Graham: Democratic Senate would mean 'end of checks and balances'
Senate Judiciary Committee chairman discusses the importance of the Georgia Senate runoff races.
This is a rush transcript from “Hannity" November 23, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
TREY GOWDY, FOX NEWS HOST: Tucker, thank you.
Welcome to the special edition of HANNITY. I'm Trey Gowdy, in tonight for
Sean.
With Thanksgiving just days away, top Democrats across the country stand
ready and able to tell you exactly what you can and cannot do, even if they
are unwilling to follow their own rules. And nothing is off-limits.
Pennsylvanian's health secretary just announced a ban on alcohol sales
beginning this Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. The state's governor imposed an in-
home mask mandate anytime residents have a visitor and their dwelling. A
similar recommendation that is being used in Nevada, forcing residents to
wear masks inside and outside at all times when away from home.
A statewide 10:00 p.m. curfew is now in effect in California for everyone
in California except, of course, Governor Gavin.
New Jersey is under a 10-day emergency advisor lockdown and the risks of
the state is facing a ten-person limit on indoor gatherings. Governor Phil
Murphy is even encouraging family members not to hug each other. Governor
Murphy's rules apply to everyone except of course Governor Murphy himself,
who recently enjoyed a mask-free night out with his family at a local
restaurant.
Meanwhile, Oregon's Governor Kate Brown is now urging residents in her
state to call the police and report any and all violations. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
INTERVIEWER: Do you want people calling the police on their neighbors on
nonemergency lines or 911?
GOV. KATE BROWN (D-OR): Look, this is no different than what happens if
there's a party down the street and it's keeping everyone awake. What do
neighbors do? They call law enforcement because it is too noisy.
INTERVIEWER: That could be a "yes."
BROWN: Yes, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOWDY: Remember, this is the same governor who allowed Portland to descend
into anarchy for weeks and weeks. I kid you not.
Governor Kate Brown wants you to call the police if you see too many family
members gathered at a neighbor's house. But whatever you do, don't get the
police involved when there's looting, and rioting, and a federal courthouse
is on fire or under assault.
But even that, it may not be as asinine as Governor Cuomo receiving an Emmy
Award for his COVID-19 briefings.
Joining us now with more, Congressman Lee Zeldin and Congresswoman Elise
Stefanik, both from the state of New York.
Welcome to you both. How are you?
REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): Good to with you, Trey.
REP. LEE ZELDIN (R-NY): Great. Good to see you, Trey.
GOWDY: Elise, let me start with you. I sat beside you for two years. I
know how much family means to you. It must be infuriating when elected
officials and politicians telling others they cannot meet with their family
and yet they do it themselves.
STEFANIK: It is absolutely infuriating. I am celebrating Thanksgiving with
my family. We need to make sure that individuals are making the best
decisions for themselves and take public health seriously, but we should
absolutely not be celebrating or following Governor Cuomo's edicts that we
can't be with our family for Thanksgiving.
But what's most hypocritical, Trey, is that Governor Cuomo today said he is
spending his Thanksgiving with his 89-year-old mom and his daughters who
are traveling. So, again, it's rules for thee, but they don't apply to me.
That is why New Yorkers are so frustrated and that is why he is the worst
governor in America.
GOWDY: I'm going to hold that thought. I'm going to come back to you on
that one.
Lee, you served our country in uniform and you were also a prosecutor.
You've got to help me reconcile the governor in Oregon who wants the cops
called if you see someone sitting too close to their grandmother at
Thanksgiving, but don't call the cops when the federal courthouse in
Portland is under assault for weeks and weeks.
Help me understand that.
ZELDIN: Exactly. So, the governor of Oregon imposes this restriction,
whether it's indoors or outdoors, you can't have more than 6 people. But if
you want to call your group, your social gathering Antifa and attack a
federal court house, as you point out, or attack law enforcement and
innocent civilians, want to go loot some businesses, well, then, that will
be celebrated. And you have elected officials in Oregon and Seattle
referring, celebrating this as some type of mostly peaceful protests and
defending them and giving them cover.
In Oregon, interestingly enough, they go even further than Nevada where
Nevada, whether your church is -- the capacity of 200 or 2,000, you could
only have 50. You move over to Oregon, and you can only have the capacity
of 25, and it doesn't matter how big your churches.
In Nevada, you can only have four people in at your table. In New Jersey,
the state wants the law enforcement to go door to door with head counts on
Thanksgiving. Law enforcement is pushing back on it.
And as you mentioned, you have experience as a prosecutor. You have common
sense. We are a nation of personal responsibility and individual liberty,
and that shall not be infringed.
