Rand Paul confident FBI investigation of Clinton legitimate
Senator (R-Ky.) discusses latest developments in Benghazi, private server scandals on 'Hannity'
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," October 16, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
TUCKER CARLSON, GUEST HOST: Welcome to "Hannity." Hillary Clinton may be in very serious trouble with the FBI tonight over the use of her private e-mail server.
I'm Tucker Carlson, in for Sean.
A source familiar with the FBI's ongoing investigation has told Fox News that federal agents are now working to determine if Clinton violated the section of the Espionage Act that regards her potential failure to safely store national security information.
Standing by in Washington with the very latest tonight is Ed Henry -- Ed.
ED HENRY, FOX CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Tucker. The reason why that's so critical is and important to underscore is that that is a statute involving negligence, and so you would not have to prove that someone purposely did something. In the case of this story, remember, Hillary Clinton and her staff has repeatedly said, Well, it was not marked classified, so she didn't know.
If, in fact, this statute was the key part of the investigation that ends up being pursued, all of a sudden, you would have a different standard to meet, and that's why, as you say, this could be very troubling for Hillary Clinton.
Another big development today is The New York Times reporting that various FBI agents involved in this investigation are very upset with President Obama's recent comments to CBS News when he went on "60 Minutes" last Sunday and said that he believes there was no national security harm done by Hillary Clinton having her own server.
That is at the very heart of the investigation by the FBI, trying to determine whether or not national security was jeopardized, whether or not classified information was, in fact, mishandled here. And so for the commander-in-chief to do that, later walked back a bit by the White House, is frustrating people inside the FBI, which also raises more questions about whether they're going to be more determined than ever to get to the bottom of what really happened here.
Meanwhile, Secretary Clinton today was in New Hampshire, a state where she's losing to democratic socialist senator Bernie Sanders, and she used an interview with CNN to try to beat up a little bit more on that House Select Committee on Benghazi. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will do my best to answer their questions, but I don't really know what their objective is right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: So you can see that, given Republican Kevin McCarthy's recent comments about that Benghazi committee and Hillary Clinton's poll numbers coming down, first said, by the way, right here on "Hannity," that the Clinton campaign continues to try to undermine the committee's work, and they politically are having some impact doing that.
Today, though, the drip, drip continued when Huma Abedin, one of Hillary Clinton's closest aides and confidantes, had to go behind closed doors for hours of testimony before that committee. All of this, by the way, is setting up Hillary Clinton's public testimony next Thursday, which will be another big test in her campaign.
So I think the bottom line tonight is, look, she has been very effective and adroit after the McCarthy comments in going after the Benghazi committee, trying to undermine their work, but it's going to be a lot harder to do that to the FBI investigation, when, A, it's non-partisan, and B, it's being overseen by the Obama Justice Department, Tucker.
CARLSON: That's a great point. Ed Henry live for us in Washington.
Thanks a lot, Ed.
HENRY: Good to see you.
CARLSON: Here to react to all of this is 2016 Republican presidential candidate, Kentucky senator Rand Paul. Senator, thanks for coming on. Appreciate it.
SEN. RAND PAUL, R-KY., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thanks for having me, Tucker.
CARLSON: So what do you make of this New York Times report today that the FBI is very upset with President Obama specifically for talking down, in effect, their investigation? He said this on "60 Minutes" -- "I don't think it," Hillary Clinton's private server, "posed a national security problem," says the president, before the investigation is even wrapped up, before we know the facts.
They took that as political pressure against their investigation, him sending a message, Look, we don't want Hillary Clinton indicted. Do you think that's what it was?
PAUL: Possibly, but actually, I have a great deal of respect for the FBI being independent of the administration. They're part of the administration, but I think they actually will continue to investigate this.
And you know, the Clintons have always sort of had this aura that they think they're above the law. I think this time, they may actually be tripped up in this because to me, it seems very similar to what happened to General Petraeus when he allowed privileged or classified documents to get into the hands of those who didn't have access or should not have had access to them. It sounds very similar to that.
It's sort of a carelessness, but a carelessness that could potentially harm our national security. And it also goes to wisdom, ultimately, of whether or not she has the wisdom to be able to be in charge of all of our national security.
CARLSON: But isn't that exactly the point? So in the case of General Petraeus, the FBI, when it completed its investigation, suggested felony charges, a possible prison sentence for David Petraeus. The president comes out, says, No, I don't think it's a big deal, and then the Justice Department, which, of course, decides whether charges will be pursued, decides to charge him with a misdemeanor.
Isn't that the point, that the president exerted political pressure, his Justice Department ignored the FBI's recommendations. Do you think that could happen in the case of Hillary Clinton?
