This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," August 1, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Welcome to "Hannity."

We start tonight with the Fox News alert. By the way, coming up tonight, Rush Limbaugh will be here. That's minutes away.

First, President Trump, he just wrapped up another massive rally in the all-important state of Ohio, in Cincinnati, where he just roasted the uninspiring, radical, far left field of Democrats who want to replace him.  Coming up, we are going show you how President Trump responded to his 2020 rivals and we will break down last night's debate, two nights, basically another complete and utter train wreck.

But first, we do turn to a major damning, developing story surrounding America's, well, most holier-than-thou, super patriot, knows better than all of us, Jim Comey. Now, "The Hill's" John Solomon is reporting that the DOJ inspector general, Michael Horowitz, has in fact referred James Comey to a possible prosecution. This has now tonight been confirmed by the FOX News Channel.

The full Horowitz report is now imminent. Its contents, I am told, should horrify every American. And according to Solomon, the report will conclude that the fired FBI Director, Jim Comey, leaked classified information, showed a lack of candor.

Let me break this down. In other words, he violated 18 USC 793. That's a felony. That's called the Espionage Act. And he lied over and over again.

Look at your screen. James Comey, likely broke all of those laws, at least for, according to the FOX News legal analyst, our friend, Gregg Jarrett.

Now, you might remember, too, you know Papadopoulos has been on the show, with his wife, he had to go to jail for a couple of weeks? He was convicted of lying. He went to jail.

Lieutenant General Flynn, convicted of lying, well, he is awaiting sentencing even though interestingly enough, the FBI agents who interviewed him, they didn't think he was lying. But after he couldn't afford his attorneys and he was going bankrupt and had to sell his home and after being set up by a bragging, super patriot Jim Comey, laughing at the fact that he was taking advantage on day four of the new administration, something he'd never do in the Obama or Bush administrations, after his deputy Andrew McCabe told Lieutenant Flynn you don't a lawyer.

So, that's how super patriot Comey treats a 33-year veteran, who served this nation, by the way, in combat, and he brags about setting him up.

Also, Michael Cohen, remember him? Convicted of lying. Paul Manafort, convicted of lying. Yes, they are all facing -- well, Michael Cohen is in jail and so is Paul Manafort.

And tonight, James Comey seems to be getting a free pass, at least for now.  However, the investigations into FISA abuse, the origins of the Russia witch hunt and probe are ongoing. So while super patriot James Comey appears to be dodging charges right now, I'm told by my sources tonight this is just a tip of what is a giant iceberg of corruption.

Here with a lot more, he broke the story. He is the executive vice president of "The Hill", investigative reporter John Solomon is with us.

So, after your report last night, I did my own digging and I made a lot of phone calls and I'm like, OK, so, if, in fact, they believe that he was -- that they were recommending prosecution, the attorney general has declined, I understand there is a real deeper reasons for it. That's what you are reporting tonight.

JOHN SOLOMON, THE HILL EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT: Yes, listen, I think there are two reasons. One, this isn't a very strong case if you're going to court and a jury in New York City or Washington, D.C. It has some complexities to it that doesn't make it easy for a jury to understand.

But the bigger question here is, is the FBI director's testimony about the FISA process of the Russian investigation accurate? Was there -- did he do his job when he signed the FISA warrant? Is that FISA warrant false? Was there a fraud perpetrated on the court and the American public to get access to the Donald Trump campaign and targeted it for surveillance?

Those are the bigger, way more important, weightier question that Attorney General Barr and John Durham and Inspector General Michael Horowitz are weighing. And we should look for it.

Here's a thing for everybody to watch. If this is going to get serious at some point, John Durham is going to have to panel the grand jury. The thing we should all be watching for, does the grand jury get empanelled, do subpoenas go out? That will be a sign that the Justice Department is looking at criminal activity.

Right now, there's no sign of that. That's the thing I'm going to be watching for the next few weeks.

HANNITY: But, usually, they tried to hide the fact if they have, in fact, empanelled a grand jury. There are two paths spying on the Trump administration, though. We know James Comey was --

SOLOMON: Yes.

HANNITY:  -- literally warned in multiple occasions. You broke both -- or a least one of those stories and that was the case of Kathleen Kavalec at the State Department --

SOLOMON: Right.

HANNITY: -- about ten days before Comey signed the first FISA warrant in October of 2016 before the election.

SOLOMON: That's right.

