Laura Ingraham speaks out about tax reform, amnesty

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Laura Ingraham speaks out about tax reform, amnesty

Fox News contributor weighs in on 'Hannity' about President Trump's potential deals with Democrats

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," September 14, 2017. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Welcome to "Hannity." This is a Fox News Alert. North Korea test fires yet another missile. We're going to be monitoring the situation very closely, and we'll have the latest throughout the hour tonight.

But first, President Trump firing back at claims made by Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, about a potential DACA deal. Now, the president is also saying that the border wall will, in fact, be built.

Tonight, weak, incompetent, utterly ineffective Republicans -- they are to blame for this current situation. And I will explain that. They're pushing the president into the arms of those people that frankly have no good intentions for the president.

Also, we'll explain how the GOP needs to get on board with the president's agenda, why Democrats like Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi can never be trusted and how vital it is to the president to keep the promises he made to you.

And that's our "Opening Monologue."

A colossal failure by congressional Republicans to govern and pass the president' agenda and keep their promises -- it's now forcing President Trump to seek out alternative ways to now get things done.

Now, what you're watching unfold here is the failure that has literally pushed this president into the arms of Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. As we have explained on this show, President Trump is moving at lightning speed. He's checking those things off his list. Remember the dings last week or the week before? All his campaign promises one by one.

Republicans in the House and Senate have zero sense of urgency, no sense of accountability. And even after promising for years and years and years they would deliver for you, the American people, they have not.

So with Republican lawmakers not in his corner, well, the president has few options. He can either wait around for Republicans to get their act together, or he can try to forge ahead on his own, and that means even reaching out to Democrats.

So last night, President Trump, he met with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. And of course, once it was over, they raced with a press release, saying in part, quote, "Tonight, Leader Schumer and I had a productive meeting with President Trump. We agreed to a plan to work out an agreement to protect our nation's Dreamers from deportation. Now, we insisted that the bipartisan Dream Act would be the basis for that protection and that we would review border security measures that didn't include building a wall."

Now, the president, he responded this morning. He tweeted out, quote, "No deal was made last night on DACA. Massive border security would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent."

Now, it would also be subject to a vote. The wall, which is already under construction in the form of new renovation of old and existing fences and walls, will continue to be built.

And then this afternoon, the president, he responded further and he shot down the claim that a deal was in place and that the border wall would not be built.

Here's the president in his own words, not Chuck and Nancy's. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: In fact they they just put out a statement. They didn't say that all.

TRUMP: We have to have an understanding that whether it's in the budget or some other vehicle in a fairly short period of time, the wall will be funded. Otherwise, we're not doing anything.

TRUMP: We're not looking at citizenship. We're not looking at amnesty. We're looking at allowing people to stay here. We're working with everybody, Republican, we're working with Democrat. I just spoke with Paul Ryan. He's on board. Everybody's on board.

They want to do something. We're not talking about amnesty, we're talking about -- we're talking about taking care of people, people that were brought here, people that have done a good job and were not brought here of their own volition. But very importantly, what we want -- we have to have a wall. If the wall is going to be obstructed, when we need the funds at a little bit later date, we'll be determining how much we need, then we're not doing anything.

TRUMP: What we're doing is we're doing it in conjunction with the Republicans. We have a very, very good relationship with a lot of people. A lot of people want this to happen. They expect it to happen. And we'll see if it happens. But we'll only do it if we get extreme security, if we get not only surveillance, but everything that goes along with surveillance. And ultimately, we have to have the wall. If we don't have the wall, we're doing nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

HANNITY: "If we don't have the wall, we're doing nothing." And then he said that we're not talking about amnesty.

Now, later in the day, President Trump doubled down when he got back to the White House. Let's look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

TRUMP: Just so you understand, we're renovating massive sections of the wall right now. And essentially, it'll be brand-new and we'll be able to use that. And if the Democrats aren't going to approve it, then we're not going to do what they want.

TRUMP: We're not talking about amnesty at all. We have not talked about amnesty. There'll be no amnesty. We're not talking about that.

