President Trump fights back against congressional Democrats' subpoena demands
Trump rips Democrats' post-Mueller agenda as Dems threaten impeachment; reaction and analysis on 'The Five.'
This is a rush transcript from "The Five," April 24, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
JESSE WATTERS, HOST: Hello, everybody. I'm Jesse Watters along with Emily Compagno, Juan Williams, Dana Perino, and Greg. It's 5 o'clock in New York City, and this is “The Five.”
President Trump is ready for all-out war with investigation crazed Democrats on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: And I have been the most transparent president and administration in the history of our country by far. Now, the House goes and starts subpoenaing. They want to know every deal I've ever done. Now, Mueller, I assume, for $35 million, checked my taxes, checked my financials which are greats, but we're fighting all the subpoenas.
Look, these aren't like impartial people. The Democrats are trying to win 2020, but they be should really focused on legislation. If you want to litigate, go after the DNC, crooked Hillary, the dirty cops.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATTERS: Trump's fighting back against an avalanche of Democratic subpoenas including one calling for former White House Counsel Don McGahn to testify about the Mueller report. Trump's also saying that if Democrats do decide to impeach him he'll fight it all the way to the Supreme Court. Democrats responding by ramping up their rhetoric. Here's Nancy Pelosi.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI, D-CALIF.: It's not about politics. It's about patriotism. It's an existential threat, this administration, to our democracy in terms of our constitution. I do believe that impeachment is one of the most divisive forces of paths that we could go down to our country, but if the facts -- the path of fact-finding takes us there, we have no choice. But we're not there yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATTERS: And Maxine Waters who's been screaming about impeachment for two years is as unhinged as ever.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MAXINE WATERS, D-CALIF.: I know that, as leaders, they have the responsibility to try and hold our caucus together. And to try and do and lead in the best way that they think will help us to be successful. If they believe that now was not the time for impeachment, they'll keep trying and they'll go down that road. We're going to have to impeach. I just wish it was sooner than later.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATTERS: OK. Well, we know what Maxine thinks, Greg. Nancy, I mean, she's the leader of the party in the House and she says that this administration is an existential threat to our democracy.
GREG GUTFELD, HOST: That's crazy.
WATTERS: What does that even mean?
GUTFELD: It's a very overused term, existential. An existential threat, asteroids, cataclysmic climate change, Islamic terror, any time you're stuck in an elevator and Maroon 5 is playing, existential threat, but this is not. The suggestion that you are not a patriot if you somehow disagree with this idea, if you don't join in the resistance, we talked about this before, the expanding target of denigration, you are not a patriot.
Let's go back to 2015, 2016. Having concerns about Trump made total sense, right? I had so many concerns. He wasn't a politician. His personality, he was a bull in a China shop. He never knew what he was going to do. He had an interesting, colorful past. And plus, you had all these other options. You have good options in the Republican Party. You had safer options. It didn't turn out that way but concerns made common sense.
Now, people are having the same concerns three years later. None of their fears have materialized. The world -- he has not started any new wars. In fact, he has tried to shrink our military footprint. He has not destroyed the economy. We have a booming economy. We have the lowest unemployment in modern history. He's help minorities and women in that world.
So when you see this kind of panic going on, all you can think about is it's OK if you're a Democrat. I get it. It's team sports. That's what you do. But if you actually believe this stuff, I would say like a never- Trump Republican, it's emotional and it's irrational. It's stupid. And that's all I've got to say.
WATTERS: Juan, where do you think the Democrats stand right now on impeachment? It looks like they're pretty split, but no one can actually name the crime that they're impeaching him for. We're talking about broad things like a threat to democracy. That's not going to stick.
JUAN WILLIAMS, HOST: That's not what we're talking about.
WATTERS: What are we talking about?
WILLIAMS: I'm alarmed that you don't realize that--
WATTERS: What is the crime?
WILLIAMS: -- we're talking about obstruction of justice.
WATTERS: But how did he do that?
WILLIAMS: Oh, gosh, he tried to tell Don McGahn --this is the point of great concern right now. He told McGahn to fire Mueller --
WATTERS: So he didn't Mueller.
WILLIAMS: No. McGahn, apparently, disobeyed his order. Now, Trump says nobody disobeyed his order, but we've seen --
WATTERS: Wanting to fire someone which he has every right to do under article two. Wanting to fire someone is obstruction of justice?
WILLIAMS: No, wanting to stop this investigation. This is something that I hear sometimes --
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIAMS: He ordered -- he calls up his lawyer, Don McGahn, and tells him to have the attorney general fire Mueller because of conflict of interest when there was no such thing going on, and McGahn saves him because it would have been an absolute fiasco.
WATTERS: But how is he obstructing?
WILLIAMS: Well, let me just say, I mean, even the Wall Street Journal this morning just said, you know, they believed McGahn. Now, Trump is saying McGahn is not telling the truth. They say, you know what, Trump lies just so much and it undermines his own credibility in so many ways. That's the Wall Street Journal conserve editorial page this morning.
