Ingraham: Biden deflecting the consequences of his own policies
Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan tells Laura Ingraham the Biden admin on day one started choking off financing to the American energy sector.
This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," March 15, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: I'm Laura Ingraham. This is THE INGRAHAM ANGLE from Washington tonight.
The capital city of Ukraine is currently under a 35-hour curfew as Russian forces close in. Now, despite that the leaders of the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia arrived in Kyiv today for a briefing from President Zelenskyy on the war effort.
But one of the biggest developments was Zelenskyy admitting in a call with representatives of the UK-led joint expeditionary force that Ukrainians needed to accept that their country will not be joining NATO.
Now, this statement is being seen by some observers as a potential, and I say potential, first step toward an agreement with Russia to end this madness. Now, in moments we're going to take you through all the latest details with Fox's own Greg Palkot live in Lviv.
But first, as Ukrainian and Russian diplomats meet for a fifth round of peace talks, if you can believe it, we ask, where's Joe Biden? Why isn't the world's greatest superpower helping in any way, shape, or form to broker a ceasefire?
As we've seen other leaders from France to Germany engage with Putin directly in the hopes of drawing this war to an end, the president of the most powerful nation in the world has been absent.
Today, we did learn that he will be engaging in nine days from now, but not in the lead role.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: President will travel to Brussels, Belgium later this month, where he will join an extraordinary NATO Summit on March 24 to discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine, as well as to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Here's a translation. Macron is going to tell Biden what the deal is, and Biden's just going to nod. OK, that's my translation.
But look, sending Biden to Brussels, putting his ineptitude on full display, it's going to be an utter catastrophe. And it will be made worse by something he said just hours ago.
Now tomorrow, NATO is set to tell its military commanders to draw plans for new ways to deter Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, including more troops, more missile defenses in Eastern Europe.
Now, is that really going to ease tensions? And will President Biden commit more American resources to this effort?
Joining me now is former Director of National Intel, John Ratcliffe. John, now you say that former Intel counterparts have told you some disturbing things about what Biden's kind of ceding this role to the Europeans, maybe to China, on the world stage actually does for this current situation. Explain your concerns.
JOHN RATCLIFFE, FORMER DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Laura, I think to your point about why the U.S. isn't more involved as the world's superpower is because the world's expectations, certainly our allies' expectations for Joe Biden and his administration have been lowered as a result of what they've seen for the past years.
I've talked to my former counterparts - intelligence counterparts and some of our strongest allies. And what they relate is the problem is, it's no longer a perception that Joe Biden be seen as weak. It's the fact that Joe Biden has proven that he is weak through his decisions as people have seen in Afghanistan, and now in the lead up to this crisis that became an invasion in the Ukraine.
So, our allies have seen what the American people have seen. That Joe Biden makes promises, that he doesn't keep, that he makes promises that he doesn't remember. He makes promises, that he walks back. And as a result, that's why you're seeing things like Volodymyr Zelenskyy tomorrow bypassing Biden and going directly to Congress. It's why leaders of foreign countries like the Saudi prince and the Sheikh of the UAE last week not taking Biden's phone calls even to talk about the oil crisis worldwide.
So the rest of the world is rising to meet the challenge of Vladimir Putin, but unfortunately they don't see Joe Biden as particularly relevant to coming to meet that challenge.
INGRAHAM: Well, John, Jen Psaki tried to explain what Biden's goals are going to be when he heads to Brussels. He's actually physically going to fly to Brussels. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PSAKI: His goal is to meet in-person face-to-face with his European counterparts and talk about and assess where we are at this point in the conflict in the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
We've been incredibly aligned to-date. That doesn't happen by accident. The President's a big believer in face-to-face diplomacy, so it's an opportunity to do exactly that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: OK, John, you've heard of shudder - of shudder diplomacy. This is shutter diplomacy. The face of (ph) diplo - what does that mean? Especially on the heels of Kamala Harris not knowing that Ukraine was not a member of NATO in her remarks. This is embarrassing.
RATCLIFFE: Yes, that is the problem is, even before Joe Biden goes there. The problem is his words are viewed as empty, and his actions are - have proven to be timid and reluctant and late to the game.
