Donald Trump rips Cruz-Kasich alliance as 'collusion'
On 'Hannity,' Republican frontrunner slams his opponents for teaming up against him
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," April 25, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And welcome to "Hannity." And tomorrow, the 2016 candidates square off in five key states, and tonight, Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz will be right here on this program. By the way, Mr. Trump will join us in just a couple of moments.
But first, late last night, it was revealed that Senator Cruz and Governor John Kasich are teaming up in an attempt to stop Donald Trump from clinching the GOP nomination before the convention.
Here tonight at the "Hannity" big board -- we call it the billboard -- is our own Bill Hemmer to explain where we are at this moment -- Bill.
BILL HEMMER, CO-HOST, "AMERICA'S NEWSROOM": Hey, Sean. Good evening to you. And on the delegate map, we've got a few changes, too, so what we try to do is include the FOX polling that came out late on Friday afternoon.
As for Tuesday, five states all in the Northeast, there's not much of a change in our calculation, as I'll show in a moment here, but this where Trump will start the night, at 895. He needs 392 to get up to the magic number of 1,237. So that's your baseline for Tuesday.
We think he's going to do real well in Rhode Island -- among pledged delegates in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland -- we changed numbers a little bit today -- and Pennsylvania. So at the end of business tomorrow, in pledged delegates, you could be around 943.
This is a change, however. For a while now, there was one state poll in Indiana from December, but our Fox polling on Friday afternoon switches this state from a Cruz to a Trump at the moment, which bumps him up to 988.
And now you're two weeks into May. We still think Nebraska's very good for Ted Cruz. Number doesn't change. Same day, West Virginia, we took a few off the board for Trump at that point, but still expected to win that state, so he's above 1,000.
Now we're in the third week of May, and Oregon, we think because of the Cruz/Kasich alliance, that actually might help in terms of delegates Donald Trump. So we bumped him up -- we gave him two more in Oregon. But we took a few away here in the state of Washington. So you see the number on the board. You're the first Tuesday in June at the moment here. You've got five states on the map.
Montana, South Dakota, winner-take-all. We still think that favors Cruz. New Mexico, because of this alliance, if you call it that, we actually think, based on the calculation, that Trump may pick up two more delegates in New Mexico than he would have prior. We'll see how it plays out, but right now, we think New Mexico favors Trump.
California, we have now upped nine delegates to Trump's total to give him 109 in California of the 172 available. So you see where we're moving now. That day, the first Tuesday in June, which is also when New Jersey goes, and we think winner-take-all, that is in favor of Donald Trump.
So you're 29 away. But what happens, Sean, if this alliance works out? Let's say it favors Ted Cruz or John Kasich, and they can start to minimize the number of delegates he takes. Maybe we're wrong about Indiana, right? You change that back, you're now at 62. Maybe we're wrong about Oregon. You change that, you're at 64. And now you start to drag a little more away from Trump. And that appears to be the strategy.
But for the moment, again, I'll just go back to our origination point here, we think, as of today, Trump is 29 shy in pledged delegates come June 8th, Sean.
HANNITY: All right, Bill, quick question. This is really important. So let's go back to Pennsylvania a second. You have -- the winner of that state will get 17 delegates, another 54 are unbound.
HEMMER: That's right.
HANNITY: So you're not really counting those delegates of which Trump has a RealClearPolitics average of 20. Now, on my home page, at Hannity.com, the names of the delegates will be on the ballot. I put the person that they're supporting. They're saying that they'll support the winner in their district on the first ballot. So that could dramatically up by 50...
HEMMER: It may, but tomorrow night, we're not going to know who those pledged delegates are.
HANNITY: Right.
HEMMER: But you're exactly right about that. We were in Philadelphia over the weekend for our town hall and we met delegates who are on the ballot.
HANNITY: Yes.
HEMMER: And they want to win their slot in Cleveland. And they will tell you, most of them, We'll go for the candidate who wins that congressional district on the first ballot.
HANNITY: So it could be as much -- it could add 50?
HEMMER: It may.
HANNITY: May? May not?
HEMMER: It may. Fifty's probably a little too high at the moment, but...
HANNITY: I would say after tomorrow, when the dust finally settles, before we head into Indiana, I would -- my estimate is between 950 and 990.
HEMMER: OK.
HANNITY: Could be that big a difference.
HEMMER: All right. First Tuesday in May. You got it.
HANNITY: Bill Hemmer (INAUDIBLE) 10 bucks on that.
HEMMER: OK.
HANNITY: All right, Bill Hemmer, thank you.
And here now with reaction, 2016 Republican presidential front-runner, candidate Donald Trump. Mr. Trump, good to see you. Welcome back, sir.
