Jesse Watters 'shocked' Biden continues to dodge questions on Afghanistan
'The Five' criticizes Biden's 'pathetic pitiful' speech on Afghanistan
This is a rush transcript from "The Five," August 18, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
JESSE WATTERS, FOX NEWS HOST: Hello, everybody. I'm Jesse Watters along with Dagen McDowell, Geraldo Rivera, Dana Perino, and Greg Gutfeld. It's five o'clock in New York City, and this is The Five.
President Biden dodging the media just a few moments ago on the nightmare he created in Afghanistan. Instead, the president sitting down with ABC and claims he has no regrets on how things unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, CHIEF ANCHOR, ABC NEWS: We've all seen the pictures, we've seen those the hundreds of people packed into a C-17. We've seen Afghans falling --
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: That was four days ago, five days ago.
STEPHANOPOULOS: What did you think when you first saw these pictures?
BIDEN: What I thought was we have to gain control of this. We have to move this more quickly. We have to move in a way in which we can take control of that airport. We did.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Sir, you don't think this could have been handled, this could have been handled better in any way? No mistakes?
BIDEN: No. I don't think it could have been handled in a way that -- we're going to go back in hindsight and look, but the idea that somehow there's a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don't know how that happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATTERS (on camera): And while Biden says that, Americans can't get out of Afghanistan. The Biden administration says he wants to get everybody out but can't guarantee the safety of people trying to get to the Kabul airport because the Taliban controls all the checkpoints.
That comes as we get new horrific images of the terror group's brutality. Viewer warning, what we're about to show you is tough to look at. People being beaten and bloodied in the streets including women and children and people fleeing after gunshots broke out when the Taliban just shot into a crowd trying to break up a protest.
So, I was shocked, Dana, that he didn't take questions. Instead went to a former Clinton guy, George Stephanopoulos and then he said he couldn't have done it any better.
DANA PERINO, FOX NEWS CO-HOST: Yes. I found the president's speech strange. I understand COVID is an important topic. But I do think there was a discordant note happening here. He has done this interview with George Stephanopoulos. Well, we have more of that for you. It's, you know, the CNN poll.
But really, I don't think that he changed anything that he said from Sunday. And also, when he said that the horrific images from the airport were four or five days ago, man. Come on, man. It was like two days ago and actually it was up until recently it was still happening.
There's also this big disconnect. So, he is saying that nothing could helecave been different. But then you look in the media. And what do you see? Well, it is without sourcing, the anonymous sources, but it's clear that General Milley wants to make clear that he advocated for keeping 2,500 troops.
Secretary Austin he told the president that full withdrawal could lead to instability. yet the intelligence community told -- had they been warning Biden for months. And actually, that wasn't even classified. You could have read that on the front page of any national newspaper. We all read it. We all knew.
And then you have the secretary of state and the national security adviser making it clear that they warned about potential Taliban attacks on U.S. diplomats and allies. So, I thought it was discordant. It is not enough. Now the general and the secretary of defense today they indicated that they have better control over it.
But it was strange, is that I watch the State Department briefing right before that. And it sounded like the Taliban was not allowing people through and then we just have our own reporting. And that as people that actually now they have cell phones and they can call and they're telling their people that they know in the United States saying I can't get out.
WATTERS: Let's listen to the secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin today explain what he thinks he's able to do in Afghanistan. Run it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I will draw a distinction bar between extracting someone in an extremist condition or circumstance versus going out and collecting up large numbers of American citizens. We don't have the capability to go out and collect up large numbers of people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATTERS (on camera): So, Geraldo, the secretary of defense, the United States of America, says they don't have the capability to bring Americans home from a war zone unless they themselves get to the airport, which, by the way, the Taliban control. s GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE: Can I just say something about the president?
WATTERS: Sure.
RIVERA: Ill-timed speech. It was, it was pitiful. It was pathetic. And you know, I try to give him every -- every due respect. He's the president of the United States. I think he's a nice person. What the hell that COVID speech had to do with the price of beans in America, I don't know.
And he delivered it as if someone said here's a good idea. Why don't you speak about the COVID booster and take their minds off of what they're seeing on the TV news. It was really, so what the hell did some adviser tell him? And then he was blinking and missing words and -- I thought it was really, really, really discordant.
In terms of what General Milley and Secretary Austin were saying, I think that they understand now that they are at the fulcrum of history. They were in charge when something happened, a debacle occurred that will resonate for generations. And they were the people there in charge.
