Scott Walker goes inside his plan for America on 'Hannity'
2016 GOP presidential candidate sits down with Sean
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," July 13, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And welcome to "Hannity." And tonight, we're broadcasting where this crowd would like to call Scott Walkersha, Wisconsin, where earlier this evening, Governor Scott Walker officially announced that he's running for president of the United States. He will be our guest for the entire hour.
But first, here's how it all went down earlier tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SCOTT WALKER, R-WIS., 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: America is a can-do kind of country. Unfortunately, we have a was -- a government in Washington that just can't quite seem to get the job done. The good news is it's not too late. We can turn things around!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
WALKER: To do that, we need new, fresh leadership, leadership with big, bold ideas from outside of Washington, the kind of leadership that knows how to get things done.
I hear from people who say they're frustrated with politicians telling people what they're against and who they're against. Let me tell you what I'm for.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
WALKER: I'm for reform, growth, safety. My record shows that I know how to fight and win! Now more than ever, America needs a president who will fight and win for America!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And joining us now for a one-hour cable exclusive interview, 2016 Republican presidential candidate, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker. Want to welcome...
(CHEERS)
HANNITY: They officially wanted me to see say Scott Walkersha. Good to see you, Governor. How've you been?
WALKER: Hot (INAUDIBLE) tonight, but they're on fire.
HANNITY: Yes. I got to tell you, you got to welcome that very few political candidates got. You got reaction from Hillary Clinton.
WALKER: Yes.
HANNITY: And you got reaction from the head of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka, who said Scott Walker is a national disgrace. Hillary said you're stomping on workers' rights.
Is this something you'd be proud of, that the left is attacking you right out of the box?
WALKER: Yes, I think it -- they recognize that we not only fight, we fight and win. We've won three times in four years in a purple, if not blue state. But more importantly, we won on the issues.
I mean, the reason they're upset, the reason Hillary Clinton said what she said, was because we took power out of the big government union bosses and put it firmly into the hands of the hard-working people. That's -- that's good for taxpayers. It's pro-taxpayer. It's pro-worker because we gave them the freedom to choose.
HANNITY: You know, one of the things that I think is emerging in this political campaign is people want boldness. And you have not been afraid to take on some controversial issues. Obviously, what happened with the unions in this state -- that was a big issue. But more importantly, you now -- for example, somebody wants to get welfare in the state of Wisconsin, they got to have job training...
WALKER: Yes.
HANNITY: ... drug tested.
WALKER: Yes.
HANNITY: You defunded Planned Parenthood.
WALKER: Yes.
HANNITY: You also said, You want to have an abortion, you have to have an ultrasound first.
WALKER: Yes.
HANNITY: Among other things. Tell us, is it hard for you to take these stands, or is that something that comes naturally?
WALKER: Well, that's just who I am. I mean, for me, I'm a conservative. I'm an economic, fiscal and social conservative. I think part of the reason why I've won three times -- in fact, one of those victories was right here in this hall on the night of the recall victory -- but part of the reason why we've done well is because not only does the base come out for us -- and we had 96 percent the last go-round -- but we won independents by 11, almost 12-point margins because I believe independents here and in other battleground states across America -- what they want is not someone to move to the center, they want someone to lead. They want you to look square in the eyes, tell them what you're for and what you're going to do, and then go out and do it.
HANNITY: You're now the 15th entrant into this race.
WALKER: Yes.
HANNITY: A lot of people before you. Why -- I guess it's just a cliched question, but I think an important one. Why do you want to be president?
WALKER: Well, I have two simple reasons. They were with me tonight. They're Matt and Alex. They're the same reason why Tonette and I decided to run for governor and why we decided to run for president.
I want them to grow up in a country even greater than the one we inherited. And I just don't see that happening under four more years of these same stale policies of President Obama and now Hillary Clinton. I think we can do better. I don't think it's too late. I think we can turn things around. It wasn't too late in Wisconsin. Certainly not too late in America.
HANNITY: It's interesting you say that, I don't think it's too late, and you said that in your speech earlier. My question is, how bad do you think things are?
WALKER: Oh, I think it's really (INAUDIBLE) I think, you know, considering how far we are past the recession, we should be recovering at a much greater rate. When you think about all the power that's been amassed in Washington the last several years -- I mean, think about it. Six of the last -- six of the top ten counties last year, according to at least one report -- six of the top ten wealthiest counties in America were in and around Washington, D.C.
That shows you that the Clinton and Obama strategy of the world is to grow the economy by growing Washington. I think (ph) growing cities and states and communities all across the country. The other thing is -- and, obviously, we'll be talking some more about this, I'm sure.
But I look at the state of where we stand in the world -- I can't tell you how many foreign leaders and others have told me here and abroad that the disengagement of America is a...
HANNITY: It's hurting.
WALKER: ... threat (ph) to them, and it is to us, obviously.
