Donald Trump outlines his presidential agenda
GOP frontrunner responds to critics, talks his priorities and reacts to Iran nuclear deal on 'Hannity'
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," January 21, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST (voice-over): Tonight...
DONALD TRUMP, R, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: USA! USA! USA!
HANNITY: The countdown to Iowa is on. And new polls show that Donald Trump is surging.
TRUMP: We are going to win so much, we're going to have win after win after win!
HANNITY: The 2016 Republican presidential front-runner is here tonight with reaction.
TRUMP: You people are going to get sick and tired of winning!
HANNITY: Then, Ohio governor John Kasich seems to be building momentum in New Hampshire.
GOV. JOHN KASICH, R-OHIO, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: These are bigger than campaigns. These are what I like to call movements.
HANNITY: The GOP contender will reveal what's behind his steady rise.
And Hillary Clinton's campaign tries to blame her private server scandal on Republicans.
HILLARY CLINTON, D-N.Y., FMR. SEC. OF STATE, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do believe that these leaks which are coming out and being in some way misrepresenting and mischaracterizing what is going on are troubling.
HANNITY: Dinesh D'Souza and Joe Trippi will be here tonight to react.
All of that, plus 2016 GOP candidate Jeb Bush joins us." "Hannity" starts right here, right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANNITY: And welcome to "Hannity." And tonight, the Iowa caucuses are only 11 days away, and 2016 Republican front-runner Donald Trump continues to top his Republican rivals. In a brand-new Monmouth University national poll, Trump leads with 36 percent, Senator Ted Cruz in second. He has 17 percent. Senator Marco Rubio in third with 11 percent.
Also, a new CNN/ORC poll released today out of Iowa now has Trump on top with 37 percent, Cruz 26 has percent. And out of New Hampshire, a brand- new CNN/WMUR poll has Trump leading with 34 percent. Cruz is in second with 14.
Here with reaction of -- of course, the author of the book, "CrippledAmerica: How to Make America Great Again," which is his mantra, 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Well, there were two polls in Iowa today. The Emerson College poll had you by 10. The CNN poll had you by 11.
Why all of a sudden now the big surge? It had been tightening up a little bit.
DONALD TRUMP, R, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think they were right from the beginning. I'm not sure if it was a surge. You know, CNN had us at 33 to 20 percent about two weeks ago, but nobody wanted to report that poll because it was too much of a lead. So they reported other polls that were closer, Des Moines -- the Des Moines paper that I'm not a big fan of, Des Moines Register, and they reported that poll which I disagree with.
But you know, look, I mean, we've really done well. I spent a lot of time in Iowa. I love the people of Iowa. We're doing great with evangelicals, Sean. We're doing great with the Tea Party, and I think we're going to do really well in Iowa. We look forward to it.
HANNITY: Well, you have gotten some criticism from some conservatives about the back and forth between you and Ted Cruz, and I want to ask you about it. Mark Levin is mad at the tone. Rush Limbaugh said, you know, that this is national and populism, not necessarily conservatism. Newt Gingrich said on this program this week that you are demeaning yourself if you get into a fight in this particular case.
But the polls show you winning. So do you go with the polls that it works when you go back and forth, or do you say, yes, maybe -- maybe my relationship with Ted Cruz can be repaired?
TRUMP: Well, I have to go with my own thinking. Don't forget Ted attacked me, and then I attacked him. But he started. And he attacked me pretty viciously. And you know, first he was laying back, as we all know. It was-- you know, everybody -- they said "in the wake." And frankly, he attacked me, Sean, so -- and I have a lot of respect for Mark Levin. I have a tremendous respect for Rush. Rush has been great for me. Rush has been so amazing. And Mark's been pretty good. I mean, Mark likes Ted, and I think he likes me.
But you know, I have to go with my own thinking. And I talked about the fact that, frankly, I think I'm doing the party a favor and I think I'm doing, actually Ted a favor, the fact that he was born in Canada, he with a as a citizen of Canada until just 15 months ago. And he's got a problem. We have constitutional lawyers that are coming out saying he can't even run.
So how can you have a candidate that you're going to pick as a Republican nominee and he's not allowed to run for the office of president? That's a big problem.
HANNITY: I want to...
TRUMP: And he has some other problems, like he didn't disclose in his financial papers that he was borrowing money from Goldman Sachs and CitiBank because he wants to be the big, you know, wonderful guy that takes down the banks. But here he is with personal guarantees to CitiBank and Goldman Sachs. So, you know, I think it should have been disclosed.
HANNITY: Let me -- let me go through -- if these polls hold up, you will be the Republican nominee. I know a lot of your agenda, but I want to go over it with 11 days to Iowa, maybe closing argument sort of thing.
