Franken takes parting shot at Trump in resignation speech
Outgoing Democratic senator from Minnesota blasts President Trump and Roy Moore on Senate Floor as he announces intention to resign from Senate amid allegations of sexual misconduct; reaction and analysis on 'The Five.'
This is a rush transcript from "The Five," December 7, 2017. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
JESSE WATTERS, CO-HOST: Hi, everybody. I'm Jesse Watters along with Kimberly Guilfoyle, Juan Williams, Dana Perino and Greg Gutfeld. It's 5 o'clock in New York City and this is "The Five."
Another prominent Democrat announces his exit from Congress, unable to surmount a swarm of sexual misconduct allegations against him. Senator Al Franken taking the floor of the chamber earlier exactly three weeks after the first accusation surfaced from radio host Leeann Tweeden. He began with this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. AL FRANKEN, D-MINN.: A couple of months ago, I felt that we had entered an important moment in the history of this country. We were finally beginning to listen to women about the ways in which men's actions affect them. Then the conversation turned to me. Some of the allegations against me are simply not true. Others I remember very differently. I know there's been a very different picture of me painted over the last few weeks, but I know who I really am.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATTERS: Although Franken disputes most of the allegations, he ultimately caved to pressure to step down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: In the coming weeks, I will be resigning as member of the United States senate. This decision is not about me. It's about the people of Minnesota. This has been a tough few weeks for me, but I'm a very, very lucky man. I have a beautiful, healthy family that I love and that loves me very much. I'm going to be just fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATTERS: You know what I didn't hear him say, Dana? I'm sorry.
DANA PERINO, CO-HOST: I don't say resigning this way means never having to say you're sorry. But I actually think that he doesn't truly believes he did anything wrong.
WATTERS: He doesn't.
PERINO: And also, he's watched other people deny allegations and be just fine. And I think he probably thought he could weather the storm, but there were additional anonymous accusers that were coming forward. And I think that, basically, the Democrats are saying you are no longer welcome here. And you're going to be sitting alone in the senate dining room. No one is going to talk to you. You're dead to us. I am curious about the decision to resign in the coming weeks.
WATTERS: What do you think that's about?
PERINO: I'm not sure. I heard a theory. Can I say it?
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, CO-HOST: Yeah.
GREG GUTFELD, CO-HOST: Yes.
PERINO: I told Greg in the green room, but this is not my theory.
GUTFELFD: That he's a space alien?
PERINO: No.
GUTFELFD: Shape shifting lizard?
PERINO: Close. Now here is somebody's theory.
WATTERS: OK.
PERINO: That he said I'm going to resign in the coming weeks because he's waiting to see what will happen in the Alabama special. And that if Roy Moore does wins and is going to be seated then he could reverse his decision and not resign. That's just a theory.
WATTERS: I actually kind of agree with the theory, Gutfeld. I think he's leaving a crack in the door this big because he wants to see how this plays out. Because you know from the beginning of this, this guy did not want to lose his seat.
GUTFELFD: Yeah. Well, my mom always said you grab a seat, you lose a seat. Look, my favorite part of his speech -- by the way, I don't even think Franken believes Franken. Getting him out of the senate will require dentistry. He said that he won that election by 312 votes when he beat Norm Coleman. He was talking about that. So imagine if all of these stories which happened before he ran had come out then. He would not be in the senate. So the fact is, instead of being sad, he should be thanking his lucky stars that he got eight years in the senate. He got eight years in the senate. He was not supposed to win. If those stories have come out, he would not be standing there. He should be thanking these women for not saying anything. There's this other part where he goes after Trump and Moore, but he doesn't mention Bill Clinton or his enabler, Hillary. So I'm just wondering, is this a new party? Twenty years ago, this party ignored and played down Bill Clinton's sexual excesses and they nominated a woman who shamed the victims. Is this a new leaf for them? Are they changing their colors? I don't know.
WATTERS: They're trying to turn over a new leaf.
GUTFELFD: That's the game that they're playing, because they're trying to create a contrast between the Democrats and the Republicans. That's why they're doing this.
PERINO: I'm just going to say that now that they've drawn this redline, will anybody be able to cross it? There are reports that there are up to 40 members of congress who are looking at possible stories. I don't know what they're going to say, but possible 40 people, that could be some Republicans and Democrats, will the Democrats hold that red line?
WATTERS: And it will probably happen on a Friday. Greg mentioned something that he -- the senator had said about Moore and Trump. Let's listen in and have K.G. react.
GUILFOYLE: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
FRANKEN: I of all people, aware that there is some irony in the fact that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the oval office, and a man who is repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigning for the senate with the full support of his party.
SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president addressed the comments back during the campaign. We feel strongly that the people of this country also addressed that when they elected Donald Trump to be president. And I've addressed it several times from here. Don't have anything new to add.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
WATTERS: So it looks like the White House is saying, Kimberly, let the voters decides.