HANNITY: He was also warned, we now know, by Bruce Ohr, as was everybody else. There are potentially other cases where he was warned about the dossier not being verified, about being political, but that's only one path.

Now, in the Mueller report, , correct me if I'm wrong, the professor Joseph Mifsud --

SOLOMON: Right.

HANNITY: -- he was, in fact, they thought he was a Russian agent. We found out he's a Western intelligence guy.

Now, also, then you have Stefan Halper, he is spying on Carter Page, Sam Clovis, and Papadopoulos, who set that up? Who -- do we know who was involved in that? And was intelligence farmed out to other countries, allied countries, because it would've been otherwise illegal to do in this country and it was circumventing American want to do so?

SOLOMON: Well, I can report absolutely that the Durham investigators have now obtained an audiotape deposition of Joseph Mifsud, where he describes his work, why he targeted Papadopoulos, who directed him to do that, what directions he was given, and why he said that entire process of introducing George Papadopoulos to Russia in motion, in March of 2016, which is really the flash point, the starting point of this whole Russia collusion narrative.

I can also confirm that the Senate Judiciary Committee has also obtained the same deposition. So, you now have a Senate and a federal prosecutor.

HANNITY: Are there tapes of this, John?

SOLOMON: Excuse me?

HANNITY: Are there tapes? Are there also -- I've been hearing rumors --

SOLOMON: Yes.

HANNITY: -- about tapes involving Papadopoulos. Is that true as well?

SOLOMON: Well, we know that there are transcripts. You had many members of Congress on your show talking about that. Those transcripts would suggest there are tapes. We will eventually see the words that George Papadopoulos used and whether the FBI properly disclosed evidence of innocence to the FISA court.

My sources tell me there's a big problem for the FBI there. That happened on James Comey's watch.

HANNITY: Big problem.

All right. Great reporting. John Solomon, thank you.

Also, tonight, thanks to Judicial Watch, well, last night, we first learned FBI agents actually showed up in James Comey's house one month after he was fired. Why? To collect the confidential, yes, maybe illegal memos about the president that he had, and that Comey effectively stole from the government.

So, let's get this straight just to sum it up. Super patriot Jim Comey stole classified materials from the government and leaked that information to the press through a professor friend of his. Let's see, premeditated fraud, lies to a FISA court, and unverifiable bulk of evidence that he never tried to verify, lying to judges on multiple occasions, then lying to the president-elect of the United States, and then president, spying on the Trump campaign, the Trump transition team, and then President Trump. That would be called abuse of power.

Clearly, major crimes seemingly committed. And tonight, James Comey, well, he knows better than we smelly Walmart shoppers and Trump voters, he will be held accountable. That I can assure you.

Also tonight, we have more breaking news from Judicial Watch. This is about Bruce Ohr's 302s.

Here to explain, Judicial Watch president, Tom Fitton, FOX News contributor, Sara Carter.

Just to explain a 302, this is the written memorandum of understanding agents when they interview specific witnesses. Is that a good way to put it, Sara, just to make sure?

SARA CARTER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, absolutely. That's exactly how -- it's exactly -- when the FBI interviews a witness, they go back and they file their notes into these 302s, and those have to be verified, signed off by both agents who were there, and then they're fed into the system, and they become apart of the FBI's collection of evidence.

HANNITY: Let's talk about what you found, Tom Fitton, because these 302s with Bruce Ohr, we've been waiting for that information for quite a while.  What are we likely to discover?

TOM FITTON, JUDICIAL WATCH PRESIDENT: Well, there was a lot of corruption going on at the FBI through Bruce Ohr who worked at the Justice Department with a suit for them last September of 2018. They have been delaying the release of them and they finally told the court they're going to give them to us by Monday, and these throughout two documents, Bruce Ohr's communications, Christopher Steele, Glenn Simpson, the Fusion GPS gang, after Christopher Steele was cut off by the FBI, A, from funding.  Remember, the FBI was paying Christopher Steele during the campaign, just like the Clinton campaign and the DNC were.

And so, they had to cut him off so they used Bruce Ohr as a cut-out. They cut him off because he was leaking. So they used Bruce Ohr as a cut-out because his wife worked over there at Fusion GPS with Steele as well. And so, Steele was laundering his information about Trump through the DOJ into the FBI in really a secretive, dishonest fashion.

