‘Ingraham Angle’ on Cuba protests, voter integrity

This is a rush transcript from “Ingraham Angle,” July 12, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAGE STEELE, HOST, ESPN: What do you think about the possibility that baseball decides to move the all-star game out of Atlanta?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I would strongly support them doing that.

STEELE: Aren’t you tired of Democrats pushing politics in sports? Get Georgia Right is responsible for the content of this advertising?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN HANNITY, HOST OF HANNITY, FOX NEWS: Yes. Delaware is more restrictive. Let not your heart be troubled. Here is Laura. Happy Monday.

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Hey, Hannity. That last little clip of Biden, I thought you were doing one of those old Conan O’Brien things with the mouth just moved. I didn’t even know that was actually – was that actually President Biden? It looked like the lips were just moving and the head wasn’t moving at all. That was very strange.

HANNITY: If people knew the real Laura Ingraham that I’ve known for 25 years, you have a wicked sense of humor. That’s all I can say. You really do. Very good.

INGRAHAM: Thank you, Hannity. Thank you and thank you for highlighting.

HANNITY: Big show tonight.

INGRAHAM: Thank you for highlighting the Georgia group. I love it. Great show.

HANNITY: You bet. Have a great show.

INGRAHAM: All right. I’m Laura Ingraham. This is THE INGRAHAM ANGLE from Washington tonight. And we have new details indicating that enough illegal votes occurred in that Georgia election to tip the results. The full report in moments.

Plus, new issues surrounding Hunter Biden’s potential art deals. He’s such a great artist. And why are Harry and Megan getting another award? Raymond Arroyo explains it, seen and unseen. But first, the anti-Democrats. That’s the focus of tonight’s ANGLE.

All right. For years, the Democrats have desperately tried to cement this narrative that conservatives are working feverishly to undermine democracy while liberals are working tirelessly to preserve it. So they’ve spent about, what, four years. They lied about President Trump and Russia collusion, claiming that he had a soft spot for dictators.

Then after the election, they vilified as anti-Democratic, anyone who raised any question about voting irregularities. And of course, they seized on January 6, as proof certain that the Republican party is synonymous with domestic terror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Our democracy is under unprecedented assault, unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Accountability is also needed for Republicans. That underpinned this assault on our democracy.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In times of upheaval, we come to realize, to appreciate just how vital the rule of law truly is.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): We have serious and existential threats to our democracy on our hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: I like Pelosi better with the mask. I just want to say that. All right. Of course, once again, the finger Democrats are wagging at us is always pointed back at them. In fact, it’s their alliances, their impulses, their rhetoric and their actions that are supremely undemocratic.

Whether they’re going to run to the courts to override the will of the people or their extension of emergency powers during a pandemic, they prefer governing by fiat. It’s much easier than having to convince voters that progressive priorities, things like defunding the police and teaching critical race theory make any sense at all.

And of course, these anti-Democrats skirt the First Amendment by getting their comrades at Google, Facebook, Twitter, to censor their political adversaries for them. Look, what they’ve done to President Trump for goodness sakes. And of all the anti-Democratic stalwarts out there, Senator Dick Durbin is in a category of his own, clawing to remain relevant in the woke era. This old dinosaur has instead lumbered into la la land.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): This big lie is metastasizing. We mean to keep marching until we cross that bridge and stop this assault on our democracy. I thought of the young men who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D day, running straight into enemy fire, knowing well that they might die to preserve democracy. Surely, we are better and braver than this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: OK. First of all, a guy who back in 2005 likened our militaries imprisoning Al Qaeda to the Nazis, to the Soviets and Pol Pot. He should probably drop the military analogies, I’m thinking. If our democracy is on the line, it’s because for decades, fossils like Durbin have refused to address the issues that directly impact the lives of every American.

Here is some of the recent headlines about life in his State of Illinois. “The Illinois exodus is continuing through the COVID-19 pandemic, with Illinois losing 40 percent more people than it gained in 2020, ranking at fourth-worst in the nation.”