GUILFOYLE: Well, basically, that was the message from Sarah Sanders saying, look, you know, this was something that was vetted, that was brought out during the campaign that the people of the United States had the opportunity to think about it, evaluated it, determine the strength of it, and how it should play an impact on their decision on who to choice for commander in chief. So they made the decision. So she's saying, there you go. It was nothing hidden. It's not like it came out after he became president of the United States.
And quite frankly, Al Franken is lucky because, as Greg said, this could come out earlier. He got to be, you know, in government and work for the people and have this position for quite a long period of time before this information even came out. I don't know why he's taking cheap shots at the president. I would've been more impressed if he said sorry for his conduct and action instead of trying to flip the script and point the finger at someone else instead of looking into his own conscience and behavior in making this a more of a teachable moment of ownership not only for himself but his family, for other members of congress as well.
WATTERS: Respond to that, Juan. What do you think? I mean, he really whip when it came to -- and now he's clean, classy resignation.
JUAN WILLIAMS, CO-HOST: Oh, no. I thought he was extremely classy and.
WATTERS: He didn't say that he even believes the women.
WILLIAMS: Let me finish.
WATTERS: I will.
WILLIAMS: So he said it's the worst day of his life. And I don't think you're a human being unless you understand that that man was at the pinnacle of success in terms of his political life. He said he came to politics late in life, but he worked very hard and he worked in the tradition of -- you may not know this name, but Paul Wellstone who was a terrific senator from Minnesota, very much a progressive, you know, kind of, you know, farm labor Democrat type of persona that fits into Minnesota. And Al Franken had to scribe to get beyond the image that he was just a comic and to be dismissed as a political neophyte, and he did so and he's a very popular senator both in Minnesota and nationally. So much so that people were talking about Al Franken running for president. So now you come to a day when all of this goes to tatters. And his allies -- I mean, people like Kirsten Gillibrand, Patty Murray, are leading the fight to toss him overboard. I don't see how you can say that this wasn't bitter and sad day -- he calls it the worst day of his life. But let me go on.
GUTFELFD: Worst things could happen on this day.
WILLIAMS: No. Well, I think for him -- I'm just saying, for him I think it's pretty sad, and I feel for him. I'm so sorry this has happened. But I will say that I find myself in an odd situation where I agree with people like Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity. They too think that this is Democrats turning on one of their own and throwing him overboard for political purposes that they will then be better positioned in terms of confronting charges against Roy Moore, especially if he's elected and there's attempt to have him thrown out. As well as to continue the challenge against President Trump and the charges that he has standing to this day against him in terms of women who say that he acted in a vulgar manner with them.
GUTFELFD: Can I respond to Juan, because I agree. I do think this is a strategic move on their part. What they're trying to do -- I keep hearing the phrase partisan divide over sexual harassment. So by doing this, they're calling -- they're basically saying we're not the Republicans. I think both sides could be right. I feel bad for Al Franken, but I also feel that he is lying, because I know for a fact he's lying.
WILLIAMS: No, no, no. But that's not the point. The point is, what is he lying about, Greg? So, is he lying about.
GUTFELFD: The thing -- tongue down woman's throat.
WILLIAMS: No.
GUTFELFD: Did it.
WILLIAMS: Look, he said -- some woman said that he tried to wet kiss him, but that's one. Generally, what we're talking about is.
GUTFELFD: More than one.
WILLIAMS: . groping, right, while pictures are being taken. I think that's a whole lot different than what we're talking about with Roy Moore or even President Trump. But I just think at this moment, something is going on in the country, man.
GUTFELFD: I agree. And also, you know, he said -- his other strong defense was what he did is what you're saying. Nothing is serious as allegations directed at other people. I actually agree. We have an indiscriminate leveling of accusations.
WILLIAMS: It's unbelievable.
GUTFELFD: . which is -- all now -- all accusations are equal. And we're going to have to deal with that at some point rather than letting the court of public opinion and the media indiscriminately decide that all of these things are equal. I think -- what he did before he became a senator was his flaw. I mean, does he thought that this was funny. And when it all came out, it should have come out before.
WILLIAMS: Well, but you know, the thing is, it didn't happen while he was a senator, which is something we're talking about, right?
GUTFELFD: No.
WILLIAMS: With many of these other people. That's -- even the allegations are prior to his tenure as a senator. But what strikes me, time and again, is right now we're in a country -- I appreciate the fact that you spoke to me honestly, because I think there's so much politics at play in this. So, on one level we're talking about we need to deal with the issue of sexual harassment and intimidation of women, and women being silenced and afraid to speak. But on another level, we're talking politics here. We're just talking about Al Franken, Roy Moore, John Conyers. It's going to go on and on because both sides see some advantage in this.