And as you talked about, as Joe Biden sends Kamala Harris to a meaningless - to stutter through a meaningless press conference in Romania, the Prime Minister - the Polish, Czech and Slovenian Prime Ministers literally went into Kyiv to meet with Zelenskyy in the middle of a war zone.
I mean, the rest of the world, even the Swedes and the Swiss who are usually on the sidelines, are all rising to meet the challenge. And Joe Biden is all about words. But when it comes to his actions, he's doing things like impeding the delivery of Polish MIGs to the Ukrainians.
The things that President Zelenskyy is going to beg Congress for tomorrow are the things that Joe Biden should have been giving him months ago when the intelligence was clear that Russia was going to invade.
But Joe Biden's strategy, remember, Laura, was if Russia invades then we'll get involved and help Ukraine. If Russia invades, then we'll impose sanctions. Even though the intelligence was clear that this is exactly what was going to happen. So it's a little wonder that the world has moved on and that this crisis hopefully will be solved, but it won't be solved by the Biden administration.
INGRAHAM: Now, there is a moment from an interview that Anthony Blinken, the Secretary of State, gave today that you have to see, John. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: How real is the risk of this spiraling into nuclear war?
ANTHONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: I have to tell you, we have real concerns that Russia could use a chemical weapon, another weapon of mass destruction.
BLITZER: If they do use chemical weapons, what will the U.S. or the NATO allies do?
BLINKEN: We've been very clear, including with Russia, with others, that there would be a very serious response. I'm not going to spell it out here. But the consequences would be severe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: John, your reaction to that?
RATCLIFFE: My reaction is - it's more of the same from the Biden administration. It underscores the fact that Vladimir Putin's deterrence is working. All he has to do is rattle the saber and talk about nuclear weapons or chemical weapons.
And the Biden administration backs down, and says, Well, we can't do something because it might be escalatory; where the rest of the countries involved in this are all stepping up. They're hearing the exact same threats. And yet - again, prime ministers are going into war zones to meet with Zelenskyy to solve this problem. And the Biden administration is looking for ways to not lead, but to stay at the back of the room. And it's unfortunate. It does not portend well for the next three years.
INGRAHAM: Well, just a simple question. Would any of this be happening, do you think, if Donald Trump were President?
RATCLIFFE: Well, it didn't happen when Donald Trump was president. So that's the answer to the question. It didn't happen, because Vladimir Putin wouldn't have done those things, just as President Xi wouldn't be doing the things that he's doing now over Taiwan. And Iran wouldn't be doing the things that they're doing.
It's about deterrence. And we don't have that. We're not imposing that on our adversaries.
INGRAHAM: Now, well, the answer is no. They wouldn't have been doing this. John, it's great to see you as always. Thank you.
And now, false flags. That's the focus of tonight's 'Angle'.
Now, a popular liberal on social media, Noah Smith, tweeted something this week that spoke volumes about the Democrats' political desperation.
"With inflation, thermostatic politics, and now a likely economic slowdown, well, Dems' best hope for the midterms is probably to use a rally round the flag appeal by bashing Russia hard and emphasizing Trumpers' ties to Putin."
Not just that. OK, if you could believe that one. They're now throwing around the T word. Because Tulsi Gabbard dared to question the rush to war mindset, Mitt Romney got very angry.
"Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives."
And the media echo chamber, of course, followed suit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are now seeing a term that I never thought I'd see in my life, fifth columnist. People who are deliberately working to undermine the American structure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really, really close to treason.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think DOJ should look into people who are Russian propagandist and shelling for Putin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Well, they say that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. But this is really despicable. Now, who needs comedy when you have these people trying to claim a monopoly on patriotic fervor over the Ukraine invasion, when for the past two years they've insisted that America is systemically racist?
Now, Biden's own UN Ambassador believes our very founding is steeped in wickedness.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: We have to acknowledge that we are an imperfect union of the original sin of slavery, weaved white supremacy into our founding documents and principles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Biden's Secretary of State, he agrees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLINKEN: We know we have work to do at home. That includes addressing profound inequities, including systemic racism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: And our own vice president went even further.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Racism is real in America. And it has always been. Xenophobia is real in America and always has been. Sexism too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Well, if she throws that in at the end. And of course, Biden just reads whatever they put in front of him not realizing the constant America bashing hurts his credibility and his authority at home and abroad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Racism, the ugly poison that has long haunted and plagued our nation through systemic racism as a stain on our nation's soul. The knee on the neck of justice for Black Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Now, wait, according to them, ours is a nation with a stain on its soul. It's structurally racist, xenophobic and the sexist thing. So how on earth could that America be the savior for any other country in distress?
