Trump Rocks Knicks Game

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Five – "Trump Rocks Knicks Game"

Date: June 9, 2026
Host/Panel: Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters, Dana Perino, Kennedy, Harold Ford Jr.

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Episode Overview

This episode of "The Five" dives into several of the day's hottest topics, starting with Donald Trump's controversial attendance at the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden. The panel follows up with candid debates on the Democrats' primary drama in Maine involving candidate Graham Platner, James Talarico’s political makeover in Texas, and breaking news on U.S. airstrikes in Iran. Each discussion is laced with the show's trademark banter and irreverence, as the co-hosts debate, joke, and sometimes spar over current events and their wider cultural implications.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Trump at the Knicks NBA Finals Game (00:00–05:23)

• Trump’s Reception at MSG:
  Trump attended the NBA Finals game; was met with a mix of boos and cheers. He later said, “I thought great. […] It was, I think, mostly cheers. It was loud and it was very enthusiastic.” (Dana Perino quoting Trump, 00:43)
• Blame Game & Public Perception:
  Panel jokes about liberals blaming Trump for the Knicks' loss and the mythic idea of the “Trump Effect” jinxing the team. Kennedy adds, “Don't bring your bad karma vibe to New York. Blaming him for ending Nick's winning streak last night. No, no, no. Now, come on, now. Does not have that kind of power.” (Kennedy, 01:17)
• Celebrities and Fan Violence:
  Commentary about celebrity courtside attendees and post-game chaos where “21 arrested” after fan altercations.
• Ticket Prices & Wealth Inequality:
  Discussion about how costs for attending high-profile games have exploded over the years. Jesse asks, “Expensive things, like the TVs that we watch the games on have gotten cheaper. But the cheaper things, the things you go to a game are getting more expensive. Do you blame that on liberal, expansive government?” (Jesse Waters, 05:23)
• Trump as a Dedicated Sports Fan:
  Dana highlights Trump's regular attendance at major sporting events and positions it as a sign of engagement: “This guy goes to first president to go to a UFC fight, a Super Bowl, an NBA Finals game … 50% of life, Greg, is showing up." (Dana Perino, 03:30)

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2. The Graham Platner Scandal in Maine (10:05–18:53)

• Democratic Primary Dilemma:
  Graham Platner’s campaign faces scandals including a Nazi tattoo, toxic relationships, and damning social media content.
• Vetting Failure & Political Calculations:
  Harold and Greg dissect the vetting process: “We have so many tools allowing us to access information about people, about periods and periods of time in our history, and we just sometimes don't seem to do it.” (Greg Gutfeld, 13:58)
  Dana jokes about candidate transparency: “They should have just had him strip. And going forward, you're going to have to make all candidates take off all their clothes for a tattoo check.” (Dana Perino, 17:36)
• Liberal Double Standards & Movements Critiqued:
  “Platner is a hero, and I'll tell you why. He's done a tremendous service. He's slayed two big movements, the Euro Nazi movement, by being a Nazi and being accepted by the left. You can't call anybody a Nazi anymore... What about the MeToo movement?” (Jesse Waters, 11:51)
• Effect on Party and the Culture:
  Kennedy blasts the Democratic approach: “This box checking central casting will absolutely cast a black eye on this party, and rightly so.” (Kennedy, 15:54)
  Panel worries about Platner potentially harming other races down ballot: “I think he's going to win this primary tonight. But … I wouldn’t be voting for him tonight… I hope that these other Senate candidates … [are not] dragged … into another scandal.” (Harold Ford Jr., 15:18)

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3. James Talarico’s Political Makeover (19:47–27:11)

• Shifting Political Branding:
  Talarico, a Texas Democrat, attempts a dramatic image shift ahead of November, declaring himself a "border-hawk" and opposing gender reassignment surgeries for minors.
  “I'm a border security Democrat. I believe we've got to have a sane, orderly process to ensure that we know who's coming into our country. I oppose gender reassignment surgeries for minors.” (James Talarico, 20:06)
• Authenticity vs Convenience:
  Debate over whether such rapid “evolution” can be authentic. Kennedy notes, “There's a difference between an evolution on a position and refining … and completely doing a political 180 because it's politically convenient.” (Kennedy, 24:09)
  Jesse is skeptical: “I don't trust anybody who sells out the things they claim to champion in an effort to gain popularity… He's a coward. And he just. As a man, he just wilts. He's flaccid, impotent.” (Jesse, 25:21)
• Theater of Campaigning:
  Panel ridicules politicians eating meat for the cameras and the media’s response, with Harold joking, “If you are a press person working on a campaign… you're gonna have the candidate eat meat so that they can get it on camera. Run away from that campaign.” (Harold Ford Jr., 26:43)

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4. Minnesota “Fraud Tour” & Referendum to DOJ (27:40–29:59)

