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Published January 23, 2017
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," March 29, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And welcome to "Hannity." And tonight, we are just one week away from the Wisconsin primaries, and the Republican race to win that very important state is now heating up. Now, the candidates were pounding the campaign trail, and earlier tonight, the GOP front-runner, Donald Trump, held a rally in Wisconsin. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll tell you something so important. There is something happening. It's like a movement. It's incredible. It's a movement. And we're part of the movement. It's not me. I'm a messenger, to be honest. I'm a messenger.
And this is something that's so special and so amazing. And it's on the cover of Time magazine. It's on the cover of every newspaper. It's something that has -- maybe never happened and they're saying it's a phenomenon. Sometimes, they say I'm a phenomenon. I'm not. The message is what we want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And here now with reaction, 2016 Republican presidential front- runner candidate Donald Trump. Mr. Trump, welcome back. Good to see you.
TRUMP: Hello, Sean.
HANNITY: First, congratulations are in order. I understand now you're a grandfather for, what, the eighth time?
TRUMP: That's right, number eight. And Ivanka had a beautiful baby, and we're very happy about it. I guess that's probably why I'm doing all of this. It's make America great again. I'm making it great for my grandchildren because, ultimately, that's what it's all about. That's what we all live for, I think, in a certain way.
HANNITY: Isn't it sad that we're burdening our future generations with debt? I mean, isn't it sad that, you know, they've got to deal with a world of evil and ISIS? We don't control our borders. You know, you worry about whether this generation will be the first generation to hand off a country in worse shape than they received it. Does that make you reminisce about that or introspective about it?
TRUMP: Well, it won't be sad if I'm elected president because I'll knock out ISIS and I'll make borders strong and people aren't coming into this country except legally. And so it won't be sad. You'll be happy in two years if I get elected president, believe me. If I'm in office in January, you're going to see some very big changes and very much for the positive. And that includes trade, that includes jobs, that includes getting rid of the debt and at least getting it down very substantially fairly quickly.
A lot of things, we're going to do a lot of things that are great, but I have to get there first. And Wisconsin is very important. We are doing really well here, but it's really important.
HANNITY: Let me go to something I think has been talked about too much, my opinion, but it is what it is. Of course, the super-PAC runs the ad against your wife, Melania. You send out a tweet. And I've watched every interview since, and that's all the media wants to talk about. Do you have any regrets in regard to this? How do you feel about how it's all been handled?
TRUMP: No, I don't. I don't. I don't. Look. Cruz is -- you know, I call him "lyin' Ted Cruz" after what he did to Ben Carson and many other things. You know, he lies. He really lies. I've have seen never anything quite like it. I've dealt with much tougher people, but never somebody that can lie like that.
And he did a terrible thing with Ben. Then what he did is -- my wife had a, you know, very good photo shoot for GQ. It's called GQ. And it's a top magazine, and she had the photo shoot and they sent it out to people in Utah, which was starting it. And he knew about it. He said he didn't know anything about it. He knew about it.
These people on the PAC, they were all friends of his or many of them were friends of his. So he knew all about it. So he started it.
But as far as I'm concerned, it's over. I want to get to jobs. I want to get to trade. I want to get to build up the military. I want to get to so much -- our veterans, we have to take care of our veterans.
You know, I look at what's happening in Wisconsin with the numbers, the job numbers, the trade numbers, how it's a stagnant economy, how they owe $2.2 billion in terms of their budget. It's a disaster. I'm looking at the kind of numbers here.
And I know Walker endorsed today Cruz because he couldn't endorse me because I knocked him out of the presidential race. How is he going to endorse me? And all I did was repeat the numbers in Wisconsin. They're terrible. And you know, it's one of those things. So he endorsed him. Let's see what it means.
HANNITY: All right, let me ask you one other question that made a lot of news today. And in full disclosure, I'm friendly with both parties here. I know your campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, very well. I know Michelle Fields. She's been a guest on this program a lot over the years.
And I got to be honest, I looked at this tape at least 100 times today to try and see -- and I have her original statement here that she was, quote, "jolted backwards and somebody grabbed me tightly by the arm, yanked me down. I almost fell to the ground."
Now, I'm showing the tape. I don't see that. I've -- I've looked at it 100 times. You have stood by...
TRUMP: Well, you have to look at her. Well, you have to look at her and you have to see what it's all about. Look, I have to stand by him. I looked at the tape. You know, it's my tape. I have a very great club that has cameras all over it for security reasons, and this is my tape. And as far as I'm concerned, you know, I'm very glad that we were able to produce the tape because I don't see anything.
