Stefanik: Many journalists failed to hold Andrew Cuomo accountable

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Stefanik: Many journalists failed to hold Andrew Cuomo accountable

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., tells 'The Story' it's a 'disgrace' that CNN's Chris Cuomo could interview his older brother and said reporters needed to demand greater transparency from the New York governor.

This is a rush transcript from "The Story," January 29, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS HOST: John and Sandra, thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Trace Gallagher in for Martha McCallum and this is THE STORY.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): It's not about pointing fingers of blame. It's that this became a political football. Whether a person died in the hospital or died in a nursing home, it's -- the people died, people died.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: The response from New York's governor pouring gasoline on the outrage over his handling of COVID-19 nursing home deaths and exclusive interview with Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who has long been calling for an investigation. That's straight ahead.

But before we get to that, President Joe Biden, the unity candidate delivering a welcome gift to embolden progressives shoving his administration as far-left as possible. As Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times writes quoting here: "A number of the officials Biden has selected would have fit easily into an Elizabeth Warren administration. Biden has signed Executive Orders increasing food stamp benefits, took steps to institute a 15 an hour minimum wage for federal employees and contractors and announced plans to replace the federal fleet with electric vehicles. His administration is working on a child tax credit that would send monthly payments to most American parents."

The President demonstrating an aggressive use of the power of the pen to get things done so far, with 40 executive orders and actions to date and more on the horizon, as progressives continue to push.

Now, more than 50 Democratic lawmakers led by squad member representative, Ilhan Omar, are appealing to President Biden for recurring so called survival checks, monthly $2,000 COVID relief payments to their constituents as the pandemic drags on. And here's the Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): We help to make his agenda the most progressive platform yet that we've seen in a long time. And so, what he's done in this first week is start to deliver on some of those things, and I think he's gone far away from when he started his campaign to where he is as President.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Here now, Victor Davis Hanson, a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution; Charlie Kirk, Founder and President of Turning Point USA; and Geraldo Rivera, Fox News Correspondent-at-Large. Gentlemen, welcome to all three of you. Victor Davis Hanson, to you first, you heard from Pramila Jayapal there talking about, you know, not only does President Biden owe this to the progressive wing of the party, but for all intents and purposes, she's indicating he's just getting started.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON, SENIOR FELLOW, HOOVER INSTITUTION: I think he is just getting started. He's delighted the hard left and he's kind of embarrassed that never Trump right. They told us that the Trump chemotherapy was far worse than the hard-left cancer. And that's what they got, is the hard-left cancer.

And the question is, why is Biden doing this? And the process is scary. It's all by executive fiat. It's hard left and there's no explanation, no press conferences, no one on one interview. He's just doing it. And I think the conventional wisdom, Trace, was wrong. Everybody said what his winks and nods that he'd be a first term, or only one term president was wrong.

That's a liberating experience in his mind. I don't think he cares of the consequences on the midterms or whether he would be reelected. He's going to be there for four years. And I don't think he wants to play the useful idiot to the left. The good old Joe Biden from Scranton was the veneer that got them across the finishing line.

I think more seriously, he thinks that he's going to do what Barack Obama the much more heralded and iconic charisma figure never did, that is be the first president in 50 years to get a hard-left agenda, threw him for years and then bow out at 82. And it's kind of aeolistic idea, but I think that's what's happening.

GALLAGHER: Yes, I think he's on that path. And, Charlie, it's interesting to me that, you know, you know, a couple of months ago, you had right after the election, you had some of these centrist Democrats that were blasting these progressive saying, you know, your policies cost us seats in the House. And now, here you have it a few months later. I mean, they've been fairly quiet, Charlie.

CHARLIE KIRK, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, TURNING POINT USA: That's right. And one positive out of all this far left turn is at least it looks like the filibuster might remain intact, thanks to Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema, from Arizona, but we'll see if they actually mean that when it comes to the really big items that come up in the United States Senate. It doesn't -- I'm, I'm equally stunned.

I think Victor's assessment is phenomenal. Where Joe Biden very well could have been a centrist president. He could have governed with the only mandate that he had, which is that he is not Donald Trump. That's the only mandate that he had, he does not have a mandate to ban fracking on federal lands. He doesn't have a mandate to get rid of the Keystone XL pipeline, he certainly doesn't have a mandate to do what he did with the transgender executive order.