And Dick must know that Illinois’ pension debt is a ticking time bomb. According to Moody’s, it’s the worst in the nation. At the end of June, it was 317 billion, double the state’s official estimate.

And Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker and Durbin give a darn about the state’s jobs crisis. The data there is enraging. According to Illinois policy, 64 percent remained unemployed in May, 19 percent left the labor force altogether.

The pro COVID lunacy, the shutdown lunacy of Illinois, the elected officials there, they have them tied for eighth-highest unemployment rate in the country. And Illinois’ crown jewel of Chicago boasts among the highest crime rates in America. You’ve seen what happened there over the weekend.

But Durbin doesn’t want to attack any of those problems. Nah. Today, this valiant defender of democracy instead focused a floor speech on attacking Tucker and me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DURBIN: There are two host of programs on Fox Primetime that can only be characterized as anti-vax quacks. I’m referring, of course, to Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham. They have been spreading, what I consider to be, irresponsible information about vaccines across America, and about the effort of this nation to deal with them. If there are things that can remove you from the air for being said on a program, I certainly hope that they will caution, the management of the station, will caution Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: What is his name de bourbon? It’s not a station by the way, it’s a network, grandpa. All right. First off, none of this is about the vaccine. OK. This is all about suppressing speech ahead of next year’s midterms.

Now, this windbag has been in Washington for almost 40 years. He was first elected to Congress when I was a college freshman. That was a long time ago. Now, what does he have to show for it all those years? Does he have a state that’s better run, better off in his red state counterparts? No, and No.

Durbin, like the rest of the anti-Democrats desires total control over the information flow to you, the voters. No contrary views allowed, especially when those views are backed up by actual facts and data.

I don’t have to remind you, I don’t think, that this show has been at the forefront of all things COVID since the early days of the pandemic. And our medical experts actually are experts. They deserve to be called experts. They’ve been insanely accurate on everything from the opposition to the need for school closures, to the discussing of the most effective COVID therapies, of course, to the viral origins question. And we’re right about the insanity of requiring COVID vaccinations of healthy young Americans, especially school aged children.

There’s nothing more anti-Democratic, anti-freedom than pushing an experimental drug and Americans against their will, threatening them, threatening to deprive them of basic liberties if they don’t comply? Especially, if they don’t have adequate information about the risk benefit analysis of taking this experimental drug.

Now THE ANGLE has done what Dick Durbin would not do, would not want to even entertain, featuring actual Americans who did comply and did trust the government’s experts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA ORANDELLO, SUFFERED COVID VACCINE SYMPTOMS: On March 3, I got my second dose. I woke up on March 4, I got a horrific pain in my right eye. It was so bad. The next thing I know, I’m on the floor in my bedroom. My husband said let me try to get you on the bed. I couldn’t get up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: She’s still paralyzed on one side of her body. Why does Dick Durbin not want these types of stories to be told? I thought he believed in bodily autonomy after all. And the ancient democracy fight is raging on the state level too. When Republicans in the Texas State House advanced legislation to safeguard future elections among other things, the party supposedly dedicated to preserving democracy decided instead to cut and run to mommy and daddy in DC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE TIMM, NBC NEWS SENIOR REPORTER: They’re planning to just leave the state until the session ends. So the special session can last up to 30 days. We’re a few days in. And so they’re going to Washington DC for three weeks, where they hope to put a spotlight on this legislation, as well as lobby for federal voting legislation, because they see that as the end game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: No. State officials who believe federal intervention is the end game. Forget Texas, voters, who elected state representatives to actually do this thing called pass laws, let them all eat cake or bad barbecue, or at least fly commercial. Because when Texas’ supposed champions of democracy ran away from home, they showed their true working class bona fide ease by flying private. All your Washington DC would [ph] fleeing your responsibility via a private plane be described as brave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: I do want to first start by making a statement about the legislators in Texas, who are showing extraordinary courage and commitment. I do believe that fighting for the right to vote is as American as apple pie. It is so fundamental to fighting for the principles of our democracy. So I applaud them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Fighting for the right to vote by not voting is fighting for the principles of our democracy? That’s really cool. The anti-Democrats on top of everything else they’re doing, really do think you’re just stupid. And that’s THE ANGLE.

