Will Cain: Americans are wondering how we got here

This is a rush transcript from "Tucker Carlson Tonight," May 20, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

WILL CAIN, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: Well, good evening and welcome to a Special Edition of TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT. I'm Will Cain, in for Tucker. 

Now, here's a stat that puts the country's collapse into perspective, maybe more than any other: The Dow Jones just recorded its eighth straight weekly loss. The last time that happened was all the way back in 1932, around the height of the Great Depression. 

Right now, a lot of Americans are wondering, how did we get here so quickly? Just a year and a half into Joe Biden. It's been a rapid decline. 

If you get a moment this week and go on the internet and pull up Joe Biden's Inaugural Address, looking back, it is remarkable, not because of what's in the speech, but because of what's missing from the speech. You won't hear a single mention of the issues Americans are most concerned about. 

Nothing on inflation, poverty, gas prices, the stock market; nothing on government spending, energy independence, fentanyl overdoses, and absolutely nothing on border security. 

In fact, there isn't a single mention of policy in the entire address. Instead, Joe Biden talked about himself. He compared himself to Abraham Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. He told us that only Joe Biden could unite Americans and save us from quote, "bitterness and fury." 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this, bringing America together, uniting our people, uniting our nation. And I ask every American to join me in this cause. 

We can join forces, stop the shouting and lower the temperature for without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury. 

And so today, at this time, in this place, let's start afresh. 

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

CAIN: So a year and a half later, I think right here on TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT, we can announce that Joe Biden has finally succeeded in unifying the country against Joe Biden, and the polling makes that very clear. 

Listen to this: According to a CNN survey from this week, only 40 percent of Americans approve of Joe Biden's job performance. That's worse than Jimmy Carter at the same point in his presidency, 65 percent of Americans are concerned about the future of the country, and 21 percent are just flat out scared. Just 14 percent are excited or optimistic, and I would love to meet that 14 percent. 

An NBC News poll came up with similar numbers, just 39 percent of Americans according to NBC approve of Joe Biden's performance, 62 percent disapprove of Biden's handling of the economy. Those numbers are also worse than Jimmy Carter's. 

Seventy one percent of Americans, 71 disapprove of Joe Biden's handling of the cost of living, 58 upset with his border policies. And listen to this, another new poll from Quinnipiac found that Joe Biden has just a 26 percent approval rating among Hispanics. It's his lowest among any demographic group. 

That's a flood of numbers coming at you, but as bad as those numbers are, there's evidence that they can be overestimating Joe Biden's popularity. A political science professor named, Eddie Zipperer looked at a recent poll by Marist and the poll found that Joe Biden's approval rating is 39 percent. That's in line what we saw from the other polls. 

But the Maris Institute poll reported that Joe Biden's popularity was much higher in fact, almost 50 percent among baby boomers and the silent generation. Can that be right? Zipperer did some number crunching and he found that 52 percent of people who are over 65, well, they voted for Donald Trump in 2020. And the Maris Institute poll found that two percent, just two percent of people that supported Donald Trump in 2020 now have shifted to having a favorable view of Joe Biden. So where's this new support for Joe Biden among baby boomers and the silent generation? It just -- it doesn't add up. 

And here's the point at the end of all of this arithmetic, the polls could be overstating Joe Biden's popularity among older Americans, and that may be due to a sampling error. If that's the case, Joe Biden is lower than 39 percent. 

Now that would explain why no one in the media, not even CNN is bothering to defend Joe Biden anymore. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

CHUCK TODD, NBC NEWS HOST: Just 16 percent say the country is headed in the right direction, while a whopping 75 percent say we're on the wrong track. 

In fact that wrong track number has been 70-plus for seven months. 

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: There are a lot of push button issues that do have people infuriated. Inflation at a 40-year high, I think is one of them. 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The anxieties that Americans are feeling over inflation, high gas prices, and it's really bubbling up. 

CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER AND EDITOR-AT-LARGE: You see that President Biden has a 40 percent approval rating in the CNN Poll of Polls, 55 percent disapprove. This is a huge warning sign for Democrats. 

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: If you are a doctor, and you are looking at this chart, you would say these vital signs are very, very bad. 