I know you have said that you would rescind on day one Obama's executive orders. You would build the wall expeditiously. You've been very firm about that. You would raise standards for who we allow into this country. You'd replace ObamaCare. You told me -- I still you're still for health care savings accounts, correct?
TRUMP: Yes. I like that as a concept. I certainly like it, yes.
HANNITY: Yes. And ISIS -- you would take their oil and bomb the living daylights out of them. Tell me...
TRUMP: I would bomb them, you better believe it!
HANNITY: I want you to expand -- for maybe those people, those few people that are left that are undecided in Iowa or New Hampshire, tell them what else a Trump presidency would look like.
TRUMP: Well, we're going to be strong on the military. We're going to build or military. You know, our military's a mess right now. We are -- we just let it go. There hasn't been proper investment, and our military is going down.
I'm in the real estate business. All the time, I'm getting listings, Army bases, naval bases. I mean, they're selling everything. I just -- how many bases do they have? Anybody in the real estate industry can tell you because I'm getting constantly -- I get listings for these military bases, and I say, how many are we going to close?
We have to create a tremendously strong military. Hopefully, never have to use it, but it's got to be so strong that nobody's going to mess with us, Sean, because we're in a very perilous time.
I want to take care of our vets, big-league take care of the vets. We're going to strengthen the border. We're going to build a wall. I tell you, Mexico's going to pay for the wall. It's going to be very simple. They're making a fortune.
I'm going to also -- you know, Carl Icahn, who is a great businessman, endorsed me. Many other businessmen have endorsed me and want to endorse me, the greatest. Unfortunately, a lot of people haven't heard of them, but these are the greatest businessmen in the world, and women.
We're going to have great people negotiating our trade agreements. We're not going to lose $500 billion a year with China like last year -- $500 billion in trade deficits with China. It's not going to happen anymore. Japan, Mexico's killing us at the border, but they're also killing us in trade. Ford is building a big plant there, a $2.6 billion plant. Nabisco is leaving Chicago with a big plant and they're building a plant in Mexico. Why?
So we're going to stop all of that. We're going to have people build plants, but they're going to be built in this country. And they're going to want to build them. It's not going to be -- we're not going to force them. We're going to build them because we're lowering the taxes.
You know, we're the highest-taxed nation in the world. My tax plan, which is very good, which your friend, Larry Kudlow, who I respect a lot, loves my plan. When this plan goes into effect, a lot of good things are going to happen and...
HANNITY: I like the repatriation.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: And we're going to also stop corporate inversion.
HANNITY: Yes, well, I agree with that.
TRUMP: We're going to stop corporate inversion.
HANNITY: Let me -- let me ask you this...
TRUMP: And we have companies that are leaving -- and Sean, we have companies that are leaving the United States and moving to Ireland and Europe and Asia. I mean, they're leaving. Pfizer is moving to Ireland. We have major, wonderful companies...
HANNITY: Tax benefits.
TRUMP: ... that, frankly, because the taxes are so high -- and because they can't bring their money back into our country, which is ridiculous -- even the Democrats -- you know, it's amazing. Democrats and Republicans agree the money should be allowed to come back in. Who wouldn't agree? They can't get along -- they can't make a deal!
HANNITY: A big part of your campaign is about how America has made stupid deals, and as the president, you would negotiate better deals. You'd blow up the entire Iran deal, which needs to be blown up. You would negotiate better deals with China, better deals with Japan, better deals with Mexico.
Here's my question. You have -- if you look at the American electorate right now -- and I can't myself among them, and I'm a registered conservative -- I'm angry at Washington, even Republicans, because they have contributed to the debt. They're the ones that allowed Obama's executive amnesty. They wouldn't use the power of the purse.
In terms of negotiating with a Congress that has shown itself to have zero to little discipline, how will you hold the line when they want to raise the deficit and the debt? How do you negotiate with those, you know, life- long politicians if you become the president?
TRUMP: Sean, I guess you know -- and people that -- like, are in business know -- I've been dealing with politicians all my life. I mean, it's fine to deal with politicians. There's nothing wrong with it. You deal with them.
You have to cajole and you have to get them -- a little like Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill. You know, they were very opposites in a lot of ways, but they got along and they made deals, and the country did well and everybody was happy. They're not doing executive orders, like Obama does, because not even the Democrats will do what he wants to do.
So you have to be able to do this. You know, you mentioned, sadly, the Iran deal. The worst part of the Iran deal is by the time I get there, if I win -- but the time I get there, $150 billion will be spent.
HANNITY: Sad. You can't do it.
TRUMP: And then today -- and then today -- well, I don't know if you saw today...
HANNITY: John Kerry.