TRUMP: DACA now and the wall very soon. But the wall will happen. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

HANNITY: Now, since last night -- I always suspected, I know the president and I know him pretty well. I've interviewed him many, many times. And I assumed he was negotiating last night, and he needs to continue to set the record straight? Why? Because Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi's statement -- it's beyond disturbing.

They are essentially claiming this, that the Democrats, they get everything they want, they get DACA, and the president doesn't get his wall.

Here's the one thing that everyone needs to understand about Schumer and Pelosi. They don't like this president. They can't stand him. They want the president to fail, and they certainly don't have his best interests in heart or in mind. And Schumer and Pelosi, they only care about scoring cheap political points. Why? Because they want to gain seats in 2018.

Now, remember, since 2009, Democrats have been getting destroyed at the ballot box, losing the presidency, 13 Senate seats, 64 House seats, 13 governorships and 33 statehouses! And as soon as it doesn't serve them politically, I can promise you, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, they're going to turn around and stab the president in the back. That's a fact.

Also in fact, it wasn't that long ago when Schumer and Pelosi were just trashing the president. Let's remind everybody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, D-N.Y., MINORITY LEADER, SEPT. 6: The president's decision to end DACA was heartless and it was brainless.

REP. NANCY PELOSI, D-CALIF., MINORITY LEADER, SEPT. 6: We all agree that President Trump's decision to end DACA is a despicable act of political cowardice.

SCHUMER, JULY 28: President Trump did a tweet last night and a tweet this morning. Not presidential.

PELOSI, AUG. 16: He doesn't know right from wrong, true from false, American patriotism from white nationalism.

SCHUMER, JULY 11: I'd like to say a few words about Donald Trump, Jr. The emails are the end of the idea pushed by the administration and the president that there is absolutely no evidence of intent to coordinate or collude.

PELOSI, JUNE 9: Donald Trump is a job loser.

The president's fitness for office is something that is being called into question.

I'm very worried about his fitness.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

HANNITY: Now, the president, as he reiterated many times today -- he is insisting this border wall be built, which he absolutely should be doing, because it was a massive campaign promise he made. He needs to keep his promises. I would argue, otherwise, there will be severe political consequences for him and the entire Republican Party.

Now, if the president doesn't get funding and get it up front first, I'd argue he's never going to get it. Let me be clear. If the wall's not constructed, the president risks losing his entire base. And it's not a matter of if, the base will leave. That's plain and simple.

And that, by the way, is what Democrats want. They want President Trump to be isolated. Why? So they can bludgeon him more politically. Now, President Trump needs to keep pushing for that border wall and the funding, and he promised you, the American people, over and over again that he would get that built. For example, remember this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

TRUMP, AUG. 22: We are building a wall on the southern border which is absolutely necessary!

Believe me, we have to close down our government, we're building that wall!

TRUMP, AUG. 31, 2016: We will build a great wall along the southern border!

And Mexico will pay for the wall.

TRUMP, FEB. 12, 2016: Build that wall! Build that wall! Build that wall!

They said -- the president of Mexico said they will not under any circumstances pay for the wall. They said to me, "What is your comment?" I said, "The wall just got 10 feet higher!" It's true!

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

HANNITY: All right, here's where we are. The president must insist on the complete border wall funding now, or guess what? I'd argue it's never coming. Now, no one believes that the wall will be built later if, in fact, they get their DACA deal now up front.

It's the same old Washington, D.C., sewer swamp game. Democrats love to play this. They always promise spending cuts in exchange for tax increases. But guess what? You never get the spending cuts and you always get the tax increase. And the same goes for immigration. We always get the amnesty, the concession. We never get the reform. You never get the border security that's promised.

The Democrats, they want DACA and then amnesty for all illegal immigrants. They don't care about the wall. They never have, never will. They don't want to build the wall. So the president needs to act with great, great caution here because the Democrats have burned Republicans over the decades way too many times with these so-called bipartisan deals.

Now, also, if the wall doesn't end up being built, President Trump, he will be put in great political danger. Let me give you a quick political history lesson to illustrate this point.

