Susan Rice: Today's threats are not 'existential'
Obama administration downplays global terrorism
This is a rush transcript from "The Five," February 6, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Kimberly Guilfoyle along with Bob Beckel, Eric Bolling, Dana Perino and Greg Gutfeld. It's 5 o'clock in New York City and this is "The Five."
Today, ISIS announced the death of another U.S. hostage, but this time, it's not claiming responsibility. American aid worker Kayla Mueller was captured in Syria in 2013. ISIS said she was just killed by Jordanian air strikes. But U.S. officials say they haven't seen any evidence yet to back up that claim. Here's a video that surfaced of Mueller before she was abducted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLA MUELLER, AMERICAN AID WORKER: I am in solidarity with the Syrian people. I reject the brutality and killings that the Syrian authorities are committing against the Syrian people, because silence is participation in this crime, I declare my participation in Syrian today on YouTube.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: ISIS is growing stronger but the Obama administration is once again downplaying the global terror threat. Listen to the president's national security advisor earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: While the dangers we face may be more numerous and varied, they are not of the existential nature we confronted during World War II or during the cold war. We cannot afford to be buffeted by alarmism and a nearly instantaneous news cycle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: Now I thought that the word existential was used in Philosophy 101 -- in college, as a general election course, but it seems to be used with regular frequency by this administration. Dana, care to opine?
DANA PERINO, CO-HOST: Well, the speech was given to a group of intellectuals, so it wasn't necessary meant for.
GREG GUTFELD, CO-HOST: Us.
PERINO: Masses like me, I guess.
(LAUGHTER)
GUTFELD: That wasn't for us.
PERINO: I think --
BOB BECKEL, CO-HOST: But in somehow it means.
PERINO: Threat is a threat. And also I felt like she was also trying again to say we are so much better than presidents who have come before us because, we realize that we have just to keep our heads about us and does not do anything rash. In the meantime, the world is saying he's turning -- he's turning the world inside out and they're looking for more leadership from the United States. And sadly, from this document, I don't think they are necessarily going to get it from --that the document wasn't new strategy that they were putting forward that they do periodically at the White House.
GUILFOYLE: Well, it seems like Eric, that from this that they are not taking it as seriously as they should. They're speaking about it in more ideological and philosophical terms.
ERIC BOLLING, CO-HOST: I think Dana, the couple of days ago, hit it on ahead (ph). They have a wish, they don't have a plan. There's no strategy, you listen to that speech. You heard her talk about existential threats. Whether this is the same as World War I, World War II, this is different. We clearly know better than you all know, that's why this is different, you can't get it, sorry. And then you heard her talk about the economy, it's like -- what -- where are they going with this? They're all over the map. There is no defined strategy, there is no defined plan and they can't defeat an enemy that they can't even name. I just -- comment on that -- piece of video we showed. That -- that breaks your heart when you see that aid worker -- probably being told what to say just to save her own life. Can you see that and then these -- slime balls at ISIS saying that the Jordanians kill her in an air strike with no proof, these people are the lowest form of life on earth. We are going to get to Tom Cotton soon, I guess -- guess right?
GUILFOYLE: We are.
BOLLING: I will going to defer -- all -- everything I've ever thought about these people to what he says and we will hear about it in a minute.
GUILFOYLE: It's a good one, that's for sure. Greg?
GUTFELD: Well, back to -- Rice. OK, so Obama calls his foreign policy plan strategic patience. That's the phrase. There -- that now -- there is a rallying crime.
GUILFOYLE: (inaudible)
GUTFELD: Strategic patience. It's just like someone should tell him he's running a country and not a PowerPoint presentation waiting for the slides. History repeats itself. This kind of mentality allows evil to flourish. History will not judge President Obama kindly, until he finds his spine. Because right now he's making Neville (ph) Chamberlain looks like Wilt (ph) Chamberlain. He's got to get (ph) his act together.
(LAUGHTER)
GUILFOYLE: Bob, Bob even chuckled.
BECKEL: No, I was still trying to figure out what existential means. What is that mean?
GUILFOYLE: Do you want us to get back to you about that?
(CROSSTALK)
GUILFOYLE: The point is, a threat is a threat. It isn't something --
BECKEL: No, but seriously.
GUILFOYLE: Imagined.
BECKEL: I really don't know --
GUILFOYLE: Or something that you are going to.
BOLLING: Over --
BECKEL: It means what?
BOLLING: Overwhelming, clear, obvious, yes?
GUTFELD: What?
BOLLING: Do you know that?
GUTFELD: Existential is an apocalyptic threat.
BECKEL: Yeah, OK.
GUTFELD: It's a threat to your whole existence. It's a great word.
GUILFOYLE: Bottom line Bob, try -- you trying to dodge the issue. Clearly, this is a problem, because not only just the president but, Susan Rice. They're using the same terms, the same methodology to try and talk above this that we are above this in the United States. But really, everyone else and including people in this country see us as falling below the call for duty.
BECKEL: Well, I think if I were going to do this strategy I probably have the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff do it at the Pentagon and not at Brookings.
(LAUGHTER)
BECKEL: It's a -- the staging has got to be a little bit perplexed. But hey, I mean -- you know, I guess maybe there is something about that but, as soon as I saw that, I thought this was a discussion about the -- about the future of the northern Chinese provinces is when. (ph) I mean.
