Rand Paul sounds off against 'racist' thinking behind disenfranchisement claims

close

Video

Rand Paul sounds off against 'racist' thinking behind disenfranchisement claims

Sen. Paul, R-Ky., reacts to blowback over Georgia election law, slams Coca-Cola on 'The Ingraham Angle'

This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," April 2, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: I'm Laura Ingraham, and this is a special edition of "The Ingraham Angle" on this Good Friday. We have a big show for you tonight.

Senators Rand Paul and Ron Johnson, they're here, and we tackle the legal strategy that we can use to defeat what are the coming vaccine passports.

Plus, come on, it's "Friday Follies" with Raymond Arroyo.

But first, whoops! Well, it turns out that bowing down to the social justice warriors really is a dangerous and self-defeating strategy.

Case in point. Democrats' lies about Georgia's voter integrity law, equating it to Jim Crow, well, it sends an all sorts of Far Left activists down the boycott Georgia warpath, including, well, that fringe figure that guy, President Joe Biden. Who eagerly jumped on the punish Georgia train in an interview with ESPN?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAGE STEELE, ANCHOR, ESPN: So, Mr. President, what do you think about the possibility that baseball decides to move their All Star game out of Atlanta because of this political issue?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think today's professional athletes are acting incredibly responsibly. I would strongly support them doing that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Well, well, well. Aside from the fact that Joe seemed to be sleeping in that interview, as "The Angle" told you last night, these left- wing boycotts of the All-Star Game or frankly, any other event or product, would cause huge economic damage and send jobs to other low tax states. They'll hurt Georgia.

So, the blowback against this is growing, which forced even liberal Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff to put out a statement last night saying, "I absolutely oppose and reject any notion of boycotting Georgia." But then he said that look, corporations that are disgusted, like we are with this voter suppression bill, should stop any financial support for the Georgia Republican Party.

And then Stacey Abrams, the mastermind behind the fraudulent attack on Georgia's voter ID law, also has been caught in a trap of her own making.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STACEY ABRAMS, FOUNDER FAIR FIGHT: To our friends across the country, please do not boycott us. I understand the passion of those calling for boycotts of Georgia following the passage of SB 202, but here's the thing. Black, Latino, AAPI, and Native American voters whose votes are most suppressed under SB 202 are also the most likely to be hurt by potential boycotts of Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Now, none of this makes any sense. OK. Here's a question for Ms. Abrams: if Georgia really is trying to resurrect the evils of Jim Crow and segregation, then how could businesses remain there in good conscience? Shouldn't everyone, even the low-income voters, citizens have to sacrifice to force Georgia businesses to get in line here and force the state legislature to do what they should do?

Well, what happens is Abrams sees where all this is leading. It would destroy Georgia's businesses and actually could destroy her own political future. Thus, it was no surprise to see the White House on a cleanup mission after Biden's boycott blunder. Maybe they got a call from Stacey Abrams as well.

One unnamed Senior Advisor insisted that Biden's endorsement of a boycott, well, it wasn't really an endorsement of a boycott. He was speaking from the heart. That was him. The adviser said for him, it's not dictating what the MLB - Major League Baseball - should be doing, but he supports the decisions of the players.

But we all know what this is really about. This is about bullying corporations into supporting Nancy Pelosi's massive election rigging scheme called H.R.1. The measures would override all state voting prerogatives and ensure a permanent Democrat majority from coast to coast. This would actually invalidate the votes of 10s of millions of Americans through nationalized ballot harvesting, the elimination of voter ID requirements and a lot more.

But the good news is, Texas is now following in George's footsteps. Yesterday, the State Senate passed voter integrity measures of its own. Well, and what happened then? Well, predictively, Dallas based American Airlines and Dell Computer they've already announced their opposition to the commonsense bill. That's a really dumb move on their part.

And going forward, I'm going to say this - I'm trying to say this every night going forward, every Republican lawmaker, not just in Georgia or Texas, but beyond, should put these companies on notice. A lot of them, by the way, do plenty of business in China, as we pointed out. They have no problem with that.

