'Special Report' All-Star panel on Biden's crime prevention program

This is a rush transcript from "Special Report with Bret Baier," June 23, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Background checks for purchasing a firearm are important. A ban on assault weapons and high- capacity magazines. Community policing and programs that keep neighborhood safe and keep folks out of trouble. These efforts work, they save lives.

GOV. PETE RICKETTS, (R) NEBRASKA: Guns are not the problem here. The gun laws that we passed, the gun control kind of things that the president wants to do are all going to impact law-abiding citizens. Criminals don't pay attention to those laws.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R-SC): We have a lack of prosecution, and we've declared war on the police, and that is backfiring on those who have done it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BILL HEMMER, FOX NEWS HOST: A little bit of reaction now to the president's crime prevention program announced just a short time ago at the White House. I want to bring in our panel now, Ben Domenech, publisher of "The Federalist," Harold Ford Jr., former Tennessee Congressman, and Trey Gowdy, former Congressman from South Carolina, and CEO of Empowerment and Inclusion Capital. Gentlemen, nice to see you all tonight.

Trey, you heard the president a bit earlier today. Will this make a difference? Let's begin there.

TREY GOWDY, FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA REPRESENTATIVE: Well, Bill, what I found stunning was hearing Joe Biden say that when gun prosecutions actually were way down under President Obama when Joe Biden was the vice president. So yes, keeping guns out of the hands of people who are criminally inclined is a great idea, which is why we already have laws that control who can have weapons, what kinds of weapons you can have, and where you can have them. But those laws do no good if they are not enforced, and prosecutions were down under the Obama-Biden administration.

HEMMER: Harold, how did you see it today when the target was all about guns?

HAROLD FORD JR., FORMER TENNESSEE REPRESENTATIVE: I think that the gun issue, Trey -- thanks for having me on, first off. But I think Trey is right in a huge way. We have to prosecute laws that are on the books, let's prosecute those who violate gun laws on the books.

But I think we have got to go a little further. I think we have got to take an assessment of what's working and what's not working. And you have to wonder, how can these kids, these gang members in Chicago where we really focus a lot on over the last several weeks, who can't seem to find fresh fruit, a good book, a dental office visit in their neighborhood, but somehow or another can find their hands on the guns and are able to commit all these awful crimes.

I think we ought to think about ways in which to learn who owned these guns before, where they manufactured, not to limit anyone's Second Amendment rights, but to make sure that we are helping police officers and moms and dads and grandparents and communities across the country who, for the life of me, are also wondering how do all these guns flood into these neighborhoods and communities where they largely have black kids and brown kids and oftentimes poor kids with very few opportunities. I think the focus has to be as much there as it is on prosecuting the laws that we have on the books today.

HEMMER: When we're looking at crime in America, carjackings, rapes, auto theft, arsonist, all up in so many of these big cities. And Ben, the president was criticized immediately after for not having much bigger enthusiasm in his delivery. How did you rate that?

BEN DOMENECH, PUBLISHER, "THE FEDERALIST": First off, I will say that the president should probably stop trying to quote America's founding generation. He once again garbled another quote. He's done this repeatedly. If I have to pick between Thomas Jefferson and Joe Biden, I think you know which side I'm going to be on.

But when it comes to this gun issue and the way that he's putting it forward, look, we are talking about a White House that within the last 24 hours has engaged on both crime in big cities and on the border, sending Kamala Harris to there, as we'll be discussing in a minute, in a way that I think is a signal about the message that they are receiving from internal political polls and indications about the direction that Hispanic voters in particular are taking in this country.

Hispanic voters, particularly of middle-class, Hispanic voters across the country, are not down with this agenda that the Democratic Party is pushing. They are not down with their agenda when it comes to the border, when it comes to policing, when it comes to schools, when it comes to Critical Race Theory, when it comes to any of these other aspects. And I think that this is really kind of a desperate attempt to hedge against what many Democrats feel is going to be a wave election in this midterm that sweeps Republicans into power in the Congress.

And I think that unfortunately Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are not going to be the kinds of messengers who are going to change the minds of a lot of different voters across this country who do not see what they would like to see from inner-city politicians, from urban politicians who they do not feel are representing their best interests.

HEMMER: We may see that play out over the next year-and-a-half and how that goes.

Meanwhile, earlier today in AMERICA'S NEWSROOM, we spoke to police in New York and California and Michigan, and Trey, the one theme they all came back to was the morale of the police officers in these big cities. Have a listen to some of this right here now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OFFICER DEON JOSEPH, LOS ANGELES POLICE: When you vilify he's such an extent, police feel like you're in a darned if you do, darned if you don't environment. And I know most police officers, including myself, we got up to save lives, not have our hands tied and watch people become victimized.

COSMO LUBRANO, FORMER NEW YORK POLICE OFFICER: There is no fear out there. The police departments unfortunately can't do their jobs like they used to, don't want to do their jobs like they used to do them. And that's unfortunately the situation. So it's great if you want to get guns off the street. How are you doing at?

MICHAEL SAUGER, MICHIGAN FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE: Law enforcement, prosecutors, district attorneys, legislators, and most importantly, the communities we serve, we need to work together to get the guns off the street, and that starts with funding the police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: So Trey, what would you say about the message today from the president as it goes to the men and women in blue?

GOWDY: I would've liked to have heard more. Here's the reality, and unlike Joe Biden, I've actually prosecuted cops. Get rid of all the bad ones, punish them to the fullest extent of the law, and then appreciate the other 99 percent. But for a year, we had a hard time distinguishing between arsonists and cops. You've got the vice president bonding people out who were accused of crimes, and now Joe Biden is talking about getting tough on crime. It's a lot easier when you just stay tough on crime. Don't decide you're going to do it this summer. Stay tough on violent crime, because no other right matters if you're dead. I don't care about your right to free speech. It ain't going to do you much good if you're dead.