Limitations proposed by the government on businesses and persons must pass
a small test and it better not lack common sense. And those same law
enforcement officers in Oregon, that that governor wants people to call to
report on your neighbor are the same law enforcement officers that these --
that this party and these members, and their mayors and others are calling
for defunding their police and stabbing them in the back.
So, it's inconsistent. But maybe with the three of us are the ones who
don't get it, because Cuomo gets it. Maybe the governor of New Jersey
should get an Oscar and the Oregon governor should get a Grammy. Heck, give
the Tony Awards to the governor of Nevada. Maybe we're the ones who don't
get it.
GOWDY: Well, who would've ever guessed that the reason we need to fund the
police is so that they can arrest families at Thanksgiving in Oregon.
Elise, you mentioned Governor Cuomo. I really thought it was satire when I
first heard he had won an Emmy. It reminded me of President Obama winning
the Nobel Prize for Peace after he had been in office for about 10 days.
What is your reaction? You're both of you are from New York. Both of you --
what is your reaction -- Elise, you first to Governor Cuomo winning an
award for his handling of COVID?
STEFANIK: It is absurd, Trey, and look no further than the tens of
thousands of families in New York who had loved ones living in nursing
homes who had lost those loved ones because of the fatal, flawed decision
of sending seniors, putting their health at risk. That decision was made by
Governor Cuomo.
So, unless it's for an Emmy for the horror show of the nursing homes during
COVID under Governor Cuomo's rule in New York, he deserves that type of
enemy for Dr. Death. He does not deserve the praise he is getting from the
mainstream media.
He has the worst record of managing COVID and he also has overreached his
power. He has smeared law enforcement as we are heading towards this
holiday week celebrating Thanksgiving, and many of our sheriffs from Lee
Zeldin's part of New York and my part of Upstate New York, they are not
going to enforce these rules because the rules that the governor has set,
not allowing families to get together, law enforcements are always busy
during the holidays. They know that they need to focus on real law
enforcement issues, not tearing families apart.
So, I think it's just absurd. I think it's typical from the Hollywood far
left. They are so disconnected from the realities and really the failed
leadership that every New Yorker understands under Governor Cuomo. It's
just abject failure this past year.
GOWDY: Well, Congressman Zeldin, Elise said he is the worst governor in
the country. Is that -- do you agree with that or is there something
missing?
ZELDIN: Well, there seems to be a bunch of other governors right now
looking to compete for that title. But Governor Cuomo stands out on many
fronts. Early on, he was saying that other states can't oppose their own
restrictions on New Yorkers going in their states. That would be declaring
war on New York.
And then as soon as some of the number started to turn in New York, we
started declaring restrictions imposed on all these -- dozens of other
states around the entire country.
We now have, you can't go to the gym after 10:00. Who cares if somebody
wants to go work out after 10:00? Actually, talking about not passing the
smell test and lacking common sense, you're now just forcing people to go
work out during fewer hours during the day, and that means that there's
going to be higher density of people. So, it's counterintuitive.
In New York City, they just closed the schools but we need our kids in
school. That's where it's important for their well-being, for their
education, for their health. And we are seen in almost, and almost 0.0
percent spread between kids inside of the school system.
But, you know, again, he is the one who ends up getting the award. Now, he
may want -- you know, Governor DeSantis or some other governor to get
blamed for the nursing home deaths in the state, but being a leader is
about accepting responsibility and accountability.
The last thing I'd say, too, is that this president and this administration
have -- they delivered for New York. And when Governor Cuomo was asking for
the USNS Comfort, the administration sent it. The Javits Center converted
into a field hospital. The PPE that was sent here, the testing approvals,
all of the funding that came to the state.
Meanwhile, during an Emmy presentation today, the governor actually played
a clip of the governor saying that the federal government has not provided
any help to the state. That's just not true.
So, the governor has been very adversarial in many fronts, especially as
November 3rd got closer. And that lack of honesty is one that shouldn't be
praised. It's one that actually deserves more accountability.
And I guess that's why, you know, you're here. You are asking the tough
questions. There are others who are doing the same. But meanwhile, he is
collecting his Emmy and his payday on his book.
GOWDY: Elise Stefanik, Lee Zeldin, it's hard being a Republican in New
York. Thank you for what you do. Happy Thanksgiving to both of you.
Tonight, COVID-19 infections are on the rise. Thankfully, an effective
vaccine is just around the corner. In the meantime, what do you need to do
to keep you and your loved ones safe during the holidays?
Joining us now with more is FOX News medical contributor, Dr. Nicole
Saphier.
Welcome, Dr. Saphier.
DR. NICOLE SAPHIER, FOX NEWS MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, Trey. Great to be
on with you.
