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Published January 24, 2017
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," August 4, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And welcome to "Hannity." So we are just two days away from the very first 2016 Republican debate that will air right here live on the Fox News Channel.
And "Campaign Carl" Cameron has the very latest. Now we know who they are, Carl.
CARL CAMERON, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Sean, it's been weeks of speculation and bare-knuckle scrambling among the candidates. We finally know who the two rosters will actually have.
There's no surprise for some of these candidates. Donald Trump has actually been in the 20s and leading the national polls for a couple of weeks. So he was a virtual lock to get into this race.
Jeb Bush and Scott Walker are the only other candidates who have been consistently in double digits, though Walker has slipped a bit in some recent polls. Now, Mike Huckabee and Ben Carson have been steadily in the middle of the top 10, often even tied, usually just right over about halfway, 6, 7 points apiece. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Chris Christie have been shifting around in the single digits.
And now we know the tenth slot. There has been a heck of a battle for this, and it goes to John Kasich. It's worth noting that a lot of these candidates are virtually tied with one another, given the polls' various margins of error.
Kasich -- it's quite an achievement. He announced only three weeks ago tonight, and he shot from the very back of the pack to the top 10. The debate's in his home state of Ohio, the nation's premier bellwether swing state, so he could have a pretty good cheering section with him some 48 hours from now in Cleveland.
It's also worth noting that Donald Trump is not only leading national polls, he's also ahead in the first two primary states, New Hampshire and South Carolina. And voters in those states have been paying a lot more attention than a lot of folks around the rest of the country, Shep, so -- excuse me, Sean. So we've got now...
HANNITY: You can call me...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Shep, Sean. Same thing. Let me as you, do you know -- how are the candidates preparing for this debate? What are they doing?
CAMERON: Well, they've -- they're all different, so they all have different sort of superstitions, as well as practice strategies. But to give you an idea, Bush aides say he has been intensively looking at the homework. And the other guy at the top of toe polls, Donald Trump folks, say he's pretty much going to wing it.
For those taking part in the 5:00 PM debate on Thursday, there could actually be several up sides. Millions will watch. Some of them -- of what they say might be referenced in the evening debate or re-aired in primetime. And realistically, for Carly Fiorina, the only woman in the GOP field and a tough Clinton critics, she's going to make news on her own.
Rick Santorum and Rick Perry came up short in 2012. They have a lot to prove, so watch for them to be feisty. You have Bobby Jindal and Lindsey Graham, seasoned politicians both, who've been working hard and are plenty capable of making news.
And face it, Donald Trump will not be in the 5:00 PM event, and they don't have to worry about getting overshadowed by him, Sean.
HANNITY: All right, Ed Henry -- oh, I'm sorry -- Carl Cameron on the campaign trail.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: Thanks, Carl.
CAMERON: You bet!
HANNITY: Joining us now, Fox News legal analyst Peter Johnson, Jr., the co-host of "Outnumbered," Andrea Tantaros, and from the Trump Organization, Michael Cohen is with us.
Leading in New Hampshire, South Carolina, the two first primary states. Here are the numbers, the latest four polls, 26 percent Trump, 26 percent Trump, 24 percent Trump, 21 percent Trump. That was the Bloomberg poll. I don't think Bloomberg likes him. Those are pretty outstanding, significant numbers.
MICHAEL COHEN, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: I can't argue with you on that. Center stage, which is where he belongs.
HANNITY: What about Donald Trump -- he made some comments on "FOX & Friends" about, It's good to be a little nervous. He's not used to debating. He's not a politician. Are we to interpret that that he's not preparing at all for this debate?
COHEN: Absolutely not. Donald Trump has been preparing for this basically his whole life. He's an avid reader. He studies everything. He's not going in with the strategy that the other Republicans are. They're coming in with scripted answers. He's going to be himself. And being himself is exactly what's given him the 26, 26, 24 and 22 numbers. That's what people want to see.
HANNITY: Authenticity.
COHEN: Authenticity.
HANNITY: Well, it's interesting because he always makes new. So Gawker gives out Trump's phone number, and this is how Trump responds. He put a message on the phone.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is Donald Trump, and I'm running for the presidency of the United States of America. With your help and support, together we can make America truly great again. Visit me at Twitter @realdonaldtrump, and check out my campaign Web site at www.DonaldTrump.com. Hope to see you on the campaign trail. We're going to do it!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The mailbox is full and cannot accept any messages at this time. Good-bye.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HANNITY: The only thing missing was "The Art of the Deal." He didn't mention his best-selling business book.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Humor works.
