This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," December 9, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And welcome to "Hannity." Speaker of the House Paul Ryan will join us for an exclusive interview in a moment.
But first, President-elect Trump speaking to supporters on the latest round of his thank you tour. Here are some of those highlights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENT-ELECT: I'm here tonight for one main reason, to say thank you to the incredible people of Michigan. Incredible.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: You went out and pounded the pavement, organized your fellow citizens and propelled to victory a grass roots movement the likes of which actually -- actually the world -- we don't just have to say the country -- the world has never seen.
You know I talk about the forgotten man, the forgotten women. Well, let me tell you, they're not so forgotten anymore, by the way, in case you haven't noticed. They're trying to figure out -- they're still trying to figure it out, the media, where did all of these millions of people come from? I knew they were there! They just never had the incentive to go out and say, I like this person. But boy, did they come out in big, big league numbers.
Government must stop listening to the special interests and start delivering for the national interest and for the people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Also tonight, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan met with President-elect Donald Trump earlier today at Trump Tower. And Speaker Ryan joins us now in an exclusive interview. Mr. Speaker...
REP. PAUL RYAN, R-WIS., SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Hey!
HANNITY: ... how are you? Good to see you.
RYAN: Thanks, Sean. Good to have (ph) you. Thanks (INAUDIBLE)
HANNITY: I know we've had our differences, but I know you and Donald Trump had your differences. And you were pretty harsh at times during the campaign. I spoke to him two days ago and he said your relationship is great.
RYAN: Absolutely.
HANNITY: What happened?
RYAN: Absolutely.
HANNITY: How did it evolve?
RYAN: You know, first of all, we agree on the same goals. Our agenda is one and the same. And we quickly decided -- first of all, at the end of the campaign, we merged forces. If you recall, Mike Pence and I up there in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, saying, Republicans come home. You -- vote Trump, vote for your senator, vote for your congressman, unify Republicans. And look what a unified Republican government can get.
That was the pitch we made in the closing moments of the campaign. And yes, I spent most of my time campaigning for Congress because I wanted to make sure we had a strong Republican majority. And now look what we have. We have a president, Donald Trump, Republican, a Senate majority
Republican, which everybody was saying we weren't going to keep, and a very strong House majority. So now we have unified Republican government. It's really exciting.
And so very soon after the race, Donald and I said, Look, this is fantastic, we have so much to do, let's forget about, you know, any -- any differences in the past and let's go get working on this agenda. And that's exactly what we've been doing from -- from that day on.
HANNITY: I know there is still anger among Trump supporters and the Trump base. You said one of his comments, you thought, was racist, or racial, to use the exact words. You had at different times said you're not ready to support him. I remember an exchange you and I had when Donald Trump was going to Wisconsin and I -- and I know you had another engagement. I said, You need to be with him.
RYAN: Yes.
HANNITY: And you said, I got to go to out and campaign for other people. Why were you so hesitant? Why was it so hard...
RYAN: Look, I was...
HANNITY: ... even after he was the nominee?
RYAN: I was basically focused on keeping the House Republican, and I was very concerned about whether or not we could lose the House Republican majority. As you remember, if you know, speaker of the House, your primary responsibility is to save House Republicans.
My biggest fear, the black swan event we were worried about, was just think of having a Hillary Clinton presidency, a Democrat Senate run by Chuck Schumer and a Democrat House run by Nancy Pelosi.
That, to me, was the horrible scenario that I was trying to guard against. And so that was our default, you know, break the glass, stop that from happening. Those things can happen. We had a 30-seat majority. We won 63 seats in 2014. The Democrats won 20 -- 31 seats in 2008. So these things can switch back and force fairly -- back and forth fairly easily.
So my goal was to protect House Republicans. At the end, we were excited about the ability to close this race as a unified Republican ticket, a unified Republican Party, so that we could have unified Republican government, which now, we're not worried -- we're not looking backwards, we're looking forward and we're excited about getting this agenda implemented.
HANNITY: And you said in "60 Minutes" that you talk to him every day.
RYAN: Yes.
HANNITY: Tell me. What's the conversation like?
RYAN: Yes, we talk -- we...
RYAN: It's all about personnel and policy. Every conversation we have, to me, it's just -- you know how exciting this is for us! We've been fighting Barack Obama for eight years!
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: I warned the country about Obama. I know all about Obama.
RYAN: So to -- to be able to talk on a daily basis with the man who's about to be the president of the United States about tackling the big problems and undoing the wreck and the mess that was made before, it's so exciting! So the conversations we have always revolve around just getting things done. How are we going to replace "Obama care," what tax reform looks like, how we're going to secure the border, how we're going to get people from welfare to work, how does rebuilding the military look like?
These are the things we're talking about. And now we're just talking about how do we execute it. And we're talking about personnel, to get the right people in place, you know, those kinds of things.
HANNITY: I have called this election the forgotten man, forgotten women election.
RYAN: Yes.
HANNITY: And I -- for an entire year on this program, I gave out statistics -- 13 million more Americans on food stamps, 8 million more in poverty, the lowest labor participation rate...