PAUL: I mean, anything can happen, and I think she's far enough up the food chain that they'll do everything they can to protect her. But I also think that there's a possibility that there is a legitimate investigation going on.
I was surprised initially that it even got started because I thought they would have quashed it before it even began. But the fact that they are looking seriously about whether or not she revealed secrets or didn't use the appropriate protection to protect national secrets -- I think all of it goes to judgment. It's just like for me, Benghazi, it goes to bad judgment and not providing the adequate security that they needed in Benghazi.
CARLSON: So Hillary Clinton has said she does not believe any of the information on her servers was viewed by people who shouldn't have access to it, namely, foreign governments. Do we know that? Are we certain that none of that information was hacked by, say, the Chinese military? She was, after all, secretary of state, presumably a target of their hacking efforts.
PAUL: Yes, I think they're unlikely to sort of send us a message and say, Hey, we hacked into Hillary's e-mails. So I don't think they're going to let us know. It's really the fact that she did not use appropriate caution in protecting that and she didn't obey her own rules.
One of the greatest bits of hypocrisy was that she let go one of the ambassadors that worked for her because that ambassador had a private server. So I think it's the height of hypocrisy that she thinks, Oh, my goodness, you know, I'm going to actually fire an ambassador, but for me, there's a different standard.
It's this whole idea that the Clintons think they're above the law, that there's sort of a different law for them. And then for the ordinary people, the rest of you guys, you will obey ordinary law, but for the Clintons, there's some sort of exalted law that they're allowed to entertain.
CARLSON: Well, exactly. The administration just put a CIA officer in prison for giving classified information to a reporter that never was even publicized. So -- I want to ask you about Benghazi. All of the attention-- most of it has been paid to the deaths, I think rightly, of those Americans in Benghazi, Libya.
Very little attention, however, has been paid to why all those CIA officers were there in the first place. There have been reports that the Obama administration was collecting arms from Gadhafi's stockpiles to send them to forces in Syria who opposed the Assad regime.
If that's true -- A, do you think it is true? And B, if so, isn't that a scandal? That was never approved by the Congress or the public.
PAUL: I'm still convinced that's what was happening. I asked her that question in the committee hearing, and she acted, like, Oh, I know nothing about it. I don't think that was an honest response. I think she did know something about it, and it may well have been classified, but I do believe that there was an arms trading going on.
Now, I think, ostensibly, the purpose was to get dangerous arms out of radicals in the hands of Libya because when Hillary Clinton promoted the war in Libya, one of the untoward things that happened is, is they bombed Gadhafi. 15,000 surface-to-air missiles went missing. This is one of the bad outcomes of Hillary's war in Libya.
They were trying to then recapture those weapons, but then instead of disabling them, they were going to send those weapons to a new set of jihadists that are in Syria. And so none of it made any sense to me. None of it that I know of was approved by Congress. And yes, Hillary Clinton should be held accountable for that.
CARLSON: You think? If that's true -- let's just replay what you just said -- and they sent those surface-to-air missiles to a new set of jihadists in Syria -- if that happened, why is it not a crime, and why aren't people yelling about it and demanding answers to it?
PAUL: Well, I think there's a question of whether or not it's approved at some level by the CIA or the intelligence committees. But no one's been honest about this.
And it's kind of like the bulk collection of all our phone data. They lied to us and said they weren't doing it. And even though this is in the past, that's my question. Should we not bring the intelligence officials forward and ask them, What was the CIA actually doing there? And did that potentially cause the risk and cause the attack because the people who saw the arms being shipped to one side or the other in Syria were maybe upset with the arms program in the CIA annex?
That may well be the root cause, and nobody's really asking or searching. Is that or was that the root cause of why people, the ambassador, was ultimately assassinated?
CARLSON: Bob Gates, the former secretary of defense, who I don't believe is a Hillary voter or an Obama supporter, said in an interview with Bret Baier yesterday -- he described the Obama administration's efforts at arming various groups within Syria, groups about whom they know basically nothing, as insane. I wonder why more Republican candidates aren't pointing this out.
PAUL: Well, you know, I've been trying to have this debate because the thing is, is I don't think we should be allied with al Qaeda. And they ask about, How are you going to stop ISIS? First thing we ought to do is stop funding them, stop sending arms to them, stop sending arms into all of these different jihadist groups that are opposed to Assad.
That doesn't mean that I think Assad is a good guy. I just think by funding al Qaeda and the remnants of al Qaeda and the friends of al Qaeda that we've created a space, and in that space, ISIS has grown. So yes, absolutely, we should quit sending arms into there.
The whole idea of training these moderates, the so-called Syrian moderates -- moderates we spent $250 million to train 60 of them, over $4 million per fighter, and they were immediately captured when we put them back in there, and all the equipment went to ISIS and al Nusra and other al Qaeda fronts.
