Trump: My special interest group is the American people
GOP candidate goes on 'Hannity' to discuss N.H. primary and his policy stances
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," February 11, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And welcome to "Hannity." And tonight, we're only nine days away from the Republican primary showdown in South Carolina, and according to the RealClearPolitics average, in the Palmetto State, Donald Trump has a double-digit lead over the field with 36 percent of the vote. Senator Ted Cruz comes in second with 19.7 percent, and Senator Marco Rubio in third place with 12.7 percent.
Now, after his big win Tuesday night in New Hampshire, a very confident Donald Trump is going after both rivals, all his rivals on all sides of the aisle. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know that we're going to be fighting Hillary because I find it hard to believe. I look at what she's doing. I looked -- I was there. I mean, I was there last night where this guy, Sanders, is up ranting and raving like a lunatic, that, you know, he won. The polls are showing that we beat Hillary. We're going to beat her. And honestly, women don't like her. Men don't like her. Take a look at what's happening to her!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Oh! Here with reaction, author of the best-seller "Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again," 2016 Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump.
All right, you have to appreciate that I think that that's pretty funny, especially the stuff about Hillary. What do you attribute to your success in New Hampshire, and how do you take that momentum to South Carolina?
TRUMP: Well, the people up there were so fantastic. And they want to see strong borders, and nobody's stronger than me, and they want to see really strong borders. I'm building the wall. And it's going to get built and it's going to do a lot of good and it's going to work, believe me.
But they want to see that. They want to see a strong military. I'm going to rebuild the military. We're going to build it properly and we're going to build it strong. And we're going to negotiate prices, Sean. You know, we're buying equipment that they don't even want because people have, that own certain companies, they have political contacts, including the people, frankly, that are on the stage with me. So we're going to get the right stuff at the right price, and we're going to rebuild our military, we're going to take care of our vets.
We're going to absolutely terminate and repeal -- we're going to repeal ObamaCare. Has to be repealed. Has to be. We have no choice. Premiums are going up 25, 35, 45 percent, and even more than that. It's going it be repealed and replaced.
Common Core -- we get rid of Common Core. Absolutely. I've been saying that forever, has to be local education. It's going to be taken care of at a local level. 2nd Amendment, we're going to protect.
I mean, these are the things I talked about in New Hampshire, and the people absolutely loved them.
HANNITY: You know, I find it amazing. I watched on primary night. I'm flipping the dials. I'm watching all these idiots that get paid for their commentary and they don't seem to really know a thing about politic. And the narrative was, Oh, Donald Trump doesn't give specifics. And I'm, like, Well, I've asked you very specific questions. For example, you have said to me you want to balance the budget. You think the penny plan, for example, is a good model.
TRUMP: I do. I do.
HANNITY: You know, it's -- so why are people not hearing that? You said you like health care savings accounts.
TRUMP: The health care savings accounts.
HANNITY: Yes.
TRUMP: Yes, we talk about that, the health care savings account, getting rid of the lines around each state so that insurance companies can actually bid instead of -- you know, again, that's just the insurance industry and health insurance industry, every industry, whether it's oil or insurance or anything else. But they have all these politicians 100 percent under control.
I'm the only one that's self-funding. I look at these commercials thrown at me. These guys are spending millions and millions and millions of dollars, hundreds of millions of dollars on negative commercials on me. And all of the money comes from the insurance industry, the oil industry, the lumber industry. Every industry is, like, supporting these guys running against me, these people running against me on both sides, but right now, I'm, you know, only concerned about the Republicans (INAUDIBLE)
HANNITY: You would also like America -- you would like America to be energy-independent quickly so we don't buy oil from countries that hate us.
TRUMP: Absolutely. Absolutely. No, I want to open it up. I want to -- look, as far as I'm concerned...
HANNITY: Well, they should love you, then.
TRUMP: ... the more energy the better. We never want to be in a position -- we never want to be in a position like we were with OPEC, OK? It's never going to happen again. We never want -- and with new technology and with fracking and all the things you can do today, I mean, we never have to be in that position again.
But I look at the negative ads, where these PACs that are loaded up with money, and you know, all from special interests -- the last debate, Sean, you heard me say it. Everybody in the audience was special interest, and I'm the only one. I don't need donors. I don't have any special interests out in the audience because I'm going to do -- my special interests are the people of America, I mean, the people of this country. And I'm going to do the right thing.
They can't do the right things. The drug companies are paying a fortune to PACs and these PACs are advertising. But I look at these negative ads against me, they're so wrong and so disgusting to look at. And they're not even paid for by the candidate, they're being paid for by special interests, drug companies, et cetera, et cetera.
HANNITY: Yes, you said...