WATTERS: All right. Did the FBI give special treatment to Hillary Clinton? Its director grilled on the hill today. That anti-Trump agents and more when The Five returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: There is no finer institution than the FBI, and no finer people than the men and women who work there and are its very beating heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERINO: The director of the FBI issuing a firm defense of his agency on the hill today following a comment from President Trump that his agency is in tatters. Christopher Wray had a very different take on his House Judiciary committee hearing earlier. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WRAY: The FBI that I see is tens of thousands of agents and analysts and staff working their tails off to keep Americans safe from the next terrorist attack, gang violence, child predators, spies from Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. The FBI that I see is tens of thousands of brave men and women who are working as hard as they can to keep people they'll never know safe from harm. Now do we make mistakes? You bet we make mistakes, just like everybody who is human makes mistakes. We will hold our folks accountable if that's appropriate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERINO: Wray also addressed concerns from Republican lawmakers about political bias against President Trump, by at least one FBI agent, Peter Strzok, also whether that agent once softened language in the Clinton email case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Peter Strzok who is a special agent at the FBI changed the word grossly negligent to extremely careless in former Director Comey's statement closing the Clinton investigation. Are you aware of that?
WRAY: I've heard some of the same information you have. The investigation into Secretary Clinton is currently the subject of an outside independent investigation by the inspector general, and I think it would not be appropriate for me to speculate about what the inspector general will or will not find.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERINO: All right. Kimberly, yesterday you talked about the FBI. I know you know a lot of people that work there, and work there over the years. What did you think about how he handled the political pressure to answer as a political appointee but also represent the FBI?
GUILFOYLE: I thought he did an outstanding job. People have to feel across the country today better about the FBI under his stewardship. This is a man who was very credible, very reasonable. He has an excellent tone and tenor to his presentation. I found him to be very candid and forthright in terms of the, you know, problems that they've had, and how they could improve upon it. And I believe and take him at his word when he says that we will hold the people accountable that need to be. He seems very reasonable and measured, that he would do a full and thorough investigation, and rule out any kind of bias or inappropriate conduct that occurred during the course of this investigation. It seems to me that this was a good example of another excellent choice to be there at that organization.
PERINO: He didn't close the door on the possibility of revisiting the Hillary Clinton email scandal. I thought of you.
WATTERS: Kimberly really enjoyed his presentation. I'm kidding. No, I think they're finally about to hit pay dirt when it comes to the real Russia scandal. Jim Jordan, the congressman, really, I think, peeled the thread back. And here what it is. We know this guy, Strzok, anti-Trump guy, ran the Clinton email investigation and ran the Russia-Trump investigation. He was soft on Hillary and he was tough on the Trump people. That's already been established. But, there's a belief now that this guy Strzok took the fake Russian dossier and used the dossier to apply for a FISA warrant that was then used to spy on the Trump campaign. So think about that. And he's stonewalling and won't answer questions about if he used it or not.
So fake Russian dirt paid for by Hillary was use to spy on Trump. That's a huge story. And we also learned today, another Department of Justice official has been demoted because he had contacts with the foreign agent who cook up the fake Russia dossier, and had contacts with the founder of the firm that Hillary paid to deliver the fake Russian dossier. And the FBI won't answer questions about it today in public. The DOJ is stonewalling congressional investigators. They're just trying to find out who is the person that applied for the FISA warrant to spy on the Trump team? What information? Was the dossier used as justification to get the warrant to spy on the Trump team? They're not getting answers. So what is the Department of Justice and the FBI hiding? Why are they afraid? And it is, you know, it's a Trump's Justice Department. Why is the Trump's Justice Department un-answering questions from house Republicans? It's very conspiratorial, and I think we're beginning to crack the case.
GUILFOYLE: It's perfect for Watters world.
PERINO: It is.
WATTERS: I'll get to the bottom of it.
PERINO: Greg, I don't even know how the FBI is -- well, the Justice Department officials are reading through over 10,000 text between Strzok and the woman who he is having an affair with, Lisa Page. I mean, 10,000.
GUTFELFD: That's amazing. First of all, I have to say, I'm getting extremely tired of these hearings. They're on all the time. The more you pick with this and the cars for kids stand.
GUILFOYLE: Oh, boy.
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: They're opening for Radiohead, by the way. Did you know that? OK. So 10,000 texts. That's an amazing fact. What's amazing is that these two people aren't 14-year-olds. They're actual adults. But it makes me think like -- the fact that there're 10,000 texts the problem that people don't know when to stop texting. When you're in a situation where you're texting and you're polite. And you think I kind of want to end this, but if you stop texting then you feel bad because you don't really say goodbye. You just stop. So you do one more text, and then you think, well, maybe that one more text you've button it up a little bit. But the other person kind of does it with maybe a little question. But maybe it's hypothetical. And then you got to sit and go, oh, man, if I ignore this.
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELFD: Yeah. I thought the emoji's were the solution for ending texting relationships, but clearly I'm wrong.
PERINO: Can you imagine like if you're a Justice Department staffer and you have to read these.
GUTFELFD: LOL.
(CROSSTALK)
GUILFOYLE: Translate the emoji's, and what is there's like 10 of them.
GUTFELFD: Ten thousand texts.