CARLSON: For an administration supposedly staffed with geniuses or Harvard degrees, they learn nothing. It's remarkable.
Senator, thanks for coming on tonight. It's great to talk to you.
PAUL: Thanks, Tucker.
CARLSON: Coming up next right here on the "Hannity" program...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: It's about time we had paid family leave for American families!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, D-VT., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Make every public college and university in this country tuition-free!
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I watched last night as Hillary and Bernie Sanders -- they just couldn't give things away fast enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Free ice cream! It was a busy week on the campaign trail, an amazing one, really. Next up, Charlie Hurt, Joe Trippi, Peter Johnson, Jr., join us on who won and who melted down.
And then later...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, FMR. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I think there were people in the White House, and I don't want to name any names, who were constantly goading him and saying, The military's trying to box you in. The military's trying to trap you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Former defense secretary Robert Gates is a sober man of restraint, and yet he didn't hold back when talking about the Obama administration's distrust of the military. We'll have reaction to that from Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North later tonight. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
CARLSON: Welcome back to "Hannity." It was a huge week in politics. For starters, the Democrats held their first debate on Tuesday night. Holy smokes, what a show that was! Here's some highlights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN O'MALLEY, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thanks to President Obama, our country has come a long way since the Wall Street crash of 2008.
CLINTON: Well, I think that President Obama has been a great moral leader on these issues.
It's about time we had paid family leave for American families and join the rest of the world!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
SANDERS: Make every public college and university in this country tuition-free!
O'MALLEY: We would be a stronger nation economically if we had paid family leave.
SANDERS: Enough of the e-mails! Let's talk about the real issues facing America!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: Thank you, Bernie! Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Well, never one to let an opportunity pass, Republican front-runner Donald Trump slammed the Democrats on their policies. He called Bernie Sanders a communist maniac. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I watched last night as Hillary and Bernie Sanders -- they just couldn't give things away fast enough! And they're giving them to illegal immigrants! They want health care for illegal immigrants. They want driver's license for illegal immigrants.
They're suggesting -- listen to this -- they're suggesting Social Security for illegal immigrants!
(BOOS)
TRUMP: He's going to tax you people at 90 percent. He's going to take everything! And nobody's heard the term "communist, but you know what? I call him a socialist/communist, OK, because that's what he is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: OK? That's what he is. And finally, Ohio governor John Kasich running on the Republican side made headlines this week for releasing his plan to balance the federal budget in just eight years.
Here's what he said on this show last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOHN KASICH, R-OHIO, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It takes everything. It takes regulatory reform. It takes an energy policy. It takes a reasonable trade policy so workers are not run over. It takes being able to make the hard choices on the budget and also to cut taxes so that our children are not enslaved in debt and we can get this economy growing. Look, I've done it twice! I'll do it thrice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: So who won this week and who crashed and burned? Joining us now, three wise men, from The Washington Times, Charlie Hurt, Democratic strategist and FOX News contributor Joe Trippi, and FOX News legal analyst, our friend, Peter Johnson, Jr. Welcome to all three of you.
I'll start with you, Joe. The Democratic debate, people say Hillary won, and maybe that's true, but clearly, the emotional star of the night was Bernie Sanders, who's still leading in New Hampshire, of course.
He got up there -- this is a man who honeymooned in the Soviet Union -- and basically called for more than $1.5 trillion in new spending, new net spending, and was cheered by the crowd! Meanwhile, Jim Webb talked about killing a Vietcong soldier. You've heard not a peep.
What does their reaction tell you about the state of play among Democratic primary voters 2015?
JOE TRIPPI, FOX CONTRIBUTOR: Look, I thought the debate went well, and...
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: It did?
TRIPPI: And hey, look -- and by the way, Tucker, a poll just came out a few minutes before we came on that showed Hillary going into the lead in New Hampshire after the debate.
CARLSON: Interesting.
TRIPPI: So look, she clearly did well in that debate. But look, the difference really is, it just showed -- it did show a really stark difference between the Democratic debate and the Republican debate. One of these parties just isn't -- like, they're on two different planets from each other. And I'm willing to admit that. I'm willing to bet that it's not my party, not the Democrats that are heading the wrong direction.
CARLSON: Interesting. So you just heard this...
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Hillary Clinton is now in the lead in New Hampshire. That's not because she's distanced herself or triangulated against Bernie Sanders. It's because she's aping him. She's (INAUDIBLE) She said today she favors an Australian form of gun confiscation here in the United States. We should look at that, she said.
PETER JOHNSON, JR., FOX LEGAL ANALYST: And she also said that workers should be taking the profits of companies, as well! So here we had a debate in which Hillary Clinton wins. Well, that's incredible. She was debating a socialist on the verge of being a communist, two Republicans and a (INAUDIBLE) of a governor, who she basically laughs at on the stage.
