John Kerry sought political help from overseas

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John Kerry sought political help from overseas

Washington hypocrisy over Donald Trump's phone call with Ukrainian president.

This is a rush transcript from "Tucker Carlson Tonight," October 8, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

TUCKER CARLSON, HOST: Good evening and welcome to “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” We live, as you may have noticed, in the age of woke capital. They're not just selling products, they are selling something more than that, and you see it everywhere.

You see it in every movie, every commercial every press release from the diversity division of your local HR department. The message is always the same. Companies aren't just soulless profit seekers, they are more than that. They have values. They have principles. They care. They care probably more than you do.

Once upon a time, corporate America flattered its customers. Now, they dare you to be as virtuous as they are. But is that real? Are they actually virtuous? Or is all of this a cynical pose? We will let you decide.

Consider this, last Friday, Daryl Morey, he is the general manager of the Houston Rockets basketball team sent what seemed like a noncontroversial tweet. He wrote this, quote, "Fight for freedom. Stand with Hong Kong." End quote. That's it.

Now China, as you may have seen on television is now trying to crush Hong Kong and it's not hard to pick a side. China, it is rarely noted, but it is true is a racist ethno state that bans dissent and murders its political opponents. You think every American would stand with Hong Kong without even thinking about it. But not the NBA.

The NBA is on China's side. So Morey was forced to delete his tweet. He may in fact lose his job over this. The NBA issued a statement making it clear that under no circumstance do they support Hong Kong or human freedom.

Today, basketball Commissioner Adam Silver emerged to clarify. He repeated the refrain of every person who opposes free speech. Sure, you're free to say what you think, but you aren't safe from the consequences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM SILVER, NBA COMMISSIONER: The long-held values of the NBA are to support freedom of expression. Daryl Morey as the general manager of the Houston Rockets enjoys that right as one of our employees. What I also tried to suggest is I understand that there are consequences from that exercise, in essence, his freedom of speech, and, you know, we will have to live with those consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Oh. So, it's that hard to say that we support freedom against the fascist government of China. Apparently, it is. Steve Kerr is the coach of the Golden State Warriors. On the question of American politics, Kerr, you may have noticed, has no problem speaking his mind. He embraces the hard left social policy that suddenly is so fashionable among rich people. He doesn't hesitate, for example, to demand the stricter gun laws for the rest of us.

In the words of one fawning media outlet -- and there are many -- Kerr speaks truth to power. All right. So what truth was Steve Kerr ready to speak to China? Well, none, it turns out. Not a single truth to the government of China.

Choosing between freedom and fascism turns out to be a really confusing choice. Who knows what the right answer is? As Kerr pointed out, it's really above his pay grade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE KERR, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS COACH: It's a really bizarre international story, and a lot of us don't know what to make of it, so this is something I'm reading about just like everybody is, but I am not going to comment further.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Yes, not going to comment further. It's a bizarre international story. In other words, Steve Kerr is a phony. He is brave when the crowds applaud, but when money is at stake, he shuts up and obeys like the cowardly little corporate stooge that he is. It is hard to imagine how a man like that can look himself in the mirror at night, and yet he is not alone -- hardly.

There are countless Steve Kerr's in corporate America, all of them happy to sell out their country and lick the boots of their Chinese masters for pay. Activision Blizzard - that's a major video game company just banned a top player from one of its games because he gave an interview supporting the demonstrations in Hong Kong.

Just last year, right outside of Washington, the hotel company Marriott fired one of its employees. Why? For liking a tweet that recognized Taiwan as a country. That's it. That tweet offended China. So Marriott did the bidding of the fascist and fired him. That actually happened.

This is common, by the way. In Hollywood, pandering to China is so common, so flagrant that the show "South Park" produced an entire episode mocking it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For this movie to really make money, we need to make sure it clears the Chinese sensors, you know, we want those Chinese viewers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, seriously?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's okay. There's plenty of other things to talk about with your story. How about what kind of things were you into when you were younger?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I always liked Winnie the Pooh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay -- no, no, no, no, that's definitely off limits. Winnie the Pooh is illegal in China because some Chinese students said he looked like the Chinese President.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now come on. That's ridiculous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Maybe ridiculous, but "South Park" was banned in China after the episode you just saw. You've got to respect its creators for making the episode anyway. And Comedy Central for airing it.

Most companies in America we are sad to say would never do that. Why? You know why? China has 1.4 billion people. Companies want access to that market. If it's a choice between supporting the United States, our country and our people or getting rich from China, it is no contest from any company.