RYAN: Right.
HANNITY: ... since the '70s...
RYAN: Right.
HANNITY: ... lowest home ownership rate in 51 years, more debt than 43 other presidents before him combined. So for me, winning elections is great, but now it's time to govern.
RYAN: That's exactly right.
HANNITY: And that's what I want to ask you about. I want to go over the agenda. I was a little surprised at comments by Congressman Flores, and I'll get to that in a minute. I think originalists -- you support originalist justices.
RYAN: Right.
HANNITY: OK.
RYAN: I didn't hear what Bill Flores said, so I'm not sure...
HANNITY: I'll get to that in a second.
RYAN: OK.
HANNITY: So on the economy, which is where job creation, I think, is the most important thing...
RYAN: Right.
HANNITY: ... getting people back to work, getting our economy in order, get growth, the...
RYAN: Right.
HANNITY: Obama will leave as the first president never to reach 3 percent GDP growth...
RYAN: That's right.
HANNITY: ... in a year.
RYAN: That's right. That's right.
HANNITY: OK, so you said 20 percent on "60 Minutes" in terms of a corporate rate. He wants 15. Will you go to 15?
RYAN: Yes, absolutely. It's all a question of whether the numbers can add up or not. So in order to be able to pass a budget with tax reform in it, they -- these numbers have to add up.
So I would love to do 15. It all is a question of whether we can make those numbers work so that we can get the votes we need to pass that budget through. So it's simply a matter of getting it through Congress.
HANNITY: But you have a majority.
RYAN: Well, if you want to get into the details, in the House, we have a majority and we're a majoritarian body. So all I need is 218 votes and I can pass something. That doesn't work like that in the Senate.
HANNITY: OK. But...
RYAN: As you know, the Senate has the filibuster, except for budget reconciliation.
HANNITY: Harry Reid...
RYAN: Well...
(CROSSTALK)
RYAN: ... Harry Reid did the nuclear option for personnel...
HANNITY: Right.
RYAN: ... not for policy. There's one bill, we call it budget reconciliation, and that cannot be filibustered. But...
HANNITY: But that's how they passed ObamaCare.
RYAN: No, it isn't. They -- they passed ObamaCare -- they passed ObamaCare with 60 votes and then they did this side bill...
HANNITY: Right.
RYAN: ... to add to ObamaCare with some spending and taxes.
HANNITY: Well, that was the reconciliation part that they (INAUDIBLE).
RYAN: That's right. But it was -- they called it the sidecar.
HANNITY: I got it.
RYAN: But here's the point. For you to be able to use reconciliation, to not have a filibuster, it has to be deficit-neutral. And so we have to have deficit-neutral tax reform. And that's why when I say 20 to 15 -- 20 percent we -- we know is definitely there.
HANNITY: It gets you there.
RYAN: Yes, 20 percent gets us there. Fifteen percent isn't deficit-neutral. But we can -- we can -- we're going to work on this bill and try and get it as best as we can so that it stays deficit-neutral so that they cannot filibuster it. And that -- that's the long answer to why there's a difference between those two numbers.
HANNITY: The repatriation part is what, some $2 trillion, $3 trillion, $4 trillion, $5 trillion. I don't think anybody knows the full number...
RYAN: That's right. That's right.
HANNITY: ... that multinational corporations...
RYAN: Right.
HANNITY: ... have parked offshore...
RYAN: Right.
HANNITY: ... because of our confiscatory rates...
RYAN: Because we have a...
HANNITY: ... regulations...
RYAN: ... terrible tax code.
HANNITY: Right.
RYAN: Right.
HANNITY: OK. So do you agree to allow that money back in at a one-time 10 percent rate?
RYAN: Oh, absolutely. That's part of our plan. So what we want to do is not just on a one-time basis, we want to switch our system over so that from ever more, you can always bring your money back. In the old days, meaning back in 2005...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... that was the really old Congress.
RYAN: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
RYAN: We had a holiday...
HANNITY: Yes.
RYAN: ... so for a moment. And then what happens is, people use that holiday, and then they keep their money overseas, they stockpile it waiting for the next holiday.
HANNITY: You want to make it permanent.
RYAN: We want to make it permanent.
HANNITY: OK, what about this idea? What would you -- would you consider maybe a 5 percent rate if the companies that are bringing the money back would agree to invest in Detroit, in Milwaukee...
RYAN: Yes.
HANNITY: ... in -- in -- Cuyahoga County...
RYAN: Well...
HANNITY: ... in Cleveland.
RYAN: So -- so the big debate we will be having in the spring, when that budget comes forward is with that repatriation revenue that we get, where does it go? That's where the infrastructure conversation comes into play. That's where lots of these conversations come into play.
The point is this. Trillions of dollars are parked overseas that American companies would like to bring back and reinvest in this country and this economy, creating jobs and economic growth...
HANNITY: And you're going to give them an opportunity?
RYAN: Yes. And we're going to give them the opportunity to do that.
HANNITY: All right, we'll pick it up on the budget when we come back. We'll have more with speaker of the House Paul Ryan right after the back.