GOWDY: Thank you.
Physicians are respected. Folks in elected office, politicians are not. For
that family right now, trying to decide what to do on Thursday, weighing
and balancing the risks, what are some of the factors they need to consider
as far as deciding whether or not to spend Thanksgiving together?
SAPHIER: Well, listen, Trey, every family is incredibly different. I can
tell you from my family, my husband and I are in and out of the office
every single day. Therefore, we cannot offer a level of security and low
risks to any family who's coming, any bit of our family, our friends coming
to our house. So, we are just going to be limiting it to our immediate
family.
But I can tell you that there are safe ways that you can still be with
people regardless of the number of people there. I hate these arbitrary
numbers that -- these limitations that are being given out by policymakers.
Ultimately, if you are making good decisions, if you and your loved ones
are perhaps, you know, limiting your social activities prior to
thanksgiving to really lessen the risk that you are bringing that virus to
the dinner table, you know, you can be safe with people.
If you have high risk people in your party, perhaps they don't join you.
You want to make sure there is some level of physical distancing, maybe not
be sharing communal plates. But there are safe ways that you can be
together. I don't necessarily recommend traveling out of state or getting
on an airplane right now.
We want to keep the number of people kind of at a minimum right now because
we don't want this to bring up our cases and then make it even more
difficult to spend the Christmas holidays together.
GOWDY: Dr. Saphier, this seems like a dark and boding time for us. But
there's also a light at the end of the tunnel and that would be the
vaccines that are coming.
What is your assessment of the vaccines, progress being made and what is a
reasonable timeline for us to go from testing to her upper arm?
SAPHIER: Well, let me tell you, I don't mean to beat a dead horse for the
last segment. But I also find it cheeky that Governor Cuomo is being given
a reward for some of his commentary early on in the pandemic. I'm Italian,
so I did appreciate some of those anecdotes, but a lot of what he said
regarding hospitalizations, ventilators needs and nursing home deaths
really have been proven untrue.
You want to give an award to someone? How about the incredible scientists,
researchers, and other workers, who were at some of these drug companies,
specifically Pfizer and Moderna, who have in record-breaking time using a
novel mRNA technology have gotten two successful vaccine candidates
demonstrating 95 percent efficacy blowing our expectations out of the
water. They are going to both have it by the end of 2020 and they have
vowed tens of millions of doses to Americans by the end of 2020.
A few months ago, we thought this was a pipe dream. No way was this going
to happen. But here we are, it's happening and even today, AstraZeneca has
announced that they are entering a late stage trial and we are likely going
to have some of their data and potential of that available early 2021.
Great news.
Not to mention some -- the antibody cocktails, which are also showing great
efficacy and keeping people out of the hospital, reducing viral loads. None
of which would not have been accomplished without the federal government's
support through Operation Warp Speed. You want to give an award to someone,
how about any of the people I just mentioned.
GOWDY: A glimmer of hope. If we can make it through this rough patch.
Dr. Nicole Saphier, thank you and happy Thanksgiving to you and your
family.
For months, Joe Biden blamed President Trump for COVID-19 deaths but now,
Joe won't even answer a single question about his plan to battle COVID-19.
Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Mr. Biden, the COVID task force said it's safe for students to
be in class. Are you going to encourage unions to cooperate more to bring
kids back to the classroom, sir?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT: Why are you the only guy who always shouts out
questions?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOWDY: Joining us now with more is FOX News contributor and former White
House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, along with former acting DNI, Ric
Grenell.
Welcome to you both.
RIC GRENELL, FORMER ACTING DNI: Thanks for having us.
SARAH SANDERS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks, Trey.
GOWDY: Sarah, did you ever wish you were the press secretary? For someone
who got so many easy questions and then got offended when you actually got
a good one.
SANDERS: You know, I wish that I could say I'm surprised that Joe Biden,
one, didn't take tough questions or to call that he doesn't have hard
questions to even answer. It's absolutely absurd how little the press holds
Joe Biden and all of his allies accountable. They didn't do it during the
campaign so I'm not surprised that they are not doing it now.
But at some point, I do think that he is going to have to step up and
answer some of the questions that are put in front of him. Look, I took
harder questions by breakfast every morning than Joe Biden has taken the
entire year and a half that he was running for president. President Trump
took questions almost daily from the press. I think it's absurd that they
don't hold his feet to the fire and don't push him harder to actually
answer any questions.
And when he does, they are softballs and they are usually scripted and
stuff that even my 8-year-old daughter could probably handle answering.
GOWDY: You know, Sarah, you raised a broader point.