• Fraud Allegations Against Tim Walz & Keith Ellison:
  VP J.D. Vance seeks criminal investigation into Minnesota officials. Whistleblowers were allegedly shut down, facing accusations of “racism and xenophobia” for speaking up (Jesse, 28:03)
• Systemic Accountability:
  Dana, ever the skeptic: “I'm not a lawyer, thank God, because those people are ridiculous. But facilitation of fraud, criminal negligence. I'm sure a well-read lawyer can find a statute and then nail these two guys to the wall…” (Dana Perino, 28:11)
• Whistleblowers, Testimony, and Cover-Up:
  Harold laments that Congress didn’t allow enough answers in hearings to hold officials accountable for perjury.
  Kennedy calls for more accountability for those who "built the system," especially in big-government states like California and Illinois (29:26)

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5. Breaking News: U.S. Airstrikes on Iran (29:47–34:08)

• Live Updates from Jennifer Griffin (29:49–32:36):
  • U.S. strikes underway against Iranian air defense systems and radar installations, in response to recent escalations.
  • Operations likely designed to be defensive and proportional.
  • Drones launched by Iran are mobile and hard to track.
• Panel Reactions:
  • Harold: Commends U.S. military capability, but notes “President Trump has been tested… by the Iranians who seem to be playing games.” (Harold Ford Jr., 32:44)
  • Dana: Views the ceasefire as “slowly collapsing,” with serious negotiations ongoing but no clear outcome (Dana Perino, 33:30)
  • Kennedy: Worries that every new military action only prolongs instability: “every time something new happens that results in another incursion or defensive strike... it only prolongs the situation.” (Kennedy, 34:08)

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6. California Election Updates (35:13–36:14)

• Jovial Closure and Results:
  The panel shares banter about California primary results, with Dana exclaiming about Pratt’s win. (35:14)
• Election Integrity Riffs:
  Kennedy mockingly declares, “I am so angry. I'm actually speechless about this whole thing. I don't trust it. I don't trust anyone's explanation. 10 magical points with some magical ballots.” (Kennedy, 35:40)
  Greg jokes about accusations of rigging only surfacing when a candidate loses.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trump at the Knicks Game:
  “It was loud and it was very enthusiastic.” (Trump, via Dana Perino, 00:43)
  “Don't bring your bad karma vibe to New York… Does not have that kind of power.” (Kennedy, 01:17)
• On Vetting Candidates:
  “They should have just had him strip. And going forward, you're going to have to make all candidates take off all their clothes for a tattoo check.” (Dana Perino, 17:36)
• On Platner’s Impact:
  “He's slayed two big movements, the Euro Nazi movement, by being a Nazi and being accepted by the left. You can't call anybody a Nazi anymore.” (Jesse Waters, 11:51)
• On Candidate Rebranding:
  “I don't trust anybody who sells out the things they claim to champion in an effort to gain popularity… He's flaccid, impotent.” (Jesse, 25:21)
• On Accountability in Office:
  “I'm not a lawyer, thank God, because those people are ridiculous.” (Dana Perino, 28:11)
• On the Iran Airstrikes:
  “I'm with Dana on this….every time something new happens… it only prolongs the situation.” (Kennedy, 34:08)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Trump at Knicks Game: 00:00–05:23
• On Wealth, Fan Violence, and Sports: 05:23–07:38
• Platner Scandal in Maine: 10:05–18:53
• James Talarico’s Makeover: 19:47–27:11
• Minnesota Fraud Investigation: 27:40–29:59
• Live: US Airstrikes on Iran: 29:47–34:08
• California Election Banter: 35:13–36:14

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Tone & Style

True to The Five’s standard, the episode blends serious political debate, cultural commentary, and sharp humor. The hosts volley opinion, tease each other, and occasionally offer earnest reflection on politics and American society.

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For listeners seeking a snapshot of 2026’s big political news, sports spectacle, and campaign chaos—with some comedy thrown in—this episode delivers in classic "The Five" style.

Transcript

[Greg Gutfeld]

Time for.

[Jesse Waters]

Hi, I'm Greg Gutfeld, along with Kennedy, Harold Ford Jr. Jesse Waters and her camping tent is a glad bag. Dana Perino. The five. President Trump hitting up Madison Square Garden, attending an NBA Finals game Monday night only to watch his beloved New York Knicks get taken down by the San Antonio Spurs. Liberal fans showering the don with booze when he was showed on the Jumbotron. But POTUS took it like a man with a big beautiful smirk on his face, brushing it off later by saying the crowd was mostly cheerful.

[Dana Perino]

What did you think of the reception you got from the next fans tonight? I thought great. It was certainly amazing. It was, I think, mostly cheers. It was loud and it was very enthusiastic.

[Jesse Waters]

And libs getting their dopamine hit by blaming Trump for the loss.

[Kennedy]

Trump likes to claim that New York loves him.

[Dana Perino]

New York does not.

[Kennedy]

Did he fall asleep?

[Dana Perino]

And there is footage the New York

[Jesse Waters]

Post not exactly a, you know, obviously not a ludicrous fall asleep.

[Kennedy]

He did not shut down New York

[Harold Ford Jr.]

and disrupt this game to fall asleep at it.

