Fox guest Bernie Kerik spreads conspiracy theory that George Soros is funding national unrest, police protests
Bernard Kerik: “I don't know what's going on, and who's behind it. I have an idea — George Soros, for one.”
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From the June 1, 2020, edition of Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria Bartiromo
MARIA BARTIROMO: Meanwhile, we are looking. at the implications of all of this. Former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik joining me right now live, and Bernie, it is really good to see you this morning. Thanks very much for weighing in. You want an investigation underway, to see who is funding Antifa. Tell us who you believe are the people that are doing all of this looting.
BERNARD KERIK (FORMER NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER): Well, look, you have to be a complete idiot, Maria, if you don't think that these were organized — you know, riots, if you will. If you take a map, and you line up that map with every spot that's been hit in the United States, and the tactics that they're using, every one of the things that your correspondent just talked about — the autos without plates, loaded them up with weapons, the Molotov cocktails, these — every one of these things come out of Antifa's guidebook, operational handbook, they're talked about online. These are things that they do.
This stuff takes me back, personally, and it talks about my age, the '60s, '70s, and '80s, the Black Liberation Army, the Black Panther Party, the Weather Underground, the FALN. These are things they were doing then, except now it's very different. Now they're more operational, now they're more — they have more communications ability with cell phones, they have social media, they can — they can create these groups, these spot-up groups, within an hour, to hit a location. These are things that have to be investigated.
And I think what these governors have to do at this point — maximum, maximum operational capacity with the National Guard, number one. Institute federal — everything that gets locked up on this day, is federal. So you wind up getting charged — if you burglarize, if you, you know, you commit to arson, if you — whatever they're doing, you got to hit them with federal charges. You got to maximize the impact.
And the other thing I think we're doing, we're being way too politically correct. I mean, I see cops out there getting bombarded, and they're afraid to move. You know, in New York, you know, they get smashed in the face with bricks, with rocks, with bottles, they're throwing Molotov cocktails at them. And the second a cop steps forward and attempts to make arrest, the mayor wants an investigation.
BARTIROMO: Yes.
KERIK: I'm telling you, this kind of stuff is going to get us hurt, it's going to get cops killed, and it's just bad.
BARTIROMO: So what do you think needs to be done, in order to find out exactly who's behind this? Who is sending these people in there to — to do this damage? Can we get to the bottom of who's behind it, and who's paying for all these people? Really, interesting to know what Matt Finn told us, and some of our other reporters on the ground, that when they looked at the people in the crowds, there were a lot of out-of-town license plates, people coming from Connecticut and New Jersey, among other places. How do we get to bottom of who's paying for these people to come here? To make this — this damage — create this damage and chaos.
KERIK: You know what, Maria? On Friday, I know a bunch of people who were in airports on Friday, and saw these Antifa people coming into New York City — on Friday. So —
BARTIROMO: Friday.
KERIK: You know, they're coming in from other places. Eighty percent of the people that's being arrested in some of these cities, they're not even from those cities, they're from somewhere else. This is no longer about George Floyd. And the people that want to peacefully protest, I'm all for it. I'd be out there protesting, too. I think it's atrocious, what happened to George Floyd. Except that here's the problem, and here's where the chiefs and the mayors go wrong. The second a peaceful protest goes to violence, it's over. No more protests — you got to get people off the street, you got to take out the violence. So, you know, the mayors, they got to stop being cowards.
BARTIROMO: Yes.
KERIK: They're sitting back, they're waiting, they're not pushing their cops to do what they have to do. They're not supporting the cops. We've seen cops —
BARTIROMO: Well, that's a big deal. Yes, I know that.
KERIK: Getting fried, and arrested — you know, for nothing.
BARTIROMO: Yeah, and this is the situation way before this, right? I mean, cops were getting milk thrown on their heads, water thrown on their heads, and nobody did anything. I mean, if the cops don't feel that the mayor and the governor have their backs, then of course, they're not going to come out and be as aggressive as they would've been.
But how does this happen, Bernie? I mean, you were the commissioner of the NYPD. Tell me about the NYPD, tell me about racism in this country, if you can identify it. I mean, when you see a situation where an innocent man is killed — murdered — how does this happen?
KERIK: Well, it happened because you have some cop that was an idiot, some cop that may have been a racist, some cop that was — you know, had something else, you know, some agenda. Who knows? You know, when I watched that video of George Floyd, that's one of those things that I've had two or three times in my whole career — where I look at that, and I just, I have a hard time believing what I'm seeing. At the end of the day —
BARTIROMO: I know. I agree with you.
KERIK: Those things happen. They happen. And when they happen, you've got to take action. You've got to lock the guy up, or administratively take care of him. You got to take action, can't let it go. You know, and you have to make sure that's not systemic within the department. But I'm telling you, we live in a society today where we have way too many progressive, left-wing, radical mayors and governors, who have emboldened the criminal element over the last many years. They, you know — not locking people up, letting people out of jail. You know, bail reform —
BARTIROMO: But somebody's paying for the bail.
KERIK: All these policies —
BARTIROMO: But Bernie, somebody's paying for the bail, right? Somebody's paying for the bail to let those people out.
KERIK: Oh, for these guys? Yeah, in fact, some of the people that's paying for the bail are Joe Biden's staff. I read an article yesterday in Reuters, where Joe Biden's staff is going to pay the bail for some of the people that got locked up. Really? These are radical, left-leaning domestic terrorists. Joe Biden's going to pay for the bail? Come on. I don't know what's going on, and who's behind it. I have an idea — George Soros, for one. But at the end of the day, I think the FBI is now focused —
BARTIROMO: But why do you think that? Can we really say that? Do we know that for sure — George Soros, Joe Biden, do we know these — yeah.
KERIK: Well, these are reports, these are written reports by established media outlets. So, at the end of the day, these are things that the FBI is going to look at. The Attorney General has assigned 56 joint terrorist task forces around the country, to get on this domestic terrorism issue. And I think we've got to do it. The National Guard has to be implemented in full force. No more jerking around, take — use force, take these people off the streets before they destroy this entire country — and that's what they're trying to do.
BARTIROMO: Yes, Bernie, it's great to have you this morning. Thanks very much for your insights, appreciate your time.
KERIK: Thank you.
BARTIROMO: Bernard Kerik, joining us there, former commissioner of the NYPD.