This is a rush transcript from “Fox News @ Night,” May 1, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS HOST: Welcome to FOX NEWS AT NIGHT in Washington. I’m Kristin Fisher in for Shannon Bream. Breaking tonight John Kerry is facing further scrutiny. This time for financial disclosure forms obtained by Fox News that show he invested in oil companies prior to becoming President Biden’s climate envoy. Republicans are calling out the Biden administration’s embrace of the 1619 Project, labeling it divisive nonsense and an attempt to rewrite history, tonight’s supersized power panel debates.
Plus, two of the richest people in the world engaging in a salacious Twitter war over NASA’s Lunar Lander contract with a word tonight that NASA has now suspended its contract offer until it can resolve two protests over the award. Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine joins us live. But we begin tonight with John Kerry back in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. White House Correspondent Kevin Corke has the latest tonight. Good evening, Kevin.
KEVIN CORKE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Evening, Kristin. Great to be with you. Happy Friday. Now the argument that Kerry may have lost some money on some energy sector investments. Prior to becoming the Biden administration’s climate envoy shouldn’t disabuse anyone of the notion that the investments themselves by their very nature may be seen as dubious by some especially given his position and his possible influence and how that might shape U.S. energy policy.
Here is financial disclosure forms which were obtained, as you pointed out, by Fox News show that the former Secretary of State was financially invested in numerous oil companies including Duke Energy, Cimarex, Dominion Energy, Exelon Corporation, and Valero Energy. Now, the financial forum show that Kerry’s total investments were valued somewhere between $4.2 and $15 million, which he reported liquidating last month. Now, the State Department told Axios, which first reported about the financial disclosure that the climate czar has divested from all assets that could pose conflicts of interest.
Kerry has signed an ethics pledge, stating he will not take part in decisions involving his former clients and employers. However, given the number of major corporations that have paid him, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in some cases like Bank of America, millions of dollars over the past year, watchdog groups no doubt will be scouring the legislative fine print to make sure that none of his past benefactors directly benefit or indirectly benefit from the U.S. energy policies steered by Kerry.
Now, do keep this in mind. The disclosures come late in a week that also saw Kerry deny having ever discussed Israeli airstrikes in Syria with Iran Foreign Minister after the Times reported or suggested that he certainly had done that. And for the record, here is huge stock portfolio largely held in a trust affiliated with his wife to raise a Heinz carry core. She’s the heiress to the Heinz food processing fortune. It’s just another one of those hiccups that happens early. Kristin, in and administration sometimes you can weather the storm but sometimes the hits just keep on coming.
FISHER: Yes, we’ll be talking with our power panel about this in just a few minutes. Kevin Corke, thanks. Happy Friday. Have a great weekend, friend.
CORKE: You too, my friend.
FISHER: OK. President Biden pushing his big spending plans in Philadelphia today. He also moved to restrict travel from India due to that country’s Coronavirus surge. But remember before he was elected, then candidate Biden criticized former President Trump for what he called hysterical xenophobia when his predecessor announced that travel ban on China because of the virus, here’s Chief Correspondent Jonathan Hunt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN HUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Kristin with several hundred thousand new cases being reported daily, India’s total of COVID-19 infections stands at almost 19 million, 2nd only to the United States and trending sharply upwards as U.S. cases quickly decline. India’s hospitals are overwhelmed. There are not enough beds, not enough medicines and above all, not enough oxygen for those struggling to keep breathing.
HARSH VARDHAN SHRINGLA, INDIAN FOREIGN SECRETARY: Oxygen generators, oxygen concentrators, oxygen producing equipment, cryogenic tankers, transportation equipment for oxygen.
HUNT: The U.S. is among the country’s seeking to help sending more than $100 million worth of aid, including oxygen cylinders, while also trying to minimize the risk of India’s surge spreading here. President Biden is banning non-U.S. citizens from entering the U.S. from India beginning Tuesday. Signing a proclamation Friday that said India, “Accounts for over one-third of new global cases.” And saying of the ban on travel to the US from India that “proactive measures are required to protect the nation’s public health.” The day after President Trump announced the China travel ban last year, then candidate Biden tweeted, “We need to lead the way with science, not Donald Trump’s record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear mongering.” And he said this —
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Banning all travel from Europe or any other part of the world may slow it, but as we’ve seen, it will not stop it.