Ambassador Grenell, I think we need a societal referee. We need an arbiter.
I get this question all the time. Where can I go from for the facts? Where
can I go for the truth?
The duplicity of the media, you were an ambassador. You ran DNI. I mean,
did you notice any disparity between the way you were covered or Johnny
Ratcliffe was covered, as opposed to the way Chairman Adam Schiff was
covered?
GRENELL: Look, we talk a lot about democracy and how democracy is undercut
through different actions, which I think it's really healthy.
But there's no other thing that you can say undercuts democracy than a
press that is not unbiased, an entire press corps in Washington, D.C., that
cheerleads and is partisan. That's a really recipe for disaster when you
think about how to hold government to account, how to challenge power. We
call this out when we see it in other countries, when you don't have a
press corps that plays fair, that immediately goes for one side and
protects that one side at all costs.
I also think, we have to get to the point, those of us on the outside of
Washington, D.C., we have to be smarter about what we're asking Washington,
D.C., to do, because in many ways, I think we are asking them to reform
themselves, including the Washington, D.C., press corps.
They all lived there, they work there, they go to school there. They go to
church there. They know each other. Their social circle is dependent upon
each other.
And so, those of us in the outside, we continue to say, oh, these reporters
need to be unbiased and they need to push and hold the government
accountable. I actually thought we are at the point where they are never
going to do that. And so, why do we keep pushing them to do it.
I think we've got to start doing it on our own, which is where social media
become such an important tool, is to be able to check government and push
out the facts as we see it. Let's not rely on the media anymore because the
media has failed us an we got to stop asking them to do something that I
just fundamentally don't think they'll ever do.
GOWDY: Sarah, we have about 30 seconds. What -- what should a careful
observer be looking for in the early days of Joe Biden's administration, to
see whether or not the media is going to do its job and be that mutually
detached arbiter?
SANDERS: Well, I think the most important thing that people can look for
and one of the things --
GRENELL: I go first --
SANDERS: Sorry, go ahead, Ric.
GRENELL: No, no, no. Go, Sarah.
SANDERS: I was just saying that one of the things I always say, you can
tell a good news story versus an opinion based story is whether or not you
can tell which side of the story the journalist is on. If you can't, that's
a true news story. If there's a lot of bias injected into the story, you
can tell that they leaned to the left.
That's not a new story. That's an opinion column. We have gotten so much
into a gray area that we've got to go back to having accountability in
journalism.
That has been lost in society today and we have to hold their feet to the
fire. We need to make sure that there is separation between what's news and
what's opinion. And the only way I think you tell that is if you have no
idea what side the writer falls to. And I think you'd be hard-pressed to
find that in most of today's news stories.
GOWDY: We'll be watching.
Sarah Sanders, Ambassador Ric Grenell, happy Thanksgiving to you both.
Coming up, Senator Lindsey Graham joins us live to discuss how critical the
runoff races in Georgia are for the GOP.
Plus, RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel joins us with an update on the Trump
campaign's legal battles in several key swing states.
That and more as the special edition of HANNITY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOWDY: Welcome back to the special edition of HANNITY.
Tonight, the Michigan state board of canvassers voted to certify the
state's election results granting Biden the state's 16 electoral votes.
Meanwhile, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Trump campaign's
request to review a lower court's decision dismissing a lawsuit over voting
in Pennsylvania.
This as the Wisconsin partial presidential recount entered its fourth day
today. And breaking tonight, the United States General Services
Administration chief announced the agency has reached out to the Biden team
to formally begin the transition process.
After the news broke, president treated and I quote, "I want to thank Emily
Murphy at GSA for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to our country. She
has been harassed, threatened, and abused. And I do not want to see this
happen to her or her family, employees of GSA.
Our case strongly continues. We will keep up the good fight and I believe
we will prevail. Nevertheless, in the best interest of our country, I am
recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard
to initial protocols and I have told my team to do the same.
Here to explain where things stand, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
Welcome.
RONNA MCDANIEL, RNC CHAIRWOMAN: Great to be with you. Thanks for having
me, Trey.
GOWDY: Congratulations. I think if I read correctly, you have re-upped to
head the RNC.
MCDANIEL: Well, I throw my hat in the ring but I have to earn the vote of
all the 168 members of the RNC. So, calling through them, and hopefully,
we'll be reelected in January.
GOWDY: Ronna, for those who have not been following the GSA story, what
should they know? What happened today and why is that significant customer
MCDANIEL: Well, whatever one should know is our president loves this
country. He is going to put the protocols in place. But he is not by any
means giving up this fight. We still have a recount going on in Wisconsin
with major issues on how the election laws were applied with over 200,000
people saying they were indefinitely confined.