TRUMP: ... Secretary Kerry -- he came out and he said, yes, we expect a certain amount of that money to be used for terror.
HANNITY: I have the cut.
TRUMP: Can you believe this?
HANNITY: Want me to play it? Want me to play it for our audience so they...
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I couldn't believe he said it. Go ahead. Go ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: I think that some of it will end up in the hands of the IRGC or other entities, some of which are labeled terrorists. You know, to some degree, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that every component of that and be prevented. But I can tell you this. Right now, we are not seeing the early delivery of funds going to that kind of endeavor at this point in time. I'm sure at some point, some of it will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: I just cannot believe...
TRUMP: You know, Sean, can you imagine...
HANNITY: ... he said that!
TRUMP: Sean, yes, listen to the stupidity of that statement. He said, Well, so far, we're happy that they haven't given it to terror, essentially. Why don't they have restrictions? First of all, the money should have never been given back under any circumstances. We should have gotten our prisoners back. We then should have said, we're not giving -- we owe $19 trillion, Sean, $19 trillion. It's going to be because of that really horrible budget deal that was made two weeks ago. It's now going up to $21 trillion very quickly, right? So we owe $21 trillion.
Here's a guy that says the money we gave them is going to...
HANNITY: Unbelievable!
TRUMP: ... be used for terror. If...
HANNITY: It's scary.
TRUMP: First of all, why did they give them the money? Second of all, Sean, why didn't they have clauses that it can't go to terror?
HANNITY: It is insane...
TRUMP: It's incredible.
HANNITY: If Congress comes to you...
TRUMP: I can't believe he's even an intelligent man.
HANNITY: ... and they hand a budget and it's going to blow the deficit through the roof, you're going to hold the line. Correct?
TRUMP: I'm going to hold the line. You know, I heard the other day that they want to make the budget -- balance the budget within 25 years! I said25 years? Why 25 years?
We can -- look, we're getting rid Common Core, even though some people, like Jeb Bush, who doesn't have a clue -- some people like Common Core. Jeb Bush likes Common Core. Some people like him are weak on immigration. I mean, they're very weak. You know, remember, he said they come in as an act of love.
We need people that know what they're doing. We spend a fortune on education. We're number 28 in the world, and we're number one in spending. We're getting rid of Common Core. There are so many things that we can cut...
HANNITY: All right, stay right there.
TRUMP: ... and we can balance the budget very quickly.
HANNITY: You think in five years?
TRUMP: I think over a five-year period. And I don't know, maybe I could even surprise you.
HANNITY: All right. Well...
TRUMP: But I mean make the country better. I'm not saying -- I'm not saying skimp. I'm saying making the country better.
HANNITY: I want the country -- I know most Americans are with you, wanting the country to be better and stronger. We'll take a break. More with Donald Trump.
Later, Governor John Kasich -- we'll check in with him, also Jeb Bush, and much more straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." We continue with 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
I want to ask you, if you get this nomination -- polls have you ahead today up 10 and 11 in Iowa, you're up by a lot in New Hampshire and South Carolina. If you get the nomination and you go up against Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden -- I guess we don't know who it's going to be -- or Elizabeth Warren -- my question to you is, tell me why -- and I've asked you before -- you think you are more electable than every other Republican in this primary. Tell me how that's so. What states do you bring in to play that they don't?
TRUMP: Well, I think I'm not only more electable, I think I'll win the election. And you saw the poll come out last week, the FOX poll, saying I beat Hillary Clinton, and I think I will beat any one of them. I think she's probably more difficult than wacky Bernie, and I think I will beat them. I mean, I will just beat them.
And I'll bring states -- as an example, I think I'll win Pennsylvania. I think I'll win Ohio. You saw my numbers in Florida, where I'm beating everybody. I'm at 48 percent and Bush and -- you know, who is a former governor is, like, at 9 or 10 And Rubio, the senator...
HANNITY: Yes, I...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: I'll put it up on the screen.
TRUMP: He's a very low number...
HANNITY: I've got that...
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: No, I mean, I'm at 48 in Florida. I think I'll win -- yes. And plus, I employ tremendous numbers of people in Florida. Florida loves Trump and I love Florida, so I think I'm going to win Florida.
I think I have a really good chance of winning New York. If we win New York...
HANNITY: It's over.
TRUMP: ... the whole ball game is over because nobody even ever anticipates winning New York because it has so many -- you know, it's so powerful in terms of the process that we're talking about. West Virginia, I heard it's like a lovefest...
HANNITY: For you.
TRUMP: ... because they understand my feeling toward coal and everything else. But West Virginia, Virginia -- I think I'm going to win states that are not on the agenda for Republicans to win.