And so she wins because Bernie Sanders, the avowed socialist, says, You know, you have a clean bill of health, Hillary, on this issue of e- mails and Benghazi. We've heard enough of these damn e-mails. Don't want to hear any more about it. And then everyone says, Yes, Bernie, way to go!
CARLSON: Well, he makes a good point. I mean, if Bernie Sanders doesn't want to hear more about it, conversation over.
JOHNSON: Then it's over. And so...
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNSON: And it was over!
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNSON: And it was over!
CARLSON: So Charlie Hurt, this, keep in mind, is the sane party, the Democratic Party, we're always hearing from the press, unlike the totally crazy Donald Trump -- Bernie Sanders who has suggested at one point a maximum income in the United States -- he's fine. Donald Trump is insane.
You keep hearing people predict Trump's going to blow up. You've been hearing it for months and months. It hasn't happened. Why? What's the truth?
CHARLIE HURT, WASHINGTON TIMES: I think that -- I mean, the most obvious truth is just that Donald Trump has -- has put -- you know, set a laser on both parties, people in both parties, and absolutely tearing them to pieces. But as for the debate, I love the thing that Curt Schilling said, the real winner of the Democratic debate, of course, was ISIS.
(LAUGHTER)
HURT: But you know, granted, Bernie's ideas may have been what penetrated in that debate and risen to the top, and Hillary may have been the sort of winner, you know, coming out of the debate.
But I still think when you have all these guys, Bernie Sanders and all the rest of them, completely vacating the field and giving -- and allowing her to step forward for the coronation, with, of course, a lot of help from the DNC, who are trying to rig this thing for her -- I think that the opening is still there for somebody that's not Hillary to step in and make a really good race because the poll numbers -- Joe is exactly right about her numbers, but there's still a lot of dissatisfaction out there with Hillary among Democrats.
And if somebody came -- stepped in, i.e., Joe Biden, and decided to actually go up against her, run against her and be the alternative to Hillary Clinton, I think that person would wind up being the winner out of...
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: I think that's a really wise observation. Not surprising, coming from you.
Joe Trippi, the last time Republican -- rather, Democratic elders tried this, the power brokers tried this, it's almost 50 years ago in 1968, and it didn't end well at all. The grass roots rose up, most famously in Chicago, but all through the country. They hated it.
How is that so different from now? The average Democratic grass roots voter isn't in love with Hillary Clinton. She's being imposed from above. She's pretending to be a wild-eyed socialist maniac, but that's not really who she is. I mean, come on!
(LAUGHTER)
TRIPPI: That's not -- that's not -- that's not true at all.
CARLSON: Yes, it is!
TRIPPI: I mean, she's -- she's -- wait. She's ahead by 20 points, whether you put a sitting vice president of the United States up against her or not in the polls, she wins by -- beats him by -- Biden by 20 points.
She beats Bernie Sanders by, you know, 20, 30 points. That's grass roots. Right now, those are the only voters that are being polled.
CARLSON: Yes, but...
TRIPPI: They're not polling the hierarchy of the party, they're polling...
CARLSON: But Bernie Sanders! I mean, come on. You could buy him off with a duffel bag full of weed, and he'd go away.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: That's not a real campaign. Hillary Clinton...
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: You know that's true. But hold it. Peter, isn't it also true that Hillary's campaign at its root -- and she basically says this -- is she's different because she's a woman. Men and women are exactly the same, except women are better, and therefore, vote for me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She takes longer in the bathroom!
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: (INAUDIBLE) as Charlie points out! Who says -- Joe Trippi said that? That's terrible, Joe!
(CROSSTALK)
TRIPPI: But you know, but you guys can laugh -- laugh all you want about Democrats and Hillary Clinton. Take a look at the other side. It's not like...
TRIPPI: No, no, I'm not laughing at all! Listen, I like Hillary Clinton on a lot of things, but I think as a candidate, she's essentially weak, and her numbers show her weakness in this race. And I agree that there is an opportunity for Joe Biden to come forward and help save the Democratic Party.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Hold on, we're almost out of time.
TRIPPI: I think it would be great to have that strength, that strong Donald Trump up against her...
CARLSON: OK, but...
TRIPPI: ... in November 2016.
CARLSON: But very quick -- Charlie Hurt, can you...
TRIPPI: That'll be a fun thing to watch.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... all the polls showing that she loses.
CARLSON: You described a party yearning for another candidate. Why not Elizabeth Warren?