All right. Joining me now, Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Governor, Democrats in your state literally ran away from the democracy that they swore to uphold and protect. Your reaction to what happened today?

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): Isn’t that the most un-Texan thing you’ve ever heard, Texans running from a fight? They’re quitters. It’s like during a football game or a baseball game, taking their equipment when they’re way behind and just leaving the field. That is not the way that Texans do things. And you captured it perfectly. And that is that they’re leaving and abandoning their right to vote.

And I tell you what is crazy, but, Laura, this is not over. Because you, as it was pointed out in that prelude, we have special sessions that last 30 days. And the governor calls them and I will continue calling special session after special session, because over time it’s going to continue until they step up to vote.

But, Laura, I have to point this out. The thesis that they are operating under is completely false, because what the Texas law does doesn’t hinder anybody’s ability to vote. And in fact, interestingly, what Texas is seeking to do is to add additional hours to vote. Texas has 12 days of early voting and the hours of which will be expanded, and we will ensure that hours are expanded on Election Day also. So their entire thesis is completely wrong.

And compared to early voting in Texas, with early voting that we have in Delaware, Texas has 12 days of early voting; Delaware has zero days of early voting. Why am I picking on Delaware? Because that is where the President himself voted in the last election. And if anybody wants to talk about voter suppression, they should be talking about Delaware, not Texas.

INGRAHAM: Yes. Well, one Texas state congresswoman is going to demand something of Biden that democrats do – what they should do when she actually gets face-to-face with them here in DC. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASMINE CROCKETT, TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE: For me, it’s going to be more so of an ask for him to push as hard as he can. This filibuster has to – we have to do away with it. Because once again, it’s Republicans being allowed to be obstructionist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Governor, they fled Texas to mommy and daddy in DC, and the Republicans are obstructionist. Please explain that for our viewers tonight.

ABBOTT: One word, hypocrisy. They’re using a filibuster to flee the state of Texas to plead with the president to do away with the filibuster in Washington DC. That is the example of hypocrisy on its face. And that’s one reason why they’re losing the arguments with regard to voting on this issue and other issues in the state of Texas.

But I want to point this out for your viewers who are watching from Texas, because by the Democrats fleeing, they’re also fleeing what we’re trying to achieve by cutting your property taxes and by making sure that we secure the border, by funding very important projects such as law enforcement and communities that have high crime.

And so by fleeing the state of Texas, they’re doing more than just appealing to the President. They’re using taxpayer money on this political junket to Washington DC to prevent us from passing laws that will make our communities better.

INGRAHAM: I have a question, governor. Do you know, or does anyone know who paid for the private plane and the luxury bus? Was it all on the up and up, was it (inaudible) wrote the check? I mean, it’s not cheap, right?

ABBOTT: This is not cheap for the travel. So get this, so they’re getting paid, they’re going to get food, all that kind of stuff while they’re there. But they’re still getting taxpayer base money and their staffs are still getting taxpayer base money. And so they’re still living off of the government dime, even while they’re on this trip. All the while, they are doing fundraising projects online trying to raise money for this.

And so, it really is both hypocritical, it’s despicable, but it’s really the worst thing you can say about a Texan unless they are so afraid they’re running away from a fight that they were hired by their voters to do. They were hired by the voters to go to the Capitol and articulate what their opinion was.

INGRAHAM: Now, one of – well, they had this luxury bus that you see as well. So one of the – they have the boys on the bus, remember that book? Well, this is the buffoons on the bus had something to say about you tonight, Governor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREY MARTINEZ FISCHER, TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE: We’re dealing with a really obstinate governor who wants to, I guess, run his primary campaign on the backs of taxpayers at our expense. We’re not going to put up for that. Our hard working men and women on the committee are effectively shut out of the process to even bring ideas to have some kind of normal discussion on voter suppression. They’re trying to take away our right to vote, and we are not going to put up with it, and we’re going to fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Governor, your response? It’s all about your own political–

ABBOTT: So we are taking away their ability to inject their ideas, because they have fled the state and gone to Washington and some maybe to other locations. You cannot inject your ideas if you don’t show up and do your job.