HANNITY: Did you see this intelligence community inspector general report about Hillary? On top of the 1,300 e-mails, they now discovered that they now have a Special Access Program that they discovered in this new report.
Every single one of those e-mails would represent a felony, if this turns out to be true. And by the way, this was a guy appointed by Obama, confirmed by a Democratic-controlled Senate. I'm beginning to wonder if she gets there. What are your thoughts about Hillary making it...
TRUMP: Well, I've been saying for a while -- well, it's very serious stuff, and it seems like she's being protected by the president and the Democrats because General Petraeus has been destroyed. And I hope they don't go any further. Now they want to strip him of rank. Just leave him alone.
You know, we have to fight ISIS. We have to fight trade deals with China and Japan and Mexico. We have enough fights. We don't have to strip General Petraeus. I think he's suffered enough.
HANNITY: I agree.
TRUMP: I think we ought to leave him alone. Enough. Go to another battle. Just leave him alone.
We're always doing things like this, and we ought to focus on some of the problems we have like ISIS, as an example, like Iran, which is now going to be a terror -- I mean, can you imagine how bad they're going to be with all of this money that we just handed them?
HANNITY: Yes.
TRUMP: So just leave General Petraeus alone. It's enough.
But it's very serious stuff. I mean, her situation is a very grave situation. In one way, I'm upset because I really want to run against her. I would love to run against her.
HANNITY: Yes!
TRUMP: And you know, your own FOX polls -- hey, Sean, your own FOX polls have her -- have her losing to me. But I really want to run against Hillary.
HANNITY: You want to run against her...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: All right, let me ask you this. You know, I don't...
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I actually...
HANNITY: Yes. Go ahead.
TRUMP: I actually would love to run against her. And by the way, the last person she wants to run against is me. And you know that. And you got a glimpse of that last week. But the last person she wants to run against is me.
HANNITY: You know, I don't like sore losers in life. Lindsey Graham came out today and said, you know, the battle between you and Ted Cruz, it's like being poisoned or being shot. There's palpable...
TRUMP: Terrible. Terrible.
HANNITY: I mean, he didn't even have -- he was, like, an asterisk and maybe he had 1 percent in his own state. I don't like sore losers, and he seems like he's bitter.
TRUMP: Well, but...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... establishment people that don't like you. What do you say to them if you get the nomination?
TRUMP: Well, a lot of people are saying the establishment people are coming my way and they're starting to see that I'm the one person that's going to win the election. I'll win the election. I will win the election.
Don't forget I focused on guys like Lindsey Graham and knocked them out of the race, and lots of other ones who I won't mention. But I saw him today, and I said, isn't that sad. First of all, he knows less about the military. His strategy is so bad, his whole strategy with Assad and everybody else is so bad, it's so off, no wonder we've been fighting a war for 15 years.
Lindsey Graham had zero when he got out of the race. He had zero. He had nothing.
HANNITY: Yes.
TRUMP: In South Carolina, where I'm number one in South Carolina, I was at 38 and he was at 1 . And then he goes out and endorses Bush, of all people, who doesn't have a chance. I mean...
HANNITY: All right, I have a last question.
TRUMP: ... here's a guy who's afraid to use his last name...
HANNITY: We're running out of time.
TRUMP: Yes, I mean, it's just -- I think...
HANNITY: I don't want to waste it all on him.
TRUMP: I think you're right. It's sad. It's sad.
HANNITY: If Donald Trump...
TRUMP: You're right. We shouldn't waste it with him, either.
HANNITY: ... commits to fighting a war, is it we go to win it or we don't go at all? Last question.
TRUMP: OK. We're going to have a strong military. We're going to only win our wars. I don't want to go into wars. I'm a very temperate guy, believe it or not. We're going to have a powerful military. We're not going to have to. But if we go into a war, we're going to go into the war to win it.
HANNITY: All right, Mr. Trump, always a pleasure. Thank you so much for being with us -- 11 days. Getting close. Thank you.
And when we come back, we'll check in with Ohio governor John Kasich, and he'll join us next.
And then later, how much trouble is Hillary really in? We'll ask Jeb Bush. And the debate, can Hillary go to jail. That's straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." 2016 Republican presidential candidate, Ohio governor John Kasich -- well, he's been spending a lot time campaigning in New Hampshire, and he's now seeing a major bump in the polls. The latest CNN/WMUR poll for the Granite State -- it now shows Donald Trump on top with 34 percent, Ted Cruz in second with 14, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio both have 10 percent. And there is a three-way tie -- Chris Christie, John Kasich and Rand Paul all have 6 percent.
Now, that doesn't tell the full story. A new American Research Group poll shows Trump in first with 27 percent, John Kasich in second place in this poll with 20 percent. And a recent America News Network Gravis poll tells a similar story, showing John Kasich in second with 15 percent, and trailing only Trump, who has 35 percent.