TRUMP: But we'll get by. You know, the same thing happened to a lesser extent, I think, in New Hampshire, and we won by, like, 20 points so (INAUDIBLE)
HANNITY: Your campaign announced today you're only going to run positive ads in South Carolina. Here's my question. If they start bombarding you with tens of millions of dollars in negative ads, are you going to stick to that, or is it open-ended?
TRUMP: No, I'd like to run -- I'd like to run positive, but if they start hitting me with, you know, negative ads, I'm going to go negative. I have no choice. I have to.
HANNITY: Yes. All right, here's my next question. Two headlines I've got here, OK, I'm reading today. "GOP asks' -- this is the headline -- "can Trump and Cruz be stopped?" Now, you're the two, quote, "insurgency" candidates here. Byron York wrote a piece, he talked about a meeting in New Hampshire in January among the GOP elite and the establishment up in New Hampshire. And they quoted a top Republican guy saying about you being up in the polls 20 percent, "I don't see it, I don't feel it, I don't hear it. I don't spend every part of -- and I spend every part of every day with Republican voters."
What part of this is the Republican establishment not understanding, that you won New Hampshire by a landslide? And what part are they struggling with that you were- you in New Hampshire, Cruz in Iowa, are the two insurgency guys they hate the most and you are winning?
What part of that don't they get? Why don't they understand this?
TRUMP: Well, I think me in Iowa, too. I would have won, in my opinion, if Carson wasn't treated so badly by, you know, what happened with Cruz. I thought it was a disgrace, what they did to Ben Carson, who's a really good man. I would have won in Iowa. And I did very well in Iowa.
But we did fantastically well, as you know, in New Hampshire. The fact is that they're not in love with me because I'm not accepting their money and I can't be bought. I'm not going to be bought.
HANNITY: Yes.
TRUMP: I am a self-funder. They don't like self-funders. I had a man come to my office. He wanted to give me millions and millions of dollars, which I don't need. I'm very fortunate. But he wanted to put millions of dollars into my campaign.
I said, Really, I don't want it. I mean, you're my friend, endorse me something, but I don't want it. I said, What are you going to do? He said, I got to give it to somebody else. He's giving the money to somebody else because they're like gamblers. I'm telling you, they're like gamblers, Sean.
HANNITY: Let me -- let me go through the list...
HANNITY: They have almost a gambling disease. They want to put their money up. They don't want a guy to tell them, We don't want your money. You would think that would be good. We're going to endorse you. We don't want your money. They actually want to put up money. I'm telling you, I know these guys. There are a lot of them are friends of mine.
HANNITY: Yes.
TRUMP: I looked at the audience the other day. I know half of these guys. They're gamblers!
HANNITY: All right, let's go through issues really quick here. You believe we have to balance our budget, right?
TRUMP: Yes. Absolutely.
HANNITY: And you want to do it quickly, expeditiously.
TRUMP: Ideally, yes, as quickly as we can without hurting a lot of people, but as quickly as we can within reason.
HANNITY: All right...
TRUMP: I mean, I've heard people say over the next 25 years.
HANNITY: That's nuts.
TRUMP: People that we're running against I've heard say over 25 years. It's ridiculous. No, we're going to get the -- it's going to be balanced fairly soon.
HANNITY: All right. And you support 2nd Amendment rights, right to carry, right for people to protect themselves in their home and workplace, correct?
TRUMP: 100 percent.
HANNITY: OK.
TRUMP: The strongest. There's nobody on the stage -- and you can speak to the NRA about this, including my two sons, who you know very well -- I mean, they're members of the NRA. So am I, by the way. But there's nobody stronger on the 2nd Amendment anywhere than I am.
HANNITY: And you not only will repeal "Obama care," but your interest is in competition and health care savings accounts.
TRUMP: Absolutely. Or we can do something else. But the health care savings accounts are -- you know, I think it's one very good idea. I do like, though -- we have to get rid of the lines between states so there can be competition, Sean.
HANNITY: And as it relates to terror, we know you're going to build the wall. Also, you're going to make sure we can vet anybody coming in from a country where there might be terror ties in that country.
TRUMP: Well, and I've said it, and you know, nobody else wants to say it, but I've said it. We have to stop the Muslims from coming in for a period of time until we find out what is going on. I mean, there's something wrong.
HANNITY: And with -- and...
TRUMP: Something's going on. There's a level of hatred that is beyond belief. I've never seen anything like it. And people are coming in. You look at what happened in California. I mean, going outside of the country, you look at Paris, where 130 people are shot like they're just targets? Just come here and boom.
By the way, speaking of the 2nd Amendment, if some of those people had guns on the other side in Paris or the other side in California, the bullets would have flown the other way. You wouldn't have had the kind of carnage that you had.