ANDREA TANTAROS, CO-HOST, "OUTNUMBERED": Or the golf courses. These are all the skyscrapers. But I we already know about that (INAUDIBLE)
COHEN: I mean, who's smarter than Donald Trump?
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: I mean, this is really smart. Instead, you get Lindsey Graham goes ahead, lights his cell phone on fire, which, by the way, is not good for the environment, smashes it with a bat and a sword, right, and turns around and walks away from the number. Trump -- this is the mentality of Donald Trump. This is why he's the greatest negotiator on the planet.
HANNITY: Peter, I like the Donald Trump that gave out Lindsey Graham's phone number...
PETER JOHNSON, JR., FOX NEWS LEGAL ANALYST: Sure.
HANNITY: ... and the one that put that message up, versus, say, the McCain fight. Thoughts.
JOHNSON: Yes, no one likes the McCain fight. And I think, in the end, Donald Trump doesn't like the McCain fight, and I think he made amends on it. He said John McCain was a hero, as he should have. But people like...
HANNITY: Said it four times.
JOHNSON: ... the entrepreneurial spirit. They like the idea of ingenuity. They like the idea of creativity. They like the idea of going off script, especially when the script has wound up in tragic proportions on a stage that we don't want to be on at this point.
So if Donald Trump can say, I want to excite the American electorate, I want to make America great again, that's either going to succeed marvelously or not, but it's going to be a rare event in American politics.
HANNITY: A big question, I think -- and this will be the most watched debate -- my prediction. I think everyone's going to watch in part because of Trump. But which Trump will show up, the Trump that has been attacking some of his Republican opponents or a Donald Trump talking about substance, maybe being a little more presidential?
Here's how he attacked some of the candidates leading up to Thursday's debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They don't even like him. They're from South Carolina. He's from South Carolina. They don't like him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marco Rubio.
TRUMP: I think he's an overrated guy. I think that I have much better hair than he does.
Rick Perry. He did a lousy job on the border. When he was governor of Texas, what a horrible job he did. Worse than him, though, is Jeb Bush. Jeb Bush is a disaster in so many different ways.
HANNITY: Carly Fiorina.
TRUMP: I don't know her. I never met her. And she looks very nice, but she got fired viciously at Hewlett-Packard. I don't mean like a little bit. You know, business is my game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Would that be smart in this debate, Andrea?
TANTAROS: I think it would be very foolish for Donald Trump to change who he is at this point because it's not believable. I mean, he's winning because he's authentic and he doesn't spit out the canned, poll-tested talking points. So for anyone to sit -- for any pundit to sit and say that, one, he should change or he will change I think is extremely naive.
HANNITY: Isn't there -- isn't there...
TANTAROS: And very quickly...
HANNITY: ... a razor's edge, though, between Trump being Trump, which I think is smart...
TANTAROS: OK, the...
HANNITY: ... and being -- don't -- doesn't the American people want to see him be presidential? Isn't that going to be an important component?
TANTAROS: It depends because we saw other candidates like Mitt Romney go out of his way to be presidential. And for some reason, that meant stiff.
And I want to point out something why I also think Donald Trump is winning. The GOP base wants somebody who can fight and someone who can win. Look at McCain. Remember when hue suspended his campaign? And remember Mitt Romney wouldn't take on President -- or I should say President Obama for "Obama care"? The GOP base is sick and tired of...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: I want to get Peter's take first on this. Do you agree with me? I think Trump has to be Trump, and I don't think he could be anything other than Trump. But to go in there and attack -- I don't know if that's the right strategy in that environment.
JOHNSON: He has to be both. And he has to show people who he is. He is a thoughtful guy that has a lot of ideas. And if you look at him in long forms, he's exposed a lot of those ideas. But he does need to be presidential. He needs to talk about policies and programs and a Trump vision for America.
HANNITY: All right, now on the other side, Peter, what do the other candidates do? How do they deal with this? You know if you attack Trump...
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: Let me give you the answer on that. (INAUDIBLE) they sit there and they listen because Trump is presidential. He's presidential. He has the look. He has the intelligence. He has the -- he has the thought process in terms of what's needed to make America great again.
HANNITY: I wasn't -- don't -- don't...
COHEN: Right? And these guys...
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: Sean, but that's what you said, though, right? He is presidential. And what he's going to do is he's going to -- he appeals to middle America. And he's going to show them...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... go after some of the candidates like maybe...
COHEN: Absolutely not!
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: If they come after him, it's going to be...
HANNITY: Lights out.
COHEN: ... lights out. And it's totally fair game.