That is four times more than happened in 2016. It just doesn't seem
correct, especially when you consider that huge increase. And that allows
them to evade voter ID laws.
In Georgia, in 2018, 280,000 absentee ballots came in with a 3 percent
rejection rate for signatures that didn't match. This election, 1.2 million
absentee ballots came in with a point through rejection rate.
So, we have a recount in Georgia happening. The governor finally said we
should look at the signatures. So, there is a lot still going on.
You just talked about the Pennsylvania case. And even in Michigan, today,
the board of canvassers voted 4-1 with the Democrats saying that there
should be legislative review of the election process.
So, this is far from over, but the president loves this country and he's
going to put protocols in place. But he is not done fighting by any means.
GOWDY: From the standpoint of court filings, you mentioned Wisconsin. You
mentioned Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan.
What other states are there currently legal proceedings and what's the
status of those proceedings?
MCDANIEL: Well, we're looking at everything in Nevada and Arizona as well
just to track down any irregularities. You know, Nevada, they changed the
settings on their machines. We sued before the election. We knew we were
doing that which made it harder for them to detect the signature was on the
envelope. We still think that should be reviewed.
So many things, Trey, were changed in the name of COVID. Democrats came in
and stripped away many of the mechanisms that ensure election integrity
that put our election at risk and made it more porous and stripped away the
safeguards that were critical for this election.
And you look at Georgia, you look at Nevada. You look at Pennsylvania. Huge
changes were made in these elections that were different than in 2018 or
2016. And we have problems and we need to pursue them.
And you have a canvas and a certification for a reason. And what the media
has done and Democrats have done to harass Republicans for even want to
look into it, attacking people who have come forward under oath and
affidavits. It is really shameful.
Like Ric Grenell talked about earlier, we don't have a press that's fair
and balance right now. It has attacked Republicans even if we're looking at
very real concerns about this election.
GOWDY: Ronna, thank you. Happy Thanksgiving. Best of luck to you as you
seek to lead the RNC again.
In January, control of the United States Senate will be decided by two
runoff elections in Georgia. Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue are
both looking to keep their seats and GOP control of the Senate hangs in the
ballots.
A Republican victory in Georgia would stop the far left agenda in its
tracks, while a Democrat victory would empower the Democrats to control the
House, the Senate, and the White House. Both parties know the importance of
these two races and the campaigns have kicked into high gear. Georgia is
extending the use of ballot drop boxes and a surge in requests for absentee
ballots.
Joe Biden is reportedly planning to campaign in the Peach State, and, of
course, Hollywood celebrities are pouring funds into this race.
Joining us now is Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, who
knows a thing or two about Hollywood money and Senate races.
Welcome to you, Chairman Graham.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Yeah, right. I hope it's as effective in
Georgia as it was in South Carolina. It didn't matter much here.
GOWDY: Yeah, if anyone is wondering what $100 million will get you, it
will get you a runner up finish in the South Carolina Senate seat.
(LAUGHTER)
GRAHAM: Right.
GOWDY: Why -- look, you -- chairmanships, the rules of the Senate, why
does it matter who controls the U.S. Senate?
GRAHAM: Let me give you an example. If we lose these two Senate seats in
Georgia, Pelosi will run the House, Schumer run the Senate, and if the
president fall short and Biden gets to be president, you're going to have
Pelosi, Schumer, and Biden. That's a trifecta from hell for big government.
It's a nightmare for conservatism. It's the end of checks and balances.
What would that trifecta do? They would pack the court from nine to
probably 13. That destroys the independence of the Judiciary because the
Supreme Court would change every election cycle. That would undo what the
founders tried to do in creating independent judiciary.
And, finally, they would change the Electoral College, go to the popular
vote. That means that South Carolina, Georgia and other states would be
basically dealt out, and California and New York would pick a president in
perpetuity. It will fundamentally change the country as we know it. The
fate of the republic really lies in the hands of our friends in Georgia.
I live 25 minutes from the Georgia border. You live in Spartanburg. I live
in Seneca. We grew up with Georgia neighbors.
To my friends in Georgia, the country depends on you. I know you won't let
us down but I'm worried.
The momentum seems to be with the Democrats right now, the money is pouring
in. You cannot turn your television on in South Carolina without seeing an
Ossoff commercial in Georgia -- you know, broadcast to Georgia. Greenville,
Spartanburg, Asheville markets are -- can't have that many counties in
Georgia covered, but they are just flooding the zone.
And mail-in voting -- if you expand mail-in voting in Georgia and you allow
a single person to validate the signature at an election office and you
don't have bipartisan signature validation, that's a formula for disaster
for our two candidates in Georgia.