HURT: Well, I think because she appears not to have the energy to actually get into this race, and she's turned it down at every opportunity. But if she did, I mean, that would be a tremendous -- that would be a tremendous -- although I don't know that she would be any different now that Hillary Clinton has come full circle and become a Bernie Sanders socialist. I don't know that that's going to be any different...
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: ... she's an American Indian. I mean, that's -- that's...
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
TRIPPI: Tucker, how do you make the case...
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: I'm hearing we're out of time.
TRIPPI: Oh, great.
CARLSON: This actually -- we're moving toward the answer, but unfortunately, commercials intercede. Gentlemen, thank you.
TRIPPI: See you.
CARLSON: Coming up next right here on "Hannity"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GATES: I think there were people in the White House, and I don't want to name any names, who were constantly goading him and saying, The military's trying to box you in. The military's trying to trap you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: That was former secretary of defense Robert Gates opening up about President Obama's distrust of the military, especially in Afghanistan. A man who spent a lot of time in that country, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, joins us next with his reaction.
And later, Hollywood liberals love to bash conservatives and praise the left. We'll show you the latest examples, if you can handle them. Buckle your seatbelt, ladies and gentlemen! "Hannity" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: Welcome back to "Hannity." In a stunning reversal yesterday, President Obama announced he would stop withdrawing American military forces from Afghanistan. For years, the president has promised us he's going to end the war in that country. He made it even a major campaign issue twice.
But now 5,500 troops will remain there after he leaves office. According to The Washington Times, that number is half of what top U.S. generals in that country have recommended. The paper also said this is the sixth time President Obama has ignored the advice of his generals on the ground in Afghanistan, as well as Iraq.
This move did not come as a surprise to former defense secretary Robert Gates. Here's part of what he said about the Obama administration's distrust of the military last night on "Special Report." Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRET BAIER, HOST, "SPECIAL REPORT": What led you to say this about President Obama and the military. President Obama was, quote, "deeply suspicious of their actions and their recommendations."
GATES: I think this was particularly true in Afghanistan. And I think there were people in the White House -- and I don't want to name any names -- who were constantly goading him and saying, The military's trying to box you in. The military's trying to trap you. The military's trying to bully you. Military's trying to make you do something you don't want to do.
BAIER: I'll name names. Was Vice President Biden one of those people?
GATES: I think so. And -- and -- I was told so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Joining us now with reaction to all of this is the host of "War Stories," Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North. Colonel, it's great to see you tonight.
LT. COL. OLIVER NORTH, HOST, "WAR STORIES": Tucker, great to be with you. And it makes me glad that I fought this war over there instead of in Washington, D.C., when I hear things like that.
CARLSON: Well, that's the toughest landscape of all. And Gates, as you know, is not a wild-eyed conservative. He's not, I don't think, particularly ideological. He's also been pretty reticent. He's not a grandstander eager to criticize President Obama. It takes a lot for him, to do so, so I think you kind of have to take his word seriously. Do you?
NORTH: Well, look, I would not -- I would not hesitate to tell you the consequences of what he's done. I have a very difficult time telling you why he does the things he does.
CARLSON: Yes.
NORTH: I can't tell you, Tucker, what's going on in that man's heart or his mind or his soul. But I can tell you the consequences of what he has done consistently, not just in Afghanistan, but in Iraq, as well, and the broader Mideast, as well. So none of it's been particularly good.
This is not going to necessarily turn out well because he's not taking the advice, once again, of the recommendation of 11,000 -- 10,000 to 11,000, which is what Joe Dunford (ph) has recommended. And now we're looking at half that.
CARLSON: But it seems like, I mean, just like any problem that you ignore, it becomes more costly as time goes on. So 5,500 troops now. I mean, there's no guarantee that that will be the maximum number needed. I mean, if we short-change the force now, doesn't that suggest we're going to need to send many more in the future?
NORTH: Well, he had to do something because he did not want the Iraq outcome to happen in Afghanistan. He now sees what happened, the precipitous withdrawal, what the troops still call the Obama bug-out in December 2011, when they pulled out of Iraq in 30 days. He can't afford to do that if he's going to have any legacy whatsoever. So he's going to gaffe (ph) it off onto his successor, with 5,500 troops on the ground, which by the way, means very little can be done in offensive operations.
Those troops are going to be conventional and special operations units. They're going to remain at bases in Kabul, in Bagram, Kandahar and Jalalabad. And the Taliban, meanwhile, is going to increase their control over the population. They've got about 30 percent of the population under their thumb now. It's there because of Pakistan, and the Taliban are going to harvest the opium, collect the taxes and provide public services, such as they are, in Afghanistan.
CARLSON: Yes. Well, that makes sense. You spent a lot of time around the military. Of course, you served in it for many years. Is it your sense that it's weaker now than it was at the beginning of Obama's first term?
