Constitutional 'crisis'? Democrats and the media parrot talking points on subpoena fight

close

Video

Constitutional 'crisis'? Democrats and the media parrot talking points on subpoena fight

President Trump's critics are in meltdown mode after the House Judiciary Committee vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt; reaction and analysis on 'The Five.'

This is a rush transcript from "The Five," May 9, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

JESSE WATTERS, HOST: Hello. I'm Jesse Watters along with Emily Compagno, Juan Williams, Dana Perino, and Greg. It's five o'clock in New York City. And this is “The Five.”

Democrats and the media are in full meltdown mode after the House Judiciary Committee voted to hold attorney General Bill Barr in contempt. They're furious that Barr won't break the law and hand over an unredacted version of the Mueller report. So now Democrats and the media are debuting a coordinated talking point to describe it, talk about collusion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Ever wonder what a constitutional crisis looks like? Open your eyes.

REP. JERROLD NADLER, D-N.Y.: We are now in a constitutional crisis.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump appears to be heading toward a constitutional crisis.

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE, D-TX: I saw this coming and mentioned the constitutional crisis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're hovering on a constitutional crisis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in a constitutional conflict that's careening toward a crisis.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Do you agree with Congressman Nadler that we're in a constitutional crisis?

REP. ADAM SCHIFF, D-CALIF.: We are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATTERS: That is what they're saying now. But back in 2012, Democrats and the media were singing a much different tune. Remember when Democrats walked out when Obama Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt over the Fast and the Furious scandal? Jerry Nadler called it, quote, "shameful and politically motivated."

And here's what two other top Democrats said at the time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI, D-CALIF. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Contempt of congress. Contempt of Congress. Not only to monopolize his time, it's to undermine his name.

SEN. ELIJAH CUMMINGS, D-MD: Some of my colleagues on the other side seem almost giddy about today's vote. After turning this investigation into an election year witch hunt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATTERS: Witch hunt. And of course, the media also had a very different opinion on holding Holder in contempt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just looks like more of our broken politics and vicious fights now out in the open.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every single Republican voted to hold the attorney general in contempt over this crazy conspiracy theory.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: This is just theater. It amounts to nothing.

CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC HOST: A party in the Congress that says about nothing to create jobs or help people without jobs decided the best way to do their job is to shower the Obama administration with subpoenas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATTERS: All right. Let's take a trip down memory lane, Dana. Many presidents have rejected congressional subpoenas. Obama did it with the Fast and Furious and Solyndra. George Bush did it over Harriet Miers and the firing of U.S. attorneys.

And Bill Clinton did it when people wanted the Whitewater documents. And it was never a constitutional crisis until Trump does it.

DANA PERINO, HOST: Well, no. So, for Republicans, George W. Bush, it was, right? Because that was -- that you are not giving information about seven U.S. attorneys that the president had every right --

WATTERS: Right.

PERINO: -- to let go if he wanted to. The thing is, so crisis is the words. But crisis means that you can't handle it. So, are Democrats saying that they can't handle it? I don't think that's what they're saying.

The other thing the reason I can't get too interested in this yet, is because it was only like, two months ago, that the Fast and Furious got resolved in court. This is like two and a half years after President Obama left office. I think that we were midway through President Obama's second term when the Harriet Miers stuff got resolved in the courts. So, I'm just going to sit back and let this one go for a little bit.

WATTERS: OK. Mr. Gutfeld?

GREG GUTFELD, HOST: Yes.

WATTERS: A constitutional crisis?

GUTFELD: I was -- here's what's interesting about what aboutism. It can actually ruin your --

WATTERS: Careful.

GUTFELD: I'm sorry. But when I saw the Democrats talking about Holder, it does sound exactly the same. And I was like, I was looking at it and I go well, if you feel strongly about Holder, then you should understand the other side doing the same thing. Because that was -- it's entirely -- that was a mirror -- that was a mirror of 2018 -- 2019. It's kind of amazing.

So, to me, this is why America hates politicians, right? It's just -- it's just like a ping-pong game using the same strategies and it's why Trump won, was that he stepped out of it, he was outside of the political world.

The real constitutional crisis is here at this table. Because those idiots at Fox and Friends cooked seafood and this entire studio stinks. My Constitution is not going to make it through this show. I'm telling you --

PERINO: It's bad.

GUTFELD: Joe, you know, if Fox and Friends, if Fox and Friends were a person, there's a jerk that uses that microwave fish in the office. Because this entire -- this entire studio stinks.

WATTERS: I just thought it was William's cologne.

GUTFELD: No, no. I mean, everybody has been --

PERINO: I'm sure that Ainsley was against it. I'm sure -- pretty sure that she said to Kilmeade that we shouldn't do this that he made her do it.

GUTFELD: I'm going to do something to their studio tonight and it's going to stink.

WATTERS: All right. Well, it's right upstairs. Well, don't do it. Don't do it, Greg. Juan?

JUAN WILLIAMS, HOST: Yes.

WATTERS: So, it's a constitutional crisis when William Barr follows the law.

WILLIAMS: Follows the law?

