'Ingraham Angle' on vaccine mandates

This is a rush transcript of "The Ingraham Angle" on August 13, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: I'm Laura Ingraham. This is a special edition of the "Ingraham Angle". A week in an hour.

While Obama's summer soiree and Lollapalooza get a pass, Fauci and friends have taken direct aim at South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem for the Sturgis bike rally. She's here tonight to respond to that. 

Plus, why are celebrities shunning hygiene? And one of the [ph] coal bros hits the Hamptons. Raymond Arroyo has the footage in Friday Follies. 

But first, earlier this week, Joe Biden made it very clear where he would like to take his vaccine mandates. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've done everything in our power, well, I shouldn't say. There's probably more. We will do more. But we continue to try to make the case to the American people who haven't taken the vaccine that is in your interest can save your life and can fundamentally impact on the lives of your children or people you love. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Now, did you hear that? There's more we will do. Now, the language is frightening on its face. And now we have a hint of what it could entail. 

Under an article titled "Biden eyes tougher vaccine rules without provoking backlash", the AP buried a nugget way down in 17th paragraph. "While more severe measures such as mandating vaccines for interstate travel have been discussed, the administration worried that they would be too polarizing for the moment. That's not to say they won't be implemented in the future, as public opinion continues to shift toward requiring vaccinations as a means to restore normalcy." 

Their concern is about it being too polarizing. How about illegal and unconstitutional? Does that bother them? Joining me now Mercedes Schlapp, former White House strategic comms director and senior fellow at the American Enterprise - Conservative Union, excuse me; and Jason Chaffetz, Fox News contributor, author of "They Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste". 

Great to see both of you tonight. Mercedes, something tells us the no-ID- to-vote issue. But proof of a vaccine to travel isn't the best talking point for the Democrats ahead of 2022. 

MERCEDES SCHLAPP, FORMER WHITE HOUSE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: 

Yes. Isn't that ironic, right. They basically say that individuals don't have access to getting a voting ID, but you better have that vaccine passport if you're going to go eat a hamburger somewhere in New York City. 

Look, Laura, I think that President Biden and their administration, they have to understand that they are going to be faced with legal challenge after legal challenge if they push forward a federal vaccine mandate. I mean, you could just even look at the 10th Amendment, which would prohibit these states from being forced to carry out federal policy. And so they're

- that is where I think they're going to have the problem. The power actually lies more in the states, at least in what I've read so far. 

And so, I think that that's where you're going to see even a more polarizing situation, the red states versus the blue states and how this is being handled. And I think that the Biden administration is doing more to create fear, uncertainty, and chaos. As we know, the CDC has continuously pushed a very mixed message and really not built the confidence in the American people to say, let's just get this done, get vaccinated and really build that trust again.

INGRAHAM: Yes. Jason, by the way, Fox News has obtained some exclusive audio of a private meeting between Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas and some Border Patrol agents in Texas, where, of course, we know COVID is spreading. Take a listen. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: This is unsustainable. These numbers cannot continue. We cannot get to a point where we were couple of weeks ago, and we're going to make sure that doesn't happen. And this is unsustainable. We can't continue like this. Our people in the field can't continue and our system isn't built for it. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Jason, the system wasn't built for it? It was unsustainable back in February when this surge began. Now he's getting around to saying it. 

JASON CHAFFETZ, FORMER UTAH CONGRESSMAN: Well, Yes. I'm so glad that Kamala Harris is right on top of all this. I have no worries, Laura. And look, we got to stop importing COVID. If they are worried about the travel between Utah and Idaho of COVID, why don't they stop importing it on the southern border, which is what they're doing by having such an open border? 

I agree with Governor Doocy of Arizona, who has called for the firing of Secretary Mayorkas. He doesn't have operational control. And we had it when he took office. Shame on those that voted for his approval and confirmation in the United States Senate, but they have got to get somebody. 

It's not Kamala Harris. It's not a secretary Mayorkas. And I don't think it's Joe Biden who wants to actually control this for Democrats. It's about power. It's about control. It is not about actually doing the things that would stop COVID from coming across our borders. 

INGRAHAM: Yes. Mercedes, I've been saying this for months that if anything is an impeachable offense that we've seen over the past five years. They hounded Trump over nothing. Twice, they impeached him. 

