Can the GOP unite behind any candidate?
'Hannity' political panel weighs in on challenges facing Trump and Cruz
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," April 28, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And welcome to "Hannity." Tonight, 2016 Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump -- he's in the Golden State. Now, he's about to hold a rally in Costa Mesa, California. When Trump takes the stage, we'll bring you his remarks live.
Also tonight, the NYPD is investigating suspicious powder that was sent in a letter to Trump Tower. We'll keep you updated on that developing story.
But first tonight, we're only five days away from the all-important Indiana primary on the Republican side. Fifty-seven delegates are up for grabs. Both Trump and Cruz were out campaigning in the Hoosier state earlier today.
And joining us now to weigh in on the state of the 2016 race, author and attorney David Limbaugh, Fox News contributor Monica Crowley and former Clinton pollster, FOX News contributor Doug Schoen. Good to see you.
David, we'll start with you. Indiana -- you have been a strong, outspoken Ted Cruz supporter. Is it do or die?
DAVID LIMBAUGH, "EMMAUS CODE" AUTHOR: Well, it's pretty close. I think there's still a way that he can block Donald Trump if he doesn't win in Indiana, and the polls show that it is narrowing. The race is narrowing there. And definitely, Cruz feels that this is a very important juncture or he wouldn't be putting so much of his resources there.
If he loses Indiana, he's not out of it totally, but he really considers it a pivotal state.
HANNITY: Yes. How -- what -- from the perspective if you're a Trump supporter, how important is it for Donald? We just have an updated count. AP count. If you look at the 54 delegates -- remember, they were unbound, but the people of Pennsylvania voted for the delegates' names, and those delegates have now committed.
MONICA CROWLEY, FOX CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.
HANNITY: It's now 590 -- I'm sorry 992 for Donald Trump.
M. CROWLEY: It's hard to keep track, right?
HANNITY: I know. It's getting crazy.
M. CROWLEY: So -- and every day, it seems to change. Look, next week is do or die for Ted Cruz...
HANNITY: OK.
M. CROWLEY: ... in the state of Indiana. Donald Trump looks like he's on a glide path to this nomination. He doesn't have it quite locked up yet, but it looks like -- in life, as in politics, perception is reality. And now the perception is that he's had incredible momentum. He's got significant wins under his belt, and perception builds on itself. Momentum builds on itself. So going into Indiana, this is do or die for Ted Cruz, not necessarily for Donald Trump. He can still get to the 1,237 even if -- should he lose in Indiana.
HANNITY: With the change in -- and maybe this is a shift -- if you look at the ground game in Pennsylvania, it was probably the best for the Trump campaign throughout the entire process. Now, they did have a skeletal staff leading up to Pennsylvania and these five states and New York, so adding more people certainly helped.
You would rather, as a Democrat, Hillary face Ted Cruz, you've told me. Why?
DOUG SCHOEN, FOX CONTRIBUTOR: Well, because Donald Trump is unpredictable. He has the ability to bring, as he did in Pennsylvania, Reagan Democrats into the party. He's already moving, I think, back to the center. I think his speech on foreign policy was doing that, and frankly...
HANNITY: Well, that was not a center-left speech. That was not a center speech. That was...
SCHOEN: Can I tell you?
HANNITY: ... an "American first" speech.
SCHOEN: Can I tell you?
HANNITY: Yes.
SCHOEN: Hillary Clinton is more hawkish on foreign policy than Donald Trump.
HANNITY: Yes, she did such a great job in Libya...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... pulling out of Iraq and giving back...
SCHOEN: I'm just telling you...
HANNITY: ... Ramadi and Fallujah and Mosul and Tikrit!
SCHOEN: Anyway, to...
HANNITY: Yes. Sorry.
SCHOEN: So back to hard-headed politics. Trump is a shrewd political operative, who's frankly -- he is his best consultant. That's just true. Manafort is a good friend of mine, but Donald Trump is a genius politically.
Ted Cruz this week, between the Kasich deal, the Carly Fiorina deal, the singing and his own rhetorical excess, he's blown it. He will not be the nominee. You can't operate like he has and hope to win.
HANNITY: And let me -- let me bring David back in. David, what did you think of the two moves, the Kasich move, which kind of blew up in a matter of hours, which was odd, and making the Carly announcement? I thought Carly, by the way, during the campaign, she was one of the most effective candidates at prosecuting the case against Hillary Clinton. David Limbaugh?
LIMBAUGH: Yes. It was not a formal arrangement between Kasich and Cruz, but it was a pragmatic thing to block Trump. Both of them have to block Trump in order to have any chance in the second ballot. Of course, Cruz is the only one that has any chance in the second or third ballots.