GUILFOYLE: harsh.
BECKEL: I don't know.
GUILFOYLE: Yeah, no one knows. But you know who does know? Representative Tom Cotton. Let's listen to some real leadership. A real man speaks with vigor and clarity about this threat.
GUTFELD: In the room.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM COTTON, ARKANSAS SENATOR: How many detainees were at Guantanamo Bay on September 11, 2001?
BRIAN P. MCKEON, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR POLICY: Zero.
COTTON: How many were there in October 2000 when al-Qaeda bombed the USS Cole? MCKEON: Zero.
COTTON: Or that 1998 where they bombed their embassies?
MCKEON: So it was not open before 2002, Senator.
COTTON: 1993 in the first Wall Trade Center bombing?
MCKEON: Same answer.
COTTON: In my opinion, the only problem with Guantanamo Bay is there are too many empty beds and cells there right now. We should be sending more terrorists there for further interrogation, to keep this country safe. As far as I'm concerned, every last one of them can rot in hell. But as long as they don't do that, they can rot in Guantanamo Bay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: Sounds like a plan.
BOLLING: Yeah, you can't -- and I agree with everything he said. By the way, no PC there, message sent and likely message received. If the terrorists out there wonder where we stand? Hopefully, they realize a lot of us stand behind Tom Cotton versus what the administration is putting out there.
GUILFOYLE: Does (ph). Dana, you like the rhetoric.
PERINO: Well, I do. I just think that -- that he is a fresh voice in Washington, D.C. and there's also -- there's many more veterans from the more recent wars. We had showing Congresswoman Gabbard from Hawaii. She's a Democrat from Hawaii who won that seat. And we talked about Joni Earnest, Martha McSally now from Arizona and Tom Cotton is -- for examples that I can think about of the top of my head. And they provide a different perspective and -- you want to listen to them because they understand the threat more intimately than anybody else. Because, they were there, sent to fight it and their families were back here in the United States and they understand why they were fighting. They understood the reason that you had a global war on terror and what the aim was. And I think that what he's getting at is we are looking for the administration to tell us, do you understand the threat? What is the plan to go forward? And we are not the only ones. The president has so many audiences when he speaks and the messages to the Muslim world -- I think are troubling. So ISIS, in trying to say that the Jordanians killed an American, are trying to further their aims of a -- Charles Krauthammer wrote about this morning, which is to try to draw Jordan more deeply into the conflict, to try to further destabilize the region by destabilizing in their hope, the kingdom of Jordan. Greg.
GUTFELD: But the -- this is a very simple and very idiotic statement to make, but it has to be made for the establishment media and for the White House. 9/11 happened before, not after our response to 9/11. Somehow, it has been reversed. They look at everything as though terror -- terror is a response to horrifying things when actually it is our response to a horrifying thing. We need to get-mo of GITMO. When you're collecting dog poop, you need a bag to put it in, and that is GITMO. And I've always -- I've said it before, you going to franchise this thing, it will be successful, privatize it -- that's the way I would do it. And -- I know that Obama would rather kill than capture, which also, I think is great. But that doesn't mean you let go of the surviving infidels. You got to put them somewhere, that's what GITMO does.
BOLLING: I thought that.
GUILFOYLE: And it has done very effectively.
BOLLING: GITMO.
GUTFELD: Yes.
BOLLING: I just love it. I love that.
GUILFOYLE: Would that be the best? Of I know where Bolling's investing his next couple of (inaudible).
GUTFELD: I would invest.
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: I would see that -- what?
PERINO: Go fund me.
GUTFELD: Yes.
BOLLING: Go fund -- yeah. (ph) OK, start. (ph)
GUILFOYLE: No. But seriously, there is so much support in this country say let's do the right thing, let's make sure, let's keep us safe at home. What is the problem with GITMO, because it was so successful?
GUTFELD: Exactly.
GUILFOYLE: Because they worked that well? The only time GITMO failed is when you release them out the doors to go back to Yemen, to go gather with their friends.
GUTFELD: You know but --
GUILFOYLE: And meet more jihads.
GUTFELD: If GITMO was solar powered and had wind mills, maybe it would have been successful.
GUILFOYLE: Maybe Solyndra would have survived.
GUTFELD: Solyndra. Solyndra GITMO.
BECKEL: Yeah, I think it is fairly safe -- first of all, they were released from Guantanamo in two administrations.
GUTFELD: It's true.
BECKEL: Republican and Democrat.
GUTFELD: Fair point.
BECKEL: And I think the other thing is, is this is as -- as unusual a threat, this Islamic terrorism that we face. I haven't noticed -- leaving aside, obviously, Obama's reluctance for whatever reason, to take them straight on. I have not seen other leaders -- remember we were talking about this.
GUILFOYLE: Yeah.
BECKEL: Greg, where are the churchles (ph) of the world now. And I have seen anybody else that look forward. (ph)
GUTFELD: The king -- king of Jordan.
BECKEL: Although -- yeah --
GUTFELD: Pretty close.
BECKEL: Yeah. But I'm talking about the west --
GUTFELD: Yeah.
BECKEL: In Europe or -- I mean, I'm just not seeing it and I'm --
GUTFELD: Yeah.
BECKEL: I'm wondering why.
BOLLING: But maybe -- wait. Citizens are getting beheaded and burned alive.
