This is a rush transcript from "Hannity” June 19, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
JASON CHAFFETZ, FOX NEWS HOST: Welcome to the special "Hannity": Countdown to 2020. I'm Jason Chaffetz, in tonight for Sean.
President Trump is roaring back onto the campaign trail tomorrow night in Tulsa, Oklahoma, set to hold his first rally in months and supporters are already lined up and eager to see the president in action.
Now the president tweeted earlier today, quote: Big crowds and lines already forming in Tulsa. My campaign hasn't started yet. It starts on Saturday night in Oklahoma.
And he also warned anarchists and agitators to stay away, after an apparent threat from outside groups to disrupt the event.
Now, according to the Trump campaign, more than 1 million people have registered online for the first come, first served rally.
And also breaking tonight, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has rejected an effort to stop the president from hosting the event altogether.
Here with the latest on the ground, live in Tulsa, is FOX News correspondent Casey Steagall.
Casey, what's the latest?
CASEY STEAGALL, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jason, good to see you.
Boy, the president is right, a lot of people are already here, a lot of enthusiastic fans and more are making their way in, descending on Tulsa, Oklahoma, today, and, of course, tomorrow, ahead of this rally.
City officials say, there are people driving in from all over the country and even flying here to be a part of this event. And would you believe that some have actually been camped outside for a couple of days just so they can be the first ones into the arena? The BOK Center which is where this will be held, can hold up to 19,000 people. We understand there will be overflow of some sort for thousands more.
Trump officials say that they have received some 1 million requests for tickets and if that is the case that makes twice as many people wanting to attend this rally and the population of Tulsa itself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two-thirty a.m. Monday morning three and a half days ago, I knew this would be a big rally and I wanted to get to see this. Over 1 million tickets been requested for this, so I wanted to be here early.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, this is kind of the new thing, this will be my 36th rally and 19th different state. So, that's why I decided as soon as Oklahoma was on the books, I decided to come here because I haven't seen a rally in Oklahoma, and I've never been to Oklahoma.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEAGALL: Now, despite warnings from public health officials and data showing that record highs have new coronavirus cases are emerging in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This community specifically most already in line, saying that that does not bother them. They are not afraid one bit.
The campaign says that they will be taking the temperatures of everyone who goes inside the arena. They will also be handing out face masks and hand sanitizer, though it is optional and whether people will use the face masks for the rally itself or not -- Jason.
CHAFFETZ: Casey, thank you very much.
Of course, the mob and the media continue to spread fear and panic ahead of the president's rally tomorrow. Despite endorsing masks, protests just weeks ago and to be clear Oklahoma is in phase 3 of its reopening plan.
Now, state officials, including the governor, are making assurances that safety will be a top priority, as the event will reportedly include temperature checks and hand sanitizer at the door.
Here to explain more on all of this is the governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt.
Governor, thank you so much for joining us tonight.
GOV. KEVIN STITT (R), OKLAHOMA: Oh, it's my pleasure. Thanks for having me.
CHAFFETZ: Now, Governor, you got your hands full. You got a massive amount of people that want to see the president action. But you got some outside agitators that want to mix the pot here.
What is Oklahoma going to do to make sure it doesn't devolved into some sort of chaos?
STITT: Well, we have -- I'm not worried about Oklahomans actually. We have plenty of security there. We've been reopened now for 57 days. We were the first state to come out of this. We've been in phase three since June 1st.
So, we're excited. We been having Little League games right -- so far, and Oklahoma has been open for business since June 1st fully.
And so, that's why the president chose Oklahoma to come to have the first rally. But this is the first rally of many that he's going to hold through November.
CHAFFETZ: I mean, you have a massive crowd. Are you concerned about having 19,000 people in close proximity? Is it safe for those people to gather so closely in such large numbers?
STITT: Well, we've taken the precautions necessary. And we're -- we're about freedoms in Oklahoma.
So I told Oklahomans, you are free to come to this rally. You're free to stay home. You're free to protect your families how you need to.
And remember, we've been open for 57 days and we have 211 people in the hospital across the state of Oklahoma, 211.
And so, we are testing way many more people. We are seeing people of asymptomatics that are testing positive.
But again, we look at hospitalizations. We've built plenty of capacity. We have 5,000 beds available. And that's why we issued 25 executive orders which really to slow the spread, and we've done that in Oklahoma.
CHAFFETZ: So, you have these massive crowds. You had nearly a million tickets demanded out there, people pre-filling out their applications and whatnot to come in.
