President Trump blasts Russia investigation as an attempted 'coup'

close

Video

President Trump blasts Russia investigation as an attempted 'coup'

Strzok-Page texts suggested using post-election briefing to gather information on Trump team; panel reaction and analysis on 'Hannity.'

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," April 26, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

TAMMY BRUCE, HOST: Welcome to the special edition of “Hannity: The 2020 Election.” I'm Tammy Bruce, in for Sean tonight.

The Trump agenda is delivering success after success on the economy, with the first quarter GDP number shattering expectations. Full coverage of that just ahead.

But, first, the radical Democrats are hitting new levels of extremism, and as they compete to out-liberal each other on everything from the Green New Deal to open borders and, yes, even letting murderers vote from prison, President Trump is giving his early assessment of the candidates so far.

Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT: We're calling him sleepy Joe. I have known him for a while. He is a pretty sleepy guy. He is not going to be able to deal with President Xi, I will tell you. That's a different level of energy and, frankly, intelligence. He is not going to be able to do the job.

He's got misguided energy and he's done very poorly in terms of the Senate. He has done very little legislation. I think he talks a lot and doesn't get it done.

He is fading very fast. I think he is fading very, very fast. It looks like he is going to be a thing of the past pretty soon.

I think she's got a little bit of a nasty wit but that might be it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: All righty. And don't forget, not only is the Democrat's Russian collusion narrative dead and buried but the spotlight shines bright on anti-Trump bias, spying and corruption inside the highest levels of government. And it appears to be creeping closer and closer to the Obama White House.

Last night, even Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein chided the Obama administration and the FBI for its handling of the original Russian meddling investigation.

And President Trump is intensifying his calls that the whole Mueller probe was tainted from the start. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They tried for a coup, didn't work out so well.

And I didn't need a gun for that one, did I?

All was taking place at the highest levels in Washington, D.C. You have been watching. You've been seeing. You've been looking at things that you wouldn't have believed possible in our country -- corruption at the highest level, a disgrace, spying, surveillance, trying for an overthrow and we caught them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: That's a man in his wheelhouse there. Now, the president's comments as we continue to learn more about possible spying efforts against the Trump White House, because according to newly released 2016 text messages, disgraced FBI lovers, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, appeared to suggest actually recruiting sources from within the new White House to gather information on team Trump. With names that included, according to our own Sara Carter, the wife of the chief of staff to Vice President Pence who previously worked with Strzok on the Clinton e-mail case.

Joining me now with reaction to all of this, the author of "The Russia Hoax", Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett, along with Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton, and Congressman Mike Turner.

Gentlemen, thank you for joining me this evening.

You know, this is extraordinary, and, Greg, I'll start with you because while all of what we have experienced has been surprising to all of us. None of us are naive. All of us have experience. And yet, all of us remember Nixon. We all know that the government can be secretive.

This has been extraordinary at any level. What is your take now with this new revelation? Is this something par for the course? Or does this take it to change and turn into some place quite different?

GREGG JARRETT, LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I -- you know, if the evidence is there, and I would like to see the explanations for these text messages, but if the evidence is there, I don't know how you explain these messages. It does appear as though they are trying to plant a mole within the transition team to spy on the Trump campaign.

We already know as Bill Barr pointed out to great controversy that the Trump campaign was being spied on. There was electronic surveillance. There was a confidential informant and now, apparently, there may have been a mole.

So, look, the president was correct when he played the comment a moment ago. This was an attempted coup, a silent, nonviolent coup based on phony information to drive him from office.

And, you know, Clinton was the financier, Brennan was the instigator, Clapper was the leaker, and then you had Christopher Steele and Glenn Simpson, the facilitators who created it all with a fabricated document, and Comey and McCabe and Strzok and Page were driving the engine of this attempted coup.

BRUCE: Extraordinary.

You know, Tom, your organization, Judicial Watch, has been pushing for years like a dog that will not let go. Some of us, some individuals, some Americans think, well, this can't be happening. This is crazy talk.

And yet, now, every day, there seems to be something more remarkable. With the work you have done, what do you think we can expect? And where would something like this ultimately go?