For decades, neoliberals assured us that it was our duty to embrace free trade with China, as the rest of us sat passively by, they allowed China to steal our technologies, snatch up our properties in our cities, driving up rents, decreasing the rates of homeownership and destroying millions and millions of course of our manufacturing jobs.

Making a communist country vastly rich would be worth it, they assured us because China inevitably -- these things are always inevitable -- would become much freer and more democratic as well. That was inexorable, because capitalism always leads to democracy.

Remember that? They would nod as they said it. They were lying. It turned out to be completely false. Instead of exporting American freedoms to China, our ruling class instead imported Chinese authoritarianism here.

Thirty years later, ordinary Americans are poor, wages haven't moved, and all of us are less free. But China and our neoliberal elite are a lot richer. It turns out that fascism, whatever you think of it is pretty good for business. That ought to worry you.

FS One's Jason Whitlock will talk to us in a few moments about this, but first we're joined tonight by Michael Pillsbury. He is of course the Director of Chinese Strategy at the Hudson Institute, and the author of the fantastic book, "The Hundred-Year Marathon: China's Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower." No longer such a secret strategy. Mr. Pillsbury joins us tonight. Thanks so much for coming on.

MICHAEL PILLSBURY, DIRECTOR OF CHINESE STRATEGY, HUDSON INSTITUTE: Thanks, Tucker.

CARLSON: So what do you make of a company like the NBA, which enjoys an awful lot of support from American taxpayers, taking the side of the Chinese government against an American citizen?

PILLSBURY: Well, as you say, it's kind of craven surrender. Part of it comes from the power of the Chinese economy, the Chinese financed by us and stealing our technology, a lot of it we provided directly to them.

Chinese have reached at least 75 percent the size of our economy. The Chinese themselves believe they surpassed our economy five years ago, by the way they measure it.

So you're talking about a very, very powerful country. This is not anything like even Japan was only 10 percent of our economic power when they bombed Pearl Harbor. This is really a major power stronger than the Soviet Union ever was in comparison to us.

So these companies are reacting to real facts, they can be punished, they can be rendered bankrupt by Chinese power. So I don't -- I don't forgive what they've done, but it is really worse how 20 or more years of neglect or even support for China have got us into this situation where President Trump is just starting to fight back.

There's some interesting news today that he is going to put 28 companies that are the most advanced technology companies in China in artificial intelligence, special kinds of cameras, special kinds of surveillance. They can't buy American products anymore because of this order President Trump announced this morning.

But he said several times, that he doesn't want China to surpass us on his watch. And then he says if Hillary Clinton had been elected, China would be surpassing us right now.

CARLSON: Given that the stakes are as high as you just outlined, that suggests now as precisely not the time for American companies like the NBA to cave to the fascist government of China.

PILLSBURY: They shouldn't do it, but they really need American government support. This is one of the things President Trump is beginning to do, is hurt Chinese companies that misbehave.

It's hard to really punish the NBA for being craven. Maybe we can shame them into better conduct. But they're nothing like the power of the Federal government and our Federal government now is saying, look, China is getting ahead of us in outer space.

The reason for creating the Space Force is Chinese satellites now can do things we can't do in space. They've got a thing that our Air Force calls, the kidnapper satellite, a little rogue, top opens up, a grappling hook comes out, it can grab another satellite, steal it, and go away. We can't do that. We haven't got a countermeasure for it.

CARLSON: A metaphor for what they've done to our technology sector over the decades.

PILLSBURY: Exactly. Exactly. That's a global struggle.

CARLSON: Dr. Pillsbury, thank you very much for joining us. It is ominous.

PILLSBURY: Thanks, Tucker.

CARLSON: Jason Whitlock is the host of "Speak for Yourself" on Fox Sports One and he joins us tonight.

So Jason, this seems inexcusable behavior from the NBA. What's your view of it?

JASON WHITLOCK, FOX SPORTS ONE HOST: Well, I think the cultural impact that China's influence over a great sport, a great American sport like basketball is just now being exposed at just how dependent the NBA is on the Chinese economy and Chinese money to put on the appearance of how great the league is doing. Without the Chinese money and without --

Because you really have to understand the shoe companies -- Nike, Adidas -- they run American Basketball from the high school level all the way to the pros and the shoe companies are dependent on the China market and that's where all of this is coming from.

You see NBA players constantly over the summer, during their offseason, running to China, to do the bidding of their shoe companies and to sell their shoes in the China market. And so the NBA is really being exposed as not nearly as much of American business, as it is a global business, with China, perhaps having more influence over it than even America.

CARLSON: Which is shocking, given that, of course -- and shocking because I don't think most people know that.

