Sean Hannity Show - The President Speaks The Truth

Jan. 9, 2019 - Sean Hannity Show

01:36:08

The President Speaks The Truth

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Large

Audio Only |

Scroll

Time	Text
	This is an iHeart podcast.
	You want smart political talk without the meltdowns?
	We got you.
	I'm Carol Markowitz and I'm Mary Catherine Hamm.
	We've been around the block in media and we're doing things differently.
	Normally is about real conversations.
	Thoughtful, try to be funny, grounded, and no panic.
	We'll keep you informed and entertained without ruining your day.
	Join us every Tuesday and Thursday, normally, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
	I'm Ben Ferguson, and I'm Ted Cruz.
	Three times a week, we do our podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz.
	Nationwide, we have millions of listeners.
	Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we break down the news and bring you behind the scenes inside the White House, inside the Senate, inside the United States Supreme Court.
	And we cover the stories that you're not getting anywhere else.
	We arm you with the facts to be able to know and advocate for the truth with your friends and family.
	So down with Verdict with Ted Cruz now, wherever you get your podcasts.
	What I told people I was making a podcast about Benghazi, nine times out of ten, they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes, or just asked, why?
	Benghazi, the truth became a web of lies.
	From Prologue Projects and Pushkin Industries, this is Fiasco, Benghazi.
	What difference at this point does it make?
	Listen to Fiasco, Benghazi, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
	My friends at MyPillow, my buddy Mike Lindell, told me he was coming out with a brand new product.
	It's called the New Mattress Topper.
	So I got the new mattress topper immediately and I've been sleeping on it now for a couple of months.
	It's the best thing you've ever felt in your life.
	Now, you literally have MyPillow Foam for Support.
	It's a transitional foam that helps relieve pressure points and it's ultra-soft, patented temperature regulating cover.
	And I got to tell you, it has a 10-year warranty, a cover that's washable and dryable.
	It's made in the USA, backed by their 60-day unconditional money-back guarantee.
	Once you try this new mattress topper, you put it right over your mattress, you will never sleep better.
	And right now, you, my radio listeners, are going to save 30% off when you go to mypillow.com and use the promo code TOPPER.
	And by the way, Mike will also give you two standard MyPillows absolutely free.
	All right, so try mypillow.com promo code TOPPER.
	Promo code Topper for this great deal and the best night's sleep you ever had.
	Hey, it's that time of year for those of you, God forbid, you got to keep your New Year's resolution.
	What if you're a timeshare owner and you want to get out of your timeshare?
	Maybe that's at the top of your list of maybe you made a bad investment over the years.
	It doesn't matter.
	Let not your heart be troubled because the new year is also a reminder that you can get serious about getting rid of this timeshare and doing it right and doing it legally.
	And Lone Star Transfer is absolutely an amazing group of people.
	From beginning to end, I highly recommend if you have any type of timeshare, I want you to contact Lone Star and tell them I told you to call.
	They'll give you a free no obligation consultation and they'll help get you out of your timeshare.
	They'll do it the right way, the legal way, and it will take very little effort on your part just by calling Pound250 on your mobile phone and saying the keyword timeshare.
	That's pound250 on your cell phone, keyword timeshare.
	You can check them out online at lone startransfer.com.
	You have the option to receive a one-time auto-dialed text message from iHeartMedia.
	All right, glad you're with us and write down our toll-free telephone number.
	We'd love to hear from you today.
	It is 800-941 Sean.
	If you want to be a part of this extravaganza, we're putting something together for television tonight that I know nobody else in the media would ever dare do.
	It's as a direct result of what happened last night with the president and then the Saturday Night Live skit, which was Nancy and Chuck, the Nancy and Chuck show.
	That was embarrassing.
	But I'm going to tell you, it's worse.
	It is worse than that.
	This is really a remarkable moment in time.
	The left claims they have a monopoly of compassion, don't they?
	All the time.
	They are the most generous people with other people's money.
	They're most compassionate.
	Well, you know, we need welfare programs.
	We need this program.
	We need that program.
	And Republicans and conservatives, you know, they're not willing to give over every single penny that they make.
	And therefore, they're greedy and they're selfish and they're capitalists and, you know, so on and so forth.
	And I'm watching this and it was like static.