WATTERS: Yes, you're not allowed to release grand jury testimony.

WILLIAMS: Get out of here.

WATTERS: It's illegal.

WILLIAMS: You know, I love the cover-up. But anyway, let me just say --

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: It's illegal.

WILLIAMS: Let me just say --

WATTERS: It's not illegal?

WILLIAMS: What is going on? Is there such a clear distinction? Greg said it's a mirror of what happened in 2012. Well, maybe it's a funhouse mirror in a Republican carnival. Because it's not a mirror. What's happening now is a constitutional crisis in a sense that you have --

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: We should put Juan in the montage.

WILLIAMS: OK. You can because they are right. You have a moment when the president -- I mean, Republicans, conservatives loves the Constitution. Article one of the Constitution says that Congress is the first, the first branch of government, article two, the executive.

The Congress has responsibility of oversight for the executives. And every time this has come up as Dana pointed out, the courts have ruled in favor of the Congress. So, to me, this is --

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: So, you think a judge is going to rule for the Democrats breaking the law?

WILLIAMS: I don't -- it's not breaking law.

PERINO: In 2024.

WATTERS: Juan, you can't release grand jury testimony.

WILLIAMS: This is not the point. The point is --

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: That's what they held in contempt for.

WILLIAMS: The point is that they should be negotiating. What the Trump team what the Barr team have done is shut down iced any conversation about cooperation, about how this could work, about how grand jury testimony could be protected. And again, if this is such a favorable report to President Trump what's he hiding? It doesn't test the smell test.

GUTFELD: What's he hiding?

WATTERS: Nice try. Go ahead.

EMILY COMPAGNO, ATTORNEY: I just feel like Democrats use the word crisis. It just means that they're not getting their way. And I feel like they operate always in hyperbole and not reality. And we've heard this before.

Remember when people would die from net neutrality? And when we were discussing the crisis at the border because people were dying and inflation was a million percent and cartels are choke holding towns? And there's a homicide rate of eight per day in cities. That wasn't a crisis.

So, I feel like it's only used if it benefits them and Democrats only act when it benefits them. Which is why when the crisis at the border was acknowledged, what have we seen since then to do anything about it? So, this doesn't surprise me but it's going to only be them helping themselves.

WILLIAMS: You know what you should do? You know, we saw that montage earlier of Democrats calling it constitutional crisis. If you really want to get a kick, go back to 2012. Watch Marco Rubio, watch Lindsey Graham saying that what's going on right there is unacceptable. It's unacceptable to the president of the United States. We're not falling all this --

(CROSSTALK)

PERINO: But that's what Greg is saying. It's what America did.

WILLIAMS: Talk about hypocrisy, talk about politics --

GUTFELD: You just made it lap back to my original point. You're welcome. Here, you know, the problem with this is that it's terribly unpersuasive.

PERINO: Yes.

GUTFELD: Because what the argument that the Democrats are doing are continually reminding America that they are losers. Because they keep going back to November 1st. This is about -- I'm sorry, the November election when their party was brutally humiliated by the same guy over and over again. They relive this humiliation.

A guy who just basically walked into a bank and robbed them blind without even using a weapon. And so, when they keep bringing this up, they keep bringing up the fact that they're losers. They should use all this tremendous energy and devote it to actual issues and ideas. That would be something fun. And maybe figure out how to get rid of this smell.

WILLIAMS: Maybe -- maybe you know, the smell could be coming from Republicans who for two years just sat and rotted --

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: The fish rot to the head, Juan.

WILLIAMS: Instead of acting in anyway as if they were saying to the president, you can't be an autocrat. You can't run an imperial presidency. You're our Republican but you got to be president --

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: What about Obama?

WATTERS: OK, Juan.

COMPAGNO: But they represent the people which they're not doing here.

WILLIAMS: What's that? Say it.

WATTERS: Go ahead. finish them off.

COMPAGNO: Our elected officials represent the people. And the people on the Hill right now are only representing themselves. They're definitely not representing on mass.

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: They want to undo an election.

COMPAGNO: We know --

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: Yes. And let's remember, 17 Democrats in the House actually crossed over and held Eric Holder in contempt with the --

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: Yes, I wish I'd see that from the Republicans with this imperial president.

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: Up next, why President Trump is predicting he'll win big in 2020.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GUTFELD: Wait a second. Wait, wait, wait. I button my shirt. I just got a call. I was told that I have to button my shirt.

WATTERS: Yes, much neater.

GUTFELD: Thank you.

PERINO: Looks better.

GUTFELD: Thank you. You're welcome. In -- too sexy for THE FIVE. In Panama City, Florida last night President Trump predicted that continuous Democratic investigations will only help him get re-elected.

Because while we are unleashing an unprecedented wave of prosperity, the Democratic Party is trying to return us to the failures of yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT: But while we're unleashing a wave of prosperity, the Democrat Party is trying to return us to the failures of yesterday.

They want to do investigations instead of investments. They want to do what they're doing, which looks so foolish and maybe I read it wrong, but I think it drives us right on to victory in 2020.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTFELD: In the good old days, the Dems could say hey, Trump is a jerk and pretend that was a policy statement. Now the things are so good they need an actual idea and they're struggling.