Obviously, the FISA courts weren't kept abreast of this, and, you know, I'll tell you, the Justice Department has delayed the release of this information. The FBI has released delayed the release of this information.

And, you know, my perspective on John's reporting, it's disheartening to hear that James Comey steals records, leaks them in order to get to special counsel appointed, and the Justice of Department thinks it's no big deal.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: What about all the people that went to jail for far less -- Kristian Saucier --

(CROSSTALK)

CARTER: Absolutely.

FITTON: It's not going to go well (ph) for future prosecution, Sean. I know that's what the signs are and I hope something good happens but if they can get --

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: I wouldn't jump the gun on Barr's decision here. I'm having too many people tell me that this is way bigger and he's far deeper into this than anybody probably knows at this moment.

I do want to ask one question as a follow-up to what Tom Fitton said, Sara, we do know also that after he was fired for lying and leaking, we do know that Christopher Steele was trying to use, according to Bruce Ohr's own notes, he was trying to use Ohr to still funnel information to the special counsel, Robert Mueller. We don't have any indication whether or not he was successful of that.

CARTER: That's right.

HANNITY: But he was certainly trying and trying particularly hard.

CARTER: He was -- yes, that's exactly what he was doing. And, Sean, the complexity of this and what bothers me too, it's the same thing that Tom was talking about. It's the bigger picture here.

You have all of these people working in concert with one thing in mind and that is to get rid of President Trump, that is to find some way to implicate him and to connect him to Russia. And if you look at what just happened right now, even with Comey, and I sure hope that what we're hearing is true, that they intend to look at the full scope of this because Americans will not accept a two-tiered justice system. They can't just watch, you know, Comey walk -- Comey walk away and not have to pay any price for this unless there's something else happening.

And I've been carrying hearing that John Durham is working diligently.  They are not classifying his investigation yet as a criminal investigation.  We're not hearing that yet, but we know --

HANNITY: Here's the words I heard today. I heard the words -- they are not going for the low-hanging fruit here and that information they consider to be low-hanging fruit. Those are the words that were told to me.

(CROSSTALK)

FITTON: I don't understand what that means.

CARTER: Let me tell you though, they went after the low hanging -- I know what that means, but they sure didn't have a problem going for low-hanging fruit.

HANNITY: The low-hanging fruit meaning that's the easy stuff but the stuff that is more severe is where they are going.

FITTON: You prosecute someone on an easy charge where he admits to leaking information --

HANNITY: It's too early to tell, Tom.

FITTON: -- in the hopes of getting bigger information from him.

HANNITY: Yes.

FITTON: To separate the two out to me doesn't make any sense.

HANNITY: There might come that point, but I don't think this ends.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: I -- I got the sense --

FITTON: I don't know why they shoot the gun before they finish the investigation here then. I don't buy it.

HANNITY: I got the sense that they are not going to start with the smallest and weakest part of their case. They are going to start with the strongest part of their case. That's what was told to me.

Thank you both, though. I -- we are going to follow this day by day, issue by issue.

The amazing thing is, this is what we have -- a situation with the very same people, Hillary Clinton, if any of us, violated the Espionage Act, top secret classified information on a secret server, that violates all the laws that Gregg Jarrett, we talked about earlier, they save her probe certain prosecution, I promise you, I wouldn't take subpoenaed documents and I wouldn't destroy them the way she did.

And then they had conspiracy theorists, they would leak the dirty dossier that was never verified that people, hacks in the press like Michael Isikoff, or MSDNC, and it got out to "The Washington Post," before the election to impact the election. And "The New York Times" actually says it was probably Russian disinformation from day one.

When he really think deeply about that, and then they try to bludgeon Trump with their insurance policy afterwards, knowing the bulk of information is unverifiable, yes, we've got a lot to unpeeled here in terms of the onion.  We'll have more throughout the show.

But now, let's turn to the radical socialist 2020 dumpster fire which is the Democratic Party. Yes, fake news CNN programming -- well, it's usually pretty bad. They have a hard time getting a million people even in one given hour. That's pretty bad for a big cable channel.

Last night's debate -- well, it took a failure to a whole new level. Like a train wreck, sad to harden look away from.

In case you are one of the few hundred million Americans that didn't tune in your, small sample of the things you might've missed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY INSLEE (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can no longer allow a white nationalist to be in the White House.

SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can talk to those white women in the suburbs that voted for Trump and explained to them what white privilege actually is. That when there son is walking down the street with a bag of M&M's in his pocket wearing a hoodie, his whiteness is what protects him from not being shot.

ANDREW YANG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to do everything we can to start removing the climate in the right direction but we also need to start moving our people to higher ground.

DEBATE MODERATOR: Would there be any place for fossil fuels including coal and fracking in a Biden administration?

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No. We would work it out here we will make sure it's eliminated.

GILLIBRAND: So, the first thing that I'm going to do when I'm president is I'm going to Clorox the Oval Office.

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We lost the state of Michigan because everybody from Republicans or Russians were targeting the suppression of African-American voters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: That's only the tip of the debate of what happen here. Now, oddly enough, though what you didn't hear during two nights, five hours of debates on fake news CNN was the name of Robert Mueller. Not a single time.

Now, look, this is the same network that for over two years, every second, minute, hour of every day, nonstop, breathless, hysterical coverage, Mueller speculation including, yes, coverage every day. Not one word about Mueller, the special counsel, at all of these debates.

Now, maybe that's because the new Democratic poll, and, of course, the media's in the Democratic camp, they're just the extension of the press office, it shows support for impeaching President Trump tanking after Mueller's disastrous report and hearing. And these debates are pretty much proof. The Russia hoax, Mueller, that issue is dead, gone, and buried. We told you about that a long time ago but let's not lose sight of a very important fact that was confirmed in last night's debate.

There are no moderates running in the Democratic Party. There just aren't.  It's radical and even more radical. Green New Deal, Medicare-for-All, may be, no health care choices. But free health care for illegal immigrants.

Candidates on stage have big plans for all of your hard-earned money. This is a new radical, extreme, socialist Democratic Party. And without oil and gas, the lifeblood lot of our economy, well, in a matter of weeks, the American Dream will collapse.

As a matter of fact, last night proved even President Obama, as bad as he was as president, is to moderate for this new scary crop of candidates.  Now, let's be clear. The left-wing media mob doesn't care when Democrats - - when they push their baseless conspiracy theories or promote their wild socialist policies or pal around with bigots and they don't seem to care about virulent anti-Semites like Louis Farrakhan.

But criticizing Obama? That used to be strictly prohibited. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it a smart strategy to attack the Obama administration?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I watched all night long in disbelief, in disbelief as nearly every one of them on that stage went after Joe Biden/Barack Obama.  Insanity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just don't fundamentally get the strategy of going after the most popular Democratic president in modern memory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back off of Obama and his legacy. There are other ways you can go at Joe Biden without taking out Barack Obama.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm wondering why people who want votes from Democrats spend all last night trashing Barack Obama.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In trying to go after the front runner Joe Biden, they would even sacrifice trying to throw Barack Obama in front of the bus, which does not show real stability and self-confidence. It really shows desperation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Joining us now, former Secret Service agent and FOX News contributor, Dan Bongino, FOX News correspondent-at-large, Geraldo Rivera.

You know, Geraldo, we don't always agree on everything. But when you take the Green New Deal and you take Obama's not liberal enough for this crowd on stage, and illegal immigrants, everything's free, no oil and gas, no combustion engine, how do you beat Donald Trump with that agenda? Because even sleepy, creepy, crazy Uncle Joe is buying into it.

GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE: You know, starting with Vice President Biden, I think it's pretty clear that he has kind of a Mueller-esque, senior citizen tempo to everything he said. He seems really, and I say this with respect and affection for his service to his country, but Joe Biden seems to of lost a step.

And when you look at the others in the radical agenda, I agree. If it wasn't for Tulsi Gabbard, she stole the show. She was practical.

She was reasonable. She was, you know, focused. She really, I thought, did the best job of any of them out there.

The others were all over the place and the way they attacked Joe Biden -- I mean, they should have been arrested for attempted mugging.

HANNITY: Jeez. You know, I don't know how to react to that.

Dan?

DAN BONGINO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Sean, what you saw last night, let's be clear, was a manifesto on how to destroy America. We talked about confiscatory tax rate, destruction of our economy, sowing racial discord, there were -- I don't know if you got it, did you catch the endless attacks on law enforcement? You would've thought last night on that stage that the real enemy in this country was our police officers. That was a manifesto on how to destroy the country.