	It was like there was zero emotion from these two about what reality is like for so many people in this country.
	You know, it's, they're unaffected by, you know, Nancy Pelosi.
	I don't believe your numbers to Secretary Nielsen.
	She's going to be on TV tonight.
	And Secretary Nielsen says, well, they're not my numbers.
	They're the numbers.
	And the president mentioned them again last night.
	Nobody in the media is questioning him.
	They'll just say, oh, he's lying.
	He's not telling the truth.
	Okay, then give the examples.
	And this is why what I think we've got planned for TV tonight is pretty powerful that nobody else is going to do, but I don't want to give it away because people monitor this program to steal the great ideas that we come up with so often.
	But at the end of the day, you know, putting the utter hypocrisy aside, which is that Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, you know, just a couple of years ago, they were going to spend $46 billion on a wall and another $8 billion on a wall going down the line.
	So we'll get to that hypocrisy, but here's the reality.
	The reality is, is this a national emergency?
	Is this something that needs to be addressed?
	Is this something that we've got to pay close attention to because Americans are getting hurt in the process and that the American people deserve better from in terms of what the government's job and role is?
	Because if I heard one more time from any one Democrat or any one pundit on television that this is a manufactured crisis, it is not a manufactured crisis.
	If you take a two-year period and you've got 4,000 homicides involving illegal immigrants and 10,000 sexual, 30,000 sexual assaults involving illegal immigrants, and you've got 100,000 violent assaults involving illegal immigrants, and just in the last week and a half, you have a police officer who's married with a five-year-old son, Officer Singh,
	is gunned down by an illegal immigrant that was protected by California's idiotic sanctuary state laws, which otherwise would have allowed ICE to go in when this guy was released from his previous prison sentence.
	And then they would have had the power, the authority, and the law backing them to deport them.
	But now we have entire states like California aiding and abetting and assisting in lawbreaking.
	And in this case, you know, the compassionate left in America, they never mentioned Officer Singh one time last night in their manufactured crisis speech.
	They never mentioned his five-month-old son either in their manufactured crisis speech.
	They never mentioned Pierce Corcoran, whose parents I interviewed, you know, who died on December 29th hit by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record, drunk driving on the wrong side of the road.
	And now his parents will never see their 22-year-old son again.
	Or any of the other angel moms and dads.
	Steve Ronabic lost his son Grant or Miss Mendoza has been on this program or Laura Wilkerson has been on this program.
	We've dedicated the time on this show to introduce you to angel moms and dads.
	That wasn't mentioned at all in the manufactured crisis of Nancy Pelosi and the Nancy and Chuck show, which was a disaster for them as far as I'm concerned last night.
	There's only one way this this is a righteous battle.
	And I'll say up front that, you know, I know it probably is a little anxiety producing for the 25% of government employees that are furloughed and they're not getting their checks right away, but those checks will be coming.
	And every pass shutdown, we always give back pay to those people that through no fault of their own are inconvenienced, getting the time off and not being able to do the job that they want to do every day.
	It's not that their jobs are unimportant.
	It's just that they're not what we call essential workers.
	You know, we have to keep our military on duty.
	We've got to keep Homeland Security on duty.
	We've got to keep Social Security checks going out, so on and so forth.
	All of that is happening.
	But their argument last night is we should not fight over the border wall because people are inconvenienced and their checks are being delayed and that it's a manufactured crisis.
	Well, how do you say, look in the face of the family of Officer Singh?
	How do you look in their face and say to that family that what happened is this is just a manufactured crisis?
	Because that's a real dad.
	That's a real husband.
	Pierce Corcoran is a real son.
	Kate Steinley was a real daughter with her father.
	These are real Americans.
	And the question is, why just a couple of short years ago were all of these Democrats in support of building border walls and border security?
	And now because Donald Trump is on the verge of actually getting done that getting done that which they wanted but couldn't get done, are they now flipping, flopping, and flailing?
	What do you say when 90% of the heroin that comes into this country, remember 2016, there was a lot of talk about the opioid crisis.
	Every small town and big city in this country has been impacted by opioid abuse.
	Now it comes in the form of pain pills, oxycontin, Vicodin, Percocet.
	I don't even know the names, hydrocodone.
	I don't even know what this stuff is.
	I've never taken a pain pill besides Excedrin or Advil in my life.
