Gingrich: Trump's most powerful week since entering race
Former House speaker explains on 'Hannity' how the Republican nominee has shown leadership
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," August 19, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And welcome to this special edition of "Hannity," "Road to the White House: Trump's Agenda." Now, it's been a big week for the Republican presidential nominee. He has given major speeches on fighting radical Islam, protecting the homeland and restoring law and order. He traveled to Louisiana earlier today to visited Americans impacted by historic flooding and crafted a powerful political message.
Now, Trump's campaign has also undergone changes. He added key people to top his campaign posts, and he accepted the resignation of Paul Manafort.
Tonight for the hour, we'll get into all these stories. But first, let's take a quick look back at the week that was Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I have a message for the terrorists trying to kill our citizens! We will find you! We will destroy you! And we will absolutely win, and we will win soon!
We're not taking it to them, and we have to take it to them.
Anyone who cannot name our enemy is not fit to lead our country.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Our border will be protected, and our children will be safe, very, very safe!
We will make America strong again, we will make America safe again, and we will make America great again, greater than ever before!
It is time for a change. What do you have to lose by trying something new? I will fix it. Watch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Here with reaction, former speaker of the House -- Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich is with us. Mr. Speaker, great to see you, as always.
NEWT GINGRICH, R-FMR. HOUSE SPEAKER, FOX CONTRIBUTOR: It's good to see you.
HANNITY: The week that was -- this was a pretty amazing week, from my perspective, I would argue even the best week he's had in the campaign. Reason? I think he stood on message. He only talked about Obama and Hillary, talked about failures, and he offered solutions to some very significant problems that we face as a country and a world, and then, of course, his trip to Louisiana earlier today.
GINGRICH: Well, I think this was clearly the best week he's had since he announced last year, and I think you're right. Part of what made it so powerful a week is he showed leadership. He showed leadership on dealing with the irreconcilable wing of Islam that threatens us with terrorism. He showed leadership in Milwaukee in working with Sheriff Clarke and with Mayor Rudy Giuliani to develop a very powerful speech on very short notice and delivered it very well.
He showed leadership in North Carolina. He showed leadership in going to Louisiana at a time when you have Barack Obama golfing and not able to get off a vacation. You have Hillary Clinton apparently tired and taking a day or two off to rest. And so you saw real leadership.
And finally, in his speech today in Michigan, his direct appeal to the African-American community, his clear statement that he wants to be a vehicle to change their lives, to offer them a chance to have safety in places like Milwaukee and Chicago and Baltimore that he wants to represent all Americans.
I don't know of any Republican presidential candidate in modern times who has had the willingness to reach out and include all Americans in their appeal. And that makes, I think, this the best week so far of his campaign and potentially a historic turning point in defining Trump versus Clinton.
HANNITY: We have 81 days to go now. If we're looking for the secret sauce, I think right now it's about winning days and putting days together and winning weeks in a campaign, and I think that's very pivotal, leading up to important debates.
But objectively speaking, from my perspective, him staying focused on Hillary and Obama's failures and talking about real issues and talking about how bad things have gotten and how much better things can be -- it seems to be a special sauce there. That seems to be working versus getting distracted by maybe an off-the-cuff comment, and using a teleprompter. How important going forward is that he continue this?
GINGRICH: Oh, I think it's tremendously important and I think he's winning with it. And I think -- you know, he's a very smart guy and I think he's going to do what works. And the fact is, he's the one who insisted on Tuesday in Milwaukee that they use a teleprompter because he knew that what he wanted to say was so compelling, and at the same time, so potentially dangerous that you had to say it with great clarity and with great discipline, and that's exactly what he pulled off.
And I think you'll see a lot more of this. I also think adding people of the caliber of Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway mean that he's going to have a drive and an energy and a detailed understanding of social media that will really be remarkable in helping him fashion what he wants to achieve. He clearly wants to win.
HANNITY: What do you think about Paul leaving?
