Biden tells town hall not all minorities 'know how to get online'
FOX News contributor Raymond Arroyo joins Laura Ingraham for another edition of 'Friday Follies'
This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," February 19, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: I am Laura Ingraham. And this is The Ingraham Angle from Washington on this Friday night. For months this show has said what others were afraid to say. Lockdowns do more harm than good and herd immunity is within reach. And now more medical officials are suddenly coming around to our position. Remember, they vilified us for it. But my question is why did it take them so long?
Well, tonight we're going to talk to two renowned epidemiologists behind what is known as The Great Barrington Declaration. And anti-lockdown missed it that drew the ire of Dr. Anthony Fauci. Well, they say the reputations of many are going to be chattered when the history is finally written on this era of COVID. And speaking of Dr. Fauci what does he have to do with modern dating? Raymond Arroyo explains that in Friday follies. But first, why this day matters? That's the focus of tonight's angle.
If you're like me, you probably every now and then think back on what things were like just one year ago. Think of how many things have changed in the past year. A year ago, we had a booming economy. We had strong borders. And a whole host of rights and privileges that we took for granted, like the right to travel without being surveilled and questioned. The right to worship without restrictions, the right to have your kids attends school, the right to speak freely on most social media platforms, the right to walk in the park or anywhere without a mask or two or three on your face.
The right to visit loved ones in hospitals and nursing homes. But the arrival of the Chinese virus followed by the idiotic lockdown policies of Blue State Governors and then, of course, the defeats of Donald Trump led to a less free, less prosperous, less optimistic America and listening to Joe Biden speaking today in Michigan you couldn't help but think that Biden and Fauci are going to keep us under their thumbs for as long as possible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Try to explain to the American people that this is a process, social distancing saves lives. We're in masks saves lives. We'll be approaching normalcy by the end of this year and god willing, this Christmas will be different than last. But we're doing everything the science has indicated we should do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: No. No, Mr. President, you are not. The science showed us almost 10 months ago that schools should never have closed. But now Biden says schools still can't open because of things like we need more bus drivers so the kids can socially distance. By the way, you all need new HVAC systems whether you want them or not. There is always going to be a reason to keep things closed, to keep you leaving with less freedom. Viral mutations, variants, a new strain from Africa but the virus and the data, the real science, they are not cooperating with the control freaks.
Now, look at these charts, the number of infections, hospitalizations. The numbers of deaths due to COVID are plummeting. Smart Americans see this. And contrary to what the CDC Director said this week, our citizens aren't just suffering from COVID fatigue. It's more than that. They are seeing the truth slowly emerge about how Biden and company are plotting to forever change America and use the virus to do it. For one agonizing month into the Biden administration and things are already starting to go south for them. On foreign policy, remember, he pledged to turn the page from Trump's get tough approach from China by working with our so-called European allies. Well, he delivered an uninspiring cliche-ridden snoozer of a speech virtually at the G-7 today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: The transatlantic alliance is back. And we're not looking backward. We're looking forward, working in lock step with our allies and partners. So let me erase any lingering doubt. The United States is determined, determined to reengage with Europe, to consult with you, to earn back our position of trust and leadership.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: I'm sorry did we put you to sleep? Wake up, now. But of course, what America gravels is that essentially was, no one cares what we say, America has already started cutting separate deal with Beijing as Politico just noted. The new administration may be ready to embrace multilateralism, but allies and partners aren't so quick to jump in bed with Washington.
European leaders in particular aren't yet sold on meeting with Biden administration's expectations on China, Russia, and trade. Nice going, Joe. Well, under Biden, powerful U.S. industries and institutions went back to their pre-Trump love fest with China. We've already seen this happening and the President himself let slip this week what he really thinks about the CCP's most egregious human rights abuses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Culturally there are different norms in each country and their leaders are expected to follow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Cultural norms, differences. Subjugation of the weak, cultural norms but that's OK because while China dominates under Biden will continue to waste untold billions defending other nation's borders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I've ordered the halting and withdrawal of American troops from Germany. I'm also lifting a cap imposed by the previous administration on the number of U.S. forces able to be based in Germany.