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hi, Sean. I'm at a great college in Pennsylvania, and it's about 120 degrees in here, but I hope I look OK. It is hot. I just finished a speech in front of thousands, so...
HANNITY: All right, let me...
D. TRUMP: I'm very happy about it. It was great.
HANNITY: Let me go to the alliance with Cruz and Kasich and their coordinating strategies. This is what they both had to say earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Is this collusion?
GOV. JOHN KASICH, R-OHIO, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Is it -- what does that even mean? Does he know what that means? I'm not campaigning in Indiana and he's not campaigning in these other states. That's all. That's all it is. It's not a big deal.
SEN. TED CRUZ, R-TEXAS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is big news today that John Kasich has decided to pull out of Indiana to give us a head-to-head contest with Donald Trump. That is good for the men and women of Indiana, it's good for the country to have a clear and direct choice.
After discussions with the Kasich campaign, we made a decision about allocating resources. We decided to allocate our time and energy and resources on the state of Indiana. Governor Kasich decided to allocate his resources elsewhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: What is your interpretation of this alliance?
D. TRUMP: Well, it's collusion. In business, you go to jail for that. But it's collusion, where they're coming together because they're getting beaten badly. Cruz is getting absolutely killed. He was reduced to nothing, as you know, last week in New York. He got almost no votes. I mean, the guy had practically nothing. He had no delegates, no nothing.
And Kasich is doing terribly. Kasich is 1 for 42, and if I would have campaigned two more days in Ohio, I would have won. But Kasich is doing terribly.
I mean, if you look, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, many of the others were doing much better than Kasich. They could have stuck around and they could have stayed, they would have done much better than him. So Kasich is doing horribly.
Cruz is -- I'm beating them both by millions of votes, by hundreds of delegates. And you say, you know -- they have no path. You know they have absolutely no path to victory, whereas I think we can clean it up and knock it out on the first ballot. That's what we're hoping. That's why I'm in Pennsylvania right now, just left Rhode Island, just left Delaware. Maryland last night.
I mean, we have an amazing thing going and unbelievable crowds. We had 9,000 people just now standing outside that couldn't get into the auditorium. So it's been -- it's been an incredible period of time. I think we're going to do great.
HANNITY: Let me follow up. Mathematically, neither Governor Kasich or Senator Cruz can get to 1,237. When it became mathematically impossible for Governor Kasich, here's what Ted Cruz said about Kasich in the race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUZ: John Kasich is a good man. He's an honorable man. But he has no path to the nomination. It's mathematically impossible for John Kasich to become the Republican nominee. He needs more than 100 percent of the remaining delegates. And it's worth remembering, Kasich went 0 for 27, lost 27 states in a row, then he won his home state. You can't lose every state and expect to be the nominee. Right now, Kasich's role is really being a spoiler.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Do you believe that both are being spoilers? And do you think that if it becomes mathematically impossible, that a candidate running should get out of the way?
D. TRUMP: Well, everybody thinks that because many people were doing better than both of them. I mean, if you look at, again, Marco, Chris Christie, possibly Jeb Bush -- I mean, a lot of these people were doing better, but when they realized that there was -- you know, mathematically it was difficult and it was getting tough, they got out, maybe for their benefit, maybe for the benefit of the party.
I mean, take a look -- if you really want to look at somebody, look at Dr. Ben Carson. He was doing fantastically, much better. Frankly, he was really tough because -- and he endorsed me and Chris Christie endorsed me, but Ben Carson Was tough. He was really hanging in. It was -- that was really one of the real tough ones.
Now, Ben could have said, I'm going to stay, and he would have been doing much better than Kasich. I mean, Kasich has almost 90 percent of the people that are against him. Cruz has 82 percent of the people that are against him. And with me, if I didn't have so many people that I'm running against -- you know, I was running against 16 other people -- I would have had 75 percent or 80 percent of the vote.
HANNITY: Let me -- let's go forward. You got what, 91, 92 of the delegates out of New York out of the 95 available. We have five states in play tomorrow. In the state of Connecticut, you're plus-26, RealClearPolitics average. In Delaware, plus-37, Maryland plus-15, Pennsylvania plus-19, Rhode island plus-26. So it should be a good night tomorrow for you.
But the question of Pennsylvania -- on the ballot, your name doesn't exist. If you win the state, that's a separate issue. But they pick delegates by name, but they don't associate the delegates with the candidates, which, by the way, is something I did on my Web site, Hannity.com, to make it sort of like a voter guide.