(CROSSTALK)
PERINO: The strategy to muddy the waters and question the professionalism of the FBI seems to be working. The CBS poll today shows that Republicans think that this is political witch hunt, and Democrats think that this is absolutely -- that there's proof of collusion somewhere and that they're going to get there, so basically the parties are just very far apart.
WILLIAMS: Yeah. But that's where we've been. I mean, that's not a change. I mean, that's Republicans don't see anything, Democrats do. Independence though, I might add, generally now are on the Democrat side of this equation.
PERINO: Barely, I guess.
WILLIAMS: But what interests me on this is that you see the president's strategy is to attack Jim Comey, we now about that, but then to go after Robert Mueller, an increasing intensity even to the point of going after the FBI and now the Justice Department. And all of this it seems to me builds toward the idea that he might fire Robert Mueller. So you have people like Karl Rove writing on the Wall Street Journal this morning, but others as well saying in the congress don't fire the special counsel. And if you do, there's going to be consequences. So they're trying to put in place laws in congress that would require the president to go through a court and justify a request to fire the special counsel. That's where this story is heading. I just find it, you know, there's an attempt here not only to distract and sort of derailed the Mueller investigation.
PERINO: But isn't that what the Clinton administration did during impeachment in the Lewinsky scandal to basically turn it into the right wing conspiracy, and turn it into -- basically question the political motives rather than actually thinking that the investigation was on the up and up.
WILLIAMS: Right. And so, what you get -- got an impeachment of a president, so I don't think it worked.
PERINO: But he ended up -- he was reelected.
WILLIAMS: But I think we're in different times too, Dana. I think we are in a more political times than we were even then. And that was highly politicized, if you recall, with Democrats, again, favoring Clinton, and Republicans.
PERINO: I do recall.
GUTFELFD: They're wouldn't be a Republican now.
PERINO: Policy wise.
GUTFELFD: More ways than one.
(LAUGHTER)
PERINO: All right, we're going to move own. U.S. Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn making headlines with some comments about President Trump, who else. Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GUILFOYLE: The winter Olympics are coming, but will the U.S. participate? There are security concerns for Americans with the games in such close proximity to North Korea that will be held in the south. The White House has no official decision has been made yet, but America looks forward to participating. Meanwhile, U.S. Olympian skier Lindsey Vonn making some headlines today for taking some shots at President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDSEY VONN, ATHLETE: I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the president. You know, I take the Olympics very seriously and what they mean and what they represent. What, you know, walking under our flag means in opening ceremonies. And I want to represent our country well. And I don't think there are a lot of people currently in our government that do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: And she didn't stop there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you accept an invitation to the White House if you were to win Olympic gold in Pyeongchang?
VONN: Absolutely not. No. I have to win to be invited. Well, actually, I think every U.S. team member is invited. So, no, I won't go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: All right. So Dana, what do you make of this?
PERINO: I remember -- I was very fortunate I got to go to the Olympics in 2008 in Beijing.
GUTFELFD: Must be nice.
PERINO: And I thought that this would be like so nonpolitical because here you have -- it's sports. It's like the United Nation comes and they're going to compete. And it was weird being in the opening ceremony and feeling -- like when the North Koreans got announced, you could hear people booing the United States and Israel. It was much more political than I thought it would be and I get that in terms of -- especially if you look back at the American-Russian hockey game of 1980, like people still talk about that. I do think though that reporters are going to try with every one of these athletes to get them on the record to talk about President Trump. If I were their representative, I would tell these athletes you don't need to do these interviews. If you want to focus on winning, do that. Because I think that the push from the media is going to try to make this all political and it would be better for all of them if they could just focus -- she even sit there, she said, she wouldn't go to the White House but I have to win to be invited. If I were there representative I'll say just focus on that.
GUILFOYLE: And why -- just real quick, go out of the way to try to make these disparaging comments that almost seems like -- I mean, why not.
(CROSSTALK) PERINO: They're not necessarily political people. They might have personal opinions. They're out there because they want -- probably impress their sponsors. They want to get out to maybe intimidate the competition, and get ask these questions about the president and it's a little bit irresistible for both the press and for the athletes to say that.
Now, maybe it helps -- maybe she thinks it helps her amongst her peers or maybe on social media. If she is surrounded by people that don't like the president...
GUILFOYLE: Sure.
PERINO: ... then that makes her feel better. I don't know. I just -- I wouldn't answer the questions. I wouldn't even do the interviews.
GUILFOYLE: Right, that's the thing, but who's advising them? They're not politically astute, so they're not aware that perhaps this is going to have more far-reaching, you know, implications or ramifications, Jesse. But it just seems almost like it's a little bit of, like, a popularity thing, like a cool thing to do.
WATTERS: Yes.
GUILFOYLE: And kind of, you know, be disrespectful and so on, "I wouldn't go to the White House."
PERINO: I could give him a point to say.
