Sheriff Arpaio: Trump's immigration plan is right on target
Maricopa County sheriff reacts on 'Hannity' to GOP nominee's policy speech
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," September 1, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
TUCKER CARLSON, GUEST HOST: Welcome to this special two-hour edition of "Hannity." We start with a Fox News Alert tonight, Category 1 Hurricane Hermine set to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida.
I'm Tucker Carlson, in for Sean tonight.
Floridians are bracing as we speak for torrential rain, dangerous winds, significant flooding, possibly even tornadoes in that state. In the Fox News Extreme Weather Center, we find Rick Reichmuth, who's been following it since the beginning -- Rick.
RICK REICHMUTH, FOX NEWS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Tucker, yes, lots going on with this storm. And unfortunately, it looks like it continues to strengthen. You don't like to see that right before a storm makes landfall. That usually causes a lot more damage when you see a storm strengthening kind of right immediately before landfall.
But we have a very wide area seeing the damage. At this point, mostly north of Florida and the southern part of Georgia getting some kind of impact from this. You see right here the last few frames, the storm getting much better organized and a little bit of an eye beginning to get developed right there.
Now, we're here to the southeast of Apalachicola, into the Big Bend, not a lot of population here, which is great because the storm surge that we see pulling (ph) here across this area won't be impacting that many people.
That said, the center of the storm likely going very close to Tallahassee, which has about 350,000 people and a lot of very old, large, big liveoak trees that we could be seeing some major tree damage and power outages with this.
Take a look at this, tornado watch in effect. We'll continue to see that threat for tornadoes all night long as the storm spins and rotates in. That creates extra friction that causes some smaller tornadoes, almost always with a landfalling tropical system.
But obviously, the very heavy rain we'll continue to watch. Now, a couple things to note. Probably, we're going to see this maybe strengthen even a little bit more than this 80-mile-an-hour storm right before landfall here, and then it very quickly over the next day-and-a-half moves across all the Carolina coastline, the Georgia coastline and eventually emerges out here across the mid-Atlantic, and then across parts of the Northeast. And then it stalls out. And a lot of the model guidance that we follow watching the storm here, and it's going to hang out across parts of the Northeast for a while.
And because of that, not only do we have our hurricane warnings in effect right immediately along the coast, where it's coming onshore, tropical storm warnings up across the Outer Banks. We now have tropical storm watches in effect across all the way up towards the Jersey shore. So a lot of people across the Eastern seaboard are going to be feeling the impacts from this storm right there on a holiday weekend -- Tucker.
CARLSON: Thanks a lot, Rick. Appreciate it.
And joining us now live from the ground in Cedar Key, Florida, is Steve Harrigan. Steve, you there?
STEVE HARRIGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Tucker, the last couple of hours, the biggest change we've seen is with the wind. The hurricane experts are saying right now, it's blowing at a steady pace of at least 60 miles an hour, gusts to over 70 miles an hour. And I can tell you here in Cedar Key, Florida, about 130 miles north of Tampa, the rain is really coming in sideways now. We're starting to see small objects move around, small branches of trees, garbage cans, signs. So things are really starting to move here.
But the real threat isn't going to be the wind here. It's going to be that storm surge. Originally, they predicted it would be about 3 to 6 feet. Now that has doubled to possibly a storm surge of 11 feet.
And as this road I'm standing on goes off into the darkness, it really just submerges and turns into a river. We're seeing stop signs beginning to disappear, barricades start to disappear. Three hours away still from landfall, so we could see a real rough night for the people who decided not to listen to that mandatory evacuation order in five of the Florida low- lying counties along the coast. Tucker, back to you.
CARLSON: Steve Harrigan on the ground. Thanks a lot, Steve.
Well, joining us on the phone is the governor of the state of Florida, Rick Scott. Governor, are you there?
GOV. RICK SCOTT, R-FLA. (via telephone): I am here. This is a life- threatening hurricane. I've told all of our residents you can rebuild your house, but you sure can't rebuild your life. You have got to take this seriously.
This storm surge, you know, as much as 12 feet in a couple of our counties, we're going to have up to 20 inches of rain. We're going to have power outages. We're going to have flooding. We have got -- everybody has got to take this seriously, and that's what I'm focused on tonight.
CARLSON: So what kind of preparations has the state of Florida gone through ahead of this storm?
SCOTT: We have an outstanding emergency management team both at the state and the local level. But you know, the truth is, every person's got to do it for themselves. We can't rescue people during the middle of a storm.
So we've done the right thing. We are ready. We've prepositioned assets. We have 6,000 members of our National Guard ready to be deployed. We've got our utilities deploying assets. But you've got to take care of yourself, three days of water, three days of food, have your medicines.