NORTH: Well, there's no doubt the numbers are smaller.
CARLSON: Right.
NORTH: The amount of money we're spending on it is smaller. The outcome of that -- we saw this in the Carter administration back in the '70s. Every time you gut the budget -- and they've gutted it consistently over the course of the last five years -- this administration leaves a military that is weaker than it was the day before.
The end result is, look, the purpose of having a military is very simple. It's to deter war and win one if you have to fight it. We don't go on the offensive. We don't launch wars against other people. We're not preemptive, even. I mean, it took us five major attacks by Al Qaeda and finally one enormous attack here in the United States in 9/11/01 before we decided to fight them. So we're not using our military as an offensive army. It is a deterrent. That deterrence has failed in the Middle East. Why? Because of the total lack of leadership. Tucker, we've now got Russia back in the Middle East where they've not been since 1973. This is a repeat of the carter administration on steroids, and it's leaving us very weak in the area.
CARLSON: And yet every time I hear a debate in Washington from the Obama administration about the military, it's always about how do we make the military more inclusive to previously excluded populations. How do we integrate women into combat units? How do we make it safe for trans- genders? It does seem like they view the military as a social experiment and an employment program and not primarily as a deterrent force.
NORTH: I'm not even sure it's an employment program. I think it certainly is a radical social experiment and they're treating the military like lab rats. And meanwhile the best military that's ever existed in any part of the world at any time, which is the one we have today, they're better trained, better led, brighter, better educated and more combat experienced than any military force in history. Alexander the Great's hoplites weren't as experienced as these guys are. And we're getting rid of them left and right because of that social engineering that they're doing. It's crazy, brother.
CARLSON: It's got to be so depressing if you're actually serving right now. Thanks a lot for joining us.
NORTH: Good to be with you, Tucker.
CARLSON: Appreciate it.
Coming up next, Hollywood liberals love to come to the defense of the Democratic Party. We'll bring you the latest in this trend next, if you can handle it.
And later in the show, Larry the Cable Guy sat down recently with Sean to talk about his project, the most recent one, and the 2016 election. It's pretty good, so stay tuned to see it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: Welcome back to "Hannity." It's no secret that Hollywood is pretty much monochromatically liberal. Take a look at a couple of recent appearances from two top presidential candidates running on the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, on "The Ellen Degeneres Show." Pretty tough questions. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELLEN DEGENERES: Please welcome Senator Bernie Sanders.
(MUSIC)
(APPLAUSE)
DEGENERES: A lot of people like you a lot. A lot of people are talking about you and like you a whole lot.
Our next guest could be the first woman to be elected president of the United States. Please welcome Hillary Clinton!
(MUSIC)
(APPLAUSE)
DEGENERES: You are the smartest, most qualified person for this job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: And in a recent interview with The Daily Beast, actress Olivia Wilde claimed that saying Hillary Clinton isn't warm enough is a sexist sentiment. Here's the quote, "It's pure sexism," she said, "This BS about her not seeming warm enough is pure misogyny. It's ridiculous. I think she's one of the loveliest, most personable politicians I've ever met, much warmer than other politicians, in fact. That is pure sexism."
Joining me for reaction, the senior editor for In Touch Weekly Kim Serafin, Fox News Business anchor Dagen McDowell, and from Hollywood Life Chloe Melas. Welcome all.
Chloe, first to you since you're seated closest to me. What is it about Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton that has Hollywood so in love? Neither one of them is particularly hip. I mean, they're not like, you know, youth-friendly --
CHLOE MELAS, "HOLLYWOOD LIFE" SENIOR REPORTER: Right.
CARLSON: And yet, they love them. Why?
MELAS: It's just the fact that they're Democrats and Hollywood is predominantly Democrat. And Hillary Clinton, though, knows, though, that her public image isn't necessarily warm and fuzzy, which is why she went on the season premiere of "SNL," because she's trying to get that likability factor out there.
I have met her. She was very kind to me when I did run into her on the streets of New York City. But this is nothing new. And with social media, celebrities like Ellen Degeneres and other people are able to be more outspoken and, you know, in terms of supporting democratic candidates and slamming Republican candidates because they have a platform through social media.
CARLSON: Well, they certainly do. And Dagen, I want to put up on the screen a tweet from actor Seth Rogen. He makes I think a powerful and nuanced case against Ben Carson. I want to put it up on the screen. It says "F you, Ben Carson."
DAGEN MCDOWELL, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: And that's actually mild compared to some of the tweets --
CARLSON: What a moron!
MCDOWELL: -- I've gotten from liberals. People talk about people on the right being vicious and nasty. It is nothing compared to some of the stuff that's been said to me on Twitter by people on the left.