HANNITY: And with ISIS, you're going to take their money by taking the oil and the land that they have taken back after Americans fought, bled and died there.
TRUMP: Yes, but I said to do this four years ago, Sean. I said on your show -- I mean, for four years, I've been saying this, take the oil. Now they're so rich, it will take a while for it to catch up. But take the oil. We have people don't want to hit the oil because it's going to create pollution. I mean, it's hard to believe. At first, I thought they were kidding...
HANNITY: All right, here's a -- last question in this segment...
TRUMP: ... but they don't want to hit the oil because of the pollution. Yes?
HANNITY: Looking at the current makeup of the Supreme Court -- our next president may appoint two or three, maybe four justices. Pick two people on the Supreme Court that you think would be a good model for the type of person you're looking for.
TRUMP: Well, I like Scalia and I like -- I tell you what, Justice Thomas - - he has been a great stalwart. He's a -- you know, I've met him on numerous times, and I just think he's been an absolute stalwart.
HANNITY: Yes, he really has been. I agree with you. All right, we're going to take a break. I got some questions...
TRUMP: And doesn't get enough -- and by the way, doesn't get enough credit. He does not get enough credit.
HANNITY: I agree with you. Very well said.
All right, I'm going to ask you about Hillary. And when we come back, we'll continue with Donald Trump.
Also coming up tonight...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: African-American parents shouldn't have to worry that their children will be harassed, humiliated, even shot because of the color of their skin!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Hillary Clinton starting to pander for minority votes following that humiliating defeat she had in New Hampshire. We'll ask Donald Trump to weigh in on that and more.
Also later tonight, Herman Cain, Ari Fleischer, Pat Buchanan -- they'll join us with political analysis.
That and more on this busy news night tonight here on "Hannity."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: We also have to break through the barriers of bigotry. African-American parents shouldn't have to worry that their children will be harassed, humiliated, even shot because of the color of their skin!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: Immigrant families shouldn't have to lie awake at night listening for a knock on the door.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, that was Hillary Clinton pandering to minority voters after getting absolutely clobbered by Senator Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire.
We continue with 2016 Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump. You know, as I look at what has happened to black America under President Obama, and minorities -- they've been so disproportionately impacted in a negative way because of his policies.
As you analyze the vote that historically goes to Democrats, what is your answer? How do you appeal to people that have been left behind in many ways, those that are in poverty, on food stamps and out of the labor force -- again, a higher proportion of minorities than others? What do you say to them?
TRUMP: Well, First of all, as you know, polls are showing that I beat Hillary Clinton, OK? So I'm very happy about that. And I haven't even started campaigning against her yet. But polls are showing -- and the last person she wants to run against, believe me, is me.
But when I listen to her -- she's been there forever. She's talking about how she's going to help African-Americans. What has she been doing for the last 25 years? She's been there that whole, you know, machine, the Democratic machine -- and I should say the Democrat machine because it's actually not very Democratic -- but the Democrat machine -- it's been there for years, so many years. They haven't done anything. And it's almost a habit.
Why? Why do they get -- and I will tell you, African-Americans, if I get the nomination, will come to me. We will have so many African-Americans because they understand me. They know me. They know I'm going to bring back jobs from China, from Mexico. I'm going to create jobs, great jobs, not the kind of jobs they have right now. And frankly, President Obama has done nothing for African-Americans. It's, like, crazy!
HANNITY: Did you see that...
TRUMP: So I think if I get the nomination -- I think if I get the nomination, I am going to do better than anybody ever even thought possible.
One other thing. I'm going to get Michigan. I have a chance of getting New York. I have a chance of getting numerous states that no other candidate that we have up on that stage on Saturday night is going to even come close to getting. I have a chance to get states that are not Republican states, and people don't even talk about it. One of the states I'll get -- take a look at the polls. One of the states I'm going to get is Michigan. I think I have a great chance of getting New York. Upstate New York is like...
HANNITY: Let me ask you a question...
TRUMP: It's, like, one of my best places in the country.
HANNITY: When I was New Hampshire, I did have some time -- I actually spent some time with your children. And I was just asking them questions about you. And I remember when Jerry Falwell introduced you at Liberty, he told the story about people -- I guess you were in your car, your car broke down, you paid off their mortgage.
I read a story today that you sent your plane to help a 3-year-old kid in California because the airlines wouldn't fly him because of the medical equipment that was needed.
How often do you do those things? And why don't you ever talk about them?
TRUMP: Well, I don't think the press wants to hear them. I think the press likes to write the negative. And you know, I don't really want the credit. I love helping people. I love -- I've always loved helping people, and...
