Conway on Trump's pro-life agenda, North Korea and trade

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Conway on Trump's pro-life agenda, North Korea and trade

Counselor to President Trump Kellyanne Conway joins 'The Ingraham Angle' to discuss the president's plan to rally the base ahead of the midterms.

This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," May 22, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

INGRAHAM: All right. Good evening from Washington, I'm Laura Ingraham and this is "The Ingraham Angle." We have an amazing show for you tonight of course beginning with a double shot of Newt Gingrich. First he lays in on the latest dark revelations about the deep state as we learn every more sordid details about the Obama administration weaponized the Intel community into a political hit machine. Then Newt will discuss tonight's angle about the GOP's tremendous reversal of fortune and what the party must do to avoid losing any seats in November. Plus Kelly-Ann Conway is here on the big stories of the day including President Trump making a fantastic pro-life speech before the midterms tonight and a shifting timeline on his meeting with the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. But first, the latest details on the Russian investigation are beginning to make Watergate look like child's play. The revelations of the Obama era political targeting grow more ominous by the day. The FBI is under increasing pressure tonight to explain why it was surveilling the Trump campaign as a number of people contacted by informants continues to increase. Sam Clovis, George Papadopoulos and Carter Page were targeted, the latter responding last night on the Angle.

CARTER PAGE, FROMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN FOREIGN ADVISOR: I never knew anything about the person I was speaking with who was a University professor at Cambridge in the UK at the time back. I was invited to participate in a conference in July of 2016 and everything seemed totally normal.

INGRAHAM: It's called grooming, that's what they do Carter. But a much more incendiary claim was made by one of our other guests. Former Trump campaign advisor Michael Caputo told me last night that he knows for a fact that they were more than one, was more than one informant targeting Trump team members because he was one of those targets.

MICHAEL CAPUTO, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISOR: Let me tell you something that I know for a fact. This informant, this person that they tried to plant into the campaign, even into the administration, if you believe Axios, he's not the only person that came into the campaign. And even FBI is not the only Obama agency that came with the campaign. I know because they came at me.

IGRAHAM: The president responded to the intrigue today.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If they had spies in my campaign that would be a disgrace to this country. That would be one of the biggest insults that anyone has ever seen. That would be very illegal apart from everything else. It would make every political event ever look like small potatoes. That would be unprecedented in the history of our country.

INGRAHAM: Caputo advances his claim earlier on Fox claiming that someone, some shadowy figure, floated the idea of passing along emails related to Hillary Clinton to the Trump campaign.

NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: So you raised this issue with-just to be clear, you raised this issue Mueller's team when they were questioning you and they did nothing?

CAPUTO: There weren't even interested. They didn't even seem to be taking notes. I offered them the timeline--

INGRAHAM: We at the Ingraham Angle along with DOJ producer at Fox have looked into these claims and have identified the figure in question. Well our source corroborated some of Caputo's claims but he denied trying to entrap Caputo and his associate. He further insisted that he did not work for any intelligence agency. Either way it looks like the FBI's targeting of informal or kind of low level Trump associates to get dirt on higher-ups was something of a trend. Perhaps a dangerous one during the Obama administration. Let's turn to Newt Gingrich to react to the latest revelations about the deep state's misdeeds. Mr Speaker it is great to see you but my goodness this is wild. You have this person, a professor in England who is making these contacts various members of the Trump team throwing the whole timeline into question. Recently we heard from Comey that the investigation really began on July 31st now it looks like this particular informant, spy, mole, whatever you want to call him met with Carter Page early July.

NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES: Well look, it all keeps getting more and more open.
Presently someone, remember there was reference at some point very early on to senior Obama administration people being briefed. Presently somebody will figured out to ask what did Valerie Jarrett know and when did she know it.

INGRAHAM: I asked that last night on the Angle news.

GINGRICH: And what did, you're right on target.

INGRAHAM: Yeah.

GINGRICH: What did Barak Obama know and when did he know it. Because what you are seeing happen is when every single level, and then this is what happens with really big scandals. They keep unfolding and they keep unfolding, and they keep unfolding. So we are now supposed to believe that the Director of National Intelligence was lying to us the head of the central Intelligence agency was lying to us, the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation was lying to us, the number two person of the FBI was lying to us, the Attorney General was lying to us. I mean she was meeting with Bill Clinton in an aeroplane in private to talk about their grandchildren. I mean at what point do you just say give me a break. And all of this I believe was being coordinated by Obama and by Valerie Jarrett and by the White house.

INGARAHAM: You go right to Obama on this. So you think it's inconceivable that the Chief Executive Officer of the country was not told that they has seen this Carter Page on the list of the foreign policy advisors and they just decided to go into overdrive.