But you side with the vote riggers who are lying about these reforms, and you will lose every tax break, every incentive every credit going forward. And if these big corporations think they're going to get better results with Democrats in charge of all 50 states, good luck with that.

All right. Joining me now is Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. Senator, you see what's happening. These corporations are just petrified. It reminds me of what they did during the BLM riots of last summer. They all just fell in line. But how dangerous is this, given what we've already seen in Georgia, and now in Texas for them?

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): What's amazing to me that the head of Delta, the head of Coca-Cola, they don't even bother to read the bills. In fact, in Texas, they admitted they didn't even read the bills at all. All of these proposals are to try to make it easy to vote, but hard to cheat.

I've been involved with this. I've communicated with people in all 50 state legislators, I've called them on the phone, I've talked to the conservative ALEC group about this, and we've now passed it in Kentucky. And we actually had more early voting days added, so easier to vote, but you vote in person.

And there is a difference between in-person and by mail. By mail should be the exception to the rule, and only for those who can't show up in person, because it's much easier to verify who someone is if they show up in person. There's nothing Jim Crow about this.

In fact, what is very insulting, and really just gets to me is they're implying that people of certain races are not able to comply with rules, show up, or have a driver's license or figure this out. And I think that's very racist in they're thinking that they're certain groups of our people who are incapable of following basic rules. I don't think it's true.

I think the trend lines for all the different races voting have been good in our country for 20 or 30 years. And all these election bills do is try to make it easier to vote, but harder to cheat.

INGRAHAM: Let me just put up on the screen for a moment what Texas is proposing, Senator. And, again, this is very common sense. So major provisions in this bill include allowing poll watchers to record in some circumstances and establishing a system to track mail-in ballots and codifying a prohibition on drive-through voting.

So, we want to make sure that we're able to see what's going on when they're counting the ballots. And if there are irregularities, record them, why would that be a problem? So, none of this is Jim Crow. But these CEOs know that Senator. So, what's really going on? Are they just weak-kneed? They want to mollify the Woke Left. What's really going on here?

PAUL: It's just extortion racket that's been going on for a long time. Jesse Jackson would do it years ago. He would protest in front of a big corporation that wasn't doing anything wrong, until they gave money to his organization, then his protest would leave the organization. That's what they're doing now. They think they can bully.

But some of these corporations like Coca-Cola I recommend people stay away from them. Because here's the thing, Coca-Cola is now telling people to apologize for being white, apologize for being arrogant, apologize for all these things, supposedly, that white people are doing and that's a very racist sort of philosophy. It's this woke sort of critical race theory. But it's now infected a publicly traded company.

And when they start saying things like that, they're actually going against what their mandate is. Their mandate is to maximize profit. But they're - now they're turning off 40 percent of the country who don't really want to be woke up and told that we're horrible people, and don't believe that there is horrible racism in our country. It's been getting better generation after generation.

And yet Coca-Cola wants to make us all feel like race is a predominant thing in everyone's live. And if you're white, you're somehow guilty or evil. And that's a kind of a crazy philosophy for a mainstream company to get. that wants to sell products to all of us. Do they not want any Republicans to buy Coca-Cola products? They're heading in that direction.

INGRAHAM: Watch out. Yes, they're poking the bear. Senator, wonderful to see you. Happy Easter to you.

PAUL: Thank you.

INGRAHAM: And the Left's poisonous attacks on Georgia's election integrity law is just the latest sign that Biden's plea for unity - of course, it was all a sham. But my next guest says political battles like this point to something truly troubling - the eventual breakup of the United States.

Historian Craig Shirley writes, "Our country is in a vicious toxic relationship with itself. And like any toxic relationship, the only inevitable eventuality is that it'll find - it'll mercifully end up with a breakup. I don't see any sort of viable path forward at the rate we're going." Craig Shirley author and historian joins me now.

Craig, your piece was jarring and alarming. Is there really no path in your mind to reconciliation?

CRAIG SHIRLEY, AUTHOR AND HISTORIAN: No, I don't think so, Laura. Look, we had national glue in the past told us together as a nation. We had Manifest Destiny, we had the Great Depression, we had wars and we had other activities. We should have - COVID should have been the national glue holding us together, but it wasn't. In fact, it drove us farther apart.