But picking Carly I think was a great move, ultimately, because it changed the narrative, however slightly, but it did get some of the narrative off Trump's Northeastern wins. It shows Cruz is consistent. He's going to pick somebody that's intelligent, poised, a female who can somewhat blunt Hillary's gender issue. She's a stark contrast to Donald Trump because she's presidential, deliberate, very informed and articulate.
And I think it shows a consistency with Cruz. He's not going to pick somebody that's moderate to appeal to the moderate side. He's going to pick someone who is conservative, like he is. It's vintage Ted Cruz. He gets along with her well. She gets along with the entire Cruz family.
HANNITY: But David...
LIMBAUGH: I think it's a good match.
HANNITY: ... let me ask you this question, then, a follow-up question. I know a lot of people. I've been talking about -- Republicans have probably the deepest bench that they have ever had. I know a lot of people think a president -- he does make the final decision. George W. Bush said, I'm the decider. But in the end, it's the team you have around you.
You know, when you a bench that has -- let's look at the top three candidates. You have Trump, Cruz and John Kasich. Kasich has done a good job both in Congress and as governor. Scott Walker -- Governor Rick Perry did a phenomenal job in Texas, Governor Bobby Jindal. You have people like Nikki Haley, former governor Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio.
And then you've got people outside of government like Rudy Giuliani and -- and say Newt Gingrich available. Do you think if a team is put together, whoever the candidate is, that there can be a uniting that doesn't seem possible on this day, five days out of Indiana?
LIMBAUGH: Well, if -- do you mean regardless of who prevails in Cleveland?
HANNITY: Yes.
LIMBAUGH: Yes, ultimately. I think there's going to be some attrition. I think if Trump wins, there's going to be some people who remain never Trump. If Cruz wins, there are going to be a lot of Trump supporters who say they will only support Trump.
But I'm hoping that's just the intensity, the real intense voters on both sides, maybe 20 percent on each. And I think Hillary is so unpopular and so eminently beatable, regardless of what the polls say now -- they're fluid. They change. The dynamic changes when they -- when it becomes a general election campaign-. And I think -- I think Cruz stands a much greater chance to defeat Hillary than Trump.
(CROSSTALK)
LIMBAUGH: I think it's going to be difficult for Trump, but -- yes?
HANNITY: Let me go to Doug Schoen, bring him back. I bet those names united together in a cabinet named before November scares the living daylights out of you.
SCHOEN: It does. But what pleases me now...
HANNITY: By the way, that makes me very happy.
SCHOEN: I know, Sean. But what really pleases me is that Ted Cruz this week has said over and over Donald Trump is not qualified to be president, great...
HANNITY: And Bernie Sanders has said it about Hillary. There's plenty of sound that we can use him saying.
SCHOEN: Trust me, we're...
HANNITY: And we can use sound of Bill Clinton saying Obama's a horrible president.
SCHOEN: I understand. And you know what? I...
HANNITY: And we have plenty of sound of Hillary sounding like a left-wing radical, more left than Bernie Sanders. So it works both ways.
SCHOEN: Look, we will have a united Democratic Party. The Republican Party, it remains to be seen. I'd rather be Hillary...
HANNITY: Oh, I don't think so. I think my idea -- listen, maybe I'm living in a fantasy world...
(CROSSTALK)
SCHOEN: They can't do it.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Listen, I've been accused of a lot worse. But imagine those names uniting!
M. CROWLEY: Yes, I mean, I think you're in a fantasy world at this moment, Sean...
HANNITY: Yes, but I'm ahead of the curve.
M. CROWLEY: ... but a couple of months down the road, I think, yes. I mean, look, there are -- David is right. There are going to be some people who are -- you know, passions are running very high, and they're opposed to Trump for ideological reasons or whatever it might be. But in the end, the stakes are so high about the future of this country...
HANNITY: All right, I am going to think way out of the box. Imagine -- because Trump is going to give a speech like he gave on foreign policy. He's going to give a speech on his judicial philosophy, we're told. He's going to name 10 to 12 names that he will only refer to as potential Supreme Court nominees. Next president may appoint as many as four.
What if Ted Cruz's name was on there?
M. CROWLEY: Right. Well, that's -- that's probably a private conversation that the two of them will have.
HANNITY: I don't do anything privately.
(CROSSTALK)
M. CROWLEY: ... some sort of negotiation...
HANNITY: We talk about everything publicly here.
M. CROWLEY: Right. Right. Look, Donald Trump is going to give that speech. He's also going to give a very important economic policy speech coming up, where he's really going to focus on pro-growth economic policies, jobs and how to get the great American engine of economic growth...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... hates these speeches, too, don't you, Doug.
SCHOEN: Look...
M. CROWLEY: Once he does that -- he's already done the important foreign policy speech. Once he does the formal and important economic speech, people are going to -- and they've already started doing this -- they're going to look at him in a completely different light.