Meanwhile, we have a concerted effort. It's a purposeful effort to break our border and to spread migrants all over the country for various reasons, cheap wages or demographics. I have no idea what they're doing. But that's impeachable. 

SCHLAPP: Yes, it is. And I think that between - and I think President Biden is to blame, including the Homeland Security, Secretary and Kamala Harris. 

They have created more chaos on this border. And you know what is so disgusting, Laura? They blame the Trump administration for the chaos on the border. 

Let's be real. It was the President Trump's policies, the remain in Mexico, the getting rid of catch and release. And that really stopped those numbers and they all worked. And now what we're--

INGRAHAM: They know it. 

SCHLAPP: They know it. And now what we're dealing with, they're saying it's unsustainable, not only is it impeachable. But the mere fact is they got to do an investigation. These Republicans in Congress need to do an investigation immediately. 

INGRAHAM: Where are the Republicans? I mean, I don't think the Republicans

are--

SCHLAPP: That's a great question. 

INGRAHAM: --making a big enough deal of this. Jason, you were there. I mean.

SCHLAPP: Yes. 

INGRAHAM: This is the size of major American cities. We're going to have 4 million migrants spread through the United States, many of them infected with COVID over the course of this year. And if this pace continues, let's say half of the pace for the next three after that, you do the math. This changes the country forever in ways that we have no idea where it's going to go. Period. 

CHAFFETZ: Every single Republican should have been down there on the border, locking arms, and making a big, big issue about it. But now here we are turning the corner. We're getting ready for September, for goodness sake, and we're still twiddling our thumbs figuring out if we should even be united in calling for a hearing. 

It is not enough to just go out and issue a press release. The Republicans must do something dramatic and do it right away. 

INGRAHAM: That's a clarion call from both of you tonight. Thank you so much. Great to see you, Mercedes and Jason.

A late night announcement from the Supreme Court yesterday had the media doing cartwheels.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: A move by a new Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett with major implications for COVID vaccine mandates across the U.S. 

BRIAN WILLIAMS, MSNBC HOST: Today, a Supreme Court justice shut down the first legal challenge against vaccine requirements. 

WILLIE GEIST, MSNBC HOST: Justice Barrett didn't have to think very long and hard about that when didn't even bring it before the full court. She heard the argument and immediately said no. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: But is it more complicated than that? You bet it is. Perhaps, Coney Barrett didn't rule on the merits, because the facts of the case don't lend themselves to achieving an easy claim of discrimination, given the accommodations the university was willing to make. This was an emergency appeal. 

There's an old saying that bad facts make bad law. And maybe she didn't refer to the court for that reason. 

Here now is Jonathan Turley, George Washington University law professor and constitutional lawyer. Professor, let's just get this straight right off the bat. This is not a ruling on the merits of vaccine mandates, correct? 

JONATHAN TURLEY, GEORGE WASHINGTON LAW PROFESSOR: No. This was a rather cursory review, obviously, of one Justice on this case. And the case has some very distinguishing facts that need to be emphasized. 

INGRAHAM: Now, Professor, what happens if these universities start forcing people with the COVID antibodies or a positive T-cell test to have the vaccinations? 

TURLEY: Well, that is the key question. Because what happened in the Seventh Circuit in the case that went ultimately in front of Justice Barrett, is that the court was looking at a university that made accommodations for people with religious or medical concerns. There were exceptions. You could continue to go to school if you establish that you fit one of those exceptions. 

And what a conservative judge, Judge Frank Easterbrook said was, that's sufficient, because you can still function as a student. You'll have to do these tests, wear a mask. But they are recognizing that exceptions need to be made. 

The question really is whether a school can get by with no exceptions to say that even if you have a medical disability or concern, that we're not going to accommodate it, you could just take your medical condition and your education elsewhere. 

INGRAHAM: In another ruling yesterday from the court, temporarily at least blocking part of that New York State eviction moratorium. Now the order reads, "This scheme violates the Court's longstanding teaching that ordinarily no man can be a judge in his own case, consistent with the Due Process Clause." 

Your reaction to that, especially given Joe Biden's determination to go forward with this moratorium, even though we know ultimately how the court is going to rule on this. 

TURLEY: Yes. That was an interesting ruling. This is the state law. And it allowed effectively tenants to simply declare hardship and the landlords had to accept that and that's the portion that the court said that you - that really violates due process. They allowed the provision where these tenants would go into [ph] corridor before a judge and establish hardship. 