Also coming up later tonight right here on "Hannity"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, D-FORMER PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The epidemic of malicious fake news and false propaganda that flooded social media over the past year, it's now clear that so-called fake news can have real world consequences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, now sore loser Hillary Clinton seems to be blaming fake news for her big election loss. Lisa Boothe, Charlie Hurt -- they're here with reaction and more as we continue on this busy new night, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: But on taxes, we're going to undertake one of the great tax reforms and simplifications in American history. At the center of this plan is a massive middle class tax cut, middle class tax cut. We're also going to lower our business tax rate from 35 percent all the way down to 15 percent, bringing new companies to our country and to your state.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, those are highlights from President-elect Trump's thank you tour. We continue now with -- the speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, is with us.
All right, so we went over repatriation. We went over -- we're going to go seven brackets to three.
RYAN: Right.
HANNITY: OK. And we're going to have, hopefully, a 15 -- between 15 and 20 percent.
RYAN: Right.
HANNITY: And you've talked to Donald Trump about that. ObamaCare is one of the first things on your agenda...
RYAN: That is. That is.
HANNITY: ... transitioning from ObamaCare to either health savings accounts...
RYAN: Get to a patient-centered system, where you buy what you want to buy. Obviously, we think health savings accounts is a huge component of that. You know who one of the best advocates for health savings accounts is in Congress? A guy named Tom Price.
HANNITY: Tom Price.
RYAN: Who is about to become HHS secretary! I co-authored the health savings accounts law in 2003. So we want to give people options and choices. We want competition and choice, which drives down prices and increases people's ability to buy what they want to buy.
So yes, there will be a good transition so that no one has the rug pulled out from under them as we go from this dark day of "Obama care" to a better system with lower prices and more choices.
Here's the point we keep trying to make to people. It's getting worse with ObamaCare. It -- it is. And what the actuaries...
HANNITY: Well, we see the prices going up. We see more and more carriers dropping out.
RYAN: Dropping out. The biggest health insurance company in America, United, pulled out. Aetna pulled out. Double digit premium increases. They're -- they're making the deductibles so high, it's not even like you have insurance in the first place. And what we anticipate coming in 2017 is more of that...
HANNITY: Well, we know that...
RYAN: ... so they actually say it's in a death spiral. That's the term they use for saying it is literally...
HANNITY: Well, here's the question...
RYAN: ... it -- it's going down.
HANNITY: It took -- it took six full years...
RYAN: I know.
HANNITY: ... to implement...
RYAN: I know.
HANNITY: ... ObamaCare. How many years will it take to transition off?
RYAN: We're -- we're in the middle of trying to figure that out right now.
HANNITY: Will it be less than two?
RYAN: It's a -- we're trying to figure that out. I hate sticking numbers on these things because we're trying to figure this out.
HANNITY: All right.
RYAN: Tom Price isn't even at HHS yet. So the Trump government isn't even stood up yet, so those people who will be integral in making sure this work and be successful aren't even in those positions yet. That's why...
HANNITY: Let me...
RYAN: ... what we want to do is bring relief immediately. We're going to work on our repeal legislation immediately. And then we have to make sure that there's that -- that good transition period so that people don't have the rug pulled out from under them. And then we can bring relief as quickly as possible.
HANNITY: My biggest concern -- and people that call my radio show and write me on a regular basis -- it seems to be their biggest concern -- is a trillion dollars for infrastructure. You were asked on "60 Minutes" how are you going to pay for it?
RYAN: Yes.
HANNITY: And immediately after you were on, there was a guy that brought businesses to the Golden Triangle in Mississippi...
RYAN: Yes.
HANNITY: ... Joe Max Higgins...
RYAN: Yes, I -- I watched that segment.
HANNITY: It was great, right?
RYAN: It -- it was private sector.
HANNITY: It was private sector, but he'd get -- he'd make his...
RYAN: (INAUDIBLE).
HANNITY: ... deals with the government, they'd build roads, sewers and even a power grid to bring a steel mill into their town. It's created over 12,000, 13,000 jobs, and revenue to the government went way up. My question is, how do you spend a trillion dollars on infrastructure?
RYAN: So...
HANNITY: And how do you pay for it?
RYAN: So here's the key. That trillion dollars isn't just the -- the money from hard-working taxpayers to the federal government. That -- that money is leveraged money that is in the private sector. So what we want to do is leverage private sector dollars with all...
HANNITY: (INAUDIBLE) budget?
RYAN: ... private -- public-private partnerships so that people put private money into rebuilding our airports, improving our infrastructure. There are a lot of innovative ideas out there to...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Let me be clear...
RYAN: ... leverage...
HANNITY: ... it's not a trillion-dollar government...
RYAN: It's not a (INAUDIBLE)...
HANNITY: ... boondoggle?
RYAN: ... it's not Washington spending a trillion dollars for...
HANNITY: How much will Washington spend?
RYAN: I -- that's something we're also going to be figuring out and negotiating as we go.
But the goal here isn't just to take taxpayer money and throw it at big government programs. The goal here is to leverage resources in the private sector so that the private sector produces lean, mean, efficient and on-time infrastructure.