You may remember back in 1988, when then-candidate George H. W. Bush made this promise during the Republican national convention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AUG. 18, 1988)

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, THEN-REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Read my lips! No new taxes!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: A very bold promise, and voters, they took George Herbert Walker Bush at his word, propelling him to a landslide victory over Michael Dukakis. Then once he got into office, it was a different story for President Bush. And in 1991, he signed a bill that massively raised taxes on millions of Americans. And guess what happened? Well, he lost in 1992 to Bill Clinton. He didn't get a second term.

And I have been warning about the five big forces that are working around the clock to destroy and damage and delegitimize President Trump, and they've been doing from the minute he took office.

For example, the deep state -- they've been leaking information that is meant damage the president, and pretty much, we have a leak a day. Now, no president can work under those conditions. That's extraordinarily difficult, especially when they're leaking conversations with prime ministers and presidents.

Then you have the destroy Trump media. They've been spewing fake news and creating black helicopter tinfoil hat conspiracy theories. They've been lying about him for months. No evidence. And by the way, they're trying to hurt the president every day.

And we have Democrats like Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi. Now, this bipartisan outreach to me is a charade. Why? Because for months, all the Democrats have been doing is resist, obstruct, lie. They've even called him a racist repeatedly, and some have even called for President Trump' impeachment.

Guess what? They want him to fail. And you know what? Then you have the never-Trumpers, the establishment Republicans. They have failed miserably every step of the way so far during the Trump presidency. And you know what? Sadly, they can't be counted on at this point. They couldn't even get enough votes to repeal and replace ObamaCare, a promise they have been making for seven-and-a-half years. And the never-Trumpers, oh, they just want the president to fail. They always have. They always will. And they hope the president fails so miserably so they can point their fingers in everybody's face and say, "We were right."

I have been warning about these five forces working daily against the president. Been happening from day one. Now we're seeing how Republicans and never-Trumpers, their inaction, their lack of urgency -- it's hurting the president's ability to get his job done. He wants to keep his promises. He's done everything he can do own his own without their help. And make no mistakes, the Democrats don't want this president to keep those promises. That's not good for them.

My advice tonight is very simple. The president needs to keep his campaign promises, stick to his agenda. The agenda are things that help the forgotten men and women in this country -- create jobs, lower taxes, reform the tax code, repeal, replace ObamaCare, allow those multi-national companies to repatriate trillions from overseas, cut government regulations -- which he's done -- renegotiate bad trade deals, energy independence, so many jobs with energy, four percent GDP growth, rebuild the military, build a border wall, extreme vetting, defeat ISIS, keep putting orginalists on the Supreme Court, send education back to the states, fix America's crumbling infrastructure.

I argue this. The key to the president's ultimate success tonight is in him keeping promises. That's what the American people elected him to do. If he does that, the economy grows, if jobs are created, if he keeps America strong, everybody wins. And the president and even all those Republicans that don't support him will all benefit politically.

Now, I want to show you a few numbers. 74 percent of Americans disapprove of Congress's job performance. And look at the numbers for congressional leaders. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, well, he has the highest favorable approval rating, and that's only at 35 percent. Not great. Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell, they're in their 20s. In his home state of Kentucky, McConnell is at 18 percent. And these lawmakers that want to tell the president -- they're the ones that want to tell him what to do? I don't think so.

Now, another trap the Democrats I think are trying to set is on taxes. Now, listen to what the president said earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The wealthy Americans are not my priority. My priority are people in the middle class, and that's where we're giving the big tax reduction to. It's about the middle class and it's about jobs, and it's about bringing jobs back to the country, bringing back the companies back so that companies can get a reduction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: The president needs to avoid these Democrats and their pleas to tax, tax, tax. Tax the rich. Redistribute wealth. And again, he needs to remember the bold Reagan-like tax cuts and the reform he promised all of us. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

TRUMP, AUG. 30: We're here today to launch our plans to bring back Main Street by reducing the crushing tax burden on our companies and on our workers.

We have no choice. We must lower our taxes.

TRUMP, AUG. 27: You are honest, hard-working, tax-paying -- and by the way, you're overtaxed, but we're going to get your taxes down.

We're giving you the biggest tax cut in the history of our country.