Joining us now, the man himself, 2016 Republican presidential candidate, Ohio governor John Kasich. How do you get 20 percent in second place one day, and the next day, you get a poll that has you at 6 percent? Can you help me out with that? That didn't change that much overnight.
GOV. JOHN KASICH, R-OHIO, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, no. Look, there have been seven polls here within the last couple weeks, and I'm in second place in 6 out of 7. So you know, you're always going to have an aberration.
But we're definitely peaking up, and people feel it in the state. In fact, I was told today one of the Chamber of Commerce executives in front of a Chamber meeting about 150 people said I'm going to make a prediction, ‘Kasich's going to win New Hampshire.’
Look, I don't know how it's all going to go at the end, Sean, but we have the best ground game. You remember Gordon Humphrey, the former United States senator. He says he thinks we have the best ground game that he's seen in 40 years.
So we've got a good ground game. I've done more town halls. And when you get 6 out of 7 polls putting you up so high, there's real cause for optimism.
But you know, in politics, things -- you know, they're unpredictable. You know, you got to expect the unexpected, and it always happens. So we'll see.
HANNITY: All right, so how do things feel for you on the ground in New Hampshire? You've spent more time there than Iowa. And let's say you do get second place in New Hampshire. Is that good enough?
KASICH: Well, if we become a story -- and if I finish in second place, you know, I think probably it is a pretty big story. And the challenge for me, Sean -- you know, I'm not the celebrity candidate. People don't really know me across the country, so the national polls have always lagged.
And my game plan has always been to do well here because it's only 1.2 million people. It's like running for Congress. And to be able to move here -- and we're already on the ground in South Carolina, in Nevada. We're on the ballot in well over 30 states. You know, we think we will do very well in the South.
For example, Mississippi, where we have the best organization headed by Trent Lott, Congressman Harper -- you know, we're doing well in many states in the South. And at some point, we head north and we get to Illinois and Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, all places where we believe we will do very well.
So you know, we think we're very well positioned, and I feel good. And you know what's really working, Sean, is I tell people, you know, I know we have problems, but we can solve these problems. I've been around long enough to see us solve some of the most vexing problems, of course, the issues of jobs and national security and -- I think people want to hear that while we have serious problems, they want to know that at the end, we can fix them.
HANNITY: Let me -- what do you make of this election cycle? I mean, you can say the year of the outsider or the year of the insurgency candidate. I know when you worked with Newt, you weren't exactly loved and mainstream, or establishment at the time. I think you were pretty hated at the time yourself.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: But maybe they've gotten used to you now and they like you a little bit more. But there's obviously a reason for this. What do you think it is?
KASICH: Well, I think people -- look, Sean, I think people feel like if they don't have power or money or a lobbyist, they don't matter. And so part of what I've had to do is explain to them when, you know, you had a father who's a mailman and a grandfather who's a coal miner and a mother whose mother can't speak English -- you know, I lived that. That's my DNA. And I've always been a person who's fought for the underdog throughout my career.
But one of the network reporters said he actually thinks there's three lanes. There's the establishment lane, the anti-establishment lane and the John Kasich lane. And I kind of like that, you know? And I got to win my own lane because I'm the only one in it.
And you know, that's sort of that combination of being able to work with the establishment, yet not being part of the establishment, always a reformer, always a change agent. And you remember those days when we balanced the budget, and the same thing has happened in Ohio. So never -- you know, I don't support the status quo, and I want to be a voice for people who often feel as though they have no say.
HANNITY: Well, then -- I've allowed Ted Cruz -- and we're in the process now of giving the candidates an opportunity for what I'm calling closing arguments. We had Donald Trump. We've had Marco Rubio on. We'll have Jeb Bush on later.
My question for you is, give your closing argument heading into Iowa. Now, I know you aren't competing in Iowa the way you are in New Hampshire. Fair statement?
KASICH: Yes, that's absolutely true.
HANNITY: OK. So your closing arguments on why people really need to go for you.
KASICH: Well, Sean, I am the most experienced. I served 18 years on the defense committee, and then Donald Rumsfeld invited me into the Pentagon after 9/11, where I kind of moved in and out for two-and-a-half, three years, helping to solve technology problems. I've been a reformer of the Pentagon while supporting a strong defense, more foreign policy experience than anyone in the field.
I was the chief architect of balancing the budget, which allowed us to create jobs and pay down half a trillion of surplus. And then I left for 10 years into the private sector, then coming back into Ohio, where we were way in the hole and now we're running a surplus, cut taxes more than any sitting governor. We're up 385,000 jobs, with strong credit and a pension system that's also strong, and bringing people together, the ability to bring people together to solve problems.