HANNITY: We're going to get into that. It's interesting, the line that you used -- and I guess there's a battle between the gubernatorial candidates in the race and the senatorial candidates and maybe Donald Trump as an outsider. But you know, you said Washington can't seem to get the job done, or as you call it, the 68 miles surrounded by reality.
WALKER: Right.
HANNITY: Why do you think Washington is so dysfunctional? And even Republicans, you know, seem to be disappointing conservatives a lot.
WALKER: Well, I hear that a lot. As I go around the country, one of the things I hear, a lot of frustration and a lot of interest is somebody from outside of Washington. With all due respect to the senators, is they feel like, Hey, we elected a House. We now elected a Senate. Maybe they've taken a vote on repealing ObamaCare, but there's a lot of frustration and angst out there. They're not getting serious about a whole array of other issues out there. And so I think people are hungry for leadership.
But what I've said, though, is even beyond just Washington, there's really two groups of candidates (INAUDIBLE) a lot of great people, a lot of people I admire, who are friends of mine. But there are fighters -- a lot of those people are from Washington. There's fighters who've yet to win those fights. And then there are winners, people who've won a lot of elections, but have not consistently taken on the fights.
I think what makes us unique is we've done both. We fought and won, and people's lives are better (INAUDIBLE)
HANNITY: And is -- because this is really about -- I think some people got elected forget that they're supposed to be public servants. I think we've lost that.
I want to go back to what you said about Republicans. They did vote 50 times to repeal ObamaCare. Not this Congress. And I would argue that they're symbolic votes. But when they had the power of the purse, they didn't use it. On executive amnesty, they ended up funding it because they were afraid they were going to be accused of shutting down the government.
Describe the Republican Party in Washington. I would use an adjective for myself, timid and weak.
WALKER: Well, there's some real challenges, although to me, the opportunity I see is we're going to keep the House for sure. I think there's a lot of key elections, but we keep the Senate.
What I saw here in Wisconsin more than four years is we came in, we elected new majorities. Everything was Democrat. We switched it all in the 2010 election, assembly, senate, our two equivalents of the House and the Senate nationally, and then a Republican governor, and with the right leadership, the idea of going big and go bold, we brought along the kind of reforms because we worked together as a team.
I think we can do that in Washington. I have not given up on our Republicans in Washington. They just need a leader in the White House who's actually going to lead.
HANNITY: You talked about four -- three specific things, reform, growth and safety. And then you went into detail.
WALKER: Yes.
HANNITY: This seems to be a platform that you want to solve problems. OK. Explain.
WALKER: Well, yes, to me, I go around the country, I hear people all the time say, I'm tired of politicians who just say what they're against and who they're against. I want to know -- I want to vote for something and for someone.
And so I've laid that out. To me, when it comes to reform, the fundamental essence of that is I want to take power out of Washington and send it back to our states and in many cases back to our local communities.
Take education. I think we'd be far better off -- if you looked at a dollar -- I held a dollar up earlier and said, Where would you rather spend this, in Washington at your child's school? I think most people would rather spend the (ph) school. And it's why we've got problems with Common Core and nationwide school board type initiatives. We need those powers back in the state and the local level.
When I think of growth, it's about repealing ObamaCare, reining in federal regulation that are like a wet blanked on the nation's economy, using the abundance of all the energy supplies that we have here to literally fuel our nation's economic recovery, helping people get the education skills they need to succeed, and then lowering and reforming the tax code. Those are all things that will help us grow.
HANNITY: You said that we need a candidate that can win the Midwest.
WALKER: Yes.
HANNITY: You know, I look at states that are always out there, but just too far away. You just can't quite get them. Every election, we wonder, is Pennsylvania going to be in play? You know, can Republicans win Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota?
If you become the nominee, can you deliver Wisconsin?
WALKER: I think we can do that...
HANNITY: Can you deliver Michigan?
WALKER: I mean, I think the -- I think the path to a Republican win in the presidency comes right through the Midwest. There's other important states. I'm going to be in a lot of those. But Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and I throw Pennsylvania in because they're in the Big 10.
But I think those are industrial Midwestern type states that we can do well with a nominee who not only comes from there -- because it's not enough geographically, it comes from there and speaks the language that not only energizes the base, but what we did, which was energize independents, people who want someone to stand up for the American worker.
We haven't had enough people -- you know, look, the left claims that they're for American workers, and they just got really lame ideas, things like the minimum wage. Instead of focusing on that, we need to talk about how we get people the skills and the education, the qualifications they need to take on careers that pay for more than minimum wage.
HANNITY: I read an article that you are your own adviser more often than not. You've been in politics since 1993. You obviously seem to think a lot about these issues. Is that a good thing? Is that a plus? Is that a minus? In other words, explain the...
WALKER: You know, sometimes, particularly, you know, places like The New York Times and others, like to critique Republicans and think we're all...
HANNITY: I don't read The New York Times much anymore, Governor.
WALKER: But it's one of those where the -- you know, the joke is they like to think that guys like me are somehow puppets of this organization or that. And then they write a piece last week about me being my own adviser.