So my question to you is, are you worried that you'll win the state of Pennsylvania, let's say by the RealClearPolitics average, then lose a lot of delegates?
D. TRUMP: Well, it can happen. I mean, it happened in Louisiana. I won the state of Louisiana, and I ended up getting less delegates. And that's what really taught the world what was going on because nobody knew that this whole thing is a scam. It's a scam. It's absolutely a rigged system. And it's done so the bosses can pick people.
Now, fortunately, in Pennsylvania, you have a great head of the Republican Party. You have a great head of the party, and I think it'll be fair. Now, one thing they have different in Pennsylvania, if you win -- and hope that we're going to win very big. We're going to win tremendously in Connecticut. Every one of these states, hopefully, we're going to do as well as the polls. In New York -- in the case of New York, I got almost 62 percent of the vote, which was even better than the polls.
But if you really look at it, Sean, and if you look at what's happening, I think that in Pennsylvania, they have a moral obligation that whoever wins the popular vote gets their delegates.
Now, I don't know what that means in terms of legality, but they talk about moral obligation. There's sort of a moral obligation to vote with the winner of the vote. Now, you know, again, I have millions of more votes than Cruz. And I have hundreds of more delegates than Cruz and Kasich both. I mean, Kasich has practically nothing. I think he's now, including the islands -- I think Kasich is, like, 1 for 41. He shouldn't be hanging around. He shouldn't be there.
HANNITY: All right, so let me...
D. TRUMP: What -- what right has he got...
HANNITY: Well, so both these guys are counting on a contested convention. That's their strategy because they can't get to 1,237. So let's say that happens. You fall a little short, 1,237, it's a contested convention. Here you have millions of more votes, hundreds of more delegates, dozens of more states won.
And if the nomination is denied to you, what happens? What do you think happens?
D. TRUMP: Well, I think the people that have come -- the millions and millions of people -- it's the biggest story in all of politics worldwide. The millions and millions of people -- up, I think it's over 70 percent from what it was 4 years ago with Romney. People are coming into the party and they're voting.
Those millions of people are not going to be happy, I can tell you that. These are unbelievably dedicated people. They want to make America great again. They're not going to be happy, Sean. It's going to be disastrous, I think. I really do.
HANNITY: Yes.
D. TRUMP: And how do you put -- how do you put somebody that won millions of more votes -- I mean, I'm up already, like, 2.5 million votes over Cruz and much more than that over Kasich. How do you take that and say, Oh, gee, we're going to go to the second ballot because of 25 delegates, let's say, and even though Trump won -- by that time with California -- you know, in California, I'm at 49 percent compared to 18 percent or 19 or 20. So I'll have 4 million or 5 million more votes.
How do you say we're going to give it to the guy that had millions of votes less than Trump? I don't know how you do that.
HANNITY: Let me go to -- there's a new poll out, a George Washington University Battleground poll. It has a 3-point race between you and Hillary Clinton, within the margin of error. Is this a sign now that these hypothetical matchups where Hillary did at one point have a big lead that you are now gaining on her as it becomes apparent to some that you are the likely candidate?
D. TRUMP: Well, I think I'm going to do great against Hillary. Don't forget, again, when I started, I had 16 opponents, governors, senators, smart people. And one by one, they're gone. They're gone. They're gone. I knocked them out.
I haven't focused on Hillary yet except for three months ago, when I talked about -- you know, one -- I made one statement, and it knocked her way down in the polls. But I haven't focused on what I call "crooked Hillary" yet. She's crooked.
I don't think she can be a nominee. I don't think she can even escape the e-mail situation. Let's see what happens. But I haven't focused on crooked Hillary yet. We're going to see what happens.
Now, a guy like Kasich -- he's talking about how well he does in the polls. So he's beating her by a little bit. He hasn't had one negative ad. As soon as he gets a negative ad, Sean, he will drop like a rock. He will drop so fast, your head will spin.
And the same thing with Cruz. If Cruz can't get even, like, what 10 percent in New York, he can't win anything. He's going to lose Pennsylvania. He's not even in -- I'm in Pennsylvania now. These guys aren't even in Pennsylvania. They're not even here. They left because they know they can't get anything.
So if you can't win Pennsylvania, if you can't win Michigan, if you can't win -- I mean, it would be great to get New York. I'm the only one -- I'm going to win New York...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: A week from tonight, though, you go to the Hoosier state, in Indiana. I understand you have a big endorsement there coming up. The last two polls, including the FOX poll on Friday, had you up 8. Another poll, local poll, had you up by 6.
And did you announce who it is? There's been rumors that you're getting a big announcement.