HANNITY: You think it's over? You think he's going to get it?
M. CROWLEY: Not necessarily. Look, nothing is over until it's over, right? And there's quite a bit of time between now and Cleveland, so anything is possible. But it looks like the momentum is certainly with Donald Trump.
HANNITY: David, I hear you wanting to respond.
LIMBAUGH: Yes, I think his foreign policy speech was incoherent. He contradicted himself in terms of what he's done before, what he advocated in Libya, what he advocated in Iraq. He's on the record contradicting himself with policies he's advocating now.
But I also think these speeches he's giving are designed to assure people that he'll do certain things because they have no idea what he really stands for. He changes from day to day. When he announces judges, they might have a little better feel. But we have no idea what he -- how he -- where he stands on foreign policy. I mean, I we do -- we have a better idea...
HANNITY: All right, we...
LIMBAUGH: But we don't think it's coherent, and he wants to make himself presidential...
SCHOEN: This is my point, Sean.
LIMBAUGH: ... when he's not.
SCHOEN: David's just going off and off and off on Donald Trump.
HANNITY: And I could bring in Bernie supporters that go off and off and off on Hillary!
SCHOEN: You have...
(CROSSTALK)
SCHOEN: You know what?
HANNITY: Yes?
SCHOEN: I think you're going to see...
HANNITY: Actually, not many socialists want to come on with me.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHOEN: ... did a segment with you last week with...
HANNITY: Not many communists that like this show. I don't know why, but it's not in my demographic.
SCHOEN: But look, we will get Bernie and Hillary together by one way or another.
HANNITY: Oh, we'll see. That's going to be a marriage made in heaven.
SCHOEN: Well...
HANNITY: And after Bill's comments about Obama, I doubt he's going to get (INAUDIBLE) I got to break.
(CROSSTALK)
M. CROWLEY: There's a different motivation for that, for Bill Clinton's comments about Obama.
HANNITY: What is it?
M. CROWLEY: Well, you know my theory...
LIMBAUGH: It's not over, you guys. It's not over.
HANNITY: Yes, real quick.
M. CROWLEY: ... that I -- yes, I don't think the Democratic race is over, and I'm not entirely convinced Mrs. Clinton is going to be the nominee, if Barack Obama has something to say about it.
HANNITY: It's going to be Biden.
M. CROWLEY: Well, you and I have talked about -- guess where the vice president was today, and looking tan, rested and ready, Sean!
HANNITY: Oh, boy.
M. CROWLEY: He's in Iraq. This is not a vice president in his sunset year.
HANNITY: All right, guys, good to see you.
As you can see, we are awaiting Donald Trump's rally in California. As soon as he steps on the stage, which we believe is in about five minutes, we'll bring it to you live.
Plus tonight, the NYPD investigating a very suspicious powder sent to Trump Tower today. We'll have a live report coming up.
Also, Melania Trump firing back at GQ magazine after the magazine publishes what's being called a hit piece attacking her and her family.
By the way, quick programming note. We'll be in Indiana tomorrow interviewing Senator Ted Cruz and his running mate, Carly Fiorina. That's tomorrow night, 10:00 Eastern, their first interview together. So set your DVR, 10:00 Eastern.
"Hannity" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: And this is a Fox News alert, and we are awaiting Donald Trump's rally. It is taking place in Costa Mesa, California. As soon as he steps on stage, we'll bring it to you live.
But first tonight, the NYPD is investigating white powder that was sent to Trump Tower in New York City. On the ground with the very latest is WNYW reporter, FOX 5, Sharon Crowley is with us.
Sharon, what's the update here?
SHARON CROWLEY, WNYW: Well, the update is three people are being evaluated that were exposed to the powder in that envelope. Here's what we know. About 8:00 o'clock this evening in the mail room, they got an envelope that was addressed to the fifth floor here at Trump Tower. So they became concerned. They called police. Hazardous materials team came in to confiscate that envelope that was addressed to the fifth floor here. And the reason for the concern, of course, that here at Trump Tower, this is where Donald Trump's campaign headquarters is located, as well.
So three people -- we had originally heard more than that, but just three people were put in isolation, and they're currently being evaluated by medical personnel. They don't know what, of course, is in the envelope. That's being tested, as well.
All this unfolding about 8:00 o'clock this evening, but right now, as you can see around me, the hazardous materials teams are here, the NYPD and firefighters.
You'll remember, of course, that in March, Donald Trump, Jr., his son, also got a suspicious envelope, that one sent to his apartment. That turned out to be nothing. And as you well know, Donald Trump on the campaign trail tonight in California, so he was not here. And Sean, we don't have any comment yet from Trump's campaign.
I'll send it back to you.