LLOYD AUSTIN, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The United States will not undertake a hasty or disorderly withdrawal from Afghanistan. That puts their forces or the alliance's reputation at risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: The alliance's reputation, after, what, 18 or 19 years? By the way, where is the squad? I thought they were anti-war. What complete sellouts they are. And the domestic policy front, it's not just the Biden administration's pro union anti-science approach to schools that's turning people off. It's that they are compounding our economic problems by adding new illegal immigrants to the mix. And not just pushing for amnesty for upwards of, what, 29 million illegal no 11 million already here but now they are going to import thousands who were already deported, back into the country under Trump.
That is a complete scandal and a terrible weather conditions, oh boy, that have hit Texas. It's heartbreaking. They reminded us how crucial the oil and gas industry is to our country and what a total catastrophe Biden's green new deal would be to us. In fact, when it actually came to getting the power back on in Texas and saving lives, Biden didn't send solar panels. He sent diesel generators, fossil fuels to the rescue. You bet.
Now, I'm cataloging all of these early Biden policy disasters not to depress you but to inspire you. It may not seem like it but on the issues that matter things are starting to move in our direction. We're already beginning to see that Biden's policies don't work and they won't work. We need to look beyond Washington. And don't forget by the way, there are enormous amount of power still resides with state legislatures and governors. As "The Washington Post" reminds us that's where the Republicans now enjoy unmatched power.
And don't forget, that President Obama, remember, he was a hell of a lot more charismatic and far better politician than Joe Biden would ever be but early in his first term, conservatives and independents rose up and they regained control of their government one branch at a time. First, remember the house in 2010, and then the senate in 2014, and finally, the White House, in 016. All that it took to create the tea party to get it going was a spark, and in this case that spark happened 12 years ago today when a CNBC Correspondent decided on air to take a stand against Obama's radical agenda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTELLI, ON AIR EDITOR: This is America. How many of you people want to pay for your neighbor's mortgage that has an extra bathroom and can't pay their bills? Raise their hand. President Obama, are you listening?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: President Biden, are you listening? And that's The Angle. Joining me now, Mollie Hemingway Senior Editor at The Federalist, Ari Fleischer Former White House Press Secretary both are Fox News Contributors. Also Lara Logan Investigated Journalist Host of Fox Nation. Lara Logan has no agenda. Mollie, a year, a lot has changed. We're weaker, as far as the economy. China is more on the rise than it was before. And a lot of people are demoralized, but do you sense that things are changing, that people's eyes are slowly being opened?
MOLLIE HEMINGWAY SENIOR EDITOR, "THE FEDERALIST": What's interesting is when you look at the 2020 campaign, so many of these issues were not fully discussed because of the way that our media handled the debates or handled the discussion of what were the issues.
So a lot of people didn't realize perhaps that Joe Biden would have this America not first foreign policy or that his families close encrypt business ties to China might affect how he handle things there. This was a close election. He promised unity afterwards and he's done anything but.
And so I think people are kind of seeing the opportunities here for where to push back and what to do in the phase of some really dangerous and disunifying policy proposals.
INGRAHAM: And already Biden spoke out about China and trade and issues of the climate change in his speech today watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Competition with China is going to be stiff. That's what I expect. And that's what I welcome. Because I believe in the global system, Europe and the United States, together, with our allies, and they end up specific worked so hard to build over the last 70 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: All right. The global system that Biden is praising, is in part, what allowed China to become the dominant power in the first place that it is.
ARI FLEISCHER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: And the problem with the global system is very often what happens is America gets bogged down by it. You really need a powerful leader to bring the rest of the world on-board. Instead what happens is, they say let's not do that. You push China too far if you do that we don't like your tariffs. Withdraw your tariffs and then the American President if he wants to keep the coalition together has to buckle down. And that's Joe Biden history on a foreign policy.
