This is a rush transcript from "Tucker Carlson Tonight," October 4, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
TUCKER CARLSON, HOST: Good evening and welcome to "Tucker Carlson Tonight." The president is speaking at this hour in Rochester, Minnesota. Of course, we'll be watching that speech and we'll go right to it if news happens and it may.
A lot has changed in the past three weeks as you may have noticed. We've watched slack-jawed as professional lawmakers attacked the rule of law. We've heard self-described anti-racism activists embrace full-throated racism on television.
We've seen people who call themselves advocates for women destroy the life of an actual woman for political gain. The country is all but inverted during the debate over Brett Kavanaugh's nomination. It is bewildering.
In case you're having trouble keeping track of it all, a reminder that it was only a week ago that Democrats argued that a second Senate hearing into Brett Kavanaugh's High School record, the one we saw, was not enough to find the truth. We needed a supplementary FBI investigation and we needed it immediately.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, D-CONN.: There needs to be an FBI investigation.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, D-CALIF.: The FBI is an agency of sworn, trained law enforcement officers. They have the ability to do an investigation.
SEN. CHRISTOPHER COONS, D-CALIF.: Have the independent professionals of the FBI actually investigate.
SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, D-N.Y.: She has a right to have those facts be developed by a -- by a non-partisan source like the FBI who're expert--
SEN. RICHARD DURBIN, D-ILL.: An FBI investigation is the only way to answer some of these questions.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
CARLSON: Well it always struck us as a mindless demand despite all the hysterical demands for it. Everyone involved had already given sworn statements under the penalty of perjury about what they knew about this story. The two people at the very center of it had already testified before the Congress on television.
Brett Kavanaugh's life had been the subject of six previous FBI probes. Not only was he cleared in all six of them, he was given access to America's nuclear codes. So, we knew all we were going to know about an event that supposedly took place 37 years ago, and that's why the FBI said it had zero interest in getting involved again.
And yet, Democrats demanded a new investigation anyway, as you just saw. And then protesters screamed at poor Jeff Flake in an elevator in the Senate until he agreed with the Democrats. So, we got the investigation.
It was supposed to take a week. Everyone agreed on that but it wrapped up in six days. Why? Because there was nothing to find. And almost four decades after the fact there were very few people left to interview.
Not surprisingly, in the end, the FBI did not corroborate Christine Ford's story. You know what that means don't you? The FBI must be involved in a cover-up. Yes, a diabolical secret plot orchestrated with their very close allies in the Trump Administration.
That's what they're telling us. The very people who just days ago were telling us that the FBI is an ethically unimpeachable organization, the ultimate tiebreaker. Now, the FBI is part of the Deep State.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN, D-CALIF.: The investigation was very limited.
BLUMENTHAL: This report is blatantly and clearly incomplete.
SENATE MINORITY LEADER CHARLES SCHUMER, D-N.Y.: Our fears have been realized. Our fears have been realized. This is not a thorough investigation.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN: In your view, is this a fulsome and credible investigation?
SEN. EDWARD MARKEY, D-MASS.: It's obviously a cover-up.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
CARLSON: Our fears have been realized. The FBI is working with the Trump administration. They always have been. It's a plot so secret we believe the opposite is happening. How's that for clever?
Others on the Left saying that what we really need is for Brett Kavanaugh to take a polygraph exam because those are accepted by science. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina pointed out that the lie detector likely just (ph) the first demand in a long list. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C.: You've humiliated this guy enough and it's getting to the bottom (ph) for somebody. So--
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he would take a polygraph it will all be over Senator Graham.
GRAHAM: --so, why won't we dunk (ph) in the water, see if he floats.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He won't be one because (ph)--
GRAHAM: Maybe you'll believe he lied about how much he drank in high school that (ph) he threw ice in a party, excuse me, in a bar, or he doesn't (ph) have the temperament that he didn't handle being destroyed well. Enough! Enough already! Let's vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Why don't we just dunk him in water and see if he floats? It was good enough in medieval France. You know the truth. Only one thing will truly be good enough, an investigation of some kind or maybe a water dunking of some kind that lasts at least through January 3rd 2019, that's when the new Congress will be sworn in.
Of course, that's the real goal. It always has been. Fortunately, it looks like this ploy is failing. Win or lose, Kavanaugh's nomination will be voted on, it looks like, within a few days. It seems likely he'll be confirmed but who knows, and we won't know until the moment the last vote is cast.
Still it's worth thinking about what the world looks like once this is all over, after Kavanaugh's confirmation vote. This is a new country now. What will it look like?
Well the Left has accused President Trump of overturning norms and destroying institutions. But as always, that is pure projection. Whatever they're accusing you of is exactly what they're doing. And it's true in this case too.
The Left just mounted a full assault on our justice system. They thought nothing of tossing out the presumption of innocence. You saw actual U.S. senators say things like the accused has an obligation to prove himself innocent.
They said that out loud and then they tried to use the FBI as a weapon against their political opponents, and not for the first time. The Obama Administration did the same. Think this will stop? Think again.
Thought leaders, to the extent that's not an oxymoron on the Left, already laying the groundwork to pack the courts, something that hasn't been tried since the 1930s. Adding more Democrats to change the balance, the least democratic, small D democratic option available.
It's only fair, they'll tell you, to offset the theft of Merrick Garland's seat on the Supreme Court and, of course, the appointment of a teenage sex offender. Going forward, look for the Left to delegitimize any decisions written by Brett Kavanaugh from the court or even any decisions in which he is the majority. Some states may just decide to ignore the Supreme Court.
Sound fair fetched -- far-fetched to you? Maybe. Maybe not.
