This is a rush transcript from “Hannity,” December 30, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

PETE HEGSETH, HOST: All right. Welcome to this special edition of HANNITY. I’m Pete Hegseth, in tonight for, Sean.

And we begin with yet another grim statistic, night after night. The United States just set a world record with 489,267 COVID cases in 24 hours, nearly 500,000 cases in a day.

In case you’re wondering, the guy who promised to shut down the virus, Joe Biden, he’s been on vacation on the beach with the doctor and the dogs, not a care in the world all week long. He left America’s little king Dr. Anthony Fauci in charge. And like always, the good doctor claims he is following the science. He is science after all. And since he is science, it does make sense since we learned last night that king Fauci makes more in his annual salary than Joe Biden.

So the real president is running the show in Washington, D.C. All kidding aside, sort of, per usual, Fauci is speculating wildly. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECOTR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: There is the danger that there will be so many people who are being isolated who are asymptomatic for the full 10 days, that you could have a major negative impact on our ability to keep society running. So the decision was made, although it’s not completely risk-free, of saying, let’s get that cut in half.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: Okay, not sure what that means or what science that’s ultimately based on the decision was made to cut it in half based on king Fauci. And I’m glad, it should be fine, but what’s he basing it out? Right on cue, Fauci’s disciples in the left-wing media are also in a frenzied state.

Look at this panic porn from CNN. Quote: The U.S. heads into a harrowing phase of the pandemic. Not to mention — they don’t mention omicron, milder symptoms, yes, more transmissible, thank goodness milder.

In “The Atlantic”, one columnist wrote an entire article about his decision to cancel his 40th birthday party because of omicron. How sad.

And on TV, the fear-mongering and hysteria it’s been even worse. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I think that science public policy and the general public have continued to underestimate this virus. It’s time we don’t, and I think that what we’re seeing right now over the next six to eight weeks could clearly be some of the darkest days of the pandemic.

DR. JAMES PHILLIPS, CHIEF OF DISASTER MEDICINE, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: I’ll be honest with you. It’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen even at the peak of the prior surges of COVID. What we’re experiencing right now is an absolute overwhelming of the emergency departments throughout the Washington, D.C.

DR. CRAIG SPENCER, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: Here in New York City, we’re seeing a huge number of cases and I suspect the same will happen all over the country. The tidal wave will wash over the rest of the U.S., just as it has in New York City.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: One year ago, CNN and MSNBC told us that Joe Biden was going to end the pandemic. It was going to be over. He’s going to crush it, not the economy, but the virus. So what happened? Did any of these so-called journalists really believe that a president could stop an airborne virus in its tracks? Of course they didn’t.

But, of course, Joe Biden has only made the situation worse with mixed messages and outright lies, about things like masks, social distancing, kids in school, vaccines and, of course, therapeutics. Can’t talk about therapeutics not supposed to.

In fact recently, the White House used faulty data in order to reduce the supply of life-saving therapeutics.

Now, one prominent Maryland doctor is telling FOX News that people will die as a result of not getting those therapeutics.

Joining us now with more is former HUD secretary and world renowned doctor, Ben Carson.

Doctor, thank you so much for being here.

DR. BEN CARSON, FORMER HUD SECRETARY: Thank you.

HEGSETH: You know, here we are a week into the Biden administration.

Absolutely, great to see you always and happy New Year’s.

We’re a year into the Biden administration. A virus they knew existed, a plan they said they had and that they would crush it. You were in the Trump administration when the China virus was unleashed and no one saw it coming.

Yet, we’re a year into this. How can it be that they’re so far behind this curve?

CARSON: They’re not really paying attention to the data, it seems like maybe there’s other objectives here. But what we should be looking at is the fact that omicron is a blessing in disguise because it’s extremely infectious but it’s not particularly virulent, and there’s some evidence that if you’ve contracted omicron, you can develop immunity to the delta variant and perhaps some other variants, doesn’t work in the other. So that could actually get us to herd immunity much faster than anybody’s expected.

And even though the CDC, NIH, all of our government officials you know are preaching doom and gloom, it doesn’t really matter what they think. If this is a natural phenomenon that’s occurring and this is getting less and less virulent and it’s spreading throughout our community, it’s going to take care of itself, regardless of what they do. So this is actually something that’s very helpful.

Now, we also have very good news about the Paxlovid, the Pfizer drug which is a treatment, which reduces hospitalizations by almost 90 percent and you know, there’s been the monoclonal antibodies. Now, they’ve said they don’t really work for this new variant. But that’s not true. There’s the sotrovimab, which is a GSK, a GlaxoSmithKline monoclonal that works just fine with omicron.