It's now clear that the candidates running for president, outside of an isolated few who displayed some sense of sanity, have entirely given up on America. Everything that makes this country great, economic freedom, health care liberty, the idea of some kind of racial harmony, all of that was thrown out of the window last night in that really pathetic display we witnessed on stage. It was disturbing.

HANNITY: Doesn't come down -- I mean, at the end of the day, let's be realistic. I mean, polls don't tell the whole story but it's Biden, it's Kamala, it's Warren, it's Sanders. Anybody you see breaking through at all beyond that group of four?

RIVERA: I think that watching Kamala Harris get absolutely tongue-tied when Tulsi Gabbard went after her for arresting people who smoke pot, 1,500 of them in penitentiary in California during her term as attorney general, for pot smoking and low-level dealing of marijuana, I think when you saw Kamala Harris become so tongue-tied, here was a woman who last session, you know, now a senator from California, of course, last session, she was the darling of the media. She was the one that took on Joe Biden on busing.  She was the one who was going to carry this brave new deal forward against President Trump.

But as soon as she was confronted by Tulsi Gabbard, she seemed to dissolve.  Tulsi was much more innovative, a military veteran, you know, a Polynesian, a Samoan. The first -- she's a Hindu. You know, this is walking talking diversity. She had them all looking at her tailpipes.

But, you know, in terms of who are they are going to put against President Trump, remember, it's not going to be 20 again strong, it's going to be one against Trump. Which of them could hold their own against him? I don't -- I don't see any of them really having the wherewithal to go.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: All right. Let me get to Dan. Do you see anybody besides the four -- I mentioned, Biden, Kamala, Warren, Sanders, anybody else?

BONGINO: No, Sean, I don't. And, you know, I know Geraldo and I usually debate and disagree but I think it was right about Biden. Listen, whether it's fair or not, when you are an older candidate, you have to be crisp.  You just have to be crisp on stage or people are going to make judgments about your age. And I think he just wasn't sharp last night, Biden. He's the frontrunner but he's certainly didn't look like one.

HANNITY: That's probably the best you are going to get out of Biden.  That's the best. I think you are probably right.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: I don't think is going to get better for him.

All right, thank you both. Got to roll.

When I come back, you don't want to miss Rush Limbaugh, a special anniversary for him and we are going to ask him about the Democratic debate, the squad, Comey, Mueller, and what he thinks happens in 2020.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. Today is the 31st anniversary of his radio show and the EIB Network.

Joining us now from EIB Southern Command is the Rush Limbaugh, 31 years. I think --

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Thirty-one years. It's flat out amazing. And, you know, the time has raised by on certain things and other days, it's just been slow and plodding. But, man, am I blessed? We all are.

This is -- it's such a great opportunity to have to be able to talk about these things that really matter to the future of the country with so many millions of people. It's really, really, really been an honor and it's ongoing. It's -- I mean, there's still nothing I do that I get more enjoy enjoyment out of than this.

And also appearing on FOX. I've been very blessed to be invited here by you, and I can't thank you enough for having me on.

HANNITY: Rush, I think you've got the greatest compliment ever from Mary Matalin. I think it was after the Clinton years, she goes, I don't know how we would have survived but you being there every day. I think a lot of conservatives, including myself, feel that way.

LIMBAUGH: Well, it's been a lot of time. But it's interesting if you go back, it started in 1988. And in 1988, Sean, there was nothing that the three networks and the two big newspapers and CNN. And that was it.

In terms of conservatism in the media, it would probably be the "National Review", William Buckley's magazine, Bob Tyrrell with "American Spectator", that was it. The think tanks, of course, but now, no more media.

And for four years, there wasn't anything. It was me and me on TV. Then you got your show and other conservatives started to appear in radio and it just built and built. Finally, FOX goes on the air in 1996.

But during the Clinton campaign, not to brag, but Mary Matalin was right.  There was nothing else except us on the radio doing battle with that, and it's just -- it's amazing to think back to all the things that have happened and where we are.

I played a clip of myself today on Charlie Rose. In 1992, this is 27 years ago, and I'm talking, he wants to know why I think radical environmentalists are actually socialist and he thinks I'm full of it.  He's having a lot of fun with me, he's laughing. This is the days when these people use to invite me on their shows, when they thought it was harmless and fun like a circus act to have on.

But he -- these people had no idea of the seriousness that we brought to this, but 26, 27 years ago, and here today, in that debate last night, Andrew Yang, I think, I can't believe this has not gotten more reaction.  Andrew Yang said we are too late. We don't have time anymore. It's time to move our people to higher ground.