GINGRICH: Well, I don't know what (ph) all the details work. I thought Paul did an important job in getting through the convention and getting the camp more of a national campaign, more of a professional campaign.
My guess is that Paul was being very generous in recognizing that all of the news media was never going to let up on whatever happened in Ukraine, unlike their willingness to ignore Podesta and Clinton in Russia. And so I think probably, in that sense, this was the right outcome. But nobody should underestimate how much Paul Manafort did to really help get this campaign to where it is right now.
HANNITY: It's very interesting. You mentioned his speech in Michigan earlier today, and I think it was very similar to his reach-out just outside of Milwaukee to the black community. We have a 58 percent increase black Americans on food stamps since Obama's been president, 20 percent increase black community out of the labor force since Obama's been president.
And what was interesting is on Monday, when he talked about ISIS, he talked about the persecution of women, gays, lesbians, Christians and Jews in countries like Saudi Arabia that give Hillary money. And then he talked about the black community. Then he talked about the same thing.
And then he said this in North Carolina. I think we'd be negligent if we didn't play what he said last night that got so much attention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Sometimes, in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words or you say the wrong thing. I have done that.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And believe it or not, I regret it.
AUDIENCE: Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump!
TRUMP: And I do regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain. Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues. But one thing I can promise you this. I will always tell you the truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: That I thought was a huge moment. What was your reaction to that?
GINGRICH: Well, first of all, the country thought it was a huge moment, the number of people who told me they thought it was a huge moment.
Look, Donald Trump is a remarkable person. I mean, he's extraordinarily smart and he is remarkably successful and he's a great competitor. But he had a little difficulty -- it was almost like a contest between his stubbornness and his IQ. His IQ really knew that he had to move to a new level, that he had to become a real presidential alternative. His stubbornness said, Wait a second. I've always been this guy. I carried 37 primaries. You know, why am I having to change?
And I think what you've seen this week is literally -- I don't know if he'll like the term or not. You've seen a more mature, and in a way, a more humble Donald Trump, a guy who's beginning to realize that seeking to lead the most complicated country in the world, seeking to lead 325 million people is a real burden and that you've got to think through in a very special way how you're going to lead the American people and how you're going to bring them together.
This has been a week where he's talked over and over about bringing people together in a way that's really very, very important.
You know, it's interesting because Hillary had her post-convention bounce. Trump had his. And now the polls begin to tighten again. You had Rasmussen and Zogby within 2 points this week, LA Times .6 percent difference.
Do you see this -- well, let me ask you this straight up. Do you think he wins this?
GINGRICH: Yes, for two reasons. First of all, I was privileged to sit through a two-hour briefing over at the Republican National Committee outlining all the things they've learned about Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton. It is so staggering. We haven't seen 10 percent of what we're going to learn in September. She is going to drown under the impact.
And you're seeing it, by the way, already when you have somebody like former Democratic governor Ed Rendell, who is also a former Democratic national chairman, saying they ought to close the foundation. when you see The Boston Globe, a liberal paper, say, Close the foundation. Every Democratic candidate in the country in the next 20 days will be asked by the Republican candidate, Are you for closing the Clinton Foundation?
HANNITY: By the way, they...
(CROSSTALK)
GINGRICH: ... because it's a cesspool of...
HANNITY: ... not even going to close it unless she wins! And she said she would have closed it when she was a senator!
GINGRICH: Well, first of all, here's -- here's the real problem. Whatever they say now about what they're going to restrict, you have to ask...
HANNITY: Yes!
GINGRICH: ... so why didn't you do that when you were secretary of state? Because it is admitting that there is at least an appearance of corruption. And frankly, given what I've seen in the last 24 hours, there are case after case after case.
So my first point, Sean, is she's going to lose. Now, when she loses, Donald Trump's going to win. But my second point and the reason I'm so excited about his week is Donald Trump is on the verge of creating a genuinely historic movement which brings together Americans of all backgrounds, not just Republicans, but potentially a bigger coalition than Reagan had.