GINGRICH: Look, I don't believe that if you look at the total number of things going on, I don't believe that an administration that as tightly centralised as the Obama administration, you could have had as many things going on, all of them illegal, without the president having been briefed.
Furthermore, I will give you another example, the president is emailing Hillary Clinton on her insecure email. They carefully reword the FBI report to avoid telling us that President Obama clearly had to know she was using an illegal email because he is writing to it.

INGRAHAM: Remember Susan Rice said President Obama did everything by the book. Remember she wrote that email to herself, I have to mention it in every show. All right, this is what Jim Clapper said today on the View whether their spying really occurred. Let's watch

JOY BEHAR, ABC HOST: Was the FBI spying on Trump's campaign?

JAMES CLAPPER, FORMER UNITES STATES DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: No they were not. They were spying on, that's not a term I particularly like, trying to understand were the Russians infiltrating, trying to gain access, trying to leverage-

INGRAHAM: Newt, a legitimate inquiry, if the Russians are pulling the strings on the Trump campaign, that's what he said.

GINGRICH: First of all, I have known Jim Clapper for years. I am astounded how bad he looks now. I am astounded how dishonest and incompetent he looks. I mean he was a great public servant for many, many years. But when the former Director of National Intelligence tells you he doesn't like to use the word spying you have to ask yourself-

INGARAHAM: That is funny, I didn't think of it until you just mentioned that.

GINGRICH: He was the Director of National Intelligence, what do you think he was in charge of doing? How was in charge of spying. And this whole thing is just, people on the left I Think what happened was people like Clapper and the former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, all these guys thought that they could get away with this because Hillary was going to win. And when Hillary won the fixer would be in, everything would be covered up and around 10 o'clock on election night they all began to realise, "this could get really bad". And they were shifting gears from protecting Hillary, which had been their job for two years, to trying to destroy Trump. And now you are watching people who in every case are in danger to going to jail. If the system works and if people are actually tested on, did you tell the truth under oath? And then Clapper is a perfect example.

INGARAHAM: Well actually he was talking about that big moment where he didn't tell the truth about that surveillance program, he addressed this today.

CLAPPER: The president is calling me a lying machine, well okay. (Stems
probe) is an exchange I had with Senator Wyden five years ago in March of
2013 about a surveillance program and he was asking me about one I was thinking about another. So I made a mistake but I didn't lie so that's what occasioned the-

MEGHAN MCCAIN, ABC HOST: So what you're referencing though is when you are talking about James Snowden blowing a whistle on the NSSA illegally spying and 2013 when you asked about it you said no. So that is a lie and I think-

CLAPPER: No it isn't a lie, I'm sorry, I didn't lie, I was thinking about something else.

INGRAHAM: I want to buy a (vowel) at this point, I have no idea what he is talking about.

GINGRICH: First of all, I hope General Flynn watched that and have General Flynn prepared to go back and say that (to Mueller) now. Obviously the Clapper defence, "Whatever you thought I said I didn't mean to say and it wasn't what I said and I don't know why you thought I said it because I wouldn't have said it if I had known you thought I'd said it and therefore it can't really be a problem". This tells you how pathetic this is going to be.

INGRAHAM: But this is the intelligence agency. These are the like the most important people in our intelligence that you say is such a competent professional but sounds like a bumbling idiot. Sorry if I am being cruel here, I guess, but that just sounds outrageous.

GINGRICH: What you are watching is a man who is a great professional who is now in a totally impossible situation in all to get off television desperately trying to explain and defend the indefensible.

INGRAHAM: Joy Baher, look, I trust her more with the National Intelligence at this point than I would Jim Clapper. Newt, stick around because we have a lot more to get through with you after the Angle. But we also want to discuss the latest Russian bombshells that we have uncovered with former Whitewater deputy independent counsel Sol Wisenberg & Riley, and civil rights attorney R&C Community Woman from California Harmeet Dhillon in San Francisco. Let's start with you Sol, you've been watching these events unfold over the last four or five days on whether this professor was a spy, Jim Clapper didn't like to use the term or an informant, or a mole however he operated. We now have a question whether there was more than one. It seems odd that that kind of guy would be the only person if they really thought that Russia was moving the levers of the election, that he'd be the only person but all of this is bubbling to the surface now. Your thoughts on the legal implications here.

SOL WISENBERG, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well whether it's one person or two people, Laura, it's a spy. It doesn't matter whether tis somebody in the campaign in New York or somebody who is operating from overseas. This isn't somebody who is just sitting around with his eyes and ears open waiting to see what somebody says. This is somebody who invites Papadopoulos overseas and gives him a grant or a stipend for a foreign conference. This is somebody who bats her eyes, brings along a woman who bats her eyes at Papadopoulos. This is somebody who either mentions to Caputo and I have heard of one other person, "Hey would you like some of these emails?" So these are proactive measures and this is very disturbing, I won't say very unprecedented because they have been very dirty tricks in campaigns and we know what President Nickson did. But this is very, very disturbing stuff and anybody who pretends that this is normal or is justifies what we know is just nuts. To do an operation like this you better have phenomenal, and I mean phenomenal information and I don't
think--

INGRAHAM: Well Sol, obviously came up empty on the Russian collusion thing. They never brought that Moscow lawyer, Veselnitskaya in for questioning. They could have brought her in. They could have done video, they could have questioned her on video. They never questioned her. That Trump Tower meeting was supposedly so important. It's ridiculous. They have nothing.