But let me just say there's so many instances like this. Greg says, oh, you know, things are going so great. Forget about normal Republican positions on things like lowering the deficit or not having all these trade tariffs or not undermining democracy --
GUTFELD: How's the country going so far, Juan?
WILLIAMS: I don't think that's going so well.
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: You don't have any evidence to counter.
WILLIAMS: You also say, Greg, oh, he's the most transparent president ever. If he's so transparent, why is he trying to stop Don McGahn from testifying --
(CROSSTALK)
WATTERS: Because enough is enough. He has given 1.4 million documents. Everyone has testified. He delivered written answered. Mueller looked at his taxes. There's nothing there. Why are the Democrats continuing to push this issue when they know that Mueller saw everything he needed to see?
WILLIAMS: All you can do is shout because he wouldn't even talk to Mueller. He did not testify for Mueller --
WATTERS: Written responses, Juan.
WILLIAMS: The point right now is that the Democrats are going to subpoena so much information -- I guess they could hold McGahn in, you know, contempt of Congress -- use to testify. But what the president and the White House are doing is basically slow walking it and saying, you know, we're stonewall, we'll slow walk, we'll end up in the courts, but we will not cooperate --
WATTERS: Emily, they've already cooperated fully. Mueller actually said that they have full cooperation. And right now, these two people, McGahn, Trump, special counsel, they're all under the executive branch. I mean, there's no reason they can't just claim executive privilege and say --
WILLIAMS: But they didn't claim it earlier.
WATTERS: They can claim it whenever they want.
WILLIAMS: Oh, no, they can't.
(CROSSTALK)
WATTERS: Watch.
WILLIAMS: Because he didn't say that -- when it was about McGahn testifying --
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIAMS: I'm just saying it's obvious.
EMILY COMPAGNO, HOST: Here's what the president has on his side if he claims executive privilege for himself or McGahn moving forward, time and enforcement. What I mean by that is that subpoenas and orders of contempt are being held in contempt expires with that congressional duration, exactly.
So all the president has to do is get to January of 2021. And also it is the courts, unlike the Supreme Court's ruling impeachment, which is zero, obviously, for claims of privilege or for subpoenas or contempt, they do play a part. So he can absolutely string it out and I think that's a really powerful tool because at the end of it, it will be him and McGahn that shines rather than Congress with nothing to show for it.
WATTERS: OK. And Hillary Clinton who did not win the presidency --
COMPAGNO: Oh, really?
WATTERS: -- she's written an op-ed --
COMPAGNO: Fox News alert.
WATTERS: She's written an op-ed in the Washington Post, I believe.
DANA PERINO, HOST: Yes.
WATTERS: Have you read it?
PERINO: I skimmed it right before because it posted at about 4:55 PM. Basically, she's saying --
WATTERS: Whoa, Greg got glasses on. Look at those things.
GUTFELD: This is my new glasses. I was waiting for somebody to notice.
WATTERS: Professor Gutfeld.
GUTFELD: Yes, Professor Gutfeld. Yes.
WATTERS: I'm sorry. Go ahead.
PERINO: He's mesmerizing.
(LAUGHTER)
WATTERS: Very distracting, Dana. I know.
PERINO: Hillary Clinton basically says I know that I'm not necessarily the best messenger. Yes, I obviously lost and I think it is due to Russian interference. But, I also speak as a former senator and a former secretary of state, and Russian interference is a big problem. But she's saying that Congress should basically go as far as they can to fill in the gaps of the Mueller report. So that's the Hillary Clinton angle.
WATTERS: What gaps were there? I mean, I'm pondering myself what gaps there were. He was -- there, I think, two years and across $35 million, I think it was pretty exhaustive.
GUTFELD: Bernie --
COMPAGNO: Yes, to that -- what I thought what's interesting was how she closed it which basically said the most important part, the vital role is what the citizens played, and she used that to say -- so therefore, advocate for an impeachment proceedings rather than electorally which, as we all know how that happens and benefited her.
GUTFELD: You know what? This impeachment thing is only going to help Trump because it just -- he just seized all the media turf to him. And I think -- was it Sanders who recognized that first. He says like, we've got to start talking about our stuff.
WATTERS: Right.
GUTFELD: This is just going to end -- Trump is going to eat this up.
WATTERS: Right. Well, again, wanting to do something is not a crime. And, by the way, there was no crime charged, so let's move on. Kamala Harris backtracking after being blasted for saying she considered letting convicted terrorists vote from prison. Big flip-flop up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COMPAGNO: Bernie Sanders igniting a firestorm for saying he'd let felons including terrorists vote from prison. And now, Kamala Harris is backtracking after appearing to agree with him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People who are convicted in prison, like the Boston marathon bomber, on death row, people who are convicted of sexual assault, they should be able to vote?
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, D-CALIF.: I think we should have that conversation.
Do I think that people who commit murder, people who are terrorists should be deprived of their rights? Yeah, I do. I'm a prosecutor. I believe that in terms of their -- there has to be serious consequences for the most extreme type of crimes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you say that to the Boston bombers shouldn't be allowed to vote from prison, is that what you're saying?
