Fox News Channel’s *The Five* turned into a verbal battleground on Thursday, January 2, as co-host Judge Jeanine Pirro clashed with the show’s liberal panelist, Jessica Tarlov, over the escalating crime crisis and its connection to illegal immigration. The heated exchange centered on President Joe Biden’s lackluster response to the New Year’s Day tragedy in New Orleans, where a horrifying attack left 15 dead and dozens injured, and how President-elect Donald Trump addressed the crisis.
Jessica Tarlov attempted to shield President Biden from criticism, framing his brief, stumbling statement on the attack as a call for measured restraint. “When you say, ‘I’m embarrassed watching Joe Biden,’ I’m not embarrassed seeing someone stand up there and saying, ‘Let’s wait for some facts here,’” Tarlov argued.
Judge Jeanine, unflinching as ever, wasn’t buying it. “No, he assured Americans all was well,” she shot back, cutting through Tarlov’s deflection.
The tension escalated when Tarlov tried to downplay Republican concerns about illegal immigration’s role in America’s crime crisis. Referring to the New Orleans suspect, Tarlov claimed, “The guy in New Orleans was an American. He wasn’t an illegal.”
Pirro swiftly countered, refusing to let Tarlov derail the broader discussion about illegal immigration’s impact on crime. “Seventy-five percent of the arrests in New York City are illegals!” Pirro declared, calling out the crisis directly. “Let’s stop playing games!”
President-elect Donald Trump didn’t hold back in his commentary on Truth Social, using the New Orleans tragedy to hammer Biden’s border policies and underscore the growing danger of unchecked crime.
“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” Trump wrote.
Connecting the chaos in New Orleans to the broader issue of national security, Trump added, “With the Biden ‘Open Border’s Policy,’ I said many times during rallies and elsewhere, that Radical Islamic Terrorism and other forms of violent crime will become so bad in America that it will become hard to even imagine or believe.”
Biden’s statement following the New Orleans attack was criticized for its brevity and lack of substance. While the president stumbled through a three-minute teleprompter speech, his administration failed to address the root causes of rising violence, including the open border policies that many argue exacerbate the problem.
In contrast, Trump’s response struck a decisive tone. He pledged full support to the City of New Orleans and its law enforcement officers, highlighting his administration’s commitment to restoring safety and order.
“Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department,” Trump said. “The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!”
Tarlov’s attempts to shift the blame and deflect from the Biden administration’s failures only fueled the debate. While she accused Republicans of “moving the goalposts,” Pirro and other conservatives on the panel remained focused on the facts: a crime wave fueled by lenient policies and an administration unwilling to address the truth about illegal immigration.
This fiery exchange on *The Five* underscores a growing frustration among Americans who are tired of watching their cities descend into chaos while political leaders play word games. With President-elect Trump’s promise to tackle crime and secure the border, many are hopeful for a return to law and order. Until then, debates like this one will continue to highlight the stark contrast between Biden’s weakness and Trump’s resolve.