Listen to the evacuation orders. Follow the evacuation orders. Watch the local news. Know what's going on. You know, make sure your cell phone is charged up so you get those alerts all night long in case we have any tornadoes, which we have very high likelihood of tornadoes.
You've got to take care of yourself. And then call your local sheriff. Call your local mayors. Call your local (INAUDIBLE) management teams and let them know if you have (INAUDIBLE)
CARLSON: So can you tell us what exactly the evacuation orders are? Are they mandatory? And if so, what does that mean?
SCOTT: Tucker, we've got some areas where we have five counties where a portion of the county has mandatory. We have two counties where a portion of the county has mandatory evacuations.
So we've just got to make sure people are following those. We've told everybody you can go on the Web side Floridadisaster.org-slash-public mapping (ph) and know exactly if you're under evacuation orders. We've given everybody the telephone number, 850-921-0217. Call our state emergency management team. We've got search and rescue teams, but we cannot rescue people in the middle of a storm. It's too dangerous.
CARLSON: You sound concerned about this storm, Governor.
SCOTT: Well, you know, we haven't had a hurricane in 11 years. We have a lot of people who have moved to our state. A lot of people have become complacent. So we worked hard the last week to get everybody ready for this.
You know, you always worry that people don't take it seriously enough, and so, you know, their life's at risk. This is life-threatening, Tucker. And we're going to have -- you know, I mean, think about it, you know, 9 to 12 feet of storm surge.
I was down on the coast today. The water was already coming up. We're already starting to see flooding five hours ago down in (INAUDIBLE) County. I was down there today. The water was already coming up. I was at a restaurant that was about to get -- it was going to get flooding.
We're going to see flooding, and I don't want people to drive into standing water. Don't touch a power line. We've got a lot of trees. You know, the Capitol's in Tallahassee. I'm in Tallahassee. We're going to see a lot of trees down, a lot -- we're going to lose a lot of power. Don't touch a power line. You know, we just haven't been through this in a while.
CARLSON: Yes. Boy, it sounds tough. Thanks a lot, Governor. Good luck down there. We appreciate it.
SCOTT: All right. Thanks, Tucker.
CARLSON: Well, updates on Hurricane Hermine, of course, throughout the night.
Also tonight, Donald Trump is having a very big week on the campaign trail, maybe the biggest of his campaign so far. Last night in Arizona, he detailed his immigration policy in a major speech. We've got some highlights for you. Here they are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We will build a great wall along the southern border, and Mexico will pay for the wall, believe me.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: We are going to suspend the issuance of visas to any place where adequate screening cannot occur!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Within ICE, I am going to create a new special deportation task force focused on identifying and quickly removing the most dangerous criminal illegal immigrants in America who have evaded justice, just like Hillary Clinton has evaded justice, OK?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Here with reaction, Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio. Sheriff, it's great to see you tonight. Give us your gut level reaction to the speech. You were there. What did you think of it?
JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFF: No-brainer. It makes sense...
CARLSON: Yes.
ARPAIO: ... catching up on laws that are on the books that have not been enforced. So also, it was a great day when he went to Mexico, a lot of courage to go deep in the heart of Mexico and meet with the president.
I was the director there in Mexico City for many years with the U.S. drug enforcement, so I know the politics, and I know sometimes the danger. So that was a great meeting he had.
CARLSON: So he framed the issue of immigration this way. He said the problem with the system is that our immigration policy favors a certain number of people, wealthy donors, political activists and powerful politicians. It does not serve the American people.
In effect, he's saying it's an inside game. You have no say in this policy at all, and a small number of people are getting rich because of it. Do you buy that?
ARPAIO: Well, that's the economic part of it. But the political part, I think he's right on target, too. This is all politics. If he didn't 13 months ago go public actually in Phoenix and bring this issue out, you think we'd be talking about illegal immigration today? No. Everybody had to talk about it because he brought it to the forefront. So it was very important what he did, no matter how it turns out.
CARLSON: I don't think I've ever seen anybody get a more hostile reaction on any topic than when Trump speaks about immigration. It really seems to rile people in Washington. Why do you think that is?
ARPAIO: Well, you know, a lot of people don't like enforcing the illegal immigration laws for many, many different reasons, especially in the Obama administration. I just heard that our former secretary of state said he ought to be concerned about Arizona, not Mexico. Where does she think all the drugs and illegal immigration comes from? It comes from Mexico.