Look, if you take a dollar of infrastructure spending and spend it through the Washington system, you know, cents on the dollar goes to the actual road, to making the improvement. We have to clean up that mess, by the way, which this administration, the Obama administration, has made worse.
But we also -- if you take a dollar that is spent by the private sector in private investment, so much more gets actually done in kind -- in the (INAUDIBLE)...
HANNITY: I would argue if it goes through the D.C. bureaucracy and you've got...
RYAN: There's just no point.
HANNITY: ... 535 guys...
RYAN: No, look...
HANNITY: ... fighting for it...
RYAN: ... we don't want to pork this up. We don't want this to be bureaucracy. We want this to be private sector direction. We want this to be private sector leveraged and so that we can have better jobs, more money going into the economy, to the infrastructure, and don't do it through some big "Washington knows" best program.
HANNITY: Why do I believe that America more than ever -- especially, I would argue that OPEC, Saudi Arabia, the Middle East purposefully manipulated the price of energy to drive out of business...
RYAN: Yes.
HANNITY: ... some of these fracking companies and others. How quickly will you put on the agenda America energy independence...
RYAN: (INAUDIBLE).
HANNITY: ... how fast?
RYAN: Day one. Day one.
HANNITY: Day one?
RYAN: This is what we're working with the transition team on. So -- so I think there -- there's -- there's a very legitimate point you're making there, which was the American energy renaissance that could be there for us but for our government was threatening to OPEC and threatening to other energy producers.
We are sitting on a store of oil and gas that is tremendous. America -- this country can be the dominant producer in the world. Think of what that does for jobs. Think of what that does for our prices for -- for heating our homes and -- and if we could then...
HANNITY: Every car could be driven on gas.
RYAN: ... our industrial parks and electricity and you name it.
HANNITY: Cars can be...
RYAN: And think of what it does for our foreign policy.
HANNITY: Yes.
RYAN: You know, selling Europe...
HANNITY: We're not dependent.
RYAN: ... our gas instead of having them having to buy it from Russia. So it's -- it's fantastic for foreign policy, for jobs, for -- for everything, but for our government.
So what we're working with the transition team is, what can they do immediately on day one to clear this what we call regulatory underbrush, to clear all the barriers that the Obama administration put up.
HANNITY: Wipe them out.
RYAN: Get -- get rid of them.
HANNITY: A stroke of the pen.
RYAN: Get rid of them. And then what do we need to do when they get better people in place in the administrative branch to clean up regulations that they couldn't through sort of executive orders and the rest? And then what do we need to do legislatively to deal with these -- these barriers?
So we're working hand in glove with the transition team as to what is it they can do administratively, what is it we need to do -- this is a day one project, starting right away to get this energy renaissance under way.
HANNITY: All right, when we come back, I want to talk about Congressman Flores's comments. I want to talk about vetting, immigration, some areas where you may have disagreement with the president-elect. When we come back, we'll have more with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.
And also coming up tonight, right here on "Hannity."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: The epidemic of malicious fake news and false propaganda that flooded social media over the past year -- it's now clear that so-called fake news can have real world consequences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, Hillary Clinton, sore loser, keeps coming up with new excuses why she lost the election. This time, she's blaming fake news, maybe like when she came under sniper fire. Lisa Boothe, Charlie Hurt are here.
That and more tonight straight ahead on "Hannity."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." We continue with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.
All right, so Congressman Flores, he recently gave a speech. It seemed like he was kind of speaking with you. Well, let's go for the things, the issues that the House Republicans agree with and Donald Trump agree with, and then we'll deal with the other issues later.
Now, I would argue that you might have some disagreement on immigration or extreme vetting. Do you?
RYAN: Actually, we don't. We've talked about this quite a bit, so we're -- we're fusing our agendas. And we are working on a common platform of what we're going to do for all of 2017. People say we have 100 day -- and actually, we're working on a 200-day plan. So there really isn't any problem here or disagreement here. We're working...
HANNITY: Do you agree on the wall?
RYAN: We're -- oh, yes, we're -- we're working on funding -- getting border funding up and running right away.
HANNITY: Criminal aliens gone?
RYAN: Yes, we agree with that.
HANNITY: Has there been a discussion about...
RYAN: So that's -- by the way, that's...
HANNITY: ... Dreamers that have been...
RYAN: ... just so you know, that's enforcing current law.
HANNITY: I -- well, I understand that.
RYAN: So, yes. So I mean why would we be against, if a person comes here illegally and commits a violent crime, enforcing current law to remove them? That's kind of a ridiculous (INAUDIBLE).
HANNITY: What about the 11 million that we -- that supposedly Dreamers and others? Where are you?
RYAN: What President-elect Trump has asked us to focus on is enforcing current laws, like we just described, and getting the border secure. And so that's what he said he wants us focusing on, and that's exactly what we're working on with him.
HANNITY: Where are you with extreme vetting?
RYAN: I agree with extreme vetting. I think his position changed to extreme vetting, particularly from hotspots. We agree with that. We always believed that you need to vet these more -- more carefully. And that, to me, is -- is good, sound policy.