I see virtually nothing, and we're going to destroy a man's life over this? You know, they're chopping off heads, they're drowning people in the Middle East. We're going to destroy a man's life? He's got four beautiful children and a wife in New Hampshire, and we're going to destroy his life because somebody makes a charge?
And by the way, did you notice how that charge changed after she found out that Donald Trump produced the tape? If I didn't produce the tape, it would have been much worse because look at the statement she made. She was dragged down. I had it written down -- forcefully thrown -- throw reporters to the ground. I mean, campaign managers aren't supposed to forcefully throw reporters to the ground. What ground?
In fact, if you look at her face, her expression doesn't even change. And I don't know, she said she's got a little bruise. I don't -- who gave her the bruise? I mean, you know, how is the bruise then -- people...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: If the tape was what she said -- if the tape -- if you saw on the tape something different, would you have fired Corey?
TRUMP: Oh, if he threw her to the ground, I would have fired him immediately. Absolutely.
HANNITY: Because...
TRUMP: If she was thrown to the ground -- but I mean, look what she said! I was jolted backwards. Someone grabbed me tightly by the arm and yanked me down. Campaign managers aren't supposed to forcefully throw reporters to the ground.
Now, look, I would tell Corey -- you know, it's very easy for me to do that. That's actually the easiest thing. But I can't destroy a man's life with somebody that does the story -- now, her story changed. Once she found out that there was a tape., all of a sudden, it's, Uh-oh, this is a problem because now there's a tape.
HANNITY: Yes.
TRUMP: And then, you know, people don't talk about the tape. On other shows, on FOX, they don't talk about the initial -- her initial statement. But her initial statement was exactly what you and I both said...
HANNITY: Yes. You know...
TRUMP: ... and that's a big difference between that and what happened. I think it's a disgrace. And I'm not going to destroy a man's life -- and maybe it's politically better for me to do it. I don't know.
But I can't destroy -- that's what we need running the country. We can't have weak, ineffective people like these politicians, guys like Cruz and Kasich. We can't have people like this running the country anymore. Our country is in such trouble with trade deals and debt, and we are in trouble. And this is -- I guarantee you -- Cruz, well, he already fired a couple of people for doing things, and you know, just one of those things.
When he hired the porn star to do his tape -- now he said he didn't know she was a porn star. Who knows if he knew she was a porn star or not. But he's already fired, I guess, his campaign manager or something pretty close to that.
And you know, look, I have to stick up for people. I think this was very unjust. Nobody called me. Nobody interviewed me. I wasn't interviewed by the police. I don't know. Is this police -- I mean, they're in a town where I have a very big investment. I'm trying to figure, are these Democrats? Are these Republicans? Why would a man be destroyed over a tape like that? You see what happened. And it was...
HANNITY: I looked at it...
TRUMP: I mean, what happened?
HANNITY: I looked at it a hundred times. And I know -- as I said, I know both people. To me, it looked like the typical gaggle of reporters, you know, where the campaign is trying to get the candidate away because they've answered enough questions and everybody's moving on, and she's trying to get in that last question.
That's how I see it. I don't see any jerking. I don't see any pulling. I see him saying...
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Well, first of all, Sean, let me -- let me just interrupt you. Let me just interrupt you just for a second. She grabbed me before he grabbed her, if he even grabbed her because I don't see that he grabbed her.
HANNITY: Yes, she's right next to you, very close.
TRUMP: You know, I see that he blocked -- I see that he sort of blocked her out, but she grabbed me and she wasn't supposed to. She grabbed me once or twice, and that's why I'm looking down at my arm. I'm like this, looking down, and it's very obvious. So she grabbed me before he did anything.
She went through a Secret Service line because you have Secret Service people. This was after a victory. The press conference lasted for, like, 45 minutes. It was a long press conference. There were no more questions. I was walking out. I was almost at the entrance when this happened because that was the entrance camera.
I was almost at the entrance in the lobby walking out briskly, and she all of a sudden jumps in. So she grabbed me and she had something in her hand. I don't know what it was. It looked like it could have been a pen. But you know, from the standpoint of where we are, who knows what it is.
So she grabbed me, and then he maybe brushed her aside. And we're going to destroy his life for that? I don't think so.
HANNITY: Let me go back to the earlier question when I talked about -- I think in a lot of ways, this is for both campaigns. We got off track -- the ads that went out. You're saying you're done with that. There's no more coming up.