So I think if people would allow the medical profession don’t brow beat them, don’t threaten them, give them access to the whole plethora of treatment options that we have and let them work with the individuals you know by having government tell you what you have to do what we are getting is a firsthand view of what socialized medicine would look like. One size fits all, we tell you what to do, end of story.

HEGSETH: You know, Doctor, you talk about a plethora of information, I feel like that plethora of information just listening to smart folks like you and Marty Makary and so many others would include things like natural immunity, would include the facts about omicron, who it affects and would include monoclonal antibodies and other therapeutics.

Yet time and time again from the top down and especially from this White House, not the Trump White House, the Biden White House, they downplay play anything that is not get the shot, boost, boost, boost, mask, double mask.

That’s all — pretty much all we hear time and time again. Why can’t they make a shift to the things that have actually worked or there’s evidence they are effective as well?

CARSON: Well, and it’s very sad because you know the rest of the world looks to the United States for leadership and we’re not providing it in the slightest. And you — you can see some of the crazy stuff that’s going on in places like Australia. You know, they have traditionally looked to us and if we can just put aside the politics and deal with the facts, there’s plenty of stuff that we’ve learned over these last two years.

Let’s apply that stuff, instead of trying to manipulate people, instead of trying to keep information from people. Our people here in the United States are very smart and we have a terrific medical system, if we would just be willing to allow to work. Let people work with their doctors.

And also, you know, look around the world. Nigeria for instance the mortality rate in Nigeria from COVID is 14 per million. In this country is 2,200 per million. That’s a pretty big difference. We should be saying what’s going on in Nigeria that’s not going on here? Well, for one thing, they take anti-malarial like hydroxychloroquine.

And we should be all over that. We should be looking into this is this really something that helps. Of course, we know it helps but why do we pooh-pooh hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin and some other things because we have this silly rule that when it comes to vaccines which says if there’s another useful treatment, an effective treatment, then you cannot get an EUA, an emergency use authorization. This is really stupid and we really need to do something about it.

HEGSETH: And we lose lives as a result.

Dr. Ben Carson, a lot of wisdom there. We really appreciate your time tonight. Thank you so much.

CARSON: Thank you, Pete. Happy New Year.

HEGSETH: All right. Tonight, we are less than one year away — happy New Year to you — one year away from the midterm elections, they can’t come fast enough if you ask me.

And Democrats — well, they are in a state of despair. COVID-19, as we just discussed, raging. The southern border is in crisis. We’re going to get to more on that tonight as well. The withdrawal from Afghanistan, an unmitigated disaster reverberating across the globe. And the economy, it’s a train wreck, record level inflation, slow growth, a widespread labor shortage, major supply chain problems.

But according to this tweet — get this — this tweet from Joe Biden: everything is going great. And I quote: We’re ending with what one analyst described as the strongest first-year economic track record of any president in the last 50 years, end quote. Lest I be associated with it.

Biden never named that one analyst with, some speculating it could be his son zero experience Hunter as Sean likes to say rightfully, or Biden fan girl Jennifer Rubin.

Now, make no mistake, with Biden faltering, Hillary Clinton is more than happy to make herself available. Can you believe that? Recently in fact, she appeared on MSNBC and blamed far left progressives for this year’s long national nightmare. Wow, how far we’ve come.

Meanwhile, this — on this program last night, Senator Lindsey Graham said in there’s one person who can turn this country around and the Republican nomination is his to win. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: You mentioned Donald Trump, Senator. Is he the nominee in right now?

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Yeah, if he wants it. Unless there’s something coming out of left field I don’t see coming, it’s his nomination if he wants it. The Republican base appreciated him. We don’t appreciate all the things he does sometimes, but from a policy point of view, he was the most successful president, from a conservatives point of view, since Ronald Reagan.

It is his nomination if he wants it and he will be in the White House in 2024 if he runs a discipline campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: Joining us now with reaction, FOX Nation host Tomi Lahren, FOX News contributor Tammy Bruce, and FOX News contributor David Webb.

All of you thanks for being here. Happy New Year. Great to see you.

Tomi, I’m going to — I’m going to flip the script here for you. If you’re a Democrat attempting to run in 2022, what is your message? What are you running on as you appeal to voters two years into the Biden administration?