So, I'm worried as we speak tonight.
GOWDY: Well, Chairman, I know you are the chairman of the Judiciary
Committee now. But if Republicans keep it, you would move to another
committee.
Who -- if Democrats win both these seats in Georgia, who will be the
chairman of the Judiciary Committee or the Budget Committee?
GRAHAM: Well, Dianne Feinstein stepped down today as a ranking member
because apparently I gave her a hug. And that's an unpardonable sin. So,
they literally ran Dianne Feinstein who's a great person out of her job
because she said something nice about me.
Let me give you a good example. I hope I don't ruin your Thanksgiving. If
Democrats take over the Senate and we lose both Georgia seats, Bernie
Sanders will be chairman of the Budget Committee in the United States
Senate. An avowed socialist would be writing the nation's budget in the
Senate.
If we keep control of the Senate by winning both seats in Georgia, I'm
going to be the Budget chairman. You know what, I may not be your cup of
tea out there, but let me tell you this -- I'm a hell of a lot better than
Bernie Sanders when it comes to your money.
So, a lot is at stake. Help where you can. The money is coming in major
league on the Democratic side.
My campaign, Team Graham, we transferred a million dollars tonight to
Senator Perdue and Senator Loeffler from my campaign account. I gave a
million dollars to NRSC.
To every Republican senator or member of the House, please turn your
campaign accounts on to help Georgia. If you want to help me help Georgia. We're getting outspent in Georgia already and we need to
close that gap.
But we've got a good message. We've got two great candidates. And I know
Georgia pretty well. That's where my parents came from.
I just don't believe the people in Georgia are going to allow this country
to be turned into a socialist nation. That's really what's on the ballot
for these Senate seats.
GOWDY: So, if I heard you correctly, if the Democrats win, Bernie Sanders
is the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.
GRAHAM: You heard me.
GOWDY: If Republicans win --
GRAHAM: Yeah.
GOWDY: -- you are. Having done a Christmas gift exchange with you, I can
promise, you are more fiscally conservative than anybody else I know.
(LAUGHTER)
GOWDY: The box was more expensive than the present I got. So --
GRAHAM: Yeah. I border being cheap.
But, really, this is all hands on deck. Help financially if you can. You
can give to Senator Loeffler and Perdue's account, you give to battleground Georgia . I will transfer the money over to our Georgia -
- our friends and our Senate colleagues. I've already done, a million
dollars to both. I want to double that.
So, we all need to be in financially. If you've got friends in Georgia,
make sure they vote.
And President Trump, keep fighting. We need to change this law in Georgia
where a single person can validate signatures. Voting by mail is a
nightmare for us.
So, President Trump, keep fighting, keep challenging these systems.
And we need President Trump to go to Georgia because there are people in
Georgia who voted for President Trump that believe in him more than the
Republican Party. And I think that his voice could go a long way in helping
us when these two Senate seats in Georgia. I hope you go to Georgia.
GOWDY: Well, Senator Graham, I know you are doing everything you can do.
Happy Thanksgiving. I hope I see you this weekend. Congratulations on your
reelection also. Thank you.
Also tonight, the Biden team has begun announcing some members of its
proposed cabinet. And Biden seems to be bringing in a lot of people
associated with the Clinton and Obama administrations.
Here with more live from West Coast newsroom is Rick Leventhal -- Rick.
RICK LEVANTHAL, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Trey.
The picks appear to put loyalty as a top commodity, including all six of
Biden's national security choices who held senior roles in former President
Obama's administration.
The familiar faces include John Kerry, to have to serve on the NSC as
special presidential envoy for climate. Kerry tweeted: America will soon
have a government that treats the climate crisis as the urgent national
security threat that it is.
The secretary of homeland security is slated to be Alejandro Mayorkas, who
would become the first Hispanic to hold a position. And the nominee for
America's top diplomat is Tony Blinken, a long time Biden aide who was in
the room with Obama when Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden. The presumptive
next secretary of state has been described by U.K.'s "Independent" as a
veteran of Washington's old-school foreign policy elite, and could help
reverse much of President Trump's America first agenda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT: He was part of our inner circle in all of
our key meetings throughout my presidency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVENTHAL: Biden plans to nominate the former Federal Reserve chair, Janet
Yellen, as secretary, which would make her the first woman to hold a job.
And Avril Haines is Biden's choice for director of national intelligence, a
position also historically only held by men. She was deputy national
security advisor and deputy CIA director under Obama.
Vetting would obviously come next, and then confirmation, which could be
decided by a Republican Senate, Trey, as you mentioned, depending on the
outcome of Georgia's runoffs, January 5th, with the balance of power
clearly at stake -- Trey.
