Episode 36: The Dereliction of the Press: From Liberal Bias to Fake News, with Harris Faulkner

and as a result, fake news has become mainstream. This is allowed with Gianno Caldwell, Welcome back to allow With Gianno Caldwell, I got an exciting show for you guys this week. My guests as the one and only Hare's Faukner at six time Emmy Award winning journalist and when I say journalists, I mean real journalists, big j journalists. You can see Fawkner each week on the Fox News

Channel hosting both The Fawkner Focus and Outnumbered. Fockner, who grew up in a military family, is also a best selling author of The Nine Rules of Engagement, a military's bratt's guide to life and Success, which came out in Today. Faulkner and I talked about the integrity of the press, fake news at its worst in the state of journalism. Let's go. Wow. You know what, I've never heard your voice on podcast. My heart rate has now gone down. Oh. I'm so honored to have you here with me. I'm

so excited to be with you. No, no, I mean it's it's really an honor. And I mean you're You're just a veteran that one did a lot of us respect, whether you be young or old. You're somebody that we all look up to and hope to do as good of a job as you, which we know it's nearly impossible, but you know, one can help preparation absolutely. Now. I think what's interesting is a lot of people may not know what roots you came from from before you joined Fox News Channel. A lot of people just kind of

think you you joined a Fox. You have a long history of journalistic journalistic experience, starting at the local level. Can you walk people through your background? Well? Sure, I mean I started out in a very small market, Greenville, Washington, New bern In that market, it was mainly known for East Carolina University. It was a very small town that I was in, the home of news citadat in Eastern Caroline. Um,

I'm trying to do my best giano. We were also known for, unfortunately, m pretty deadly hurricanes in that area and different types of of crime that would make national news. Like my very first day on the job, my news director, Roy Hardy, he was always clearing his throat, sweetest old man, but he had a sixth sense of humor, and he said, well, we're gonna cut your teeth today. We've got either the KKK rally or we have a man and holding people

hostage at East Carolina University. We think there's like some familiarity, maybe a spouse or a girlfriend or something. They're in the admissions office. Shots fire, and he looks around the newsroom and I've got my back to everybody because I'm facing him. My first opportunity to work Gana. They put me on some some milk crates. There I am and h on my milk crate, looking at the news director with everybody else behind me at a desk, and I don't know what the hand signals were or whatever, but

they chose that hostage situation for me. In a bright pink suit, much like I'm wearing this dress today. I had a pair of heels and Kevin O'Brien. He was taking passed recently. He changed so many careers. He was he was so good with reporters and honing us for the rest of our careers. And he came over and he was always eating. He always had like a long sandwich. His car always had food. And he came over and he was eating a sub and he goes, Harris, what kind of a name is that? I said, well, boy,

He said, ah, well, look at you. You look like a bottle of pep bo bismol. And I said really, And he goes those shoes though, that's I don't I don't know you can wear those heels. I mean, it's potentially a killing scene. That's okay, let's roll. So we get into his old station wagon with the panel doors. I mean, the station didn't have a lot of money, so our news vehicles look like leftovers from the Brady Duns.

So we get to the scene and there's national media there because I mean East Carolina University is a huge school and CBS has come from Rawleigh and everybody's there, and because our team had gotten there and they were switching like another reporter who'd been there since early that morning out with me and someone said, who's that. Kevin goes, that's a new girl. Are we calling girls now? Right?

And so I do my my first life hit ever in my career, in my life, and shots fired again and Kevin Kevin wants over and he goes, I got a call from the news room. Apparently there's somebody out here with a baby gun. Really, he goes, yeah, if you're in a clicking noise. I was like, oh, do you think they're close to us? And he goes, oh, I think they're might close. So I was so nervous that the little rubber plastic things on the back of your heels had worn out on my shoes and the

metal was clicking on the cement. My legs are shaking, and the multidirectional mike that he had on his camera and my my handheld apparently something was picking it up. And it was like the whole time I was talking, and he goes, I don't know if your feet no Morris covid, but can you take those things off? So there I stood barefoot now the new Girl over eighteen and the Evening News took a couple of my hits because CBS couldn't get as close as we were baptism

under fire. There began my breaking news career and by that night I had done probably for different affiliates around the country. Probably what and how old were you at this point? Uh? Four twenty four, first time live hit and you're national in a local market. Wow. Yeah, I wish I could see see some of that coverage. I'm sure just outstanding, just pictures with me on the internet.

First of all, the hair arrived before I did, and um, but I will tell you that three days later I did get sent to that KKK rally, and the news director then figured out that I was a serious person and he came over and he said, you know, I know it's only been a couple of days, but I kind of like you. I'm kind of growing affectionate of your work ethic. He said, I'm sending you to that KKK rally because they had changed because of the weather

and got a different permit or something. And now he's just landing planes on my head because I don't know what the heck he's talking about because my eyes are this big. Um, well, no one can see us because we're looks like a cartoon character where the cat's tail gets stepped on in their eyes get real big. That's me. And I said, well, what do you want me to do with the rally? And he goes, I want you to stay alive. I like, is that a choke? And he goes no. He said, you know, the last couple

of reporters we've sent, you know, they came back. They weren't sure if they wanted to do this as a career. And he said, but I'm not sending you with some kind of a test. It's going on and it's part of what we do, and we're going to cover it. And it's free speech, and they have a permit. A couple of suggestions, don't talk from when people talk. If you asked somebody a question, you need to listen. And I said, why did the k k knot like to

be interrupted? He goes no, these are like lifetime suggests. Suggestion. You know, I was so young and I said, well, what's the other suggestion that you have for me? Mr Hardy? And he said, I want you to be as good every day as you were on that campus. I want you to stay focused and to know what it should be in your focus. And I said all those years ago that if I ever got my own show named after me would have that word in it. And it's

taken me a quarter centry to get here. And I have the Faulkner Focus weekdays at eleven am on the East Coast, and now we have the Fawkner Focus, as you said, week days eleven am on the East Coast, and you also host and actually the veteran centerpiece host

of Outnumbered. It well noon, How is that to have these two hours, which you've been having two hours for some time now, but just to go from your show to Outnumbered and to be talking about these news stories on a day to day basis, you know, Gosh, why not hear people say blessed beyond measure? I always wonder whether or not UM people really understand the meaning of those words. And in the past year, I think I've done eleven pandemic specials, a couple of them prime time.