HANNITY: Yes, but you do these things a lot and...
TRUMP: ... I don't really need the credit.
HANNITY: ... we only find out, like, after -- like, even your kids didn't want to really tell it, but then they told me story after story because I was pushing them. I was being annoying.
TRUMP: No, I love doing it. I love helping people. But I don't know. I think probably the press wouldn't be that interested. They like a different kind of a Trump. They would say that would destroy my image.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: They'll destroy my image. No, I love doing that. I love helping people. I really do. But I don't have to talk about, Sean.
HANNITY: Understood. OK, how well do you have to do South Carolina, and what do you predict you'll do?
TRUMP: Well, I don't know. I mean, the same question -- in fact, you asked me the identical question a few days before...
HANNITY: Yes, I did.
TRUMP: ... our great -- really a great victory, a stunning victory. You know, in New Hampshire, we won every single group. We won with men, we won with women, we won with the rich and the less than rich and we won with the highly educated and the less than highly educated. We won every single group.
And that was the amazing thing. You know, I was watching the pundits, who all of a sudden are becoming much warmer toward -- you know, it's very interesting. They're becoming...
HANNITY: It won't last long.
TRUMP: ... believers to a certain extent.
HANNITY: It won't last.
TRUMP: But they are becoming much warmer.
HANNITY: No, that'll change.
TRUMP: No, it won't last. No.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: ... devastated. I have to tell you. Sean, they were devastated. But they couldn't believe that I won every single group!
HANNITY: You outperformed...
TRUMP: ... Including big with women, big with men. What?
HANNITY: You outperformed the polls, one. And number two...
TRUMP: Yes, we outperformed. Yes.
HANNITY: You know, it was funny when you said, Oh, I learned the ground game in a week. I got to admit that was pretty funny because that's a hard thing to do.
TRUMP: Well, our ground game was fantastic, and in Iowa, you know, I hardly knew the term. Don't forget I've never done this before. We're going to make our country great. I mean, my whole theme is make America great again. And that I know how to do. But I've never run for office. It's the first time I've ever been in an election.
And our ground game -- I don't know, I think it was -- it was -- certainly, nothing we gave a lot of thought to in Iowa, and we almost won. In fact, I told you, I think in a certain way...
HANNITY: All right...
TRUMP: ... we did when. But when we came to New Hampshire, we had some ground game. We beat everybody.
HANNITY: All right, Mr. Trump, thank you, as always. Appreciate your time.
TRUMP: Thank you very much.
HANNITY: And we'll be following the campaign in South Carolina closely.
And coming up, Herman Cain, Ari Fleischer weigh in on the Republican battle for South Carolina.
Also, the original insurgent, Patrick J. Buchanan, will join us and explain why Washington outsiders are doing so well against the establishment candidates.
That and more tonight as "Hannity" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." We're only nine days away from the South Carolina Republican primary. Donald Trump is riding high after his big win in New Hampshire.
But yesterday, one of Trump's rivals, Senator Ted Cruz, said this about the current state of the race. Take a look.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ, R-TEXAS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Iowa and New Hampshire perform an incredibly important function of narrowing the field. And in many ways, this field is becoming a two-person race between me and Donald Trump. What Iowa and New Hampshire demonstrate is that the only person in this field who can beat Donald Trump is me, that the other candidates are not able to beat Donald Trump.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HANNITY: Here with reaction tonight, author of "The Right Problems: What the President, Congress and Every Candidate Should Be Working On," Fox News contributor Herman Cain and former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer.
I think you can, Herman, relate a little bit to what's going on now because you were a bit of an insurgent candidate -- 999. And you -- Ari's laughing. But I think you can really relate to the feeling of the electorate, especially after the last campaign. Republicans some 50 percent to 60 percent feel betrayed by Washington Republicans.
HERMAN CAIN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Let me first respond to what Ted Cruz said. Ted Cruz said is what he ought to say. That's what you call typical political strategy and tactics. Now, I'm glad that you got Ari Fleischer here with me tonight because he represents the establishment and I represent the non-establishment. So you're going to have somewhat of a very interesting debate in terms of our opinions.
Ted Cruz has to say that because that's what he's supposed to say. I don't think it's down to a two-person race yet because unlike a lot of the pundits, I don't count Marco Rubio out of it yet. Let's see what happens in South Carolina.
HANNITY: Yes. Ari, what's your take on this insurgency here?
ARI FLEISCHER, FMR. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, first of all, that was laughing because it's a fond memory.
HANNITY: It really is.
FLEISCHER: That was some great marketing, that's why I was smiling when I heard his name. I haven't heard from him in a while. So good to be with you.
And you're right, I am the establishment and proud of what I did in Washington...