INGRAHAM: There’s no we’re complaining about Democrats running to the courts, but is there any Texas state Supreme Court move here, or is that just a political question that wouldn’t be considered?

ABBOTT: Well, there’s no law on that issue. What the law is, it’s in the Constitution, and that is the house, the State House of Representatives who were here in the Capitol, in Austin right now, they do have the ability to issue a call to have their fellow members who are not showing up to be arrested, but only so long as that arrest is made in the state of Texas. That’s why they have fled the state. Once they step back into the state of Texas, they will be arrested and brought to the Texas Capitol and we will be conducting business.

INGRAHAM: OK. I’m looking forward to that, Governor. Hey, thank you for being with us tonight.

And why are Democrats in states like Texas acting so petulantly? Well, perhaps because they’re running out of time to change elections forever. The left claims that voter fraud does not exist, but of course, that’s false. And tonight, we’re getting new evidence about how it happened in Georgia. And a new piece for the Federalist, Margot Cleveland, a former clerk at the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, writes 35,000 illegal votes uncovered in the 2020 Georgia race. That number easily exceeds the 12,670 votes that separated Biden and Trump.

Margot Cleveland’s, senior contributor to the Federalist, joins me now, Margot, I know the liberals who love to hate to watch the show, I will say, oh, there they go again. Another conspiracy theory. Explain what happened in Georgia that the viewers are not aware of.

MARGOT CLEVELAND, “THE FEDERALIST” SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR: Right. Thanks so much, Laura. So what we’re talking here about is actually not voter fraud, but illegal votes, which really, it doesn’t matter if it’s voter fraud or illegal votes, what you have are votes that are canceling out, lawful votes and disenfranchising legal voters in Georgia. What we have is that right after the election, there was some data run by an expert in Georgia named Mark Davis. And he found over 35,000 residents who moved from one county to another county, and voted in the prior county.

Now at the time, everyone kept saying, “Oh, well, that’s military, or that’s possibly students.” We don’t know that those are illegal or both. But what we have now is evidence that these were not temporary relocation, because those exact same voters, now there’s only about 10,300 right now, but it keep – it’s growing. Those same voters updated their voter registration and gave their new address.

And as I said, that number is continuing to grow. But it is the voters themselves saying, “Yes, this was a permanent move.” We’re talking about clear evidence where the Secretary of State’s office in Georgia is investigating this. It isn’t a case of some wacko conspiracy theory. And if Democrats really cared about the right to vote, they would hear about this issue. They would look at this evidence of illegal voting and say we need to do something to make sure this doesn’t happen. Because every time someone casts an illegal vote, it is disenfranchising a lawful voter.

INGRAHAM: That’s why when people say what’s not voter fraud, it’s voter irregularity. Well, it all ends up perpetrating a – speaking of cancelled culture, this is the ultimate cancelled culture because it cancels out another lawfully cast vote. Whether it’s done on the Republican side or Democrat, it’s not good. I mean, it’s against the Georgia law, correct?

CLEVELAND: Absolutely. Georgia law is expressly clear that if you relocate from one county to another county, more than 30 days before the election, you cannot cast a vote in the prior county. And it makes sense because you’re going to be voting for county officials, house senate from the state as well as representative.

So the law is absolutely clear that that is illegal, whether or not it’s fraudulent, doesn’t matter. It’s still disenfranchising the people who follow all of the law. In fact, there was over 100,000 people who were in the similar situation. They didn’t vote.

INGRAHAM: Yes. It’s such an important article. Thank you, Margot, for explaining it very clearly so we understood it.