	Frankly, I'll be honest.
	I'm not afraid of it a lot.
	I'm kind of afraid of those things.
	I've seen people get addicted to this stuff, doctors, lawyers.
	I mean, it has that powerful a hold on people.
	Well, you know, kids see it in grandma and grandpa's medicine cabinet, mom and dad's medicine cabinet.
	Maybe they had an operation and they fill up a bottle of, you know, 50, 60 pills and, you know, grandma only needs three and she leaves it there and the kids find it.
	Next thing you know, them and their friends are taking these powerful narcotics and then they're addicted and then they want to take more, but there's no more in the medicine cabinet.
	No doctor's going to give it to them.
	So then they go out on the street and buy it and they're paying 80 bucks a pill.
	Well, they can't afford that at their age if they're going to school.
	So then one of their genius, idiotic, you know, non-real friend in life will come up with, well, you can do heroin.
	And maybe they start chasing the dragon, lighting it and smoking it, or they'll sniff it and snort it.
	And the next thing you know, they're done.
	Their lives are finished.
	They're going to mainline it.
	They're going to shoot it.
	And the recovery rate from heroin is about 15%.
	That's it.
	It is a real crisis in every town and every city.
	So the president last night, I think, compassionately is giving the American people the truth and the facts and the toll on our country.
	I'm not even talking about the financial burden.
	You know, on average, $70,000 per illegal immigrant when you weigh in the educational system, the healthcare system, the criminal justice system.
	You know, but the human toll is real.
	We're losing 300 people a week from heroin overdoses, opioid overdoses, 90% of which is coming from our southern border.
	You ought to watch these shows.
	I don't know why I'm addicted to watching these shows.
	I binge watch them.
	Like Trade on Showtime or Nat Geo has a great series, Drugs Inc. Linda produced a, what did you call your, you did the.
	Not in Vain.
	Yeah, not in Vain.
	I mean, the information's out there, and it's gotten even more insidious because now you add this drug called fentanyl to the equation.
	You have three little grains of salt or salt-side grains of fentanyl that's going to take out and kill a 250-pound six-foot-two, six-foot-three adult male.
	And they're putting it in these drugs.
	And what's fascinating about the Drugs Inc. series, and you can get it on demand, and they have, it goes back a long time.
	They have literally season after season.
	And they actually get the drug dealers on video.
	And these guys, they don't give a flying rip for 10 bucks.
	They don't care about your life.
	And they also trace where the drugs come from, how they're brought in.
	Some are made in Central America.
	Some are made in Mexico.
	They're made in the worst conditions imaginable.
	I'm sure these guys don't have chemistry degrees.
	And that's the crap.
	That's the garbage that kids are getting addicted to and shooting into their arms and destroying their life and their soul and their future.
	But it's a manufactured crisis, we're supposed to believe.
	And that's what they're telling you.
	And what they're doing is lying.
	And why they're lying, I don't know.
	You know, what is their motivation here?
	It seems to be rooted in one thing.
	They so hate Donald Trump that they're willing to compromise their own words, their own positions, their own values that they have held for years.
	Listen to this short montage we have of the flipping and flopping and flailing of Democrats.
	I voted numerous times when I was a senator to spend money to build a barrier to try to prevent illegal immigrants from coming in.
	And you voted for an America where we build bridges, not walls.
	People who enter the United States without our permission are illegal aliens, and illegal aliens should not be treated the same as people who entered the U.S. legally.
	To so many Americans, we do not want the wall to be a symbol of America.
	Much preferring the Statue of Liberty be that symbol.
	Those who enter our country illegally and those who employ them disrespect the rule of law.
	And because we live in an age where terrorists are challenging our borders, we cannot allow people to pour into the U.S. undetected, undocumented, and unchecked.
	If there are disruptions in these countries, if there's conflict, if there's bad governance, if there's war, if there's poverty, in this new world that we live in, we can't isolate ourselves.
	We can't hide behind the wall.
	All of us agree that we need to have comprehensive bipartisan immigration reform.
	That can only begin strong border control.
	We must have that.
	We must control our borders.
	A wall is an immorality.
	It's an immorality.
	Tell that, Nancy and Chuck.
	Tell that to the family of Officer Singh.