TOMI LAHREN, FOX NATION HOST: Well, I think it have to be smoke and mirrors. I mean we’re at this point where Democrats are having to decide if they’re going to listen to someone like Hillary Clinton or listen to someone like AOC. Not great choices if you’re a Democrat and you’re looking to either keep your seat. You’re looking to get elected. You don’t have a lot of great options. So what they’re really banking on is that the American people are stupid.

But what they don’t understand is the American people are not stupid. We go to the grocery store. We go to the gas pump. We see that this country is turning into a giant dumpster fire.

You know, as President Trump said over and over again, if Biden would just have come into office and stayed in the basement and whoever his puppeteers are would have just stayed in the basement with him, our country would have done very well. But they chose not to do that, they chose woke-ism, they chose lockdowns over freedom.

Now, here we are and they’re trying to confuse us into thinking things are going well. Not going well.

HEGSETH: It’s true.

Tammy, I mean that tweet is indicative of what Tomi just said, laying out before everyone’s — you know, don’t believe your lying eyes. This is the best economic recovery in 50 years. Are they going to attempt to make an economic argument here?

TAMMY BRUCE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, no, and this is, of course, should worry everyone because it’s a signal that they themselves are refusing to acknowledge the catastrophe that is on its face obvious, all right? There’s so many different signals. Whether it’s the polls, whether it’s personal lives, whether it’s what family might be telling them, what they see on the television, even what their favorite, you know, propaganda news sites are saying to them, “The New York Times” or even CNN.

There is a uniformity and panic over the nature of what’s happening, and yet, there is no attempt to acknowledge it and not a willingness to do so and that tells you that will not change. It’s been almost a year. This will continue. So Americans have to be prepared for that.

But for the Democrats, it will only get worse as we lead to the midterms and, of course, Americans we’re going to be seeing alternatives and this also is an opportunity for Congress, for the — for the Republicans in Congress to pressure more and more of the Democrats in the House, their fellow senators as well.

You know who the role models are for the Democrats and the Democrats understand this, the base. It’s Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin. They’re the ones who represent the Democratic Party and if they really wanted to have an impact, they would do more outreach and they would try to save their party.

HEGSETH: Great point. David, you know, omicron, this new variant is front and center in the conversation right now. There were variants there were previous variants that happened during election cycles, that had a big influence on people’s mindsets. When they go to the ballot box, whether it’s this variant or another, will the handling of COVID be front and center for how people determine who they want to govern them?

DAVID WEBB, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah. You know, Pete, I think it will be a big factor when you look at, you know, people’s reaction to mandates, whether it’s state or federal level. The court battles that may go to the Supreme Court, that’ll be a factor.

But I wouldn’t take that as the only thing. It drives the Republican base, that’s understandable, but are there enough crossover Democrats? Are there enough crossover independents who will vote on those issues?

We have safety issues, community issues, border security, Second Amendment issues that are on the table, cultural issues. We see what’s going on with education.

So I don’t think Republicans should just take it as Biden’s failing, we should win. And I think the Republican Party shouldn’t just focus on the Congress. Look to the state and local elections. Look, our election systems are governed by the lower houses in the states. That’s what the Constitution said.

Let’s get those laws in place. Let’s stop this perversion of our election system. Let’s get redistricting and gerrymandering which the Democrats are going after taken care of, because if not, once they shore up those competitive districts they’re going to go after and try to destroy Republicans. Democrats are not down and out just because it looks like they’re going to lose the House.

HEGSETH: Sure.

All right. I’m going to tempt fate here with three great talkers. You heard what Lindsey Graham had to say about Donald Trump being the likely nominee in 20 — I say that in a good way, great talkers in a good way — the likely nominee in do you agree.

I’m going Tomi, Tammy, David. Fifteen seconds each. Go.

LAHREN: I agree. I think if Trump wants it he likely has it. However, I would like to see Ron DeSantis step into those that place and I would like to see Trump going around the country and being kingmaker and all of these state and local races. I think it could make a big difference and that’s where I’d like to see him and I’d like to see Ron DeSantis on the ticket.

HEGSETH: Tammy?

BRUCE: Well. Yes, only Trump can face down the monster that we’ve seen emerge even worse from the federal government. This has been a blessing for the American people to understand, why Donald Trump is the only person who can get this country on her feet. COVID has proven that, the economy has proven that, and the only benefits we have right now in the Biden administration is the result of the Trump administration on the economy, on COVID, on immigration as examples of what’s possible and what we can do again.

HEGSETH: That’s a great point.

David?

WEBB: All right. I’ll bat clean up on this one, Pete.