HANNITY: I like -- that's what I would agree with. Go ahead.
JOHNSON: But there has to be mutual respect in this debate. The candidates need to show each other the respect, right, Andrea? But at the same time, they need to say, We welcome an outsider to this process and we acknowledge...
HANNITY: Who is more likely to take on Trump? Who do you think it is?
TANTAROS: I think people who have nothing to lose, the lowest ones who barely made it onto the stage, who need to get out there, who may not have campaign coffers filled with money. But I do -- I do think that he needs to be careful about getting mired in the details because the way these debates go...
HANNITY: Right, you have a minute.
TANTAROS: Peter, you know, this. You only have a minute. You can't get mired in these 10-point plans. That's where Jeb Bush likes to go, talk like an economists. He can't do that. But he does need to seem presidential, but not in the sense of being...
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: I don't think anybody is going to take on Mr. Trump at this upcoming debate.
TANTAROS: Oh, I think they'll all going to gang up on him.
COHEN: Yes, I don't -- I don't think so because...
TANTAROS: I think...
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: I'll be very honest with you. I think they want to try to show themselves as being presidential.
HANNITY: I agree with you.
COHEN: And I think what's going to end up happening is they know that they come after him, he's coming back twice as hard.
HANNITY: All right. Guys, good to see you all.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Thank you.
And coming up next on this busy news night here on "Hannity"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. But I speak to border guards, and they tell us what we're getting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, Donald Trump has singlehandedly made illegal immigration a key issue on the campaign trail. So how big a topic will it be at Thursday's debate? We'll check in with Ann Coulter and Hugh Hewitt as they go head to head.
And then later tonight here on "Hannity"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never forgave him for hugging Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just a hug.
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Pollster Frank Luntz -- he's is back to share more of what New Hampshire voters think of the Republican candidates. That and much more straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." So we're only two days away from the first Republican presidential debate. And one of the topics certain to take center stage is, of course, immigration. Now, front-runner Donald Trump has made this a big issue and talking point on the campaign trail. Here are just some of the comments he has made since launching his presidential bid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.
I've been told by so many Hispanics, Mr. Trump, thank you, sir. Thank you. You've done the right thing. I'm from a country -- Hispanic -- I'm from such-and-such a country. We don't want illegals coming in.
I love Mexico. I tell everybody. And I love the Mexican people. And I've said it 100 times. Nobody says it. Nobody ever reports it. That's a problem. I love the Mexican people. I love the spirit of the Mexican people.
There's a huge problem with the illegals coming through. And in this section, it's a problem. In some sections, it's a massive problem. And you have to do -- you have to create -- you have to make the people that come in, they have to be legal. Very simple.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Now, last night, C-SPAN Voters First Forum, which Donald Trump did not attend, some of the 2016 Republican candidates were asked about their stance on immigration. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK PERRY, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The real issue for us in this country today is what's happening all across our great land, and that is the cost that illegal immigration is having on this state. And until we get that border secure, it's not going to stop. It's like a serious wound. You want to staunch (sic) the flow, and that's not what's happening.
RICK SANTORUM, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think this administration is serious about border security or serious about protecting working men and women. In the last 20 years, 35 million people have come into this country legally and illegally. Now, that can be a good or a bad thing.
GOV. JOHN KASICH, R-OHIO, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Obviously, the border needs to be secured. There needs to be a expanded guest worker program so people can move in and out and support their family, but do it in a legal way.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO, R-FLA., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe there is a reasonable way to address the fact that you have 12 million living in this country, or more, who are illegally here but have been here for a long time. They will have to pass a background check. They will have to pay a fine. They will have to start paying taxes. They will have to learn English. And then in exchange for that, what they will get is a work permit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Joining us now, number one New York Times best-selling author, "Adios America," her latest book, "The Left's Plan to Turn America into the Third World Hellhole," Ann Coulter is back. And the queen of epic ambition of Hillary and the second coming of the Clinton era, nationally syndicated radio talk show host with Salem Radio networks, Hugh Hewitt.
All right, this for you, has become I would almost argue borderline your obsession. You think this is the defining issue of our time. Obviously, Donald Trump has proven it's a big issue. These candidates talked about it a lot last night. Why so important?
ANN COULTER, AUTHOR: Well, because it decides every other issue. And listening to those candidates just now, I see why Trump is dominating the polls. We've heard this for 30 years from politicians. Americans keep telling pollsters, No, we want less immigration, no immigration, stop with the immigration. Do something about illegals.