None of that stuff was articulated in campaign platforms or how he communicated to voters in Pennsylvania or Ohio. And I think that the, the brilliance what Victor said there is that he does not care about any sort of political consequence. This stuff is very unpopular with the American people. And any sort of margin that Biden enjoyed in some of these swing states was not because of radical left-wing policies.

It was simply based on just let's say, ups -- people that were upset with Donald Trump. And so, I hope Joe Biden goes back to the middle here, I hope there's just a phase for the good of the country.

GALLAGHER: And it's interesting, because you know, that they both make good points, Geraldo, because it really is over. He doesn't have to do this. He's doing it anyway. I mean, he keeps saying he's calling for unity, and so far as catering only the, only to the left. I mean, it's like having a dinner party, right? And you invite everybody including vegans and the people who are gluten free and allergies, and all you serve as beef bread and peanuts. I mean, it's just, you're not quite catering to everybody. You said you were going to cater to, Geraldo.

GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE: Since we're awash in metaphors today, Trace, Victor's using cancer, you lunch, I was torn between an orgy of executive orders or an avalanche of executive orders. And my assessment is a little different. I'm not sure whether Biden is acting from, from frustration, from defiance from despair, what his motivation is, but I think he recognizes that he has no wiggle room, he has no leverage at all in the legislative branch.

Congress is so equally divided, he'll never get anything done, unless he does it himself. And what he is doing, what he has chosen to do, in some cases, I think, will rebound very soundly against the Democratic Party in the midterms. Oil and gas here in Ohio, where fracking is a big deal in the southern southeastern part of the state to ban, you know, the exploration for fossil fuels, I think will be crippling to the Ohio economy and very, very unpopular, Trace.

GALLAGHER: Yes. You know, it's interesting, when the New York Times calls you out, as they did for President Biden for these leftist policies. You think that's pretty telling. But then there's the Washington post that writes the following quoting here: "Biden's early moves on both policy and personnel should give Liberal Democrats, many of whom were deeply skeptical of him reason to hope that he could be one of the most liberal presidents of modern times. I mean, Victor Davis Hanson to you this is a hip hip hurray from the Washington Post.

HANSON: Absolutely, I don't -- to whom does Biden show any fear? He's not afraid of the Republican minority in the house and the de facto one in the Senate. He's not worried about centrist Democrats; Blue Dogs don't exist anymore. And he's -- the only person he's worried about is the pressure from the hard left. They're vocal. They're skilled.

He's got some cognitive issues. They're going to spread rumors about his abilities that's going to come from the left. So, make peace with them, get their agenda across have a legacy, and Barack Obama will end up the most envious person in the world. I think that's the strategy

GALLAGHER: 15 seconds for each you and Geraldo, Charlie Kirk, beginning with you.

KIRK: Just look, there's really that he's misrepresenting American people to policies that he has been signing by executive fiat or out of actually popular opinion. He's catering to a very unpopular set of ideas. I think there will be political consequences for it.

GALLAGHER: Geraldo, can you wrap --

RIVERA: To take Biden and hate him for his cognitive abilities or the deterioration thereof, I think is really a cheap shot. He seems pretty competent to me. And I'll tell you this, no matter what, all these other executive orders Paris climate, WHO, the border wall anything, it's all going to be about COVID. If he doesn't get the vaccine into the arms of the American people in a prompt and efficient way, there's going to be clamoring he's his presidency is going to end before it starts, Trace.

GALLAGHER: Victor Davis Hanson, Charlie Kirk, and Geraldo Rivera, gentlemen, thank you all.

Well, deflect, deflect, deflect. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo igniting fresh outrage for failing to accept responsibility in the massive undercounting of nursing home deaths.

New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik says the governor and his entire team have orchestrated a criminal cover up and have blood on their hands. What she's doing about it is next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: It's not about pointing fingers or blame. It's that this became a political football, right? People died. People died.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GALLAGHER: While New York Governor Andrew Cuomo breaking his silence after a bombshell report revealing the actual number of nursing home deaths stands at more than 12,000, nearly 50 percent higher than the number originally put on the books. His response today not doing much to come the critics. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Everyone did the best they could. The State Department of Health followed federal guidance. So, if you think there was a mistake, then go talk to the federal government. It's not about pointing fingers of blame. Look, whether a person died in the hospital or died in a nursing home. It's -- the people died. People died.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York joins me now. Congresswoman, thank you for joining me. Two takeaways I have from the Governor's speech that the US they're saying you know what, if you want to point fingers This is not the right place and he continually points fingers. And then when he said, "everybody did their best," you know, in his book that wasn't his tone and his book, he intimated that he did it better than anybody.

REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): Yes, so first of all, this is the governor who has pointed fingers at everyone, he's pointed fingers at President Trump. He's pointed fingers at the seniors themselves at the nursing homes, basically blaming everyone but himself. In terms of following federal guidance.

It is very clear that Governor Cuomo made the decision to put forth his executive order on March 25th, requiring nursing homes to accept positive COVID patients, regardless of their ability to isolate those patients and have proper PPE. That was in direct opposition to CDC guidance, and also CMS guidance.

Seema Verma, the previous CMS administrator has been on record over and over and over again on that issue. Yesterday was the first step towards justice for 12,000 families who have been asking for just transparency and accountability and near by the governor's team.

GALLAGHER: Yes, and it's interesting. I want to play this soundbite from the governor accepting his (INAUDIBLE) watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: I wish I could say that my daily COVID presentations were well choreographed, scripted, rehearsed, or reflected any of the talents that you advance. They didn't, they offered only one thing: authentic truth and stability. But sometimes that's enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Authentic truth and stability, your thoughts?

STEFANIK: My thoughts are this governor has avoided the truth for months and months and months. And the reason why this is a criminal corruption scandal and not just a nursing home scandal is that they have known for months what the true count of deaths in nursing homes, whether it was in the hospital from a nursing home, or an individual who passed away in a nursing home, and they have withheld that from the public. Even today at his press conference, we saw that the first 45 minutes, he didn't even bring up the bombshell scathing independent investigation.

And it was only when the press started asking him questions. He continues to brush this under the rug, rug. There needs to be subpoenas issued immediately. Both Democrats and Republicans in the state Senate and state assembly have agreed to that and the Department of Justice federal investigation, which I advocated for with my colleagues in Congress, that needs to continue forward and be protected by President Joe Biden, so that we can finally get to the truth, the facts and have accountability.

GALLAGHER: And Congresswoman, you talk about brushing it under the rug. There seems to be to me a little bit of a change in kind of the temperature around the country. The Liberal Media Analyst for CNN, Chris Elisa wrote the following quoting here: "There's much we still don't know. But here's something we do know, should James report, the Attorney General of New York be born out, it would occasion a serious reexamination of Cuomo's performance during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic." And speaking of combs performance, I just want one more time to play this, that kind of vaudevillian act that he and his brother had on CNN and watch and get your final thoughts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Is it true this was the actual swab that was being used?

A. CUOMO: Some say, I shouldn't come on this show because you harass me.

C. CUOMO: Too much fear sent out -- can't take that? Want a pat on the back?

Do you think that you are an attractive person now? Because you're single and ready to mingle?

A. CUOMO: I think beauties in the eye of the beholder.

C. CUOMO: Listen to you. You got an answer for anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: It seems several months later, like the tone on that now appears to be wrong. Your final thoughts Congresswoman.

STEFANIK: The tone is wrong. Journalists didn't do their job. They fond over Governor Cuomo. They didn't talk to everyday New Yorkers who have suffered under his failed leadership. And most importantly, they didn't talk to New Yorkers who have been advocates, who have lost loved ones because of the governor's fatal nursing home policies.

It is a disgrace that CNN allows Chris Cuomo to just invite his brother and do those ridiculous, ridiculous fawning interviews. It's an embarrassment now to the media. And ultimately, what I paid for is justice for the people, and it's going to take immediate asking independent good pointed questions demanding transparency.

GALLAGHER: It is a heartbreaking story. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, thank you for coming on.

STEFANIK: Thank you.