But truth be told, obviously, I couldn't put something together like this without a whole lot of great people on my staff. But I think what it really boils down is I know who I am. I'm not going to change to fit The Times. I am who I am. I've been that way, and I think that's why I got elected not just in a purple -- or a blue state, almost, I got elected in Milwaukee County. That's a county that went two thirds for President Obama. I got elected there three times, again because people wanted leadership.
HANNITY: In four years.
WALKER: Yes.
HANNITY: We're going to get into the specifics -- how can we get Americans back to work? How can we balance the budget? What's your alternative for health care? How are we going to deal with immigration? We'll talk about social issues, Iran, ISIS. We got it all coming up.
We're just getting things started. Governor Scott Walker -- he's going to be our guest for the entire hour tonight. We'll ask him how he plans to fix the economy, get this country back on track and much more as we continue from Scott Walkersha...
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: ... Wisconsin straight ahead.
(CHEERS)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: We understand that true freedom and prosperity do not come from the mighty hand of the government! They come from empowering people to control their own lives and their own destinies to the dignity (ph) that is born of work, of work! That's what we stand for!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Instead of the top-down "government knows the best" approach that you hear from so many in Washington, we need to build the economy from the ground up in a way that's new and fresh, organic and dynamic, that says as long as you don't violate the health and safety of your neighbor, go out and start your own career, build your own business, live your own life!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: That was Governor Scott Walker earlier this evening when he announced he, in fact, is running for president of the United States. He joins us now for a cable exclusive interview.
Governor, when you took office, what, unemployment was near nine percent. Now it's...
WALKER: 9.2 percent beginning of 2010. It was 8.1 percent (INAUDIBLE) Now it's 4.6 percent. In fact...
HANNITY: 4.6.
WALKER: Labor participation rate is far greater than the national level. Unemployment's far lower. And we got to -- you know, we balanced our budget. We went from $3.6 billion in the hole to balanced budgets and surpluses in each of the last four years. And we cut property taxes. They're now lower today than (INAUDIBLE)
HANNITY: $2 billion...
WALKER: $2 billion total tax cuts, property taxes lower than we started.
HANNITY: OK, I'm listening to that. That's a good story.
WALKER: Yes.
HANNITY: Unemployment cut more than half. You got rid of a budget deficit. You now have a surplus.
WALKER: Yes.
HANNITY: Rainy day fund.
WALKER: 165 times bigger than when we took office.
HANNITY: You got more people back to work.
WALKER: (INAUDIBLE) funded, put people to work, getting them off the welfare.
HANNITY: So deficits become surpluses. Unemployment becomes more people employed in the state.
HANNITY: And even amazingly (ph), for all that -- you know, the handful of hecklers that were out there and the hundred thousand that were...
HANNITY: Yes, they said hi to me. They were glad to see me, so...
WALKER: A few years ago -- remember they all said four years ago that public education was going to be devastated. We got rid of seniority and tenure. We allow people to hire and fire based on merit, pay based on performance, that means we can put the best and the brightest in our classrooms. Graduation rates are up. ACT scores now second best in the country.
HANNITY: That's a good story. Here's my question. If you become president, you're going to inherit $20 trillion in debt, $128 trillion in unfunded liabilities. You've got 50 million Americans in poverty, 46 million Americans on food stamps, 93 million Americans out of the labor force, a far more daunting problem. How do you fix that?
WALKER: Well, I mean, I don't think it's too late. I mean, I'm an optimist. Part of the reason -- I came of age when Ronald Reagan first became president, and part of what I was drawn to wasn't just that he was a conservative or a Republican, it was his optimism in the American people. I believe we are up to the challenge, not just as a president. I believe the American people...
HANNITY: How do we get there?
WALKER: We do in a couple definitely ways (ph). And I talked about it tonight (INAUDIBLE) reform, growth and safety, particularly in those first two. Reform -- I think you have to have big chunks of the federal government out of Washington, send it back to the states -- Medicaid, transportation, (INAUDIBLE) even education. You take Medicaid...
HANNITY: You're talking about almost like getting rid of the Transportation, Education Department...
WALKER: I would...
(CROSSTALK)
WALKER: ... take those dollars and send it all right back to the states because think about it. The states are more effective, more efficient, definitely more accountable to the American people. I've been at the state level. I've been at the local level. I can attest to that over and over again all across this country.
HANNITY: You mean -- you're almost talking about a major restructuring of government.
WALKER: Big-time reform. And I think that's what our founders intended. But it's even more visionary going forward. I think Americans understand it's a lot easier to talk to your town board member, your city council member or even your state lawmakers than it is to not just someone in Congress, but someone in the federal bureaucracy.
You do that, then it allows us to hone in on the things we should be doing, which starts with defense, the defense of our country. And I think we actually have to up that budget, but then taking on Social Security and other entitlements.
HANNITY: So are you really saying that you would take the transportation budget, divvy it up among the states and let them handle it.
WALKER: I think there are big chunks of programs like that. Medicaid is something...
HANNITY: Education, too?