She should have been spending much more time there when she was secretary of state and try to do something. No, they don't want to embarrass Mexico because of the drug and illegal immigration problem, so now we have to do catch-up and do something in Mexico, which is a source country.
So I hope when Donald becomes president, he's going to concentrate in that source country, too, go back, meet with the president, make a deal -- he's a great deal-maker, which is a big advantage -- and try to get this problem resolved.
CARLSON: I don't think I've ever heard anybody in Washington, any elected official, blame Mexico for the fact that rural America is flooded with heroin. They instead blame the heroin addicts in rural America. It's your fault. It's the demand causing the supply. You don't buy that?
ARPAIO: Tucker, you're right on. I don't want to get personal on my own career, but you know, I spent, what, 26 years with the U.S. drug enforcement in Turkey, the Middle East, Mexico, South America, my whole life, 55 years in law enforcement. Now a sheriff of 24 years, has been dedicated to stopping the flood of drugs into our country.
Now we have our neighboring country, and nobody goes there and puts the pressure on, like we did under President Reagan and Nixon. How come they're not talking about it? No, they don't want to embarrass Mexico.
So this is something that has to be resolved. You go there and you solve the problem. If they don't, you take away their foreign aid. And if they don't want to pay for the wall, take it out of their foreign aid.
CARLSON: Yes, especially since it's heroin. It's not like it's tequila. It's heroin. It kills people. It destroys lives. It's not a joke. You think someone would have thought of this before Trump.
Thanks a lot, Sheriff. It's great to see you tonight.
ARPAIO: Thank you, Tucker.
CARLSON: Coming up, we'll continue to follow the very latest on Hurricane Hermine, which is right off the coast of Florida. It will be making landfall tonight, and we'll be there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I have met with many of the great parents who lost their children to sanctuary cities and open borders, so many people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: And then Donald Trump gave a big speech last night on immigration. We've got more response to it tonight, including two mothers whose sons were murdered by illegal aliens. They join us coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: Welcome back to the "Hannity" program. During his speech on immigration in Arizona last night, Donald Trump promised to put an end to crime from illegal immigrants against American citizens. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Countless innocent American lives have been stolen because our politicians have failed in their duty to secure our borders and enforce our laws like they have to be enforced. I have met with many of the great parents who lost their children to sanctuary cities and open borders, so many people. Countless Americans who have died in recent years would be alive today if not for the open border policies of this administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: Well, fashionable (ph) people on other channels (ph) scoffed at Trump when he said that. But in fact, what he said is true. We know that because we're joined now by two of the mothers whose sons were killed by illegal immigrants. They are Sabine Durden and Mary Anne Mendoza. Thanks, both of you, for joining us.
Sabine, first to you. You saw the speech last night. What was your response to it?
SABINE DURDEN, SON KILLED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT: Oh, Mr. Trump went from hero status in my heart to superhero status because he's doing something that nobody else attempted. He's going to make sure no other family will feel the pain that we as mothers and fathers feel losing our children to illegal aliens.
CARLSON: So Mary Anne Mendoza, why was it left to Donald Trump to say this? There are an awful lot of politicians in this country. He's the only one I've seen say anything like this on a national stage. Why do you think that is?
MARY ANNE MENDOZA, SON KILLED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT: That's a big question in all of our minds, but that is what has drawn us to him because Hillary Clinton talks about what she will do for illegals and refugees. She never talks about what she will be doing for American families who are not only struggling with illegal alien crime, but you know, the jobs and the welfare, the overburdened welfare system and our school systems, everything that is affected by illegal immigration is something that -- you know, it's like an onion. You peel away the layers, and it all goes back to the fact that illegal immigration is causing many of the problems in our country.
CARLSON: Yes, that's for sure, and it's preventable. I mean, to some extent it's preventable, anyway. So Sabine, I mean, do you think that if you were in another category, if your son, for example, had been here illegally, that your story would elicit more sympathy from, say, Hillary Clinton?
DURDEN: Oh, absolutely. Hillary had illegals on stage trying to solicit sympathy from others, families, you know, that will be deported and they might be separated, and let's get some tears out, and let's feel sorry for them.
They had a choice. They still have a choice. Those families can leave together. They can apply to come back together. I don't have that choice anymore. I have my son's ashes with me. That's the choice I have. I don't have a family anymore. This was my only child. So yes, Hillary would definitely like me more if I was on the other side.
CARLSON: Yes. It's unbelievable. So Mary Anne, your son, who was a police officer, was killed by an illegal alien. Do you believe that Donald Trump was correct when he said this was, in effect, preventable, if we had taken action, if policy makers had done something years ago, this wouldn't have happened?