D. TRUMP: No, I haven't announced it. To me, it's like gold standard. You have a really great governor also, and I think he's going to be neutral, but I have a lot of respect for Governor Pence, a lot of respect for Governor Pence.
HANNITY: Well, AOL News said that Bobby Knight in Indiana will endorse Donald Trump. Do you know if that's true?
D. TRUMP: Well, let me just say that I have a lot of respect for Bobby Knight.
HANNITY: OK.
D. TRUMP: He was tough and smart and still is.
HANNITY: We got to...
D. TRUMP: And I have an awful lot of respect. I won't say who it is, but I'll tell you what. Bobby Knight is called gold standard for Indiana, and as far as I'm concerned for anywhere else. I mean, this is a tough, smart, incredible guy. So we'll see what it is, but it could be Bobby Knight.
HANNITY: When we come back, we'll have more with Donald Trump. And coming up after the break, Donald Trump's son, Eric, will join us to react to the 2016 race.
And then later, Senator Ted Cruz will be here to break down how he plans to win the Republican nomination.
Also Rudy Giuliani in studio. All of that and more on this very busy news night tonight here on "Hannity."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity" as we continue with 2016 Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump and also with us, his son, Eric, joins us. Eric, good to see you, too.
What do you make of the alliance that has now taken place between John Kasich and Ted Cruz?
ERIC TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S SON: Yes. Well, I very much see it as an act of desperation. Listen, you know, they're both not doing well. You know, my father was alluding to it before. But he's winning all the states you need to win in the general election, right? He's winning New York. He's going to win Pennsylvania tomorrow. I mean, he's won so many (INAUDIBLE) North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia. You need to win these states in a general election. He's going to win California by large margins.
Now, you know, it seems like a very desperate alliance to try and take two candidates that aren't doing that well to kind of band together, and they're still not at his delegate count. So you know, I don't see it in a positive light. In fact, I kind of view it as negative for both of them. But I guess time will tell.
HANNITY: Do you think the establishment is coordinating an effort to prevent your father from getting the nomination?
E. TRUMP: Yes, and I think -- listen, we've all seen it for a very long time. I mean, some of the things that they've done are simply unfair. You saw what happened in Colorado. You saw what happened in Louisiana.
You know, the man is doing incredible. He is millions and millions of votes ahead. He is such a great guy, not that that means anything, but he's such a great guy. He's been such an amazing father to us. He's such an amazing business guy. I mean, he really will do an amazing job for the American people. And for whatever reason, because he's kind of not inside that little boy's club, you know, they don't want him in there. I mean, I very much feel that way. And it doesn't matter. We're going to win it. He's absolutely going to win it. We're going to get to that 1,237. He's going to do a great job in this country.
HANNITY: Mr. Trump, illegal immigration really has become in the forefront of this campaign. We have new numbers out today. This was in The Washington Times that we have illegal immigrant families streaming across the border at a record rate, 40 percent higher than the previous record, which was 2014. They just released these numbers Friday morning.
And on top of that, you literally have one of the American men accused in Minnesota of trying to join the Islamic State, wanted to open up routes from Syria to the U.S. through Mexico.
When you hear stories like this, does it -- what does it say about your thinking about the issue of the border versus some of your opponents and especially Hillary Clinton and Democrats that want open borders?
D. TRUMP: Well, Sean, you know, when I announced that I was going to run for president, which is never an easy thing to do, I said -- and I brought up the whole subject of illegal immigration. And if I didn't bring it up, Sean, I don't think anybody would even be talking about it right now.
And now it's gotten worse and worse, and we have a president that is grossly incompetent, that doesn't know what he's doing. He's allowing this to happen. He wants it to happen. And nobody understands why. Perhaps he does and maybe, frankly, he doesn't even understand why.
But what's going on in this country in so many different ways -- but illegal immigration is absolutely outrageous. And that's true, they're pouring across the border./ And you know, last week, you probably saw it that 16,500 Border Patrol agents endorsed Donald Trump. First time they've ever endorsed a presidential candidate. I'm not even sure if they're supposed to be doing that.
HANNITY: Let me ask this...
D. TRUMP: Because they can't take it anymore. And of course, Sheriff Joe Arpaio endorsed me also, who's from Arizona and who, as you know, is very tough on the borders. And we have to be very strong. Let people in, but they have to come in legally, Sean.
HANNITY: There are 81,410,000 families in the United States for the year 2015, of which 19.7 percent of American families, where there's not one family member -- that's 20 percent -- that have a job, that are working. Yet we keep hearing that the unemployment numbers have gone down. Are we being lied to?
