Media mob fawns over Joe Biden's DNC speech

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Media mob fawns over Joe Biden's DNC speech

This is a rush transcript from “Hannity," August 21, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

TAMMY BRUCE, FOX NEWS HOST: Welcome to this special edition of "Hannity", Countdown to the Election. I'm Tammy Bruce, in tonight for Sean.

After four very long days, the Democratic National Convention has finally, mercifully come to an end. Last night, Joe Biden capped off the week with the mostly forgettable speech, short on policy details but full of negative platitudes against President Trump and the state of our country today.

President Trump, however, responded. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Joe Biden grimly declared a season of American darkness, and yet, look at what we've accomplished. Until the plague came in, look at what we've accomplished, and now, we are doing it again.

Where Joe Biden sees American darkness, I see American greatness. We've seen heroic doctors and nurses racing into action to save lives. We've seen first responders helping strangers in need. We've seen the passage of historic legislation to save 50 million American jobs. We've mobilized American industry like never before.

It's time to reject the anger and hate of the Democrat Party. We have the biggest election coming up of our lifetime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: President Trump also fiercely criticized what Joe Biden conveniently left out of his remarks.

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: But the biggest part of last night's speech was what Joe Biden didn't talk about. He didn't talk about law enforcement. He didn't talk about bringing safety to Democrat-run the cities that are totally out of control and they have no clue.

China was never mentioned in any way, shape, or form. China will own our country if he gets elected, they will own our country, and we're not going to let that happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: Yeah, boy, what a difference in attitude there.

So, ultimately, Biden was so short on details because the radical Democratic agenda is downright frightening.

As former Governor Chris Christie remarked, it scares that the bejesus out of people.

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: You didn't hear any specifics last night for Joe Biden and the reason for that is because his specifics would scare the bejesus out of America and he knows it. It's a crazy left wing liberal agenda that he has been captive of now and he gave into an order to get the nomination and that he will pursue if he's elected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: Joining us now with reaction is American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp, and FOX News contributor Charlie Hurt.

Guys, thank you so much for joining me tonight.

You know, it is nice at the convention is over even though President Trump got this really nice bump during the convention which was, of course, interesting in and of itself.

But, Matt, let me start with you. You know, when we talk about their lack of willingness to talk about policy details, isn't it possible that they've been promising both the left and their so-called pragmatic moderates the same thing? That they're both in charge and that they can't talk about details because it would offend or frighten their -- part of their own base? Matt?

MATT SCHLAPP, AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE UNION: Yeah, that's exactly right, Tammy, which is if you look at this socialist manifesto that Bernie Sanders and AOC negotiated with Biden, it's the most extreme policy document that we've ever seen in politics. If it got -- you know, if it got the sunshine that it deserves, people would be appalled.

Chris Christie says they would scare the bejesus out of people, they're actually not really into bejesus at all. If you look at what policies would do for economic recovery, you can't raise taxes on everybody in this country and also say you're going to bring the economy back. You can't say you're going to take all of those Obama era regulations that Trump has taken off the economy to stop domestic energy production, to allow small businesses to prosper.

If you put those all back on the economy, there's no way we're going to have a recovery because America won't become competitive again. If America isn't competitive, that helps China's -- China and our adverse -- economic adversaries overseas.

And how about this, Tammy? Does it make any sense to make nuns pay for the abortions in this country? Can't we have some kind of zone of First Amendment freedom to practice your religion or to not practice your religion?

BRUCE: Yeah.

SCHLAPP: What is wrong with these radicalized socialist Democrats? I'll tell you what, I think if the American people know more, they will vote for Donald Trump.

BRUCE: Yeah. Well, look, this is not I think, you know, unknown to the American people, Charlie. And that this is the Obama-Biden administration which not so long ago, we know what they did. We know what a disaster it was. Biden has been in for 47 years in government.

We know the difference Donald Trump has brought forward. We know what has happened now with China and the China virus. Do you really think the American people can be gas-lit in this way? That they don't want answers or don't want specifics, how long can Joe Biden get away with this?