What are you going to do with all these people that literally could be hundreds of thousands of people trying to come and you only got 19,000 seats indoors? What about those other people? What are you going to do with them?
STITT: Well, there is an overflow crowd, but it really is a testament that people are ready to move on and especially in Oklahoma. We have to learn how to deal with this virus. It's not like it's going to magically disappear in August or September.
So, other states -- we're several months ahead of other states. And so, we know people are going to be there. There will be people outside. It just really underscores the fact that people are ready to get back to their normal lives. And people are excited to see President Trump and we're excited to have him and host in our -- in our great state.
CHAFFETZ: Now, explain the enthusiasm because my guess is, I'm just guessing here, but if Joe Biden showed up, I don't know if you can go to a high school gymnasium and fill it up.
So, what's the difference of the enthusiasm here?
STITT: You know, President Trump just brings out enthusiasm in people. You can see it with the ticket sales. So -- or the ticket requests. There's 1 million out there.
Again, I'm assuming that Biden will have events like this across the country, leading up to November's election. Americans need to be able to meet their candidates and see who they want to choose as president. And there's a million people looking to meet President Trump on Saturday night in Tulsa.
CHAFFETZ: You know, I actually happen to believe, I think it's good. I want Joe Biden to go out and try to make his case and compare and contrast.
Governor, you got your hands full. I think it's going to be an amazing event. And hats off to you in the progress that Oklahoma has made, and congratulations for being able to host this.
So, Governor, thank you for joining us tonight.
STITT: Thank you.
CHAFFETZ: All right. Tonight, it is clear as ever, this is a crossroads election and America has a fundamental choice to make. Will they choose law and order or the left wing lawlessness in our anarchy? Will we continue to make economic progress under president Trump's pro-growth agenda, or will we devolve into a failed socialist state?
Because remember, it's President Trump who delivered an economic surge for all Americans before the pandemic upended life across the globe. And it's President Trump who is getting back on the campaign trail to deliver his America first message to the voters.
Well, joining me now for reaction, "Black Voices for Trump" advisory board member and former Oklahoma speaker of the house, T.W. Shannon, along with Republican congressman from Oklahoma, Kevin Hern, and host of "The Rubin Report", Dave Rubin.
Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us here tonight.
T.W. Shannon, I want to start with you, all right? You have a lot of choices in life, speaker of the house. Why are you doing what you're doing for Donald Trump?
T.W. SHANNON, "BLACK VOICES FOR TRUMP" ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER: Well, Jason, it's pretty clear, when you look at the record that President Trump has on promises made, promises kept. The president told us he was going to go to Washington, D.C., and change how Washington does business. And he's going to hold people accountable.
He said he was going to hold China accountable. He said he was going to hold the left wing media accountable, and he's done it.
When you look at the African-American community, what he's done in black America whether record employment or increasing HBCU funding over 14 percent and annualizing that, the proof is in the pudding. We've got the right guy at the right time.
And I'm excited to be supporting President Donald Trump. And I'm more excited that he's here in Oklahoma for the first rally of this campaign to really tell that story.
I'm here in Tulsa and I got to tell you, it's an exciting place to be right now.
CHAFFETZ: Well, it is.
And, Congressman Hern, you are probably new to the Congress. You know, the president comes to town and it's an opportunity for the president to share his message to the people of Oklahoma, but what do you want the president to know about Oklahomans and their future and their -- the challenges that they face and the opportunities that they face? What's the message you want Oklahoma to share with the president?
REP. KEVIN HERN (R-OK): Well, the president knows that Oklahoma loves him. It's about 90 percent approval rating from the Republican base for the president. There are so many Republicans that have been down the streets talking to him and they are from everywhere, as the governor said.
And we started a petition https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__Trump918.com&d=DwICAg&c=cnx1hdOQtepEQkpermZGwQ&r=tgDLkJy54PfJyWJwul3dKe54qGxqO7b7d5vjo7RcZds&m=OIriuzAgeetpPtEUr1ra0N9Spl-03yc-tyW5gm1JUX8&s=9VPgs1gudb9enoVrUSNThU6xzbOgkLhhpdGlpWprdGw&e= to get information out to the individuals who are watching this around from around the country and around the world. The government -- the president knows that Oklahomans stand for freedoms, for individual liberties. And that's what you're seeing.
And that's why if you're going to kick off your campaign, you've obviously been through a lot of campaigns, Jason, running for Congress. It's an exciting time when you campaign, you get out there and you feel the energy. And the president has been working day in and day out since COVID-19 crisis started.
And meanwhile, back at the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi has basically had the House sitting at the House.