D. TRUMP: Well, they're phony numbers. You know, when you hear 5 percent and 5.1 percent, those were set up years ago by presidents and by politicians to make the country sound better because it sounds good. Our real number is probably over 20 percent. When you give up looking for a job, they consider you statistically employed.
HANNITY: Yes.
D. TRUMP: It's absolutely outrageous. And you know what? We just left thousands and thousands of people on stage. I just made a speech. And they wouldn't be here, in all fairness, including borders and everything else, if this economy was good.
HANNITY: Let me...
D. TRUMP: In Pennsylvania, manufacturing is down 40 percent. And everywhere else, it's down 40, 50, 60 percent. Our jobs are leaving our country. And I'm going to stop it. And I can stop it.
HANNITY: Did you see...
D. TRUMP: I know how to stop it.
HANNITY: Did you see Governor McAuliffe of Virginia is now going to allow 206,000 felons, including violent felons, the opportunity to vote in this upcoming election? And what's your reaction to that?
D. TRUMP: I did see it. And Virginia is a very close state. It's very, very close between, you know, the various candidates, whoever they may be, I mean, if it's Hillary and even myself, although I think I'm going to do great in Virginia. I employ a lot of people in Virginia.
But when you do that, you allow 200,000 of serious -- these are serious criminals, these are people that committed serious crimes -- you allow them to vote, they're going to vote Democrat, and that throws off the balance totally.
HANNITY: All right...
D. TRUMP: And I think it's really unfair and not a good thing.
HANNITY: Last question.
D. TRUMP: Not a good thing.
HANNITY: Your friend, Larry Kudlow, said he's called for a truce within the Republican Party. Things are very tense right now. Now you have an alliance, Kasich and Cruz, against you. Do you believe at the end of this process, Republicans will come together, unite to defeat Hillary?
And I'll ask Eric first, and then you, Mr. Trump.
D. TRUMP: OK.
E. TRUMP: Well, listen (INAUDIBLE) if he wins it, he's brought people together his whole life. That's what he does in business every single day. It's what we do when we build projects in America and around the world. I mean, you have to bring people together, and he'll do that as a president.
You know, we just spoke in front of -- he just spoke in front of two amazing crowds, literally thousands and thousands of people. And you see the love in the room. You see the passion in the room. And these are different people. These are the young. These are the old. These are middle-aged, women, men, Hispanic. I mean, it really ranges (INAUDIBLE)
He will bring those people together. You know, you see it every single day. He will do such a phenomenal job. I really mean it, Sean.
HANNITY: Mr. Trump, are you...
E. TRUMP: There will be no one better in the world to run this country.
HANNITY: Are you confident you can bring the party together in spite of the contentious nature of the primary?
D. TRUMP: I am. I have no doubt about it. And you know, if you add up the votes, if you look at Cruz and Kasich together, add it up, they have far fewer delegates than I have, and in terms of total votes, if you add them both up, they have far fewer total votes than I have.
So I don't even know what we're talking about here. The whole thing is ridiculous.
HANNITY: All right...
D. TRUMP: They failed as candidates. They failed. And -- but I do think this. I do think it's all going to come together. People are calling me that you wouldn't believe want me to come on. And I'm telling you, we're going to have a unified party, and I'm going to win and we're going to beat Hillary Clinton badly.
HANNITY: All right. Thank you both for being with us. We appreciate your time.
D. TRUMP: All right, thank you very much.
E. TRUMP: Thank you, Sean.
HANNITY: Thank you, guys.
And coming up, Texas senator Ted Cruz joins us. He'll explain his plan to win the Republican nomination.
And later tonight, Rudy Giuliani joins us in studio. He'll react to the 2016 race and tomorrow's big primary contests.
That and more tonight as "Hannity" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." So with less than three months until the Republican national convention, Texas senator Ted Cruz is pounding the campaign trail. He's fighting for every delegate. And while voters in five Eastern and mid-Atlantic states are going to hold polls tomorrow, well, tonight Senator Cruz is campaigning in Indiana. He joins us from the Hoosier state, the great state of Indiana.
Senator, welcome back to the program. How are you, sir?
SEN. TED CRUZ, R-TEXAS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Sean. Great to be with you. Very glad to be here.
HANNITY: Appreciate your coming back. All right, let's start with the alliance that has made so much news today between you and John Kasich and what does this mean. Some have been very critical, others have been very supportive, I guess based on who they're supporting. Tell us from your perspective what's going on.
CRUZ: Well, listen, Governor Kasich made the decision to pull out of the state of Indiana and focus his time and energy in other states. And we've made the decision to go all in in Indiana. I'm here now. I'm in Greenwood, Indiana, right now. We are barn-storming the state. We're on a bus tour. I'm here with my two little girls. And we're traveling the state, working to earn the votes of the men and women in this state.