(CROSSTALK)
GUILFOYLE: Here's the problem is -- Bob, that this administration is so reluctant to say that this is the work of Islamic extremists, OK? But that this is being done in the name of Islam. Just ask some of the leaders. Take a listen to the radical Imam Choudary what he has to say -- justifying the burning of that pilot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
The fact is that the pilots -- not just this Jordanian one, but many others like drones, and other bombing campaigns have burned a lot of men, women and children, and indiscriminate. So they have juristic arguments to retaliate in a similar manner. This is what Allah said in Koran, fight them back, the way that they fight you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: Justifiable homicide is what he is saying.
GUTFELD: Well you know, this imam says that burnings are OK, according to the Koran. And there are other imams saying, burnings aren't OK, according to Koran. The problem is both are relying on this book to define what's barbaric. This is not comforting. I don't need a little book to tell me that burning someone alive is good or bad, unless it's a Hardy Boys Mysteries. This is ridiculous. We are -- we are listening to people -- who we -- we shouldn't be showing that video of that moron, of that scum bag -- I don't know why we do.
GUILFOYLE: OK. We just did.
GUTFELD: I know. It's too late.
BECKEL: What is it graphically show is the Islamic religion is being hijacked by a group of people taking it to the most extreme. And there goes -- I think the world is going to turn against them it --
GUTFELD: Keep waiting.
BECKEL: Faster and faster. No, I think it is. I think the -- I think this Jordanian thing -- is just like when ISIS did the first beheading. Remember the -- the world all of a sudden said wait there, this is not exactly what we were -- we expect out of these guys. And then, we found out what they are about --
GUTFELD: Then there was another news cycle -- about something else.
BOLLING: But we also found out that those beheadings on tape were actually working to recruit people to the jihad.
BECKEL: I understand that. I understand that.
BOLLING: Make a quick thought on Imam Choudary.
GUILFOYLE: No.
BOLLING: I'm so tired of seeing him as well.
GUTFELD: Yeah.
BOLLING: He -- he's the Al Sharpton of, of radical Islam. He does -- I can't believe he believes half the stuff he is saying and all he does, he says these things to create media -- I guess media attention around himself.
GUTFELD: And we gave it to him.
BOLLING: Right.
GUTFELD: He is a smart guy.
GUILFOYLE: But nevertheless.
GUTFELD: Fox News.
GUILFOYLE: He has a voice. He's out there. He is very vocal and the people say, "Oh, why is it radical Islam." Well, that's what it is. We're not going to -- we're at war with mainstream Islam. That's not the case.
GUTFELD: Well given that he say, at least he is saying what it is.
PERINO: I think that --
BECKEL: Which is what?
GUILFOYLE: Dana.
PERINO: I think the recruiting portion of these videos is much stronger than our ability to fight them. Unless, for example, what we should -- I think what we should have done the other day, when the Jordanians said, all right, we're going in, we're going to do a lot more bombing. We should have said, we're going to help you. And it should have been overwhelming. Because now, what they did is -- they did a lot, not enough. And so all of those ISIS people that got to scatter and hide to be able to regroup somewhere, we should have just flattened it. Instead --
GUILFOYLE: Carpet bombing, one of my favorite thing.
PERINO: They were basically drawing the Jordanians.
GUILFOYLE: Yeah.
PERINO: Into a bigger conflict not in our interest.
BECKEL: You know there's one thing the goes down to, it seems to me -- we can argue this all we want. But this now, this ultimate question whether we put troops on the ground. And that is the issue, is it yes or no? Because in otherwise, you can try to do what more can you do? The next step you could do. Maybe you could bomb more targets. Maybe you can get more intelligence on the ground. But ultimately, to deal with this, we have to make a decision as a country to go in on the ground with troops.
BOLLING: Bob, Isis has -- a headquarters. We know that they hang out in a city -- Raqqa, right? Anyone who's in Raqqa has to know that there could be a day where -- hell fire missiles come down on them. Maybe it's time to level Raqqa.
GUILFOYLE: Oh, that's going to be interesting. OK.
BOLLING: No?
BECKEL: Well, you know, that's the whole point here. The question is -- are we willing to commit this, declare war and put troops on the ground. The situation has changed. Since we said we're going to pull out, because Obama made these decisions, the world has changed.
GUTFELD: Right.
BECKEL: And now.
GUTFELD: You're right.
BECKEL: There is also time for another decision.
PERINO: I would --
GUTFELD: you're right.
PERINO: Say, because of the decisions the world has changed over there. And I think that is an important thing.
BECKEL: Well, that --
PERINO: There were troops on the ground, right?
BECKEL: But we can't.
GUILFOYLE: And then he pulled them out.
BECKEL: It is. It is.
