Rep. Waltz: 'Our adversaries smell weakness in the White House'
Florida Republican and former acting director of national intelligence Ric Grenell discuss the Biden agenda on 'Hannity'
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," May 21, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
JASON CHAFFETZ, FOX NEWS HOST: Welcome to the special edition of "Hannity": Biden and America Last. I'm Jason Chaffetz, in tonight for Sean.
And for the hour, we'll discuss how Biden's weak, feckless agenda is seriously harming our country.
Former Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich will join us at the very latest from the crisis at our southern border.
Congressman Madison Cawthorn will be here with more on the left's COVID hypocrisy.
But, first, let's turn our attention to the White House where during an interview yesterday, President Biden told "The New York Times", quote: We're kind of at a place where the rest of the world is beginning to look to China.
Oh, really? I wonder why, Joe. Maybe it's because you never took China seriously, never held them accountable, not during your decades as a United State senator, not in the eight years as vice president, and definitely not now.
Remember just two years ago on the campaign trail, Joe Biden completely dismissed the China threat. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), THEN-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man. They can't even figure out how to deal with the fact that they have this great division between the China Sea in the mountains in the east -- I mean, in the west. They can't figure out how they're going to do with the corruption that exists within the system. You know, they're not bad folks, folks. But guess what? They're not a competition to this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: What is the Biden administration doing to hold China accountable for the global pandemic they caused? Or is Joe just giving them a free pass, like he did with Putin and Russia.
A few days ago, Russians hacked America's largest pipeline and instead of punishing them, he rewarded Russia by lifting sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream II pipeline into Germany.
This is particularly unnerving because hours into his presidency, Joe Biden cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline, sacrificing thousands of good paying jobs right here in the United States, in order to, quote, save the planet.
So, what's going on here? Jen Psaki, care to comment?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I know that there's a lot of talk about Nord Stream and Keystone and I'm just trying to help our -- help people understand it.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Is there?
DOOCY: Well, yes. So how is he urging other countries to take ambitious climate action if he's letting other countries build Nord Stream II?
PSAKI: First, we're hardly letting any country or other countries build Nord Stream II. When the president took office, 95 percent of this pipeline was built.
DOOCY: It seemed like there was the ability by the U.S. government to sanction some officials to stop the project at like 95 percent, but you're not doing it.
PSAKI: In what way were we -- we're going to be able to stop a project in another country that's had been 95 percent?
DOOCY: Or make it more difficult? Make it more difficult with the sanctions on some of these officials involved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: Here's something Psaki failed to mention. According to a new report, lobbyists for he foreign partners of Russia's Nord Stream II actually donated to the Biden campaign and a pro-Biden super PAC. But I'm sure that's just a coincidence.
This is not a good look for the United States and neither is the Biden administration's new woke public relations campaign for the United States military. Just to compare, as Senator Ted Cruz pointed out on Twitter, take a look at this recruiting that in Russia versus the new recruiting out here in the United States. Of course, the first clip is Russian propaganda but take a look at the contrast in messages being sent. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
(SPEAKING RUSSIAN)
CPL. EMMA MALONELORD, U.S. ARMY: It begins in California with a little girl raised by two moms, who also marched for equality. I like to think I have been defending freedom from an early age.
And after meeting with an Army recruiter, I found it. A way to prove my inner strength and may be shatters stereotypes along the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: Wow.
Also in the House, Congressman Michael Waltz is not referring to the Squad as the Hamas caucus.
Joining us now with more is that Florida Congressman Mike Waltz, along with former acting director of national intelligence, Ambassador Ric Grenell.
Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us.
Ambassador, I want to start with you because I want to talk about it is stunning the difference in approach that Biden takes to the Keystone pipeline versus what the Russians are doing, and this free pass that he evidently has given them.
You're being the ambassador. You're very close to this. Explain to the people at home why this matters and what in the world is going on with Joe Biden?
RIC GRENELL, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Well, first of all, let's be very clear that the United States is fine with Nord Stream I. It's Nord Stream II that we feel goes too far, too much Russian energy going into Europe. What our position is and, by the way, it's the European parliament's position, is that energy should be diversified. It should not be coming from one source.