For them, I think it's a lot of cover your ass going on right now. I think there's a lot of scrambling going on in D.C. I think there's an understanding of the monumental nature of this screw-up.
Me, I look back. I go back to the Bagram thing. You know, I spent so much time there. Quick story. I remember being in Bagram where a G.I., a big strapping 6 foot 5 G.I. had all of these tubes in him at the Bagram hospital, which was state of the art, one of the best in the world, and he had no head. They were keeping him alive.
I know Bagram. Bagram had a Wendy's and McDonalds, and this and that. Why in the world they did not keep Bagram air field with its two landing strips, with its secure perimeter, with its track record of being impregnable from the Soviet times Because it was the Russians that built it and to trade that for Kabul International Airport which is chaotic and a mess in the best of times.
And now, this whole idea of the Taliban not letting people through to the airport, that's where the rubber meets the road. If the Taliban expects to be a member of the family of nations, if they expect credit and international aid, if they expect membership in any of these international organizations, they better damn let these people free. They should let -- they have to let these people get to the airport where our logistical army and so forth is now up to muster and can evacuate 5,000 to 9,000 a day.
WATTERS: So now the Taliban basically travel agents, right? You have to say Mohammed, you know, I'd like to get to the Kabul international at four o'clock. What do I need to do to get there? We're relying on the Taliban to get out of the country.
DAGEN MCDOWELL, FOX NEWS BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Because of Joe Biden's failure. Let's make that clear. And there are tens of thousands of Afghan allies of ours that are not just around Kabul that are in the south and the east as well. So, Americans are stranded in a nation now run by barbarians.
I want to pick up on one thing an I'll be brief. Geraldo, that in Milley and Austin's briefing, they said our order was to protect the embassy. We had to collapse Bagram because it exceeded our military forces. So, they're beginning to point the finger at --
WATTERS: Yes.
MCDOWELL: -- at President Biden, quite frankly. You used the word pitiful, well, about Biden. That is something that is worthy of our pity. He is not worthy of anything. He's a failure in both deed and now word to get up in front of the American people and say nothing about the Americans and allies stranded in Afghanistan and the disaster that unfolds in front of our faces.
There's a reason why the people who knew Joe Biden best kept him in arm's length. Obama and all of the big D cronies, they didn't want him to run in 2016. They didn't endorse him initially in 2020. They knew that they didn't want their image sullied quite frankly, and they didn't want to hitch their wagon to this, again disaster.
So, they are -- he's completely incompetent. And we have seen this all along. But this is a show sold to us by the media who lied about Trump for four years.
WATTERS: Greg Gutfeld?
GREG GUTFELD, FOX NEWS CO-HOST: Well, I mean, thank God they hid Hunter Biden's laptop. That's led to this. What did we learn from the president? We learned that today that Ron DeSantis is worse than the Taliban. That's what he believes.
He needs -- President Biden, the Democratic Party, desperately need a country to be scared of COVID or they're going to lose the grip on the presidency. And they're going to lose their power because they're in huge trouble right now. He's -- he might be immortally wounded president from this.
So given this massive breaking news, this came off as a wholly desperate tactic. It's almost like during the rise of a pandemic deciding you're going to initiate an impeachment against Trump or during a crime epidemic or a crime wave you focus on white supremacy.
It's all for -- it's all about distracting. I am relieved though that the U.N. issued a strongly worded letter to the Taliban. You know, that's something that the Taliban would respect. I would have wished a singing telegram or a stripper gram. But it does reveal how arrogant and idiotic these people are.
I'm trying to remember who I talked to yesterday, but they say when you go higher and higher into power, you realize everything is like high school.
WATTERS: That was me.
GUTFELD: Was that you?
WATTERS: Yes.
GUTFELD: Yes. Everything -- you find out that the people that you expect to be really smart and capable are the same jack ass that you saw in home run. Because for the U.N. to send that letter, they have to actually believe that they can have an impact.
As though like when you're in the media, you think that you can affect Britney Spears conservatorship. If we do that story often enough, they might change. We're -- we have to get out of this mindset that somehow, we can dismantle the patriarchy in a place where they'll behead you over clothing. So, that's the U.N. None of the gender studies classes that you were teaching in Kabul helps. Sorry.
WATTERS: What a waste of money.
GUTFELD: Yes.
RIVERA: Can I just give one little thing?
WATTERS: Yes.