Look what's happening in California right now. Lawmakers in that state, the largest state in the Union have already made it a crime for citizens in California to insist -- assist in the enforcement of any federal immigration law. California is in effect in open revolt against the laws of the United States.
Suppose the Supreme Court were to try to crack down on that, it's not impossible to imagine California simply refusing to comply because Brett Kavanaugh sits on the court. Its edicts are illegitimate. That could happen. And that, by the way, is what crisis actually looks like, so get ready for that.
Before we get to our first guest, we do have a Fox News Alert for you. Brett Kavanaugh wrote an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal, literally, a few seconds ago. Here's a selection from it and we're quoting now.
"I was very emotional last Thursday, more so than I have ever been. I might have been too emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp, and I've said a few things I should not have said. I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband, and dad. I testified with five people foremost in my mind: my mom, my dad, my wife, and, most of all, my daughters. Going forward, you can count on me to be the same kind of judge and person I have been for my entire 28-year legal career, hard-working, even-keeled, open-minded, independent and dedicated to the Constitution and the public good."
There's a lot more to that op-ed. We just tweeted out a link to the full piece just appearing in the Wall Street Journal, so there's that.
Meanwhile Brett -- Joe diGenova is, of course, a former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Danny Coulson is a former Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI and they both join us tonight.
First to you Joe, do you think it's likely as Democrats are now suggesting that the FBI is in secret collusion with their very close allies in the Trump Administration to subvert the will of the Democratic Party? Based on what we have been watching for the past two years, do you think that's a likely scenario?
JOSEPH DIGENOVA, FORMER UNITED STATES ATTORNEY: Yes, well I -- I think what the Democrats are engaged in is something that we call the big lie. And what they've done is they have associated themselves with anarchy and they are now in full revolt against the Constitution of the United States, the Union, and the rule of law.
What you are hearing are the cries of an injured child not unlike those of Ms. Ford when she testified before the committee as an injured adolescent. The Democratic Party is in full retreat from good government, the rule of law, and sanity.
These people are crazed, seeking power, and there they are calling into question the integrity of the FBI who didn't want anything to do with this and were asked to do it by Senator Coons and Senator Flake.
Good lord, they are appalling.
CARLSON: So Danny Coulson, if you're one of the many FBI agents and employees who doesn't want the agency to become politicized or used as a weapon by a political party or other, what do you make of all this?
DANNY COULSON, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, FBI: Well I think that they don't like the result. That's very, very simple. I said when the investigation began that you'll get your investigation but you not -- may not like what they find out.
And what they found out is not only was there not corroboration of Dr. Ford's story. The important thing is her story was rejected by her own witnesses. And I think that's very difficult for the Democratic Party to handle.
The FBI doesn't really care how these things come out. That's why there was so much aversion to James Comey's record as the Director. They don't -- they want to be known as -- as independent. We want to be fact-finders. And they do, today.
And I will tell you they did not parch (ph) this investigation. They did a thorough investigation. And just because you didn't (ph) like it doesn't mean it's not valid. And I think that's what we're dealing with here is if you don't like the results then, you know, attack the -- attack the investigative agency, and I don't think it's going to play out very well.
CARLSON: So well I -- I think what (ph) Mr. Coulson said Joe diGenova is from the FBI perspective they don't have a moral obligation to prove true this body (ph) 37-year old memories of Christine Ford in order to stop Brett Kavanaugh. That's not--
DIGENOVA: Well, I--
CARLSON: --they don't see that as their duty?
DIGENOVA: Indeed, they don't and they shouldn't. And Danny's absolutely correct. This is an example of what happens when a party decides to uproot itself from the rule of law, from decency and honesty and integrity. They have destroyed themselves. They are hurting innocent people, a man, his family.
The confirmation process is in shambles as a result of the conduct of Senator Feinstein and Senator Booker and Senator Harris and the little man from Delaware, Senator Coons, who's blathering. Fake lawyering has become an embarrassment to the Senate.
But that's where we are. So what do they do? They attack the FBI. The FBI is a great institution notwithstanding James Comey's leadership.
CARLSON: Right.
DIGENOVA: They remain -- they remain a great institution today.
CARLSON: So really quick, Danny Coulson, do you think -- Democrats are saying well Kavanaugh needs to take a polygraph exam. Is it even within the realm of possibility that he heads over to FBI HQ and takes a polygraph exam? What does that even mean?
DIGENOVA: Oh man (ph).
COULSON: Well I -- I -- I totally reject that. If I were doing the investigation and I used to run these investigation of the FBI, and in no way is this a case where you'd want a polygraph. I've seen the polygraphs be successful. I've seen them fail miserably.
CARLSON: Right.
COULSON: This is a matter of credibility. And we have the ability as human beings to adjust -- to adjudicate credibility. We do it every day in our life. Courts do it. Juries do it. We all do it.
CARLSON: Yes (ph). Sure.
COULSON: And it's pretty simple really.
CARLSON: Thank you for the reminder of that. We don't need a machine to reach conclusions. Thank you both very much. It was great.
DIGENOVA: Thank you.
COULSON: Thank you. Enjoying it.
CARLSON: Well for months it seemed like the Republicans could be in deep trouble in the upcoming mid-term elections. Has that changed? Has the Brett Kavanaugh nomination process awakened Republicans and changed the fortunes of the parties? Possible. We'll have a full analysis of that next.
Plus, the President's speaking live in Rochester, Minnesota tonight. We're monitoring what's happening there. And of course, we'll go there immediately if news arrives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: --Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North Carolina and they're coming into a place called Minnesota. Do we love Minnesota?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: Well, for the last couple of months, it has looked like the 2018 mid-terms next month were going to be pretty tough on Republicans or at least they'd be argued over the President, Trump's economy, his immigration policies, tax cuts, his tweets.