I think Indiana is going to be a critical state. It's really going to be at the crossroads of these primaries. They vote a week from tomorrow. And I'm very encouraged by the support we're seeing here on the ground in Indiana.
HANNITY: All right, let's talk a little bit about the whole delegate strategy because you believe this will be a contested convention. Mathematically, it would be very hard for you to get to 1,237, maybe after tomorrow impossible.
So the question is, why are you so confident it'll be a contested convention? And what's the strategy? Walk us through the strategy of how you think you win the nomination in that environment.
CRUZ: Sure, Sean. Where we are now, nobody is going to get to 1,237. The only way to win the nomination is to earn a majority of the delegates, and nobody's going to do that. I'm not going to do it, but neither is Donald Trump, which means we're headed into a contested convention.
We'll go into Cleveland. I'll have a ton of delegates. He'll have a ton of delegates. And it's going to be a battle to see who can earn the support from a majority of the delegates elected by the people.
And I think in that battle, we will have a tremendous advantage because what we're seeing happening nationally is we're seeing the Republican Party unite behind our campaign in large part because nationwide some 65 percent to 70 percent of Republicans recognize if Donald Trump is our nominee, Hillary Clinton wins. Hillary wins by double digits. And if Hillary wins, the consequences for this country are catastrophic. We lose the Supreme Court, we lose the Senate, we might even lose the house, and we're trapped with trillions more of debt and economic stagnation.
I'm not willing to let that happen. I don't think Republicans want it let that happen. So I think at a contested convention we are going to earn the support, build together and unify the party, earn the support of the majority of the delegates, win the nomination, and then we're going to go on and beat Hillary Clinton in November.
HANNITY: Donald Trump has a big lead going into tomorrow's five states. You're in Indiana. Is Indiana now must-win for you, do you think, to get to that place? Is it that important?
CRUZ: Well, Indiana is certainly a very important state. You know, obviously last week Donald won his home state of New York. Lot of folks in the media went crazy with excitement that he won his home state. You know, look, everyone expected Donald to win his home state. The three weeks that preceded that, a total of five states voted. We had voting, we had Utah, North Dakota, we had Wisconsin, we had Colorado, we had Wyoming. And in those five states, 1.3 million people voted and we won five landslides in a row one after the other after the other, five landslides in a row. I think that's indicative of the party uniting.
Now, tomorrow as you mentioned, we got some northeastern primaries. It may be a good night for Donald. Those states tend to be more aligned with New York. They tend to be more on the left end of the spectrum. So he may have a good night. But then right after tomorrow the race is going to shift back west. And as it shifts back west, there are a lot of states I think are going to be very good. It shifts to Indiana, shifts to North Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and then the big enchilada of California. And California has 172 delegates. And I believe we're going to do very well in California.
HANNITY: Senator, stay right there. We have some issue to get to. We have ISIS in the news. We have some immigration issues in the news. We'll have more with Senator Ted Cruz right after this quick break.
And coming up later tonight, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani here with analysis of the race and of course a preview of tomorrow's five important primary states and races as HANNITY continues straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity" as we continue with 2016 GOP Republican presidential candidate Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Senator, I don't know if you saw this. There's one in five families in the United States, one in five, that -- or 20 percent -- in which not one person in the family is working. Now, we keep hearing from the administration, oh, the unemployment rate is going down. They don't count the long-term unemployed, the chronically unemployed. How bad is this?
CRUZ: Yes. Sean, people are hurting all across the country, and I believe the most important issue in this entire election is jobs and economic growth. My number one priority as president will be jobs and economic growth, and it's the reason our message is resonating so powerfully here in Indiana. It's the reason our message is resonating in Pennsylvania, in Maryland, and all across the country.
The American people are fed up with the Obama/Clinton stagnation. As you know, we've got the lowest percentage of Americans working of any year since 1977. And, you know, it's -- every candidate talks about economic growth, but I'm the only candidate with a real concrete policy solution to bringing back growth. The key to growth is small businesses. What both JFK and Ronald Reagan understood is that when you cut taxes and reduce regulations on small businesses you get millions and millions of new high- paying jobs.
And so what I will do as president is follow the path that JFK and Reagan blazed. We're going it repeal every word of ObamaCare. We're going to pass a simple flat tax, abolish the IRS, rein in the regulators, stop the war on coal, and we're going to stop amnesty and end sanctuary cities. And with respect to that, there's going to be millions of new jobs.