CAIN: Yes.
FLEISCHER: ... and who I did it for. But you know, times change. And the American people are demanding something very different this election cycle. And so as an analyst who's neutral in this race, it is really coming down to a Trump versus Cruz shootout in South Carolina.
The chances of a third person getting in there -- it remains a possibility, but somebody's got to emerge really strong out of South Carolina, or it's going to become too late for almost anybody else to get...
HANNITY: OK, who...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Who's that likely to be, Ari? And by the way, you know what? I was a big supporter of George W. Bush.
FLEISCHER: Sure you were.
HANNITY: I still think he was a great president. I honestly do. I think he was the right man in the right time after 9/11. I thought he made a lot of right -- I still believe that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. I think they got moved in the lead-up to the war.
CAIN: Yes.
HANNITY: That's how firm a believer I was on that. But I think when you promise you're going to repeal and replace health care, and you don't use your constitutional authority of the purse, and you say in 2014 that you're going to stop executive amnesty, and you don't to it, and you sign off, as Boehner did, as the House speaker, adding $4.1 trillion to the debt, that is not in line with conservative principles. That is why I think conservatives are frustrated, Ari.
FLEISCHER: Well, I understand that. But first of all, you shouldn't put solace in Donald Trump as a conservative. You should as an outsider who will shake Washington up, but he's no conservative.
But look, Sean, a lot of the many problems in Washington are real, and many of them will go away if you can get a Republican elected as president, somebody who will sign a lot of the things a Republican Congress has been yearning to pass.
I really place much of the blame on Barack Obama. That's why so little is getting done and people are feeling so much angst about Washington. And what they did do, of course, when he had an overwhelming Democratic Congress was dangerous and bad for the country, Dodd-Frank and "Obama care." An election can fix a lot of that. The question is...
HANNITY: Yes, I blame Obama...
FLEISCHER: ... which presidential...
HANNITY: ... but only up to a point, Ari. Isn't it fair to say Republicans in Congress -- look, Newt Gingrich -- there were two shutdowns in the government during his tenure as speaker, and we're better off because that happened. They balanced the budget. They ended welfare as we know it. A lot of good things happened because Newt was willing to fight and take a stand.
I don't see that fight in this Congress. They seem paranoid about being willing to use that power.
FLEISCHER: I was on Capitol Hill during that era with Newt Gingrich. I was communications director for the Ways and Means Committee. And we emerged well, but it was despite the shutdowns. It was because we stuck to our guns, but the shutdowns were a setback to the cause. They did not advance the cause, they hurt the cause.
Ultimately, because Bill Clinton was willing to compromise, something Barack Obama was not, Newt Gingrich, Tom Delay, Dick Armey made the fight, we were able to reach agreements with Clinton.
Barack Obama is not like that. He wouldn't even know how to compromise with a Republican Congress if he wanted to.
HANNITY: I agree, because that gives them all the more reason not to cede their constitutional authority...
FLEISCHER: Yes, but the point is...
HANNITY: ... to them or punt to the courts. Let me get Herman to weigh in because I'm -- Herman, you're here for a purpose. I want to know what you have to say.
CAIN: OK.
HANNITY: Go ahead. Weigh in on that.
CAIN: What I believe is Ari is right about the impact of Barack Obama. He didn't want to work with the members of Congress, especially the Republicans. When he said in his first term, OK, Republicans, we're driving the bus. Sit in the back seat. That doesn't send a very good tone.
Now, that being said, Republicans did try to do whatever they could once they got control of the House and control of the Senate. But they didn't have control of the White House. And Ari and I agree that makes it much more difficult to get all of the things done that conservatives would want it to be done.
Now, here's one other issue that I take. I am sick and tired and Main Street USA is sick and tired of labels like "true conservative" and "conservative." They don't care about that.
The reason that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are leading nationally is because they are viewed as outsiders. Ted Cruz is viewed as an outsider because as Donald Trump pointed out, for different reasons, they don't like Ted Cruz in the Senate. Why? He doesn't play by the rules. That's why they're leading in the polls.
The only thing that Ari and I disagree on is that there will be a third candidate vying for the nomination coming out of South Carolina. I'm not willing to pick who that's going to be because I think too many things are unpredictable.
HANNITY: Yes, I agree with you on that point. But I do think there probably will be that third person. Ari, do you have a sense who it might be?
FLEISCHER: Well, the problem is it was Kasich in New Hampshire. Let's just say it's Bush in South Carolina, and then Rubio still I think is in the race, and he has the potential to come back. There's still divide and conquer. Main Street-establishment candidates are dividing each other, and that's allowing Cruz and Trump to conquer.