You saw the states arguing with states and state arguing with the national government about how to proceed or how to distribute vaccines. No, I don't see any choice going forward. It's a - and may be a natural thing, like Brexit only in the United States. Where states, Blue states Red states separate and have some type of friendly trading relationship or friendly transportation relationship, but they're all self-governed, which is really what the Founders intended in the first place.

INGRAHAM: Well, Craig, when you see the difference between the way things are going now in Florida, or Tennessee or Texas, South Dakota, and then you see the way things are going - and in even Virginia where I know you live in Virginia - Ralph Northam.

It really does seem like in many ways two Americas. Everybody who travels to Florida, these other states, they breathe a sigh of relief and they remember what it was like to live in a free state. That's - I keep hearing that. It's a free state. That's jarring to my ear when I hear that.

SHIRLEY: Yes. No, you're absolutely right Laura. People are voting with their feet. People are leaving California, they're leaving New York, because of insane policies, there is - what they think are insane liberal policies and they're migrating to Texas and to Florida and Louisiana, other states and this is happening all over the country.

Is that is that states like Michigan are becoming bluer and states like Florida are becoming redder. And they don't get along with each other. They don't talk to each other. And they really - obviously, they're separate governments. But they have very strained relationships with each other right now, culturally and politically.

INGRAHAM: And Craig, as I just said, in "The Angle," to have a sitting president, like Biden, endorse to the extent that even knows what's going on. But endorse a boycott of Georgia over a voter ID law, I mean, I have never witnessed anything like that before. That was also a very disturbing moment. They've tried to walk it back. But we know what's going on.

SHIRLEY: Yes. We know what's going on, is - what he said was very unpresidential. It's him like - him sticking his nose into affairs that he doesn't - has no cause to. Like, whether or not the Texas Rangers should open up their stadium to allow people to attend games and watch games.

Let the marketplace decide, let government - local government decide. What is he doing talking about that or talking about Georgia or talking about any other state instead of national issues? And he seems confused most of the time anyways, which is why he's a - why he is sticking his nose into affairs that are none of his concern.

INGRAHAM: Yes. Alienating states, Left and Right.

SHIRLEY: Yes, disunity, not unity.

INGRAHAM: Mostly, Left - well, mostly Right, I should say. Exactly, Craig, thank you so much. Have a wonderful Easter.

And we turn now to a Biden family member we haven't heard from in a while, good old, Hunter. He's finally come out. He's come out of hiding to do an interview with CBS about his new tell all book. But, of course, he's not really ready to tell all about that laptop controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACY SMITH, CBS NEWS: Was that your laptop?

HUNTER BIDEN, SON OF JOE BIDEN: For real, I don't know.

SMITH: I know. But you know that's - this is a--

BIDEN: I really don't know what the answer is. That's the truth.

SMITH: You don't know - yes or no - if the laptop was yours?

BIDEN: I don't have any idea. I have no idea.

SMITH: So, it could have been yours?

BIDEN: Of course, certainly. There could be a laptop out there that was stolen from me. It could be that I was hacked. It could be that it was Russian intelligence. It could be that it was stolen from me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: It could be that you're a total crook. Joining me now is Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson. Senator, that was like, it depends on what the meaning of the word laptop is, right, which the FBI is in possession of. Is this really some Russian plot to undermine a member of the Biden family, come on?

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): Well, it was surreal to listen to that interview. He knows it was his computer or he was so drugged up when he dropped it off, maybe he forgot. But it's been pretty well verified, that's his computer and the emails that have been extracted from that really show that our report - Senator Grassley's, my report was spot on accurate that there are so many foreign financial entanglements that really do represent a counterintelligence and extortion threat to now the Biden presidency.

Now, remember that that was completely dismissed because the bias in the knee. They picked their man. They did everything they could to get him elected. Now he's elected and we're starting to see the very sorry and sad results of that.

INGRAHAM: And Senator Johnson, from the minute Donald Trump walked into that White House in 2017 to the minute he left and even afterward, they targeted him unfairly, maligned him. They're still looking at every nook and cranny of his taxes up in New York.