	Tell that to the family, the parents that I interviewed, Wendy DJ Pierce Corcoran's parents, mother and father, that was killed in Knoxville, Tennessee last week by an illegal immigrant.
	Tell that to any one of the 300 families a week that are losing their sons and daughters dead from heroin, the 90% of which is coming in from our open southern borders.
	Tell it to them that it's a manufactured crisis and an immorality to build defense and protect our southern border.
	That was cold, calloused, frankly bordering on it's like their hatred for Trump literally has taken their hearts and removed them because they don't want Trump to have the win because if the president gets done what they said they wanted many, many years, oh, that, what, makes them look bad?
	No, it would actually be good for the country.
	Why don't we just do what's right for the country here?
	Let's stop the heroin trafficking.
	Let's stop the drug trafficking.
	Let's stop the human trafficking.
	You know, let's deport criminal aliens and not have governments like California protecting those that commit crimes while they're here illegally and let them free to go commit other crimes.
	Let's protect the American citizens first.
	We can have a big wall with a big door.
	We can vet people to make sure that they're not involved in this type of activity.
	They want a better life for themselves and their families.
	All right, 25 to the top of the hour.
	Glad you're with us.
	All right, so there's only one thing I'm afraid of, and it's not the president backing down.
	We're going to get into what options he has here in a second.
	And he can declare a national emergency.
	There's precedence for it.
	Even Democrats acknowledge it.
	It might end up in a court fight, but it's one that I believe ultimately he wins.
	But I think to expose, A, the hypocrisy and the absolute callousness of the Democratic Party, if that's their answer, that heroin, 90% of it, crosses into this country through our southern border.
	300 deaths a week.
	What are you saying in my ear?
	I can't do this.
	We're going to go to a live press conference, Sean.
	We have Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi speaking live on Capitol Hill right now after the meeting with the president.
	But it is so sad that in a matter of hours or just a few days, many federal workers will not be receiving their paychecks.
	And what that means in their lives is tragic in terms of their credit rating, paying their mortgage, paying their rent, paying their car payment, paying their children's tuition, and the rest.
	The president seems to be insensitive to that.
	He thinks maybe they could just ask their father for more money.
	But they can't.
	But they can't.
	And we think that the collateral damage that he is causing by, well, I'm going to yield to the leader to talk about that.
	But I would say this.
	If you don't understand financial insecurity, then you would have a policy that takes pride in saying, I'm going to keep government shut down for months or years, unless you totally agree to my position.
	I yield to the leader.
	Yeah, well, unfortunately, the president just got up and walked out.
	He asked Speaker Pelosi, will you agree to my wall?
	She said no.
	And he just got up and said, then we have nothing to discuss, and he just walked down.
	Again, we saw a temper tantrum because he couldn't get his way, and he just walked out of the meeting.
	I asked him to open up the government, that tomorrow so many people will have trouble paying their mortgages, paying their bills, dealing with situations when they don't get paid.
	And I said, just why won't you do that?
	We'll continue to discuss.
	We're willing to discuss anything.
	And he said, if I open up the government, you won't do what I want.
	That's cruel.
	That's callous.
	And that's using millions of innocent people as sort of pawns.
	And it was wrong.
	And then a few minutes later, he sort of slammed the table.
	And when Leader Pelosi said she didn't agree with the wall, he just walked out and said, we have nothing to discuss.
	So he said it was a waste of his time.
	That is sad and unfortunate.
	We want to come to an agreement.
	We believe in border security.
	We have different views.
	We've already offered the president our proposals, which has sat on his desk for several weeks.
	But this was really, really unfortunate.
	And in my judgment, somewhat unbecoming of a presidency.
	Did he mention to declare a national emergency?
	Did he say anything about the possibility?
	I don't know about that.
	But what I will say is that one of the obstacles that we have to an agreement is a stipulation of fact.
	What the president is claiming to be the situation at the border is not solved by a wall.
	And we have been for border security.
	We take our oath to protect and defend the American people very seriously.
	And we had suggestions about how we can do it better than a wall in recognition of what the challenge is there from immigration and a drugs, et cetera, coming into our country.
	And so that's what's sad.
	And so I said to him, Mr. President, the evidence of what's happening there does not support the crisis that you describe and therefore the solution you suggest because we have a better idea of how to keep our country safe and it isn't even your difference.