Now, speaking of fighting for democracy, the response by the left and media regarding the Cuban protests, a little revealing, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is here in moments. He’s going to tee off on that. And Raymond’s coming up on Megan and Harry and a lot more. Don’t go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: All right. From affording democracy at home to scowling at it abroad, you can always count on the American left to stand with the dictators at least if they’re anti-American. Upon Fidel Castro’s death, Jimmy Carter remarked that he and Rosalind remembered fondly their visits with him in Cuba and his love of his country.

Obama continued that Democratic tradition attending a baseball game with Raul extolling Cuba’s achievements in education and health care. And the media even gets in the game. Who could forget Barbara Walters’ fawning 2020 interview with Castro? That was a classic.

So it should come as no surprise that with the Democratic protests spilling out this weekend, the media, well, they look for a Cuban scapegoat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There’s no question that the pandemic has made everything much worse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People there are outraged over the country’s coronavirus response.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA CORRESPONDENT: Their life has become intolerable during the pandemic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: But the New York Times might have had the best reaction writing that the protesters were shouting freedom and other anti-government slogans. Something tells me “The Times” was just being honest about where they stood.

Joining me now, former Secretary of State, Fox News contributor, Mike Pompeo. Secretary Pompeo, the reaction from the media, the Democrats, the left has been, I think, quite revealing to people who forgotten that they were doing the same kind of thing with the Soviet Union back in the 80s when I was in college.

MIKE POMPEO, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes, Laura. Thanks for having me on the show. It’s absolutely the case. They pointed the finger to COVID, they’ve – the Cubans have pointed the finger at the Americans. The truth is, this is about communist, this is about socialism, this is about people demanding freedom. They know that the lives of their families won’t be better next generation. They know that their country was designated by me as a state sponsor of terror. They know that things aren’t good. The conditions of the evil leadership and the communist dictates of that leadership have spoiled their lives and they want freedom.

You see them waving not only Cuban flags, but American flags. These are people who understand. And if you’ve seen anybody down in Florida who left Cuba, those exiles that are now living in America, they know freedom. They know the reality of it. They know the benefits of it. They know why it matters to their soul, and their pocketbook, so all the Cuban people are asking for this. This isn’t about the coronavirus, this isn’t about an American plot. This is about the Cuban people demanding that their leadership fundamentally changed their ways.

INGRAHAM: But, Mr. Secretary, they did kind of the same thing, did they not, during the Hong Kong protests? There was a very muted reaction by the elites here in the United States. Obviously, we pointed out what the sports community was doing, which was thwarting real support of what was happening in Hong Kong. But that’s a huge issue there now. This is not really surprising, is it, to anyone who’s seen what they’ve done over the years?

POMPEO: Not at all, Laura. It is the case that the left is always cozied up to Marxists and communists, right? They’ve always played footsie with them. They haven’t seen the evil that’s perpetrated by them. They slough it off. Sometimes they’ll even go so far as to say, “Boy, that system works pretty good”, right? This is what they said about the Chinese Communist Party. They said, Wow, they handled COVID really well.

We know what communism does to countries, we know what it does to the souls of people. I don’t understand why the Democrats are silent on this today. This is an important opportunity for the Cuban people, the American people need to stand alongside them. There are so many things we can do to help them gain this very freedom that they’re on the streets demanding it at enormous personal risk. We need to be with the Cuban people.

The Trump administration had the right end of the stick. We put enormous pressure on the Cuban leadership. I hope the Biden team won’t release the pressure that we had on the Cuban leadership. That pressure plus the freedom demands of these people is likely to lead to a really good outcome for Cuba. And as a result, a really good outcome for the security of America as well.

INGRAHAM: But Mr. Secretary, isn’t it the case that this administration thinks that conservatives in the United States who wave the American flag, and not on Memorial Day or Fourth of July, but fly it all the time, or heaven forbid off a boat or something, they are the biggest threat to the United States. They are domestic terrorists or approaching — much bigger threat than a communist dictatorship in Cuba or maybe even China. At this point, look at the efforts they are putting into January 6th. If only they put that effort into changing things in Cuba.