I mean, the American people are resilient, but what do you think we can expect as we move forward here?

TOM FITTON, JUDICIAL WATCH PRESIDENT: Well, the more we learn, the worse it looks in terms of the spygate coup effort against President Trump. The FBI right now is hiding text messages of Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page from Judicial Watch. So, I'm glad Congress is able to get some of them. But there are others that are out there.

And on top of that, you start off talking about the presidential campaign. You can't -- you have to remember that the Democratic Party apparatus was involved in this. The Democratic National Committee spent money on this effort to overthrow the president by working with Russia intel. They were meeting with the FBI general counsel just shortly before the election, the lawyer for the DNC and Hillary Clinton.

Joe Biden was in this infamous early January 2017 Oval Office meeting with Barack Obama and Susan Rice and James Comey, where they all talked excitedly --

BRUCE: He's right in there.

FITTON: -- about the dossier just before Comey was launched by Obama at then President-elect Trump with this scheme through the dossier.

BRUCE: I think we are going to see an effort to make it seem as though Joe Biden was dropped in from the planet Mars somehow, and he's never been involved in any of this. But he has been involved a great deal. You know, he is an experienced man and he knows what's going on.

Mike, you know, for I think all of us, also, when we deal with things like this, and people say -- they mention Watergate, but this is exclusively different. Watergate was a team of people and the president involving re- election trying to get information on the opponent and all of that. This is an agency, the law enforcement -- highest law enforcement of the nation, colluding and spying and working to change an election that was legal and to usurp a duly elected president.

That is something we have never seen before? Would you agree? Mike?

REP. MIKE TURNER, R-OH: One of the things that I think we have that we would be very concerned about is the fact that here we have our democratic institutions being undermined by the intelligence community, our law enforcement community, who are entrusted with tools that are supposed to be keeping us safe. They are supposed to be part of what goes to the heart of our national security.

And instead, they are using these tools to undermine our democratic principles, to undermine a duly elected president. And what we have seen now, even with Brennan, Clapper and Comey, and the things they have said on national TV, post the Obama administration, their absolute opposition to this president. And certainly, I think it is evident in the ways we see the abuse of power of the Department of Justice, the FBI and our intelligence agency.

BRUCE: You know, thank you.

I do think, Gregg, that we finally have -- with the Mueller report done, we finally have a sense that, all right, this is serious business and that we can actually look at it without being afraid --

JARRETT: Sure.

BRUCE: -- and with the seriousness of taking care of business, that it is not really about Trump, it is not even a partisan issue. This is about what can happen in a power framework where there has been no accountability for generations.

Do you think we are finally at this point that we can do this and that we will do it in looking at it seriously and completely?

JARRETT: If I were James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Brennan, Clapper, I would be very, very worried and not sleeping very well. The inspector general has spent a year examining the origins of the Trump Russia collusion investigation.

BRUCE: You know, we normally see government investigations, committee stuff.

JARRETT: This is different.

BRUCE: It never becomes anything. There is never a result.

JARRETT: I think you will see criminal referrals in the next 60 days from the I.G. over to the Department of Justice. Bill Barr has made it abundantly clear he is serious about undertaking a legitimate investigation, because he realizes the evidence appears to be there that if the FBI, in particular, there was a cesspool of corruption among the upper echelons.

BRUCE: The highest levels. And this is -- this is our chance as the American people to say to everyone in the political field that we are serious about taking care of these issues, that there will be repercussions. Our infrastructure relies on the legitimacy that the American people give to it because we trust them.

Great, gentlemen. Thank you, Tom. I appreciate everybody. Sorry. We are sort of time here.

Directly ahead, Joe Biden is having all sorts of trouble on the campaign trail. Is his shot of the presidency already over? Austan Goolsbee and Ari Fleischer will be there for that debate.

Stay with us here on the “Hannity Special: The 2020 Election.”

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUCE: Welcome back to the special edition of "Hannity": The 2020 Election.

New economic numbers are coming out today. And the president's policies are facilitating growth this nation has not seen in decades.

