Donald Trump: Ground game, skipping debate cost me in Iowa
Presidential candidate sounds off on 'Hannity'
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," February 2, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And welcome to "Hannity." So after a big night in Iowa, the presidential candidates are now turning their attention to New Hampshire. Now, both Senator Ted Cruz and Donald Trump -- they will be here with reaction tonight.
But first, Senator Ted Cruz had a huge victory in Iowa, and as he told his supporters after his win last night, he plans to keep this momentum going. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP
SEN. TED CRUZ, R-TEXAS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: God bless the great state of Iowa!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CRUZ: Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives across Iowa and all across this great nation!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CRUZ: We are going to do this together as a movement from the people. And I tell you tonight, Iowa has made clear to America and the world morning is coming. Morning is coming!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Joining us now, the winner of the Iowa Republican caucuses, 2016 GOP presidential candidate Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Senator, big congratulations to you.
Three takeaways from my side. Number one, Iowa polls are horrible. Don't pay attention a lot to the polls.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: Two, you did the full Grassley, all 99 counties. Hard work pays off. Retail politics works.
CRUZ: Yes.
HANNITY: And on the Republican side, I don't think there's any denying the big loser last night is the establishment of the Republican Party. Thoughts.
CRUZ: Oh, look, I think there's no doubt about it. What we saw yesterday is the incredible power of the grass roots, that people are hungry for change. They're hungry for someone who will stand up to Washington., hungry for someone who will take on the Washington cartel, take on not just the Democrats, but leaders in our own party.
We recognize we've got a $19 trillion debt. That didn't happen with just one party. It was both parties that bore responsibility.
And people are fed up. They're fed up with, you know, we won a tidal wave election in 2010, a tidal wave election in 2014, and Republican leadership is not following through on the promises. And they want a leader who will honor his word, who will keep his commitments, who will actually stand with the American people and stop ObamaCare and stop amnesty and defend religious liberty and defend the 2nd Amendment.
And last night -- you know, two nights ago, I watched your show, Sean. And you know, every pundit on the show, every analyst you had, one after the other -- and this was true on every show on every network -- predicted there's no way for Cruz to win. There's no way for Cruz to win. That was the unanimous assessment of...
HANNITY: By the way...
CRUZ: What?
HANNITY: I didn't make that -- I didn't make that prediction because...
CRUZ: You did not. You did not.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and now 2016, the polls have been wrong. So I had that in the back of my mind the whole time, and I kept telling everybody, I don't know when's going to happen.
CRUZ: Yes. Well, what last night shows is the power of the grass roots. You know, we had in Iowa over 12,000 volunteers, but we've got over 200,000 volunteers nationwide.
You know, I'm here in New Hampshire now. I'm going to be in South Carolina later tonight. And our volunteer army is incredible. And you know, I'll tell you one of the really important differences to keep in mind from prior election cycles. Last two election cycles, the winners of the Iowa caucus were good men, were principled men, but they came out of Iowa broke. They came out of Iowa without a national team to put them in a position to be able to capitalize and effectively compete to win the nomination.
You know, two days ago, the financial reports were filed of all the campaigns, and as of December 31st, our campaign had money in the bank almost as much as Jeb Bush plus Marco Rubio plus John Kasich plus Chris Christie combined. I mean, that's unprecedented, Sean. The conservative is supposed to be broke.
And the reason is because we've had over $800,000 contributions, people all over the country going to Tedcruz.org, Tedcruz.org. That is what's fueling this campaign -- 800,000 contributions and 200,000 volunteers. And that's what last night produced the victory.
HANNITY: You have shown -- you had probably the lowest burn rate of any candidate, meaning cash you took in that you didn't spend, which certainly is going to serve you well as you now move into New Hampshire and South Carolina.
I would assume now the polls are going to shift a little bit or somewhat in New Hampshire, my guess, my assumption, based on my past experience. It is -- you have been in a battle against the establishment in D.C. They seem to dislike you the most.
CRUZ: Yes.
HANNITY: If you watched any of the commentary last night, the consensus is, Well, now they're going to coalesce behind Marco Rubio. They dislike you the most. They don't like Donald Trump. They're going to coalesce behind Rubio. What's your take, if, in fact, you believe that's true?
CRUZ: Well, listen, I mean, I was, laughing watching some of the media coverage, some of the interviews afterwards, where everyone was saying, What do you think about the amazing third place finish of Marco?
(LAUGHTER)
CRUZ: And I just kind of laughed and said, Gosh, you know, is the media giving a tell there, when the first thing you want to talk about is the amazing third place finish? You know, we've been joking that in media world, bronze is the new gold.