POMPEO: The irony there, Laura, is that they often say that they are the team that love human rights, and yet we see the human rights that are being violated there. And we know, we know these same people would love nothing more than to come to the United States of America, the same place that these Democrats are denigrating, the very flag that they are denigrating is the very flag that the Cuban people so desperately want to have on their side.

It shouldn’t escape us, this hypocrisy. It is dangerous when the Democrats undermine our republic. We can do better. I’m confident the American people can see that. And if we get this right, we’ll improve the rights of people all across the world, and America will be safer and more secure. I am rooting for the Cuban people today.

INGRAHAM: Great people. And White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Secretary Pompeo, she seemed a bit stumped by, truth be told, a very difficult question. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does the administration support international protestors flying the American flag.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president certainly values and respects the symbol of the American flag. He is someone who certainly waives it outside of his house, or does in Delaware, and other places where he has lived throughout his time. But he also believes that people have the right to peacefully protest, and he thinks both can be true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: How difficult is it just to say the American flag is the greatest symbol of freedom on earth? That seems like it’s hard for them to say that.

POMPEO: It’s really straightforward, and pretty darn simple. And when you see her dance around it that way, you can tell she is nervous about answering the question.

INGRAHAM: Nervous.

POMPEO: She’s nervous about answering the question about the American flag.

The other tell, Laura, is that when folks denigrate our flag and diminish America, they won’t call out their own team. They won’t call a Bernie Sanders when he says, no, Cuba is a great place, has a great health care system. Won’t call out AOC or the Squad when they undermine American values. That’s a real tell. It means that they are uncomfortable at best. They might mouth the right words for a moment, but they’re not going to defend it with all the glory that it deserves.

INGRAHAM: Mr. Secretary, thanks for being with us tonight.

And up next, Hunter Biden’s high-priced art is leaving an impression of corruption. And Harry and Meghan with the most ridiculous award ever. Raymond Arroyo has it. “Seen and Unseen” is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: It’s time for our “Seen and Unseen” segment where we unpack the cultural stories of the day. And for that we turn to FOX News contributor Raymond Arroyo. All right, Raymond, Biden is finally admitting there is a crime epidemic across the country, true?

RAYMOND ARROYO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Laura, the president held a White House meeting today with local leaders to address the problem. And though he has said there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and he fretted over the sales of firearms, the rest of Biden’s remarks may require their own criminal investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We’ve convened a group of law enforcement and other community leaders, including mayors of our cities, and it has been, it has been — I guess I look at the attorney general, we have been at this a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: Oh, boy. Laura, the only reason he is addressing this at all is because he is seeing the polls that you are seeing. ABC News said only 38 percent of Americans believe he is doing a good job on crime. He has to do something here. So his big plan — use the COVID relief funds to pay for — wait for it — police. That’s the plan.

INGRAHAM: Maybe not work to defund the police initially, and then you have to go back and do that.

Speaking of criminal activity, there are these serious questions, totally legitimate, about Hunter Biden’s new art career. His agent is saying his works could fetch between $75,000 to $500,000 apiece? What?

ARROYO: This is the problem, Laura. Look at this art. Hunter Biden used to suck a pipe for thrills. Now he blows ink through it for cash. I would describe this art as a fusion of ink splatters and mold spores, OK. But whatever it is, it is not worth $500,000, which begs the question, might people buy his art to curry influence with his father? Don’t worry. Jen Psaki has the solution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The galleries will not share information about buyers or prospective buyers, including their identities with Hunter Biden or the administration, which provides quite a level of protection and transparency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: No, it doesn’t. The Clinton’s had their Global Initiative. The Bidens have Hunter’s art bazaar. This reeks of influence-peddling, Laura. And look, when a Picasso last week sold for $150,000, you’re telling me Hunter Biden’s spittle art is worth more? Come on.

INGRAHAM: I’m telling you, one of those things, it kind of looks like you are doing a line of cocaine there, right. But I was watching that. I think was like, that’s an interesting deal.