HANNITY: Yes, I remember --

LIMBAUGH: Talking about climate change. To higher ground. Stop and think about that. Move our people to higher ground.

And Jay Inslee came out and admitted what all of this climate change is.  He said, every progressive liberal issue is wrapped up in climate change and it is. Climate change is what allows them to poison the minds of young kids, to blame people for causing a problem and then offering them redemption.

Make them feel like they have meaning in their lives by saving the planet. It's gone to the point these people actually have convinced people that we can change the weather that we can change the temperature. And none of this is true. It's a literal lunacy and insanity that has become main stream on that side of the aisle and they are going down the tubes with it.

It's remarkable. I watch that debate last night. I'm on the floor laughing through so much of it. You know it's bad when Rahm Emanuel has to go on TV today and criticize these people for being nuts with this agenda. I mean, Gloria Borger on CNN, after the debate where was the inspiration? Where was the aspiration? There isn't any inspiration.

People need to understand how the Democrats see Americans. This is the thing that just boggles my mind. They look out over this landscape, they see nothing but suffering. They don't see anybody other than in pain, victims of this, victims of that. Then they position themselves and the people are going to fix it and yet even with the other people, us, who have caused all of this, misery and there isn't anything they talk about that involves improving life.

They talk about jobs not careers. They do not offer anybody anything uplifting and they haven't created a group of voters that even things uplifting. Their voter group is mired in all types of misery, injustice, to the point they are covering up George Washington and Murals in San Francisco. Rather than cleaning the human feces off the streets out there.

It's an amazing thing to see how this is all transforming. Your guests just before me on this show stop and think of it. Three years ago, about then nobody thought that Donald Trump could win I'm talking about in the mainstream. The media, the Washington establishment, nobody thought he could win. Tonight, nobody thinks anybody on that Democratic debate stage could win.

In just three years, we have gone from a candidate that everybody was laughing at and thinking he had no prayer and wasn't even serious about winning to now, nobody on the Democratic side, they are asking Michelle Obama to get in and save us. If they are doing that, that's admission that nobody they are running now has a slight chance or even a prayer.

HANNITY: Let me ask you. My buddy Bill Cunningham, you know Bill from Cincinnati, radio talk show host, great guy, funny. He is telling me they're lined up at six in the morning to see the President. I was - you were gracious enough. You invited me to your wedding. The only people you see lined up around the block for long periods of time usually can sing well, play piano or guitar, and explain the Trump phenomenon versus what we are seeing here.

LIMBAUGH: Well, the Trump phenomenons you mean why people have glommed on they haven't - it goes back echoes back I think to the differences that the Democrats and we have than the way we see the country. We conservatives and I'm going to take the opportunity of this stellar appearance tonight to remind people who the conservatives are we love everybody we love people.

We see a sea of potential as we look out over the country. We want people to be the best they can be. We want people to be happy. We realize what a blessed opportunity it is to be born in the United States of America and we want everybody to maximize their potential because that's how you get a gate great country that is how you get great innovation, that's how you get great modernization, that's how you get a great military. That's how you get a great anything is great people.

It's the people of this country who make it work. Now, the Democratic Party, that's just a foreign language to them. Those kinds of people stop and think this is really true those people are of no use to the Democrats. The Democrats are threatened by people who can rely on themselves. They are threatened by people who can take care of themselves. They are threatened by people because those people are not dependent.

Those people are not going to be in need. Those people and are running around trying to figure out who it is that is responsible for their unhappiness and their misery. They are too busy taking advantage of the blessed opportunity to live in this country and not everybody is but the point is we have freedom to be and do whatever we want.

The Democrats want to put obstacles in people's way. The left wants to shackle people. They don't believe in people. They don't believe in freedom and liberty because they don't trust people. They think most people are decrypted and dishonest and racist, sexist, bigoted homophobes. And it is such a gigantic contrast. I don't know how in the world anybody on that side things that they are going to put together a majority to win a national election with that kind of an agenda which thinks this point America is not great, America is not exceptional, American is immoral and unjust and has been since our founding. How do you build any kind of a genuine serious movie movement on that kind of attitude about the country?