HANNITY: Is there any issue you can think of today, after speaking with him (INAUDIBLE) talk to him almost every day. Anything you can think of that you...
RYAN: No, because all of our conversations...
HANNITY: ... disagree on?
RYAN: ... revolve around getting the big things done and -- and they revolve around where our common ground is in getting them done. So we don't really talk about what we disagree on because we're basically trying to execute an agenda -- "Obama care," repealing and replacing it and solving that problem. It's really hurting people. We've got to bring relief. Getting comprehensive tax reform, critical for economic growth. Clearing the regulatory burdens out of the way of businesses, again...
HANNITY: He can do that in the first couple of hours.
RYAN: ... economic growth. The first couple of hours, but there's more -- it will take...
HANNITY: There's more to do.
RYAN: ... there's a lot in the first couple of hours but there's more.
HANNITY: Right.
RYAN: We all believe our military has really taken it in the chin lately. We've got to rebuild our military. That's really critical. We've got to open up energy, like you and I were just talking about.
And one thing that we've added to our agenda is he -- he feels very strongly about infrastructure and reviving infrastructure. So we want to honor that...
HANNITY: And you're saying that's not going to be a -- a trillion-dollar check? That is going to be...
RYAN: From the federal government? No, it's all about leveraging. There'll be, clearly, federal dollars involved, but it's going to leverage private sector money.
HANNITY: So let me add -- so if you agree on seven brackets to three, you're close to the 15 percent mark...
RYAN: Yes.
HANNITY: ... for the corporate. You agree on repatriation.
RYAN: Right.
HANNITY: Although it's more the Senate, you agree on originalist justices.
RYAN: Of course.
HANNITY: And you agree on ObamaCare and you agree on health savings accounts and you agree on energy independence.
RYAN: Correct.
HANNITY: And you agree on the wall and you agree on vetting. What's left on the agenda?
RYAN: And the...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... and military...
RYAN: And infrastructure to the -- to the list...
HANNITY: Right.
RYAN: ... and we said fine, we'll -- we're happy to do that.
HANNITY: And the VA? I assume you agree on fixing the VA?
RYAN: Oh, yes. We all -- well, we were part of -- we're the ones, House Republicans -- Jeff Miller, the chairman of the committee, he's the one who uncovered the disgrace at the VA.
HANNITY: Right.
RYAN: So we're the ones who brought the Choice program in place, to give veterans recourse away from these waiting lists. So absolutely. That place really needs a clearing out. I -- it's just -- I can go on and on about it, but...
HANNITY: Will you get education back to the states, which I would argue, especially for inner city America...
RYAN: Yes.
HANNITY: ... we have...
RYAN: So we made good progress just this year on that. We passed what we call our Title I bill where we got rid of Common Core, we got rid of No Child Left Behind and sent those dollars back to the states. I -- I can't think of a better person than like Betsy -- Betsy DeVos...
HANNITY: Yes.
RYAN: ... who has really been a -- a trailblazer in education reform on behalf of choice and charter schools, which me -- to me, is really one of the critical components to fighting poverty more effectively.
So then the next leg of those reforms -- so we've already pushed the dollars back to the states. Now we want to encourage innovation like choice and charter to actually take place because that is how you get people out of -- of the poverty trap that they find themselves in.
HANNITY: Is there an opportunity for something like a Grace Commission, the biggest, best, brightest business minds in the country getting together, how to reform government to run more like a business? For example, when we watched, you know, Joe Max Higgins...
RYAN: Well, there is...
HANNITY: ... he can manage...
RYAN: ... we just want to get that done and do it. I mean, you've got to understand, with Barack Obama there, we have been really frustrated because progressives believe in no limiting principle of government. They just want to grow, grow, grow. Rights don't come from God, they come from government. And this is the philosophy we've been fighting for eight years.
We finally, finally have this great opportunity that's been given to us by the American people to get this country back on track, to limit our government, to honor the Constitution, to clean this mess up. And that is what we want to get. And we don't want to wait for some commission, we just want to get going and doing it.
HANNITY: I'm still a -- a deficit hawk. And I don't...
RYAN: You know I am, as well.
HANNITY: This president accumulated more debt by the time he leaves than 43 presidents before him combined. I know this is an aggressive agenda. I'm glad to hear -- every big agenda item that Donald Trump would explain to me when I interviewed him, you have just now echoed. So the next question is, can you do it without adding to the deficit?
RYAN: That...
HANNITY: Can you get us to a balanced budget?
RYAN: That's what our budget -- so -- so our spring budget is going to have to address that. Our spring budget, which I've written eight budgets...
HANNITY: Yes.
RYAN: ... since I went on -- before, when I ran the Budget Committee -- our spring budget is going to have to address the fiscal responsibility issues that is why we are Republicans.
HANNITY: But you do agree on entitlements with Donald Trump.
RYAN: I wouldn't say we disagree on entitlements. We actually haven't had a conversation about comprehensive entitlement reform.
HANNITY: But it's a big part...
RYAN: I think it's a -- it's been a part of every budget...
HANNITY: ... non-discretionary spending.