Now, you're in Wisconsin. You pointed out that Scott Walker endorsed your opponent, Ted Cruz. What is it specifically, the message to the people of Wisconsin and knowing that the media, this is all they want to talk about?
TRUMP: Look, Wisconsin's doing very poorly. Wisconsin is losing jobs. They aren't growing. I have a whole list of things. I could read 15 things to you. I had no idea it was doing that way. And you also know for a fact -- I have many friends that live in Wisconsin. I mean, it's a great place. But Wisconsin is not doing well.
And I'd see this governor get on a motorcycle all the time with his big motorcycle, you know, big, tough guy, and he'd get on his motorcycle. You know who's endorsing me more than anybody are the motorcycle people. These guys are -- every time I make a speech, I have motorcycles outside, but I mean, big like, 600, 700, 800 sometimes where they're outside.
But I see him in his motorcycle jacket, you know, like he's a tough guy riding on the highways. Look, he endorsed a guy who has no chance of beating Hillary Clinton. I'm going to beat Hillary Clinton. I haven't even focused on her. I only focused on her once about two months ago, and believe me, that was a last time I got hit with that subject.
And I helped Bernie Sanders because her numbers went way down after I went after her. I haven't gone after her. I have two more people that I have to beat. We started off with 17 or 18 people. We're down to two left over. And I will see what happens. Let's see. I mean, I think I'm going to win. I think I'm going to do well in Wisconsin.
HANNITY: Let me ask about the scenario. I mean, you have John Boehner and obviously Mitt Romney and other establishment people, they -- they all -- and John Kasich -- Kasich has no mathematical chance to get 1,237. You do. You have to get about 53 percent. Ted Cruz has to about 83 percent. So he has no chance.
But they're stating publicly the idea is to prevent either of you from getting that number. Stop Trump. Then, of course, Kasich approaches Cruz. They want a partnership, obviously, to be against you. If these types of games are played, what is going to be your response?
TRUMP: Well, first of all, Cruz is never going to beat Hillary Clinton. I'm going to beat her, and polls are showing it, but I'm going to beat Hillary Clinton. And I think I'm going to do it easily because we have millions of people coming into the party and coming in and voting in the primaries, millions more than we had, Sean. It's the biggest story in all of politics -- millions more than we had four years ago.
And it's a great movement that's going on. It's an amazing thing and it's a beautiful thing to watch. And I'll tell you, you're going to have a lot of very disappointed and frankly very angry people if they try and stop -- you know, I'm way ahead in delegates. I'm millions of votes ahead of Cruz and millions and millions ahead of Kasich.
But I'll tell you what. We were -- it's little bit unfair because when I started, we had 17 people. So we had a lot of people sitting out. Some people get 1 percent, 2 percent, 5 percent, 10 percent. So when I have to get 50 percent in the end, it's tough.
Now, I think I'm going to meet the 1,237, but still it's unfair because I had all of these people, senators, governors, some very good people like Ben Carson, some people that -- you know, a lot of people. Now, when you have to divide all of that vote up and then you're supposed to get 50 plus 1, 50 percent plus 1, it's really very unfair.
Despite that, I think I'm doing to do it. But I will say this. If I was a little bit short and I was way ahead and -- you know, millions of votes ahead, many millions -- right now, I'm more than 2 million votes ahead of Cruz, and I'm, you know, hundreds of delegates ahead.
But if I was a little bit short of that number, and with all of these people that I had to beat, I think it would be very, very unfair, I'll be honest with you.
HANNITY: All right, we're going to take a break...
TRUMP: A lot of the people that support me feel that, too.
HANNITY: We'll come back. More with Donald Trump. I got to ask you about Hillary.
And also when we come back, the president wants to bring in more refugees even though our intelligence community says ISIS will infiltrate that community. More after the break.
And then later tonight...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think I'm probably the most transparent person in public life. Stay tuned. There'll be a lot more...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: A blistering new ad puts Hillary Clinton's long list of scandals in the spotlight. Laura Ingraham, Kirsten Powers will have reaction.
Plus, later tonight...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEENS: (INAUDIBLE) we got Trump with (ph) Donald Trump...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Baltimore teens put out a disturbing video threatening violence against Donald Trump. We'll show you that and get reaction and more as we continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." We continue with 2016 Republican front-runner Donald Trump. Not a good week for Hillary Clinton. She lost Alaska 82 to 18. She lost Washington state 73-27. She lost to Bernie Sanders, Hawaii, 70 to 30. And the FBI will now have an interview with Hillary and her top aides.