WISENBERG: She was probably busy talking to Glen Simpson. Why don't we ever hear that when I am looking at the other networks. Why don't they ever mention that before she went Trump Towers she was meeting with Simpson of Fusion GPS and after the meeting she was meeting with him. Why don't they ever mention that.

INGRAHAM: Oh that's it's convenient. Harmeet I want to get to you. This is what Carl Burnstein, he has been dining out on Watergate for a many decades. This is what he said today about interfering in the investigation.
Let's watch.

CARL BURNSTEIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: What the president did today is really to abuse his authority as he has been doing to intervene in a legitimate investigation and this is part of a cover-up that we are watching. A cover- up by the President of the United States. This abuse of power and authority and cover-up by the President of the United States. We do know there is a cover-up. So this is a cover-up.

INGRAHAM: I am sorry, there was a drinking game going on in the afternoon at a certain radio show, no, I'm just kidding. Parden me, cover-up, cover- up, cover-up, he said it five times in the span of three minutes. Your reaction to all this?

HARMEET DHILLON, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Right and that's the democratic talking points from yesterday. We heard something similar from Eric Swallow on Tucker's show and we have seen it repeatedly over the last few hours and notwithstanding the fairy-tale that James Clapper told the ladies on the View about this not being a spy. We all know what it is like Sol said, this is spy or multiple spies but some other questions have not been answered here like did this professor in London also have contact with Simpson? What role did he play in that? What role did British intelligence authorities, some of who are close to this professor in London, were they alerted about this intelligence operation or alleged intelligence operation on foreign soil. The fact that the timing which has very carefully been cultivate by the Democrats, by Comey, by other former FBI people who have been sent out onto the media but actually we are talking about potentially May as Caputo has said, and even earlier. And so you can't have a cover-up without there being a crime. There's no crime to cover-up. The only thing that should be, the only revisionist history going on here is the Democrats quickly retreating ad scrambling and trying to sow-up (puscation) about their true intentions and when we talk about comparing this to Watergate. Watergate was the President being involved potentially in the cover-up of something that occurred at a very low level. This is a completely different situation, this is an administration, the Obama administration which is known for calling James Rosen a criminal and using that to spy on him.
Cheryl Atkinson, spying on her. Samantha Power, unmasking people.

INGRAHAM: We haven't even to scratched the surface of Samantha Power.

DHILLON: The cover-up is the Democrats trying to throw mud at the Trump campaign and one of the premises here is that there was spying and there was hacking of the DNC. We don't even know that. We haven't even been able to look at their server so that's (crowd striking), we didn't even know that.

INGRAHAM: One of the things that is stunning about all this is all the obsession with Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia. This is what Russia does to Putin's political opponents. This is what happens in China when you oppose the great leader. This happens in third world countries where the power of the government is used to suppress and oppress political descent and so I know that sounds like an hyperbole but that it what they do there and it's ironic that this is what we have, perhaps, going on here. You can close it out.

WISENBERG: Well I think it's the Carl Burnstein business. By the way, as a historical note, they were some pretty high level people who knew about Watergate and knew about the fielding break. But look, when Carl Burnstein, my problem with the Burnsteins of the world is they fail to recognise that this I serious and it's clearly improper what happened during the campaign and we haven't even talked about the omissions in the Pfeizer warrant tonight. On the other hand, you know me Laura, I've been on this show, I've defended Bob Mueller. I've defended Rod Rosenstein. I think that Bob Mueller should be allowed to take as long as he like to finish up his case. But the problem with the other side is its all, black and white for them. There can't be anything wrong with what the Obama people did and it's very clearly, anybody who knows the criminal law system, the intelligence system knows that this was highly improper. When you open up a Logan act case, Sally Yates, this is my obsession. When you open up a Logan act case on somebody who is on the transition team, that's like opening up a criminal case for somebody for carrying a large white fish across state lines. It's just an outrage.

INGRAHAM: Yeah we went from collusion like the rest of the networks. We aren't trying to play at their obsession with a Michael Cohen associate with a taxi medallion issue. You've gone from Whitewater to the blue dress song now we've gone to the taxi medallion, this is where we've gotten. I think we have to wrap this up, but thank you both. In a moment on tonight's angle, I am going to spell out why the GOP has leapt ahead of the Democrats in the polls and Newt Gingrich will tell us what the GOP must do keep this momentum going and avoid the pitfalls that may be ahead. Don't go away.