So, it's their fixation on their own anger that may stir Trump to victory in 2020. But if that's true why tell the people running against him now? Maybe because Trump knows they aren't listening. That's what happens to the possessed when locked in a compulsive addiction they can't hear anything but excuses self-delusions in their own incessant need for more.

That's cognitive dissidents when reality intrudes on your fantasy. And for the media, reality of the Mueller report intruded on their fantasies of a far different outcome.

But instead of admitting this outcome is rule, one that was told plainly months ago, they denied it really happened. It's like when science says smoking is bad for you. But the smoker says but look at all these old people who are still smoking. They look fine to me.

So, the media scream for the Mueller report and got it. But they got the version not the fantasy. So, they keep on smoking knowing it's hazardous to their 2020 health.

I got a giggle at you, Dana. There's you go. All right. Well, that's all I need. I feel like Trump is daring them to focus on issues.

PERINO: Well, here's President Trump is saying this but you don't have to just take it from him. Take it from Nancy Pelosi.

GUTFELD: Yes.

PERINO: The speaker of the house she keeps saying the president is trying to goad us into impeachment. Let's not be that stupid. Now I do think that she's -- it's like a slow impeachment boil.

GUTFELD: Right.

PERINO: Right? Like she wants to just turn up that heat slowly. But then you have people like Al Green, the congressman. I don't remember where Al Green is from, but he is very much for impeachment of the president. He was for that on I think January 22, 2017.

He is worried that some on the left won't be enthusiastic to vote in 2020 if they don't try to impeach. So, the Democrats are trying to figure this out. Nancy Pelosi has got a hold of the reins. But I don't know how long she can hold them back.

WATTERS: Jesse, it seems like they're in a pickle.

WATTERS: Great analogy, Greg.

GUTFELD: Thank you.

WATTERS: You stole that one right from me. I would say the Democrats had two psychotic episodes within the last two years. One was the Trump election.

GUTFELD: Right.

WATTERS: The second was when Mueller said there was no collusion.

GUTFELD: Exactly.

WATTERS: So now you have a really sick deranged base in the Democratic Party that the reckless media and the pundits have kind of allowed to manifest itself as angry and hateful. And the rest of the country does not want impeachment.

The rest of the country actually wants Trump to investigate the investigators and then you have a small angry lag minority of Democrats who are voting in this primary election that want to impeach the traitor in the White House.

They still believe after the Mueller report that Trump hacked the election with the help of Vladimir Putin and is trying to cover it up.

So, at this point, you can choose if you're someone in the media or if you're a politician. Are you going to allow the sick derangement syndrome to continue or you're going to continue to profit from it? Because they're profiting from it and they're becoming famous.

Now, if you look at the forgotten men and women in this country, those are the people that Trump won, the Democrats have still forgotten them. Trump is still hitting everybody hard with trade and jobs and economic security.

And the Democrats are talking about impeachment, contempt --

PERINO: Yes.

WATTERS: -- racism and global warming. And the Democrats are now fighting about the past and Donald Trump is fighting for people's future. And the future has never looked brighter. More Americans now by 20 points think the country is headed in the right direction as opposed to under Barack Obama.

His approval rating is at an all-time high and the media credibility is in at all-time low and the media circling the wagons around Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler and the former FBI director who investigated both presidential candidates and botched both investigations.

GUTFELD: Yes, Emily, believe it or not, Jesse brought up a good point. All of these issues that the Democrats are chasing are media generated. They're like coming, the media is actually running the Democrat's campaign, I think.

WATTERS: Yes.

COMPAGNO: I agree. Also, I think in addition to the investigations spur likely victory in 2020, there's vindictive legislation happening at the state level. So, while our federal -- you know, national elected officials are not doing anything, state legislators are busy.

In this state, for example, two examples, one is the fact that a bill just got passed and the governor said he signed it when it comes to his desk, when any citizen's state tax returns can be given to three House and Senate commissions for a specific legislative purpose.

And the New York State senator who introduced it said this is our special role and responsibility.

PERINO: Right.

COMPAGNO: And then Nadler blessed it and said great work around. Thanks.

PERINO: Yes.

COMPAGNO: And then also, with all the crying for criminal justice reform that the left adheres too, why then did a bill just passed also in the state where you can now prosecute at the federal level what the state failed to do? It's basically a double kind of a reconciliation of the state and federal charges, whatever.

But up till now you couldn't. Because that was massively unfair. Now you can because they're trying to get back at Trump's pardons. They're eroding private citizens rights.

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: I'm not going to lie to you. A lot of that went over my head. But that's because you're smarter than I am, Emily.

PERINO: I followed it.

GUTFELD: You are smarter. Juan, can I play -- can I play you a little of Trump talk about the candidates?

WILLIAMS: I have no choice.

GUTFELD: Let's do it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You have a choice between sleepy Joe and crazy Bernie. I'll take -- let's pick somebody please and let's start this thing. And your man Buttigieg. Buttigieg. They say edge, edge. He's got a great chance. He'll be great. And Beto. Beto. Boy, is he falling like a rock? What the hell happened to Beto?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTFELD: Juan, I bet we can agree on this. That 2020 is going to be a hell raiser. Because you're going to have Trump. He's going to be the American heckler.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

GUTFELD: For all of this.