They're going to push the themes they want to push. They're going to push the candidates they want to push, and the Washington cartel has its favorite candidates. But the grass roots are fed up with that. You know, as I observed in Iowa, as I observe here in New Hampshire, you want to know who actually will stand up to Washington, who will change that city? Then ask yourself who is Washington attacking? And they revealed themselves very plainly, as they have throughout this campaign.
HANNITY: I think a case could be made that fully 60 percent of Iowa Republican voters voted anti-establishment, with you coming out on top.
CRUZ: Yes.
HANNITY: So it's going to interesting to see politically whether or not they turn on you and they want to attack you. Certainly, they didn't want to give you the credit for your win last night, which you deserve.
So I guess -- to me, it's almost bordering on pathological, and they seem out of touch with the real anger, frustration -- maybe anger's the wrong word -- righteous indignation at promises that have made in elections that are not kept, like repealing and replacing "Obama care," like stopping executive amnesty. And that seems to be your big appeal, that you stood up in Washington when others wouldn't.
CRUZ: Well, look, you've got a lot of folks in Washington earning paychecks, lobbyists, and it's about entrenched power. And the idea of honoring the promises to the men and women who elected you, they view that as almost quaint and parochial.
You know, I'll give an example from last week that I thought was fairly stunning. Bob Dole, who is someone I don't know -- I've never met Bob Dole, I don't know him personally, but you know, obviously, he's been around and in politics longer than I've been around.
HANNITY: Establishment guy. Right. Total establishment.
CRUZ: You know, Bob Dole last week was overheard talking to friends saying he was very dismayed that former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg might run for president. The reason he said he was dismayed is he said if Bloomberg runs, that could split the moderate and liberal vote with him and Hillary Clinton, and goodness gracious, that could elect Ted Cruz, which could be cataclysmic!
HANNITY: Wow. Wow. You know...
CRUZ: And I want you to think...
HANNITY: That's outrageous. That is -- his moderate views didn't win an election, Senator. And I know we've had moderate candidate in him and John McCain, and they don't win elections. + And so...
CRUZ: They keep losing...
HANNITY: Go ahead.
CRUZ: And you know, what he's saying there is the view of a lot of the Washington cartel. They would rather Hillary Clinton, they would rather bankrupt our kids and grandkids, they'd rather lose the U.S. Supreme Court for a generation, they'd rather see our religious liberty stripped away, our 2nd Amendment taken away. They would rather see Islamic terrorism continue to rise and Israel continue to be under assault than actually have a true Reagan conservative in the White House who believes what he's saying.
That shows just how messed up Washington is, but it also shows why the frustration is volcanic. And Sean, what's so encouraging is what's coming together behind our campaign. We're seeing unity among the grass roots, among the activists. We're seeing that old Reagan coalition reassembling. We're seeing conservatives and evangelicals and libertarians and Reagan Democrats all coming together. And that's what it takes to win the nomination, but it's also what it takes to win the general, to beat Hillary or Bernie or whoever and to turn the country around.
HANNITY: What are your thoughts about the Democratic primary last night?
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: From my vantage point, a huge loss for Hillary last night, losing to a 74-year-old curmudgeon senator from Vermont who identifies as a socialist! They're in real trouble. What are your thoughts?
CRUZ: Look, the Democratic Party is tired and old and out of ideas. I mean, watching their primary is like watching the sitcom "That '70s Show." They're recycling failed ideas on economic policies. The Obama-Clinton economy has been a disaster.
We've got the lowest percentage of Americans working since 1977. Wages have stagnated. And Democrats have no answer to that.
And then on foreign policy, they have their heads in the sand like an ostrich. They won't say the words "radical Islamic terrorism." They don't have any view about how to keep this country safe. And it's why the American people are turning away from them. They recognize what they're doing isn't working.
I believe we are headed to a 1980 Reagan landslide. We're headed -- 2016 is going to be an election like 1980. Now, that won't happen if we offer Democrat lite. But if we paint, as Reagan said, in bold colors not pale pastels -- every day at virtually every event we do, I have people coming up to me, saying I'm a Democrat. I voted for Barack Obama. I'm a union member. I've been a Democrat my whole life. I'm with you.
HANNITY: Senator...
CRUZ: Day after day after day.
HANNITY: ... talk about a general election. I agree with you. I think this is now emerging as a choice election, a general election.
CRUZ: Yes. Yes.