[Kennedy]

Don't bring your bad karma vibe to New York. Blaming him for ending Nick's winning streak last night. No, no, no. Now, come on, now. Does not have that kind of power.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Donald Trump wasn't responsible for the loss

[Jesse Waters]

of the game, but he was responsible

[Greg Gutfeld]

for the loss of joy that the New York Knicks fans had been feeling.

[Jesse Waters]

And angry Knicks fans got their frustrations out by smacking the snot out of each other with bus signs ending with 21 arrested. Look at that terrible stuff. Kennedy, what do you make of the Trump effect on the game? I would argue that the person most responsible for the Knicks losing is Timothee Chalamet.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, and that little orange sweatsuit that he was wearing, that tracksuit.

[Jesse Waters]

It's an embarrassment.

[Kennedy]

I blame Ben Stiller. Yes, Greg, you know, that's someone who lost his mojo a long time ago. I actually thought that it was going to affect Wemby. Victor Wamanya, who is the center for the San Antonio spurs, he's 7ft 7, 17 inches tall and he looked like a floating wind sock during games one and two. So he was actually due for a bit of a rebound because he has not looked like a championship caliber player. And I thought Wemby was going to get the yips having the President in attendance because I have to tell you, having been to the Correspondent's Dinner and sitting there during the shooting like I get a little freaked out in crowded spaces now and especially when the President is in attendance. I thought Wemby might share My trepidation. But they couldn't box him in effectively. It looked like the Knicks were a little bit out of rhythm. And of course they're going to blame Trump for whichever way the score went at the end of the game. And I still have all the faith in the world that the Knicks will triumph in five or six.

[Jesse Waters]

All right. You know, Jesse, you look at the. What do you call it? The front row. Is that what you call it? I don't know. I don't watch. Ben Stiller, Larry David Chalamet, Spike Lee. It's funny. The people on the. What do you call it?

[Harold Ford Jr.]

Courtside.

[Jesse Waters]

On courtside are precisely the people that would have been stuffed in their lockers by the people on court.

[Dana Perino]

It's all right. Let him watch. It was a great game, and Trump didn't lose it for him. It was obviously the refs, because I was going to. The league wants this thing to go seven for financial reasons. And Brunson was ice cold. It's fine. Nix in five, Trump. The reaction was mixed. I would say it was passionate. I did hear some boos, but, I mean, it's an NBA game. That's the fan base. It's like if Kamala went to Dallas Cowboy game. How would that sound? At least he goes to games. Democrats don't even go to games. They go to pride parades. You got to take a risk in order to do something like this. And he's done it. I mean, this guy goes to first president to go to a UFC fight, a Super bowl, an NBA Finals game, college championship game, Ryder cup. And besides Clinton, the only one to go to the US Open, tennis. So he's in the game. 50% of life. Greg is showing up. Never hear that before.

[Greg Gutfeld]

No.

[Dana Perino]

So he, he, he shows up and he's been showing up. World Series, boxing matches, it doesn't matter. You can tell he had a great time because for him, when you're the president, you go to a game, the pressure is not on you. It's the only time where you don't have to be on and you can sit back and can you watch other people perform? And it looked like he had a great time. He was eating pizza and fries and the ugly scene was outside. Did you see that? Now, as a Philly fan,

[Greg Gutfeld]

you were used to that.

[Dana Perino]

I've seen a little bit of that, but I've seen the taunting and the beer throwing. I haven't seen a lot of that. It's the teens, Greg.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Yes.

[Dana Perino]

You know, it's these teens.

[Jesse Waters]

What do they have against signs that are.

[Dana Perino]

That are out of control. I'm seeing a pattern. Yes, with teen violence. I'm sure the President's gonna be blamed for this. Teen violence, yes.

[Jesse Waters]

Those poor signs. Who will speak for the signs? Harold, you are a financial whiz. You know, I was looking at some research. In 1999 when the Knicks faced the spurs, you could get cheap seats for 50 bucks. Courtside was 2 to $2,700. Now, premium seats, 95,000 to 300,000. Average seats, 7 to 15,000. The weird thing about life that I've noticed, Harold, and maybe you could fill me in on this. Expensive things, like the TVs that we watch the games on have gotten cheaper. But the cheaper things, the things you go to a game are getting more expensive. Do you blame that on liberal, expansive government?