KASIE HUNT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: The people are just really pissed off. They're really angry about what's going on, and they don't feel like anyone can help them. I mean, they tried it with the Trump administration, then they switched, they handed power in Washington to Democrats, and now inflation has gone ramp and people are really unhappy with their lives. 

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

CAIN: I'd say that's a fair summation, 40 percent, 39 percent. It's very, very bad and people are pissed off. 

Now from his Inauguration speech though, we know Joe Biden didn't see any of this coming. He didn't think it was possible to wreck a functioning economy in just a year and a half. But the signs were there, the nation's monetary supply had grown dramatically in 2020 due to pandemic spending, but Joe Biden ignored those warning signs. He was laser focused on demonizing his political opponents instead of managing the economy. 

In a single bill, the American Rescue Act, Biden spent $19 trillion and according to an article by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, that action led directly to inflation. Quote, "Estimates suggest that the fiscal support measures designed to counteract the severity of the pandemic's economic effect may have contributed to this divergence by raising inflation three percentage points by the end of 2021." But Joe Biden kept going. He spent another trillion dollars on infrastructure. The result: The highest inflation rate we have seen in decades. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This morning, America seems trapped in a vortex of bad economic news. Sky high food prices, pump prices at record levels, soaring rents up 16 percent in one year. COVID lockdowns in China, the world's manufacturing center choking the global supply chain, U.S. corporate profits sinking, Russian oil under partial embargo, Ukrainian wheat exports at a standstill, and all of it feeding 40-year high inflation that Americans are paying for every day. 

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

CAIN: So if you're wondering how all of this caught Joe Biden by surprise, consider who is suffering the most here. The people hit hardest by Joe Biden's economic policies aren't in urban areas like San Francisco or New York, which are solidly blue. Joe Biden's base isn't bearing the brunt of this, his bubble is sufficiently insulated. 

Now, the people suffering the most are in remote rural areas in small towns, towns, like Midland, Texas; places that are overwhelmingly conservative. It's a lot harder to ferry food and supplies into a place like Midland because it's so far from urban centers. And a FOX multimedia reporter just went to Midland, which has recorded the highest inflation rate in the country at roughly 10 percent. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People in this West Texas town of Midland say it's hitting them hardest. 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are somewhat isolated between El Paso and Dallas, Fort Worth. And so that's a lot of distance, and it takes you four or five hours to go to either one. So travel costs, transportation costs, that raises process -- 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Midland has a population of just over 140,000, but it's giving big cities like New York, Phoenix, and Dallas a run for their money when it comes to inflation. It's had the highest rate in the country for the last six months. 

The West Texas Food Bank says over the last few weeks, the number of families it serves has tripled. 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most of the clients we serve, you know, 27 to 30 percent of them have never needed any form of public assistance before. Their rent has gone up. They cannot keep up with the price of groceries that they're seeing right now in the grocery stores and they can't keep up with the cost of fuel. 

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

CAIN: Those are my people, West Texas. Those are our people, Americans, and this is Joe Biden's unity strategy: Americans united in being poorer, more divided and more scared than they were when he took office. It just so happens that once again, people who didn't vote for Joe are suffering the most. 

Ned Ryun is the CEO of American Majority, and he joins us. Ned, great to see you tonight. Thanks for being with us. 

NED RYUN, FOUNDER AND CEO, AMERICAN MAJORITY: Thanks, Will. 

CAIN: Well, sadly, I think we have to ask the question. It's probably at the top of everyone's mind, it's bad, but how bad can it get? 

RYUN: No, I don't think we're anywhere near the bottom, sadly, Will, when you hear Biden saying that his solution to solving inflation is more government spending, more regulation. I mean, these are -- these will be jet fuel on inflation and continue to tank the economy, and so when people hear these as the solutions that's why he's going down with Hispanics, Independents, I would also point out, Will, that he is at 57 percent approval in the Black community. 

And to give people perspective, right before Democrats got completely shellacked in the 2010 midterms, Obama was still over 90 percent with the Black community, this thing is absolutely trending in the wrong direction. 

And the thing that I want to point out to people, though, is this, Will, these are not bugs, these are features of the Biden administration: The outrageous government spending, the terrible energy policy, all of these things are absolutely intentional. It's not as though they're going to wake up some day and go, oh, yeah, we make mistakes, we're going to -- we're going to solve this. 