HANNITY: We got new numbers from the border patrol. And 2014 was a record in terms of the illegal immigration, and border patrol released Friday statistics that show that illegal immigrants coming into this country is up 40 percent on top of that. That Minnesota guy that wanted to join ISIS, he literally described plans of ISIS coming through our southern border to commit acts of terror in the United States, and still Republicans, Democrats, they still haven't built the wall that they've been promising for years.
CRUZ: Look, that is exactly right. Illegal immigration is a crisis. It's a national security crisis. It's a law enforcement crisis. But it's also an economic crisis -- 12 million people here illegally takes jobs from Americans and drives down wages for everyone. And I am the only candidate in this race who has been leading the fight against amnesty and against immigration for years.
As president, I will build a wall, will triple the border patrol, will increase fourfold the fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. We will put in a strong e-Verify system at the workplace so you can't get a job without demonstrating you're here legally. We'll put in place a biometric exit- entry system so visa holders can overstay. We will end sanctuary cities. And the way we'll do that is we'll cut off the federal taxpayer funds to any jurisdictions that defy federal immigration laws. And we're going to end welfare benefits for those here illegally.
CRUZ: What do you make of Governor McAuliffe of Virginia allowing felons to vote in this election, and by the way in what is a very purple state by any standard, 206,000, including violent felons, giving them the right again to vote? Do you think that's an effort, illegal effort to help Hillary? You know the constitution and law as well as anybody.
CRUZ: Listen, Terry McAuliffe has always been a political animal. And it's not complicated that he's acting to try to help Hillary Clinton. I don't know any reasonable person who looks at our democracy and says the thing we need is more murderers voting, more rapists voting, more violent criminals voting. I don't think that makes a whole lot of sense.
But at the end of the day, what this election is going to be about is it's going to be a referendum about the path we're on, the Obama/Clinton path, the Obama/Clinton economy isn't working. And people want to get back to the system that works. People want to see manufacturing jobs coming back to Pennsylvania, coming back to Indiana. People want to see energy explored. People want to see coal. Stop this war on coal. We're the Saudi Arabia of coal. We're the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. Let's develop our resources, drive down energy prices, and bring back manufacturing jobs. That's my priority.
HANNITY: You know, everything you just mentioned there I put out in 2014. I had the conservative solution caucus, and Republicans have not put forth an inspiring vision. They've been weak and timid in battling back the Obama agenda. They punted on executive amnesty. The rule of law and the constitution are in play there.
CRUZ: Yes.
HANNITY: They never repealed or used the power of the purse to stop aspects of ObamaCare. And I know a lot of people are angry and frustrated about this. And that frustration seems to have bubbled over into the presidential nominating process.
CRUZ: Right.
HANNITY: Are you confident that the Republicans can regain their footing, be united in November after all this is said and done?
CRUZ: Yes, if we actually stand for principles, if we stand for conservative principles that work. And this election now has boiled down into a clear choice. If you're a conservative, there is only one proven conservative in this race. The differences between me and Donald Trump are night and day. Donald pretends to be an outsider.
But remember, Donald Trump funded liberal Democrats from Nancy Pelosi to Harry Reid to Chuck Schumer to Hillary Clinton to Jimmy Carter for 40 years. He's also funded the Republican establishment, and on the issues. It is striking how many issues Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton agree with. Just this week, Donald Trump came out and said he agrees with Hillary Clinton that we should raise taxes. I strongly disagree. If I'm elected president, we'll pass a flat tax and abolish the IRS.
Just this week Donald Trump came out and said he agrees with Hillary Clinton that grown men should be allowed in little girls' bathrooms. I strongly disagree. I think enough with the political correctness. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton agree on the individual mandate in ObamaCare. I strongly disagree, and as president I'll repeal ObamaCare.
And one final point, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton agree on taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. They both think Planned Parenthood is, quote, "terrific." As president I will defund Planned Parenthood and instruct the Depart of Justice to open an investigation and prosecute any and all criminal violations.
HANNITY: All right, senator, we'll probably see you in Indiana. We'll probably see you in California and maybe even states in between. We appreciate your time. Senator Cruz, thank you.
CRUZ: I look forward to it. God bless.
HANNITY: And coming up, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, he will weigh in on the state of the GOP race. Will there be unity in the end? That and more as we continue straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." So voters in five states getting ready to head to the polls tomorrow. So who's going to come out victorious in the battle for the east and the mid-Atlantic states? Here now with reaction, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Mr. Mayor, good to see you as always. How are you, sir?
RUDY GIULIANI, R-FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: How are you, Sean? Good to see you.
HANNITY: By the way, New York could use you back. The mayor is in a little bit of trouble here. Five states tomorrow. Trump is up by huge appearance. He had a great New York appearance. Now you have this alliance with Cruz and Kasich. Thoughts?
GIULIANI: My thought is that Trump is the nominee. I think -- look, I supported him before. I support him now. So for me --
HANNITY: Did you fully endorse him? Because there was a little --
GIULIANI: I fully endorse him.
HANNITY: OK.
GIULIANI: Completely, 100 percent, and I urge other Republicans to get behind him. I think we have to -- we may have preferred somebody else, but he's going to be the candidate. And now we have to do the best we can to make sure we defeat Hillary Clinton. The fact that Cruz and Kasich had to get together in this backroom deal is devastating.
HANNITY: Why?
GIULIANI: The American people on both the Republican side and the Democratic side are telling us something. They're telling us they don't like these backroom deals anymore. They don't like these Washington shenanigans. They don't like these things where sneaky things are done and people pass bills they don't read. And Trump represents something very fresh and very different for them.
HANNITY: Can Kasich --
GIULIANI: And Cruz just demonstrated is that they can't beat him without making a backroom deal.
HANNITY: Do you think -- Trump is a fierce competitor. He is tough. He was hard on a lot of these guys. Do you think the capacity -- if what you're saying is true, would he have the capacity to bring all of Cruz, Kasich, Senator Rubio, Rick Perry, Scott Walker, do they all come together?
GIULIANI: Jeb Bush.
HANNITY: Jeb Bush?
GIULIANI: He could.
HANNITY: You really believe that?
GIULIANI: The Donald I have known for 24, 25 years, when you meet him for dinner or you meet him at his place or you play golf with him is a very regular, very decent, very nice guy. He fought the battle really hard. They fought the battle against him, really hard.
HANNITY: This is a blood sport.
GIULIANI: Pretty nasty --
HANNITY: It's a blood sport.
GIULIANI: -- nasty, vicious things about him. I was in pretty nasty races. I get over it and you move on. We've got to keep the big prize in mind. The big prize is a Republican president --
HANNITY: He has not been --
GIULIANI: -- who will reduce taxes, a president that will reduce regulations, a president that will get control of immigration, a president that will keep our country safe and stand up to Islamic extremist terrorism. That's the kind of president we have. There is only one person who has a chance to be that kind of person right now, just one person -- Donald Trump.
HANNITY: So you really feel at the end of the day, in spite of all that we read, contested conventions, you think everybody will unite, and he'll have a team of people around him that would inspire, even people that disagreed with him?
GIULIANI: Has he ever done anything where he hasn't tried to succeed?
HANNITY: Not that I can think of.
GIULIANI: He will get the biggest job in the world. And he's going to want to leave that job as a success. And that will take him in the direction of common sense.
HANNITY: Who would be his best running mate?
GIULIANI: Deal making in the right sense of the word, meaning, like my boss Ronald Reagan used to do. If I can get 80 percent, I get 70 percent, I'll give you 20, 30. He always wanted, by the way, the Democrats to walk away with a little something. He never would have done an Obamacare. He never would have done -- he would have made sure the Democrats walked away with a little something.
HANNITY: Who would be the best VP?
GIULIANI: I think I have a couple.
HANNITY: Name them.
GIULIANI: Kasich because of Ohio. I figure Donald owns Florida. I think Kasich can make the difference in Ohio. You can put the two of them together, good. Also, it gives Donald some of the things that some of the people are looking for, you know, experience in government, experience in foreign policy.
HANNITY: Every city wants that.
GIULIANI: Some -- we've got the right kind of guy. Sort of like Bush to Cheney before they started attacking Cheney.
HANNITY: We're running out of time.
GIULIANI: Condoleezza Rice.
HANNITY: I like you for A.G. to go after Hillary Clinton. I'd push that.
(LAUGHTER)
GIULIANI: It might be over by then.
HANNITY: That is true. Mr. Mayor, always appreciate your time.
GIULIANI: My pleasure.
HANNITY: Coming up, we need your help. A very important "Question of the Day" that has to do with alliance now between Cruz and Kasich, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Time for our "Question of the Day." So what do you think about Governor Kasich and Senator Cruz teeming up? We want to hear from you. Go to Facebook.com/SeanHannity, @SeanHannity on Twitter, let us know what you think.
Quick programming note. Be sure to tune in tomorrow night, 10:00 eastern, our normal time. We'll be live for two hours reacting to five states. Remember, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania, all the results, we'll have full coverage tomorrow night, 10:00 until midnight.
That is all the time we have left this evening. As always thank you for being with us. We'll see you back here on a very big election night tomorrow night. Thanks for being with us.
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