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Published January 27, 2017
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," June 27, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: My next guest's personal life was thrust in the spotlight when Senator John McCain asked her mother to be his running mate in 2008 presidential election. Since then, Bristol Palin, along with her mother, have been the target of constant attacks by the liberal media and liberal pundits. But now she is ready to tell her side of the story in her brand new book, "Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far," Bristol discusses everything from her teenage pregnancy to the nasty rumors from the campaign trail. And she joins us in studio.
Good to see you, welcome back.
BRISTOL PALIN, DAUGHTER OF SARAH PALIN: Thank you.
HANNITY: This is nothing, you danced in front of 24 million people, I mean, that must have been the hard part.
PALIN: That was difficult. But I had an awesome time.
HANNITY: You have a gutsy family. Your mom is pretty gutsy. Your dad is out there in the freezing cold getting frostbite.
PALIN: Yes, we come from a really gutsy family, a really independent background. I love my family.
HANNITY: Right. You get very, very personal in this book. You talk about -- you are only 20 years old. To me you are still a kid.
PALIN: Yes.
HANNITY: But you talk about the difficulty. The pregnancy. You talk about virginity. You really lay it out in this book. Was that hard to do?
PALIN: It was hard to go back and relive all those moments by talking about them. It was hard, but it is so worth it because I know it is going to be helping other people.
HANNITY: Was that your motive? I think even at the end of the book you said something, I remember, I wrote it down, something really to the effect that, you know what, I'm not a role model, a dancer, or preacher, I'm a normal girl who couldn't hide her problems and learned a few lessons along the way.
PALIN: Yes, absolutely. I know that by putting it all out there that eventually that is going to help someone.
HANNITY: Yes. You talk -- and I know that something was made of this. You talk about your pregnancy. Since the book has come out, a lot has been made of this. You said for the first time you lied to your mom. What did you lie to your mom about? Never lie to your mother.
PALIN: Never lie to your mother. That's like the biggest lesson that I learned, learned throughout my life, you know? I made a decision to go out, sneak out with my friends, get drunk, and have sex for the first time. I own up to that mistake in the book. And I talk about that being one of my biggest regrets.
HANNITY: Yes. So you lied about where you were going that night?
PALIN: Yes.
HANNITY: Would your mother have said no?
PALIN: Absolutely, yes.
HANNITY: All right. I'm just checking, because, yes, I had to sneak out, I had a window. I would sneak out the window, sneak back in. One day my father was waiting. It was not a good night.
But you said you drank that night for the first time. Was it wine coolers or something?
PALIN: Yes.
HANNITY: OK. You never drank alcohol before that?
PALIN: Never drank alcohol before then.
HANNITY: All right. And this made a little -- took a lot of note in the media. A lot of people took note of this. You said that you texted a friend who came over and told you that you had definitely slept with your boyfriend and stayed in his tent. You didn't plan on that happening. You first said that first comes love, then comes marriage.
You almost sounded like you didn't remember. You even say as much, that you really didn't remember what had happened.
PALIN: Yes, you know, I remember being with my friends by the campfire and then waking up in a tent by myself. And that was a foolish decision that I made. I know a lot of young girls do make that decision and I know they regret it.
HANNITY: You wanted to go out of your way when asked, I guess, when the book came out, that you are not describing date rape?
PALIN: No. Absolutely not. I'm not accusing Levi of rape or anything like that. I'm just looking at that decision and that situation that I got myself in with older and wiser eyes.
HANNITY: What -- when this had to come out publicly, when you first knew that the public was hearing about this, it was a surprise to both you and your mom. Tell us about that.
PALIN: We were just in the hotel room in Minnesota, I believe, and it just comes across the screen. So we were both pretty shocked just because my close family hadn't known about my pregnancy until just a few days prior.
HANNITY: Right. All right. So and the McCain campaign knew ahead of time?
PALIN: Yes.
HANNITY: Right?
PALIN: Yes.
HANNITY: OK. And you also describe this whole -- so now all of a sudden you know your life is going to be -- this is major campaign fodder. How hard was that?
PALIN: It was difficult. But we do have a really tough skin in our family. And we got through it. And it has just made us stronger.
HANNITY: Yes, but at the time when you turn on TV programs and you see people talking about your pregnancy.
PALIN: Yes. And making all of these assumptions and stuff about my pregnancy. It was difficult at points. But like I said, it has just made us completely stronger.
HANNITY: You even call it a blessing. Because out of all this, it's still -- you look at your child, your son, and he's a blessing in your life.
PALIN: Yes. He is the love of my life.
HANNITY: I've got to be honest. It reminds me, I watched David Letterman once interview Paris Hilton, and I'm not comparing you to her. But there comes a point where I think, you know, I don't know why we are so -- there's like an appetite to attack young kids. I wouldn't want my 16, 17, 18, 19-year-old years broadcast.
And as a matter of fact, I would never be this open in a book about how stupid I was then. And I was a lot dumber than you. I mean, I was dumb. That didn't come out right. I was really dumb at that age. I wouldn't want -- you know, we all make dumb mistakes when we are young, you know what I mean?
PALIN: Absolutely.
HANNITY: You decided to be brave and courageous and come out with that.
PALIN: Yes, I just feel like God has given me the strength to really come out in this book and say, look, these are the decisions that I made. And hopefully others can learn from those mistakes that I've made.
HANNITY: Yes. When I said -- I meant, I really was dumb. And I thought -- I would never say it. I mean, so many bad decisions. And then what changed me is I became a Christian when I became like 21 or 22, and that changed my life. And you talk, faith is a big part of your life.
PALIN: Yes. Absolutely. And I talk about many moments in the book where God was who I went crying to.
HANNITY: Yes. It does make a difference.
All right. On the campaign trail, you had problems with Meghan McCain. You said you got suspicious almost from the very beginning.
PALIN: Yes. I just wanted to note that we come from two completely different worlds. Her dad is a politician and my mom is a politician. But that never defined me.
HANNITY: Yes. What were the problems? Because when you first met her there were issues involving the clothes and the hair and all of this. And you were suspicious of her and you still never click now.
PALIN: Yes. We don't talk. We are not friends. Nothing like that. But I just wanted to note that we are two completely different people.
HANNITY: Yes. What are the differences?
PALIN: I do things for myself, you know. I've had a job since I was really little. I don't know if she does stuff like that, I don't know if she goes out hunting and fishing and stuff like that.
HANNITY: Which I think is really cool.
The other thing that I think, you have made a decision that you now are going abstain from sex until you get married. You made that very public. I admire your values. You make it public. Does that make it harder for you in a sense that you are putting yourself out there?
PALIN: Yes. Absolutely. I was asked about it and I answered honestly to the question that I was asked. I'm definitely not going to have sex before marriage. I know what a single mom -- what my life is now. I don't want another kid. And I don't want another -- a risk of being a single mom.
HANNITY: You are a very courageous young woman. And I really admire -- this was a gutsy book. I could never do it. Now every liberal out there is going to wonder, all right, what did Hannity do at 16, 17, 18? And it was -- believe me, I got in more trouble than I care to admit. But it is an honor to have you. Thank you so much. Would you like your mom to run for president?
PALIN: Of course, absolutely.
HANNITY: And you would be out there supporting her and campaigning?
PALIN: Yes. I would.
HANNITY: Do you know anything, if she is going to run? Because I can't get that answer out of her.
PALIN: Well, we definitely discuss it but what is talked about at our kitchen table is going to stay there.
HANNITY: Just between -- I'm kidding. All right. Well, thanks for being with us, Bristol. We appreciate it.
PALIN: Thank you.
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