2020 Democrats address LGBTQ rights during CNN town hall; Behar serenaded with impeachment anthem
Democratic presidential hopefuls talk LGBTQ rights and Joy Behar celebrates her birthday with an impeachment anthem; Raymond Arroyo breaks down his 'Friday Follies.'
This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," October 11, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
TAMMY BRRUCE, HOST: Wow, what an evening. Welcome aboard everyone. I'm Tammy Bruce in for Laura Ingraham this evening. This is "The Ingraham Angle" from New York City tonight.
Obviously President Trump there just wrapping up another extraordinary campaign rally for the second night in a row, this time in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the President making a last-minute appeal to pelican state voters to get out to the polls tomorrow for the jungle primary for the gubernatorial race in an effort to unseat Democrat Governor John Bell.
But he also spent a lot of time hilting the Democrats, the Bidens, and the phony impeachment inquiry. Let me just say, I think you might agree, we have got Ellison Barber coming up here. But this is a man who has seems not to have lost any of his energy compared to the 2016 campaign clearly still in it. The crowd is even more remarkable. Let's go to Fox's Ellison Barber now live in Lake Charles, Louisiana with more. Ellison?
ELLISON BARBER, CORRESPONDENT: This is the President's second campaign-style rally and as many days last night he spoke for another 101 minutes tonight by my counting I think we're around to 83 minutes. This was the long speech that the President covered a lot of ground. He's trying to convince voters in Louisiana to head to the polls tomorrow and vote for one of two Republican candidates hoping to unseat the current Democrat Governor.
We got about ten minutes so the President talked about the impeachment inquiry, attacking Joe Biden as well as his son Hunter Biden. At one point he talked about the Democratic led impeachment inquiry it's valid on constitutional and he used the word BS. That got the cheers from the crowd here.
When there was a recent Fox News Polls that showed the highest amount of Americans removing the President from office - they feel like President Trump is being attacked. The President set off that interview tonight at times has told getting very angry talking about the impeachment inquiry.
You heard a lot of words we did here last night, doubled down on that tonight. That became the biggest focal point of the speech tonight. So, again, the purpose of him being in Louisiana, Tammy, was to try to get voters to head to the polls and he said any Republican in the jungle primary gubernatorial race that's happening. That election taking place tomorrow, Tammy?
BRUCE: Yes, Ellison, great job. Thank you very much. Clearly a remarkable evening and a man who is making - it's got a combination working there, right? At each of his rallies. He's a man who is not a politician came in from the business world but has adjusted very easily in to being a politician.
Know what is his job was and is at these rallies when it comes either moving his agenda or, of course, making a pitch for other Republican politicians. He's had a great deal of success in that. Now, we've got - he came out swinging as Ellison noted, of course, tonight with his message on the attempted impeachment, the insanity regarding that. Let's listen to this for a second.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Radical Democrats' policies are crazy. Their politicians are corrupt, their candidates are terrible. And they know they can't win an election day, so they're pursuing an illegal, invalid, and unconstitutional bull shit impeachment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUCE: You know, sometimes the President we know does say some things that can be a little surprising. That's one of them. And at the same time, it's not a game or a - kind of a thing to shock people specifically, it's kind of the nature of how he's approaching this like many Americans.
Now, we're going to talk about this and the general message and the remarkable impact of these rallies, joining me now Charlie Kirk Founder of Turning Point USA and Anthony Tall a Democratic Analyst. Gentlemen, welcome abroad, thank you for joining me tonight.
CHARLIE KIRK, FOUNDER, TURNING POINT USA: Thank you, of course.
BRUCE: All right. So, Charlie, you know somebody on social media noted that, look, a lot of us had watched the rally last night. And yet all of these people still got in line, going into this rally this evening, likely to hear some of the same messaging, but wanted to be in the realm of what this man was saying and doing?
He had been very underestimate in the 2016 race. Do you think these rallies indicate the same or more enthusiasm for this next coming up election year in 2020?
KIRK: Even more. Is the election tomorrow? It feels like it. Louisiana does, but nationally, it feels as if we're right around the corner. We got 13 more months to this Tammy, that's amazing. These rallies are an American phenomenon, the energy, the spirit, his ability to connect with people and the voters that put him in to office.
And what's really interesting is that he doesn't just go there to spread his message, but he also goes and hears from the actual attendees, how they feel about what he's doing, the enthusiasm that they have for his agenda? And I'll say it's really amazing to see people on a Friday night to be able to attend - to wait in line, the day of - as you noted, the day after a long rally that happened yesterday.