You have been saying all along you don't think she's going to make or if she makes it. Does this give you reason to think now that it's unlikely she makes it?
TRUMP: Well, I just don't know if she's going to make it. She's got a very big problem, I think actually a bigger problem than Bernie is what's going on with the FBI. They're straight shooters, and we'll see what happens. But she's also got a problem with Bernie. She had a very bad weekend in terms of numbers and in terms of votes. But I think she's going to make that.
I don't know that she's going to make the e-mail scandal. But you would think that if they would have done something, it would have done already. I would imagine she's being protected, and that's pretty sad in terms of being in America. It's pretty said. So we'll see what happens. I just don't know.
I'm not even thinking about her right now. I'm thinking about two final people and I'm thinking about beating them and I'm thinking about winning in Wisconsin, where you have a place that, really, I'm doing very well in, where I have so many different friends. And I think that we're going to do very well here.
HANNITY: What about the president this week actually saying, in spite of his national director of intelligence, his FBI director, his assistant FBI director, his envoy to defeat ISIS and many others in the intelligence world saying, Don't take these people in because ISIS will infiltrate that population, like they did in Paris and like they did in Brussels?
But yet the president is now wanting to take in more. What should the response be? Should Republicans now -- I know Congressman Babin of Texas has put forward a bill to stop it. Don't you think Republicans ought to take a stand here?
TRUMP: Well, when I said we have to on a temporary basis stop Muslims from coming in and be very vigilant and very careful, I was met with tremendous furor, and now a lot of people are saying, Oh, that's what I said. You know, Ted Cruz and some of these people that can't think for themselves, they're now saying, well, you know, they're getting a little tougher all of a sudden.
Same thing with the wall. When I said the wall -- you know this better than anybody -- everybody laughed. Now everybody wants to build the wall. When I say everybody, a lot of people want to build it. All of a sudden, you're hearing about, We're going to build a wall.
So I would say this. We have people that don't know what they're doing. We have one that doesn't know what he's doing. He happens to be sitting in the White House. He doesn't even want to mention the words "radical Islamic terrorism," which are so obvious to anybody. I mean, not only obvious. It's not even a question of obvious. They're fact. And why he won't say the words, someday, maybe he'll explain it because nobody gets it.
And unless you're going to define a problem, you're never going to solve it. We have to solve that problem. It's one of the great problems right now worldwide, and it's got to be solved and it's got to be solved quickly.
HANNITY: You know, what's scary to me is that the president seemingly, by ignoring those intelligence officials that are warning him -- he seems willing to gamble with the lives of Americans but yet you and others that are willing to speak out, including myself -- we come under fire, but meanwhile, it's the president opening the door for Paris or Brussels here.
Why doesn't anyone ask him about his willingness to gamble with the lives of the American people?
TRUMP: Well, we're going to have some very horrendous times here, and you know, just like I predicted Brussels and I predicted many things, and you know that probably better than anybody -- but we're going to have some bad times here.
We're weak. We're soft. We're not vigilant. We're just not doing the job, Sean. We're not doing the job. And we have a leader that doesn't either get it, or for some reason beyond anybody's comprehension, he doesn't want to get it, all right? He doesn't want to get it.
Somebody ought to sit down with him and say, What's going on? Because we're taking people in, we have no idea who they are, where they come from, from the Middle East, from so-called Syria, perhaps. And they could be ISIS. They could be ISIS-related.
And similar things are happening in Europe. You look at what's going on in Germany with the crime. You look at what's happening in a small section of Sweden where they've loaded up, and you look at what's going on there. You take a look at what's going on in Europe, and we're going to have it far worse than Europe ever had it, and we're taking in a lot more.
Do you remember when we were arguing about numbers, and I said the numbers are going to higher? I was right about that, too. We're taking in a lot more than anybody would have said possible, and it's just -- it's just insane!
HANNITY: What do you make -- I had a big fight on this program -- I'm not sure if you saw it -- with Jorge Ramos over the issue. He acts like he's a big objective reporter. He's not objective. He's open borders. He's supports legalization for people who didn't respect the laws and sovereignty. And then he tries claim he's an objective reporter. And it basically was over him taking words you have said out of context because you didn't say all Mexicans are rapists or all Mexicans are rapists...
TRUMP: That's right.