	Madam Speaker, what is the broaching?
	What is the breaking of the government?
	Before you ask more questions, I want to make a point.
	This is not a partisan difference.
	This is a policy difference.
	And I suggested in the White House, in the situation room in the last meeting, that every time we have a policy difference, shutting down the government is the wrong thing to do.
	It is taking hostages to accomplish your objective and hurting people in the process.
	Now, I've got a list here of six subjects.
	As the coverage is a little bit slow here, let me just sum up.
	James Crawford was hilarious.
	I mean, and he's probably one of the best damage control political experts in the country.
	He couldn't find a good thing to say about the Chuck and Nancy show and their performance last night.
	He said, I don't think they wanted to do it.
	He said he didn't want to be there.
	Carville said of Schumer specifically, I've been more excited about colonoscopies than Giving the speech tonight, and then the raging Cajun continues.
	Well, I don't think they should have done it, and I guarantee you at the staff meeting tomorrow morning, somebody's going to get chewed out pretty good for the whole thing.
	The only good thing about it is it didn't matter.
	They couldn't have given the Gettysburg address, and it wouldn't have mattered at that point.
	So, listen to what you just heard.
	So, the president said, Are you going to support the wall?
	Because at that point, well, if they say yes, then the negotiations begin.
	And then he said, Well, then there's nothing to talk about.
	My answer to that is good.
	Now, they're making a point that is valid.
	And this was their point last night.
	They have two points.
	This is a manufactured crisis, number one.
	And number two, people are going to be inconvenienced and they're not going to be paid.
	Furloughed employees will not be paid on time.
	And if you're not a rich person, we can't ask our father to give them money, et cetera, et cetera.
	Look, my heart goes out to those that are in the middle of this.
	But the president is making a far more compelling case.
	If 90% of heroin comes across our southern border and 300, well, let me listen to Mike Pence.
	Well, he just stepped up to the microphone now.
	And Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise.
	Keep it waiting, keep it waiting, keep it waiting.
	Go grab the cupcake.
	Okay.
	Thank you for waiting.
	And John Thule.
	And Secretary Nielsen, Kellyanne Conway.
	What made it?
	Get to wait just a minute.
	Well, Mr. Vice President, we're ready here, so anytime you'd like to speak, we're ready to hear you.
	All right, Chep's ready.
	Thank you all for coming out.
	We'll make a few brief remarks, then happy to answer a few questions.
	We just ended a very short meeting in the situation room.
	The president invited the Republican and Democratic leadership here to Capitol Hill because we are facing not only a partial government shutdown, but we are also facing a humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border.
	This past week, the president and I and these leaders met on two separate occasions.
	All those in the room directed staff to spend the entire weekend working over proposals.
	At the president's direction, we incorporated Democrat ideas and language in our proposal and made an offer to resolve this impasse and address the crisis at our southern border.
	And today, in this brief meeting, we heard once again that Democratic leaders are unwilling to even negotiate to resolve this partial government shutdown or address the crisis at our southern border.
	They demanded once again that before any negotiations could begin, that we would have to agree to reopen the government.
	And the president called the question in the meeting.
	He asked Speaker Pelosi that if he opened things up quickly, if he reopened the government quickly, would she be willing to agree to funding for a wall or a barrier on the southern border?
	And when she said no, the president said goodbye.
	Now, I know there's been millions of Americans, hundreds of thousands of federal workers, that are as disappointed as we are that the Democrats are unwilling to engage in good faith negotiations.
	Look, the American people know we face a serious humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border.
	And this president, our entire administration, working with these Republican leaders, is going to continue to drive forward to bring about the kind of reforms that will see to the safety and security of the American people.
	But what the president made clear today is he is going to stand firm to achieve his priorities, to build a wall, a steel barrier on the southern border, add additional personnel, additional resources, additional reforms to stem the crisis that we face on our southern border.
	And we're very grateful for these Republican leaders here and others that were gathered with us for their support.
	That's the first president outside the White House confirming, yeah, that meeting was over really quick.
	You know, so the Democrats, if you listen to, if you watch the Chuck and Nancy Saturday Night Live open last night, you know this is true.
	I mean, it was worse than a colonoscopy.
	It was horrific.
	Here's their argument.