[Greg Gutfeld]

Blame it on the rise in wealth? But look, let me say this. Everything you guys said, I agree with. I think the Knicks fans were more disappointed with the outcome of the game than they were with President Trump being at the game. Had we won the game last night, President Trump, you best believe, would have claimed all the credit. And there have been people giving him some of the credit, perhaps even including me. He. I thought he handled the boos the way the President handles a lot of things. He handled it in stride and kind of, kind of characterized it the way he wanted to characterize it, saying there weren't many, many people booing. And I think he was predictable and was expected. The daunting part for me is it's unfortunate that so many people cannot separate serious entertainment and serious business. Basketball is entertainment. I was criticized by a friend of mine who happens to be pro choice. I'm pro choice because I like Chick Fil A. And the owners of Chick Fil A are pro life. They. They make a good thing of chicken nuggets and I like going there. If you can't root for the Knicks and embrace someone who roots for the Knicks because they have a different politics than you, then we've gotten to. That rot I talk about in our culture is even more pervasive than we thought. If the President wants to come back again, I do hope he understands that you completely disrupt the traffic patterns in the city. My son got caught on Governor's island last night at the practice until 7pm or 8:30pm because of the President being here. But. But he's not the reason we lost last night. We looked a little flat last night. Jalen didn't look like Jaylon and he's got 24 hours to recover. So Go, Nicks.

[Jesse Waters]

I think the reason why you can accept Chick Fil A is cause you're on the wrong side of the issue.

[Greg Gutfeld]

No, no, no. The chicken is good as well.

[Jesse Waters]

Dana. I love it how people in the media who don't have an opinion on other things, like Platner's tattoo, have very strong opinions about this. Whether it's the. Well, actually. Did the view go off on Platner? Maybe they did. I don't seem to remember.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

Rachel, all those senators who've been asked, all the Democratic senators been asked, what do you think about platinum? Like, oh, yeah, I'm not following that. I'm not really. I don't know. But it's your job to know and be sure that they will be cutting checks in order to help him. I did think that. I don't know who decides the control room video or like, when you're playing the national anthem and you're gonna show the president and you know there's gonna be boos. Maybe just like, wait until after the national anthem. You don't need to be booing during the national anthem. And I also think that he could have also done it in an off the record way. Right. Told everybody how to fake out in the mornings and like, yeah, I'm not gonna be able to go. Not gonna go. And then show up at the last minute so that you don't disrupt the traffic pattern.

[Jesse Waters]

Oh, very smart. I do that on the way to work for the same reasons people know when I arrive at Fox they shut down 6th Avenue. Remember, Harold, you had the way from your home to get here last week. Yes, it was. It was. I gave you a piggyback ride last week.

[Kennedy]

Did you switch to a car from the rickshaw, please?

[Dana Perino]

Yes.

[Jesse Waters]

No. I love being outside and seeing my fans. All right, coming up next, Dems check the box for the guy sending shots.

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[Harold Ford Jr.]

And it's primary day in Maine. Voters heading to the polls to elect their party Senate candidate. It's a major test for Democrats and how much scandal they're just willing to stomach to keep their candidate, Graham Platner on the ballot. And despite the drip of scandals and disturbing allegations. It seems like Democrats are not backing away from their support.

[Kennedy]

It's hard to stomach, you know, in some of it, but. But at the end of the day, I think that this is a choice. If the choice on the ballot is between that and a senator who's voted to take health care away from millions of Americans.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Here you have a case of someone who had a dark chapter in his life, was in toxic relationships, was ashamed about it, who served this country. And the main voters are saying, look, let's give him some grace. What I do know is that there are people in the United States Senate right now who are not saints.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

Meanwhile, check this out. We're finding out more about the vetting of Graham Platner. A socialist duo hand picked the oyster farmer, telling the Wall Street Journal that they somehow missed his closet full of skeletons, including the Nazi tattoo.

[Greg Gutfeld]

How did you go about vetting him and why did you. We paid. Yeah, we paid a. We paid a nice firm, a whole chunk of money. Did the vetting process turn up the tattoo that became so controversial? No, you. How did you think your way through the fact that he had posted these things on social media? I said, none of this will or should stop him from becoming a US Senator.

[Kennedy]

Oh, wow.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

Okay. I hadn't heard his voice all the way through. First of all, her laugh, Greg, when she's like, oh, yeah, sorry, miss that.

[Jesse Waters]

You know, again, it shows that the left Democrats have no creep radar. So this is just an example. But a burly guy in a dress can show up to teach sex ed at fifth grade in your fifth graders class. And those parents would say, oh, but that's their lived experience. A Republican truck driver would pull the guy up by the scruff of his neck and throw him through a window. Think about all the parades, the parade of creeps and pervs that the Democrats have introduced to us, you know, or embraced or defended, whether it's Anthony Weiner or Swalwell antifa trans activists. They cannot see a creep if it's sitting on their lap doing a. Mm, whatever. Platner is a hero, and I'll tell you why. He's done a tremendous service. He's slayed two big movements, the Euro Nazi movement, by being a Nazi and being accepted by the left. You can't call anybody a Nazi anymore. What about the MeToo movement? Well, by not believing all women, that goes out the window because he got the most strident adherence of those causes to accept him. Revealing that that whole scene was theatrics. And he is because, I mean, he's the most toxic male since Jeffrey Dahmer took up cooking. Also, left wingers, left wing males now have a great new excuse. You know, if you're unemployed, sleeping on the couch, mooching off your parents, you're not a bum. You're just going through a dark period, you know, and if you try to rape a woman, just say, I thought it was a guy trying to break into my car. And I rape men as a power move so they don't rip me off. But Platner, to my point, is not a man. He's a trans man. A person who exaggerates the stereotypes of masculinity. From the face fur to the cat to the deep guttural grind of his death metal voice. He comes off as real as a California election.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

Well, which we will probably get to. Harold, what about the betting? Like you're. You've run campaigns before. If they had just even did a scrub of his Facebook post, they would have found the tattoo.