And, you know, the Senate has been working and the president wants to get back out and see the American people.
And we've got so many folks that are going to be there. Million -- a million ticket requests. It's going to be an exciting time, really thankful for Oklahomans and what they've done during this time.
CHAFFETZ: Well, hey, look, Nancy Pelosi thinks Congress, a bunch of, you know, non-essential employees. So, I mean, just go ahead and stay in Oklahoma, she doesn't care. It's really sad the way she's actually running the House of Representatives.
Look, I want to ask Dave.
Dave, you've got have an interesting perspective on this. You know, we have -- there are a lot of liberals out there, a lot of people who just don't want this rally to happen. They are content with saying, no, you shouldn't get out here and do this. You shouldn't do those types of things.
They were fine with the protests and the riots, but they're not OK with the president doing this. What's your reaction to that?
DAVE RUBIN, "THE RUBIN REPORT" HOST: Yes. Well, Jason, I think you know a little bit about my story. I was a lefty and I still consider myself a liberal in the good sense of it, and that I believe in individual rights and limited government.
But, of course, we know this is all a media-making event here. I mean, look, as the governor just laid out, they're going to take people's temperatures. They're going to give masks. There's going to be Purell and hand sanitizer and the rest of it.
If this was a rally to take down a monument or to smash things up or burn a Target or the rest of it, the media would be completely all in on it. So, this is just another thing where the media picks out when we can have thousands of people together and it's OK, and that apparently is when you are looting or taking down monuments. And when it's not OK is when the president is going to speak.
But I think most Americans, regardless of whether you're on the left or on the right, most Americans see the world and they go, hey, if the choice is anarchy and people running in the streets and burning down buildings and Trump, even if you have some aversion to Trump, if you're not say, a hard core conservative -- well, of course, you're going to go with Trump.
CHAFFETZ: You know, T.W., I've got to tell you, there are a lot of people out there, the Democrats had taken this incredible position to defund police around the country.
How is that playing in Oklahoma?
SHANNON: Well, first of all, you know what I say to people who say let's defund the police? Let's actually make sure that we're doing everything we can to support the police.
In fact, when you think about this idea that I heard online somebody say, and I thought it was great. You know, for everybody who wants to defund the police, why don't we take up a collection, buy them an airplane ticket and ship them out to a country that doesn't have a police department and see how they like that.
The reality is, this country was built because of law and order, and we have to have law and order. And it's our men in blue and the rest of our men and women in uniform who keep us safe.
And so, the idea that we can defund this police department, the fine men and women who put their lives on the line every single day, I mean, is ludicrous.
And the worst part is, the Democrat nominee for president has not denounced this idea. So, as lunacy as this sounds, Joe Biden, Beijing Biden, has not stepped and said, this is wrong. We need to support our men and women in blue. And that's really the contrast you see between Beijing Biden and President Donald Trump.
He is a guy who's about law and order. He's about listening to the community, but he's also about getting things done. And I think here in Oklahoma, you're going to find a lot of support for our men and women in blue.
When you have a bad apple, we hold them accountable, we prosecute them, and that is what you will see happen from an Oklahoma standpoint. And that's the way it should be done across all of America.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, you know, I just love it like the mayor of Los Angeles, Garcetti. He says, oh, you know, let's defund the police department, but he won't give up his own security detail. The city council will go ahead and keep their police officers close to the vest so they can have protection.
Congressman, how does that whole message of law and order and the contrast between the Democrats and Republicans on this core issue? I mean, the Democrats want to defund ICE, they want to get -- you know, a lot of them want to get rid of border patrol. And now, you got people that want to defund the police departments.
How does that roll in Oklahoma?
HERN: Yes. You know, Jason, one of the fundamental responsibilities of federal government is protect from bad actors abroad and protect us from one another. And you do that through your police force.
The leading candidate for vice president for Joe Biden's campaign, Senator Harris, today said we need less police, not more. And these are coming from the rough areas that she once prosecuted in California.
And so, as you said, we've seen what happened. We see what's happening right now in Seattle and CHOP's where there is no police officer, people hiding AK-47s with loaded magazines in the bushes to create total anarchy.
In Atlanta today, 911 calls calling out to different precincts trying to get people to come out. And each dispatcher sending them to another precinct because there were no police officers.
We see what happens when crime gets out of control because let's face it, the Nancy Pelosi's of the world, the Democrats will -- they will keep their security details, they'll stay behind their walls. But it's the folks who can't afford it that are going to suffer the most, like downtown -- South Chicago and places like that. There are going to be even -- it's going to be a war zone.