	Their argument is that they are more concerned, and it is a real concern when people have bills to pay, mortgages to pay, rent to pay, car payments, that we have, and again, it's about 25% of the federal government is wide open.
	It's a partial government shutdown, only essential workers, but that represents about 75% of the government.
	And all those furloughed individuals will get their back pay and they will be able to catch up on their bill paying.
	But they're saying that that is more important and they're being used as pawns.
	And the president is arguing something far deeper, far more profound, and far more damaging that they are saying is a manufactured crisis.
	My one thing I'm worried about is that Republicans hold the line because what they're standing up for is not manufactured at all.
	In a two-year period, 4,000 homicides, illegal immigrants, 30,000 sexual assaults, illegal immigrants.
	You have 100,000 violent assaults, illegal immigrants.
	We now have it impacting the educational system, the criminal justice system, the healthcare system, although free health care from anywhere in California, thanks to the new governor Newsom out there.
	Comrade de Blasio is offering free health care to illegal immigrants in New York.
	Who's going to pay for the free part?
	But putting the money aside, then you have not only, and again, I'm conceding the fact that 98% of people that cross the border illegally that don't respect our laws, our sovereignty, our borders, probably just want what we take for granted.
	Better life, hope, opportunity for themselves, their families, future generations.
	Get it, but do it legally.
	And the president's saying, well, we're getting 300 heroin overdose deaths a week.
	This is life and death.
	And 90% of the heroin is coming from the southern border.
	And the president is saying, this is a matter of life and death.
	And my first job and the first job, frankly, of any elected official must be to protect the homeland.
	There's not a small town or a big city in this country that is not being impacted by the negative impacts of opioids, heroin coming in from the southern border.
	Not one place in this country.
	How do you say it's a manufactured crisis to the family of Pierce Corcoran?
	How do you say that to the five-month-old son and the wife of police officer Singh?
	And these are just the most recent examples that we've carried.
	And you know all the other high-profile ones.
	And what the president is saying is this needs to be solved because it's life and death and that this is a clear and present danger.
	Now, with that said, 88% of Americans disagree with Chuck and Nancy on the border crisis, according to the Morning Console poll, released two days before the president's speech last night.
	88% of registered voters did not think the border crisis was manufactured.
	It's not manufactured.
	And by the way, you know, the Yuma border section, I've been down 13 times.
	I'm going to be down at the southern border tomorrow.
	The Yuma section, and I remember this from my past experience, was the worst in the country for illegal crossings until it became the poster child for the effectiveness of barriers when they put a border fence up.
	Now, before the fence, they had more than 2,700 vehicles crossing the Colorado River and open deserts loaded with illegal immigrants and drugs.
	And they were literally apprehensions went up to 138,000 in fiscal year 2005.
	Anyway, they finally, the Secure Fence Act, allowed them to go from 5.2 miles of fencing to 63 miles of fencing.
	And guess what?
	Oh, crimes went down nearly 95%.
	It works.
	Now, the president also has other options here, declaring a national emergency, which we've gone over in detail.
	He has the authority to do.
	The president as the commander in chief, his first role is to protect the homeland, protect the country, protect the American people.
	And when you have that many people that are dying and you have that many in terms of drugs and the associated deaths with it, and you have the Democrats that were all in favor of this, you know, for the last 12 years for the most part, willing to even spend in 2013 $46 billion for border security, this president's asking for 5.7.
	And then going back to 2006, Hillary, Biden, Obama, all of them, all of them, Schumer, they all supported a border fence.
	But now because Trump's president, it's not a crisis.
	Well, the crisis has gotten worse.
	How many more Americans have to die either from violence or associated drug use because of the drugs flowing across the border before Democrats will take this seriously?
	By the way, Mexico is now moving to seal their southern border.
	You know, Pelosi and Schumer, you know, they're silent on the 300 Americans killed every week by border drug smugglers.
	Border drug smuggling kills 17 times as many Americans.
	You know, take any crisis that we've ever talked about where you have a lot of death.
	This is about life and death.
	And their argument is about inconvenience for 25%.
	And my heart goes out to them, of furloughed employees.
	And maybe we can start a fund and maybe Chuck and Nancy can put some money in and we can temporarily give the checks to those people that need them.