WALKER: Absolutely. Things like -- Paul Ryan talked about Medicaid (INAUDIBLE) block grants back. If you sent block grants back in many of those other key areas, I think (INAUDIBLE) get far more effective use of those federal dollars at the state and local.
HANNITY: One of the things I was...
WALKER: It's not about getting rid of those things. It's about...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... given them to the state...
WALKER: ... most effective.
HANNITY: ... it'll be more efficient. One of the things I was surprised you said is you would end sequestration. As somebody who's looking at record deficits debt, unfunded liabilities, to me, it's the one area of fiscal discipline I've ever seen in Washington.
WALKER: It has been. But the key is, why do they have to do that because they had Republicans...
HANNITY: Because they have no self-control.
WALKER: ... in the House, Democrats in the United States Senate and the president who was no way was going to be going down the path towards a balanced budget (INAUDIBLE) I think if you've got Republicans in the House and the Senate, and not just a Republican president, but a reform-minded president, I think it is appropriate for our defense budget to be higher than it is currently. I think that is a primary responsibility of the federal government.
And then you've got to have the responsibility then and the courage to go out and take on the other big challenges.
HANNITY: All right, so I guess my question is, if you're going to have major reform and really hand those things back to the states, one question that keeps coming up is spending. We can't -- President Obama will have doubled the debt, accumulated as much debt as every other president before him combined.
WALKER: Right, from George Washington to George W. Bush.
HANNITY: It's scary, isn't it?
WALKER: Yes.
HANNITY: So how do you -- how do you stop baseline budgeting? How do you get their budget in balance, like you are in Wisconsin?
WALKER: Well, again, that's the two (ph) parts (ph). Again, you -- by shifting major portions, you allow the part that's left -- I think the left -- the problem is the left gives a free pass to government spending. They don't want any accountability. Sometimes, those in our own party hate government so much, they want to shrink it, which I'm for, but they don't want the little bit that's left to work.
I think the government's too big, too expansive, too much a part of our life and needs to be reined in. But for the part that's left that's necessary and...
HANNITY: Defense.
WALKER: ... reasonable (ph), defense being a good example, we should make it work. It's not working effectively now. It's an outrage that we're not giving our men and women in uniform the resources they need to keep us safe. And that's something I think we could do better if we didn't have this enormous size of the federal government.
HANNITY: What about entitlements? I'm talking about Social Security, Medicare, both headed to bankruptcy.
WALKER: Right.
HANNITY: What would be the reforms there?
WALKER: Well, again, we'll lay out a detailed plan in the coming months, but I'd look at general parameters. For me, Social Security -- I'm not going to touch anybody that's currently retired or near retirement. But for my generation...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... talking about mine, too, there.
WALKER: Well, I think we realize there has to be...
HANNITY: Means testing?
WALKER: Well, gain, we'll lay out the specifics (INAUDIBLE) but I think there need to be reasonable reforms because I think all of us know that we need to protect the people who made a decision about retirement who are on it or near it now. But we also know it's not going to be around...
HANNITY: Would you raise the retirement age?
WALKER: Well, again, those are all -- be parts of the plan we'll lay out. You know, I'm -- first day in, I'm going to lay out some detailed plans in the future. Certainly, we need to do some things with Medicare, and that's why Social Security -- or excuse me, Medicaid -- is something that should go completely back to the states.
HANNITY: I know it's hard to give a less than one-minute answer. But what would be your solution or alternative to ObamaCare?
WALKER: Oh, I think it's something where you put -- literally repeal it entirely, put patients and families back in charge directly. That means portability, carry that plan from one spot to another, be able to do it over state lines, provide full transparency so people know what they're actually getting into. If you give people skin in the game, they're going to make wise decisions about not just their health care...
HANNITY: So in other words...
WALKER: ... but their health.
HANNITY: Health care savings accounts?
WALKER: Oh, absolutely.
(CROSSTALK)
WALKER: ... one of the first things I did was remove the state tax on health savings account right here because I wanted to give as many quality choices as possible.
HANNITY: All right, we're going to come back. You guys enjoying yourself?
(CHEERS)
HANNITY: What's the name of the town? Walkersha. Oh, OK.
All right, when we come back, we'll ask Governor Walker what his foreign policy agenda's going to be, if he's like the president. Later, he's also going to answer some of your questions, those you've been sending us on Facebook and Twitter as we continue from Scott Walkersha, Wisconsin, straight ahead.
(CHEERS)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Sadly today, under the Obama-Clinton doctrine, America is leading from behind. And that has us headed towards a disaster. Think about this. We got a president, a president who drew a line in the sand and allowed it to be crossed, a president who called ISIS the JV squad, Yemen a success story, and Iran a place we can do business with!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: The greatest threat to future generations is radical Islamic terrorism, and we need to do something about it!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
WALKER: We can start by lifting the political restrictions on our military personnel already in Iraq and empower them to help our Kurd and Sunni allies reclaim the territory taken by ISIS! Because you know what? On behalf of your children and mine, I'd rather take the fight to them instead of wait until they bring the fight to us!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: As we continue for the hour, we're joined by 2016 Republican presidential candidate, the governor of the great state of Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker.
