Tucker: Democrats' claim that we're in a 'pandemic of the unvaccinated' is 'simply untrue'
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This is a rush transcript from "Tucker Carlson Tonight," July 19, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Good evening and welcome to TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT. Happy Monday.
Last week, as you remember, a group of Texas state legislators decided to cast down their nets and follow their consciences. They left their native land on a kind of pilgrimage to find democracy. By leaving ironically, they ended democracy in their own state. In their absence, Texas could no longer pass laws.
But they believed it was worth it. They were serving a cause bigger than themselves, so they set out on the journey of a lifetime with just the clothes on their backs. They took nothing, apart from a private jet, iPhones for selfies, and regular social media updates and a case of Miller Lite for sustenance.
They forewent even their paper obedience masks, the ones that Federal law require the rest of us to wear when we travel by air. But not these pilgrims. They took no masks. They traveled light. They were like the Vietcong marching 50 miles in truck tire sandals and sleeping in trees. They were only about their mission.
Finally, after a grueling refueling stop at an FBO en route, they arrived in Washington as conquering heroes. One of the pilgrims, an enthusiastic, if not especially bright legislator called Gene Wu boasted that fans were all but throwing themselves at him as he arrived at the national airport in D.C. Virtue has its benefits.
The group then even met with the President of the United States, Kamala Harris who compared them to the Civil Rights marchers of old. There were no German shepherds or fire hoses or bridges to cross, but it was a very similar vibe. You could smell the moral heroism.
And then strangely, you couldn't smell anything at all. A number of the pilgrims reported feeling sick and then losing their olfactory sense. Uh- oh. As it turned out, at least five of the pilgrims had come down with the dreaded coronavirus.
Kamala Harris had clearly been exposed to that and she was whisked away to Walter Reed Medical Center for undisclosed, but easily guessed reasons.
For our friend, Gene Wu, this was all very embarrassing.
Wu had intended to dazzle Kamala Harris, not infect her with a deadly pathogen. Thankfully, Gene Wu has a philosophical streak.
"Let our mistake be the object lesson," Wu tweeted, "All of us had been fully vaccinated since March. We got complacent because we felt safe. Being vaccinated doesn't always stop you from spreading the virus. Always mask up indoors." Gene Wu wrote the last sentence in all caps, like a scientist. Good to know.
But wait a second. This seems like news.
It turns out, according to Gene Wu that being vaccinated doesn't stop you from getting COVID-19 or from spreading it to other people. Did you know that? Gene Wu didn't know that. Just a week ago, on July 13th, Wu said exactly the opposite of that. In fact, he explained that the pilgrims didn't need masks as they traveled because they had all been vaccinated and the vaccine works, dummy. It's science.
But now, Gene Wu was telling us, it doesn't work and his friends have the virus to prove it. What's going on here, Gene Wu?
Unfortunately, Dr. Wu was not able to join us tonight. He is still at the airport meeting his many fans, so instead, we have tape for you from the U.K.'s Chief Scientific Adviser, a man called Sir Patrick Vallance. This tape is from today.
Gene Wu and his friends should have watched it before they left Texas. It makes you wonder, how effective are these drugs anyway? Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIR PATRICK VALLANCE, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISER TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: In terms of the number of people in hospital who have been double vaccinated, we know it's around 60 percent of the people being admitted to hospital with COVID have been double vaccinated, and that's not surprising because the vaccines are not a hundred percent effective.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: So, fully sixty percent of patients admitted to British hospitals for severe presumably life-threatening cases of COVID because that's why you go to the hospital had been fully vaccinated. That's what he just said.
Several hours after he said it, Vallance sent a tweet clarifying that he meant only 40 of patients admitted to U.K. hospitals had been fully vaccinated. He didn't provide evidence to substantiate anything he said.
But still, either number seems like big news.
Now, the number may be small in total, in the aggregate, but the fact that anybody is going to the hospital, particularly a big percentage of people are going to the hospital who have already been vaccinated is the opposite of what they've been telling us here in the United States. They've been telling us anyone who is fully vaccinated is fine. The only people getting dangerously sick or dying from COVID are those people who have refused to get the vaccine.