HANNITY: ... or murderers. And -- and so he takes these things out of context. Is that just going to be par for the course, that that's just the Democratic playbook, that's the media playbook, Republicans racist, sexist, want to poison the air, water and kill Grandma? And isn't it time that that narrative gets called out?
TRUMP: Yes. I watch as I'm constantly being misquoted, and purposely. They know exactly what they're doing and it's purposely. And I watched him and I did happen to see him on the show, and it's so unfair. And you know, you want to say he knows better than that, and he does know better than that. He's doing his thing. It's a disgrace.
But I'll tell you what. I won the state of Nevada, and when we and came out and they came out, the Hispanics were there in droves, and they were voting for Trump. You saw that poll. They were there in droves. And in South Carolina and in many states where they did polls, I win with the Hispanics.
So I can only tell you this. I think we're going to do great with the Hispanics. I think we're going to do fantastically with the African- Americans. We're going to bring jobs back to this country. We're going to get people much better salary. You know, people that have been working, Sean, for 12 years, 14 years -- you know, they're making less money now than they made 12 years ago and even 14 years ago? They're making less money now in terms of real dollars, and really substantially less.
We're going to change it. We're going to bring our jobs back. We're going to take them back from China and Mexico and Japan and India and every nation. Vietnam is a new hot one that's taking our jobs. We're going to bring them back and start making things again in our country, believe me. And it's going to happen in Wisconsin and it's going to happen all over.
HANNITY: You know, I've been saying this on radio and everything that when both you and Senator Cruz talk about issues, it's better off for everybody because those are the things that matter the most.
So good to talk to you, Mr. Trump, and thanks for being back with us. Appreciate it.
TRUMP: Thank you. But remember one thing, Sean. I'm much better on the issues than Senator Cruz, believe me. He won't be able to do it. But that's OK. thank you. Thank you very much.
HANNITY: I wasn't taking a side! Don't worry. Anyway, thanks for being with us.
Coming up, Laura Ingraham will react to that interview with Donald Trump.
Then later tonight...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I think I'm probably the most transparent person in public life. Stay tuned. There'll be a lot more...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: A scathing new super-PAC ad slamming Hillary Clinton over her decades of endless scandals. We'll have reaction.
And also tonight, teens from Baltimore released a disturbing rap video threatening violence against Donald Trump. We'll play it. We'll get reaction. That and more tonight as "Hannity" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." The countdown to Wisconsin primaries is now just seven days away, and the candidates are now facing off in that key state. Here with reaction to the 2016 race, the editor-in-chief of Lifezette.com -- by the way, she's on vacation -- our friend, Laura Ingraham, is...
(CROSSTALK)
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Does this seem like vacation? Do I vacation with you, Sean? I mean...
HANNITY: I appreciate it.
INGRAHAM: I mean, I -- I -- yes. OK. Well, good. Good.
HANNITY: You dressed up for the occasion, you know, but -- no, I...
INGRAHAM: Yes, I brought one dress, figuring, you know -- (INAUDIBLE) bring black dress, God forbid, for a funeral, always bring a bright dress if something like this happens. (INAUDIBLE)
HANNITY: Well, and honestly, we do appreciate it. Thank you. You just heard Trump...
INGRAHAM: (INAUDIBLE)
HANNITY: Listen, I am so sick of every interview, I'm tired of it, about the candidates' wives and families. I don't want to hear it anymore, and I think it's counter-productive. Thoughts.
INGRAHAM: Yes. If I were advising Trump, what I would say is on the wives question, I would say, look, you know, when I'm president, I'm going to have really smart, really powerful women in my cabinet, in my administration because that's the way it should be because women are so important in this society and deserve to be respected.
I'd say all the wives, in their own right, are accomplished, smart and are a blessing. And if I added to this personalized tone, I regret that because the issues are really important that our country is facing, and that's what this campaign's going to be about, what it's going to be about in Wisconsin. We're going to turn these trade deals around. We're going to get manufacturing back in the country. We're going to make sure people coming in, coming in legally.
And I wouldn't -- I wouldn't continue to dig my heels in on some of these things that really -- I think it distracts from the main point, and so I wouldn't -- I wouldn't handle it that way.
HANNITY: I totally agree with you, but I think it's kind of now out of the way. But you know, to hear the candidates focused on issues and the people of Wisconsin -- I thought he brought up a lot of good points.
You know what? Like Michigan and like a lot of other states, especially industrial Midwestern states that have suffered under this economy, getting those people back to work, getting people out of poverty and back in the labor force and off of food stamps.