Look, Republicans have a habit of looking for the next one. What I said about winning the other seats, the lower houses, votes that translate up. Whether it’s Trump or anyone else, and I think it is his to lose, he can run a smarter campaign, whether that happens or not, without lower houses, lower seats, he will not be able to govern effectively if he wins in 2024.

HEGSETH: Right. There’s a lot at stake at the state level as well.

Thank you all so much. Tomi, Tammy, David, happy New Year. Great to hear from all you all of you as always.

All right. Straight ahead, a shocking revelation, we’ll bring it to you, on HANNITY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEGSETH: Welcome back.

More evidence tonight of Joe Biden’s open borders failure which is an agenda really. We’re now learning that border patrol recently picked up illegal migrants on the border from as far away as the country of turkey and dozens of other countries across our globe. As our porous southern border continues to be a massive national security threat, it’s not just about sovereignty — of course, it is — but it is a national security threat and it is wide open.

And the numbers continue to be more and more shocking. The numbers tell an even bigger story. In just 2021 alone, as this year comes to an end, border officials are telling Breitbart that over 1.9 million illegal migrants have been apprehended along our southern border. That’s almost million apprehensions and that’s not including the approximately so-called gotaways, meaning illegals that evaded border patrol custody.

Let’s provide some context to those numbers. In just one year, if you add those numbers together, that means more illegals entered America than the entire population of Houston Texas. Have you ever been to Houston? It’s huge. And almost as many as America’s third largest city, city of Chicago. Think about that. Let that soak in. Those numbers are staggering.

So, in under a year, we’ve gone from safety and security to an open borders catastrophe, all caused by the policies and the person of Joe Biden.

Here to explain more, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Mr. Attorney General, thanks for being here.

Am I being hyperbolic when I say at the end, all caused by the policies and the person of Joe Biden?

KEN PAXTON (R), TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL: No, you couldn’t have said it better. This was planned. It’s clear that it was planned. It’s — this isn’t like an accident. We had good policies in place before Biden came into office under the Trump administration that worked. They were effective and they dismantled them as quickly as they could in violation of federal law.

And exactly what you would have thought would have happened and what I thought it would happen, we have a massive influx of illegals out of control who are bringing COVID, drugs and all kinds of other problems to this country.

HEGSETH: Ken, I’ve got to ask the obvious question. One, I have my own suspicions about but the question is why? Why would you come in and take a border that was secure and totally unsecure it?

PAXTON: You know, I think it’s a hard question for Americans to really think about because you want to think of your president as looking out for you, is looking out for Americans but clearly he’s not. He values the illegal immigration as an important part of his agenda, and I think you said it a few minutes ago. This is a part of his agenda.

And if it means that more Americans die because of COVID or more Americans die because of fentanyl overdoses, which are up — I think drug overdoses are up like 29 percent this year, or whether there’s more crime along the border or more people lose jobs, it’s worth it to him I think because of votes and, two, I think it hurts Republican states particularly. But all states that have illegal immigration but it particularly costs Republican states both in lives and in social costs and also economically.

HEGSETH: Can Texas is having — having to do with the federal government should do, what has Texas done to try to do what Washington won’t?

PAXTON: You know, it’s a frustrating problem. We’ve spent a lot of money. We spent several billion dollars. We’re trying to build the wall ourselves, which is a pretty big job for a state to do. We funded law enforcement along the border, hundreds of DPS agents and others. We put the National Guard down there. We’ve done everything we can to help the border agents because, look, the border agents are not the problem. They want to do their job. They are — they do a great job —

HEGSETH: It’s true.

PAXTON: — when they’re allowed to and it’s unfortunate that the Biden administration has basically dismantled our ability to do the right things.

HEGSETH: So, Texas has to step up and do it for us. It’s a damn shame. It’s a crime actually that Washington won’t, but we’re grateful that you and others are standing up trying to maintain the sovereignty our country deserves, our taxpayers deserve frankly.

Ken Paxton, thank you so much for your time tonight.

And remember, the crisis doesn’t stop at our southern border as we have multiple reports of illegals being flown on secret flights in the dead of night to states all across the country, and there are more questions tonight about a series of migrant flights landing in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, as the airport operator there says the flights came from ICE, while the agency of course denies they had anything to do with these middle of the night secret flights. But as the airport’s fixed based operator told local media, quote, the airline that contacts us sends us paperwork, the paper trail doesn’t lie.

The failed far-left governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, admitted that illegals were in fact on the flight but claimed they were just passing through Pennsylvania on their way to their final destination their final destination of course being the interior of the United States, somewhere in your own backyard.