WHITLOCK: No.

CARLSON: But also shocking given that the NBA was, of course, incubated in this country. It wouldn't have been possible in any other. Basketball was invented in Springfield, Massachusetts in a YMCA. It is the most American of all sports. And I don't know that there's any basketball arena that wasn't subsidized by American taxpayers. So like, how could they possibly take this position?

WHITLOCK: Tucker, the cultural impact of this, and what a great teachable moment it is for most Americans is when people start talking about being a global citizen, I don't think people really understand what that means for American culture.

And I think for a lot of the everyday, typical American sports fan, this is an educational experience. This is what people have been talking about. We can't let our corporations, our country being totally driven by China because it's driving our culture.

These basketball players -- LeBron James. James Harden, actually apologized on behalf of Daryl Morey to the Chinese government. We're apologizing to a communist government, and then we have athletes here and coaches like Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich that rail against our government. We're the bad guys in the minds of these NBA players and coaches and their little parade of being so woke, all of it to me is at the behest of the shoe companies.

They're doing the bidding of the shoe companies and protecting China and demonizing us and our culture and dramatically changing our culture. Because these athletes are young and I'm not giving them an excuse, but they're young. Many of them didn't go to college or only spent a year or two in college. They don't understand how they are being used and played to promote a communist, a Marxist agenda.

They have no idea that their actions and a lot of the things they're promoting, this victim mentality and all the identity politics and oh, everything that America is racist -- all of it. It's all a scam by the shoe companies.

Look how socially aware we are, look how we fight against injustice. No, you're actually doing a marketing ploy to pretend you have a social conscience, and you're actually doing the bidding of the communist regime in China.

CARLSON: Yes, maybe the single most racist government in the world. It's literally an ethno state. And here's the socially conscious NBA -- very quick, it's a little shocking to me that Kerr of all people who never hesitates to give his opinion and is often lauded for it, can't manage to say that he takes Hong Kong's side?

WHITLOCK: Tucker, these guys can rail against our government, our President and be applauded for it. They don't have the courage to speak out against a communist government, all kinds of human rights violations. It's the epitome of hypocrisy and cowardice.

CARLSON: It really is. And thank you for putting it in context with the shoe companies. I think that's the most interesting thing I've heard in a long time. Jason Whitlock. Great to see you tonight.

WHITLOCK: Thank you.

CARLSON: Well, barely one year from right now, about 13 months, Democrats could potentially be in charge of the Executive Branch of government. What would America look like? We've got a thought experiment for you, straight ahead. It might alarm you. We will give you that warning. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: The Democratic field is suddenly looking a lot smaller. From a cast of what seemed like hundreds of people, next week's primary debate will feature only a dozen candidates. The great winnowing has begun.

Thirteen months from now, one of these people could be President of the United States. And if that happens, what sort of country will we have? That's the question -- really the only question that matters. One thing that virtually every Democrat in the race seems to be running on is more weed and less law enforcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETO O'ROURKE, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Expunge the arrest records for everyone who has been arrested and then use our clemency powers to free all those who are serving time for marijuana possession.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, I-VT, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Expunge the records of those people arrested for possession of marijuana.

JOE BIDEN, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE Decriminalize marijuana, automatically expunge marijuana conviction.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, D-IND., MAYOR, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Legalization of marijuana, but also with an expungement to reverse incarceration is doing more harm than the original offense.

SEN. CORY BOOKER, D-N.J., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We will expunge the records of those who have already been convicted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: The great expunging begins, so not just legalizing drugs, but legalizing them retroactively. Well, that sounds radical, it's nothing compared to what they're planning on doing as soon as they can.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who in effect functions as a kind of one-woman think tank for the Democratic Party, air quotes around that is now demanding the elimination of prisons on the grounds that they are -- and of course you could guess -- racist.

Here's the quote, "Mass incarceration is a system whose logic evolved from the same lineage as Jim Crow, American apartheid and slavery. To end it, we have to change. That means we need a real conversation about decarceration and prison abolition in this country," end quote. Because of course, there were no prisons before racists in America thought them up.

So with no more prisons, presumably that will mean no more prisoners, right? Axiomatic. So with all those felons back on the street, and in your neighborhood -- hey, felons -- you may suddenly be a little bit concerned about protecting yourself and your family, but tough.

In Democratic America, self-defense will be banned because they're taking your guns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: So to gun owners out there who say, well, a Biden administration means they're going to come from my guns ...

BIDEN: Bingo, you're right if you have an assault weapon. The fact of the matter is they should be illegal. Period.

QUESTION: Do you believe in the mandatory buyback of quote unquote "assault weapons"?