Joe Biden said that once again just the other day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated, and that's -- and they're killing people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: "They're killing people." This show is killing people for asking those naughty questions. We've heard that a lot, including from elected officials -- a lot of them.
Because the only people getting sick are the ones who have refused for political reasons, to get the vaccines. How many times have you heard that in the past month as they continue to politicize Medicine to an almost irrecoverable point?
Our C.D.C. Director Rochelle Walensky has joined in. She said the same thing. If you're vaccinated, she has assured us, you're safe. You're not simply protected from infection, you're protected from serious illness, from hospitalization, even from the lurking menace known as the delta variant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated. We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage because unvaccinated people are at risk and communities that are fully vaccinated are generally faring well.
The good news is that if you're fully vaccinated, you are protected against severe COVID hospitalization and death, and are even protected against the known variants including the delta variant circulating in this country.
If you are not vaccinated, you remain at risk, and our biggest concern is that we are going to continue to see preventable cases, hospitalizations, and sadly, deaths, among the unvaccinated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: We're not saying there is no benefit to the vaccine, there may well be profound benefits to the vaccine. Our mind is open and has been from the first day. We never encouraged anyone to take or not to take the vaccine. Obviously, we're not doctors.
But we know lying when we see it and you just saw it. To say again, in unison, and they are all saying it: this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated is simply untrue. That's a lie.
There's a massive discrepancy between that political talking point, which is exactly what it is -- thank you, Rochelle Walensky; thank you, President Biden -- and what the data in a bunch of different countries are showing.
Someone needs to explain that. Tell us the truth. People can handle it.
And what is going on with the government's own VAERS database? The vaccine harm database that you're required to ignore, but that the Biden administration maintains anyway, but the numbers are bad. What are the real numbers?
Who knows? No one will say.
As of tonight, the VAERS database reports more than a thousand cases of heart inflammation in people 30 and under who have taken the vaccine. Is that a big deal? Is it not? Should we worry about that? How are those people doing? We don't know.
As of this week, the C.D.C. and the F.D.A. say it confirmed more than 600 reports of heart inflammation and swelling and that number is almost certain to rise. What's the context for those numbers? Is that a full count? Is it an under count?
Why isn't anyone trying to find out? And why aren't they telling us?
How come no one in the Federal government is working transparently to complete a full assessment of all vaccine side effects and then tell the public what they are? Is there some reason people are being compelled to take the vaccine -- and millions are being compelled to take the vaccine -- shouldn't know that?
Oh, shut up, say the dummies on TV.
The only people still getting COVID are right-wingers, FOX News viewers who won't follow instructions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARL CAMERON, FORMER FOX NEWS CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Just last week, new infections went up 70 percent and according to uh the C.D.C., which over -- excuse me -- the N.I.H. which oversees the C.D.C. it is, absolutely 99.5 percent of those infections are people who haven't gotten vaccinated.
I mean, come on. Anybody who disputes that sort of stuff is putting people's lives at risk and potentially killing them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Anybody who knows too much about someone, it's hard to take medical advice from that person. But there are a lot of those people giving you medical advice on television and you should ignore them.
The advice they are giving you isn't designed to help, it is designed to make you comply and you shouldn't comply mindlessly. You're an American adult. You are allowed to ask simple questions and then demand clear answers. That's why we live here. That's your birthright.
For example, schools across the country are now forcing children to take the vaccine as a condition of their education. So, is that a good idea? Is it rooted in science? We should know the answer to that. Why wouldn't we know the answer to that? But before we can answer that question, we need to know how many young people are dying from COVID.
Okay, let's go to the C.D.C. website. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a total of 335 Americans under the age of 18 have died from coronavirus in this country. That's the number.
But what does that number mean exactly? The C.D.C. did not provide any specific information on the circumstances of those deaths, and the circumstances can be all important. So, researchers at Johns Hopkins led by Dr. Marty Makary looked closely at those numbers and what they actually meant and here's what they found, quote: "A mortality rate of zero among children without a preexisting medical condition such as leukemia."
Oh, leukemia is a very serious underlying medical condition. So does that mean that no one under 18 without a serious underlying medical condition died from COVID? It seems that way.