Blessed to do a job and work for a corporation where they are never offended by me talking about my faith times and we know we've had some as a country. I don't prophesize on the air, but I when when people ask me directly, how do you account for your success? I say there, but by the grace of God, go live, um and beyond measure because I didn't see all of it, kind of some of it I didn't even ask for. Some of it isn't exactly what I did ask for.

It's right on time, and it's by design. And so every day I look at those two shows, the Faulkner Focus and out Numbered as God's blessing my path. He has expectations for me, and I have purpose in my life, and I'm supposed to do the very best I can for both of those categories to meet the expectations that the Good Lord was set for me, which is to do my work with integrity and honesty and respect for others.

Um with a little sense of humor sparkled in because I think that's what he wants me to be, and that is such. I mean, you tell some really great stories, but speaking of what's expected of you and mentioning and tag grety and that's one of the reasons why I wanted to speak with you today to talk about the integrity of the press. Uh, fake news that is worse than the state of journalism, which um, a lot of people have said journalism isn't the journalism of your your

days back when you're in local television. Things have really changed for a lot of people, and for years, a lot of people, especially conservatives, have criticized the mainstream media for his quote unquote liberal bias. But liberal bias implies journalists are still doing their basic jobs of reporting their news,

just to some degree of bias and silantic coverage. Today, however, it seems we've gone from biased journalists too in some cases partisans democrats with press basses openly pushing a political agenda, no longer even pretending to report the facts. What do you think of that assessment? Is people have been talking about that, whether it be on Fox News Channel or anywhere else. Well, Gianna, I think you hit the nail

on the head. Um. We are on a journey, and as we move through, what I like to say, from adventure to adventure, we're going to some place we've along the way we've never been before. Uh and is it the best place to be? Well? I wish it were just bias, but I see Haye as a black woman in media. I see articles dedicated to why do they leave her out? When they mentioned in the award winning journalists, major publications, major broadcasts, what I call the alphabet suit networks, ABC, CBS, NBC.

I don't get offended because it's been the course for my entire career. I'm not what everybody thought I was going to be, and for some I'm not black enough. I you know, I want both sides of the story, but I want all sides of the story because they're not they're normally not just too um. I want the exclusive video that really shows what happened at the police

shooting of McKay ryan. I want that one. I want the one from the neighbor on top of the garage, not just the one we're being fed to the media by someone's cell phone or whatever. I want the whole spherical look at things. And then I want the space and the grace to ask the good questions and not to grade the answers. I want to stand in the space that is so divided as a nation right now

and here from everybody. And I think we very hardy for starting me out with a KKK rally because some of the best interviews I've ever done in my career. You know, not everybody have cell phone back then. So I try to find that three quarterage tape that that weighs, you know, as much as my first child of earth. Um. But they were listened to because I took his advice, and when I asked a question, they talked to me. They knew who they were talking to. I mean, I've

never been anything but blacks. They talk different at the rally. But I take this experiences into today, where we're so divided and the word racism is dropped everywhere, and I see reporters, back to the point of your question. I see reporters not even resisting saying well that's a quote, or you know, I see them getting involved in the protests. I see them like I I want to say that

that's not what's happening. But when I listen to their words, I hear that that even the violent protesters have a right to space. And they're quoting the mayors and the and and the leadership in certain cities where things have broken off and gotten violent, but they're not going to those offices and demanding answers. Who's advocating for the business owners? Like I see this on my shows and on Fox,

but I don't see that everywhere. So what I take it to mean if you're not willing to go get the whole truth, you must be complicit in the half truth. And I don't like going there, so don't drag me. So if you want to leave me out of stuff as much as I you know, respect to appreciate. Why didn't you give it a word to Harris Faulkner. Um, Because I don't. I don't follow a narrative. I'm too busy trying to figure out what's actually going on and talking with people who may not agree with each other.

But it's important to talk to all side, you know. And and we're in a space now where we have a president who says I've been told not to take questions Jinsaki, the White House Press secretary this week. Well we'd rather he didn't. Really, Well, we'd rather he did after that pipeline to Bakle and millions of people and

gas shortage situations across more than a dozen states. Um. A reporter asked, so, Mr President, were you aware the the private corporation Colonial took a five million dollar pot of cash and gave it to the Russian hackers as ransom? Now you know what that means. If one company does it, fifty will do it. Maybe they already have been so he had already walked away because he was He took two questions, two or three questions. You know, I'm not saying any moreries. You know he's gonna need a ben

a drill for the allergy he has. We're taking press questions. So he comes back to the microphone and just to lean in and say, I have no comment. I would have follow it up with he's your comment that you don't know the answer, or is your comment that you can't say the answer? Shout it? If you have to let him talk to you as he walks away. Make it harder and harder and harder to be ignored as a press because we only have one role to serve