And oh, they always talk about securing the border when they need our vote. And then Rick Perry passes in-state tuition for illegals and says you don't have a heart if you disagree. Chris Christie, the same thing. Marco Rubio runs against amnesty, and when he was running as a Tea Party candidate in Florida, gets to Washington, spends three years pushing amnesty. You have Jeb Bush calling it an act of love. Yes, when they want our votes, this is the way they talk.
Trump looks like he really means it and he'd actually do something about it. But the Republican Party just -- they want to -- they act like Dave Brat never happened. He didn't take out Eric Cantor. We're just going to keep ignoring -- I mean, this is a big theme of my book, that you have all of the elites aligned against the American people on immigration. You have the Democratic want the votes. The Republicans, as Trump...
HANNITY: They want cheap labor.
COULTER: ... is wisely pointing out, these Republicans are all beholden to the campaign donors.
HANNITY: All right, let me go to Hugh. You know what? Ann's right. They do promise 700 miles of fence. I think they built 30 miles by the time all was said and done. They make that promise even in the last election. We were told they'd stop executive amnesty. They don't do it, Hugh! Why?
HUGH HEWITT, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, they...
HANNITY: Why do they say they'll do it and they never get it done?
HEWITT: They are afraid of building the fence. And that's where I think Donald Trump actually scored is when he talked about the wall, the fence. And I think this is where I agree with Ann. I'm a big regularization person, let the people who are -- who are here stay.
But I want to build a fence on the southern border that's at least half of the 2,000 miles long. And I believe Krauthammer has said often on this program, on yours and others on FOX News, that 90 percent of America (INAUDIBLE) 90 percent of the solution, and part of the solution is a big, long, strong, high double-sided fence.
And when Donald Trump started talking about a wall, that's when people started to listen to him. I think the other Republicans, whether they're on the far edge of that stage or in the middle of it, ought to bring that up and commit to actually building a fence.
HANNITY: All right, so let me go to Ann because the -- you see Donald Trump -- 26 percent in one poll, 26 percent in another poll, 21 in another poll, 24 in another poll. These are big numbers when you have 17 candidates in a race.
So my question to you is, Republicans promised they'd repeal "Obama care," but they won't use the power of the purse, their constitutional authority. They said they'd stop executive amnesty. They ended up funding it.
COULTER: Right.
HANNITY: Donald Trump said today he would shut down the government over Planned Parenthood, the same day Mitch McConnell said, I'll never shut down the government!
COULTER: Right. No. I know. I...
HANNITY: So you got this schism.
COULTER: I mean, it's -- all these questions to Donald Trump about whether he's going to run as a third party candidate -- it's getting to the point that I think the people would like the Republican Party to become the third party.
HANNITY: A revitalized second party.
COULTER: They are lying to us. What they care about are their donors, the Chamber of Commerce, Wall Street, this globalism and just treason to the American people! It isn't just a fence. Americans want less immigration. And the politicians won't give it to us. This is why Trump is crushing in the polls. And I just hope, I mean, I guess from experience, we're all worried about is, Please don't back away from it, Donald Trump.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: I don't think that's it. All right, but Hugh, you've been a little bit more critical of Donald Trump. Ann Coulter is saying, This is the spine that Republicans need. Voters are clearly saying it, as well. You cannot -- you cannot ignore poll after poll with those kind of numbers!
HEWITT: No, I had Donald on yesterday for half an hour. He's a terrific interview, as you know. And everyone in both debates, both the first and the second, will be talking about Donald. In fact, I'm wearing my Miami Redhawks (ph) tie for the first forum, which Bill Hemmer is running on Thursday night, just to remember that there's a forum before the forum.
They'll be talking about Donald Trump and his clarity. So I like what he has to say. I did not like the McCain comments. I thought that -- I talked to him about it yesterday.
But what he's done is provide clarity and unambiguity (ph). But I got to say, Ann, I just disagree you on this. The Republican Party is not in trouble. They don't need a third party. We just need clarity and long (ph) attention to what people are actually saying, not the sound bites framed by the Democrats. And so I don't think we want to go overboard. Most of the Republicans agree on most of the stuff, including...
COULTER: Look, I don't think...
HEWITT: ... the Iran deal's got to be rejected.
COULTER: I think it's...
(CROSSTALK)
HEWITT: ... including Planned Parenthood's got to be defunded.
COULTER: ... Trump about running third party since he's dominating all the polls. Every poll that keeps coming out, he's on top. Why is he on top? Because of the immigration issue.