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, D-CALIF., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do believe that we need to do buybacks and I'll tell you why. They are weapons of war with no place on the streets of a civil society.

O'ROURKE: Hell, yes, we're going to take your AR-15 and your AK-47. We are not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: That kid is so light, you wonder why he doesn't blow away like an autumn leaf. But whatever. Hell, yes, they're going to confiscate your firearms. And by the way, that'll make home invasions a little tougher to deal with. Lots of luck with that. Let's hope you don't get assaulted and need to go to a hospital because in democratic America, you might find the hospitals a bit overcrowded. Why? Well, the left is giving free healthcare to the rest of the planet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Do you support giving universal healthcare and Medicare-for-All to people who are in this country illegally?

HARRIS: Let me just be very clear about this. I am opposed to any policy that would deny in our country any human being from access to public safety, public education or public health. Period.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Do you believe that undocumented people should have healthcare in this country?

BIDEN: I think undocumented people need to have a means by which they can be covered when they're sick. People need -- this is just copy decency.

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, MSNBC HOST: Raise your hand if your government plan would provide coverage for undocumented immigrants?

(Cheering and Applause)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Raise your hand if you don't want a single normal person to even consider voting for you ever? Free healthcare for illegal aliens? That's quite an idea. How is our already broke country going to pay for that? Here's a calculator. You figure it out. You've got a headache yet? Yes.

But don't even think about heading to a bar to drown your sorrows with a cocktail and a steak. In the America of tomorrow, that will be banned, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Do ban plastic straws?

HARRIS: I think we should. Yes.

BURNETT: But would you support changing the dietary guidelines --

HARRIS: Yes.

BURNETT: You know, the food pyramid -- what people are --

HARRIS: Yes, yes.

BURNETT: To reduce red meat specifically.

HARRIS: Yes, I would.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Yes. Yes. Whatever you're for Kamala Harris is for, yes. Tammy Bruce hosts "Get Tammy Bruce" on Fox Nation, which is absolutely fantastic and reason enough to get Fox Nation. She joins us tonight.

TAMMY BRUCE, FOX NATION HOST: Thank you.

CARLSON: So this is the country we're going to be living in very soon. Are you psyched?

BRUCE: I'm totally psyched, but people can get a preview. There's a film called "Escape from New York," which stars Kurt Russell.

CARLSON: I remember that.

BRUCE: And it's in New York transformed into a maximum security prison. So technically, prisons would be closed, but it would be the entire city that you live in because that's where all the criminals are. They have a freewheeling way of you know, living and so every major American city that is run by liberals, already people are trying to escape from them. So there's that.

But yes, it sounds thrilling. But here's the irony of all of this. The left and the Democrats crow about being the ultimate champions for the individual. And yet what they're doing, of course, is setting up policies and suggesting things that require the government micromanaging every single aspect of our lives.

So you know, the pothead out there who wants to be left alone or the person who wants to enjoy their steak, but worries about the climate. They don't realize that this is inviting and this is what the suggestion is, is that you as an individual are to be wiped away. We will control everything that you do from morning until night.

You had a big conversation about China and the problems of China. Well, you know, the Chinese did not do well with that Cultural Revolution, where it was about getting rid of the four olds. It was about wiping away the old customs, old ideas. And there was a very specific applied framework about how to erase the idea from people that you could think for yourselves and effectively live freely.

Now this isn't know what the American left is doing and what these candidates are suggesting --

CARLSON: No, it's the French Revolution.

BRUCE: It is. And it's always failed. It's always destroyed lives. The great thing about America is we can laugh about it. We've got a good film, like "Escape from New York," and we can warn people that it's a very bad idea to vote Democratic these days.

CARLSON: So when people tell you that the past is off limits, you shouldn't make any reference to the past, you shouldn't be allowed to see the past or think about the past. That's usually a-tell, isn't it?

BRUCE: It sure is. You know, the past is prologue, of course. I mean, this is -- this is what the left -- why the left has eliminated requirements, like in California for History courses in order to be accepted into the UC system. They don't -- they don't want you to learn about what the history is because it tells you very specifically what happens -- ideas are powerful, and what happens with certain political philosophies that have failed.

And it's not because the right people didn't implement them correctly. It's because they're simply bad ideas. And we've got a chance here, of course, to push it back and to send a message to the rest of the world. But Americans get it.

CARLSON: I think they do.

BRUCE: The Democratic candidates, I think, are not only making fools of themselves of themselves, but they're proving that you can be an American and have some very bad ideas. And that's what's so great about our system. We can we cannot vote for you and vote for other people.