RIVERA: Fifteen seconds. General Milley saying he had to choose between the embassy and Bagram. Bagram had to go. You see how they mustered that force, that airport, how the 82nd air force which I have been with in combat? They are like that. They had marine expeditionary forces, they had British Special Forces. Can you just see -- why didn't they go to Bagram?
PERINO: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
RIVERA: They could have --
WATTERS: They were positioned to go to Bagram if they want to.
RIVERA: -- gotten to Bagram.
WATTERS: Yes.
RIVERA: Hold Bagram, hold a place that's defensible. Not the Alamo.
WATTERS: Yes. They said it was a tactical decision, it was recommended to them by the commander on the ground in Afghanistan. That guy is under the bus.
Up next, the ridiculous of example of big tech bias. Twitter refusing to ban Taliban terrorists after censoring conservatives.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RIVERA: Taliban, yes, Trump, no. It's pretty bizarre how Twitter is OK with Taliban thugs posting sick propaganda on the platform while at the same time censoring many conservative American voices like the former president.
In fairness to big tech, the other giants, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, they do prohibit the Taliban terror group from using their sites. But Twitter says the stone age Taliban brutes are free to tweet as long as they follow the rules and are not too violent.
Well, Jesse, I have to say that I have a mere 330,000 followers.
WATTERS: That's it?
RIVERA: That's it. It's like nothing. Zabiullah Mujahid of the Taliban leader has 310,000 followers.
WATTERS: Geraldo.
RIVERA: Ladies and gentlemen, I am begging you, I am urging you at Geraldo Rivera. Don't let his Taliban thug beat me up. So, I mean, it does smack of bias against Trump particularly.
WATTERS: Does it? So, Stalin, if this had been in the age of Twitter, would have -- after killing 25 million people would have been able to be on Twitter as long as he didn't violate Twitter's terms of service because that's what Twitter is saying. The atrocities have already been documented. Taliban cuts off women's fingers for using nail polish. They stone you to death, they kill homosexuals with cinder blocks.
And then every Friday evening, they bring everybody into a soccer stadium and have the crowd watch people get amputated and beheaded. So, Donald Trump called Don Lemon dumb but he didn't cut people's legs off in front of a crowd.
GUTFELD: Not that you know of.
WATTERS: Not that I -- I don't know what goes on in Mar-a-Lago at night, Greg, but I'm saying that that has not been documented.
GUTFELD: It's worse than Watergate.
WATTERS: It is worse than Watergate.
RIVERA: I just -- if I can -- my (Inaudible) Twitter.
WATTERS: Are you really in like a pissing contest with the Taliban's Twitter account?
MCDOWELL: Can I --
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: It's amazing how you even made this segment about it.
WATTERS: Right.
MCDOWELL: Can I be your P.R. rep?
RIVERA: Yes, please.
MCDOWELL: Save that for the next block. Trust me.
WATTERS: Yes.
MCDOWELL: Trust me on this.
RIVERA: But this is from General John F. Campbell.
MCDOWELL: I said save them for the next block.
RIVERA: This is big.
MCDOWELL: I'm running it. I'll go to you first.
RIVERA: This is big, big news.
MCDOWELL: OK. We -- again, that's a tease.
PERINO: That's a tease.
RIVERA: That's a tease.
MCDOWELL: And in TV we call that a tease.
RIVERA: I think in a sense everybody should have -- I don't think that big tech has the ability particularly in the political sphere, Dagen, to determine who is appropriate and who isn't.
MCDOWELL: Twitter has the ability and they're getting away from it. Twitter has -- Twitter has suffered nothing by banning Donald Trump. Their stock is actually up like 15 or 16 percent year to date. There has been -- there are no consequences for Twitter. The bigger question is if President Trump, former, decides to run for another term, how do they handle that.
But in terms of the atrocities committed by the Taliban, if you try to show photos of things that the Taliban has actually done to women or the innocent on say, Instagram, your post gets deleted. So, I think that that is supposed to be new -- news. But instead like an airbrush -- like just airbrushed asses all over the place are OK but not actual photos of the horrible of what these terrorists do.
RIVERA: Granted. But, Dana, I did receive a note from Twitter. Seriously. I used the f word in responding to something that I really didn't like. And as soon as I sent it, I got a notice back, are you sure you want to speak so harshly? Have you read the whole note? And I said wow, they really --
(CROSSTALK)
PERINO: Trying to help you protect yourself.
RIVERA: It's Greg's things -- Greg's thing about robots. But I mean, it is amazing that their algorithms are that sophisticated that they pop right there.