I was just pointing out that is why -- and if the Republicans -- I mean, there will be, whether it's Trump or somebody else, the Republican Party is going to go the way of the Whigs if they keep refusing to listen to the voters. They don't need Chamber of Commerce money. They need votes.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Everything conservative I know is fed up with Washington Republicans. They're happy with the governors. They feel they have been more principled -- some of them.
HEWITT: They're not fed up with Tom Cotton. They are not fed up with Joni Ernst. Thy are not fed up with (INAUDIBLE)
HANNITY: No, but they're fed up with the leadership. They're fed up with the fact that they didn't repeal or replace "Obama care." They're fed up that they funded executive amnesty! I'm fed up!
HEWITT: I do believe -- I do believer that when we come in November, and at the end of September, if Planned Parenthood is not defunded and they don't shut the government down, there will be a revolt because those videos -- I heard you talking about it on your show earlier today, Sean -- those videos are a defining moment in American history.
HANNITY: All right...
HEWITT: The Republicans have to stand up and say...
(CROSSTALK)
COULTER: I don't think -- I mean, immigration is the new abortion issue. Look, every Republican is anti-abortion. Every Republican is against Planned Parenthood now. When -- they all pretend they're Ronald Reagan. When Ronald Reagan came along, half of the Republican Party was pro-abortion, was anti-gun, was pro-ERA!
HANNITY: All right...
COULTER: It was Reagan who stepped away from the pack, and that is what Trump, and to some extent, Romney also did on immigration. That's the litmus test!
HANNITY: OK...
COULTER: All Republicans are good on abortion!
HANNITY: I got to let you both go. Thank you.
COULTER: Thank you.
HANNITY: Good to see you, Hugh.
Coming up next tonight on this busy news night on "Hannity"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUNTZ: He's a progressive?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a progressive.
LUNTZ: Jeb Bush.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's pro-choice.
LUNTZ: Why is he so progressive?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he's progressive because he has too many -- he -- at the border, the immigration...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: An explosive Frank Luntz focus group. He will reveal what New Hampshire voters think of the Republican presidential field.
Later, another disturbing undercover Planned Parenthood video has now been released. You're not going to believe what they caught this time. They're talking about literally full babies intact! Is that infanticide? We'll talk to the person responsible for those videos straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." Tonight, we continue our GOP debate preview with another look into what voters really think about the different Republican candidates running for president. Now, just days ago, we sent our team of producers to capture a focus group hosted by our friend, Frank Luntz, in the important state of New Hampshire, where Republican voters sounded off about the GOP field.
Now, take a look at how the focus group reacted to former Florida governor Jeb Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want a hand-selected, Here's you guy. He's going to lead and he's got money and...
FRANK LUNTZ, GOP POLLSTER: How is he hand-selected?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's the establishment choice! He's just the establishment choice. They want a Jeb Bush-Rubio ticket, and they'll do anything they can to get it.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a RINO.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a progressive.
LUNTZ: Wait. Wait. He's a progressive?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a progressive.
LUNTZ: Jeb Bush?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's pro-choice.
LUNTZ: Why is he so progressive?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he's progressive because he has too many -- he -- at the border, the immigration. I think he's too progressive on that. He's a big government guy! I mean, he might have been a little bit fiscally sound when he was down in Texas. But you know what? He's a big government -- Florida, excuse me. A big government guy and he's pro- choice. And he's an absolute establishment candidate who got all his bucks through big PACs!
LUNTZ: Do you have a problem with Jeb Bush?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... stronger conservative president, and he's just not it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a problem with him because he just seems insincere compared to the other candidates. He's checking notes. He doesn't really seem like he's got a belly full of fire compared to the other candidates.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I don't feel he's really engaged. And I just think a Bush-Clinton ticket is just more of the same.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think that he deserves all the criticism that he's receiving because if you look at his record as Florida governor, he has been conservative. He's just not inspiring.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But he's a poster child for the establishment candidate. And I'm tired of the establishment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Here now with analysis, the man behind the focus group, pollster Frank Luntz. That was pretty harsh.
LUNTZ: Yes. Anyone -- if you're labeled establishment, it's even worse than being labeled a moderate in these days. They want someone who they themselves choose, and they don't want to feel like that choice is foisted on them.
And the second aspect for Jeb Bush -- they like him as a person. You didn't hear any of that in this conversation, but they really do like him as a person. They're not convinced that he's tough enough and that -- that's what they're really looking for, someone who's going to really take it to Hillary Clinton in the fall.
HANNITY: All right, he did get high marks on the issue of reforming the VA. Let's roll that tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Veterans died while waiting for care at the VA hospital last year. But only two people were fired for lying about the wait times -- two people. We trust veterans. We trusted them to fight for us. We should trust them to be able to choose their own doctor, and reforming VA will be a high priority.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, strong ratings, not off the charts, but pretty solid.