HANNITY: I don't really see -- when you add up their numbers, it's the majority. There's a lot of anger out there. It's palpable, Ari.
CAIN: Yes.
HANNITY: And I'm a registered conservative, but I'm angry. I feel -- I feel in many ways they've been weak and timid and feckless, and I hope they grow a spine.
All right, guys. Good to talk to you both. Appreciate it.
Coming up, Patrick J. Buchanan is here. He was the original insurgency candidate. He'll weigh in on the GOP field and why the anti-establishment candidates are doing so well.
And also, later tonight...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's this conventional wisdom out there that Hillary Clinton has a lock on the African-American vote. What say you?
REV. AL SHARPTON, NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK: I say that Hillary Clinton has to earn that vote, and I think she knows it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Hillary desperately needs the minority vote to help her win the Democratic nomination, but Reverend Al Sharpton and others are suggesting she's taking that support for granted. We'll debate that and more later tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." 2016 Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz continue to surge in the polls, and according to a new article from "The Hill," the GOP establishment, they're now asking itself, can Trump and Cruz be stopped?
Joining us now, author of "The Greatest Comeback," Patrick J. Buchanan, probably an insurgent's insurgent himself. You were insurgent, Tea Party, insurgent and Tea Party before it became cool, Mr. Buchanan.
PAT BUCHANAN, AUTHOR, "THE GREAT COMEBACK": That's true, Sean. Back in the 90s we took President George H. W. Bush then Bob Dole, and we did pretty well in Iowa and New Hampshire.
HANNITY: I remember --
BUCHANAN: Not so well after that.
HANNITY: I remember I went to cover you in Atlanta, in Marietta, Georgia, and there was no room to get in at the inn, and it was packed to the brim with thousands of people, and a pretty big night for you.
BUCHANAN: It was one of the biggest nights of the campaign, I'll tell you, Sean. But it was a night we lost Arizona narrowly and we knew we weren't going to go over the top.
HANNITY: Let's talk about Iowa goes to Cruz, Trump strong second. Then you've got Donald Trump wins huge in New Hampshire. Cruz didn't spend much money or time in New Hampshire, comes in third. The rise of another person, not the considered outsider guy that everyone wanted, John Kasich comes in second. How do you define this year?
BUCHANAN: I think it's the year of the outsider, clearly. You take a look at the Democratic Party, you've got Bernie Sanders, the most leftwing member of the Senate, an outspoken socialist, and he's running dead even with Hillary Clinton. I don't think he's going to win, but he's run a tremendous race from the far left of the party, populist liberalism.
On the conservative side it's really been the year of the outsider with Trump first and foremost, and then Cruz, Sean. And I think the key thing to this year is look at the crowds Trump has gotten, look at the, not only the poll ratings but also the debates, how many folks have come out, and all this excitement and energy, 25 million people watching debates. My fear is that if the populist movements in both parties are turned back and you get a Clinton, say, versus Bush race, you will have a really demoralized nation to a great degree.
HANNITY: I don't think that's going to happen.
BUCHANAN: And an angry nation. I don't think it is, either. I think it's going to be Trump or Cruz for the Republicans.
HANNITY: I agree. I actually at this point, that was my guess, I'm not saying definitively. Anything can happen. You know, it was interesting, Byron York, a mutual friend of ours, wrote a great column. He talked about how in January he went up to New Hampshire where all the Republican establishment guys were having a big meeting and he quoted one as saying, talking about the Trump polls at the time, he was up by 20 points, "I don't see it, don't feel it, I don't hear it, and I spend every part of every day with Republican voters." So even though it was happening before his very eyes, he couldn't grasp the reality of what was really happening. To me that reveals a lot about all the establishment people. What does it tell you?
BUCHANAN: It tells me, look, all establishment people in these parties, and essentially not only the politicians in D.C., the establishment, but many of the media as well are out of touch.
Look at what is driving Trump's campaign. Secure the borders. If we can secure the border of South Korea, we can secure our own. Why haven't we done it? Secondly, these trade deals have gutted American manufacturing, sent our jobs overseas. The numbers are just in, Sean. Last year we ran a $365 billion trade deficit with the people's republic of China, which is more than their entire defense budget. Who negotiated these deals? Why did the Republican Party go along with these deals?
Then you got wars. You've got war in Afghanistan, war in Iraq, war in Syria, war in Libya, war in Yemen, and the Republican Party got us into these wars as well as the Democrats. And what Trump is saying is, what are we getting out of this fighting all these wars? We don't secure our border. Lousy trade deals. We need a change, and the entire situation in Washington, people say, right on.