I think that's -- I think that's unique, and -- and you know -- and then there's one other side of it, and that is, you know, I'm just me.
HANNITY: All right. And you think you can beat Trump at golf, too, right?
KASICH: Well, that's now -- well, you know, I don't know. It depends whether we have mulligans or not, Sean.
HANNITY: Oh!
KASICH: You know the way that goes.
HANNITY: Oh! All right. Governor, good to see you. And we'll see you up in New Hampshire in a couple of weeks. Thanks for being with us.
KASICH: All right. Thank you, Sean.
HANNITY: All right. And coming up next tonight on this busy news night here on "Hannity"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, D-N.Y., FMR. SEC. OF STATE, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I never sent or received any material marked classified.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, despite all the damning evidence now mounting against Hillary Clinton, well, once again, she tries to brush aside her private server scandal. Dinesh D'Souza, Joe Trippi -- they're here to weigh in.
And then later tonight...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN: all right, with almost all of the vote now actually counted, we can now project that Hillary Clinton will win.
CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC: I'm watching Hillary Clinton receive the victory tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They look at Donald Trump as the greatest gift from heaven, an easy person to beat in the general election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Jeb Bush -- he takes aim at Donald Trump in a new ad depicting the Clinton presidency if, in fact, Donald Trump wins the Republican nomination. We'll check in with the former governor. We'll get his closing arguments, as well, as "Hannity" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: Jeb Bush, he takes aim at Trump in a new ad depicting the Clinton presidency if in fact Donald Trump wins the Republican nomination. We'll check in with the former governor and get his closing arguments as well as HANNITY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to HANNITY. Another damning new report for Hillary Clinton. Catherine Herridge now reporting that some of the e-mails found on Clinton's private server were so secretive, so sensitive that even lawmakers with high security clearances are not allowed to see them. Earlier during an interview on CNN, Clinton was asked about this new report. Here's what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, D, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I never sent or received any material marked classified. I do believe that these leaks which are coming out and being in some way misrepresenting and mischaracterizing what is going on, are troubling. But the basic fact that no material marked as classified was sent or received by me has not been changed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Here with reaction, FOX News contributor Joe Trippi, and the author of "Stealing America, What my Experience with Criminal Gangs Taught me about Obama, Hillary, and the Democratic Party," "New York Times" bestselling author, filmmaker, Dinesh D'Souza. Good to see you both.
The original comment, Joe, was "I never sent or received classified material." Then it became "I never sent or received material that was marked classified." Then it became, oh, we got e-mails that told her subordinates to actually erase the heading and still send the information. And now we have the inspector general approved by a Democratic majority Senate, the inspector general now making the case that in fact dozens of e-mails were found and discovered with classifications that are known as SAP, an acronym for special access programs, beyond that of top secret.
So I would argue that if all of that is true and the inspector general is right, every one of those e-mails represents a single felony count in an indictment, if true, because it is a violation of law.
JOE TRIPPI, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you used a couple of "ifs" in there. If true, if any of this is involved, if any of this is true. Look, we don't know if any of this is true. I know Republicans and her opponents are going to immediately going to the conclusion that they are true, but there have been -- you go through the review, you go through the investigation. There's a report. That's what this is all about. Inspector --
HANNITY: Joe, do you think the intelligence community's inspector general Charles McCullough, appointed by Obama, approved by a Democratic majority in the Senate. Do you think that he aligned himself as the Clinton campaign is claiming and worked with Republicans to leak these materials to harm her politically? Do you believe that?
TRIPPI: I think it is -- I don't know whether he did or not, but I think it is a little bit of a coincidence that this is being leaked. A little bit of coincidence that it's been leaked a week or two before the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries. I think that's a little bit of coincidence.
HANNITY: Your issue that got you into prison which you talk publicly about and you do in your book is so minor compared to this. And how many months--
DINESH D'SOUZA, "STEALING AMERICA" AUTHOR: I was locked up overnight for eight months for giving $20,000 of my own money over the campaign finance limit. I didn't benefit in any way. I think the interesting thing with Hillary, she's a very smart person, like Nixon was. And so she's not going to do things that don't benefit her in some way. She didn't set up that private server by accident. There was a reason for doing that.
HANNITY: You mean in a mom and pop shop in a bathroom? Listen, not only top secret information, several dozen e-mails from the special access program that are higher level of security than top secret, and even -- this is the amazing thing -- these e-mails are so secret, some members of Congress can't see them.
D'SOUZA: Right. And I agree with Joe that I think the full story here is not out because the idea that a highly competent person who has been in public life almost all her life would do this as a goof makes no sense.