But the last moment, a new issue has emerged and completely transformed the political calculation. Of course, it's the Brett Kavanaugh nomination. Democrats are angry about it. They're fired up in opposition to Kavanaugh.
But even more important could be the reaction of many Republicans who are every bit as mad, in some cases, they're madder, and they're uniting behind the nominee. It's a complicated question. So we have asked to talk one of our favorite correspondents, Gillian Turner who has the numbers. Gillian, what is the answer here?
GILLIAN TURNER, FOX NEWS: So Tucker, for months, all the D.C. pollsters have been telling us the Democrats are revved up for the November mid-terms and they're ready to crush Republicans.
But now, a whole slew of new polls this week are turning that conventional wisdom on its head and showing conservatives of all stripes are fired up. The give isn't the Mueller investigation or tax cuts or regulatory reform. Party leaders say it's Brett Kavanaugh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM: The defining issue in 2018 has changed. It's about this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TURNER: A new Marist Poll shows the enthusiasm gap between Republicans and Democrats shrinking by the day. Just two months ago, there was a 10-point gap between Dem and Republicans interest in the mid-terms but now that playing field's leveled off.
Compared to early September, the number of Republicans who say they feel extremely interested in the elections is up by two points in Arizona, nine points in Indiana, eight points in Missouri and North Dakota, and up 11 points in Tennessee.
Meanwhile a new round of Fox News battleground poll shows the fight for the Senate trending Republican with the Kavanaugh showdown on Capitol Hill stoking interest in the mid-terms from Republicans all across the board.
All five states surveyed showed an uptick in GOP interest. Incumbent Senate Democrats votes on Kavanaugh could tip tight races, especially in Missouri and North Dakota, and voting against his nomination will hurt more than help the Democratic candidates in those states.
While it's true Supreme Court fights rile up both parties' bases, this fight it's strictly bad news for candidates running against the partisan grain of their constituents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM: Whether you're a Trump Republican, a Bush Republican, a McCain Republican, a libertarian or a vegetarian, you're pissed. I've never seen the Republican Party so unified as I do right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TURNER: The National Republican Congressional Committee tells Fox News, Republicans are voting with their dollars too. They say from August to September, their donations are up a 175 percent with the average individual gift up by a 111 percent.
No one can say for sure, Tucker, that all of this hypes do exclusively to Kavanaugh but all signs point to yes, Tucker.
CARLSON: Sure seems that way. Gillian Turner, thank you very much for that.
TURNER: You got it.
CARLSON: Bryan Dean Wright is a former CIA Officer and a Democrat. He wrote -- recently wrote a really interesting piece in which he warned that his party's approach to the Kavanaugh nomination could turn out to be a problem for them in November. Bryan Dean Wright joins us tonight.
Bryan, this is a really interesting piece that you wrote. I want to read out loud. I don't have it on the screen. It's in front of me. But you said this is part of a strategy attacking Kavanaugh. Obviously.
The progressive strategies worked quite brilliantly. The media have been relentless in backing Ford and her claims with rapid response to outrage if anyone dared to challenge Ford's facts or insist on careful due process.
Meanwhile, Kavanaugh has been vilified successfully as a rich, drunken, lying gang-rapist. One media outlet suggested he's actually a pedophile. All that is true. All that would seem to work. I'm -- it's totally immoral but it seems to work politically for the Democrats.
What's the downside, do you think, for them?
BRYAN DEAN WRIGHT, FORMER CIA OPS OFFICER: Well we're seeing it in the polls and -- and the fantastic recap that we just heard. Certainly, the -- the Republican base is getting riled up and rightfully so but we're also seeing independents.
If you really break down some of these polls, a lot of that movement, especially in the generic poll, is independents. They're either splitting a little bit more towards the Republicans or notably more so towards the Republicans.
And we're seeing that across all age groups and also as particularly White folks without college educations. So, in other words, that's the -- the Trump coalition. So, the Trump coalition is coming home this November. That's what it looks like to me.
CARLSON: So, I -- I -- I'm not sure why. So, you point out in the piece that Democrats knew from the very beginning that they're unlikely to block this nomination because they don't control the U.S. Senate. So but, this isn't the only strategy they might have employed.
What's really going on is they're mad about his views on Roe v. Wade. OK. I disagree. But that's a point of view. Why not argue that in public? Wouldn't you get more in the end if you stood up for your own principles instead of just trying to destroy a guy on the basis of high school stuff?
WRIGHT: Well here's the part that as -- as an American, forget being a Democrat, but as an American, it outrages me over this strategy. My party used, let's believe her, professor Ford, a sexual assault victim, we used her to achieve a political aim, a political goal--
CARLSON: That's for sure.
WRIGHT: --to destroy the Republicans and -- and the President. That is horrific. So, if we're going to have a debate in this country about things like Roe v Wade or tax policies--
CARLSON: Right.
WRIGHT: --or whatever it might be, gay rights, etcetera, let's have that a -- you know, forthright.
CARLSON: Exactly.
WRIGHT: Let's not drag somebody through the mud like we did with Ms. Ford. We certainly could have had this investigation in the first part of August. We didn't. We chose to drop it out in the middle of -- of September to -- to make this -- this even more horrific. And -- and we're getting exactly what we deserve, which we're getting hit in the polls.
CARLSON: You're -- you're -- you're totally right. It'd be better -- let's have a real debate. I mean that's the point of this whole show.
WRIGHT: You bet.
CARLSON: I believe in debate. Bryan, thank you very much.
WRIGHT: You bet, sir.