WILLIAMS: It's sleepy Joe, right? Crazy Bernie. Right, right.

GUTFELD: I'm already laughing.

WILLIAMS: And deranged Donald, right? So, there's your choice, America. But you know, what strikes me in listening to all of you, is that you guys just drink this Kool-Aid for the Trump. I'm blind. I don't see that, in fact, even with the economy doing well --

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: That's not fair, Juan.

WILLIAMS: -- only 40 percent of Americans say we have a favorable opinion of this president. So, a clear majority think that even all that you say is going well, they don't like him. You'll hear --

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: No, but that's it. That's the follow.

WILLIAMS: No, let me finish. Hang on. yes, it does.

GUTFELD: No, Juan. You don't have to like somebody to approve of their job.

WILLIAMS: No.

GUTFELD: We've shown that.

WILLIAMS: Well --

GUTFELD: They re-elected Clinton.

WILLIAMS: That's what he said. Jesse said he's at an all-time high. I think Gallup has him at 46. All-time high but he's still --

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: Higher than Obama.

WILLIAMS: -- under water. Most Americans don't approve.

WATTERS: Higher than Obama.

GUTFELD: Yes.

WILLIAMS: Let just say this. He made be right about impeachment helping him because it lets him play the grievance victim game.

GUTFELD: Where did he learn that from?

WILLIAMS: The Democrats -- the Democrats -- the media is going after him. Gee, do you think maybe Americans think there's a problem here? Do you think so?

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: They're pretty happy with how the country is going.

WILLIAMS: No, he's saying -- by the way, today --

GUTFELD: You don't have to like your boss.

GUTFELD: Today, when he said today --

GUTFELD: You don't have to like your president.

WILLIAMS: He said Mueller is so terrible. Mueller wanted the FBI --

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: We get it. We get it, Juan. For two years --

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: My God.

GUTFELD: -- you don't like the president's personality but the country is going great.

WILLIAMS: No. But the guy tells a lot. Today he said most transparent. He never testified.

WATTERS: He gave written answers.

WILLIAMS: So --

GUTFELD: All right. Joe Biden wants you to pay for illegal immigrants’ healthcare. Hear from him next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PERINO: Joe Biden turning some heads on the campaign trail. His comments reigniting the fierce debate over illegal immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, I think that anyone that is in a situation where they're in need of healthcare, regardless of whether they're documented or undocumented, we have an obligation to see that they cared for. That's why I think we need more clinics around the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERINO: Now Biden saying that while border patrol is calling new apprehension numbers, quote, "off the charts." Over 100,000 migrants were arrested or turned away at the southern border in April. That's the highest total number in a single month since 2007. Jesse.

WATTERS: Yes.

PERINO: Permission to try to make a sports metaphor.

WATTERS: Permission granted with apprehension.

PERINO: I believe that Biden is practicing prevent defense. OK? So, one of the competition is trying to say that he is insufficiently liberal.

WATTERS: OK.

PERINO: And he has toed the line on impeachment, saying let's just wait. We have to see. But he doesn't want his left to get to the left of him on immigration.

WATTERS: OK.

PERINO: Which is an important issue. So, he's willing --

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: So, he's dropping back all the secondary to the end zone for the touchdown.

PERINO: He is willing to see it a yard in order to prevent the big play.

WATTERS: I got it. I like it.

PERINO: OK.

WATTERS: I like it.

PERINO: I worked on that an hour.

WATTERS: That is good as my horse analogy but it was close, Dana. Illegals already get free healthcare in this country. If you're an illegal alien and you by accident shoot yourself in the leg you drive yourself -- well, without car insurance by the way -- to a hospital, then doctors will take that bullet right out even if it looks like a horror show. And then we get the bill.

So maybe he's saying if an illegal alien has a really bad migraine and they go in and they run a bunch of tests and hook him up to all these things and maybe send his blood work in, I mean, where does it stop?

I mean, how much are you going to spend on illegal aliens - migrant?

PERINO: Yes.

WATTERS: Do we get CAT scans free for illegal immigrants? We can barely take care of our vets. Healthcare premiums are already up under Joe Biden's administration. Healthcare premiums were up about 45 percent. So, he's totally out of touch with the American people. And that's something he used to be good at.

PERINO: It reminded me of what you said about California, right? That if you say that everything is free, then you won't ever stop the migrant flow.

GUTFELD: This is what's interesting to me. Jesse, you're quite on fire today, I might add.

WATTERS: Wow.

GUTFELD: Anyway, this is a tactic to make it our fault, right? It's like so we have this problem with illegal immigration. You have these caravans. But it's our fault for not treating them when in fact it's the incentivizing the promise of free stuff. The economic migration. People are coming to get jobs and then money back home.

But yet, it's our fault because of this. When actually it's ignoring the border and creating incentives for people to come here illegally that has caused this problem.