HANNITY: Stay right there. Rush his 31st anniversary EIB Network Southern Command. He is with us for the rest of the hour. We will ask him about the deep state about the combing news and of course, socialism and the election of 2020 as we continue tonight. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: We now continue on the 31st anniversary of the Rush Limbaugh Show Southern Command Headquarters. Rush Limbaugh, so we talked about this phenomenon where people will wait in the pouring rain 20 hours to see Donald Trump.

LIMBAUGH: That's because Trump appeals to people in a way that I just talked about. He appeals to people but her interest. This is what people don't understand about Donald Trump they get caught up in the tweets, they get caught up in all the manners that he is supposed to have the man touches everybody's hearts, talking about greatness, talking about inspiration and asp rational living, being great.

Everybody wants that. Everybody wants to improve their lives and their families for them self. He touches me he's got a bond with his voters that nobody can break. He's got a bond that is innate. Not everybody can create this bond. It is not a Democrat on that stage either night that has any kind of a bond with anybody in the Democratic Party. Trump is untouchable. There's not one person Sean, on that Democratic stage the last two nights that can even be on stage with Trump and not be overshadowed simply by his presence before he even opens his mouth.

HANNITY: But still, Rush, we follow elections. This is our life. This is what we do. We live, eat breath sleep there is for any Republican to win the Presidency they always have to thread the needle. Florida, North Carolina, Mark Meadow's state, Ohio, you've got to pick off. Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, it's never going to be easy and there's always that appeal, oh, we will take all of your fear way and everything will be taken care of.

LIMBAUGH: Well, you know, I guess maybe I've been at this for so long and I do have to remind myself that they have a lot of supporters. That's one of the scary things. You watch the debate last night and you hear this lunacy. It was lunacy. It was genuine - if you can define normalcy in any which way we have in common come those people are lunatics. The things they were saying and believing in and then you realize that people aren't plotting it.

I was warning people 20 years ago when some laky thing would happen environment movement people laugh nobody's ever going to believe that they said. And now, here we are. They do believe it. I understand the threat here.

And let me give an example of I think where we have a golden opportunity. Tulsi Gabbard came out of nowhere last night because she reamed Kamala Harris. Now, what is the media doing today? I love this. Guess what? To explain Tulsi Gabbard, they are saying I saw this in CNN Sean, they're saying that she's actually working with the Russians who are still working with Trump and her game plan is to become a third-party independent candidate to split the Democratic vote.

They started this Russian insanity and now they are wedded to it. They can't let it go of it. And there's nothing in it for them on this. There is no winning with it I don't believe. Now, I'm not a political professional. When you talk about threading the needle in all of these days, I just say, just have Trump be Trump. Just appeal to people and their better interest and he can permeate this noise like he did in 2016.

HANNITY: Three words I want to throw at you. Green New Deal.

LIMBAUGH: Well, it's a trick. The Green New Deal, even Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, her Chief of Staff, whatever checks your body admitted that it's not even about the climate. It's not even about the weather. It's an economic plan. And it is. It's designed to get massive federal power, grow the federal government; under the pretense that average Americans cannot be left to live their lives without ruining things, especially in Democratic Party.

It's unaffordable, it will never happen, and the premise behind it is bogus. There is no man made climate change. There is nothing we can do to stop whatever the weather is going to do. We can make it warmer, we can't make it colder. We can't change hurricanes directions, we can anticipate them. We can't create them.

And yet, they are campaigning and trying to convince people, I mean, look at Millennials. It's really sad there are a lot of young people who really think this plan is not going to be habitable by the time they hit 65. These people are ruining people's lives. They're ruining their futures all in pursuit of power for themselves.

It's disgusting on one level to me. And I think we need to be called out and I think this stuff needs to be said point blank to them because the media it is not going to do it. The media is their best buddies the media is their support group and so forth. It's a big battle. I'm just optimistic that I'm confident that these people can be beat because they are getting nuttier and nuttier every day. They are demonstrating it. We don't have to tell people are getting nutty. They are showing us.

HANNITY: It's never been easier. In that sense, you're right. 31st anniversary, Rush Limbaugh we will ask him about Mueller, the deep state, the witch hunts, the media mob, much more, straight ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: As I continue, joining us, the Rush Limbaugh. 31 years broadcast excellence. This is a milestone. I remember when I first heard about you, I was - I started in radio 1987. I was in a college radio station radio station. This guy comes up - he came here at this guy Rush Limbaugh and saying about California and you created a huge fire storm out there. There was a barbecue place that boycotted you and you said all of your listeners into the barbecue place and they came back. So, 31 years, it is amazing accomplishment and you are right about conservative.