HARRIS: I'm saying that I will weigh in specifically, but that's the value I bring to it, yeah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COMPAGNO: That Democratic idea is receiving widespread backlash, including from a firefighter who responded to the Boston marathon bombing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Society has rules and if you break those rules we have repercussion, and one of those repercussions is you lose your rights, one of them being the right to vote. Why would we ever let a murderer who murdered children, like the Boston marathon bomber, have a voice in our democracy?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COMPAGNO: Juan, I actually want to start with you. I want to know how you feel of the Democratic Party and that kind of progressive wave of it will respond to Kamala Harris backtracking and identifying herself as a prosecutor when up until now it seems like she's tried to distance herself from that aspect of her past, and really has been more of an advocate for, for example, the incarcerated.
WILLIAMS: Well, I think, in fact, it's an advantage for her to say that she is a former prosecutor. I mean, she went hard on drug crimes. I think there're a lot of people on the far left who say she went too far in terms of prosecuting people, for example breaking marijuana laws in the like in California. And tough -- and very tough prosecutor, in fact, in terms of the lot of youth crimes.
But -- so I think that helps her in terms of her position as a Democratic moderate and someone who can be tough on crime, and it would be harder to position her as left-wing. In this specific debate it looks like she's backtracking though, doesn't it? And so, that's why I think getting all this attention.
To be fair, Bernie Sanders put this out there and it has, I think, stirred a lot of conversation because, you know, I think it was Earl Warren, the chief justice, who said, you know, its citizenship is not a right to be revoked due to bad behavior. It's your rights. And I think Republicans in Florida and elsewhere, President Trump with his crime reform bill, everybody is saying we've got to do more in terms of rehabilitating people who've been in prison in order to cut down on recidivism.
We don't want people just churning and ending up being criminals again and back in jail and living off all of us, as we pay for the criminal justice system. So the question is how do we do it? I think this is an important conversation. I'm glad it started because I think that it's unfair to people who have been in jail and who've paid their dues to society to be denied their right to vote --
GUTFELD: This is not what the article -- this is not what this is about. This is about people who are currently in jail. Look, the reason when we have a dramatic decline in crime is because we incarcerate criminals. They lose their rights in jail. They do not go outside. They do not get to vote.
Now, when they get out of jail, that's another story. Yes, but that's not what this is about. This is about what Bernie said, the Boston bomber should vote and could vote. I don't even know what you could add to that to make it worse.
Oh, the Boston bomber should vote after he eats babies, maybe that would make it worse. But -- I'm kidding. She almost started crying there for a minute. So what I'm saying is Republicans don't need to exaggerate any of the planks of the Democrats.
The Democrats are doing it for themselves, Juan. And you're a strong Democrat. You should be pulling them back and saying, you, guys, you're going nuts. Then you're going to reelect Trump.
WILLIAMS: I see voter disenfranchisement too frequently in this country. But I must say --
GUTFELD: I'm not talking about that.
WILLIAMS: I think that when you say, oh, (INAUDIBLE) brothers, or anybody, you know, should have their rights taken away. I'm saying, OK, so you're going to determine whose constitutional rights go on the toilet, and exactly where's --
GUTFELD: Sure, why not.
WILLIAMS: Go ahead.
GUTFELD: They're in jail for killing people.
WILLIAMS: Look, I think we're -- as a society saying we understand that they are human beings that have citizenship rights.
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: And we took their rights away when they're in prison. They're not walking outside, Juan.
WILLIAMS: Well, now that they get out of jail, Greg --
GUTFELD: We're not talking about that.
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: Bernie was talking about being in jail. You're conflating it on purpose.
WILLIAMS: You are just focusing on that like --
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIAMS: -- because you want to drive off the idea that Democrats --
GUTFELD: I didn't say it. Bernie said it.
WILLIAMS: Yeah, Bernie --
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: Keep going with it.
WATTERS: Personalize it. Someone in your family gets brutally assaulted, brutally assaulted, and you're going to say there in prison and they get to vote in the next election?
WILLIAMS: You know what?
WATTERS: I mean, Juan, you know you wouldn't feel good about that. You know that shouldn't happen. That's what you heard from survivors of the Boston bombing. They think this is atrocious.
WILLIAMS: Look, you know what? You can have all the emotions --
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIAMS: As I've said, Greg and I went through this with Dukakis just yesterday, and Dukakis talking about his wife and the rape and all that. But I'm saying to you this is not about emotion. This is about your rights. In other words, if I say, you know what, Jesse did something I don't like --
WATTERS: It's not about that, Juan. It's about a society that's civilized because they don't want rapists and terrorists to be able to vote.
WILLIAMS: I see. And what's the constitution say?
WATTERS: Full stop. Full stop, Juan.
(CROSSTALK)
WATTERS: Let me just say one more thing, Kamala Harris in two major instances where she was asked to really step up to the plate, completely whiffed. Remember after she launched that first week, she was asked about eliminating private health insurance companies. She goes in a flip way, yeah, get rid of them.
And then in the other big moment she had on stage at CNN, she just said, oh, yeah, maybe the Boston bomber should vote. This shows she does not have sure political footing. It shows she lacks confidence and she has very poor instincts, and is not in touch with the American voting public.