CHARLIE HURT, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah, I have a really hard time thinking American voters are not on to this. Voters are very smart, much smarter than Washington politicians ever give them credit for being. It's a real strange gambit that Joe Biden is trying to play here.

On the one hand, he's talking about how racist America is, how awful America is, how unfair America is, and then, on the other hand, he has to acknowledge which you pointed out, he's been part of the problem in Washington for 47 years. And if America is this horrible place, he's never done anything to fix any of it. In eight of those years, he was the number two guy in the White House.

So, whatever it is that he's attacking Donald Trump for, he has to take some credit for that himself, which is why really all of this is political, it's all nonsense. You know, Barack Obama on the night that he spoke said that he -- when he blamed Donald Trump for 170,000 deaths in America because of the Wuhan plague, I thought to myself wow, Barack Obama doesn't want Joe Biden to win, because he would never say that if you wanted a politician to win.

And then Joe Biden turns around and says it himself. It's such a nasty line of attack and it's so hopeless and so dishonest. I think the American people realize that. In fact, there's no doubt in my mind that the American people realize how dishonest that is.

BRUCE: Well, it's dishonest and I think it can be confusing. If you think that America is racist, you're talking about Americans being racist --

SCHLAPP: That's right.

BRUCE: -- you're talking about this country being a pit that cannot be saved, what is it exactly that is worth saving? He doesn't seem to -- he seems to be contradicting himself about the nation.

SCHLAPP: This is the problem with systemic racism, it's a term they throw out there but it's an indictment of the entire American experience because what the systematic racism means, Tammy, and you know this. It means I can't choose to be virtuous in my treatment of other human beings because the system is so bad that I'm just going to get caught up in the rottenness of the system so that a young black man or person of color can't rise above their problems in life because the system is so rotten, it makes people of color not try as they should and not feel hope, it makes white people feel like no matter what they do, they are rotten and they stink.

BRUCE: Yeah.

SCHLAPP: And that's exactly the opposite of what America believes.

BRUCE: It is -- it's the ultimately disaster, because what you're doing is you're condemning everyone immediately that there is no hope. Gone is the hope and change dynamic of Barack Obama.

With Joe Biden, everything is already lost, which Americans -- we reject this. It's certainly not the American way that's not how we ensure our future. That will be a gambit as you said, Charlie. It's an interesting way to put it, we'll see.

Gentlemen, thank you for joining me. Matt Schlapp, Charlie Hurt, I appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Now, unlike Joe Biden, President Trump will actually visit another state during his convention. On Monday as the RNC formally kicks off, the president will head north to North Carolina to visit local farmers.

And joining us now with the preview of next week's events is RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.

Ronna, welcome aboard. Thanks for joining me.

RONNA MCDANIEL, RNC CHAIRWOMAN: Thanks for having me. Great to be with you.

BRUCE: Well, you've been very busy. You've been very steady. You've been a great voice during this process, because there are different messages clearly.

The Democrat message is that everything is lost. America is a hellscape. That we can't make any difference for it, it's done.

And then you got President Trump who is reminding us about the American ideal, about what we want for the future, about the power of the American sensibility.

What can we actually expect now for this next week coming up? What will the approach of the president be?

MCDANIEL: Well, I think your point at the beginning was exactly right. Donald Trump is going to be in North Carolina on Monday. Donald Trump was also in Wisconsin, the state where Joe Biden has his convention that he never showed up to, and President Trump continues to travel this country and bring messages of hope and talk about the greatness of America, throughout the country.

So, in our convention, you're going to see this aspirational message, the president is going to put forward a plan for the next four years. He's going to talk about how his policies have directly affected real people. It's going to be the American story, not the Hollywood script and fiction that was put forward by the Democrats this past week.

BRUCE: You know, what I do love about him and I think one of the many reasons why he won in 2016 was we saw him fall in love with the country through the campaign. I don't know what he thought maybe at the beginning of the campaign, but when he began to meet us, he realized the potential in who we were and that we were worth saving.