HANNITY: So tell me because every time we get to this point in an election, everyone starts talking about electability and the electoral map and historically in the last few cycles, you've got to win Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia...
CRUZ: Right.
HANNITY: ... New Mexico, Iowa, New Hampshire, Colorado. And it's a very tight map. Do you believe you can change the electoral map if you're the candidate for the Republicans?
CRUZ: Absolutely yes. And the key is we've got to bring back to the polls the millions of conservatives who are staying home. We got to bring back to the polls the 54 million evangelical Christians who didn't come out and vote in 2012. And we have got to bring back to the polls the Reagan Democrats, the blue collar Catholics across the Midwest, up into New England. They're union members. They're gun owners. They're pro-life. They're Ohio steelworkers. They're Michigan auto workers. They're truck drivers and electricians and mechanics.
And that's what Washington doesn't get. That is the core of my base and my support. And here's one of the areas the Washington cartel gets it totally wrong. If we were to nominate a candidate who supports amnesty, whose views on amnesty are the same as Hillary Clinton's, that we should grant citizenship to 12 million people here illegally, the result of that would be the Reagan Democrats would stay home because amnesty is a 70, 80 percent issue with them.
They're losing their jobs to people here illegally. They're seeing their wages driven down. And yet Washington desperately wants to say, Wall Street and the lobbyists want amnesty, so that's the right position. That's how we lose.
HANNITY: All right. Let me ask a final question. Ben Carson's campaign said that your campaign was telling people he was dropping out. And secondly, you and Donald Trump had a very, I would say, heated exchanges in Iowa, a lot of back and forth. He seemed gracious last night, congratulated you on your victory. Where do you stand on both those issues?
CRUZ: Well, listen, Ben Carson is someone who I respect and admire. Ben and Candy have become friends. We've had dinner together more than once. And he is a man of great character and integrity and principle. I'll really very much admire him.
Last night, when CNN posted a news report that Ben was not continuing on to New Hampshire, not continuing on to South Carolina, but instead was going to Florida, our political team forwarded it to the members of our team. But unfortunately, they did not then forward the subsequent story that was Ben's campaign clarifying that he was continuing the campaign and was not canceling the campaign.
And so I apologized to Ben for that. They should have forwarded that subsequent story. That was a mistake on our part. And as I said, my respect and admiration for Ben could not be higher.
HANNITY: OK.
CRUZ: Concerning Donald -- listen, I like and respect Donald. You know, six weeks ago, Donald was singing my praises every day, saying I was a friend, saying I was terrific. Then our numbers started surging, his numbers started falling, and Donald began attacking me each and every day in personal and direct terms.
And you know, Sean, as you know, you and I have talked many, many times -- I have not responded in kind, and I don't intend to. I will continue to sing Donald's praises personally. He's bold. He's brash. I'm glad he's running. He's energizing a lot of people.
Now, I do think policy differences are fair game, so I'm happy to have a conversation about Donald's and my differences on health care and his support for expanding "Obama care." I'm happy to have a conversation about amnesty or happy to have a conversation about eminent domain. But I think the voters deserve more than insults and attacks. And so if he or others choose to continue with the insults, that's their prerogative. I will respond by singing his praises.
HANNITY: Senator, you're right. A first place victory is significant, and you worked hard for it. Congratulations. One week from tonight, we'll get in results from New Hampshire. The process now moves very fast.
Senator Cruz, always appreciate you being here. Thank you.
CRUZ: Thank you, Sean. God bless.
HANNITY: And coming up, Donald Trump is up next with his reaction to the results out of Iowa. Also, we'll get his take on New Hampshire and much more.
And then later tonight...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know we can make college affordable and get student debt off the backs of young people!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
HANNITY: An angry Hillary Clinton goes full socialist after just barely beating Bernie in Iowa. But did she?
Plus, Governors John Kasich and Chris Christie are here. They've gone all in in New Hampshire. Will that strategy work?
Also, a quick programming note. Tune in tomorrow night 10:00 Eastern. Florida senator Marco Rubio will join us. That's 10:00 Eastern tomorrow right here on "Hannity."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And when I announced on June 16th, there were 17 people. I hadn't registered. I hadn't been put in polls. So I didn't know what was going to happen. And in Iowa, they said, Don't go to Iowa. You don't play in Iowa -- me. And I said, why? I know people in Iowa. They're great people. They said, No, no. It's not going to work, and if you go there, it's not going to work. So I said, I have to do it. I want to go there. And I went there, and I think we did really well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." So after a strong second place finish in Iowa, Donald Trump is now focusing his attention on New Hampshire, where he's leading by a wide margin in the polls. And joining us now, the man himself, 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Mr. Trump, good to see you.