You know what? That's what they want to hear about.
INGRAHAM: Oh, absolutely, Sean, and that new poll that came out today -- I think it was NBC -- I think that, you know, he has, like, a 21 or 22-point national lead...
HANNITY: He does.
INGRAHAM: ... which, you know, isn't -- maybe isn't relevant to Wisconsin.
But what is absolutely apparent to me is one of the most dangerous things happening to the Republican Party right now is the fight between the folks who are more populist conservatives and more traditional conservatives. Obviously Cruz more traditionally conservative. Trump is a different animal, a different kind of thinker on these issues.
But the fight between those two is just ruinous for the party. And I think the establishment is encouraging that fight. Ted Cruz, I know the Cruz people don't like to hear this and I know the Trump people don't like to hear this, but they join up or they die, because if Trump can't convince some of those Cruz people to come on over or if Cruz can't convince some of those Trump people to come on over, neither one of them is going to be able to really do what it takes to beat Hillary.
HANNITY: Both of us were just quoted in a New York Times article. Both of us have been fair to both candidates. Both of us --
INGRAHAM: I think so.
HANNITY: For saying the same thing. If they don't unite, you're right, they die. And that means Hillary wins.
INGRAHAM: That's what the establishment wants.
HANNITY: What?
INGRAHAM: That's what a lot of these establishment -- they're already banking on this, Sean. They're already talking behind closed doors about how Hillary Clinton -- we'll just have to deal with that, and then Marco Rubio's people already saying he's coming back in 2020. Marco Rubio can do whatever he wants, but I'm about winning. I'm not -- the perfect is the enemy of the good. None of these candidates are perfection. None of us are. So we need someone or a coalition of people who put aside their petty differences about you tweeted this or you said this. Put aside all of that. Put the country in the front seat. Put your egos in the backseat and fight for this country.
HANNITY: I need social media like you do. I take calls from listeners --
INGRAHAM: They're trashing. They're trashing us.
HANNITY: I'm worried if we're going to get there, right?
INGRAHAM: Yes. I agree with you. We are not going to get there if we let the establishment continue to pull the strings like everyone's a bunch of marionettes, and they just sit there and the establishment sits back. By the way, these candidates have no audience, they have no supporters. Nobody wants open borders. The Republican Party, the voters are united against the stupid Transpacific Partnership. They're against this stuff. There is no audience. Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio were obliterated in their home states, and they're going to call the show for the GOP?
Ted Cruz and Donald Trump better -- they've got to have some kind of a meeting of the minds some point. Maybe it's not now, but maybe in a couple weeks where they sit down weeks and say, look, the liberals hates us, the media hates us, and the GOP establishment both hate us, I don't care what endorsements they get, they hate us. Let's figure out a way to work together. We could be heroes, and if not they could end up as zeroes.
HANNITY: You and I are on the exact same page. Extraordinarily well said.
INGRAHAM: Yes.
HANNITY: Laura, stay right there.
INGRAHAM: Thank you.
HANNITY: We'll have more with Laura Ingraham coming up right after the break. And coming up next --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I think I'm probably the most transparent person in public life. Stay tuned. There will be a lot more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Hillary Clinton's scandal-filled career is exposed in that piercing new ad. Kirsten Powers joins Laura Ingraham for reaction. That's next. And then later tonight --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You tapped into something. You touched people. What did you tap into that was missing? You are the equivalent of a rock star.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, remember that? Well, guess what. President Obama, he is now criticizing the media for its coverage in the 2016 race and he got a pass in 2008 and 2012. You can't have more irony than that. More "Hannity" straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." The super PAC started by Karl Rove, American Crossroads, has now released a powerful new ad that is attacking Hillary Clinton and her long history of political scandals. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I think I'm probably the most transparent person in public life. I feel you know a lot more about me than you know about anybody else. I think I'm probably the most transparent person in public life. Stay tuned. There will be a lot more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Here with reaction, editor in chief of Lifezette.com, Laura Ingraham remains with us, and FOX News contributor Kirsten Powers. Laura, I think my favorite of all the scandals is we came under sniper fire in Bosnia, and you see the video of her landing and, of course, she is handed flowers by young girls. So that happens to be my all-time favorite. Does this cumulatively hurt her?
INGRAHAM: I'm of two minds of that, Sean. I think what the Clintons so much is already baked in the cake with them, and we know that the diehard Democrat supporters of the Clintons, they know all this stuff. They know about Juanita Broaddrick. They know about what Hillary did to basically quash the bimbo eruption. They know a lot about Whitewater, and they kind of dismiss a lot of it as partisan bickering and partisan sniping.