I'll add this. No celebrity wants to be outside of the group. They're joiners. They're driven by being liked by other people. They want to be on the cheerleading squad so nobody in their right mind is going to come out for a Republican because you'll be ostracized.
And I want to oppose this to Olivia Wilde. Is President Obama a sexist because he ran against Hillary Clinton and ruined her chances back in 2008? Is he a misogynist because he didn't give her the opportunity to be the first female president of the United States?
CARLSON: Well, that's a really good question.
MCDOWELL: Would you ever say that about the president? And the answer is no.
CARLSON: When I see her at the gym I will ask her that question.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: I want to put up something from Kathy Griffin who poses as a comedian -- obviously isn't one because she's deeply unfunny. But here's what she writes. "Wow," on Twitter, "These GOP debate candidates are scary. They can dress up their rhetoric however they want, but, um, they just hate Mexicans." I don't think that's a joke. I think it's dead serious, and it kind of sums up the view that if you disagree with me, you're not just wrong, you're immoral. And that seems to be something a lot of Hollywood actors believe, you're immoral if you disagree.
KIM SERAFIN, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY" SENIOR EDITOR: See, I think -- we hear this every year, every time there's a presidential election. There's always celebrities that come out against various candidates or support various candidates. I think this year might be different. First of all, you just had T.I. making some comments about Hillary, saying she could never be president. He would never vote for a woman as president because they're too emotional and they make rash decisions and they might set off a nuke.
But then also, you have the Donald Trump factor. And Donald Trump is a celebrity in his own right. And I think if he is ultimately the Republican nominee I think there will be more Hollywood people lining up to support Donald Trump. There are more Hollywood folks who don't like Donald Trump, certainly, but I think he'll bring -- he is a celebrity in his own right, but then also he has more celebrity supporters. There was an issue with Steven Tyler this week who was upset about his song, but it wasn't about politics. It was about copyright issues. Steven Tyler is a registered Republican and was at one of the Republican debates as a guest, apparently, of Donald Trump. So I think this year everything could be completely different.
CARLSON: It might be. What's so interesting, though, and I guess I'm a little confused by this, Chloe, is these are all people with adds audiences, and they don't want to alienate any part of the audience you would think. Most actresses have stayed quiet about their views in public.
This year, they're letting their freak flags fly.
MELAS: All bets are off, and you're right. Everybody is taking to social media and anywhere and voicing their opinions. Really I think it's because of the Trump factor because of the extreme things he says.
Anything goes. So many outrageous headlines that he's made that everybody out there is just giving all of their opinions out.
But this also, I think, isn't just about the political issues anymore. It's also in Hollywood becoming about whether a woman should be president, and a lot of people are voicing their opinions for Hillary Clinton to be president whether or not they support their political views. They're just making it about a gender debate.
MCDOWELL: I'll add this about people in Hollywood and celebrities. They can help you raise money if you're running for office, but their power in influencing votes is minimal, except for Oprah Winfrey, because people in this country had a real spiritual connection with her. What she did for President Obama was unbelievable. But in terms of getting folks elected, look at all the people who came out for Alison Lundergan Grimes against Mitch McConnell when she was running for Senate. Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Jack Black, James Cameron, Nicolas Cage, Danny DeVito, Cameron Diaz, Leo DiCaprio, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Mike Myers, Jon Hamm, I am not even naming all of them, and she lost. They all gave her money and prominently gave her money. She lost.
CARLSON: Kim, let me ask you in two seconds, where are the publicists? Why aren't they stopping Seth Rogen from saying dumb stuff on Twitter?
SERAFIN: Again, I think this year is so different. I think you're seeing -- you've never seen Republican primary candidates line up to go on late-night talk shows with Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon, and you know, so many of these Republican primary candidates. Donald Trump is hosting "SNL." So I just think everything this year is very different.
CARLSON: No, it's a smart point.
MCDOWELL: Steve Forbes hosted "SNL" --
CARLSON: And he was great. Ladies, we are totally out of time.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: It was a long time ago. We're going to call him great because we like Steve Forbes. Thanks so much for joining us.
Coming up next right here on "Hannity" --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY THE CABLE GUY, COMEDIAN: I mean, there's five cameras. I'm trying to figure out which one to look at. By the way, cameras put 10 pounds on you, so --
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: You look a lot better.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: I'm 15 pounds heavier. I was a thin guy when I came on here. I'm looking at the camera, boom, I'm blown up!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: The hilarious and well-dressed Larry the Cable Guy recently sat down with Sean to talk about the 2016 election. You won't want to miss that interview. It's right after the break. We'll be right
back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: Welcome back to "Hannity." Comedian, actor, and friend of this program, Larry the Cable Buy dropped by recently to talk to Sean about his latest project, the 2016 presidential election, and a whole lot more. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANNITY: Larry, Larry, Larry the Cable Guy. What are you looking over there for? That's not your camera.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: Sean, I'm not a professional like you. I mean, there's five cameras. I'm trying to figure out which one to look at. By the way, cameras put 10 pounds on you.