These are intentional, and they're doing it in such a way to compel certain behavior. And when I hear people talk about $6.00 for a gallon of gas, I know many on the left would prefer to have $10.00 for a gallon of gas to compel people to actually start using renewables to force that behavior on people. 

And we're ruled by dangerous fools, Will. They do not care about the priorities of the American people. They do not care about anything that will actually benefit the American people, because quite frankly, in their arrogance, they don't think the dirty little peasants know what's best for them.

CAIN: But Ned, you would think that they do care about winning. You know, all of this they're putting in place and what you suggested is that it's a feature not a bug would seem to get in the way of winning an election in the midterms or in 2024. Where is their sense of victory? Where is their sense of a self-correcting mechanism, Ned? 

RYUN: I think they are so far gone. I mean, they're stuck between a rock and a hard place, Will, in which the far left has really taken over the Democratic Party, and they really can't pivot out of this. And I think they're going to face some really harsh realities in this fall's midterms. I think Biden will be the 800-pound gorilla with cement boots on Democrats at the federal, state and local level. 

And I think the interesting thing about this, Will, because they are in denial, I think that the devastating absolute annihilation they will face in 2022 will have long term benefits for multiple election cycles, 2024 and beyond. 

CAIN: You remember that that old "Saturday Night Live" skit, Ned with Will Ferrell where they play give me more cowbell. It's got Christopher Walken in it as well, and it's don't fear the reaper, no matter what, he wants more cowbell. 

My suspicion is that the answer to this will be more cowbell. It will be more democratic accusations of them being the savior from White supremacy and more accusations of their opponent as racist, and let's see if that delivers them the American people who are suffering from this economy. 

More cowbell, Ned, we'll see. 

I enjoyed talking tonight, Ned. 

RYUN: That's exactly right. 

CAIN: Yes. 

RYUN: Thanks, Will. 

CAIN: You bet. 

Yes, Sadly, I think I am probably right on that prediction and we'll hear that music through the next coming months. 

But in September of 2016 now, the top attorney for Hillary Clinton, Michael Sussmann walked into FBI headquarters. He claimed to have proof that Donald Trump's campaign was communicating in secret with a Russian bank. Now Clinton advisers then laundered that accusation through the media. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

JAKE SULLIVAN, THEN HILLARY CLINTON ADVISER: What we learned during the campaign was that very serious computer science experts, people who work closely with the United States government had uncovered this secret hotline between the Alpha Bank, the Russian bank and the Trump Organization. 

Now, of course, we didn't know for sure if in fact that were the case, but we knew that it should be investigated. And we knew that given how serious these computer scientists were, they weren't just making up crackpot theories. 

So, it wasn't surprising to learn that even as of last week, the FBI is still looking into this. 

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And do you have any idea what they're looking for? 

SULLIVAN: I don't. Of course, I don't have a line into the FBI on this. But what I know based on public reporting, is that there is very unusual server activity between this Russian bank and the Trump Organization, which suggests contact that took place over the course of the campaign. 

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

CAIN: Okay, now, everything you just heard was false. None of that was true. 

Michael Sussmann is now on trial for lying to the FBI, about everything you just heard. 

During the trial today, former Clinton campaign manager, Robbie Mook took the stage. He made a big admission. He testified that Hillary Clinton personally approved of the dissemination of those false allegations to the media. 

So what does all of this mean? Matt Whitaker is former acting Attorney General and he joins us now. Matt, great to see you tonight. 

MATT WHITAKER, FORMER ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: Hey, Will. 

CAIN: This is -- I think it's fair to say without exaggeration, this is big. Tell us what you read into what's happening in the Durham investigation in the trial of Michael Sussmann as of today. 

WHITAKER: Yes, this Sussmann trial is so important for two reasons. One, it is holding somebody accountable for lying to the FBI and upholding the rule of law, but on the other hand, it is also important because it is telling the story of what the Clinton campaign did spreading disinformation, really that was in 2017, that our current National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan was talking about this same fake news false information that Hillary Clinton had ordered the Code Red to disseminate to the media. 

And Sussmann, prior to that had gone to the FBI and saying, I don't represent any clients, but he did. He represented the campaign when he delivered this information to the FBI. 