TRUMP, AUG. 8, 2016: I am proposing an across-the-board income tax reduction, especially for middle income Americans. This will lead to millions of new and really good-paying jobs.

These reforms will offer the biggest tax revolution since the Reagan tax reform.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

HANNITY: Now, the president needs to follow the plan that he's already put forward. It reminds me a lot of Reagan. You got across-the-board tax cuts, you got brackets seven to three, 15 percent corporate tax rate. That makes American businesses so much more competitive than they are now. Allow the multi-national corporations, repatriate the trillions of dollars they have parked overseas. Let them bring it back at a lower rate. They can invest in an American workers, build factories, manufacturing centers for Americans that desperately need those jobs!

I mentioned energy, energy independence. It's good for national security. It'll create millions of high-paying career jobs.

Do this -- he's already gutted regulations -- it will unleash the American economy and prosperity and growth. Remember, President Reagan, he slashed the top marginal rate from 70-28 percent, and by doing so in 1980s, he created 20 million new jobs. By the way, that was after the '82 recession. And government revenue -- those people in Washington -- well, they had almost double what they had before.

And it's also a matter of fairness and simple economics. You ever gotten a job from a poor person? Look at these statistics. Now, according to the most recent IRS numbers, the top one percent in this country -- they pay 39.5 percent of all federal income tax. The top 10 percent -- they pay 70.9 percent of all personal income tax that goes to Washington.

Now, that compares -- look at the bottom 50 per cent. They pay 2.8 percent combined. That's the bottom 50. And get this, 35 percent of tax filers -- they have zero tax liability.

Now, radical left-wing progressive taxation that distributes or redistributes wealth -- it's been proven to fail again and again. It will never work. This is the first major test, I would argue, of the Trump presidency and has the potential to make or break it. The president's plan is rock solid! So the president, actually building a wall, following up on his tax plan is so important. That's why the Democrats don't want him to succeed.

Now, if he doesn't get those things done, he'll lose a lot of his base. That would hurt him and the rest of the Republican Party I would argue will be in shambles, which only creates more political opportunity for Democrats. They don't want him to succeed.

So if the president does want to negotiate, what he said today about DACA -- that's fine. The president -- he's great at negotiating. Republicans -- they push them into the arms of Pelosi and Schumer. They have failed the president at a very high level. And as result, he's reached out to these Democrats.

Now, this major campaign promise, I would argue, especially funding the wall, cutting these taxes, all the tax plans that the president that I just mentioned that he wants to put in place -- those things are non-negotiable, in my opinion. If the president wants to negotiate, that's great. What he can't do is allow negotiation away of funding the wall. He's got to get the funding and get it first.

And as President Reagan once said, Trust and verify. When it comes to the president, he needs to do that with the Republicans and Democrats. Get the border funding first.

And when we come back tonight on "Hannity," Lee Dobbs will weigh in, reaction to my "Opening Monologue."

Then later, Laura Ingraham will join us and so much more on this breaking news tonight on "Hannity."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

TRUMP: The wall will come later. We're right now renovating large sections of wall, massive sections, making it brand-new. We're doing a lot of renovation. We're building four different samples of the wall to see which one we're going to choose. And the wall is going to be built. I'll be funded a little bit later.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: That was the president earlier today promising the border wall will, in fact, be built. And as I said in my "Opening Monologue," President Trump -- he needs to keep his promise. I believe he would run the risk of losing the support of all those people that went out and voted last November.

Here with reaction, Fox Business Network's own Lou Dobbs. Sir, how are you?

LOU DOBBS, FOX BUSINESS: Great to be with you, Sean. Doing good.

HANNITY: All right, so the president said multiple times today -- he was very clear -- if we don't have the wall, we're doing nothing. He had the Pelosi- Schumer announcement last night. He obviously contradicted that. At different times, though, he sounded open to, We can fund it later. That's where I start -- where sirens blaring in my head because that's like getting a tax increase, never getting the spending cut. It's like getting the concessions on people here illegally and never getting the wall, which we've never gotten.

DOBBS: We've seen since 1986, as you know, Sean, what happens when any Republican agrees with Democrats about trading amnesty or access to citizenship, a pathway to legalization for border security. It just never happens.