HUNT: Time has of course proven President Biden correct in terms of travel bans, not stopping the spread, but as the U.S. heads in the right direction with a growing number of Americans now vaccinated. The White House is also clearly willing to use restrictions as part of its wider war on the pandemic having also imposed limitations on travel from Brazil, the U.K., 26 European countries, China and Iran. India, in the meantime, remains in desperate need of help. The world is responding, but for too many, it is too late. Kristin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER: Jonathan Hunt, thank you. More than a dozen house Republicans are questioning whether there was any political interference in the final 2020 census numbers. In a letter to the Commerce Secretary, the group cited gaps in how many house seats right leaning states were projected to gain and the final results announced this week.
Republicans demanding the Department of Education reverse course tonight on an effort to reframe U.S. history with an emphasis on race and slavery. Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram educates us tonight on the controversy over the politics of what to teach our children.
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CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In a blistering letter, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell led a coalition of 37 GOP Senators demanding Education Secretary Miguel Cardona strike the plan. McConnell wrote, “Americans do not need or want their tax dollars diverted from promoting the principles that unite our nation toward promoting radical ideologies meant to divide us. Americans never decided, our children should be taught that our country is inherently evil.” The 1619 Projects of slavery was a key force in the American Revolution. Many historians dispute that got.
BILL BENNETT, FORMER EDUCATION SECRETARY: Got to defeat this proposal. This is unwarranted federal intrusion into the content of the curriculum.
PERGRAM: Education Secretary Miguel Cardona says he hasn’t seen McConnell’s letter.
MIGUEL CARDONA, EDUCATION SECRETARY: the federal government doesn’t really have a role in the curriculum development. I have complete confidence that the educators will get it right.
PERGRAM: Republicans accused Democrats of using government as a wedge in a national conversation on race.
SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): It’s wrong to try to use our painful past to dishonestly shut down debates in the present.
PERGRAM: Scott says the U.S. isn’t racist. President Biden agrees. But Democrats tinker with using government to address wrong.
BIDEN: I don’t think the American people are racist. But I think after 400 years, African Americans have been left in a position where they’re so far behind the eight ball in terms of education and health, in terms of opportunity,
PERGRAM: McConnell says potentially skewing the curriculum is consistent with the Democratic trend.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Behind President Biden’s familiar face, it’s like the most radical Washington Democrats have been handed the keys and they’re trying to speed as far left as they can possibly go.
PERGRAM: Democrats championing culture wars could have consequences at the ballot box.
GIBBS KNOTTS, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON: They’re also trying to figure out how to put food on the table. How do I pay for my kid’s college? But if somebody goes out and goes too far to the left that does hurt those Democrats that really are responsible for keeping the party in the majority in the House.
PERGRAM: Congress lacks the votes to eliminate the antitrust exemption for baseball. Expect the antitrust debate to return to the GOP lineup card when baseball plays the all-star game in Denver in mid-July. Kristin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER: Chad Pergram, thanks. First up in tonight’s “REAL NEWS ROUND UP,” Minneapolis will be front and center again this summer for the trial of the three other former officers charged in the death of George Floyd. Judge Peter Cahill has ruled that the upcoming trial will be broadcast on live television as Derek Chauvin trial was and this new trial set to begin in August.
Reports tonight that the family of Ashley Babbitt are planning to file a multimillion dollar wrongful death lawsuit against the Capitol Police. The 35-year-old Air Force veteran was killed January 6th during the Capitol riot. Earlier this month, the Justice Department said it would not pursue charges against the officer who shot Babbitt.
Former reality T.V. star Josh Duggar has been indicted on child pornography charges. Federal grand jury acknowledges that he knowingly received images of a child under the age of 12. And he could now face up to 20 years in prison.
Female South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is suing the Biden administration for barring a planned Independence Day fireworks celebration. The governor’s asking a judge to grant a permit so that the July 4th outdoor event can take place. President Biden is set July 4th is a target to mark our independence from this virus.