the American people with great questions. We have one job. Now. I do love her and makeup, but that's not my job. I even put some on for this podcast. I appreciate that. Before we move on, let's take a quick break back in a second. It sounds like you're giving career advice to a lot of those activist reporters out there, and that brings you to my next question, because you you mentioned something that I think people really especially those who

are enterppressed, those who work in our industry. During the Trump era, we saw a slew of news reports saying that Trump Bastlar military, colluded with Russia and so on. Many of these reports had to be corrected or even retracted. I want to go over a couple of specific ones with you in a moment, But before then, pretty much all of these reports relied exclusively on anonymous sources. As a journalist, what do you think about the use of

anonymous sources and reporting? Is it too easily abused because we see a lot of activism going on in journalism. Now, well, let's get to what in anonymous sources, because apparently it has a different meaning for everybody and aim. A source is something that you and your news management all note together. I don't trust any reporter who's the only person keeping the information because we get kidnapped and killed all over

the world. What are you trying to do? Like you got to tell somebody off the record, include and you should tell people when you take people off the record. Look as Connie Chung, between you and me is always a point where people tune in with a microphone, honey.

So the way we as journalists are are trained to do is I will make the determination with you and my news management off the record now a lot of times, if I know I'm going to do an interview, I'll check in with our senior vice president of Daytime and I'll say, look, if I'm called off the record, where do we stand on that? And we'll talk about the

parameters of that. Uh. We would much prefer Harris that would be on background, which means if you could corroborate whatever information they give you with other sources, you can use it. Because the reason somebody wants to go off the record is because they don't want the finger pointed at them. But anonymous sources is something different, because anonymous sources can be someone that you don't want to tell

the public about. Well, then set off the record, you know I And then if it's off the record, coroborated in a different way so you can put it on the record. But when you say anonymous sources, I start to get nervous because are the sources also anonymous to the recorder? Did you have a blind phone conversation? Assume everything is recorded. Most of us live in one party states anyway, So I can record somebody, I don't have

to get their permission. I always tell young reporters, be careful when somebody says between you and me and I want to remain anonymous, be careful the promises that you make, because if they go out and kill somebody and they told you about it, you got into brism. Wow, I didn't.

I didn't realize that. You you you you better be clear on what was on and off the record, what you knew, why you knew it, Because if they recorded and you didn't know, when you're in a one party state and they played the tape for the car, well, you know, Harris Faulkner knew, do you want to call? Well? I told him. I guess he thought we really really were, you know, not gonna tell anybody, But I felt like I could tell somebody, and that reporter didn't talk me

out of it. I mean, look, even if you don't go anywhere behind bars, you gotta you gotta spend your heart on cash and try to defend yourself. Anonymous sources make me nervous. Tell the public. I've learned this on background. I've been able to source it to other people outside my original source, who would like to remain unnamed. But anonymous, we get into we get into trouble. With that concept

of someone not knowing anything about an individual. Look, it didn't even work out for Assange's true, you know, I mean, and it's okay to have quiet sourcing on things. It's responsible, especially you know if I've had victims of rape come to me and they're their allegis. Day. This was very high profile, and what do we do. Well, I'm not going to out the names of a of a rape victim. We we know the by laws of journalism that you can get somebody killed. So the point isn't to say

an anonymous source told me blah blah blah. Now, the point is I have spoken exclusively and off the record with a victim, but utilize some of the detail to be able to work on the record sources to tell you the following the nursing home story, couldn't even get a return email from the Governor of New York, and

they knew I had solid information. So I found a nurse in Boston who was a young woman as signed had come here the governor on TV and said, oh, they need my help in the middle of the pandemic. I'll go stay at a Time Square hotel with a bunch of nurses and doctors and and go volunteer and at particularly nursing homes. That's where she was put take a few pictures. That's what she did about the four days she was crying. To her family. She was like,

I'm seeing things. People are dying. They are giving us ppe. Oh the story got bigger, and I do something on the Falkner Focus and previously outnumbered over time because my show used to follow out number. Now it comes previous to it. They are previous, But I do something. I'm looking out for you, So I always tell the viewer something's going on. That's the local news part of me. And you know that it's wrong and you want somebody to look into it. Don't forget where I am. I mean,

my roots are an investigative journalism. My husband's one of the best investigators I've ever met, investigative journalists. I always say I didn't have an any before I met my Tony, and he's so friendly. People don't even know, Oh, yes, I killed him. I think he's gonna be able to tell your things. So you know, when journalists say that they have anonymous sources, have to start to ask, well, are the sources anonymous to you? Do you know who

they are. Have you shared with your news management the parameters of the secret keeping that you're doing. Is anybody's life in danger by what you're holding onto? These are things that have to be talked about. Now they don't talk about the lunch room, but that's how it works, and most people don't know the drill down down on that.

Reporters are made to look like you know, superheroes. Oh, they know this, and they know that we know things because people tell us and show us things, and if we're really good at our jobs, will match the facts that they're telling us with the perspective and the content of doing information gathering around those facts to try to get to the whole story. So, in essence, it can easily be abused. But that's why you gotta be able to source things for yourself and not just trust an

anonymous source in that way. Is that what you're saying. Yeah, you'll hear me say this on the air all the time. So and so even if it's routers or AP, they'll say a source only known to routers or you know, I don't ever see them use the word anonymous sources necessarily, but they'll say, you know, we've done quiet sourcing on this or whatever. And I will always say I at Box News cannot independently bear I do it with video

all the time. You know, the a people say this video shows and I mean, well, it purports to show that, yes, but that you never get the whole clip. And there's always that point where just outside the finger that was covering the lens, and the next clip the finger gets moved and you're like, oh my gosh, that's bob. Oh we do know blah blah blah blah blah. But they'll send you some weirdly edited video or whatever and it

purports to show, is what I'll say. And until we can we do that with video from from different countries, I'll say, you know, uh, this video appears to show blah blah blah. Now, if it's the Iron Dome and they're firing rockets from Gaza and blowing up houses, we often see that who apparently is doing this We found out in that conflict that's going on right now between Hamas, the terrorist organization in Israel. UM they now aren't just doing stuff in the air, They're they're doing stuff on

the ground. Uh. And the Palestinian people who are caught in the center of this and the Israeli people who are Caughton center this. It's it's heartbreaking, but it very much is. Moss is a terrorist group and when they do stuff, we may not be able to call the terrorist name, but we know where the rockets are coming from.