Here we are, 2017, border walls have been authorized, they've been appropriated, they've never been built. We have fences and we have just barbed wire running into high desert dunes across much of the border. That's all there is.

And we need enforcement desperately. There used to be a very simple statement that I think works. You cannot reform immigration law if you can't control immigration. And the syllogism concludes with, You can't control immigration if you can't control and secure your borders. And we have yet to do that.

HANNITY: Agreed. Does it bother you if the president did make a deal, if he got the funding up front, because I think he's sincere. I mean, he said it...

DOBBS: Of course he's sincere.

HANNITY: ... in every stop. He said it -- he said it today. He said it since he's been elected president and since he's been president. But I'll tell you the people I don't trust. I don't trust the Republicans, and I think they literally pushed him into the arms of Schumer and Pelosi because they're so weak and they failed.

DOBBS: And that's the key, Sean, what you just said.

HANNITY: And secondly, I...

DOBBS: I mean, Ryan and McConnell have frustrated this president and the people who voted him into that office for eight months! They are greater obstructionists, in fact, than Pelosi and Schumer! And they have driven the president into and compelled him to do whatever he can to find a way to break the logjam of inaction and indifference to the will of the people, as well as the national interest on the part of the leadership -- Republican leadership in both...

HANNITY: All right, so here's...

DOBBS: ... the House and Senate.

HANNITY: ... how it works. We agree. But here's (INAUDIBLE) I bet Donald Trump in the course of his business life, like probably we've done in our lives -- you shake somebody's hand, you got a deal and you know they're going to fulfill it. Schumer's not like that.

DOBBS: No.

HANNITY: And neither is Pelosi. They've been calling him a racist and everything in between just three weeks ago.

DOBBS: They're not his friends.

HANNITY: I don't trust them. They're not his friend. So he's got to get it in writing up front, or no deal on anything.

(CROSSTALK)

DOBBS: Sean, I wouldn't trust writing!

HANNITY: If he, in fact, gets that wall...

DOBBS: I wouldn't trust their -- I wouldn't trust their signature! I mean, this...

(LAUGHTER)

HANNITY: I don't, either, actually!

DOBBS: They can do whatever they want.

HANNITY: It doesn't mean anything!

DOBBS: And the reality is...

HANNITY: How about we make them write it in blood, Lou?

DOBBS: Well, we're getting to closer to the solution, I believe.

HANNITY: I know!

DOBBS: But the reality is, I don't trust Ryan. I don't trust McConnell. They're both owned lock, stock and barrel by the Business Roundtable, the Chamber of Commerce! And they're going to fight.

HANNITY: But if it's appropriated, he would do it. I have faith he would keep that promise.

DOBBS: He who?

HANNITY: Meaning the president.

DOBBS: Oh, the president? I trust the president, absolutely.

(CROSSTALK)

DOBBS: ... except for this. I think he needs to tell his base strongly now that that deal as it was constructed and characterized by Senator Schumer -- it's not a deal. There was agreement up to a point, and then there's so much that has to be negotiated.

HANNITY: (INAUDIBLE) disagree.

DOBBS: But this is the president who recognized that it was unconstitutional, DACA, because a president exceeded his authority. And it would be just as inappropriate for the president to intercede and not let Congress do its job over the course of the nice -- next six months, which the president generously gave McConnell and Ryan...

HANNITY: Listen...

DOBBS: ... and the Democratic leadership.

HANNITY: Coequal branches...

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: The power of the purse is theirs. I would say to him no deal unless he gets the money and gets it appropriated and he can then begin the building.

All right. When we come back, Laura Ingraham will join us. And then later, if President Trump doesn't keep his promise, what would happen? Anyway, Herman Cain, Geraldo Rivera, Sheriff David Clarke all weigh in straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMPThe wealthy Americans are not my priority. My priority are people in the middle class, and that's where we're giving the big tax reduction to. It's about the middle class and it's about jobs, and it's about bringing jobs back to the country, bringing back the companies back so that companies can get a reduction. Right now we're paying the highest tax rates in the world. We want to bring that to around 15 percent. That would make us competitive with China and other countries.