PERINO: I mean, I do think, I respect that they're an American company, but i also feel like you are an American company. And this company is going to want American protection from all the other regulations that are coming from Europe. Maybe not Twitter initially but certainly that's happening with Google, and YouTube and Facebook.
I think that you can rightly call it Taliban Twitter and get away with it, right? So you could like figure out a way to do that. And the other social media companies they have got -- they have a way to maybe do that if they wanted to press their competitive advantage.
But I think to Dagen's point, one, it hasn't hurt Twitter at all. Twitter has hurt the world. But two, I feel like the Taliban will probably get banned if they're true to their word by probably like Friday.
RIVERA: You do?
PERINO: Well, because in terms of atrocities and violence. If they --
(CROSSTALK)
RIVERA: Well let's see what they do.
MCDOWELL: The Islamic state use Twitter as a recruiting tool for a very long time.
PERINO: Right.
MCDOWELL: Posting just horrific images all over it and they only stopped allowing it when they got called out by the media.
RIVERA: Remember, Greg, it's either me or Zabiullah Mujahid, in terms of followers.
GUTFELD: All right. Definitely start following Geraldo, also when he leaves the building. We don't know what he's up to. I think the Taliban is probably disappointed there's no beheading option. You can like and you can retweet.
PERINO: Are you sure you want to retweet this beheading?
GUTFELD: Yes, yes, exactly. Twitter is as consistent as Trey Gowdy's hair. Right? They're -- you can rely however that their disciplinary procedure will only go one way. They mirror the people that -- they discipline the people media hates and they protect those that the media favors.
The Washington Post Mark -- what's his name, Mark Seibel, supports Taliban being on Twitter as opposed to Trump because they follow the rules. You can slaughter women, you can cut off their fingers, do what you want, you can force them to marry fighters but as long as you follow the rules. Does that sound familiar? This is what the modern -- the modern progressive has become.
WATTERS: About words. About action.
GUTFELD: But it's also about following orders.
WATTERS: Their orders.
GUTFELD: Their order. It's not about law. It's about orders. And Americans will follow the law. But we don't like orders that much. But the other thing, too, it is kind of strange and hilarious that the Taliban is on Twitter, period. They want to return to the dark ages as long as they have their cell phones, their AR-15s, their good Wi-Fi. Maybe it seems like cheating. They're not really living the life of Fred Flintstone --
PERINO: Yes.
GUTFELD: -- which is what they should be doing.
RIVERA: I really have a secret tiny shred of optimism that the Taliban does want to be part of the family of nations, that they do want international aid, that they will give reasonable access --
PERINO: No aid.
RIVERA: -- to the airport by the end of the month.
GUTFELD: I wish I felt that way. But I feel like they only respond to people who will crush them. And that's why they -- we didn't have that as an option when we were leaving. But they're like, they're going to work with China. Why? Because they know that China will crush them.
WATTERS: I wish them to China. I hope China embraces them.
GUTFELD: Well, they would embrace the Uyghurs. Right?
RIVERA: Well, it's related.
GUTFELD: Yes.
RIVERA: Uyghurs, Muslims.
GUTFELD: To my point. Yes. Yes.
RIVERA: Up next, President Biden promised to bring America back on the world stage but did he just create a huge embarrassment for himself and us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MCDOWELL: President Biden has boasted time and time again how America is back on the world stage and that our allies can finally trust us again. But that was before he created a catastrophe in Afghanistan leaving behind our friends and blindsiding them.
It took days for the president to even call world leaders. And now the intel community is contradicting Biden after he claimed there is no evidence that Afghanistan could fall apart this fast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Your own intelligence community has assessed that the Afghan government will likely collapse.
BIDEN: That's not true.
UNKNOWN: Can you please clarify what they have told you about whether that will happen or not?
BIDEN: That is not true. They did not -- they did not reach that conclusion. So, the question now is where do they go from here? That the jury is still out. But the likelihood there's going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCDOWELL: But General Mark Milley said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK MILLEY, U.S. CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Following our departure, there was nothing that I or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCDOWELL: Dana?
PERINO: Well, again, already this morning, I went to Jesse because I said on the show yesterday, by tomorrow morning you'll see some stories coming up from the intelligence community saying that's not true. And that has happened. And NBC News had one earlier today from the CIA. Again, anonymous sources.