CAIN: Yes, I don't think that can go without being highlighted what you just said. Jake Sullivan, the man we just saw lying on national television is the one in charge of giving us daily updates on the war in Ukraine. That is the man in charge in a large part of our national security now. 

But Matt, what do you think this goes from here? There's a sense among many watching that this is just the beginning of John Durham's investigation. Now that Michael assessment is on trial, we'll see where that verdict comes in. But where does it go from here after Sussmann? 

WHITAKER: Yes, I think it's going to go to a broader group that was involved in creating this disinformation, because if you remember, Durham's filings before the trial started, he suggested there was a joint venture or a criminal conspiracy among several people to execute this plan of lying to the FBI and trying to launch an investigation that would lead to this October surprise. 

So I think it's going to continue to go slow, but intentionally, try to cast a net that's broader than just Michael Sussmann. 

CAIN: Does that -- let's just leave it here, Matt, with this question. Does that net -- does that net get cast wide enough that it does land over Hillary Clinton? 

WHITAKER: Well, like you said earlier, Robbie Mook testified today in Court that Hillary Clinton said, share this disinformation with the media. And remember, these are the same people that have had the disinformation about Hunter's laptop. So I think Durham is finally going to make a statement to many of these people that this type of lying to the American people is over. 

CAIN: We can only hope. Matt Whitaker, thank you so much. 

WHITAKER: Thank you, Will. 

CAIN: So a shocking and disturbing new disease called monkeypox is suddenly spreading all over the world. What's going on? And how deadly is this disease? That's straight ahead. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) 

CAIN: Fentanyl overdoses are setting new records, sad records, all over the country. In San Francisco alone, 500 people died of fentanyl ODs last year, but state prosecutors are doing nothing about the problem. In fact, San Francisco District Attorney, Chesa Boudin obtained just three convictions for drug dealing in 2021. 

Gina McDonald is the cofounder of Mothers Against Drug Deaths and her group has a new billboard in San Francisco and it reads: Welcome to Camp fentanyl, open to kids everywhere. And Gina McDonald joins us now. 

Gina, thank you for being with us tonight. You know, we see news reports. We sometimes see video of these open air drug markets. What is it like in San Francisco? 

GINA MCDONALD, COFOUNDER, MOTHERS AGAINST DRUG DEATHS: Well, thank you for having me. In San Francisco right now we are seeing two people a day on average die of fentanyl overdoses. We've had so far this year, 193 people die from overdoses. That's just January to April. 

We see just the streets lined with drug dealers, people laying on the street, shooting up, smoking fentanyl, smoking heroin, living on the street in tents. And we see city agencies handing out foil and clean needles and pipes and things to use, and that's what San Francisco has become. 

CAIN: So the response to this crisis, this human tragedy right there on your streets, the response by your city's leaders is to pass out foil, clean needles to enable? 

MCDONALD: Well, that is what is happening by the nonprofit agencies that are contracted through the city. There are definitely, they're saying there's not enough beds. There are beds open, but we're not making people use them and it just seems that not enough is being done. 

First of all, we have to shut down the open drug markets, right? There's -- you can't just -- you can't stand on the corner and sell guns, but we allow people to stand on the corner and sell fentanyl and two people a day die. I don't understand that if 192 people are dying in San Francisco and you're just allowing what is causing them to die to continue. 

CAIN: You know, Gina, I know this. You've been on this program before. I know that you've struggled within your family with addiction and you yourself are a recovering addict. As you look at what's happening to your city, and you heard this on the way in that the D.A. there actually has said has prosecuted three individuals but that wasn't even for dealing drugs that was for accessory to a crime. So the number of people convicted for dealing drugs is zero. 

So your own experience in your city, what would you say to the leaders of San Francisco? 

MCDONALD: I know there's a big recall campaign going on right now with Chesa Boudin. We try to stay nonpolitical, but when you see when dealers do get arrested and they go in and their charges are dropped over and over and over, and the same people are coming out, you know, my daughter's dealers, my daughter is in recovery right now, but she was on the streets of San Francisco, using heroin, using fentanyl. 

Her dealer has been arrested three times and released in San Francisco, and her father literally had to drive over and pay him off at one point for her safety. So I mean, if we're having to take it into our own hands, and I'm not saying to do that, but you know, as parents have to take it into our own hands to go and deal with people selling fentanyl on the corner to our kids, I don't know what to do -- I don't know what else to do, but to put up billboards. 