What the Germans have done is strike a deal with the Russians to have even more energy coming in through Germany. What makes us very uncomfortable about that is the leverage that the Russians get.
Now, remember, the Obama-Biden administration allowed the Russians to redo the borders of Europe when the Russians grabbed Crimea. So they are the ones who allowed this, I would say, emergency of redefining borders within Europe.
And then let's also remember that Nord Stream II was planned and started under the Obama administration, the Obama-Biden administration.
The Trump administration, we were very pleased. We use sanctions. We use diplomatic leverage.
We use President Trump himself to make sure that Nord Stream II did not come online when it was supposed to come online. We delayed it and we were able to make sure that that wasn't coming to fruition. I'm very proud of that work.
Now, what we have is Joe Biden completely backing down and allowing the Russians to complete the pipeline.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, you wouldn't have heard that from Greenpeace or some of these other leftist organizations that President Trump was actually slowing one down and Joe Biden flipped the switch and said, yeah, go for it.
Congressman, what's your perspective on how Joe Biden is treating Russia because, I don't know, for more than four years, all I could hear was Trump, Trump, Trump, Russia, Russia, Russia? It seems like the one who was actually coddling up and taking this approach of appeasement to Russia and Putin is Joe Biden.
REP. MICHAEL WALTZ (R-FL): Yeah. No, as you mentioned in your opener, he -- in his first days in office, he canceled the pipeline, Russian backpackers attacked our biggest pipeline in Colonial after he canceled Keystone. And now, we're just going to let the Russians have their pipeline and give away the sanctions and get nothing in return.
So, really, what side -- whose side is Biden on? Because Trump, Ric Grenell, Pompeo and the team, took tough, tough measures against Russia. You look at what they actually did compared to what Biden is actually doing, it's a complete giveaway.
But it's part of the bigger picture, Jason, in that our adversaries right now smell weakness in the White House, and our adversaries when they smell weakness, they push and they're emboldened. And under President Trump, they were deterred by strength. And that's what we're seeing from Hamas launching rockets on Israel, the Iranians on the march across the Middle East, the Russians now getting their pipeline completed for free and nothing in return. We are soon going to see the Taliban on the march.
And as you mentioned, the Chinese are the greatest threat this country has ever faced, with a navy that's larger than ours, with an economy that's on the verge of being bigger than ours, more launches into space than the rest of the world combined, and they are stealing our technology left, right, and center, because they have Wall Street, our universities and our politicians corrupt on Chinese money.
This country -- you know, it's the number one job of the federal government is to keep us safe and that's the last thing Joe Biden is doing right now.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, Ambassador, I've got to tell you. You know, I look at the way he handles China, and I look at the other things, I think the congressman is right here. Peace through strength works, Donald Trump certainly proved that. President Reagan lived it and breathed and it worked. It's what the world understands is strength.
But with China, I just don't think that Joe Biden knows how to negotiate anything. There's certainly nothing in his past that would suggest he knows how to actually negotiate something.
GRENELL: Well, this is why he's had this "look over there" strategy for four years. They've been telling us to look at Russia. Russia is clearly a problem but China is a crisis. And yet, why did we see just weeks before the 2020 election? We were told by the Biden campaign not to look at Hunter Biden's laptop because it was Russian disinformation.
Now, let's be very clear, that was a lie. That was wrong, that was politics. And yet, that was part of the "look over there" campaign, don't pay attention to China.
Everything that Joe Biden has been doing is exactly what the Chinese want him to do. Look over at Russia, don't pay attention to us.
CHAFFETZ: And, Congressman, what's your take on what's going on with Russia -- I mean, with China? Because they are on the march. They are going to expand. They are going to invest.
And I think they know Joe Biden like you said is weak and he's not willing to stand up for much.
WALTZ: Well, and don't take it from me or Rick, listen to Chairman Xi, the leader of China's own words, where he is telling his military to prepare for war. He's talking openly about replacing the American dream with the China dream.
And the thing is, we're funding this beast with our own money. Wall Street is corrupt. Disney, the NBA, Hollywood, politicians like Swalwell because everybody is awash in Chinese money. But it's actually our money through the trade deficit, through the amount of money that they're raising on Wall Street, through the debt that the Chinese are financing that's flowing over there.