But I think the one thing that might have some marginal effect, and a lot depends on what the Republicans do on their side, is the treatment of women over a period of time, and especially with Hillary's role in all of that. And I know Kirsten has actually written about that, and a really good piece about this new generation of women, they're not used to seeing this type of stuff in a political figure. So that could actually have some cumulative effect.
HANNITY: That's a great point. And Kirsten, I'll throw this to you. With all the talk, the one little exchange between Trump and Clinton when they tried to play the gender card on Trump backfired because he went at them hard and pointed out she was an enabler and he was an abuser. Do you disagree with Trump's assessment? I don't.
KIRSTEN POWERS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. I think -- no. I guess I don't really disagree with it. I think the enabling part is something we don't have a lot of specific information about. There's a sense that she was an enabler by staying married to him. I don't think that's in itself enabling. I don't judge her for staying married to him.
I do think there's been some reporting, Carl Bernstein in particular in his book talked about her being involved in squashing the so called bimbo eruptions. That's problematic. And, as Laura noted, there's a generation of women, mostly Bernie Sanders supporters right now, who she will need to come out to vote for her who really never heard any of this stuff before. So it is news to them and they actually do care about it.
HANNITY: What do you make, I mean, Laura, you are an attorney. You have that background. This is not a good week for Hillary Clinton. I mean, she lost 82-18 in Alaska. She lost Washington state 73-27. She lost Hawaii 70-30. And then the FBI now is going to be interviewing her and her top aides over this e-mail scandal, and she said there was no problem. That tells me at the end of their investigation and probably have found laws are broken. Otherwise there'd be no reason for an interview, right?
INGRAHAM: Yes. Absolutely. I think a year ago most of us thought that Hillary would pretty much glide through the nomination process. And Bernie's still kicking, and he's doing more than kicking. He is actually shrinking that gap between himself and Mrs. Clinton. So, I mean, no one predicted how far this would go and how long this would go.
I still think she is going to be the nominee, but the longer this goes on for Hillary with -- as long as Bernie is still winning states, it is an annoyance.
Now, notice that Bernie Sanders is not really going personal against Hillary. The Democrats have a way of fighting it out without usually going personal and so destructive negative that it hurts them in the general election. Republicans are playing a different game obviously. All players are -- all the stops are out on the Republican side, and so we'll see if that damage is done whoever the nominee is.
HANNITY: What do you think, Kirsten, in terms of how this plays out? If you take away all these super delegates that the Democratic establishment has thrown at Hillary, the Clinton's direction, this is one close race between Bernie and Hillary.
POWERS: Yes. Except for we're not taking the super delegates out of it. So with the super delegates she's got this locked up. And, you know, the idea that somehow Bernie Sanders --
HANNITY: Will Bernie people be mad?
POWERS: Probably, yes. I think they will be mad. But I think this is the system and people know that this is the system, and Bernie Sanders' people have talked about maybe trying to go after the super delegates. But unless it looks like Bernie Sanders is going to be beating her, overwhelmingly nobody's going to be flipping for her. So it will be very, very difficult for him to overcome this.
HANNITY: All right, guys, thank you. And especially you, Laura. I know you are on vacation and you made an extra effort to be with us tonight. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Enjoy your vacation.
And coming up next tonight right here on "Hannity" --
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OBAMA: A job well done is about more than just handing someone a microphone. It is to probe and to question and to dig deeper.
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HANNITY: All right, this is priceless. The president lecturing the press on how to do their job, but after he, of course, got a free pass from the adoring mainstream media for years. So does he really have the right to be that critical? We'll discuss that. And, of course, that videotape of rappers threatening Trump's life, straight ahead.
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HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." So last night, the president criticized the media for the coverage of the 2016 race and even lectured members of the press about how to do their jobs. Watch this.
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OBAMA: A job well done is about more than just handing someone a microphone. It is to probe and to question and to dig deeper and to demand more. The electorate would be better served if that happened. It would be better served if billions of dollars in free media came with serious accountability, especially when politicians issue unworkable plans or make promises they can't keep.
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HANNITY: But after years of getting a pass from the fawning media, does the president really have the right to be critical? Let's take a little trip down memory lane.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see it in the crowds -- the thrill, the hope.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How they surge toward him.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're looking at an American political phenomenon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, you are the equivalent of a rock star in politics. You tap into something. You touch people. What did you tap into that was missing?
CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC HOST: It's part of recording this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech, I felt this thrill going up my leg.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Thrills going up their leg. Join us now, Fox News contributor Jedediah Bila, the author of the upcoming book "Government Gone Wild," political columnist Kristin Tate is with us. This almost angers me, almost really infuriates me, Jedidiah, because this guy started his political career in Bill Ayer's home, an unrepentant terrorist, sat on boards, of course went to the church of "GD America," gave speeches with Ayers. He was asked one time by George Stephanopoulos because I had Stephanopoulos on my radio program the day before and I fed him the question. He didn't know who Bill Ayers was when I asked him. So he asked the question. He said, oh, he's some guy in the neighborhood. Do you give now a lecture on the vetting of presidential candidates?
JEDEDIAH BILA, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: As I remember it, the hardest question he got was from Joe the plumber. And that was a question that he wasn't prepared for that brought that whole discussion of redistribution of wealth to the forefront. This is a guy that the media has loved. Hillary Clinton must be losing her mind when she lost to him in the primary that season because she was getting all the tough questions because he wasn't getting any.
HANNITY: It was the first time in my life the Clinton campaign liked me.
BILA: Right, exactly.
HANNITY: Because I was actually doing the vetting that nobody else in the media was doing.
BILA: But does it surprise you? This is a guy who lectures us on civility while he is terribly polarizing. Now he's going to lecture the media on how to do their job when he's never faced a tough question. And when he does, heaven forbid, get a tough question every now and then, he panics or he gets upset or defensive like a child in a classroom that has been called out. But this isn't someone who can handle difficult questions. All of a sudden he's saying he wants them? Come on, now.
BAIER: Kristin?
KRISTIN TATE, AUTHOR AND POLITICAL COLUMNIST: Obama has never been vetted by the media. This man is the media darling. And I don't know what he's talking about when he says the media should be tough on Trump. The media has been awful to Trump. You have the "New York Daily News" running a cover with Trump as a clown. You have people calling him a Nazi. The media has been totally tough on Trump.
But here is the good news for Trump. No one reads these newspapers anymore. So the more the media beats up on him the more the media loves him. And, I mean, The New York Daily News, Time magazine, all these outlets are going into the media trash bin of history. And even the "New York Times," people don't read that anymore besides a couple latte-sipping liberals in the upper eastside and the parents of the writers. People don't read this stuff. And when the media brings down Trump they love him more. The people love Trump.
HANNITY: Let me ask this. So we have got this video out today of rappers, and this audio, and it talks about "F Trump, F Trump." But it also talks about pulling out AK-47s and putting hollow points in Donald Trump, which is a death threat. I can't imagine if this happened to a Democratic presidential candidate it wouldn't be taken seriously and every person arrested and interviewed by the Secret Service and charges brought.
TATE: Right, but when it's against Donald Trump, no one cares. They think it's funny.
BILA: It's obviously a double standard all the time. If this stuff were happening to Democrats, the same thing you have when you criticize all the first ladies, but if you criticize Michelle Obama there is a whole different set of rules. There has to be some consistency. I haven't seen this video but I'm sure there's going to be backlash, and I'm sure that people on the left are going to start to have to battle stuff like that, because they're now being labeled as weak. They're being labeled as people who are always backing up their people and they don't stand up for what's right across the board. They're going to have to speak up whether they want to or not.
TATE: What is hilarious, though, that people love Trump's reaction so the media's attacks on him, so the media continues to pile on Trump, and he just reacts by doubling down on his statements. Remember his first comments?
HANNITY: It seems to make him stronger.
TATE: It does. Remember his first comments about illegal immigrants committing crimes and raping? I thought to myself, OK, this guy is done. I'm getting ready for the press conference when he apologizes and he's going to pull out of the race. What he did instead is he stuck by his comments, he doubled down on his comments, and he went from a fringe candidate at the very beginning to the frontrunner.
HANNITY: I've got to break. Congrats on the book. Jedidiah, always great to see you.
BILA: Thank you.
HANNITY: When we come back, a very important question of the day. We need your help. That's straight ahead.
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HANNITY: All right, time for our "Question of the Day." So, which GOP candidate do you think will win the Wisconsin primary one week from today? Just go to Facebook.com/SeanHannity, @SeanHannity on Twitter, let us know what you think.
That is all the time we have left this evening. Wish we had more time. Anyway, thanks for being with us. We'll see you back here tomorrow night.
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