You know when it comes to unity Joe Biden said in his inaugural address that his whole soul is it in and as we've seen by the way he governs, his executive orders and the partisan path with the largest spending bill in history it looks like half his soul is in it. Half is soul is out of it and Kamala Harris has a tie breaking vote on his soul. I don't know what he means when he says his entire soul is in unity. Doesn't seem to be.
INGRAHAM: Lara, Biden has also celebrated our officially rejoining the Paris climate agreement. Today he did this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: As of today the United States is officially once again a party to the Paris agreement. We have to rapidly accelerate our commitments to aggressively curb our emissions. Our host is to lead the summit to help drive a more ambitious action among the top emitters including domestic climate action here in the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Looks like a Hall of President, he didn't move at all during that speech. Lara, this seems like a Biden has just signaling not just the end of, of course, our energy independence, but American sovereignty?
LARA LOGAN, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: You know, Laura, it's really the most curious thing because they are not even hiding it anymore. It's global, global, global, globalist, climate change has to have a global solution. China, you mentioned, how can you rejoin the Paris accord and be competitive with China when the Paris accord gives China a free pass at your own expense, by the way? And what's happened here is, you know, the media and political operatives who were inserting these false narratives into the media and using the media, so much of the media is an instrument of their political operations.
They - what they didn't want anyone to face was that this all began because of globalism. People in this country were tired of the fact that they were lied to. That we were sold globalism is going to make everyone's lives better but no one said it would shut down entire American towns, and impoverish American workers and that our national security would be so drastically compromised because we gave China complete and utter control over our manufacturing capabilities, and let them steal all of our secrets, our trade secrets, our practices. I mean, the list goes on and on and on. And you know it well.
This program has really been at the forefront of exposing this but what's extraordinary is that Biden is not even hiding it. And by the way why is he at the State Department so much? I mean why haven't we seen him more at the White House? Is quite, you know for someone who had an office of the President-Elect right, which was a grant theatrical performance, since such a thing doesn't really exist, why isn't he do more White House Presidential kind of things? And it really speaks volumes to how he's governing, and they are not going to be able to hold a lid on this because millions and millions of people in this country see it for what it is.
You're right. They do see it for what it is. People are waking up to this and they are not just going to take it lying down, and that's, you know, that's the nerve racking part because they already know that. Is that why we domestic terror legislation before Congress right now. Is that why they are preparing to take away your gun rights? Is that why they have opened up the borders, bypassed the illegal immigration system decriminalized crossing this border. I mean do you know who they are letting in? They let in a Yemeni terrorist were stopped, so just recently they want to meet that if you're on record. I confirmed it with two different sources.
INGRAHAM: Now, Mollie I think, Lara is on to something. I know Ari and you have discussed this before but the way things are lining up, seems like they know that the public is going to say no to what they are doing at some point. We're done with. This we're done with the barb wire, the razor wire around the Capitol.
We're done with our kids not being in school, we're done with these COVID restrictions. We are done. Because the virus is almost gone, OK and we're done. I think this domestic terror tag that they are using for pretty much anyone who disagrees with their policies, white supremacy, domestic terrorist, that's like the new patriot act focused on us, the American people.
HEMINGWAY: It is.
INGRAHAM: Feeling like that.
HEMINGWAY: That's absolutely what it is. It's criminalizing all political opposition to the left. One of the things that was global about recent years was that there were populist uprisings throughout the globe. And a lot of the response to that was not for the elite to think about why are these people so dissatisfied with how we run things? Why are they recognizing all this corruption, whether it's in crony capitalism or how we've handled immigration or how we've hand foreign wars, how can we improve our management of these things?
Instead they are thinking how can we lockdown and make sure we have control over and against these people? It's precisely the wrong reaction you should have if you want to have a continuation of a peaceful republic but it's what they are doing, and I do think it's because they understand it was a very narrowly won election, not just in the presidency but in the house in the senate as well. So they know they have this very tenuous hold and they want to do what they can to cement that they've already got control over so many institutions, media, the academy and they want to make sure that they weaponized that in the politic control for the time in the future as much as they can.