And once that happens, then theoretically, the landlords will be compensated for the loss of this rent. 

But it is an interesting bookend to what happened with the CDC. We're looking at a major fight developing because five justices said that the CDC does not have the authority under federal law to impose this nationwide moratorium indeed. That authority would be breathtaking, because they're referring to a law that says that the CDC can make changes, issue orders to prevent even the introduction of a disease or a virus. 

If that allows the CDC to essentially freeze evictions across the country, they would have unprecedented authority and power. And with the - five justices said, they don't see that. But then what's interesting is President Biden said that all of the experts, most of the experts, they talk to, said, yes, that probably be unconstitutional in light of what the court said. And then Speaker Pelosi said you need to call Professor Tribe Harvard, who apparently gave them a green light.

INGRAHAM: Professor, really, really quick. Now we're hearing little rumblings that the administration may attempt to prevent individuals from engaging in interstate travel, if they're not vaccinated. Really quick. And that would be - we've never seen anything like that in the history of the country. What would that mean? 

TURLEY: Yes. That would be very dubious from a constitutional standpoint as would the suggestion that they might try to negate state laws preventing mask mandates. The court has never gone that far in expanding the authority of the federal government. 

INGRAHAM: Professor, great to see you. Thank you so much.

And Dr. Fauci and the experts--

TURLEY: Thank you. 

INGRAHAM: --did not say a thing when Obama threw himself that giant indoor tended open flap birthday party complete with maskless friends and really bad dancing. But they did come hard for our next guest. 

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is here to respond to the controversy over the famous Sturgis bike rally in her state this weekend. That's next. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS

DISEASES: It's understandable that people want to do the kinds of things they want to do. They want their freedom to do that. But there comes a time when you're dealing with a public health crisis that could involve you, your family and everyone else. That something supersedes that need to do exactly what you want to do. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: No. Dr. Fauci isn't talking about Obama's big birthday blowout filled with all the celebs and dubious dancing techniques. That party was held without masks and inside a tent. Was he melting off about that? He's talking about Sturgis and outdoor motorcycle rally in South Dakota. 

Now, this - I'm having deja vu. The same thing happens last year's event, the one the media also freaked out over calling it a super spreader. Well, it turns out those concerns were bogus. Out of 460,000 attendees, there was just 0.1 percent positive COVID cases. Well, that didn't stop MSNBC panic pusher Joy Reid. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

JOY REID, MSNBC HOST: As events like the Sturgis motorcycle rally become a super spreader in the making with its 700,000 attendees certain to spread COVID all across the country. Republicans are still screaming freedom. It's about life and death. Republicans know what side to be on. And it seems that they have chosen to be on the side of death. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Coming from a party that embraces abortion on demand. 

Joining me now, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. Governor, great to see you. Haven't seen you in a while. Do you care to weigh in on being on the side of death this weekend at Sturgis? 

GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): Well, you just made an excellent point. I think it's interesting that this side of this political party, the Democrats, who embrace getting abortion on demand are accusing us of embracing death when we're just allowing people to make personal choices and have personal responsibility over when they want to assemble, when they want to gather and spend time outdoors enjoying their way of life. 

So, we've had a fantastic event here in South Dakota. The rally will end tomorrow or Sunday, I guess. And they're having a fantastic time. We're glad everybody made the trip to South Dakota. 

INGRAHAM: Now, we checked the New York Times website before we went on air tonight. And I think the seven-day average of COVID deaths is about 0.1 right now in South Dakota. 

So, you have among the best results now, given the fact that you didn't lock down, you didn't do the mask mandates. And it seems like you have an enormous amount of circulating immunity - natural immunity from prior exposures. Does that track with what you're saying? 

NOEM: Yes, it does, Laura. We have that going on. We also have over 50 percent of our population is vaccinated. And the folks that are visiting South Dakota, we need to remind them that people came last year, out of

460,000 visitors we had last year to the rally, the Department of Health tracked for many weeks after that and all we were able to verify was 125 cases from the Sturgis bike rally last year. 

This year, we're taking precautions. People can get tested if they want to. 

We've got medical help available if people would like it. And we are conducting this in a way that certainly protects people's freedoms. It's been a great event. 