The GOPs reversal of fortune. That's the focus of tonight's Angle. Just three months ago three reputable polls had the democrats up at 15 points in the Generic Congressional Ballot. Well not anymore. Reuters latest Generic Ballot polls should hearken Republicans. At the beginning of March Democrats enjoyed more than a 10-point advantage. Nearly 45% saying they'd vote for a Dem and only 33% said they would pull the level for Republicans. But now the GOP has taken the lead. The latest online polls shows 39% of registered voters saying they would vote Republican and just 36.7% supporting a Democrat showing a six-point shift. So why is turnaround happening? Because Republicans pretty much staying on offense and supporting, generally not undermining the President on key issues. By working to keep this economy going, dismantling the regulatory super state that hurts our innovators and entrepreneurs, by not dragging us into more serious military conflicts, by refusing to buckle on immigration, at least so far. The GOP is actually gaining momentum.

According to the Cook Political Report, California's 39th and 49th districts have both shifted from lean Democratic to Toss-up. Nebraska's second district moved from Toss-up to Lean Republican. And South Carolina's fifth district moved from likely Republican to solid Republican. So as you can imagine this has thrown the Democrats into a full on frothy panic. The party of failed ideas has issued a new anti-corruption message. That's what's going to drive the midterms for them and they hope it's going to bring them success. Now it's often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I wonder what plagiarism get's you? Democratic leaders in a new memo kind of seem to be channelling Trump. They're writing this, "The American people are sick of getting a raw deal from Washington". Well if this all sounds vaguely familiar, it is.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The people got a raw deal, and they deserve so much better. Our government's been eaten alive. Cronyism and kicked the crooks out of Washington DC.

INGRAHAM: Now if you can't beat `em, repeat `em I guess. Well there is a few major problems with the Democrats adopting anti-corruption platform because they are the party of corruption. These are the people that brought you Obama's weaponised IRS to targeted conservatives years ago. Same party that circled the wagons around Hillary Clinton's pay to place game at the state department where Blackberry phones were smashed and hard drives were erased by Bleachbit. Oh let's not forget the party of Debbie Wasserman Schultz who while running the DNC employed an IT specialist who tried to flee to Pakistan after he wired money there, many federal prosecutors say was obtained illegally. A member of federal grand jury indicted them on four counts last summer bank fraud and conspiracy charges. And this is the party, by the way, that's going to root out corruption. The Clintons and their political spawn are so unscrupulous that supporters of Bernie Sanders filed a class action lawsuit against the DNC for rigging the primaries in Hillary's favour. Don't you get that an air of desperation has begun to settle over the Democrats? Because they thought that they were guaranteed a strike electoral gold in November. Congressman Al Greene, he's a Texas Dem, is promising that if they that they take control the house, "There's good a likelihood there will be articles of impeachment brought against the President".

That's it? That's your plan? How's that going to grow a voter's 401ks or keep our manufacturing boom going. Impeachment is not a pro-growth platform kids. And if that doesn't get up the vote well then some miserable foot soldiers hope that attempts at comedy will. Deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee Congressman Keith Ellison, he dawned a blonde wig to impersonate the President recently. Warning: cover your pets' ears and put masking tape on the window panes.

(MUSIC)

INGRAHAM: Oh my God. He will not be seen in Hamilton any time soon. The tune is as flat and off key as the rest of the Democratic message. My friends, this should be fairly easy for the Republicans. There's a great sense of optimism in the country. It's a great to be an American. I think there's no better time than maybe in the 80's during Reagan. So it's time to double down on the accomplishments. Support the President's populous pro-growth agenda. The GOP at the same time must also avoid any self- inflicted wounds before the midterms. Promoting or passing an amnesty plan or going weak on China. That could actually dishearten base. It could break faith for the blue collar workers who swept the President and the GOP into office, and it could again, if you stand with them. And that's the Angle. Let's bring back Newt Gingrich to discuss the GOP's prospects which seem to be improving in November. Newt, thoughts.

GINGRICH: Well I think that the Republicans are likely to gain four to six seats in the senate. I think they--

INGRAHAM: Four to six seats? We are hearing that they could lose the majority in the senate six months ago.

GINGRICH: I do a newsletter at Gingrich Productions that goes out twice a week for free. And two weeks ago I wrote, "Everybody who is wrong in the spring of `16 who said Trump couldn't be the nominee was everybody, who was wrong in the fall of '16 who said Trump couldn't win the Presidency, are the same people who are on TV right now". Why would you believe any of them?

INGRAHAM: But Steve Schmidt has been so right with all that work over there, I say facetiously.

GINGRICH: All the political analyst establishment and the talking heads have a bias getting together and saying this is what's going to happen now. If I were a Democrat and I looked at that poll today from Reuters--

IGRAHAM: Oh that six point swing.

GINGRICH: The Republicans are up one where they used to be down 10 or 11.