TRUMP: Hi, Sean.
HANNITY: All right, let me start with this. You said something last night. I thought you gave a very gracious speech last night, but you said something that really struck me. And that was all the political advisers, consultants and I guess people that were trying to offer you help and advice -- they all said, Don't go to Iowa. What was that all about?
TRUMP: Well, they all said, Don't go to Iowa. It wouldn't be right for you, wouldn't probably play too well in Iowa. And I know people in Iowa. I love the people. They're incredible people. And I know a lot of them, actually. I've had friends that came from Iowa.
And I said, No, I think I'd do well there. And they all said, No, don't do it -- political people, you know, pundits and people like this that know nothing. And I said, You know what? I want to do it anyway.
And I started off in, like, last place, and within a couple of months, I was in first place, or almost first place at least. And we ended up in second place, and I'm really glad that I did it.
Some people thought the debate, you know, not doing the debate might have been a positive -- you know, a positive for perhaps my opponents. But actually, I raised, as you know, $6 million for the vets by not doing the debate So I'm really happy about that. To me, it was very important.
HANNITY: And you said that at your press conference tonight. And we're not relitigating the FOX issue, but everything now is good with FOX from your end. I heard you the other night say so. So you're moving forward...
TRUMP: That's true.
HANNITY: In New Hampshire, you've got, let's see, Boston Herald 38 percent, CNN 30 percent. You got the Suffolk poll, 27, NBC News/Wall Street Journal, 31, a much bigger lead than you ever had in Iowa. Tell us about your strategy moving forward.
TRUMP: Well, I never had much of a lead in Iowa. And I guess, you know, the problem was, and it's sort of an interesting situation. I had a -- there was a poll that came out where I had a small lead, and then when I came in second, everybody -- and of course, I spent very little money there, whereas, as you know, Ted Cruz spent a lot of money there, and so did just about everybody else.
But what happened is -- you know, if you just take a look at the overall picture here, I'm doing so well. It's a very natural fit. I've known the people for years. I've been up in New Hampshire for years. I love the place.
And I think I'm going to do great here. I think I would have done probably a little bit better in Iowa had I not, you know, gone out and wanted to do that event for the vets. But you know, I'm very happy with second place finish in Iowa.
HANNITY: You know, when you got into this race, I remember interviewing you and you were very clear -- and I even went back and looked up -- that you're fed up with career politicians. They talk and talk, make promise after promise...
TRUMP: Right.
HANNITY: ... and that...
TRUMP: All talk no action, right.
HANNITY: ... from your perspective -- and they're making a total mess out of everything and that was what drove you into this race. Are you more resolved now that you've been through this process to this point?
TRUMP: Well, what drove me in was incompetent leadership at the top. I mean, we've made so many bad decisions, whether it's the Iran deal, where we give them $150 billion, we get nothing for it, absolutely nothing. It's going to lead to nuclear proliferation.
And you know, there's just nothing that we do well. The borders are a disaster. The military, we don't win anymore. We don't win anymore in our country, Sean. We don't win anymore. We used to win. We don't win anymore. We don't win with trade. We don't win with war. We can't even beat ISIS.
And we're going to win. If I win -- I will tell you, if I win, we all win because we are going to win.
HANNITY: Let me go to last night's results one more time and ask you this question. If you add up your vote and Ted Cruz's vote and Ben Carson's vote, you're talking about over 60 percent of Iowa Republicans saying they're fed up, which kind of is in sync with polls that show that Republicans feel betrayed by their own party.
By the way, I'm a registered conservative, but I feel that way. I feel they have let us down and been weak and feckless and incapable of fighting Obama. How will that change?
TRUMP: Well, people are angry and I see it, and I have tremendous crowds. I'm in New Hampshire now. And you know, I had 5,000 people just a few minutes ago, and I literally just got off the stage. Incredible people.
But they're really angry. They're not angry at people, but they're angry at when's going on right now. And believe me, if I win, they won't be angry for long because we'll straighten things out. And we'll straighten them out fast.
And we'll straighten them out also with heart. We're going to do it with heart because we have people that can't take care of themselves. We have to help people. But we have to become a strong country again. We're not a strong country now. We're a country -- and you know better than maybe anybody. We're a country that's scoffed at and laughed at all over the world. We do for everyone else. They don't do anything for us. We protect these countries. They give us nothing. So we have to change it around, Sean. And we will.