And what Dr. Fauci is doing by constantly targeting the Sturgis bike rally, by constantly focusing on South Dakota, and ignoring liberals who gather every single day and their hypocrisy is just wrong. I think it's unfortunate he is building a distrust into his profession, because we need our public health officials. We need to be able to trust them. And he's just gotten political and picked winners and losers based on who he likes and who he doesn't. 

INGRAHAM: Well, I don't think he freaked out about Lollapalooza, but they had some vax. 

NOEM: I don't think he isn't. 

INGRAHAM: They had some like vax requirement for attendees, but it was outside, and they had very few infections as well. 

I want to ask you about something we just mentioned, which the Biden administration is clearly floating to see the reaction. A potential federal move to prevent interstate travel among those who are not fully vaccinated, thereby isolating people all over this country. 

Now, we don't know if this is a serious consideration. But it's obviously in the minds of some of these administration officials, given what they're seeing in some parts of the country. Your reaction? 

NOEM: Well, I wouldn't doubt it if they were considering it. Because we've already seen different directives come down from the federal government to our states that some governors are just complying with and many, like me, are not. And when this federal administration, when this White House, when Joe Biden oversteps his constitutional authority and takes away people's rights to make decisions that they're supposed to make for themselves, we will stand up. 

Governors many times are the last line of defense to help protect these freedoms that Americans have enjoyed. And remember, if they come forward with a directive like that, we've never seen that in this country before. 

It's unprecedented. And it is exactly the opportunity that we all need to stand up and remind this federal government of what their job is, what their job isn't. And remember, we cannot have leaders overstep their authority, especially in a time of crisis. That's when we break the country. 

INGRAHAM: I'm sorry, Governor. One more thing. The migrants who have come into the country, hundreds and hundreds of thousands, 1.4 million have been "encountered", whatever that means on the southern border. 

NOEM: Yes. 

INGRAHAM: Are you alerted to the deposit of migrants in your state when they arrive? Are you ever told? 

NOEM: Well, remember this, Laura. I have my National Guard down there on the southern border. I have close to 50 members down there.

INGRAHAM: Right. But they're still coming to your state. Governor, they are still coming to your state. 

NOEM: No, they're not. 

INGRAHAM: They're not - none of them are coming to your state?

NOEM: Not that I'm aware of, because I communicated with all of those nonprofits in our state that would accept those types of individuals. And I told them, they all need to be licensed. They need to be licensed to be in the State of South Dakota. And if they wanted to continue to be licensed, and to do - work in our state, which we want them, we welcome them. We have great partnerships, that this is something that we'll be watching and evaluating what they do to break federal law, and to violate the trust of the State of South Dakota. 

INGRAHAM: Does that include catholic charities? Does that include catholic charities?

NOEM: It does. Absolutely. 

INGRAHAM: OK. Because they have been funneling migrants all over the country. 

NOEM: Well, I was down there in the southern border, and that's exactly who was funneling them all over the country. And our National Guard originally was observing and spotting these individuals, turning them over to Border Patrol, who then was directed to immediately turn them over to nonprofits, who put them on planes and buses and distributed them. 

So, what we've done in South Dakota, I think, is strategic. We've got our guys down there. Our soldiers are down there, making sure we're stopping the drugs and the human trafficking that's coming and getting individuals - but also making sure we're communicating with those nonprofits. 

INGRAHAM: Yes, Governor. And they care so much about COVID, but they're just waltzing right in with COVID. Thank you so much. And that's fascinating information about how you're trying to stop the influx of migrants into your state. Governor, we hope everyone has a great time this weekend, is safe, and we'll check back with you soon. Thanks so much. 

NOEM: Great. Thanks, Laura. 

INGRAHAM: OK. Right now, we're watching the dumbing down of America in real time. And it's happening at an alarming pace. States and school districts across the country have been rolling out new curricula that will make the next generation in this country ill prepared for the challenges in the real world. 

Now, I want to take you through a few examples of what we've seen just in the past few months. In Clark County, Nevada, the 11th most populous county in the whole country, the school district there has implemented a new grading policy. OK. Here it is. "Attendance, participation and late assignments, no longer matter." God, sign me up.

In Oregon, Governor Brown, she signed a law allowing Oregon students to graduate without actually proving they can write anything or do basic math.