RYAN: ... I've ever written.
HANNITY: Yes.
RYAN: To me, it's -- but more importantly, these entitlement programs are going bankrupt and will jeopardize the people who depend on them. So we have to shore these programs up by reforming them and making them more solvent.
And the good news about this is if you do something soon, you don't even have to change or effect the benefits of anyone in or near retirement.
HANNITY: Economic growth certainly...
RYAN: And for those of us who are younger that won't have a program...
HANNITY: Speak for yourself. I want my Social Security money.
RYAN: Yes.
HANNITY: I want every penny I put in.
RYAN: Oh, well, I don't want to add to your age.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: I'm young. But don't worry, I'm really there.
Newt Gingrich did balance a budget, along with Bill Clinton.
RYAN: Yes.
HANNITY: We've gotten there.
RYAN: We have. The fiscal pressures were different then. They mostly cut what we call discretionary spending, just government agency budgets. We did that, too.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: But they also reduced the rate of growth for Medicare.
RYAN: That's right. So what -- from the -- that -- that was what that did, it -- that was a part of that. But now, the entitlement programs have taken so much more of the budget, they're on autopilot. Those have to be addressed.
HANNITY: The penny plan -- you've never really been a big supporter of it.
RYAN: Yes because it -- it cuts Social Security for current seniors. It cuts Medicare for current seniors. I don't...
HANNITY: A penny a year...
RYAN: It actually works...
HANNITY: ... out of every dollar.
RYAN: The way that the math works is those programs are growing about 6 percent a year...
HANNITY: It will reduce the rate of growth...
RYAN: ... and if you cut it...
HANNITY: ... to 3 percent.
RYAN: No, no, no. If you -- no, no, no. To wait -- make those numbers work, you have to actually -- actually cut 1 percent. So that's about a 7 percent cut. So the point I'm saying is we believe we can fix these problems without jeopardizing the commitments made to current seniors who retired -- they organized their lives around these programs. It's a commitment that needs to be kept.
HANNITY: The last question.
RYAN: But those of us who are younger, we think if we make these programs better, more choice, more competition, reform it, then you can guarantee these benefits are there for seniors...
HANNITY: I do think something has to be done...
RYAN: ... and for the...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... the numbers are -- are what they are.
RYAN: Right.
HANNITY: And then it's -- it's a -- we don't have a big non-discretionary spending budget when you really look at it.
RYAN: We do have a big non-discretionary spending...
HANNITY: I -- I'm sorry, you don't have a big discretionary spending...
RYAN: That's right.
HANNITY: Sorry.
RYAN: So since the day we took over from Nancy Pelosi...
HANNITY: It's high.
RYAN: ... we cut $889 billion out of discretionary spending...
(CROSSTALK)
RYAN: ... by having a Republican Congress.
HANNITY: But we still have $10 more trillion in debt.
RYAN: Yes.
HANNITY: And then we've got $120 trillion in unfunded liability.
RYAN: Yes, we've got a long ways to go.
HANNITY: Do you think it's a time -- do we get rid of baseline budgeting altogether?
RYAN: Oh, I've always believed that.
HANNITY: Does it happen now?
RYAN: Louie Gohmert and Rob Woodall, two Congressmen, a guy from Texas and a guy from Georgia...
HANNITY: Yes.
RYAN: ... I brought these bills through the Budget Committee when I was chairman, the -- are the guys who authored the -- the zero baseline budgeting bill. I'm a big believer in that because it's just built-in inflation increases, automatic spending increases.
So before you even get to debating whether you spend more or less money on a program, it's already built in that you're spending more. I agree with that and I think that that's something -- now that we have a Republican president, I think this would be a fantastic reform to bring through.
HANNITY: You ran with Mitt Romney in 2012. You've heard everything Mitt Romney said about Trump -- racist, misogynist, huckster, fraud. Went all in on helping Admiral Mullins. Now it seems like --
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: But he said all of these huckster, fraud, doesn't have the temperament to be president. Now they're meeting every day. A lot of Trump supporters are like, what is he doing? Are you surprised that Mitt Romney --
RYAN: I'm impressed.
HANNITY: -- your running mate, went this far?
RYAN: Well, the past is behind us. I don't think there's a point --
HANNITY: That was harsh. That was cold.
RYAN: Like Donald said, he punched him pretty hard first, too. But the playground talk, let's get rid of it.
(LAUGHTER)
RYAN: I'm impressed.
HANNITY: This is Washington, D.C. If you want a friend, get a dog.
RYAN: Exactly. I'm impressed with how Donald Trump handles himself. I'm impressed with how magnanimous he is. I'm impressed with just his demeanor, his temperament. What I'm really impressed with is the cabinet he's putting together. This is a very good cabinet. He is picking very good people for this cabinet. So this is something that has those of us who have been fighting against this liberal progressive government for a long time --
HANNITY: And you didn't think he would win Wisconsin.
RYAN: No, we did not think he was going to win Wisconsin. So I've got to tell you, we're very excited. Not, the way I look at it is, why don't we all stop underestimating Donald Trump. I think that would be a smart thing to do.