HANNITY: Hey, look you are one of my first guest host, Sean. We kind of been in this all together. We've been connected since this all started. It's - look I know time is limited here. Sometimes people accuse me of being a little too Pollyannaish and not aware enough of the pitfalls you just talked about, threading the needle.

I'm not naive. I know how difficult it is. I'm not trying to claim this is going to be easy. I want people to look at the Democrats. I'm sick and tired of being afraid of these people. I'm sick and tired of people acting intimidated by Democrats, especially this current crop. There is no reason to fear these people. I know they have the media on their side.

Donald Trump doesn't fear them. Donald Trump doesn't let them intimidate him. Donald Trump is showing how people on our side can win for the first time in many, many years that I've been doing this. He is showing people every day how to win and there is an art to knowing how to win, not just play the games and not being on the stage.

The Democrats are making themselves gigantic targets to it. This Russia thing has blown up in their face. The media is not telling anybody, but it has. They've got nothing. All the lawsuits are being thrown out now. Cohen was thrown out, the thing that was thrown out earlier this week, there is nothing. We've been in a race.

This is business with Comey, I know everybody is upset and it looks like Comey is going to walk. I have faith I faith that the people doing this investigation are going to hold these people accountable. For three years, two years, we've been hearing that all of this is going to come to fruition and a lot of people are frustrated, disappointed. They were today when it was said that Comey is not going to be prosecuted for all reasons because he didn't intend to do it. There has to be accountability here. And I think that it's going to happen at great timing for the 2020 election. Let's just see.

HANNITY: I agree with all that. I actually see similarities between you and Tron. Let me tell you what two of them are. Number one, you've got to be able to take a punch. You paved the way for a lot of us that our conservatives in the media. You have taken more than your fair share. And then, you've got to fight for what you believe. My biggest criticism of Republicans is that they are weak, a lot of them, and timid and afraid to do what you do every day. To do what Trump is doing. You're right. Showing them the way just fight for what you say you were going fight for.

LIMBAUGH: Well, look. They're two different things going on. I don't have to get votes. You and I can succeed with people hating us or disliking us.

HANNITY: There's a lot of them, Rush.

LIMBAUGH: People who get elected - but people who need to win elections, people that don't like him don't vote for him. So I understand their renditions' of it but I think that can be overcome with attitude and it can be overcome with confidence. This fear of the media, this fear of being called a racist, everyone needs to get over that now because all of us are racist.

They can't talk about anybody now without labeling them as racist. This thing that Trump did about Baltimore, it's about time this stuff is called out where the Democrats run cities or towns or states, with one party rule, those places are suffering greatly. The people there are suffering. Drug addiction, their suffering drug infestation and they are suffering filth and nobody ever calls them out on it because you can't because the Democrats supposedly are the ones with compassion so you can criticize them.

The heck with that. They deserve to be criticized. They deserve to be called out. It was Cummings himself 20 years ago. Everybody seen the video now, who referred his own city as drug-infested and nobody said it was racist back then. Trump is really showing a lot of people how to take these people on.

You know, we've got this never Trumper problem that I think is kind of like an elephant or a fly on an elephant's ass but people make it out to be bigger than it is because these were supposedly the intellectual leaders of our party. They've been rendered irrelevant they know it that's why they are ticked off. They're probably going to a vote Democrat if they had a chance simply because, how are they going to sell cruises now? To tell people what they think about conservatism. For 20 years, they thought they were the intellectual leaders of conservatism and they never got much done. I know we are out of time. I'm sorry. I like being here.

HANNITY: I should have just given you the whole hour. 31 years. I just want to tell people one fact. When you started in Syndication, there were less than 200 talk show radio stations in America. Now there are thousands, Rush, happy anniversary. Thank you for being with us.

LIMBAUGH: Thanks Sean.

HANNITY: All right, when we come back, more "Hannity," right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right, unfortunately that's all the time we have left this evening. As always, we thank you, you make this show and Rush's how every all of our shows possible. It's like a wheel, we want to save this country from the insanity of Green New Deal and that socialism and this media mob that this out there trying to literally support what would be the destruction of this economy, we are all needed, its hands on deck tipping point election biggest choice election in our lifetime. Let not your heart be troubled. Ingraham starts right now.

Content and Programming Copyright 2019 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2019 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.