CARLSON: I think many will take that option. Tammy Bruce, it was great to see you tonight. Thank you.

BRUCE: Thank you, dear. Thank you.

CARLSON: Well, for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the past began right around 2012 when she graduated from college. On the basis of that information, she is calling for the abolition of prisons, something she believes were thought of by Americans during the Jim Crow period.

What would America look like if we got rid of all prisons? Rafael Mangual is a former Deputy Director of Legal Policy at the Manhattan Institute, and we think one of the smartest criminologists out there. Great to see you this evening, Rafael.

RAFAEL MANGUAL, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF LEGAL POLICY, MANHATTAN INSTITUTE: Thanks for having me on.

CARLSON: So what would be the practical effects of this?

MANGUAL: The practical effects would be that a significant number of vulnerable communities around the country would experience very large increases in violent crime. Right? I mean, we have plenty of data on what the people who currently constitute our prison population are like and what those data say, is that about 83 percent of them, when they are eventually released, they're going to go on to reoffend in some way or another, and many of them are going to reoffend violently, right?

I mean, the high crime cities around our country are all experiencing some version of the same problem, which is violent crime committed by recidivists. I mean, nationally, I think more than a third of all violent felons committed their offense, while they were either on probation, parole or awaiting trial and are pending hearings.

I mean, the idea that prison abolition carries no downside risk is not only nonsense, but it's dangerous.

CARLSON: But it's everywhere. It's certainly among our decadent elites like Ocasio-Cortez or the Koch brothers. The people who are actually making policy in this country seem to have decided all of a sudden that nobody is really in prison justifiably, it's all racism. It's all reefer madness, craziness, and we just need to open the doors and will be a better country. Is there any, any data to support that?

MANGUAL: None whatsoever. And so when people say, you know, like, Ocasio- Cortez says there are many people who don't belong in prison, I wonder who she is talking about?

Is she talking about murderers or robbers are rapists, sexual assailants, aggravated assailants, burglars? Because this constitutes the vast majority of our prison population in this country. Right?

Not to mention the fact that even the people who are in for sort of lower level public order or drug offenses, you have to keep in mind is that their conviction records often understate the crime that they actually committed because the vast majority of cases in criminal courts are resolved through plea bargains, which means that that the charges ultimately reflect some sort of downgrading in exchange for a guilty plea and a reduced sentence.

So you know, the idea that the people who are behind bars in this country don't pose a significant danger or having gotten a second chance. It's just nonsense. I mean, 40 percent of felony convictions result in a state prison sentence, only 40 percent. That's it.

I mean, the idea that we are living in this overly punitive society just doesn't jive with the reality which is that you can commit a lot of crime.

CARLSON: That's exactly right. You listen to guys like Beto and you think everyone on death row got there because the cops found a roach clip in his ash tray -- you know what I mean?

MANGUAL: That's right. Yes.

CARLSON: Like it is 1965 in their world. They never update, you know their assumptions to match the current reality because they're dumb, I think might be the answer. Rafael, thank you. Great to see you tonight.

MANGUAL: Thank you so much.

CARLSON: Appreciate the context. Last night, we gave you evidence that Bill Clinton -- conclusive evidence we should say -- that Bill Clinton sought political help from foreign countries. We don't think he should be impeached, I guess. But it's true. It happened. John Kerry did the same. We'll show you how in just a minute.

Plus, we'll talk to a top House Republican member about impeachment. How's that going? We'll bring it to you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: Well, your social betters have a habit of moral posturing. We're good people, they will tell you, unlike you. You never really believed it. Now you know it's totally fake.

The China-NBA story proves it. And by the way the Ukraine impeachment saga also does. Everyone in Washington is telling you, wow, it's unbelievable that Donald Trump would have used a conversation with the foreign leader to help politically. That never happens.

We're not endorsing it, but we would like to give you some context. So last night, we showed you a phone transcript where Bill Clinton who was the President, asked Tony Blair, who was the Prime Minister of Great Britain, for a political boost before the 2000 election. We weren't singling out Bill Clinton. This is very, very common.

Now, John Kerry has been talking to anyone who will listen about the President's shocking behavior with Ukraine. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: My reaction is one of absolute shock and amazement. That is a fundamental profound abuse of power. There's no other way to put it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Fundamental, profound, no other way to put it. Cliche. Kerry is full of it. You knew that. But just put some meat on those bones, during the 2004 election, comma, which he lost, comma, John Kerry openly bragged about soliciting support from foreign leaders against his opponent that year -- the incumbent President George W. Bush, quote, "I've met foreign leaders who can't go out and say this publicly, but boy, they look at you and say, you've got to win this. You've got to beat this guy. We need a new policy."