And so, this is just a ludicrous idea from the Democrats.
CHAFFETZ: Yes. I mean, Dave, the sad reality is, people that have money and resources, they're going to go out and hire their own protection. They're going to -- they will continue to be safe and secure, but it's these downtrodden communities, the ones that can afford it, those are the people that are actually going to suffer more than anything else.
How does a national party win on an antipolice platform?
RUBIN: Well, I don't think you can win. I mean, that's the thing. That's the irony.
It's like, where are the real Democrats who all they have to do is stand up for basic law and order and yet they refuse to?
Now, you mentioned Eric Garcetti -- I'm here in Los Angeles and he is my mayor. This guy a week and a half ago was on his knees in front of "Black Lives Matter" protesters. But I can tell you that the silver lining to what's happening right now is, the further that these Antifa and far left agitators get, the more that they create autonomous zones and burn down stores and attack people on the streets in all of these things, the average person is obviously waking up to it.
And I can even tell you this, here in Los Angeles, I have friends who far lefty -- I mean, far lefty Hollywood types who publicly will, you know, tell you they're Democrats and they're actually buying guns for the first time. I have several friends like that.
So I think there is actually -- the rubber is starting to meet the road now. It's like you can't just have ideas anymore. Now, we are going, oh, you have to be able to actually protect myself.
And I think the fact that no Democrat, and obviously it can't be Joe Biden, is willing to stand up against this. It's going to basically burn down the whole party.
And I sort of think that was the progressive plan the entire time. It was either, we get Bernie in, and if we don't, we just unleash this thing. And that's where we're at.
But I suspect that Trump knows how to deal with it.
And we should also add, by the way, that, you know, if they don't -- if the Antifa people and the anarchist and whatever don't show up to the rally, that is going to be a peaceful rally tomorrow, because that's what the Trump rallies are.
CHAFFETZ: Yes, no. The silence from Joe Biden just I think speaks volumes on this issue. And there are millions of people out there in law enforcement that care about law enforcement. And when they don't hear somebody speak up and support them, of course condemn and, of course, go after the people -- the police officers that are doing it at the wrong way.
But for the millions of them that are doing it the right way, whether they serve in the military or our police force or first responders, those are the people that need our collective support.
T.W., Kevin, Dave, thank you so much for joining us on this beautiful Friday night. We do appreciate it.
All right. Coming up, is Joe Biden afraid to debate Donald Trump? It seems like that might be the case. Joe Concha and Lisa Boothe have more, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAFFETZ: Welcome back to this "Hannity" special.
The Trump campaign is pushing the commission that oversees presidential debates to get four face-offs against Joe Biden this fall, due in part to the possibility that many voters will cast their ballots early.
Vice President Biden is apparently having none of it, not only is he rejecting the idea of a fourth debate out of hand, several political observers wonder if he will do just one debate or even none at all.
Let's take a quick look back at why Biden and his advisors may not want him to be speaking to voters who often. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You ever been to a caucus? No, you haven't. You're a lying dog-faced pony soldier.
You're a damn liar, man. That's not true.
You're full of (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
Wait, wait, wait a second. You are getting nervous, man, calm down!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: Joining me now for reaction is FOX News contributor Lisa Boothe and media reporter for "The Hill", Joe Concha. We can run for the whole solid hour here on the "Hannity" -- this "Hannity" special, this Joe Biden bloopers.
LISA BOOTHE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, we could.
CHAFFETZ: I mean, you just take one week and you got a handful of them.
Lisa, I want to start with you. The idea of moving to four debates as opposed to three and there's some talk -- although not directly from the Biden campaign but there's some talk -- will Joe Biden even do three debates? What are your thoughts?
BOOTHE: Look, I don't think Joe Biden wants to debate because he will be at completely exposed of the shell of a candidate that he is. I mean, this is a man who really doesn't believe anything. We have seen him abandoned his core beliefs, his deeply held beliefs like the Hyde Amendment after facing just 24 hours of criticism. He couldn't take it. And he abandoned a decades-long held belief on the Hyde Amendment for political expediency.
So, what's going to tell the American people? What does he stand for? What's his campaign's message?
I guarantee no one listening could answer that question further. I think he's going to end up potentially meeting the same fate that Michael Bloomberg did where he looked good in the polls and people thought he had a chance, and these voters actually saw him on the debate stage. They actually sized him up as a candidate. And, inevitably, that's what's going to happen when he's on the stage with Donald Trump and Americans get a clear vision, clear eyed view of who Joe Biden is in someone who doesn't stand for anything at all.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah, I don't know he can articulate his economic plan that he's going to put America on the road to prosperity. If he couldn't get it done in the first 48 years in Washington, D.C., I don't know why you would think you need four more years.
But, Joe, you know, Joe Biden has been dealing with the rigors of going upstairs and downstairs at his home in Delaware. He hasn't been out on the campaign trail. He's getting an awful lot of softball questions out there.
JOE CONCHA, MEDIA REPORTER FOR THE HILL: I keep hearing about Joe in the basement. I keep thinking they are talking about me because I'm literally in the basement right now. I hate to break it to everybody -- it is not actually New York City behind me.
So, look, the bottom line is that Terry McAuliffe, the Virginia governor big deal in the Democratic Party, he even says it is best to keep Joe Biden in the basement off of the campaign trail, out of harm's way in terms of extemporaneous talk or doing anything resembling a tough interview. And you see why.
They want to play four corners, it appears, the campaign, four corners I'm dating myself, I feel like a boomer right now. Basically way back when in the '80s, early '80s, and before that, and college basketball, you pass the ball around and you had a lead and try to run out the clock to win a game instead of going on the offensive, and certainly, Joe Biden appears to be playing not to lose at this point because he knows that once he starts speaking in those situations as you showed in those montages, it only gives people a reminder that this is not the Joe Biden that was involved in the last campaign that he ran and which was 2012 as vice president.
He debated Paul Ryan and the vice presidential debate, you may remember, Jason, and he was very effective. He was very sharp. This is a shell of that person right now. You are seeing this Joe Biden and people are also realizing that if you elect this Joe Biden, you have Joe Biden not even this version, but a version of Joe Biden in his '80s. And that will give people pause.
Bottom line is, he hasn't had any tough interviews it seems to this point in terms of asking him, OK, you were vice president for eight years, why didn't you pass anything resembling prison reform as this president has? Or now, we're talking about police reform come, again eight years and some time where there is a Democratic Congress, a Democratic Senate, and still none of these things got passed.
So, what is Joe Biden running on? What is the positive message? Because that's what you have to win on, Jason, right -- shining city on the Hill, hope and change, make America great.
What is the Joe Biden bumper sticker? I have zero idea what that is right now, JC.
CHAFFETZ: No, I think that's very true.
Now, Lisa, is it so that maybe Joe Biden's expectations are so low that anything he can do to just show up and put coherent sentences together will be a victory for him? Is that part of the game? Is that -- will the media just give him a pass because he didn't have some sort of big blunder?
BOOTHE: Well, I mean, I don't even think Joe Biden is capable of that, to be perfectly honest. But I think a lot of Americans are realizing that there is more on the ballot this November than just the race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. We are seeing a cultural war right now.
We are seeing the liberal vision for America is, where we've seen liberal mayors across the country cede their cities to anarchist who hate America. We've seen murders in the streets. The police stations set on fire in Minneapolis. We've seen literally blocks of the city in Seattle overtaken by anarchists.
Does anyone actually think that Joe Biden has the fortitude to stand up against any of that?
So, they were so much more at stake this November than just a simple presidential race. This really comes down to the future of the country.
CHAFFETZ: It is the crossroads election.
So, Joe, and the game of expectations is the game that media plays. Joe Biden is -- they tried to save the polls are high. I don't buy any of that crap out there. I don't buy any of it. I don't -- I've never been a person who said, oh, boy, I really wish Joe Biden was the president and we would have everything solved. I never met that person. I think they are fiction.
But what is your take how the media is going to treat the expectations of Joe Biden going into a debate and getting back out on the campaign trail?
CONCHA: I think we are already seeing it in terms of the treatment that he is getting. He's done actually, I should correct myself, one tough interview, Jason. That was with Charlamagne Tha God who works at the New York City radio station asked him questions in terms of what he would do for the black community and, of course, Joe Biden responded, if you vote for Donald Trump, you ain't black. That is something that he's semi- apologized for. So, that was the one awkward situation.
So, look, either way, the press will be in his court the same way they were with Hillary Clinton. But again you need to be a candidate that's out there saying, OK, here is what I will do for your life to make it better, to make the country better, and Joe Biden's position on policy at this point appeared to be that he will raise taxes particularly when we are in a very perilous economic time right now.
And I've never met a candidate who's run on raising taxes and won -- the last who do it was Walter Mondale in 1984 and I believe he won one state, his own Minnesota, against Ronald Reagan's 49.
So, again, the polls, and you're right, Jason, I'll wrap it up there, they mean nothing in June. Go back and look at polls in June of 2016, Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump. It all comes down to those three debates or may be more or maybe less, we'll see, and how Joe Biden performs there if he becomes the 46 president of the United States or not.
CHAFFETZ: You take a position where you want to raise taxes, so that's going to grown -- you know, growing government will somehow grow the economy. And then the second part is being anti-law enforcement, I don't see how that resonates with anybody I'm familiar with in the streets of America.
So. Lisa, Joe, thank you for joining us tonight.
All right, straight ahead, law enforcement and their family members are facing a shocking amount of harassment. Dan Bongino and former NYPD commissioner will explain the situation.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAFFETZ: Welcome back to this special edition of "Hannity."
Now, unfortunately, tonight, law enforcement is continuing to be targeted across the country, destroying department morale in major cities, especially amid left-wing calls to defund and dismantle the place.
For example, earlier this month in Buffalo, police were mowed down by a man driving a car. A police officer in Las Vegas was shot in the head and is now paralyzed from the neck down. Another officer was ambushed in California. And a sheriff's deputy was murdered in the line of duty in Mississippi.
Now, in response to this targeting and dangerous environment, officers and places like Atlanta appear to be calling in sick and so-called "Blue Flu" to protest a lack of support from local leaders. And across the country come officers are beginning to rally around their own to try to combat this growing antipolice climate.
Joining me now for reaction, former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik and FOX News contributor, former NYPD officer and Secret Service agent, Dan Bongino.
Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us tonight.
BERNARD KERIK, FORMER NYPD COMMISSIONER: Thank you.
CHAFFETZ: What would -- what would it feel like, Dan, to be out on the street and not have the back of the city council, the mayor, the people that are in charge that are putting up the budgets and they were silent when these officers are getting mowed down and ridiculed and everything in between?
KERIK: Yeah, I mean that cowardice displayed by these political so-called leaders. I won't even call them that. It's just beyond gross. I mean, it's pretty disgusting.
You elect people to lead in a time of crisis, right, Jason? I mean, that's when it matters, really. I mean, if you only knew the leaders when everything was all flowery and peaches and cream all the time, then what the hell is the point? You need them to stand up and things are tough.
You know, I testified recently up on Capitol Hill and I told a quick story about how I spoke at a police bank Alamogordo, New Mexico, once, and one of the women there who was really terrific, she was the spouse of a police officer. She said, Jason, the most powerful sound in the world for the families of police officers is the sound of Velcro at night.
Well, Velcro is the sound, as Bernie well knows, of body armor when it comes off of your body, meaning the police officers come home safely at night. Think about that. It's not just the cops who are being left behind, it's the families too. It's really disgraceful. These leaders need to stand up now. The cops need you now more than ever.
CHAFFETZ: Bernie, you ran one of the largest police departments, the largest police department I believe in the country. Unfortunately, you had to deal with some of the families who had, you know, officers were killed. What do you say to those families who send their loved ones, the husband, the wife, the brother, the sister, whoever it might out on the streets at night? What do you tell those families in today's climate? What do you share with those people?
KERIK: You know what, Jason, thank you is never enough. They are no words of gratitude that you could really share or say that would mean enough, because they know, those families like Dan just talked about, they know what it's like to have loved ones hurt, to have loved ones die in the line of duty.
I had to bury 22 cops that work for me in the aftermath of 9/11. Nobody knows better than I do, but I want to touch on something, Jason, if you will, you know what? I am disgusted with the leadership, with the mayors, with the governors, with the city council.
But I have to tell you, I am probably more disgusted with the police executives, the chiefs, the police directors, the police commissioners around the country that don't have the -- that don't have the courage to stand up to the mayors and tell them when they are wrong, to tell them they need to support the men and women under their command. They need to lead by example.
Those police executives, they should do their job that they are sworn to do and if they can't do their job, if they can't stand up to the mayors and the city council, then quit and let somebody else go in there and do the job that has to be done.
CHAFFETZ: Dan, react to that. What Bernie Kerik said about the -- as you mentioned, the so-called leadership here, and what's going on?
KERIK: He just nailed it. Bernie just absolutely nailed it.
There is an opportunity here for police managers to set an example and say, we are not doing that. What you are asking us to do you political frauds out there, so called political leaders, is wrong. Bernie was in, I believe, a plainclothes unit. I saw your picture on social media today, Bernie.
The commissioner in New York City is disbanding a unit, Jason, anticrime units in precincts which the majority of self observed crime by police officers comes from any crime unit.
Jason, this isn't hard to figure out. People don't commit crime in front of uniformed police officers. When you put police officers in plainclothes, criminals commit crimes and get locked up in front of the cops.
Bernie was in one of those units. You are disbanding them, the commissioner in New York now? Why?
You know they work. Give me a break. You should have resigned in protest, like Bernie just said. Instead, he took the cheap and he did the easy thing, not the right thing.
CHAFFETZ: Bernie, what's going to happen? I think there were 600 officers. They're not even going to have these undercover, or plainclothes policeman out there. What's going to happen in the streets of New York?
KERIK: You know what, Jason, I was in anti-crime. I was in Midtown in Times Square. You know what, those cops, they're chameleons. They get into the communities, they can get into places that nobody else can walk, and can go. They get to see what happens firsthand.
And their job -- their sole function in their job is to look for guns, robberies, hot -- respond to hot jobs in progress, dangerous jobs. They are the ones responsible for taking the majority of guns off of the streets of New York. They disbanded and sent back the precincts, 600 of them.
I have no idea why, whose bright idea this was, but I can tell you one thing, the communities that's going to suffer are the ones already but the highest crime rate, the highest violent crime, the highest murder and it's only going to spike and get worse.
CHAFFETZ: OK, I've only got 30 seconds for each of you and I'm on a tight timeline.
Talk to the families whose loved ones are out on the street tonight. What is your message to those men and women and those families, those kids?
BONGINO: God bless you. I don't really have anything more to say. There was nothing I can say, Jason, to take the anxiety out of their hearts. They lived with it every night.
But you're the finest. You're that thin line between civilization and chaos. You are there. God bless what you do everyday.
CHAFFETZ: Bernie?
KERIK: I say, stay strong and don't forget, there's many more people out there that love you, that support you, that respect you and that will be there for you, than these lunatics like "Black Lives Matter" and Antifa and others.
CHAFFETZ: God bless them. I have to tell you, they are dealing with tough situations.
Bernie, Dan, thank you for your service and thank you for joining us here tonight. Thank you.
All right. When we come back, more on the Supreme Court's disastrous decision on DACA, and what President Trump is doing to fight back.
We'll be right back as this special edition of "Hannity" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAFFETZ: Welcome back to this special edition of "Hannity."
Yesterday, the Supreme Court blocked President Trump's move to wind down Obama era protections for Dreamers. Last night on "The Ingraham Angle", Senator Ted Cruz, a Supreme Court clerk, slammed the decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts.
Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): The decision today on DACA, on Obama's executive amnesty, as you noted, Roberts wrote the opinion, and it was John Roberts and the four liberals. The opinion is, is -- it's a joke. It is, it is -- he's playing games because as you noted, not a single justice, none of the nine disputed that what Obama did was illegal, it was contrary to federal immigration law, and they all agreed that Trump has the authority to reverse it.
And, nevertheless, what they held today is that Trump is prevented from stopping breaking the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAFFETZ: But the fight is far from over. According to Ken Cuccinelli, acting deputy secretary of homeland security, the Trump administration is drafting a new order, putting the decision in the hands of Congress.
Joining me now with more on how Republicans are fighting back against the left's open borders agenda is House Freedom Caucus chairman, Congressman Andy Biggs of Arizona, and Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett.
Congressman, I want to go to you first. You saw what the senator said. You saw what the Supreme Court said. What was your reaction to it?
REP. ANDY BIGGS (R-AZ): Well, I actually couldn't believe it, Jason. It was a mishmash. You've basically taken an illegal order protecting illegal conduct, and you essentially equated it to a rule that they want the administration to overturn.
And the reality is, I thought Clarence Thomas had it exactly right. He said, their job was to determine whether the administration had the ability to rescind. They did, and that should have been the ruling. That should have ended the case.
And so, they did immeasurable damage yesterday.
CHAFFETZ: Gregg, what was your reaction to the ruling and what Senator Cruz said?
GREGG JARRETT, FOX NEWS LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Senator Cruz is right. And frankly, the incompetence of Jeff Sessions continues to haunt the Trump administration. They put the inept bumbling former attorney general in charge back in 2017 of rescinding DACA.
It was so incredibly simple. All he had to do was follow the rules of the Administrative Procedure Act, the APA. It's the equivalent of checking boxes. It calls for a notice and comment period, and that's it. A third grader could do it, which puts it will beyond the expertise and skill set of Jeff Sessions.
Having said that, the Supreme Court I think was wrong. So, naturally, it was written by John Roberts. You don't have to follow an administrative law to rescind a lawless action.
And Obama when he created DACA knew it was lawless. More than a dozen times he said, I don't have the power to do this, and then he did it.
So, President Trump when he came to office said, I'm resending it. It's the duty of Congress to dictate immigration. That's what the Supreme Court said since the late 19th century. Congress has plenary power over immigration.
So, President Trump said, Congress, you have to fix this. Unfortunately, Congress couldn't fix a broken streetlamp with all due respect to my friend Andy Biggs.
CHAFFETZ: No, look, I got to agree with you. I sat in Congress there for eight and a half years. I sat on the Immigration Subcommittee and Judiciary. They can't get anything done.
You know, these DACA kids, I think they deserve some sort of resolution. I think there are a lot of good people that are here because of no fault of their own. But there's got to be a resolution to themselves.
And I worry, Congressman, I don't like grouping everybody together and saying everybody is bad, or everybody is good.
You know, I felt uncomfortable, quite frankly, when we talked in that last segment about "Black Lives Matter" because I think there's actually a lot of good people in there. I disagree with some of their platform movements, but I don't think you can uniformly just say, oh, they're all lunatics, I disagree with that.
But Congress has got to be able to tackle difficult things, Congressman. And yet, I don't even see them debating, let alone solving some of these deep issues like DACA.
BIGGS: No, you're exactly right. And, Jason, you were there. You've seen it.
In some ways, you're supposed to filter through and get a good product. But we don't tackle these projects because it has become so political. Everything is so political.
When you start looking at DACA, you're talking at roughly 700,000, 800,000 eligible applicants is the number that they're quoting. But don't forget, you've got a moral hazard because since the deadline for DACA was almost seven years ago now, you have an additional probably 1 million to 2 million people that have entered the country that would meet the same criteria.
And I've never met a DACA individual, DACA eligible individual who hasn't told me that they want to bring their parents in. So, you start moving quickly to 5 million, 6 million people, and that really needs to be debated and Congress needs to look at it carefully.
But if you watch the policing bill that came out of Judiciary the other day, you understand and you remember how inept Congress can be sometimes.
CHAFFETZ: Yes. Well, look, you've got to get rid of the rewards and incentives, or you're going to keep getting the same result.
But talk to us, Gregg Jarrett, I've only got a short time left. The power of the presidency, the power of the executive branch, if you allow the president to just issue an executive order and that the only way to rescind that is through action by Congress, that gives all the power to the executive branch.
JARRETT: Yes, President Obama by executive fiat created -- granted amnesty to roughly 800,000 people. And again, as I say, it was a lawless action, and he knew it was lawless. It should be done through Congress.
But at the same time, I think President Trump needs to go back with a new attorney general and Department of Homeland Security and this time, for goodness' sakes, just follow the really, easy simple Administrative Procedures Act. Do it all over again.
Once again, give Congress an opportunity to do their job, though I'm not optimistic they are capable of doing it.
CHAFFETZ: No, like I said earlier in the show, Nancy Pelosi thinks members of Congress are nonessential employees. And I don't know, maybe she's got a point.
But, Congressman, and, Gregg, thank you so much for joining us here tonight. I really do appreciate it.
All right, Lawrence Jones, he's going to help us commemorate and explain the history of the Juneteenth. It's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAFFETZ: Welcome back to the special edition of "Hannity."
Today marks the day known as Juneteenth, the 155th anniversary of the end of slavery in this country. FOX Nation host Lawrence Jones has more -- Lawrence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE JONES, FOX NATION HOST: Jason, today, Americans across the country demonstrated in celebration of Juneteenth, celebrating the liberation of slaves in the United States. While President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863, word didn't make it to my home state of Texas and over two years later. It was June 19, 1865 that the Union Army General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to deliver the historic news.
Now calls are intensifying across the capital to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Yesterday, Texas Senator John Cornyn said he would introduce the bill in the United States Senate -- Jason.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHAFFETZ: Lawrence, thank you very much. Important part of history we all need to digest and understand and appreciate.
Before we go, I want to wish my father-in-law, Egan (ph), a happy 93rd birthday. Now, Egan Johnson served in both World War II and the Vietnam War as an orthopedic surgeon.
He's been married almost 68 years to his sweetheart, Joan Johnson, my mother-in-law. He is the father of six and lots of grandchildren and grandkids I can't even count them all myself. Thankful for his service and all the families around this nation who sent people to war to protect this nation and make us a better country. God bless you and thank you.
Unfortunately, it's all the time we have left tonight. Sean will be back on Monday.
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