And we recognize that as well, even though we've been told for a number of years prior through the Obama-Biden administration that we weren't really worth saving.

And, you know, his travel to states, I think this speaks to that as well, recognizing the value and importance of the states as they exist versus an overarching federal response to things. Would you agree with that?

MCDANIEL: Absolutely, the president loves this country, but more importantly, he loves the people of this country and he ran because of those people who didn't have a voice in Washington, that didn't have a lobbyist, that weren't the elite from the coasts that were the voices from Hollywood or big tech.

He ran for the farmer, for that blue collar worker on the line in Michigan. He ran for the everyday man who didn't have a voice in Washington. And he said, you deserve better, you deserve better from your politicians, I'm going to drain the swamp and I'm going to do things better.

And he has with regulation and cutting taxes and policies that have unleashed our energy independence and made people's lives better across the country.

Democrats were so dishonest in their convention, talking about the Obama- Biden administration and all the things they did to hurt our country.

BRUCE: Yeah.

MCDANIEL: Donald Trump has brought us back and he's going to do it again after this pandemic.

BRUCE: Yeah, I think that's clear, he kept promises. At the same time, of course, he also made Republicans mad on occasion. I think the RNC is learning a bit when it comes to the nature of how to approach the American people outside of that beltway and it's making all of us better.

Ronna, thank you so much for joining me tonight. I appreciate it.

MCDANIEL: Thanks for having me.

BRUCE: Now, coming up, the Democrats -- my pleasures. The Democrats this week at their convention ignore completely the lawlessness plaguing liberal cities across this country. Emily Compagno, Leo Terrell, and Austan Goolsbee join us next as this special edition of "Hannity" continuous.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUCE: Welcome back to this special edition of "Hannity."

Unsurprisingly, the Democrats completely ignored the lawlessness plaguing liberal cities at their convention this week as we saw brutality continue to unfold in our streets. A vicious attack on a truck driver in Portland was captured on video Sunday night, the prime suspect in that case, Marquise Love, surrendered to the police this morning.

And in New York City this week, another debacle. A retired NYPD sergeant was horrifically, brutally beaten in the garment district. That's pretty much midtown. The incident was captured by security cameras.

Now, amid the growing violence, the media finally asked Biden about the "defund the police" movement. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I don't want to defund police departments. I think they need more help. They need more assistance.

But we have to make it clear that this is about protecting neighborhoods, protecting people, everybody across the board. The only guy that actually put in a bill to actually defund the police is Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: Well, that's a little bit of a shift. Oh, yeah, Joe? Then why did the National Association of Police Organizations endorse Trump after they backed you and Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012?

And let's not forget that Biden previously said that he would be willing to, quote, redistribute funds away from police departments, saying that police had become the enemy, while Kamala praise the defunding of the LAPD. So, why is -- you saw her nodding as he was talking, why is Biden ignoring the crime wave and chaos in America's major cities?

Well, joining me now with reaction, attorney and Fox News contributor Emily Compagno, civil rights attorney, a man with very little to say, Leo Terrell, and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisors to President Obama, Austan Goolsbee.

Everybody, welcome aboard, thanks for joining me tonight. I appreciate it.

Now, let me start actually Austin with you. You know, I've heard Barack Obama make specific statements that what is happening now and even in violence that is occurring during his administration was not the way to go, that this was not acceptable, that things had to be done differently.

And yet, not only in the convention, but in general, we haven't heard leading Democrats and the party except about the defunding the police when the messaging prior to that had been the opposite. Are they realizing now, it's a bigger problem that they looking at the polls, why suddenly the shift?

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE, FORMER CHAIR OF THE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISORS: Well, I don't know that there was a shift. I mean, you started by trying to portray that as a partisan thing, I would point out that eight of the ten highest violent crime rates are red states and if you take the reddest city in America, it's Oklahoma City, it has the same population as Portland, Oregon, and its murder rate is double that in Portland.

Crime is a bad issue. I think Democrats were more focused on the lawlessness coming out of the White House than they were on general lawlessness or the crime rate.