GALLAGHER: Meantime, breaking news moments ago from Robin Hood as GameStop mania continues and you know who's got the best take on this? Charlie Gasparino on why he says cries of class warfare might be a bit overblown. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GALLAGHER: While regular Americans giving Wall Street big shots a run for their money driving up the price of GameStop shares 1900 percent in the past three weeks. Hedge funds that bet against the stock took a hit. Then trading platforms put the brakes on buying but GameStop is skyrocketing again today. Rush Limbaugh says, this is fascinating because it mirrors what's happening in politics. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSH LIMBAUGH, CONSERVATIVE RADIO HOST: Whatever you think is going on in politics, the Washington establishment, the deep state, what have you, it's the same thing in finance. There are those who are allowed to make a lot of money and those of you who aren't. And if you figure out how to make a lot of money, and if you're like Donald Trump, and you figure out how to get elected. If you figure out how to beat the deep state, they're going to come out and they're going to wipe you out. They're going to destroy you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Let's bring in Fox Business Senior Correspondent Charles Gasparino. Charlie, you're the best. I was looking forward to getting your take on this. I'm guessing you don't fully agree with Rush Limbaugh.

CHARLES GASPARINO, FOX BUSINESS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: You know, I respect Rush Limbaugh, but he is out of his mind on this one. I mean, it is a compelling take that, a bunch of, you know, renegades on message boards with their, in their mom's basement apartments using Robin Hood, went out there and beat the man, you know, beat the big hedge fund guys at their own game. But this thing is much more complicated than that.

First off, we should point out that part of the scandal of "scandal" that Rush and Looney Tunes like Peter Navarro are talking about these days is that Robin Hood stopped, yesterday stopped the trading in these in these stocks that have gone through the roof recently. Allegedly costing the small investors a lot of money to bail out the hedge funds. Totally untrue. You know, here's the bottom line with Robin Hood. They make more money when people are trading, OK?

They sell their order flow to third parties because they get more money when there's more trading. Robin Hood simply didn't have the plumbing in place to handle what went on. And here's how you know that they went out today and raised a billion dollars in new cash to get the plumbing, to get the money so they can do a settle trade. So, this mean that it's us against them, and that's why they're screwed. And Charlie, totally insane.

GALLAGHER: I buy what you're saying here, but at the same time it sure looked. I mean, maybe they didn't have the plumbing in place. But boy, it sure looked like they were going after the little guy for, for a little bit of time.

GASPARINO: Yes, but it fails the logic test on so many levels. And I might just say, listen, I've done more to beat up on banks and Wall Street than Rush Limbaugh ever has and Peter Navarro ever has. I mean, I'm hardly in the pocket of Wall Street, but some of this has to do with logic and someone has to do with reporting.

If you understand the plumbing of Wall Street, you understand that there are flash crashes that there is, that when you do a trade, Trace, it's not like just turning on the light switch and it automatically happens. It goes through a number of levers, levels, it needs to be settled according to DTC rules and needs to be the, the firm doing the trade, taking the trade needs capital. It's not a seamless process.

You get there, you get the price that you pay when you execute the trade. But your trade takes some time to happen. And that's what overloaded Robin Hood systems even though it has decent systems, it would have overloaded Merrill Lynch's systems last night. That's why they stopped the trading and it's, it's kind of simple as that and the making a big political story. Now it's a, it's a good line, you get an excellent Facebook.

GALLAGHER: It is a big political story. It is a big political story. And I'm wondering if, if it comes down to really, it's you know, there's no nefarious intent here. Why is the administration appear to be sidestepping this? Listen to Jen Psaki, and I'll get your, your comments in those.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, the messages that the U.S. government is starting to work how it should. The SEC is a regulatory agency that oversees and monitors developments along these lines. It is currently in their purview. They've put out several statements this week, we will certainly defer to them on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: I mean, is that right? You just kind of defer to the SEC.

GASPARINO: I kind of think it is. I hate to say I'm agreeing with Jen Psaki or any politician. But I mean, listen to the SEC is in charge of monitoring the markets. I mean, clearly, it's monitoring this, there's no doubt about this. And clearly, that not all the information is in. And here's the scary thing about this. And I think it kind of misses the point, that we're in a situation now where the markets have been turned into a casino.

And one of the major reasons it's, it's not necessarily Robin Hood's fault, it's not necessarily the Reddit's fault, you can just view anything you want on a message board. It's the fact that you have zero percent interest rates and where everybody's locked in their apartments and in their house. So, it encourages gambling. If you can't make a return on a uni-bond, you go out on the risk spectrum.

If you can borrow money cheaply, which you can, you can enhance your position on Robin Hood. And that's essentially what's going on here. That never ends well, because guess what, some traders are going to make money on this, on this GameStop, GameStop stuff a lot more. They won't know when to get out in time. Trust me on this. In gambling, you always lose.