Major and champ soon getting a sibling. Jill Biden announcing today that the first family will be adopting a cat emphasizing that the feline will be a female but there’s a catch, the latest Biden pet may have to watch its back because Major member has been a bit of a problem child. Major remains in training falling to biting incidents at the White House. That cat better watch out.
An eight year old boy in Florida has started a petition to make masks optional at school and he’s gathered 400 signatures in just four days. His mother assisted him in submitting the petition to the school board before an upcoming vote on the mask mandate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don’t want people to like feel uncomfortable by like not wearing a mask.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some people like to wear them. Some people don’t.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people are struggling to wear masks, but we should not be made to do it anymore. I think a lot of people agree with me. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER: Brace yourselves America, a chicken shortage is looming. A Bloomberg report says that due to the recent increased popularity in fried chicken sandwiches during the pandemic, I did not know that was a thing, coupled with a lack of workers available and meat processing plants that the poultry demand is outweighing its availability.
And this pool season opens, chlorine may be scarce. The pandemic is being blamed yet again, as many Americans installed pools last year while stuck at home and a large chemical plant fire in Louisiana last summer has thrown off the supply chain.
And finally, this is some good news. Disneyland in California has reopened for the first time in over 400 days. Gates opened at 9:00 am and some are camped out in line as early as 2:30 in the morning, waiting for their chance to finally enjoy the attractions. Capacity is limited, limited to 25 percent, at least for now.
Well, Republican criticism of a new Department of Education proposal to focus U.S. history through the lens of race and slavery is drawing criticism in the mainstream media today. Reuters describing GOP objections to the curriculums linked to the controversial 1619 Project is Republicans asking Biden to withdraw divisive proposal to teach more black history.
So, let’s bring in Democratic Strategist and former Clinton Adviser Richard Goodstein, West Point Grad and Army Veteran Jeremy Hunt, Host of the “Jason in the House” podcast Jason Chaffetz, and a Former Member of the 1776 Commission, Peter Kirsanow.
All right. Gentlemen, thank you so much for being with us late on a Friday night. And, Peter, I’m going to start with you because you are a member of the commission that President Biden disbanded through executive order once he took office. So, what do you think of this latest development?
PETER KIRSANOW, FORMER MEMBER OF THE 1776 COMMISSION: Well, I think that Senator McConnell’s love letters are right on point. And I think that the Biden administration is being disingenuous. The critical race theory in 1619 projects are a historical, in some respects, they’re really insane. They’re very dumb. But most importantly, they’re pernicious.
I can’t think of a greater threat, a greater internal threat to the United States of America since the Civil War. And that’s not an understatement. Like, I’ve been in Civil Rights Commission for more than 20 years now, longest serving member, I’ve never seen anything quite like this. You talk to parents across the country, talk to kids across the country, they’re being told that, you know, we’re they’re being judged on the basis of the color of their skin, not the content of their character. They’ve been told their oppressors. It’s invidious. It’s inherently anti-American.
And, you know, the proposed rule by the Biden administration gives priority funding to 1619 Project and to critical race priority funding nearly $6 billion-dollars-worth and no school district is going to reject that, in fact, thousands have already embraced teaching critical race theory. Parents understand what’s going on right now, and that’s why there was an uproar. There are lawsuits being filed and challenges across the country.
FISHER: Well, Senator Mitch McConnell sent this pretty scathing letter as you reference to the Education Secretary, but here is the Education Secretary responding to that letter this morning. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARDONA: The federal government doesn’t really have a role in the curriculum development, but I have complete confidence in educators across the country as they develop curriculum and lessons to ensure that we’re providing diverse perspectives in our curriculum. I have complete confidence at the educators will get it right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER: Jason, do you have confidence that the educators will get it right?
JASON CHAFFETZ, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: No, I don’t actually, I start from the point that I don’t even think there should be a federal Department of Education. There shouldn’t even be one. Let the money flow to the kids. Let these happen at the state level with the local parents, teachers, educators, and school boards. That’s the way this should happen.
But I’m going to take the education secretary at his word, if that’s true, if they’re not going to, at the federal level, engage in the curriculum, then there’s no need to actually pass along the money and there should be no requirement from the Department of Education. So, Democrats will argue, oh, it’s such a small amount of money. That’s always their excuse. But it is fundamentally wrong. Mitch McConnell is right. And let’s get rid of the Department of Education. We won’t have these problems.