And meanwhile, you have to understand the Chinese view of victory, right? They saw that we bankrupted the Soviet Union with Star Wars where they couldn't afford to compete. Now,China is bankrupting us with COVID, where we are spending our way to oblivion.
But the irony is for those stimulus checks are flowing right through Walmart and Amazon, right over into Chinese manufacturing. The money is flowing right over there.
We have to bring our manufacturing back home. We have to reduce those dependencies. Made in the USA isn't just a labor issue. That's a national security issue.
And that Biden is just asleep at the switch and it could be because his family is on the take, too.
CHAFFETZ: Gentlemen, thank you both for being there with us, here on this beautiful Friday night. Congressman Waltz, thank you for your service to the United States military. Ambassador Grenell, thank you to the service for your country as an ambassador and certainly working as the acting director of national intelligence. Thank you both.
All right. Today, former President Trump joined Leo Terrell on his podcast and had this to say about the conflict in Israel. Listen to this.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: It would have never happened if I was president and I understand both sides, I know both sides in a certain way. Certainly I get along great with Israel, nobody's done more for Israel if you look at it, certainly no American president with Golan Heights and Jerusalem, and obviously ending the Iran deal which they want to now go back into which is a big mistake.
But I did a lot and I understand the Palestinians very well. I mean, I have a good relationship with them. It would have never ever happened. The Democrats, large numbers of them, hate Israel and that's as simple as you can put it.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: Leo Terrell will join us more coming up.
Meanwhile, today, President Biden insisted that his party still supports Israel despite the Squad calling for Israel's government to be tried for war crimes. This comes as we are now seeing the wave of anti-Semitic attacks right here at home.
In Los Angeles, a group of individuals waving Palestinian flags viciously attacked diners at a restaurant. And in New York City, a pro-Palestinian group threw incendiary devices at people in the city's predominantly Jewish diamond district. Also in New York, one pro-soccer player claims a group of Palestinian men approached him on the street carrying knives and asked him if he was Jewish.
Will the radical left condemn this violence or do they only care about hating Israel?
Joining us now with reaction is FOX News contributor Lara Trump.
Thank you so much for joining us tonight, Lara.
Well, I've got to get your just immediate reaction to what's happened really over the last 48 hours, the violence here in the United States because we didn't see this under President Trump because he took a definitive line and it was good for the United States and it was good for world security.
LARA TRUMP, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah, you're exactly right. I mean, what we've seen happen, Jason, the bottom line is it's heartbreaking. They should not happen in America. These things -- you're right, it would not have happened under my father-in-law and you heard him say it right there.
We knew where President Trump stood with Israel when he was in office. We knew that America was going to have Israel's back and it is a much different story right now.
Look, the bottom line here is all of these woke celebrities who were out there supporting an active terrorist organization, Hamas is a terrorist organization. You have this people like Gigi and Bella Hadid, Jason, whose followers don't know any better and they're saying stand up for Palestine, stand up with Hamas. They have no idea what they're talking about. It is insanity.
And where is the mainstream media in this? How come they haven't been covering these horrific attacks, these anti-Semitic attacks as they should be doing?
I guarantee you if this happened under the Trump administration, they would have been singing a very different tune. It is crazy how quickly things have changed.
CHAFFETZ: The difference in how the national media covers these basic stories and these attacks right in New York City, right in Los Angeles, cameras rolling. They don't -- there's no -- they're unabashedly doing this but they don't get called out.
When is the left actually going to stand up? They can give lip service and say, oh, we stand with Israel. But when it's actually time to stand up, I don't see them standing up and actually doing something.
L.TRUMP: Well, you're not going to see that. I mean, you have members of Congress who have come out and said that they basically are anti-Israel.
Let's be very clear, there are so many Muslim majority countries around the world. There is one Jewish country in the world and it is Israel. And the fact is if you are against Israel, then you are anti-Semitic, period.
I can't believe we have come to a place where we are talking about this. But you're right now, you're not going to see anybody on the left come out and talk about this because, look, it's BLM, that they're supporting Hamas and Palestine.