GOWDY: Rick Leventhal, thank you.
Joining us now with reaction are FOX News contributors Tammy Bruce and
Charlie Hurt.
Welcome to you both.
CHARLIE HURT, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, Trey.
TAMMY BRUCE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Trey.
GOWDY: Charlie, let me start with you. Some of those names sound vaguely
familiar. Is the bench just that thin?
HURT: Yeah, it's really amazing. Now we know by Joe Biden did not campaign
before the election because it turns out that he really is going to just
draw on his 50 years in Washington and bring back the whole band. And it's
a little bit alarming because when you look at some of these, in particular
John Kerry, it raises a lot of questions about whether or not, is Joe Biden
going to get back into bed with Iran? Are we going to revisit these climate
deals that were so destructive to the U.S. economy while it did nothing --
does nothing for China? Are we going to revisit all of the Obama economic
policies?
It sure looks like that. And so, you know, for that matter, I can't blame
Joe Biden for remaining in his basement before the election.
GOWDY: Tammy, we have not heard any sitting U.S. senators not nominated,
and frankly not discuss.
Do you anticipate any Democratic senators would join the Biden cabinet or
is it just too close because of Georgia?
BRUCE: Well, I think it's close. Of course, you've got to think about
then, who would replaces those individuals? But really, what they were
reliant on is the establishment, is the swamp.
Everyone is worried about the transition, but my goodness, the swamp that
is in place in every agency and still, in fact, in the White House to some
degree as we have seen with resistance of the president is that they
already are in there. This is not some new group that has no idea what is
going on. And that, of course, is what we fired in 2016.
The down ballot this year clearly was a rejection of the Democratic Party.
It was a red wave and they seem to not care about acknowledging that.
At the same time, you got -- if we do go back to the Obama-Biden old
foreign policy that was fired, remember what that brought us. It brought us
the failed state of Libya. It brought us ISIS. It brought us pallets of
cash to Iran. It brought us to our sailors being captured and on their
knees with their hands behind their neck. It brought us an open border.
And now, Trey, one of the big differences is, you've got people piling up
to the border waiting for a Biden administration during a time of pandemic.
So, if you want to talk about the national security issues, John Kerry says
that it's about climate change. My God, this is about -- they are going to,
you know, open those borders. The person that they have designated I
believe was one of the architects of DACA. And now you've got this dynamic
during a time of pandemic, which they seem to say is also a threat to the
country but it doesn't seem to be defined.
So, you've got these individuals who are part of that mechanism, part of
the machine, that government will be the living body and the American
people are the things that are defeated. And this is what the big
government requires and I think this is what they've got in store.
GOWDY: Charlie, you have an astute political mind. Let me ask you a weird
question. Do you think Joe Biden wants to win those seats in Georgia? Is he
better off having a narrow majority and then the expectations of doing all
of those things crazy House members want to do? Or is he better off being
able to blame a Republican-controlled Senate?
HURT: Well, you know, I think it's a really interesting question, and that
sort of been sort of -- I wondered that all along. And then when we heard
today that there is talk in a Biden administration of requiring people to
register their guns, it dawned on me that, wow, they really -- Biden
doesn't really want to win the Senate, because you start talking like that,
anywhere in the country, but especially in a place like Georgia, you can
guarantee you are going to lose those two seats.
If that does happen, I think you are right. I think it sets up a -- it
gives Biden a whole lot more men maneuverability because his -- the biggest
problem Joe Biden has right now is coming from his left flank. They have
full-blown socialists in both the House and the Senate. And they want to do
some really crazy stuff.
And if Joe Biden is this decades old institutionalist who just kind of
wants to nudge around the edges and sort of bring us back from the very
hard America first agenda that President Trump initiated, if that's, if
it's Biden the institutionalist, the last thing he wants to deal with is
this revolt on his left.
And so, in a lot of ways, I do. I think he probably in his quietest dreams
might wish that the Republicans pick up those two seats.
GOWDY: Tammy Bruce, Charlie Hurt, happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for
joining us.
Coming up on the special edition of HANNITY, crime and violence continue to
plague liberal cities across this country. Just this weekend alone, over 50
people were shot in Chicago.
We'll explain and get a reaction from Larry Elder and Leo Terrell.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOWDY: Welcome back to the special edition of HANNITY.
America's liberal cities are in crisis as we have some disturbing new
reports from this weekend. In Chicago, over 50 people were shot. And Los
Angeles reached a grim milestone early Sunday as they recorded their three
hundredths homicide of the year, the most in a decade.