And by the way, the farce gets better. Now, they're even extending their treason narrative to anyone who points out the fact that gas prices have been rising way before Putin went into Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are blaming Biden for rising gas prices. Meanwhile, guess who gets off scot free? Not just Putin, but the big oil and gas companies.
REP. KIM SCHRIER (D-WA): And to not blame Putin, first of all, is denying reality. And second, frankly, I think is un-American.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Now, the people now using Putin's inhumane war to demand endless sacrifice for the taxpayers. And then those people questioning other people's patriotism?
Now, they're the same ones who've spent a lifetime doing enormous damage to the fabric of America. Now, their policy sent millions of jobs in our industrial base to Asia; imported 20 million illegal aliens into the United States. Their policies raised crime rates; turned our schools into propaganda institutes and toppled our history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): In Baltimore, in Little Italy, the statue of Christopher Columbus was removed.
Well, I'm not - I don't even have my grandmother's earrings. I'm not one of those people who's wedded to, Oh, a statue. I don't care that much about statutes. People will do what they do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Till they build a statue of her, she doesn't care about the statues.
Well, of course, people are going to do what they are going to do and they did. They burned cities; they held neighborhoods hostage; they threatened ordinary Americans who didn't chant their slogans, or post supportive comments on social media. And the elites, all the while gave them cover.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLINKEN: We need to end violence and brutality, and to make sure that people understand that black lives matter.
CHRIS CUOMO, FORMER HOST OF CNN: Please show me where it says that protests are supposed to be polite and peaceful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: But now, we're supposed to take our patriotic cues from people like them? No, thanks.
They will defame you. They'll censor you. They'll send your jobs overseas. And yet now they want you to jump on Biden's bandwagon for the war that they'll never officially get declared in Congress.
Now, this is one of the most dishonest attempts to turn the tables the 'Angle' has witnessed in ages. And they know in their hearts, it's not working.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So far Biden hasn't received any of the political capital that President Zelenskyy has offered him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At the end of the day, we still remain an incredibly polarized country. You're not going to give President Biden any credit at all, even if you like what his administration is doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Well, Biden got no real bump from the State of the Union, and he's not getting much now. That's because Americans, they do feel terrible, awful about Ukraine. But they also feel terrible about a lot of what's happening to their own country.
A new poll out that the press is feverishly trying to spin is good news for Biden really isn't. At least not when you actually give people the relevant facts.
"When Yahoo News and YouGov asked half of respondents whether they support or oppose U.S. troops enforcing a no-fly zone over Ukraine with no added context, supporters 40 percent, outnumbered opponents 25 percent."
OK. But what happened when the other half of the respondents were told that a no-fly zone means that we could actually shoot down a Russian plane, possibly trigger even a war between the U.S. and Russia?
Well, then "Support plummeted by nearly half to 23 percent, while opposition to that almost doubled to 43 percent. And the biggest shift came among Republicans, who went from supporting a no-fly zone by a 22-point margin to opposing it by a 38-point margin."
Wow, facts really do matter. So are all those Americans? Are they selfish? Are they pro-Putin traders? Now, how many of those virtue signaling with their Ukraine flag emojis are actually uncomfortable with the enthusiastic flying of the American flag themselves?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARA GAY, NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER: But how to separate American-ness - America from whiteness?
I was on Long Island this weekend, visiting a really dear friend. And I was really disturbed. I saw dozens and dozens of pickup trucks with explicative Trump flags and some cases just dozens of American flags, which is also just disturbing. Because essentially the message was clear, it was, this is my country. This is not your country. I own this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Wow. Well, we tried to warn the Democrats that they were making a huge mistake by going so far to the left, but they wouldn't listen.
But now, the day of liberation is coming. We're going to have an election on the first Tuesday of this November, and then another in two years. And we'll finally be rid of these fools. Until then, we have to do everything in our legal power to protect and conserve what we still have in America.
We don't want American troops dying for an undeclared war. We certainly don't want to keep spending money we don't have. And we don't want America used as a base to boost multinational organizations and the CCP. And we certainly don't feel obliged to join their false flag patriotism.