This is a Marxist organization that is behind all of this and they have tricked a lot of Americans. People better wake up. Israel is our Middle Eastern ally. They have been forever. They are a beacon of freedom in the Middle East. We cannot turn our back on them.
We cannot allow these attacks to go on in our country. It is sickening. Jason, you know, members of my own family are Jewish -- my brother-in-law, my sister-in-law, and their entire family. Heartbreaking to see this happen.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah. President Trump really should have won the Nobel Peace Prize.
If they were giving it for actual achievement, for actually installing peace, nobody has done it better than Donald Trump, and he should've won that award, he didn't and I think it actually exposes how radical left these people really are.
And for those people that are supporting the Black Lives Matter group and then you see them standing with a terrorist organization, according to our State Department, it is just shameful.
So, Lara, thank you for joining us tonight. I really do appreciate it.
All right. Shameless hypocrisy from Nancy Pelosi when it comes to masks inside of Congress. But is she the one who is violating the law?
Gregg Jarrett and Congressman Madison Cawthorn are coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAFFETZ: Welcome back to this special edition of "Hannity".
Speaker Nancy Pelosi's hypocrisy is on full display once again as she continues to enforce the mask mandate in the House, even though there's not one in the Senate or at the White House.
Here's Pelosi at a White House event yesterday where she was seen wiggling with colleagues and cabinet secretaries without a mask in sight. Meanwhile, she had the audacity to slap four members of Congress, including wounded veteran Brian Mast with a $500 fine for failing to adhere to her anti- science mandate.
Here's the video of Mast being reprimanded by a staffer for the House sergeant of arms during a debate on the House floor Tuesday. Congressman Mast earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He lost both of his legs in Afghanistan as a bomb disposal expert and now they're going to fine him $500 for not wearing a mask, just unbelievable.
Joining us now with reaction is one of Mast's colleagues, North Carolina Congressman Madison Cawthorn, and FOX News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett.
Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining here with us.
Congressman, I want to start with you, because you've taken a strong stance and said, hey, I don't need to wear a mask on the floor of the House. Why? What's the principle here and are you going to win that fight?
REP. MADISON CAWTHORN (R-NC): Well, I don't know if we're going to win. I'm sure she will try to fine us. But if Nancy Pelosi wants to fine us, then absolutely, let her do her worst. I believe that patriotic Americans have our back, so I'm willing to take a stand.
I'm not sure if you saw the video, but there is a young 10-year-old boy who was basically reprimanding a school board for his school because he was having to wear a mask. And if he has the courage to stand up and do what this nation's leaders does not, and that made me embolden.
I mean, imagine George Washington facing down the British of Yorktown but imagine him wearing a mask. We're not descended from fearful men.
And so, if you're only afraid to wear a mask because you're afraid that Nancy Pelosi is going to fine you. Stand up, be an American man or woman. Have some courage.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah. Now, Craig, I think there's an interesting legal question because you and I were talking earlier, but I don't know if they have the constitutional ability to actually impose a fine on members of Congress.
GREGG JARRETT, FOX NEWS LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think you're right about that, Jason. I mean, first of all, there is no federal law that empowers mask mandates, period. State and local governments have limited health and safety powers but not the feds.
And Pelosi readily admits she can't force people to get vaccinated, she can't even force members to disclose if they've been vaccinated. So she's already on shaky legal ground but she really, Jason, crossed the line when she began to dock the pay of members who refused to wear a mask, some of which have been vaccinated and are following CDC guidelines.
Why did she cross the legal line? It's arguably a violation of the 27th Amendment which says in effect you cannot alter the pay of members of Congress without first an intervening to general election and that hasn't happened.
Look, the point is Pelosi can enact all kinds of rules of conduct for its members of the House but the punishment is restricted to things like censure and reprimand, even expulsion or restitution. What she cannot do as trifle with the paychecks of members. What's to stop her from weaponizing paychecks to force a particular vote? That would be extortion or bribery and certainly government corruption.
You know, this makes no sense in so many ways. As I mentioned, so many people of already been vaccinated, they have lifted mask rules of the White House and the U.S. Senate but Pelosi refuses to lift it in the House of Representatives because she's all about extreme.