WATTERS: Lindsay's really on thin ice with me. It's a cold thing to say about the commander in chief. There's a mountain of evidence that she doesn't know what she's talking about. She really got too far out over her skis on this one. It's really downhill from here for Lindsay. She peaked at the last winter games Gutfeld. I mean...
GUTFELD: Stop it. Just stop it.
WATTERS: ... she'll have to participate in the race for the bottom. That's fine with me. But she's going to get a very chilly reception from the audience, and I don't need a pole to tell me that.
GUILFOYLE: Wow, you memorized that almost. Very slyly, like looking down, whatever.
WATTERS: That took me three hours.
PERINO: It was pretty good.
GUILFOYLE: Look at Greg. I mean, he's silent-screaming inside after listening to that. Poor thing.
WATTERS: Got to meet Greg's high expectations.
GUILFOYLE: (SPEAKING SPANISH)
GUTFELD: It's OK.
GUILFOYLE: Go ahead.
GUTFELD: I did my own little research. Did you know the original Olympics were very strange? A lot of the athletes were nude. So in fact, what the Olympics began as, was basically failed pornography for the upper classes. If they'd had the Internet back then, there would be no Olympics. Look, I -- that's my theory.
She said she's representing people, but she's actually representing Red Bull. I mean, that was a great advertisement with her little Red Bull ski cap, the official drink for hung-over frat boys.
I return to my central belief that there's -- there's just too much Olympics. When I was younger, it was every four years.
PERINO: Yes.
GUTFELD: And then they split it, alternated it so it's now every two years. So it's always coming at you like Christmas music or the Oscars. It always feels like it's speeding up, and it just reminds you that one year it's gone, and you're going to die.
PERINO: I agree. I liked every four years.
GUILFOYLE: Every four years.
GUTFELD: Let's go back to every four years, or eight years. How about that?
GUILFOYLE: Juan, can you explain to us why something like this would happen and what would you tell these young athletes that want to opine in this fashion?
WILLIAMS: You know, I love America, and I love American athletes. And if she's being sincere, she can speak out. I think that's terrific. I don't have any problem with that.
PERINO: That's true.
WILLIAMS: Now the issue that you guys raise is could it damage her, you know, Kimberly, like you know, with her audience or her fans or the advertisers? I mean, if you were advising her, you'd say, "Stay away from it, because we don't want to get in trouble with any segment of the audience." And she does rely on sponsors.
So I think that, you know, knowing as little as I do about Lindsay Vonn, I just think that must be what she believes. And I'll take her as being sincere and this as not being a political act.
The thing that concerned me was Nikki Haley, the U.N. ambassador, said today that there's a possibility the U.N. team -- the U.S. Team will not go to South Korea.
PERINO: Yes, but Sarah Sanders put out a statement saying that the United States looks forward to being there.
WILLIAMS: Well, so -- but what struck me from what Nikki Haley says, it was an unsettled question.
PERINO: I think she was trying to be cautious, just given the...
WILLIAMS: Correct. I think there's a real threat, given what we know about the North. So to me, that's the big issue here, is do we send a team? And I think back to, you know, like when President Carter didn't send the team because he was upset with the Russians. I guess that's back in '78 or I don't remember the year.
But to me, this is an -- I don't like the idea that we would be withdrawing, especially in this year, where the Russians have been thrown out. So it's like...
PERINO: We're going to win them all.
WILLIAMS: Yes. We could win them all. But on the other hand, what's going on with the Olympics now that they've become so political? I guess the Russian thing is about cheating with drugs and the like. But you can bet that Vladimir Putin and his guys are going to say, "This is political punishment for us, you know. We win all the time." Oh, please.
GUILFOYLE: Oh, please.
All right. Well, let's see, I would hate to see the Olympics not participated in. It's just...
PERINO: I think we're going.
GUILFOYLE: I think so, too.
WATTERS: We're going.
GUTFELD: It's two weeks of something that's the size of JFK. It's two weeks of the size of a new airport. That's all it is. It will probably be the safest place on earth. If you're there at that compound, you are on -- you are in the safest place.
WATTERS: Because Lauer is not going to be there.
GUTFELD: Yes.
GUILFOYLE: Ohh!
PERINO: Oh, wow.
WILLIAMS: That's good!
GUTFELD: That was better than the puns.
GUILFOYLE: That was better than the puns, yes. Yes, yes.
OK, well, ahead, a stunning comment by President Obama about President Trump flying completely under the radar this week. Greg fills us in, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GUTFELD: All right. We're getting reports that Republican Congressman Trent Franks from Arizona is about to resign, possibly over inappropriate behavior. We'll bring you any developments when they come.
Anyway, President Obama still has Trump on his mind. Tuesday he spoke to the Economic Club of Chicago, where a Crain's columnist, Greg Hinz, noted a startling comparison of Trump to Hitler.
Hinz paraphrases what he heard President Obama say: "We have to tend to thus garden of democracy or else things could fall apart quickly. That's what happened in Germany in the 1930s, which despite the democracy of the Weimar Republic and centuries of high-level cultural and scientific achievements, Adolf Hitler rose to dominate. Sixty million people died. So you've got to pay attention and vote."