And meanwhile, we have a Chinese complication, at the very least with the Biden family, and it's like Oh, no, we've done with that story. This is so obvious in its and its manner of media bias and it's a complete scandal compare and contrast to Donald Trump and what they did to him.

JOHNSON: There's no doubt about it. Remember, they justified their investigative reporting, and all these false allegations of Russian collusion with Trump campaign on the basis that if this was true, there could be all kinds of blackmail on the part of Russia against the new administration.

Well, we know that these connections with the Hunter Biden are true, and we don't know what effect it's going to have on American foreign policy. But, again, the bias in the media is taking us down into a very dark chapter. I was listening to your previous guest. This should concern every American.

We don't have a free and unbiased press anymore. We have, as Judge Silberman declared, a Democrat broadsheet, is really what the media is. And you have to go to the source of that. This is literally - and well, before I entered the political realm, Laura, I realized it was the masterstroke of the Left as they took over the university systems during the Vietnam War protests.

The Radical Left has been in control of collegiate education, journalism of law. They controlled our culture for 50 years and we're starting to see the results of that. Their efforts are bearing fruition right now. And it should concern every American.

INGRAHAM: And then a new story that at least 1,000 people are getting across our border every day. We don't know who they are. They're just going into the country. They're not tested for COVID. They're just there - I mean, we're on track for more than a million people this year, Senator. I don't know anyone who voted for that. Do you?

JOHNSON: No. And this is as close to open borders as you're ever going to get. And of course, the Biden administration knows what they're doing. They understand that their policies are facilitating a multibillion-dollar business model of some of the most evil people on the planet.

And we saw the video of them dropping a three and five year old girl from - girls from 14 feet. We heard down the border that they'll throw a baby overboard the raft when there interdicted from CBP to divert CBP to try and rescue that child. These are evil people and the Biden administration policies are facilitating their efforts. It's sick,

INGRAHAM: Senator, we're going to continue to track that and also the H.R. 1 push. Thank you for speaking out.

And vaccine passports, another control tactic of the Left, well, they're becoming reality. But constitutional and how do we fight back, Harmeet Dhillon tells us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: An unholy alliance has formed between the Biden administration and the medical cartel, and of course throw corporate America in for good measure, to force you to obtain vaccine passports for the right to return to normal. Well, thankfully, GOP governors are stepping up and fighting back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TATE REEVES (R-MS): The idea of the government requiring a passport to move freely within a free country certainly strikes me as the wrong approach.

GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): I think it's unAmerican to have this kind of policy going forward and pushed by the federal government is unacceptable.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): It's completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society. You want the fox to guard the henhouse? I mean, give me a break.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Joining me now Harmeet Dhillon, Civil Rights Attorney and Founder of the Center for American Liberty. Harmeet, I'm still trying to figure out how the Democrats are going to convince the court that any of this is constitutional, even if it's coming from big corporations, airlines and so forth? Your thoughts on this?

HARMEET DHILLON, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, thanks for having me, Laura, you're absolutely right. This is unconstitutional on a number of different levels. And the only way that they seem to be getting to the point of proposing this is by ignoring the legal precedents out there.

I mean, just as recently as 2003, there was a case in D.C., where the Department of Defense was barred from forcing an anthrax vaccine on the troops, because it was experimental, which is the exact circumstance that we have here and yet they seem to be ignoring all of this law.

Laura, these vaccine passport proposals violate the right to travel under the Constitution. They violate our right or privacy, they violate equal protection. They violate due process, and they may even violate the First Amendment to the extent that a decision to get vaccinated is an expressive activity.

So, I don't see how these survive, even if it is in the private sector. And in the private sector itself, there are civil rights statutes in the states as well as statutes that bar private parties from conspiring with the government to violate your civil rights that can be used to prevent companies from discriminating against people on the basis of a suspect classification like this.

INGRAHAM: To justify though, Harmeet, issuing these passports, certain MSNBC hosts cite an interesting country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARI MELBER, MSNBC HOST: China has opened up and is using a similar program - digital certificates for travelers. So there's a lot of evidence that this can be a technological answer to help improve public safety and allow vaccinated people to congregate. It also allows people to choose to opt-in. You don't want to get the passport, you don't want to go to that place, you don't have to. And yet now we are seeing a major backlash--

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: China, Harmeet. China, yay!