This isn't about science. It's about her thirst for power and control. She's addicted to telling people what to do, how to think, and how to behave, not to mention the fact that she's been -- she's a hypocrite having been caught violating mask rules locally in San Francisco.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah.
Congressman, this is a bit of theater, right? I mean, the cameras are focused on the floor of the House of Representatives come, but this mask mandate isn't enforced in your office or in the halls or in committee hearings, correct?
CAWTHORN: No, it's not enforced there at all. I mean, you'll oftentimes see Democrat members of Congress who are wearing no masks in the elevator. But as soon as you get to the second floor of the building, they then put their mask on because they know they're about to be on C-Span.
It's all political theater and I think Jarrett is absolutely correct. The Democrats are addicted to power. They saw how much power they could gain through fear and now, they're desperate to keep holding onto that.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, what's -- this is Senator Murphy going to the floor of the United States Senate where there is not a mask mandate but if you watch there, it kind of goes -- he puts on the mask, then he's going to vote and so, then he takes it off. I mean, it's just a show. It's not like he really believes it.
But I think, Gregg, there is a bigger broader principle here and that is one of personal responsibility and personal freedom, correct?
CAWTHORN: It is. And, look, one of the great myths to emerge from the pandemic is that government officials can prohibit you from doing what the Constitution guarantees you have a right to do. You have a right to go to work. You have a right to go to the local church. You have a right to shop for food and, you know, you have a right to assemble in places like outdoor theaters and indoors, in places like the House chamber without Nancy Pelosi punishing you by docking your pay. What she's doing is rank lawlessness.
CHAFFETZ: Congressman, I want to give you the last word, but what's your take on personal responsibility and the idea that you get to make and have the self-determination yourself?
CAWTHORN: Well, Jason, those two words you just use, self-determination. That really embodies what it truly means to be a conservative. I believe we're all royalty in the United States of America. It's your apartment, your house where you live, that is your castle. You make the rules. We don't make decrees for you in Washington, D.C.
And so, to my other colleagues, you know, if you want to wear a mask on the House floor, go ahead and do it. But don't you dare reprimand me when I don't have one on. And if you're only afraid to wear a mask because of Nancy Pelosi's fine, when we come back in session on June 14th, take the mask off. She's just a puppet.
CHAFFETZ: Thank you. Thank you, Congressman. Thank you for your service. And, Gregg Jarrett, thank you for joining us as well.
Well, we're about to tell you the dumbest thing said on television this week, and I got to tell you, lots to choose from. But we're joined by Joe Concha, Leo Terrell, and Emily Compagno. So, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAFFETZ: Now, despite doing a political show night after night and despite attacking Republicans night after night and fueling every anti-Trump hoax over the last four years, fake news CNN's Don Lemon wants you to know he's not political at all and he doesn't have an agenda.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: The only party now that is operating in reality as the Democratic party. The Republican Party is obsolete. I think it has gone way too far and it is just sad to see. Listen, I am not a political person. I'm a person who lives in reality. I'm a journalist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: That's funny.
So the same fake news fraud who pushed the Russia hoax and who defended Jesse Smollett amid his hate crime hoax and compared Trump supporter's to drug addicts is going to lecture the rest of us about reality?
But, of course, just like we have been telling you, every major institutional forces taking its marching orders from the left which is united to stoke fear, ignore the facts, and extol more control over your day-to-day lives. The left preaches tolerance, but if you disagree with them, they want you silenced or canceled.
For example, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings just dumped $3 million into the effort to try and save California Governor Gavin Newsom from being voted out of office, and major corporations like Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola amplified lies about the Georgia voting law to attack Republicans. From big tech to big business and Hollywood and the media, trying to silence and suppress the voices of everyday Americans, and help the socialist Democrats turn their far left fantasies into reality.
Joining me now for reaction, "Outnumbered" co-host Emily Compagno, along with civil rights attorney, FOX News contributor and podcast host, Leo 2.0 Terrell, along with media columnist for "The Hill", Joe Concha, who's also a FOX News contributor.
Thank you so much for joining us here.
Joe, I want to start with you because Don Lemon tells us he's not political. And if he says it, it must be true.