In Virginia, the Department of Education there is moving to eliminate all accelerated math options prior to the 11th grade. China is going to love that, keeping higher achieving students from advancing as they usually would. 

And in California, the Golden State, the curriculum now asking teachers to reconsider preconceived biases about math, particularly the idea of one right answer to math problems. You can't even make this up. 

Joining me now, Jeremy Adams, high school civics teacher, author of "The Fab", new book, hollowed out. Jeremy, I was so impressed by you on my podcast that I had to bring you on TV, and so you don't screw up. OK, Jeremy. It's great to see you. 

JEREMY ADAMS, CA HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER: I won't. I promise.

INGRAHAM: All right. There's no other way around this. The left really does want our kids, it seems at least to be pretty dumb, and fairly submissive. 

What's happening here? 

ADAMS: I think that we're confusing the compassionate view of trying to understand our kids and support our kids and socially emotionally, put them in a position where they can do well. And we're replacing that instead of having high expectations for young people. 

One of the things that I've noticed in the last 15 or 20 years, is that as our society has stepped back. Our schools have had to do more and more and more. We provide three lunches a day, we provide counseling services, sometimes we even have to provide clothing for our students. But that's only half of the story. And I think sometimes people think that the job of educators nowadays is simply to be therapeutic and simply to be compassionate. 

And while that's nice, and that's great. We also have to pivot at some point, and actually tell young people that there is one door to the American dream. And there is a high-quality education and you have to work hard, and you have to do things that you don't want to do. And yes, there is one right answer to a math question. 

INGRAHAM: What does that do, Jeremy, to kids' general understanding of the world from which they came and the world around them? If they don't have that grounding in western civilization, first and foremost? 

ADAMS: Well, I'm a lifelong civics teacher. And I'm an unapologetic romantic about this country. And I believe, not in fatalism, and that's what a lot of these ideas are. They're fatalistic, that you are a consequence of where you come from, of who your parents are, or the difficulties you've had. And I absolutely reject all that. 

At the end of the day, I think what we have to realize is that a lot of young people nowadays live their lives completely untethered to adult values, adult responsibilities, and most of all, adult romance. A lot of us, adults in our society, and I put myself here, the parents, the teachers, the mentors, we have forfeited a lot of the ground that used to be occupied by us where we set standards. 

We said, you know what, freedom is great. But you have to have wisdom and virtue and character to know how that - how to use that freedom well. The kids always want to have the keys to the car, Laura, but sometimes you got to get the license first. 

INGRAHAM: Now, we've seen huge drops in test scores during the pandemic. 

Again, not surprising to anyone who has a brain, but especially in math and reading, and it's been called the COVID slide. We're seeing it places from Florida to Arizona, California, but we're still wasting kids' time with, again, this idea that everyone's a victim and critical race theory, when a lot of these kids can't do basic writing. And I'm talking to high school kids when I'm reading their stuff. It's - I'm sorry, but I keep saying this, it's terrifying to me that we're graduating kids who cannot write an essay, a decent essay, forget a great essay. 

ADAMS: Yes. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that when graduation rates are going up, at the same time that scores are going down. 

Then maybe we're getting a little lacks on the kiddos. That doesn't take a genius to see that. But at the end of the day, what I would really say about a lot of these young people is that they spent last 18 months doing things that were not to their benefit. 

And I'll be real right now. My students admit what they did for 18 months, Laura. They were they were learning behind anonymous black screens. I didn't know what 80 percent of my students look like. They were watching Netflix, they were texting, they used every excuse in the world to turn in their work late. They knew that they could look at their notes when they were doing exams. And before the pandemic hit, they were spending eight or nine hours a day on their devices and that means that--

INGRAHAM: Jeremy, whose fault is that? 

ADAMS: It's our fault. It is not the kids, it's the adults in our society. 

INGRAHAM: Thank you. 

ADAMS: The adults have got to start adulting again. But you know what, you know what we've done, we are more interested in taking selfies of dinner and posting on Instagram than we are sitting down and actually imbuing our children at the dinner table with the values that we know will lead to a meaningly. 

INGRAHAM: Have a meal.

ADAMS: So many of our young people -- yes, exactly.

INGRAHAM: Have a meal with your kids, talk to your kids, engage with your kids. This is a message that everyone needs to hear. This is super serious for the future of the country. The book is "Hollowed Out." Jeremy Adams, you are an award-winning teacher, and I know you love your kids and you love teaching, and that's why you wrote this, and we salute you and all the great educators out there who still care. Jeremy, thank you. 