So my priority is bringing companies back, bringing money back into the country. There's trillions of dollars outside of our country that we could bring back but the taxes don't allow it to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: All right, that was the president earlier today talking about his tax plan while he was visiting, Florida. Joining us now with reaction, editor in chief of Lifezette, Fox News contributor, and nationally syndicated radio host Laura Ingraham. I'm a big supporter of the president's economic plan. I like the idea of middle class cuts, I like the corporate 15 percent rate, the repatriation, I think he's right. Corporations, multinational will build factories, manufacturing centers, that's going to help people that desperately need jobs that are in poverty out of food stamps. He did say about the wealthy they'll be the same or it might be a little higher. Reagan went from 70 to 28 percent. Is that an important component, or does it not matter in terms of the economic growth that we want to see that will create the millions of jobs?

LAURA INGRAHAM, EDITOR IN CHIEF, LIFEZETTE.COM: I think that tax simplification, tax reform, get it down to four rates, get rid of a lot of the deductions except for the three core ones, charitable, home deduction, childcare tax credit, I think that is good policy. I think taxes are too high. I think taxes are too high for everyone.

But not everyone is going to get everything they want in this tax deal. That's clear. But unfortunately Congress has kind of tied the president's hands a little bit because, of course, they didn't get the Obamacare repeal through, Sean. So we don't have the savings that we thought we'd have before we went and embarked upon this tax reform.

I think the president is right on those key issues. And I know immigration you're talking about tonight as well, but wages are really an important part of this. And companies like to keep wages low, but we've had wages flat. There was a little uptick last month, but we've had wages flat since like 1999 in real dollar terms. We have to put the squeeze on employment, the scarcity of employment will raise wages. So we can't keep doing amnesty that bring more amnesty that bring more people into the country that keep working-class wages low either. So that's a critical part. That's why this amnesty thing is so important.

HANNITY: I love every part of the plan. I also think energy to so many, there's millions of high-paying career jobs for a lot of people and that's going to be fundamental for a lot of people. But Reagan, when he cut the top margin rate from 70 to 28 percent, the predictions were voodoo economics. But 20 million new jobs were created, longest period of peacetime economic growth in history, and revenues doubled to the federal government. Look, if he does everything else I think that covers the economy.

What do you think about the battle that's been going back and forth Schumer, Pelosi and the president saying if we don't get the wall, we don't get any deal on anything? What is your general thought on what's been happening all day?

INGRAHAM: I think the president was successful because he didn't listen to the very experts who are praising his move last night with Pelosi and Schumer. And I know there's been a lot of comments from the White House, the president tweeted out that it's not really amnesty, but I think his has great political instincts. And I think partly what happened is what he hears, enhanced border security, he has a been a part of the amnesty fight that we've been part of, Sean, back in 2007, 2013. So he's not fully or with that lingo. He thinks when someone says enhanced border security that really mean something. But flying a few drones along the border and promising more funding is a boondoggle that doesn't really mean anything.

You need the RAISE Act, Tom Cotton's RAISE Act. You need the e-verify, and you need the wall. You need all three things before you start giving legalization and benefits to 800,000 people, plus you know their parents are going to stay. They're not going anywhere. It's really about 2 million, 2.2 million people. He did not win Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania by saying we will repair the fence in Arizona and, by the way, we're going to work with Nancy Pelosi on taking care of the DREAMers.

HANNITY: Do you agree with me that if he makes his concessions and he doesn't get the funding for the wall up front friend he is never getting it? I'd don't think he'll ever get.

INGRAHAM: Never getting it. The wall, the RAISE Act, e-verify has to be part of any deal. You're never going to have more leverage than you have right now. And if he says look, I'm willing to hear you out on the DREAMers, we're not rounding up people and deportation forces, no one is arguing for that. But we're not going to make the same mistake we've made in years past. We're not going to -- he's not going to stand up and argue for the same points that Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush argued for with the same language almost after they couldn't win their home state primary, Sean. They didn't win because they were arguing for much of the same language that a lot of the Trump advisors I think are saying it's OK, everyone will swallow the pill of amnesty because it's a cult of personality supporting you. People supported him for substantive reasons.