MENDOZA: Absolutely. All of these deaths, all of these parents that I have met throughout this tragedy that I've experienced, every one of their children would be alive had the administration been upholding the laws of the land for the last eight years.
And this is what Americans need to understand. They think this is like a terrible message from Mr. Trump. All he is saying is he's going to start upholding the laws that we currently have in this country, as it should have been done for the last eight years.
CARLSON: Yes, take the side of Americans for once. Mary Anne Mendoza, Sabine Durden, you're really nice to come here, and you're really articulate on the subject. We appreciate it. Thanks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
CARLSON: Coming up next right here on the show...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're going to build a wall. Mexico's going to pay for the wall. We're going to (INAUDIBLE)
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: That was Trump tonight, fresh off the big speech in Phoenix last night, still promising to build a border wall with Mexico and have Mexico pay for it. Austan Goolsbee, Charlie Hurt, Mercedes Schlapp will be here next with their reaction.
And then we're going to check in with Rick Reichmuth in the FOX News Extreme Weather Center because there is very extreme weather off the coast of Florida. Hurricane Hermine is expected to make landfall in the next couple of hours, and we will be there. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're going to build a wall. Mexico's going to pay for the wall. We're going to stop drugs from coming in.
No issue better illustrates how corrupt my opponent is than her pay-for- play scandals as secretary of state. Hillary Clinton says she wants to put a lot of coal miners out of business. She wants to put them out of business.
(BOOS)
TRUMP: These are deals made at the top. We have no leadership. We're going to have great leadership. We're going to bring our jobs back. We're going to open new companies. You're going to be so proud of your country once again!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: That was Donald Trump, of course, on the campaign trail earlier today in Ohio, still promising to build a border wall and have Mexico pay for it, and of course, going after his rival for the presidency, Hillary Clinton.
Here with reactions, from Washington and The Washington Times, Charlie Hurt, our old friend, former Obama economic adviser Austan Goolsbee, and Fox News contributor Mercedes Schlapp. It's great to see you all.
Mr. Goolsbee, first to you. My favorite line from the speech last night -- I've never heard a single other politician say that, and I'm quoting from Trump. "It's our right as a sovereign nation to choose immigrants that we think are the likeliest to thrive and flourish and love us."
I think that's indisputable, and yet that line has driven the chattering class completely insane. Why?
AUSTAN GOOLSBEE, FMR. OBAMA ECONOMIC ADVISER: I totally disagree. That hasn't driven them insane. I agree with you. Many people could agree on that statement.
If you are insinuating that Donald Trump had a high-minded discussion about political philosophy and who should be allowed in the country, I would simply refer you back to the speech last night that you should watch. And the whole notion that he's going to get Mexico to pay for a wall when he did not have the guts to even try to discuss that with the president of Mexico when he saw him...
MERCEDES SCHLAPP, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, please.
CARLSON: But I would say -- I mean...
GOOLSBEE: ... two hours before is a joke.
CARLSON: ... look, I would concede two things. I would concede that Trump is not a political philosopher, and I would concede that who pays for the wall is irrelevant, as far as I'm concerned, and maybe that's a silly line.
But I also watched and read the speech, and I think it's pretty deep. And I do think, Charlie, that that line enrages people in Washington because they don't believe that we ought to have a right to discern the difference between different immigrant groups. They're all the same. They're all great, and you can't say otherwise or else you're a bigot. That's their view.
CHARLES HURT, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Exactly. And they find it embarrassing, the notion that America would be anything other than a dumping ground for other -- for people from other places. Our immigration policy has been that for the past 15, 20 years.
But you know, for all the trouble that Donald Trump has gotten into the last couple of weeks with immigration and saying different things, the one thing that he has been firm on the entire time is the holy grail, which is you stick to the idea of sealing the border and fixing the visa overstays, the problems with people having -- you know, staying beyond their visas.
You fix the problem, and then all the other things, you know, things like what do you do with the illegals here now -- all those things begin to take care of themselves. And Donald Trump has never wavered on that most important aspect of this.
CARLSON: So Mercedes, maybe I'm just in a bubble. I don't think I am. I think I can see this pretty clearly, and I think Trump's made an awful lot of mistakes in the past couple months and they're frustrating to watch. I don't think this is a mistake. It seems to me that he's on the side of the majority of voters in his positions on immigration, the big ones anyway. Isn't he?
SCHLAPP: Well, I think for the most part, the Americans believe that we need to secure the border. That's a no-brainer. I think it's because of American sovereignty. It's ensuring that we have control of who's coming in and out of our country.
Tucker, for decades, there has been this cycle of illegal immigration, and what have the Democrats done? They pretty much have given up and basically said, those who have had the visa overstays, there's really no penalty.
