Conway on school safety sessions: Trump is always listening
Senior counselor to Trump Kellyanne Conway discusses the president's efforts to prevent school shootings on a CPAC edition of 'Hannity.'
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," February 22, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: Hello, CPAC. How are you all doing?
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I can't -- I can't hear CPAC. Let me hear you.
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So glad you're here. Grab a seat. Have some fun. You ready to have a party tonight? Together, we're all going to save America with a little -- are you happy with the last year, the progress?
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Anyway, welcome to HANNITY. We're broadcasting live tonight from CPAC 2018. We have a lot of breaking news we'll get into in the course of the next hour.
The president is now taking the lead to protect America's school children and schools by, you happy about that, by holding listening sessions, offering up ideas and solutions. Meanwhile, predictably the Democrats, the abusively biased news media, they are playing the same old blame game, hoping to score cheap political points in their push for gun control.
And also new tonight, on this very stage, NRA CEO, executive vice president Wayne LaPierre blasted critics for trying to blame his organization for the tragedy in Florida.
And then you've got the fake news network CNN proving they are incapable of having a fair, intellectual fact-based debate about guns in America and pro-Second Amendment speakers like Dana Loesch who is here with us tonight.
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Was shouted down, called a murderer and worse, and a student now accusing today the fake news network of actually scripting the questions.
Now, it's not the first time CNN has done this.
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We will expose all of this. Are you ready for our breaking news opening monologue?
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Let's hit it.
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HANNITY: All right. In the wake of this tragic school shooting in Florida, President Trump is showing some very strong leadership. He is now trying to find ways to keep America's schools safe, our kids safe. And during another White House listening session earlier today, the president -- he offered up ideas and solutions.
Let's take a listen to what he had to say.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to harden our schools, not soften them up. A gun-free zone to a killer or somebody that wants to be a killer, that's like going in for the ice cream. That's like here I am, take me.
We have to get smart on gun-free zones. When they say it says this is a gun-free zone that means that nobody has a gun except them. Nobody is going to be shooting bullets in the other direction. And they see that as such a beautiful target. They live for gun-free zones.
I think a concealed permit for having teachers and letting people know that there are people in the building with gun, you won't have, in my opinion, you won't have these shootings, because these people are cowards. They are not going to walk into a school if 20 percent of the teachers have guns.
It may be 10 percent or may be 40 percent.
And what I would recommend doing is the people that do carry, we give them a bonus. We give them a little bit of a bonus.
But the NRA is ready to do things people like to blame them and they do have power and all of that. But they want to do -- they actually came up with certain of the rules and regulations that we have now. But we're going to have to toughen -- I told them and said, we're going to have to toughen them up.
We really do have to have offensive measures, also. I know people don't like talking about it. But we need offensive as well as defensive. We have to be totally defensive. But if we don't have offensive measures, within these schools, we are just -- you are just kidding yourselves, folks.
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HANNITY: All right. You have to give the president a lot of credit because instead of engaging in the same old tired back and forth, repeating the same talking points, the politicians, the media use after these tragedies, he is actually trying to come up with solutions, solving the problem.
Here's the bottom line. We have a choice in all of this. Do we keep having the exact same political debate that we have had ongoing since Columbine that's not going to change anybody's minds or do we actually fix the problem? Do we want to protect our children?
Remember, after 9/11, well, we fixed the problem of aircraft security and I am a very strong supporter of the Second Amendment. I'm sure people in this room are as well tonight.
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Predictably, the left and the liberal media that are talking about getting rid of the Second Amendment, or talking about confiscating guns like Australia for a minute, let's take politics out of all of this. Let's just focus on the issue, how do we keep our kids safe in school?
The president saying he wants solutions and that's why he sat down with students and parents and teachers and governors and state and local officials. He talked and he listened. And by the way, he wants to have a positive impact.
This is a simple truth. The left and the media can talk all they want about banning certain types of weapons used by these evil maniacs. But the thing is you could never stop the evil that exist in some people's hearts.
And if you take away and you ban one weapon, these killers, those with evil intent will use something else. We have already seen this happen. Let's go back to the Virginia Tech shooting, the deadliest shooting in the history of this country and in that case the shooter used pistols.