Governor, I look at the world situation. Let me start with this Iranian deal.
WALKER: Yes.
HANNITY: Here you have the number one state sponsor of terror, fights proxy wars, has broken every nuclear agreement they've ever been involved in. They say they won't allow inspectors. We're going to give them a bonus. Death to America, death to Israel. And the destruction of Israel is non-negotiable.
What do you make of Obama getting this far with them?
WALKER: Well, I think this is one of the biggest disasters of the Obama-Clinton doctrine out there. I mean, as you saw earlier tonight, I had Kevin Herman (ph) with me. Kevin was the youngest hostage of the 52 that were held for 442 days. He's originally from Oak Creek, Wisconsin, lives up the way in Wausau.
Just -- and I had asked him to come even before this week because I wanted to make a point about how bad this Iran deal is. Iran is not a place we should do a business with. Iran is not substantively different than the days when Kevin and those other hostages were released on Ronald Reagan's first day.
And as president, on my very first day going forward, I would pull back. I would terminate that bad deal with Iran completely on day one. I would then put in place crippling economic sanctions against Iran. And I'd convince our allies to do the same. This is not a country we should be doing business with.
HANNITY: Have you been able to decode the president and his inability to say "radical Islamic terrorism"? Why can't he say that?
WALKER: It is mind-boggling! And you can't -- you can't fight the enemy unless you can identify it. This is, indeed, radical Islamic terrorism. It comes in many forms, be it ISIS or al Qaeda or other elements out there. But we need to recognize that.
And you know, in Iraq, it's a good example. It's not just ISIS. It's not just the Islamic State. The Iran-backed Shi'ite militias that are in there are, I think, in many ways, a very similar problem we face there. We see their impact not only in Iraq. We see it obviously in Syria. We've seen it in the last few months. And I mean, the president still even to last year, his administration was calling Yemen a success story. The Houthis are directly connected to Iran out there...
HANNITY: In Yemen.
WALKER: Iran is not -- right, in Yemen with the Houthis there. That is not a place we should be doing business with. And we need to identify the enemy, and the enemy is radical Islamic terrorism in many different forms.
HANNITY: You know, it's funny, the president came to town. And you've been traveling a lot. I guess you've been in Israel and you met with a lot of, I guess, foreign ministers and -- and he said you need to bone up on foreign policy. What is your answer to the president?
WALKER: Well, this from the guy who called ISIS the JV squad and Yemen a success story. I think a lot of Americans, regardless of party, question exactly what he's talking about. I think now more than ever -- you know, you see it there in the Middle East. You see it, though, in Russia. I mean, Putin operates under this principle that Lenin once had that you probe with bayonets. If you find mush, you push. If you find steel, you stop.
Under Obama and Clinton, sadly, Putin's found a lot of mush over the last few years.
HANNITY: How...
WALKER: We need a foreign policy in the United States that stands up and puts steel in front of our enemies.
HANNITY: How would you deal with a Putin? How would you have done -- dealt with Crimea (INAUDIBLE)
WALKER: Well, I think you look at it today, going forward, we certainly need to give lethal force assistance to Ukraine. To me, I don't want to be the world's policeman, so I have a high standard for engaging in direct military engagement. I'm not going to put people's sons and daughters, husbands and wives, family members into harm's way unless there's a clear threat to our national security interests.
But having said that, there are many ways we can assist. So in Ukraine, that means giving lethal assistance and making sure we can get those weapons and assistance directly to then. You go over a little bit, and you think about the Baltics and Poland, our NATO allies. I think we need to work with NATO to put troops on the eastern border to make sure...
HANNITY: Troops?
WALKER: ... to make sure that Putin understands that there's steel there. And the irony is, whether it's the Middle East...
HANNITY: Did we make a mistake by not giving them missile defense?
WALKER: Oh, huge mistake! I was there in 2008 with Ambassador Rick Braver (ph), when he had worked with the Czech Republic. he was in Prague. I was with him. But I talked about the work he had done in Poland and Czech republic, incredible work to build local support, region by region throughout those two countries.
We had a great missile defense system. Within the first six months, this president gave it up. That is one of the many, many mistakes that have been made. You want to take on Putin, you need to send a clear message. He responds to strength, just like others do around the world.
And we've been leading from behind under the Clinton -- or in the -- I should say under the Obama-Clinton doctrine.
HANNITY: You said at one point you wouldn't rule out boots on the ground in Iraq. I know the question has been knowing what we know now, should we have gone to Iraq. Isn't the bigger question knowing what we know now, that ISIS has taken over Mosul and Tikrit and Fallujah and Ramadi...
WALKER: Absolutely. I said two parts in (ph) that. When that question came up, I said, first, any president, knowing what they knew at the time, would have make a similar decision in regards (INAUDIBLE) Heck, Hillary Clinton voted as a member of the United States Senate for authorizing legislation. So I don't get why they put that heap (ph) on because yes, it's different now knowing something.