What is the signal that they are sending, the Democrats are sending to the world? It's basically saying, You come into the United States. You overstay your visa. Guess what? You're going to stay in...
CARLSON: That's right.
SCHLAPP: ... and then maybe one day, you'll just become a citizen. That is unacceptable because at some point, the illegal immigration, this cycle needs to stop. And I think that's where Donald Trump has really been able to hone in on that message of saying, Look, this is about ensuring that we know who is entering our country and who can stay here and work. And I think that those are very critical questions that we need to be answering.
CARLSON: Austan, you mentioned political philosophy. Chew on this philosophical question. Who does this system serve? David Frum, who is a big Trump critic -- he's not going to vote for Trump, doesn't like him -- has a piece in The Atlantic tonight in which he points out that Hillary Clinton's policy book has paragraphs fretting about the state of immigration and its effect on illegal immigrants, but not a single word even contemplating the effect of our immigration system on people who already live here, on American citizens. She doesn't seem to care at all. And I don't think she does and I don't think the Democratic Party does. Am I wrong?
GOOLSBEE: Well, I -- well, clearly, you're wrong about that last part. The centerpiece of her campaign is about the wages of middle class workers.
CARLSON: Oh, come on now.
GOOLSBEE: I think you raise an interesting point that, you know, let's get -- I'm an economist, so let's have an economic discussion about, is the impact of immigration on this country a net negative or a net positive? I think the evidence is overwhelming that immigration is a net positive for the country.
SCHLAPP: But can you differentiate between...
GOOLSBEE: That's fine. Let's have a debate about that.
(CROSSTALK)
GOOLSBEE: ... immigration program -- hold on. Donald Trump has three different immigration positions in one 24-hour period.
CARLSON: All right, I get you...
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Let me just stop you very, very quickly. You're not going to argue that the average low-skilled, low-wage worker from another country here, legally or illegally, produces more in tax revenue than he takes in transfers and goods and services because that's just not true.
GOOLSBEE: I don't have to do that. The Congressional Budget Office added that up and did show that.
CARLSON: That's not true, what you just said!
GOOLSBEE: Because -- well, Tucker...
CARLSON: I don't care if you're an economist or not! That's false!
GOOLSBEE: ... would you like me to walk you through it? would you like me to walk you through it?
CARLSON: No, because we don't have time, but we both know that's not true!
GOOLSBEE: Hold on. Would you like me to...
CARLSON: You can look it up on Google!
GOOLSBEE: ... give you the evidence? The Congressional Budget Office analyzed that question. Most of those workers -- there are very few who go on welfare. It's absolutely not a majority. Most of the welfare programs of the country, they are not eligible for.
CARLSON: OK, they don't pay more in taxes than they receive.
SCHLAPP: Hillary Clinton wants...
(CROSSTALK)
GOOLSBEE: ... and never take Social Security. So you're not correct that they're a net negative.
CARLSON: So Charlie Hurt, do you think the average person believes if you flood a labor market, the lower end, with cheap labor, somehow wages rise? Who believes that?
HURT: Nobody does. And this is -- you know, the reason for Donald Trump's unbelievable success in the election, and I think it will go beyond the Republican Party and probably pick up a lot of independents, and it clearly appeals to a lot of people in Democratic stronghold -- that these people for the past 15, 20 years -- everybody has a lobbyist representing them, but you know, working class Americans in places like Martinsville, Virginia, or Ohio, where NAFTA and all these trade deal -- their jobs have disappeared, and they see other jobs taken over by illegals or legal immigration, it's -- you know, it's devastating.
And the bottom line is that those people are voting now, and you know -- you know, if all of these plans that the politicians have been giving us for so long are such a great deal for these people, why can't they make that argument to them now? Why do zero percent of those people actually believe that right now?
CARLSON: Exactly! Mercedes, if it's true -- and I think it takes an awful lot of chutzpah for Secretary Clinton to say she's running to elevate the wages of the working class. But if she is indeed doing that, has she a single time ever explained how letting in a ton of low-wage workers makes wages rise for Americans? Has she even tried to explain that but I missed it?
SCHLAPP: Absolutely not, Tucker. I mean, Hillary Clinton has flip-flopped on immigration based on what season it is of the year. For Hillary Clinton, this is so focused on pandering to the Hispanic community and basically saying, you know, Let's -- we're going to do this pathway to citizenship. We're going to do comprehensive immigration reform and moving in that direction.