So ask yourself this: Why exactly is the Biden administration trying to hide — what are they trying to hide? Why all the secrecy? Why the lack of transparency? And why don’t we, the tax paying, law-abiding citizens of America deserve to know what our federal government is doing?

And as Pennsylvania’s Senate candidate Dr. Oz tweeted, quote: Biden’s border crisis had turned every state into a border state and the effects of his disastrous open border policy have rippled across our country, sadly, even to the Wilkes-Barre, Scranton area. We need strong leaders who will secure our border.

Here now with more reaction is Dr. Mehmet Oz himself.

Dr. Oz, thanks for joining us.

And I know you’re in the middle of a Senate race right now, which means you’re in the middle of the issues facing your state and people don’t normally think of Pennsylvania as a state affected by what’s happening at the border but you’re seeing it. What are you seeing?

DR. MEHMET OZ (R), CANDIDATE OF U.S. SENATE IN PENNSYLVANIA: Well, folks here are concerned already about the immigration issues because they know they use social services and it also speaks to the broken covenant between Americans and the government, right? We obey the law, we pay our taxes, the government secures our border.

With a porous border, not only do we get illegal immigrants, we support cartels that are human trafficking and they’re bringing opiates across the border, as we’ve heard from two prior guests this evening. So every state is truly a border state as I tweeted out and I think this middle of the night flights to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport are really a problem. It’s not whether ICE or HHS, you know, Health Human Services is responsible for the flights, it’s the reality that these people become the responsibility of every local community, every local government.

And Pennsylvanians deserve answers. You know, the first thing, Pete, when you walk into an operating room as a surgeon, that’s what I do, you shine a light on the wound. You want to be able to see everything.

The Biden administration’s doing the opposite — obfuscating, clouding the view, darkening the room. And they’re hiding dangerous ramifications of this failed border policy. If we had an 18 percent incidence of COVID last summer amongst illegal immigrants, imagine what it is today. And think about the crime and drug stats that are skyrocketing places like Philadelphia with higher homicide rates than ever before seen, period, even more than the crack wars of the 1990s.

A lot of this is related to overall frustration because you don’t know who’s who?

HEGSETH: Doctor, what are the quality of life issues you’re hearing the most about on the trail? Because we’re talking about immigration tonight. You’re well-versed on COVID, inflation’s a real one, crime’s a real one. What’s top of mind for people you’re talking to?

OZ: Top of mind with that question is the economy. The issues around jobs are massive. Inflation, of course, is not only diminishing the value of your paycheck, but it’s also undermining your confidence that whatever you’re doing and putting in the bank is going to be there.

But I think this week, COVID is once again raised to the top and I got to say this speaks to the general incompetence of the Biden administration. People are saying it’s just not working, right? The CDC arbitrarily shortens the quarantine period from 10 days to five days, it’s based on convenience, not science which we were told for two years. There’s no national plan.

I’m sitting in a place where I can’t get antibody cocktails for people who are suffering from COVID who are at risk. I can’t get pills. Where are the tests? I mean, this is a ridiculous failure of our government to provide the very fundamental basics.

As a physician, you don’t just prevent disease. You have a backup plan, in case someone actually gets the illness, where are these strategies? How come we don’t have the fundamentals? And issues like closing schools which was not following the science in my opinion, and I voiced it on this program two years ago is because causing other bodies to publish today an article from Brown showing the kids born during the pandemic are developmentally delayed.

Think about that. We’re hurting our children with some of these policies. Kids who can’t see the mouths of their teachers move don’t learn to speak. Five percent of kids wear glasses, they fog up, they can’t read.

These are the penalties we paid and we weren’t any safer because of these destructive authoritarian restrictions. I believe we should empower the people of Pennsylvania. That’s what I’ve done for my whole career. I know what works.

People are smart. They know what to do. What they want in medicine is transparency, and they want to make sure they know who their doctor is. We’re not doing either for them.

HEGSETH: It’s a really interesting dynamic right now, especially on the Republican side. I don’t know if you know Dr. Scott Jensen, who’s running for governor in Minnesota. He’s a medical doctor.

You Dr. Oz having been in the operating room now in the political arena. When you can understand and speak the issues you do at a moment like this, it’s a pretty darn powerful political thing, even if that’s not what you initially set out to do.

Dr. Oz, thank you so much for clarifying for us tonight. We appreciate it.