And what the left, the media cannot seem to comprehend or don't want to comprehend is that evil exists in this world there are murderers, there are rapists. There are child molesters, there is evil. And, by the way, if they don't use a rifle in the case of these school shootings, then it's going to end up being a handgun the next time. And then after that, if it's not a handgun, it's going to be another type of weapon or tool.
Remember the Boston bombers, they used explosives that were made from every day products that are readily available. Other terrorists have used trucks, vans, and cars. Others have used knives. Are we going to ban everything?
And as much as the left and the media want to think that the government can fully stop these killers with regulations and laws, they cannot. Because people that have this evil, they will always find a way to cause pain and suffering and inflict maximum carnage.
The only thing that comes with banning weapons is that you will infringe on the rights of constitutional law abiding American citizens that have the right to protect themselves and their families.
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What's missing are real solutions to protect these innocent kids. You know, speakers of the White House, in this listening session, they brought up a lot of great ideas and solutions that we have been discussing on this show.
In the case of the Florida school shooting, there were warning signs all over the place about Nikolas Cruz. We knew that he was mentally ill. We knew he was unstable. We knew he was capable of doing something.
The students all seemed to know it and the same goes for the teachers. There are reports that police were actually called to Cruz's home 39 times over a 7-year period. That's a pretty good indicator. Cruz got into trouble at school. He threatened students. He wasn't allowed to carry a backpack at the school. And he was eventually expelled from the school.
'The Miami Herald' reports that school officials actually sent out an email warning teachers about Nikolas Cruz. And then, of course, you have his social media footprint, had you pictures with guns and knives and disturbing photos.
Then, of course, the FBI they were called and warned specifically twice about Nikolas Cruz and they did not follow up. Now, in other words, every bit of evidence to indicate that this was going to happen was right there in front of us. People saw something, said something, and nothing happened, they did nothing.
We're also learning two new disturbing pieces of information tonight. And according to that report, the school security cameras were on a nearly half hour delay which slowed down law enforcement and their ability to capture Nikolas Cruz.
And the Broward County sheriff saying the armed security officer on campus didn't enter the building when the shooting was taking place. And instead, the officer took a defensive position outside of the school.
This is why we need solutions. We need ideas. We need to fix the problem. We need to protect our kids.
And here's the thing. We already know what works. And there are things that we use every day in office buildings and airports and courthouses and other government buildings and other facilities.
The key if you want to solve the problem is security and it's not really that hard. Every school in this country needs to have a comprehensive threat assessment that can be done by retired or former police or retired former military, special ops.
These schools are soft targets.
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We need to harden the perimeters around these schools. And for those of you worried about the cost, really? Are we going to be cheap when it comes to defending our kids?
Because I also guarantee you, these former officers and veterans, they would line up and volunteer to help their community to keep our kids safe.
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These assessments need to include ways to secure the perimeter, control every point of entry. And from there, if these experts determine that it's needed, you need to put an ID system in place, zero exceptions. They need to know everybody that goes into that school.
I work in two office buildings in New York. One for radio, one for TV. If you don't have a work ID, you are not allowed entry. Visitors are vetted through a security system. And you must show your ID. And then you usually checked in case you have any metal objects going in.
And from there on a case-by-case basis, if some schools need it, they should have metal detectors and other security measures. And finally, you have to have an armed security presence at every school in America and you can hire -- right?
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Retired veterans and police officers.
Schools can no longer be soft targets. You have to have people there who can fight back and challenge and confront any potential threat.
And when you think about the statistic that was brought up at the White House listening session yesterday, the average shooting -- school shooting lasts only three minutes. It takes police on average six to eight minutes to respond, which, by the way is incredibly fast.
But why not already have somebody on the scene that is armed, that is trained and ready to respond and save lives at a moment's notice?
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We take potential security threats against politicians. Look at the security at the Oscars for these prima donna celebrities at the red carpet.
They have every ounce of security you could ever dream of. Why wouldn't we do the same thing for our children?
And, in addition, right?
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And in addition, to all of that, we also need a much better way to identify and help these kids that are obviously in trouble. There has to be a system put in place to spot kids that we think are disturbed. We need to help them, get them the help that they need.
And we have to put a focus on social media whether it's someone physically monitoring it or easier, somebody reports what's going on in the case of this particular kid, Nikolas Cruz.
Also on this stage earlier today, the NRA CEO executive vice president Wayne LaPierre. He was here at CPAC.