But today, we know today essentially what Hillary Clinton and President Obama knew not too long ago when they made the decision to pull out early, even though many military and national security experts said that would lead to exactly what we see today.
And I think you're right, that is the abundant (ph) question. I mean, think about it. Where in the world has Hillary Clinton had a role that isn't more messed up today than it was before she and the president took office?
HANNITY: How would you rate her time as secretary of state? Can you -- or even all the time she was in the White House. Can you point to any specific success of hers?
WALKER: (INAUDIBLE) think -- not only can I not point to it, I've seen many of these focus groups that go on TV and elsewhere. I don't think even a lot of her supporters can tell you much other than she's...
HANNITY: I've seen...
WALKER: ... got a lot of frequent flier miles...
HANNITY: We played them.
WALKER: That's a huge challenge for her (ph), but I think it's a legitimate question. That -- for us, that's part of the reason why I think I'm the best candidate to take on Hillary Clinton because we're a new, fresh face. Obviously, she's someone from the past. We're from the future. I'm someone who's out of Washington, anti-Washington as you can get. She is of Washington. She lives there. She's worked there. She's been a part of it since her early days.
Probably most importantly, we've gotten things done. We have fought and won and people's lives are better because of it. Compare that to her time as secretary of state and the United States Senate. How do you compare?
HANNITY: Senator Rubio said there's no way a governor can be ready on day one on foreign policy. I know you're friends with Senator Rubio.
WALKER: I like him a lot. I just fundamentally disagree with him. I think, as I mentioned tonight, I believe the best president when it came to foreign policy and national security was a governor from California.
HANNITY: Reagan.
WALKER: Think about it, under his leadership we built the military. We stood up for our allies. We stood up against our enemies. And most importantly, we stood up for American values. I think that's the kind of leadership people need. And remember, under his leadership that led to one of the most peaceful times in modern America history.
HANNITY: Knowing what we know about Iran's ambitions and they're spinning their centrifuges and building their missiles up. They're telegraphing they want to destroy Israel, our closest ally. Do you think the time is coming that they're nuclear sites will need to be taken out?
WALKER: Again, as I've said many times before, unlike this president I won't signal to any of our adversaries as to how far I'm willing to go, be it troops on the ground or the amount of time we're going to be there. I think that is poor military strategy.
And going forward, people are going to know that we're not going to look to engage. We're not going to be wanting to be the world's policemen. But when our national security interests are at risk -- and I believe Iran is a prime example, not just because they want to take our Israel, and they do. And by the way, we need to affirm that Israel is a strong ally to the United States. There can be no daylight between our two countries. But on top of that, we believe they're in the process of developing intercontinental ballistic missiles that could be aimed right at American soil.
HANNITY: You didn't rule out boots on the ground in Iraq again so maybe retake those cities taken over.
WALKER: Not at all. I think right now if we were to lift the political restriction and empower the military personnel we have there today. A good example, we have spotters out there who could call in more with greater precision air strikes to be more effective at taking out the ISIS territory that they now have under control, and in turn, then, allow our allies Kurds and Sunnis to be more effective, we could do that in a way that would allow us to reclaim victory without putting a retreat into places like Syria.
HANNITY: We've got to take a break. We'll come back. When we come back we'll ask Governor Scott Walker what he thinks about his 2016 Republican rivals. We'll talk about immigration, some social issues. And then we'll turn it over to you to ask the governor some questions as we continue with Scott from Waukesha, Wisconsin, straight ahead.
(APPLAUSE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: In the Republican field there are some who are good fighters. They haven't won those battles. There are others who won elections but haven't consistently taken on the big plates. You showed you can do both. Now I'm running for president to fight and win for the American people
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For too long they said we have to compromise out principles to win. Scott Walker shoed the path to victory is to run on our principles -- conservative, bold, decisive. He balanced budgets, cut taxes, beat the special interests, improved education, created jobs, and showed how to fight and win.
WALKER: America needs new, fresh leadership, big, bold ideas from outside of Washington to actually get things done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And still with us for a cable exclusive we have 2016 Republican presidential candidate, the governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker is with us.
All right, immigration, you once supported a path to citizenship, you don't any longer.
WALKER: No.
HANNITY: Where do you stand on this?
WALKER: To me it's simple. It's one where I actually listen to the American people. I went to the border, got with governors, other elected officials.
HANNITY: Governor Abbott, right?
WALKER: Governor Abbott took me to the border. He had me meet with state and local as well as federal officials. I talked to others across the country, and it's clear. We need to secure the border. We need to enforce the law. You can't have amnesty. Citizenship should have a high bar. And when it comes to legal immigration going forward we should give priority to American working families and their wages in a way that improves the American economy.
HANNITY: Can I interpret that as you want to secure the border first?