Meanwhile, a 12-year-old boy was shot and killed in Philadelphia through
the front door of his home on Sunday.
And in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced an increase in police
patrol because there has been an increase in subway shutting incidents and
shootings.
Joining us with the reaction, Salem Radio talk show host, Larry Elder, and
civil rights attorney, Leo Terrell.
Mr. Terrell, Mr. Elder, thank you joining us.
LEO TERRELL, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Thank you. Thank you.
LARRY ELDER, SALEM RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Thank you for having us.
GOWDY: Let me start with you, Mr. Terrell.
I -- you know, there has been some ambivalence in these cities about
funding the police. and then we've been introduced to this notion of a
progressive prosecutor, although I'm not real sure what that means.
What is going on of these cities where life just doesn't seem to be valued?
TERRELL: Well, I'll tell you, Trey, and thanks for the question. There is
a pattern going on in Democratic cities. Black Lives Matter and Antifa
cannot get prosecuted, cannot get arrested.
And, Trey, I will submit to you that you do not hear a single Democratic
politician ever criticize Black Lives Matter. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,
remember, she is an individual that funded a bail program to let criminals
out. She is the one that supported the mayor of L.A. for defunding the
police.
The police department has been ordered to stand down. I guess what, Trey,
Black Lives Matter is so emboldened, they are demanding a seat at the table
with the president. Black Lives Matter Antifa is going to grow like ISIS
did in the Middle East. If it wasn't for Donald Trump, they would have
permeated this entire country already.
And I fear the most, Trey, is that Black Lives Matter and Antifa will go
unchecked during a Biden-Kamala Harris administration.
GOWDY: But, Mr. Elder, where is the media outrage? I don't want an
innocent life taken, innocent blood shed, regardless of whether it's by the
police or whether shooting through a 12-year-old's front door.
Where is the media outrage at the loss of life?
ELDER: That's an excellent question, Trey. And you mentioned this last
weekend in Chicago. If you look at the last two or three months, there have
been several weekends where 50 people have been shot, about a half a dozen
people have been killed.
And get this, over 70 percent of these homicides are unsolved. In Chicago,
it's not even close to being the worst of it. Baltimore and St. Louis have
homicide rates three times higher than that of Chicago. So, you got that
going on, and you have what we call the Ferguson effect, now people are
calling at the Minneapolis effect named after George Floyd.
Cops are pulling back for fear that they're going to be called racists if
they engage in what's called proactive policing. And, finally, you've got
the overhang of the coronavirus. I talked to doctors and cops. And they
tell me there is no question that the combination, correlation between a
rise in domestic violence and homicides and the reaction to the despair
that has resulted from these coronavirus shutdowns and rejections.
A bunch of people now don't have jobs. They've lost money. They are angry.
They are furious.
All of this because of the coronavirus reaction and the mandates that have
been handed down by the various states.
GOWDY: Mr. Terrell, if you are an African-American young man and you are
watching what is happening in this country and you're looking for some
help, you are looking for some answers, and I have this conversation with
Tim Scott all the time, what do these cities need to be doing that they're
not currently doing?
TERRELL: Number one, Trey Gowdy, school choice. Trey, the reason why Larry
Elder and I are on this program right now is because of education, and
these Democratic cities and these teachers union do not give a heck about
people of color in these schools. If we don't break this cycle of poor
education, we will never break the poverty cycle.
And then, you try to get some justice reform. Oh, no, you can't do that,
because when Tim Scott, because he's a Republican. The Democrats, Kamala
Harris and Cory Booker wouldn't support it because it came from a
Republican. As long as the Democrats control these cities, I fear the worst
for people of color.
GOWDY: Mr. Elder, we got about 30 seconds. Education, economic
opportunity, what else needs to happen in these cities where all lives are
valued? Including the lives of homicide victims.
ELDER: Long-term, Trey, we need to have a serious discussion about whether
or not the welfare state has incentivized women to marry the government and
allowed men to abandon their financial and moral responsibilities. Seventy
percent of black kids entered the world without a father married to their
mother in the home. And Obama said when you do that, you substantially
increase the chances of poverty, of dropping out, and going to jail. We're
not even having that discussion.
GOWDY: Well, thank you both and hopefully we can begin to value all lives.
So, thank you both. Happy Thanksgiving to you both. Coming up, more of this
special edition of HANNITY right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOWDY: Unfortunately, that is all the time we have this evening. My new
book, "Doesn't Hurt to Ask" is out now. I promise it will help you win your
arguments and conversations over the holidays even if you have a brother-in-law like I do. Check it out . Thank you.
Laura Ingraham is up next.
Happy Thanksgiving, Laura.
END
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