The establishment bet on the international order and against the American people. Now, the American people are going to give them their comeuppance. And that's the 'Angle'.
Joining me now is Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and Fox News contributor. Newt, the left is so desperate at this point to save themselves from utter annihilation November. They've decided to become the flag wavers and to claim treason on the part of anyone who has or dares to question them. Your reaction tonight?
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: Well, part of that isn't a big change. They've always been prepared to smother anybody who disagrees with them, to kick them out, to cancel them, to fire them, to drive them out of public life. So they've changed a little bit of the direction, but the attitude hasn't changed.
Look, the problem for the left is simple. It's failing. It's failing in Ukraine; it's failing with inflation; it's failing with open borders; it's failing with levels of crime when you go through area after area.
I just talked today to a pollster about New York State, which is a state which Biden carried by huge margin? He's now some 25 points underwater in a state he carried by a big margin, because people wake up in the morning, and they - look, here the most recent examples.
The guy who stabbed two people, staff people at the Museum of Modern Art. The person is going around as a serial killer killing people who are homeless. People look at that stuff and they say, this isn't working. Then they go to buy gasoline, that's not working. Wait till you see the impact of the price of wheat, which is actually going up faster than the price of oil.
Presently, you're going to see food problems that are amazing. And people are going to say, this isn't working. And I think when you watch Biden and you watch Harris, the question is which is the more incompetent?
I mean, Harris in Poland was an utter total embarrassment. And every American had to feel something was wrong there. And, of course, Biden, I think it's totally out of touch with reality. And this has been pathetic.
The result, by the way, is the Chinese are now more important. You have Syrians potentially coming into Europe as a fighting force. You have Europeans who have no respect for the current American administration.
And you have Putin thinking, as long as he yells nuclear war, he can get away with anything he wants to, including killing civilians, bombing maternity hospitals, attacking nuclear reactors. And you have an administration in Washington, which is as totally, I think, out of touch with reality.
INGRAHAM: Back to your point on the crime in the United States, because I think what we're seeing in these polls, Newt, is as awful and tragic and horrific as Putin's war on Ukraine is. The Mom and Pop small businesses, the American families are most concerned about what's happening in their schools and what's happening to their family budgets, and what's happening on the streets.
It's so bad in Seattle, that we learned tonight that Amazon is, at least, temporarily relocating 1100 or 1800 of its employees out of Seattle because it's become such a hellhole of crime. I think this is an opportunity, do you not agree, for a Republican 50-state strategy to wipe the Democrats out in 2024 2022? Not just in the old red state blocks, but across the country from New York to Washington State to California and beyond.
GINGRICH: Well, look, I think Republicans should encourage candidates everywhere. I will say the Congressional Campaign Committee has done an amazing job. I think they're going to have more candidates than we had in 1994, which at the time, set a record.
When you look, for example, at San Francisco, where the school board members who were recalled with an over 70 percent vote that was led by Asian-Americans who are deeply offended that these left-wing nutcase want to destroy the schools, which Asian-Americans see as the key to their children's future.
When you look at, for example, Hispanic Americans. They're patriotic, they are pro life. They're for the work ethic. They believe in take home pay, they're anti crime. And they look at a Democratic Party, which increasingly looks crazy.
You had 89 Democrats today sign a letter to Biden from the house, saying that the greatest threat is global warming. Now, we're in the middle of a war. And the greatest threat is global warming. I mean, how whacked out do you have to be?
INGRAHAM: Newt, it's great to see you as always tonight. Thank you so much.
And we have some breaking news out of Ukraine where we're learning about new air raid sirens tonight. Joining me on the ground in Lviv is Senior Foreign Affairs correspondent Greg Palkot. Greg, what can you tell us tonight?
GREG PALKOT, SENIOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Laura, overnight we had a few extended periods of air raid sirens here in Lviv. No sign exactly about what they were warming about. But over in Kyiv, things were much worse. Air raid sirens and explosions on the outskirts of that capital city.
The Russians seem to have stepped up their indiscriminate bombardment by artillery. We saw it most of the day on Tuesday, dozens of civilians killed, with their main forces still outside of the center. The shelling of the capital by Russians has become more systematic. The buildings left for - burning wrecks.