WALKER: And you know this, you've heard it. Many in the media immediately want to go to the end of the equation and say you can't do it until you secure the border. You need to do it for reasons far greater than immigration. You've been there, I've been there with Governor Abbott. It is a huge problem. You have got international criminal organizations penetrating our southern border in was that if was a water based port on either side of our country we'd be sending in the Coast Guard and the Navy. And yet they don't have the resources to deal with the cartels, with drugs and firearms and human trafficking.
HANNITY: Let me ask you about a hire of yours that's conservatives. It's come up in the news. Brent Bozell talks about Brad saying he besmirches the reputations Republicans. He's paid to do ugly work. Did you pay attention to any of those criticisms?
WALKER: He doesn't work for me. He works for one of those higher ups. But he doesn't work for me. And by law, I can't tell any super PACs --
HANNITY: I did notice the "Milwaukee Sentinel" said that I might have been subpoenaed. Did you see that?
WALKER: Think about the IRS and then think about on top of that we've seen in Wisconsin the Government Accountability Board was actually tied in with the same IRS. It's no wonder they're going after conservatives.
HANNITY: After the same-sex marriage ruling, you said you want a constitutional amendment. Explain it.
WALKER: Well, I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. I believe that for the last 20 years. I voted on it in the legislature. I voted for it as a voter here in Wisconsin. I defended it as governor.
But obviously like a lot of folks I was frustrated with the Supreme Court decision. I pointed out the time that the only recourse at that point is to support a constitutional amendment that would allow the decision to go back to the states. And I think Wisconsin, a lot of other states passed constitutional amendments to define marriage that way. They should have the right to do that.
Going forward, though, it's a high bar. It's a tough battle to have. I think the big focus will be going forward is we need to protect those religious freedoms that are core to this nation.
HANNITY: You support public school vouchers. You have them in Milwaukee.
WALKER: We expanded them statewide under my administration.
HANNITY: Let me ask you about abortion. You wrote a commercial that got a lot of criticism. You said you wrote it yourself, you looked in the camera, and you did it yourself and you said you're going to leave the final decision to a woman and her doctor.
WALKER: Let's be clear on that. The whole commercial says I'm prolife but I could only imagine how difficult the decision might be for someone to end a pregnancy.
HANNITY: I remember the whole ad.
WALKER: That why I support -- that's why I wrote it. I said I support giving a woman the information she needs, which was the ultrasound bill that I signed requiring an ultrasound, the number one priority of Wisconsin right to life. I said the law, not my position on abortion, the law still leaves the ultimate decision up to a woman and her doctor. That's not my position on abortion. That's what the law does. But I knew if you gave people the opportunity to see an ultrasound I just fundamentally believe and I think the data shows it, that people are going to choose life over and over again when you can see that unborn child.
HANNITY: You defunded Planned Parenthood. You outlawed abortion after 20 weeks. You also said if somebody wants an abortion you require an ultrasound.
WALKER: I'm prolife 100 percent.
HANNITY: You don't think -- you think it should be outlawed?
WALKER: To me, I believe that that -- when you think of an unborn child, that's a human life to me. That's why in Wisconsin, I called for and the legislature passed legislation that said at five months when that unborn child can feel pain, at a minimum at that point we should be protecting of that life.
HANNITY: Let's talk about Hillary Clinton. What are your thoughts on her, do you think she will be the nominee?
WALKER: I do. I mean, I think it's less certain than in the past. But I still think in the end she will be the nominee, which, like I said, I think it's a great contest. I think voters overwhelmingly, historically, if they get a chance to choose between someone new from the future versus someone from the past, they'll choose someone new and fresh. And for us she embodied Washington, the problems of Washington. The way she's handled the "Clinton Cash" issue with the emails embodies what people expect out of their politicians from Washington.
HANNITY: All right, I'm going to mention names. One word answers. Donald Trump.
WALKER: He can speak for himself.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: That's a good answer. OK, I don't think he has any trouble.
WALKER: I don't think he does either.
HANNITY: Barack Obama.
WALKER: I think a failed presidency.
HANNITY: Let's talk about some of your competitors. Rand Paul.
WALKER: I appreciate his focus on trying to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. I share that. I don't always share his beliefs when it comes to the defense of the country.
HANNITY: Rick Perry?
WALKER: I love Rick Perry. Rick and I both love to ride Harleys. We're both eagle scouts.
HANNITY: You're the only two that ride Harleys in the race.
WALKER: That's right.
HANNITY: My wife won't help me. Maybe you can help me negotiate that deal. What about Marco Rubio, another friend?
WALKER: I like Marco a lot. I have a preference towards governors, but I like Marco a lot. I think he's a good reformist.
HANNITY: John Kasich?
WALKER: John and I are good friends. We like to have a little challenge between Ohio state and Wisconsin, and he beat me in football, we fared a little bit better in basketball.
HANNITY: If you had to pick a vice president today, you won the nomination.
WALKER: Who knows?
HANNITY: What's wrong with that question? That's a fair question.
WALKER: I think it's a little presumptuous. I've got to earn my way to even being in that position. So I'm going to work hard in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, all across the great country.