So Nazi Germany, here we come.
Now he said this just hours before Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, which makes Donald Trump a pretty weak Nazi.
GUILFOYLE: He's the worst one.
GUTFELD: The worst one ever. And after America had just decimated ISIS, the worst group of fascists since the Nazis. So we aren't becoming Nazis. We're stopping Nazis. But this is what liberals do, comparing adversaries to Hitler.
But Obama is right: If you stop paying attention, anything could happen. You could neglect an inexperienced senator from Illinois who relentlessly expands executive power with a phone and a pen. A radical progressive just a stone's throw from Stalinism, which killed over 100 million people. See how easy this stupid game little game is?
So as Obama indulges lazy tropes, he ignores the crushing of ISIS; a free press that's now louder than ever; and a federal government whose reach and size may be shrinking for once. Because of course, that's what dictators do: They shrink government.
If that's Nazi Germany, someone slept through history class.
Can we call a moratorium on Hitler comparisons, Juan?
GUILFOYLE: Yes.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
GUTFELD: OK, good. There.
GUILFOYLE: Done. We'll be right back.
GUTFELD: We'll be right back. Twelve minutes, "One More" -- a 12-minute "One More Thing."
GUILFOYLE: Just toss to "Special Report."
WILLIAMS: I will say -- I will say I thought what he said about paying attention to voting, boy that's good -- that's important for Democrats, especially going into midterms.
GUTFELD: That's important for everybody, but you don't need Hitler.
WILLIAMS: Well, the thing about it is he didn't mention Trump's name, but he gave every indication, like all these guys do, that he's talking about Trump.
GUTFELD: About Trump, yes.
WILLIAMS: And when you look at what Trump is doing, you talk about, "Oh, smaller government."
GUTFELD: Don't do it.
WILLIAMS: Oh, my gosh.
GUTFELD: Wait. Yes, smaller government.
WILLIAMS: Yes, yes. But when you -- but when you look at what Trump's doing in terms of regulations and things like this week, taking away federal parklands and so forth, a lot of people get upset.
GUTFELD: Yes.
PERINO: Well, that's why it would've been better if -- it's better for any president to try to pass something through Congress, because that's how our system works. You can then have it more enshrined in law, rather than having a pen and a phone. And the next president also has a pen and a phone, and those things get rolled back.
WILLIAMS: I don't think too many people roll back federal park lands.
WATTERS: He's giving it back to the people, Juan. It was a land grab.
GUTFELD: By the way, there are a lot of bears in those parks. Those places aren't safe. You know...
WILLIAMS: That's why you stay out of them.
GUTFELD: I stay out of the parks. Actually, I've been told I'm not allowed in the parks.
WATTERS: There's a restraining order.
GUTFELD: Yes. All right. So Jesse...
WATTERS: Yes.
GUTFELD: ... the thing that kills me about this conversation is that it ignores the central truth that the press has never been more alive because of Trump. They were comatose under Obama, because that was their guy. That was their benign emperor. So now they're shouting and shouting. Isn't that a good thing? Shouldn't they rejoice?
WATTERS: Yes, I mean, they're all getting rich, and that's fine. That's democracy and capitalism. But this is a case study in media bias.
Imagine if Bush...
PERINO: Oh, yes.
WATTERS: ... on the first year, came out overseas and called Obama "Hitler." I mean, that would be a huge story. And now the press is covering up for this. You're not going to hear it anywhere, probably, except here on "The Five."
Also, I thought Obama was better than this. To compare his predecessor to Adolf Hitler?
WILLIAMS: No, no. His successor.
WATTERS: His successor to Adolf Hitler.
PERINO: Standard (ph) is not predecessor.
WATTERS: It's horrible. Horrible. Just demeaning, beneath him. I thought he was better than this. I guess I was wrong. I'm not often wrong, but I guess I was.
GUILFOYLE: Oh, my gosh.
WATTERS: He's just bitter as the bitter clingers he smeared early on in 2008. And there's a reason he's so bitter, Juan. Is because his legacy is being dismembered limb from limb. They're about to revoke the mandate. The Iran deal's in the crosshairs. The year he leaves office, the economy starts surging...
PERINO: Paris Accords.
WATTERS: ... and ISIS is being decimated. So I understand why he's angry, but that was just a horrific comparison.
WILLIAMS: Oh, yes? You should look at his numbers versus Trump's numbers some days, if you just think who's...
WATTERS: Popularity means nothing when you're in office, Juan.
WILLIAMS: Oh, I see. Very good. That's right.
GUTFELD: K.G.
WILLIAMS: That's a good thing for a Trump backer to say.
WATTERS: Talk to me in eight years.
GUILFOYLE: Yes, exactly.
WATTERS: I'm sure his poll numbers will be just fine.
GUILFOYLE: Because Jesse rarely if never, rarely, if ever wrong.
WATTERS: Ninety-nine point nine percent.