All right, but we have a royal problem, or a royal —

ARROYO: Before I get to the royal updates, Laura, the reason the Hunter Biden art thing matter so much, remember, he is under federal investigation for money laundering right now. And that laptop showed he and his father’s banking accounts were conjoined, and he may have paid his dad off. So that needs attention. We’ve got to watch that closely.

But your favorite royals, Laura, Harry and Meghan, are getting an award from a group called Population Matters. The organization says they’re granting the Sussexes the award for limiting their family size. “When probably the most famous couple in the world say they choose to stop at two, they help to popularize and normalize that choice,” the group says, “and for affirming that a smaller family it is also a happy family.” Laura, the Sussexes are such a happy group, look at the joy they’ve instigated among their own client. One doesn’t talk to her father. The other has been stripped of his titles. But this may be the first time a couple has gotten an award for not doing anything at all. That’s pretty good.

INGRAHAM: Did they say to Oprah, we’re stopping at two? Did they say that? Was that their big — I love hearing that.

ARROYO: A few years ago they said they were going to stop at four, but I guess the number has dropped because, hey, it’s award season.

(LAUGHTER)

INGRAHAM: This is — I have to say, Raymond, I’m still trying to get over. What if I buy one of Hunter Biden’s pieces of art? You call them up and say I’m the one who bought your painting? They say, it’s anonymous. Oh, I bought your painting. I would love to see your dad, no obligation, I’d love to see your dad next month. That’s how they get around that. This whole thing is ridiculous.

ARROYO: The entire firewall of ethics here is the agent, George Berges, who, by the way, probably gets 50 percent of every painting. So $250,000, you think he is not going to tell somebody? Come on. This is fraud — it gives the appearance of fraud if it’s not fraud.

INGRAHAM: All right, we’ve got to go. All right, Raymond, thank you. I need something for this wall here.

Biden’s decline to a cavalcade of crises to the collapse of Kamala, the Democrats, they’re in trouble. Meadows and Fleischer, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: We started tonight by exposing the left’s anti-democratic core, their impulses, from the effort to silence opposing views to the effort to stop the business of the Texas legislature. You see, they have to kick up dust to distract from their own policy failures. A “Washington Post”-ABC poll finding that that just 33 percent of voters approve of Biden’s handling of immigration, only 38 percent think that Biden is doing well on crime, and from school COVID closures to what is being taught in the classroom, Biden has decided to side with teachers unions over parents, which is presenting a huge problem for the Democrats.

Joining me now is Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary, FOX News contributor, and Mark Meadows, form Trump White House chief of staff.

Mark, “The Hill” is recently noting that Biden’s biggest vulnerability is not any single issue. It’s the risk that he could be seen as losing control of events, which I thought was a pretty good insight. I thought he was supposed to bring all this calm and unity.

MARK MEADOWS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Well, it is good insight. I can tell you that what the American people are seeing, Laura, is, just as you mentioned, is the fact that Joe Biden is not in control of anything other than trying to control the narrative, and he is not even doing well at that.

He has picked the wrong side. He has picked teachers unions. You pointed this out. He picked teachers unions over teachers and parents. And I can tell you that is a losing proposition. But where did they go from here? We continue to see chaos on the border, chaos in the classroom, and chaos in our businesses. And yet, somehow, this is Joe Biden that is going to come up with all the answers? It is not a promising look forward.

INGRAHAM: And Ari, Jen Psaki, she previewed Biden’s big speech on the election reforms issue. And well, you will tee off on it. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He will redouble his commitment to using every tool at his disposal to continue to fight to protect the fundamental right of Americans to vote against the onslaught of voter suppression laws. He’ll also decry efforts to strip the right to vote as authoritarian, and how we need to work together with civil rights organizations to build as broad a turnout and voter education system to overcome the worst challenge to our democracy since the Civil War.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Ari, the Civil War, the worst since Prohibition, whatever the comparison is, it’s in the same level as their failures on all these fronts that we have been documenting tonight.