JOE CONCHA, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: It's fascinating. And, look, Jason, when you watched Trump rallies over the last four or five years, you never heard an "MSNBC sucks" chant, you always heard a "CNN sucks" chant. You always wondered, why is that, when MSNBC is equally as opposed to the president as CNN.
It's because there's this respect for MSNBC that at least they own who they are. They're a progressive network that presses progressive policies and obviously opposes conservative ones, and certainly ones that have to do with Donald Trump.
So, then, Don Lemon, he's billed as an anchor on that network. He is not an anchor. He is an activist like so many on that network. He serves at the pleasure of the Democratic Party.
This is somebody who compares Trump supporters to Nazis. This is somebody who says we need to blow up the system and abolish the Electoral College. And then says I'm not a political person.
But here's the thing, though, no one is really listening to this. It's like a tree falling in an empty forest. Don Lemon in his second hour of prime time can't even draw 600,000 viewers. To put that in context, his competition on this network draws nearly 1 million more viewers.
So CNN's audience down nearly 70 percent since January, and this is why, because you have people like Don Lemon swearing their objective, speaking truth to power when all they are are activists that serve at the pleasure of the Democratic Party, Jason.
CHAFFETZ: I mean, Leo, is there -- what Joe says, is there -- I mean, is there any doubt? I can't believe if you want to have a voice an opinion, we say it's an opinion. He tries to go out and say I'm not political and this is not an opinion, just trying to report the news but certainly doesn't seem like that, Leo.
LEO TERRELL, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Joe is spot on. I mean, absolutely correct when he talks about the Trump rally, they focus on CNN because they are dishonest and what you heard from Don Lemon's mouth, he's just basically lying. And it's important for us like when Joe said, for me to tell the viewers, Don Lemon is lying. He is a Democratic operative. He works at the pleasure of the Democratic Party.
And he has no other agenda but to bring down the republic. It failed, but he makes a sincere effort. By the viewership and by the fact that he presents this false narrative, we know it's not true. And I'll tell you right now, Don Lemon is not being honest to himself, because he would never, never cross a Democratic Party or his show would be canceled and he would be canceled.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, it's interesting point.
Now, Emily, what's always fascinating to me is the Democrats and the left take this position of we're the tolerant ones. We're the compassionate ones. We're the ones that are accepting of everybody.
But the moment you come up with an idea or thought that is counter to their narrative, that is not the way they act.
EMILY COMPAGNO, CO-HOST, "OUTNUMBERED": It is groupthink only and to touch a little bit on the intro when you mentioned Gavin Newsom and the money behind him there, he has names that campaign of his the stop the Republican recall campaign even though we all know it is a bipartisan effort to get him out of office. It's as incompetent leadership that is catching up to him and has nothing to do with the party.
And he has an advantage there and he can raise unlimited funds in stark contrast to those who were challenging them which are capped at $3,200. And this -- the CEO of Netflix, he's a longtime Democratic donor and supporter. He actually in 2018 donated $7 million to Newsom's challenger in the primaries before he got to the general election.
But I want to point out as well that Newsom is no stranger to big money, to the wealthy. He is absolutely not the everyday American champion that he purports he is. Twenty-five years ago, the Elite 8 as they are known, the Fateful Eight which of the wealthiest families in San Francisco chose him as their golden child. He was born not rich but connected, and they are who carry him and these uber wealthy, they continue to carry him again despite him maintaining that for some reason he's the best voice for those ordinary Americans that are trying to maintain to their livelihood his best efforts to his incompetent leadership at destroying their livelihood.
CHAFFETZ: Now, Joe, I want to ask you because I think America is getting tired of this wokeness and also I think they're getting tired of being told they are racist and all these other negative things, don't you think that wearing on the average American who just wants to live their life, they want to be informed, but every time you pick up the sports page or go to entertainment or, you know, an award show or just try to live your life, some corporation is telling you that you are leading your life totally wrong.
CONCHA: Sure, Jason. And I love numbers, as you know. So, you look at the Golden Globes in terms of their audience or the Oscars or the NBA Finals. NBA Finals is a great example because LeBron James biggest player on the planet, Los Angeles Lakers, biggest franchise in the NBA, they're in the NBA Finals last year. They win in game six and not even 7 million people are watching.