We'll see if there are hearings on Capitol Hill. Like this is obviously going to be one of the questions. But one very dangerous thing for any president is to get in a fight with the intelligence community or to call them liars or to question their work because any president really needs the intelligence community to be on their side and to be working for them, not against them.
RIVERA: What if they screwed up?
PERINO: Well, if they screw up -- I mean, well, then, again, it's the battle, right? But the empire strikes back. And they do it anonymously and the media will take it in every single time. The other thing I was going to mention is that, yes, President Biden did call a world leader but only after the press briefing that Jake Sullivan, the National Security Adviser did yesterday at the White House when he was asked, has the President talk to any other world leader, and there's -- no.
Well, then it was on this show during a commercial break between the A and the B block that we find that oh, he actually -- he called Boris Johnson at 10:00 p.m. U.K. time. And so, the last thing on this part, I don't know if anybody had a chance to see one of the members of parliament who served in Afghanistan who spoke up today on the -- in the house comments. He was furious, but he was quietly furious.
And he might -- these people in Britain, or even in Europe, they might not have liked the way President Trump talked, or the way he acted, or that he's brash, whatever, but they never questioned his courage or his resolve. But that's what you saw today in the House of Commons, and I thought that was a remarkable moment.
MCDOWELL: Right. That's what I was talking about choosing the American -- the American people choose in personality over policy or, you know, over actual substance. Greg?
GUTFELD: Yes, well, you can hate Trump and still go, he was doing well. Like, you can -- you can accept the deeds and reject the words. I'm going to pull a Geraldo here and make it about me.
PERINO: Awesome.
GUTFELD: I can hold two thoughts in my head. I can blame Joe Biden, but I could also blame myself, because I rightfully supported the counteroffensive to 9/11 which I believe is correct. But after a few years, was I really actually paying attention? Was -- in 2012 or 2013, was I giving the scrutiny needed for something this big? Absolutely not.
And I bet you, I'm probably like a lot of people who let this thing drag out because our lives weren't affected by it. So, I think -- I mean, that's what it was. When this first happened, I felt like I couldn't really get angry because that would be performative. And I hate to use that word, because I had pretty much lost track of this.
However, it's on Joe as well, because he said that America is back, that America is back on the world stage. That was -- but unfortunately, that show opened and closed in one night last week. And it's no surprise because he spent a year claiming the other side, Republicans were fronted by buffoons, so it would be up to him to deliver the goods and he couldn't.
We have no evidence that it could have been worse. I mean, it pulled up better. But I don't think it could get any worse than this. And I really hope that the critical race theory that they employed help the troops.
PERINO: Can I say one thing though. Like, if you think back to 2013 2014, what were we talking about then?
GUTFELD: Yes.
PERINO: It was the fact that when -- that President Obama basically allowed ISIS to --
GUTFELD: Yes, yes.
PERINO: So, it's all part of the global war on terror. And you don't -- none of us spend time thinking about all the troops that are based in Korea or Germany.
GUTFELD: Exactly.
PERINO: Because we don't have to, because your government should be doing that for you.
GUTFELD: Yes, yes.
MCDOWELL: I would argue -- this is an argument for another day or debate, but I would argue that our lives were impacted by what was going on Afghanistan positively. No terrorism here.
GUTFELD: Well, no. In fact, that's part of what I'm saying is that the reason why I never had to think about it is I never had to think about it.
PERINO: Right.
GUTFELD: They were doing their job. And they were doing their job so well that we forgot that at some point, we need a plan to get the hell out of there. We didn't have one.
WATTERS: But not everybody was doing a great job in Afghanistan. After 20 years, you train an army to collapse in a summer.
RIVERA: No, let's talk about the money the leaders stole.
WATTERS: And if you're going to spend that ton of money to prop up 700,000 guys with the best technology, air support training you can do, and then you don't have any idea that they're going to get bribed and fall down in a couple weeks, that's terrible intelligence.
All these smart people at the State Department, they have graduate degrees from Yale, and they -- undersecretary of policy for Near East affairs, they didn't have clue of the culture they were dealing with in this tribal nation, that they could just pass a bribe and they'll go back to the warlord that they're allied to.
This didn't -- this didn't take anybody by surprise. If anybody was watching what was really going on on the ground, they could have seen this coming. This line from Milley that this happened in 11 days, that is spin. This happened the minute Joe Biden says we're getting out on September 11 with no preconditions. That's when the Taliban advanced happened. And it went day by day and they briefed Biden as it happened, and he didn't want to do anything about it.