All right. Up next, the devastating consequences of the left soft on crime policies. Pastor Corey Brooks and Larry Elder will join us when we return to this special edition of HANNITY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEGSETH: Tonight, we continue to follow the violence plaguing some of our great American cities. It’s travesty. Like in Chicago, where nearly two dozen people were shot over the Christmas weekend, and yet more absolutely senseless violence. And it’s why on this program, the HANNITY program, we’ve continued to cover the 100-day rooftop vigil organized by Pastor Corey Brooks who’s raising money in Chicago for a community center to help improve the quality of life in some of the Windy City’s toughest neighborhoods.

And Pastor Corey Brooks joins us now. Pastor, thanks so much for being here. I got to admit, I watched your day 40 episode of rooftop revelations today at FOXnews.com. Other people can check them out, they’re phenomenal. You’re doing it day by day.

And today, you talked about the role of fathers. You talked about — you want to repair crime and gangs. You got to get households back together as well.

PASTOR COREY BROOKS, PROJECTHOOD.ORG: Absolutely. It’s imperative that we get households back together because what we’re experiencing especially in Chicago is the blatant disregard of authority and because of that, people have lost their moral confidence their principles are not being abided by and we believe that it’s a lack of fathers being in the household, that 80 percent of the households in our neighborhood are fatherless households, there’s no father in the house.

And we believe that fathers add structure, they add discipline, the things that are needed especially in this day and time. And that’s one of the reasons why I’m on this roof, trying to build a community center so that we can fix those issues that our community is dealing with.

HEGSETH: How is that going as well? Forty days on the roof, you have 60 to go. You’re doing it to build a community center. How can folks if they want to support your cause, how can they do it?

BROOKS: Well, we just reached over a million dollars, and I want to say to all the people, especially FOX who have been contributing to what I’m doing, thank you so very much, and to all the people across America who’ve been proving that. Americans when they come together there’s nothing that we cannot accomplish.

And so, I want to say thank you to all the American citizens who have been given and happy holidays and a happy New Year.

But we’re going to accomplish, we’re going to build this center, and it’s going to be because of the help of people all across America.

HEGSETH: You know, it’s a dangerous job you’re doing right now, Pastor. You’re doing good, but you’re doing it in the backyard of gangs that make their livelihood preying on these kids. It’s a dangerous assignment and I’m sure you’re aware of that.

BROOKS: Yeah, it’s a dangerous assignment but someone has to do it, someone has to step up and say, hey, enough is enough. We have to take charge and responsibility of our community. We cannot keep depending on government to come in and solve our issues and be dependent upon government because it’s not going to fix the issue.

We’ve already had that proven that they cannot solve our problems and that’s — we see that every single day or we would not even be in this situation.

So, we have to step up, I’m going to step up and I’m praying that others will step up as well, and we can do it if we all continue to work together and do the things that need to be done — the tough things that need to be done.

HEGSETH: It’s been on the screen, Projecthood.org. Thank you, Pastor. Pastor Brooks, God bless you. Stay warm. WE appreciate it.

BROOKS: Thank you. God bless you.

HEGSETH: You got it.

Turning now to the West Coast where the failures of the left’s progressive policy — well, it’s ravaging the city of San Francisco. FOX News digital spoke to one father who lost his six-year-old son — put yourself in those shoes — six-year-old son in a senseless shooting in the summer of 2020, the summer of love, mostly peaceful protests. And he’s slamming the city’s all-out neglect when it comes to holding violent criminals actually accountable. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FATHER OF MURDERED 6-YEAR-OLD: Because of the politics and the policies of the district attorney, there’s no accountability. I mean, we’re doomed as a city especially with the district attorney like Chesa Boudin, the police are doing their due diligence to try to solve these crimes and hold people accountable for these crimes and the district attorney’s office is not willing to prosecute and hold these criminals accountable all the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: And down in Los Angeles, the crime surge is getting so bad that rich residents are flocking to a concierge, appointment-only gun store in Beverly Hills to purchase new firearms. Everyone has a right to defend themselves and they need to defend themselves against rising crime across Tinseltown.

Here for reaction, Larry Elder.

Larry, thanks so much for being here.

You heard what that father had to say, the real life personal consequences of this. Is this — I mean, are we seeing — we’re seeing the migration of people leaving the state of California. At this point, it’s about personal safety.

LARRY ELDER, NATIONALLY SYNDICATED RADIO HOST: Absolutely. Pete, and that poor father lost a six-year-old and the 17-year-old who was prosecuted for the murder of that 17-year-old was prosecuted as a juvenile not as an adult and so, he’s probably going to do about five years, maybe eight years if that.