Compare that to 1998 when Michael Jordan won in game six when 37 million people were watching because Jordan was apolitical, didn't talk about it, and says Republicans buy sneakers too. LeBron obviously woke, and then obviously with the Oscars and the Golden Globes, you see in 1998, 57 million people tuned into the Oscars and then this year, less than 10 million, 47 million people gone, how does that happen? Because they don't like to be lectured to anymore. They want escapism in their sports, in their entertainment, and they're not getting it. They're being told how horrible the country is and to your point, people are sick of it.
CHAFFETZ: Leo, they are getting sick of it, right? I mean, America's kind of tired of being called a racist when they know they're not.
TERRELL: Well, you know what, I was a civil rights attorney for 30 years and what I saw this week basically generated by the left, the far left, anti-Semitic attitude in New York and in my city of Los Angeles, Chicago mayor, a black woman telling white citizens, I don't want to see you one on one because you're the wrong color and then double down by the mayor of Washington, D.C..
The far left is the most racist, anti-Semitic party have ever seen in my life. And we've got worse. And they're playing the race card not every two years, Jason, not every four years, 24/7, everything is race, everything is divisive.
And I'll tell you right now, the country has had enough of it. You'll see it in 2022 and you'll see it in 2024.
CHAFFETZ: Emily, last word. I got about ten seconds.
COMPAGNO: I echo my colleague's points here and even though Don Lemon says the GOP is obsolete, he also says he can see and hear, thankfully, so can we. Therefore, we can see through his apolitical fantasy and the fantasy that the GOP is obsolete.
CHAFFETZ: Thank you both -- thank you all there of you, Emily, Leo, and Joe. I really do appreciate it.
All right. Coming up, a truly shocking situation at the border. We'll be right back with former Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. Please, you're going to want to see this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAFFETZ: Welcome back to the special edition of "Hannity".
Now, here's a number I want you to remember, 61,312. That's the number of illegal immigrants the Biden administration has released into the country and just the first three months of its control of America, February, March, and April.
Compare that to the last three full months of President Trump's term, October, November, December. The number of migrants release then was 47.
Yes, we went from a size of a ping-pong tournament at your local YMCA to Hard Rock Stadium where the Miami Dolphins play on Sunday and it's only four months into the administration.
So catch-and-release is back in a very big way under President Biden and Kamala Harris and what else is the administration doing? Well, they are planning to increase capacity to accommodate more of the migrants if they do choose to keep detain. Meanwhile, the so-called borders czar, Kamala Harris, has literally had nothing to say about the issue since being put in charge just about two months ago and having never visited the border since she's been the vice president.
But her old friend and home state governor, Gavin Newsom, isn't staying silent. In fact, he's had some ideas on how to spend his state's unexpected budget surplus, more like giveaways to illegal immigrants including $105 million for humanitarian relief, $50 million for English classes and $14 million for legal aid, all for migrants and migrants only, and they wonder why people keep coming.
Here with reaction, the former acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, and the current attorney general of Arizona, Mark Brnovich.
Mr. Attorney General, I want to start with you.
Look, we've got them streaming in by the tens of thousands. You take that trajectory over a long period of time, there's going to be hundreds of thousands of people, a lot of them are coming to Arizona.
But my question is when they catch-and-release somebody, what are those people in Arizona or if they migrate up to Nevada or Arizona or Iowa or whatever, Utah, where are they supposed to live? Where are they supposed to get any income? How are they supposed to provide for their families?
Like, what are they supposed to do that is legal and lawful under our laws in the United States?
MARK BRNOVICH, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF ARIZONA: Jason, it is absolutely heartbreaking and despicable with the Biden administration is doing. And we were talking about these numbers, you were just talking about numbers, 2 million. Two million is the number of estimated people who will cross just this year across our southern border. That's like the state of Alaska, Wyoming and Vermont combined in one year.
We know the cartels are enriching themselves, every single person that crosses this border. We know as a result of recent discovery on our lawsuit, one of our lawsuits against the Biden administration and its immigration policies, is as a result that, they are not picking up people that are being released from prison. So you have felons, you have arsonists, you have aggravated assault, sexual predators that ICE is not picking up, they're not deporting.