He didn't want to tell the American people that he might have to pivot. He stuck to the deadline and he even preposition people there in case this went to hell. It went to hell. And now he's trying to say I plan for this. You don't plan for stranding Americans in a warzone.
MCDOWELL: In terms of the 11 day excuse, Geraldo, before I let you go, he would -- they -- Milley and Austin were asked about this today, and they -- and were asked, wait, the Taliban was threatened in Kandahar a month ago.
WATTERS: Yes.
MCDOWELL: What are you talking about? And they didn't answer it.
RIVERA: They've been threatening Kandahar for a lot longer than 11 days or several months. Kandahar -- I'm surprised Kandahar lasted as long as it did, to tell you the truth. But let me -- I just want to use this little bit of time for this Fox News alert from General John F. Campbell who was the commander in Afghanistan, who was the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division.
He writes, "I'm getting hundreds of requests from Afghan friends for help. We need a Berlin airlift-type mission 24/7 aircraft leaving. I just don't think the State Department can get or fill the seats. The process is too cumbersome for Afghans and we won't get to them till all of the U.S. are out."
So, he's calling for a Berlin airlift-type mission. A lot like Petraeus earlier saying it's a Dunkirk moment. It's a screw-up.
MCDOWELL: Except there was civilians in Dunkirk too, right?
RIVERA: The British Army.
MCDOWELL: Yes. Ahead, get ready to roll up your sleeves again. President Biden just announcing booster shots are coming.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PERINO: Booster shots are coming for Americans very soon. The Biden administration will start rolling out a third dose starting the week of September 20th. And they are recommending fully vaccinated adults get another jab eight months after their second shot because of concerns, Greg, about efficacy waning after that time.
GUTFELD: Yes. I'm totally open-minded and clear-eyed about the booster shot. If I think I need to do it, I will do it. That doesn't bother me. What bothers me is if you aren't blindly accepting the assurances by the government, the media or every -- will view you as anti-vax.
So, if you are -- if you had every vaccine growing up, right, you get all the shots growing up, every year you get a flu vaccine, and then you just go I'm not so sure about this new vaccine, they will break -- they will scare you into silence. They will brand you as somehow anti-vax. Now, it's like you're either doing what the government tells you or you're an anti- vax wacko.
PERINO: Well, the President kind of did that today in his speech.
GUTFELD: Yes, exactly.
PERINO: But I guess there's -- I guess the good news is, Dagen, that we have the booster shots available for people who want them in order to feel safe from the virus.
MCDOWELL: I'm going to save this story for Gutfeld on "GUTFELD!" tonight.
GUTFELD: You're on tonight.
MCDOWELL: But my dad has gotten an early booster and there's a very long story as to how he did that. He basically just went and got a third shot. So, I'm like, let's have at it. I don't -- I'm not with you. I don't have to take care of you.
GUTFELD: Did he get it into the butt?
WATTERS: Greg.
GUTFELD: Well, because it hurts in the arm.
MCDOWELL: Yes, I don't know if they administer it in the butt. I think it was in a public place, so I hope not. But how are these -- how the restaurants going to -- how are they going to police this?
PERINO: Yes, have you had a third boost?
MCDOWELL: It's like, oh, I need to know when the date was on your -- on your booster shot. That's why it's not going to work.
GUTFELD: You need a booster seat and a booster shot.
PERINO: And also it's strange because, Jesse, they only talked about Madonna and Pfizer not J&J.
WATTERS: So, I got the J&J and I talked to my doctor today, and he recommends I get a booster because the J&J wasn't as great they say as Moderna.
PERINO: And you should take another J&J or --
WATTERS: No, he wants me to get Moderna. He thinks Moderna is a little bit better than Pfizer. But he did say that it's probably going to get to a point where you're going to need one of these shots each year like the flu shot. It's efficacious, you know, not like a 10-year thing like a tetanus, but it's a one-year deal. And it's just because it wears off a little bit and there's a lot of Delta out there, so it's all shaken up.
PERINO: I asked my doctor, Geraldo, is it OK to -- because eight months for a lot of people that got their vaccines would be a right around flu season when you get the flu shot. And I said, is there any concern about getting the flu shot at the same time that you'd be getting this booster? My doctor said no.
RIVERA: I was thinking why don't they mix them up? You go to the same place anyway.
PERINO: OK, I'm not going to go that far.
RIVERA: So, make the flu and the booster one shots.
PERINO: Well, there you go.
WATTERS: That would hurt, Geraldo. I'm a pretty tough guy, but that would hurt.