FISHER: Richard, you’re the democrat on the panel, weigh in here.
RICHARD GOODSTEIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You know, the backdrop for this is that Joe Biden has shockingly high approval ratings, his policies are even more favorable. And his speech the other night was more favorable still. And now we have this phony grievance, likely heard about hamburgers, and Kamala Harris’ book. Look, it’s true, there is no federal curriculum. It is also true that we have states not all that long ago, in the south that we’re teaching that the South won the war of Northern aggression, and no mention of lynching.
No, mention the fact that children were sold off, no mention of the brutalization of these enslaved people. So, can we agree that we should have real history taught, and not a white-washed version of history? I don’t think that’s really asking too much has nothing to do with the 1619 Project. It has everything to do with fact,
FISHER: Jeremy, how do you think this is going to play out? How’s this going to end?
JEREMY HUNT, WEST POINT GRAD AND ARMY VETERAN: I just — I find it funny that fact in the 1619 Project, just don’t go in the same sentence. So, let me just be clear about that. You kind of have to wonder, you know, why is it that the left always wants that back their political agenda on our children when they are away at public schools, away from their parents, who could you know, object to some of the stuff and it’s because they want to, they want to brainwash our children into thinking that everything is about the color of their skin, that so long were the days of content of their character? No, it’s all about what you look like. And it’s so annoying, because they really depend on parents being disengaged out of the loop not knowing what’s going on. So, it is really on us to speak up ask questions and, and demand that our lawmakers do as well. So, I applaud Senator McConnell and the other senators that that spoke out against this.
FISHER: All right down then let’s talk about the big news from the Biden administration today that they have decided to restrict travel from India due to that country surge in the coronavirus starting on May 4th. And of course, it’s caused quite a bit of controversy given the president’s statements during the campaign trail. The White House says hey, we’re simply following CDC guidelines. Jason, what do you say?
CHAFFETZ: It’s a sad situation in India. Nobody wants to see them suffer. I’m glad that the United States is going to provide aid and as much equipment as we possibly can. I think Joe Biden is very slow on this. I think they probably should have shut down the travel a while ago. And it just shows the hypocrisy and how fundamentally wrong Joe Biden and the rest of the democrats were, quite frankly, when Donald Trump was doing the same with China back when this was emerging, it is going to spread but it could have been slowed. And the democrats started calling, you know, xenophobia, instead of actually following the science back then and it just highlights I think the hypocrisy of the Democrats.
FISHER: Let me pop up the tweet that seems to be the root cause for the charge of hypocrisy. It’s from then candidate Biden back in March of 2020. And he said, “A wall will not stop the Coronavirus banning all travel from Europe or any other part of the world will not stop it. This disease could impact every nation, any person on the planet and we need to combat it.” So, you know, that line right there banning all travel from Europe or any other part of the world will not stop it. Richard, how is that not a little bit hypocritical?
GOODSTEIN: First of all, Joe Biden was calling Donald Trump accurately xenophobic for years before we could even pronounce the word coronavirus. And what he said last March with the travel restrictions, advised by scientists and backed by a full plan were warranted and that’s what we were lacking. Remember, last February, Donald Trump said we’re 15 cases we’re going to be at zero.
Before the election, he said we will never hear about Coronavirus again, and we’ve had 350,000 more people die since then. And Joe Biden’s come in and is giving three to four million shots a day, the death rate is way down. And frankly some of these some of these are not being you know, Pfizer was not part of warp speed. So, the notion that somehow or other this was something he inherited from Donald Trump —
FISHER: Richard, I got to leave it there. Thanks so much, gentlemen. Have a great weekend.
HUNT: Thank you.
GOODSTEIN: All right. Thanks.
CHAFFETZ: Thank you.
FISHER: You bet. So, a cat takes a blow dart to the head and a pair of pups caught red handed at the scene of the crime. Today’s best viral videos next.
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FISHER: A North Carolina man was heading home from work on his motorcycle when a truck performing a U-turn suddenly pulled out in front of him. Larry Daniels unable to evade the driver ramming into the back of the vehicle. The motorcyclist a bit banged up but thankfully he was wearing a safety gear. He says the driver check to see if he was OK but then just left the scene and he now wants that other person to come forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That dot in between the eyes. So, that’s where he got hit by the by the dart.