COMPAGNO: Dana, how do you feel about that? How she permanently damage --
PERINO: I think she had a pretty good rollout in January, and that it's been a little bit lackluster. She has a structural advantage because she's from California and they have an early primary. But she still running third -- maybe fourth now in California, Biden, Bernie, and then her, and then may be Buttigieg right up there. And he actually has a fund-raiser coming up with Gwyneth Paltrow.
GUTFELD: Oh.
PERINO: It's over. I've just learned that. Because she's been eclipsed by the 4 B's, Biden, Buttigieg, Bernie, and Beto, although --
(CROSSTALK)
PERINO: Booker is not in the 4 B's.
WATTERS: He's not in the 4 B's?
PERINO: I think that her candidacy is well sorted for the long haul, and she's got a lot of money. However, I would say this, conflating those two things won't work in a campaign ad. It might work here. Another thing, Bernie Sanders, once again, pushing the Democrats so far left that it will be very hard for them to be able to convince people.
You have Mayor Pete, what was his instinct? No, OK? And we're not talking about the people who finish their jail time. For example, your freedom is taken away when you're put in jail. So your right to vote also, to me, that should be something that you want to get back. It should be the incentive for you to finish your sentence, pay your debt to society, maybe you're on good behavior you get early release, you leave, you get to vote again.
But while you're in prison -- you killed people -- like, that is a weird conversation to have. And that Bernie Sanders has put them in that position again, I bet Joe Biden -- I mean, after he launches tomorrow, he gets asked about this, I know what he'll say.
COMPAGNO: Yeah.
WILLIAMS: You know two states allow this, Maine and Vermont.
PERINO: OK.
WILLIAMS: And you realize that the conversation is just what you laid out, which is, in Florida and elsewhere, what happens to people once they get out --
(CROSSTALK)
PERINO: Oh, my God, .
WILLIAMS: That's the real conversation.
PERINO: OK. That's not what Bernie was saying.
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIAMS: Bernie is interested in just that and you prefer the idea of making --
(CROSSTALK)
PERINO: It's not true.
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: Rework the segment so it's about something you like.
WILLIAMS: OK.
COMPAGNO: For the record, Jesse, I agree with you that Kamala has stumbled quite a bit in her campaign. And that reminds me, as a Californian, what we saw there is she worked her way up. She flip-flop quite a bit depending on who she was -- you know, law enforcement or not, or whatever --
(CROSSTALK)
COMPAGNO: All right. Up next, Joe Biden getting ready to jump into the race, but Rush Limbaugh says he might want to think twice. See why, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WILLIAMS: Welcome back. Joe Biden set to announce a presidential run tomorrow, but Rush Limbaugh says he's going to have a tough time in the crowded Democratic field.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, TALK SHOW HOST: Joe Biden is probably the best chance they've got, and he doesn't have a chance. They're probably -- Joe Biden, and crazy Bernie, and Mayor Pete? I mean, they get three white guys, two of them are brontosaurus from Jurassic Park, and that isn't going to sit well with the rest of this party which has gone so far left.
I don't think -- you know, Biden is putting off this announcement. I don't know how badly he really wants this. And you have to really want this if you're going to have any chance of winning it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Meanwhile, a confident President Trump mocking his Democratic challengers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT: They're not going to win with the people that I see. And they're not going to win against me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: So, Emily, the president seems -- and Rush Limbaugh seems to say, oh, Democratic Party, so extreme, so far left, but the reason that Joe Biden is leading in the polls is that there so many Democratic voters who like him and seem to be supportive of him as a moderate Democrat.
COMPAGNO: Correct, I think because of the name recognition he has at that point -- at this point, I mean. I do think that -- more than polls, I think the fund-raising will be a huge indicator of how actually that voting block feels about Biden. And when his campaign reports numbers, when the quarter two report comes out in July, we will find out whether those big- time donors that have thus far stayed out of it, whether they do, in fact, support him.
And therefore, whether he's, frankly, in trouble or whether he has a long haul in front of him.
WILLIAMS: Jesse, part of the attractiveness of Biden in terms of Democratic voters is electability. Can you beat Trump? And you've heard Rush Limbaugh say, well, he's the best Democrat, that what he calls, though Limbaugh thinks they don't have a shot.
So the reason that I think Limbaugh says that is Biden has a reputation as like a blue-collar white male, able to talk to people who might have Obama voters who switch to be Trump voters. What do you think?
WATTERS: I agree, that's an asset that Biden has. But the critical thing that he needs to figure out is can I unify the base. Right now there's a crazy left-wing fringe extremist socialist part of the base that is dragging this party way over the cliff. And Biden has to be strong enough and crafty enough and articulate enough to say I'm Joe Biden, I'm electable, we had this great record under Barack Obama, and I know what I'm doing in Washington.
But at the same time make the crazy people out there on the far left feel that he's one of them. And so far from what I've seen, I don't think he is skilled enough as a politician to be able to pull that off. So far he seems clumsy.