[Greg Gutfeld]

You would think it's amazing. We have so many tools allowing us to access information about people, about periods and periods of time in our history, and we just sometimes don't seem to do it. As I've said, he's not my cup of tea. I'd vote for someone different here in this campaign.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

Would you vote for him in the general?

[Greg Gutfeld]

I don't know. They'd have to persuade me, and right now I'm not.

[Jesse Waters]

How are you not persuaded already?

[Greg Gutfeld]

It is a choice, but he's not what my fear about his candidacy. Maine voters are going to do what Maine voters want to do, and none of us live there. They'll have the right to choose whom they want to choose. What I'm concerned about is the impact he may have on other races around the country. I think Greg raised some of those points about how Democrats who've used the terms fascist and not Nazi and fascism and who talked about believing women, it's difficult. If we're all going to line up behind this guy and say this is okay. Two, I don't quite say. I hear some of the Republicans and hear some of those who say several things about him. This happens. This happens in politics everywhere, unfortunately. Now, he is the worsthe's probably the worst example of this cycle here. But I tell you, he will probably take a cue, take a line. One of the things I admire about President Trump, when stuff was coming at him, he put his head down, he fought through it, and he did something that politicians don't do enough of he persuaded people why he was on their side and they could trust him. If this guy is able to do that and there's nothing else that comes out on him and everyone is thinking there might be something else that comes out on him, he'll be tough to beat in the fall. I think he's going to win this primary tonight. But as I said, I wouldn't be voting for him tonight. And I really sincerely hope that Talarico and these other Senate candidates, Sherrod Brown, who are in the fights of their lives too, that this guy does not drag them down with another scandal.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

Kennedy, what happened to people like aoc? What happened to believe all women support all women? The feminist movement has died as well. Maybe he slayed that as well.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, I mean, it was an absolute fraud. It's like the body positivity movement. All these people, these once chunky gals like Amy Schumer have gotten on GLP1s and what used to be embracing your true natural, God given beautiful curves, now they look like the skeletons that have fallen out of Graham Platner's closet. It is, it is total fraud. And it's like I'm looking at Maine. I love Maine. It's a beautiful state. You know, I grew up in the other Portland and I've always felt a kinship with that place. I watch Maine Cabin Masters almost every night. Like that is a phenomenal show the spirit of that state. So I look at that and you wanted like a gruff, manly guy who knows his way around the outdoors and loves shooting guns. Go find a libertarian. Like this was the perfect moment to find a liberty leaning candidate who would protect your individual rights, not just try and milk the billionaires and invite them to leave your state. It is so embarrassing and idiotic. And this box checking central casting will absolutely cast a black eye on this party, and rightly so. And you know, for those of you independents who are worried about voting for Susan Collins, ask any actual Republican. She's not a Republican. She's not even a rhino.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

There's the couple that put all this money into trying to find the perfect candidate and they found Graham Platner. They didn't do any betting, but one of the things they did find is that he was a part of an aquaculture project and that was what convinced them that he was the right guy.

[Dana Perino]

Well, they should have just had him strip. And going forward, you're going to have to make all candidates take off all their clothes for a tattoo check. That's why I'm calling on Susan Collins to do the same thing just has to take off all her clothes. Not in front of anybody, but just if that's the fair way to do it. If you're a Democrat, you think Republicans are evil. So you have Graham Platner over here. He's not a Republican. He wants to beat Republicans. So he's less than evil. He's not a great guy, but he's just not as evil as the Republicans and that's the difference. And in like Swalwell's case, there's no stakes. A Democrat's probably going to win that election. Bill Clinton, when he got accused, the stakes were high. He was president. Here the stakes are really high. They have to have the main seat. Cuz without Maine, you don't have the majority. Then you don't make D.C. puerto Rico states and then you don't pack the court. So they're gonna throw everything here. But I have it from my Republican sources on Capitol Hill. I don't think I've ever said that before. There is much more they have on this guy and it is gonna be a drip, drip, drip. And by the time November rolls around, this guy's gonna be silly putty.

[Greg Gutfeld]

You don't have to say Republican when you say sources. No one thinks you have.

[Dana Perino]

I shouldn't have said that.

[Jesse Waters]

I don't.

[Dana Perino]

I don't. Well, I might.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

You might.

[Dana Perino]

I might lie and say I do.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

No, you would never.

[Dana Perino]

I would never.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

All right, coming up, the Democrats other Senate hopeful, James Talarico. You know this guy from Texas. He's trying a Kamala style makeover before November.

[Jesse Waters]

She hates me, my hair, my truck, my dog, my music makes you crazy.