GALLAGHER: Yes, you know a lot about this industry, Charlie, I'm going to trust you. You're going to get some pushback on this. So, you know, don't, don't get me into you and the thing but, but I appreciate your, I appreciate your take, Charles Gasparino. Always great to see you. Thank you.

Well, President Biden begins to make good on his vow to explore reforms to the judicial system after Democratic calls to pack the court. Marc Thiessen and Ari Fleischer are next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They've been one after another nominating people who are unqualified. People who refuse to say that browns versus board of education as precedent. Do you know that they put 50 people on a life-time federal court of appeal and not one is black?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: If elected, what I will do is put together a national commission of, a bipartisan commission of scholars, constitutional scholars, Democrats, Republicans, Liberal, Conservative, and I will ask them do over 180 days come back to me with recommendations as to how to reform the court system because it's getting out of whack, the way which is being handled. And it's not about court packing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: President Joe Biden reportedly laying the groundwork for a bipartisan commission to study court reform after Democrats ramped up calls to pack the High Court when Trump nominated his third justice Amy Coney Barrett, less than two months before the presidential election. Here is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Now as for the Supreme Court, that's the big one. And President Biden has put together this commission to come up with a report in 180 days. We're going to see what that commission says and go from there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Here now Marc Thiessen, American Enterprise Institute Scholar and Ari Fleischer, former White House Press Secretary, both are Fox News Contributors. Gentlemen, welcome to you both.

You know, what's odd about this mark is that you heard Joe Biden tell "60 Minutes" a short time ago, it's not about court packing, but a lot of people believe it is about court packing.

Marc Thiessen, American Enterprise Institute: Of course, it's about court packing. But look, my old boss, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, always used to say, there are no monuments in the parks of America to commissions. In Washington, when you want to punt on an issue, what you do is you form a commission. And so, that's what Joe Biden is doing here.

He's caught between the American people who clearly oppose court packing and his liberal base who is demanding it. And so, what he's doing is he's punting and forming a commission to come up with some recommendations. The reality is, the left is frustrated because they have no chance of changing the ideological majority of the court without packing the court, because the only justice is likely to retire on Biden's watch is Stephen Breyer. And that would allow them to replace a young, an old liberal with a young liberal. But all the other conservative justices, they would want to flip, or young, except for Justice Thomas.

So, the odds are that unless they do something to change the composition of the court, they have zero chance of changing its ideological makeup. And that's very, very frustrating.

GALLAGHER: It's fair analysis. And, Ari, it's funny because Marc talks about, you know, the whole idea of starting a commission supposed to be a bipartisan commission. So far, they have four members. Only Jack Goldsmith, who was in the Bush administration, a Harvard law professor, is the only one who would oppose this so far. They hope to have nine to 15 members, nine, of course, and that was not a very good number, so they'll probably go higher.

But what do you make of this commission, Ari, that they're proposing to kind of get together and really, fairly settle this?

ARI FLEISCHER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Settle what? I mean, Joe Biden just said it's out of whack, what's out of whack? It's actually in line. I mean, the system is working. Since 1869, our nation has had nine Supreme Court justices, that's 152 years. And it works. It works because when you have a president of one party, a Senate of another party, they have to compromise, or you have to wait, and you get alignment. And it goes back and forth.

We have Democratic presidents, Democratic Senates, Republican presidents, Republican Senates, the system works. So, the only reason you want a commission is if you want to jam something through. And so, you need the cover of a commission to do so.

Look, I think Joe Biden, if he really wants to run on unity, talk about unity, he should say the Supreme Court is staying at nine. We don't need this. I'm on to other issues.

GALLAGHER: Yes. I want to put up this poll. This is from October 15th to 18th of last year. This was the question was asked if Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed and Joe Biden is elected, should the Supreme Court include more than nine justices. And there's the big number, do not increase the court, 58%.

Washington Post goes on to say this, though, Marc, each court should reflect the rich diversity of those that serves Trump not only halted, but also reversed any progress toward that goal. The new administration will have to go into overdrive, just to catch up. There is no time to waste. Your final thoughts on that, Marc, beginning with you?