The rollout is seemed awkward. The touchy-feelyness thing was weird. And he went on an apology tour. So from what I've seen so far, I just don't think he has the skills and the stomach actually because Limbaugh actually hit a good point. Does he really want it the way someone really wants it? And I just haven't seen it from him.
WILLIAMS: So, Dana the thing that I think alarmed a lot of people inside the political game is that the video that's supposed to roll out tomorrow to announce that he's running apparently is being re-edited. They don't like it.
PERINO: Oh. Well never do that here.
WATTERS: I wish we could.
PERINO: We edit right up to the line. OK. I'm just going to give an alternative view. He has very high expectations for tomorrow. And whether that's fair or not, we'll see if he can meet them. I think the fund-raising point is a very good one, his appeal to them tomorrow to the Democrats, when he's in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the Union Hall is going to be, I can win this back.
I can do this. And Democrats are actually quite rational. We talk about his touchiness. We talked about how he's out of touch. He still is the top of all the polls and Democrats and they're all far left, but although there is a lot of them, I also think that Bernie's numbers will start to go down once Biden gets in the race because he'll have somebody to quiet the crazy.
WILLIAMS: You know what's interesting by the way on that point is that Bernie's numbers have gone down as Pete Buttigieg's numbers have gone--
PERINO: My man Mayor Pete with Gwyneth Paltrow, co-fundraiser.
WATTERS: I don't know if I believe that one. Bernie's numbers have been up.
WILLIAMS: No. Bernie's numbers have been coming down.
PERINO: They've been coming down a little bit.
WILLIAMS: They have been--
WATTERS: Not in states.
WILLIAMS: All right. So, Greg I don't understand if it's the case that Republicans like Limbaugh, fear Biden or in fact think that he'll be easy pickings.
GUTFELD: I don't know because like I would - I've said this before. A bowl of sand has a better chance of becoming the nominee than an old white male in this era of intersectionality and maybe you know that's good for Republicans because maybe Biden would have the strongest shot and here's why.
Is it me or does that entire field minus Biden feel very small like physically like you get this sense - love Trump or hate Trump or a difference to Trump? He's larger than life. He's a walking phenomenon. So, when you look at these other people and these little town halls and they're also adorable and cute trying to play politician. And I did this, and I did that. And then meanwhile you got this like this monster. I mean he's actually good or bad. He's like so overpowering, none of them stand a chance even - I know it's earl, but there is nothing electrifying.
I remember when I was - in 2015 and 2016, bouncers, cab drivers, clerks at hardware stores all they wanted to talk about was Trump this and Trump that, And I stupidly ignored it. I was always like he doesn't have a chance. I was totally not listening.
WATTERS: You go to hardware stores?
GUTFELD: Believe it or not, I'm a kind of a Mr. Fix it.
PERINO: Can I mention one thing. So, this new poll out today, just Democrats, 88 percent of Democrats said gender and race does not matter to them in their nominee.
GUTFELD: Yes.
PERINO: I think that we focus on it. I think Twitter focuses on it.
GUTFELD: Twitter does it.
PERINO: I think that actual Democratic voters are not focused on it.
GUTFELD: How about this. I'll put it this way.
WATTERS: Sure.
GUTFELD: Consensus media aren't going to decide this by pushing on Twitter, the loudest voices to go to the intersection whereas to your point Biden has the best chance because he's the only thing that's larger.
COMPAGNO: Yes.
GUTFELD: Larger to meet maybe at Trump level because he's been around.
WATTERS: And maybe the Democratic voters don't care about race and gender and all that stuff. But the people that are running on the Democratic side they do. They're already announcing I'm going to pick a female VP.
WILLIAMS: But I think the key point here for Democratic voters is someone who can beat Trump. And I think by the way to your point Greg the idea that he's not large looming and threatening, it makes it more clearly 2020 a referendum on Trump. And I don't think that's good news for Trump's.
WATTERS: That's always a choice.
WILLIAMS: He needs to be able to demonize the Democrats as far left socialist, corrupt, loving criminals. That's--
GUTFELD: Where is the lie.
WATTERS: They did that to themselves. That's your job. All right. Up next, outrage over President Trump skipping the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Some people are now saying, it's an attack on the media.
GUTFELD: Yes.
WILLIAMS: Gregory archenemy in the spotlight. Take this up next Greg for us here on THE FIVE.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GUTFELD: CNN's cue ball of concern, Brian Stelter slammed Donald Trump for skipping this year's Correspondents' Dinner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN STELTER, CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT, CNN: in the past presidents have always shown up even if they were angry at the President again in time. And importantly it's useful for White House aides to schmooze with reporters. It's helpful for us to get to know our sources. There is some value in these courts of festive events. Look, it's yet another example of what we're seeing. This administration's attack against the media takes many forms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: Geez. So now skipping a dinner is an attack on the media. Brian is really taking this attack on the press stick to crazy heights and no offense, but maybe skipping a meal now and then might not be a bad thing for some people in the press.
WATTERS: Greg.
GUTFELD: I include myself.
WATTERS: OK.
GUTFELD: That's why I'm walking more Jesse.
WATTERS: OK.