Meanwhile, a bit of relief for the people of the besieged port city of Mariupol. 20,000 people made their way out in cars in the last two days. But, remember, there's like 400,000 people who are remaining there. 2300 are feared dead.
Talks today between Ukraine and Russia, well, they were characterized as difficult. But, yes, some sign of possible compromise. And here in Lviv, there was a funeral for four soldiers who were killed in the stepped up missile attacks that we have seen here in the West.
Shelters, we are told, bursting with refugees. Hospitals filled with the wounded. Incursions by Russian forces may be coming from the north, maybe come from Belarus is the next concern.
Laura, we had a chance to sit down with the mayor of Lviv on Tuesday. He told us that, yes, they can beat the Russians if they get more weapons, more arms. That sounds like a very tall order at this point in this terrible, terrible tragedy. Back to you.
INGRAHAM: Greg, the thing I've been thinking about for the last 24 hours for whatever reason, is obviously our colleagues and their families, and you and everyone in harm's way. And it's heartbreaking and it's so upsetting.
And I think of the people in Ukraine without basic food. A food is running out in a lot of parts of Ukraine as well. What can you tell us about that? How are they coping?
PALKOT: Exactly. In cities like Mariupol and other cities like Kherson and Kharkiv, there's kind of a siege mentality on the Russian strategy side. And they can't really tactically win. So they can just basically starve the people out, basically (ph) airing the cities with their artillery and pound away.
And yes, thank you for mentioning our last colleagues. Peter and I worked together for more than 20 years and he was a brilliant camera man, a brilliant journalist and a very dear friend. We'll miss him very much. Back to you.
INGRAHAM: Greg, thank you very much.
And worse than Biden abroad is the pain his policies are causing here at home. Just today, we learned that the producer price index reached historic highs again last month, rising a whopping 10 percent year-over-year.
Now, the main culprit was the skyrocketing energy prices brought about by 15 months of Biden's destructive policies against fossil fuels. But Biden and his pals, they want you to look elsewhere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Make no mistake, recurrence spiking gas prices is largely the fault of Vladimir Putin.
PELOSI: But this starts with Putin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much is this crisis exacerbating the inflation problem we already have?
JANET YELLEN, TREASURY SECRETARY: Well, it is exacerbating and I think there's no doubt about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Janet Yellen, wonder she ever criticized China. Never.
But joining me now is the senator from a big energy producing state, Alaska's Dan Sullivan. Senator, thank you for joining us tonight. How much longer are Americans going to have to suffer because of an administration that is bowing down to the Greeniacs, despite the pain and suffering? This is already beginning to cause American families.
SEN. DAN SULLIVAN (R-AK): Well, Laura, let me begin by offering my condolences to you and your colleagues for your lost teammates at Fox. I think our American journalists are doing heroic work over there and I just want to add my condolences.
But we - you and I've talked about this before from day one, this administration has set out to actually undermine American energy production, stopping energy infrastructure, choking off financing to the American energy sector, definitely in Alaska.
And you and I talked about this last time. I think a lot of this is intentional. Now, these prices were rising almost from day one of the Biden administration. And way more than 50 percent of the price rise occurred before the Putin invasion.
So a lot of what - when you listen to their senior advisors, John Kerry, Gina McCarthy, they have actually said, rising prices will, "help us accelerate the move to renewables". So in some ways, I don't think this is - I think, in many ways, it's intentional. But the American people are suffering, but it's also undermining our ability in terms of national security.
So they need a huge course correction. I highly doubt it's going to happen. But that's what we need--
INGRAHAM: It's not going to happen, Senator. Senator, nothing is going to happen until they are driven from office. Nothing. Americans are going to be told they have to sacrifice, they're going to have to suffer. They're going to have to suffer for Ukraine, they're going to have to suffer for the planet, they're going to have to suffer for the next COVID variant. But everyone watching tonight has to understand, you're in for three more years of pain.
Maybe we'll be able to blunt some of it after November, but it's going to be pain, pain, pain. That's all they know how to deal - deal out to the American public. And I think Mayor Pete, he kind of laid out the Biden plan for high gas prices today. Watch, Senator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE BUTTIGIEG, SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION: The President's taken a lot of steps to bring relief and to help stabilize oil prices. Of course, the long-term solution for this is energy independence and a shift to renewable energy here in this country.