THIESSEN: Yes. If Hillary Clinton had won in 2016 and appointed three Supreme Court justices, they wouldn't think anything was out of whack. They wouldn't think there was any need for reform. And they, quite frankly, are responsible for their own -- for the mess that they're in. If they had not filibuster Justice Gorsuch, the Republicans would never have gotten rid of the filibuster for the Supreme Court justices. And if they had not gotten the filibuster, Brett Kavanaugh would have never been confirmed because they couldn't get 60 votes to confirm him and nobody would have gotten rid of the filibuster for him. And neither would Amy Coney Barrett.

So, the Democrats by playing this filibuster game and by filibustering and getting rid of the filibuster for setting the precedent by getting rid of filibuster for lower court judges, has undermined their own position and created the opportunity for Donald Trump to do what he did. And now they're stuck with the results.

GALLAGHER: He's saying they started it, Ari, your last thoughts?

FLEISCHER: Well, I remember being press secretary when the Democratic Senate refused to allow President Bush's Circuit Court judges to go through, particularly Miguel Estrada. They didn't want to Hispanic to be named to the Circuit Court and the District of Columbia. So, we could go all the way back if you want.

But again, I go back to fundamentals. These disputes are settled by elections. Elected Democratic president, you get Democratic courts. You elect a Republican president. You get Republican courts. That's the ultimate arbiter. It's not a commission. It's not anybody in Washington, putting their finger on a scale.

GALLAGHER: Timing and the luck of the draw Mark Thiessen and Ari Fleischer, gentlemen, thank you both.

THIESSEN: Thanks, Trace.

GALLAGHER: Well, by now, you heard the irate father who lashed out at a Virginia School Board meeting over remote learning. Well, now, we'll introduce you to a mother of three who was also at that very same meeting to stand up to the district for slamming the door on her children's future.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GALLAGHER: Well, this week, we've been following the frustration of parents lashing out over schools refusing to reopen despite a growing body of evidence to suggest it's safe with proper protocols in place. Even the New York Times opinion page reads, "children need to be back in school tomorrow." One columnist writing, "the educational system is powerfully influenced by organizations that do not seem to believe in critical thinking, adjusting beliefs according to the evidence or combating fear with science, God help us.

Charlie LeDuff joins me now. He's a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and host of No BS News, our podcast. Charlie, always good to see you.

You know, it's interesting when the New York Times is telling Teachers Unions, that you're not following the science. It's pretty telling.

CHARLIE LEDUFF, PULITZER PRIZE WINNING JOURNALIST: That's David Brooks, but let me if I might, as a father, how badly this is -- to mess with children's minds. My daughter was going today in that hybrid, you know, two days in three days at home. She was crying inconsolably because she's in ninth grade. She's missed that developmental year. Now, adding the screens, right, the disconnect. And she doesn't know she has any friends. I don't know if she's learning. I do the best I can but it's all screens now.

And if you look in Detroit or Baltimore or any city, the kids aren't learning. They're not showing up. They don't have the proper equipment. What do we do with them? Throw them on the ash pan?

GALLAGHER: Yes, I heard you, Charlie. I have a junior in high school, same thing. Hasn't been in school, you know, it's just -- yes. It's isolating. The Atlantic writes the following, quoting here, "parents are exhausted," to your point, Charlie, "Students suicides are surging. Teachers Unions are facing national opprobrium for their reluctance to return to in-person instruction. And schools are already making noise about staying close until 2022." And they are, I mean, these Teachers Unions across the country are digging in.

LEDUFF: My wife belongs to Teachers Union. She's a counselor. She goes in- person. She goes. So, I don't know. I don't want to get in fight with Teachers Unions, but can we get our business together? We do know this, my brother, that 100 children under 18 years old have died of COVID. We know that these attacks institutionalized elders, over 50% probably. You see what happened yesterday with Cuomo in lying about the numbers and hush-hush till after the election. Same thing in Michigan, and I bet you it's the same thing everywhere.

We got to get down to serving those who are vulnerable. And we got to get kids back because they're not going to recover from this.

GALLAGHER: Yes. You mentioned the kids dying of COVID. We also know that kids across the country are killing themselves at record numbers. In Las Vegas, 18 kids in nine months. It is horrendous. It is happening. They're putting kids back in school because of that. And the whole idea is, if you have to wait for every germ in every school to be eradicated, Charlie, it's going to be awhile. Your final thoughts.

LEDUFF: My final thoughts are, I would ask you, my friend, like when you go home and you're worried about your daughter, right? Just think of her. Can everybody start thinking of our kids, it's screwed up. And we can't seem to fix it. We have to and the kids got to get back to school. So, figure out the plan.

GALLAGHER: Yes. And it's not just her, it's her friends and it's everybody. It's the whole community that's wondering what in the world is going on. Charlie LeDuff, always good to see you. Thank you for coming on.

LEDUFF: Have a great weekend. My best to your daughter.

GALLAGHER: Yes. Well, by now, and your children as well, by now you've heard from the father who went viral after taking on his local school board. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON MICHON, LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA FATHER: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're a bunch of cowards hiding behind our children as an excuse for keeping schools closed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Yes. My next guest is a mother of three who also stood up for her children at the very same meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHELLEY MCCULLERS, LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA MOTHER: Teachers up in the door but you must enter. Right now, you have thousands of kids banging on the door for education, yet Loudoun has chosen to close the door.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Joining me now Shelley McCullers, mother of three Loudoun County students. Shelley, thank you for coming on. I just want to know how your kids are doing, first and foremost?

MCCULLERS: Hi. It's been rough here. I mean, my kids, we have set up school in our basement and they go every day. And I watched my high schooler just kind of checking the boxes, doing what he has to do. And then, my middle schooler, you know, being a middle schooler. It's hard to be a middle schooler at any time. Right now, she stares at a screen for seven hours a day and she's by herself.

And she's lost her friends and her friend groups and, you know, I worry about her. And it scares me. And then my second grader, she was able to go Hybrid two days a week for about five or six weeks this year. And I saw how much she loved school and how she was a different child.

And right now, she's disengaged. She was done with school this morning. They had testing by 10:15. And she had to report back for 30 minutes of PE, and that's all she had today. So, you know, they're not getting a fair education, so.

GALLAGHER: Yes. They're not getting fair education, that's the thing. You know, it's interesting because we played the sound bite of you at the meeting the other night, and another parent at the meeting. And now, the school is coming out and saying, well, you know, you all need to pipe down saying, quoting here, "this has led to some inflammatory rhetoric being shared on social media, and in email and phone communications with staff. We may disagree on the methods and timetable to return students to in- person learning, but I would like us to agree that we all have our students' best interests at heart."

And that seems to be a debate, because there are a lot of people in your community, and others around the country, that do not believe the Teachers Unions and schools have the kid's best interests at heart.

MCCULLERS: Right. And that email asked us to have, I think, grace and compassion for them why they map a strategy. Well, they've had a year to do that. And I think we're just all at our wits end and we're frustrated. People all across the country are going to school and our kids aren't, so we've had it.

GALLAGHER: And I just want to point out if I can, Shelley, that, you know, 6,000 of your teachers have had their initial round of vaccines. They jumped the line because their teachers, and the idea was to get them back in school, 6,000 of them. But yet, now they're still saying we need more safety. We need more safety and more safety. What are your thoughts?

MCCULLERS: I guess my thoughts are, first, I have never had a problem with the teachers. I don't like to feel like they're doing a job that they never asked to have to do. So, my problem is never with them. It's with our school board. And I support them getting the vaccines, but with getting the vaccines, I really hope they returned to school. Because if they're teaching from their sofa, saying it's, you know, they can't go into work, then my mom who hasn't gotten it yet, you know, I feel like she got the short end of the stick, so.

GALLAGHER: Yes. And the science, I mean, the CDC says, look, we believe that the cases have spread in schools is very low. I mean, you had, you know, had Dr. Fauci last night with the school union saying, you know, I think these kids can go back. I don't know if they will, but I think they can go back. Your final thoughts on this, Shelley.

MCCULLERS: Right. I mean, it's like this. My brother has kids. I know you can't compare private school to public school, but his kids have been going five days a week here. My daughter, she's allowed to go down to her elementary school to play basketball on Tuesday nights for the county rec league. So, it's hard to tell my children like, sorry, you can't go for your education but you can go down to play parks and rec basketball.

I think the kids need to be in school, and I hope on Tuesday night our board decides to make it happen.

GALLAGHER: Well, we're pulling for you. Best of luck to you and your family and your community. Shelley McCullers, thanks for coming on.

MCCULLERS: Yes, thank you.