Those people love John Kerry. Now, he was asked which leaders told you that, John Kerry? What did you say to them when they said that? And what new policies did you promise and how did they pledge to help you?

John Kerry said he wasn't going to be specific because it was his right to keep his conversations with foreign leaders confidential. That's absolutely necessary for leadership. You see the point?

Well, early today, the White House sent a letter to the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi calling the ongoing impeachment effort, quote, "illegitimate and unconstitutional," and furthermore, saying it will not cooperate unless a full House vote is held to begin a formal inquiry.

Congressman Devin Nunes is the Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee, its former Chairman, when the House was under Republican control. He joins us tonight.

Congressman, thanks so much for coming on. So if I'm understanding this correctly, the White House is saying once you make it official, we will cooperate, but not until then.

REP. DEVIN NUNES, R-CALIF.: Well, the House Intelligence Committee has become like this secretive impeachment committee but with no rules. And so I don't blame the White House for saying, look, we'll just see you in court. We're not going to -- we're not going to provide you any witnesses. We're not going to provide you any documents and unless the House of Representatives votes, like has been the tradition, if not, you can hold us in contempt and we'll see you in court in a matter of months, maybe important months.

CARLSON: But now as a procedural matter, is it true or is it not? I mean, you're the sitting member, that the House in order to have an impeachment you have to have a vote, right? Leadership can't just say there's an impeachment, there has to be a vote.

NUNES: Right? You can't -- I mean, traditionally, we don't -- the House makes its own rules. Okay. So one could argue that they're just making up the rules as they go along. But we do have tradition. Right? And you have precedents. And it's relatively recent, right? You had the impeachment of Bill Clinton, and the impeachment of Richard Nixon.

So if you're really going to truly get this through the House, open up an investigation, pass it, vote to impeach a President, send it to the Senate for trial, you have to have a system of government where you have something that is fair, where both sides can actually go out and gather evidence.

CARLSON: Right.

NUNES: And that's what doesn't exist today and I think the White House has a very good point, because as someone who's been in all these meetings, I can tell you, I think it was described today as a kangaroo court and that's probably being nice.

CARLSON: Yes, if you're going to have an impeachment, let's have a vote. You know, it's a democracy. We vote on things here, like we always used to.

So you have sued Twitter.

NUNES: That's right.

CARLSON: And you've sued Twitter, because you say that Twitter users defamed you, made up fake accounts to do so. There was a development in that lawsuit today. Tell us what it is.

NUNES: Well, thankfully, a judge has now decided and agreed with us that Twitter can be held accountable for its actions, for its negligence.

So as many people know who have been on Twitter, especially if you're a conservative, it's quite often that things randomly happen to you. You lose followers, some people can't see what you post on Twitter, you get shadow banned.

In my case, what was happening is, they were allowing anonymous accounts, hundreds of them to slander and defame me on a daily basis, almost a minute by minute basis.

Finally, a judge said okay, Twitter, that's it, rejected all of their arguments. And now that case is going to move forward in Virginia. And you know, I think it's really important for the American people understand that, you know, Twitter is a -- Twitter is a public company. Do their Board members really know what Twitter has been up to?

CARLSON: It's hard to think of a company that's hurt this country more than Twitter, maybe there are some, I can't think of one. If you look at the hate and the division and the cruelty that's now common, it wasn't common 10 years ago. Twitter is a huge part of that. And it made a small number of people really rich, they should be ashamed of themselves.

And so if nothing else, I hope that this suit calls attention to that because it deserves more attention than it gets. Congressman, thanks so much and I hope you'll come back.

NUNES: Well we're hoping we are going to get that attention.

CARLSON: Amen.

NUNES: Thank you.

CARLSON: Good to see you.

NUNES: Will do.

CARLSON: A Louisiana gubernatorial candidate is under attack for holding a position that most sixth grade Biology professors hold. There are two genders. That's his point of view. We're warning you, he is going to come on and say that next, so make the children leave.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: President Trump plans to hold a rally in Minneapolis this Thursday night. In the meantime, though he is in an escalating war of words with the Mayor of that City. Chief Breaking News Correspondent, Trace Gallagher has the latest. Hey, Trace.

TRACE GALLAGHER, CHIEF BREAKING NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tucker the liberal Mayor of Minneapolis Jacob Frey once vowed that President Trump's message would never be welcome in his city.