GUTFELD: As for schmoozing being useful, no. For us, this dinner is just an orgy of self-congratulation with sweaty lemmings complimenting their shared opinions while peering over each other's shoulders to see what coked up third tier celebrity might stumble into this stinky overcrowded mess hall. Trust me, the Halitosis is so thick, you could cut it with a cake knife.
Of course, some will say Trump's a coward for avoiding this clown show. But that's not cowardice. It's common sense. Why go to a place where the entire theme will be Orange Man Bad featuring the same moronic platitudes expressed by the same lunatics who've never offered a thought that might offend their own tight circle. Here's a thought. Why not hire a host who doesn't parrot the predictable jokes. Imagine a Jordan Peterson, Joe Rogan, Dave Rubin. That's the real cowardice. Being afraid to challenge the media mob orthodoxy. But Greg, it's for charity. True.
But by skipping the dinner, Trump has stripped away the novelty that turned the original charity event into a thirst fest for Spotlight chasing lollipops. He made it great again. It's now about journalism. No wonder they're miserable.
You know what, Dana, you know this event, it was supposed to be our charity and that's good.
PERINO: Started that way.
GUTFELD: But you know what it became. It became events for people like Avenatti, the flame of the moment that would show up and being--
PERINO: And you know people who would invite Avenatti.
GUTFELD: Yes.
PERINO: You know them very well.
GUTFELD: Exactly.
PERINO: Exactly what I'm talking about. I went six years in a row.
GUTFELD: Yes.
PERINO: With the administration. I'm not a night owl.
GUTFELD: No, you're not.
PERINO: It was like one of the--
GUTFELD: You're night peep.
PERINO: But I did to see the folks. I would like to see people, that was fun. It was always colder than you thought it was going to be, so you dress up as miserable. Here's the thing. He's not coming to the dinner guys, so just like let it go.
GUTFELD: Yes.
PERINO: But also, they do have a point. It's not like he's just skipping the dinner like I've got something. He is going to go to a rally and he's going to say I came here instead of being with them and he's going to attack the media. So that's their point.
GUTFELD: Yes, it's win-win, Jesse. They get to sulk, and he gets to go look at those people sulking. It's like they got stood up for the prom.
WATTERS: yes. And they ruined the White House Correspondents' Dinner Party and now they're complaining that Trump's not going. They've been brutal to him and said, he doesn't care anymore. And this thing peaked a long time ago. They used to have better celebrities, they used to have better comedians. I went a couple of years ago, probably peaked then and now I don't go anymore. It is out of respect, you shouldn't really be talking about people's physical characteristics, Greg.
GUTFELD: Thank you.
WATTERS: I'm above all that.
GUTFELD: I know you are.
WATTERS: I never would do anything like that. But you know he - I also don't like when grown men seem so concerned and upset about things.
GUTFELD: Yes.
WATTERS: It's like you're a grown man.
GUTFELD: Yes.
WATTERS: Constantly offended. What grown men do you know that are constantly offended.
PERINO: Who are you talking about?
WATTERS: It's bizarre. The guy on CNN.
PERINO: No, I've got you.
GUTFELD: Hey, Juan. The good news about this event is that they're having like a journalistic historian.
WILLIAMS: Ron Turner.
GUTFELD: Yes. So, it's actually going back to its roots. So, once again Donald Trump has improved something.
WILLIAMS: Is that right?
GUTFELD: He's made the Correspondents' Dinner great again. Are you going?
WILLIAMS: I don't think I am. I go usually. I don't - I haven't followed I have to check it out. I've been invited to a bunch of parties I haven't responded.
GUTFELD: Me too.
WILLIAMS: But my feeling is that you know I think I agree with what Dana is saying. I think he uses this to play to a right-wing grievance, the press is so evil.
PERINO: Well, I didn't say that.
WILLIAMS: She just said, he's going to go out--
GUTFELD: You know what he does, he's like the nonsense regurgitate. He takes what you say and then spits it out and it means something different.
WILLIAMS: Well, here's what I heard. I heard her say he's going to go out and hold rallies and he's going to say the press is terrible and I'm here with you, I'm here with you. I'm not there with those evil people in the press. But he's the guy who talks about enemy of the press. He's the guy who says fake news. And it turns out according to Mueller Report he's telling more lies about the news and the media is telling.
WATTERS: Juan, no collusion. How is that?
WILLIAMS: How about this. Trump Tower, I wasn't trying to fire Jim Comey.
GUTFELD: This is about Correspondents' Dinner, Emily. You are new to this world, would you - if you - would you go. You would probably like--
WATTERS: She would definitely go.
COMPAGNO: I'm not.
PERINO: You are not going.
COMPAGNO: No, I'm not attending this year.
GUTFELD: You know what you'll miss getting hit on by Jeffrey Toobin.
COMPAGNO: You made it sound really exciting definitely in your intro and really enjoyable. I will say that I found it interesting that Stelter focused - what he focuses on every day in terms of tearing apart which is this administration. Then why would he care so much if they come. Because he says the two reasons to come are to celebrate the First Amendment and to raise money for the journalism scholarship, attending does not preclude either of those. And last time, I checked he says he celebrates the First Amendment daily with his reporting.