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[Kennedy]

Well, hello and welcome back James Talarico. Taking a page out of the Kamala playbook. Not a winning playbook, but let's talk about it. Trying to walk back every woke position he's taken over the past decade and rebranding as a border busting, meat loving, anti kid transing Texan. Watch this.

[James Talarico]

I'm a border security Democrat. I believe we've got to have a sane, orderly process to ensure that we know who's coming into our country. I oppose gender reassignment surgeries for minors I think what's happening is the people that are in power know that there's a backlash to the extremism and the corruption in our government. And so they're going to use a tried and true playbook to get out of this distraction and division. That is how corrupt public officials stay in power.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

But is he corrupt?

[Kennedy]

The Atlantic is arguing that the polled pork poser doesn't need to run away from his meatless past. Instead, they're upset at the Republicans who impugn Talarico's manhood and accusing the right and yours truly of having. That's not me, that's Jesse. I am not yours truly. It's Jesse truly, quote, unquote, narrow, anxious definition of masculinity.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

Jesse, that was a dangerous switcheroo.

[Kennedy]

Jesse, has your manhood insulting come back to bite you in the keystone and handed Talarico an early victory here?

[Dana Perino]

Yes, this is the waters effect. They're watching what I say and they react to it. I said he was going to have the meat sweats by this campaign, and he's got the meat sweatshirt. He'll never be able to eat a salad for the rest of his life. Everywhere he goes in public, he's gonna be shoving barbecue down his throat. And that's fine, but that's not really the position you wanna be in. He's also saying he's a borderhawk. He's on tape saying there should be a welcome mat at the border. And now he's against trans surgeries. He's on tape saying all he thinks about are trans kids. I love trans kids. That's the first thing that came to his mind when they asked him, what do you care about? He said, trans kids. So, all right, is it gonna work? I doubt it. Is Platner's. Whatever he's trying to do gonna work in Maine?

[Harold Ford Jr.]

I doubt it.

[Dana Perino]

But you know what? It's cuz of us. They're on the defense because of the five. You're welcome, Republican Party. Where's my check?

[Kennedy]

All right, so I think you get a big one.

[Dana Perino]

Where's my other check?

[Kennedy]

James Talarico could argue that his opponent is a bigger issue for the country then Graham Platner. What do you say here, Harold?

[Greg Gutfeld]

I think that it is okay for politicians to change their minds. I think it's okay for every. If new information and analysis is the provocateur, is the catalyst for that. I think it will behoove Mr. Talarico to give a big speech, lay out how he evolved from the position he had months Years ago or whenever it might be to now, I actually applaud people in business, academia, sports, wherever it may be who can change their minds after being able to acknowledge it. Maybe I was wrong about something. I remember when I was in politics I did not believe in term limits when I first got to Congress. I'm now I helped co chair an organization over the last 15 years. I'm no longer the co chair of it, but for advocating for term limits at the federal level and even the state and local level, particularly in Congress and the Senate. When I got to Congress I was not for same sex marriage. I evolved and I'm now for same sex marriage. I got to Congress, I was where Dana is totally on vouchers and charter schools and all of the alternatives and reforms in schools. I now want government to be more involved in schools because I think we had to treat it like national defense. I just again, I have, we have a theory of the case. We can disagree, but I don't think you just throw someone away or you say you disbelieve them just because they change their minds. Now if he can't explain it then I would agree with this, but I don't like politicians. I've had the Same position for 40 years on an issue even though circumstances and if information and the world has changed, you have to change with the world and you have to be willing to explain and say I was wrong or I think about this differently now and hopefully he can do that.

[Kennedy]

Greg, there's a difference between an evolution on a position and refining with sophistication and adding to what you might have believed before and completely doing a political 180 because it's politically convenient. Doesn't that seem like it's a little bit dangerous in Talarico? Could be a threat to revert to his previous positions once he's elected.

[Jesse Waters]

Of course. First of all, great question for Democrats. Is Talarico creepier than platinum? You say yes. If you say no, then you admit Platner is creepy. Anyway, I think the question about evolution is when they do it, evolution doesn't count when you're running for something. It counts when you're not running. And the problem with Democrats is they always go to the middle when they're running and the moment they win they get really, really left wing. But right now, all those progressive bumper stickers are peeling off the Prius that he's hiding in the garage as he's now tooling around in his leased Ford 150. I don't trust him because I Don't trust anybody who sells out the things they claim to champion in an effort to gain popularity. He's a religious person who denigrates religion. He's one of those guys. And coming out against trans surgeries for kids, it's too little, too late. We did all the heavy lifting. You know, don't get in front of that parade, pal. You were in the back pushing those kids in. What about coming out against funding the drugs and the surgeries for convicts in prison or illegals? Or putting trans women who are guilty of sexual assault in among female prisoners? Why don't you come out against that? You won't come out against that because you don't wanna share that risk. There are battles to fight, but he only wants to fight the ones that have already been fought. He's a coward. And he just. As a. As a man, he just wilts. He wilts. He's flaccid, impotent.