And that's where his appeals -- and he's meeting tomorrow with Latino leaders in New York -- you're going to see more and more effort, I think, for them to bring all Americans together to make America great again. That to me, the combination of his doing positive things, as she sinks, could lead to a historic election.
HANNITY: All right, Mr. Speaker, thanks for being with us. We'll have more with Newt Gingrich right after this break. Don't go anywhere.
Coming up next, though, as well...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism just as we have defeated every threat we've faced at every age and before. But we will not -- we will not -- remember this -- defeat it with closed eyes or silenced voices.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Donald Trump laying out his plan to take out ISIS, defeat radical Islam and protect the homeland. Newt Gingrich will react to Trump's big speech from earlier in the week.
And then later tonight, Trump is making changes to his campaign staff. Chairman Paul Manafort has now stepped down, and two new advisers are filling top spots. Doug Schoen, Mercedes Schlapp -- they weigh in and much more tonight on this special edition of "Hannity."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism, just as we have defeated every threat we've faced at every age and before. But we will not, we will not -- remember this -- defeat it with closed eyes or silenced voices.
A new immigration policy is needed immediately and (INAUDIBLE)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: We should only admit into this country those who share our values and respect our people. In the cold war, we had an ideological screening test. The time is overdue to develop a new screening test for the threats we face today. I call it extreme vetting. I call it extreme, extreme vetting!
One of my first acts as president will be to establish a commission on radical Islam, which will include reformist voices in the Muslim community who will, hopefully, work with us. We want to build bridges and erase divisions. The goal of the commission will be to identify and explain to the American public the core convictions and beliefs of radical Islam, to identify the warning signs of radicalization and to expose the networks in our society that support radicalization.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Donald Trump earlier this week laying out his plan to defeat ISIS and radical Islam. We continue now with the former speaker of the House, FOX News contributor Newt Gingrich.
All right, before I get to what he just said there about extreme vetting and -- and certainly, putting this commission together, I think it's important -- we now know the president lied, Josh Earnest lied, John Kerry lied. The Iranians told the American people the truth about ransom paid for hostages. They specifically said they would never do that, and then they got caught and they had to admit it.
What should happen?
GINGRICH: Well, I think we should defeat Hillary Clinton.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: I agree with that.
GINGRICH: Yes, I mean, look, I think -- I think the Congress ought to hold hearings, they ought to make sure it's all in the public record. But the truth is, if you have an entire administration dedicated to being dishonest, it is very hard under normal circumstances to control them.
That's why this election's so important.
I mean, how could anybody who is angry about Kerry and Obama and Earnest -- how could they possibly tolerate a Hillary Clinton presidency? Because she-- she lies more than they do. She is vastly more corrupt than they are. I mean, nobody's ever actually suggested that Obama is corrupt, but she's actually corrupt. And that she is -- she's -- she has misused the office...
HANNITY: Oh, we learned more this week. (INAUDIBLE) clearly, she sold access and...
GINGRICH: Right.
HANNITY: ... and profited from her office for the Clinton Foundation.
GINGRICH: But here's why Trump so central to America's future. He's the first politician who's been willing to really take on the entire corrupt establishment. You have the big banks, who if they told the truth during 2008 and 2009, would have -- all of their CEOs would have lost their jobs.
You have the lobbyists in Washington, many of whom have behaved in ways that are totally indefensible, and their whole job was to win for their client, not to put the country first. You have the big unions, the teachers union, who doesn't care if the students fail to learn, if their lives are ruined, as long as the teachers union gets what it wants, which is money.
You go down the list. You have the big donors, the people, the George Soroses of the world, who want globalization at the expense of the American people. When you go through all of that, you realize they can't tell the truth about what they're doing any more than Obama -- if Obama had told the truth about ObamaCare -- you're not going to keep your doctor, you're not going to keep your insurance...