ADAMS: Thank you so much. 

INGRAHAM: Reunited and it feels so good. Raymond Arroyo is right here in New York with me, and he has a Cuo-bro sighting. Which disgraced brother has really bad dance moves? We reveal it, next. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: It's Friday and that means it's time for Friday Follies. And for that we go, where else, FOX News contributor Raymond Arroyo. So close yet so far. How are you, Raymond? 

RAYMOND ARROYO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, well, we have to keep our social distance, Ingraham. 

INGRAHAM: The theme of this edition is stars in outer space, right, starting with a new trend. 

ARROYO: Yes, a new trend, from fillers to vampire facials, Laura, Hollywood has a way of popularizing bizarre practices. I call this latest fad unwashed chic. Here are Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis explain what I mean. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHTON KUTCHER, ACTOR: I wash my armpits and my crotch daily, and nothing else ever. 

MILA KUNIS, ACTRESS: When I had children, I also didn't wash them every day. Like I wasn't the parent that bathe my newborns ever. And we were like something smells. And we were like -- 

KUTCHER: Here is the thing. If you can see the dirt on them, clean them. 

Otherwise, there's no point. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: It's called hygiene, Ashton. 

INGRAHAM: He's joking.

ARROYO: I like him a lot, but we have bacteria and toxins that collect on our skin, Ingraham. 

INGRAHAM: They're joking. 

ARROYO: We should be washed regularly.

INGRAHAM: I don't believe. They are punking you, Arroyo. 

ARROYO: Well, they did try to walk it back, OK.

INGRAHAM: Look at you, so well-scrubbed and well-washed. 

ARROYO: Let me say this, Ingraham.

INGRAHAM: You wash them too much, they don't get immunity.

ARROYO: I don't care who you are, no one wants to smell your funk, no matter how big a star you are, nor your kids' funk. But this is a real fad, don't laugh. Here's Kristen Bell explaining her delayed bathing habits. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN BELL, ACTRESS: I'm a big fan of waiting for the stink. Once you catch a whiff, that's biology's way of letting you know you need to clean it up. 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a red flag. 

BELL: There's a red flag. Honestly is just for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: Unfortunately, it causes infections when you leave the bacteria on the body. And by the time people smell you, you are way past bathing time. 

I just want to state that for the record. 

INGRAHAM: Kristen perhaps has never traveled to -- decades ago, before deodorant was a big thing in France, I do recall the first time I went to Europe, and it was a different and very pungent experience. 

ARROYO: It was fragrant, yes.

INGRAHAM: And in Russia in the 1980s, it wasn't a big part of the daily routine. 

ARROYO: There are still places you can go and have that same sensation. 

I agree with The Rock, who recently wrote on Twitter, he is the opposite of the no washing celebrities. He showers in the morning after his workout and when he gets home from work. This used to be called common decency and basic hygiene. Now it's a radical act, Laura. 

INGRAHAM: Let me just say, when I was a kid.

ARROYO: Please, not true confessions of the unwashed.

INGRAHAM: When I was little, little, I think we took a bath once a week in my house. 

ARROYO: What sort of filthy town where you from? 

INGRAHAM: My mother is coming down on you. 

ARROYO: I can tell you, in New Orleans, we were scrubbed, sometimes twice a day. 

INGRAHAM: Believe me, I've been to New Orleans. There's not a lot that is cleaned regularly there. 

ARROYO: The Who Dat nation, write her the letters, please. 

INGRAHAM: Throw up in the gutter, thank you very much. 

Another action star who is all wet is Arnold. Here he is this week reacting to those who are refusing vaccines or not wanting to mask their kids. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, ACTOR: My freedom is being kind of disturbed here. 

No, screw your freedom, because with freedom comes obligations and responsibilities. You cannot just say I have the right to do x, y, and z, when you affect other people. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: People. I'll tell you, he's got big ones to talk about actions affecting other people given his personal indiscretions that affected a lot of other people. So he is exercising his freedoms, but don't you exercise yours. 

INGRAHAM: Is his accent now just a put on? It is right. He's speaks perfect

-- 

(LAUGHTER)

ARROYO: It's like Kissinger. Henry Kissinger's brother had no accent. 