WILLIAMS: You know, he was wrong once, but then he was mistaken.
GUTFELD: I don't want to think about what I look like in eight years on "The Five."
GUILFOYLE: I know.
GUTFELD: I'm going to be so fat. Fat and bald.
GUILFOYLE: All right. "One..."
GUTFELD: I'll be fat, bald and angry.
PERINO: You're not losing hair.
GUILFOYLE: Wait, when? Now?
PERINO: You're not losing your hair at all.
GUTFELD: Actually, I think it's coming back.
GUILFOYLE: It was thinning a little in the front...
GUTFELD: Then I started eating a lot of bacon.
GUILFOYLE: ... and now it's, like, coming back. Yes.
GUTFELD: I find that bacon, rubbing it into your head...
GUILFOYLE: All the pig fat has really helped to stimulate the production in your scalp.
GUTFELD: It's the swine shine.
WILLIAMS: You know what you should do? You should ask Kimberly for some of her hair.
GUTFELD: Yes.
GUILFOYLE: Yes. This is true.
GUTFELD: What were we talking about, everybody?
GUILFOYLE: We were talking about President Obama.
WATTERS: Hitler. Back to Hitler.
GUTFELD: Back to Hitler.
GUILFOYLE: No, President Obama, and I said to myself, "Self, how long would it take for him to try to take credit for the Trump economy?"
GUTFELD: Yes.
GUILFOYLE: Because he's like Jesse, very good at saying, "I was right." Or "I had this -- I'm responsible for this."
WATTERS: The one thing we have in common.
GUILFOYLE: And "I'm going to be No. 1." Right?
WATTERS: Yes.
GUILFOYLE: It's really true. He's got, let's say, a healthy sense of himself.
WATTERS: It's a good thing.
GUILFOYLE: And of course, he wants to take credit for, you know, President Trump's accomplishments. But you know, that's fine. As long as the country is going ahead, I'm fine with -- the results speak for themselves.
GUTFELD: Awesome. All right. Roger Goodell. You remember him. Gets a big payday...
GUILFOYLE: Yes.
GUTFELD: ... from the NFL. Does he deserve it? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WILLIAMS: Welcome back. The NFL has had lots of turmoil over the past few years. The concussion flap, Deflategate, the anthem controversy and now low turnout in some stadiums. So a lot of people are wondering today how in the world did Commissioner Roger Goodell just get a new $200 million contract extension? Did he deserve it? Let's go to our football expert.
PERINO: Oh, I...
WATTERS: What do you say, Jesse?
WILLIAMS: Sorry, Dana. Sorry.
WATTERS: Listen, I don't like to criticize people that I might need favors from later.
WILLIAMS: Oh, you want tickets.
WATTERS: But in this case, I'm going to make an exception.
GUILFOYLE: You wanted the Super Bowl tickets and have a party.
WATTERS: I know, I know. But here's the deal. I mean, I don't mind someone making a lot of money in this country, as long as they deserve it. I just don't think he deserves it. From concussions, to kneeling, to Deflategate, from the domestic abuse.
GUILFOYLE: Murders.
WATTERS: The league has been riddled with controversies that I think have all been mishandled by the commissioner.
So you know, it's a huge extension. And by the end of it, he's supposed to be making half a billion dollars a year. I don't know anybody with his track record that is worth that much. But you know what? He's managed to put himself in the situation, so he must be a good operator behind the scenes.
WILLIAMS: Well, it will be half a billion in his total compensation, if he finishes his contract.
But so much of it, Dana, is tied to whether the league reaches financial targets. And right now, don't forget: the league is described in some of the articles I read, as still a financial juggernaut with $14 billion in revenue annually.
WATTERS: Wow.
PERINO: So I feel like they should just let the market decide, and the market decided. Meaning the ones that are giving him the contract have decided that he's good enough and smart enough.
WATTERS: Apt comparison on this day.
PERINO: Thank you. Thank you.
WILLIAMS: Yes, really.
So you know what, Kimberly, the thing that struck me.
GUILFOYLE: Inflategate.
WILLIAMS: Huh?
GUILFOYLE: Inflategate?
WILLIAMS: Inflategate?
PERINO: Deflategate?
GUILFOYLE: No, this is Inflategate.
WILLIAMS: Oh, yes, very good.
GUILFOYLE: Two hundred million dollars.
WILLIAMS: That was good.
WATTERS: That was a good pun.
GUILFOYLE: I'm quick.
PERINO: And she didn't have to write it all day.
WILLIAMS: But what I was going to -- what I was going to say to you before that lovely use of language was they point out that CEO pay right now is a point of great controversy in the country...
GUILFOYLE: That's true.
WILLIAMS: ... with income inequality. And that S&P 500 leaders, $13 million was the average pay in 2016. The average worker, $37,000. This is unbelievable.
GUILFOYLE: No, you're absolutely right. maybe he should say, "Well, I'm appreciative to have this money. Going to contribute to these social justice reform organizations.