HANNITY: All right, Laura, good comments, observations, insights. Appreciate it. When we come back, Herman Cain, Geraldo Rivera, and former Sheriff David Clarke, they will weigh in on the president and Pelosi and Schumer and much more as we continue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLAUDIA COWAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: This is a FOX News alert. I'm Claudia Cowan on the campus of U.C. Berkeley where conservative commentator Ben Shapiro has been speaking for about 40 minutes. Following violence in the past, tonight's event raised safety concerns and prompted a heavy police presence. Officers from all 10 U.C. campuses have secured the area.

Earlier tonight two people were arrested because their signs were too big. There was another arrest for weapons violation. Otherwise people are behaving. Several hundred students and demonstrators are holding a peaceful protest, listening to speeches and chanting slogans. Police say they will arrest anyone wearing a mask if they refuse to take it off and use pepper spray if need be to control the crowd.

U.C. officials maintain the ramped up security is necessary, but some critics say it has the campus feeling like a military state. We will be monitoring the protest through the night here at U.C. Berkeley. Now back to "Hannity."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We are building a wall on the southern border which is absolutely necessary.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Let me be very clear to Democrats in Congress who oppose a border wall and stand in the way of border security. You are putting all of America's safety at risk.

And that wall is also going to help us, very importantly, with the drug problem and the massive amount of drugs that are pouring across the southern border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: President Trump last month in Arizona emphasizing the importance of a wall on a southern border. Meanwhile Democrats in Congress, they have been actively working, as always, to derail the president's plans. Here now, Fox News contributor Herman Cain, Fox News correspondent at large Geraldo Rivera, and America First Action spokesman, and that is senior adviser, also David Clarke is with us. I'm so used to saying sheriff, sheriff, so sorry about that.

Geraldo, I've got to start with you on this. I know you're happy, and I know that nobody was ever talking about rounding up 800,000, they're not kids anymore, they're adults, and throwing them off to the country. And the president wants to do things constitutionally, which is the right thing to do, unlike Obama. If he doesn't get funding for the wall, one of the key promises he made in this campaign, I would argue politically I don't know how he comes back from it, but I'm certain he's a great businessman, he will get that.

GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: And the way, you hit on it. That last sentence, Sean, I think you hit the nail on the head. The problem with the president and this wall is that he's selling it in a bellicose way, in a hostile way, appealing to the base in almost a mean- spirited way. Why doesn't he say this, for example, we have all witnessed undocumented immigrants coming across that border and dying in the desert or being raped or be murder. Everybody remembers the container trucks coming across and documented immigrants dying, suffocating. We all want order. We all want a border that is safe for everybody. Build the wall to regularize or to normalize the situation. But you sell it with compassion in the same that he has --

HANNITY: I argue he did.

Let's go to Herman Cain. Herman, I argue that he did all of what Geraldo is saying. Do you agree with me, no funding up front or no deal?

HERMAN CAIN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, no funding, no deal. Here is the one thing that I feel very comfortable with relative to President Trump. He knows he cannot trust Senator Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, Representative Pelosi. He knows that. He also knows that from his business experiences the thing that gets all of the going all of the firestorm going is he doesn't use some of the words that we're used to hearing coming from politicians.

HANNITY: That's what Laura said. I think you're right.

CAIN: Yes. And so when he does use the words that they want to hear, Pelosi and Schumer walked out of there, they thought they heard a deal. They didn't. And President Trump was quick to come back and say there is no deal and we are going to do a wall. He is never going to use the language of the swamp, pure and simple.

HANNITY: Let me go to Sheriff Clarke. I've still got to call you sheriff, sheriff. And congratulations on your new position. But this is important. I mentioned this earlier and I'll mention it again. You always get the tax increase, you never get the spending cut. You always get the concession on whatever it is, in this case it would be, OK, DACA, but you're never going to get the wall. This wall is so paramount I think to one of the reasons people are so enthusiastic about electing him because he's a guy that says what he means and means what he says. And I hope that Herman is right that he knows he can't trust those people. They're not trustworthy.