So then, is it as a matter of science and public policy necessary to force every child including the millions without preexisting conditions to get vaccines and wear masks all day? What about adults who already have had COVID? There are millions of those.
The Johns Hopkins researchers found the C.D.C. is barely doing anything to answer that question. The C.D.C.'s reports on rates of natural immunity and what that immunity means and whether people who have it should get the vaccine or benefit from in any way or need it, Makary's team noted that that guidance is quote, "outdated."
Outdated? Really? A year and a half into this pandemic.
These are relevant and vital questions. They are hardly denial of anything. They are the opposite. They are a search for truth. An open-minded one, a relentless one that will not be shamed into silence. That is what science is, and we should not allow ourselves to be bullied by political forces into ignoring obvious questions.
We like to speak to responsible people who know something. We're joined by one of them right now. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. He is a Professor of Medicine at Stanford.
Doctor, thanks so much for coming on so --
DR. JAY BHATTACHARYA, PROFESSOR, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: Thanks for having me.
CARLSON: So, my understanding is that the vaccine does have benefits. It seems to -- various vaccines seem to lower the effects of the disease, make it less severe on people. They are less likely to go to the hospital if they take it. That completely makes sense.
My objection is to the political nature -- the talking points that we're hearing in unison from everyone that the only people getting COVID or being hospitalized for it haven't been vaccinated and those are somehow, you know right-wingers or a specific segment of the population. Why do they -- that's not true, clearly. Why are they saying that?
BHATTACHARYA: I don't know. It continues a trend of politicization of the disease and of the response to the disease that is really unfortunate. And I think, you know, just to highlight what they ought to be saying.
The vaccine in some ways, and actually, in many ways, the roll out in the United States and the U.K. has been an enormous success. We have decoupled cases from deaths because the vaccine -- I mean, it does protect against severe disease, especially among the old who face a very high risk of death and hospitalization, maybe four or five percent if they get infected. This protects against that, I mean quite effectively, not a hundred percent, but quite effectively.
The cases are rising in the U.K., yet the deaths haven't risen. They have solved COVID in some sense. They have now have focused protection. They should be cheering the success to the sky. Instead, we have this demonization and blame and politicization, which has characterized much of the public health's sort of response to the epidemic and is really unfortunate.
CARLSON: So, the Prime Minister -- and I don't want to pile on poor Boris Johnson who does seem to be failing at his job, unfortunately -- but he is essentially putting the country into a new series of lockdowns. You're hearing politicians here suggest that we may get another round of those in this country.
Why at this moment, would we do that?
BHATTACHARYA: It makes no sense actually. The lockdowns didn't succeed in controlling the virus the last time. We have a variant, the delta variant, which is more infectious and I mean, according to the reports it's still uncertain, but less -- it is probably likely less deadly than the other variants we've had.
The lockdowns didn't work then, why should they work now? And they will continue and have continued to impose enormous costs. Actually today was Freedom Day in the U.K. This should have been a day of celebration and yet, we've had this sort of specter of another lockdown pulled over in front of us.
I think it's a mistake. I think we should be declaring a great success with the vaccine roll out with COVID. We've decoupled cases from deaths. We've achieved focused protection.
CARLSON: Yes. It is hard for political actors to declare victory if it means relinquishing power as you may have noticed.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, I appreciate your coming on tonight. Thank you very much.
BHATTACHARYA: Thank you.
CARLSON: Well, the top people in the Biden administration's Justice Department have just made a big announcement. They said they've finally figured out the root cause of violence in our cities.
It's not what you think it is. Actually, it's probably you. We'll tell you how you're implicated, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: So, after thinking about it for almost 20 minutes, the Biden administration has finally figured out the cause of inner city violence, which is on the rise, and you'll be surprised, it is not defunding the police, it's not the lunatic prosecutors elected by George Soros, the ones who refuse to enforce the law. It's not even the fact that almost nobody in places like that has a dad at home, that has no effect at all. The feminists won't let you say that, no.
Inner city violence is caused by quote, "white supremacist ideology and racism." Oh, right. Republicans. The confederates they did it.
We know this because an internal Biden administration training document obtained by "Human Events" tells us so.