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FISHER: A four year old cat is doing OK after a pretty scary experience. Chester, the cat, taking a blow dart to the head. He was rushed to the hospital where the doctor carefully pulled the barb out, and amazingly, the dark Miss Chester’s brain and vital nerves by this much.
And now, a dangerously close look inside a volcano an active crater in Iceland spotted spewing lava by a drone when suddenly the footage begins to kind of glitch as the drone itself melts. The Icelandic Meteorological Office said that the eruption remains stable, but that they continue to monitor the site.
And the chinchilla named Philly from Philly, living his best life right there. The cute little guys seen here in a video now gone viral getting pampered. The dense coat of a chinchilla. It’s not meant to get wet because it can be hard to get completely dry. So, that’s why chinchillas take dust baths as opposed to water baths. And there’s your fun fact for the night. See you learn something.
Moving on to a pretty scary scene in Southern California where a double tanker Big Rig hauling a load of 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel overturned on a freeway. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the spilling diesel fuel was contained, but about 200 gallons of liquid may have entered the storm drain system before they were able to arrive on scene.
And finally, a pair of pups caught red handed at the scene of the crime when their owners busted in on them obliterating the living room couch. And I mean just look at those guys. They were just having fun. So, let’s just send in some to a long walk and lots of treats for looking so cute. And if you have a video you want to share tweet us @FoxNewsNight or @KristinFisher.
Breaking tonight, police make a disturbing discovery in a quiet Houston neighborhood. 90 migrants packed into a two-story house, some of them showing symptoms of COVID-19. Correspondent David Lee Miller with the details of what is believed to be part of a major human smuggling ring.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LEE MILLER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Kristin, what began as an investigation into a possible kidnapping led to a shocking discovery. A Houston police SWAT team serving a search warrant found inside a home what is believed to be a human smuggling operation.
DARYN EDWARDS, HOUSTON ASSISTANT POLICE CHIEF: It was a big surprise when we got in the house and saw what we saw.
MILLER: Inside the home, authorities found large groups of people huddled together. According to initial reports, they told police they came from countries in Central America. Authority say there were no children and only about five women.
EDWARDS: When we got into the house, we realized that there were over 90 people inside. So, we immediately began to assess any kind of special threat after that. Once we isolated that we wanted to be make sure we rendered any kind of medical care.
MILLER: Some inside the home complained of symptoms consistent with COVID. The Health Department was called in.
EDWARDS: We had some people in the house tell us they’re not able to smell and not able to taste, and we did have some people with fever. So, we’ve got we’ve got the health department we’re going to do some rapid testing and kind of take it from there.
MILLER: Authorities provided food and water after some in the home complained of not having eaten. Federal agents with Homeland Security join the investigation. Police believe it is possible that those behind the smuggling operation might be trying to mix in among those found in the home.
EDWARDS: We’ve got to separate who the victims are versus who as you can imagine, somebody would be involved with something like this. As soon as they realize we’re here they’re probably going to try to become a part of them.
MILLER: At least one neighbor says she never saw any suspicious activity and was shocked to learn what police discovered.
CLARICE DOOLEY, NEIGHBOR: This is awful. I didn’t expected it to be in my neighborhood. We’re always suspecting somewhere else, but what makes money a good exempt? Nothing really.
MILLER: This was one of several recent incidents of human smuggling in the Houston area. In December, more than two dozen people were found in a small home with the windows boarded up and deadbolt locks on the inside doors. Kristin.
FISHER: Wow. David Lee Miller, thank you.
Another battle over First Amendment rights. A former college football coach suing to get his job back after he was fired for posting a tweet mocking Stacey Abrams, our “Night Court” convenes next.
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FISHER: All right. It is time now for “Night Court.” A former college football coach who was fired for incendiary tweets about Georgia politician Stacey Abrams, is suing to get his job back. Chris Malone says that he was forced to resign earlier this year as the Chattanooga Mocs’ offensive line coach for comments that the school says do not represent the values of its football program. But Malone argues that he should never have been fired for what he considers exercising his First Amendment rights.