There's something so special, because each one of those individuals that attends that rally feels as if they're playing their part in a broader movement to reclaim government from a corrupt institution or corrupt practice in the past. It's truly amazing. It's more enthusiasm than we had in 2016.
BRUCE: Yes, you know, none of us could have predicted the nature of how this President's first term has been unfolding. And with all of the attacks and resistance, if you will, whether or not that would have impacted support or enthusiasm, but, Anthony, I have to say, you - I would think you might agree that these rallies seem to be as enthusiastic if not more as passionate the President does not seem worn down by anything that has gone on?
In fact, he's noted that he - he feels invigorated and that he - he enjoys this. What is your sense as the Democrat when you watch this after everything that's happened over the last three years?
ANTHONY TALL, DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I am amazed by the President. I love his passion. I love the way he's able to relate. And I don't think I've seen a candidate on the other side that can compete with his folksy manner the way he goes out there and basically entertains.
I watched the whole - basically the whole rally. And the President's charisma is outside of this world. I'm not going to take that away from him. But, that said, he's got a lot to deal with. He's got a lot on his plate. He's got a House of Representatives that is coming to impeach him.
And he knows that he knows that. I agree with you 100 percent he doesn't look tired, he doesn't look worn down. He looked young, he looked relatively vibrant tonight. But I haven't seen him looking that way all week. So it's good to see him looking that way. But I think he's got a long two, three months before the holidays ahead of him.
BRUCE: Yes, you know, it's almost as though, Charlie, maybe we all would agree, you know, some people really get energized by this. If the President didn't have these crowds, if he didn't have this reminder that he is supported, maybe what's happening in the political world in Washington would have a bigger impact?
But it - it ranges from - you know, him moving his agenda, talking about the politicians that are there and the political goal, but then even like the moment of bringing up the Little League Champions. This is - this is - the sense of Americana that are at these rallies compared, Charlie, to what we saw outside in Minnesota yesterday, it's a - it's a serious juxtaposition that is troubling.
How would you put that when it comes to how the American people are seeing - like almost two different Americas unfolding?
KIRK: It's a phenomenal point, Tammy. Look, these rallies are less political and more cultural than anything else. The people that attend these rallies, they feel the reinvigoration for the patriotic spirit that seems to have been diminishing over the last couple of decades.
I think it's a really interesting previous point that was made because a lot of other Democrats are seeing the same thing. They see a President that looks younger today than before he took office, which is a rather new phenomenon, especially in recent Presidents. They see the crowd sizes, his presidential campaign sitting over $125 million in cash, an extraordinary figure.
They see all of this. They now look to that word that was said, "Impeachment," because for them, that's now a political tool to try to stop the President's enthusiasm and movement. If he's drawing these crowds 13 months out, what's it going to look like a year from today, pretty amazing.
BRUCE: Charlie and Anthony, let's take a look as an example, obviously the biggest thing on his plate what Americans are hearing about every day is the impeachment process. He's had a couple of things to say in particular. Let's listen to this about the whistleblower involved in that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And the whistleblower, who worked now for Biden, did you hear this one? Came out yesterday? But the whistleblower comes out with a totally phony report on my phone call. But they never thought I'd release it, so they were going to be okay eight times, quid pro quo, except, it was no time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUCE: Yes, you know, by the way, I want to make one correction. Not that the whistleblower works for Biden, it's that we've - the Washington Examiner came out with the story making an assessment with what we know about the whistleblower that the 2020 candidate that he - that the Inspector General and his Attorney said that he had been associated with that 2020 candidate? That it appears quite directly that it was likely Biden.
So, with that, Anthony, this is - what's interesting is that the messaging that this approach would - would, you know, put a wet blanket on the President's support, that it would depress his supporters, that it would give somehow the boost to the hopes of the Democrats to take the White House.
It may be having an opposite effect. I don't doubt they'll impeach him. They've got the votes. But that seems like a political act at this point, would you agree?
TALL: Well, I think it would appear political to - to the Republicans and to that side of the - of the branch up to that side of the aisle. But you just have to remember, hey, I'm a Detroit tiger fan. When we have gone to New York, we didn't have a good year, we have to go to New York to play the Yankees.