ARROYO: Henry goes, bring me a coke. Hello, Laura. 

INGRAHAM: But Schwarzenegger, when he was a kid, he was a big rebel. And he gave this interview in "Fortune" in I think it was 2004 how he talked about how he grew up in a really strict German, Austrian upbringing, and how they whacked the kids and stuff. And he said, I was kind of a rebel. I liked to break the rules, but they wanted conformity. So it was OK for little Arnold to be a rebel, but no one else could be a rebel. What a spoilsport he is. 

ARROYO: If he keeps this routine up, people may not want him to come back. 

INGRAHAM: Don't you miss him as governor? Not. Sorry.

ARROYO: And before we go, there was a house husband of the Hamptons sighting. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: He does a real -- he does a real. 

ARROYO: Chris is really getting down in the Hamptons. So the brother is on the way out.

INGRAHAM: Mask-less.

ARROYO: But at least Chris is enjoying his time off. I don't begrudge him time off. He's busting a move. I kind of like him in this setting. 

INGRAHAM: He's a pretty good dancer, yes. 

ARROYO: It beats the Q-tip routine. 

INGRAHAM: I like that rather than his trying to climb out of the basement reenacting his emergence from COVID. Remember when he did that? He pretended, I'm coming, honey. And he had already been biking.

ARROYO: If the CNN thing suddenly ends, "Dancing with the Stars" could be in this future. I'm just saying it now. 

INGRAHAM: He actually was a pretty good dancer. There's no overbite or anything. Raymond is a great dancer.

ARROYO: Oh, OK.

INGRAHAM: He is a great dancer, I must say. "Dancing with the Stars." 

Raymond, this is a crazy Friday Follies in New York. Thank you.

(LAUGHTER)

ARROYO: Thank you.

INGRAHAM: Just days after Joe Biden said the Afghan army needs to fight for itself, he approved the deployment of 3,000 troops to protect Kabul. So are we sliding back into another forever war? That and Pennsylvania's Senate candidate Sean Parnell reacts next. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In just the last few days multiple cities in Afghanistan have fallen to the Taliban. There is irrefutable evidence a vast majority of those Afghan forces cannot hold ground there. Has your plan to withdraw U.S. troops changed at all? 

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No. Look, we spent over $1 trillion over 20 years. We trained and equipped with modern equipment over

300,000 Afghan forces. And Afghan leaders have to come together. We lost thousands, lost to death and injury, thousands of American personnel. 

They've got the fight for themselves. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: That was Joe Biden earlier this week, frankly, giving one of the better answers of his presidency. We have invested far too much in Afghanistan, blood and treasure, thousands of hours of training and supplying the Afghan army. But how quickly that all collapsed. As the Taliban advances through the contrary, the president green with the of three infantry battalions, going back in. That's 3,000 troops. This mission is supposedly an evacuation of embassy personnel and other Americans in the country. How did we not plan for that earlier? But it's worth asking if you need three battalions for that. 

So what is really happening? The truth of the matter is Congress must investigate why we spent so much money on the Afghan army and why those expenditures have proven so useless. The Pentagon was told to build an army in Afghanistan that could hold the country and resist the Taliban. Anyone watching what's playing out on the streets today, yesterday in Afghanistan, we know they plainly failed in that task. And someone, anyone should be held accountable for that epic failure. 

Now, this is the basic constitutional oversight function of Congress. If it fails to act, it will have rendered itself completely pointless other than, of course, being a socialist slush fund, maybe. The American people have been voting to end these wars since 2008. We have been right the whole time. It's obvious that the Afghan government is hopeless. Let's just get out. 

Joining me now is Sean Parnell. He was an infantry platoon leader during the war in Afghanistan, is a current candidate for the Senate in Pennsylvania. 

Sean, you were obviously there. Is Biden making the right decision? 

SEAN PARNELL, RETIRED ARMY INFANTRY CAPTAIN: Yes, he's making the right decision. But I think it's important to add context, Laura, that this is President Trump's strategy. Biden just plagiarized it like he's done pretty much everything else in his life. 

President Trump, we owe him a great deal of credit for initiating this conversation in the face of withering oppositions from generals, by the way, who were more focused on trying to build a Jeffersonian democracy in Afghanistan then defeat the terrorists who attacked us on September 11th, and Democrats and the media who by and large found themselves pro-war during the years of President Trump just so they could be on the opposite side of an issue from President Trump.