So, let’s start an argument with civil rights attorney Robert Patillo and Washington Times legal affairs reporter and attorney, Alex Swoyer.
All right. I mean, this is a classic First Amendment case, freedom of speech. Let’s start with this Exhibit A right here because this is the offending tweet that got the coach in so much trouble. And he deleted it after 30 minutes important to point out. But he said that, quote, “Congratulations to the state of Georgia and Fat Albert Stacey Abrams, because you have truly shown America the true works of cheating in an election again. Enjoy the buffet, big girl, you earned it, hope the money was good. Still not governor.”
I mean, I think we can all agree that that is not a very nice tweet. But did he deserve to get fired for it? Alex, make your case.
ALEX SWOYER, WASHINGTON TIMES LEGAL AFFAIRS REPORTER: I actually think both the law and the facts are on the coach’s side, if he was commenting on a political matter, and courts have been protective of political speech, they’ve also been protective of the teacher’s First Amendment right.
In fact, the Supreme Court ruled in 1968 that a teacher didn’t lose his First Amendment, when he had a letter to a newspaper published that he was critical of the school board, and its funding for athletics. And so, I think that that, sort of, precedent helps the coach here.
Also, in the school speech cases, courts generally look to see if there was a substantial disruption in the classroom or the school environment. And there’s nothing in the record about this, because as you mentioned, the tweet was only up for 30 minutes.
FISHER: Yes. It wasn’t a ton of time, but certainly didn’t say some nice things.
So, let’s get the other side. This is what the school thinks about this. This is Exhibit B. Pop it up. And, Robert, I’ll get your take on the other side of this.
So, this is from head coach Rusty Wright, and he says, “What was posted on social media by a member of my staff is unacceptable, and not any part of what I stand for what Chattanooga football stands for. Life is bigger than football. And as leaders of young men, we have to set that example, first and foremost. With that said, effective immediately, that individual is no longer part of my staff.”
So, Robert, make your case.
ROBERT PATILLO, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, let’s understand, this is not a First Amendment issue. The First Amendment protects you from governmental interference, and your right to freedom of speech. This is an employment issue. So, it’s governed by your employment contract with the employer. If he violated the terms of that contract in a way, which is deemed to be a fireable offense, then he is terminated or he’s forced to resign. That is it.
And this is not even a First Amendment issue primarily because if you read the pleading, I’ve never read a pleading that has cartoons and pictures and fat jokes in it. So, I think that you can’t really take this seriously as a pleading in the first place, because he’s not even going by the contract that he has with the school. Rather, he is simply making a more of his arguments and jokes about William Howard Taft. It’s a very strange pleading in its totality.
FISHER: So, Alex, who do you think has the stronger case here?
SWOYER: Well, I do think that the man has precedent on his side. And as Robert noted, there were cartoons included in the complaint. And what he was basically saying in his lawsuit is that his — what he was making was a fat joke. And that those — although those are offensive, they’re not illegal. And he pointed to President Taft, who was apparently over 300 pounds and got stuck in a bathtub at the White House, how that became a running joke in the political environment. As well as most recently, former President Donald Trump had a lot of jabs at him for his weight and his skin color being orange. So, he says that this is just part of the political environment and it’s protected speech.
FISHER: Robert, do you think that this matters at all that this tweet was sent out in the middle of those Georgia Senate runoffs?
PATILLO: Well, no, because, again, this is an employment issue. So, it’d be one thing if the government came to his house and arrested him because of his tweet or if his bank accounts were frozen because of this tweet. It’s an employment issue. And if the employer deems that you’ve done something inappropriate, that is all that is needed under his contract with the school in order to be terminated.
So, unless he wants to be independently employed football coach, he teaches his own camp, if he wants to do that and don’t want to abide by anybody else’s rules, then by all means, you can tweet whatever you feel like. But if you’re going to be employed by another individual, if you’re going to be affecting recruiting, you’re going to be affecting scholarships, you’re going to be affecting state funding by your tweets, then you have to abide by their rules.
FISHER: So, Alex, what do you think this means for this coach’s future employment? I mean, is this going to really hurt him get a job elsewhere?
SWOYER: Well, it’s really — it’s really a sad situation. Apparently, he’s been a coach for more than 20 years, and to have a tweet that was up for 30 minutes, destroy your career, and your future would be just — a sad situation. And, of course, I think this is something we can all learn from.