Candace Owens is the host of "Candace." She joins us to assess. Candace Owens, thanks so much. It's great to see you tonight.
I'm sorry to laugh. It is just -- I mean they've already told us that Republicans are responsible for defunding the police. I think Republicans actually are responsible for, you know -- they are responsible for invading Iraq. Okay, fine.
How are they responsible exactly for gang murders in Chicago? It's like in a remarkable sleight of hand, blaming Republicans for that.
CANDACE OWENS, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Right, a city that has been Democratic for so long, you can't even remember when there was a last time there was a Republican Mayor or anybody Republican that was controlling Chicago.
And listen, it is so painfully dishonest and you wonder, why are they saying this? We know that black on black crime is a huge issue. We know that something near 95 percent of black homicides are committed by other black people. These are all things that we should be talking about and trying to get to the bottom of that.
Is that something to do with poverty? Yes. Perhaps.
Does it have anything to do with white supremacy? No, I don't think when a gang member, a black gang member kills another black gang member, they phone each other up and say, we have to do this because of white supremacy. That's definitely not what's driving that.
But the more interesting question to ask ourselves is, why is the Biden administration doing this? Why are they being so painfully and obviously dishonest? Are they not expecting people to call them out?
And the larger topic here that we should be discussing is that what they are really committed to is trying to identify ideologues, right? And I'm talking about in the C.I.A., in the military, in the Department of Justice, what they're really trying to do is purge all of these institutions of commonsense thinkers and replacing them with people that are committed to their ideologies, right?
CARLSON: Right. That's right.
OWENS: Nobody cares about what's right or what's wrong anymore. It is all about fighting. The leftists fighting for the Biden administration and doing whatever they say, following their marching orders no matter what, right? Trans-people in the military. That's what they want. They want ideologues and not rational thinkers.
This is all a part of a larger purge and this is what comes before a totalitarian regime takes power and I say that seriously. I say that so seriously, it's time to now take a good look at totalitarian regimes of the past, of communist nations of today and of the past because we are following a very dangerous pattern right now.
The Biden regime, as I like to call them, is following a very dangerous pattern.
CARLSON: Boy, I wish I could disagree with you and I have to say, I mean, the purpose of government is to help people. I mean, supposedly. That was the purpose of it.
If you wanted to help people who are dying in our cities, you wouldn't provide like a transparently ludicrous ideological explanation for it, you'd actually think about why this is happening and how we can fix it. But they don't seem to be interested at all in fixing it -- at all.
OWENS: That's exactly right because they don't want to tell people the truth, right? You brought up father absence. Of course, that's a truth. That would really hit at home. It is about how we need to get these families together.
They are not interested in the truth, they are interested in power. In order to maintain power, the masses cannot know the truth.
CARLSON: Man, that's smart. Candace Owens, the big picture.
I appreciate it. Great to see you tonight. Thank you.
OWENS: Thanks for having me.
CARLSON: There's a lot going wrong in this country, but there are some bright spots. Here is one.
Your smartphone is about to get a major new update to make it more inclusive. How inclusive?
Well, our chief emoji correspondent, Mark Steyn joins us in studio next to deliver the great news. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: Prince Harry is a living paradox. He is a Prince, hence the name; and yet, he is also one of the most oppressed people in the world.
Now, he is writing a book about it, about why he and his wife, the Duchess from LA, have abandoned their duties with the Royal Family and moved to Malibu and riches there.
Charlie Lankston is the female editor at dailymail.com, the website everyone on this show reads every day like a religion. Charlie joins us now.
Charlie, thanks so much for coming on tonight. So this is --
CHARLIE LANKSTON, "FEMAIL" EDITOR, DAILYMAIL.COM: Thanks for having me.
CARLSON: I mean, usually you know oppression memoirs are written by -- I don't know, Civil Rights leaders, people unjustly imprisoned for murder. Very few Princes write books about how oppressed they are, but Prince Harry has.
LANKSTON: Well, I think Prince Harry has broken a lot of boundaries as far as Royal behavior is concerned, specifically when it comes to airing his grievances about his time in the Royal Family, and I think this book will be no different.