CAIN: Well, Gina, you're putting up billboards, you're making people well aware of what's happening in San Francisco. And all I can say to you is we wish you our very best. You have our prayers for your family, your daughter, and happy for the steps that you've made. 

Now we pray for your city as well. Thank you so much, Gina. 

MCDONALD: Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. 

CAIN: All right. So in April of 2019, a man identifying himself eventually, as Hunter Biden dropped off a laptop at John Paul Mac Isaac's repair shop in Delaware. Now the laptop was watered damaged, but ended up containing extensive evidence implicating the Biden family in an overseas influence peddling operation. 

Well, that and a bunch of porn. 

And on the most recent episode of "The Will Cain Podcast," I recently spoke to John Paul Mac Isaac, about this moment where Hunter Biden walks into his shop, and about his decision to approach the FBI, and then to eventually go public because he was concerned for his safety. Listen. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

JOHN PAUL MAC ISAAC, FORMER COMPUTER SHOP OWNER: I started to get more and more concerned for my personal safety because -- and I think, as we've all seen recently, the Secret Service is the Biden family fixer service. 

You know, they bailed out Hunter, whether it's pulling guns out of trash cans, or it's waking him up when he's on an OD at a hotel or using his dad's credit card. It's kind of -- I expected the Secret Service to come into the shop, to sweep that laptop under the carpet and take me along with them. 

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

CAIN: So that's where Isaac's fear began. So he asked his father to deliver the laptop to the FBI, and then he said his father, well, this is how he was treated by the FBI. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

ISAAC: My father, who's a retired Air Force Colonel of 31 years, lives out in New Mexico. So, I had a conversation with him. So he approached the Albuquerque field office for the FBI in October, early October of 2019, which turned out to be probably as he described the most humiliating experience of his life. 

CAIN: Why is that? 

ISAAC: Well, he's a 31-year Colonel, and, you know, gave 31 years of his life to the defense of this country and he walks into an office where the FBI agent basically tells him to lawyer up, get the hell out and don't talk about this. 

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

CAIN: It was a fascinating and upsetting conversation. Isaac talks about approaching GOP politicians who also rebuffed his offers. The whole thing right now is available on "The Will Cain Podcast" where you can listen to that 40-minute conversation. 

We talk about everything, everything under the sun, including the fact that he is legally blind and how that impacted this story. And tomorrow morning on "FOX and Friends" Weekend, the interview will air. I hope you will join us then. 

So this was one of the first to report the story next that Joe Biden is trying -- this show the TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT show -- was the first one to report that Joe Biden was looking to sign a Global Pandemic Treaty. One state is now standing up to the Biden administration to warn how this treaty would be a disaster for the United States and that's an understatement, and that's coming up next. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) 

CAIN: So you've probably heard about the monkeypox outbreak. It's supposedly rare, but suddenly it is spreading across the world at an alarming rate. 

The World Health Organization has just called an emergency meeting after 100 cases were reported in Europe. Could this be the next pandemic? 

Dr. Marc Siegel joins us to assess. Dr. Siegel, great to have you with us tonight. It's not new, right? Monkeypox has been around, but all of a sudden seems to be spreading at an increased rate. Why? 

DR. MARC SIEGEL, FOX NEWS CHANNEL MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Exactly right, Will, and you and I focus on public health and at first, it was identified in 1958. It's got pustules like you might imagine. It looks like smallpox, but it's milder and it would be covered by the smallpox vaccine, but nobody has taken it anymore. It causes fever. It causes lymph nodes. It causes the rash and we're starting to see it spread through communities, which it has never done before because it's not that contagious. 

Why? Well, you think it might be a mutation, right? And that's certainly possible. But here's what I'm really concerned about. Though, we can always learn from this, and be on the lookout for other things besides COVID, especially you and me. At the same time, I worry that our public health radar is broken, that we're captured by our negative imaginations, that because of the way COVID was pounding the drum constantly, we're immediately assuming this is going to take over the world. Here we go again. 

We're not in a position to judge anything. And who do we go to, to judge? Well, the World Health Organization? Well, let me tell you something, you may not remember this. 