INGRAHAM: 15 at one time.

GINGRICH: I'd begin to panic because if the Republicans are anywhere close to even on the generic, they could conceivably gain seats.

INGRAHAM: Doesn't impeachment hurt the Democrats because the Republicans, when you see them turn out still for these rallies for Trump. You've seen these crowds. People will think impeachment, they are going to go after the polls. I hope that says the impeachment, Congressman Greene. I thought it was Al Greene, suddenly Al Greene got an apology. (It's the most Congressman). He said we are going to impeach the President, articles of impeachment, that's going to drive Republicans right to the polls.
Democrats don't seem to know that.

GINGRICH: It's not just the Trump supporters. The average American who is not deeply political wants the system to work. They love what's happening with the economy. They love the fact that there's the lowest unemployment rate in modern times. They think it's terrific. Gallups just reported 65% of the country thinks that you can get a good job. Highest number since they began taking that question. So they are sitting there going, "Let me get this straight, Democrats voted no in the tax cuts, and would now like to totally screw up the economy by chasing an impeachment on a topic that doesn't seem to have any substance.

INGRAHAM: They got prison reform passed through the house today. That's a huge by-partisan issue.

GINGRICH: That was a big victory.

INGRAHAM: Huge by-partisan issue that'll likely pass the senate. You got part of the Dodd Frank repealed, that's happening. You got all these judges, 21 judges on the circuit courts getting through, I mean this is good stuff.

GINGRICH: and you see really unusual things. You end up looking at Van Jones, liberal Democrat, shows up at the Whitehouse as part of prison reform. Something you couldn't have seen a year ago.

INGRAHAM: I think the Kanye West effect is something we still haven't seen full effective --

GINGRICH: There is a second example. Kanye West within three days, black support approval of Trump drawn from 11 to 22 in one --

INGRAHAM: How much of an increase in African-American support for the president or the Republican agenda would just devastate the Democrats? Like a five percent jump or a three percent?

GINGRICH: A five or eight or nine percent would be devastating. If the Republicans ever get to 20 percent of the black vote it is virtually impossible for the Democrats to survive.

INGRAHAM: They are truly petrified of that.

GINGRICH: They should be.

INGRAHAM: Racism, racism, racism. Identity politics, right?

GINGRICH: Right. And at the same time what you have, though, is a president who can say absolutely accurately this is the best situation in black unemployment in American history. Never been lower.

INGRAHAM: Don't you think it's a great time to be an American right now? If you are in business -- lots of stuff happening in the culture I'm not wild about, but as far as economic opportunity, good times.

GINGRICH: A whole range of innovation and technological opportunity. I'm trying to figure out how to get every eighth grader this September to understand literally they have a chance to go to the moon, they have a chance to go to Mars. The world, this stuff is changing so fast, young people ought to have a sense they are going to live one of the most exciting generations in history, and that could be part of Trump's greatest legacy.

INGRAHAM: Optimism and positivity. Pelosi and Schumer, just to give you one more sell on the better deal model, let's watch.

(LAUGHTER)

GINGRICH: You are mean.

(LAUGHTER)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOUSE MINORITY LEADER REP. NANCY PELOSI, D—CALIFORNIA: Instead of delivering on his promise to drain the swamp, President Trump has become the swamp. We want Republicans and their corrupt big donor driven agenda to get out of the way. It has given the American people a raw deal.

SENATE MINORITY LEADER CHUCK SCHUMER, D—NEW YORK: President Trump, when it comes to draining the swamp, has been a complete and total disappointment. The swamp has never been more foul or more fetid than under this president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: I know you love the fact they use the word "fetid." I know that's what you're thinking.

GINGRICH: First of all, the idea that we now have Democrats talk about the swamp is an enormous psychological victory. Second, the three top Democrats in the House between them are 278 years old. This is the base of their campaign this fall, vote for people who have been around so long they know nothing?

INGRAHAM: You don't date them, you carbon date them.

(LAUGHTER)

INGRAHAM: Great to see you, Newt Gingrich, as always. We have a lot to get to. Up next, top White House advisor Kellyanne Conway is here to tell us what the president is doing to ensure a big turnout in the midterms. I think a lot of it, not just with the economy, but tonight a huge pro-life dinner. The president hit it out of the park, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For decades, American taxpayers have been wrongfully forced to subsidize the abortion industry through Title X federal funding. So today we have kept another promise.
My administration has proposed a new rule to prohibit Title Xx funding from going to any clinic that performs abortions.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Democrats in the Senate are doing everything within their power to block it. On this issue, like so many other issues, the Democratic Party is far outside the American mainstream.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: That was President Trump delivering the keynote address tonight at the Susan B. Anthony List annual Campaign for Life Gala. A part of the president's strategy is to rally the base as we head into the midterm elections and his focus on pro-life initiatives there. Here to discuss that and so much more, one of the president's top advisors, Kellyanne Conway, who herself tonight received the big award from the Susan B.
Anthony list. Kellyanne, it's great to have you on.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you, Laura.