And you're right. The E.R. treats everyone. It's insulting to people in America to act as though people get turned away. People do not get turned away. That is a myth. E.R. happens to be healthcare. It is not health insurance.

WATTERS: Right.

GUTFELD: But that's -- but the left likes to inflate it like, there's no health insurance. They get healthcare. It's not ideal but everybody is treated the same in the E.R.

Also, with the lowest unemployment rate in history for American-Hispanics. Right? OK. So that means if you come in here through the front door and do it correctly, you will get higher wages, right? And you will get better control of your jobs and better, I guess, better benefits because of what? The tight labor market created by strong immigration policies.

PERINO: Right. His company is --

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: That's the adult way of thinking about it.

PERINO: In some ways, Juan, I think he's trying to marry what he sees as two major Obama accomplishments, Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act and DACA and try to, like, bring this together so that it looks like he -- well, and he is the frontrunner on the issues, especially when it comes to healthcare and immigration.

WILLIAMS: Well, first of all, I mean, I think we've misrepresented what the man was talking about. He said very clearly, people coming across the border is not the issue. It's people overstaying visas. The majority of the illegal immigrants in the United States.

Jesse is exactly right. You get in a car accident and you go to the hospital, they're going to take care of you. But what is the result? The result is that Jesse and his family paying more for their health care to pick up the bill.

So here is Joe Biden saying, we need as a country to be straightforward and honest with ourselves as well as compassionate. Say, we take care people and here's how we do it in a straightforward manner that doesn't lead to bumped up costs for other people or a broken healthcare system. So he's saying let's just be transparent and clear with each other. To me this is terrific.

On the Border Patrol stuff, you know what, Trump is like a little boy crying wolf. I mean, he's been saying, "Oh, we got an invasion coming. Oh we better send the military".

GUTFELD: That people died that was--

WILLIAMS: Guess what, these are families, these are unaccompanied minors by the majority, very clear, not a threat. And so, guess what, we need to do better job of coping. But now the Democrats are in position - why we would we help you after you have used this in the midterms to no good result? When you tell lies about immigrants--

GUTFELD: They found a kid abandoned--

WILLIAMS: Yes.

GUTFELD: They found a child abandoned. Who abandoned him, his parents - oh, it never happened. Never mind, Juan, I get it. Never happened - made up. I made that story up.

WILLIAMS: You know what, here is reality, Greg.

GUTFELD: Yes.

WILLIAMS: Boston Red Sox Manager won't even go to the White House, you know why?

GUTFELD: Because the (CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: --this guy is so bad on Puerto Rico and so demeaning of immigrants, who wants to play to him.

COMPAGNO: I think it's remarkably short-sighted, respectfully, Juan, to act like the crisis occurs simply at the border without acknowledging the Central and South American push factors that result in all of that.

So it's not it's not hyperbole to call it a crisis for all of those things. I think this is an indicator of how Joe Biden is campaigning about out of touchness that you that you mentioned. It's like he's campaigning in a different era where like what you stay in LA doesn't give up - get back to the Rust Belt. You know what I mean?

Like, how can he - if he's extending and Obama tendency or tenant, how does he think that's not going to dilute his blue-collar base, right? It doesn't make sense to me.

WATTERS: And he also just said that China is not our competitor, so he's racked up a bunch of gaffes already this week.

PERINO: Yes, we're not too far away from the first debate. It's like six weeks away. So then--

GUTFELD: Wow, I'm not going to sleep.

PERINO: It's going to be amazing. All right. We're going to move on. Students walking out of a Colorado school shooting vigil, after it turned political over gun control. You can't miss video ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COMPAGNO: Students storming out of a vigil meant to honor victims of the Colorado school shooting after it turned political. The event, put together by the gun control group, the Brady Campaign, was billed as a way to cope with the tragedy. But it instead featured Democratic politicians and anti- gun activist pushing an agenda.

Students ended up walking out in anger after feeling their grief was being used to make a political point. Here's how some of them responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Vigil Chanting "Mental Health"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COMPAGNO: the Brady Campaign later apologized for what happened. I remember after Columbine, there was a documentary that was made - and at the time there were a lot of speculations as you know what - people were trying to identify what caused this, what caused this and video games and Marilyn Manson's music.

Now, remember Marilyn Manson was asked what would you have to say - what do you want to say, what would you say to these shooters? And he said, I wouldn't say anything. I would listen to what they have to say.

I applaud those kids for doing that. I think we should be listening to what they have to say. What are your thoughts?

GUTFELD: Well once again politics turns humans into lesser versions of themselves. What kind of person introduces politics at a vigil - a politician, right? When you get into politics it blinds you to the people around you and you adopt the clich,d cadence of a politician.

There has to be a school or a class that teaches you to preserve your humanity when you enter politics. Like don't change your voice, don't adopt a fake accent, don't apologize for everything and don't exploit tragedy.

I will say this, though, you can have - that you can talk about this in a non-political way. A really good debate or a conversation to have is the proven element that if you reduce the amount of media coverage of the suspect, you actually will save lives, because it has an impact on the copycats. When they look at the copycat - they look at these killers they find it that they were looking at other press coverage.