Fox News correspondent Trace Gallagher joins us live from our West Coast newsroom, which I know well, with the latest -- Trace.

TRACE GALLAGHER, CORRESPONDENT: And, Tammy, not only is the economy is strong, it appears to be getting stronger. This is the first time since 2015 that economic growth in the first quarter was above 3 percent. Experts say that's an indicator that consumers are shopping, businesses are shopping, everybody is shopping.

And you don't need an economic guru to tell you people shop because they have more money or they are confident they will continue getting money.

White House economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, offered his analysis. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KUDLOW, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: Numbers are numbers and GDP is GDP. But I think the morale of the country is picking up. But I do love these numbers. I just think they are beating what everybody else thinks is happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Well, it is certainly beating what liberal economists and "New York Times" op-ed columnist Paul Krugman said was happening. Seventy-three days ago, Krugman said we were heading toward recession.

But consider this, even about the government shutdown in January, the first quarter growth was so impressive that analysts didn't even need to figure in the usual excuses like bad weather. The bottom line here is the economy is doing so well that it's even doing well on MSNBC -- Tammy.

BRUCE: Yes, there you go. That's when you know that you have got some good economy there.

Trace, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Biden's campaign is only one-day-old but it is already stamped with his signature trademark, gaffes and missteps.

CNN reminded viewers of the fact that he had to drop out because of plagiarism accusations. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He actually never makes to 1988 in his first bid, Brooke, because he drops out in '87 following a plagiarism scandal. Now, just a little bit of context, he's not the frontrunner in 1987. But in 1987, Joe Biden has only been in the Senate 15 years. He is seen as an up and comer. He is considered someone who could be the nominee. But he gives a speech very similar to a speech that a British Labour politician had given, Neil Kinnock, and it leads to his demise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: Well, past forward to this year, prior to entering the presidential race yesterday, Uncle Joe did not bother to call the mother of Heather Heyer, the woman referenced in his campaign launch video who was killed in Charlottesville. When Biden finally did reach out, it seems to have been too little too late. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN BRO, MOTHER OF HEATHER HEYER: Ii got a call from him yesterday at 4:30 in the afternoon. That was the first time I had ever spoken to Joe Biden or anybody related to his office or anything. I think he said something about I would have reached out sooner but I wasn't sure how you would feel. I commented, yes, I noticed you didn't mention her name, because you hadn't contacted me. So, we sort of acknowledged that much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: Wow.

Meanwhile, President Trump seems to be optimistic about the upcoming race as perhaps he should be. Amid his opponent's gaffe, he is feeling very confident. Watch what he had to say this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT: I just feel like a young man. I am so young. I can't believe it -- I am the youngest person. I am a young, vibrant man.

I look at Joe. I don't know about him. I don't know. I would never say anyone is too old. I know they are all making me look very young both in terms of age and I think in terms of energy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: All right, you guys. Joining me now with reaction, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers to President Obama, Austan Goolsbee, and former White House press secretary and FOX News contributor, Ari Fleischer.

Hi, guys. Thanks for coming on tonight.

Fascinating things. We pretty much know what we can expect from President Trump. He does seem to be having a very good time.

But, Austan, let me ask you, we are in an extraordinary economic framework here. I think that's undeniable. What do you think when it comes to certainly Joe Biden who will not be able to ignore his role with the Obama two terms and the nature of what happened with the economy there? What do you think should be his approach in dealing with -- he did mention the economy on his video. What do you think he should be saying to the American people about what he is going to offer differently than what President Trump has done?

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE, FORMER OBAMA ECONOMIC ADVISER: Well, I think you saw in Joe Biden's announcement that it felt like a lot of his focus is going to be, let's call it about cultural issues and about American values and the American way. So I don't know that it is going to be rolling out a series of policy fact sheets or something, if that's what you are saying.

Now, I would comment that it struck me from the president's reaction today that the president looked like he doesn't want to run against Joe Biden and he is trying to throw up a series of critiques. I mean, really? A 72- year-old man accusing his opponent of being too old?

If you look at Joe Biden's approval rating, he got 100,000 donors in one day, that he leads the primary in the polling and his net favorability is 15 points better than the president's, I can understand why the president would be a little nervous about Joe Biden.