So that's kind of different. But when you look at video and you're asked to believe something based on a little bit that's been edited, that's when it's time to go deeper at what I want to see among our young journalist, Giano. I want to see that suspension of

automatic belief when somebody tells you something. And to my next point and my next question to you, because I think that's the perfect jump off, I want to go through a couple of egregious examples of the media really messing up news stories and then get your thoughts on them. I'm sure you saw the Washington Post report and early January the President Trump pressor Georgia's top election investigator to quote, find a fraud in the election. It turns out that

the Post reporting was blatantly fosse. In fact, two months later, the paper stated that it misquoted Trump's comments on the phone call in question, and that he never actually said find the fraud. This seems to be like it's should be pretty straightforward. Just listen to the recording of the phone call and report what was said. How can a professional journalists mess that up unless they want to make the president look bad? It just seems I don't understand

that piece. Well, first of all, anybody looking at that a news manager whom ever, has got to be and this is the word that's key, curious enough to say, let's listen to the whole calls we have it. They reported a half truth because undoubtedly they reported half of bocus on the tape, they didn't listen to it. When you listen to it, you see you hear the context in the perspective of what the president was saying, because

you hear all of his words. That's case in point of what I was just saying, You've got to be curious enough to listen to the whole thing. And then too, did anybody pick up the phone and said, Mr President, we're about to go with the story. What did you mean when you said this? That makes your story more powerful, by the way, because then you can say, well, we have this tape and when we first got this tape,

we were told it said one thing. Now we realize when you really listen to the whole thing, it says this, we contacted the current president, who, by the way, there were very few times you couldn't get Trump on the phone to say something. If you really really tried, either him or one of his people, Um, you might even play the tape for them. And then you get the benefit of asking, well, where were you on this issue?

You get the benefit of asking and oh, by the way, if you do your job really well, and you sit down with the President of the United States at the hype of the pandemic and rioting in the streets of this country last June of and he tries to tell you that he's done more for black folks than Lincoln. Because you know your history and you know his you

get to say this, Mr President, we are for you. Yeah, you get to say that because you're you're you're a student of history and I'm talking about myself last year. And then that's when you sat down with the president. That's when when you sat down with the president. Try in Texas at a mega church like fourteen hours before you had a quarantine to come back to our houses, and we would have been staying at the hotels trying to get home. The pandemic was on fire at that point.

And why do I say all of that, because then we got to further the conversation. We wouldn't even deeper and had conversations about rapes alluding in the shooting. Well, it came to them here, Mr President, It came from here, and I told him. And you know, in my career there have been probably count on one hand times when other journalists write about my work, and Mainstream Columbia Journalism Review wrote a whole article about that interview and how

to do it. It takes patience and preparation, and you gain the respect of the person across from you because you're willing to do two things. Ask real questions and listen to their answers completely, and don't edit them to the point where their answers are unrecognizable when they get the air, Like Rhonda Santas, is that your next example? No, no, no, I mean that that just came to you said edited, And um, I think back to that interview he did for that Sunday show, and um, the masking about COVID

and donations by the grocery store. And I mean it seems as though again activism and journalism trying to especially for those who may be conservative, trying to make them appear in a light that isn't true. And one has to ask, um, we get where are we going with this? Because it's gotten to the point where you really can't trust the media in the sense that we used to used to say. Okay, well, the AP reported it, The New York Times reported it, this other outlet reported it's true.

I believe what they're saying because obviously they're going to source their information independently, you would assume. But we're seeing a lot of headlines, especially under the last four years of Trump, where things were just simply putting not true. It was like in a lot of cases, and clearly he's willing to sit down and take tough questions and and as president and and after Um, so getting at the truth is not impossible to do, but you have

to want it. You have to actually want the truth more than you want the narrative that you and maybe your news manager sent human to get. Yeah, I mean, you have to want the truth. And you know, one that I think of now is all of the rhetoric, and Liz Cheney was one of them to going after former President of Trump on the bounties. Oh yeah, like she's getting you know, democratic love right now because Republicans

fired her recently from the conference chair post. But let's not forget who we're talking about here, Like that there was no information that there were bounties on the heads of Americans soldiers. It was being reported and the president, Oh, why did you press Russia and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. And then you find out that wasn't actually true. And I've had senators on my program and say, we looked at the Intel at the time.

If there was a country putting bounties on the head of American soldiers, look how many serving members of Congress and the Senate of the House and Senate or form a military My gosh, we'd be umpired to go do something about that. But the Intel showed that that wasn't the case yet. And you would expect people across the bottle wild run with it because it serves their political purposes,

and how it sounded the media to get there. And this is and this is what really becomes because I remembering people going the Intel community going on politically, yeah, no question about it. But it's it's amazing to me to see so many in the media reported as as the gospel, and they've done such a job to turn uh kind of the main you know, center, not Center America,

not not the flyover States per se. But folks in New York, folks in l A. Make them believe that they can't trust what goes on in conservative media because it's so quote unquote so biased. But then you look at things that are being said over with the New York Times and other outlets where it's just frankly just not found it not true, and people will believe a story simply put because it was in the New York Times.