HANNITY: All right, Sharon Crowley, FOX 5, New York City in front of Trump Tower, thank you for that update.
Here now with reaction, conservative columnist A.J. Delgado, from The Federalist, Cruz surrogate D.C. McAllister, and the founder and president of High Noon Strategies, Lisa Boothe.
A.J., I'll start with you. Look, I've experienced this. I had an assistant once that opened up a package with this powder. She was put in isolation for eight or nine hours, very, very scary situation. So our thoughts and prayers are with those three people and we hope it turns out to be nothing.
Really intense feelings out there. Do you worry, A.J., as a Trump supporter that at the end of the day, the Republicans will not unite, that the never Trump, never Cruz people won't get along?
A.J. DELGADO, CONSERVATIVE COLUMNIST: No, I don't. I think we're already starting to see that even some among the never Trump group are realizing that, hey, especially after this tremendous speech that Donald Trump gave on foreign policy, that, yes, this is a candidate they can see themselves getting behind, not only for the strength of the country and of the party, but because his policy views and the way he's been conducting himself really do merit that support. So I do think we'll see a slow migration of that crowd into the Trump camp.
HANNITY: D.C., you're supporting Ted Cruz, Senator Cruz. We'll be with him tomorrow night in Indiana. Do you think -- do you worry at all that this -- this contentiousness, this battle, this fury among supporters can be healed?
D.C. MCALLISTER, THE FEDERALIST: I mean, I worry if Ted Cruz goes in on the second ballot becomes the nominee. I think you're going to see an uprising from Trump people, and it's been ginned up by Donald Trump and irresponsible talking that's been going on this entire primary season. So I do think...
HANNITY: I know, but you're answering...
MCALLISTER: ... we need to tone it down.
HANNITY: ... a different question. You're giving me...
MCALLISTER: Well, no, it's about...
HANNITY: ... the political answer.
MCALLISTER: ... unity. You're talking about unity...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... unity in the end, regardless of who wins. Does -- do we get there? I mentioned, you know, people like Rick Perry and John Kasich and Scott Walker and Senator Rubio and all these people. Does everybody come together in the end behind whoever wins?
MCALLISTER: Well, you're talking -- you're talking about the establishment or the anti-Trump people...
HANNITY: That, too...
(CROSSTALK)
MCALLISTER: There's also another side to this, and we have to put the responsibility also on the Trump people for how they have behaved, you know, relentlessly and hostilely going after Cruz supporters and going after, you know, anyone in the establishment, they appears to be in the establishment, whoever that might be. So everyone needs to take responsibility.
I guess what I'm saying, Sean, is take responsibility for your own actions and how you behave this primary season. Clean up...
HANNITY: All right, let me go to...
MCALLISTER: ... language, show respect -- show respect, and I think we can have unity.
HANNITY: OK. (INAUDIBLE) my pin (ph) just fell. OK, Lisa, let me ask you this, because I think this is really important. As you've watched the campaign, you're objective in this, what do you think about the idea -- is it possible to unite the party? There's a part of me that has felt all throughout this insurgency year that you have these establishment people, that they would almost be happy if either Cruz or Trump lost so they can say, Oh, you stupid people. See? We told you so, even though they caused the insurgency by breaking promises, being weak, feckless and ineffective in combatting the Obama agenda.
LISA BOOTHE, HIGH NOON STRATEGIES: Well, I think you're going to see a circular firing squad, no matter what happens because, you know, I mean, you look at Senator Cruz is trying to protect himself as someone who's coalescing the party. We have John Boehner calling him Lucifer, and that just goes to show how split the Republican Party is right now.
We also started this thing out with 17 candidates. But you know, I think that everyone sort of needs to be called out here to some degree because, yes, I do think that Donald Trump has incited some level of rhetoric that has led to, you know, some divisiveness in the party. But then you also look at someone like Jeb Bush, who spent tens of millions of dollars to take down someone like Marco Rubio, and Chris Christie, who also looked to take out...
HANNITY: Isn't the nature of the campaign...
BOOTHE: ... someone like Marco Rubio in a debate so...
HANNITY: But let's say...
BOOTHE: Well, yes, but I'm saying...
HANNITY: If it was (ph) Donald Trump and he's as aggressive against Hillary, don't you think every Republican is going to kind of like that?
BOOTHE: Well, Sean, I think that, ultimately, the Republican Party needs to come together because you're right, the objective here is to defeat Hillary Clinton. I think the Republican Party will come together because I think, ultimately, we're going to have a candidate that gets to 1,237, and it looks like the candidate right now is going to be Donald Trump.
So now Donald Trump -- and it looks like he's taking steps to do that with his foreign policy speech yesterday, and you know, trying to be more inclusive, bring people into the party. And that's going to be...
HANNITY: All right...
BOOTHE: The weight of the Republican Party is going to be on his shoulders to take those steps and to bring everyone together.
HANNITY: All right, guys. I wish we had more time. We are expecting any moment, as you can see right there, Donald Trump's rally in Costa Mesa, California, will begin. As he steps up to the podium, we'll bring that to you live as we continue tonight right here on "Hannity."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
right here. Weight is going to be on his shoulder address to bring everyone together.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." Donald Trump is in California, about to hold a rally. We'll take you there live once the GOP front-runner takes the stage.
Joining us now, Fox News contributor Mercedes Schlapp, the author of "30 Ways in 30 Days to Strengthen Your Family" -- oh, boy, that's something we all need...
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: ... our good friend, Rebecca Hagelin, is with us. And Rose Tennent is from Pittsburgh, and of course, a radio talk show host.
Rose, you have been counting those unbound delegates and those that are now committing. So Donald Trump won 17 for winning the state of Pennsylvania. What is the delegate count now? It has -- The New York Times has Trump at 992 now looking at the committed 54 delegates those, that are going to Trump. What count do you have?
ROSE TENNENT, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: well, we have about 38 that are definitely committed, around that number. Then there are still some who are -- who are uncommitted, but they said they'd go with the district. So we right now are holding those people's feet to the fire and we're demanding that they stay true.
Now, many of them have been called -- in fact, I think almost all of them have been called, and they've all said that, yes, they will remain true to Donald Trump as we go to the convention.
HANNITY: And what about those...
TENNENT: So we feel pretty good about that.
HANNITY: What about the people that said that they would go for whoever the district voted for? What's that number?
TENNENT: Well, that -- that is included -- well, that number is about anywhere from 18 to 20, 18 to 20 of those people have said that they will go with the district winner. And those are the ones that we're keeping a close eye on. As a matter of fact, even Congressman Schuster has just said that he was one of the ones that said he would go with the district winner, and he has been -- we've been told that he is committed to Donald Trump. He's endorsing him, in fact.
HANNITY: You know, let me go to my good friend, Rebecca, who I've known many, many years, and she's supporting Ted Cruz in this campaign. Talk about "30 Ways in 30 Days to Strengthen Your Family" -- I think the Republican Party may benefit from your book, as well, if -- if you call or consider the Republican Party a family because things are pretty contentious out there now.
But that number of 992 kind of puts Indiana in a different perspective, doesn't it, Rebecca? Doesn't it kind of make it now must win for Senator Cruz?
REBECCA HAGELIN, "30 WAYS IN 30 DAYS" AUTHOR: Well, it certainly does. But first, I want to thank you, Sean, for providing the foreword to my book. That meant a lot to me...
HANNITY: It's a great book. It really is.
HAGELIN: ... and you're a great family man, so I really appreciate your having done that.
But yes, Indiana is pivotal. There's no question about it. But one of the things that's really disturbing -- people who want to go ahead and coronate Donald Trump -- they forget that there are a lot of states, a lot of voters who haven't voted yet. And those voters need to feel like they're part of the system.
We see people rising up behind Ted Cruz. We see people unifying around him because Ted Cruz has a message for jobs, freedom, security, a message that matters to families. There's not a family watching right now that doesn't want that extra money in their pocket...
HANNITY: Yes, that's a great point.
HAGELIN: ... that will come from the Cruz tax plan, for instance.
HANNITY: Obama will be -- with the GDP growth at .5 percent, he will be the first president in history never to have a 3 percent growth rate in GDP in American history.
I'll get back to you, Rebecca, but Mercedes, let me bring you in quickly. You're more objective here. 992 is a pretty high number, higher than anybody had estimated going into Tuesday.
MERCEDES SCHLAPP, FOX CONTRIBUTOR: That's right.
HANNITY: How big of an obstacle now does that it make it for the Cruz campaign?
SCHLAPP: Well, it's really tough, and I think that's why you've seen Cruz decide, Let's make my VP pick early. I think that Carly plays an interesting role because I think she plays in areas in Indiana, like in Indianapolis, where you have those sort of fiscal conservatives, maybe not social conservatives that would be Kasich supporters maybe going over to a Carly/Cruz camp.
It's going to be real tough, I got to tell you, because guess what? Trump is spending over $900,000 in television ads, radio ads, and he's making his name and brand very much known in Indiana.
HANNITY: Do you think if he wins Indiana, it's over.
SCHLAPP: I do believe it makes it incredibly difficult for Cruz to regain any momentum. I mean, Cruz is hoping for sort of a replay of Wisconsin. I think for Trump, it's a matter of if he's able to close the deal in Indiana, it's going to be pretty much over.
HANNITY: Rebecca, how do you respond to that?
HAGELIN: Well, first of all, Carly Fiorina is an amazing choice. It shows that Ted Cruz really thinks about who the conservatives are that he wants to help him govern. So a Cruz/Carly Fiorina ticket I think is going to even ignite people more behind Ted Cruz. It's going to unify people, and they're going to look at Ted Cruz and they're going to compare him to Donald Trump and see that Donald Trump...
HANNITY: All right, let me get...
HAGELIN: ... is wholly unqualified to be president.
HANNITY: Final thought, Rose Tennent. Does that help, hurt Ted Cruz? Does it make no difference? What are your thoughts on the Carly announcement?
TENNENT: I think most people see it as a desperate move. I felt very uncomfortable with it last night. I love Carly Fiorina, but this was not the time to be talking about a vice presidential candidate. I mean, I can't even believe that that's what he's discussing right now.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... got to break.
TENNENT: It's way too early for something like that. It really is.
HANNITY: Guys, thank you. We're told I think Donald Trump is taking to the podium in about three minutes. So when we come back, Donald Trump's rally in California. We'll take you there live as he steps on the stage when we come back straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BOEHNER, R-FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: Lucifer in the flesh.
(LAUGHTER)
BOEHNER: In Washington, I have as many Democrat friends as I have Republican friends. I get along with almost everybody. But have never worked with a more miserable son of a -- in my life.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Former speaker of the House John Boehner slamming Senator Ted Cruz yesterday. We continue now with Monica Crowley, Doug Schoen, Mercedes Schlapp. All right, I have got to tell you something. I can't say this strongly enough. John Boehner, shut up. You gave us $4 trillion in debt. You were weak, timid, feckless, visionless, and I have got to be honest, you want to know why Cruz and Trump are doing so well, look in the mirror, because you are afraid of your own shadow that you might get blamed for a government shutdown. So you wouldn't defund Obamacare. You wouldn't use the power of the purse. You wouldn't defund executive amnesty which the Republicans ran on in 2014. You failed the Republican Party. We don't need lectures from you against presidential candidates that are resonating with the American people. Thank you very much. Monica?
MONICA CROWLEY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: John Boehner is the ultimate establishment guy, making these comments in the ultimate anti-establishment year. Does he not realize that regardless of whether he was referring to Ted Cruz or whomever, that those kinds of comments help Ted Cruz? Those kinds of comments help Donald Trump in this environment. He doesn't care, and I'll tell you why.
HANNITY: I think he agrees why.
CROWLEY: Ted Cruz, actually his leadership opposing Obama's radical agenda--
HANNITY: Exactly. Cruz had a backbone, and Boehner had no backbone. Boehner absolutely destroyed --
DOUG SCHOEN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: This actually is good for Ted Cruz to have Boehner who went out with a net negative. Boehner did good work for the Democrats doing a bipartisan budget deal.
HANNITY: Bipartisan. And he also gave us $4.2 trillion he added to the national debt. Great job John Boehner because he wouldn't use the power of the purse.
Mercedes, I agree with Monica, and I hope you agree with me, not helpful in his years so called as leader, and now he's on the sidelines trying to disrupt things. What do you think?
MERCEDES SCHLAPP, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: The name calling is unacceptable by John Boehner. There's no reason why he should be attacking one of our own in the GOP. It's really not helpful to the cause, especially just calling him Lucifer. It just takes it to such an extreme. Fine, you can disagree with the guy on policy, you might not get along with him. But the name calling is just childish and it's very disappointing coming from the former speaker of the House.
HANNITY: Especially one that I think has failed to make a passage.
All right, let's go to a montage of celebrities saying they're going to leave the country. And I have an offer for them. I mentioned it last night. They're going to leave the country if Donald Trump is elected president of the United States. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will Donald Trump be our next president?
SAMUEL JACKSON, ACTOR: If that -- becomes president I'm moving my black -- to South Africa.
EDDIE GRIFFIN, COMEDIAN: If Donald Trump wins I'm moving to Africa. He wants to build a wall to keep Mexicans out. I know --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If any Republican gets nominated I'm going to move to Canada with my entire family.
(APPLAUSE)
RAVEN SYMONE, ACTOR: I already have my ticket. I literally bought my ticket, I swear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're not a citizen of Canada.
SYMONE: It's OK. I'll make it. I'll make it. I'll figure that out.
REV. AL SHARPTON: If Donald Trump is the nominee, I'm open to support anyone while I'm also reserving my ticket to get out of here if he wins only because he'd probably have me deported anyway.
LENA DUNHAM, ACTRESS: I know everyone is idly threatening, but I'm 100 percent moving to Canada. I love Canada and I think it's a great place, and there's an area in Vancouver that I find beautiful and appealing, and I can conduct business from there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And we can look, there you have the names. Lena Dunham, Miley Cyrus, Samuel L. Jackson, Cher, Sharpton, Raven Symone, Jon Stewart, goodbye, comedian Eddie Griffin, who I never heard of.
I will pay, and I think this is a pretty generous offer, Doug, I will pay a one way ticket to the country of their choice. I'll even make it first class. I will include champagne and caviar for these limousine, Learjet liberals. But under one condition, one stipulation. I think this is fair. They have to promise to never come back. Go and stay away, you crybaby. I sucked it up for eight years under Obama and the disaster that I predicted came true.
SCHOEN: Let me say something. I'm first and foremost an American. This is the greatest country in the world. If Donald Trump is president, I will be a supporter of his efforts to get America moving again.
HANNITY: Yes, but you're a good guy.
SCHOEN: It's an important issue. I'm for Hillary, but I'm an American first. I'm proud of that.
HANNITY: I got to take a break. We just got the two-minute warning that Donald Trump will be taking the stage in his rally in California. That and more as we continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Donald Trump is about one minute away from taking the stage. We continue with FOX News contributors Monica Crowley, Doug Schoen, Mercedes Schlapp, and the founder and president of High Noon Strategies Lisa Boothe. By the way, Lisa, do you like my idea? I'm going to give a one-way ticket those that say they'll leave if Trump becomes president, champagne wishes, caviar dreams, with the stipulation you can never, ever come back.
LISA BOOTH, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Sean, this should be Donald Trump's new bumper sticker. If you vote for him, Lena Dunham is going to leave the country. What more do you need to entice people to vote for Donald Trump here.
HANNITY: Well, he's about to make it to the stage right now. As you can see, another huge rally. Crowd size matters, doesn't it, Monica?
CROWLEY: Absolutely, because, first of all, it indicates the real grassroots, the core, and the movement that he has created and developed around him. But also it feeds into the image of momentum.
HANNITY: Let's listen in, Donald Trump taking take to the microphone in Costa Mesa, California.
(APPLAUSE)
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Thank you, everybody. Man, we've got a lot of people.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: A lot of people. This is incredible. We love you. We love you. Oh, you better get out on June. Remember, June 7th. You better get out. We're turning it around.
I want to thank that group. See what it says, "Latinos for Trump." I love that. Thank you. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: I love that sign. It's true, too. So thank you to everybody.
You know, this is a place -- I love California. I love this state. Great feelings. We want to bring on some friends. We have some friends, the Remembrance Project. They were outside and taking a picture. I said come on stage with me for a couple of minutes. And these are incredible people. They lost loved ones to illegal immigration. And they're unbelievable. They've suffered. I've gotten to know them over a period of time. And come on over here, folks. Come on.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: These are great people. They've become my friends over the last couple of years, and they have really suffered. And a friend of mine, he's really become a great friends of mine, Jamiel Shaw, who is -- I mean, he had a son who was an incredible, incredible son going to college on a scholarship. He was going to get in on a scholarship, great football player.
And I just want him representing the group to say a few words and explain what happened. And it's tough. It's tough, but your son died with unbelievable purpose because what's happening, and when they hear the story we'll all understand, and then we're going to get back to other things, including jobs, Jamiel, right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
TRUMP: OK. Jamiel Shaw, great friend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Thank you. I just want to bring it back to the day that Donald Trump was coming down the escalator and which everybody saw that very first day. I was watching it too, and I felt so proud because for the first time -- my son died was murdered in 2008, but when I saw Trump and what he said, for the first time it gave me real hope, you know, real change, something to hope for, there's something to hope for because we know -- we know what Trump is going do. He's going to do everything he says. That's why everybody is so scared right now, because they know change is coming. Change is coming.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And on March the 2nd, 2008, me and my son we went to the football camp in Pasadena, and it was designed for guys who was going to be division one athletes. So we worked hard. He was 17 years old. On the way home from Pasadena he asked me can we go to the mall. Of course I was worried and I ignored him, thinking maybe he would just forget about it. He asked again. And he's a good kid, never been in trouble, never been in jail, no gangs. Never suspended from school and did everything right, like a lot of our kids were. They were living the so-called American dream which everybody's trying to get the American dream, but they give us the American nightmare. It's not right.
So on the way home I let him go to the mall and hang out. I told him by home by 7:00. And 7:00 came and I called him and I said where you are at. He said I missed the bus. We're on our way. We're safe, though, dad. We're safe.
I said, man I would have come and got you. You should have called me. Use a real cab, you know. I said I'll call you in an hour. I called him back and said where are you? He said I'm right around the corner. I was like, he made it back home. I told his brother get your clothes on because we're going to get track spikes because he had a track meet that Friday, and we're going to come home and get something to eat. And just when I said that I heard two gun shots. It was so crispy. People who know guns know that crispiness is real close.
I remember saying, damn, I hope this boy is not dead. I called his phone and he didn't answer. I went outside -- laying in the street dead. Shot in the head. I couldn't believe it. Even to this day I couldn't believe it. I come to find out an illegal alien on his third gun charge. We hear people talking about ban guns, ban guns, but we have an illegal alien on his third gun charge never been deported. The last one, he had assault with a deadly weapon, battery on a peace officer, resisting arrest. They put him in a county jail for eight weeks.
HANNITY: We're going to take a quick break. We'll come back, and more when Donald Trump takes back to the stage as we continue tonight on "Hannity."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TRUMP: We continue with Donald Trump's rally underway in Costa Mesa, California.
TRUMP: -- from the Middle East that are brought in, and we have no idea who they are. There is no documentation, there's no paper work. We're putting them all over the country by the thousands. And we have no idea what the hell is going to happen. We have no idea.
So look, folks, we're going to straighten it out. I tell you, I was very honored because this last week, the border patrol, these are amazing people. They want to do their job. They're not allowed to do their job.
They're told to stand back, don't do your job. Just stand back. And they endorsed me, 15,500 border patrol agents.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And when we let them go to it, they're going to be great even before the wall gets built.
But we will build a wall. Mexico is going to pay for the wall. We're going is to stop drugs from coming in.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: The drugs are poisoning our youth and a lot of other people. And we're going to get it stopped, OK, we're going to get it stopped.
And I'll tell you this, let me just tell you. But I see all the Hispanic signs and the Latino signs. And I love the people. I love the people. African-American signs, I love that sign, by the way.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And we're going to do great with the African-Americans, with the Hispanics, because we're going to bring jobs back to our country. We're going to -- we are going to bring jobs back to this country. Our jobs have been sucked away like you take candy from a baby. We're not going to let it happen anymore, folks. We're not going to let it happen.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: So, we have to be tough. We have to be vigilant. We have to be strong. I tell this story. Good, thank you, darling, I love you, too. Thank you. Look at that. Great. But I tell this story, and in a way it's a rough, rough, story. But this country is so politically correct. We don't get anything. We don't understand anything.
(BOOS)
TRUMP: We don't understand what is going on. We don't understand. And it's the story of General Pershing. Do you know that story? Does anybody know it? It's a rough story. And they were having a tremendous -- this is before the First World War. They were having a tremendous problem with, really radical Islamic terrorism. They were having an unbelievable problem.
General Pershing was a tough, ruthless general. He won't do well today because he was too tough, he was too ruthless, and probably used foul language. So he'd be out. They won't even allow him.
So this was the problem that was really out of control, many people being killed. And we have a president who doesn't want to use the term. And by the way, Muslims, great people, tremendous people. We're all great people. But we understand when there is a problem you have to bring up the name. It's called radical Islamic terrorism. I have many Muslim friends --
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: I have many Muslim friends that call me and they say thank you, Donald. We all want to cure it. But you can't cure a problem if you don't want to mention what that problem is, so for whatever reason.
So General Pershing was sent there to solve a really serious terror problem. They caught 50 radical Islamic terrorists. They caught them. They took the 50, they lined them up. They took a pig and then they took a second pig. And they cut the pig open. And they took the bullets from the rifles, and they dumped the bullets into the pigs, and they swashed it around. And then they took the bullets and shot 49 of the 50 people.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And the 50th person, they said, take this bullet, and bring it back to all of the people causing the problem and tell them what happened tonight. He took the bullet. He brought it back, that 50th person. And for 42 years, they didn't have a problem with radical Islamic terrorism, folks, OK? Believe me.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: So, we're going to have to get a lot tougher than we are because we have problems that you wouldn't believe. During one of the debates we have this guy, Lyin' Ted Cruz. We know Lyin' Ted, right?
(BOOS)
TRUMP: Nobody likes him, I've never seen a guy like this.
CROWD: Lyin' Ted! Lyin' Ted! Lyin' Ted!
TRUMP: Have we branded this guy, or what? I mean, he probably -- he probably, I see him walking into these beautiful corridors in Washington. A guy said, "Hey, Lyin' Ted, how are you doing?"
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: He's a liar. I've never seen. I go along and I talk about health care, I talk about this. He'll go two hours later, "Donald Trump loves Obamacare." By the way we're going to repeal it and replace it, just so you know.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: He'll say "Donald Trump wants to absolutely get rid of the Second Amendment." We're going to protect our Second Amendment. This guy, this guy is so bad. Then, he makes a deal. He got beaten so badly in New York and then in Pennsylvania, in Maryland and Connecticut and Rhode Island, right?
HANNITY: All right, that is all the time we have left tonight. Thank you for being with us. We'll see you tomorrow night with Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina.
END
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