The Democrats have a lot of evidence, you know, whether we're going to lose or not. We don't think we're going to lose, so we don't have to go. So, you know, same thing with the Democrats. They feel they have enough evidence. They feel this House of Representatives which they have the majority and they have enough evidence to move forward. It's their duty to go play ball. What happens in the Senate is different?
BRUCE: They took the House because playing ball in the midterm elections was promising to deal with the issues. They promised to go Washington and take things seriously and get things done. They talked about health care. They talked about prescription drug prices. They talked about jobs and wages.
So, if we're going to really go to the finish line here and we have to deliver and we have to go where we've got to go, shouldn't it be about the issues? Doesn't it trouble you they aren't doing that is it because they don't understand the issues or they don't have the solutions or is it they don't feel like they can win in 2020 because the President is accomplishing so much?
TALL: Well, I think that they think they can beat him, and I think they're going to follow the polls. But I just believe that the hardcore base of the Democratic Party has wanted this President impeached. And once they've gotten something they can latch on to, they're going to impeach him.
But I don't think that he think he's unbeatable. Although it's fair to your point, I look at the audience and the charisma and I look at what the Democrats have put up and I up haven't found anyone that can compete with that charisma.
BRUCE: Yes, that's the trouble the Democrats have. The nature--
TALL: I would agree with that.
BRUCE: Now, besides the people who are running for President, Anthony. There are people already in office, still in office, like Nancy Pelosi. Charlie and Anthony, take a listen to what he had to say about the Speaker of the House earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Nervous Nancy. Nervous Nancy. I used to think she loved the country. She hates the country. She wouldn't be doing this to the country if she did. She hates the country. Nancy Pelosi hates the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUCE: Yes, boy, that's a strong statement. And at the same time, some of these actions, including impeachment, some people, some Democrats have said, you know, they can't beat this great economy and so there are certain individuals who think, like Bill Maher said it, that may be a recession would be a good idea because at least it would be horrible for the people, it would get the President out.
Charlie, do you think it's possible that they actually want the economy to do badly? That they really think that the end justifies the means here? Is the President right that Nancy Pelosi hates the country or she just can't see past her?
KIRK: It sure doesn't seem they're happy that America is succeeding. Remember back to the State of the Union address when President Trump announced the lowest ever black unemployment rate and the Congressional Black Caucus stayed seated.
Do you remember when the Democrats looked so just upset and somber when the best GDP numbers were announced and lowest ever black poverty rate which does seemed as if there's a whole wing in the Democratic Party that's the majority that's not happy that America is succeeding?
So make no mistake, the Democrats were not worried that Donald Trump was going to fail, they were really terrified he was going to succeed. He is succeeding now because that put them at political risk. You said it so best Tammy. The mandate of the 2018 elections that got Nancy Pelosi the gavel was won on moderation, won on infrastructure and most importantly healthcare.
And so a lot of these districts that Donald Trump won in 2016 are occupied by blue dog Democrats that are now very, very nervous that "The Squad" and Nancy Pelosi have taken over power and now threatening impeachment.
BRUCE: All right. Well, gentlemen, I will tell you, it is - even though we might disagree on the issues, it's a very exciting time to working in politics, anything is possible. Donald Trump has shown us that as well. And we've got more than a year coming up to the election itself.
And this is going to be - this reformation of the country is going to continue. Everyone's got a challenge, and it's a pleasure to have heard from you and your opinions tonight after another Donald Trump rally. Charlie and Anthony, thank you gentlemen very much for joining me. I do appreciate it.
Up next, Laura Ingraham is in Washington to set the record straight on realism versus fantasy on the President's decision to pull troops out of Northern Syria. There is a lot we've got to be dealing with. Laura has got all of it.
It's not just - you know we've got this great scene of a rally, right? The President at the same time also today gave great news about his negotiations with China. We've got things still going on all over the Middle East, including in Saudi Arabia. This is a working President, he also loves the country. And he also is having a good time doing what he's doing. So you stay right there. Laura will be right back
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: Realism versus fantasy on Syria and beyond, that's the focus of tonight's "Angle". During his 2020 campaign rallies the President is rekindling the America First team that helped him take the White House three years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We are also ending the endless wars. We were supposed to be in Syria for 30 days. We've now been there for ten years. We were supposed to be in Afghanistan for a short period of time. We're now going to be there for close to 19 years.
It's time to bring them home. All of the blood and treasure we sacrificed made the Middle East it's less safe, less stable, and is less secure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: The latest Gallop poll from August shows that 50 percent of Americans believe the Iraq War was a mistake and 51 percent believe it made us less safe. No one should be surprised that President Trump is pulling our troops out of Northern Syria. He repeatedly said he was going to do just that.