HANNITY: You're going to do the 99 city tour in Iowa?
WALKER: I'm going to go the full grass lane. I'm going to try to do it. I'm going to go through New Hampshire all 10 counties on my Harley. I'm going to right all over South Carolina and Nevada and elsewhere. I'll get a lot of miles on --
HANNITY: You'll have some fun on the bike.
All right, when we come back, the governor is going to answer some of your questions, those you've been sending us on Facebook and Twitter as we continue from Wisconsin. We're glad you're with us.
(APPLAUSE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: America is one of the few places left in the world where it doesn't matter what class you were born into or what your parents did for a living. In America, you can do and be anything you want. That's the America spirit.
(APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." And we're going to get to your questions for Governor Walker in just a second that you've been sending via Facebook and Twitter. I want to go back to Hillary. Polls show one honest or trustworthy. Do not find her honest or trustworthy. Do you find her honest and trustworthy? That's a loaded question.
WALKER: Think about it. I think there's some real question. Think about it. Not just the ones people think about right now. I think there's a fair number of reports out there that suggest that even while she was leaning in to tell the father of one of the victims in Benghazi they were going to get the guy with the video that she already knew that they video wasn't the reason for those actions.
HANNITY: Maybe within the hour.
WALKER: That's a disgrace. That's an outrage?
HANNITY: What do you think about somebody that erases not only their e-mails and then their server? We have a Records Act. They didn't follow that. What do you think about the Clinton Foundation?
WALKER: See, I talked about cyber-security earlier with China. It may very well be that the government in China knows more about Hillary Clinton's e-mail server than --
HANNITY: If they have a copy, I'm willing to buy it. I'm willing to raise money. I'd like to see it.
Do you think that -- are you prepared if you become the candidate this becomes an rich versus poor, old verses young, man versus woman, black versus white. You want to throw granny over the cliff, you remember the Paul Ryan ad, and you want poison the air and water, because that's basically every Democratic campaign. How do you counter that?
WALKER: I think people just look at what we've done here. Three times in four years I took on something like $100 million worth of attacks. We had every kind of attack from the left, from the AFL-CIO, the teacher's union, AFSCME, the president came in, Warren came in. They threw everything they could at us to try and take us out in the recall. And again, I think we've shown that we can tackle it.
HANNITY: Let's go to Sheryl. On Twitter she writes, "Scott Walker, what sets you apart from the other candidates, and what are you top three priorities?"
WALKER: A lot of great people. A lot of winners get the fight. I think what makes us different is we fight and we win for those commonsense conservative values that people care about.
HANNITY: Another question, "Will you follow through on your conservative campaign promises, or will it be another bait and switch?"
WALKER: I think if people look in our state, think of the list of every commonsense conservative idea that people had in America, the right to work, to tax cuts, to welfare reforms or entitlement reforms -- we've done it. We've done it for the prolife agenda, protecting the right to keep and bear arms. We've done all those things in a blue state like Wisconsin. We can do it from here.
HANNITY: All right, I'm going to go to one Facebook question, and it says, if elected, do you support the current Republican leadership in Congress? If you don't, what influence would you use to push a change in the game."
WALKER: The best thing we can do is lead with a big, bold agenda, not just tell people what we're against. Tell people what we're for and lay out a plan for the future in the areas I talked about, in reform, in growth, in safety. And then I think you've got to act quickly. I tried to act on a lot of this in first 100 days just like four years ago when I was the governor. We acted on that not just in first 100 days, but in some cases in the first 45 to 60 days. And that is how we got things done. We've got to use that momentum to get the job done.
HANNITY: When we come back, we'll continue more with Governor Scott Walker right after the break as "Hannity" continues from beautiful Wisconsin. Stay with us.
(APPLAUSE)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." Now we continue with Scott Walker. Governor, we like to give the candidates the final minute to make a pitch why you want people to vote for you for president.
WALKER: I think people want to see someone who can transfer power from Washington to the hands of the hardworking taxpayers across the country, someone who can stand up and help grow the economy in a way that makes sure that everyone can live their piece of the American dream, and ultimately someone who is going to protect our children and grandchildren from radical Islamic terrorism and all of the threats in the world.
I think if you want someone who can fight and win for the hardworking people in this country, I'm your guy, because we've done it here in Wisconsin.
(APPLAUSE) HANNITY: So you're off to Vegas?
WALKER: Yes.
HANNITY: Then South Carolina and then New Hampshire in the full 99 counties.
WALKER: The full 99 counties in an RV.
HANNITY: How many fried Twinkies, Oreos, pickles and fired butter sticks are you going to have?
WALKER: I love it. I used to joke about the deep fried butter on a stick that we have in Wisconsin. I heard a comedian say he was going to ask somebody about it but everybody who has had it died, so I don't buy it.
HANNITY: Thank you, governor, thank you guys.
(APPLAUSE)
HANNITY: Thank you for being with us. We'll see you back here tomorrow night.
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