What’s interesting is that just last year, there was a ballot initiative in that city called Proposition G that would have allowed and year olds the right to vote. So it’s okay to vote. It barely failed, it’s okay — it’s okay to vote when you’re 16 or 17 years old, but if you murder somebody at the age of 17, all of a sudden, you’re just a child.

It is absolutely outrageous and you’re absolutely right, more and more people are buying guns here in California. When Obama was president, if you walk into a gun store, Pete, you see a poster that said salesman of the year and you’d see a picture of Barack Obama now you walk into a gun store in California and you’ll see salesman of the year here in L.A. County and you see a picture of prosecutor George Gascon who’s one of these soft on crime D.A.’s believes in cashless bail, believes that bad guys are really victims of society. They ought — they ought not be held accountable and you have laws out here in California like Proposition 57 that have reclassified all sorts of groups of crimes as non-violent.

And they include but are not limited to serial arson, non-violent crime, assault on a police officer, nonviolent crime, aggravated assault, nonviolent crime, domestic felony battery, nonviolent crime, rape of an intoxicated victim, non-violent crim. As a result people are not being held for the time they ought to be held and they’re out in the streets when they ought not be out in the streets.

HEGSETH: Wow, that’s an amazing list, Larry. An amazing and dangerous list of violent crimes re-categorized.

If they’re buying guns in Beverly Hills, are we reaching a point where the rich and famous are now under threat? Is that why we’re seeing the governor and some of these mayors start to at least rhetorically attempt to walk back their defund the police, you know, so-called bail reform nonsense? Is it the rich people getting hit, now, we need to talk about it?

ELDER: Well, Pete, as you know, I just ran for governor. I failed. One of my issues was crime. And people ask me, what will it take? You have rising crime, rising homelessness, poor quality of public education. People are leaving California for the very first time, poor water management, poor fire management, you name it.

And I said it’s going to take somebody who is homeless to relieve himself on your front lawn and that front lawn is going to be in Hancock Park or Beverly Hills. Once that happens, then they’ll rethink their allegiance to the Democratic Party and bring back common sense. I think we’re almost there, Pete.

HEGSETH: Larry, you did not fail. You inspired a lot of people. You gave a lot of people hope that someday maybe there could be sanity in the land of the insane in California. Larry, thank you so much. Appreciate your time.

All right. Tomorrow, it’s New Year’s Eve, which means for normal people, it’s a night of fun. But Dr. Fauci, he’s already trying to get Americans to stay away from each other as the ball drops. We’ll tell you what he said.

Plus, we’ll give you some more details on FOX’s All-American New Year’s Eve. That’s next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEGSETH: As you know, tomorrow night is New Year’s Eve. 2021 finally behind us, can’t come soon enough.

I’ll be right here in Nashville, which is where I am right now co-hosting FOX’s All-American New Year’s Eve with my friends and co-conspirators as well as co-hosts Will Cain and Rachel Campos-Duffy. We’ve got a fun and festive evening of segments planned for you with some of your favorite FOX hosts, as well as a live performance from country music star John Rich. We’re going to have some stand-up comedy with Jimmy Failla.

And members of our FOX family will be joining us from all across the country. We’re going to call them at home, see if they’re still awake, see if they’re sober.

You don’t want to miss this one of a kind event. You never know what might happen scripted and unscripted.

However, while tomorrow is a night of celebration for most Americans, king Dr. Fauci wants it to be a night of social distancing, double masking and COVID regulations. That’s right. Dr. Fauci has declared that kissing and hugging should be off limits this New Year’s Eve.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: If your plans are to go to a 40 to 50 person New Year’s eve party with all the bells and whistles and everybody hugging and kissing and wishing each other a happy New Year, I would strongly recommend that this year, we do not do that.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HEGSETH: Joining us with reaction are Dr. Jeanette Nesheiwat and Emily Compagno. Emily will be in Times Square for us for New Year’s.

And so, we’ll get to the party in a moment, Emily.

But, Doctor, what am I supposed to do at midnight? Am I supposed to stand six feet apart from my wife and blow a kiss through a mask? Like what’s he telling us here?

DR. JANETTE NESHEIWAT, FOX NEWS MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR: You know, Pete, I’m Jordanian and in my culture, we kiss at least twice on each cheek so I don’t know who knows maybe we’ll be fist pumping next. But you know, we know that omicron is extremely contagious. We just hit nearly half a million cases more than this year than we did last year.