So when the Trump campaign got a $530,000.00 bill to cover the cost of security for his rally, the campaign threatened to sue and the President accused the Mayor of trying to bully him quoting here, "Someone please tell the radical left Mayor of Minneapolis that he can't price out free speech. Probably illegal. I stand strongly and proudly with the great police officers and law enforcement of Minneapolis and the Great State of Minnesota. See you Thursday night."

The Mayor responded quote, "Someone tell the President of the United States that he can afford to help pay for the extra pay our officers will be putting in while he is in town." But police are already angry at the Mayor because new city policy prevents off duty officers from wearing their uniforms at political rallies.

So instead, they'll be wearing red t-shirts that say Cops for Trump. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. BOB KROLL, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT: We don't want any issues. So we just thought you know what, we'll turn the place into a sea of red with the shirts we designed and they're available and we can't keep them on the shelves. They've been selling out as fast as they come in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: The police also say the security charge for the Trump rally is ludicrous considering the cost for securing an Obama rally a few years ago was reportedly around $20,000.00. Though now the point is moot because a short time ago, the city backed off the $530,000.00 security bill. Though the President still thinks the city should drop its Mayor, as well as Congresswoman Ilhan Omar -- Tucker.

CARLSON: Trace Gallagher, thanks for that. Well, there's an election in Louisiana this week to help determine its next Governor. Congressman Ralph Abraham is running in that race. The President will rally there as well for him and another Republican candidate on Friday, right after the rally in Minneapolis.

But Abraham just ignited a storm of outrage for making a very bold claim. He said there are only two genders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RALPH ABRAHAM, R-LA: I'm Ralph Abraham. I'm running for Governor. And here's the truth. Life begins at conception. Government is too big. Our taxes are too high. And our car insurance is too expensive. President Trump is doing a great job.

Facts matter more than feelings. The Second Amendment is self-explanatory. And as a doctor, I can assure you there are only two genders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Wow. Over at MSNBC, they were outraged and told their viewers that agreeing with your eighth grade biology teacher is quote, "incendiary."

Congressman Abraham, by the way, as you just heard him say is a physician. We recently talked to him about all this. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARLSON: So did you -- did you think that in declaring that there are just two genders that you would be causing a controversy?

ABRAHAM: What a strange world we live in, Tucker, where something that simple, that statement will set up a firestorm. Everyone knows that these transgender laws are about lawsuits.

Tucker, I live in Louisiana and if you live there, you are four times more likely to be sued for anything. That's why our car insurance is some of the highest in the nation. That's why this current governor has decimated our oil and gas industry with frivolous lawsuits.

And look I just simply wanted to send a message that when I'm the Governor of Louisiana that ends.

CARLSON: How are your trial lawyers doing? They seem like they're pretty prosperous.

ABRAHAM: We have some, I would imagine the most prosperous trial lawyers in maybe the nation, and perhaps the world. We are lawsuit happy and Louisiana and that's why we are 50th out of 50th in everything, Tucker.

We are in the ditch on the economy. Our jobs are gone. We are the only state in the nation that lost jobs in the last 12 months.

CARLSON: Yes, I know some of your trial lawyers actually, charming guys, always rich though. Very rich. They fly out of habit.

So as a man of science, we often hear the debate about science and conservatives who are opposed to science. Well, you are literally a man of science. You're a physician, a medical doctor.

ABRAHAM: That's right.

CARLSON: If you could just settle this question conclusively for us how many genders are there? As a scientific matter?

ABRAHAM: As a scientific matter, Tucker, I've delivered many babies as a family doctor, and I can assure you it takes me about three seconds to tell the parents whether it's a boy, or whether it's a girl.

CARLSON: Yes. So what happens to a country where -- and by the way, saying that out loud is not an attack on anybody, of course not.

ABRAHAM: No. Look, I don't have a discriminatory bone in my body.

CARLSON: Right. But what happens to a country where you're not allowed to say things that are objectively true?

ABRAHAM: Well, you see what's happened. You see what's happened to our culture, you see the direction our country is going, and certainly one I don't approve of. And you know, that's why I am the Congressman and that's why I will be the next Governor of Louisiana, because we have got to just get some common sense back into our culture.

CARLSON: Well, it's just amusing as hell to watch reaction to your campaign statement. Congressman, thanks a lot for coming on tonight. I appreciate it.

ABRAHAM: Thank you, Tucker for having me. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARLSON: Well, nothing enrages permanent Washington more than the idea that at some point, a foreign war might end. They hate that more than anything. Why is that? We will investigate after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: One of the many unconventional planks in Donald Trump's 2016 platform is getting the U.S. out of foreign quagmires. It turned out there was a deep reservoir of support for that idea, and so he won.