HEMMER: A week away from the 1st of July. Gentlemen, stand by here.

In a moment Vice President Kamala Harris, you mentioned she is finally going to the southern border. We'll take that on when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you plan to visit the border?

KAMALA HARRIS, (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Not today.

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS: But I have before and I'm sure I will again.

We've been to the border.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You haven't been to the border.

HARRIS: And I haven't been to Europe. I don't understand the point that you're making.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: She has also said that when it was the right time, she may go to visit the border.

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Was it important for the White House to have her seen at the border before Former President Trump has a trip there next week?

PSAKI: We made an assessment within our government about when it was an appropriate time for her to go to the border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: So it is now official. After more than 90 days, Kamala Harris will go to the border. It happened on Friday in El Paso, Texas. Back with the panel right now. Harold, do you wish this would've happened sooner?

FORD: Sure. I think it's important that it's happening now. I've said all along that we've had a crisis at the border for many months. I do give the vice president kudos for recognizing that the root causes part of this immigration challenge has to be addressed, but messaging and border protection does as well. So she's going to address both of those when she goes down.

I might add, it is important for us to note, in New York City Democratic voters nominated -- put in front, I should say, in their first ballot the one candidate on the Democratic side who did not call for defunding the police in any way. So there's some hope, at least in my home city, that we're moving in the right direction on this front.

HEMMER: OK, we found in our FOX polling, we put this out about an hour ago, here's the first question about Kamala Harris's job performance. She's at 50-47 and our polling so far. President Biden's job performance on the issue of immigration, he's underwater at 54 percent. Ben, how much does that have to do with this visit?

DOMENECH: It has everything to do with this visit. It's not really a planned visit. It's one that's being orchestrated at the last minute in order to throw together some kind of desperate attempt to indicate that Kamala Harris is taking this whole situation seriously. If you want to deal with root causes about this situation, as I've said before, you can walk over to the Oval Office. If you are going to have a policy that welcomes people who come here, then any amount of saying don't come here is not going to prevent them from coming here.

And this is a situation that, unfortunately, has been exacerbated at every stage by the Biden administration. Unfortunately, I think that this is not going to change anytime soon, but it is something that is starting to scare Democrats when it comes to the upcoming midterms. It is making them very concerned, and so they at least need to have the kind of visual representation of addressing this as some kind of issue. Unfortunately, it's not going to lead to anything that actually changes the terrible situation on the border or in any of these inhumane camps that we are continuing to learn more about despite the fact that there has been a ban on any real access when it comes to the press.

HEMMER: It does seem to be a bit of a soft target for Republicans. President Trump will be their midweek next week with Texas Governor Greg Abbott. I asked Marco Rubio about that earlier in this program. I wanted to know what he wants her to see. His answer, now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R-FL): I think what they are going to see is what they've created. Vice President Harris when she was running for president, basically made the argument that we shouldn't be turning people away who arrive in the U.S. looking for help. So I think any visit to the border and any visit that highlights not just the crisis but any efforts to stop the flow is going to be controversial in the base of their own party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Trey, what about the politics of that answer?

GOWDY: Bill, it's nights like this one that I am very thankful for Congressman Ford, who is a smart, reasonable, and fair person on the other side of the ideological aisle, because I do not understand why she has not been. I've tried to figure, what is your reason for not going? And now that you are going, why are you going to be 750 miles from the epicenter of the crisis? Bill, I am literally closer to Washington, D.C., sitting in South Carolina, than she will be to the epicenter of the crisis.

If she were a Republican, I would understand, because the media would play back all the things you said as a senator and a candidate that led to the crisis. But she's not a Republican. They're not going to do that to her. So I don't know why she hasn't been, and I don't know why she's not going anywhere near the epicenter of the crisis.

HEMMER: Harold, your name was invoked. Can you do it in 10 seconds, or 15?

FORD: We can be critical of her, but I think at the end of the day we have to recognize we have a problem. I don't agree with Ben that this started with President Biden in the Oval Office. This is something that predated him, predated presidents, and we tried to do this many times, including his late father-in-law who worked very hard on this issue with former President Bush. They have made mistakes, they have fumbled. But I hope they can get it right, and her visit might be the accelerant they need to get a good policy.

HEMMER: OK, gentlemen, thank you. When we come back, tomorrow's headlines in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Finally tonight, a look at tomorrow's headlines. And Ben, we begin with you. You have honors.

DOMENECH: My headline for tomorrow is simply free Britney. I think after all of the things that we learned today from that terrible hearing, we have to really understand how obscene this situation really is. This woman really ought to be able to be free to direct her own life and her own finances.

HEMMER: It may not happen tomorrow, but we will follow it. Right on. Harold, what about you? What happens?

FORD: I am for freedom too, but I'm a basketball guy. I am a fan of K.D. and LeBron and Steph Curry. But my headline is, NBA Finals showcases new faces, new talent. Giannis, Trae Young, it's going to make it exciting.

HEMMER: OK, we'll watch that. Trey?

GOWDY: Bill, mine is on this day in history, gun prosecutions were way, way down under President Obama and Vice President Biden, which makes reasonable people wonder why you are asking for new laws if you did a really lousy job prosecuting the current and old ones?

HEMMER: We can debate that. Gentlemen, nice to have you all. Good discussion. Ben, Trey, Harold, thank you, fellas.
 

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