DHILLON: I mean, where do you start? China also harvests the organs of prisoners. China also uses facial recognition technology. And China also conditions your right to travel on social credit scores. We don't want anything that China has.

Look, our country, Laura, was founded on the principle that we derive our rights from God, we have natural rights. We don't derive them from the government. We don't need the government's permission to do basic things. The Constitution protects those rights.

And so this is going to be fought at every level by my organization "Center for American Liberty," as well as I'm sure, many other patriots out there. We will not tolerate this because it is a slippery slope.

And we're not even getting into the fact that big tech - and you remember that during the beginning parts of this crisis, we had big tech pushing these tracking apps so that you could figure out contact tracing, or you could figure out if you were near somebody who was COVID positive, that was all about getting our data. And that's why these big tech companies are rushing to collaborate with state governments to get our data this way and marshal (ph) where we go.

INGRAHAM: Yes, everyone has to understand who's watching this tonight that it's not about COVID. It never was to some extent. If they're actually going to require you to show a code to get on a plane or to get on a train or to go to school, then you don't have freedom anymore. that your freedom is basically gone.

They're compelled you to do something against you, well, perhaps. Maybe not, maybe you're fine with it, but not everybody. And the next thing is that they're going to require you to do what else? What else will they require you to do in order to be free again?

DHILLON: Absolutely. And what other vaccines and whether their experimental procedures and maybe you'll be barred from establishments because you were in a room with somebody who's on that list of undesirable people.

Laura, the civil rights establishment in this country, the formerly active American Civil Liberties Union, fought for our right to make sure the police couldn't stop Black people walking in White neighborhoods and ask them to show their papers and what were they doing there?

And this is really a form of that. This is the government tracing you, tracking you and barring your entry and your participation and really forcing this vaccine. This vaccine is - it may have elements that people of faith object to, such as being derived from aborted fetuses. There's so many other reasons why people of faith or people of conscience decide that it's not for them.

Even for health reasons, maybe you already had COVID, and you recovered, you had the antibody. So, it is appalling and unconstitutional to force this on people and we will be fighting it.

INGRAHAM: Now, Harmeet, thank you so much tonight.

And all eyes are in Minnesota because of the trial, of course, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and the death of George Floyd. But that's not the only controversy that's been ripping the state apart.

The absurd COVID rules of Democratic Governor Tim Walz have left 1000s of school children angry and isolated, and parents infuriated about burdensome protocols that have ruined life for a lot of kids.

And that leads us to this case, Carson Deichman. He says he was pulled from a state qualifying swim competition just moments before it started because of a close contact claim by someone in his class who, I guess, tested positive for COVID.

Now, despite Carson testing negative twice and showing no symptoms, the school district ordered him to quarantine for 14 days, forcing him to guess what, miss the state championship meet. Carson joins me now along with his dad, Mark Deichman.

Carson, good to see you tonight. Now you're a senior, so people watching might say big deal, Carson, it's just a swim meet or two. How does that really affect your life? What do you say?

CARSON DEICHMAN, SWIMMER PULLED FROM COMPETITION: Well, you know, Laura, first of all, thank you very much for this opportunity. But I feel I was denied the opportunity to swim at the state competition, my senior year high school, a very last chance. So, I was very devastated that I was not able to make the parents - at the state meet.

INGRAHAM: Carson, do you feel cheated? Again, you're a senior, you've had a lot of restrictions in place your senior year, really since last spring. You are in school, which is good. But as someone who played a lot of high school sports, it was so ingrained in what I did on a daily basis. It really helped me on everything else I did. So, I'd feel cheated. I imagine you do too.

DEICHMAN: I do very much feel cheated. And, Laura, for a lot of kids, these high school sports is a chance for them to escape, and this is what they enjoy doing. And unfortunately, it's getting stripped away from some of these kids.