BRUCE: Well, he's been running -- I would hope he would have a lot of donors. He has been running for president since 1987. And he does have and we all have to admit at this point of time that name recognition, of course, gets you a higher bump in the popularity and approval polls.

And he also has really been behind the scenes to a degree, certainly during the Obama administration. He has never really taken a huge debate framework to have to deal with that, especially with what the Democrat Party is having to offer.

Ari, in the meantime, you know, he did raise a lot of money. People in the GOP are going after Joe Biden. Wouldn't that be an interesting way to send a message to the Democrats that, yes, sent Joe Biden, because he is the guy that's the easiest to beat? What do you think?

ARI FLEISCHER, CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, I don't think President Trump is worried about any of the Democrats. That's the president's style.

Let me correct one thing Austan said. President Trump did not say Joe Biden was too old. He said he was too sleepy. So, get your facts right.

I think Joe Biden's real issue is he is a fish out of water in the modern Democrat Party. And he has such a liberal contingent that has captured the energy, the hearts, the minds, and the souls of so many Democrats. The question is, can an old style, old school, more moderate politician like Joe Biden prevail over all those Democrats?

My suspicion is that Joe Biden is going to run out of air like a balloon. You are going to watch him fly through the air with the air gradually coming out. I think he has peaked at his highest numbers on the day he entered and it is down hill from here.

BRUCE: Yes, I would say, Austan, would you say at the same time that you've got a fellow who is entering, when we speak about the old style politics, as though he is entitled to this? This is almost like, you know, the next in line, the kind of framework that voters rejected in 2016, that Hillary was the next in line? Is that going to be a fit?

GOOLSBEE: I think that would be a mistake if he took that tone, because the presidency is not owed to anyone. Anyone that runs for president should explain what they want to do and why they think they could do the job better than the person who is there now or whoever their opponent is.

I did not take that from the tone. If you watch Joe Biden's announcement, it wasn't at all of the, hey, it's my turn. So I am owed this.

I don't think, thus far at least, Joe Biden is not having a problem in the Democrat Party. He is leading in the polls within the Democrat Party. His net favorability is vastly in excess of President Trump's. Ari might be right that he might go down from here. He is not starting from a position of weakness, by any means.

BRUCE: Ari, you would have to admit, I think as we saw, in '16 on both sides of the aisle, well, at least certainly with Republicans, that the primary season and the debates really show us what people are made of.

Do you think Joe Biden is going to -- having a poll right now is one thing. You have got an entire season of debates and a primary season. That's what's going to take its toll on Mr. Biden, wouldn't you agree?

FLEISCHER: Yes. I think there is a dynamic to primaries and dynamic to campaigns, and that's what defines the candidates and determines who is the winner and the loser.

Remember, Hillary was defeating Barack Obama by a solid margin, double- digit margin this time in 2008. So, I think Biden's issue is going to be that he's going to have to continue to denounce who he is. You have seen him walk away from the positions he felt, heartfelt positions strongly in favor of in the '70s, '80s, and '90s. Even '03, he haven't heard it yet, but it's coming. He voted for the Iraq war.

BRUCE: Right.

FLEISCHER: Now, how is that going to go over in a Democrat primary?

BRUCE: You know --

(CROSSTALK)

FLEISCHER: That's what Barack Obama used very successfully against Hillary. It's going to be used against Biden.

BRUCE: He's part of a team that sent $150 billion to Iran. I mean, there are things he is not going to be able to ignore that dynamic there, especially with the shift of the view of the Democratic Party.

Gentlemen, thank you for joining me tonight. Appreciate it.

All right. Up next, more overwhelming evidence that there is a crisis on our southern border. We'll be right back on this Hannity Special: The 2020 Election.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUCE: Welcome back to this “Hannity Special: The 2020 Election.” I'm Tammy Bruce filling in for Sean tonight.

It's getting harder and harder for Democrats to claim there is no crisis on the southern border. Earlier this month, a five-time deported illegal immigrant allegedly murdered a four-month-old baby boy in Tennessee after finding out he wasn't the baby's father. That is just latest example of a shocking crime committed by an illegal immigrant.