CARLSON: It's got to be pretty tough. Can you describe what it's like to live in the kind of oppressed exile they live in on the west side of Los Angeles now? Are they homeless or what? I mean put -- you know, put some color in this picture if you would.
LANKSTON: Well, they live in a $14 million mansion in Montecito.
CARLSON: Okay. Oh, Montecito.
LANKSTON: There are extremely lavish gardens. You know, they are surrounded by a host of celebrity neighbors like Ellen DeGeneres; their friend, Oprah Winfrey. I certainly wouldn't consider their situation right now as being in any way oppressive, to use your words.
CARLSON: Well, wait a second and I -- you know, pardon my ignorance, Charlie. I'm from this country. I don't follow as closely as I probably should. I thought they were in Venice or somewhere in Los Angeles. You said they're in Montecito, which might be, I think the least diverse place in the State of California, maybe in the world.
But they are for diversity, but then they ran away from it. How does that work?
LANKSTON: Well you know, I think what the two of them have tried to do since leaving the Royal Family is to kind of strike this balance between on the one hand saying that they don't want publicity, that they don't want to deal with the press; but on the other hand, seeking almost this celebrity lifestyle.
You know, they are happy to do the TV interviews with Oprah. They're happy to do the big ticket deals with Netflix and Spotify. And now, they are happy to kind of sign on the dotted line for a major book contract, but only when it's on their terms.
CARLSON: When you couple the words "Oprah" and "interview," could you please use air quotes in our interview if you would, just for the sake of accuracy. Really quick, do you think that they will be as media shy when they try to promote the book?
LANKSTON: Absolutely not. As we saw when Meghan released her debut children's novel, there was plenty of publicity released around that, around the release of "The Bench." But only to those members of the media that Meghan is friendly with, and I think that the release of Harry's book will be dealt with in much the same way.
But I certainly don't think that we will be short of tidbits and excerpts and so on and so forth that they will release in order to make sure that sales of this book go through the roof.
CARLSON: You just said something troubling, and I'm just going to end on it. You described it as the quote, "debut" children's novel which suggests that further children's novels are on the way and I just want to -- I just want to say I'm sorry to hear that.
Charlie, I appreciate your coming on tonight. Thank you.
LANKSTON: Thank you for having me.
CARLSON: We've got some good news for you, finally, after this long litany of sadness, your smartphone about to get a major and we think important update.
A new emoji, a pregnant man emoji, reportedly set to debut in your text messages very soon. You can see the pregnant man now looking more constipated than pregnant, but who are we to judge, we're not doctors.
Chief Mark Steyn is in a sense a doctor. He is our chief emoji correspondent. He is here on set for his -- for his assessment.
So, Mark Steyn, a pregnant man -- no, pregnant men don't exist in nature, but they now exist on your phone. Is this good or bad?
MARK STEYN, AUTHOR AND COLUMNIST: Yes, actually, I think that emoji is of Prince Harry, who I gather, he is about three months gone as I understand. He is having a big problem with morning sickness.
As you see, it's his hair color. He shaved off the beard, but he kept the porn star mustache because Meghan told him, she could get him a bit part in something that's filming in the San Fernando Valley.
So, that's Prince Harry, the pregnant man. He is the first member of the Royal Family to be an emoji while pregnant, so I think that actually -- in fact, when you were mocking his commitment to diversity, I think taking one for the team like that speaks very highly for him.
CARLSON: It's just so weird. You know, you wake up one morning and everything seems fine and then you learn that Ron Jeremy is pregnant and has an English accent.
STEYN: Yes.
CARLSON: And he is living in Montecito.
STEYN: Exactly. Exactly.
CARLSON: What the hell.
STEYN: It is all -- it's all up for grabs.
CARLSON: It is definitely up for grabs. Under what circumstances would you use this emoji in your personal text messages?
STEYN: Well, that's what I don't get because an emoji is supposed to be you know, jazz hands, wow, or it is, you know tears of joy. I don't understand in what way the pregnant man -- I don't, oh it's my 25th wedding anniversary party on Saturday. I hope you're going to come. How does the pregnant man emoji assist you with that?
I don't understand the circumstance.
CARLSON: Maybe we're missing the point. Maybe it's when someone says something like completely ludicrous, you just respond with a pregnant man.