So I think that, if you want to talk about something immediately and it's working, I think it's working--

PERINO: I don't even know their name - the suspects names.

GUTFELD: Yes, the media impact - the media footprint has been has been shrinking, and I think it's it this kind of crime is always about persuasion, it's about what visual image ends up in a kid's head - well, kid that's not fully formed. And they see, "oh, I could get famous". This it is all about persuading somebody who's on the edge to do something, and if you remove that persuasion you save lives.

COMPAGNO: Dana.

PERINO: Well, you don't want to - I would say that as an organization - the Brady Campaign like think about this going forward, right, you - have a sense of timing. And - but also I do think that's a really interesting, because we always go back to this issue of mental health, and we really as a country, haven't been able to figure out what to do about it.

Some states have passed these red flag laws, which can't - maybe it can help a little bit. But the other thing that they could have celebrated last night - and I think some did is the fact that, in this shooting and in the last three that I can - that I believe the synagogue shooting, the one in North Carolina and there's a third one - a fourth one that I'm thinking of - in Southern California--

GUTFELD: They shared the - they took the risk and they--

PERINO: People went forward and stepped in front of the shooter or tried to tackle the shooter, and that - it's different from Flight 93, in a way. On Flight 93 they had a little bit of time to think about it, because they actually had a vote.

GUTFELD: Yes.

PERINO: They had time to call - this was an immediate, instinct in order to try to go after the shooter. And a couple of them were in training to be in the military, so that was a some - I think this the timing of it was weird as well.

COMPAGNO: Jesse.

WATTERS: This is what sets back activists when they use a one-size-fits-all policy. They don't look at what actually happened on the ground, their answer is the same for every incident.

Sometimes it's you know it's a Muslim terrorist and they say gun control. Sometimes it's an illegal gun - gun control. Sometimes it's a stolen gun - gun control. Doesn't matter what, the answer is always gun control.

And they do the same thing with global warming. If it's hot - global warming. If it's cold - global warming. Hurricane - global warming. The answer is always the same raise taxes and regulate. And that's why people lose trusts in activists, because their answer is always the same and they never look at the actual facts, because sometimes they're different.

COMPAGNO: Yes. Juan. What do you say that?

WILLIAMS: This event was created, sponsored, put on by the Brady Gun Control Group, so I think there was no hiding who was sponsoring it and there's no hiding that Senator Bennett of Colorado is for gun control and he spoke and then Congressman spoke.

I think what you have here the situation where people who are opposed to gun control and our upset at the Parkland students, upset at the Newtown parents, upset at people who say is, "I would agree there are too many guns" - Oh, the kids walked, out they must be pro guns.

No the kids walked out because they said no one's talking about us, no one's talking about - we have hero here was--

COMPAGNO: But they didn't - but they don't understand that.

GUTFELD: He keep putting words in our mouth, we didn't say that.

WILLIAMS: Let me finish.

GUTFELD: Well, we didn't say - I'm disagreeing with - you're saying stuff that we didn't say.

WILLIAMS: OK. Fine, listen, I'm telling you--

GUTFELD: We didn't say that.

WILLIAMS: --what you said. And no one's talking about Kendrick Castillo, the kid who did stand up and stopped.

GUTFELD: That's what you just said.

WILLIAMS: That's what the students--

PERINO: But that's what I just did.

WILLIAMS: Right. The parents and the students wanted the opportunity to talk about themselves as having gone through a trauma and not to be used as a symbol by anybody on either side.

GUTFELD: Don't be sad, he did it to me too.

PERINO: Well, I'm not sad.

COMPAGNO: It's my understanding that the kids weren't aware that there was a sponsorship associated with it. But also I think kind of the sanctity of a vigil - it just goes against the grain to have to be sponsored for anyone with messaging whatsoever when there in prayer and in honor and reflection and in anything that those kids want to feel or say.

And I definitely think it moves the ball, if we in any way, further whatever agenda else other than listening to them and acknowledging the myriad of things associated with this like mental health and everything else, and I agree with you that I always becomes kneejerk.

WATTERS: Well, sometimes the vigil is just a vigil and you are there to comfort the victims and listen to them. I was at the Paul Wellstone memorial or funeral when he passed away and it became all of a sudden a political rally. And people thought it went too far. So you just have to be careful in those moments to treat it with respect.

GUTFELD: Yes. I think the message, as always, is to reduce the media footprint on these events, because that is what drives copycats and we know that. That is a fact. It's documented. So the less we create high drama and conflict over this, which feeds into this copycat stuff, the better off.

WILLIAMS: You know I just think there's so many of these now in our country and you hear young people saying that they are fearful about what can happen in school, and for us not to hear that, to say, "Oh, well either we're for or against guns" and we don't hear the fact that--

GUTFELD: No one said that.

WILLIAMS: --young people are scared in their schools, boy that requires an intense deafness.

GUTFELD: Well, from you, especially.

WILLIAMS: Not me.

COMPAGNO: All right, you guys.

WILLIAMS: I know some deaf people ring in my ears.