So yes, he's right. But I also want to say, Laura, that our troops, they did an amazing job in Afghanistan. They gave the Afghan people a shot at freedom, they built wells and villages, built schools for Afghans, taught little Afghan girls how to read. They set that generation up for success, and now it's their time to fight for it. But I think --

INGRAHAM: But Sean, that's not the role for the U.S. military. They are not trained to be tutors. They're not trained to teach science class to seventh graders. 

PARNELL: I agree. 

INGRAHAM: That's not what their job is. When I was in Iraq for seven days, kids that were 22, 23 years old, this was 2006 -- this was when I was all rah, rah, going to Iraq -- these young West Point grads were saying to me they don't want us here, Laura. They don't want us here. These people don't want us here. And one after the other was saying that, and in Afghanistan, the story is even more tragic. But why are we surprised by any of this? 

PARNELL: Look, you are exactly right. If you're asking me, I fought in Afghanistan in 2006, led an infantry platoon on the border of Afghanistan with the mission of finding Usama bin Laden. Back then, Laura, our mission was counterterror. We were focused on direct kinetic strikes against the enemy. And in killing large swaths of enemy, we secured the Afghan people. 

And I would make the argument that the war in Afghanistan, at least from an initial military standpoint, was won in 2006. In 2007, we changed our strategy drastically and implemented a counterterrorist strategy. We took a counterinsurgency strategy, and we took that strategy from Iraq that worked I think pretty well in Iraq and moved it to Afghanistan, and it didn't work in the tribal country of Afghanistan. So we lost the initiative then. 

And you're absolutely right, our troops should not be focused on nation- building or Jeffersonian democracy. We should be focused on accomplishing the mission. 

INGRAHAM: There is a really disturbing piece out in "The National Interest" 

published this week, a couple days ago. The title of it, Sean, is "Is the woke U.S. military going the way of 1940s France?" The piece goes on to say America has become what France was in 1940, a paper tiger run by an impenetrable bureaucracy that lacks any strategy for decisively defeating the nation's external enemies. 

The question here is, we haven't won a war with all of our money and all of our fighters who are incredible people, we haven't won a war outright in 77 years. Shouldn't there be hearings on Capitol Hill to determine what are we doing right, what are we doing wrong given everything we've lost? 

PARNELL: Absolutely. You're absolutely right. And I think this is why it's so important to involve Congress more. Truthfully, I think we should go back to declaring war. The last time we declared war in this country was World War II. When we don't declare war or involve Congress, wars tend to go on forever. And I think the lesson in this chaos in Afghanistan is that we should not be sending more troops in, right? No more troops in for another 10 years. I think the lesson is that we should've left Afghanistan years ago. And so --

INGRAHAM: Donald Trump wanted to leave, but the generals apparently just don't even listen to what the president wants to do and just kept saying we need another six months, need another nine months. They did everything to stop the president's directive from being fulfilled in Afghanistan, everything. 

PARNELL: That's exactly right. Let's keep the focus and the blame where it belongs, on the suits and not the boots. Our troops did incredible things. 

And tragically we find ourselves in a situation Afghanistan where we have won almost every battle on the ground there but we are poised to lose the war because our generals and our politicians have lacked focus and an end state for what victory looks like in that country. 

INGRAHAM: Maybe they shouldn't be so focused on the woke-ism and Critical Race Theory and gender bending, and they should be focused on winning wars. 

Sean, we'll be following your campaign closely. It's great to see you tonight. Thank you.

PARNELL: Thanks, Laura.

INGRAHAM: Final thoughts when we return. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: OK, summer is not over yet. Don't you hate it when people say summer is over before Labor Day? Make a statement, get your Freedom Matters gear on LauraIngraham.com. You've got the beach towels. You've got great hats, mugs, all made in the USA. All the proceeds, all my proceeds go to the Little Sisters of the Poor this month. Fantastic organization, selfless people who devote their time and energy to indigent elderly who have no one else to care for them. So go to LauraIngraham.com, Freedom Matters, you bet it does, summer, fall, winter, spring. 

That's all the time we have tonight. Thanks for watching us all week long. 

We'll see you back here Monday night. This special edition of THE INGRAHAM ANGLE ends now, but Gutfeld takes it from here.

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