LUNTZ: Yes, but he's got to stop reading his speeches.
HANNITY: Yes, I agree.
LUNTZ: Whoever is working with him has to get in front of him and say, I'm sorry, Governor, no more reading. You're going to speak from the heart and you're going to be a better communicator for it.
HANNITY: You know, Frank, I did one Teleprompter speech in my life. It was the worst speech I ever gave. I take a microphone, I might throw down a few notes, and that's it. Talk from your heart. I agree with you, very important.
You did -- you had the focus group comparing and contrasting Donald Trump and Jeb Bush. I thought this SOT was pretty interesting. Let's roll this tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUNTZ: Who is more conservative, Jeb Bush or Donald Trump?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jeb Bush.
LUNTZ: Who thinks Jeb Bush? Who thinks Donald Trump? Seriously?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seriously.
(CROSSTALK)
LUNTZ: I mean, that's significant.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you talking fiscally conservative or socially?
LUNTZ: Just overall. Do most of you think Donald Trump is to the right of Jeb Bush?
(CROSSTALK)
LUNTZ: That's incredible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: You know it's interesting, because Donald Trump was a businessman. He supported a lot of candidates, basically anybody who was running, I would argue, probably from a business standpoint. That seemed to surprise you. Why?
LUNTZ: Because Donald Trump has been -- if you take a look at his history, the things he's written and the thing that he's said, he's been in a lot of places on a lot of issues. And Jeb Bush has been very consistently a conservative. Donald Trump proves to me the Paul Simon theory of politics -- a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest. It's about tone, Sean. It's about Trump being aggressive, Trump being a fighter. To them they equate that with conservatism. They don't know where he stands on the issues.
HANNITY: You know what's interesting? If you look at Governor Bush's record, it was conservative as governor. But the issues of immigration and Common Core cut so deep, plus coupled with his last name, obviously, those are the three issues he's struggling with in all of this. Let me go -- there was sort of mixed reaction to Senator Ted Cruz. He's been out spoken. He's been bold. He took on his own party, asked them to literally repeal ObamaCare. They abandoned him. Let's go to that tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't find anything favorable about him. What I find him is as a first term U.S. senator running for president. We went through that process eight years ago. Look at what we got.
LUNTZ: Do you think Ted Cruz is the same guy as Barack Obama?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a constitutional conservative. He has a proven record that we can vet. And he is a wonderful communicator. And we haven't had one of those since Ronald Reagan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He stood up in the floor of the Senate and talked all that time. He almost caused a government shutdown. We did not need that. It hurt the Republican Party.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's one of the few senators that went to Washington to fight Obamacare. He's doing it. The rest surrendered.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like that he's so principled. But I worry about him working with Democrats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't care.
LUNTZ: You don't care?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Democrats will not work with the Republicans so it's not necessarily a big deal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He knows he's not well-liked in Washington but he's willing to speak up. And because of what they did they won more seats in 2014.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: I think that last -- she's right. I think because he took a stand, that's why people like him.
LUNTZ: That's why people like him. The challenge for Ted Cruz is not just to demonstrate that he's smart. Everyone knows it. But that he's conservative. Every Republican knows it. He has to demonstrate that he can defeat Hillary Clinton by being principled, by being focused, by being intense. And that's a challenge. New Hampshire voters, make no mistake, they are principled conservatives, but they desperately want to win, and they want to vote for someone who they know can beat Hillary Clinton.
HANNITY: All right, we have Scott Walker, we have more Donald Trump, and we have Chris Christie. More Frank Luntz right after the break. But coming up next --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They pulled all the stops to keep him away. They're afraid of him. They went to his parents-house. They went to his house. They protested and they picketed. And they closed down the state house. But he continued the course. And that's what we need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: We have more New Hampshire focus group voters giving their opinions.