INGRAHAM: By the way, the president praised you. We were watching in the back, and this was a fun moment. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She is some fighter. She will do the shows that nobody else dares go near. I will say to this one or that one. No problem, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: I said to Raymond, wait a minute, Kellyanne is coming on our show.

CONWAY: That's not what he means. He didn't mean this show, that's for sure.

INGRAHAM: That was fun.

But we were watching, all of us, and he's the most I think pro-life president we've ever had, and defending life, the most innocent among us who have no lobbyists and no fat cats behind them. And it's not his crowd, the Manhattan crowd, but I'm sorry, but I was so moved by that.

CONWAY: There's no question. Tonight in my remarks I took out the letter from September 2016 that candidate Trump signed. And Marjorie Dannenfelser, Susan B. Anthony List, wanted him to sign this letter to activate the grassroots. He said we need some promises, some commitments from the Republican nominee. So he looked at the letter. It talked about partial-birth abortion, making the Hyde amendment permanent, signing the pain capable unborn act into law if it reached his desk, certainly moving, as he just did tonight, the funding from clinics that provide abortions to those that provide true women's health services like mammograms and screenings and other services.

So he looked at it and he said that's all fine, but where is all that stuff about Hillary Clinton? And he added stuff about Hillary Clinton. I'm going to give you a copy of the letter, and he signed it. And it went on and on about how extreme she is, that she would take the baby out of its mother's womb an hour before.

INGRAHAM: The debate, the debate moment.

CONWAY: And then he followed it up on October 19th and gave the most impassioned defense ever heard from a presidential debate footing.

And let's remind everybody this is a Manhattan male billionaire who for most of his adult life has said he was pro-choice.

INGRAHAM: The liberals will say he doesn't really mean it.

CONWAY: Look at his record. Look at his record. Mexico City policy, Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court, first president ever to address this gala, first president ever to address the March for Life. And Mike Pence of course is his first vice president to ever do the same thing. All you have to do is look at the policies. And president Trump will probably say this is just a good start.

INGRAHAM: The issue of China is big now because so many of us supported the president because of his tough line on China. You have the China 2025 plan seeking to dominate every major industry, stolen or intellectual property. The president has been fantastic on this issue, but this is what Chuck Schumer said. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK SCHUMER, (D) SENATE MINORITY LEADER: I am really concerned about the president's hemming and hawing over the last few days when it comes to China. You could say that President Xi is writing the art of the deal, not President Trump. Unfortunately every time President Xi flatters our president he seems to back off a tough deal. You've got to be tough on China. You have to have your actions match your rhetoric.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: In my mind the worst thing that could happen is the Democrats out-populist this president on this issue. That would be a gift to them, Kellyanne. Can you reassure viewers tonight that the president is going to retain his strength and approach to China that got him elected?

CONWAY: The president addressed this today in the Oval Office with all the cameras rolling as was meeting with President Moon from South Korea. And the president has made clear from the beginning he thinks that these imbalanced, unfair, nonreciprocal trade deals including with China are killing the American worker, American interest, American industries, and he will always fight for them first.

The president talks extensively about the $500 billion trade deficit we have with China. At the same time we are happy that in some of these negotiations in Beijing and here last week, Laura, at the White House, that China signals a move to buy more ag, buy more energy, for example. But the president also, if he thinks the deal is not good for Americans, he's happy to walk away from it. He's been doing that his entire career.

INGRAHAM: So you are not concerned that you hear Marco Rubio, Schumer, these guys, they see an opening here, because Trump dominated that space in 2016. No one had done it like he had done it. Now they see sour gum and soybeans are more important than our entire tech sector that has gotten ripped off as they continue to steal our I.P. And they are playing long ball here. They are not playing short ball. They are playing long ball for total domination.

CONWAY: They are. And remember, we're talking about technology transfers.
Ambassador Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative obviously went over to Beijing, talking about the fact they are stealing our innovation, stealing our future, frankly, our future innovation.

INGRAHAM: Are Mnuchin and Lighthizer on different sides on this? Is there a real war going on inside? We keep hearing that.

CONWAY: No. I think people like to cover palace intrigue instead of learning the policies.

INGRAHAM: There's a divide in the party, though, on trade, huge divide.

CONWAY: It's not a divide for Donald Trump. And he came out, I think one of the issues that he was able to elevate, two of the issues Donald Trump was to elevate as a candidate, Laura, from mired in low single digits to putting out there on the platform was illegal immigration and trade. He took those little single digits all the way up. And it's all about fairness to him. They're both undergirded by fairness, and it's fairness to Americans.

INGRAHAM: North Korea, meeting shifting, moving, can you tell us anything new on that?