PERINO: I don't know if they're going to take that out of the breast cancer awareness money.
GUILFOYLE: There you go. I mean, it's unbelievable.
Look, I -- you know, compensation should be commensurate with performance. You know, I believe in meritocracy and, to me, this does seem just very high. The number, to me, is very large. I'm not sure. Because in fact, so many people are talking about -- that he should perhaps be removed and somebody else become commissioner, like Condoleezza Rice. Someone that you would actually get, you know, your money's worth.
I don't know. I mean, I think he has a very nice wife.
WILLIAMS: Who used to work here.
GUILFOYLE: She's lovely. She's wonderful. She thinks the world of him.
Personally, I think he's fine. It's just I don't think that the NFL right now, the past, you know, kind of historical example of where it's come from and what's going on now and the problems they have, especially as a former prosecutor. Really, you know, serious issues as it relates to criminality like Jesse mentioned, with domestic violence, homicide, you know, rape cases. Not good.
WILLIAMS: So Greg, the -- the league is going to have to negotiate with the players. And what the folks who backed the contract said was, "We like Roger Goodell as we enter into this negotiation with the players' contracts." And so much is going to be on the table.
By the way, Jerry Jones is the one owner who does not like this deal, and I don't know if he doesn't like it because his player got suspended or whatever, but he was an opponent, very publicly so.
GUTFELD: Imagine if Goodell had done a good job. Imagine that salary.
WATTERS: On the moon (ph).
GUTFELD: You couldn't pay me to do that job, so probably, he's getting paid the right thing. Look, football is going through a spiritual and a physical crisis right now. It's like people don't feel good about it. It's too long. It's too political. It's too divisive. It's too dangerous. And they're no longer the only game in town. There's so many other things you can do.
There's, like "Bar Rescue" marathons. There are "Forensic Files." You could -- you could turn on -- anytime there's a "Forensic File," I won't leave, because I need to watch the end.
Football -- and also, football is no bowling. I mean, bowling is the true American sport. Football is some kind of communist racket.
GUILFOYLE: What is wrong with you?
WILLIAMS: Oh, my God. All right.
GUTFELD: You weren't even listening.
WILLIAMS: This is too much.
GUILFOYLE: Yes, I was.
WILLIAMS: You better stay right where you are. "One More Thing" is next.
GUILFOYLE: You compared football to bowling.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WATTERS: It's time now for "One More Thing." Kimberly Guilfoyle.
GUILFOYLE: All righty. Well, the topic, "Honoring Heroes."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAPHIC: Honoring Heroes
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: And today as many of you know, is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, and it's the 76th anniversary of the date that will live in infamy when the Japanese attacked the U.S. Naval base on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in 1941. And earlier today, President Trump signed a proclamation for a national Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day and honored World War II veterans. And it's a very sweet moment you see with the president there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Just remember Pearl Harbor. We shall always remember how they died for liberty. Just remember Pearl Harbor and go on to victory.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: And we remember all the men and women who served faithfully there on that day. So God bless them for their service and their families.
WATTERS: Very special moment. Dana.
PERINO: All right. Well, last night, I was at the 12th Annual L'Oreal Women of Worth Awards. And I was able to introduce SreyRam Kuy, who is the first female Cambodian refugee to work as a surgeon in the U.S. She donated her prize to the Dogtag Bakery. Listen to her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Owning my own business makes me feel really good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Dogtag Bakery means the world to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: SreyRam's commitment to veterans is unparalleled.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What she's constantly doing is trying to find a way to pay it back.
SREYRAM KUY, RECIPIENT OF WOMEN OF WORTH AWARD: These are wounded veterans. But it's about their ability. For me, it means having courage to continue despite anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERINO: A remarkable woman. Check out her story.
WATTERS: Beautiful. All right, Juan.
WILLIAMS: "Put me in, coach." Rafael Palmeiro, who was one of my favorite baseball players as an Oriole, is now 53. Says he's trying to make a comeback. It's a great story for all of us old-timers who think we've still got it. But Palmerio tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs back in '05 after vehemently denying steroid usage before Congress. So what we have here is a last-ditch effort at redemption for a guy whose legacy, badly tarnished. Stay home, Rafael.
WATTERS: All right, Rafael. Greg.
GUTFELD: I'm going to take a pass.
WATTERS: You're going to take a pass?
GUTFELD: Taking a pass, because we've got 20 seconds.
WATTERS: All right. Well, I'll go, I guess. This is a new haircut that's sweeping the world. This is the Trump haircut.
GUILFOYLE: Oh, my God.
WATTERS: It's an orange comb-over, and the president's face is drilled into the person's head.
GUILFOYLE: Drilled?
WATTERS: I don't know how they do it, but they do it. I think that's in Taiwan.
GUTFELD: That's why I passed.
WATTERS: Anyway, "Special Report" is up next. Chris Wallace in for Bret Baier. Chris, you'd look great with that haircut.
CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: You don't know that I don't have it behind me. Thank you, Jesse.
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