CARLSON: Just the other day we talked to Alan Dershowitz about the ACLU calling Kavanaugh a rapist without providing evidence that he is. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN DERSHOWITZ, HARVARD LAW PROFESSOR EMERITUS: In America, we don't allow people to destroy other people's reputations and careers based on inference of guilt the way the ACLU now says. The ACLU says we should presume guilt not presume innocence (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: An ACLU representative here to defend that ad after the break.
Plus, we'll keep monitoring the Trump rally in Minnesota. If anything happens, we'll take you there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We've taken historic action to make health care more affordable. And we've gotten rid of the saurian (ph) premiums. You know, the premiums on Obamacare, nobody realized it, they were going up a 116 percent, 138 percent, 200 percent. Through great management and great people, we've kept them down. We've mostly obliterated Obamacare although we hadn't won (ph) except for 2 o'clock in the morning. I say it again (ph)--
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: Well the ACLU became famous over almost a 100 years by defending due process and free speech, especially for deeply unpopular people. That long and noble tradition is over now in the name of Left-wing solidarity.
The ACLU has been running an ad likening Brett Kavanaugh to Bill Cosby even though they have literally nothing in common. Of course, Kavanaugh has not even been tried. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've seen this before. Denials from powerful men.
THEN-PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: I did not have sexual relations with that woman.
BILL COSBY, COMEDIAN: I've never seen anything like this.
SUPREME COURT NOMINEE JUDGE BRETT KAVANAUGH: I categorically and unequivocally de -- deny the allegation against me by Dr. Ford.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: America is watching. And as we choose a lifetime seat on our highest court, integrity matters, and we cannot have any doubt. Senator Gardner oppose the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Faiz Shakir is the ACLU's National Political Director and he joins us tonight. Mr. Shakir, thank you for coming on.
FAIZ SHAKIR, NATIONAL POLITICAL DIRECTOR, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: Hi, Tucker. Thank you.
CARLSON: What I -- this is a disgusting ad, obviously. But what's so distressing is that you ran it because this is guilt by association, the very thing the ACLU nobly stood against during, for instance, the blacklist period.
SHAKIR: Well--
CARLSON: Bill Cosby and Brett Kavanaugh have nothing in common. And yet, you twin them in order to discredit Kavanaugh. How could you do that as the--
SHAKIR: I (ph)--
CARLSON: --ACLU.
SHAKIR: Sir (ph), appreciate your comments, Tucker. The -- the common thread here, of course, is powerful men whose careers are on the line issuing denials about sexual wrongdoing.
And in this incident -- instance, we believe that the denial issued by Brett Kavanaugh goes right to integrity, a position that he's applying for on -- on the Supreme Court in which he sits in judgment of the rest of the nation, integrity is of the critical importance, the utmost importance--
CARLSON: OK. But -- but -- but -- but hold on, I--
SHAKIR: --and we have doubt about his integrity.
CARLSON: --I agree. And I -- I would never argue against the importance of integrity.
SHAKIR: OK.
CARLSON: But Bill Cosby has been convicted of crimes in court. He went through the legal process--
SHAKIR: And he -- he denied it--
CARLSON: --the one that the ACLU, before it was taken over by partisans like you, once defended. Brett Kavanaugh has not been.
SHAKIR: Tucker--
CARLSON: So, putting them together is by definition guilt by association and unfair. Do you think that the person in your position 20 years ago would have seen that?
SHAKIR: Tucker, this isn't a civil or criminal trial. I think you understand that. We're talking about a job promotion -- promotion assessment.
CARLSON: I know. No, that's the point I'm making.
SHAKIR: And that's the standard of proof here is not a -- beyond a reasonable doubt assessment--
CARLSON: So then why did you put him next to Bill Cosby--
SHAKIR: --you're not, he's -- he doesn't--
CARLSON: --who has been tried and convicted?
SHAKIR: --he is not entitled to the presumption of innocence. If you so -- assume that, you're saying he's entitled to the job on the Supreme Court.
CARLSON: You, I -- I'm sorry but I'm not actually, you know, but hold on--
SHAKIR: If you have any doubt--
CARLSON: --I'm not arguing that. I'm asking you why you put him next to a man who was tried in court and convicted of felonies and sentenced to prison--
SHAKIR: Because that individual denied the accusations--
CARLSON: --when he, as you just noted, hasn't done any of those things.
SHAKIR: --that individual also denied the accusations. I think you would appreciate, Tucker, that we're criticizing people on the Left and the Right here.
CARLSON: I don't care about the Left and the Right.
SHAKIR: OK.
CARLSON: I care about the principles that make the country we're living in which you once defended--
SHAKIR: Same here.
CARLSON: --and now you urinate (ph) on.
SHAKIR: Sexual -- sexual assault is to be taken (ph)--
CARLSON: Why not put him next to Charles Manson?
SHAKIR: --sexual assault has to (ph) be taken very seriously here, Tucker. And I think that we're often crowding out the voices of women and believing the men and not believing women. In this case, this woman came forward--
CARLSON: But we're not talking but hold on, you're the A--
SHAKIR: --under extreme difficult circumstances and we (ph) should be believed. It's credible testimony.
CARLSON: --hold on, you're the ACLU -- hold on, you're the ACLU. You don't believe in collective judgment or collective punishment--
SHAKIR: No. No. And that's -- that's why we (ph) believe--
CARLSON: --you believe in the rights of (ph)--
SHAKIR: --her.
CARLSON: --let me just remind you (ph) you believe because I think I know more about your organization than you do.
SHAKIR: No, sir. It's an individualized (ph)--
CARLSON: I just wrote a chapter in my (ph) book on the ACLU.
SHAKIR: --determination.
CARLSON: OK.
SHAKIR: It's an individualized determination about this woman who came forward and offered credible--
CARLSON: I understand (ph). Exactly. Thank you, now you're back in reasonable mode.