The promise that you're going to do something and trying to do it is not the same as doing it. It turns out unelected bureaucrats can prevent you from doing it if they so choose. And in this case, they so choose.

The latest example, on Sunday, the White House announced that U.S. troops would be withdrawn from Northern Syria, and in Washington, people went insane immediately.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL NEELY, NBC CORRESPONDENT: What we have here, guys, is a betrayal. What we might have in the coming weeks is a bloodbath.

RALPH PETERS, RETIRED LIEUTENANT COLONEL: With his impulsive idiocy last night, Trump has endangered not just the Kurds, but the progress made against ISIS, and in fact, the entire region.

REP. JASON CROW, D-COLO.: But what is happening now and the message that's being sent by the President is that those promises don't matter. That we're not going to stand behind that, that the American handshake doesn't matter.

MAX BOOT, COLUMNIST, "THE WASHINGTON POST": I can't figure out anybody in Washington who thinks this was a good idea. Trump is betraying our allies, the Kurds who have bled and died to defeat ISIS.

SUSAN RICE, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I woke up this morning to hear that news and as I do, it seems like six days a week I just put my head in my hands. This is bad [bleep] crazy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Say the people who actually destroyed American prestige, consistently over decades. Those are the people who did it.

Well, on a conference call with reporters yesterday, an unnamed Trump administration official, believe it or not, did his best to placate the morons you just saw on the screen.

Trump may have said repeatedly that he wants to pull out of Syria. But don't worry, a full pullout won't happen anytime soon. The official assured those on the call.

Gil Barndollar is a retired Marine Captain and a Senior Fellow at Defense Priorities. He joins us tonight. Gil, thanks so much for coming on.

GIL BARNDOLLAR, SENIOR FELLOW, DEFENSE PRIORITIES: Good to be with you, Tucker.

CARLSON: So are you surprised -- the President unequivocally states and not for the first time, his intention of doing what voters voted him into office to do which is move these troops. And Washington basically says no, we're not allowing you to. Does that surprise you?

BARNDOLLAR: Yes, I mean, we've seen this story before. Look, we should have left Syria six months ago after we destroyed ISIS' last stronghold. We've got no vital interest left there.

And, you know, instead, there's this universal pushback within the establishment, as you've said, and this looks like a tactical pull back from the border, not a real withdrawal.

So I think the President unfortunately, hasn't demonstrated the courage of his convictions.

CARLSON: So you want to believe in democracy. You want to believe that over time, on the big questions, the majority can have an influence on the course of the country.

But I'm starting to think that maybe they can't and maybe it's not real, and maybe Max Boot and other sort of dumb people are actually kind of in charge.

BARNDOLLAR: Well, what happens on the Hill is the most disappointing thing, right? We've got a war that Congress never authorized, and they are, you know, climbing over each other, they denounce the President for trying to end it, at least rhetorically, although, as I said, the reality probably isn't there.

That's probably worse than everything you hear among the pundit class.

CARLSON: That's right. And that's such a smart point. This is a war they never -- they didn't have the courage to make it official, to make it a legitimate war. And now they have the hutzpah to lecture anyone who is not in favor?

Why shouldn't they be required to be on the record in support of this thing if they actually support it?

BARNDOLLAR: Oh, absolutely. I mean, the authorization for the use of military force is a farce, you know, we're still fighting in countries, you know, all over the greater Middle East on authorization that was designed to track down al-Qaeda in the wake of 9/11. So that's, that's one of the problems.

But obviously, we've got a cultural problem in Congress where half of those people, at least in the Senate, think they can be President and that's the priority, being on TV, not taking, you know, difficult stance.

CARLSON: I mean, we ask the services to do an awful lot, including in Syria. I mean, this must be dispiriting, I would think for them.

BARNDOLLAR: I think it is, but you know, I think people get the mission when the mission is a very narrow, focused and kind of achievable mission, like destroying ISIS' physical caliphate.

When we're stuck there and the definition of mission creed there, you know, stuck in somebody else's -- waiting to be sucked into someone else's Civil War, I don't think that's tremendously encouraging or something people want to do in uniform.

CARLSON: I honestly can't imagine a worse position to put Americans and I think it's shocking that we would do that. Gil, thanks so much for your perspective tonight.

BARNDOLLAR: Good talking to you.

CARLSON: Good to see you. We are out of time. Good news, we will be back tomorrow, as we always are on weeknights, 8:00 p.m., the show that is the sworn, totally sincere and we hope cheerful enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness and groupthink.

Once again, we encourage you to DVR it if you can figure that out. Godspeed.

In the meantime, good night from Washington.

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