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He delivered a fiery response to liberals in the media that are trying to blame his organization for what happened in Florida. LaPierre also challenged them to do more to protect schools and to protect our kids. Here's what he said.
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WAYNE LAPIERRE, NRA CEO: Chris Murphy, Nancy Pelosi, and more, cheered on by the national media, eager to blame the NRA and call for even more government control. They hate the NRA. They hate the Second Amendment. They hate individual freedom.
In the rush of calls for more government, they have also revealed their true selves.
The elites don't care not one whit about America's school system and school children.
It's a bizarre fact that in this country, our jewelry stores, all over this country are more important than our children. Our banks, our airports, our NBA games, our NFL games, our office buildings, our movie stars, our politicians, they are awful more protected than our children at school. Does that make any sense to anybody?
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HANNITY: Wayne LaPierre, right? Good points.
He also pointed out how the NRA has led the effort in many ways to keep the guns out of hands of criminals and from people that shouldn't have these weapons.
But, of course, if you are watching -- well, the corrupt media in this country listening to Democrats in Washington, they will never tell you that because we are only interested in demonizing, attacking the NRA, the Second Amendment supporters, it is all predictable and it is all pathetic.
For example, you have to -- all you have to do is look at what's happened during fake news CNN's gun control, quote, town hall last night. Facts, differing opinion didn't matter. CNN stacked the deck against Second Amendment supporters.
Just take a look -- Dana Loesch will join us in a minute -- at how she was treated last night.
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DANA LOESCH, NRA SPOKESWOMAN: Let me answer the question. You can shout me down when I'm finished, but let me answer Emma's question.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: You're a murderer.
LOESCH: They spoke about before the president made a move and they spoke about that before Attorney General Jeff Sessions made an announcement too. That answers your question with that.
SHERIFF SCOTT ISRAEL, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA: And I understand you are standing up for the NRA and I understand that's what you are supposed to do. But you just told this group of people that you are standing up for them. You are not standing up for them until you say I want less weapons.
LOESCH: We had three lawmakers on this stage and only one of them hinted at reinforcing the background check system. It is only as good as the record submitted to it. Only one of them even got anywhere close to mentioning that.
We have to have more than 38 states submit records. That's number one. Number two.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: You're a murderer.
LOESCH: We have to develop better protocol to follow up on red flags.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Dana will be here in just a second. And also, you heard people saying burn her. Wow.
Think about that. How can anybody have a serious conversation when one side is literally calling the other side murderers and screaming that they need to be burned?
Fake news CNN, they are not interested in solutions. This was all about creating political theater. As a matter of fact, it did nothing to solve the problem.
Fake news CNN also has another serious problem on their hands. Colton Haab, he's a Stoneman Douglas High School student. He actually saved lives during the shooting. And is he reporting that CNN actually tried to script his questions at last night's town hall that he didn't end up participating in because he wasn't going to be a part of that farce.
Here is what that student told our own Tucker Carlson earlier tonight.
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TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: I want to make sure I have this strait so you sent them a long in effect essay on what you thought, but they put their own words in the question and they weren't the same as the words you had said and they were the producer's words?
COLTON HAAB, FLORIDA STUDENT: Absolutely. They had taken what I had wrote and what I had briefed on and talked about, and they actually wrote the question for me.
CARLSON: But not with your words. I mean, they put their own words into your questions, even after they asked to send questions.
HAAB: Absolutely.
CARLSON: That seems dishonest.
HAAB: It definitely did. And that's kind of why I didn't go last night. Originally, I had thought that it was going to be more of my own question and my own say and then it turned out to be more of just the script. And she had actually said that over the phone that I need to stick with the script.
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HANNITY: So the student is saying.
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Fake news scripted his questions. And what did you call them?
AUDIENCE: Fake news.
HANNITY: Oh, OK.
And they are saying they would never provide scripted questions and Colton's father withdrew his name from participating before the show began.
But this is not the first time that the fake news network has been accused of scripting questions. Michelle Malkin put out a great article in January of 2016 for 'The New York Post.' Here's the headline,' 'CNN's long history of allowing Democratic town hall plants' and here are just a couple of the many examples she found.
2007, CNN YouTube debate. Quote, undecided voters literally included a member of the LBGT Americans for Hillary Clinton steering committee. A John Edwards supporter that asked questions about abortion. A log cabin Republican that was really backing Barack Obama. A concerned mother that was a union activist for United Steelworkers that it endorsed John Edwards and former intern for Democratic Congresswoman Jane Harman.
We know that the former DNC chair, former CNN contributor Donna Brazile leaked town hall questions to the Clinton campaign. So, they had advantage over Bernie Sanders in that case.
All right. Ready to debate this, we have two segments, stay with us. Joining us now on stage, NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch who was there last night.
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Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich, Fox News correspondent at large Geraldo Rivera.
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Great to see you.
And Dan Bongino.
DAN BONGINO, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: What's up, bro.
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HANNITY: This is great.
First, I want to say I obviously didn't watch because they are on at the same time, but I watched later. And number one, you did a phenomenal job under the most difficult circumstances.
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HANNITY: Bring us behind the scenes. You were called a murderer, burn her, what else?
LOESCH: Yes, well, let me set the stage for you and first off, I want to say that it's hard being a teenager, it's hard being a grieving teenager and it's hard being a grieving teenager who's been exploited by the media and made to grieve or ask to grieve publicly on the national stage.
This was an arena full of survivors, victims' parents and other community members. There were over 7,000 people that were in this arena, Sean.
And when we entered you kind of entered like you were Floyd Mayweather going into the ring. I mean, literally, you came in from part of the arena and walked through between all these people. And you got up on stage. It was pretty chaotic.
It started even before I got up on stage to talk. And I, the whole reason why I showed up there is because the NRA is made up of over 5 million members who are also parents.
HANNITY: I'm one.
LOESCH: You're one of them and you're a parent. And we didn't do anything wrong.
We weren't the ones -- I mean, why is it that we are held responsible when here as you mentioned just today we learned that the sheriff's office, here had you a deputy who waited upwards of four minutes before they went. And, Sean, we also found out, it was reported this morning that the parents had reported this murderer to police before.
There is a report out there. The records have been discussed in media, where they said they told police he had threatened people with a gun before. He has held a gun to other's heads. Now, I'm not a member of the FBI. I'm not a member of law enforcement. I love what they do and appreciate what they do.
HANNITY: You are not doing this because you are being paid.
LOESCH: I have been a Second Amendment supporter and NRA lifetime member for a long time.
HANNITY: That was a cheap shot by the sheriff.
LOESCH: That was a cheap shot by the sheriff because he's trying to cover his backside.
HANNITY: He has a liberal point of view, that's fine but what he did was wrong.
LOESCH: It was wrong and he has questions to answer.
HANNITY: All right. Let me ask you one quick question, as I got -- we have you for two segments which is great. What other names were you called while on that stage?
LOESCH: I was called a see you next Tuesday. They said burn her. Murderer. I heard a lot of murderers. And they tried to -- they chanted me shame as I walked out. I did not. I look at every single person.
HANNITY: So, they wanted Jerry Springer?
LOESCH: Honestly, that's --
HANNITY: We have Geraldo.
LOESCH: Yes, CNN should have let --
GERALDO RIVERA: The original Jerry Springer.
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(CROSSTALK)
LOESCH: But that's when CNN should have let their cameras go because that was the money shot they wanted, I'm sure, right? People try to rush the stage. There was a woman who rushed the stage.
HANNITY: That's scary.
LOESCH: And at one point, Jake Tapper said -- turned and looked at me and said, do you have an escort, you need to get out of here right now. You have to get out of here right now.
HANNITY: That's scary.
LOESCH: And if I did not have a three person detail with me, I would not have gotten out of the arena.
HANNITY: That's scary.
LOESCH: And that is not exaggeration.
HANNITY: In all fairness, Geraldo, one of my best friends in life. We disagree on some things. You believe in Second Amendment.
GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: I do.
HANNITY: You agree with what I outlined for security measures.
RIVERA: I absolutely agree with it. But Dana said, it is hard being a teenager. It is -- I'm the father of five, four of them have passed through the teenage years. It is hard being a teenager. So, why in the world does the NRA resists raising the age for the purchase of these deadly weapons from 28 to 21 as the president advocates? This simple change, this simple change, I want the NRA to embrace the change.
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RIVERA: I want the NRA -- here is a kid who was visited 39 times by the cops. Here is a kid they wouldn't let him carry a knapsack into the school.
LOESCH: They banned the backpack but didn't ban him.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: I'll tell you what we're going to do. I will say this, if -- there are so many signs, it is embarrassing they didn't get this kid earlier.
RIVERA: He can't buy a beer, Sean.
HANNITY: But we'll come back and we'll continue. We'll pick it up. I promise, we have a full segment next with our panel.
Later, Kellyanne Conway on the stage right here at CPAC, straight ahead.
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HANNITY: All right. As we continue from CPAC 2018, still with us, Dana Loesch, Katie Pavlich, Dan Bongino, Geraldo Rivera.
All right. Let me give Dan a chance to respond to Geraldo and what he was saying, he doesn't want young people -- by the way, young people that are mentally disturbed, nobody wants them to have a gun. I don't think there is one person here if you are -- if the cops come to your house 39 times, they only came to mine 29 when I was young.
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HANNITY: So, but in all seriousness --
RIVERA: That's my point.
HANNITY: That kid is troubled. We knew he was troubled.
BONGINO: Sean, we all agree, Geraldo, this kid should have not been anywhere near a firearm. But it's entirely disingenuous argument to say we are going to send our 18-year-olds overseas by the way with the very same weapon to fight for your freedom, theirs and everyone else, and then when they come home and say by the way, you are not emotionally mature enough to use that almost exact same firearm in a lesser format in many cases when you are on American soil. That is an entirely ludicrous article.
RIVERA: Why do we keep these kids from booze? Why?
PAVLICH: It's not a constitutional right.
RIVERA: They're evolving as people.
BONGINO: That's a straw man argument. It's not the same thing.
RIVERA: They are going through angst.
BONGINO: You didn't answer my question.
HANNITY: One at a time. Go ahead.
BONGINO: You didn't answer my question. Why do we send them overseas with a firearm to defend our freedom and then tell them --
RIVERA: You mentioned it is the exact same weapon. I know.
HANNITY: Hang on, let me bring in Katie Pavlich. Katie?
KATIE PAVLICH, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I think we need to stop calling this guy a kid, first of all. He was 19-years-old. He was not a child. He was 19-years-old. He was a grown adult. Hold him responsible for his actions. Stop giving him a way out.
Second of all this, is a direct result of the government failing at every single level. The third thing that we need to family size is that teachers are willing to step up. Not all of them, but some of them. This is not a new concept.
Teachers around the country and this school district all over the place have stepped up to the plate. They are armed. They are ready to take on a violent --
HANNITY: Katie, let me ask you, it would be better that teachers teach. I'm not against teachers having guns in the classroom if they want and they are trained. What about retired police, or retired military, they're for that job?
PAVLICH: That's fine, Sean. But they can't be everywhere. Let me tell you, this isn't coming from me. This is not my opinion. I talk to teachers, I know teachers who are in the classroom who are firearm owners for 30 years who are trained.
HANNITY: Yes, they should definitely have them.
PAVLICH: The Gunsite Academy come out today saying they are going to offer free training to superintendents and presidents of school boards to make sure they know what they're doing. They are begging to --
HANNITY: Your point.
LOESCH: The NRA has a school shield program that has reinforced and hardened schools, 150 schools so far across the country.
One of the things that you would ask Geraldo was about age restriction.
Sutherland springs murderer was 27 years old. Are you telling everybody here that you think making this guy wait a couple of years is going to solve his psychosis?
GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEW ROAMING CORRESPONDENT: I'm telling that you Saturday night I sat this close to the President of the United States who described to me the nature of the wound of those children in that hospital.
He was so deep -- wait a second. He was so deeply impressed and moved and troubled.
LOESCH: He is doing his job as president.
RIVERA: He has now adopted.
LOESCH: Listening.
RIVERA: This juvenile assault weapons ban as part of his program. We need to do something. It won't solve the problem. But the NRA, if it doesn't want to be on junkie of history will adopt this modest reform.
AUDIENCE: Boo.
LOESCH: That is one of the reasons why Dan and I and NRA.
RIVERA: Do you want to do nothing? Do you want to do nothing? Do you want to just do nothing? Just leave it the way it is.
LOESCH: Geraldo, do you want a solution or do you want to scream?
First off, this is what Dan and I.
HANNITY: Make sure our audience at home can hear.
LOESCH: I want to answer.
HANNITY: You agree armed guards.
RIVERA: Yes.
HANNITY: OK. So everybody here agrees with that? They want to do something.
RIVERA: I had a vice principal who in the summertime was a New York state trooper. He would be and he was a football coach. He is a perfect guy to have a weapon.
HANNITY: Okay. At school?
RIVERA: In school.
HANNITY: Dan.
LOESCH: What about 20-year-old women like me who didn't live at home. I lived out on my own. We lived at home alone.
RIVERA: How can you argue?
LOESCH: Are you saying that we can't be armed.
RIVERA: That a pistol is just as deadly as AR-15.
LOESCH: It's ok if somebody has something chambered in 2-2-3. I don't think you first off understand ballistics or understands firearms number one.
(CHEERS)
(APPLAUSE)
RIVERA: 30 assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I don't understand ballistics?
LOESCH: Do you want me to take you to shooting?
HANNITY: Hang on, one at a time. Katie go ahead.
PAVLICH: The reason why the age limit for handguns is different than the age limit for semiautomatic rifles is due to the 1968 firearms act. The reason why handguns are 21 is because Congress at the time focused on the fact that handguns were use in a majority of crimes. Well, that is still the case today. Which is why the numbers still stand.
HANNITY: That was Virginia Tech.
PAVLICH: Correct. The majority of crimes that we see carried out with handguns, -- with firearms, 45 to 65 percent of them are with handguns. 2.2 percent of them are carried out with rifles. The other thing I want to address.
RIVERA: Five out of the six last massacres were ar-15.
PAVLICH: Let me finish my point. You talk about -- you just admitting that what you are calling a juvenile assault weapons ban won't solve the problem. You are not allowed to infringe on people's constitutional rights if it won't solve a problem.
HANNITY: Dan Bongino, hang on. Real quick.
DAN BONGINO, FORMER SECRET AGENT SERVICE: It is a small step but it is a positive step.
PAVLICH: You just said it won't solve anything.
RIVERA: It's a small step.
BONGINO: This entire debate is based on a faulty premise that Geraldo you are falling into this trap, ok? Criminals don't give a crap about gun laws, they don't. Guys, listen, what is the defining characteristic of a criminal? They are outlaws. They don't care about rape laws, robbery laws, burglary laws, gun laws. You are not slowing them down.
RIVERA: This is a same defeatist attitude that prevents us from doing anything.
BONGINO: No, it's not defeatist.
HANNITY: No, Geraldo, focus on me for one second. We agree that we need -- if we put retired police and military in the schools we do threat assessment.
RIVERA: And enhanced background check?
HANNITY: Geraldo, what I'm saying to you is we all agree that we could secure every school with armed retired military and police. Do you agree with me?
PAVLICH: Teachers if they choose.
RIVERA: Sean, five of the last six massacres were committed with AR-15s. There is a reason for that.
AUDIENCE: Boo.
RIVERA: All of the booing and all of your activism pails when you see those dead bodies and those children mangled.
HANNITY: Last word, Dana, we got to roll.
LOESCH: Very quickly, 8 of the last mass casualty incident, this were individuals known to the FBI who dropped the ball.
HANNITY: I agree. This was a real debate tonight. So let's give it up for everybody here. Thank you all. Kellyanne Conway as we continue from CPAC. That is next.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want my schools protected just like my banks are protected just like everything else. I get a kick.
I was watching a politician weak ineffective politician last night I will tell you the name but I don't want to embarrass anybody. He was talking about no guns no, this, no that. He is surrounded by three guys carrying guns. When are they going to give up their guns? They are not going to give up their guns, but he wants everybody else to have no guns, all right?
And have you plenty of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: That was from today's listening session that was at the White House, two days in a row following this horrific mass shooting last week.
Well, the President has now shown leadership. He is trying to find solutions? Keeping our schools and kids safe. Joining us now a big warm CPAC welcome to the counsel to the President, Kellyanne Conway.
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(CHEERS)
Wow. All right. So, is there have been a lot of school shootings, like a lot of issues. Everybody talked about opening ANWAR and nobody did it until President Trump did it?
KELLYANNE CONWAY, WHITE HOUSE COUNSELOR: Right. Moving Jerusalem.
HANNITY: Everyone talked about moving the capital to Jerusalem, nobody did it, but Donald Trump. Is he going to solve the problem with school shootings?
CONWAY: I believe can he and he will. I think we should all be grateful that Donald J. Trump is the president at this time.
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And for the President of the United States, to hold back-to-back sessions yesterday and today, today public safety, school safety with elected officials, with commissioners of the police the sheriffs and educators you have the mayor of Parkland, Florida has been a remarkable woman throughout this. For him to do this yesterday and today. And yesterday to have the parents and students there and those who suffered over the years including the mass shooting in Florida. Sean, this the man who always is listening?
He has listened to the angel moms and dad. He listen to the Obama care victims, he listen to the coal miners and the families and the business owners coming to the White House and how they would spend the tax savings they would get from any cut. Big business, small business, to inspiring entrepreneurs, to young people all across this country whose future is more prosperous, more safe because of him. He has now taken this all the way into, I think, a scourge on our society. And there are many.
For the President of the United States to welcome these people into his house yesterday. They were in the state dining room, and to just listen, he didn't make it about himself as politicians often do. He didn't interrupt them. He spoke very little. Very sparingly. He and the vice president had took into account all of the -- I think the emotion and grief, but also the purposefulness.
HANNITY: We just played a clip of the President. He also spoke yesterday about how the average school shooting is over in three minutes. Even the best first responders as great as they are, they need six minutes to get there.
CONWAY: Yes.
HANNITY: That is why and he made another good point, all these politicians, all these celebrities, all these people that would like to disarm Americans that aren't willing to put retired armed military, retired armed police in the schools, they are usually pretty well protected with their own security forces of armed people like at the Oscars, et cetera.
So there is a lot of hypocrisy here and the lectures that come from people that themselves have security and armed guards is a little -- falls flat, at least on my ears and most people here.
CONWAY: This President is pretty adept at pointing out hypocrisy. I think in this case it's been said by many people over the last week and true that if we really care about our children, and we all do in this country, then we have to at least protect them like we have many places stadiums.
HANNITY: Banks.
CONWAY: Banks have been talked about.
HANNITY: Concerts.
CONWAY: Clearly where there is a celebrity. I watched our children I think they are our future heroes. And there are celebrities in their own right and households. They deserve the same protection as many people who can afford it have.
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HANNITY: I have a scenario that I think everybody at home and everybody here, I want you to just think about for one second. If god forbid you ever find yourself in any administration building, I don't know where or have this would ever would happen and there is an active shooter. Would you or would you not want retired, armed, military, retired armed police on site so you have a fighting chance?
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I think we owe that to America's children as a simple fundamental basic front line of defense.
CONWAY: The president made that point again and again today. Second consecutive day he had the cameras rolling and the microphones open the entire time. Unrestricted, unrehearsed and unfiltered and I would say quite unexpected. He made that point today that we need to harden our target and our schools need to be places were, a would-be mass murderers believes the he or she is not going to have their way there. That if they know they can't easily get in and do their damage they will think twice about that. And he made that very clear. He came in really tough today about that, because he want to make sure we solve this once and for all.
These are necessary conversations and not easy solutions. I think we should give the President and Vice President and others great credit for having that conversation.
HANNITY: What do you make of the liberal media and just within seconds and hours they're out there with their predictable talking points and attacking the president?
CONWAY: Really missing the essence of what yesterday really was about. If you listened very carefully to the people in that room. And they had the floor. They came there with ideas. They came there with certainly with controversies. I think that the disagreement in the room yesterday over policy from this effective family reflects very much the disagreement across this country. That disagreement needs to be heard. And the different ideas need to be aired. And what I believe is that they still have I think many people in the media trying to get the story. I think there are still too many trying to get the President. And it's unfortunate what happened after a day like yesterday where even some of his fiercest critics say it was a very positive event. It was a very good thing for him to have hosted at the White House. At the same time, anybody who came away yesterday and took one little snippet and tried to manipulate anybody's words is really being disingenuous as to the tone and content of the entire event and being quite disrespectful to the people who were in the room and who are really the ones speaking.
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HANNITY: Kellyanne Conway let's give her a big CPAC welcome. We appreciate it and hang on. Coming up, new developments on the phony anti- Trump Clinton bought and paid for dossier, Sara Carter, Gregg Jarrett, Matt Schlapp all next. Stay with us.
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HANNITY: All right, tonight, Fox News has confirmed David Kramer, former State Department official, aide to Senator John McCain has invoked the Fifth and will not testify about the anti-Trump dossier's Russian sources to the House Intel Committee and joining us now from the American conservative union, he put CPAC together every year. The one and only Matt Schlapp, Fox News contributor, investigative reporter Sara Carter, Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett. This is a big deal, especially in light of Devin Nunes now saying he wants an answer from Obama officials for 10 questions, specifically related to the phony bought and paid for Russian dossier that Hillary tried to manipulate the American people with.
SARA CARTER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah, it's very significant, Sean, because if you look at who they are asking these questions, these are senior Obama administration.
HANNITY: We know Clapper, Brennan.
CARTER: Yes. We know Clapper, Brennan and Comey are all being asked. There are quite a few other state department officials I know for sure. I don't want to go in that direction until we verify it yet. There is quite a few people involved here. Now with David Kramer this is significant and important, because he was a state department official. Remember, he was the guy who went to get the dossier for McCain and he brought it back. The FBI already had the dossier. We know that the FBI had obtained that dossier earlier that summer. He goes back. He gets the dossier. And he is pleading the fifth, because he doesn't want to answer one question in particular.
HANNITY: And what is that question?
CARTER: Did he leak it to BuzzFeed?
HANNITY: Gregg Jarrett, what's fascinating. Fusion GPS, the FBI, nobody verified the dossier. And then they brought it Comey even said in January of 2017 to the President-Elect, it was salacious and unverified, but in October they went before a FISA court and the bulk of that FISA application was that phony Hillary Clinton bought and paid for dossier and they never told the FISA Judge that it was Hillary Clinton bought and paid for. They put a footnote in, it may be political.
GREGG JARRETT, FOX NEWS LEAGL ANALYST: It's arguably six different felonies for doing that the Kramer thing is interesting, because he appeared before the intelligence committee December 19th and he said I know who Steele's sources are and the committee said who are they? He said I'm not going to tell you. So they slap him with a subpoena to make him tell them and now he invokes the fifth. Why would he do that? Maybe he didn't know the sources and didn't tell the truth which is why he may be invoking the fifth. It's hard to know sources Sean that don't even exist. If he knows the sources and he is invoking the fifth to protect them. That is an illegal use of the Fifth Amendment privilege.
HANNITY: Let me ask Matt a different question, a little off beat. You know, everyone says oh the President is a nationalist populist. I have been a Reagan conservative 30 years in radio. 23rd year on Fox. I see him as a Reagan conservative the way is he governing.
MATT SCHLAPP, CHAIRMAN OF CPAC: Absolutely.
HANNITY: I know you take heat.
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At CPAC every year, but you are having the biggest crowds. The president will be here tomorrow. It's going to be a mob scene.
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SCHLAPP: That is right.
HANNITY: And I see him as a conservative, how do you see it?
SCHLAPP: I just think these terms all this jargon and all this lingo, you got to break them down. I'm ok with a president who is patriotic and who will fight and cares for our country. Other people say, he is a nationalist. And I think that they don't get the fact that if you believe that the government is too big and does too much, if you believe we should have constitutionalist judges and you think the tax code should not take all of our money, and redistribute it.
HANNITY: Isn't this all Reagan? You have not said one thing that is not Reagan.
SCHLAPP: Exactly. What I say is get rid of all the titles and the jargon and look at the actions and people who are still in this never Trump mantra they are intellectually dishonest. They told us he wouldn't govern as a conservative. That is just not what he did.
HANNITY: What's the next phase, we only have a short period of time with the dossier.
CARTER: We certainly know that the inspector general I mean, is looking into this. The DOJ.
HANNITY: They should know in a couple of weeks.
CARTER: Yes we should know in a couple of weeks. That is regarding the handling of the Clinton email server but that extends, because we know he is investigating the Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. We also know that Senator Grassley had made a criminal referral on Christopher Steele and that is going to be very important.
HANNITY: We have a lot more on tomorrow night's Hannity.
CARTER: Absolutely.
HANNITY: You guys have done a phenomenal work. Matt great job with CPAC.
Thank you for having us. When we come back, more Hannity and a lot of football throwing.
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HANNITY: All right, unfortunately, you have a good time CPAC?
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Thank you for another great year. Don't forget the President will be here tomorrow and Fox News have live coverage, we will be back in New York tomorrow night. Remember this show, I promise, I pledge my solemn vow we will always be fair and balance, we are not the destroy-Trump media. We will give you news and information you won't get elsewhere.
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