COMPAGNO: All right changing gears here. We hope our next segment won't bore you. We will explain, coming up and stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WILLIAMS: Welcome back. We know you're never bored watching this show, how could you be? But if life can sometimes feel a little stale, don't worry you're not alone.

A new study finds Americans are bored a whopping 131 days out of the year, that's a lot of boredom. Emily, this was a poll done by Bowlero, a bowling alley operator.

And it said, people said, you know what movies cost too much, they'd rather have fun. They'd rather do something else. Work is too stressful, even sometimes when they get home that goes too tired, so they're bored. What do you say to them?

COMPAGNO: I don't know that blew my mind. Like, I am never bored ever - ever. First of all I like what's in my head and also there's a zillion things happening and there's always a ton of stuff to do. And even if there's nothing to do like staring out the window is really awesome too. I just feel like all of it is great. So I don't--

WATTERS: You don't like staring out the window--

GUTFELD: Oh, I get stared.

COMPAGNO: --you're on planes when I'm awake, of course, it's beautiful. So I keep calling--

WATTERS: If you're on the plane when you can look down at the gorgeous country.

COMPAGNO: --or to my garden, no I love it, and love watching the bird. I know, I mean, I'm probably now sound like a crazy person, but I love it. I just - whatever everything is great, so I know, I'm not bored.

WATTERS: Animals are great.

WILLIAMS: All right. So Jesse, here are the numbers. 2 in 5 said they'd prefer a night out bowling - remember a bowling group sponsored this survey. They'd rather go bowling instead of going to exercise class of the gym. A quarter would rather spend the afternoon at an arcade than at brunch. And 1 in 5, 20 percent would rather have a sleepover than going to the movie.

COMPAGNO: These are obviously 10 year olds getting polled. I mean, adults--

PERINO: Seriously.

WATTERS: What's Trump's approval rating in the bowling alley poll, I want to know. That's probably over 50.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

WATTERS: I mean, Trump is President, how are you bored. Turn on Fox, the guys are extremely entertaining. Also do what Greg did, got a guitar.

GUTFELD: Yes.

WATTERS: Dana, get a dog. Go to a bar, go to a dip--

GUTFELD: Get a guitar made from a dog.

WATTERS: Sure. And go to a different restaurant, drive around, get into trouble, there's so much fun stuff out there.

WILLIAMS: Wow, I'm not sending the kids to your house. Going to rob around and get in trouble.

WATTERS: Yes, I mean, there is things to do.

WILLIAMS: All right. So Dana one of the things that strikes me is we did a segment talking about social media and the fact that people are more disconnected, although we are tip - you could argue we're more connected, because we all have the cell phones and social media. But in fact people now seem less engaged with each other, and I think, that's why we get bored.

PERINO: Yes. It might be a good sign that people are now saying that they're bored, even though they have social media. They're so bored with social media, so that might be good.

The other thing is I would do anything to feel bored.

GUTFELD: Right.

PERINO: I haven't been bored yes since I was a kid. I can't even remember the last time I was bored. I have to - I never get--

WATTERS: You're busy.

PERINO: Yes. But you know what I always say, Jesus was busier than me. Its good reminder when I complain about being busy. No I'd love to be bored.

GUTFELD: Some of your guests are a little dry.

WILLIAMS: Yes, but that's when you're - yes, let's go to a busy bee.

WATTERS: Oh, that once going to leave--

WILLIAMS: Let's, got to a busy bee, because I know how you combat boredom, you skewer the rest of us.

GUTFELD: Exactly. I can think of six things worse than boredom - war, poverty, socialism, Islamic terror, tyranny, violent crime. So the consequence of living in the most powerful freest country is that you're free to be bored and think about where leisure time came from.

Folks who fought the wars - right - so beating it off Hitler, beating the Japanese, what did everybody want to do after that? They wanted to get a home, they wanted to find a spouse--

PERINO: Unions, really.

GUTFELD: Yes, but they wanted a lawn and a lawnmower. They wanted boredom after seeing an 18 year old buddy of yours get blown to pieces - all you want is boredom. So all this boredom is the product of leisure time brought to us by men and women who gave their lives in major wars.

COMPAGNO: Also I feel like simplicity is not boredom and so I feel like you can be content with very little. And boredom to me seems like kind of a petulant weird attitude where you don't appreciate whatever way around.

PERINO: Good point.

WILLIAMS: You know what struck me was? Half of the people said their number-one desire is more time to just go hang out with their buddies.

GUTFELD: See they are boring.

COMPAGNO: This is a 10 year old.

WILLIAMS: Yes, your buddy is--

GUTFELD: No, no, no, people who are bored are boring.

COMPAGNO: --want to be bored--

GUTFELD: Yes. people who are bored are generally boring.

WATTERS: Right. It's a good point.

COMPAGNO: And children.

GUTFELD: And children are boring, let's be honest. They are boring. They are so--

WATTERS: Have one and then tell me

WILLIAMS: No, don't tell - you tell that to the kid, that's very helpful. "One More Thing" up next for your enjoyment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WATTERS: Time now for "One More Thing". We have a special birthday. Dana Perino, Happy Birthday.

PERINO: Thank you.

WATTERS: You look fantastic.