HANNITY: You know, I was watching your speech, and it was actually pretty humorous tonight because at one point, you pointed out, Hey, I came in second place, but you would think, Oh, the third place guy came in first place, the way the media's spinning it and. Then the media got booed by the crowd, which I thought was amusing.
And I think there's some truth to that. Do you suspect now, because you're so hated by the establishment and Ted Cruz is hated by the establishment -- do you expect them to coalesce now behind Marco Rubio and that's going to be the establishment push?
TRUMP: I really don't know. I mean, I think I'll do the best job by far. I'll be able to bring back our jobs from China, from Japan, from Mexico. Nobody can do that like I can. And I'll be far better on the border than anybody else. I'll build the wall. I know how to build it and I know how to get it done fast and beautiful and good. I mean, they're not be able to do what I can do. That's what I do. I built this incredible company, and that's what I do, and we are going to make America great again.
I mean, it's my theme. The whole theme is "Make America great again." And we have to do it. We have to -- we can't let Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders become president because you'll never bring the country back. It'll go into an abyss. It'll be too far.
So you know, I do talk, though, about that because it was very interesting. I did well in Iowa. I came in second and I spent less than just about anybody else, and we have to be given a little credit for that, because, frankly, everyone told me I couldn't do well there because of whatever it is. I don't know even know. You'll have to ask them.
But I came in second, and people said, Oh, that was a disappointing evening for Donald Trump. But Marco Rubio -- good guy, by the way -- came in third. And they're saying he had this unbelievable evening. And by the way, I came in second by a lot of votes, like over 2,000 votes. That's a lot of votes, you know, for a basically small base.
The other thing we did, we brought in 50,000 or 60,000 more voters than have ever voted in a Republican caucus in -- you know, in Iowa. I mean, nobody's ever done that before.
So I was 2,000, over 2,000 votes more, which is a lot. And everybody said that it was his evening. He was the winner. They actually called him the winner. He came in third. I came in second.
And you know, the other thing, he's a professional politician. I never did this before. So I come in second, spend the least money, and I had a -- you know, I didn't do as well. He comes in third -- not that close, by the way. You know, they said, Oh, he came right behind Trump. Not that close. He came in third, and they're talking about he's the winner of the evening. Give me a break, Sean.
HANNITY: The polls in Iowa have been wrong in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and now 2016. They're notoriously bad. So my next question is, here's Hillary Clinton, and really. if she didn't get the coin flip six times, she loses to Bernie Sanders. What do you make of her terrible performance?
TRUMP: Well, I tell you what I make of it. I want to find out where that coin comes from because I want it, OK?
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: She won six or something. I think she won six in a row.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I think Bernie Sanders better check that coin because maybe it's got a double head. But it is sort of ridiculous.
You know, one thing I will say, though. It's a caucus system in Iowa, which is fine. It's a different system. But it is a very complex system, and for tabulating votes and for, you know, going through the whole process, it makes it certainly much more difficult.
But it is a different system as to why -- you know, as per your question. It's quite a bit different. I must say I think that the good old simple system where you walk in and you cast your vote, like we have as an example in New Hampshire, I think it's better, simpler, better, more direct. But the caucus system, it does serve a purpose, and I understand it very well.
HANNITY: I know you got to go. Will you improve your ground game? Some people thought there could be improvement there. We have about 30 seconds.
TRUMP: Well, we didn't spend much money on the ground game, and I would agree, we didn't have much of a ground game because I didn't think I was going to be winning, and you know, et cetera, et cetera. That's why I'm so honored to have come in second. Most people said I wouldn't be in the top 10 originally, when I started in Iowa. And yes, in retrospect, we could have done much better with the ground game, yes.
HANNITY: All right, Mr. Trump, always a pleasure. Thank you so much for taking time, and we'll see you in New Hampshire this week later, hopefully. Thank you for being with us.
TRUMP: Thank you. Thank you very much, Sean.
HANNITY: All right, and coming up next tonight right here on "Hannity"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS SUPPORTERS: She's a liar! (INAUDIBLE) She's a liar! She's a liar!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, Bernie Sanders supporters -- did you see that? -- chanting during Hillary Clinton's speech last night, "She's a liar." Pretty unbelievable. All right, we'll check in with Monica Crowley, Geraldo Rivera. They'll check in with reaction. That's coming up next.
Then later tonight, 2016 GOP contenders -- well, they both put all their eggs in the basket of New Hampshire. Governor John Kasich, Chris Christie -- they are here because they want New Hampshire to be a big impact on this race. Will it happen? We'll ask both of them as they join us later tonight.
