How American women see the ISIS threat

Laura Ingraham on how men and women react to witnessing brutal terrorism in the Muslim world

This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," September 18, 2014. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

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O'REILLY: Back to the "Book Segment" tonight. The Week in Review from the Ingraham angle. How American women is opposed to men see the ISIS threat. According to a Pew Poll, there is a difference. The question, do you approve of President Obama's plan to confront ISIS?

62 percent of men say the plan is OK with them. But only 44 percent of women say the same thing. Joins us from Washington, Laura Ingraham. Why the 18-point gap, Laura?

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS: Smart women. Look, I think when you look at the polls, Bill, since 1965, gallop has been tracking the difference between men and women's views on military action. 1965, there was a gender gap about staying in Vietnam, our current efforts in Vietnam. It was 73-59. 91 during driving Saddam out of Kuwait. It was 60, men approved; 45 women. Then you go on to several months after 9/11. Should we go after Saddam? It was 80-68.

So, that gender gap continues to this day and on this new military conflict. Couple of things. Number one, I think women tend to be naturally, a little bit more like mediators, right? Where we mediate fights with our kids. We do not really like violent video games, certainly not as much as men.

We do not like violent movies as much men. The violent thing for most women is that they recoil from it. I think that is part of it. But, I also think there is some pragmatism here in this current conflict. I think I heard you say earlier that you do not know if Obama has the will to win. I would agree with you.

Marsha Blackburn said she does not really trust our commander in chief. And, people said they do not trust Hagel. They do not trust Kerry. They do not trust Obama. But, we should go in and follow the non-plan plan. To me, that makes no sense.

O'REILLY: But, I will tell you. Let me just jump in here. I think it is what Ms. Blackburn from Tennessee said. We got to start somewhere. We do not think this is a panacea. We do not think that this is going to bring ISIS down, but we got to get it rolling here. And, there is something to that. But, I am going to ask you the same question that I asked Megyn Kelly --

INGRAHAM: I disagree.

O'REILLY: Did you see the beheading? Did you watch it?

INGRAHAM: No. I mean, I watched the beginning, but --

O'REILLY: I just. I do not know. I do not know anybody who could sit and watch that.

INGRAHAM: Yes.

O'REILLY: OK. So, as I said, my first reaction and yet I am a barbarian, I admit it. You know, I just want to take these guys out. I do not care why they did it. I do not care who they are. The fact that they did it and they are putting it on the internet is enough that they should die.

INGRAHAM: Right.

O'REILLY: Was that your first reaction to think back, the visceral reaction.

INGRAHAM: Yes. I am more like you, probably on this than Megyn's reaction. I mean I want them all gone. I want them all obliterated. But, I also -- but at the same token, Bill, I want a strong America. And, I do not want to do the wrong thing. I do not want to make a mistake with the wrong-headed plan that most military analysts say will lead to a massive escalation.

O'REILLY: Yes. But, that leads to a policy now.

INGRAHAM: Yes. I am.

O'REILLY: You are out of the Laura Ingraham emotional human being into policy.

INGRAHAM: Right.

O'REILLY: But, that is not what the discussion is about. The discussion is about how men and women process violence.

INGRAHAM: Yes. I think women -- I think you are right. The gender gap from Gallop on to this Pew survey, Bill, you are right. There is with the exception of a few times right at the beginning -- right after 9/11, there was some convergence. And, a few other times, there was a converging, basically, between men and women involving U.N. weapons inspectors and U.N. involvement in Iraq. But, most of the time, there is this gap. I think women tend to want to mediate.

O'REILLY: OK.

INGRAHAM: They want people to get together and work it out.

O'REILLY: That is the traditional thinking. Now, I am going to ask you a very provocative question.

INGRAHAM: Yes. Oh, good.

O'REILLY: Yes. OK.

INGRAHAM: Love it.

O'REILLY: Do you think that women are capable of the same kind of horrendous, cruelty and violence that men are?

INGRAHAM: Not on the same scale. No, probably not. I mean, I think it is the maternal instinct in part. It is not that women cannot do this. Obviously, there are women who want to be Jihadis and there are women holding up heads.

And, women who are, you know, committing horrible crimes all over the United States to children, against fellow human beings. I mean, women are capable of evil, yes. But, to the extent that we are seeing these massive terrorist actions across the globe, most of them are committed by a certain age male. Most of them happen to be Islamic. So --

O'REILLY: Same thing with crime in the USA by the way.

INGRAHAM: Yes.

O'REILLY: All the crimes --

INGRAHAM: Right.

O'REILLY: So, all violent crime so heavily male -- and, I do think you are right. It is the maternal instinct. It is the way God created the different genders.

INGRAHAM: Yes. Bill, I cannot watch violent movies. I cannot watch movies like -- remember the old reservoir dogs? All my friends in law school like, you got to see this movie. I cannot go to violence. I cannot do it.

O'REILLY: You see, I can watch those movies. I cannot watch "desperate housewives." That just drives me crazy.

INGRAHAM: No. Bill, I understand you are a big fan of like beaches. Like you like that movie, right? Like the whole Bette Miller movie. Like "The Notebook." Bill O'Reilly is in the front seat with popcorn. This is awesome.

O'REILLY: No. I wanted Sylvester Stallone to shoot all the people in "The Notebook".

INGRAHAM: I like Rambo, do not get me wrong. But, Rambo is great, but I cannot do some of the other stuff.

O'REILLY: All right, Laura Ingraham, everybody.

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