INGRAHAM: Right. So everything is white supremacist. If you disagree with Biden, white supremacy, if you disagree with the agenda remember the proud boys of KKK whatever they want to say. And Ari, your old friend--
HEMINGWAY: Even if you're not white.
INGRAHAM: Right. Even if - that's right. Exactly, even if you have to be of color. Now, Ari Carville, James Carville gave a very objective analysis about Biden's first month in office. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Honestly, I would love this, big sort of Mollie product or talking with new president starting - I really can't think of anything so far. He's doing extraordinarily well in his demand and his policies and everything he's done so far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: All right. Nothing, school reopening, illegal immigrants pouring across the border, China poised to dominate and everything from rare earth to rare earth materials to major other construction projects. Nothing, no criticism?
FLEISCHER: James obviously doesn't work on the keystone pipeline. I mean his very first action was to put 11,000 workers out of jobs as he carries out an ideological energy agenda. When it comes to the minimum wage, he's trying to jack it up to such a high rate that teenagers who get the minimum wage under Biden, who have part-time jobs, would be getting the equivalent of $30,000 a year?
I mean, that's a job killer. You can see iPads in restaurants instead of people. And this is really where I think wages and jobs is always what elections come down to. And this is Biden's greatest vulnerability going to an election. And what he's doing on the job front, Laura, really does start bother me. And his increase of regulation particularly again on energy policies, he wants to make sure that all American energy by 2035, in 15 years, comes from renewable. Think about what happened in Texas this week, right. If everything, all electricity had to come from renewable? The lights would still be out in Texas.
INGRAHAM: Yes. As The Angle just said, this is - it would be a disaster for America. Complete disaster but they want us to travel less, have less have less prosperity. That way they can control the people, far more easily. Panel, great conversation for a Friday night. Thank you so much. And the current realities of the pandemic make something crystal clear. When the full story of COVID is written, the conventional wisdom about which experts got it right is going to be destroyed.
In moments, we talk to two renowned epidemiologists who were not just ahead of the curve but were slandered and defamed for speaking out. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We should hope that within a week, maybe a little bit more, we'll start to see a flattening out of the curve and coming down. I fully expect that by the time we get to the fall that we'll have this under control.
DR. WILLIAM HASELTINE, VACCINE SCIENTIST: If people are aware and do reasonable things, we can get back to a normal economy, a pretty normal economy.
DR. LENA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I hope that we'll get back to some sort of normal by mid-to-late 2021.
FAUCI: I think it will be easily by the end of 2021, and perhaps even into the next year before we start having some semblances of normality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: 2022? Oh, midterm elections. OK. Mail-in voting. How about this spring? A new Op-ed in the Wall Street Journal by Johns Hopkins University, doctor's smacks back at the narrative of 2022, saying national immunity from prior infection is far more common that can be measured by testing. At the current trajectory except COVID will be mostly gone by April, allowing Americans to resume normal life.
This program has led on the issue of herd immunity. We've been talking about it for months. Back in October we were the first to showcase the renowned epidemiologist behind The Great Barrington Declaration which cautioned against lockdowns and predicted that herd immunity was within reach but the "media-medical cartel" did not take kindly to that. In fact for simply pointing this out this show was referred to as a "death cult." And Dr. Fauci responded this way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: Quite frankly, that is nonsense. And anybody who knows anything about epidemiology will tell you that that is nonsense, and very dangerous, because what will happen is that if you do, by the time you get to herd immunity, you'll have killed a lot of people that would have been avoidable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Forget about the people who died because of the lockdown. The truth always prevails and tonight the Great Barrington scientists are here to respond. Joining me now is Dr. Jay Bhattacharya Stanford University Epidemiology Professor and Dr. Martin Kulldorff, Harvard Medical School Epidemiology Professor and Biostatistician. Dr. Bhattacharya why did it take so long for scientists to come along to the conclusion that acquired immunity or natural immunity was going to be upon us sooner than all of their predictions, especially with Fauci saying we need 80 percent to 90 percent herd immunity?