BRUCE: Well, I -- it's a little bit of a jog, Americans see what's going on, Emily, throughout the country. Mostly, if it's blue states, they see Portland certainly, they see Seattle, it's New York, we see Chicago. It's not in red states, you've got Texas, but you got Austin, a blue city.

Regardless, we've got at least President Trump taking action against that with Operation LeGend, being very aggressive in that regard but Democrats seem to be silent or passive.

Emily, can they continue being silent on the violence that's going on?

EMILY COMPAGNO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, if they do so, it will be with the consequence that they will lose votes in November. And to respond Austan's point, it's actually aptly said, and the focus indeed is on the federal government, but to the point where it's missing the voter, we absolutely understand we are being ignored, all of the cities that are being rocked by violence.

I don't understand why there's an inability to acknowledge that there can be zero tolerance for violence and also a commitment to amplification of black voices and also a commitment to synthesis and participation and a whole host of other things were so many things can be true at the same time, I think the average voter isn't a partisan hack and isn't totally obsessed with President Trump and therefore deserves a nuance, acceptable answer.

I think hearing Joe Biden's comments made sense and it was interesting why he isn't saying it before. And for Kamala Harris referring to herself at the top cop, but then, of course, it's telling that the police union isn't enforcing them, or isn't endorsing them because as they say, they are sick of being considered a punching bag.

So, I think they are losing millions of voters, frankly, with the inability to articulate that many things can be true at the same time as well as a commitment to law and order.

BRUCE: Well, and, Leo, it's also -- we think about the issue of law and order versus safety. Regardless of who you are, if you live in an urban area, if you live in the suburbs, regardless of your complexion, your sex, sexual orientation, whatever, this is now an issue of safety. Are you going to be safe in your own city and can there be law enforcement and can they be empowered?

Leo, you and I come from the same general area in Los Angeles and, you know, people are afraid everywhere now. What would you say being from the West Coast, we know what's going on here on the East Coast, what's happened to Los Angeles and nature of the Los Angelinos responding to mayhem in general that's unfolding everywhere?

LEO TERRELL, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, the same thing is happening in all these Democratic cities, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle.

And, Austan, for you to bring up Oklahoma City, that's just a -- you're trying to do smoke and mirrors. Let's be clear, the Democrats go to the convention, didn't say one thing about the chaos in those cities -- why? Because they are basically supporting Black Lives Matter.

Austan, Black Lives Matter? Which black lives? Black, the black police officer or is there black on black crime in Chicago? And what about the Police Officer David Dorn?

For Austan to come in and talk about Oklahoma City and not talk about the chaos -- the Democrats cannot talk about crime in these cities because they are run by Democratic mayors.

The thing that is amazing about it, they play the race card throughout the entire convention, isn't it amazing, Austan? I hope you answer my question, is that Chicago is run by black people, black police chief and you call it racism.

So, all the Democrats try to do is talk about racism in Democratic cities and ignore the crime in Democratic cities.

One last point, President Trump offered help to these Democratic cities.

BRUCE: I want to get Austan here to respond, yeah.

TERRELL: But they also didn't want anything with it.

Austan, answer my question. Let's not talk about Oklahoma, talk about Chicago, Seattle, and Washington, please?

BRUCE: Austan, go for it. What do you have to say?

GOOLSBEE: Well, you had quite a few questions in there so let me try to address some of them. I still don't see how you get away from the fact that eight of the ten most violence take place in red states. That is a problem that we must -- that is a problem that we must address across partisan lines.

Now in Portland, the president sent in federal agents and caused a violent crime.

TERRELL: To protect a federal building, to protect a federal building --

GOOLSBEE: It wasn't just to protect a federal building. That was the problem.

TERRELL: Answer the question, answer my question.

GOOLSBEE: I'm not playing games.

BRUCE: Leo, I beg your pardon, just a minute.