WATTERS: Well, he wants to schmooze with White House officials.
GUTFELD: I hate schmoozing.
COMPAGNO: And that too.
PERINO: I think it's funny because the President said, no one from the White House.
WILLIAMS: Yes, that's it.
PERINO: And the point, there are a lot of people from the administration in the White House who talk to reporters.
GUTFELD: Yes.
PERINO: Off the record and that's always like very enjoyable and we encourage that.
WILLIAMS: Including the President.
GUTFELD: All right. That's true. Up next, what the heck do the words stand and SWOL (ph) mean. I don't know. The newest additions to the dictionary ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PERINO: OK, the dictionary just got a bunch of whole - a whole bunch of new words sorry. We were having fun in the break. 640 to be exact Merriam Webster rolling out a new list including many use in pop culture. The question is do any of us know what they mean. Here are a couple. Buzzy, he got stand SWOL saluted genesis (ph). I'm going to go to you, Emily. Do you know what stand means?
COMPAGNO: Yes. Super fan. And I will say this. My one issue with this is I don't like abbreviations being put into a dictionary like EGOT is not a word. It's not abbreviation, it's an acronym.
PERINO: Right. Thank you. That's right. It's an acronym.
COMPAGNO: I have a fundamental.
PERINO: I think that you will hate this word Buzzy.
COMPAGNO: Emmy Grammy Oscar Tony.
GUTFELD: Wait, is it - spells the word, what's the word that spells the word.
PERINO: Like there is an acronym in most other (ph).
GUTFELD: Yes, there is two things.
PERINO: Juan.
WILLIAMS: I don't know what that is.
GUTFELD: This is why we have producers; we have these things in our ears, it just supposed to make us look smart. So, this was a whisper in my ear and I naturally pretend.
WATTERS: The linesman broken for a while.
GUTFELD: Yes. I have to pretend.
PERINO: I think you're going to hate this one.
GUTFELD: They're looking.
PERINO: Buzzy. Do you hate buzzy?
GUTFELD: Buzzy.
PERINO: You know what that means?
GUTFELD: I don't really know.
PERINO: It goes viral.
GUTFELD: Goes viral.
PERINO: I know you wouldn't like that.
GUTFELD: Yes. My doctor uses that a lot. Greg you've been buzzy.
PERINO: Oh! God. SWOL (ph), Jesse, have you ever had to deal with this being SWOL (ph).
WATTERS: Yes, after the gym.
PERINO: You know what that means.
COMPAGNO: That's an old school word.
WATTERS: That's the only one I knew.
COMPAGNO: That's like I feel like we grew up.
PERINO: Juan, snowflake is that familiar?
WILLIAMS: Yes, because of my suit.
PERINO: True.
WILLIAMS: You know but snowflake actually should be in the dictionary now because everybody uses it.
PERINO: I mean snowflake is in the dictionary. It is a thing.
WILLIAMS: But not for storm.
PERINO: Falls from the sky.
WILLIAMS: That's not what that means, it's in the dictionary now as somebody who's overly sensitive.
PERINO: I know.
WILLIAMS: My favorite and these new ones was purple. I didn't expect that would be.
WATTERS: What's that?
PERINO: What's that one means?
WILLIAMS: It means it's between red and blue states like a purple state.
GUTFELD: Do you know what I hate.
PERINO: Well, we knew that.
WILLIAMS: Well, that's what I'm saying. That's what gets in the dictionary.
GUTFELD: Do you know what I hate are - the words that are used at media blogs. Everything is either torched or destroyed or clap backs.
PERINO: How about doubling down.
GUTFELD: Doubling down. They're always trying to exaggerate conflict with these action verbs and if you notice, it's the same words, people in the media have a terrible vocabulary.
PERINO: You've forgot about sparks.
GUTFELD: And sparks. But no torches - he torched her.
PERINO: Wow.
WATTERS: Well, how would you describe if when you just wrecked one in the A block, if you had to write that up, how would you describe that.
PERINO: I know that.
GUTFELD: Clash and chaotic segments.
PERINO: How about wrecked.
GUTFELD: He wrecked her. Yes.
PERINO: Yes. All right/ Well, that's a great segment.
GUTFELD: Terrible job.
PERINO: Dictionary, slowdown 640 a year. You can't even make - you have to make two calendars.
GUTFELD: Do people buy dictionaries; do they actually have them now. Like do you keep them, because you have it in here.
PERINO: Juan is nodding.
WATTERS: It's an encyclopedia. No one uses those anymore.
COMPAGNO: If I didn't know how to spell a word, my mum would make me look in the dictionary and it was so counterintuitive to me because we don't know how to spell it. How do you know where to find it?
PERINO: But that's how you learn how to spell it.
COMPAGNO: But then I still--
PERINO: Exactly. Your mom was fantastic. All right. One More thing is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WATTERS: It's time now for One More Thing. Jesse's feeding frenzy. Jesse's feeding frenzy. All right.
GUTFELD: Reverse.
WATTERS: Why?