STEYN: With a pregnant man.
CARLSON: Do you think that's insane? Here's a pregnant man.
STEYN: Well, to me, I mean to make a semi-serious point, I think emojis, which I don't personally use.
CARLSON: I don't either.
STEYN: But I think they're actually the H.G. Wells thing when he said in "The Time Machine" and he got in the time machine went into the future and he found that people's language had devolved to a few primitive catchphrases.
I think the emoji is the stage that follows that and the pregnant man emoji is the stage that follows the original emojis, because it's got nothing to do with anything except, look, I'm cool with the idea of the pregnant man. Of course, yes. You know, I'm not sure it should have been Prince Harry to be the pioneer of this.
But, you know, I mean favorite pregnant men generally, if you prefer to have pregnant women, there are still like one or two out there, but basically it's all going to be pregnant men and if you object to that, you're just an uptight square and you need to get with the program.
That's the purpose of -- you're an uptight square and you need to get with the program. That's the main purpose of the pregnant man emoji.
CARLSON: I'm going to send that emoji in every text I send every day until they ban me from texting.
STEYN: Yes. Absolutely. And it'll become the most popular -- I think, it's actually also on a stamp in Canada because it is obviously a member of the Royal Family who is the first pregnant male there, so that's --
CARLSON: As you're talking, I'm thinking to myself, I could listen to this for an hour and we're about to tape an hour on our FOX Nation series, "Tucker Carlson Today."
STEYN: Yes, the full hour on Harry and Meghan, I hope, otherwise, I am out of here.
CARLSON: The full hour -- it won't stop until the hour, ladies and gentlemen.
Mark Steyn, great to see you.
STEYN: Thanks a lot, Tucker.
CARLSON: Thank you. Well, telling the truth is harder than ever. You can be censored by the White House. How exactly did we get to this point?
Dennis Kucinich who you think of as like some far-out crazy leftist actually is speaking very clearly on this and other topics, running for Mayor of Cleveland again. Way to the right of everyone else in the race. Boy, this world has changed a lot, but not always for the worst.
Dennis Kucinich, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: Since taking the White House six months ago, the Biden administration has from the very beginning used immigration to change the demographic mix of our country, not to improve the country or the lives of the people who come here, but to flood the United States with loyal new Democratic voters so that America becomes a one-party state in perpetuity.
This is their version of democracy, or if you don't like the outcome, you just change the electorate. That's true. You're absolutely not allowed to acknowledge this is happening. If you do, they will scream that you're a conspiracy nut. You're a bigot. You must be silenced forever.
We learned that the hard way a couple of months ago. The Great Replacement Theory, it's a lie. They yelled. George Soros has nothing to do with that. Stop talking.
But, because the people who make the rules can say whatever they feel like saying, the very same Democrats who yell at you, if you mention this brag in public about the great replacement. They acknowledge that it is real and they love it. Here's the dwarfish, Dick Durbin of Illinois doing just that today on the Senate floor. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): The demographics of America are not on the side of the Republican Party. The new voters in this country are moving away from them, away from Donald Trump, away from their party creed that they preach; and instead, they're moving to be Independents or to even vote on the other side.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Oh, so we want total control, so we're changing who lives here. They're not embarrassed at all, they are bragging about it. But they are still hiding most of the details. No reason to spook the quickly shrinking pool of people who are born here. It's fine, relax.
Last week, we told you about a human smuggling operation that the Biden White House has been running out of Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas. The goal of the operation is to resettle illegal immigrants throughout the country, throughout the interior without the knowledge or permission of the people who live in those places, otherwise known as the public, the voters. They can't know.
We got a tip that this was happening, so we called both The Pentagon and I.C.E. and they were forced to confirm that it is happening. The question we couldn't answer is, where are all these foreign nationals going? Where are they being flown?
Well tonight, we have some indication of that. According to air traffic records, a 737 operated by a charter airline departed Laughlin Air Force Base last week. It headed to the former England Air Force Base in Alexandria, Louisiana. Do people who live there know? Where did it go from there? Where did all the people on the plane go? We don't have the answer to that.