Yet, earlier this week, presidential candidate Robert Francis O'Rourke said even Obama was too harsh with deportations. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: So under an O'Rourke administration, will ICE exist? Yes or no?

ROBERT FRANCIS O'ROURKE, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes. It will, but it will not -- it will not -- it will not employ those practices that we have seen, not just under this administration but under the previous administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: Joining me with reaction now is former ICE chief, Tom Homan, and Congressman Andy Biggs.

Gentlemen, every day, we hear something remarkable that has happened to American people that should never have happened at all implemented by someone who should never have been here. This is the most basic job of government, which is keeping the nation safe, securing the border. And yet, because Democrats feel that there is some advantage to having the border open, there is this fight.

Mr. Homan, you've been on the front lines here. I mean we understand that this problem exists. We do seem to be hearing from the media a little bit and some Democrats maybe now they're perceiving it as being a problem for them in the upcoming election that like Tom Friedman at The New York Times that building a wall is important. Do you sense any shift here in momentum of being able to get this border secure?

THOMAS HOMAN, CONTRIBUTOR: Look, I see a little shift in what's being said but you know look they can't ignore the crisis, right. I've been doing it for 34 years and I can tell you in my 34 years this is the worst I've ever seen it. I mean you look at over 1 million legal entries this year and the difference is a couple of decades ago we had over a million apprehensions, but 95 percent are Mexican nationals that were returned to Mexico within the hour and re-entered again. So that man wasn't even a mayor. and they probably closed like 600,000. So, this is the worst I've ever seen, and we've got a million people into this country that are not going home because they're taking advantage of loopholes such as a sign on the floor settlement agreement.

The Trafficking Victims Act, there is a lot of things that Congress should do to slow this down. The Democratic leadership hasn't offered up one idea, not one to address the situation on the border. The only one doing thing about this is this President and his administration and some of the brave Republican leaders in Congress. They're the ones who are trying to do this. They can't do it without some Democrat votes and they've got to step up because this crisis can't be ignored any longer. BRUCE: Yes, this is the most nonpartisan issue that we could ever have because the violence that gets exacted here, the destruction of lives, it doesn't discriminate. Right. Regard of who you are, what political party you belong to. Congressman some of the rhetoric though when it comes to abolishing ICE and romanticizing this environment condemning the President.

This is news that's covered around the world giving the impression that you know that the President and the desire to secure the border and the interests perhaps of the Republicans, it emboldens individuals feeling as though they not just have a right to be here but that criminality or at least not following our laws is not necessarily such a bad thing because even certain Americans don't like law enforcement or ICE or the President.

Do you think that's contributing to some of the lawlessness that we see once illegal aliens get into the interior of the country?

ANDY BIGGS, CONGRESSMAN: Yes, I think you're exactly right. We're providing the incentives for people to come here and disobey our laws. They disobey the first law when we don't enforce our border. They come here; we're releasing them within a few days many of them. And do you know what some of these people are criminally violent as this fellow who just killed the infant. I mean this is a real problem for us and our rhetoric that comes from certain quarters of our country who say ISIS is bad, CBP is bad, this is detrimental to this nation and is really aiding and abetting this movement.

And quite frankly the ICE agents, the Border Patrol agents, they're being overwhelmed. We're not providing adequate resources. We're not providing adequate staffing and we really have to step up but we're not getting the support we need across the aisle.

BRUCE: You know what's interesting is Tom when we demonize ICE, which handles crime in the interior, the woman whose baby was murdered. This woman dealing with this maniac who allegedly kills a four-month-old baby. Well you know maybe she was too afraid to call ICE because of the rhetoric that she has heard. It's a family like hers that is supported by and defended by law enforcement. And the rhetoric is that you know ICE is everyone's enemy whereas in fact it's the immigrant community that is supported first and is the first victim of criminal illegal aliens. Is this message, I know the President has been sending that message, is that message at all resonating outside and within the country with the individuals, within the community at all.