Gentlemen, thank you very much. Bottom line is when federal agents were withdrawn, the violence continued and it continued against local law enforcement, completely debunking the myth that the federal agents were somehow responsible for the violence in Portland, that's already been debunked. We've been seeing now weeks later that they are going after local law enforcement.

So, gentlemen, thank you. Obviously, this is something Democrats don't want to discuss because it deals with policy, liberal attitudes, and restrictions on police and what it is they are able to do and blaming, of course.

Now, coming up, thank you, all of you. Appreciate it.

Coming up, the liberal media could not contain their excitement this week and last night, they were fawning over Joe Biden's remarks. We will play the tape as this special edition of "Hannity" continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUCE: Welcome back to the special edition of "Hannity".

Now, after Joe Biden last night showed he could read a teleprompter without any disastrous blunders, the mob in the media immediately proclaimed it a momentous achievement, all while they worked overtime to pretend that this week's DNC was anything but a depressing debacle.

Here's just a sample from CNN. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To me, I agree with you, I think this is maybe the best speech Joe Biden has ever delivered.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought his speech, I though he nailed it, opening with that elevator quote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we were prepared for it to be a terrible speech as long as he didn't embarrass himself -- he didn't have to make anything up tonight, Joe Biden did that thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am a hard-core fiercest partisan here, if I could jump out of the chair -- this is the best night for Joe Biden ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: Wow, it's like the toddler just took a step, isn't it?

Yes, and "The Washington Post" took things a step further with their theater critic calling the virtual DNC, quote, "award-worthy television." But, of course, everything they always do is worthy of an award, isn't it?

Now, Biden's adoring fans in the press will defend him at all costs even as he makes it clear he's not interested in taking any of their questions. So, ask yourself, why is that?

Much of the media is refusing to critically cover Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, why is it that they ignore the violent crime and rioting, plaguing America's Democrats run cities and why is it that they downplay the historic achievements under President Trump?

Like the recent UAE-Israeli peace deal, remarkable achievement. Why is it they continue to ignore Joe Biden's decades of failure inside the Washington swamp?

It's because the mob in the media are nothing more than an arm of the Democratic Party, reciting the same talking points, repeating the same fake news narrative and living in the same echo chamber.

But the good news is, you get the final say, because in 74 days, we will vote in the most important choice election of our lifetime and you have the opportunity to shock the world again.

Now, joining me now for reaction, media reporter for "The Hill", Joe Concha, and Trump 2020 director of communications, Erin Perrine.

Welcome aboard to both of you. Thanks for joining me tonight.

Very busy week, right? We kind of knew what would happen with the media and, Joe, of course, you've been a very busy guy, as lead into this.

Now, we also know what to expect coming up next week, which will be that the sky is falling and everything is awful. How are we going to be able to look at the media and is there going to be any point where we can take them seriously going into the RNC next week?

JOE CONCHA, MEDIA REPORTER FOR THE HILL: Well, you had a great headline on there, Tammy, as far as "The Washington Post" calling it "award-winning television."

I like to look at numbers a lot, I'm a numbers guy. And the bottom line is that Joe Biden's acceptance speech was viewed by 21.8 million people and you say, oh, wow, that's a pretty good number, until you that put that number into context -- 21.8 million for Biden is 21 percent lower than Hillary Clinton's acceptance speech in 2016, nearly 40 percent lower than President Trump's acceptance speech in the 2016 RNC.

BRUCE: Wow.

CONCHA: Then you say, well, a lot more people are watching streaming and watching on their phones.

All right. Let's use a 2020 to 2020, apples-to-apples comparison. The president's State of the Union Address, pre-pandemic, mind you, when people could actually go out, 37 million people watched compared to Joe Biden, it's about 22 million -- a 15 million viewer difference. That's what we're seeing here. And again, we're in a pandemic, people are at home, not a lot of options.

And then you look at the substance of the Biden speech.

BRUCE: Yeah.

CONCHA: Again, 24 minutes in the teleprompter, the shortest speech, by the way, that we've seen since Walter Mondale in 1984. And if the theme is "I'm a decent man", look, we're not voting for a priest, we're voting for president. And this was a convention of grievances, and airing of grievances, a Festivus, and therefore, a show about nothing.