Nor should we be surprised that the Turks launched offensive there. The critics are right that Iran is a thug, but Turkey is also a Nato Ally, the alliance that the oligarch urged Trump to honor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Turkey right now launching an offensive on America's allies in Syria.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Turkey says the operation is meant to drive out terrorists, which is what they called the Kurds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These have been U.S. allies. They've gone into the fight and suffered as we've said just grievous casualties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Look, it's truly awful what's happening to the Kurds. They're fierce fighters for their own homelands and they did help to defeat ISIS, no doubt about it but what happened to the Vietnamese when we left them behind was awful too.
Unwise, unwinnable wars trigger unanticipated aftershock, both at home and abroad. Let's not forget strong opposition to the Iraq War helped Obama win the White House in 2008. And a noninterventionist platform also propelled Trump to victory.
Americans in both parties smartly saw the more we extended ourselves in the Middle East, the weaker we became. As the President said, look, all these years later, 18 years later, we still have troops in Afghanistan. And of course the suffering falls only on a small percentage of Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I have to sign letters it's the hardest thing I have to do. And I see parents make sounds that were just 20 minutes ago absolutely fine, make sounds, scream and cry like you've never seen before, breaking the military line and jumping off and then jumping on to a coffin of her son or her daughter. Their lives will never be the same.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: I'm so glad he said that as hard as it was for us to imagine being in that place where those parents are. It's important for the U.S. President to recognize that. And there will always be evil people around the world who want power and do horrible things to other people to get it.
Look what happening to the Muslims, the dissidents in China. Look what's happening to the Christians in Central Africa. America knows that subjugation and mass murders are happening across the globe but America is not the same country we once were.
In 2001, we had a budget surplus. In 1986, well, we had a fraction of the debt we have today. But Republican hawks want to pretend we're living back in those times. They want to relive the 2000s. And democrats will look for any excuse themselves to bash Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's shockingly ignorant of history, not of history of like the 1940s, of history three or four years ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think if you're not angry, you're not paying attention.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the most significant national security blunders in what he's done here.
UNIDENTIFIFED FEMALE: In an administration of foreign policy blunders, this is the worst disaster that we have seen.
UNIDENTIFIFED MALE: President Trump is aiding and abetting an ISIS jailbreak.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Now many of the same people are lecturing Trump now on Syria are the same ones who voted for a war that ended up costing us trillions of dollars. And, by the way, where was all of the hand wringing for the Christian communities? They were devastated as a consequence of the war in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Previous administrations lust for regime change. And also put historic Christian communities in vastly more danger than they were before we started. They are some of the biggest victims of these power vacuums and reckless foreign ventures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: And Liz Cheney, God bless her, is condemning Trump given what happened as a consequence of this war? By the way, I supported the war it took me a while to see the light. If you want to know how unpopular Bush's foreign policy is among Republican voters?
Remember, Jeb could not win his home primary in a state where he was a great Governor in Florida and George W. hasn't been invited to speak at a Republican National Convention since he left office.
Every dollar we send overseas is a dollar that we cannot spend here at home fixing our schools, our bridges, updating our airports, all of our priorities. And we have a lot of them. The same GOP wise me and women who told us Iraq was a slam dunk are the same ones who thought by the way that allowing China in the World Trade Organization was a grand idea.
Stupid trade policy only helping communist regime like China that hell bent on global domination ultimately become more powerful. We also lost millions of manufacturing jobs in much of our precious intellectual property to the Chinese.
Remember the people who green lit this Obama nation are called the elites, the foreign policy elites. Please, just as they did in Iraq. The so-called China trade experts failed the American people. Trump was elected to pick up the pieces.
His trade maneuvers with China including terrorists have been courageous in the face of especially Wall Street option. And while I believe personally that we should be decoupling our interests from the Chinese regime, Trump has done more than any other President in the face of what can only be described now as a generational threat.
In fact, because of Trump, there was a major breakthrough in the Chinese. They're going to grant us concessions on agriculture and we're going to give them some tariff relief. Trump has got a long way to go getting China to play fair. But this small deal suggests a bigger one may eventually be made.
But the big question now for America isn't whether we're going to be able to keep the Kurds free? The big question for America is whether we'll be able to keep ourselves free here at home? It is tragic what the so-called elites were allowed to do to this country, what happened to our country under their leadership?