HANNITY: Do you think an inspector general for the intelligence community would actually work with Republicans to leak this information, or is he giving them factual information, it was given to Congress, that in fact he discovered this?
D'SOUZA: I think the interesting thing is Hillary's reaction. She's already acting like this guy is part of the vast right wing conspiracy. And so this is coming right back to the Clinton days where the Clintons view any criticism as being a form of treason.
HANNITY: Let me go back to you for the campaign, Joe. Bill Clinton, little nervous, saying it is time to change strategy. Only six people met Hillary at an airport in Texas. Hillary is now recruiting every famous person she knows to help her. She's complaining in fund-raising letters she's being outspent by Bernie Sanders. There is some talk that Bernie Sanders supporters might not support her in a general election. And the polls show Bernie up in Iowa and New Hampshire. Not looking good for Hillary.
TRIPPI: First of all, every campaign sends out e-mails arguing that they're being outspent by someone else and you have to send me money right now.
HANNITY: But she's behind Bernie Sanders in Iowa and 27 points behind in one poll in New Hampshire.
TRIPPI: In New Hampshire, a neighboring state to Vermont, and in Iowa where 43 percent of the party in Iowa says -- identifies as socialist, not capitalist. It is the most liberal party nationwide for Democrats.
HANNITY: And what if she loses South Carolina after that?
TRIPPI: That's not going to -- no, no. Look, that's not an excuse. Iowa and New Hampshire are 94 percent and 92 percent white states. Vermont is a 95 percent white state. Bernie Sanders --
HANNITY: You're saying there's too many white people in those states to vote for Hillary.
TRIPPI: No, I'm saying the Democratic Party is 44 percent non-white, of which she's beating him 69 to 23 nationwide, and she's winning her fair share in Iowa and New Hampshire.
HANNITY: Joe, if she loses Iowa and New Hampshire, as these polls show, Dinesh, I argue it is a massive story and major panic --
TRIPPI: That's crazy talk, Sean.
D'SOUZA: If Hillary Clinton cannot beat an avowed socialist who's a Rip Van Winkle from the 1960s, it just shows you that even among Democrats there is a huge distaste for the Clintons. It helped Obama in 2008, and it may well propel the Sanders quixotic candidacy in 2016.
HANNITY: Do you think she gets indicted? Do you think the FBI recommends indictment?
D'SOUZA: I don't know about that, but I do think that hearings are not enough to take Hillary down. Her tenacity is unbelievable. An indictment will be a severe wound.
Interesting to see if they try to blame James Comey and FBI investigators if they come up with violations of the law. All right, Joe.
TRIPPI: There's not going to be one.
HANNITY: Joe, I think there are numerous, but we'll see when the time comes.
TRIPPI: We will see. That's what this is all about.
HANNITY: All right, coming up next tonight on this busy news night here on HANNITY --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": All right, with almost all of the vote now actually counted, we can now project that Hillary Clinton will win.
CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC: I'm watching Hillary Clinton receive the victory tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They look at Donald Trump as the greatest gift from heaven, an easy person to beat in the general election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Former Florida governor Jeb Bush released a new ad predicting a Clinton presidency if Donald Trump wins the Republican nomination. We'll check in with Governor Bush next here tonight on HANNITY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to HANNITY. So with just 11 days to go until the Iowa caucuses, candidates are hitting the campaign trail hard, and former Florida governor Jeb Bush has released a new campaign ad that imagines a future one year from now in which Donald Trump wins the GOP nomination but doesn't beat Hillary Clinton in the general election. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": All right, with almost all of the vote now actually counted, we can now project that Hillary Clinton will win.
CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC: I'm watching Hillary Clinton receive the victory tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They look at Donald Trump as the greatest gift from heaven, an easy person to beat in the general election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then she'll become the next president of the United States.
HILLARY CLINTON, D, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you all. God bless you, and may God bless America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Now earlier I sat down with 2016 Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush to talk about this and much more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANNITY: Governor, good to see you, sir.
JEB BUSH, R, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Great seeing you, Sean. Hope everything's going well.
HANNITY: So in the final days of the campaign things get a little heated. You released a pretty tough ad against Donald Trump. You said that if he wins the nomination Hillary becomes president. Do you believe that?
BUSH: I do believe that. I think of all the candidates running, while he's the frontrunner right now for the nomination he's the one that is least likely to become president. And with all the talk that we do about changing things, the only way it can happen is to elect a conservative president. He's neither conservative nor electable, but we'll let the voters decide that here in New Hampshire where I am and starting in Iowa in a couple weeks.
HANNITY: I looked at our slate of candidates or slate of Republican Party candidates, I'm a registered conservative. I think we have good people running. I really do.