JAY BHATTACHARYA, STANFORD EPIDEMIOLOGY PROFESSOR: I think people overestimated the ability of these lockdowns to do any good whatsoever. They thought about these lockdowns as keeping people apart like in cages from one another. In fact, that's not the actual experience of lockdowns. Even though we've adopted these lockdowns, the cases have spread pretty widely.
I think that they overestimated these lockdowns and they underestimated very strangely that once you're infected you do produce immunity. The other thing is that the development of the vaccine has started to help I think with the development of immunity in the population. I mean it was just a mistake on the part of the scientific community and Dr. Fauci to - in thinking about these lockdowns, and I think it's produced devastating effects.
INGRAHAM: I mean - I'm not an epidemiologist. I'm not an immunologist. I didn't go to medical school. But I think I read more medical journals and more medical articles and talk to more experts over the past 10, I wish I had gone to med school, it's so fascinating. But I mean, Fauci is not a dumb person.
He's a really smart guy there are loot of smart people who are saying things that just didn't add up you look at immunity in general, whether it's t-cell immunity or b-cell immunity acquired immunity and now with the help of some vaccines, I find it very odd, maybe I'm not as charitable about the motivations here, but I find the whole thing very, very strange.
DR. MARTIN KULLDORFF, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL PROFESSOR: Yes. It's kind of stunning because if we look at the history of epidemics and pandemics, they end with herd immunity. And that is the same as now this pandemic is ending with herd immunity as a combination of natural immunity from natural infection and from vaccines. So that's what we knew it would happen and that's what's happening.
INGRAHAM: And that means when the concern, Dr. Bhattacharya about viral variants, which is what is being brought up, and no good news in COVID land, there is never any good news, there's always another variant around the corner, but those variants aren't shown, at least not now, to be more lethal, are they? So why is that being trotted out as anything but getting us closer to herd immunity?
BHATTACHARYA: I mean, I think there is some element of - we're so used to being scared and panicked that we kind of want it again and again, you're absolutely right. There is no evidence that these variants are more lethal. Most of the evidence suggests that if you had COVID before, you're still protected against the variants, and the vaccines are also protective to a large extent against the variants that we've seen thus far.
And to the extent that we - I mean, it's always possible that there is some variant, but it seems unlikely given what we've seen thus far. I think the tension of the Public Health Community to promote panic has been one of the biggest mistakes in this epidemic. We should be reassuring the public when we can and we should have been through this whole epidemic, I think a lot of harm that's come from the panic induced by the Public Health Community and Dr. Fauci in particular.
INGRAHAM: Dr. Kulldorff, Dr. Fauci was asked about when we could possibly get back to normal. That's a question that's asked pretty much every day. And this is what he said yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: No, wait a minute. I really want to know, when it's going to get as close to normal that you almost don't know the difference between what it was before. Maybe you're going to still have to wear masks, that likely will be, as the President said, by the end of the years, by Christmas. But Andrew, these are all estimates and so many things can happen to modify that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Dr. Kulldorff, why do they keep saying Christmas?
KULLDORFF: That doesn't make any sense because we know that COVID is seasonal, and a year ago, in February, the rate was going up, but now it's going down. So we have sort of past the peak, which means that we have a lot of immunity in the population. So and then also, the threshold needed for herd immunity is lower in the summer. So there is no reason why we shouldn't go back to normal in the spring and summer, and there is no reason -- there is no public health reasons why we shouldn't open the schools on Monday, every school in the United States.
INGRAHAM: Dr. Bhattacharya, the issue of school openings, in-person learning, I think the first time we addressed it on this program was in April of last year because we were seeing what Europe was doing, especially in France and in Germany, Sweden, where they really kept kids in school with only a few problems here and there, but they were quickly dealt with. Again, other than the point that we're squelching free speech in the medical community, or dismissing centuries old thought about immunity, the issue of the children and schools, how is history going to look back on that?