So, I would imagine, next week, Trump 2020, Republicans are looking at this and saying, OK, we need a message with teeth with it, and drawing contrast between Democrats and Republicans, Biden and Trump.

BRUCE: Yeah.

CONCHA: Democrats will raise taxes and there will be anarchy in our streets if we continue allow this ticket to actually get to the White House.

BRUCE: Right.

CONCHA: We will do the opposite, keep taxes low and address the anarchy in our streets, that's what the Trump campaign hopes to draw in terms of a contrast when we get to Monday.

BRUCE: OK, all right. And, you know, that's a very good example, because really the viewers in the way, the American people, Erin, are really the deciders, right? They're going to watch something that makes them hopeful, that gives them a sense of why one goes on living, why you take that next step, why the next step should matter.

And it's not going to be very difficult for the president to come up with a message that's hopeful. That seems to be his foundational premise from the start.

ERIN PERRINE, TRUMP 2020 DIRECTOR OF PRESS COMMUNICATIONS: I mean, that's absolutely right. You heard the president say it today, and I think it was just a poignant line -- where Joe Biden sees American darkness, he sees American greatness, and that's just a little bit of a look ahead of the message that you always hear from President Trump but you will certainly hear from him coming up next week as he reaccepts that nomination to lead the Republican Party and America for four more years.

The contrast is clear: Joe Biden took a dark and divisive tone, and it was really hard to tell where the media ends and Democrats begin with all of their tripping over themselves, applauding the bare minimum participation trophy effort that Joe Biden gave, reading a teleprompter speech. Congratulations, Joe, you managed to do it.

But let's look at the facts here, he was dark and he was dismissive and he didn't talk about what's actually going on in this country, the greatness achieved under President Trump. He had to try to veil that.

He couldn't even respect the office, he called him the occupant of the office. Hey, a friendly reminder, Joe, there's a big difference between you and President Donald J. Trump and it's not just the fact that the president is Donald J. Trump as a direct rebuke of the Obama-Biden administration, is that America has great leadership with President Trump, something Joe Biden has never done in his 47 years in the swamp.

BRUCE: Yeah, I think Kellyanne Conway noted the difference between 47 months of President Trump versus 47 years with Joe Biden.

The American people, obviously, will decide and we're looking forward to that certainly.

Erin, Joe, thanks for joining me tonight.

Now, up next, last night, Joe Biden said, if elected, he will institute a national mask mandate. Plus, he is now vowing to shut down the country again, what a surprise, if necessary because, of course, of COVID.

Congressman Steve Scalise and Andy Biggs join us next. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUCE: Welcome back this special edition of "Hannity".

As the dismal DNC comes to an end this week, thank goodness, and the GOP ramps up in preparation for the RNC next week, coronavirus response has become a political hot topic, obviously, with Democrats slamming the president at every turn.

If elected, Joe Biden has some far left drastic plans to deal with the virus, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We'll have a national mandate to wear a mask, not as a burden but as a patriotic duty to protect one another. In short, we'll do what we should have done from the very beginning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: In short, they'll implement the control they wanted all along and in keeping with the Obama-Biden economic record, sleepy Joe was perfectly fine with shutting down the whole country all over again. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MUIR, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: If your sworn in come January, and we have coronavirus and the flu combining, which many scientists have said is a real possibility, would you be prepared to shut this country down again?

BIDEN: I would be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives.

MUIR: So, if scientists say shut it down?

BIDEN: I would shut it down. I would listen to the scientists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: Wow.

Joining me now with reaction, House minority whip, Congressman Steve Scalise, and House Freedom Caucus chairman, Congressman Andy Biggs.

Gentlemen, welcome aboard.

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): Thank you.

REP. ANDY BIGGS (R-AZ): Welcome. Good to be with you, Tammy.