BUSH: Yes, absolutely.
HANNITY: I see Bernie Sanders as now beating Hillary by 27 points in New Hampshire.
BUSH: Unbelievable.
HANNITY: With all the talk about the in-fighting with the Republican candidates, their frontrunner isn't looking good at all. Your thoughts?
BUSH: Well, I think she's under investigation by the FBI and that investigation is widening. She has not told the truth and has endangered the lives of people. I mean, this is a candidate that is weak beyond belief. And when Bernie Sanders is beating her by, as you said, 30 points in New Hampshire, an avowed socialist who is someone who's already proposed like $19 trillion of new spending over the next 10 years, you know that she's vulnerable.
And we have to win to restore America's greatness by reforming the things that are broken. We have to reform how we tax and regulate and keep America safe with a much stronger military and a commander in chief that will support our military across the board. And those are the things that are more important than all the stuff that goes back and forth in the campaign. That's natural. That's part of campaigning. But more importantly is I think we need to get to discussing now the issues that are important for Americans.
HANNITY: I look at this inspector general report. I'm talking about the intelligence community inspector general, a guy by the name of Charles McCullough, and what they found in their findings after a review of intelligence agencies, they've now identified on top of the 1,300 e-mails that were classified in Hillary's server, an additional several dozen e- mails that had a classification level beyond top secret, a special access program, SAP classification. Every one of those is an indictable offense, a felony. Do you think she might be indicted here?
BUSH: I think it's possible. I think we ought to let the process move forward.
Here is the deal. Every chance she's had in her public life she has pursued her personal ambition at the expense of service and the expense of our country. The fact that she as a senator passed three laws that she sponsored, naming a highway, naming a monument, naming a library, and then as secretary of state she brags about traveling but really there is no record of accomplishment. And now we know she had a private server where she at a minimum violated the procedures set up for the State Department imposed by the White House, and possibly because of this investigation she may have broken the law. And this is someone you cannot trust.
And so, yes, we're having a heated debate in the primary, which is healthy and fine. I'm participating in that. But at the end of the day we're united around defeating her.
HANNITY: One of the things, I'm trying to give every candidate an opportunity, governor, is to make closing statements. So we'll be in Iowa next week and we hope to be able to catch up with you on the road out there. But to begin to make the closing statement as to why as we head into Iowa caucuses why you think you are the best person to be the next president. I want to really just hand you the microphone and give you that opportunity.
BUSH: Well, first of all, I have a proven record applying conservative principles on behalf of people where we made a difference, whether it was education, taxation, job growth, income growth. Florida was better off because I had a change to be a conservative reform governor.
Secondly I have most detailed plans to apply conservative principles to fix the mess in Washington, D.C., and move back to an opportunity society where we have growing income for the middle class. And third, and perhaps important, I have the skills to be a steady hand as commander in chief. And I recognize the United States has an important role to play in the world, not as the world's policeman, but as the world's leader. Should I be commander in chief, I can promise you that the military forces will know that have I their back, and the world will know our friends will be supported and our enemies will fear us again. That is how you create a more peaceful world is with American leadership. And I have the skills to do that.
HANNITY: Governor, I feel bad for the millions of Americans out of the labor force, in poverty, and on food stamps. I feel bad that average family median income is down. I feel bad for our children, the doubling of the debt. I worry about ISIS. I worry about the Iranian mullahs building a nuclear weapon, the partnership of Iran and Vladimir Putin. These are very dangerous times to me, and I concur with you is that we really do need somebody that know what's they're doing, because there is a lot at stake in this election.
BUSH: Well, Sean, there is huge opportunities to fix the mess. You can either say end is near, we have all these problems, we're in decline, or we can say as a nation we need to reverse this, and we can, because Americans are still extraordinary and exceptional people. And that is what I believe. I believe we're on the verge of greatness. But it's going to require a new style of leadership in Washington and someone who has a proven record. And that is why I'm running.
And by the way, we're making good progress. This message seems to be resonating in these early states. I'm excited about where we are.
HANNITY: All right, governor, good to see you, as always. We'll see you in Iowa next week. Thanks so much for being with us.
BUSH: Thanks, Sean.
HANNITY: And up next, we need your help with tonight's "Question of the Day."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: All right, time for our "Question of the Day." So, do you think the Clintons will ever stop blaming Republicans for their scandals? In this case they're blaming the intelligence community inspector general, appointed by Obama, confirmed by Democrats, for leaking and coordinating with Republicans. That is pretty paranoid. We want your opinion. Go to Facebook.com/SeanHannity, @SeanHannity on Twitter, let us know what you think.
That is all the time we have left this evening. As always, thank you for being with us. We'll see you back here tomorrow night.
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