DR. JAY BHATTACHARYA, STANFORD INSTITUTE SENIOR FELLOW: We've robbed a generation of children of their birthright to have a good education for no good public health purpose. We don't have to look to Europe. Of course, you're absolutely right. We knew in April from just looking at Sweden and other countries in Europe keeping their schools open safely. We can also look to the United States. Look in Florida, where schools have been open to in-person instruction five days a week without all of the rigmarole. I completely agree with Dr. Kulldorff. We should open up our schools immediately five days a week and go back to normal. We are damaging a generation of children in ways that we cannot recover from, and there is no good moral reason to do it, no good public health reason to do it.
INGRAHAM: To that point, Dr. Kulldorff, this is how the Biden administration tried to address the obvious failure of lockdowns in the state of California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: California basically in lockdown, and their numbers aren't that different from Florida.
ANDY SLAVITT, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR COVID ADVISER: Look, there is so much of this virus that we think we understand, that we think we can predict, that's just a little bit beyond our explanation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Dr. Kulldorff, again, I'm not a doctor. You guys are the experts, but is that really beyond explanation? Aren't we seeing a controlled experiment taking place before our eyes with different state approaches, what's working, what's not?
KULLDORFF: Well, what's happening is completely predictable. Lockdowns does not work, and we have proof now that they do not work, that they do not protect old people. Unfortunately, there were a lot of people who were thinking that by doing lockdown, we would indirectly protect old people by suppressing the virus in the population. But of course, that didn't work and we knew it wasn't going to work.
But the sad thing is that because people were thinking that the lockdown would work, and protecting the older, the high-risk people, we didn't take the measures, the focused measures of protecting them through standard public health measures that could have been implemented and that should have been implemented already in March of 2020. And because we didn't take those focused protection measures of older, high-risk people, we have seen a very high death count because of that.
INGRAHAM: We punished the young and we didn't protect the elderly and the compromised.
KULLDORFF: Correct.
INGRAHAM: I want to say thank you to both of you because you have had an enormous amount of courage to speak out, and to just give the facts without politics, just the facts of COVID and the history that we know of viruses and pandemics. And it's been incredibly educational. I just want to thank both of you. Thank you so much.
BHATTACHARYA: Thank you, Laura.
KULLDORFF: Thank you.
INGRAHAM: And speaking of Dr. Fauci, what does he have to do with modern dating? What? You're not going to want to miss this. Friday Follies with Raymond Arroyo next.
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ASHLEY STROHMIER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Live from America's news headquarters, I'm Ashley Strohmier.
Six Capitol police officers suspended with pay for their actions during last month's deadly riot. One of the officers allegedly took a selfie with a rioter, 35 additional officers are under investigation. Authorities are probing social media posts and allegations that officers may have participated in the riot.
And a federal judge whose son was killed and husband critically hurt in an attack at their New Jersey home now says the gunman also targeted Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor. Justice Esther Salas told "60 Minutes" that authorities found a locker used by the killer Roy Den Hollander which contained a folder with a workup on Justice Sotomayor. Hollander, an attorney with a case before Salas, committed suicide after killing her 20- year-old son last July.
I'm Ashley Strohmier. Now back to THE INGRAHAM ANGLE. For all your headlines, log on to http://FOXnews.com.
INGRAHAM: It's Friday, and that means it's time for Friday Follies. You know it. For that we turn to author of the forthcoming book "The Thief Who Stole Heaven," FOX News contributor Raymond Arroyo. All right, Raymondo. Biden had a very, very big town hall. I know you watched it the other night there. And there were few answers that were troubling.
RAYMOND ARROYO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I'll say. And they got very little coverage, Laura. Joe Biden has a history, as you know, of saying racially insensitive things, and that tradition continued at the town hall with no objection from Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Did you ever, five years ago, think every second or third ad out of five or six you'd turned on would be biracial couples?