GUILFOYLE: Good job. Winning again, 2016 can't come soon enough, but - has --
BECKEL: But at (inaudible) well --
GUILFOYLE: Instead of condemning Islamic terrorism, our president shockingly condemned Christians at the prayer breakfast yesterday. That outrage, next. And later, it's Facebook Friday. Post your questions to us now on facebook.com/thefivefnc. The answers -- oh yes, they're coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GUTFELD: Yesterday at the prayer breakfast, President Obama brought up the crusades in light of modern evil, something about our high horse, Rolland Hastings. (ph) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Unless we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place. Remember that during the crusades and the inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: Wow, talk about a slight comparing modern day Islam to medieval atrocities. By knew even better out accused Mr. Obama, the Islamophobia. He's right though, the crusades were an awful thing responding to another awful thing, an Islamic holy war. But he left out three key points, it happened like 700 or 800 years ago, it stopped. This is 2015 so you should stop to, or else. The fact is President Obama spoke the truth. When it comes to religion Islamism is the slowest runner in a millennium marathon. We're here, they're still back there and some of them want to stay there and take us back with them. Now maybe during the holocaust, some academics said these horrors happened throughout history. But how is that any comfort. When you compare something happening now to a time before indoor plumbing, it reminds you where the president's head is in the sand and why he sees Islamophobia in his sleep. The crusades were brought up to remove our victim's status and make us the aggressor, which works for an academic, thought that we are the bad guy. The president indeed condemns terror, but relativism leads to ruminations that waste precious time needed to fight terror. Instead of leading, he's educating us on our own transgressions, as though as presidency is a college course. I just hope we don't get graded for it. I dozed off after the second year. So Bob --
BECKEL: I was hoping you were going to do that.
GUTFELD: I was -- I just saying no one would have -- no one expected the Spanish inquisition at breakfast. They were hoping something nice.
BECKEL: Probably the breakfast didn't go down well. I -- I just, just say what -- you know, I tell you.
(CROSSTALK)
BECKEL: One day, just one day, please, please give me something to work with. I mean, this is -- this is a prayer breakfast, a national prayer breakfast. This is for the most -- most active event for Christians in the United States.
GUILFOYLE: How does it make you feel as a Christian?
BECKEL: It doesn't make me feel good, that's -- the point is I have to -- you know, I get blasted by my own side for not being strong. How can I be strong about that?
(LAUGHTER)
BECKEL: OK, what am I going to to say? To say it was a bad place, bad station, bad analogy. I mean, I --
GUILFOYLE: What does it tell you?
BECKEL: Something else goes (ph)
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: I will give him this Dana. This is the first point, he point at the time that he has ever linked to religion to terror.
PERINO: Right.
(LAUGHTER)
PERINO: It's like -- the thing -- but the thing is, is that what he does is mask over.
GUTFELD: Yeah.
PERINO: The fact that ISIS and terrorists, al-Qaeda, Taliban, have killed more Muslims.
GUTFELD: The Muslims.
PERINO: Than Christians.
GUTFELD: Yeah.
PERINO: So it's not a holy war.
GUTFELD: No it's not. Good point.
PERINO: How was that? (ph) GUTFELD: Eric, this mentality that excuse -- in a weird way, he indirectly excuses behavior. But by always referencing a prior evil, it's like if something bad happens, you can say, well, this happened before.
BOLLING: Except.
GUTFELD: You can do that all the time.
BOLLING: Except for radical Islam. I mean he can talk about -- you want to talk history, let's talk about the reasons for the crusades and then maybe you understand.
GUILFOYLE: Right.
BOLLING: A little bit more -- why it is offensive to 2.4 billion Christians around the world that you equate the crusades to what's going on right now in radical Islam, I'm just deeply, deeply offended. I said it yesterday I think he owes the Christian population -- not just here in America, around the world an apology. I mean -- do it for yourself, don't do for -- this will stay with him. This is one of those things that -- you know, a year down the road, two years, five years down the road. They're going to say, remember with that speech at that breakfast? What a mistake he made there. He -- ruptured his own Achilles.
PERINO: The other thing about it was the tone was so preachy.
GUTFELD: Yes.
PERIMO: Rather than like an uplifting prayer breakfast thing, it was like I'm going to preach to you -- really? Alright.
GUTFELD: Yeah. Will you -- Kimberly, it's not -- he -- he's not framing terrorists some kind of a reciprocal thing, but as a reflection of centuries of religious madness. But that's not a strategy to fight terror.
GUILFOYLE: I hear a guy who -- it seems disgusted by Christian privilege and American privilege and he is lecturing us and lecturing all of the God fearing Christians around the world, and in some bizarre way to try to justify the heinous crimes and acts of barbarism that have occurred. There is no justification for this level of evil. And to even try and do this bizarre moral equivalency and comparing it to acts by Christians is really missing the point. I mean, honest, I think this is one of the worst things that he's ever said or done as a president.
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: Insulting radical Islam -- Insulting Islam by comparing it to medieval bad stuff. That's the (inaudible)
GUILFOYLE: It's bad across the board.
GUTFELD: Yeah.
BECKEL: This is a -- the thing -- I think -- nobody seems to be making the point, this is a civil war among Muslims for both their religion.
GUTFELD: It's true.
BECKEL: Their lifestyle, their economic progress. They should be in this fight.
GUTFELD: Yeah.
BECKEL: I mean, I -- I understand why we are in a better position to do it than anybody else is. But where are the rest of them? I mean, if we were not there and they seem they would like to go on, they don't go down and they all be subject to -- ISIS now. In the meantime, that will be quite and I think they are coward.
GUILFOYLE: Look at Jordanian pilot coming, gave his life. Serve and coming from a great family.
BECKEL: That's right, that's right. But --
GUILFOYLE: A very powerful tribe in Jordan.
BECKEL: But, I would like to see the Saudis, almost all weapons over there are our weapons that we have sold or given to them. It's time for them to step up. I mean, we can't carry this thing by ourselves.
GUTFELD: Alright.
PERINO: But they are.