SHAKIR: --evidence.
CARLSON: So, why would you say it's about women being heard when, of course, it's not.
SHAKIR: In those instances--
CARLSON: It's about one woman making one allegation against one man. It's not (ph) all women.
SHAKIR: In those instances, there have been other men who've denied accusations before them (ph) that--
CARLSON: So what?
SHAKIR: --that we've said. And all we're saying is that in this instance, like in previous instances, women deserve an opportunity to -- to be heard.
CARLSON: But it's not about -- hold on, so wait, you're endorsing collective judgment and collective punishment--
SHAKIR: No, the judgment made against--
CARLSON: --yes, you are. What if (ph) other women--
SHAKIR: No, the judgment--
CARLSON: --have nothing to do with it, this woman's case--
SHAKIR: Sir, the judgment made against Kavanaugh is on the merits of the issues against Kavanaugh. He has not been honest and forthright. Tucker, I believe this that had he come forward and said "Listen, all of us were young at some point in life. We did something that we--
CARLSON: OK. OK. Now, you're getting -- now you're just getting in defense. Let me -- let me ask you, OK -- let me, OK, OK, let me ask you something--
SHAKIR: --that we were bad (ph). He would -- he would have won (ph) votes here with integrity (ph) but he denied. He denied it.
CARLSON: --that I've wanted to ask you for a long time. The ACLU is the reason that the First Amendment was defined in the Clarence Brandenburg versus Ohio case of 1967. He was a Klansman. And you guys defended his right to speak and that's why I have the right to say what I think is true.
SHAKIR: Yes, sir.
CARLSON: The ACLU has now decided they're not going to defend anybody they disagree with.
SHAKIR: No sir, I think we have -- we are defending right now the NRA, we're defending Milo, we're defending--
CARLSON: Do you want me to read the quote to you?
SHAKIR: --we're defending, if you remember, the Charlottesville case. There have been (ph)--
CARLSON: No, you said, no but hold on -- do you want me to read the quote?
SHAKIR: --name -- name another group that out there, Tucker--
CARLSON: I'll tell you. We can refuse cases defending -- hold on--
SHAKIR: --than more often doings (ph) with people on different ideological spectrums--
CARLSON: --any -- no--
SHAKIR: --than the ACLU. Show me, tell me another group--
CARLSON: --this is your new standard. 9 2000 (ph)--
SHAKIR: --that more than the ACLU who defends--
CARLSON: --OK, are you trying to shout me down because you know that the--
SHAKIR: --sir, I'm trying to defend my principles here--
CARLSON: --no, no, no, let me read the memo--
SHAKIR: --the principles of the organization.
CARLSON: --from the -- your group. We're not going to assist in cases that may advance the goals of White supremacists or others whose views are contrary to our values. If you're not defending people who are unpopular who you disagree with, why do you still exist?
SHAKIR: We absolutely defend the people. We are doing it sir right now. If you look at the--
CARLSON: Yes, you're hired (ph). You should be ashamed.
SHAKIR: --if you looked at a case in New York where we're defending the NRA (ph)--
CARLSON: Yes, right, you are little (ph) yes.
SHAKIR: --if you looked at the (ph) case, we're defending Milo. I mean--
CARLSON: How about someone who's really unpopular? You made this country better. Now you're making it worse because you abandoned your principles--
SHAKIR: But (ph)--
CARLSON: --and you should be ashamed of yourself and I mean--
SHAKIR: --Tucker (ph)--
CARLSON: --that with total sincerity. Thank you.
SHAKIR: Tucker, that's total -- that's totally unfair, of course (ph).
CARLSON: No, it's not, it's totally true.
The Left has tried to fire up women against Brett Kavanaugh. You just heard it. That could be backfiring. Conservative women are paying attention to and some of them are every bit as mad. Tammy Bruce joins us to discuss that next.
Plus, the President's still speaking in Rochester, Minnesota. We'll go there if he starts making news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Now you have a president who is standing up for America more than ever before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH ANN WARREN, SENIOR UNITED STATES SENATOR, MASSACHUSETTS: Hello Resistance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes (ph).
WARREN: Brett Kavanaugh is disqualified.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
WARREN: This is about hijacking our democracy.
Let's be clear about this. I am angry. I own it.
LINDA SARSOUR, AMERICAN POLITICAL ACTIVIST, FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ARAB AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK: Stay focused. Stay focused.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whose court?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our court.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whose court?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our court.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whose court?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our court.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whose court?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our court.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was angry. He's partisan. I feel that he's unfit to serve. And I also am concerned about alcoholism.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a despicable human being and he's a liar and he thinks he's entitled to this position.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: You heard that right. A group led by Linda Sarsour is concerned that Brett Kavanaugh doesn't have the right temperament. Our producer Alex Pfeiffer and a camera crew went down to D.C. They braved all that to bring those pictures to you. That was a mob pressuring senators to unquestioningly believe the allegations against Judge Kavanaugh.
Meanwhile, the author of The Vagina Monologues, which you haven't seen, probably shouldn't, lashing out at women of a certain skin color who support Brett Kavanaugh for some reason. In an open letter published by Time magazine, Eve Ensler suggests that White women who backed Kavanaugh are deliberately supporting violent abusive behavior.
"I don't think you want to apologize to your daughters 40 years from now. Stop the ascension of a man who is angry, aggressive, and vengeful, and could very well be a sexual assaulter. Time is short. Call your senators. Stop laughing and stop -- start fighting."
Tammy Bruce is a radio show host, President of the Independent Women's Voice. She's been watching all of this very carefully. She joins us tonight. Tammy, what's your assessment?