We've also, by the way, obtained video of a civilian plane using Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas, the footage on the screen right now was taken by a local man called Frank Lopez, Jr. So, it's definitely happening. We did not make it up.
The question is: what are Republicans in the Congress doing to stop it? Well, as it turns out, the Republican who represents Del Rio, Texas in the Congress, Tony Gonzales, is the very person who petitioned I.C.E. to use Laughlin Air Force Base in the first place to move foreign citizens to the rest of the country.
We know that because he put out a press release about it on June 5th. Gonzalez asked the acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, someone called Jennifer Miller to use the runways at Laughlin Air Force Base quote, " ... to fly migrants to their final destination rather than releasing them in the Del Rio area." Congressman Gonzales added this quote: "By utilizing Laughlin Air Force Base, I.C.E. could address the high number of migrant releases and alleviate the pressure this crisis has inflicted on border communities," end quote.
So, in other words Tony Gonzales doesn't want to deal with illegal immigrants in large numbers in his community, and that's totally understandable. Very few communities want that. They've never asked for it, no one has ever voted for this because nobody actually wants it.
What's harder to understand is why Gonzales and a lot of other members of the Republican Party aren't trying to protect the rest of the United States and stop this mass outbreak of lawlessness, an outbreak by the way that is about to get a lot worse very soon.
A senior administration official has confirmed to Joe Simonson of "The Washington Free Beacon" that a new flood of illegal migrants from around the world is on the way. The officials at the White House is about to suspend Title 42. That's a regulation that's been used by the C.D.C. to block migrants from entering this country on public health grounds like during a pandemic for example.
It turns out, COVID isn't a big deal when foreigners have it and bring it to this country. It is fine, and you're a racist if you think otherwise, so they are repealing the rule.
Once that happens, the administration expects an even bigger wave on our border, and then at some point in your neighborhood because they'll be flown at your expense there.
Do Republicans know this? Of course, they do.
Do they care? That's an open question.
So, Dennis Kucinich was the Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio more than 40 years ago. Then, at a much later date, he went on to represent the State of Ohio in the Congress from 1997 to 2013. He also at one point ran for President as a Democrat.
Throughout, he was portrayed as a hard leftist and the media wrote him off as a crazy person. Why did they do that? It's worth taking a closer look probably because Kucinich often mocked conventional wisdom, particularly on foreign policy and they hated him for it.
What's interesting is that Dennis Kucinich is running once again, not for the Congress, not for President, but for a job where you can actually make a real difference in people's lives, as Mayor of Cleveland.
What's the main thing he is upset about in Cleveland? Crime.
A Democrat who is worried about the murder rate. Fascinating.
So, we wanted to talk to Dennis Kucinich about all he has learned in the 40 years since he ran Cleveland and asked him how his party is doing now.
And we did that in a new conversation on "Tucker Carlson Today." Here is part of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENNIS KUCINICH, MAYORAL CANDIDATE IN CLEVELAND, OHIO: One of the things that happened in America today, people lose confidence in the government because the government -- it isn't a matter of mistake. These aren't mistakes that America made.
They were lies that people were told that took us into certain wars, and to stand up to those lies.
You know, I learned how to do that as a Cleveland councilman, as a Cleveland mayor. It is what the book is about, standing up to a big lie that somebody created. Like, oh, you have to sell this light ship, and no we did not.
You have to go to work, no we do not. And it's like, if you recognize the truth, if you don't have your own hidden agenda and you really believe that there is such a thing as truth and honor and integrity, well, take a stand or get out.
CARLSON: It's fascinating to me since I work in the media to see how the organism, the national news media works to discredit views it doesn't agree with or that threaten its sponsors. And in your case, I never noticed anyone attacking you as a bad person. I never heard anybody say you were a bad person.
Instead it was, Dennis Kucinich. He is crazy. He is crazy.
And I remember covering you in 2004 and everyone, Dennis Kucinich, he is a flake. He's kind of crazy, and I thought, yes, he is probably kind of crazy.
And then I listened to you speak and I thought, it doesn't sound like crazy actually. This doesn't sound crazy to me.
Was it frustrating and now of course, I think you're right. I agree with what you said, but is it frustrating looking back, say on your presidential race in 2004 to think that people were intentionally trying to prevent your message from reaching people's ears?