Now I'm interested in no one from you find says obviously, and I work for Fox News Channel, and everybody knows that this is listening to. So Um what makes Fox different than all the others. Clearly we've been the number one voice and number one watch for many many years. Um. Clearly, you're real journalists who has integrity and you want to get to the story. You want to get to the facts,

no matter how it makes anyone. Look, whether it be Donald Trump or Republican or Democrat, facts are facts, and that's what it is what makes us so different than the rest. I'm not afraid to go counter to any narrative that's there. I'm not And I think we are bold and we are scrappy at Fox, and we have a healthy sense of skepticism. And I don't believe something that is written just because it's at the time to the post. But even that young journalists on her first

day in her mid twenties didn't believe with them. First of all, I know everybody has an agenda, everybody's got a point of view. And I learned in school that there's no such thing as being without bias. We all have biases. You have to be objective and a truth sircer, sir searcher and a truth seeker. But we all come to the table with our life experiences and our point of view. It's sometimes they can serve as well to

ask even better questions. So I think it's too much to assume that anybody is going to come at their job without a point of view. The question is can they still be professional and a Fox we're different, We don't hide the fact that we're hungry at all times, starved for what we don't see, because see, we're gonna get eight plates of what everybody sees. We're really interested in what's behind angle all of it, what's underneaed, what's

behind the curtain. And that's really what makes this different. And you know, when you look at the current administration, the Biden administration, we're more than a hundred days now. There are simultaneous crises going on, and I know they don't like the word crisis, so let's use what the words really are their disaster, multiple fronts. You sent FEMA to our border with Mexico because we had a hundred

and seventy two thousand people flowing over. You sent FEMA to disaster and that's in one month, the number you just quoted April. Yeah, those are those recent numbers. We had a disaster go on after you canceled Keystone pipeline in your first day president two billion dollars in wages.

Then we really could have used some extra coil when colonial got hacked and I don't even think you knew all the details of that because they played some ransom of five million dollars and you might have wanted to know that we could see another one next week based on appcating if I'm a hacker, I'm going dang this, Hayes comedies are crazy. Come on, come on, how does that make sound? It's got some truth to it because

we don't have all eyes on the topic. And when the President was asked about it today, he leaned in and said no comment, and not a reporter among them shouted, what do you mean by no comment? You don't know or you don't want us to know. Get out the record with that stuff. They were all over Trump, which is why when I sat down with him, I respected his time. He took questions, every question, and I realized that that's part of the president's job, and he accepted that.

I love Biden once a part of this job. I mean, it looks like maybe he doesn't or has been told not to want uh. He said today, Oh, you know, I hate not to take your I love taking your question. And then he took two or three and walked away. And I'm like, well, that's how you express load for taking questions. What does it look like when you don't want to Oh, they're the same thing. They're so confused we got a lot going on that feel like and

our legitimate disasters. What's happening at our police departments now? Look at New York Mayor de Blasio just said he wants to maybe I want to take another look at that defund situation. They took away a billion dollars in the midst of all the rioting last summer, and it didn't even get anybody off the streets right away. That the streets don't They're insatiable. They don't have any leadership of the streets. I mean that the women who founded BLM,

the organization, not the movement. They're pusy, bad houses vacation. They were'ty be going to Chicago where black and black crime is off the schizzl. You know, I know a lot about that. I know you do. I know you do, And I hope you talked to your audience about the truth in these matters because they won't see it depending on what they're watching. They need to be watching pop.

Now you were talking about Biden. Do do you get the sense that maybe he's being controlled, that's why he doesn't give questions, gives you will see oftentimes when uh, it comes time for that period of staff will say yeah, we're not gonna do any questions, or he will ask them. Now, I get it, a president will allow some discretion when it comes to their staff, but it seems as though he's really being withheld in some of these instances. To me, it does, and I'm not sure about your your thoughts

on that. So I brought up a point on an out number that the panels seemed to really agree with today. UM, So I don't think anybody ended up being outnumbered in this conversation, but I just made an observation based on my own journalistic experience. Um, sometimes people don't want others to take questions because they are concerned that certain language

maybe us that the administration is working on purging. So why would yours walkers say that about President Bidens administration Because we know that they don't like to say the word crisis. They don't, and we know that he did and when he said it, his press secretary and others corrected him publicly. The president was not correct. When I calls that is humiliating, Yeah, it is. It's like you're

talking about your child at that point. So my question today is who is the president capitulating to that he feels that he needs to be cut to his knees when it comes to how he wants to talk about things.

The most powerful man probably on planet was certainly in three moral the Western wre And the interesting part about that, though, this isn't the first time that's happened, if you recall during his time as Vice president Obama administration, he gave an interview where he endorsed gay marriage, and the Obama administration did not want to and he was lished on the sideline no more in media interviews for months months,

months on end, if you recall that that time. So he uh, certainly is a person that you would naturally see go off script. But the distinction here is your president, what you say should go and you tell your staff what to do, not the other way around. It's not. It doesn't. And you know, you bring up such an excellent point, Gianna. Back then it was going off script, counter to administration. Right now it is counterscript to administration. We don't know who Joe Biden's because he's not allowed

to tell us. And if you think he's showing us through his progressive ways of things that he signed on his first day, executive orders and all these are killing the pipeline and raising taxes and doing all these things, since he's definitely showing us the ways of the most

progressive people in his party. And when Alexandria Cazzia Cortez and the prior days to the election, was caught up with by cameras on Capitol Hill and walking fast and they said, what are you gonna do about Joe Biden if he doesn't want to kind of go left with you? The reporters, I don't know who they were. In my head, that's how they all sound so and I guess I sound like that too when I'm running. Uh. She said,