GUILFOYLE: They are all doing it. They are.
BECKEL: But where -- but where are they really?
BOLLING: They're in Bob.
(CROSSTALK)
PERINO: Bob, how do you want -- how do you want me to prove that?
(CROSSTALK)
GUILFOYLE: You know it's like, Groundhog Day every day.
BOLLING: Again, the list of Arab nations that are involved in the fight. There are -- three, possibly four who are involved in air strikes, they are probably 8 or 10 who are involved in other things, training, supporting, buying military equipment.
BECKEL: You are giving them all a pass. Why don't they put troops there? Why they (inaudible) troops at and they come.
(CROSSTALK) GUILFOYLE: Oh, my God. And Jordan has troops on the ground, too. I don't know what to say about this.
(CROSSTALK)
BECEKL: The Jordanians don't attack. You are going the ground against ISIS.
GUTFELD: It's great.
GUILFOYLE: Bob.
GUTFELD: But we going to get a bar? (ph)
GUILFOYLE: Jordanians have troops on the ground. That's how they have the intelligence and I knew what ISIS.
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: The bartender to get me a beer. I'm trying to go to break. Sir, excuse me.
PERINO: Sorry, I can't see you over everyone else.
BOLLING: Oh.
BECKEL: Oh.
GUILFOYLE: Oh.
GUTFELD: You know what?
GUILFOYLE: A little flag.
GUTFELD: OK fine. You hit the tease.
PERINO: He is a little flag.
GUTFELD: You did the tease.
PERINO: OK, next on The Five. Lie on Brian, new developments on NBC News anchors war story scandal that could threaten his career, coming up. I'm Greg Gutfeld.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLLING: The Williams chopper whopper scandal widened today. NBC News is now reportedly investigating its chief anchor over falsely claiming for more than a decade that he was in a helicopter in Iraq hit by a rocket- propelled grenade. The question is, will Williams get to keep his job?
The pilot in command of the flight that carried Williams into Iraq in 2003 just further debunked the "Nightly News" host's account, writing this in The New York Post. Quote, "Our flight to Objective Rams was uneventful with the exception of a desert dust storm. Brian Williams reported on the David Letterman show that the captain of his aircraft had received a Purple Heart for a wound to the ear. I do not have a Purple Heart, and my ears are just fine. Brian Williams' account is not true."
Dana, weigh in.
PERINO: Well, I want to talk about the -- so NBC today said that they were going to launch an internal investigation, which I took to mean a couple of things.
First, what's to investigate? He already apologized. So the only thing left is NBC's decision about whether the apology is accepted by them or if they think that this is so bad that they're going to have to make a change. So it's only a stall tactic by them.
And I think what they're hoping is that something else will happen over the weekend, that this will be front page and they can work to rehabilitate his reputation and, you know, next week he can go on one of the late-night shows and make fun of himself, and everything will be fine.
BOLLING: Mediaite, it's a media blog specifically for media people. Ten thousand people responded, should he lost his job or not? Seventy percent said he should lose his job.
BECKEL: This -- this was sort of on the edge yesterday. But I see the front page of the New York Times. It is one of the things that they either go away fast or they build.
Here's the other problem. You can be sure that everybody is going over Brian Williams' tape of other things he's said and done. And if you find One More Thing, what are you going to do?
BOLLING: You just teed this one up perfectly. Williams' trap of lies called into question some of his past reporting. Let's look back again at his Katrina coverage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN WILLIAMS, ANCHOR, "NBC NIGHTLY NEWS": When you look out of your hotel room window in the French Quarter and watch a man float -- float by face down. I beat that storm. I was there before it arrived. I rode it out with people who later died in the Super Dome.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLLING: There's just one problem with that: The French Quarter didn't flood during the storm, and just last year, Williams reminisced about that hurricane coverage with another sensational story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: My week, two weeks there was not helped by the fact that I accidentally ingested some of the flood water. I became very sick with dysentery. Our hotel was overrun with gangs. I was rescued in the stairwell of a five-star hotel in New Orleans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: Well, I don't know. Like, he claims he saw a corpse or so during Katrina. But I'm seeing one now with his reputation.
I like how he talks -- he's always talking as though it's spontaneous. He's so full of crap he doesn't need to dye his hair. And if these latest -- if the latest denials by the pilot is true, I don't see how he can hang onto his job. Tom Brokaw wants Williams fired, but that's because there are two "L's" in his name.
BOLLING: I get that -- K.G.
GUILFOYLE: This is what he's going to be remembered for. It's a huge problem, kind of like what happened with Dan Rather. That's what people remember. I think his reputation as a journalist, as the face of NBC News, is forever tarnished because of these situations.
GUTFELD: He can go to MSNBC.
GUILFOYLE: There you go.
BECKEL: That's a very good...
PERINO: That's the solution! That's the solution!
BECKEL: I think this is exactly right. Remember, it looked like it was going away, and then it picked up steam again. And I think...
PERINO: But Rather never apologized. He still doesn't.
BECKEL: Well...
PERINO: Brian Williams did apologize. There is the difference.
BECKEL: But he apologized for one.
PERINO: Also, Brian Williams was embellishing his own story. Dan Rather was trying to take down a president. That's different. And altering -- and accepting the alterations of documents.
BECKEL: What was the thing he said, the beam him down strategy or beam him up, somebody said?
GUTFELD: What's the frequency? An entirely different story.