But the definition of insanity would be to continue down the road toward false promises of mission accomplished once again. And that's the angle. Here to respond is Retired U.S. Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor. Colonel, this is a messy situation no doubt about it. But were we ever on an easy path after the war in Iraq?
COL DOUGLAS MACGREGOR, RET., U.S. ARMY: Of course not. You said it well. We're picking up the pieces. President Trump is now ripping off the band aids. When you do that, people are going to howl. That's what's happening in Syria.
All of these interventions always create unnatural balances of power. You end up supporting a small majority because they share short term interest with you. That's what happened with the Kurds.
Remember, they're communists in Northern Syria. They're Maoists they want to build their own state. They've been in a war against the Turks that lasted almost 40 years and kill 55,000 people. So this is a life or deaf question from Mr. Erdogan, it isn't for us. Our mission there is over.
We destroyed the ISIS Caliphate. Sure there are fighters left and there will always be Islamist crazies around the neighborhood.
INGRAHAM: Why is this our responsibility?
MACGREGOR: It isn't. But it's the last - it's another opportunity for the Neocons, for the Retired Generals who come on TV who have all become millionaires as a result of these--
INGRAHAM: Raytheon, they work for all the big companies, consultants.
MACGREGOR: All of these companies. Please, please don't leave. We're spending billions.
INGRAHAM: Keep the money flow. Keep spending money over there.
MACGREGOR: Keep the money flowing. And they know from experience that once we do pull out, we don't go back.
INGRAHAM: Who on the debate stage among the Democrats, if they're asked, will you commit now to sending more troops to northern Iraq? Who's going to agree -- who's going to agree? Will anyone on that stage -- do any of them want to vote for a military reauthorization? Because I'm getting a little tired of this post 9/11 military authorization that justifies all of this expenditure.
MACGREGOR: That's right. Remember, the only one who really will be unambiguously clear about her opposition is Tulsi Gabbard. Everybody else --
INGRAHAM: She's principled on this.
MACGREGOR: Yes.
INGRAHAM: Colonel, I also want to get you to comment on what's happened today that the Defense Department announced that they're deploying an additional 3,000 troops to Saudi Arabia. Secretary Esper justified the decision by saying that we are still committed to our allies. Since May, the DOD has increased forces to the CENTCOM area by about 14,000. So what do we not -- what is going on here? Because we're pulling troops out of this area of Syria and northern Iraq, and now we're redeploying them. Is this a good idea?
MACGREGOR: Two things. First of all, if you're president of the United States and you look at the map, there is an imaginary red line that runs across the top of Israel, around Jordan, along the Saudi border, up around Kuwait, and down along the Emirates through the middle of the Persian Gulf. Everything east of that is in contention. Everything west of that has to be stable and orderly. We're responsible for that because we have a strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia.
Now, the forces that are going in there are all defensive. There's not enough combat power there to launch any offensive operation. But remember, we just watched as the Saudis proved to be totally incompetent and incapable of defending their oil fields, which you would think given the billions that they've spent would have been their top priority. So, they appeal to President Trump. He's responding. But it is modest. It is not a major commitment.
INGRAHAM: But I love listening to these Democrats. Suddenly these Democrats are becoming war hawks. AOC has been criticizing Trump. But it really does get us back to this proposition that so many people have become headline readers. Like Tom Sowell said, there's very little deep thought or understanding of history. And so if you can criticize Trump in the moment, he doesn't care about the Kurds, he's abandoning -- no. He campaigned on America first. If we're not strong and prosperous at home, we're not going to be good to anyone. Put your own oxygen mask on first before you try to save others on the airplane.
MACGREGOR: The good news is, look at the polling data, the people are behind President Trump. They want to disengage. They want to get out. There is no support for a war against Turkey, against Iran, against Russia, against anyone. President Trump knows that. So he's taking prudent steps to avoid --
INGRAHAM: How much money did China spend in the Middle East, in wars?
MACGREGOR: Listen, they pulled out of a big deal with Iran. And they're concerned. Why? They're not going to put money into an area where there's conflict. The Chinese are about making money. There's no ideological --
INGRAHAM: They see us draining trillions. They're like, well, let's build a new airport.
MACGREGOR: They love that. They love that.
INGRAHAM: They love seeing it. We're draining our money away. That means we have less to be competitive with the Chinese. It's great to see you, as always, Doug.