ARI FLEISCHER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: She said “authoritarian.” She said “strip the right to vote.” This is the same type of language that was used to describe asking for an I.D. in an order for people to vote. Their draconian language is scaring people. It goes too far. It is not accurate.

But, Laura, you know how you know that Joe Biden’s agenda is in trouble? Because they haven’t voted yet. If he had the votes, they would have voted. The reason they are not voting and they are talking is because he does not have the votes. He misinterpreted his election mandate, thought it was a mandate for tremendous spending on progressive programs. He just doesn’t have the votes.

INGRAHAM: Mark, I do think there is something to this that the more histrionic they are in their comments about just basic, cleaning up the voter role so people don’t vote in the wrong district or twice or dead people, or what have you, that is now like Jim Crow. And I think it’s the boy who cried wolf. You keep saying this, and people are like, wait a second, Biden was elected under similar provisions in other states. None of it quite measures up, but they keep — I think it’s all they have. Honestly, I don’t think they have much more.

MEADOWS: You’re going to see, Laura, a lurch to the left. And Ari’s right, they don’t have the votes, but even more than that, they don’t have the American people. So even if they had the votes in Congress, they don’t have the hearts and minds of the American people because they see the false premise that this is built on.

But the bigger problem that we are starting to see here is not just with Joe Biden not articulating it. He is starting to lurch further and further to the left. And unfortunately, that is what we are going to see. We’re going to see tax increases. He is to try to appease the progressives in his party because that is going to be the only 33 percent base that he is going to be able to hold tight. And those swing voters are going to realize that they made a mistake on November 3rd and hope that a Trump administration policy is returned.

INGRAHAM: And Ari, speaking of this, I think actually Kirsten Powers over at CNN did kind of sum up the suburbs blind spot of the Democrats pretty well. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRSTEN POWERS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: You have the right, and they run with these issues. It’s like this attack they are doing on Critical Race Theory that is just untethered from reality, right. And then, yes, as David said, suburban voters get kind of confused because they are hearing all this kind of stuff. But it’s not actually accurate.

I just don’t think Democrats should get involved in this anti-woke thing, because it’s something that’s really been driven by the right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: She is wrong about the fact that it is driven by the right. This is a grassroots movement. So she’s wrong about that, let me be clear. But she is right in how the woke thing, and Andrew Sullivan over the weekend wrote about this, that has gotten them into a box in a corner, rock and a hard place — whatever you want to say. The woke thing is a huge problem, and I think Biden is probably still with it enough to know that.

(LAUGHTER)

FLEISCHER: Yes, but he keeps pandering to that wing of the party.

INGRAHAM: He’s too weak to fight.

FLEISCHER: It seems that Joe Biden has made his bet. He has decided — too weak to fight it, but he has just decided that he has got to cast his lot with that side of the party instead of being the singular, bipartisan force, the person whose whole soul is in bipartisan. His whole soul, not even one inch of it has proved to be in bipartisanship. What has he done that is bipartisan?

He has been bought off by the woke movement because he has made the wrong bet. And that’s where he misread the election. The Democrats almost didn’t take back the Senate. They failed to gain seats in the House. They almost lost the House. And Joe Biden barely won the presidential election. Yet he thinks he has an FDR mandate to govern from the far left, far progressive, woke left. This is the fundamental mistake of the Biden era, and this is going to come back and bite them big time in the governing majorities they’re trying to assemble, let alone the reelection midterm.

INGRAHAM: Zero common sense. Ari, Mark, thank you so much.

And the highlight of the homerun derby tonight didn’t happen on the field. Well, the last bite is going to show you.

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INGRAHAM: You’ve heard about players selling out to make a catch, but what about when fans try to get in on the action? At tonight’s homerun derby in Denver, one fan found out the hard way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Distance, and it does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Well, ouch, but I guess the fan was OK. I guess — did the security guard break his fall?

That’s all the time we have tonight. Don’t forget to set your DVR every weeknight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern so you never miss us. Greg Gutfeld takes it all from here.

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