[Greg Gutfeld]

But, Greg, when you say people can't change their minds during campaigns, so what if John Cornyn says, I can't support Ken Paxton because of all those terrible things, he's now said, I'm gonna support him. Do you believe that he supports Ken Paxton?

[Jesse Waters]

I. I don't think he's doing it. I think he does. I'm talking about issues.

[Greg Gutfeld]

No, no, but, but there are issues.

[Jesse Waters]

But what you're talking about is a very different exception. Like this, this person. You find out he's a cannibal, of course I'm going to support him. But anyway. No, but, but if a person is bad, then you got to do. But I'm talking about. The guy just switches because he's reading the handwriting on the wall. And power is more important than principle.

[Greg Gutfeld]

He's got to give a speech. He's got to give a speech to show why he evolved. I agree, but if he's going to be believable.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

Dana, I know we don't have a lot of time. This is what I would say. If you are a press person working on a campaign and they say, call all the reporters, tell them to meet us at the diner, because we're gonna have the candidate eat meat so that they can get it on camera. Run away from that campaign. You don't want any part of it.

[Greg Gutfeld]

All right?

[Kennedy]

And Talarico, at this point.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

Look at his face. Can you pull that back up?

[Dana Perino]

He looks like he likes it.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

He's like, oh. He's like, I'm gonna have to swallow it, aren't I? I'm gonna have to swallow it.

[Kennedy]

He Looks like a contestant on Fear Factor. He's being ma Madagascar cockroach. All right, coming up next, Tim Wall's CENO fraud tour may end with a mug shot. That's next.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Little stage little Vice President J.D. vance telling Jesse last night that he's referring Governor Tim Waltz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to the Department of Justice for a criminal fraud investigation. Watch this. On Jesse's show, you had people within Governor Waltz's office who were saying, you know what, this looks like fraud. And then you had people who shut them down, who shut these whistleblowers down

[Jesse Waters]

and said, you know, you're a racist or you're a xenophobe for asking questions.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Jesse, powerful interview. What was your other takeaways from it?

[Dana Perino]

Well, I'm not a lawyer, thank God, because those people are ridiculous.

[Jesse Waters]

Thank you.

[Dana Perino]

But facilitation of fraud, criminal negligence. I'm sure a well read lawyer can find a statute and then nail these two guys to the wall or get them in a process crime, get them on perjury or get him on document destruction, something. This is probably why he didn't run again, because he knew this was coming and he did it so that no one would call him a racist. So what a weak, flaccid man.

[Greg Gutfeld]

DP your thoughts on this?

[Harold Ford Jr.]

Well, one of the things that was frustrating about the Hill, well, Capitol Hill and the Republicans who ran that hearing when Walz and Ellison came to testify is that the Republicans talked so much that they didn't let them answer any questions so that they couldn't find them for perjury because they didn't have to. Any. No, sorry, my time's up. I guess I have to move on. But just to review, Ellison is on audio meeting with fraudsters before they were convicted. And he offered to help get them the government money flowing back into them. And he said he would back, get the investigators to back off of them. To me, that's like pretty obvious. We've all heard the audiotape.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Kennedy, your thoughts?

[Kennedy]

How many whistleblowers do you need here? And this is just a blueprint for California and Illinois and the other massive, bloated big government states that have so much control through taxation. And this is where it lands. You know, from hospice to supposedly feeding autistic kids. Shame on all these people who built the system. And you know, I know there have been some convictions and some people have fled the country. There need to be many, many more.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Greg, end us here. We got it. We're gonna go to Jennifer Griffin. One moment here what are your thoughts on this, sir?

[Jesse Waters]

I have about 400 words I would like to read and I'm gonna read them slowly. Now, you're either a criminal or you're stupid. No one likes to admit they're stupid until, of course, they're faced with jail time. So you're going to have a lot of these Democrats pretending that they're morons and it's going to be really easy for them. How's that? Well done.

[Greg Gutfeld]

200 words. Do we have Jennifer now? And we've got her. We don't have her quite yet. There's been certainly additional news on. There's an update on.

[Jesse Waters]

We could just go right into one more thing. That would be fun.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

I have one about a bear.

[Greg Gutfeld]

You have to do this during my segment, the Democrats.

[Jesse Waters]

I have one about a bear. I have two bears, by the way.

[Greg Gutfeld]

FOX News alert. We're learning more about we're learning more about the U.S. airstrikes in Iran. Let's go back to Jennifer Griffin with the latest. Jennifer?

[Jennifer Griffin]

Well, we've just learned from a senior US Defense official that the strikes are ongoing as we speak right now and that some of the targets that we can confirm at this point point are air defense systems inside Iran as well as radar installations. The initial explosions that we've seen reported on X out of Iranian sources suggest that Syriac, which is a port city, as well as Bandar Abbas were among the targets. But what we can say at this point is that these airstrikes are ongoing. Flight trackers have seen about 8 KC135 air refueling tankers above the Middle east over the Gulf. Presumably they would be in position to help refuel these American warplanes for two questions.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Is this proportional? When you presented and introduced a segment, you talked about our response wanting to be proportional. Is this are you getting reports that this is one, that and two, are we going after where these drones might have come from and do we get a sense if there are more?