That and so much more on this very busy news night right here tonight on "Hannity."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: All right, Welcome back to "Hannity." Hillary Clinton's campaign in full spin mode after she barely defeated Bernie Sanders in Iowa. Or did she? According to reports the contest so close last night that as many as six precincts, they were decided by coin tosses. How does this happen in a presidential campaign? And by the way, Hillary, she won all six of them.
Here with reaction, FOX News contributor Monica Crowley, Fox News senior correspondent Geraldo Rivera. Do you have a coin on you? Let's flip it. It's impossible. I don't believe it.
GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: It's 64 to one odds. I want her to pick my Powerball.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: Yes. You don't believe it either.
RIVERA: It's improbable. I'm a logical person. I think that 64 to one, you win one out of 64 times.
MONICA CROWLEY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: It's the Clintons. We are surprised? Sean, really.
HANNITY: I'm with you. All right, this is a pretty -- this is an underreported story. At Bernie Sanders campaign headquarters, when Hillary's speaking they're chanting "She's a liar." These are Democrats. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: She's a liar! She's a liar! She's a liar! She's a liar! She's a liar! She's a liar!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: It's as loud as Madison Square Garden. "Let's go Rangers." It's hilarious.
CROWLEY: Look, a lot of Democrats understand the truth about both Clintons. This is why she had a political near death experience last night. This is also explains the rise of Bernie Sanders.
HANNITY: But she really lost. Now, think of this. If she didn't get the six coin tosses, Bernie Sanders wins. He would have won.
RIVERA: I don't think the math is quite --
HANNITY: No, it is. It's 695 to 693. He would have won.
RIVERA: Well, she would have won at least three of the six.
HANNITY: No coin tosses.
RIVERA: The point about the -- I'm surprised you haven't made a loop of that and played it in your car driving to work, "She's a liar."
(LAUGHTER)
RIVERA: I mean, they're young people. They very enthusiastic. They are campaigning in the midst of --
HANNITY: They're Democrats saying this about the --
RIVERA: -- Benghazi and e-mails, you know, where the allegation that she's been --
HANNITY: Here's --
RIVERA: -- predicted the truth --
HANNITY: Hillary gets the nomination and she may go to jail, as Monica knows. She gets the nomination. They're not voting for her, Geraldo. They're not going to the polls for her.
RIVERA: Who do they vote for?
HANNITY: They would stay home.
RIVERA: Maybe they would stay home, but they would not vote for the Republican.
CROWLEY: This explains the rise of Bernie Sanders. So we spent a lot of time talking about the rise of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. But on the other side, look, Hillary Clinton has spent almost 30 years as a national figure. She is a national icon, right? And yet she is now in a duel with a 74- year-old disheveled socialist.
(LAUGHTER)
CROWLEY: It tells you a lot about how the deal with the Clinton devil is over.
CROWLEY: Let me play this. So Hillary loses. First thing I notice is how angry she is as she's speaking before the crowd. Ed Henry has reported she was supposed to do a rope line. Chelsea and Bill were supposed to speak. None of that happens. She races out in the middle of Tom Harkin's speech angry, and then sounds, all of a sudden a transformation. She sounds more left wing than the socialist Bernie Sanders. And by the way, she almost sounds like Howard Dean. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I know we can create more good paying jobs and raise incomes for hardworking Americans again. I know that we can finish the job of universal health care coverage for every single man, woman, and child.
(APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: I know we can combat climate change and be the clean energy superpower of the 21st century.
(APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: I know we can make college affordable and get student debt off the backs of young people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: She sounds like Bernie. She switched like a --
RIVERA: First of all, a girl says to call her angry is sexist. I just want to caution you.
HANNITY: Really? Really, Geraldo? She looked angry. She sounded angry.
RIVERA: It did sound a lot like Howard Dean. I wonder if it was the same hall as Howard Dean where you're screaming like that. Why are you screaming? You have a microphone. It's amplified. And when you shriek that way it is such an unpleasant --
HANNITY: That's sexist, Geraldo.
RIVERA: I'm talking audio. I'm not talking sex. I'm not talking gender. I'm talking like maybe she needs like a rock-n-roller earphone.
CROWLEY: The reason to elevate the voice and speak is because, first of all, she's trying to be heard. All of the energy and enthusiasm is on the Bernie Sanders side, so she thinks if she raises her voice she is going to be heard or get her message across. The problem is not that the American people are Democrats don't know who she is. It's that they do know who she is, Sean. And they are rejecting her.
HANNITY: She's screaming gay rights, abortion, ObamaCare, no guns, free college, global warming.