	I doubt they would ever reach into their pocket because as Margaret Thatcher once famously said, you know, liberals are generous with other people's money until they run out of other people's money.
	While I'm here with us, our two Sean Hannity show, 800-941-Sean is our toll-free number if you want to be a part of the program.
	Is the argument is that making sure some furloughed employees are not inconvenienced.
	And by the way, my heart goes out to them.
	And the fact that they're saying it's a manufactured crisis.
	Well, say it's a manufactured crisis to police officer Singh's five-month-old son.
	Or say it's a manufactured crisis to Mr. and Mrs. Corcoran, who lost their 22-year-old son, who I interviewed on TV this week.
	You know, right now there's a link on Hannity.com.
	Wait till you see what we've got planned for TV tonight.
	We will do what, of course, the mainstream media will not do.
	This is when people are dying, it is not a manufactured crisis.
	And in two years, 4,000 homicides, 30,000 sexual offenses, and 100,000 violent assault charge offenses.
	That is not manufactured.
	These are real Americans that are real victims of real crimes and real family separation that can never be remedied in any way, shape, matter, or form.
	Now, I see that the left has been mobilizing.
	And what they're doing is they're trying to put pressure on Congress and create a false perception that somehow this is manufactured.
	Don't give in.
	I have a word for the Republican Party.
	The president's not going to give in one way or the other, and he's laid out his options.
	He can declare a national emergency, probably will be some type of court battle fight.
	I believe it's one that he's going to win and win rather easily, even after the Democrats go judge shopping.
	And the second thing, he will view this now as the commander-in-chief as an issue of homeland security, national defense.
	When you look at 90% of America's heroin coming across our southern border, that is a crisis.
	That is a national emergency.
	90%.
	And this is impacting, you know, think of towns in New Hampshire and Maine.
	Think of towns in Ohio and in the upper Midwest and all friends.
	It's everywhere.
	And these kids get hooked, addicted to Percocet, Vicodin, Oxy, and they can't afford to buy any more pills.
	So they buy heroin at $10 a bag.
	And then you add to that, the additional now factor, which is fentanyl that is laced in this heroin that is coming across our southern border.
	You've got human trafficking, you've got drug trafficking.
	If I'm right in my belief that 98% of the people that want to cross our borders, even illegally, and not respect our laws and our sovereignty and our borders, that they want a better life for themselves and their families.
	Let's just say I'm right on that fact.
	I'm just assuming.
	That doesn't mitigate those that are violent gang members or those that commit violent crimes or those that have terrorist ties.
	It doesn't mitigate any of that.
	And if somebody can walk across because they want a job or a better life, well, so too can other people that don't have as noble a design for themselves and their families.
	And they don't have any regard for, in many cases, human life or the types of drugs that are being brought in or sold.
	Anyway, a lot of people now are calling their congressmen.
	The left is trying to mobilize and create an image.
	Look, my advice is you can call your congressman or senator.
	I always say be polite, but let your voice be heard because I think there are some Republicans that are going to need a little bit of spine help, if you will.
	They'll need a rod or two in their back.
	And pressure from constituents can certainly help with that.
	And the switchboard number is 202-224-3121.
	Anyway, John Solomon of the Hill, he's been writing about a lot of these tragedies faced by those on the front lines of the border crisis.
	Anyway, he joins us now.
	You know, it is amazing.
	We have seen images now in the last month of Border Patrol agents being pelted with rocks and bottles.
	And I watched Kamala Harris, you know, question Tom Hoyden, the guy that just was recently the head of ICE, and say, well, you know, there's a perception that ICE is just like the Ku Klux Klan.
	You understand that perception, right?
	I have a hard time understanding that mentality.
	Yeah, no, I wrote a whole column on that.
	And in fact, I compared Kamala Harris's language to almost exact construction that Senator McCarthy used back in the 50s when he was trying to paint people who were gay or liberal as communists in almost identical sentence structure and tactics.
	And it got a lot of play and a lot of attention.
	Listen, the ICE officers I know are the farthest thing from the KKK.
	They're compassionate.
	They're CPV border guys that when someone gets stuck in a river or needs a rescue, they jump in and they help.
	These are not hateful people.
	They're people who are trying to protect the border and to enforce the law that Congress has put on the books and needs to be enforced.
	And when we have language like that, we simply don't have an honest debate.