CONWAY: The White House put out a statement tonight asking the press to sign up if they are going to cover the summit in Singapore.

INGRAHAM: I want to cover it.

CONWAY: So we are still planning on July 12th. The president has made it very clear from the beginning and said it again today that if it happens that's great. If it doesn't happen, that's OK too. Maybe it won't happen on June 12th, it will happen at a later date. We are still way ahead. We still made tremendous progress there, Laura, because of president Trump's leadership. Without him North Korea would not be talking to South Korea.
Those three American detainees would not be back.

INGRAHAM: He was hinting that Xi was part of the perhaps turn --

CONWAY: He said I think the president is a world class poker player is what he said. That was his exact quote. I'm not blaming anybody. I'm just saying something happened. And so what we are looking -- what the president has said is that we'll continue to make progress, continue to talk. But remember the goal here is not to have a summit. The goal is denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, and that's with the president is looking at.

INGRAHAM: John Bolton going to be going on the trip?

CONWAY: I think he would be.

INGRAHAM: I should hope so. But the Chinese, they don't want him there, but I hope he does. Kellyanne, congratulations on the award.

CONWAY: Thank you so much. Congratulations to the most pro-life president in America history for keeping his promises.

INGRAHAM: Absolutely.

And up next, a look at the other half of the midterm equation and why the Democrats suddenly seem in a panic. We're going to tell you what has gotten Nancy Pelosi so worried about a Democratic civil war next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: Much to the chagrin of the Democratic leadership, some rank and file in the party just will not stop talking about impeachment, and it is driving party leaders like Pelosi up the wall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. AL GREEN, (D) TEXAS: Every member of the House is accorded the opportunity to bring up impeachment. This is not something that the constitution has bestowed upon leadership. It's something that every member has a right and privilege of doing. And I think that there is a good likelihood that there will be articles of impeachment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: But a leading leftist legal mind warns this isn't an issue to take lightly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't be the boy who cried wolf and expect to have a viable impeachment power. You can't use it over and over again against the same president. If you are going to shoot him you've got to shoot to kill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: OK. Jeffrey Toobin adding in "The New Yorker," will the fervor to impeach Donald Trump start a Democratic civil war? Let's debate that question with Obama and Clinton campaign alum Michael Starr Hopkins and Monica Crowley of the London Center for Policy Research. Great to see both of you.

Michael, let's go with you, because I find this interesting because I get it. They want to get Trump out of office. They don't like Trump. Trump is for them the devil. You just got to get rid of Trump. But remember the
1998 deal, Republicans, they went too far on impeachment and then they end up getting their clocks cleaned in the midterm there and lost ground.
Where do you stand on the impeachment issue?

MICHAEL STARR HOPKINS, CONTRIBUTOR, "THE HILL": I think Donald Trump has lost some moral authority to lead. And so I think Democrats eventually will bring article of impeachment against the president. But I think the commentator earlier was correct, Democrats only get one shot to do it. And so when Democrats bring them they have to be based on facts and a half to be able to support those.

Luckily Donald Trump is the gift that keeps on giving, and whether it's Cohen or Flynn, Kushner or his comments in Charlottesville, Democrats are going to have a lot to add to these articles of impeachment.

INGRAHAM: Monica?

MONICA CROWLEY, LONDON CENTER FOR POLICY RESEARCH: They clearly did not learn the lesson of the Clinton experience, which is when you have a popular president who is presiding over a strong economy, if the other party tries to remove that president without the popular will behind that action it is doomed to failure, not just in terms of the political and legal process that it goes through on Capitol Hill, but also with the American people.

And the blowback is fast and fierce. This is all that the Democrats have.
They started this process even before Donald Trump was apparently the nominee for president because he represents such an existential threat to the elite ruling class and in particular to the leftist movement.

INGRAHAM: I'm sorry, Monica, I think that when you repeat Kushner, Manafort, Cohen, I think most people's eyes glaze over. OK, can I send my kids to college? Is my 401(k) up? Are wages rising? And in all cases, it's really good. That's why Trump's numbers are going up. I think this Mueller thing, Michael, I'm honestly trying to analyze this, not as a partisan but as an analyst. I don't think it's resonating with people. I get it on the left, I get how they're all fired up about this, but just saying Kushner, Manafort, Cohen, that's like a law firm. That doesn't mean anything to end of nomadic anyone.

HOPKINS: I do agree with you on that. Democrats cannot only talk about Manafort and the Russia investigation. We have to multitask and talk about one of the things I think Democrats need to be pushing is the legalization of marijuana so that we can then tax that revenue and use it to fund health care, to better our education system.

INGRAHAM: So good people all jacked up and high and numb so then you can get health care because they are going to need it when they all turn into schizophrenics.

HOPKINS: Look what Colorado has done. They have been pretty successful with it.