we're going to push him. You know what, I believe people when they show you who they are pushing him. Question is, why does the most powerful man allow that, like what is going on behind the scenes for Joe Biden that he says words like oh, I can't I can't say anything about I'll get in trouble. So you know, he's fully vaccinated, and I know he's an older man, and you do want to protect him. He's the president of the United States. I get it. He's at an

outdoor event that's a car event. Everybody's mask the cars are I don't know how far away, but you couldn't see him in the picture. He can't find his mask. He's taken it off suddenly and he's on this big day is and people are running to him, including his wife, Jill Biden, and he leaves in the wife, I can't find my mask. I'm gonna be in trouble. What does he need? I mean, I have children, I have I have a sixth grader. She knows the meaning of the

words I'm in trouble. I'm so blessed with bright, well behaved, super smart girls. Every now and then they have a mouth on him like their mother, and they'll say something. I'm like, they don't get in trouble. Who's the Harris Walker? At this point, we need to put him on the show. Are you smarter than the sixth grader? I mean, we need to find out. This is a real question. We need production companies. Where are you? We really need to

know that. You know, it's thank you for your insight on that, because I know not everyone's We're not all crazy to be thinking that something is up with the Biden administration. It just doesn't make it's not making sense. We had the idea that Kamala Harris is gonna be running the show. And if she's running the show, she's not doing too good of a job at it because we've not seen her on the boarder. Yeah, that one job. Have you seen her on the board yet they give

her a disaster to go handle. Yeah, this is the thing. If you're not willing to go and put eyes and ears on something, how can you fix it? Now? I look, I'm sure the woman is wonderful with children. I don't know how many diapers she's changed, But let me tell you from experience, I had a toddler in the newborn I was changing. I've never seen so much in my life. I have yet to be able to change a dirty

diaper from a distance, right, Indeed, that doesn't happen. I mean, when you have mess to clean up, you gotta you gotta roll up your sleeves and get in there. Like there's no way to do that from by proxy from a distance. So I'm not saying she doesn't have other responsibilities, but they gave her one job. So in addition to that one job, she has all these other things she needs to do. But that's her focus. And she says you know, yeah, I'll get down there, you know by now,

I'll get down there or want at some point. But she's at going him or maybe he's at her. Yeah, we we really don't know. This is by the way, every time he called, every time he says President Harris, you know what, perk up, we're finding out the true president here is to switch gears a little bit. You know, I'm a bit interested. And how is it being uh a black woman in journalism? How has being a black

woman impacted your rise in journalism? And of course have you experienced any racism or sexism in the industry, because I do find it particularly interesting when they talk about the fact that they'll often say there's no black person who's hosting a daytime show, uh and cable television, and clearly you're that. We've heard that for many years. You

are already hosting, and they would often overlook you. And I'm pretty sure people don't want to point any audiences towards Fox News Channel, a place where that shouldn't exist ist according to some people on the left. So how do you feel, how did how did this contribute to your rise? What are you thinking here? Well, first of all, I'm kind of the the mindset of diamond and rock. It takes, you know, tough times to polish that rock

into something that's valuable. And so I've always welcomed the challenges that have come my way because I understand that they are driven sometimes out of jealousy, out of misunderstanding, out of assumption, out of the narrative that somebody has been handed that I don't get. So I've never I've never let it stop me. I have let it shine me on me. Um. You know, most recently, when I was broadcasting at one pm Eastern, I was beating broadcast networks.

In fact, the third or fourth or fifth hour, Today's I don't know whom tone of UM are, Good Morning America, the third Hour or whatever it was with Michael Strachan. I mean, there were shows that went off the air. They were not approaching the ratings that we have. I'm

out numbered. Over time, I worked very hard, and I do ascribe to the old adage of you know, when they see a person of color coming, because they're not many of us who occupy the space as content drivers in our industry, you know, the people who actually have to say in in creating shows. I'm a content driver. I'm a founding, not just talent number about Numbered. I helped create the foundation for that show with its predecessor, I did. I designed the pilots, spent that money doing it,

and the network backed it. So Outnumbered was something that I worked on for a while. And the power that you get in this industry to change lives to the people around you, to create a legacy point for people of color, for women, or as I say, just an American who's got a dream comes from how valuable you make yourself on the job. And my goal all along the matter the color of my skin or my gender or whatever has has been decreed value for myself on

the job. I want to be that person that when big bosses have a problem they call her as Faulkner to eliminate it. That we got a problem at new and something something's not reading. This was seven years ago April. We just celebrated our seventh anniversary birthday on member Congratulations what do you have? Because they know I'm a content driver.

I write, I produced shows like that's I made. I'm one of Miami's I mean, I edited the product, so I'm all over everything in that sense, I want to understand, really really understand how we do our business on storytelling and journal wants and how has it done from the ground. And there have been times that I know that I have been kept at bay because, well, you know, we want to send you on the story. It's what I call the black girl stories, where they only send you

on things that were people of color are happening. And I've had my fillowed that early in my career, and I said, I want you to send me on on news, not just places where race is involved. You know. Um, oh, well, and if that's my only value to me to you, then let me end my contract so I can find somebody who will utilize me for every thing that I have, not just the one thing that you consider to be amrit. I can't change the color of my skin, So if that's what you value most about me, I can't even

enhance it. I'm just what I am. But if you're looking at my skills, I can enhance them. I can become more valuable to you day by day. And you know, race now is used like a weapon by people who don't even deserve to utter it from their lips. I'm

losing an argument, your racist right what is that? And look at some of the Democrats against Senator Tim Scott, the racial slurs that were hurled at him, retweets from Democrat guests, not lawmakers necessarily, but strategists from my show, I haven't had the back on because they were retweeting that racist slur that Twitter curated to make a trend. That wasn't an algorithm that did that. Twitter exacts have human bodies that makes up trend. I wasn't aware of that.