Sadly, I think we need to really get to the point where you say, OK, if you move forward in that direction, that means that we're still going to be promoting this message of illegal immigration, that it is acceptable for illegal immigrants to continue flooding and coming into the United States.
With that being said, we need to be focused on legal immigration and really appreciate those individuals who have followed the law and followed the process to be able to come into the United States and work and live here.
CARLSON: I agree with you there. I mean, just because...
GOOLSBEE: Tucker, you are pretending...
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: ... don't love immigrants. I'm -- I'm -- Austan, I actually sincerely want to continue this conversation, but I'm being ordered by the powers that be in the control room to stop it because there's a commercial break.
Thanks to the three of you for coming. That was awesome. I appreciate it.
Coming up, we'll continue to monitor hurricane Hermine. It's expected to make landfall on the west coast of Florida in a few hours. We'll be there of course. Rick Reichmuth and Steve Harrigan are next.
Plus, according to a brand-new report from the Associated Press, Hillary Clinton's daily schedule as secretary of state will now be released before the election. If that's not a good time, I don't know what is. And "Politico" is reporting Bill Clinton used taxpayer dollars to set up Hillary Clinton's e-mail server and subsidize their family foundation because he just didn't make enough money, a quarter billion wasn't enough, so you had to subsidize it. The former president adamantly denying this report, comma, sort of. Dinesh D'Souza, Tom Fitton, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: We want to start with a FOX News alert. Hurricane Hermine is bearing down at this hour on the gulf coast of Florida, on the west side of the state. So what can we expect out of this powerful storm when it finally makes landfall later tonight? Joining me now live from the FOX News extreme weather center is a man who has been watching this storm since the very beginning, Rick Reichmuth. Rick, what's going on?
REICHMUTH: Yes, about 15, 16 days from when we started tracking this storm, it really has strengthened in the last 24 hours. And it's about to make landfall right across the big bend of Texas. Tornado watch in effect. We will see tornado concerns all night tonight and throughout a lot of the day tomorrow.
But the center of the storm getting very, very close. We've thought all along it's going to move somewhere here in the big bend. There you have the center. There you have land. It's getting very, very, close, and we'll start to see the eye wall or what there is of a center of the storm move onshore with really strong winds likely well in excess of hurricane force and some gusts probably 90 miles an hour.
You'll notice Tallahassee. That's the biggest center of population, and that I think is going to take a very direct brunt from this. We'll see a lot of tree damage and a lot of power outage to a town of about 350,000 people. The rest of the area not all that populated.
Here's a look at wind gusts. You follow the center of the storm. It's going to move over Tallahassee overnight into southern Georgia by early tomorrow morning, cross the Carolinas and then I want to have you watch what happens here. Saturday into Sunday, that blue color there is winds in excess of 50 miles an hour. We're going to watch this storm stall out here off the Jersey Shore and potentially be looking at tropical storm conditions all along the Long Island area, maybe up into southern New England, the coast of the Jersey Shore, and that's where we're going to watch some big beach erosion and a lot of damage there.
So Tucker, once we're done with this storm tonight in Florida, it becomes a southeast storm tomorrow and a Saturday, Sunday, into Monday storm across parts of the northeast. So the last weekend of the summer, everybody wants to be at the beaches. The eastern seaboard is going to be a very dangerous time and we're going to see a lot of damage from this storm. Tucker?
CARLSON: That is tough for Labor Day. Thanks a lot, Rick.
REICHMUTH: You bet.
CARLSON: Appreciate it.
As we said, this is a Fox News alert. Hurricane Hermine is its name, and it continues to pound the gulf coast of Florida with heavy winds and torrential rains. Back with us, a man who is in the middle of it all, Steve Harrigan. I think we have the shot. Steve, are you there? There he is.
HARRIGAN: Tucker, we can really feel the difference in the last hour just in the wind alone. We've had sustained winds 60 miles an hour, then 70 miles an hour, and now 80 miles an hour. And here in Cedar Key you can feel it enough to jostle you. You can see small objects beginning to move around as well, garbage cans, branches from trees. The downed trees are really what's causing a big headache right now. At least 70,000 people without power.
The next few hours are going to be really tough. It's dark. It's scary. The roads are flooded and emergency rescuers can't go out. They can't go out when the wind is more than 40 miles an hour because they don't want to endanger themselves. And also because there's so much flooding. I can tell you right now we're standing at a very high point in the place where we are, and I can see the water really creeping up from three different sides. What once were road here are fast becoming rivers as this place gets ready for a tough few hours ahead.
Tucker, back to you.
CARLSON: Steve Harrigan live on the scene, appreciate it, Steve.