INGRAHAM: And Mark, on March 17, just days after the quarantine began, your governor released a video. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): One of my hardworking staffers tested positive for COVID, which the protocols mean all of us will go into quarantine now for 10 days. This is how you beat COVID.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Mark, OK, wait. Let me follow this. So, the governor quarantines for 10 days, that's cool. But not your son, who -- look, neither of you have been on television before, right? So, this is not something you wanted to do. But it really hurt him, and I can see by watching him tonight, he's really, really upset. The rules for you don't apply to the governor. How in the heck is that fair?

MARK DEICHMAN, PARENT OF SWIMMER BANNED FROM MEET: Well, those are the same questions that we have. And all I can say we thought we had a case when we went to the school board meeting, and they said it was going to be a definite 14 days unless the governor said otherwise. So, we thought when the governor two days later, when he had his own close contact, we thought sure if it was safe for him to quarantine for 10 days, it is most likely would be safe for a high school athlete to quarantine for 10 days. So, we thought he was going to have a real good chance, this was Wednesday before the Saturday state championship. And we were waiting and waiting without any answers. And the powers that be never came in, and so he was unable to attend.

INGRAHAM: We hope this gets resolved, and Carson, best of luck to you going forward. And I know you'll end up doing great, but this is a huge disappointment. Thank you.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

INGRAHAM: Coming up, remember when Joe Biden told us it was supposed to be 100 days of mask wearing. How does 100 years look? Raymond Arroyo has the details, Friday Follies next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHLEY STROHMIER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to FOX News live. I'm Ashley Strohmier.

A Capitol police officer is dead, and another hurt after a car rammed into a U.S. Capitol barricade. Investigators say a man exited the vehicle with a knife and started lunging. The slain officer is William "Billy" Evans, an 18-year veteran. The suspect died after at least one officer opened fire. Authorities say the attack does not appear to be terror-related, but it did leave the city on edge coming nearly three months after the deadly Capitol riots.

Georgia is now facing economic backlash over its restrictive new voting law. Major League Baseball removing this year's All-Star game out of the state in protest. No word yet on a new host city for the July 13th game. Georgia's Governor Brian Kemp calling the move an example of cancel culture and accusing the league of caving to fear and liberal lies.

I'm Ashley Strohmier. Now back with THE INGRAHAM ANGLE.

INGRAHAM: It's Friday, and that means it's time for, you guessed it, Friday Follies. And on this Good Friday we turn to the author of the new book, "The Thief Who Stole Heaven" and FOX News contributor Raymond Arroyo. All right, Ray, the administration apparently launching a new exciting contest which may tell us a little bit about our future.

RAYMOND ARROYO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Laura, if you thought those vaccinations were going to end the mask wearing, think again. Team Biden is launching, and I was I were kidding, a new $500,000 contest to design a better mask free of glass fogging and skin irritation. What they should have done is launch a contest to teach some people how to properly wear a mask.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: She has a few comments to make.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): To protect the stability and integrity of our democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: And then just today, Laura, the president -- and then today the president showed off his new COVID ear wear line. There are all kinds of innovative masks out there already, Laura, masks for eating, nose masks. And like the vaccination rollout, the Biden administration is trying to create or take credit for something that already exists. Why are they hosting a contest for a new mask design when back in December, a team at Johns Hopkins won an international contest for their soft silicon-free mask? This seems like a big redo to me.

INGRAHAM: They are always picking the masks, Raymond, off their face when they are talking, like on a Hill press conference. It's like the mask is a magnetic pole to their fingertips, and it defeats the whole purpose of the mask. That's why, another reason we've got to move beyond the masks. It defeats the whole purposes and invalidates it.

ARROYO: This contest goes on for six months, Laura. And then they may open a third phase of it. So we're in this mask world for a long time here.

INGRAHAM: Ray, team Biden held its first cabinet meeting yesterday, first. While Biden tweeted out this picture, and he added, "A Cabinet that looks like America," by golly. Yes, masked, silent, and separated.

ARROYO: Masked and silence, Laura. Exactly. Government service should not be about externals, but about substance. Diversity is great, but what's needed is true diversity, of thought, experience. Producing a taxpayer funded Benetton ad is not necessarily reflective of diversity or America, Laura.