And as you just said, they're being released in our community. So this is not an Arizona problem. It's not a Texas -- it's not a border problem. This will affect every person in the United States.
You know, John F. Kennedy put a man on the moon. Biden is going to end up putting a felon in everyone's neighborhood. That to me is how far the Democratic Party has changed just in 40 years. It's shameful.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah. Chad, when I was in Congress, we held hearings because Obama-Biden, what they did was release more than 60,000 people out in the Homeland. These were people that were convicted of a crime here in the United States and instead of deporting them, they just release them back out into the homeland, more than 60,000.
But we are just talking about the first few months and I have seen Kamala Harris absolutely nowhere on this issue.
CHAD WOLF, FORMER DHS ACTING SECRETARY: Well, absolutely, Jason. I think what the last four months of this administration has seen the policies have failed the American people, have failed the law enforcement officers of the Department of Homeland Security, and most of all, have failed the migrants -- because the Biden administration is encouraging these individuals to take this dangerous journey through Mexico at the hands of the cartels and the traffickers and smugglers, and we know that there's a lot of dangerous things that go on during that journey.
So, across the board, the policies, the messaging from this administration has absolutely failed the American people, the migrants and others.
And absolutely, it's absolutely crazy that the vice president, Vice President Harris, has not visited the border, has not talked to law enforcement officers. Their job is to secure that border every day, to understand their challenges, to understand what they're going through so she can become an advocate for them and help them do their job and negotiate with the Northern Triangle in Mexico.
Instead, she will not go to that border and I think that is a disservice not only to the men and women of DHS, but really to the American people.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah. Mr. Attorney General, I've got to tell you, the Democrats try to play the compassionate card, or, we care more, and these are real families, and they are real families. But it's not compassionate to encourage them to make this treacherous travel northbound. I mean, when I talk to Border Patrol agents, they're telling me that somewhere between 60 and 100 percent of the women that are coming north of being raped along the way.
BRNOVICH: Yeah, Jason, look, I'm a first generation American. I understand why people want to come to this country that we are a nation of laws. The reason why so many people are fleeing communist countries and third world countries is because the rule of law means something. We have a system of laws.
And what the Biden administration is doing is I believe long term is undermining immigration because what is going to end up happening is when you have felons released into communities and God forbid these dangerous crimes occur, it's going to affect us.
When you have the cartels making all this money and an increase in fentanyl and heroin coming across, that is going to poison our neighborhoods. People are going to die of overdoses. Don't forget what the Biden administration done.
When the Biden administration is talking about sending $310 million to Central American countries to prop them up, that's our tax dollars. When they talk about how it's paying $87 million for contracts to house people who don't have legal status here, think about that next time you've got to write your check for your mortgage.
And so, this actually is creating I think a great division in our country, not sure with the Biden administration is doing but long term, I think it's going to tear this country apart.
CHAFFETZ: Chad, I've got 10 seconds left. Your last thoughts?
WOLF: Yeah, I think what's concerning at the border is bad enough, but the fact that the Biden administration has also handcuffed ICE from removing individuals while they are here in the interior of the country. So, their plan is to let them in and then the plan is to restrict law enforcement's ability to remove them at the end of the day.
BRNOVICH: It's true.
CHAFFETZ: It is absolutely disgusting. Gentlemen, thank you.
More of the special edition of "Hannity" right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAFFETZ: Welcome back to this special edition of "Hannity". Very grateful to FOX News and Sean Hannity for allowing me to fill in tonight. I wish we had more time.
Also thankful to have a FOX News podcast, "Jason in the House: The Jason Chaffetz Podcast". Go to wherever you listen to podcasts, type in "Jason in the House" and find it. This week's guest, Tomi Lahren.
Check out "Jason in the House Podcast". I think you'd really enjoy it. Also check out, my new book, "They Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste: The Truth about Disaster Liberalism". I take a deep dive on how the Democrats used the pandemic to push their leftist agenda, available wherever books are sold.
Sean will be back Monday night 9:00 p.m. "Ingraham Angle" is up next.
END
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