TAMMY BRUCE, INDEPENDENT WOMEN'S VOICE: Look, we're seeing something I think that's actually been pretty predictable. Hillary said at one point that women voted for Trump because their husbands told them to. Do you remember that--
CARLSON: I do. Very well.
BRUCE: --big controversy, because she was relying on women's vote to elect her as president. And the majority of White women, as -- as the polls tend to categorize people, voted for Donald Trump.
So, in her explanation was it's because those particular women clearly are zombies, right? They have no mind of their own. And maybe they're the walking dead, I don't know, but they certainly don't have personal agency. That was her message.
And I contend with all of this. And I know you've been covering the issue about why has a race been interjected into this. I contend this that, in fact, now the Democrats have decided that they've got to figure out a way to divide even the households to make women think that the men in their lives are the enemy.
And so, if whether it is your husband or your son or your brother or your dad that in fact men, White men in particular, because the White women's vote was the issue, are -- are people you cannot trust. Now, of course that's--
CARLSON: But actually (ph) that's a high cost. Convincing people--
BRUCE: Well--
CARLSON: --their loved ones are their enemies, I mean--
BRUCE: --well and of course it will fail. I mean this is clearly a deluded framework. They will not be successful.
But it tells you the nature of who we're dealing with here. And it's a des -- it's also desperation. So, it explains both of those approaches, and I think that what we're also seeing, of course, with the polls now that the enthusiasm, of course, is soaring amongst the GOP.
I believe with the Republican women it's gone up, I think, like 14 points. It's been a remarkable surge amongst people who thought everything was going to be OK, but this has been a reminder about what the Left really is about and what the Democrats have become.
And frankly, look, when it comes to women who've been sexually assaulted, women either have had an experience or know someone who has, we all understand that. And this kind of patronizing, like from Eve Ensler, telling women about what they should do, we know what our lives have been.
We know what we require. And we require a justice system that is fair. And we require due process. We do want to be taken seriously but the only way we will be taken seriously is if the system can be trusted.
And how dare they lecture every other woman whether you be a liberal or not? And let me tell you also, it's -- it's you -- with the polls with the Liberals, Liberal women, just like during the presidential race, there is such anger and rage on the Left. It is not safe to be honest about what you think of this situation.
CARLSON: Yes.
BRUCE: And so when you -- we see the enthusiasm going up for the -- for the Republicans and you see kind of a -- a static framework for the Democrats, I contend that the mid-terms, women on both sides of the aisle, Liberal or Conservative, we know that the majority -- 75 to 80 percent of Americans did not like what Dianne Feinstein did.
They consider it a national disgrace. And -- and they're going to vent that anger in the mid-terms, both Liberal and Conservative women because this issue is non-partisan, and they're going to find out what that means in November.
CARLSON: It certainly shouldn't be partisan.
BRUCE: It should not be.
CARLSON: Tammy, thank you. You always take it a level beneath what's obvious.
BRUCE: Thank you.
CARLSON: And I appreciate that. Thank you.
BRUCE: Appreciate -- appreciate the opportunity.
CARLSON: Time for Final Exam. Believe it or not, there were stories in the past week that did not involve a confirmation hearing. Do you remember any of them? And for that matter did Greg Gutfeld or Judge Jeanine Pirro remember any of them? They're facing off against each other after the break.
And, of course, Trump rally's still in progress, Rochester, Minnesota. We're following it. We'll bring it to you if news emerges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: --we are taking back our country returning power to the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: Time now for Final Exam where we pit the news professionals against one another to see who's been paying closest attention. Tonight, really the match-up of the century. The topics, while it may be hard to believe, but there were news stories this past week that had nothing to do with judicial confirmations. Did anyone notice them? We're about to find out.
Joining us, Greg Gutfeld, host of "The Greg Gutfeld Show," star of "The Five," Judge Jeanine Pirro, host of "Justice with Judge Jeanine." OK, you both know the rules as avid weekly viewers of this game.
But I'm going to repeat them for our viewers just turning in. Contestants' hand -- hands on buzzers. I ask the questions. The first one of you to buzz in gets to answer the question. This is the tough one. You must wait until I finish asking in order to answer the question.
JEANINE FERRIS PIRRO, FOX NEWS: Oh.
CARLSON: Once I acknowledge you by saying your name each correct answer's worth one point.
PIRRO: OK.
CARLSON: Get it wrong, you lose a point Judge.
GREG GUTFELD, FOX NEWS: She's nervous (ph) she's so nervous.
CARLSON: All right, OK (ph), let's calm down the Judge.
PIRRO: I am nervous.
CARLSON: All right.
PIRRO: OK.
CARLSON: Here we go.
PIRRO: OK.
CARLSON: First one. The most famous face at the Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Debate this week was the moderator. The candidates were questioned by which longtime TV game show host? Judge Jeanine Pirro.
PIRRO: Alex Trebek.
CARLSON: No, really?
GUTFELD: Yes.
PIRRO: No?
GUTFELD: She's right.
CARLSON: Let's roll (ph) the tape?
GUTFELD: She's right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alex Trebek, the host of Jeopardy!, moderated the one- on-one debate between (ph) the two candidates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PIRRO: Oh, high-five. Oh, you're not on my team.
GUTFELD: Oh (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX TREBEK, HOST, JEOPARDY!: I will not tolerate any booing, or hissing--
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: You got -- he got thrown out.
PIRRO: Yes, and he made fun of the Catholic Church.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TREBEK: --not even if you direct it (ph) at the candidates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: He tossed (ph).
CARLSON: Well he tried the bad guy (ph). Wrong game. All right, good job Judge--
PIRRO: No, no, Scott Wagner's running for governor in Pennsylvania.
CARLSON: You are (ph) exactly.