MACGREGOR: Thanks.
INGRAHAM: And up next, do you know what's happening on Sesame Street? It's a pretty serious topic, we're going to go to Sesame Street. The ladies on "The View" share their voices in a new way. And 2020 Democrat fanatics pandering to liberals? Raymond Arroyo has it all in Friday Follies, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
AISHAH HASNIE, CORRESPONDENT: Live from America's News Headquarters, I'm Aishah Hasnie.
Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating whether Rudy Giuliani violated lobbying laws in his dealings with Ukraine, that's according to a report in "The New York Times," citing two people familiar with that probe. Investigators are reportedly focusing on Giuliani's alleged efforts to undermine then American Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. She was recalled in the spring. Yovanovitch spent much of Friday on Capitol Hill testifying in a closed door session.
Meantime, the acting secretary of Homeland Security is stepping down. President Trump says Kevin McAleenan wants to spend more time with his family. McAleenan is the fourth person to serve in that role. The president plans to announce a new acting secretary next week.
I'm Aishah Hasnie. Now back to "The Ingraham Angle."
INGRAHAM: It's Friday, and that means it's time for --
"The View" reveals just how tone deaf it is, and a classic kids' show gets serious. But first, shameless pandering by the left to the social justice warriors. Joining us with all of the details, he's back, Raymond Arroyo.
All right, Raymond, we got a twofer tonight, double-trouble with you tonight. It never stops.
RAYMOND ARROYO, CONTRIBUTOR: Indeed.
INGRAHAM: What are the 2020 candidates doing now?
ARROYO: Laura, it's almost embarrassing at this point. CNN, as you referenced earlier, did another 2020 town hall marathon which, and this could tell us how 2020 might go, it tanked their ratings. The equality town hall gave the Dem candidates an opportunity to curry favor with their reliable LGBT consistency. Let's start with Cory Booker who was literally throwing himself at one of the questioners.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CORY BOOKER, D-N.J., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The guy has one of the most handsome haircuts. Were you about to say the same thing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was. I was going to say nice haircut.
BOOKER: Thank you very much.
(LAUGHTER)
COOKER: You are a beautiful man.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Many people have no idea that --
BOOKER: Make our president bald again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm here for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
INGRAHAM: How adorable? What are we seeing? Are we seeing some MABA hats -- Make America Bald Again? Is that how we're going to win Michigan, Raymond?
ARROYO: They'll only have visors, though. You don't want to ruin the natural dome, Laura, of the beautiful heads. Joe Biden naturally was right in the center of this. He's been known to, shall we say, embellish stories a bit, Laura. So I wonder just how much of this story is true. This is about he and his father encountering a gay couple. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Two well-dressed men kissed one another as I was opening the door. And I hadn't seen that before. I looked at my dad, and he looked at me, and he said it's simple, honey. They love each other. When I came out -- I came out. When I publicly stated --
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that would be news.
BIDEN: I got something to tell you.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
COOPER: I kind of figured it out a while ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARROYO: I wonder what corn pop would say, Laura?
INGRAHAM: I don't even have words for that. That was just sad for him.
ARROYO: It was. It's a desperate attempt to pander. And aside from Mayor Pete, all of these candidates are at a loss because they're not gay or lesbian. So it becomes a pander fest. But you're talking about 82 percent of LGBT people vote Democrat. So it's an important base.
INGRAHAM: They already support them.
ARROYO: Right. Kamala Harris really takes the cake, though, here with her entrance. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, D-CALIF., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My pronouns are she, her, and hers.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She, her, and hers. Mine too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
INGRAHAM: Is this what we're going to have to do when we won't go into a room. Is that the new hello, you look great, how are you doing? OK.
ARROYO: And what's your personal pronoun? So he had to apologize, Cuomo did. He said "Please read, when Senator Harris said her pronouns were she, her, and hers, I said mine too. I should not have. I apologize"
INGRAHAM: Oh, my God, he had to apologize for that? It wasn't funny. But still, his attempt, as pathetic as it was.
ARROYO: This was all -- it was really a pander fest for hours and hours. It didn't help the ratings.
Laura, Joy Behar was serenaded by people during her birthday on "The View," and, well, watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joy to the world, the time has come, inquire, indict, impeach.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARROYO: Laura, can you believe this?
INGRAHAM: First of all, how flat can one sing, first of all? I'm focusing on how flat the tone is.