CROWLEY: You know why? Because she came of age on the far left. When she saw her husband remake the party as a more moderate, pragmatic party, that was her husband's party. What she is trying to navigate now is Barack Obama's party which is on the far left.
RIVERA: I have a --
HANNITY: Real quick.
RIVERA: -- quite different wrinkle. I think that Bernie Sanders is far left. I think Ted Cruz is far right. I think that they are one-trick ponies. I think that Hillary will be the nominee, and I think will have a rough road to hoe.
HANNITY: I think if she makes it out of jail. Another big story.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: All right, I'm glad I could make you laugh.
And coming up, Ohio Governor John Kasich, he wants to shake up the Republican race with a strong showing in New Hampshire. He'll join us.
And then later tonight Governor Chris Christie, well, he wants to do the same thing in New Hampshire. He'll tell us what he needs to do to become a top contender, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." So with the Iowa caucuses behind us, the candidates are now setting their sights on New Hampshire. Governor John Kasich has been gaining traction in polls in the granite state and has picked up some big endorsements along the way. Joining us now is the governor of the great state of Ohio, the Hawkeye state, 2016 Republican presidential candidate John Kasich. How are you, sir?
GOV. JOHN KASICH, R-OHIO, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Buckeye state, Sean, the buckeye state.
HANNITY: I'm sorry. What did I say, Hawkeye? I was thinking Iowa. Sorry. Buckeye State.
Now, question, very important. You didn't really go all in in Iowa. I brought this up to you, and you were kind of disputing it a little bit last week, but you really have been focused on New Hampshire. The latest three polls have you at eight, nine and nine. The last three polls, Boston Herald, CNN, UMass Lowell. Thoughts? Where are you and where do you think you will be and where do you need to be?
KASICH: Yes. We had a poll yesterday from ARG, which is a private pollster, and we were at 16, which felt pretty good. And we're running in second. I mean, most people acknowledge you take the advantage of the polls and we're up there in second place. And, look, Sean, I have had millions of dollars spent against me up here, which confirms how we're actually doing. Jeb and Christie, and apparently we hear Rubio spent a lot of money hitting me up here. And that kind of validates where I think we are. But I will tell you we have a great ground game. I'm doing my 92nd town hall meeting tonight. And, you know, we feel very good about where we are. And we have to do well in New Hampshire, but we are prepared to move to South Carolina, Nevada, to the south, to Michigan. I mean, we have a --
HANNITY: You are in all the way?
KASICH: -- prepared to be able to move. Yes.
HANNITY: In fairness, I have two other polls from Thursday, and this is not a long time ago. You were at 12 in the Suffolk poll and NBC/Wall Street Journal you were at 11. So you're probably right there at the double digit mark, 10, 12, somewhere in that area combined. And that would probably put you in third place if things hold where they are now. But you want to do better than that.
KASICH: Well, we want to be a story coming out of here. And it will be up to you, Sean, to say the day after how you think we did.
(LAUGHTER)
KASICH: And we'll -- no. I'm serious. We'll sit down on the 10th and decide whether we've done well enough to be a story, because if we're a story then all of a sudden I will get heard because I'm least known of all the mayor candidates. I am not a celebrity candidate. So, therefore, I need to get some oxygen, and if we do well here, we've got many, many people across the country who are poised to jump in.
And, look, I mean, the message is really simple. I'm not only a guy who has been fighting but I'm a guy who wins. Whether it's balancing the federal budget, reforming welfare, whether it's fixing Ohio, cutting more taxes than any governor in the country, running surpluses, solid pensions, an ability to restore economic growth.
HANNITY: That's a good point. Do you think that message -- I know your record because I covered you when you were the head of the budget committee in Washington. That's how old I am. But I covered your campaign in Ohio. I watched you evolve as a candidate, and you do have that record. Do you think it's gotten out there enough?
KASICH: Well, in New Hampshire it has. People know me now. We do these town halls. And, you know, nationally, no, people still don't know me. And that's why it's imperative we do well in New Hampshire. I have said all along, if we get smoked up here, I get blown out, I'm going back to Ohio. But I don't think that's going to happen, Sean. And I've been telling you all along, we're going to creep up, creep up, creep up, and begin to emerge.
In a tight field like this with so many candidates, Gordon Humphrey, the former U.S. senator says we have the best ground game he's seen in 40 years. So you know, the ground game, the town halls, the positive media, we are running a positive campaign, talking about the record, you know, I believe it's working here. But we are going to know in about six days.