But let's also remember that, well, oil prices and gas prices are famously something that is largely outside of the direct control of any political figure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Senator, so as he does his little photo op biking to and fro work, he expects us all, I guess, to wait around till everyone has an electric car and there's charging stations on every corner. And in the meantime, what are we actually supposed to do for energy?
SULLIVAN: Well, Laura, remember, he mentioned energy independence. And that's actually what the Biden administration inherited from a Republican Congress in the Trump administration.
The President is now talking about, well, this is Biden - this is Putin's price hikes. We know that that is ridiculous. This is what they have done from day one. And the other thing that is hurting us is that they're going around the world saying, Well, we probably do need more energy, so we're going to beg dictators in Venezuela, in Iran for energy.
It's a very simple solution here, which is get the boot of the federal government off the neck of American energy producers and workers. We had energy independence 15 months ago. And with these administration policies, which purposely tried to undermine the production of American energy, you're seeing these high energy prices.
So to me, it's a very simple solution. But you're right. They want the pain, because they think that's the way to move into the renewable sector, and it's just not working.
INGRAHAM: Well, that is their new normal -- permanent pain. Senator, you nailed it. Thank you.
Remember the seven-hour meeting between Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and his Chinese counterpart that we told you about last night? We told you at the time that China was just using this as just another opportunity to humiliate us. And right on cue, the CCP's propaganda outfit did just that, writing, "Although the Ukraine issue was a priority for the U.S. during Tuesday's meeting to pressurize China to take a stand, it seems that the attempt has been unsuccessful. It means that the goal of the U.S. for this meeting has failed," said Wu Xinbo.
Here now is Peter Rough, Hudson Institute senior fellow. Peter, this was an embarrassment. Jake Sullivan might have had good intentions going there, but Xi is going to with one person. He's going to deal with the president of the United States. He is not going to deal with Jake Sullivan. This is all just smoke and mirrors meaning nothing. Why do you think China made it a clear point to brush off the Ukraine issue in their state media organ report on this meeting?
PETER ROUGH, HUDSON INSTITUTE SENIOR FELLOW: War is a time for choosing. It's a clarifying moment. And the Chinese have faced a choice since day one of this conflict. They could work with the west against Russia, or they could work with Russia against the west.
Economics would suggest that they would work with the United States and Europe. After all, they need our advanced technologies to power their economy, and their economy is lagging at present. Beijing's latest figures have their economic growth at around 5.5 percent, which by Chinese standards is not all that great. In the last 48 hours we have heard about the shutdown and lockdown of Shenzhen, the major metropolitan center outside of Hong Kong which is a big manufacturing hub.
And of course, its real estate sector is a total mess, leading into President Xi's coronation as emperor for life in the Chinese Communist Party this fall, you think they would prioritize economic performance. But they've gone with the Russians, which represent only two percent of global GDP for a simple reason. The Russians share the Chinese vision of the world. They want to dismantle the American led international order. And while the Russians may merely be going for global relevance, I think the Chinese for global dominance, both are rowing in the same direction.
So at every point along the way since this war began on February 24th when they have had to choose, in the end while they are prepared to perhaps make an effort with the Russians to moderate their behavior, they're not going to take any steps that will fundamentally damage the Russian national interest.
INGRAHAM: China enjoys humiliating the Biden administration. I think they felt like they were kicked a little bit by Trump with the tariffs. And Trump did the whole missile launch when Xi was at Mar-a-Lago. I'm sure Xi never forgot that. But they enjoy that. They are taking great delight in this. Peter, it's always good to see you. Thank you.
In moments, we expose one of the most odious figures behind the Critical Race Theory virus that has been infecting schools across the country. You'll be surprised, maybe. Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: A new book by "Daily Wire" reporter Luke Rosiak reveals the never before told store of America's first woke school system and the racial nut who pioneered it. Her name is Tracy Castro-Gill. This woman married a convicted child molester and, until recently, was the director of ethnic studies for Seattle public schools. Here she is explaining her overall teaching philosophy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to first build students up because their humanity has been so degraded because of colonization and anti-blackness. We have to build students of with their identity so that they are safe enough in their identity to have these conversations about oppression.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Now, how does she put this twisted outlook into practice? Luke Rosiak writes that "Under her leadership, the Seattle school system decided to partially replace the curriculum of math with every grade with "math ethnic studies." The goal was to close the achievement gap." That means lower the bar. Of course, the opposite happened. Rosiak notes "The performance of black students at those schools plummeted, with the black passing rate dropping from 28 percent in math to under 18 percent the next school year." Of course, none of this failure did not deter Castro-Gill, who actually admitted helping minority students was never her goal. "Closing Achievement/Opportunity gaps is a western way of thinking about education. We should never close that gap because it provides space for reflection and growth." We did not make that up.