HOMAN: Yes. Well you know I think this President solved their messages a lot. Look, ICE in the last two years arrested and removed 266,000 illegal aliens that were convicted of crimes. And despite all the rhetoric, I've got to give you the accounts. When the Democrats push abolish ICE, let's push sanctuary cities so you know illegal aliens who can get to a place you can be protected from ICE. When you talk about open borders. When you talk about free college tuition, free driver's license.

BRUCE: Yes.

HOMAN: It entices people to make this dangerous journey which not only puts law enforcement at risk, the American community at risk, it causes lives. The Democrats were up in arms and two children died crossing the border a few months ago.

BRUCE: That's right.

HOMAN: And you look in the mirror because their policies entice these families to come, more children going to die. 31 percent of women are already being sexually assaulted on this trip. And this will continue to happen, so Democrats realize we're not just a country of laws. We're going to save lives by fixing the system.

BRUCE: Yes. We know that the compassionate thing is to have order and to save people's lives and to end the chaos and certainly also to make sure that when it comes to criminality that it is the immigrant communities that we're able to spot. If you abolish ICE, you're throwing all of them out, which of course would be horrific. Gentlemen, thanks for joining me. Some Democrats now running for President are pledging to only consider women as their choice for Vice President. Good idea. We'll debate it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUCE: Welcome back everyone to this Special Edition of Hannity, the 2020 Election. Some Democrats are running for President have already a major requirement for their pick for Vice President, it has to be a woman. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The question here is why I pledge to have a woman running mate, I will have a woman running mate to me it's really clear that we do that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've pledged that I would ask a woman to serve as Vice President. I would put forward a diverse candidate and I put forward policies that would make sure that inherent bias that exists or discrimination that exists in communities would be eliminated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: All right. Joining us now with reaction is Fox News Contributor, Emily Compagno, Trump 2020 Campaign National Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany and Relatable Podcast Host Allie Beth Stuckey. Ladies welcome aboard. Thanks for joining me. You know what's interesting to me in all of this conversation is the presumption that a woman either wouldn't naturally fit into that position and that you don't need to pledge or the fact that any of these gentlemen would have to be the ones being asked if they'd be want to be the Vice President by a woman.

Let me ask you Allie Beth. It's an interesting framework. And I want a woman to be in power. I want a woman to be President and Vice President and whatever position she wants. But I want it to be the right women. Is it - do you find it a little sexist that these are the guys who are saying that they're going to, I don't know pick a woman to help be their secretary? What do you think of this whole conversation?

ALLIE BETH STUCKEY, RELATABLE PODCAST HOST: Well I think so, I think first of all if they were real feminists then they would just step down and they would say you know what I want a woman to win the nomination by default. So, I'm already questioning their feminist credentials.

But yes, I agree with you. It's incredibly patronizing and it's incredibly disheartening to know that if you're a woman on the left apparently, you're not going to be looked at for competency and qualifications, you're only going to be looked at because of your gender. I think that's a huge disservice to the very qualified women who are on the left who may do a really good job of being Vice President. Unfortunately, they're never going to know whether or not it's because they were qualified for the job.

BRUCE: You know, Kayleigh I mean this is one of the issues with identity politics right. Is this idea that it's not about what you've done or what you can accomplish or the fact that you've been a great competitor, it's that someone is going to tap you because you fit a category. Does that need to remain to be the case because women once given the opportunity we deliver. Do you agree that this is what the Democrats should be doing and is it possible at all that they can fit into this framework?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN PRESS SECRETARY: No, this is not what the Democrats should be doing. This is identity politics exactly as you said, and this is what the left does. Everyone has to neatly fit into a bucket, a certain racial category or gender category. They balkanize society into different segments and hope we all fight against one another as they rise to the top.

What they are doing here is saying I want a woman Vice President because guess what, we females are props to the Democratic Party. They don't care about women's rights, if they did, they want to be advocating for infanticide and killing women and men outside of the womb. So, this is ridiculous, it's identity politics but not surprised that's the Democratic Party of today. BRUCE: Yes. When we look at the issues and how the Democrats would just look at the eight years of Obama, a lot of promises, a lot of demonstrations of what they thought was important but when it came to delivering women's lives, it did not improve unemployment of course, extraordinary levels wages did not go up. Fewer choices for us under President Trump who the Democrats constantly complain about, his policies have changed our lives and the lives of every American for the better.