I — we’ve mentioned earlier about Donald Trump and jobs about his weight. I think it’s curious to find out if there was sort of professors or teachers in the political environment, making those sort of comments but yet keeping their jobs. So, I’m not sure. I think that he’s going to end up winning this, whether he has to appeal it or not. So, we’ll see. He might end up being reinstated.
FISHER: You know, one thing I’ve learned, I think very few good things can come from posting anything on Twitter. It’s a lesson. Folks have had to learn the hard way. But, Robert, I’ll give you —
SWOYER: Amen.
FISHER: — the last word before we head out here tonight.
PATILLO: Well, on top of that, what is his issue with plus size women? Nothing wrong with big girls. So, I think he needs to mature, stop putting jokes online, and you’re going to coach for 20 years, it’s clear his 40s or 50s. Just mature and grow up.
FISHER: Amen. We’ll leave it there. You guys did a great job tonight. Thank you. That is our “Night Court” and thanks for joining us so late on a Friday night. Appreciate it.
PATILLO: Anytime.
FISHER: So, two of the richest people in the world are in an all-out Twitter war in the battle for supremacy in outer space. We’ve got former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine joining us live, next.
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FISHER: President Biden came into office promising to unify the country. So, what kind of progress is he making on that front, especially in leading the U.S. out of the pandemic? We’ve got Fox News medical contributor, Dr. Marc Siegel, taking a look tonight. Evening, Doc.
DR. MARC SIEGEL, FOX NEWS MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Kristin. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new mask guidelines this week, and I spoke about them to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Sirius XM’s Doctor Radio.
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DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: I think that the ability to shed the mask is actually so liberating for people. That perhaps that’ll be a motivation to get vaccinated as well.
SIEGEL (voice over): Despite this liberation, which could be seen as relief on people’s maskless faces all across the country, and despite Dr. Walensky’s acknowledgement that relaxing the rules could be an incentive for more people getting vaccinated, at the same time, there was still confusion about the new guidelines. How to tell if someone without a mask is vaccinated? Why can’t a vaccinated person do without a mask altogether when there is such a low chance of getting sick or spreading the virus?
Then the president added to the confusion when he spoke to Congress this week, because though he said we should come together and replace fear with hope, he continued to sound divisive by not acknowledging the successful work of the prior administration in bringing these vaccines so quickly and effectively to market. Or the positive example that states like Florida and Texas have now shown by fully reopening with a continued decline in case rates and death since January.
President Biden continued to spread confusion by not leading by example, by wearing a mask outside or even inside at Congress when the CDC’s own new guidelines told him neither was necessary since he was vaccinated.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It’s a patriotic responsibility for God’s sake.
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SIEGEL: The President’s predecessor once famously said, there are no red states or blue states, there are only the United States. But these are just words to the people, unless the leader acts as though these words are really true. Kristin.
FISHER: Thanks, Dr. Siegel.
The two richest people on the planet are in a Twitter war of galactic proportions with Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, challenging NASA’s awarding of their Lunar Lander contract to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, prompting Musk to engage in some quality trolling, tweeting that Bezos, “Can’t get it up to orbit. Lol.”
So, time to talk about the hottest topics in space with former NASA administrator and Acorn Growth Companies’ senior advisor, Jim Bridenstine.
Jim, we saved the best for last. Thanks for joining us tonight.
JIM BRIDENSTINE, FORMER NASA ADMINISTRATOR: Always great to be with you. What a story.
FISHER: I mean, you know what, Jim? It’s so wild because for so many years, people thought that space was so boring. I tell you what, with these two billionaires in the mix, it ain’t so boring now.
BRIDENSTINE: No. In fact, I really think it’s amazing entertainment. So that’s good just on the face of it, but even better. Like you said, we have two titans of American industry and others. We’ve got others out there that are competing, you know, to provide services to NASA. And they’re fighting in order to — in order to get a NASA contract.
I think it’s wonderful for space exploration. It’s great entertainment and it’s good for the United States of America.