GUTFELD: That's an interesting point.
MCDOWELL: Is this how you're trying to up your Twitter account, you thirsty man?
RIVERA: I would have talked about Greg Gutfeld wearing his wife's sneakers.
WATTERS: Yes, show him. Greg is wearing women's shoes today on national TV.
GUTFELD: We are blessed with the same shoe size.
WATTERS: Greg has cross-dressed on THE FIVE.
RIVERA: That's adorable you and your wife having same sizes.
GUTFELD: It's brand new -- brand new shoes.
WATTERS: He's walks around on his tippy toes.
GUTFELD: What's happening?
PERINO: Coming up, members of the Squad calling to cancel rent. Well, guess what, they were raking in thousands of dollars as landlords. This is the best story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GUTFELD: One of the producers just said that song is terrible. It's the Camps.
PERINO: I thought it's pretty good.
GUTFELD: Human Fly, a classic. Squad members who call for canceling rent during the pandemic reportedly raked in thousands as landlords last year. Financial disclosure show Rashida Tlaib made $50,000 while fellow squad member Ayanna Pressley collected as much as $15,000. Both backed a bill that would have temporarily canceled rent and mortgage payments nationwide.
Dana, is this hypocritical if they include themselves in this or should they have told us this?
PERINO: Well, they have to tell you because they have financial disclosures.
GUTFELD: Right.
PERINO: And like, most people don't necessarily have to do that. But if you're in public office, you do, so that's why. But I do think it's -- I mean, it's kind of hilarious and was also really upsetting. So, these were the biggest proponents of the eviction moratorium and yet they didn't even cancel rent for their own tenants.
GUTFELD: Yes, that's the key. If they cancel -- I mean, that's what I was wondering. Did they cancel it or they abide by their own rules?
WATTERS: No.
PERINO: No and no. And the thing is that the Urban Institute basically says that it is Black and Hispanic small landlords that are far more likely to be hurt by the eviction moratorium. Here's three reasons why. They're more likely to have lower income, they usually only have one property, and then they have to rely on that rent collection to pay their own mortgage.
So, that's why this whole thing that President Biden did in which he said, I know it's unconstitutional, but I'm going to do it anyway to buy us time, is really bad. They're actually hurting the small landlords. And what's the consequence? Those people go bankrupt. Who sweeps in? The bigger companies, and then everybody's rent goes up. So, congratulations.
GUTFELD: There you go. What do you think, Jesse?
WATTERS: If you live in a squad property, contact me. I want to hear from you. Is your building up to code?
GUTFELD: That's fair. That's fair.
WATTERS: Is your water not hot enough? I need to know these things. So, contact me on social media and we'll maybe do something with it.
GUTFELD: There you.
PERINO: I love it.
MCDOWELL: I'm worried about these women. They seem confused that this wouldn't come out publicly.
GUTFELD: Right.
MCDOWELL: Maybe they don't care. Maybe they just -- maybe they're -- maybe they're Cori Bush and she's like, I need private security so I can take away your security by getting rid of the police.
GUTFELD: Right. It's the rule that the left get into politics to exempt themselves from the rules they enforce on others.
MCDOWELL: The Gutfeld Rule, one of many.
GUTFELD: There you go. There you go. And they assume, Geraldo, as Dagen points out, that they would get a -- the media would give them a pass. We're the only people talking about it.
RIVERA: The media has given them a pass and does give them a pass. But I don't understand how this is a scandal involving them since they're landlords, so they stand to lose by the rent moratorium that they've promoted.
WATTERS: No, but they could have done it themselves without pushing a law about it.
RIVERA: Are we sure they did not?
WATTERS: Well, they say they collected $50,000.
PERINO: Yes, so they didn't cancel the rent for their own tenant.
RIVERA: Well, that's bad.
GUTFELD: Yes. It'd be hilarious if they were relatives too and they still took their money. That's what I would do.
RIVERA: But small landlords are --
GUTFELD: I want it. One day I'm going to be a small landlord. I can dream. I can't be a tall one. "ONE MORE THING" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WATTERS: It's time now for "ONE MORE THING." Greg.
GUTFELD: Let's do this, shall we? But you know what, it's OK. You know when you're out late, you know, time went on with Geraldo. You never know who you're going to run into. I was just driving by about 3:00 a.m. I'm walking home. I see none other than George Clooney just head back, you know, enjoying himself after a long night at party and supermodels and whatnot. He doesn't have a care in the world. Look at him. Yes, yes, there you go.