GALLAGHER: Well, healthcare workers stranded on a snowy highway. Have you heard about this story? They're stranded on this highway, you see the picture, right, with six doses of use it or lose it COVID-19 vaccines unable to bear the thought of letting a single one goes to waste. The incredible story of what happens next is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GALLAGHER: OK, so here we go. They're stranded on a highway in the middle of a snowstorm, a group of healthcare workers in Josephine County, Oregon knew they were running out of time before the remaining six doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine expired. So, they started walking from car to car offering stranded drivers of chance to receive their first shot.

Now, as you might imagine, some people weren't too willing to roll up their sleeves. But after nearly an hour, they were able to administer all six doses, including one to a sheriff's office employee who had showed up too late to get it at the clinic because of the snow. The county's Public Health Director Michael Weber called it one of the coolest operations. And he joins me now.

Michael, it's a great story. Thanks for coming on. We appreciate it. You said the following, quoting here, "Imagine yourself stranded on the side of the road in a snowstorm and having someone walk up and say, hey, would you like a shot in the arm?" Clearly, you had some skeptical people out there.

MICHAEL WEBER, PUBLIC HEALTH DIRECTOR, JOSEPHINE COUNTY: You know, yes, but not nearly as many as we thought. Out of all the folks that we gave a shot to, out of everyone we talked to for that matter, only one actually asked for ID.

GALLAGHER: Wow, it is amazing. You know, the whole thing is you consider a lot of things, right? You had to consider the possibility that what if somebody has, oddly enough, an allergic reaction, what did you do?

WEBER: So, when I initially made the decision that we were going to start going door to door. The first thing I did was I pulled in our health officer. You have to remember we're coming from a vaccine clinic, so we had an ambulance with us that was fully stocked to care for folks. We had a team of physicians, one actually went door to door with us, and met with them, and talked about their medical history, and provided follow-up care and monitoring. So, we had a lot of resources lined up to take care of those who needed it.

GALLAGHER: Yes. Michael, you know, you said the rule one was that nothing gets wasted, so you had these six doses of vaccine. And did you think for a while before you started giving them out to the people on the side of the road, did you think, you know what, maybe we just sit here. We wait, and maybe this Jackknife truck ahead clears, and we can go to town and we can administer these six doses? How long did it take you to say, you know what, we need to get rid of this stuff and get rid of it now?

WEBER: We waited about 45 to 50 minutes, the deciding factor was one of the people trapped up there with us, was actually the county emergency managers, their rubric. So, she had a direct line into hearing what was going on, and we knew pretty early on that this was going to be a potentially extended operation. So, the decision was pretty easy after that.

GALLAGHER: Yes. Yes, a couple of things. One, you had -- you tell the story about the guy who jumped out of the car rolled up his sleeves said, yes, I'm in. And secondly, Michael, these people for the second shot. I mean, are these people lost in the wilderness and then, how do they get reorganized to come back together and get their second round?

WEBER: So the guy who jumped out of the car, he was great. It was a couple, I believe, and I think they're heading to some special event. And we were also telling folks what was going on because we had an inside line on what was happening. And when we told them about the delay, she was actually very upset. And then I said, oh, and by the way, so oddly enough, and I started to go through her spiel, and she had already been vaccinated. And he had just resigned himself that he wasn't going to get anytime soon. He wasn't in that risk group. He was a fairly young guy.

GALLAGHER: Right.

WEBER: And after we finally convinced him that, yes, he was actually going to get it. He started doing a dance (inaudible). When the doctor came up to go through paperwork with them, he took his shirt off and jumped out of the car and stood in the snowstorm, waiting for the vaccine. He was very excited.

GALLAGHER: That's great. I got to go, Michael, but very quickly. How do you get the second round?

WEBER: We have all their contact information. We're reaching out to them directly.

GALLAGHER: I want to know, briefly, how long did it take you to finally get back to town? Did you need to get rid of the six vaccines?

WEBER: Yes, we really did. We've only been up there about four hours and then there was another 30 to 40 of driving after that. So, it's the right choice.

GALLAGHER: Michael Weber, it is a great story. Yeoman's work on behalf of you and your colleagues, all the best to you. Thank you, sir.

Well, that is "The Story" of Friday, January 29, 2021. Martha back on Monday, "Your world" right now.

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