BRUCE: Now, Congressman Scalise, I have to say that, you know, Americans understand, we know Americans care about the coronavirus, and we are concerned about it, we remain concerned about our health and the health of our family. We -- a super majority of us want people to wear masks and that is what we've been guided to do. There is guidance and suggestions.

And there's Democrats moving to mandates, to enforcing something. What are your thoughts on that?

SCALISE: Well, first, when Joe Biden says that he would listen to the scientists -- look, he was the first one to criticize Donald Trump when President Trump took decisive action to block flights coming in from China. When Dr. Fauci and others testified under oath that President Trump made the right decision, and in fact, that President Trump's decision saved American lives, not just blocking flights from China, blocking flights from Europe, those are all things that Joe Biden criticized, and it was scientists that actually said President Trump saves lives.

So, Joe Biden has been all over the board on this, but what he's really been is wrong on this from the very beginning. He just wants to criticize the president when he talks about -- you know, he's now saying he's not for defunding the police, he was just on video a few weeks ago saying he wants to reallocate money away from the police. That's defunding police.

BRUCE: Exactly.

SCALISE: And, of course, we know Kamala Harris wants to defund police as well.

Whatever position he says he's going to take today, he's been all over the board. What he's done is embrace the radical left agenda on all of these items and if Joe Biden was running things, more Americans would have died.

And again, Dr. Fauci himself testified under oath that President Trump's decision to ban flights from China saved American lives. Joe Biden would not have done that.

BRUCE: Yeah, thank you.

You know, Congressman Biggs, I mean, what's interesting too is that if you listen to the science early on, they told you don't wear masks. They said that's like a problem, you don't need to -- stop it.

So, you're going to get whiplash if you're making decisions every now and then based on what scientists are going to be saying -- the Europeans science, the American science. But Americans agree our instinct is -- we understand the situation, we tend to agree.

But Joe Biden seems to be pandering in a certain way, he wants to say he'd do something differently but with President Trump being successful, he doesn't quite know where to go with this.

BIGGS: That's exactly right, Tammy. President Trump has been strong proactive leader on this right from everything from the flight bans to reducing regulation, et cetera, and allowing public-private partnerships to develop cures and prophylaxis as well.

But here's the thing, Joe Biden wants control. That's what the mask mandate is.

And President Trump understands very clearly while he -- while he's the president, he doesn't have authority to issue a nationwide mask mandate. And so, he has respected state sovereignty on some of those issues like masks.

And that's really part of the key to all of this that I don't think Joe Biden gets and I don't think the Democrats get. They just want the power. They just want the control and I think if they are going to start shutting down over flu every year as well, you're going to have a big problem going forward with centralized power.

BRUCE: Yeah, these are knee-jerk reactions without the thought about the cure being worse than what's been going on. In addition, we do have history with the Obama-Biden administration with the H1N1 flu, and their own health experts saying that had been really just luck that that didn't turn into worse than what it was because they had no idea what they were doing.

So, we do have a history. That is good news.

Thank you, gentlemen, for joining me and I appreciate it. Obviously, this conversation is going to continue.

Now, up next, Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli were sentenced today for their role in the college admission scandal. We'll have a live report.

Next, plus, Hollywood elites prove just how out of touch and how unfunny they really are at this week's DNC.

Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUCE: Welcome back to the "Hannity" special.

Now, it's a story that rocked Hollywood and college campuses around the country. Now, actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli have both been sentenced for their role in the college admission scandal.

Jonathan Hunt is standing by at our Los Angeles bureau with more -- Jonathan.

JONATHAN HUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Tammy.

For the first time today, we heard Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli apologize for using their wealth and privilege to cheat their two daughter his way the University of Southern California.

Loughlin told the court, quote: I made an awful decision. I went along with a plan to give my daughter my daughters an unfair advantage in the college admissions process and in doing so I ignored my intuition and allowed myself to be swayed from my moral compass.

And Giannulli saying, quote: I do deeply regret the harm that my actions have caused my daughters, my wife, and others. I take full responsibility for my conduct, I'm ready to accept consequences and move forward with the lessons I've learned from this experience.