(LAUGHTER)
ARROYO: Must we make a Christmas carol this profane by tilting a birthday and a Christmas carol toward impeachment? It's ideology all the way here. It's sad.
INGRAHAM: Well, I just hope we can have a Christmas season without bringing impeachment removal, a partridge in a pear-tree all under the same conversation.
ARROYO: Don't count on it, my dear. See you next week.
INGRAHAM: Unbelievable. You have a great weekend.
Coming up, the NBA isn't the only one bowing to China. An "Ingraham Angle" investigation that attempts to untangle the web of Hunter Biden's deep financial ties to the communist nation. Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: We've told you all about Hunter Biden's troubling ties to Ukraine, but they don't stop there. His shady dealings extend even further to Communist China, and they run deeper than previously thought. For more we go to our West Coast Newsroom where FOX chief breaking news correspondent Trace Gallagher has all of the details. Trace?
TRACE GALLAGHER, CORRESPONDENT: Laura, we know that 49-year-old Hunter Biden, who is a lawyer by trade, co-founded an investment for a fund back in 2009 called Rosemont Seneca Partners, the partners being Christopher Heinz, step-son of former secretary of state John Kerry, and Devon Archer, a financier and former male model.
In December of 2013, Hunter Biden travelled aboard Air Force Two with his father on an official visit to Beijing. Two weeks after that trip, Hunter Biden's investor fund became a partner with a Chinese private equity firm called Bohai Harvest, or BHR, which is primarily owned and controlled by the Chinese government. The Bidens have repeatedly denied any connection between the vice president's visit to China and his son's business deal, but this year, "The New Yorker" reported that during the visit, Hunter Biden introduced his father to a man named Jonathan Li, who a short time later became the CEO of BHR. And our corporate cousin, "The Wall Street Journal," says Hunter Biden still owns 10 percent of BHR. President Trump has insinuated time and again that Hunter Biden's deal is not on the up and up. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He gets $1.5 billion out of China, and he's got no expertise. And I've got friends that are the smartest people on Wall Street. I said, is that possible. They say, no, that's not possible. It's a pretty sad situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: The $1.5 billion the president refers to was apparently the fundraising target of BHR, and it's unclear if that target was ever hit. But over the past six years, the company has invested more than $2 billion on behalf of its financial backers. Hunter Biden's spokesperson says Biden still hasn't recouped his original investment in BHR, though his 10 percent stake appears to be a valuable asset. And Hunter Biden has also dabbled in other Chinese companies that reportedly invest in sensitive assets in both the U.S. and China. There is no firm evidence that Hunter Biden has done anything illegal, but experts say politically, the optics are poor. Laura?
INGRAHAM: Trace, thanks so much for that report.
And those aren't the only China conflicts making waves at the moment. Each day, it seems like we see some embarrassing new developments for the NBA. Now early this week, "The Ingraham Angle" was the first, proud to say, to call out the NBA for bending on, well, down for this communist Chinese, all the while happily trashing Trump's America. And it gets even more pathetic. The league now has announced they are cancelling all press conferences from teams in China after this embarrassing exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The NBA has always been a league that prides itself on its players and its coaches being able to speak out openly about political and societal affairs. I just wonder after the events of this week and the fallout we've seen, whether you would both feel differently about speaking out in that way in the future?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse, we are taking basketball questions only.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a legitimate question. This is an event that happened this week in the NBA. Sure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: It's like, did the Chinese dragon get their tongue there? And outspoken liberal coach Steve Kerr gave this absurd response to a reporter's question on China's human rights abuses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE KERR, HEAD COACH, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: It has not come up in terms of people asking me about it, nor has our record of human rights abuses either. People in China didn't ask me about people owning AR-15s and mowing each other down in a mall. The world is a complex place and there's more gray than black and white.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: More gray than black and white. Joining me now, Clay Travis, FOX Sports host, radio host, author of the book, "Republicans Buy Sneakers Too." Clay, I have to say, I am both saddened but not surprised that this is where it's going given China's outsized influence now in American commerce, and, of course, with the money that the NBA is making over there in China with franchise fees. But, man, the NBA has a lot to say about Trump and what he does. But seems like they have no spine when it comes to what happens in China.
CLAY TRAVIS, FOX SPORTS HOST: It doesn't seem like they have no spine, Laura, and thanks for having me. They have no spine when it comes to what's going on in China. This is I believe the worst week that any pro sports league has ever had in my life because, I know you've covered a lot of this, but the NBA bans the word "owner" because they decide it's racially insensitive. They replace it, ironically enough for people who remember the civil rights movement, with the word "governor" which actually has worse connotations in some states given the way things have gone.