DAVID CLARKE, AMERICA FIRST ACTION SPOKESMAN AND SENIOR ADVISER: Of course they're not. Sean, there is going to be a wall. And there's a lot of panic going on right now, people are reading what's being printed in the liberal media about his interactions with Schumer and Pelosi. But these are negotiations.

You can criticize the president all you want, and I don't mean you, but people can, about his interactions with Schumer and Pelosi, but the fact is he was forced into this position by Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan's inability to get anything though Congress. So the president can either sit up there and pound the desk and say I want everything that I want and get nothing done for the next three and a half years, or he can sit down and negotiate.

Schumer is the de facto leader of the Senate whether we like it or not. And if you can't get it through the Senate, he has to ask himself, and he is the president, what is achievable under the circumstance, not I want everything that I want. What's achievable? And until the GOP gets their act together, McConnell and Ryan get their act together and demonstrate that they can get something done, remove that filibuster. That's all Mitch McConnell has to do, remove the filibuster and things can move forward.

HANNITY: Absolutely. Stay right there. We will let you guys debate this when we get back. We'll have more with our panel as we continue this busy breaking news night tonight right here on "Hannity."

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HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity" as conversation now with Herman Cain, Geraldo Rivera, and David Clarke. Geraldo, I have heard you, you have now, I brought you to my site. You support the wall. You agree it's necessary. I've been down to the border 14 times. I've seen the drugs, the tunnels, I've seen the arrest, I've seen the gang members arrested. So you know how dangerous it is.

RIVERA: That issue right now is the fate of 800,000 of the most vetted immigrants in the history of this nation. They're people who came average age six years old through no fault of their own. It is no accident that three quarters of the American people want President Trump to do what he is suggesting he's going to do.

I don't care about the Republican leadership. I don't care about the Democratic leadership. What I care about is the success of the 45th president. And the way that he's going to be successful is doing the right thing. This is the right thing to do.

HANNITY: And building a wall is a promise. Isn't it the right thing, though, Geraldo, to keep your promises, keep your word?

RIVERA: The issue with the wall, I told you, Sean, first of all, a 1,400- mile barrier through the Great Bend National Park and all the rest is patently ridiculous. What I'm suggesting that is if you use the language of compassion, if you use the language of inclusion, this president can not only broaden his base everyone is so worried he's going lose, he can now be successful in bringing an orderly system to the southern border.

HANNITY: Herman?

CAIN: First of all, it is not ridiculous to have a physical wall. That is where I disagree with Geraldo. Secondly, I believe that the president and some of the people in his administration have been making the emotional case for having some heart for the 800,000 or so that are here. They are using it, the Democrats are using that as the wedge issue. The president did his duty when he said Congress, you've got six months.

It does not take away from we need the wall. Why? Because it was a pillar of this president campaign. And with the clips you've shown, it is still a pillar of what he's trying to do. He's fighting Republicans and Democrats on all of his agenda items. And so the wall I don't believe he's going to back away from, and I don't believe he's going to forget about showing some compassion for the group that Geraldo is talking about.

HANNITY: Sheriff?

CLARKE: Geraldo, my friend, you get A for the emotional plea that you just put forth, but you get an F on the logic. This isn't about the children affected by DACA. This is about the rule of law. It's about the constitution of the United States, Article One, Section Eight that says the Congress shall make rules on naturalization or immigration. So that's what the president did, he put this squarely where it belongs. He's following the constitution.

Obama had eight years. In the first two years he controlled, Democrats controlled both houses of the Congress and didn't get this done because it wasn't a high enough priority. But now all of a sudden it is. So the president is playing chess at this point. He's a master at it. He's a great negotiator. He is not going to give away the farm. I just don't have the panic right now that everybody else has over this DACA situation and the funding for the border wall.

HANNITY: Thank you, guys. When we come back, we'll have our final word and wrap things up tonight on "Hannity."

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HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." Unfortunately that's all the time we have left this evening. We do thank you always for being with us. We appreciate it. We hope you'll set your DVR, never miss an episode. As always, we will remain fair and balanced, unlike the establishment, destroy-Trump media. And we will see you back here tomorrow night.

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