In 2005, they said bird flu was going to kill 100 million people, and I wrote a book about that. Finally a pandemic came -- a pandemic came, and they said, no, you don't have to worry, it's a regional problem only with COVID. It doesn't spread human to human, they said. Meanwhile, it was spreading all over the world. 

So now Will, if they actually say "Warning, warning, this is something to worry about." 

CAIN: Do the opposite. 

SIEGEL: I am going to say, probably a health scare. Probably a health scare. If they're warning, it's probably just a health scare. 

CAIN: WHO, not exactly covered themselves in glory. 

Hey, I want to ask you a question that I think everyone is dancing around and I want to ask you this question not to malign any particular groups, but to serve as a public service announcement. 

It does seem that right now, monkeypox is spreading not exclusively, Dr. Siegel, but significantly within the gay population. It looks like a gay sauna in Spain and in a festival in Belgium. Why? What do we need to know about that? 

SIEGEL: Well, I believe that that virus can be spread sexually and I think that that's for sure the reason. It's being spread by travelers. It's being spread sexually, it's being spread by close contact, and instead of doing what they did with HIV-AIDS back in the 80s, oh, we don't want to talk about that we better talk about that because that's how you track something epidemiologically. 

You don't be afraid it's not politically correct to mention what you just mentioned, extremely important, from a public health point of view to say that it is spreading in the gay population, absolutely. 

CAIN: You want to make people aware of the potential risks. So hopefully, we've done some of that here tonight in the proper context, as you point out, that there's no need to go around running like our head has been cut off. Running like chickens with our heads cut off in fear. 

SIEGEL: Well, and it makes itself obvious with a rash and we have a vaccine, but we don't want to overreact. Absolutely, Will, absolutely. 

CAIN: Okay, Dr. Siegel. Really good information. Thank you so much. 

SIEGEL: Always, great. Thanks, Will. 

CAIN: You bet. So we told you last night about the new Global Pandemic Treaty, which we expect will be signed in Switzerland next week. Now, the treaty would give the aforementioned World Health Organization, a lot more control over your life. But some officials in this country are starting to fight back, and one of them is Eric Schmitt. He is the Attorney General of Missouri, and he just sent a letter to the Biden administration about this treaty. Eric Schmitt joins us now to explain. 

Eric, great to see you tonight. Let's talk about this Global Pandemic Treaty. What's it all about? What should we fear here? 

ERIC SCHMITT, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI: Well, I think the first thing is to take a step back and the World Health Organization is a discredited corrupt organization. That's number one. I mean, they worked with the Chinese Communist Party to hide the origins of COVID, to not talk about its spread. They are a total disaster, and President Trump was right to have us withdraw from that. 

Joe Biden got us back in, and now Joe Biden wants to cede authority for quote-unquote, "public health emergencies," whatever that is, to the World Health Organization. And we know that the pathway to tyranny is paved with these emergency orders. 

And what we learned during COVID is that ceding this authority even in this country to unelected bureaucrats that would have control over our civil liberties and how we live our lives is a huge mistake. It would be even a bigger mistake to cede that to these international authorities. We don't know who they are. 

You know, Anthony Fauci is, you know, bad enough. We don't need an international Fauci. We don't need a Swiss Fauci. So we've got to stand up to this to make sure America retains its sovereignty on these issues and not cede it to this globalist organization. 

CAIN: Yes, so it's odd, right? The party and the ideologues who, guise everything right now as defense of democracy now seem to be moving us towards away from democracy, away from citizen control and input towards this ability of the WHO to have a say over our domestic policy with a simple declaration. 

But here is the key, you started to put it there. It's not even in the end, the WHO, who calls the shots because we know from the prior pandemic, the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party calls the shots at the WHO, so we outsource our decision making to the CCP. 

SCHMITT: Right and by the way, this is the pathway to international vaccine passports, it is the pathway to international mask mandates, the stuff that they couldn't get done before, they can get done much easier. 

And by the way public health emergencies aren't limited to pandemics according to this. You know you've got John Kerry talking about climate change being an emergency now. And we certainly don't need people in Geneva telling people in Greene County, Missouri what cars they can drive, how many miles they can drive it. 

America was founded on the idea of individual rights that we can make our own decisions, not collectivism, and certainly not this kind of international globalist collectivism. 