HANNITY: All right, so we don't have a lot of new polls out of South Carolina, but the Real Clear Politics average goes 16-point lead for Trump. Cruz is going to work heavily in the northern part and the northwestern part of the state, very heavy, evangelicals. As a matter of fact two out of three voters --
BUCHANAN: Greenville-Spartanburg. I know it well.
HANNITY: All right, and you have territory there that certainly fits his narrative. Who wins South Carolina? And doesn't South Carolina now become literally the last stop for a lot of these other candidates?
BUCHANAN: I think it does. I think the establishment candidates, I think you got Kasich, you got Bush and you got Rubio, one of them has got to emerge because three of them aren't going to go into super Tuesday. One of them has got to emerge. But even if he does, I don't see how he beats both Cruz and Trump. They need -- the establishment needs a one-on-one against Trump, and they're not going to get that, I think, Sean, until way too late.
HANNITY: So who wins South Carolina? If you had to bet today, Pat Buchanan, I'm putting you on the spot.
BUCHANAN: I think the -- I think Cruz is going to close the gap with Trump, but if I had to bet now, I would bet on Trump.
HANNITY: OK. And super Tuesday, who does that favor?
BUCHANAN: I think, if you got Texas in there, it should be Cruz, but I think Trump will get votes out of that. I think that's, you know, red state territory by and large. I think it favors Trump because he has been the force really. He set fire to the nation. He's the one that's known by 100 percent with all his negatives and all his positives. So if the polls show him up, and they do now, coming out of South Carolina, show him up on super Tuesday, I think he will prevail on super Tuesday.
HANNITY: You know, Pat, the establishment has asked conservatives to support Dole, McCain, for example. I have three words for the establishment, assuming this is going to be an insurgent nominee - "deal with it." They've ask the conservatives to deal with moderates for a long time.
BUCHANAN: You know, that's -- you know, matter of fact is many say, OK, we lost, we've got to support the party, again and again and again. And even when you win, you took over Congress big-time twice. We got more people in Congress than we've had since 1928. And what do you get out of it?
HANNITY: Nothing.
BUCHANAN: Well, we can't do anything.
HANNITY: Well, they're the ones that created this insurgency. That's the irony here. All right, Pat, good to see you, my friend.
BUCHANAN: Good enough. Thank you, Sean.
HANNITY: And coming up next, tonight right here on "Hannity" --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's this conventional wisdom out there that Hillary Clinton has a lock on the African-American vote. What say you?
SHARPTON: I'd say that Hillary Clinton has to earn that vote, and I think she knows it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Hillary pandering to minority voters to help her win the nomination. Will that work? It didn't work as it relates to courting women voters in New Hampshire. We'll ask our panel next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." So Hillary Clinton is banking on getting the minority vote to help secure the Democratic nomination. Earlier today she was endorsed by the Congressional Black Caucus PAC. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe she's made a difference and she has helped us and helped this country by helping elect Democrats across the board.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Now, while that endorsement may be good news for team Clinton, yesterday the reverend Al Sharpton, he warned that she's not guaranteed to get the African-American vote. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's this conventional wisdom out there that Hillary Clinton has a lock on the African-American vote. What say you?
SHARPTON: I say that Hillary Clinton has to earn that vote, and I think she knows it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Also, there are other prominent African-American leaders who say that Hillary may have a tough time getting the vote as well, including Van Jones and former NAACP head Ben Jealous. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN JONES: For these younger African-Americans with Black Lives Matter, the issue of mass incarceration and criminal justice reform has been their issue, it's a similar thing. And so because of that, the Clintons look different to these younger voters. They look at Bill Clinton as someone who really ushered in this mass incarceration era.
BEN JEALOUS, FORMER NAACP PRESIDENT: I'm somebody who supported Obama early on, independent expenditure effort to try to help him win the early primary states, because I wanted to see the black electorate fully engaged, asking tough questions, getting competed for, not getting taken for granted. And I find it offensive, quite frankly, you see so many Hillary surrogates implying they can take the black vote for granted. Our vote is precious to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Here with reaction, CRN radio host Larry Elder, former spokesman for the Congressional Black Caucus Doug Thornell is with us and FOX News contributor Angela McGlowan. Angela --
ANGELA MCGLOWAN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes?
HANNITY: There's a battle, huge battle for the minority vote in South Carolina. Now, Hillary actually led, people forget this, Barack Obama in polls as it relates to the black vote, and then she lost them. I was watching on New Hampshire primary night, everyone predicting, oh, she'll do much better with the minority vote in South Carolina. Is that a given?
MCGLOWAN: No, it's not a given. I'm so glad to see diversity amongst black folks dealing with candidates because usually they're lock in step on one person. So diversity is good.