BECKEL: I like the analogy. That's all.
PERINO: What's the frequency, Beckel?
(CROSSTALK)
BOLLING: This must be Friday. "Facebook Friday" is up next.
GUILFOYLE: I get it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PERINO: It's time now for "Facebook Friday." We answer your questions now. I'm pulling them out of here.
Greg, you get to start. This is from Dell T.: "Would you ever write a speech" -- oh, this is a good question. "Would you ever write a speech for a presidential candidate?"
GUTFELD: Yes, if I -- if I firmly believe that this person could actually make this world a better place and make America what it used to be, I would leave my job and do that. But who is that person? I don't know.
BOLLING: You.
GUTFELD: Oh, yes. See you guys.
PERINO: Maybe you might get a call.
OK, Eric, this is for you from Mike L.: "Do you still actively invest? If so in what? Do you make trades yourself or do others manage your money for you?"
BOLLING: No, I do -- I do all of my own investing. And I do. But we have rules here at FOX where, if you -- if you get involved in a stock or an asset, you have to keep it for a certain period of time. So the decision has to be a lot different than what I would recommend other people to do.
Do your own homework. You ultimately have the best ideas. And watch a lot of business television. FOX Business gives you some great advice. Do -- don't listen -- whoever is telling you what to do with your money, you probably have a better idea what to do.
GUTFELD: Car washes.
PERINO: Invisible ink -- what about invisible tattoo ink?
BOLLING: Wasn't Bob going to get a...
BECKEL: Tattoo removal. Tattoo removal parlors, I think that's a good idea.
GUTFELD: You were going to use a butter knife.
PERINO: Bob, this is your question from Christina N.: "Where is your favorite place to vacation?"
GUTFELD: Oh, man.
PERINO: I know this.
BECKEL: Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
PERINO: Oh! I don't know. I thought you were going to say Key West.
BECKEL: Well, Key West is right up there.
PERINO: So you'd go one or the other?
BECKEL: Yes.
PERINO: I like it. You have any plans?
BECKEL: I can't get in my apartment. To get from there to here. So no.
PERINO: Not yet.
GUTFELD: Is there a big hole there? Like when I think of Jackson Hole I assume there's a Giant hole.
BECKEL: No, it's like -- yes.
PERINO: Good question. If you're in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, if you could send a picture.
GUTFELD: There's got to be a hole there.
BECKEL: It's surrounded by mountains and Jackson is right down on the Snake River.
PERINO: All right. Kimberly, from Cheryl D.: "If you could celebrate Valentine's Day with any man in the world who would you choose?"
GUILFOYLE: Why do I get these ones?
BECKEL: Don't put me on the spot now. OK?
GUILFOYLE: Ronan.
PERINO: Good answer. Ro-dog. That's her son.
GUILFOYLE: We like all the same things. Milk chocolate with the caramel inside.
BECKEL: Does he like salami, too?
PERINO: Hundred percent loves it.
BOLLING: He does?
GUILFOYLE: Yes.
PERINO: This is from Rae-Ann D. It's for me: "Did you consider any other breeds before picking Jasper?"
I did not. Well, I had a Jasper before. Here is a picture. I fell in love with the Vizsla, and look at him. That is a good-looking dog. They're magical puppies. They are.
BECKEL: You know we've got to look at that dog books, made up there on the wall. The calendars.
PERINO: The calendars? You're lucky you have one.
GUILFOYLE: The calendar is in my kitchen.
PERINO: OK, Greg, one more for you, from Liz R.: "How many hours of sleep do you get per night?"
GUTFELD: Let's see. I probably get, like, seven. If you get more than seven, that's too much.
PERINO: I don't think so.
GUTFELD: Well, you're weird. But I usually go to bed, like, around midnight. I do some writing when I come home from "Red Eye," and I write for a couple of hours, drinking. Because that's my reward.
GUILFOYLE: Red wine.
GUTFELD: Then I wander around the apartment kind of in a stupor, and then I just fall down somewhere. Then I wake up. I don't know where I am. I have to talk to the authorities about the blood.
BECKEL: And where is your wife during all this?
GUTFELD: Poor thing.
PERINO: I know. I feel sorry for her.
Eric, we have time for you. Bill N. asks, "You said your son can now out- bench press you."
BOLLING: Yes.
PERINO: "How much weight are you talking about?"
BOLLING: Two-forty is my max.
PERINO: I can do 260.
BOLLING: Mind you -- mind you, this is on a free bench. It's not one of those assisted benches. It's free weight, 240. And the kid can outdo me. He's about 35, 40 pounds lighter than me, too.
BECKEL: He can bench press 255?
BOLLING: I'm lucky to get 240 up. He can do 240.
PERINO: All right, Bob, this is for you. What is your favorite movie of all time?
BECKEL: "Silence of the Lambs".
GUTFELD: Of course.
PERINO: I knew that. If you watch the show, you know that.
Kimberly, we have -- while we have time, "What is your favorite memory as San Francisco's first lady?"
GUILFOYLE: OK. Obviously, Greg knows. It's going to be meeting the royals, or actually I already knew. The duchess of Cornwall, Camilla.
GUTFELD: You had the 49ers, who are more important than the royalty. I mean, you probably met Joe Montana, Dwight Clark, Randy Cross...
GUILFOYLE: Many times.