FISHER: Yes. You know, the first space race it was all about two countries competing. That’s what fueled the Apollo 11 program or the Apollo program. Now, we’ve got these two billionaires, and as you said, other industry titans duking it out. But it’s that same kind of competition that’s making space so exciting again. In terms of this Lunar Lander contract, we had some big news tonight. It sounds like Jeff Bezos’ complaint is actually having an impact. NASA announcing today that it’s suspending that contract with SpaceX. How do you think this is going to shake out?
BRIDENSTINE: You know, it’s too early to tell. This is not unusual. When we had a contract back in 2014, to launch crew to the International Space Station, there was a — there was a protest then as well and so, the contract got suspended. But in a matter of weeks, it continued to move forward.
I don’t know how this will turn out. I do know that I trust, the judgment and the capabilities of the professionals at NASA. But the important thing is this, there is a process here. And that is — that is what we are going through is it — I say we — I’m not at NASA, I haven’t been there for three months. But I — we the United States of America, how about that?
There’s a process. And in the end, this process will result in an outcome that everybody is going to have a lot of confidence in. So, it’s really a good thing, and we’ll see where it ends up.
FISHER: Yes. And the irony here, Bezos using a very similar argument to the one that Musk used in order to fight the United Launch Alliance and gain some of those contracts. So, it’s really kind of coming full circle here, which is interesting to see.
I want to talk to you about one other thing. The very close call that those astronauts inside the Dragon capsule that launched last week, close call to some space debris. And this is — we don’t know exactly where that debris specifically came from. But this is another area where Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are fighting it out, both trying to launch tons and tons of satellites into low Earth orbit, which is creating those kinds of conditions, those dangerous conditions that we saw this week.
BRIDENSTINE: Yes, that’s absolutely right. I want to be clear, there is a huge market for basically internet connectivity from space. A Morgan Stanley says that that market could be as big as $400 billion by the year 2040. That means there’s lots of opportunity there.
It also means that we have to do two things. Number one, we have to be safe in space. And so, we need to make sure that the United States government, through its regulators, the FCC, and also members of Congress need to get active here and start saying, what do we need to do to be safe? And we need to make sure that there is access to low Earth orbit for a lot of different companies.
We have to make sure that there is competition. I’ve always said the only thing worse than a government monopoly is a private monopoly that the government is beholden to. And so, we have to prevent that from happening for anybody. We need competition in the marketplace. But there’s a lot of opportunity here for a lot of different companies to provide internet broadband from space. And I think that’s going to be good, not just for the United States of America, but lifting people out of poverty, providing education all around the world. Mobile Banking, for example, telemedicine.
Remember, 50 percent of the world isn’t connected right now. So, when we can start connecting people, it’s going to be transformational in a positive way. And I’m very excited about it. There’s lots of room for everybody, but we have to do the right things from a government perspective.
FISHER: Who do you think is winning that little war right now SpaceX or Blue Origin?
BRIDENSTINE: Well, certainly SpaceX is launching more stuff into space right now. But I’ll tell you, I recently joined the board of directors of a company called Viasat. I think they have the — probably the most unique and the best intellectual property to actually, you know, provide more throughput, more bandwidth at a lesser cost.
So, there’s opportunity here for a lot of different companies. And over time, we’ll see what happens. But competition is a good thing. We need to ensure that it stays there. And we need to make sure that space is safe.
FISHER: Jim, I got about 30 seconds, but really quick, weigh in on China launching the first module of its space station this week and Russia leaving the U.S. space station to start its own.
BRIDENSTINE: So important. This is critically important. Every American needs to listen to this. The International Space Station, we celebrated 20 years of its active service in November of last year. We have to make sure that when it comes to the end of its useful life, there is a replacement. We need commercial space stations, maybe even multiple or even a dozen or so commercial space stations.
We cannot cede to China or any other country, low Earth orbit. And NASA has to be at the forefront of this, and we need Congress to fund it.
FISHER: Jim, I got to leave it there. Thank you so much. You’ve been my favorite segment of the week. Really appreciate it. Have a great night and a good weekend.
BRIDENSTINE: Thank you.
FISHER: And for all of you, it has been such a pleasure to fill in for Shannon Bream all week long. I’ve had a wonderful time but don’t worry your girl, Shannon Bream, she will be back on Monday. And I’m Kristin Fisher live in Washington. Good night.
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