[Jennifer Griffin]

Well, I think the problem with the drones is that they're mobile and they can be launched mobile. They do see them when they're launched. And I was told earlier today that they saw multiple drones being launched, launched around the time that the Apache went down in terms of proportion. So far what we are seeing and hearing reported, if you're talking about air defenses, that would fit within the CENTCOM statement that these are defensive strikes and going after after the radar. But it also could indicate that you would always take out the air defenses and radar installations before you had another wave of strikes before you put American warplanes into any harm's way. So it's really unclear at this point. Point. But what we can say is that the airstrikes targeting Iran are ongoing at this point.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Harold, Jennifer, thank you. Thank you for the update. Any other reactions to this, guys?

[Harold Ford Jr.]

Well, it's interesting that they're describing them as self defense strikes. Okay. So that probably preserves the ability for them to say, okay, well, it's proportional. And it's just, I feel that President Trump has been tested so much. His patience has been tested so much by the Iranians who don't actually ever come to the table, who seem to be playing games. And our US Military is obviously extremely capable. I think it's incredible that we have had an unmanned boat basically go in and rescue those helicopter pilots, get them to safety. They're in stable condition. That is remarkable. And we'll see what the night brings. But if tomorrow we hear we're closer and we're almost to a deal, I think it'll be a little hard to take.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Does this set us back, Jesse, or not? In terms of trying to get a deal with the Iranians, I don't know.

[Dana Perino]

I do know that the ceasefire is slowly collapsing after what we saw with the Israelis in Lebanon and them exchanging fire with the Iranians, us telling them to stop, quit, and then the Houthis launching a missile into Israel. So, yeah, I mean, it's kind of deteriorating. It's not shattered. So they're still negotiating. And they're negotiating pretty seriously. Witkoff was talking to the President the other day. I think we just received an offer. I'm hearing from Washington that we like what we're seeing, but I don't know how much closer it means to getting to that final deal.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Kennedy, any thoughts on this closing? Thoughts?

[Kennedy]

I'm with Dana on this. Like, I don't know how you claim that all of this is being held together. I'm incredibly hopeful that they will ultimately find peace and stability. But every time something new happens that results in another incursion or defensive strike, whatever you want to call it, it only prolongs the situation. So I know we're not supposed to ask about timelines, but November's coming.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Your thoughts on what? Is the President impacted by midterms or timelines, Mr. Gutfeld?

[Jesse Waters]

Well, Harold, you know, I call it as I see it. You know, balls and strikes. That's the kind of guy I am.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

Real umpire.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Yeah.

[Jesse Waters]

I don't see anything. I don't know what the hell's going on. I lost interest a few minutes ago. I will tell you this, that tonight, somewhere in America, a TV show will be on in somebody's room, and they'll see Erin McGuire, Jamie Lissow, Tyrus and Cat Timpf up at 10pm and they're gonna go. Maybe they will make sense of this crazy, crazy world. And you know what we're gonna try? We're gonna cover the California elections like no one else is covering it. And you're gonna be in for a big surprise.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Oh, I like that.

[Dana Perino]

Oh, did Pratt win?

[Jesse Waters]

Yes.

[Dana Perino]

Oh, yes, he won.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Who do you have on your show this evening, sir?

[Dana Perino]

Happy TDS Tuesday. No, yeah, we did have that, but we all. But now we'll be talking about the Iran situation and also the Knicks game, and it's gonna be a barn burner. I'd like to hear what you have on Pratt, though. Maybe we could use that at 8, too.

[Jesse Waters]

Oh, more than welcome.

[Dana Perino]

Send me your research.

[Harold Ford Jr.]

What do you have on Pratt?

[Kennedy]

Kennedy, I don't like the way any of this smells. I am so angry. I'm actually speechless about this whole thing. I don't trust it. I don't trust anyone's explanation. 10 magical points with some magical ballots.

[Greg Gutfeld]

You know, it's interesting. Our own Steve Hilton, who's a Fox veteran Fox alum, said he hadn't seen any evidence of anything being rigged at the state level, but he's in second

[Harold Ford Jr.]

place because he made the runoff.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Oh, so you say. Oh, no, I get it. I'm sorry. So if you don't make the runoff, that's when you accuse the people.

[Jesse Waters]

Got it?

[Harold Ford Jr.]

Now you see?

[Greg Gutfeld]

Got it.

[Dana Perino]

What am I thinking?

[Harold Ford Jr.]

I mean, are you new here?

[Greg Gutfeld]

Did you.

[Jesse Waters]

Wait, I just heard that Hilton has just been bumped by the Radisson. It

[Greg Gutfeld]

been wonderful. That's it for us, everybody. Have a great night.

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