Oh yeah, oh I got all deep. We cover that story for days on on Falter Focus because I said, look, it trended on Twitter because somebody decided that Uncle Tim would take on Uncle Tom was incendiary and would further divide people and drive traffic all over the platform jump And that's what they did. And it took them eleven hours, after much requesting and everything. Took them eleven hours to take down that racial tweet and to and to make

it not fiery. Every time somebody clicked on and retweeted it, twoter did would have wanted to, and thereby encouraged people to keep retweeting it. And many of them look just like you and me, And how could we do that to someone anyone, but let alone someone who looks like us. But you know, um, again, we started this conversation about bias. See I see it differently. I don't think that's just bias. I think that's Hey, absolutely, I don't disagree. We need

the policy. Here for a quick break, but we'll be back in a second. You've been public about the fact that you're you're married. Um, you have interracial marriage, and you have bi racial kids, and you get a lot of hate for that, don't you. Oh yeah, and you know now I'm starting to disengage a little bit with people on those issues on platforms because my children are getting older and my biracial children are being told I had to have a conversation with a woke school administrator

not too many days ago. I'll skip names and places and dates, but um, well, you know, we're trying to teach the children of color, um understanding about their journey. And I said, well, my child's journey is to get an education, or we're studying history and science and those things. Well, but we want them to understand that they're black and white. Oh you don't think they know? Have you? Have you

seen my daughter's hair texture? We can go from fabulously Diana where else wig looking naturally to a blowout money that will make a Kardashian look like she fell into us Alon. We got everything covered here? So what are you teaching my girls? I mean, I need for you to teach them the part that I'm not teaching them while I'm at work. Oh well, you know, we pride ourselves on this is the administrator on giving the child the full experience. And I said, well, what what is

a full experience for a viracial child? To you? Well, they must fully understand that society sometimes may be confused about who they are and they have to choose. And I'm like, choose what. Well, I can see that this is going in circles. I said, I'm glad you can see it, because I hate to give you a wrong impression. I mean, I do find that that people want to

be helpful. I also find that they are wilful in their own ignorance, because what they don't understand is that the greatest help you can give me and my kids and my friend Giano Caldwell, it's a shot at the American dream and to call us American first. And I don't want you to give me a shot because I'm gonna take one. That's it. That's it. We made up in our minds we're not asking for permission. We're going in. We're gonna put We're gonna put are all out there,

and someone don't recognize it. We will put points on the board and the person who says, yeah, I think that guy or that girl deserves a shot, they will be the lucky one. And I don't even use the word luck, They'll be the blessed one. Yeah. I love that. And you know, there there was nothing wrong with loving everybody, people to love somebody. That That's one thing that I think we learned in people in the streets. The peaceful protesters were side by side, and they were from every

walk of life, absolutely word with each other. And George Floyd's death was worth The President of the United States, Donald Trump, and I sat and talked about that and I and he said, you know, he was curious about my perspective on it, and I said, well, for me, Floyd called out my name, you called that mom. So I came to it from a different perspective when I watched that video tape, and I love that conversation with the President. I mean, I like having real conversations with people.

And if we learned nothing from last year, it is that we are in this together. And look at some of the peaceful protesters, and look at the people that we have in our lives, most of us. You know, you hear people talking about communities of color. Well, we live in America and there are people from all walk of all walks of life and neighborhoods. Now, there are poor neighborhoods, middle clas neighborhoods. But but I like to

say that neighborhoods belong to all of us. And if there's a place that's hurting, like your former home in Chicago, the protesters should go there and help. Look at Baltimore. Have you seen the statistics for them right now? But they're the most like dangerous place in America. Look at those numbers, Gianna, we're the protesters. Where are the protesters?

I guess they don't want to protest those different plats who were in office and have been in the office and that in that city for five years or something. Even New York City, you see the dial up of the crime and the violence of a place which everyone celebrated in New York City is an American city. Is it was a crown jewel for for so long and things want to rye when they allow people to kind of run wild in the streets, and it's it's very disappointing.

But thankfully we've seemingly turned at least a bit of a page and hopefully things can go in the right direction, especially with new leadership in these cities. No, I wanna before we let you go, because I know that you have a very, very valuable time and I appreciate that and thank you for spending so much of it with me. For my final question, I want to shift from the media to your upbringing. You grew up in a military family, and we know that your dad, God rest his soul,

is no longer with us. He was a military man and in you wrote the best settling book, Nine Rules of Engagement, a military's bratt's Guide to life and success. Can you talk a bit about what it was like growing up in a military family and how that shaped you as to who you are today and what you believe. Thank you for mentioning my father. We did lose him on Christmas Day, so it's been a tough six months

without Dad. We're seeing some of the first post that period holidays, Easter and Mother's Day and upcoming Father's Day without him. And he was such a huge pillar in our family, not not just my im media family, but all across the state of Texas where my parents were from. And I was born on a military base and in Lanta, Georgia, lived and Stookgard, Germany. He was at Command College at Levenworth, Kansas, lived there Fort Leavenworth, Fort monoth New Jersey, and throughout

all of that moving around. UM I was born, raised in transferred on a brat and I have always known who I am and whose I am, and I belonged to the Lord, and I am dedicated to this country. And it just so happens that I chose a profession that has mentioned in the Constitution as such First Amendment free speech. I really have dedicated to hold and powerful accountable. And I'm dedicated to this idea and the pursuit of