PERINO: Thank you.

GUTFELD: Wow. That was cruel. Why did you feel the need to tell to her she looked fantastic?

PERINO: --because you insulted me in the previous blog.

GUTFELD: You only tell people who - you don't tell people you look fantastic. That's like saying, given your age--

WILLIAMS: No, no. I would say, you look marvelous.

WATTERS: Just give her a compliment.

PERINO: This is the 8th birthday I have spent on The Five.

WILLIAMS: Oh, happy birthday.

WATTERS: Can you stop talking - give us some cake please.

PERINO: Yes, I'm giving some cake. This is the cake Honda (ph) made the - got the cake.

GUTFELD: No one makes cakes, they just get cakes.

PERINO: Johnny helped her deliver it. This is a great piece of cake.

GUTFELD: How do cake companies stay in business without birthdays?

WATTERS: Oh, what's inside?

PERINO: Confetti.

WILLIAMS: Hey, Dana, where you born on a ranch.

PERINO: I was born in a hospital. There was modern medicine in Wyoming at the time, believe it or not. Yes, but I grew up in a ranch.

WILLIAMS: That's what I'm saying. You are a little girl just on - unlimited pony time.

PERINO: And ponytails, that's true. Jesse, thank you so much.

GUTFELD: If you were born on a ranch, they would have dressed you in ranch dressing.

COMPAGNO: Just trying to get some ranch.

WATTERS: She's not going to laugh at your jokes for the rest of the show.

PERINO: No, I was laughing that was funny.

GUTFELD: No, it's not even that funny.

PERINO: Is this for me?

WATTERS: --I forgot this is for you.

PERINO: OK.

WATTERS: Put a little thought (ph) into this.

PERINO: Is this is a picture of you?

GUTFELD: That's a rich cake.

COMPAGNO: Dana was having a Marie Kondo birthday.

PERINO: I'm having a Marie Kondo birthday, which means--

WATTERS: What does that mean?

WILLIAMS: Order.

PERINO: I don't need any stuff, because you're like - you're trying to like spark joy in your house and stuff like that. It is a picture of Jesse. Just what I always wanted.

GUTFELD: You're stealing my gig. I used to give that to KG all the time.

PERINO: I love it. Do I go next?

WILLIAMS: Yes.

PERINO: OK. So, I guess, this tomorrow on Capitol Hill there are some consultants coming to have a training session for House Democrats for how they can have a successful interview on Fox News.

GUTFELD: That's hilarious.

PERINO: And so I wrote a little column with my six tips for success on Fox News. Democrats you can check that out.

GUTFELD: That is hilarious that they need to do that.

PERINO: But, you know what, they've realized, you can't win if you don't appeal to a lot of viewers and of course where can you find all the viewer?

GUTFELD: The best tip is, if buddy (ph) asks you a question you say, absolutely.

PERINO: And then you say, Dana, that's a great question.

GUTFELD: Yes, that's a great--

PERINO: --not boring at all. And I perhaps I want to show you pics of Jasper. He got to go on his flight. John Dows (ph) - a wonderful friend and he has a pilot's license. He took us down to South Carolina. That was Jasper the mutt. It was really great. Any way thanks for a great birthday everybody at Fox News and fans. Thank you so much.

WATTERS: Happy birthday.

COMPAGNO: Happy birthday.

WATTERS: All right. Greg.

GUTFELD: All right. So I got to plug this thing. "Gutfeld's Classic Commercials" will be airing on Fox Nation next Thursday, check it out. I think it's going to fun. It's all the wild commercials on the "Greg Gutfeld Show". Let's do this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

"Animals are Great"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTFELD: Big finish. Look at this chinchilla.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

GUTFELD: I'm telling you, if this is the cutest chinchilla you ever saw, you are the devil incarnate. Look how adorable that chinchilla is it is.

WATTERS: That's a good one.

GUTFELD: It is really good you have to agree.

PERINO: That's it?

GUTFELD: Look at that. That's - yes, that's it.

WATTERS: That's one of your better animal friends.

GUTFELD: Thank you. All right, don't use - Juan.

WILLIAMS: All right, all right. So big fun last night as I hosted a dinner here in New York for the Children's Scholarship Fund. The group provides scholarships to children - kindergarten to eighth grade. The idea, let those kids find schools that work for them, that fit for them in the spirit of school of choice.

Here I am with Lauren and Sofia Ortega Guerrero's (ph) sisters from Oakland. They got a scholarship, and it's put them currently to Yale University. Here I am with my friend Stedman Graham and Trayvon Little (ph) from Learning Tree prep in the Bronx. The young man got a standing ovation for his King speech, "I have a Dream".

Finally some amazing students from Manhattan Christian Academy did a dance that originated with South African miners. Take a look.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

WILLIAMS: Over the last 21 years, by the way, the fund has given out more than $789 million to help students find better school. Life-saving works, hats off to those schools.

GUTFELD: That was nice.

WATTERS: All right. Set your DVRs, never missed an episode. That was "The Five." "Special Report" is up next.

BRET BAIER, ANCHOR : Hey, Jesse. Happy birthday, Dana.

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.