"GUTFELD!" tonight. I got Dagen. Dagen is on.
MCDOWELL: God help you.
GUTFELD: Yes. Kat, and Tyrus, Matt Whitaker, there.
WATTERS: It's national back to school month. That means you guys got to finish your summer reading list, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies or How I Save the World. There won't be a quiz, but it'll definitely enrich your brain. So, if you want to enrich more than your brain, go meet me in the flesh, LBI Book Swap in Long Beach Island, New Jersey, Tuesday, August 31, 11:00 in the morning. I do wake up in the morning and you can see me there.
I'm also going to be able to be seen tonight on "FOX NEWS PRIMETIME" with Will Cain where I'll probably mention my book. It is still on the New York Times list. I didn't even promote it last week. I was off. It's still there. Dana.
PERINO: That's staying in power right there. It's time for this.
WATTERS: That's cool.
PERINO: It's crazy tricks. OK, this guy has a lot of tricks. Look at these four things that he can do right here. Can you check? So, he, yes, he can get -- kick the soccer ball right into there. He can -- it's like a Pokemon card in between ping pong balls. And a mento goes into the -- do you guys believe it?
GUTFELD: No. You know that we have had this conversation. Each one of these is done thousands of times until they finally --
PERINO: That's right. Well, I don't care. It's still pretty good. I'm going to give them a 9.2.
GUTFELD: I give them a minus six. '
WATTERS: Waste of time. Read my book instead. Geraldo.
GUTFELD: Ready my book.
RIVERA: 18 years ago last week, Erica made me the happiest man on earth. We got married right here in Central Synagogue, Lexington Avenue. It was a small wedding, 450 of my closest friends. We partied at Four Seasons Restaurant and Four Seasons was the happening-est restaurant in the city. And we went all the way into the deep into the night before winging it off the next morning to our honeymoon in south of France.
WATTERS: The south of France.
RIVERA: Yes.
WATTERS: OK. Who was at the wedding? Who's in the guest list, Geraldo?
RIVERA: Oh, we had the Israeli ambassador, the Palestinian representative. We had everybody at Fox, I could imagine.
WATTERS: Did they get into any trouble at the bar, those two?
RIVERA: No. it was -- it was the kind of --
WATTERS: You separated them?
RIVERA: Everyone came. They were at the same table.
WATTERS: Good.
RIVERA: Same table with my children.
WATTERS: All right, Dagen McDowell, can you top that one?
MCDOWELL: Oh, hell no. I don't have any friends at all.
RIVERA: I'll have you.
WATTERS: Dagen, well, you have us.
MCDOWELL: Yes, but maybe I don't want you to be my friend, Geraldo.
RIVERA: Oh.
MCDOWELL: No, I'm just kidding.
RIVERA: You said you're not going to say anything nasty.
MCDOWELL: Happy anniversary, how about that? I've been trolling the internet looking for exercise videos. I'm on the road zaftig with my two dozen pounds I gained during COVID. I've discovered this. This is Cork, an 8-year-old Atlantic Harbor seal that they taught at the Mystic Aquarium to do crunches.
WATTERS: Great form.
MCDOWELL: You know what? Cork has a better shape than I do right now. I'm kind of the same size all the way down like a giant well, seal.
PERINO: Dagen McDowell, first of all --
MCDOWELL: Yes, I've got a girdle.
PERINO: First of all, you look great. But also, I'm --
MCDOWELL: I've got a girdle on, so that's the only reason I appear to have a waist.
WATTERS: All right, well --
PERINO: I have no waist, none. I never had in my whole life. My lowest rib and my hip bone almost touch literally.
WATTERS: But that's because you're short, it's not because you have no waist.
PERINO: I mean, short people can still have a waist. I have no waist.
WATTERS: Does your upper chest just go right to your hips. Is that what you say?
PERINO: Yes.
WATTERS: Stand up for the audience. Stand up. God help you.
RIVERA: Isn't that an H.R. complaint?
WATTERS: What did I say? I didn't say anything. And you of all people, Geraldo.
RIVERA: Stand up and (INAUDIBLE).
WATTERS: That's it for us. "SPECIAL REPORT" is up next with Bret Baier.
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL ANCHOR: So, explain it against, lower hipbone to the rib.
PERINO: My lowest rib and my hip bone almost touch.
BAIER: Got it. All right, thank you.
WATTERS: Thanks.
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.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox