Tucker: Democrats are becoming more and more divided
Joe Biden not on board with the far left shift of the Democratic Party.
This is a rush transcript from "Tucker Carlson Tonight," December 6, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
Tucker Carlson: Good evening, and welcome to "Tucker Carlson Tonight."
Democrats spend an awful lot of time accusing Donald Trump of dividing America, of splitting the country into warring factions. The Democratic Party -- in contrast -- they will tell you, is the party of unity, the party that brings everyone together. 2016, one of Hillary Clinton's many slogans was, "Stronger together." Well, it's not a bad message actually. In fact, it's a great message. It just does not apply, emphatically does not apply, to the Democratic Party. The Democrats as of right now are profoundly divided and getting more so. Consider this. Joe Biden is still at the top of the polls for his party's presidential nomination amazingly. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, meanwhile, has become the party's top ideological trendsetter, no doubt about that. She's got more Twitter followers than Joe Biden does, or in fact than any Democrat in Congress has. So, how much do Biden and Ocasio-Cortez like each other? Well, that's a trick question of course. They despise each other. Ocasio-Cortez thinks that Biden is doddering and pathetic. Biden clearly thinks Ocasio-Cortez is an extremist nut. And of course, they're both right. Here's Joe Biden.
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
The Press: Medicare for all. Do you think that's political suicide?
Joe Biden: The party's not there. The party's not there at all. I've been saying it [indiscernible].
The Press: Some of your opponents are.
Joe Biden: Yeah, but the party's not there. You all thought that what happened was the party moved extremely to the left after Hillary. AOC was the new party. She's a bright, wonderful person. But where's the party? Come on, man.
[END VIDEO CLIP]
Tucker Carlson: And that's not the only feud underway as of tonight. Biden himself is under attack for his presence and what Democrats now regard as one of the most racist and bigoted administrations in the history of this country. Barack Obama's administration.
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
The Press: The Obama/Biden legacy includes more than 3,000,000 people deported. Should you be apologizing for anything?
Joe Biden: No. I think what we should be doing is acknowledging that comparing what President Obama did and what Trump did is night and day.
The Press: No, but the numbers are there.
Joe Biden: No, no. No, no, no, no.
The Press: More than 3,000,000 people were deported.
Joe Biden: No, I understand that. That was what the law was at the time.
[END VIDEO CLIP]
Tucker Carlson: That's what the law was at the time like 20 minutes ago. Actually, it's still the law. Right now. It always has been the law. What has changed is the Democrat's now have no patience for the law. Elsewhere in the party Pete Buttigieg is under fire tonight for hiding details of his service at McKinsey, that's one of the creepier consulting firms. Elizabeth Warren is accusing Pete Buttigieg of being a faithful servant of Wall Street which of course like so many senior Democrats beginning with Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer he enthusiastically is.
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
Elizabeth Warren: It is even more important that the candidates expose possible conflicts of interest right now and that means, for example, that the mayor should be releasing who's on his finance committee, who are the bundlers who are raising big money for him, who he's given titles to and made promises to, and he should open up the doors so that the press can follow the promises that he's making in these big dollar fundraisers.
[END VIDEO CLIP]
Tucker Carlson: Uh-huh, but it looks like that's not going to happen. Just moments ago, apparently Pete Buttigieg issued a statement saying he'd love to tell you what he did as a consultant, but he can't because he signed a confidentiality agreement. In other words, he'll be fighting for you. He's on your side. But in the end, he's really here to protect McKinsey because he signed the contract. Ouch. Clearly Elizabeth Warren will continue with that line of attack. On the other hand, Buttigieg should be grateful. At least Warren isn't denouncing him as a racist, as least not yet. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is not so lucky. Recently the tiny mayor made the mistake of complimenting Senator Cory Booker as "well spoken," which used to be considered a vast improvement over I don't know mumbling or inarticulate but no longer. Booker immediately tried to save his flailing and pointless presidential campaign by calling Bloomberg a racist.
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
Female Speaker: Mayor Michael Bloomberg who said that you are well-spoken. You're a senator.
Cory Booker: Yeah, you know, I -- it was -- I was taken aback by it. It's sort of stunning at times that we are still revisiting these sort of tired, you know, tropes or the language we have out there that folks I don't think understand. The fact that they don't understand is problematic. [END VIDEO CLIP]
Tucker Carlson: Mm-hmm. You got that? Get a pen. It is racist to praise the speaking skills of a blue-eyed road scholar who went to Yale Law School. It's just racist. Absolutely Bull Connor [spelled phonetically] kind of stuff. Dr. King would be appalled. So, a few hours ago Bloomberg took the only available option in the modern Democratic Party and he groveled, meaning he'll do anything to be president, he prostrated himself before a gaggle of reporters and begged for forgiveness. He'll never call Booker well-spoken again he said. What's happening? Well, for years Democrats have denounced Trump and his voters as racist, probably including you. Now, and this was inevitable because every revolution eats itself, they're using identity politics against one another. So, when Kamala Harris got out of the race the other day, they told you on cable news racism and sexism were to blame. The racism and sexism of Democratic voters amazing, and Pete Buttigieg loses. And, of course, he will because his appeal is tiny and narrow, it's the news media and Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire and Iowa. When that happens, you'll hear everyone tell you on MSNBC and CNN it was because of homophobia.
None of this should surprise you. The modern Democratic Party is built on division. Every day the party's leaders and its spokesmen in the press divide the country into categories and subcategories based on immutable traits. Some skin colors are good. Some are irredeemably bad. It's a genes party now and not the kind you wear. But it's also, and here's the problem for the Democrats, it is also simultaneously even as it is of course the party of identity politics, it's the party of Wall Street. The party of people who defend private equity. The party of people who have fought to keep carried interest in the tax code, the people who have made absolutely certain they pay literally half the rate that you pay as a wage earner, those people. They're also a massive and key component of the Democratic Party.
So, these two groups are in it together. In other words, it may be Ocasio-Cortez's party at the polling booth, but Mike Bloomberg and Pete Buttigieg and their friends still pay for it -- everything. So, how can a coalition like that survive? Well, it can't survive. The Democratic Party as we know it is doomed and it couldn't of course happen to better people. Ian Samuel is a former Supreme Court clerk and he joins us tonight. So, Ian, the reason I want to talk to you right off the top is we don't share the same political views obviously. You're a leftist, but I don't think you're very --
Ian Samuel: Thanks for saying so.
Tucker Carlson: --- partisan and I think you know a lot about the Democratic Party. So I actually think you're a pretty good Sherpa, a pretty good guide to what's going on. So, you tell me what are the component parts of the Democratic Party? Who is the feud between?
Ian Samuel: So, I think that the way you sort of laid it out is in some ways exactly right. The Democratic Party for a long time has been a party that is funded by Wall Street, a basically capitalist party, that is on certain social issues and racial issues in disagreement with the other capitalist party and that's the basic shape of things. What some people in the Democratic Party, Bernie Sanders, AOC, me, you know, just to sort of put myself on a list like that, want is something like a working class genuinely working class multi-racial party that is a lot more attune to the needs of its voters and that isn't funded by, you know, Mike Bloomberg giving Cory Booker a million dollars to run his races. That's what some people want and that is the source of this civil war. It is a foundational challenge to what the Democratic Party has been for quite some time.
Tucker Carlson: So, but this happened kind of in a muted way and I think a lot of the details were obscured from us, the public, in 2016.
Ian Samuel: Yes.
Tucker Carlson: In the race between Hillary and Bernie, which was framed in all kinds of different ways, but really, it was a difference in economic visions, I think. That was my read on it anyway.
Ian Samuel: Absolutely.
Tucker Carlson: And it basically short-circuited Bernie's campaign. What do you think is going to happen now?
Ian Samuel: Well, the interesting thing about 2016 is it proved how much pent up demand there was for a different vision for the party. For a genuinely working-class party. For a guy who -- I mean, lots of people can say I don't take billionaire's checks, but Bernie Sanders couldn't get them if he wanted to. And it was surprising how much a lot of people wanted that, that this senator from Vermont who was barely trying to win was able to take like 22 states from one of the most, you know, overwhelming frontrunners ever. Now what has happened is a lot like what happened in 2016 to the Republicans. The pent-up demand is there and the sort of other side of it, the sort of people who want to keep the party the way it is, are fracturing. Everybody would like to get head's up with Bernie Sanders in the same way that everybody wanted to get head's up with Trump but the problem is they can't agree among themselves on who will be the champion of this vision and we know at least what happened next last time.
Tucker Carlson: I just don't see how Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Mike Bloomberg can co-exist in the same political party. I really don't see --
Ian Samuel: Precisely.
Tucker Carlson: --- any overlap.
Ian Samuel: Nor do they and nor should they, right? It's very strange in the United States if you look at the Democratic and Republicans Party's, why is it that the 10 wealthiest congressional districts are all represented by Democrats? If you have a working-class party, like if you look at England, that's not true of England. The Tories represent rich people.
Tucker Carlson: No, you're right. That's exactly right.
Ian Samuel: And so, it would make a lot more sense to have a genuinely working class party and if you are sort of woke billionaire there is a party for you. It's just not us and, you know, good luck and the Republicans will give you a tax cut anyway so go for it. So, I think that that would be a much more clear alignment and by the way, a much more overwhelmingly favorable alignment for the Democratic Party than what they've got now which is kind of a -- you know, cobbled together coalition of various interests. It's not as good.
Tucker Carlson: I really am starting to think the difference between you and me is I'm very much hoping the woke billionaires stay on the democratic side and you're hoping they migrate to the Republican side.
Ian Samuel: Exactly. It's like -- they're like toxic waste that we want to unload on one another.
Tucker Carlson: That's how I feel.
Ian Samuel: But as long as they're in one party or the other I don't care as long as like we can have a genuinely multi-racial working-class coalition. Call it whatever you want. That I think is the idea.
Tucker Carlson: I agree with you completely and I hope it's a socially conservative party.
Ian Samuel: Well, I'll see.
Tucker Carlson: I doubt you agree. Ian, great to see you tonight. Thank you so much.
Ian Samuel: Nice to see you. Thank you.
Tucker Carlson: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has the unfortunate job of holding her fractured party together or trying, but that job has its own rewards. Yesterday, Pelosi announced that impeachment was moving forward in the House. And then, the rest of us got to watch the press gush about what a wonderful, strong woman she was, someone who was saving the republic. Watch the sycophants report.
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
Female Speaker: A very, very certain confident and steely Nancy Pelosi today.
Female Speaker: Listening to the speaker, I was actually -- it was kind of comforting, and that was really refreshing. And I think it was really, frankly impressive, too.
Male Speaker: Like Hillary Clinton, on big days she wore white, which is the color of the suffragettes, which is a -- you know, which I think underlines, sort of, the momentousness of what's going on here.
Male Speaker: She is very similar to my parents in that regard. They don't talk about hateful feelings about other human beings.
Female Speaker: We saw in the exchange today how fierce she can be.
Female Speaker: My heart is completely filled with pride. She moves with such dignity, with such grace, which such moral authority.
[END VIDEO CLIP]
Tucker Carlson: [laughs] "She's very much like my parents," says the governor's brother. Pretty nauseating. But there was one figure on television yesterday who took it to the next level. Over on MSNBC, Larry O'Donnell appeared to be auditioning for the role of court eunuch in the Ottoman Empire. Watch this.
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
Larry O'Donnell: Like so much that Nancy Pelosi does in her unscripted bursts of eloquence, moral indignation, this one was multi-dimensional. There she was standing up against hatred, as her Catholic religion has taught her to do since she was a little girl. And there she was. She seized the moment as dramatically as any fiction writer could have provided for any fictional politician in a movie scene. You could feel -- you could feel the power.
[END VIDEO CLIP]
Tucker Carlson: [laughs] How much do they have to pay you to say something like -- I mean, seriously? I mean, what would be the price for you to look into the camera -- I have the transcript here -- refer to Nancy Pelosi is someone given to, and I'm quoting, "unscripted bursts of eloquence and moral indignation." Unscripted. I hope it's a lot. Well, if that didn't make you sick enough, there's this. At this very moment online, you can buy a don't mess with Nancy sweatshirt. It's only 40 bucks. See what that does for your dating life.
Jason Nichols is a professor of African American Studies University Marion. He joins us tonight. "Unscripted eloquence.”
Jason Nichols: [laughs]
Tucker Carlson: Now, I mean, I know that you're a Democrat, but Nancy Pelosi -- and, you know, I'm not even attacking her. But, you know, like most politicians, she's not capable of unscripted eloquence.
Jason Nichols: I disagree.
Tucker Carlson: [laughs] Oh, God. Come on.
Jason Nichols: And, you know, look, look. Tucker. Tucker. Listen, I think people were impressed by the fact that she did not seem motivated by dislike of, you know, of Trump. You know, despite James Rosen's really strange and silly question about her hating Trump, she was really -- seemed like a steward of our constitution.
Tucker Carlson: What's so funny, though, it's like no one can be honest about anything. Of course, these people really are twisted and deranged by hate. I mean, it's just completely real.
Jason Nichols: [laughs]
Tucker Carlson: They -- I mean, and you can argue they have reason to hate or --
Jason Nichols: No.
Tucker Carlson: -- something's worth hating or whatever. But like to say that Democrats don't hate Trump is like crazy, actually.
Jason Nichols: Yeah. Well, listen, you can -- and I think this is a Republican talking point also is that you can dislike someone's behavior, but not necessarily hate the person. And so --
Tucker Carlson: That's true.
Jason Nichols: I think that people dislike what Trump does. We dislike his bullying. We dislike his, you know, some of his actions. But, you know, it doesn't mean that you hate the person --
Tucker Carlson: But we're praying for the man. Yeah, Okay.
Jason Nichols: [laughs]
Tucker Carlson: You know, normally, I mean, by the way, I really try to live that way. And I think there are Democrats who live up to that standard, but recently, the personal animus directed at Trump is actually poison, in my opinion. I'm not saying --
Jason Nichols: Well, it's a poison for him to call women fat pigs, and --
Tucker Carlson: But he didn't call all women fat pigs. He, you know --
Jason Nichols: Wow. [laughs]
Tucker Carlson: No, he didn't.
Jason Nichols: So, he can call --
Tucker Carlson: Whatever.
Jason Nichols: So, it's bad to call Trump specifically, say bad things about Trump specifically.
Tucker Carlson: No, look. I'm not saying it's bad to criticize Trump. I'm not against criticizing Trump. I'm just saying to make Trump the sort of lodestar of your life, to organize your whole life around hating Trump as so many have, including people I know, it's not healthy. But let me ask you about Pelosi.
Jason Nichols: Sure. [affirmative]
Tucker Carlson: This is -- would you say she's kind of like someone who speaks for the Democratic Party? I mean, this is -- she's almost 80.
Jason Nichols: [laughs]
Tucker Carlson: And she's one of the richest members of Congress. Why is she the leader of your party? I'm actually confused.
Jason Nichols: Well, I mean, she is the ranking member. She's the, you know --
Tucker Carlson: Is she not the archetypal Democrat? When you think of the future of the party, do you think Nancy Pelosi?
Jason Nichols: Well, no. I mean, she's not the direction necessarily that the party is moving. But I think, again, the Democrats are a wide tent. We are people who have different views and we will discuss them --
Tucker Carlson: Really? Then why is it when --
Jason Nichols: And you said something to Ian, actually. You know, I thought Ian made some good points. But, you know, I think he misses the thing that did -- that will unify Democrats at the end of the day. There's one person, and that's Donald Trump, has done more to --
Tucker Carlson: That may be true.
Jason Nichols: -- unify people who have ideological differences, then --
Tucker Carlson: But in the end, it's not enough. You know, hate is not a strong enough glue to keep the party together. Let me ask you this. If it's such a --
Jason Nichols: No hate.
Tucker Carlson: If it's -- no hate. Okay. But if it's such a broad tent, then why is the one person excluded from it Tulsi Gabbard? And by the way, when she wears a white pantsuit people attacker for it, but Pelosi is -- well, there you go. Pelosi is lionized for it. But what --
Jason Nichols: I think they both look great.
Tucker Carlson: Yeah, me too. But why the hatred toward Tulsi Gabbard? Why is she not allowed? She's one person.
Jason Nichols: Well, listen, you and I agree that the hatred of Tulsi Gabbard is completely unfair on -- the things that they say about her are unfounded. And this is something that we do need to fix about the party, is eating our own, particularly someone who is serving our country. And I think, honestly, the Democrats the one criticism that I will give the Democrats is we have ceded so much to the right that really, they don't deserve. We've ceded the military. We've ceded, you know --
Tucker Carlson: I'd say the military is pretty left, to be honest with you. I think the Obama administration did a pretty good job politicizing the military and turning it into a left-wing indoctrination machine.
Jason Nichols: Oh, I would disagree with that.
Tucker Carlson: But I noticed that the one thing that you can't do if you're a Democrat is criticize war, because that's the one thing they're all for.
Jason Nichols: [laughs] That's untrue.
Tucker Carlson: Ah!
Jason Nichols: That is untrue. Tulsi Gabbard is definitely against war.
Tucker Carlson: Exactly.
Jason Nichols: She is a Democrat.
Tucker Carlson: Professor Nichols, good to see you tonight. Thanks so much.
Jason Nichols: Thanks, Tucker.
Tucker Carlson: Most Americans oppose a blanket amnesty for people here illegally, but Washington and big business have their own agenda, and they're plotting a way to ram it through whether you like it or not. Plus, Pete Buttigieg is the most moral candidate running. He says so all the time. He's an Episcopalian, unlike you. So why is he pitching abortion to 7 year olds? We're not making that up, by the way. We'll show you the tapes just ahead.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Tucker Carlson: [indiscernible] bipartisan consensus in Washington has been that America ought to give amnesty to all illegal aliens within our borders no matter how many there are. The leadership of both parties believes this. The problem is that voters definitely don't believe it. They strongly disagree and have for decades. They've said so in polling consistently. But instead of paying attention to what the public wants, as usually, the parties ignore it and instead work together to do what they want by stealth. Their latest gambit is called HR-5038, a bill called the Farm Work Force Modernization Act of 2019. As usual the name is Orwellian. The bill does not modernize America's agricultural workforce. In fact, just the opposite. HR-5038 is designed to keep our farming practices primitive and dependent upon low wage manual labor. The bill, which remarkably has a total of 24 Republican co-sponsors, would give amnesty to illegal immigrant farm workers in the United States, pretty much all of them.
Even illegal aliens who have been convicted of crimes would be eligible for permanent residency here and eventually citizenship. Beneficiaries would not have to pay any back taxes. They qualify even if they skipped court hearings or snuck back into the U.S. after being deported. Don't you try something like that as a U.S. citizen. Congress will have no mercy on you. But for foreign nationals, no problem. How many foreign nationals would benefit from this act if it became law? Well, in point of fact nobody knows. The pro-amnesty group Farm Worker Justice estimates that at least 1.2 million illegal immigrants would be eligible but if history is any guide, and it is, the actual number would be far, far higher. And that's assuming the bill would restrict amnesty to actual farm workers. Good luck with that.
HR-5038 imposes very low document standards. Those applying for amnesty can submit all kinds of different documents. There's no penalty for fraud. In other words, there'd be no reason not to submit a bogus application. Needless to say, many people would just as they did 30 years ago during the Ronald Reagan amnesty. That supposedly limited farm worker amnesty drew hundreds of thousands of fraudulent applications and here's the key. Most of them were approved anyway. In some cases, even illegal immigrants who arrived in this country after amnesty became law were allowed to benefit from the amnesty. Think about that for a minute. It was a joke. Now they want to do it again but on a much larger scale. So, to sum up, the Farm Work Force Modernization Act of 2019 would reward lawbreaking, exacerbate the border crisis, and undermine the already stalled wages of American blue collar workers. It's pretty much the mirror image, the exact opposite of what Donald Trump ran on just three years ago and yet members of Congress like Elise Stefanik, Tom Cole, Fred Upton, and more than 20 other Republicans are now fighting to make it law. Why is that?
You've got to wonder. Maybe they're not bright enough to know what's in the bill. Maybe there's some other motive. Maybe someone should ask them. Well, Washington continues to want America's border with Mexico to be as open as possible even though Mexico itself is quickly falling apart. It's in effect cartel-dominated war zone. This week three Republican members of Congress sent the Trump administration a letter urging him to follow through with the idea of designated Mexico's cartels as terror organizations. Pete D'Abrosca is a congressional candidate from the state of North Carolina. He has called for a 10-year moratorium on all immigration. He joins us tonight. Pete, thanks so much for coming on tonight. When you say all immigration, do you mean all immigration or just all illegal immigration?
Pete D'Abrosca: Sure. So, Tucker, it's important that we define what an immigration moratorium is and in this case it means no net immigration to the United States. So, about 200,000 people leave the United States every year.
Tucker Carlson: Yes.
Pete D'Abrosca: Bringing in 200,000 legal aliens would be fine but bottom line, we would like to have no population increase from legal immigration.
Tucker Carlson: You are not allowed to say that. So, the left has decided because the left controls the terms that the right uses, as you know, and the right goes along with this. And you're allowed to say under duress that you're against illegal immigration, but you're never allowed to say that there should be some absolute cap. Why are you saying that?
Pete D'Abrosca: Well, that's -- those are the old party rules, Tucker, and I think that there's a new Republican Party in town. It's people like myself who are, you know, younger and less controlled by should we say the Conservative Inc., crowd or maybe the donor class in Washington, D.C., and the political elite. We understand the game.
We understand that the Chamber of Commerce has bought and paid for our congress people and we understand that it's bought and paid for organizations like Turning Point U.S.A. We understand it has bought and paid for media outlets, like the Daily Wire, for example, who are not meaningfully conservative in any way, who can never be trusted to conserve anything.
Tucker Carlson: So, tell me what -- I mean, tell me what your rationale is, though. I mean, they're going to attack you probably in -- on a bunch of different levels for saying this. Why should people agree with your idea?
Pete D'Abrosca: Well, Tucker, I mean, when you think about why we -- the situation that we have economically in America where the working class continues to dwindle. Legal immigration is not helping us in this scenario. So, we're bringing in roughly a million legal immigrants a year in various visa programs and via green cards and these folks are increasingly taking jobs not just from working class Americans, you know like we do with the sort of farm visas like you were just discussing.
Tucker Carlson: Yes.
Pete D'Abrosca: But increasingly from middle class Americans, too. So, we're -- I mean, Congress, even Republicans in Congress, supposed conservatives, are lobbying right now to increase high skilled tech visas. Now, imagine being an ordinary American and going to college with the idea that there's upward mobility in society and that you're going to improve your life by going to college and you take on $100,000 plus of student debt.
Tucker Carlson: Yes.
Pete D'Abrosca: And then you get out and you're competing with a foreigner for a computer engineering job. And who will work for less and who will work more hours and send much --
Tucker Carlson: But that's a free market we're told.
Pete D'Abrosca: Well, that is and I think that in a lot of senses the free market capitalism of Wall Street is different than the free market capitalism of main street and a conservative vocabulary that does not recognize that difference is obsolete and it deserves to die.
Tucker Carlson: Pete. It's great to see you tonight. Thanks so much.
Pete D'Abrosca: Thank you for having me.
Tucker Carlson: Running for Congress in North Carolina. Thank you. When he's not presenting himself as the moral savior of this country, Pete Buttigieg is fighting doggedly to protect abortion, the main sacrament in his religion. We'll get details next. Plus, hospitals are suing the Trump administration to make certain they don't have to share their prices with the public. For real. That's a fight you should follow. We'll tell you what's happening just ahead.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Tucker Carlson: Who's the best candidate running as a Democrat this year? You know, that's a subjective question. Who knows? Who's the holiest candidate running? I mean, that's easy, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Episcopalians may view God as optional, and they do. But Buttigieg is warning everyone that if God does exist, he would like Pete Buttigieg to be president. And he's extremely mad at Republicans.
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
Pete Buttigieg: It is by no means true that Christian faith or any faith requires you to be a Republican, especially in these times.
[cheering]
There's a lot about the stewardship of creation. That is in scripture, but I don't see it being honored by the administration right now.
It's also important that we stop seeing religion used as a kind of cudgel, as if God belonged to a political party. And if he did, I can't imagine it would be the one that sent the current president to the White House.
[END VIDEO CLIP]
Tucker Carlson: Well, if you thought Jim and Tammy Faye Baker were grating, if you thought the Christian right was bad, nothing compared to the Christian left. If you're in for real self-righteousness, that's where you'll find it. When he isn't condemning Republicans to the new tenth circle of hell, though, Father Buttigieg has another passion promoting abortion, which he sincerely loves. During a recent rally in New Hampshire, Buttigieg congratulated a 7-year-old girl for her precocious understanding that sometimes free markets require us to kill our own children.
Female Speaker: I have listened to you in the debates and learned some stuff about you and that you believe in a woman's right to choose about her own body. I agree with that.
Pete Buttigieg: You sound pretty sophisticated for a child. How old are you?
Female Speaker: 7
Pete Buttigieg: Really? Well, you're ahead of your time.
What I hope everybody, or at least most of us can agree on, is who gets to draw the line. And that's the person making the decision. That's the woman in question. And I trust women to make that choice.
It sounds like you and I view this issue the same way.
[END VIDEO CLIP]
Tucker Carlson: So, what's the right answer? The right answer is where are your parents? I'd like to speak to them because they're sick people putting you up to saying something like that. They're grotesque. They ought to be ashamed. But Pete Buttigieg didn't say that. He said, "Abortion? Yeah, baby, we're on the same side."
Well, America's health care prices are some of the highest in the world, and one reason for that is that hospitals are allowed to hide those prices from you, the consumer. And that makes it, of course, almost impossible to search for cheaper options. Now, the Trump administration is trying to change that. It's one of the best things this administration is doing. And, of course, one of the least covered. A newly issued rule would require hospitals to reveal the procedure prices they currently negotiate in private with health insurers. This would clearly benefit consumers. So, of course, hospitals are outraged. They're suing to block it. Alex Azar is the current secretary of Health and Human Services in the Trump administration, and he joins us tonight. Secretary, thank you so much for coming on. Tell me if I misstated the intent of this rule.
Alex Azar: No, you got it exactly right. All the president is saying is if you're a hospital, disclose what something costs before you want someone to buy it. In every other part of our economy, it's a simple right that we have. What is the price of something before you buy it? The hospitals want you to wait until they send a bill collector to your door to find out what it costs. It's an outrage.
Tucker Carlson: And anyone who has dealt with hospitals recently knows that you're not exaggerating at all. What she said is literally true. You find out when the bill comes.
Alex Azar: I am not exaggerating. I am the secretary of Health and Human Services, and I've had surprised medical bill.
Tucker Carlson: [laughs] I'm laughing. It's so awful.
Alex Azar: I have gone into hospitals for procedures, and I have asked what will this cost me? And they say, "We won't tell you." I say, "What will it cost me under my plan? "We can't tell you. What would it cost if I paid cash? We won't tell you. President Trump is, for the first time in history, delivering you the right to know what a hospital service will cost before you get it.
Tucker Carlson: I'm just confused because, as you just pointed out, no other sector of our economy. You know, this would not -- car dealers would never be allowed to get away with this, of course. But why isn't the left on this? Why haven't they done -- why didn't the Obama administration do this?
Alex Azar: Because no other president has had the guts, the courage, to take on these special interests. These so-called nonprofit hospitals are very powerful. They've been making a lot of money off of the backs of the American patient through this lack of transparency. You know, in one metro zone --
Tucker Carlson: Wait, so, they're nonprofit hospitals, so the directors must be making 80 grand a year. Is that what you're saying?
Alex Azar: I don't think that's what they're making.
Tucker Carlson: Oh, they're 10 million a year.
Alex Azar: I think they are.
Tucker Carlson: Ok. Yeah. So, they're against this?
Alex Azar: They are against it, and they are suing us. They're taking a page right out of the big pharma playbook. You know, the president required the pharma companies to tell you the list price of their drugs. They sued us to prevent us from requiring that. The hospitals, the president told them, "You tell people what something costs when you give them the bill. Just do it beforehand". And they're saying, "No, we won't." I don't know how they can look themselves in the mirror with a straight face. They should be shamed.
Tucker Carlson: Well, they're the worst. Let me ask you, is The New York Times editorializing on your side of this? Supporting the administration in this?
Alex Azar: I don't know where the Times has been, but I think it's actually been very bipartisan. It's just -- it's frankly been just the vested, swampy interests that have said they want to keep the patient blinded to information about price.
Tucker Carlson: It's actually unbelievable. I cannot tell you how much I am rooting for you. I think normal people be rooting for you. Very quickly, what's going to happen?
Alex Azar: We're going to win. And that's the rule now. It is the law of the land. And starting in 2021 hospitals will actually have to tell you what the price of the most common services are ahead of time. You will be able to shop. You know, in in just one metro zone, common lab, blood lab tests could cost as much as 40 times difference from one hospital to another. In Boston, labor and delivery varies from $4,700 to $16,000. We will get to shop. 70 percent of hospital services are shoppable. We will get to choose the lowest cost, highest quality provider. We will actually bring to our free market and health care a competitive market in health care that will bring costs down, quality up, and that is thanks to the leadership and the courage of President Trump.
Tucker Carlson: I agree with that, and I really appreciate your explaining that on this show, Mr. Secretary. Thank you very much.
Alex Azar: My pleasure.
Tucker Carlson: Time for final exam. See if you can beat our experts at remembering what happened this week, particularly the weird stuff that's happened.
[LAUGHTER]
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Tucker Carlson: Time now for final exam where the smartest people at Fox News battle one another to show who's been paying closest attention to what happened over the past week in order to win prizes from the tuckercarlson.com online store. This week's contestant first up Watters World and Five host Jesse Watters who's done very well on the show. His challenger tonight, Melissa Francis who co-hosts both Outnumbered on this channel and After the Bell on Fox Business. Welcome to you both. This is -- I beg your pardon, one of those matchups where I have no idea who's going to win. Are you -- do you feel comfortable?
Melissa Francis: It's me.
Jesse Watters: Yeah. Me neither.
Melissa Francis: It's me.
Tucker Carlson: It's you?
Melissa Francis: It's me. Yeah. I'm very competitive. My family does not let me play board games at home because I get really crazy. I want to apologize in advance. Sorry for my behavior. Let's go.
Jesse Watters: Apology not accepted.
Tucker Carlson: Okay. Melissa Francis from Harvard. Jesse Watters from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. We'll see. Okay. Hands on buzzers. Here are the rules. I ask the questions. The first one to buzz in gets to answer the question. You've got to wait until I finish asking before you answer. You can answer once I acknowledge you by saying your name. Every correct answer is worth a single point. Get one wrong and you lose a point. Best of five wins. Are you ready?
Jesse Watters: Yes.
Melissa Francis: Yes.
Tucker Carlson: Perfect. Here we go. Question one. Now this is multiple choice. You have to wait until all the options are presented. There's a video going around the internet of presidential candidate Andrew Yang feeding something to his supporters. What did he feed them? Was it a) whipped cream, b) Easy Cheese, or c) avocado toast? Jesse Waters.
Melissa Francis: This is --
Jesse Watters: The answer is a, whipped cream, Tucker.
Melissa Francis: My buzzer does not work.
Tucker Carlson: Wow. I love that. The intensity is so appealing. Okay.
Melissa Francis: I knew the answer. I want a redo.
Tucker Carlson: Let's see if you -- let's see if Jesse was right.
Melissa Francis: He is right. It's whipped cream. We all know that.
Tucker Carlson: Were they whippets? Was it whipped cream? Here we go.
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
Andrew Yang That's a full-service presidential candidate. Yeah. Yeah, look at this.
[CROSSTALK]
[END VIDEO CLIP]
Tucker Carlson: We should note that was in the parking lot of a Dead show. Yeah. Okay.
Jesse Watters: The Yang Gang.
Tucker Carlson: One point to Jesse Watters. The Yang Gang.
Jesse Watters: Yeah, baby.
Tucker Carlson: Ew, a little nitrous break. Okay. Question two. Now, this is not a multiple choice. Here it is. Which old school slogan has Joe Biden, an old school kind of guy, chosen for his eight-day bus tour across Iowa? Here's a hint. Oh, --
Melissa Francis: Do you see, he went ahead?
Jesse Watters: Well, you threw here's a hint. I thought you were finished.
Tucker Carlson: It goes to Melissa. Our -- and by the way, this is our judge's in New York City, I'm not going to name them, this is their decision. Melissa, what is the answer?
Melissa Francis: No malarkey bus tour.
Tucker Carlson: No -- that's too dorky. I don't believe you but let's just check. Is she right? No malarkey. Oh.
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
Mark Steyn: They did focus groups other ones, Tucker. I believe they tried out no -- the no eyewash tour, the no horse feathers tour, no fat doodle tour, no cockamamie, fiddle faddle for the birds bunkum dagnabbit tour. Which polled really strongly with undocumented transgenders.
[END VIDEO CLIP]
Tucker Carlson: Very good. The bunkum dagnabbit tour. Okay. So, it's one to one. Boy, you all are on it. Okay. Question three. This again is a multiple choice. Please wait until all options presented. According to the parenting website babycenter, what is the most popular boy's name for 2019? Is it a) Lucas, b) Liam, c) Benjamin? Jesse. Oh, Melissa. I'm so sorry. Melissa.
Melissa Francis: B, Liam.
Tucker Carlson: How would you know that?
Melissa Francis: Because my son's name is on the list and I was annoyed by that.
Tucker Carlson: That's so good. Is she right? Is it Liam?
Melissa Francis: I'm totally right.
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
Female Speaker: The list of the most popular baby names for 2019 is out. So, let's first start by looking at the top five names for girls. They include Sophia, Olivia, Emma, Ava, and Aria.
Tucker Carlson: Aria?
Female Speaker: For the boy's name was Liam followed by Jackson, Noah, Aidan, and Grayson.
[END VIDEO CLIP]
Melissa Francis: My son's name is Grayson.
Tucker Carlson: I'm very -- put this -- I think this may be the most intense edition of this show.
Melissa Francis: It is.
Jesse Watters: I know. I feel it.
Melissa Francis: I can't -- I made a cocktail and I'm never doing this again. It's way too much for me.
Tucker Carlson: Oh, it's so intense. It's like soul cycle. Okay. Tap back. Question four. Another multiple-choice question and it's about junk food. Farmers in this country say an extra cold wet winter has led to a shortage of which popular food? Is it a) french fries, b) popcorn, c) onion rings.
Jesse Watters: Whoa. Geez. Wow. That was a fast buzz.
Tucker Carlson: Melissa.
Melissa Francis: A, French fries.
Tucker Carlson: French fries.
Melissa Francis: We did this on my 4:00 show.
Tucker Carlson: A, French fries. Is that -- that's the guess?
Melissa Francis: Yes.
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
Male Speaker: French fry lovers, they are freaking out because there are real fears once [unintelligible] of a French fry shortage due to cold weather, cold wet weather that has severely damaged crop -- potato crops in the U.S. and in Canada. [END VIDEO CLIP]
Melissa Francis: You know if Strahan says it you know it's true.
Jesse Watters: Yeah.
Tucker Carlson: Of course. Like that guy's ever eaten a French fry. They should've asked me.
[LAUGHTER]
All right. Last question.
Jesse Watters: All right. I need this one.
Tucker Carlson: And this is a two pointer here.
Melissa Francis: Oh, gosh.
Tucker Carlson: Here we go.
Melissa Francis: Okay.
Tucker Carlson: First Lady Melania Trump has unveiled this year's Christmas decoration theme at the White House. What is it called? Listen to the options. Is it a) Blessings from the Manger, b) Spirit of America, or c) Heart's of the Heartland?
Melissa Francis: No way.
Tucker Carlson: Jesse Watters.
Jesse Watters: I'm going to guess. I'm going to guess, B, Spirit of America.
Tucker Carlson: B, is it spirit of -- [laughs]
Jesse Watters: Do I have it? [laughs]
Tucker Carlson: Whoa, she's intense. How'd you get an --
Jesse Watters: I know. It's crazy.
Tucker Carlson: All right.
Melissa Francis: It's hard to tell, right? Yes. [laughs]
Tucker Carlson: [laughs] Is Jesse Waters correct? Is it, B, spirit of America.
Melissa Francis: Yes, he's right.
Jesse Watters: I am?
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
Female Speaker: Christmas time at the White House, the halls are decked out in festive decor. First Lady Melania Trump calling this year's patriotic exhibit The Spirit of America.
[END VIDEO CLIP]
Jesse Watters: All right.
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
Female Speaker: You can see the trees decorated bright white and gold, adorned with be best ornaments, lot of flowers, and even a mini replica of the White House with mini holiday wreaths.
[END VIDEO CLIP]
Tucker Carlson: Amazing. Amazing. Okay, so this -- and again, I just want to say this for the fifth time, this is the most intense fight I've ever had.
Jesse Watters: Yeah.
Melissa Francis: Yeah.
Tucker Carlson: So, it shouldn't surprise anyone that we're going into overtime, sudden death.
Melissa Francis: Okay.
Tucker Carlson: Here's the bonus question. It is not a multiple choice.
Jesse Watters: Uh-oh.
Tucker Carlson: This is a hard question. Very few people in this country know the answer, but -- and it's a short question. So, get ready.
Melissa Francis: I'm ready.
Tucker Carlson: The one who answers this correctly wins. What is the capital of Canada?
Jesse Watters: Oh, that was a quick buzz.
Melissa Francis: Ottawa.
Tucker Carlson: [laughs] I don't believe you. Everyone knows it's Vancouver.
Melissa Francis: No.
Tucker Carlson: Wait. Oh, no.
Melissa Francis: [laughs]
Tucker Carlson: I'm sorry. Our judges are saying it's Ottawa. Ottawa.
Jesse Watters: Wow.
Tucker Carlson: I can't pronounce it, but they say you're right.
Melissa Francis: I believed you for a second there.
Jesse Watters: Harvard educated.
Melissa Francis: I thought I had it wrong.
Tucker Carlson: [laughs]
Melissa Francis: I'm never doing this again. I can't take it.
Tucker Carlson: Harvard --
Jesse Watters: That was nice --
Melissa Francis: I apologize for my behavior.
Jesse Watters: Really nice buzzing.
Melissa Francis: This is really embarrassed.
Jesse Watters: She's good on the buzzer.
Melissa Francis: I can't do it.
Tucker Carlson: Amazing. Well, you get an Erik Wemple mug for that.
Melissa Francis: It doesn't work anymore. [laughs]
Tucker Carlson: And I have to say, fastest -- there you go.
Jesse Watters: Fastest hands.
Tucker Carlson: It's unbelievable. Holy smokes. Congratulation.
Melissa Francis: I need a cocktail.
Tucker Carlson: Jesse, it really -- it took -- your streak has been so impressive and so long, it really took a Melissa Francis character to stop you, and so it's hardly a loss. I mean, there's no way a mortal man could have withstood.
Jesse Watters: Yeah. I don't consider this a loss.
Tucker Carlson: No, I agree. [laughs] You could've won.
[LAUGHTER]
Thanks to you both. Great to see you.
Melissa Francis: Yeah. I'm going to -- thank you. Never again. Bye, Tucker.
Tucker Carlson: See you. We're out of time. Pay attention to the news every week. Tune in here to see if you can beat our experts. We'll be right back.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Tucker Carlson: A stolen delivery truck in Florida turned into a shocking and bloody shootout. Chief breaking news correspondent Trace Gallagher has that story for us tonight. Hey, Trace.
Trace Gallagher: Hey, Tucker. This was a jewelry heist that went very bad. It began late yesterday when two suspects tried to rob a jewelry store in Coral Gables. Police say Lamar Alexander and Ronnie Jerome Hill exchanged gunfire with the store owner, then fled and carjacked a UPS truck with the driver still inside. That led to a wild and televised 20-mile police pursuit ending in a shootout at a busy intersection in Miramar, Florida. CBS Miami reports 19 officers from five agencies all fired at the vehicle potentially more than 200 rounds. And when the shooting stopped, both suspects and a person in another car were dead, as was the UPS driver identified as Frank Ordonez. It's unclear whose gunfire killed her donors, but his stepfather says his death was unnecessary. Watch.
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
Joe Merino: And I'm not an attorney, and I'm not a police officer, but I'm a rational person and reason tells me that -- where was -- why didn't they secure the area?
[END VIDEO CLIP]
Trace Gallagher: Ordonez had been with UBS five years, but Thursday was reportedly his first official day as a driver. Police defended the actions of its officers, saying they were victims as well, and the suspects are the only ones to blame. Look.
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
Male Speaker: These officers are showing courage, moving toward danger, and that's what we have to be looking at here. And the outcome of this was dictated by two violent felons that decided to bring this on this community.
[END VIDEO CLIP]
Trace Gallagher: Police say they had -- if they'd let the suspects continue, they could have harmed others and the situation could have been much worse. Tucker.
Tucker Carlson: Quite an amazing story. Trace Gallagher, thanks a lot for that, those details. Great to see you. We're out of time tonight. We'll be back 8:00 p.m. Monday, the show that is the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness, and groupthink. In the meantime, have a great weekend with the ones you love. Sean Hannity takes over from here.
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