GUTFELD: ... Riki Ellison. And you mentioned the royals? Jeez!
GUILFOYLE: But I lost the 49ers in the divorce. I got to keep the Giants.
BECKEL: Did you go to a lot of parades?
GUILFOYLE: Yes, I did. I know, Bob. I was in all the parades. You bring this up all the time.
BOLLING: Did you wave like that?
GUILFOYLE: Yes, I did the wave. In fact, I did the whole story on O'Reilly last night. You can see it on our Facebook page.
But my other favorite memory, for sure, was working with California Pacific Medical Center with the children's cancer ward and the incredible doctors there. So that was my...
PERINO: That's a good memory.
GUILFOYLE: ... favorite thing to do.
GUTFELD: Did you ever meet John "The Count" Montefusco? He's a pitcher -- he's a pitcher for the Giants.
GUILFOYLE: Yes, I know who he is. I didn't meet him. I've seen him play many, many, many, many times.
GUTFELD: All right. Just checking.
PERINO: I'm going to skip mine. We'll go to this one. It's a quick one from [SIC] all of you. What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten -- Greg.
GUTFELD: Reindeer.
GUILFOYLE: Ew.
GUTFELD: No, no, no, puffin. I ate a puffin in Iceland. It was disgusting. It was like eating shoelaces. But it was great, because it's such an adorable little animal to eat.
PERINO: You are going to get them after you.
GUTFELD: I don't care. It's a puffin. You'll (ph) eat puffin.
PERINO: What about you?
BOLLING: Alligator jerky. And it's fantastic.
GUILFOYLE: Is that tasty?
BOLLING: Yes. It's amazing.
GUILFOYLE: Could you get me some? I love jerky.
BOLLING: I bet you we can get some around here. I actually ate it in Utah.
GUILFOYLE: I like cured meat.
PERINO: What about you, Bob?
BECKEL: Balut. Balut, when I was in the Peace Corps in the Philippines. Balut is the egg with a chick inside just before it's about to hatch. They bury them, and then you take the top off and drink...
GUILFOYLE: That is so disgusting.
BECKEL: It's a delicacy in the Philippines. Take that, then you take rice wine on top of it.
GUILFOYLE: That's so gross.
PERINO: Kimberly, do you have an answer?
GUTFELD: It's a great question.
GUILFOYLE: Escargot.
PERINO: Escargot.
BECKEL; Snails.
PERINO: I can't really -- I can't think of anything.
GUTFELD: Come on. You were on a farm.
PERINO: I can't. I don't eat fish. I don't eat...
GUILFOYLE: Oh, and I like tripe. Some people don't like that.
PERINO: I don't eat that.
(CROSSTALK)
GUILFOYLE: ... I eat that.
GUTFELD: Have you ever had haggis? You must have had haggis.
PERINO: Black pudding. Blood...
GUTFELD: Blood pudding is disgusting.
GUILFOYLE: I eat that, too. We love that in Ireland.
BOLLING: Haggis has to be one of the most disgusting foods on the planet.
GUTFELD: Haggis.
PERINO: All right. We have fun on "Facebook Friday." We hope you do, too.
Next one up is have you ever been on an awkward first date? We know that bachelor Bob has. He's got some tips on what not to do when you're looking for love, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKEL: And on my helicopter...
I'm a bachelor, so I know a thing or two about first dates. Many, many.
The Daily Mail put together a list of the ten most awkward moments people experience on first dates. Getting stood up is No. 1. That's never good. Also on the list, spilling food on your clothes.
GUILFOYLE: You do that all the time.
BECKEL: When the other person burps.
GUILFOYLE: You do that.
BECKEL: Yes. And when the waiter brings the bill. I assume that means -- let me ask that right off the top. Who's for splitting bills and who's for paying for it? I know you're probably saying you should pay for it, right?
BOLLING: Guy pays.
BECKEL: Guy pays. Dana.
PERINO: I came up with a rule today. I haven't dated in like 18 years, so I don't know if this is accurate. But I think that the guy pays the first three times. And if it's going to go any further, if she wants to continue it, she would pick up the fourth one. And that's a signal to say this is going somewhere.
GUILFOYLE: Where did you come up with that math?
PERINO: I just made it up.
GUILFOYLE: OK. Cool.
BECKEL: All right, Greg. What about you?
GUTFELD: To this thing, what's wrong with awkward? Dates are supposed to be awkward, because that means it matters.
I'll tell you a little story. This is a bit embarrassing. I'll never forget. This is a first date. It was a picnic in a park that I had planned. I had wine, and I had cheese. I had music.
GUILFOYLE: This is about you?
GUTFELD: Yes. And I had flowers. And then a Frisbee had landed on the blanket, so I stabbed these two college students to death. And I knew the date wasn't going to work out, because she wouldn't help me bury the bodies.
GUILFOYLE: I knew this wasn't true when he said he brought, like, you know, wine and flowers.
PERINO: When he said that. When he said picnic.
BECKEL: All right. What do you think? You want to pick up the check or have the dude pick it up?
GUILFOYLE: What are you asking?
BECKEL: I was just trying to get you in the show. I know exactly what you are.
GUILFOYLE: What does that mean?
BECKEL: I know you would rather have the guy pick up the bill.
GUILFOYLE: Why is that?
BECKEL: Why?
GUILFOYLE: Yes, why? Why, Bob?
BECKEL: Because you can.