GUTFELD: I don't know, people at home trying to figure out what that means
WATTERS: Greg, don't go there.
PERINO: I approved it last week.
WATTERS: OK. So, remember Bob Ross, the late Bob Ross.
PERINO: Yes.
WATTERS: He painted all those little happy trees.
GUTFELD: Legend.
PERINO: And those little friendly bushes. He's got his own cereal now. And it's filled with marshmallows and now you can eat the cereal and then you could also paint on Bob Ross edible marshmallow canvas and I think you're supposed to be able to eat the canvas.
GUTFELD: Yes. That's marshmallow.
COMPAGNO: Oh! My God.
PERINO: That's so good.
WATTERS: Marshmallow canvas and you eat it afterwards.
GUTFELD: I was joking. That's toxic.
WATTERS: At fye.com. Get it all done there.
PERINO: You get the chocolate with it?
WATTERS: And you get the chocolate with it, you get everything.
WILLIAMS: But dude, what did you paint?
WATTERS: Dude, Juan. Expressions.
WILLIAMS: That's like not a Picasso.
WATTERS: It's like a Monet. And a more Martha MacCallum.
GUTFELD: Frosting filled milk chocolate. All right.
WATTERS: All right.
GUTFELD: Get this away from me now.
WATTERS: You're up next, Greg.
GUTFELD: All right. My Fox Nation, I interview the great journalist and editor from Quillette, Andy Ngo. See how it's Ngo. I finally figured that out. We discussed hate crime hoaxes and the latest on the Smollett case. Now it's time for Greg's spring-cleaning news. Everybody's getting these Roomba and you know what they're doing, they're putting stuff on top of it. I'm not sure how I feel about it but check out this. This little guy going around enjoying himself. Do you think this is a good idea? I don't know.
PERINO: Sure. I mean that's how you can walk your bird.
GUTFELD: Yes. Who needs to walk their bird anyway? We have a Roomba and I find it irritating. It's kind of like--
PERINO: How often do you use it?
GUTFELD: A lot. It just goes around, and I feel like I have a pet with a head injury. It just keeps bumping into stuff.
WATTERS: You don't have a Roomba Greg.
GUTFELD: Yes, I do. Come on over, I'll show it to you.
WATTERS: That's such a lie.
GUTFELD: Show you my Roomba.
WATTERS: OK.
GUTFELD: Come into my Roomba.
WATTERS: That line never works.
GUTFELD: No, it doesn't.
WATTERS: All right. You're next.
PERINO: All right. Well, I think you might like this. OK. There is a new Airbnb rental and it is no small fry, it's the big Idaho potato hotel. There it is, it's officially opened for business earlier this week. It's a six-ton spud located on 400 acres of farmland, it's about 25 miles southeast of Boise. Beautiful country. And although, the hotel may not seem like much on the outside, when you get in, it's more than it appears to be. Of course, it's pretty sweet. I love that it's pink.
WATTERS: They're sweet potatoes.
PERINO: Yes, get it. And you can get baked in there.
WATTERS: Dana, corny jokes, I like it.
PERINO: And it's only #200 a night, so it shouldn't be too much skin off your back.
GUTFELD: Stoner's humor from Dana.
WATTERS: Dana Perino, well done.
WILLIAMS: At least, she didn't say you could get smashed in.
PERINO: That was the last line, but I was trying to be respectful of time.
WATTERS: Very good, Juan.
WILLIAMS: All right.
WATTERS: All right. You're next Juan.
WILLIAMS: All right. Now for a true baseball fan or at least a true Chicago White Sox fan. Take a look at this young man at the Orioles White Sox game last night in Baltimore. Yes. He wasn't going to take that ball from an Orioles fan, against his principles, but in the end, it was just too tempting folks. He grudgingly accepts the gift.
As a baseball fan, it's always expected that adults get foul balls to kids, so hats off to the Orioles fan. As for that young man, he's definitely one passionate fan. Way to go young fellow.
GUTFELD: Ungrateful, I would say.
WILLIAMS: Ungrateful?
GUTFELD: Ungrateful.
WILLIAMS: Well, you're always tough on them.
GUTFELD: Kids today, Juan. Kids today.
PERINO: Wait till tomorrow, bring your kids to workday. Greg's favorite day of the year.
GUTFELD: They're all taller than me.
COMPAGNO: All right you guys, I want to draw your attention to the National Teacher of the Year, Rodney Robinson who here he works for the Richmond juvenile detention center. And I think that's absolutely amazing that he's dedicated his career to teaching not only these youth in detention but also committed to making them - make the most of their second chances essentially. And he teaches specifically social studies and history and he focuses on helping them become socially conscious citizens. And overall, he's really an amazing guy. Hats off.
PERINO: Indeed.
WILLIAMS: That's wonderful.
WATTERS: Very nice. All right.
GUTFELD: I was Teacher of the Year once.
WATTERS: You were.
PERINO: For what?
GUTFELD: I can't get into it.
WATTERS: Neither will we. All right. Set your DVRs. Never miss an episode of “The Five.” "Special Report" is up next with Bret.
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