And then later another undercover Planned Parenthood video has been released, and like the others, it is very damning, this probably the worst of all. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." And tonight we continue to exam what Republicans think about the GOP field. And when Frank Luntz spoke with a focus group of voter in New Hampshire about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, as you're about to see, the conversation became very heated over an embrace that took place back in 2012. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't get the picture out of my mind of -- after super storm Sandy when Obama landed in New Jersey and he just cuddled up to him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He comes off as arrogant, just arrogant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very arrogant and very condescending.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never forgave him for hugging Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just a hug.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't let it go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't have to embrace him. There's multiple pictures on different visits where he's sitting there full embrace. Shake his hand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a complete shakedown when he was hugging Obama. He claims he's for small government. We had natural disasters before there was a FEMA agency, and now he's cuddling up to him to get more money.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At that point in time he had a natural disaster. New York City had been whacked. The Jersey coast had been whacked. You got to work together at that point in time to fix the problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we're just making too much out of the photo. If you actually look at his state and how it's been for the last four years, it hasn't gotten any better. So, I mean, you have to look at that record.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You also have to remember that New Jersey is a 75 percent blue state. That's why he had to do it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Also, taxes are through the roof which hasn't gone down under his leadership. He's supposed to be for small government. Taxes have gone up under his leadership.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's in a blue state. He's a Republican. And what does he do? He acts like a Democrat.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANNITY: Frank Luntz is still with us. I said to the governor when I interviewed him, I was still angry about -- he says it wasn't a hug. I was still angry about that. That hurt Mitt Romney. Andrew Cuomo didn't invite him in, nor did Michael Bloomberg, but Chris Christie did. Obviously you have a well-informed group of voters. They didn't forget like I didn't forget.
LUNTZ: It's tough. And I have to tell you -- and I don't know if you've got a sound bite, Chris Christie's language does better than any other candidate's. I mean, his say what you mean, mean what you say approach, he is scoring incredibly high on the dials. Maybe only Rubio and Walker come close to him. But when you ask questions about what you think of him, you get those responses right there. They love what they hear from him, but they're still deeply mad at him.
HANNITY: Let me go to Scott Walker. This is from his announcement speech. We were there in Wisconsin at the time. Let's roll the tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SCOTT WALKER, R-WIS., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Americans deserve a president who will fight and win for them.
(APPLAUSE)
WALKER: Someone who will stand up for the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
(APPLAUSE)
WALKER: Someone who will stand up for our religious freedoms and all of our other constitutional rights.
(APPLAUSE)
WALKER: Someone who will stand up for America. You see, it doesn't matter whether you come from a big city or a suburb or a small town, I will fight and win for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Very solid remarks, The way you like it, without any notes. He's not reading a speech. That resonated pretty well.
LUNTZ: There's no sport coat. I didn't see a tie with him. He's casual, he's committed, he's passionate, but he's not yelling at you. Chris Christie -- I want to say this carefully -- Chris Christie too often yells at his audience. And the audience doesn't like it. Walker does it exactly as it should be done for Republican primary voters. He's one of the people I'm going to be watching on Thursday night. Does he bring the passion because I know that he has got the language.
HANNITY: All right, let's go with Scott Walker to the focus group and see what they have to say about him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wisconsin is not exactly the most conservative state in the country. He's done well there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly. It's a liberal state and he's won three elections out of four years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He can fight the unions and he's proven that he can fight the unions.
LUNTZ: And that matters to you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it does.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the big things we need to talk about is he fought the public sector unions. That's huge. Roosevelt was against public sector unions. He fought it, he won, in that state which is a huge accomplishment. So kudos to him. He's doing a great job up there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I work in education, and I think that as a university person that tenure was important. I don't think it belongs in public sector. So I'm not pro union and I never was.
LUNTZ: So you support what he's done?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I agree with a lot of the positions he's taken and especially this battle with the unions. I don't think he's really prepared to go into the foreign policy realm as president. I think that's one of the most central issues in the election. I think that's one that he just doesn't have the experience.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think he really knows about immigration. We just saw a clip. He said immigration is a simple problem. That's definitely not true. I'm a Texan and I think it's one of the most complex problems that this country faces right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You look at what the opponent, how they treat a person. And they pulled all the stops to keep him away. They're afraid to him. They went to his parent's house. They went to his house. They protested and picketed and they closed down the state house. But he continued the course, and that's what we need.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANNITY: Pretty positive remarks. Reaction?
LUNTZ: He's got exactly the attributes that they're looking for. It's one of the reasons that by 72-28 Republicans want a governor instead of a senator. He did exactly what they wanted him to do. His record is well-known in Iowa and New Hampshire. It's one of the reasons why he is doing as well as he is in the polls right now.
HANNITY: Do you think Trump sustains?
LUNTZ: Yes, I do.
HANNITY: All right, Frank Luntz.
LUNTZ: I think that Trump continues to build on his support. I think that people who are against him will stay against him. He's not going anywhere.
HANNITY: All right, thank you, Frank. Great work, and we'll see you back here tomorrow night. Appreciate you being with us.