INGRAHAM: I'm just going to say it because I know everyone is thinking it. The sitting six feet apart, it just is goofy. They have all been vaccinated, right? They have all been vaccinated, and they are sitting there like, OK, don't touch me. And you know they are going in the backroom, back slapping, hanging other, sharing Skittles, or whatever. I don't know. Does Biden even do jellybeans or M&M'S? Do we know what his candy of choice is?

ARROYO: Ice cream, only ice cream. I think ice cream is his only sweet vice.

INGRAHAM: Got it.

ARROYO: The externals overshadowed Biden's comments at this first cabinet meeting. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Most of the cabinet will have a role in helping shape and press the jobs plan. And I think I want to thank them in advance for the role they're going to play. And we'll be discussing that today, and among other things. And one of those other things our administration is a commitment to buy American.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: Laura, this was like the reading of a will. He's reading the thing the whole time. The most lackluster, passive first cabinet meeting perhaps ever in the history of America.

INGRAHAM: He never looks like he's enjoying the job. OK? Trump liked the give and take of the press, and they punched him, he punched back. There wasn't a lot of hugging, but punch, punch. But Trump was enjoying the moment, not the hassle, but he was enjoying it. Biden doesn't look like he's having any fun, and neither are we.

ARROYO: No, because it's a sales job. He's not fully engaged, and you can kind of tell that.

This being Good Friday, Laura, at Western Carolina University, I have to share this with you, a housing coordinator was recorded offering this holiday advice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't assume that all of our residents celebrate Easter, so when you are actually talking about Easter eggs, I'm like, like what Marvel has, like Easter eggs in a movie or something, or in a videogame? Even during the holidays, we can't say "Christmas" or specific to one religious holiday. We just, we always say holidays just because we have to be inclusive here at Western.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: Have to be inclusive. Western Carolina University says this is not a formal policy. News flash to that housing coordinator, Christmas is a federal holiday. And just because a holiday is religious doesn't mean you can't mention it. I say mention and celebrate all of them, Passover, Easter, the end of Ramadan. Those who want to take part will. The others can stay home in their rooms and watch Marvel movies for all I care. Easter eggs.

INGRAHAM: Raymond, what was it, Julie Garland, was that the Easter bonnet movie, what was the Judy Garland movie with Fred Astaire?

ARROYO: "Easter Parade." "Easter Parade" with Fred Astaire.

INGRAHAM: I knew you know it, "Easter Parade." I'm not just dating myself, I'm dating my grandmother, OK, so that's really --

(LAUGHTER)

ARROYO: I'm going to be looking for the pictures of your Easter bonnet, Laura.

INGRAHAM: No problem. I'm picking among several, Raymond. Thank you, as always, and have a great Easter with the family, Rebecca and the kids.

All right, fighting for religious freedom on Good Friday, Christian baker Jack Phillips back in the left's crosshairs, but once again, he's not backing down. Shannon Bream breaks it all down, the latest attack on religious liberty coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

INGRAHAM: Three years after scoring a big win for religious liberty in the Supreme Court, Jack Phillips, remember, he was the owner of that Masterpiece Cakeshop, is back in court. This time he's fighting off a predatory lawsuit from a transgendered lawyer who back in 2017 requested a cake to celebrate a gender transition. Phillips, of course, refused and says it was all part of a setup meant to financially destroy his 30-year- old business. Apparently, there is no other bakers in the entire United States.

Joining us now, Shannon Bream, anchor of FOX NEWS AT NIGHT and author of the bestselling book -- I love saying that -- "Women of the Bible Speak." Shannon, first of all, congratulations on the book. I'm so happy for you, one of the nicest people, one of the smartest people on television.

SHANNON BREAM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Thank you.

INGRAHAM: Ms. Shannon, I thought of you when this case came back, because it seems like this is just a redux of what we saw before, that he won, the case that he won.

BREAM: Yes, and the thing is, you know, having clerked at the Supreme Court, you know how this works and how this case came down. The fact is he did have a win there, but it didn't settle this underlying legal question that keeps coming up about where the intersection of religious freedom and religious beliefs collide with LGBTQ beliefs and those lives and those rights.