HANNITY: Last thing I'm going to say. I said this once to president-elect Trump. I said the only thing I care about, and I know I speak for a lot of our viewers and listeners, I want the country saved. And it's a mess now, and I think Obama made it infinitely worse. The most important thing that I think both of you can do, and I said this in as friendly a way as I can, is keep your promises. Republicans have broken way too many promises.
RYAN: What I love about the election we just had is we all went out there and ran on ideas. We all ran on specific solutions. What that means is we didn't just run on some vague platitude on some unsuspecting country. We ran on specific ideas and specific promises that now we have merged forces and we're working together on a common platform to deliver them. But the point is that we earned the right to put these solutions in place, and we're given that chance by the country.
HANNITY: And you will be held accountable.
RYAN: We cannot blow this opportunity.
HANNITY: Agreed. All right, Mr. Speaker, thank you for keeping your promise to be here. Thank you. Appreciate it.
Coming up next tonight right here on "Hannity."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: The epidemic of malicious fake news and false propaganda that flooded social media over the past year, it's now clear that so-called fake news can have real world consequences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Hillary Clinton, crybaby liberals, well, they're over their Play-Doh and their coloring books and their hot cocoa. Now they're complaining about fake media outlets like when she came under sniper fire and it really turned out to be flowers. We'll check in with Lisa Boothe and Charlie Hurt. They're next as "Hannity" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." Hillary Clinton is having a very tough time accepting her crushing defeat in last month's election, and now she's jumping on the liberal media's bandwagon, blaming fake news for all of the world's problems. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: Let me just mention briefly one threat in particular that should concern all Americans, Democrats, Republicans and independents alike, especially those who serve in our Congress. The epidemic of malicious fake news and false propaganda that flooded social media over the past year, it's now clear that so-called fake news can have real world consequences. This isn't about politics or partisanship. Lives are at risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Forget ISIS, radical Islamists, fake news is the real threat that you the American people are facing. Here now with reaction, FOX News contributors Lisa Boothe and Charlie Hurt. I don't even know what to say to this. Lisa, fake news, would that be her in Bosnia saying she came under sniper fire when really she was handed flowers by children, or the video lie about Benghazi, is that fake news? Or CNN colluding and giving her questions before a debate, is that fake news? What is this fake news phenomenon?
LISA BOOTHE, COLUMNIST, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER": One would think that all of that would be called fake news or identified as fake news. But look, Sean, the left and the media are doing everything they can do delegitimize Donald Trump's victory and also to marginalize his supporters. And as you just mentioned, a lot of these individuals who are decrying fax news are the ones that are complicit in spreading it. As you mentioned, Hillary Clinton drove false propaganda about Benghazi. She said that comment at an event for Harry Reid, a guy who lied about Mitt Romney's taxes and spread that fake news. Also the media, as you mentioned, has been complicit in driving a dangerous and false narrative about the "hands up, don't shoot." So it's really rich that the same players and actors who have been complicit in driving the fake news are now the ones that are decrying it.
HANNITY: Charlie, all throughout this entire campaign people like us were under fire because we're open about our opinions. I am not a journalist. I am a talk show host. Everybody knows I'm a conservative. But yet you would think it's a big shock and surprise to all of the mainstream media. But what did we learn? They have been colluding with the Clintons, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, "The New York Times," "Politico," all of them. That's fake news to me.
CHARLES HURT, POLITICAL COLUMNIST, WASHINGTON TIMES: Absolutely. And it was particularly grubby for her to go to the people's house and make that charge, especially after what I thought she delivered the finest speech of her career in conceding, a very gracious one a month ago. And it was a very nice note of bipartisanship and wanting to move on.
And so to do this now is particularly disgusting, especially because, as you pointed out and as Lisa pointed out, my goodness, the entire mainstream media coverage of the entire Donald Trump campaign was fake news. They called him a cheat, a liar, a rapist, a racist, they misquoted him.
HANNITY: Everything.
HURT: They did everything they could do smear this guy.
HANNITY: I don't want to hit low hanging fruit here but I'm going to take the shot anyway. I can't help it.
HURT: It's fun.
HANNITY: Brian Williams is over at NBC. He was a big NBC News. Watch him talk about fake news. But while you're watching it --
HURT: The king of fake news.
HANNITY: I want you to remember he talked about dead bodies in front of his hotel, but there was no water in front of his hotel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN WILLIAMS, NBC NEWS: As we talked about here last night, fake news played a role in this election and continues to find a wide audience. A BuzzFeed news study of Donald Trump's own tweets where they follow back news stories to their root source found more of them came from Breitbart originally than from any other single source.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Excuse me, Lisa, did he see dead bodies floating in front of his hotel or not?
BOOTHE: It is low hanging.
HANNITY: That's low hanging, yes.