Coming up, another undercover video exposing Planned Parenthood has now been released. One of the most disturbing. Next, we'll play it for you, and our "Question of the Day" straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." The Center for Medical Progress has released another shocking undercover video reportedly exposing potential illegal behavior from Planned Parenthood executives. Now, the newest video allegedly shows the directors for research for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast talking about changing abortion procedures to meet specific needs, obtain intact fetal cadavers for buyers. We have to warn you, we can't even show you the whole video, but what we will show you is disturbing. It's very graphic material in case you have kids in the room. Here you go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, and so if we offer a process, and are able to obtain intact fetal cadavers, then we can make it part of the budget that any dissections are this and splitting the specimens into different shipments is this. It's all just a matter of line items.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Joining me now from the Center for Medical Progress, David Daleiden is with us. All right, just to remind people, it's illegal to sell fetal body parts, number one. Number two, it's illegal to alter the abortion procedure for the purpose of harvesting these organs. Two separate laws, correct?
DAVID DALEIDEN, CENTER FOR MEDICAL PROGRESS: Correct.
HANNITY: OK. Now I'm watching this. We already talked about how they sip wine, eat their fru fru salad, talk about buying Lamborghinis. Oh, it's another boy. The callousness is beyond compare. This is the fifth in a series of 12. In this one, I watched this video, and they're talking about intact fetal cadavers. Are they alive, these kids, when they're born?
DALEIDEN: Yes, so one thing that's important for everyone to realize, Sean, when we're talking about harvesting baby parts from aborted fetuses is that there can't be any kind of feticidal chemical. Typically abortion doctors use digoxin or potassium chloride in a late second trimester abortion procedure that is an injection of poison to kill the fetus before the procedure takes place.
But if we're talking about fetal tissue procurement or organ harvesting, no feticidal chemical can be used because what that does is it ends up poisoning the issues and the organs and kills the cells and makes them unusable for scientific research.
So whenever we're talking about fetal tissue harvesting we're talking about cases where no feticide, to digoxin, no poison was used. And if at the same time you're trying to get those fetuses out as intact as possible, you're creating a perfect storm for there to be born-alive infants.
HANNITY: So what you're talking about, and they discuss this on the tape, the centimeters of dilation in the woman, and they also talk about the pain tolerance of the woman so that they can have the intact, at this point I would argue, baby come out, which they would then harvest. What are the odds that those kids would actually be born alive?
DALEIDEN: The odds are very, very good. There have been different studies done, national studies done by abortion doctors, one of them, Dr. Ronald Berman, actually, is the medical director for Stem Express, which is one of the major baby parts harvesting companies that is part of Planned Parenthood, and Dr. Berman is actually also a Planned Parenthood abortion doctor in northern California. He's one of the several abortion doctors who have done research into that area of how frequently you get a born- alive infant when not doing later second trimester cases and you're not using any kind of feticidal procedure. And so it's definitely something that happens and it's kind of a dirty little secret of the abortion industry.
HANNITY: What do you make of the Senate vote yesterday? Daniel Horowitz over at "Conservative Review" put forward a piece today where he said what was the purpose of conducting a vote to defund Planned Parenthood on a standalone bill after blocking amendments to do that on what he argues is a must-pass bill. Do you think this was a show boat? He argues it was an effort to help some senators.
DALEIDEN: Well, you know, I think it's an important first step, and I think that it shows us that we're only anywhere from five to seven votes away. And as the story continues to develop, as the different state investigations and Congressional committee investigations including the Senate judiciary investigation of Planned Parenthood's baby part sales continue to move forward, more evidence will purpose. CMP is continually presenting more evidence from our two-and-a-half year long investigative journalism study. So I think this is just the first step.
HANNITY: And there are seven more to come?
DALEIDEN: Exactly.
HANNITY: Gruesome, grotesque, horrific. And I think the left has to examine this closely. It seems like people on the left are more concerned about Cecil the lion than these incredibly disturbing videos. But great work. We look forward to exposing more of this. Thank you.
DALEIDEN: Thanks, Sean.
HANNITY: Coming up next, we need your help. Tonight's "Question of the Day" is straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." Time for tonight's "Question of the Day." So everyone is talking about Donald Trump. We've got the big debate on Thursday night. How do you think he's going to do? Do you think he'll be impressive? Do you think he'll be more laid back? Just go to Facebook.com/Sean Hannity, @SeanHannity on Twitter and let us know what you think.
But that's all the time we have left this evening. Don't forget, we hope you will set your DVR and never miss an episode because we miss you when you are not here. So please be here. Anyway, we'll see you back here tomorrow night.
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