Also tonight, with every passing day, it seems like there's another new report on the Clinton Foundation and corruption there. Earlier today, "Politico," which is very nice to the Clintons normally, released a piece entitled, quote, "Bill Clinton aides used tax dollars to subsidize foundation, private e-mail support."
A Clinton spokesman called the report demonstrably false, though it wasn't, actually, because it was based on documents released by the Clinton Foundation itself. This news came as new emails show a top executive at the foundation asked Huma Abedin to obtain diplomatic passports for himself and for others. That's not allowed.
And the State Department agreed today to turn over all the detailed planning schedules from Hillary Clinton's time as secretary to the Associated Press by mid-October, before the election, a major change from earlier reports that said the schedule wouldn't become public until after Election Day.
Joining me now to digest all of this, the author of "Cleaning House, Exposing Our Government's Secrets and Lies," Tom Fitton, he's also with Judicial Watch, and our favorite filmmaker, Dinesh D'Douza. His new movie is called "Hillary's America" and is set for re-release in 400 theaters nationwide this weekend. It is great to see you both.
First, Tom Fitton, to you. This report from Politico, which basically sucks up to the Clintons most of the time, it's a pretty solid report, it seems to me, shows that Bill Clinton took $13 million in taxpayers' money to support people, his employees, when his foundation was generating $2 billion of money over that time. How can this be allowed?
TOM FITTON, JUDICIAL WATCH: Well, you know, there's a certain subsidy that former presidents get to run their offices, but according to the Politico report, the money that Clinton was seeking were far beyond anything any other former president was asking for.
And it raises the question, again, who was running this e-mail server, and was it truly private? We've never believed it was private in any legal sense. And here quite literally you have an allegation suggesting that taxpayer money was used to set up this allegedly private server from which Mrs. Clinton or on which Mrs. Clinton conducted all of her government business. And when asked for the records, she destroyed half of them. You know, lots of crimes potentially there and misconduct.
CARLSON: But also just weird behavior. Dinesh, I hate to ask any guest to play shrink, OK, especially when they're not licensed to do so. But what is this about? It's so pathological, the idea that you stiff the government when you're as rich as Bill Clinton, you and your wife made a quarter billion dollars personally in the last 15 years, and yet you're asking them to pay the health insurance for your employees because you can't help yourself? What is this about?
DINESH D'SOUZA, "HILLARY'S AMERICA": Well, I think it's very obvious that the two Clintons are completely pathological, and in some ways it's a real pity that the law keeps giving them a pass, allowing them to stay one step ahead of the posse, because it sends them the message that they are literally above the law. And so I think there's a certain shamelessness that characterizes their conduct.
But now, you know, when you asked this question about her behavior with the private server and with the foundation, I think that there's a connection between those two things, because it takes a lot of trouble to set up this whole private system. She needed to get the collaboration of aides to do it.
And so the big question is, why do it? You get all kinds of briefings about classified information. Why go to the trouble and take the reckless step of deleting all those e-mails if it is not the case that Hillary Clinton during her tenure as secretary of state, was conducting a kind of private foreign policy for her benefit and the benefit of the Clinton Foundation? That would be a major story, and it would make sense why she would go to great lengths to cover up that story, because that would be her real foreign policy.
And really degrading our government in the process. Tom, I want to play you an exchange between Joe Biden and a reporter today, mostly because it's amusing, be keep in mind as you watch this, Joe Biden is never running for anything again. He can say whatever he wants. And yet when asked about the Clinton Foundation, here is his response. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think Americans should be concerned at all about the ethics of the Clinton Foundation? Has the Clinton Foundation always been 100 percent ethical in your view?
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT: I think the Clinton Foundation like all foundations has found itself in a position where things are changing. And I think she's going to change and adjust to the realities of how complicated it's all become.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: What the hell does that mean?
FITTON: Times are a-changing.
CARLSON: Times are a-changing, yes.
FITTON: You know, you have The New York Times this week talk about how they needed to sever their ties from the Clinton Foundation, get out of that business completely. And even Joe Biden is giving some advice in that regard. And, you know, Mrs. Clinton is attacking Judicial Watch for releasing this material and pretending her enemies are out to get her, when in fact the Democrats are the ones telling her run, run from the Clinton Foundation.
CARLSON: I know. I know. It's hard to dismiss as a right-wing conspiracy if "The New York Times" is on board.
And finally, Dinesh, to you. Every day, there's just a pinata of this stuff, literally every single day. And, you wonder, though, does it reach a point where it has no political effect, where people just assume Hillary Clinton is corrupt, they can't be any more shocked, they've lost their capacity for surprise, and it doesn't affect the election, or does it continue to affect the election?