HANNITY: Never passes!
GINGRICH: ... your premiums are going to go up, your deductible is going to go up, they'd have been slaughtered! They -- he would not have gotten reelected!
HANNITY: Yes.
GINGRICH: And so they've consistently chosen lying, if that's what it takes to survive.
HANNITY: You know -- and the American people have suffered. And I give out the numbers all the time about poverty, food stamps, labor participation, lowest home ownership rate in 51 years, one in five American families, nobody in the family works, you know, the worst recovery since the '40s.
Let me -- let me go to Trump's comments, though. If we're going to protect this homeland and you have people coming from countries that practice sharia, which is the antithesis of our constitutional republic, our very own Constitution, our rule of law, about the treatment of women, gays, lesbians, freedom of religion and thought -- Saudi Arabia contributes to Clinton, she doesn't criticize their practices at all. They discriminate against all those people.
He talks about extreme vetting. To me, it's common sense, but there are Americans that think somehow, that is bigoted or unfair. I think if somebody wants to come here, don't they have to assimilate?
GINGRICH: Look, I watched Jim Woolsey, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency under Bill Clinton, former deputy secretary of the Navy under Jimmy Carter, and Woolsey said immediately after the speech, this is exactly what we did in the cold war. We understood we were up against communism, not just the Russians, we were up against communism. And therefore, we vetted you to make sure you weren't a communist dedicated to undermining our country, or we wouldn't let you in.
What Trump has done is he has raised the core question about what is at its heart an ideological war, and that is you -- I'm very much for legal immigration if you want to become an American. But I am not for somebody who comes here whose goal is to subvert and destroy the Constitution. And we have every right as Americans to defend ourselves and to defend our way of life and to defend our institutions of freedom.
HANNITY: What do you think of his idea for a commission on studying and coming up with strategies and tactics to deal with radical Islamists?
GINGRICH: Well, it'll depend, first of all, on who you appoint because if you pick somebody from the Muslim Brotherhood, the commission will be destructive (ph). But given the people like General Flynn, who Trump is relying on, I think they'd pick good people.
I thought the commission was a brilliant idea because we have to find a way to get right in the heart of this conversation about what is acceptable, what isn't, what should we be looking for in potential radicalization. For example, if you find out that you have a mosque which preaches jihad and which is recruiting people to go and join ISIS, I think there's a point here where that national safety transcends the right of that mosque to preach hatred.
And those are the kind of things that are very delicate. You got to think it through. Again, New York under Giuliani and Bloomberg had a remarkable police program. They probably did the best job of anybody in America at tracking down radicals, and they stopped a lot of potential attacks because they were proactively looking for radicals before they killed somebody.
HANNITY: All right, Mr. Speaker, thank you so much for being with us.
GINGRICH: Good to be with you.
HANNITY: We appreciate it.
And coming up next on this special edition of "Hannity"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The only way to change results is to change leadership!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Donald Trump on message this week, prosecuting the case against Hillary Clinton while explaining his positive agenda to solve America's problems. Doug Schoen, Mercedes Schlapp -- they join us next with reaction.
And later tonight...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Law and order must be restored.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Trump promising to restore law and order if elected president. His attorney, Michael Cohen, will join us later tonight.
That and more on this special edition of "Hannity" as we continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: To achieve this new American future, we must break free from the bitter failures of the past and reject the same insiders telling us the same old lies over and over and over again! 33,000 e-mails, gone.
(BOOS)
TRUMP: The only way to change results is to change leadership!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Donald Trump earlier tonight in Michigan. Now, all week, the GOP nominee has been on message, hammering Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama while offering up his own solutions, and of course, adding more people to his campaign staff.
Joining us now with reaction, Fox News contributors Doug Schoen, Mercedes Schlapp. Doug, this is exactly what you didn't want to have happen, and that is Trump on message, focused on Hillary and Obama, talking substantively and showing a lot of leadership. And Hillary's got her feet up and phoning it in to the governor of Louisiana and talking basically about Trump. This is what you said you didn't want to see happen.
DOUG SCHOEN, FOX CONTRIBUTOR: That's absolutely right, but we got a long way to go for this race to be fundamentally changed. Look, the polls have tightened, Sean. That's clear. The swing states remain strong for the secretary...
HANNITY: But this is what you fear.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: You fear Donald Trump on a teleprompter. You feel (ph) him on message.
SCHOEN: I do. Sure.
HANNITY: You fear him -- and you fear him...
SCHOEN: I haven't seen the money yet. Show me the money. The Clintons'll have $2 billion for negative commercials on Donald Trump. As I've said, so far, they're just beginning four-state advertising. Sean, you got to tell your candidate he's got to step up and write a check if he's going to be serious.
HANNITY: Well, he can afford it, Mercedes, right?
SCHOEN: He can. He hasn't done it.
MERCEDES SCHLAPP, FOX CONTRIBUTOR: And I'd like to add that his fund- raising numbers, especially in the last couple of months, have been impressive. And they've come, a majority of them, from small donors who are contributing to his campaign, which has been fascinating to watch.
So I think to -- Sean, to your point about the messaging and why the Democrats should be scared, believe me, I wish this would have happened several months ago, where they would have had Kellyanne Conway up, you know, in the top of the helm here.
But I think we have the reality of seeing a Donald Trump that is -- is not only the businessman that wants to fix the problem, but we're also seeing the compassionate side, something that Ivanka Trump has mentioned several times before, of talking about her dad and the man with the big heart, the man who tries to do things and help people. And that is something that I think works (ph) incredibly effective, especially when you're looking to try to gain ground with women, suburban moms. That's a big group that you're looking to try to...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: I think what he did today, and last night saying he had regrets, that time are too serious...
SCHLAPP: I think it worked!
HANNITY: I think it was pretty powerful. All right, let's -- let's take -- this was Donald Trump earlier in Michigan talking about, well, the president golfing as, you know, over 100,00 people have lost their homes in Louisiana.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The spirit of the people is incredible. And honestly, Obama ought to get off of the golf course and get down there!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: You know, Doug, not only Obama -- well, he's not running for office, so I guess he can be the real person he is. But Hillary, her feet up, literally phoning it in, calling the governor! It gives new meaning to the term "phoning it in" now!
SCHOEN: Look, if I were running the campaign, which I'm not, I would have had the secretary of state in Louisiana...
HANNITY: Late. Late.
SCHOEN: I would have done it as soon as possible, and if I were Donald Trump, I would get there, too. Activism is as important as going to big rallies attacking the incumbent.
HANNITY: Mercedes, I think this is going to be a big moment, and it sort of -- go ahead.
SCHLAPP: I think -- I think so, Sean, because I think for Donald Trump, this is about the personal touch. This is about the connection to the American people. Look, Louisiana's a Republican-leaning state. He didn't have to go down there and visit. But while Obama is golfing, going to this swanky fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, where's Donald Trump? He took his plane down there. He met with people. And that is part of being the -- this empathetic, this sympathetic figure that American people are always looking for, especially for those victims of natural disasters.
I think for Obama and for Hillary Clinton, this is like their own version of Hurricane Katrina that it appeared very disastrous, and I think it was a mistake on the campaign.
HANNITY: All right. Guys, thank you both for being with us.
And coming up next on this special edition tonight of "Hannity"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Law and order must be restored.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Donald Trump explaining how he would bring law and order back to the country if elected president. Michael Cohen, Trump's attorney, weighs in next.
And then later tonight --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm asking for the vote of every African-American citizen struggling in our country today who wants a different and much better future.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Also, Donald Trump this week reaching out to African-American voters. Ebony Williams and James Harris, they're here with reaction. That and more as we continue tonight on "Hannity."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JACKIE IBANEZ, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good evening. Live from America's News headquarters, I'm Jackie Ibanez.
Storm victims who lost their homes from the massive flooding in Louisiana will soon have a place to stay. State Governor John Bel Edwards says the short-term housing and flood is on the way, food, that is, is on the way. FEMA will be providing hotel rooms to those affected. Nearly 4,000 people are still living in shelters following the storm. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump toured the damage today. President Obama will visit next week.
American swimmer James Feigen is on his way home right now. The U.S. Olympic Committee says the Olympian is currently on a flight that left Rio earlier tonight. Feigen was given his passport back after paying nearly $11,000 for falsely reporting a crime. Meantime, teammate Ryan Lochte posting on Instagram where he was apologizing for his role in the incident. Lochte and Feigen were accused of vandalizing a gas station.
Now back to "Hannity."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Law and order must be restored.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: It must be restored for the sake of all, but most especially for those living in the affected communities of which there are many.
We will once again be a country of law and order. Together, we will make America strong again. We will make America safe again. And we will make America great again, greater than ever before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Welcome back to this special edition of "Hannity: Road to the White House: Trump's Agenda," that was Donald Trump earlier this week talking about his plan to restore law and order to American cities and communities, and his outreach to the black community in particular. Here now with reaction from the Trump Organization, his attorney. What's up, Mr. Cohen. How are you, sir?
MICHAEL COHEN, THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Sean, how are you?
HANNITY: This is something that very early in the campaign, I remember you and I discussed this. You had a meeting with Mr. Trump, you told me. And he said to you he wanted an outreach out to the black and Hispanic communities. And you then reached out to a whole group of pastors, including our mutual friend Darrell Scott in Cleveland, and you've been working this. That speech was a culmination, really, of establishing relationships for months, right? That didn't come out of nowhere.
COHEN: Not months -- years. It started going back to 2011 when he was initially contemplating a presidential run in 2012. So my relationship with Darrell Scott now goes on for over five years. We would speak on a regular basis.
HANNITY: Regularly?
COHEN: Regularly, especially when the Knicks were playing Cleveland.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: So this is all part of that. And I know he is a passionate Trump supporter.
COHEN: He is not the only one, though. Through Pastor Scott, through Pastor Mark Burns, through Omarosa, La Belle, and Pastor James, we are well in excess at NDC Trump with just African-Americans well in excess of 100,000 people. And I was on a competing station on their show, and --
HANNITY: There is no competing station, Michael.
COHEN: There is no one that competes with you, Sean.
HANNITY: Thank you.
COHEN: But what she turned around and she said is that Mr. Trump is polling between zero and one percent with the African-American vote.
HANNITY: Actually the L.A. Times poll has him higher than the last eight presidential candidates at 14.6 percent.
COHEN: Yes, 14.6 percent.
HANNITY: Aren't you surprised I knew that before you said it.
COHEN: Actually, I am. I have mine written down.
(LAUGHTER)
COHEN: But 14.6 percent, and that is just the beginning, because with his comprehensive message, when he was so on point for the problems that exist in the African-American community. And if you speak to Pastor Scott and the 100 other black evangelical preachers that I am friendly with that all came to speak to Mr. Trump, they will tell you in unison that Mr. Trump understands what is necessary within which to fix the problems that exist in their community.
HANNITY: Since Obama, and I will talk about this, we're going to deal specifically with this issue later in the show tonight, but if you look at the numbers since Obama has been president in the black community, a 58 percent increase of black Americans on food stamps. Now you also have 12 million more Americans on food stamps. And then you have a 20 percent increase, black Americans, since Obama has been president that are out of the labor force. I don't see those policies helping black Americans. So I think the opportunity to say there is a better way certainly exists, and obviously this relationship you're building with Mr. Trump and the minority community and these pastors is working.
COHEN: I totally agree. And it is working, and the numbers will be reflected come November of 2016.
The problem that the Clinton camp has is that they're taking for granted, as the Democrats have for many, many years prior, they're taking for granted the African-American vote. They make all of the right statements, they make all of the right promises, but they deliver on nothing. And it almost takes these communities not just for granted, but it doesn't take into consideration that they know what they need. They know what they want, and they're ready for it.
HANNITY: Let me ask you this. And I think that Donald Trump has the best week since the convention. Let's examine why I think it was that way. Number one I feel he was on teleprompter. I think he is going to be more prone to, not even -- I won't say gaffes, but saying things that the media can then just totally distract and distort for four days. So I like the fact that he went to the teleprompter this week. I like the fact that he only talked about Obama and Hillary and not other people. I like the fact that he outlined all of the problems they've created and he offered his own solutions. If he did that for the next 81 days, I would argue he would be president of the United States.
COHEN: And I would agree with you. I think it was an amazing speech. I think it was comprehensive.
HANNITY: Two, two speeches.
COHEN: That's right. They were comprehensive. They were direct, and they really hit home for a lot of people because the response that has come back has been extraordinary. What do they understand about Donald Trump? He's a deal maker, possibly the best in the history of the world. He understands problems, but better than that, he's a problem solver. And that's what this country needs. No more promises, no more take advantage of the American people for my own pocket. Donald Trump doesn't need that. He's plenty rich.
HANNITY: You got a promise yesterday that Hillary Clinton, if elected, won't except any more foreign donations from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman --
COHEN: What is the difference? How many billions of dollars in the Clinton Global Initiative that's already there. She doesn't need more. It's more than any 10 families could earn in a lifetime.
HANNITY: Of course, she doesn't criticize their bigotry towards women and gays and lesbians and Christians and Jews.
COHEN: Why would she? It's not part of the narrative.
HANNITY: No, she takes the money and they buy her silence.
COHEN: Good to see you.
HANNITY: Good to see you, brother, thank you, sir.
And coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm asking for the vote of every African-American citizen struggling in our country today who wants a different and much better future.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Donald Trump slamming Democrats for failing African-American voters. We will check in with Eboni Williams and James Harris. They're here to weigh in on that and more on this special edition of "Hannity" straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to this special edition of "Hannity." So during a major speech earlier this week in Wisconsin, Donald Trump reached out a lot to African-American voters. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We do a direct disservice to poor African-American residents who were hurt by the high crime in their community, a big, big unfair problem.
I'm asking for the vote of every African-American citizen, struggling in our country today, who wants a different and much better future.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: It is time for our society to address some honest and very, very difficult truths. The Democratic Party has failed and betrayed the African-American community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Wow, powerful words. Here with reaction, radio talk show host James Harris, Fox News contributor Eboni Williams. Guys, good to see you both.
I will say this. I think that Republicans, conservatives, if you look at the statistics in the last eight years, black Americans, 58 percent increase on food stamps. Obama hasn't helped them. A 20 percent increase black Americans not participating in the labor force. He is not helping them. And I do believe conservative policies would help every American. But you have to ask people for their vote and support. I love this speech.
EBONI WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: That's right, Sean. I think there is a compelling case. I think Donald Trump made it around indicted some of the policies that have aided generations of dependency and things of this nature. So he spoke to that I think very eloquently.
Here's the other half of the problem, though, Sean. He's got to say not only why Hillary Clinton and what she is talking about is bad, here is where I am good. He can talk specifically about entrepreneurship opportunities, school choice, things of that stuff.
HANNITY: Let me tell you what he did say. He talked about schools, he talked about drugs, he talked about policing. But think about illegal immigration. One thing, disproportionately black Americans have been impacted, illegal immigrants come into the country and they want jobs. They are competing with 95 million Americans out of the labor force, 20 percent increase of black Americans, and they're driving wages down, right?
WILLIAMS: I know people who have personal anecdotes about that. My mother is a small business owner, absolutely.
HANNITY: By the way, I love your mother, as a side note.
(LAUGHTER)
WILLIAMS: And she loves you right back, Sean Hannity. No, you're making good points, and I would love to see your candidate --
HANNITY: What do you mean my candidate? He's also yours, too.
WILLIAMS: Donald Trump, I would love to see Donald Trump build on what he's started.
HANNITY: James, what do you think about that? You know, Obama said the right stuff. This is white America, black America, the United States of America, and now we're more divided than ever along racial lines. That's sad to me. But I do look at these numbers, the lowest home ownership rate in 51 years. One in five American families, not a single person working in that family. Men 18 to 34, one in six in jail or living in mommy and daddy's basement. The worst recovery since the '40s. People -- 14 million more Americans on food stamps since Obama became president. He's not helping anybody.
JAMES HARRIS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: If Obama -- I'm sorry. If Trump wants to win this thing, he needs to continue to talk the way he did in Wisconsin. I disagree with you slightly. He doesn't need to talk about immigration. Law and order, safe neighborhoods, if he wants to get and keep the black vote, he needs to talk about that and also offer a vision of economic prosperity. If he does that, I think it will resonate because who doesn't want to live in safe neighborhoods, Sean, and who doesn't want to get paid?
HANNITY: I agree. But don't you think he went a long way? I thought it was refreshing. Think about this, Monday he talked about gays and lesbians being killed by countries that are giving a fortune, millions and millions of dollars to Hillary Clinton, they bought her silence. Then Tuesday he's talking about black Americans and how they've suffered under the failed policies of Democrats, the failed management of big cities in America, and now he's going to get them more jobs and more economic opportunity. It's a pretty powerful message.
HARRIS: It was a very powerful message. And what I'm saying is, if he sticks to that message, if he's disciplined and continues to hammer that message home, he will find success. All he needs to do is look in Obama's backyard of Chicago. Since he has been president, actually over the last 20 years, you've seen the murder rate explode. And 71 percent of those murders were complicated b committed by blacks. You have 51 percent of the kids born in that city in the black community are to single parent families.
And so when you talk about whether or not there's been prosperity, if you talk about whether there's been success in these Democrat-owned cities and these Democrat-run communities, the answer is a resounding no. They keep doing the same thing over and over and over again and expect a different result. That is the definition of insanity. So you would think that at this point in time Americans of African descent would be willing to ditch Democrat policies and embrace economic opportunity.
HANNITY: Last word.
WILLIAMS: Willing to ditch, absolutely. But they've got to do it in favor of something that makes sense to them. This is Donald Trump's opportunity, Sean, to speak specifically, speaking to Chicago, education. Talk about Rahm Emanuel, talk about how the public schools were not open, people were shot and killed. These are very glaring examples Trump has at his disposal.
HANNITY: Good to see you both. Thank you, and both of you have a great weekend.
WILLIAMS: Thanks, Sean.
HANNITY: And coming up, we need your help. A very important "Question of the Day" on this special edition of "Hannity," straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: And time for our "Question of the Day." So what do you think of Trump's big speeches both on radical Islam and law and order this week? And do you think this is maybe the secret sauce to winning the election, staying on message, only talking about Obama and Hillary Clinton, and offering solutions to our country's problems?
Go to Facebook.com/SeanHannity, @SeanHannity on Twitter, let us know what you think.
Before we go, quick programming note. On Tuesday we will be doing a town hall on the border with Donald Trump in Austin, Texas. Think of all the problems we have with the border, think about the impact on our educational system, health care system, criminal justice system, and of course national security, competition for 95 million Americans out of the labor force. Want to be a part of audience? You can come join us. Just go to Hannity.com for details and tickets.
Hope you have a great weekend. Thanks for being with us. We'll see you back here on Monday.
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