Do you think that's what can be focused on, it is the 21st century or is there a space where you've got to specify certain gender or race or at least mentions or certain kinds of identity groups? Is there any value to that at all?

EMILY COMPAGNO, CONTRIBUTOR: I think the value lies in specificity but in a neutral sense in terms of that identity. So, what I mean by that is policies that are specific. So that every human and every man and woman here understand how they are affected at the kitchen table right. So economically how their bank accounts are affected, how their rights and freedoms are affected and how it affects the actual genders. That's more of a trickle down and a subsequent result.

And I think that the issue with that is that's why it's a token rather than a decision, it's rather than an action. And especially in terms of going into it these candidates that are saying I'm definitely going to have this certain diverse requirement in that box checked. Well those of us who are in those boxes feel we'd rather have it be an action rather than that commitment to the decision.

BRUCE: Excellent point. And Allie Beth I mean this comes down when we're just checking boxes as Emily noted then it's almost as though there is the no expectation for more that there is no expectation for us to be able to deliver that we're like a picture on the wall that this meets a certain requirement. Is that the follow through that happens when it comes to then the jobs were given and the authority that we also receive in the process of this?

STUCKEY: Well, it's the line that we use a lot when we're talking about the Democrats nowadays. It's the soft bigotry of low expectations. I personally must just have a higher view of women than they do on the left and these people who think that we are just a quota to be filled. I would love to be hired for something. I would love to be chosen for something, but I want to be chosen because I know that I'm the best that I was the best candidate for that position, that I was qualified, that I was seen as competent. I think there are plenty of competent qualified women that can fill positions of power. And I think that we are better than just a picture on the wall is as you said.

BRUCE: Now, Kayleigh at the same time we've got women who are running for President on the Democratic side and eventually there will be a woman President. I wanted to be the right person and a person who will be good for the country which means it will be a Republican. At the same time, you've got women - women inevitably could become of course the nominee. What are all these men do you think are going to do when they're the ones in the position to be chosen by the woman. Are they already removing themselves from being the Vice President because they were going to deign to pick the woman for that position themselves?

MCENANY: Sure. By their logic all of these men in the Democratic 2020 fields should move aside, there should be a double female ticket because that's what identity politics in the Democratic Party demands, it's the diametric opposite of what President Trump has done standing behind this camera at the rally venue are a few dozen patriots and why are people getting here 24 hours before the rally because President Trump looks at Americans like Americans and what is the result been for women specifically generational lows and unemployment, paid family leave and his budget, the child tax credit doubling, the policies of this President are working for everyone.

BRUCE: And that's it is that the right policies help everyone across the board and interestingly enough including women as well. All right, ladies, thanks for joining me. I really appreciate it. Coming up next on this Hannity Special. Today President Trump reiterated his support for the Second Amendment, while Democrats are going forward with wild radical proposals. Larry Elder and Charlie Hurt will react. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUCE: Welcome back to this Hannity Special. The 2020 election. Today President Trump spoke at the NRA Annual Meeting where he reaffirmed his commitment to the Second Amendment. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP: We believe in the right to self-defense and the right to protect your family, your community and your loved ones. We believe. In the wisdom of our founders. And we believe in freedom and liberty and the right to keep and bear arms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: President Trump support of our freedoms is in sharp contrast to the radical policies of the Democrats fighting for the 2020 presidential nomination. Here are just some of their extreme positions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Upon being elected, I will give the United States Congress 100 days to get their act together and have the courage to pass reasonable gun safety laws and if they fail to do it, then I will take executive action.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People commit crimes, they pay the price when they got out of jail. I believe they certainly should have the right to vote but I do believe that even if they are in jail, they are paying their price to society. But that should not take away their inherent American right to participate in our democracy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are going to roll back student loan debt for about 95 percent of students who have debt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE: Wow. Joining us now with reaction is Salem Radio National Host, Larry Elder. I know we should just all be laughing here and Fox News Contributor, Charlie Hurt. But guys look, this is the 21st century. The Democratic Party is a major party. I'm a Democrat. You know it's the party of Kennedy and Shriver and yet it's not been a very long period of time. And this is shocking recommendations. Charlie just the Sanders position on voting, you know it's not about paying a debt. We take your freedom away. You know that is the ultimate thing that you're supposed to have as a citizen. So, why aren't we just letting them go. What is this about voting? What is your take over all of this direction here?