Not everybody in the community, in the Hispanic and the African-American community, particularly in rural areas that are distant and/or inner-city districts, know how to use -- know how to get online.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARROYO: So wait a minute, Laura. Are only lilywhite people, they have no technical challenges if they're lilywhite. It's only we Hispanics and the African-Americans who have difficulty getting online? This is the man, you'll remember during the campaign, Laura, who said go to Joe, 330330 -- he didn't know the text, and it was text 33030. When you want to bring the country together, it's best not to lead with racial divisiveness and racial identity in the forefront. It's a bad look.
INGRAHAM: And doesn't have he have anything better to do than to catalog the color coded nature of various commercials? They used to say Trump just watches T.V. Apparently Biden is the one watching TV and making a note of how many racial and biracial couples. I found that odd.
ARROYO: I agree. The racial stereotyping is not a good look on him. And the president offered one admission, Laura, that was quite startling. And I'm sure he knows where he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I get up in the morning and I look at Jill and say where the hell are we?
I didn't realize I had been in the Oval Office 100 times as vice president, or more than that, every morning for the initial meetings. But I had never been up in the residence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: What?
ARROYO: He had never been up to the private residence. Laura, you and I have been up to the private residence. So much for that Obama-Biden bromance story we keep hearing so much. Remember that narrative? Aside from ceremonial duties and "Veep" episodes, these two apparently weren't all that close. But that didn't stop former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina from getting emotional.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I teared up at that. It was amazing to Scranton Joe be honest about saying, wow, this is my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: I teared up for a different reason, thinking this man is actually running our country. I did tear up as well.
ARROYO: Unbelievable, Laura. And the White House press shop this week, they released a video answering all the tough questions Americans have. I call this, this week's Marquee Malarkey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Bunch of malarkey!
(MUSIC)
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: What is President Biden doing for my small business? First and foremost, he nominated a woman to lead the Small Business Administration who formerly walked there.
When can Major and Champ come to a press briefing? Major and Champ, this is for you. You're invited any time to the briefing room. I will have snacks and treats in there right behind the podium.
Pineapple and pizza -- that is gross. I'm not for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARROYO: No talk of the Iran nuclear deal, immigration, the business closures, school closures, suddenly the White House press secretary is like Rachael Ray on "Animal Planet." How did this happen, Laura?
INGRAHAM: Well, when is the next burger run? This is all harkening back to Obama, Michelle, never ending love affair between the press and the first couple.
Finally, I want your reaction to the latest dating craze, Raymond. It involves Dr. Love himself. Well, Dr. Doom himself, Anthony Fauci.
(LAUGHTER)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is actually a term in dating now called Fauci- ing someone. Do you know what that means?
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: No. What does it mean?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It means cutting off a relationship if you don't think that that other person is serious enough about social distancing and taking the pandemic seriously. Like, oh, I Fauci-ed that guy.
(LAUGHTER)
FAUCI: I'm going to Fauci you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARROYO: Laura, any man or woman who uses this term should be told go Fauci yourself. This is the regime of fear that has distanced people. There is like no relationships. Young people aren't talking. Old people aren't talking. This is not the way to build a future society. This regime of fear and living in fear of other people. But let me tell you, they found the right term for it.
INGRAHAM: I love how he has that momentary blush with the interviewer.
(LAUGHTER)
ARROYO: Raymond, by the way, I do know someone actually personally who did not go to a Christmas event because she was worried that people she was visiting had not taken COVID restrictions seriously enough. They had already had COVID and recovered, but they still wouldn't go visit them. Can you imagine? It's like, COVID is Christmas punishment a couple of months ago. That's what that was.
ARROYO: These are like the people, they have gotten both vaccines, double shots, and they are wearing triple masks and the page protectors and running around like that. I'm like, what are you doing? You're already vaccinated.
INGRAHAM: Raymond, great to see you tonight. Have a good weekend.
ARROYO: Have a good weekend.