But you know what’s more important, Pete, last year this time, we had not as many deaths, only about 1,500 right now. Last year, we had almost 3,000 deaths. So I think it’s important to notice that.

Also, it’s important to find that balance of safety and your emotional and mental well-being. Look, we are all social creatures. We thrive that human interaction, that social engagement. It’s just a matter of knowing your risk, understanding your risk and protecting yourself.

HEGSETH: It’s — at this point, Doctor, it’s know yourself, know your family, know who’s coming into your home, be careful and understand their risk threshold, ask them what they’re comfortable with, and we can figure it out. We’re adults.

Now, Emily, you won’t know everyone in Times Square I don’t think tomorrow might. What’s your approach going to be?

EMILY COMPAGNO, CO-HOST OF “OUTNUMBERED”: Well, I don’t need Dr. Fauci to tell me not to kiss 40 or 50 people on New Year’s Eve, to your point, Hegseth, because, yes, I’m going to be around a ton of strangers. But I think, unfortunately, it’s just another example of the sort of impractical and really out of touch rules that has stemmed from this gentleman’s mouth that, unfortunately, the federal government takes as gospel.

Because the reality is that every American as Dr. Nesheiwat laid out perfectly assesses their own risk with their personal physician and they make those decisions based on their household and they identify and mitigate their risk factors on their own, and we don’t need to hear it from him to not make out with people. Again, I made that decision on my own regardless of him telling me that.

But, Pete, it’s going to be so fun on New Year’s. I’m going to be holding down the fort in Times Square with Lawrence Jones. We’re going to be coming to you live all night and I’m so excited with you guys at the helm, you and Rachel and Will there in Nashville and Jimmy doing stand up, it’s going to be so exciting.

We’re doing a scavenger hunt. We have NYPD involved, like there’s going to be so much fun stuff here in Times Square in New York City. So, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, stay tuned.

HEGSETH: Wow, scavenger hunt in Times Square, I hope that doesn’t include a dead body. That’s a — it’s a poor joke, I get it, but like my goodness, it’s been a year, based on the policies in that city, and we are — we do have a creative scavenger hunt coming in Times Square.

Doctor, what — we heard that Anthony Fauci’s — his New Year’s Eve party is not going to be much fun. There won’t be anybody there. Nobody’s going to be kissing or hugging. What would it — what does a sensible doctor like yourself plan to be doing on New Year’s? Besides watching our show.

NESHEIWAT: Well, I’m going to be traveling, I’ll be spending part of the time with my family and then I’ll be working seeing patients. But I can tell you, I’m definitely looking forward to a happy 2022 with health peace and prosperity. One thing that I just have to say to everyone is always remember to be kind and be patient especially to those who show up to work in our short staff, and just stay strong in your faith.

HEGSETH: That’s a great point.

NESHEIWAT: And remember, we will get through this just like we got through every other variant. We will get through this one and also just don’t forget to call your mom.

HEGSETH: Good reminder, good reminder and wonderful sensible advice across the board.

All right. People may not know this, Emily, but you used to be an Oakland Raiders cheerleader. We’re doing a line dancing contest for New Year’s Eve. Any tips for me?

COMPAGNO: Okay, so I guess my biggest tip would just be have fun and be yourself because those things will shine through. You’re going to be amazing. I’m rooting for you, Pete, and I wish I was there at the at the line dancing contest. I’ll be dancing in Times Square.

HEGSETH: All right. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thanks. Dr. Nesheiwat, Emily, happy New Year’s to both of you.

We’ve almost definitely — you’ve almost definitely heard the phrase, Let’s go Brandon. Well, the NASCAR driver who inspired the chant recently made some really big news. We’ll give you the details when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEGSETH: Welcome back to the special edition of HANNITY.

In October, one NBC reporter’s mistake led to a chant that is captivating a nation. Remember this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON BROWN, NASCAR DRIVER: Oh, my god. (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Such an unbelievable (EXPLETIVE DELETED) —

REPORTER: Brandon, you also told me, you can hear the crowd. “Let’s go, Brandon”.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: After months of laying low, the NASCAR driver Brandon Brown is now embracing the chant with a new sponsor, the “Let’s go, Brandon” cryptocurrency coin, or LGB coin. So check out Brandon on the racetrack or the LGB coin in your wallet, your crypto wallet.

Unfortunately, that’s all the time we have for tonight. Thank you for watching. Don’t forget to tune in tomorrow night for FOX’s All-American New Year’s Eve.

Now, let’s hand it over to Lisa Boothe who is sitting in for Laura Ingraham. Let’s go, Lisa.

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