Joining me now is Vince Ellison, author of "25 Lies," and Chris Rufo, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute who has been instrumental in exposing CRT in schools. Chris, you live in the Seattle area. We already reported about the Amazon decision to move 1,800 of its employees out of the city because of crime, and now this with the schools. This has got to be one of the most destructive things I have ever heard.
CHRIS RUFO, MANHATTAN INSTITUTE SENIOR FELLOW: That's right. Just a few years ago, Seattle was one of the most beautiful, thriving, prosperous cities in the country. They elected a far-left city council that absolutely wrecked it. And it really shows that public policy matters. These decisions have an impact. And unfortunately, I know I pulled my kids out of Seattle public schools. It was a disaster. They were tying up disabled kids. They were fights all the time, people exposing themselves on the playground. Total nightmare. And it's all by design by these policymakers.
INGRAHAM: Vince, a friend of mine said to me the other day, in 10 years there will be very few people of faith left in the public school system because they are so incredibly oppositional to any type of American tradition, respect for our Constitution. They become leftwing indoctrination camps. Your thought on the future of public schools with this direction they are going in?
VINCE ELLISON, AUTHOR, "25 LIES": I have a chapter in my book about public education and how the Democrat Party is against choice. Let's make one thing perfectly clear. The Democrat Party and the teachers' union are synonymous. They work together to do two things, to either indoctrinate or to demoralize the students.
Democrat Party heaven is America's hell. It always has been, always will be. And C.S. Lewis told us that hell is a choice. And I wondered, what was he talking about, but then I see it. People that choose to vote for a party that would disarm you, indoctrinate your children into gender reassignment, and will just keep you in the ghetto with the songs and lyrics and movies tell you that the people are living in hell are choosing to live in hell.
But we have an option. We can decide to vote for candidates that support school choice, vouchers, charters, tax credits, and get our children out of the government school system. All school teachers are not bad. Some are very, very good. Some are terrible. But the teachers' union are an evil institution. And they are connected to another evil institution, and that is the Democrat Party leadership in America.
INGRAHAM: Chris, I want to remind everybody tonight that parents are waking up. Moms are waking up of all political persuasions about what's really happening in schools. I want everyone to hear what an Illinois mom had to say at a school board meeting recently about grooming children in school. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There have been some teachers counseling students, pushing a transgender agenda, telling those students to tell their -- I'm sorry -- to keep it from their parents. I know in the high school there have been names changed and genders changed without parental notice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Chris, this is tantamount to a war against parents.
RUFO: Yes, that's absolutely right. You are hearing it all over the country. Teachers think that children belong to them, not to their parents. Teachers' unions feel the same way. But parents are very concerned, and the facts are very simple. According to the Department of Education the rate of sexual abuse in public schools is more than 100 times greater than the rate of sexual abuse in Catholic churches, which was a nationwide scandal. There is a lot of things going wrong. Parent should be afraid of the grooming, the sexualization of their kids. We have seen even with the DeSantis legislation to stop sexualization of kids from kindergarten through third grade, a huge effort against it.
But why do adults want to be talking to kids about sex and sexuality when they are only four, five, and six years old? There is something deeply wrong. It's got to be exposed. And we need better public policies and better leadership to make it stop.
INGRAHAM: I don't know about you guys, but I am hoping the Democrats run on this. I'm hoping if they really believe in this, they should run on it in November. So that's what I'm urging them to do. Chris and Vince, great to see you both tonight.
And one day after accusing a woman serving in the U.S. military of treason, Senator Mitt Romney told a bunch of rich elites outside of Washington that we're facing an extraordinary threat to democracy. To whom is he exactly trying to appeal? Dinesh D'Souza has some thoughts in moments. Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: Mitt Romney, he lives in a world where he and other never Trump neocons like Liz Cheney actually believe that they are fighting valiantly for freedom. And of course, they believe that America first conservatives are dangerous to our democratic system.