INGRAHAM: And President Biden is using the anniversary of the Parkland shooting tragedy to come for your guns. But a parent who lost his daughter on that terrible day says it's the wrong move. He's here next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: President Joe Biden promised to confiscate your firearms while on the campaign trail. Now he's trying to rope Congress into his gun grab. He issued this statement on the anniversary of the Parkland school shooting, saying "For three years now the Parkland families have spent birthdays and holidays without their loved ones. I'm calling on Congress to act commonsense reforms, including requiring background checks, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers."
But will any of this really prevent another mass shooting? My next guest, the father of a Parkland victim, say no, it will not. Joining me now is Ryan Petty, who tragically lost his daughter Alaina in the Parkland Shooting. Ryan, I know this brings up all the tragedy and everything that goes along with it and your personal loss, but President Biden says, look, this is just common sense. What's your response?
RYAN PETTY, LOST DAUGHTER IN PARKLAND SHOOTING: It's anything but common sense. In fact, common sense would tell us that we don't have to give up our freedoms to be more safe and more secure. In fact, what I would ask President Biden to do is look at the reforms we've made in Florida, the things that we've done here to make our schools safer as a model for the rest of the country.
The mode of attack will change. So anything that we, quote-unquote, ban won't make us any safer. Look, I sat on the commission that investigated the tragedy that took, where my daughter was lost. And in all the recommendations that were made, we made no gun control recommendations whatsoever. In fact, we didn't find any evidence that additional gun control measures would have been helpful at all.
When you look at the tragedy, when you understand how it happened, there were warning signs that were going on for years. This was a preventable tragedy. The problem was the school district didn't talk to law enforcement, law enforcement didn't talk to the school district, and neither party talked to the mental health provider. This could have been prevented with communication and some action being taken on the part of the school district or law enforcement.
INGRAHAM: The White House press secretary addressed this issue of gun legislation this week. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is somebody throughout his career who has advocated for smart gun safety measures. He has -- not afraid to stand up to the NRA. He's done it multiple times and won on background checks and a range of issues. And it is a priority to him on a personal level.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Ryan, they always frame this as standing up to the big, bad NRA. But who does gun control really end up hurting? The poor, the disadvantaged, those who can't afford private security, perhaps?
PETTY: Law-abiding citizens in general is who it hurts. Criminals don't follow the gun laws. And quite frankly, even this idea of a universal background check, look, the killer in Parkland passed a background check. He purchased his firearm legally. The issue we really need to solve is understanding who is a threat.
The irony of this whole thing is the answer that President Biden is looking for is literally standing in front of him. The U.S. Secret Service has studied these mass attacks for years. They use something called behavioral threat assessment to protect the president. That is the answer. That is how we prevent these attacks from happening. And I would hope that the Biden administration would shift gears, not go down this path that -- it's really a myth when they say that all of the victims' families or any victims of gun violence are pro-gun control. That's just simply not true.
INGRAHAM: Ryan, how much time goes by in the course of a day where you don't think about your daughter, your beautiful daughter?
PETTY: I'm constantly reminded, so is my wife and family, and I know all the families that lost loved ones in Parkland, we're constantly reminded of the loss. I'm grateful for the 14 years I had with Alaina. I learned a lot from her, and I want to honor her love of our country, her love of our freedoms, and I want to make sure what happened to our family doesn't happen to any other families.
INGRAHAM: Ryan, thank you, and we continue to pray for you and all the Parkland families and everything that you've suffered over these last three years. I know it seems like it was probably yesterday for you, so thank you very much for coming on and sharing your thoughts on this.
PETTY: Thank you.
INGRAHAM: Biden might not know how to get your kid back to school, but he does have an amazing morning routine. The Last Bite explains.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: We all know how tough the media is on Biden, but nothing they've asked him comes close to this query from twitter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Are you going to have my morning cup of coffee today? Yes. I work out in the morning, then I go downstairs into the kitchen where we serve ourselves and make a cup of coffee. I usually have some yogurt and/or some raisin bran, and then I head off to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: That's all the time we have tonight. Kristin Fisher and the FOX NEWS AT NIGHT team take it all from here. Have a great weekend.
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