HANNITY: All right, governor, we appreciate it. We'll continue to allow you to use these airwaves to get your story out, and I think our audience needs to hear from all of you guys. Very big primary. As you point out one week from tonight we'll know the answers. Thank you.
KASICH: All right, Sean. Thank you.
HANNITY: And coming up, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, he wrote off last night's Iowa results. He also is focusing in heavily on New Hampshire. Governor Christie is here to explain next, that and more tonight as HANNITY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE, R-N.J., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The only people who have gone for first term senators are the 180,000 caucus-goers in Iowa who haven't predicted a president right in a long time. I don't remember a President Huckabee or a President Santorum, and there's not going to be a President Cruz.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, that was GOP presidential candidate New Jersey governor Chris Christie earlier today downplaying the results of last night's Iowa caucus. Christie made it clear New Hampshire is the place where he's looking for a win. Joining us now, the man himself, 2016 GOP presidential candidate Governor Chris Christie.
You did make a decision. You didn't spend money in Iowa. Like John Kasich, you went all in in New Hampshire. And, by the way, some people don't know this. Only 1.2 percent of the delegates were actually awarded last night, but it gets the process started. You're happy with your decision.
CHRISTIE: Oh, yes. I definitely am. And listen, Sean, the fact is that I've decided to go all in New Hampshire. I went to Iowa and I campaigned in Iowa to show respect for the process. But between the super PAC that supported our candidacy and our campaign, we spent a total of about a half- a-million dollars in Iowa. Jeb Bush spent $15 million. And he got, you know one percent more than we did.
HANNITY: OK, Boston Herald, the last four polls has you at five, CNN has you at eight, Suffolk has you at six, and NBC/Wall Street Journal has you at seven. Where do you need to place in New Hampshire for to you say OK, this is a viable campaign, we're going to secretary, super Tuesday, we're going all the way?
CHRISTIE: I think I have to be the best governor in the race.
HANNITY: The best governor in the race, why do you say that?
CHRISTIE: Because I think that there is going to be a governor in the final four. And I think it will be Trump and Cruz and Rubio and a governor in the final four.
HANNITY: What did you think of the results otherwise last night? Any surprises to you?
CHRISTIE: None. I mean, none. I thought all along Ted Cruz was going to win. I thought all the media hysteria about Donald Trump, especially in the last few days. But for me, when he skipped the debate, I said this is over. If he's not going to debate in Des Moines, he's not going to win this thing. And then the press really started to batter on Ted Cruz, and there got to be a popular notion among the chattering class that somehow Ted Cruz had blown it and was going to lose. I spent enough time in Iowa, Sean, to know Ted Cruz had the best organization of anyone in Iowa, the most enthusiastic organization, and he was going to win. So nothing shocking happened. He beat Donald Trump, which I thought would happen, and Marco Rubio came in third. He beat Ben Carson, congratulations. No shock, and everybody else is bunched up from there.
HANNITY: How do you excel? You're at eight, seven, six, and five. You want to be in double digits I'm certain in New Hampshire. How do you get there?
CHRISTIE: You just keep working. And by the way, can I remind you about The Des Moines Register that was wrong by nine points?
HANNITY: The polls were awful. They were wrong in 2000, 04, 08, 2012 and 2016. They were so off base.
CHRISTIE: Just off. And by the way, they haven't been any better up here. This was supposed to be back in 2000, a close race between you know John McCain and George W. Bush. And John McCain beat him by 19 points. In 2008 it was supposed to be a close race between John McCain and Mitt Romney and it was not.
So the fact is that these polls have never been all that great. So I don't think any of us know where we are and we're all bunched together. The only way to do this is to get up here and work hard like I've been doing. That's what New Hampshire folks want. And by the way, I think we have the best organization on the ground up here in New Hampshire, too. We have done, you know, over 40,000 doors in the last four weekends.
HANNITY: Governor we're going to see you up there. We're heading up to New Hampshire ourselves. Look forward, one week from tonight, we'll have the answers. Thanks for being with us.
CHRISTIE: Thank you.
HANNITY: All right, and coming up, we need your help. Our "Question of the Day" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: It's time for our "Question of the Day." So, what do you think about last night's results? We want to hear from you. Go to Facebook.com/SeanHannity, on Twitter @SeanHannity and let us know what you think.
We hope you'll tune in tomorrow night, 10:00 eastern, Florida Senator Marco Rubio will join us tomorrow night, 10:00 eastern.
That's all the time we have left this evening. As always, thank you for being here, and we'll see you back here tomorrow night.
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