CAIN: Well, you make such a great point -- climate change, a public health emergency, we've seen in some states racism, declared a public health emergency. You can just imagine, disinformation, a public health emergency, and now letting people across the globe make those declarations to control American society. 

SCHMITT: Correct. 

CAIN: Eric Schmitt, thank you for this letter, and thanks for highlighting it here tonight. 

SCHMITT: Good to be with you, Will. 

CAIN: All right, so earlier in the show, we explained how Joe Biden's reckless spending helped cause inflation specifically with his American Rescue Plan. I misstated how much money that bill cost, I said $19 trillion, it is $1.9 trillion, but the point remains the same. That spending according to the Federal Bank in San Francisco was a direct cause of nearly three points of inflation. His left-wing agenda is why prices are soaring today. 

That's not debatable despite my misstatement. That is true. 

So Americans have had enough of speech policing and corporations like Netflix are finally taking notice. The streaming service just issued employees a warning about bringing their intolerant woke values to the workplace. That's next. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) 

CAIN: All of a sudden, free speech seems to be making a comeback. Netflix has just issued a memo to staff explaining that quote: "Viewers decide what's appropriate for them versus having Netflix censor specific artists or voices." The company also canceled production of "Anti-Racist Baby." Yes, anti-racist baby, which is based off and Ibram X. Kendi book, of course. 

At the same time, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot just came out against censorship. She wrote on Twitter, quote: "No banning of thought, ever." That's nice. 

Karol Markowicz is a columnist with "The New York Post," and she has a new piece on this and she joins us now. Karol, you seem hopeful. You think we're turning the corner? 

KAROL MARKOWICZ, COLUMNIST, "NEW YORK POST": Yes, I think we've finally reached the stage where people are realizing that catering to a far left small fringe is not profitable, and they're turning away from it. I absolutely think we're heading in the right direction. I think the movement for free speech has been racking up wins lately and it feels pretty good. 

And I think that Americans have had enough. We've sort of reached the end of this conformist moment where everybody has to say the exact same thing in the exact same way. 

CAIN: Careless Friday night, I want to be optimistic. I want to have a cocktail with you and I want to feel good, but let me rain just a little bit on the parade. I'm a little skeptical. For example, I don't think the Disinformation Governance Board is just going to go away. The Ministry of Truth will be broken up and embedded into other government agencies. 

I don't think Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter is quite accomplished just yet. I think the fight for free speech has just begun. 

MARKOWICZ: Yes. Oh, I agree with you. I agree we are pretty far from having cocktails at the end of this movement. But, you know, for the last two years, I've been getting so many e-mails that start with "I'm a liberal, but I hate what's going on with this conformity." And I really think that we are turning a corner where the people that are fighting this like the Elon Musk's, the Dave Chappelle's, you know, Joe Rogan. I think the people who are sort of the loudest right now are on the left. 

And so it's no longer just a conservative fight and that makes me feel good, because I think that the majority of Americans don't want this. They don't want this conformity and it has been shoved down their throats by this leftist fringe. So the faster that we all kind of band together to defeat them, the better and faster we'll be having cocktails. 

CAIN: You know, I've been waiting for capitalism to be the self-correcting mechanism. You're right. 

MARKOWICZ: Same. 

CAIN: Most people do not want this crap. They want free ideas flowing in the United States of America. But again, not to be Debbie Downer, I want to see American corporations once again devote themselves quite honestly to what the majority of their customers want, and not be afraid of whoever in the cubicle on floor three is ready to file some absurd H.R. complaint, and I'm not sure we're there. I'm just not sure Corporate America quite crazily is ready to re-embrace capitalism. 

MARKOWICZ: Yes, well, again, we can help them by showing them the way and I think what Netflix is doing is definitely a step forward. I think, Netflix realized people don't want to see shows about racist babies and they kind of self-corrected. 

I think that also there's a lie that we don't want to see diverse stories. That's ridiculous I think we want to see diverse characters, I think we want to see diverse storylines. 

I think we just don't want to be lectured to and have this indoctrination from very far left perspective in every single TV show and movie. I think the faster that places like Netflix realize what Americans actually want, the better it is for all of us. 

CAIN: Well, and here's the optimism, we will disrupt them, put them out of business, create something that actually reflects the audience's desires. 

Karol, always good talking to you. Thanks for doing this on a Friday. 