They also decide that they're going to pull their all-star game out of Charlotte, North Carolina, because of a local state transgender bathroom law. I don't know about you, Laura, but I don't think transgender people have a lot of rights in China, just like the entire population of 1.4 billion people does not have a lot of rights there. Steve Kerr was asked whether or not --
INGRAHAM: I know, it was embarrassing.
TRAVIS: -- he was in favor, basically, of democracy, and he wasn't willing to endorse democracy. And he said America and China are basically the same thing when it comes to human rights, which is so laughably absurd, I don't even know what he could be thinking.
INGRAHAM: The fact that Kerr could even approach drawing a moral equivalency between a country that has at least a million Muslims in the equivalent of internment camps, they have no freedom, can't move, political dissidents never heard from again, Christians persecuted, every manner of oppression and subjugation. And that's a gray area for Mr. Kerr because almighty dollar is involved.
(LAUGHTER)
INGRAHAM: And so this is what I'm saying. When these people claim they care about all of these social justice issues and they get all offended when someone even nicks them with criticism at home, I'm calling them on all of their you know what, because I think they care about one thing primarily. They want to win, but it's about money. So let's just say it's about money and we all know where we're coming from now. It's about money, so just lose the idea that you're all about your moral principles. Give me a break. The whole thing is ridiculous.
Another American company, by the way, Clay, is now caving in to the communist Chinese. Houston Rockets' merchandise has reportedly disappeared off the shelves of Nike stores in China. "Reuters" reporting that managers of five Nike stores in Beijing and Shanghai say they've been told in recent days via memo from management that all Rockets merchandise had to be removed. Now, this is the same company, by the way, that uses Colin Kaepernick to represent them. So maybe the new slogan for Nike, Clay, should be, believe in something as long as Beijing approves.
(LAUGHTER)
INGRAHAM: We could brand it for them.
TRAVIS: It is fantastic. The irony on this is mind blowing, because, again, these guys have said over and over again, LeBron James, for instance, is trying to market himself as the Muhammed Ali of his generation. More power to him for marketing purposes, but Muhammed Ali went to prison and fought against a war. LeBron James, if he really wanted to take a stand, could, right? He could say I believe that the 1.4 billion people in China deserve the exact same rights that many Americans take for granted -- freedom of speech, freedom to get on the Internet without censorship, all of these issues.
But I think a big part of this, Laura, growing and going forward is, China is moving. And this is important, this is an important distinction, from, hey, if you want to play "The Avengers" movie in our country, we're going to edit two minutes of it, but it's for out country inside of the country. What they are trying to do now is they are trying to propagate their communist world view into America, and they are using the sports leagues like the NBA as a conduit to do it. And the NBA is allowing them to do it. It's absolutely pathetic that this is allowed to be taking place.
INGRAHAM: So Clay, it's like they got rid of the nomenclature "owners" for the actual owners of the teams, but then they transfer that ownership to a communist regime. So the owners now are far away in Beijing whose tentacles reach right across the ocean into the United States and into the psyche and mindset, apparently, of these players.
But I'm just glad this has all been revelatory for us. We now know what everyone stands for, and the masks are off. So I think this is a sad moment, but it's very revealing, I think, to all of us. Thanks so much.
And coming up, earlier this week, we showed you Dean Cain and Kristy Swanson's dramatic reenactment of the Strzok and Page texts. Someone new might be joining the cast. We're going to reveal who that is in the Last Bite, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: It's time for the Last Bite. We showed you Dean Cain and Kristy Swanson's dramatic readings of the texts between FBI lovebirds Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. They now have a new cast member.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Peter Strzok, remember, he and his lover, Lisa Page. I love you too, Peter. I love you, Lisa. Lisa, Lisa, Lisa! Oh, God, I love you, Lisa. And if she doesn't win, Lisa, we've got an insurance policy, Lisa. And we're living through the insurance policy. That's what it is. The phony Russia hoax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: OK, he could be a standup comedian. That's all I'm saying. He's extremely funny. We need to laugh in politics, have a good time.
That's all of the time we have tonight. Have a great weekend. We'll see you back here Monday.
Content and Programming Copyright 2019 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2019 ASC Services II Media, LLC. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of ASC Services II Media, LLC. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox