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Published March 20, 2017
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," February 3, 2017. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST (voice-over): Tonight--
SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Today's sanctions really represent a very, very strong stand against the actions that Iran has been taking.
HANNITY: The Trump administration cracks down on Iran over a ballistic missile test.
Plus, terror strike Paris again. Deputy assistant to the president Dr. Sebastian Gorka is here tonight with reaction.
Then 11 are arrested after another liberal anti-free-speech freak out on the campus of New York University.
And we're in Houston, Texas, ahead of Super Bowl LI. Former NFL stars Joe Namath, Cris Carter, Tiki Barber, Tim Tebow, and of course, Bob Kraft, the owner of the Patriots will join us.
"Hannity" from Houston starts right here, right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANNITY: And welcome to "Hannity." And tonight, we're coming to you from the home of Super Bowl LI. We're in beautiful -- Hello, Houston!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
HANNITY: Houston, Texas. We have a full preview of Sunday's showdown between the Patriots and the Falcons.
But first, President Donald Trump is showing the world that there is a new sheriff in town. And that is tonight's "Opening Monologue."
All right, so earlier today, in response to Iran conducting a ballistic missile test, the White House announced new sanctions against 13 individuals and 12 companies with ties to the rogue regime in Tehran. Now, the U.S. Navy is also placing the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen due to concerns over Iran supporting rebels in that country.
President Trump also took to Twitter to issue a warning to the mullahs in Iran, writing, quote, "Iran is playing with fire. They don't appreciate how kind President Obama was to them. Not me."
Also tonight, France is on edge after an attempted terrorist attack at a shopping mall beneath a museum in Paris. And according to authorities, a machete-wielding man shouting "Allah-u akbar" attacked French soldiers before being shot five times. The French president, Francois Hollande, says there is, quote "no doubt" it was an act of terror.
And President Trump reacted by tweeting out, quote, "A new (ph) radical Islamic terrorist has just attacked a museum in Paris. Tourists were locked down, and France is on edge yet again. Get smart, USA."
And unlike his predecessor, President Barack Obama, President Trump is making it very clear, that he's not going to tolerate Iranian aggression and that he'll be a lot more tougher (sic) when it comes to fighting and defeating radical Islam. Now, the days of all talk, no action is over. The time for action is here.
Joining us now with reaction, the deputy assistant to President Trump, Dr. Sebastian Gorka. Dr. Gorka, it started with General Flynn saying Iran is on notice. And that was followed, of course, by Iran. A little bit of saber-rattling on that part -- on their part. Now the sanctions are being put in place, and beyond the sanctions, if I'm a mullah in Iran, what am I taking out of Donald Trump's tweet today?
SEBASTIAN GORKA, DEPUTY ASST. TO THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think you've interpreted it exactly right, Sean. This is a new dawn, a new age for America and its relations with people who threaten, regimes that threaten us, our partners or basically regional stability.
Look, let's be very clear here. The Persian people are an amazing people with a civilization that's thousands of years old. But we have a regime in Tehran that is destabilizing from Yemen to Iraq, all through the world with its financing of terrorism, with its intimidation of our naval vessels, our partners in the region and their naval vessels, their funding of proxies. This must end, and we are drawing a very bright line in the sand to send the message that it has to stop, Sean.
HANNITY: I can tell you, Dr. Gorka, knowing Donald Trump as well as I do and what we've observed in just the first two weeks, I would take his word seriously. That's number one. Number two, there has been a new alliance that has been created. He's talked to General el Sisi of Egypt. I know King Abdullah of Jordan has spoken with the vice president, Mike Pence. I know that the relationship, Donald Trump told me in an interview with him, with -- with Israel has been repaired. And from what I understand, there's no love lost between the Iranians and the Saudis.
Could you see such a coalition -- America, Israel, the Saudis, Jordan, the Jordanians and the Egyptians -- lining up to take out these nuclear sites? If you're an Iranian mullah, aren't you thinking that's a possibility?
GORKA: Look, we in the administration are not going to tip our hand. We're not going to do with the Clinton administration did, the Obama administration did and give away our great game plan.
But you're absolutely right, Sean. Look at what we have done in just the last 14 days. We are starting to rebuild all those relationships in the region that are crucial, the ones that were almost destroyed in the last eight years. Whether it's with Jordan, whether it's with Egypt, whether it's our closest ally, Israel, we are rebuilding all those bridges that were almost burnt to the ground under the Obama administration because it is so important that our friends understand we are their friends and that our enemies and our adversaries know who the president is and that it is not Barack Obama!
HANNITY: All right, based on these sanctions, based on the tweet by the president, based on all that we -- the USS Cole being positioned off the coast of Yemen, if you're the Iranian mullahs, what are they thinking tonight? Are hey so arrogant that they don't know there's a new sheriff in town?
GORKA: I pray to the good Lord that the mullahs, the power center of this theocratic dictatorship, understands that they can't go on with business as usual. Donald Trump is a man of his word. I can guarantee you that they will start to look at things a little bit differently and understand this isn't like the Syrian red lines. Remember the Syrian red lines under the last administration? No.
HANNITY: Yes.
GORKA: This is a very, very different situation. And hopefully, they'll start to realize that it is not in their interests to act in the provocative and destabilizing way they've behaved for the last--
HANNITY: Dr. Gorka--
GORKA: -- 30 years.
HANNITY: I think we have to ask a very important question. If the Iranian mullahs were to ever get nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction, when you couple a squared, b squared equals c square, radical Iranian mullahs dedicated to the destruction of the free world and the advancement of a caliphate, coupled with nuclear weapons, seems to be a prescription for a nuclear holocaust. Isn't that something the world must truthfully face and acknowledge and defeat before that day ever comes?
GORKA: Yes. Your calculation is a very simple one. Let's look at the components there. We have a regime that believes, at least part of it, in apocalyptic ideas, the occultation of the hidden imam. They think that they're building a caliphate in the end times, and they wish to acquire weapons of mass destruction and will not be deterred like the Soviet Union.
This isn't a bunch of rational actors like Brezhnev. These are people who may actually think it is a good idea to initiate the apocalypse. That's why acquisition--
HANNITY: Well, Dr. Gorka--
GORKA: -- of nuclear weapons is bad.
HANNITY: I want to be very clear. I think, especially after 58,000 lives were lost in Vietnam and the war becomes politicized, then we have to ask, Why did these men fight, bleed and die? Same thing with Iraq and Afghanistan, 5,000 dead, many more lost their limbs and were severely injured. And then it becomes politicized and we lose the cities they won -- Ramadi, Fallujah, Mosul and Tikrit.
So my question to you is, is it possible to remove those sites and the threat of them getting nuclear weapons without putting boots on the ground? Because I don't think any American, me included wants that to happen.
GORKA: I'm not going to comment with regards to what is and what isn't possible because again, that'd be tipping our hand. But actions like this have been taken in the past. If you look at Iraq, if you look at other nations, if you look at what the Israelis have done--
HANNITY: (INAUDIBLE) by the Israelis.
GORKA: Yes. Yes. Absolutely. So -- and the president is clear on this. President Trump is clear. We're not interested in invading countries. That's not what we do as a nation. This nation was born in resistance to imperial attitudes.
HANNITY: Well, let me ask this, Dr. Gorka, because I think this is very fundamental and very important. The Iraq case -- it was more (ph) like condemnation of Israel and them it was only years later that people recognized it was the right thing to do. It was almost not reported what they did in Syria.
But the Iranians -- they are evil, but they are not stupid, and they have buried these nuclear facilities way down deep in the ground and all around the country. And we're talking about a lot of ground to cover here. I've got to imagine that's a difficult, challenging military operation. And I'll give you the last word.
GORKA: It may be challenging, but remember this is the greatest nation on God's earth, and we have the best military and the best intelligence agencies out there. Just look at the Abbottabad mission. Look at what we've done in the past. So -- and -- and you don't necessarily have to use military tools. I'll just leave it at that.
HANNITY: All right, Dr. Gorka. Our thoughts and prayers are with our military guys. And I would say the Iranians are very foolish if they are going to test this president. It won't end well for them.
All right, coming up, we're broadcasting tonight -- we're in Houston, Texas, the home of Super Bowl LI. Tonight, Jim Gray joins us with his predictions, along with FS1 NFL analyst, Hall of Famer Cris Carter. Later, Tiki Barber, Tim Tebow is here, Broadway Joe Namath are here. And we'll get to all of that and also Robert Kraft, the owner of the Patriots.
But first tonight--
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROSSTALK)
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(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: More left-wing lunatics, agitators causing chaos outside of NYU in New York City last night. We'll play you the tape.
That and more -- hello, Houston! How're we doing?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
HANNITY: As we continue from Houston.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." We're in Houston, Texas, the site of Super Bowl LI.
Liberal agitators are at it again. This time, they tried to shut down a conservative speaker last night at NYU University (sic) in New York City. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) kill yourself (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you not see (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(CROSSTALK)
(EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're out here in order to let NYU, NYPD and New York City know we will not sit back and allow Nazis to have a platform to feel comfortable in order to organize and mobilize towards our extermination!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, 11 people were arrested as a result of this mayhem. Now, this, of course, comes after the near riot we saw earlier this week on the campus of UC Berkeley. That was out in California, protesters forcing the campus to cancel a speech by the Breitbart editor, a guy by the name of Milo Yiannopoulos, by smashing windows, throwing Molotov cocktails at police and even setting part of the campus on fire.
Earlier this morning, the president tweeted, "Professional anarchists, thugs and paid protesters are proving the point of millions of people who voted to make America great"--
Any Trump fans here?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
HANNITY: All right, just checking. Who did you vote for? Just checking.
All right, joining us now at reaction, from Campusreform.org Troy Worden and FOX News contributor Lisa Boothe.
Hey, Troy, I thought liberals were all about freedom of speech. I thought UC Berkeley was the home of the free speech movement. Isn't that where it all started in `64 and `65?
TROY WORDEN, CAMPUSREFORM.ORG: Well, thank you for having me on, Sean. And I just want to say, yes, we call ourselves the home of the free speech movement, but Wednesday night absolutely contradicted that. We just wanted to exercise our right to free speech and invite Milo Yiannopoulos to speak.
And we couldn't do that because outside groups and agitators aided and abetted by students used fireworks, firecrackers, what have you, and literally, these things were exploding against the building. I was inside, and I detailed my terrible experiences on Campusreform.com. And I felt like a war zone. It felt like a third world country. And I think this is really just a shame. I don't think we are in a civil society anymore because the left is too intolerant.
HANNITY: You know, Lisa Boothe, I thought liberals were supposed to be tolerant and inclusive and they love everybody. And they always argue, Oh, conservatives are racist and sexist and homophobic and xenophobic, Islamophobic. I can't even remember all the phobias I'm supposed to have.
None of this is true, but it's really them that are intolerant. True or false?
LISA BOOTHE, FOX CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, 100 percent, Sean. They're absolutely -- there's no tolerance on the left. And look, Sean, I really think it's important in the terms in which we describe these riots because we need to be careful in not saying anything in regards to protesting because protesting, the exercising of the 1st Amendment, I think we can all agree upon. But rioting is not covered under the 1st Amendment. These individuals are criminals. They are rioters. They are thugs. They should be condemned in the strongest terms.
And I think the media and especially the mainstream media needs to be really careful by not condoning or enabling this behavior by saying that's protesting and say that, somehow, it's covered by the 1st Amendment because it's absolutely not.
HANNITY: You know, Troy, when I really -- I look to all of the issues. I don't know a conservative that I know, not one that's racist. I don't know any conservative that doesn't make a distinction between radical Islam and those that are practicing a religion. They make a distinction, all of them. I don't know anybody, frankly, that gives a flying rip about anybody's sex life. No conservative that I know cares! And yet this is a false caricature, but I do see intolerance here and Molotov cocktails here and -- and people being beaten in other instances. So it's kind of been topsy-turvy in terms of the national debate, hasn't it?
WORDEN: Yes, it's been absolutely crazy, Sean. And I know Gavin McGinnes. I've seen them on your show and on FOX News. And I can for certain the man is not a white supremacist or a Nazi. And the same goes from Milo Yiannopoulos.
These people are expressing their views, but with -- in a controversial manner and with humor. And the problem is, students at NYU and UC Berkeley aren't being taught by their professors to distinguish between performance and facts.
I want my peers to protest, sure, and I also want them to address the facts and statistics Mr. Yiannopoulos and Mr. McGinnes bring to the table. I want them to engage in a rational debate, not to shout us down and use violence to silence us. I don't think Berkeley is the home of the free speech movement anymore.
HANNITY: All right, last word, Lisa.
BOOTHE: Which I don't think the left wants to have a debate. That's why they always resort to demagoguery. And look, Sean, we didn't see this kind of behavior, this kind of violence at the March for Life or at Tea Party rallies.
And -- but they say that the Trump supporters are the ones that are supposed to be the deplorables, and you see these actions. Look at just some of the signs, the language and the rhetoric and some of those things that were discussed at this -- the quote, unquote, "women's march," which wasn't a woman's march because they excluded groups of women. It was just a pro-choice march.
But look at the way a lot of those protesters conducted themselves. So you know, it's just absolutely ridiculous. They don't want any sort of constructive conversation. They just want demagoguery.
HANNITY: All right, thank you both for being with us.
All right, when we come back, we're in Houston, the site of Super Bowl LI. We're in Houston ahead of the big game. Jim Gray joins us, along with NFL Hall of Famer and FS1 NFL analyst Cris Carter. And also tonight, former NFL superstar Tiki Barber, Tim Tebow, Joe Namath are here. Plus, the owner of the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft, is here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One of the things that I heard this morning in watching the news was that, amazingly, it's never happened before, that politics has become a much bigger subject than the Super Bowl (INAUDIBLE) Super Bowl territory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: That was President Trump earlier today at the White House. While many Americans are very tuned into politics, guess what? NFL fans all across the country -- they're gearing up for the highly anticipated matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots. It's all happening Sunday. It's airing on FOX broadcast. You don't want to miss it.
Joining us now, preview of the Super Bowl, a sportscaster, Fox News contributor and a friend, Jim Gray, and FS1 NFL analyst Hall of Famer Cris Carter.
(INAUDIBLE) argue on politics. We're never going to talk politics again, are we?
CRIS CARTER, FS1 NFL ANNOUNCER: No, I'm going to (INAUDIBLE) I'm going to come see you. I'm going to come see you.
HANNITY: We'll do it on air?
CARTER: Oh, absolutely. I'm coming to your spot, yes.
HANNITY: Are you going to -- when you say come to my spot, mean take my job?
CARTER: No, no, no. Absolutely not.
HANNITY: Oh, OK.
CARTER: I'm not trying to do that. I couldn't do that.
HANNITY: I think you could.
CARTER: But I'm a member of the FOX family, so--
HANNITY: Oh, I know you are. Jim, how're doing? All right, so let's analyze this game.
JIM GRAY, SPORTSCASTER AND FOX CONTRIBUTOR: So far, so good.
HANNITY: Let's ask the crowd. How many here think New England's going to win?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
HANNITY: How many think that Atlanta is going to win?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
HANNITY: Let's break it down. Well--
CARTER: Go ahead, Jim.
GRAY: You know, this is the seventh time that Tom Brady and the Patriots are in the Super Bowl. There's only collectively five guys total on the Atlanta Falcons. So if experience means anything -- and it probably doesn't. It's a one-off game. But Brady has more experience than the entire Falcons team.
That plays into something. Mike Ditka often said, a former partner of mine at NBC, and yours at ESPN--
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: He's such a great guy.
GRAY: He's wonder, coaches great. He said he hyperventilated and could not breathe in first quarter and half in his first Super Bowl. So how is that going to hit some of the Falcons? I mean, you've played in big games, and this is a much different thing than a big game.
CARTER: It definitely is.
HANNITY: Let's talk about it from your perspective because you had that experience, the big game.
CARTER: Well, it's a big game. It's bigger than any game I played in. Sixteen years in the league, I never made it to the Super Bowl, but had a lot of coaches and players that played in it.
One thing is the beginning of the game. There's a tremendous amount of time between the warmup and between the time the game starts. If you look at New England, their last six Super Bowls, they have not scored a point in the first quarter.
HANNITY: Wow.
CARTER: Now, coming into the game, Atlanta, an NFL record, they scored 30 points in six straight games. So it's going to be very, very important early in the game to be able to see if Shanahan can get them in formation and get them some type of points.
New England -- typically, they start off very, very slow in these games. So people say the old cliche, get off to a fast start. In this game, it's very, very important.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: -- Jim's point, though. I want you to respond to this. Brady -- this is his seventh Super Bowl.
CARTER: Yes.
HANNITY: He's got four rings. The only team to beat him was (ph) twice (ph) was the Giants.
CARTER: Right.
HANNITY: Tough to beat that experience. Belichick and him have been together 17 years!
CARTER: Is tough to beat that, but once you get on the game, especially young players, OK -- Atlanta has an average age of 27.7, one of the older teams in the league. But they have four rookies contributing to their defense. They have youth, but they have a lot of team speed.
Tom Brady gave us a little insight into his life. He gave us a personal shot that he's human. He talked about his mother and her health. And he also said that his mother hadn't seen him play this year. And we all have mothers and we know how special our mother is.
So Jim, can you imagine the pressure that Tom Brady, suspended at the beginning of the season, it's been an epic type year, and this game is the only game this season his mom is going to be at. He has the ability to be a five-time Super Bowl champion. No one has ever done that as a quarterback. Charles Henley (ph) got five rings, but he was a defensive end. So I believe there's more pressure on Brady because what he wants to do--
HANNITY: Is it more pressure, or does he have something to prove to the NFL and the country this year?
GRAY: I do the radio show, and Tom comes on with us every Monday night on Westwood 1--
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: I never got invited on the show.
GRAY: So just a little bit of insight. I don't think he feels pressure. I don't even think he thinks about it. He dedicates his life to getting better at football every day, from every ounce of water that he intakes to avocado ice cream--
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: I've heard that!
GRAY: -- to running wind sprints, to everything he does, his family and football and winning are all that matters to him. And this is now an opportunity for him to separate himself.
CARTER: Yes.
GRAY: It's redemption because he and his reputation were dragged through the mud by the National Football League over absolutely nothing.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: I thought it was (INAUDIBLE)
GRAY: Now he can put that not only behind him but to rest. They could've played with pillows in that game. And don't think for one minute that this guy does not have this -- even though as calm and as classy as he is, is not in the back of his head.
HANNITY: But let me us an example. All right, a lot of people, you put a camera in front of them, it doesn't matter how articulate they are, this is-- they're scared to death. You go on TV. You do radio and TV. Do we think about it? Isn't it like that for the real pros in the NFL? They're not going to be thinking about the crowd, they've learned to turn that off.
CARTER: Well, he's got a lot of talent, but he's got a lot of self- discipline. And he has the ability in this game to be able to focus like no player that we've ever seen. He can be 15 years between Super Bowl wins. So after this, not only will we be talking about Tom Brady as the greatest quarterback, but you have to start talking about is Tom Brady the greatest NFL player we've seen?
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: He has to be.
CARTER: -- because of his longevity and success.
GRAY: I mean, look, he is now playing -- as you said, this is his 16th year. One year, he's out with a knee injury because he gets hurt in the first game against Kansas City. So he's really eligible for 15. Now he's playing in his seventh Super Bowl! That's almost 50 percent of the time. Look at it one other way. They played 51 of these things. He's played in seven, that's 15 percent. The first 12, he wasn't even alive!
HANNITY: What is it about--
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: -- Robert Kraft in the NFL and like the Nick Sabin (ph) in college football? What is it about the culture that the same people keep getting here? What is that?
(CROSSTALK)
GRAY: Consistency and continuity.
HANNITY: What are they doing?
GRAY: Consistency and continuity. They're together. They know each other. Tom Brady is great, OK? Him being great makes it easier for Bill Belichick. A lot people say it's the other way around. You know, Bill Belichick was not great with Bernie Kosar (ph), but he grew into the position, and Bill Belichick has been the greatest coach ever for Tom Brady, and Brady wouldn't want to play anyplace else. And Bob Kraft has done a magnificent job at keeping them together. They're not jealous--
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: -- special sauce when it's the -- if it's -- college, it's Nick Sabin. It's Belichick and Brady and nothing else.
(CROSSTALK)
CARTER: I'm very familiar with both coaches, and they have great systems. It's just like broadcasting or being in business. If you have a good system--
HANNITY: That's why Fox is number one.
CARTER: -- you put talented people -- that's part of it. Part of it's the system, part of it--
HANNITY: That's so arrogant--
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: But I don't care. Go ahead.
CARTER: But part of it is the talent. And sometimes, you got to have a little arrogance, a little ego.
HANNITY: No, I'm not arrogant--
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: I'm a Christian. I want to be humble.
CARTER: OK, no problem.
HANNITY: But we're number one.
CARTER: We can work on that.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: Yes.
GRAY: But I believe in systems. And both of them have very good systems, but also, they look for certain players who will sacrifice for the overall team good. And that's the reason why--
HANNITY: All right--
GRAY: -- the systems are very, very successful.
HANNITY: I know we've focused a lot on Brady, but think Matt Ryan has had a phenomenal year. I'm very impressed with him as a person and as a quarterback. And he's done so well with the Falcons. But I wonder, are we paying too much attention to the offense?
END
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