They didn't want your words to be amplified.
KUCINICH: See, I have this kind of unnerving confidence to believe that I can win a rigged game, okay. It comes from growing up in the streets of the city and not being afraid of anything or anyone except God, just -- and also, it's backed up by some of my friends from English romantic literature.
You take Shelley in "Prometheus Unbound." He writes of defying power which seems omnipotent, that this is one of the ways in which you're free.
Every one of us must face a question about who are we and do we -- is there a moment in our lives where we really believe that we must take a stand because we see something that that is fundamentally wrong.
And when you do that, you cannot worry about what people are going to say about you. You must not be dissuaded by criticism.
You have to have an ability to at least, keep your eyes focused on kind of a polar star of truth and integrity and if people agree with you, fine; if they don't, fine. But it's not just about who they are, it's about who you are. What are you made of?
Are you willing to take a stand? And how willing are you?
Are you willing to risk the destruction of your entire career in order to stand on principle?
And you know, that book "Division of Light and Power," that's what it's about because when I stood to save our municipal electric system at a threat to not just my personal -- my life itself -- you ask yourself, well, was it worth it? It's always worth it to take a stand.
You can never be in a position in life where you get on your knees in order to appease a mob or a constituency or whatever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Dennis Kucinich, unconventional man. He didn't seem crazy at all, which tells you a lot. The conversation went on for nearly an hour. We also talked about his plan to save America's manufacturing. The country has got to make something, by the way, a point that very few make now.
Anyway, the full episode is streaming on FOX Nation at this moment, worth watching.
Well, it's not every day that someone tells the truth out loud on CNN right to an anchor. That just happened over the weekend. Absolutely worth watching. Such a rare moment. Something to savor.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: Jeff Zucker runs CNN like a political campaign. There is not much of a market for him running for office. Everyone at CNN has a role just like in a campaign, and the lowest level are the goons. In ice hockey, they would be called enforcers. Obedient, thuggish, not very bright. Their job is to smack the people Jeff Zucker tells them to smack.
One of these jowly screamers, Zucker's personal favorite hosts a weekend show about the media. Every Saturday, he gives voice to his boss's weird obsessions and vendettas and calls it news. The formula never changes.
Except this weekend, it did change.
Here is author, Michael Wolff, who was invited on to say one thing and then midway through the segment, couldn't take it anymore and decided to tell the truth. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL WOLFF, AUTHOR, "LANDSLIDE: THE FINAL DAYS OF THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY": I think the media has done a terrible job on this. I think, you, yourself - - you know, while you're a nice guy, you know you're full of sanctimony. You know, you become part of -- one of the parts of the problem of the media.
You know, you come on here and you -- and you have a -- you know, a monopoly on truth. You know, you know exactly how things are supposed to be done. You know, you are why one of the reasons people can't stay in the media. I'm sorry.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: You're cracking me up.
WOLFF: It's your fault.
STELTER: It's my -- so what should I do differently, Michael?
WOLFF: You know don't talk so much. Listen more. You know, people have genuine problems with the media. The media doesn't get the story right. The media exists in its own bubble.
STELTER: That's true, I agree.
WOLFF: You know, you've got to stop. I mean that last segment that I just had to listen to, of all of the people saying the same old stuff. Also you're incredibly repetitive. It's week after week.
I mean, you're the flip side of Donald Trump. You know, fake news and you say virtuous news.
You know --
STELTER: No, we just figure out what is real.
WOLFF: There is a problem here. I mean --
STELTER: Yes, I am listening.
WOLFF: Well, figuring out -- yes, figuring out what is real is not so -- is not so easy and you know, most people don't want to turn to Brian Stelter to tell us what's real. I'm sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Don't talk so much, listen more. You are full of sanctimony. You're incredibly repetitive to which the anchor said -- it's hard to imagine a more succinct summation of modern media than that, sanctimonious and stupid. Exactly.
Smart people understand their own flaws. Self-righteousness is for morons. That's why you see so much of it on television.
That's it for us tonight. Don't forget our conversation with Dennis Kucinich is on FOX Nation.
Have a wonderful evening.
Sean Hannity takes over right now.
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