BOOTHE: But Sean, I also think it's ridiculous. You've got the left and they're still doing this. We saw it even last week with the Harvard event where Hillary's communications director is continuing to push the alt-right racist narrative that the Republicans and Donald Trump supporters are all a bunch of racists. And it's just utterly ridiculous because guess who Senator Chuck Schumer is behind for the DNC, a guy like Keith Ellison, a person who said that black Americans need a separate country and has made racists comments like that. Also look at his cabinet choices. He's got Ben Carson, Elaine Chao, Nikki Haley. It's really ridiculous, and I think it's just low for them to continue to push this false narrative and to marginalize Donald Trump's supporters in the way that they are and slander them, really.
HANNITY: Last word, Charlie.
HURT: I do think Lisa is of course exactly right. But one of the biggest losers of the election is the mainstream media because all those years they've spent truly pedaling fake news, there wasn't an alternative media out there. There wasn't the internet, there wasn't talk radio. Now people can actually fact check these people.
HANNITY: I don't trust any of them. Good to see you both, thank you.
HURT: Thank you, Sean.
BOOTHE: Thank you.
HANNITY: And up next tonight right here on "Hannity."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thousands of Americans are marching in New York and Washington and across the country demanding a justice system that applies the same to everybody and honors our values. And you -- we want you to know that our hearts are out there marching with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Whoops, the left repeatedly pushing the "hands up don't shoot" lie that created the Black Lives Matter movement. We'll expose that hypocrisy and their spreading of fake news and that story. Also reaction tonight from Deneen Borelli, Niger Innes, as we continue on this busy news night here tonight on "Hannity."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." So the left and the mainstream media, they're all freaking out about the rise of fake news, but they were also happy to spread the "hands up, don't shoot" lie that spawned the Black Lives Matter movement. Remember both President Obama and Hillary Clinton supported and defended Black Lives Matter and their agenda. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, D-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In a movement like Black Lives Matter there are always going to be some folks that say things that are stupid.
CLINTON: I am fighting to reform criminal justice for every mother and father who worry every day that their child will be stopped by the police just for being African-American because, yes, Black Lives Matter.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Don't all lives matter? Don't we care about everybody? Joining me now, FOX News contributor, Deneen Borelli, chairman of the Tea Party Forward movement, civil rights activist, both friends of mine, Niger Innis. Your life matters to me. Niger's life matters to me. Every human being -- I'm conservative, I'm prolife. And I understand the argument. Why a group that chants "What do we want, dead cops, when do we want them, now." How did they get in the White House with the president? How do they get the presidential candidate of a party to support them?
DENEEN BORELLI, CONSERVATIVE REVIEW: It is outrageous. And unfortunately, the media ran with this. The left wing media ran with this lie, Sean, and way too many Americans STILL believe THAT this was the truth. And sadly, this were police officers who were killed as a result of this lie.
But the left is talking about the fake news, right? The real fake here is the left wing media because they are the ones who are promoting the lies that are happening in the headlines and the news, and, sadly, Americans are falling for it. You think about Obama and how he said with the Iranian deal we had a small window of opportunity to negotiate. He was already negotiating with Iran on the nuclear deal.
HANNITY: Not only that, he didn't even use it as a treaty, so Donald Trump will get rid of it probably immediately except you can't get the money back because the ransom was already paid.
Niger, we've known each other so long. If I was the president of the United States in the last number of years, I think I would have spent more time in Chicago where in the course of Obama's presidency 4,000 people died. This year alone over 3,000 victims of a shooting, most of them black Americans. Where is he? Those lives matter. Why isn't he there every day helping to solve the violence in his own home city?
NIGER INNIS, TEA PART FORWARD CHAIRMAN: That's right. It's his adopted home city. It's where he got his political career started. It's where before he engaged in politics he was a community organizer. So he knew better than most of the carnage and the killing and the black on black murders that had been taking place for many, many years.
Another tragedy of the "hands up don't shoot" movement, and the real consequences of the president embracing it, is that it was based on a lie. Of course, the Michael Brown killing -- it was all a lie. And Eric Holder, one of the most partisan attorney generals that we have had in history, his Justice Department essentially said that "hands up, don't shoot" did not take place.
HANNITY: Let me ask this. If Donald Trump gives choice in education and goes into inner city America where schools have been, frankly, neglected for far too long, and if he brings businesses to those cities and communities that need him the most, will the demographics of this country change voting wise?
BORELLI: That is why the left is still having a temper tantrum from day one when Donald Trump was elected, protesting in the streets, burning the American flag. Trump's policies are to help turn our economy around. He talks about addressing the issues that are happening in urban communities, failing schools, crime. And he wants to turn those communities around. And yes, that will propel, I think, Americans to look toward the policy he has to present to the country and will spur jobs. I think that will be huge.
HANNITY: That will be great for everybody.
All right, guys, thank you both for being with us. When we come back, an important "Question of the Day" straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: All right, time for our "Question of the Day." So after watching our exclusive interview with Speaker Ryan earlier tonight, do you think Republicans in Congress will finally keep promises, work with the president, and get things done? That is all I want for Christmas.
And that is all the time we have left this evening. Don't forget, you can always respond @SeanHannity on Twitter, Facebook, and of course any other public social media. Set your DVR so you never miss an episode. We'll see you back here tomorrow night. Thanks for being with us. Actually we'll see you Monday night.
END
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