According to U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, Giannulli was more active than his wife in the cheating scheme. Lelling saying Giannulli directed bribe payments and, quote, personally confronted his daughter's high school counselor to prevent the scheme from being discovered, brazenly lying about his daughter's athletic abilities.

As a result, Giannulli was sentenced to 5 months in prison along with a $250,000 fine and Loughlin two months in prison and a $150,000 fine.

Tammy, the total of those two fines is less than they paid it to cheat their daughters way into college and deprive students of those places, students whose parents didn't have a spare half a million dollars lying around -- Tammy.

BRUCE: Well, Jonathan, thank you very much.

Interesting that he was the main mover when she was certainly the main focus of most of the media, because she's, I suppose, more famous. Thank you for that update very much.

Now, per usual, we saw a lot of Hollywood elites making an appearance at this week's DNC and unsurprisingly it was more awkward than ever. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS, ACTRESS: What did you think about Kamala Harris' speech last night?

ANDREW YANG, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It was tremendous, I was happy for her.

LOUIS-DREYFUS: I know, me too. She's fabulous. I cannot wait to see her debate the current Vice President Mika Pines, or is it Paints?

WANG: It's pronounced Punch I believe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: Wow.

Joining us now for reaction, that was painful, FOX News contributor Rachel Campos-Duffy, and Democratic pollster Doug Schoen.

You know, you guys, Rachel, I'll start with you, I've always worried there because Hollywood is always so good and smart and clever and creative and they can, you know, charm you -- that went out some window somewhere. Rachel, what happened to them?

RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I don't know, I used to think there was nothing she couldn't do, now I know there is, she can't put on a performance at the DNC convention without making me cringe.

You know, what I picked from this -- what I picked up from this, Tammy, is look, they are elitists. They had elite celebrities there.

You know, hearing Eva Longoria and, by the way, Michelle Obama who is also celebrity these days lecturing us about income inequality was -- was laughable. All of them -- both of them could redistribute their wealth or live more modestly, but they choose not to.

What I really gather from this is that there is a real difference in these parties and the greatest legacy Donald Trump has is that he wrestled the Republican Party away from country club Republicans like Mitt Romney and the Bushes and he handed it to the working class. The Republican Party is the party of the working class, of the truckers, of the machinists, of at home moms. That's -- that's the difference I think we're going to see between this week and next week.

BRUCE: Well, thank you, Rachel, great points.

Doug, you know, you're a Democrat. You watched some of that, you probably loved a lot about that didn't like some of it, you had to be somewhat disappointed in how awkward the celebrities were and why wasn't Cher or Barbra Streisand there? I mean, it's almost like there's no enthusiasm even amongst the big celebrities. They didn't have to leave their house.

DOUG SCHOEN, DEMOCRATIC POLLSTER: Well, I just say, Tammy, that I thought the Democrats missed a real opportunity, with the celebrity culture, they forgot about the working man, blue-collar voters, the voters without college educations who are interested in jobs. I mean, these jokes fell flat, the celebrity culture doesn't work and I would advise my party move away from that and talk about real issues that people care about, not cheap jokes at the expense of the sitting vice president.

BRUCE: Yeah.

SCHOEN: It didn't work, it's counterproductive.

BRUCE: You know, Doug, that's -- that bit of advice could actually save them but I don't think they're going to take it. Great seeing both of you tonight. Thank you very much.

(CROSSTALK)

BRUCE: Coming up, today, President Trump -- President Trump held a funeral at the White House for his younger brother Robert. He died last Saturday, we'll have a few more details for you after the break.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUCE: Welcome back to the special edition of "Hannity."

Last Saturday, Robert Trump, the younger brother of President Donald Trump passed away at age 71. President Trump held a small ceremony at the White House today in honor of his brother. Early tonight, President Trump tweeted: Robert, I love you. Rest in peace.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Trump family. I am so sorry for your loss.

Thank you for joining us tonight. Sean will be back on Monday.

"The Ingraham Angle" is up next. Have a gentle weekend. Good night, everyone.

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