MARKOWICZ: Thank you, Will. 

CAIN: You bet. 

So NPR, always in touch with what people desire has just issued a new mask policy. It calls on employees to rat on each other if they don't wear a mask. Yes, quote, "Let your supervisor know and they can remind that person. You can also share an anonymous concern via the Ethics Point System." That's their system, the Ethics Point System. 

The policy states that noncompliant employees can lose their jobs quote, "Failure to comply may lead to disciplinary action and up to including termination." So obviously, no one at NPR learned anything from "Goodfellas." 

(BEGIN "GOODFELLAS" VIDEO CLIP) 

JIMMY CONWAY, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: Here is your graduation present. 

HENRY HILL, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: What for? I'm pinched. 

CONWAY: Everybody gets a pinch, but you did it right. You told them nothing and they got nothing. 

HILL: I thought you'd be mad. 

CONWAY: Mad? I'm not mad. I'm proud of you. You took the first pinch like a man and you learned the two greatest things in life. 

HILL: What? 

CONWAY: Look at me. Never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut. 

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

CAIN: Snitches get stitches. We all know that. 

Vincent Coglianese is a radio host in Washington, D.C. and he joins us now. Great to see you. NPR sounds like a wonderful place to work. 

VINCE COGLIANESE, RADIO SHOW HOST: Yes, Neurotic People's Radio, really on display. This is downright Soviet. I mean, you talk about the Soviet Union specifically, you know, for years, many, many, many decades, they'd celebrate a 13-year-old who ratted out his own father for taking a little too much grain. They killed the kid because the parents turned him in. And then the boy ended up being martyred and celebrated throughout the Soviet Union as being an informant forever. 

Yes, that's what this is. In NPR, they are turning everyone into informants against each other. You catch somebody with a mask halfway down their face, you rat them out. This is what the left has become, a bunch of Soviet hall monitors, and this is the policy they've instituted inside taxpayer funded NPR. 

CAIN: If you had to pick the home of virtue signaling, you would probably pick NPR offices. And they of course, are the last ones hanging on to masking and now turning to as you point out informing on their coworkers. It's absolutely stunning, Vince, but it's what we expect from NPR. 

COGLIANESE: Yes, I know, and the reality here is if you're wondering why so many of your Democrat friends became sort of like a tangled ball of nerves throughout the pandemic. The answer is that they were pumping into their ear holes, taxpayer funded propaganda that was whispering to them about the risks of COVID and dramatically overstating them. 

Remember, during COVID itself, Democrats thought by -- 40 percent of Democrats thought that you had a greater than 50 percent chance of being hospitalized if you caught COVID, where at the time, it was literally one percent. And the reason for that is because of places like NPR. 

CAIN: They were informed on that, by the way as they are on the number of unarmed Black men being killed in the country. 

I'll leave it with this. I'm a sports fan, Vince, I don't know if you are as well. I'm a big Mavericks fan. And I saw Steve Kerr, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors still wearing his mask. 

COGLIANESE: Unbelievable. 

CAIN: But down below his nose. He is keeping his chin from getting COVID. So I'm really curious how that's going to be treated within the offices of NPR. Do you rat that guy out? Or does he get a pass? 

COGLIANESE: Yes, I guess so. But let me make two quick points about NPR. One is like they, tell people that like, hey, if you can find somebody without their mask before you report them, you can say, hey, you forgot your mask, which is perfect for the left. It's like passive-aggressive they are not actually saying it. 

And secondly, when it comes to mask wearing at NPR, you know, they have a hundred percent compliance. Come on. This isn't a real issue. They sent that memo around -- they sent that memo around to prove that they're good people. We're the good ones. We're still wearing our masks. 

CAIN: There are no rebels at NPR. All right, Vince, great to talk to you tonight. Thank you. 

COGLIANESE: Thank you, Will. 

CAIN: All right, we'll be right back. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) 

CAIN: Well, thank you for joining this Special Edition of TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT. 

Don't forget my full interview with the man who found the laptop from hell, John Paul Mac Isaac is available now on "The Will Cain Podcast." Go to Apple, Spotify or FOX News Podcast. Subscribe and download. 

And of course tune in each night at eight o'clock right here for the show that is the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness, and groupthink. I got to say that. 

Have a great weekend. 

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