CHARLES HURT, CONTRIBUTOR: What about another right. Should we give prisoners their gun rights because that's a constitutional right that we all enjoy. Are we going to just give that to them as well? No, it's insane and Tammy you make the most important point and that is, it is very important that this country have a good solid loyal opposition party. We don't have that right now.

BRUCE: That's right.

HURT: We have a bunch of lunatics. And I think President Trump under any circumstances is in good shape with the economy and the issues he's running on to win re-election. But when you have this opposition party come up with things like post-birth abortion and taking away guns and giving terrorists voting rights from prison, that party loses all legitimacy and that's bad for America.

BRUCE: It does, and it also shows the lack of any leadership within that party. Larry you're in California, I'm a native Californian. You can see what the left does when there is, and the Democrat Party does when there is no opposition for them there and opposition does make a party better and it keeps people focused and having to make good arguments for their positions. But we're not seeing that in California. Do you think this is serious? What the Democrats are doing, do you think that they believe they can win. And do you think they'll prevail. Look what happened in 2018.

LARRY ELDER, SALEM RADIO NATIONAL HOST: I believe that they think they can win. I believe that they think they can prevail. They believe that Donald Trump stole the election that the Russians basically put him in the White House and they're going to be ready this time.

Regarding the attack on the Second Amendment. I'm amazed that Donald Trump is standing up for something that's just so obvious. To our friend on the left, let's remind them that the Second Amendment is designed to prevent a tyrannical government, a tyrant. Now you guys have called Donald Trump, a fascist, a racist and a tyrant. Why in the world would you want to restrict the Second Amendment to protect you from Donald Trump.

The other thing is they'd never ask how many Americans are alive because of hearing guns we know how many Americans get killed or killed because of accidents. But how many Americans are alive because they really get a firearm to protect themselves. A criminologist in Florida says 1.25 million Americans every single year use a firearm to prevent harm.

20 percent believe but for the firearm they would have been dead. So, it just seems to me you ought to add up how many people are alive versus how many people died before you talk about how bad the Second Amendment is.

BRUCE: If you were serious about the issue in the details mattered, you would. But the Democrats don't care about those things. It's about the emotional reaction they need to give the impression that they are working on an important issue. But it's all about fear in that framework. Charlie, it's interesting time also for Democrats who aren't in a position of liking what it is that's happening. They're a quiet group. Twitter Democrats are not running the party. What do you think's going to happen in 2020, is there going to be a rebellion. Will people just stay home?

HURT: I think that the people who are being most disserved anywhere in the country today are those reasonable Democrats in the country who oppose Donald Trump because they don't like him based on reasonable reasons and issues.

BRUCE: Yes.

HURT: They're being completely misrepresented by as you call them the Twitter Democrats or these crazies Democrats in Washington who are making up these fantasies about Russia and stuff like this.

BRUCE: We've got a heartbreak here. Charles, sorry about that, but thank you for joining us. Great stuff guys. More of this Special Edition of Hannity, the 2020 election after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUCE: Welcome back to tonight's “Hannity Special: The 2020 Election.” Unfortunately, that is all the time we have left this evening. Thank you so much for joining me tonight. I want to thank Sean and his team for making this so easy and for all of you for tuning in. Also, I'm the President of Independent Women's Voice. You can learn more about that group at iwv org. And Sean will be back to host the show on Monday with special guest Newt Gingrich and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. We do hope you'll tune in. Have a great night everyone. Ingraham is next.

Content and Programming Copyright 2019 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2019 ASC Services II Media, LLC. 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 ASC Services II Media, LLC. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.