happiness and all things are possible. My father was called to serve in the Vietnam War at a time when colors only signs were rough and hits here and black's there, and we were in the South, and Um he used to say to his brothers. And they said this at his funeral, huge military the cemetery in Dallas National, Dallas Fort Worth National, very cold day and after Christmas um and you could hear my uncle's voices echoing, because of

course we were all socially distanced. And they said, our brother Bob used to say that he would rather serve America than any other nation in the world, because even though she may struggle, the most potential for all of us, any of us, is here. So I grew up believing that and knowing that, and I don't have any doubt about that. So if we can make it through the fifties and sixties and early seventies, we can make it

through two thousand and beyond. But we really have to think for ourselves, and we really have to be dedicated to goodness. So I think of it this way. The more we support each other and those in our our neighborhoods, the better off life is going to be. So get to know your neighbors, especially if they're police officers. You never know when you might have to call on one. Won't get to know all of your neighbors if they're in trouble and they have people in their lives where

they need some shoring up. Mental health is not a crime. If you know of someone who hasn't left their house in a one and they want to go get a vaccination and they need help get anything, put on a mask and go get them. I'm fully vaccinated. So if it's outside a role anywhere, but help people out because the government doesn't have control over your heart. And that's how I was raised military. You've lived up people when they need your help. Wow, that was really, that was

very deep. Thank you for that, for that impactful word and sharing your faith with us, sharing your your journey, your knowledge about an industry that really is supposed to provide that level of integrity and transparent and see when it comes to reporting just the facts as a journalist, opinion folks are totally different ballgames. We get that, but certainly thank you for for business model. It is, it is, it is, and it does quite well. Let's be prepared.

As my mom used to say, every squirrel gets a nut. So every now and then the opinion folks may stumble up on some truth and they can work with it, um, but it's our job to to bring all of it to bear and to let the audience utilize that in their lives. Thank you so much for joining me today. And before I let you go, do you have anything new projects coming out? You've got another book, you're working on, what's next for you? You know? I always have something

going on, So I will do specials, prime time specials. Um. I've recently did the second now, which I think is going to be a series that I'm I'm dedicated to, and that is looking at Police in America. In fact, that was the title of it was only a couple of weeks ago. So I'm already thinking, um, where America needs to go with this whole idea of one order. I think it's really important. Um. And so that's that's

kind of what I am working on. I'm also you know, Falter Focus is only two months old, and so I'm building out that show and sticking my toe back in the studio now and coming up with some ideas. So when when I'm back in there with Kaylee Mckininni and and Emily Company on out Numbered regularly, we'll be back for three days next week because their house hunting and doing other things coming from the you know, from Florida,

from the West Coast, Seattle, wherever. So as soon as we're all kind of back in studio for more than just a few days at a time, I'm gonna be focusing a lot on the shows that I do and coming forth with some new ideas for that because I like de freshon and of course having you on and having deep conversations. I'm really dedicated to bring in video now to the Falkner Focus. Um, that's my new thing.

This week we had all of that exclusive video of people sing the border illegally, and our cameras were there and the border patrol was completely out numbered, and people need to know that. Into pitching idea to you, the summer's heating up in Chicago, send me as your man on the street there to cover what's really going on in the communities. Oh my gosh. Well, no, I have other places I want to send you to. I mean, if you're really into it, yeah, I'm really into it,

let's go. No, no, no, no, we need to go. We need to go see those communities by the colonial pipeline. We need to know what the reality of that situation really has been on the ground. I'm absolutely with you. Women have gone viral beating each other up because somebody cut in line at the gas station. When the Biden administration said that there were no shortages and then today said, well there might have been. We're trying to solve it

by the weekend. We need you. Absolutely. I'm ready to go because I want to know the truth about that, about that situation, and would the with the Keystone pipeline have helped, and those foremen that I had on my show at the time, when at the Times January twentieth, for goodness says it's not like it was that long ago, and Biden said, we don't need keys still, I'm here to tell you the facts on the ground show us differently, he's deregulating. That's a Republican pod because what he's doing

is not working. So he's deregulating, um the parameters so that ships who don't even have US flags can bring can bring those tankers in what you had, you had oil. And you say, find a new job in green energy. If I have a project, you might be my project. Yeah, because I mean I'm curious. I want and now that I'm traveling again, I mean I'll go pop up. I've done border shows before, I did a primetime special on

immigration right in the middle of the primary season. That's when you go, it's time, absolutely when Republicans get ready to flip the House and the Senate, and you know that's more than possible. That's historically what generally tally is. You're not something with me. You say you want to go the truth, and I said, I want you to to Okay, send me, I'll go absolutely. Well, thank you again here it's your crown jewel of reporting and obviously

journalism in America. I think most people would agree with that because the survey shows that you're the most trusted voice at Fox News Channel and certainly one of the most trusted in our industry. So thank you for joining out Loud with Gianno called Well, Miss Harris Waukner, thank you for having I want to thank Herri's Warkner again for a great interview. If you're enjoying the show, please leave us a review and rate us with five stars

on Apple Podcast. If you have any questions for me, please email me at out Loud at ginga six dot com and I'll try to answer them in our future episodes. And please sign up for my monthly newsletter at Ginger sixty dot com, slash out Loud. You can also find me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and parlor at Gianno Caldwell. And if you're interested in learning more about my story, please pick up a copy of my best selling book title Taken for Granted, How Conservatism Can Win back the

Americans that liberalism failed. Special thanks to our producer John Cassio, researcher Aaron Kleinman, and executive producers Debbie Myers and Speaker new Ingridge, all part of the inglish Stree sixty Network,