So listen, the day that his case was announced it would be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, which didn't resolve the underlying question, this individual called the shop and said I want to have a cake that's pink inside, blue outside, and it's going to be a transition gender reveal cake. And they said we don't celebrate those kinds of things, they don't line up with our believers. So then the individual said I would like to order a cake with Satan on it smoking a joint. They also said, no, we won't be making that cake.

I talked to Jack Phillips about this last week and his attorney because they are back in court again, and he said, listen, I'm just trying to do my job. I want to use my skills and my talents to make custom creations, but obviously this person was calling for a very specific reason, and that is to take him back to court. And that's where he is, again.

INGRAHAM: My goodness. Speaking of the court, Shannon, many on the left are now calling for Justice Steve Breyer to step down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAHLIA LITHWICK, WRITER AT SLATE: There has been a lot of pressure, Lawrence, on Justice Stephen Breyer, who is 82, to step down, to step down not today, yesterday, last week, in January, to give up his seat. I think there is a sense that we've all learned a lesson after Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Shannon, as someone who knows the courts so well what are the chances of this happening?

BREAM: We hear nothing coming from him or anyone close to him, that he's not continuing to plan and work and keep moving forward. You remember this, though, with Justice Ginsberg, the calls from the left, and there were these pieces, op-ed saying you're doing a disservice to the country, everything that you stand for, you've got to step down now. Her take on it was sort of like you're not going to get somebody qualified and confirmed who would vote the way exactly that I do, and I'm going to stay here as long as I can.

Of course, the left is very mad about the way that she left the bench, and President Trump was able to get his third confirmation to the bench. Justice Breyer, though, doesn't seem like he's very worried about the chatter. I don't think he's going anywhere. He doesn't seem like he is.

(LAUGHTER)

INGRAHAM: I just love this thinking, this guy has been around for decades, they're going to push him off the court because they are unhappy about something.

Now, Shannon, I want to get to your new book, "Women of the Bible Speak." Now, in the book, you write that "Over and over throughout Scripture, we see God the Father first, and then God in the form of his son Jesus, use people who are not among the top echelons of society as either esteemed religious leaders or aristocratic elites." Why, Shannon, was that significant to you, that point?

BREAM: I love highlighting all these different women in the book, and I want them to be what they are in the Bible, which is relatable and flawed. Some of them are very humble, didn't come from a prominent family or anywhere else.

We also included some people who were a little bit naughty and got a little bit off track just to show that God can use everyone. We've got a prostitute in here. We've got a murderer. We've got somebody who double crosses her father-in-law by acting like a prostitute and getting pregnant by him. It's hard for people to believe these stories are in the Bible, but they all had a point, and there is a reason why they are all included. And I just think it's beautiful to see how God works through everyone, whether they are faithful, whether they make a mess and get off track, because we all have those experiences. So I thought it was important to include them.

INGRAHAM: Shannon, I'm so happy you wrote this book, you're your success, it's so deserved on so many levels.

BREAM: Thank you, Laura.

INGRAHAM: And congratulations, and everybody, everyone get out and get this book, this season, of course, but all year long. Shannon, "Women of the Bible Speak," thank you so much.

BREAM: Thanks. Have a blessed Easter.

INGRAHAM: All right, you, too. happy Easter.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

INGRAHAM: Final thoughts this Good Friday when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: That's all the time we have tonight. But first, I want to just remind all of you, this Easter is a time for renewal and rebirth, hope. Yes, you bet, hope. A lot of people have been demoralized for the last year, but you can't be. We don't have time for that. And Passover ends as well.

I hope you were all able to spend time with your family and your friends and continue to remember what matters most -- faith, family, friendship, and you bet, this country. We are going to do everything we can in the coming days and weeks to remind you what really matters, and how to hold the powers that be accountable across the board. Don't be afraid. There's no reason to be.

That's all the time we have for this evening for this special edition of THE INGRAHAM ANGLE. Shannon Bream and the FOX NEWS AT NIGHT team, they take it all from here.

END

Content and Programming Copyright 2021 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2021 VIQ Media Transcription, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of VIQ Media Transcription, Inc. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.