutfeld Show" is coming up, and I'll see you next Saturday night from the capital. Have a good night.

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