HANNITY: You look a lot better.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: I'm 15 pounds. I mean, I was a thin guy when I came on here. Now I'm looking in the camera, boom, I'm blown up.
(LAUGHTER)
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: Can I say something to you. I'm going frantic. Somebody has released a naked picture of me on the Internet.
HANNITY: Oh, my gosh, really?
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: And the weird thing is, Sean, it's from one of those overhead traffic cameras.
(LAUGHTER)
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: What is going on? I must have been on a late night Arby's run or something. I don't know what it is. I'll do anything for a big Montana.
HANNITY: So you teamed up with Prilosec, which, by the way, I have used it. You know the last time I used it? You don't remember. You came here and you brought your grandma --
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: Your last show.
HANNITY: You brought your grandma's sloppy Joe's.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: Those are on "Fear Factor." Those things are huge.
HANNITY: It tasted great going down. The other side was not as great. It was not good.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: I hear you.
HANNITY: Thank God I had Prilosec. So you're actually doing something really cool. You going to feed a million people.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: This is a cool thing. I teamed up with Taste of the NFL this year. And we want to give away a million meals. So people go on YouCan'tBeatZero.com. It gives you all the information on there, but you can win a trip to the Super Bowl and you give to your local food bank on there.
HANNITY: You got to give away a million meals to people, and it's all part of this thing that -- you do a lot of good stuff. I should -- I shouldn't say this. You donated a ton of money to our military charity.
You raise money with your golf tournament every year. You do good things.
So people that think you're not a nice guy, it's not true.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: Who doesn't think I'm a nice guy. I love people.
HANNITY: What if Hillary goes to jail?
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: Well, cry me a river.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: Cry you a river.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: How many laws has she broke, Sean?
HANNITY: It might be 12 or 13 in there.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: It gets ridiculous after a while, you know. I try to stay out. I really do. I vote like anyone else does.
HANNITY: Do you like Trump?
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: I do like a lot of stuff he says. It's far away from the election. I still want to see what everybody else has.
HANNITY: If I keep asking political questions you're going to need Prilosec double doses.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: Here's why I like Trump, because he's shoving a knife right in the political process. That's why I like Donald Trump.
People finally realize that why he's popular because people are sick and tired of that garage.
HANNITY: I go to your show, I go to Foxworthy's show. By the way, you guys are going on tour, we've become intellectual tour, we're thinking?
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: We've been thinking.
HANNITY: That's a little scary.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: It's great.
HANNITY: And one serious point. You guys are funny because you say anything. It's funny. We've lost our sense of humor.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: We really have. And that is what humor is all about. Humor helps you deal with many things. People go you shouldn't have said that. Maybe he deals with it in a different way than you deal with something. Maybe that guy over there deals with something different than you deal with something. That's the cool thing about comedy. If you don't like a certain comedian, don't go see a certain comedian.
HANNITY: I go to you show, and honestly my stomach hurts by the time I'm done.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: I'm old school. I'm a one liner guy.
HANNITY: You tell stories.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: I don't do a lot of stories.
HANNITY: You do.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: I have to tell you. Someone said to me one time, they said you need to write more socially conscious material be. You're dumbing down America and all of this kind of stuff. And I tried. Let me tell you something. One time I wrote a joke about the banks are too big to fail. What does that even mean, too big to fail? Evidently the government has never seen two fat folks play Twister.
(LAUGHTER)
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: Evidently something is too big to fail.
HANNITY: Larry, by the way, what is the Web site again?
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: YouCan'tBeatZero.com.
HANNITY: A million people are going to get meals, families in need. You're with the NFL and Prilosec.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: Yes, sir.
HANNITY: And you're going to send someone to Super Bowl. Are you going to the Super Bowl this year?
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: I will be there with Prilosec.
HANNITY: You are doing a show in San Francisco?
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: I do good out there.
HANNITY: I know you do.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: I sold out the Punch Line there a bunch of times when I was doing all my car stuff. I love it out there.
HANNITY: It's always great to see you.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: Sean, you're a good man.
HANNITY: I didn't ask you once what you think of Obama, so I got you off the hook.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: Larry the Cable Guy, git `er done.
LARRY THE CABLE GUY: Git `er done.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARLSON: Coming up next, still more "Hannity" right after the break. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: Welcome back to "Hannity." Here is the bad news. That is all the time we have left tonight. We want to thank you being with us, really fun. Sean is coming back on Monday. In the meantime, have a great weekend.
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