PIRRO: I know him.
CARLSON: Question two. Which world leader is featured in a popular new calendar that shows him riding a horse, cuddling a leopard, and posing shirtless with a fish? Greg Gutfeld?
GUTFELD: Putin.
CARLSON: Putin?
GUTFELD: Putin--
CARLSON: Why are we (ph) supposed to be against Putin anyway, let's find out if you're right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's Putin with a pup, Putin with a cub, Putin on a horse in winter, and even colder, Putin taking the epiphany dip in ice water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If a foreigner buys this calendar they will definitely have a good impression of our president and they'll see that he can do it all. He loves animals. He can shoot. He looks good and loves sport.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: Yes (ph).
CARLSON: I -- I -- I detect a kind of sarcastic tone in that report.
GUTFELD: I know. I think it's very -- it's very raw (ph) Make Vlad Great Again, I say.
CARLSON: Yes. I mean I'm not--
PIRRO: Yes. He's good-looking.
CARLSON: --I'm not against epiphany dips. All right, question three. This is a multiple choice. Rapper Kanye West is Washington's newest diplomat. He says he wants to arrange a sit-down meeting between Donald Trump and someone the President has long feuded with. Who is that person? Is it A--
PIRRO: Wait.
GUTFELD: What?
PIRRO: He didn't finish.
CARLSON: Multiple choice--
GUTFELD: I thought -- I didn't know. You didn't say multiple choice.
CARLSON: Multiple choice, yes, I did. Yes, I did.
GUTFELD: All right, all right (ph)--
CARLSON: It's OK. Everyone's all right.
GUTFELD: OK.
CARLSON: Let me give you (ph) the multiple choice.
PIRRO: OK.
CARLSON: You got three choices.
GUTFELD: When is the question over (ph)?
GUTFELD: I already know the answer. I know the answer.
CARLSON: The question is over (ph)--
PIRRO: He didn't know the (ph)--
CARLSON: Hold on now. Hold on, this is why--
PIRRO: This isn't fair.
CARLSON: All right (ph), I'm saying well (ph) this is what you'd want (ph) anchors on this show.
GUTFELD: All right.
PIRRO: It's not (ph)--
GUTFELD: All right, all right, all right (ph)--
PIRRO: OK. All right, go ahead.
CARLSON: OK. The question goes to Jeanine Pirro first, according to our judges, because Mr. Gutfeld violated the -- the cardinal rules of the game.
PIRRO: Na na na na na na (ph). You want the answer?
CARLSON: Yes, well (ph) you got three choices. Robert De Niro, Colin Kaepernick, or Rosie O'Donnell?
PIRRO: Colin Kaepernick.
CARLSON: You really think so?
PIRRO: Yes.
CARLSON: All right, let's see.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KANYE OMARI WEST, AMERICAN RAPPER, SINGER, SONGWRITER, RECORD PRODUCER, ENTREPRENEUR FASHION DESIGNER: I've been calling Colin this morning, reaching him, so I can bring Colin to the White House and we can remove that sons of bitches' (ph) statement and we can be on the same page.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: So you said before the show you thought you would do badly because you--
GUTFELD: You're up.
CARLSON: --only follow legal news but that's not true.
PIRRO: No, I follow news when I'm -- when I'm awake.
GUTFELD: Yes.
CARLSON: When you're awake, well, all right--
PIRRO: All right.
CARLSON: --let's see if you can get this one. Question four.
GUTFELD: All right.
CARLSON: The Prime Minister of Great Britain, Theresa May--
GUTFELD: Duh (ph).
CARLSON: --made headlines around the world when she started an important speech with an awkward dance. She was dancing like a robot to a 1970s disco song by a Swedish pop band. Which song was it? You are just jumping the gun every time. Judges, what do you think?
To Greg Gutfeld.
GUTFELD: Oh, I would say it's ABBA. Do you need the name of the song?
CARLSON: Yes, I do.
GUTFELD: Dancing Queen?
PIRRO: Dancing Queen.
CARLSON: You're so honest. Is it Dancing Queen by ABBA?
PIRRO: ABBA.
GUTFELD: ABBA. ABBA.
GUTFELD: We just had that on our (ph) show.
PIRRO: Yes, I bet that I (ph) do.
CARLSON: You know what, I just feel so strongly for board (ph) dancing now, I can't control them (ph)--
GUTFELD: I run the chair (ph). You used to (ph) ride the bike when I--
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: He would never do that (ph).
GUTFELD: No.
CARLSON: He may have never trained the children (ph) but he never danced (ph) he is crazy (ph).
PIRRO: She's (ph) dancing anyway.
CARLSON: All right, we are--
GUTFELD: Tiebreaker. Tiebreaker.
CARLSON: --we are two-two. We are two-two. The contestants--
GUTFELD: I wear (ph) one.
CARLSON: --having stayed (ph) within the lines (ph) final question, we'll see if you can (ph) you ready?
PIRRO: This isn't fair (ph).
CARLSON: Here in New York City, researchers are about to begin work on a new census. This time, they're not counting people, however. They're focusing on a small furry creature in Central Park. What kind of animal is it?
PIRRO: No, are they counting? I was waiting, you know--
GUTFELD: She's reading the teleprompter.
PIRRO: --I'm reading the script. I wasn't going to hit (ph) until you finished the answer--
GUTFELD: She's reading the tele--
PIRRO: --you got to read the script.
GUTFELD: She's reading the teleprompter.
CARLSON: You are not allowed to read--
PIRRO: No. But (ph) it's right there.
CARLSON: --the teleprompter.
PIRRO: Yes, I am. It's right in front of--
GUTFELD: I win by default.