This is the gist of what he told a group of big donors at a Liz Cheney fundraiser in northern Virginia last night. According to CBS News, attendees described Romney as delivering the remarks as a warning for the group, which included many long-time members of the Republican establishment, of an extraordinary challenge in preserving democracy.
Joining me now is Dinesh D'Souza, conservative commentator, host of "The Dinesh D'Souza Podcast." Dinesh, so let me try to figure this out. If Republicans wipe out the Democrats in November, which we certainly hope they do, will that be preserving democracy, or does it depend on the type of Republicans who win, Dinesh?
DINESH D'SOUZA, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: We've suddenly entered this twilight zone in which the normal competition between the two parties and the fact that you actually even have an opposition party, the Republicans, and the fact that they oppose the Democrats on most issues is treated as a threat to democracy.
And what makes all of this particularly strange is to have Romney in the Senate and, of course, Cheney in the House, joining in this kind of rhetoric. To listen to Romney talk about the free world on one side and the authoritarians on the other, to me it has the antique ring of 1987 in which there was a clear-cut distinction between the free world under Reagan, and we were living in the Soviet era and the cold war.
But of course, the world is very different now. Russia is not motivated by the same kind of ideological fanaticism. China is to a greater degree, but Russia is basically a gangster regime. It has authoritarian elements. But we're seeing creeping authoritarianism in this country, and suddenly the sharp distinction between us and them has become a little bit blurry. Somehow Romney, somehow Liz Cheney have no grasp whatsoever of any of this, and so that rhetoric has the feeling of coming out of a time warp.
INGRAHAM: Dinesh, one of the things that was written about this fundraiser, which sounds like a horror show, it said that Romney reportedly said he had a chart in his Senate office tracing 4,000 years of the rise and fall of civilizations, from the Mongol empire to the Roman empire, Romney said autocracy is the chart's default setting. Ooh, like we don't already know that.
(LAUGHTER)
INGRAHAM: This is western civilization for dummies. We get it. Obviously, he's talking about the Mongols, too. But I don't know, this is kind of cheap rhetoric. Again, he is the one that is siding with the authoritarians on COVID. He has basically voted to keep the federal mask mandate in place for children as young as two. And he voted against overturning the mask mandate on airplanes today, even though the measure passed the Senate. He was on the side with the Democrats, Dinesh.
D'SOUZA: The remarkable thing is that both Romney and Cheney now appear to be playing to a constituency on the other side of the aisle. Romney is absolutely loathed in his own communities, even, in fact, among the Latter- day Saints. I was at a conference in Salt Lake City, and they're like we can't stand him either. Liz Cheney can't show up at a Republican event in Wyoming. And she is counting on winning her reelection by getting Democrats to cross over into the Republican primary and vote for her. This is now the explicit strategy of these characters. So they occupy a very strange place in the political spectrum.
INGRAHAM: That fundraiser sounds like a big bore to me. But Dinesh, wonderful to see you, as always.
When we come back, a final word about our colleagues. That's next.
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INGRAHAM: Before we go, I wanted to express our deep sadness for the loss of beloved FOX cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski. Both and 24-year-old Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshynova were killed yesterday when their vehicle came under fire just under of Kyiv. They were working with correspondent Benjamin Hall who was wounded in the attack and remains hospitalized. Sasha was working as a consultant for us in Ukraine, and she was helping our crews navigate the area, translating for us, and speaking to sources on the ground. She loved music, the arts, photographer, and was beloved for her funny and kind disposition and especially her bravery.
Pierre was just among the best in the business. He spent decades covering war zones from Iraq to Afghanistan to Syria. He was just a dogged journalist, and he was just renowned for his grit and his fearlessness in the field, a true master of his craft. He is going to be sorely missed by everyone here at FOX News, and our Greg Palkot said Pierre saved his life on numerous occasions over the years, adding that no matter how bad things got, Pierre would always say follow my advice and keep on smiling. Pierre is survived by his wife Michelle and a loving family. Our prayers go out to them tonight. They will continue to need our prayers, and we pray for Benji Hall's complete and full recovery.
That is it for us tonight. Hug your family, fly your flag. Remember, Greg Gutfeld is next. A live update first.
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