GUILFOYLE: OK, well, just different. But the point is, I have no problem being participatory in a financial way. I think it's nice. I think it's nice if you give a man flowers or orchids or whatever they like. I don't know. And if you can help pay for the bill, I think that's nice. You don't want to make them feel emasculated. So if they say, "No, I've got it," then don't, you know, insist and get in a tug of war over it.
BOLLING: Can I give you an awkward first date?
BECKEL: Yes, sure.
BOLLING: First date with my wife, we went to a restaurant. She ordered red wine. She was drinking the red wine. I was nervous. I didn't look at her a lot. I turn at one point, and I look, and her teeth are dark purple. And I didn't know that this happens, but some people, it turns people's gums and teeth dark. And I'm like, she's beautiful; we're really getting along, but...
GUTFELD: She's a vampire.
BOLLING: Turns out red wine reacts with her teeth. And she had her original teeth. It has nothing to do with...
GUILFOYLE: Oh, my God. This is not going well.
BOLLING: I just didn't know. So we have to steer clear of red wine. And I married her. We got married. True story.
PERINO: But did she drink the Jasper wine?
BOLLING: We haven't drank the Jasper wine.
GUILFOYLE: I don't think you bought the good enough wine is the problem.
GUTFELD: It goes back to Jasper.
GUILFOYLE: I don't think that's like...
BECKEL: Let me just say that I rarely have dinners on my dates.
GUILFOYLE: No kidding.
BECKEL: So "One More Thing" is up next.
GUILFOYLE: The most true statement I've heard on this show today.
(COMMERCIAL BREA)
GUILFOYLE: Time now for "One More Thing." And something very important happened that should have happened a long time ago, because the secretary of the Army, John McHugh, announced that, in fact, the victims of the Fort Hood massacre from 2009 will, in fact, receive the Purple Heart.
And this is a turnabout for the military, which initially described the acts as workplace violence. This is an important distinction, and the families were definitely in support of that. So we're happy that that is going in the right way. And by the way, Congress made it possible by changing the law a little bit there.
And also today, you notice that my colleague and cohost, Dana Perino, and I...
GUTFELD: Boo.
GUTFELD: ... there we are matching, enjoying the color red and celebrating women's health with the American Heart Association and National Wear Red Day. So we've done this every year now, and we're going to continue to do it, because heart disease and strokes is one of the No. 1 killers of women across this country. And the good news is it's preventable. So you can change your life and change your health and make your family members happy in the meantime. And you can go to their website for more information.
All right.
BECKEL: I was going to say something, but I don't think I should.
GUILFOYLE: Bob.
BECKEL: Oh, me? OK. Listen, I know you're not going to like to hear this, but welcome to the Obama recovery. I'm going to show you something. Jobs report out: 257,000 jobs created in January, 329,000 in December, 423,000. Average growth 336,000, highest three-month average in 17 years.
BOLLING: You missed the best news.
BECKEL: I knew you couldn't. I knew you couldn't let me say something.
BOLLING: I'm giving you -- I'm giving you another piece. Wages went up.
BECKEL: Yes, they did. They made me take that off.
BOLLING: They did not.
BECKEL: They did, too.
GUILFOYLE: Bolling.
BOLLING: That was the best one of them.
OK. It's Friday so...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
GRAPHIC: Fool of the Week
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLLING: OK, folks, sometimes the fish jumps right in the boat. Case in point: six weeks ago, by the way, Brian Williams was the Fool of the Week for ignoring Jonathan Gruber for 40 days straight and then also for the question he asked General Hayden about whether he would have approved of his family being water boarded. That was ridiculous. He earned the "Fool of the Week."
But you know what? This week for lying about your valor and lying about being shot at back in 2003 and possibly lying about what happened in Katrina, those can be excused. But for violating all journalistic ethics and for destroying your credibility a way not seen since Dan Rather and that whole incident with Bush's military service, you earn this week's "Fool of the Week."
PERINO: That's honored (ph).
GUILFOYLE: And Greg is next.
GUTFELD: "Red Eye" a couple of days ago I had the pleasure of having Bob Beckel and his brother, Graham, on. And it got a bit ugly. Bob had said something pretty awful, and this was the response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM BECKEL, ACTOR: How dare you?
B. BECKEL: You did.
G. BECKEL: Who are you, man?
B. BECKEL: We have the same blood stream.
G. BECKEL: No, man, that's like so inappropriate.
B. BECKEL: I'm inappropriate?
G. BECKEL: Yes.
B. BECKEL: You were in "CHUD," and that's inappropriate?
G. BECKEL: No. That's just bad choice and a sorry career.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: Yes. If you want to know what Bob said, you're going to have to watch "Red Eye" on Saturday at 11 p.m., because we're repeating that. Probably one of the most bizarre shows in existence, 11 p.m.
GUILFOYLE: Double your pleasure. Two Beckels.
BECKEL: Yes.
GUILFOYLE: Dana.
PERINO: OK. So some of my favorite people in D.C. are the news photographers that cover the White House. And there is a great man named Larry Downing. He's worked for Reuters for 40 years. He's covered every president for 40 years, traveled all over the world, and he's won the Reuters Global Journalist of the Year Award twice. He's retiring, and he's going to be very missed, very much missed. You can see a lot of his photographs. He covered the world.
GUILFOYLE: That's it for us. Have a great weekend. Bye.
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