D'SOUZA: Well, I think that the true model to understand the Clintons is one has to go abroad and look to something like the foundation that, for example, Juan and Evita Peron set up, a foundation that was largely for their own benefit, but, again, masquerading in the form of charity.
If there's one thing the Democrats have learned is that when you're doing a lot of good for yourself, try to pretend like you're doing good for others and put up a front. So the Clinton Foundation, to my view, it's not even a philanthropy. It's not a charity. It's essentially a bribery receptacle for the Clintons masquerading as a charity.
CARLSON: And the sanctimony that they exhibit when you ask about it is just nauseating. I'm so much more comfortable with the mafia. They say, I'm doing it to get rich. If you don't like it, I'm going to kill you. You know what I mean? They don't lecture you about global warming or transgender bathrooms. They just take their kickbacks. I refer that.
D'SOUZA: Luca Brasi never thought of putting on a halo.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: No, he never did. He never said he was going to cure childhood obesity. It's really disgusting. Guys, thanks a lot for coming on.
FITTON: Thank you.
D'SOUZA: You're welcome.
CARLSON: Coming up, he did it again. NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick -- if that's how you pronounce it, who cares -- refused to stand for the National Anthem at tonight's preseason game in San Diego. Instead, he took a knee, whatever that means. Plus take a look at the socks he's worn to training camp this month. They're pigs with cop hats on. Unbelievable. Deneen Borelli is next on that. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLSON: Welcome back to the "Hannity" show. Tonight, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick continued his what he called silent protest against the United States of America by not standing during the national anthem. Instead he took a knee. What's remarkable is that the 49ers are playing in San Diego where the Chargers are based, of course, and tonight the Chargers are hosting a salute to the military. Reports surfaced today showing that Kaepernick earlier this month wore socks that depict police officers as pigs. He wrote a post on Instagram that the socks were meant to represent, quote, "rogue cops."
Joining us now with reaction is Fox News contributor, our old friend, Deneen Borelli. Deneen, it's great to see you tonight.
DENEEN BORELLI, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: This guy is a moron and a child and an attention seeker. And I almost feeling like I'm rising to the bait even in acknowledging this, but I can't control myself. I'm so offended by this. Should we be? Do we have a right to be? And is there a principle at stake here?
BORELLI: First of all, I want to thank our law enforcement and our military personnel, the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe.
This individual continues to insult Americans. And as you just said, should we be outraged or should we be upset? People are outraged at his actions, his words. Tonight, I understand he took a knee on the field, so he didn't stand, again.
But people need to -- I fault the NFL at this point, because what the leadership, the suits, Goodell, they should have put forth a policy where all players should stand for the National Anthem. This is something some coaches said that the players can do, some of the coaches said it should be up to them. I think it should be a national policy for the organization because it's going to be a slippery slope now.
CARLSON: You're exactly right. And it seems to me that if you don't defend your values, they evaporate. So Tim Kaine, who is a senator from Virginia and of course Hillary Clinton running mate had a chance to do that yesterday. He was asked on television about this. And rather than make the case for standing for the National Anthem or explaining why Kaepernick is wrong, he took a pass. He said, well, it's a free country. You have a right to do whatever you want. Why wouldn't he make the obvious point that this is ludicrous? Why is he afraid to say that?
BORELLI: Think about why the organization as a whole, the NFL, is not saying anything. I think they are concerned about alienating some of the black players if they say something. They have had a lot of social issues that have gone on with the NFL. And this is something that is turning off the fans, the fans who spend thousands and thousands of dollars every year, hardworking American who take their families for a good time. We just want to see good football game.
CARLSON: The commissioner makes $40 million a year, can't defend the National Anthem? He can't say it's been a good country, actually, it's been good for me and my family. He can't say that?
BORELLI: Well, he hasn't said it yet.
CARLSON: What a coward.
BORELLI: Listen, I worked in a fortune 100 company for many, many years. One thing that they are concerned about is their brand and their representation. Public opinion is high, I think, on this issue. So you have tickets, the seat licensing, the merchandise, the vending, the TV football packages. The NFL may feel the wrath of consumers because of this. And time will tell. We will see. But I'm looking at social media. Social media is on fire with this issue. So this is something that the NFL should have nipped in the bud already.
CARLSON: If the player had criticized transgender bathrooms I'm sure the commissioner would be out there apologizing. Deneen Borelli, it's great to see you.
BORELLI: Thank you.
CARLSON: Thanks a lot.
Coming up, yet another hour of the "Hannity" program is coming up. Too good to be true? No, it's actually happening. So stay with us after the break.
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