INGRAHAM: I know. When you were a young person and a developing brain.
I'm not talking everybody who has ever smoked pot, but the medical.
Monica, this is where the polls are. The Quinnipiac polls, impeachment, 71 percent favor, Democrats, no, 21 percent, don't know, don't know the zip code they live in, eight percent. They want this president impeached and I think the Republicans are going to run with that message in the midterms and say if you want this economy to keep going, you want this president to continue to advance economic interests, you've got to turn out to vote. I think we will see, but right now if I were a Democrat I would be sweating it.

CROWLEY: Yes. We are so far beyond normal politics now, Laura. Everything is in the extreme. Of course it's hyper partisan, but everything now, step one is reaching for the extreme. So the Democrats, step one is reaching for impeachment. The Democrats do not have a strong economic message. In fact I don't think they have an economic message at all. And over the last eight years of President Obama's tenure, everything that he put in to place economically and national security wise is being undercut, if not full out in reverse and removed this president. What the president is doing is putting the lie to the statist ideal that was represented by President Obama and by the Democrats, and there's no way that they can counter that because the proof is what the American people are living on the ground every single day. And they see that this president's policies are succeeding where Obama and the Democrats failed.

INGRAHAM: I think what is interesting is Pelosi is like whoa on this impeachment talk. She's a smart cookie. She wasn't the speaker of the House for nothing. And she's like whoa, wait a California moment on the impeachment. Guys, fantastic segment as always. California, by the way, has some of the highest taxes in the nation. So what's another lavish new entitlement for illegal immigrants? No big deal. Sanctuary states unbelievable scheme and a debate next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: A bill in the California state Senate would make it the first state in the nation to offer full health care coverage to illegal immigrants. It will cost a whopping $3 billion, and critics say it could devastate the economy of the fiscally fragile state. Let's discuss this with someone who supports the bill, Dr. Micah Weinberg, president of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. Dr. Weinberg, tell us why this is a good idea given what we know it will cost for the state of California.

DR. MICAH WEINBERG, BAY AREA COUNCIL ECONOMIC INSTITUTE: Yes. So right now we actually pay for health care for undocumented immigrants at the federal level. But we only do it in the most expensive, inefficient way possible through emergency room care. So this just moves us into paying for primary and preventive care, which is substantially more efficient.

INGRAHAM: The Medi-Cal problems, the overall health care in California called Medi-Cal, E.R. visits by Medi-Cal patients rose 75 percent over just the past five years. Only 55 percent of physicians actually accept Medi- Cal, more than a third of all California residents are already on Medi-Cal, and last year $23 billion were spent by the state on illegal immigrants. How would this not be a further magnet for illegal immigrants to come into the state? You already have 3 million unauthorized immigrants.

WEINBERG: Sure. So you had a lot of questions there.

INGRAHAM: Yes, I do, because it's a ridiculous idea. Handle it one at a time.

WEINBERG: I'm concerned we may not see eye to eye at the end of this.

(LAUGHTER)

INGRAHAM: You're kidding.

WEINBERG: I'm a little concerned. California is actually not a magnet for lower income people. California is actually a magnet for higher income people. We are actually a net exporter of lower income people because of the cost of living here, which is a real issue. So this whole idea of being a magnet state just isn't borne out by the economic data.

INGRAHAM: OK, hold on, Dr. Weinberg, there is 134,000 homeless people in your state. It has been declared a state of emergency in San Francisco and in L.A. So we don't have a problem with low income people. Of course you have a problem with low income people. They are all living in tents on the streets, and even liberal shop owners in San Francisco are complaining about what it's doing to their businesses. So don't say on this show that you don't have a problem with low income people in the state. Of course you do.

WEINBERG: I'm really glad to hear that you want to get enrolled in our effort to build more housing in the Bay Area and I would love to come back to talk to about that. But this conversation is actually about health care, and you brought up the fact that there are a lot of doctors that don't accept Medi-Cal. One of the things about not paying for undocumented immigrants is physicians and hospitals are forced to provide charity care, and the employees of my businesses see higher health care premiums by virtue of the fact that we actually do provide health care to these folks at the emergency room.

INGRAHAM: Whoa, you act like every illegal immigrant goes to the emergency room all the time. The fact is they are not supposed to be in the state, Micah.

WEINBERG: Again --

INGRAHAM: They are supposed to be back in her home country. So you want to make it easier for people to be in the state and get health care paid for. I get that, but you are making law-abiding taxpayers and legal immigrants foot the bill for even more care than they are already paying now. I get it because you want to do that.

WEINBERG: I'm saying --

INGRAHAM: We appreciate it. We will have you on radio, we will do a longer segment. Sorry we had to shortchange on it.

A pillow fight like you've never seen before, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: We leave you tonight with images from a major event that somehow didn't make the evening news -- 70,000 millennials filled Viking stadium in celebration of faith, hope, and love last Friday in Minnesota.

END

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