Having said that, though, Sean, the worst thing for Hillary Clinton is she's a Clinton. If you remember in 2008 when Obama won South Carolina, Bill Clinton said, oh, Jesse Jackson won South Carolina, that's nothing. And when Ted Kennedy wanted to endorse him, then he said, hey, man, what are you doing? This guy would have been carrying our bags a couple years ago. He would have been serving us coffee. That's what's hurting the Clintons.
HANNITY: Doug, what do you think about this? I thought the conventional wisdom almost all across the board. I'm flipping the dial, everyone's saying the same thing, she'll do so much better with the black vote, too many white voters in New Hampshire, not many minority votes up there. Do you think that's a given?
DOUG THORNELL, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: It's not a given. And, you know, look, I think the point that Reverend Sharpton made and CBC members will make is both Sanders and Clinton have to earn these votes. You can't take them for granted and you can't also write them off because maybe more of the Democratic establishment is supporting Clinton.
I think the important thing is that you've got an electorate that in 2008 was 61 percent African-American. So both of these candidates now are playing in a field that is more reflective of the Democratic Party and both of them are going to have to make adjustments in their message and also some of their tactics in terms of how they're reaching voters.
And I agree with a number of the other comments about reflecting a lot of the anxiety and frustration that African-Americans feel with the system.
HANNITY: Larry, you know, it's interesting, Sanders is now pandering to Al Sharpton. Then you've got a Clinton surrogate, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York saying that Sanders is not a true friend to black America. Then, you've got "The Nation," liberal magazine, "Why Hillary Clinton does not deserve the black vote." It seems like the race card is going to be played big time here.
LARRY ELDER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Tell me about it. Every four years, Democrats compete to find their inner Malcolm X. You know, back up, Sean. The number one reason that black people voted for Barack Obama was not because he's the first black president, although it was obvious, that pride. The number one reason blacks voted for Obama was the same reason non-blacks did, the economy. Look at the economy. Don't take my word. Take Tavis Smiley, the leftist from PBS. He said by every key economic measure blacks are worse off. Poverty is worse. The wealth gap between whites and blacks hasn't been this wide in 25 years. The labor force participation rate for blacks is at a 40 year low. The percentages of blacks that own their own home down, equity down. I don't understand what any case would be for any Democrat whether Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton.
HANNITY: Now, you're talking my language. I think if you look at the years --
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Who has been disproportionately harmed the most, Larry Elder? Black Americans, Hispanic Americans do worse under liberal Democratic policies.
(CROSSTALK)
THORNELL: I think the case can be made how this country was being run for eight years under a Republican president.
MCGLOWAN: We did better with George W. Bush.
THORNELL: No, you didn't.
MCGLOWAN: Yes, we did. And Barack Obama, more of us on welfare, more of us using the EBT cards, OK? More of us are depending on the government. What Republicans want to give us tools to build the house, not give us the house, OK?
HANNITY: Absolutely.
THORNELL: We're talking about the South Carolina primary here.
MCGLOWAN: Now, OK? Now, we're taking stock.
HANNITY: Larry, I'll give you the last word here, because this is a really important discussion. And how do Republicans make the case that their policies will be better for the minority communities?
ELDER: Under Ronald Reagan black adult unemployment fell faster than did white adult unemployment. Black teenage unemployment fell faster than did white teenage unemployment. Why? Because he loosened the burden on the backs of job creators. My dad was a janitor, Sean. He cleaned toilets. My dad told me he never got a job from a poor person. Lighten the load of job creators, lighten the regulation of job creators, and the economy will be unleashed. What Obama has done is the opposite. He has burdened us with Obamacare, with stimulus, with Dodd-Frank, with EPA regularions, and made this the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression.
(CROSSTALK)
THORNELL: Compare what we've done under Obama to what we did under George Bush. It's pretty obvious who had a stronger economic --
HANNITY: Doug, more Americans in poverty, on food stamps, out of the labor force, and those that are impacted more are minority Americans, especially black Americans. And 50 percent of black teenagers cannot get a summer job. That is how bad it is.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: I am up on a hard break. I love you all but I have to say goodbye.
THORNELL: Sean, thanks a lot, buddy.
HANNITY: Thank you. And coming up, we need your help, a very important "Question of the Day" straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: All right, time for the "Question of the Day." So do you think Hillary Clinton is pandering to minority voters? And do you think that will work? Go to Facebook.com/SeanHannity, at Twitter it's @SeanHannity, let us know what you think.
By the way, quick programming note, tomorrow night, 10:00 eastern, a special edition of "FOX News Reporting, Voter Revolt." It will be anchored by my good friend Bret Baier. That's tomorrow night, 10:00 p.m. And that's all the time we have left this evening. As always, thank you for being with us and we hope you have a great weekend and a great night.
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