PIRRO: --no. There's nothing wrong with--
GUTFELD: You know what, you know what, I don't think you qualify to be (ph)--
PIRRO: --reading the (ph) question. There's no answer. No, there's no answer.
CARLSON: Wait, wait a second, wait a second (ph), wait a second (ph), I'm going back to something I said earlier which is--
PIRRO: Wait, you didn't (ph)--
CARLSON: --when you have cable news anchors on your show--
PIRRO: Wait a minute--
CARLSON: --as an (ph) anchor, things tend to fall apart.
PIRRO: --he didn't finish the question.
GUTFELD: We need the FBI--
PIRRO: I'm reading along with the question (ph)--
CARLSON: OK. Let me -- let me -- let me just check with--
PIRRO: No, you didn't (ph)--
GUTFELD: We need the FBI--
CARLSON: --the judges really quick.
PIRRO: Huh?
GUTFELD: You (ph) need the FBI.
PIRRO: I need an investigation.
CARLSON: The judges say the host of the program is allowed to adlib on his own scripts, I think that's -- that's--
PIRRO: I know (ph) the answer.
GUTFELD: She's reading it.
CARLSON: --I can go round it (ph). So, Greg Gutfeld, what is--
PIRRO: This is not fair. You can read it. It's right there, Greg.
CARLSON: --what is the answer to this (ph)--
GUTFELD: I'm going to say squirrels.
PIRRO: It is squirrels.
CARLSON: It is squirrels. You know it. But you answered it. Is it -- why would it not be rats? Is it squirrels?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: New York City is about to conduct its first official squirrel census next week. Volunteers are needed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: This is literally the most contentious show we've ever had.
GUTFELD: Yes, but I won.
CARLSON: It's unbelievable. OK.
PIRRO: But it's not fair.
CARLSON: Let me--
GUTFELD: I won three to two.
PIRRO: Because I wouldn't (ph) go along with you (ph).
CARLSON: OK. I'm -- we're going to give lunch (ph) we're going to give one to you two later. We don't have it yet (ph)--
PIRRO: I don't want it.
CARLSON: --yes, you do.
PIRRO: I don't want it.
GUTFELD: Oh, an Erik Wemple mug?
CARLSON: This is an Erik Wemple mug. Now, for our viewers, I just want to make a correction. We've described him night after night as a Washington Post writer. Turns out he's not.
He works for a website, I guess, connected to the Post in some way owned by Jeff Bezos. If you don't know who he is, we have video. This is Erik Wemple or Wemple (ph) or whatever, the guy on the mug. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIK WEMPLE, U.S. JOURNALIST: B'nai Mitzvah in Jewish weddings. What a publication?
How did they do all this great content for free? Oh! Oh ho!
It's got all these great tips on choosing the caterer and guess what (ph)--
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: Where did you find this (ph)?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WEMPLE: --the author of this story is a caterer.
We check. They give out (ph) happy hours specials as Fuego (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: What?
CARLSON: Now, if you can't get enough of that, we got more on our Facebook page. I strongly recommend it. In the meantime--
GUTFELD: Where did you find that?
CARLSON: --all right (ph), you know, we have a crack (ph) research time. He's going to be on your coffee mug from hereon now (ph) there he is. Eric Wemple from the Washington Post-affiliated website.
GUTFELD: Every morning I'm going to wake up to him.
CARLSON: There you go. And Judge Jeanine--
GUTFELD: You're so jealous (ph).
CARLSON: --one for you is on the way.
PIRRO: I don't want it.
CARLSON: Yes, but you--
PIRRO: I don't want it.
GUTFELD: So jealous.
CARLSON: --you're going to want it when you get it.
PIRRO: No, you left (ph) every question. Remember you said that you have the A, B, C.
CARLSON: This is un -- this is -- this is the most unbelievable (ph)--
GUTFELD: I have won again. Wants the first sum (ph)--
CARLSON: We will be right back.
PIRRO: Congratulations Greg.
CARLSON: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez looking like she might be the face of the 2018 election. She's lost that status to Brett Kavanaugh temporarily, but she's still having a pretty good week.
President Obama just endorsed her, which is kind of amazing. President Obama is endorsing somebody who views his presidency as a disappointment, an embarrassment, something that needs to be replaced by something far more extreme.
Ocasio-Cortez wants Obamacare replaced by Universal Healthcare, Medicare- for-all. She wants to abolish ICE rather than just handcuff it as Obama did. Obama sucked up hard to Wall Street and they repaid him with lots of cash.
Ocasio-Cortez wants full-blown socialism. Obama's endorsement shows just how much the party has changed since he left office. Ocasio-Cortez didn't pause to savor the irony though. She said in a recent speech, she looks forward to being inaugurated in 2018.
Members of Congress, of course, are not inaugurated. They're sworn in but she may have her eyes on something bigger. We'll see.
So we did a segment tonight on the ACLU and spoke with their political director. I'm embarrassed to say I lost my temper in the middle of it. Why did I do that? Because I spent a year thinking about the ACLU and their role in defending free speech, a liberal organization that defended the least popular members of our society for almost a 100 years.
They no longer do. They're part of the mob trying to take your free speech away. You're now the most unpopular segment of our society, and the ACLU thinks you should shut up. That's a huge change. And it's a metaphor for how the Left has changed and now represents the things it once hated.
I've explained it in much greater detail in the book and you can read it.
By the way, you may have noticed, we unearthed some videos as a -- of a man who same -- claims to be a Washington Post reporter. He actually works at a website sort of owned by the Post.
Erik Wemple or Wemple (ph) -- there's some debate over his name -- if you're interested in seeing more, they're on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Facebook page. We'll hope you'll check them out. See you tomorrow. Sean Hannity, next.
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