	But it's even worse.
	When you have a sanctuary city or state, and let me use the case of Grant Ronebeck.
	And I know that the 22-year-old kid who's working overnight in a convenience store, and his father's been on this program many, many times before.
	And, you know, kids trying to raise money so he can go to school, doing the right thing.
	Nobody wants to work the graveyard ship, but he's doing it.
	And guy comes in, you know, sticks a gun in his face, wants cigarettes.
	The poor kid can't get them out fast enough, kills the kid.
	And then you find out that he had held a woman hostage and sexually assaulted her for a week, had kidnapped this woman and had been in jail.
	And because the sanctuary laws was never turned over to the authorities to be deported.
	Yeah, these are the sort of things that everyday Americans in middle America, in the real part of America, that aren't engaged in elitist arguments.
	These are the stories that really resonate and the concerns they have.
	Listen, people want more border security.
	They don't know what it's going to take to get there.
	But we had a poll on the Hill just recently, and a vast, super vast majority of Americans want increased border security.
	The president is in line with the vast majority of what people want in America, whether it's a wall or a combination of assets that includes a wall, that's going to be determined by whatever deal he can get.
	But if he doesn't hold the line, then there's not going to be a deal.
	It'll be the same conversation we had five years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago.
	I remember when I came to town in the 90s and we were talking about fixing immigration.
	Nothing's happened in 25 years.
	Something is going to happen now because the president has done it.
	No, I'll tell you what's happened is the Democrats went literally because Donald Trump wants it, they've totally flip-flopped and flailed the position.
	I mean, when you have Biden, Obama, Hillary, Schumer, Pelosi, and everybody, and even Feinstein and Boxer supporting building a wall, but now it's, I guess, politically not expedient for them to do so.
	And because Donald Trump wants it, now they want to stop it.
	Now they're saying it's immoral.
	But the American people are wise.
	They're going to rally behind the right decision here when we get there.
	I think some statistics are going to come out, Sean, in the next couple of weeks.
	I've been doing a little bit of reporting on this that are going to put some new numbers on the table that'll paint even a further picture of the challenges and crises that we have at the border.
	I think you're going to see a massive, a report of massive growth of fentanyl and opioids across the border in the last six months.
	I think there's been a large number of seizures.
	There's going to be a large number of seizures also at mail facilities that show that these bad perpetrators are taking both the Postal Service and the border in concert to poison our children with these horrible drugs.
	I think you're going to see new numbers reported on assaults on CPB and ICE officers.
	I think those numbers are going to be up.
	I think you're going to hear new numbers on the number of rescues, the number of times CPP people went and tried to rescue a migrant who got themselves in some sort of trouble at the border.
	These are all going to be numbers that haven't been released before that I think are going to give a more complete picture of what's really going on in the border.
	And I have a high degree of confidence the American public will see the situation for what it is.
	All right.
	Again, if people want to call Congress, 202-224-3121.
	When they say that this is a manufactured crisis, I have a response, a direct response I'm going to be giving to the media, the hate Trump media, and hate Trump Democrats tonight.
	You know, I said at the beginning of this year that my mission, we are going to do the job they will never do because they are locked into this sociopathic, pathological hatred of the president, even when lives are at stake here.
	But let's first, I want to turn a little bit, Hannity Watch on the deep state, and obviously a story that's not going away.
	News today that it looks like Rod Rosenstein is expected to step down after the new Attorney General Barr is confirmed.
	What do you make of that?
	And from my understanding, Rod Rosenstein really wanted to stick around, and Rod Rosenstein is really nervous that the president may one day release the FISA warrants, especially the fourth warrant, pages 10 through 12, 17, and 34.
	So he is stepping down.
	Why?
	Well, I think two things.
	My sources tell me that when Bill Barr was in negotiations with Trump to become Attorney General, he wanted an assurance he could pick his own Attorney General.
	That's what you, or excuse me, Deputy Attorney General.
	That's exactly what you want your Attorney General to do.
	This department has had so much strife, so much disorganization, such a hard time getting its story straight with Congress.
	Think of all the evolutions of stories that were given to Congress that turned out to be false.
	I think the new Attorney General, Bill Barr, if he gets confirmed, should have his own team start fresh, try to rebuild the trust both among the American people and among Congress, and of course even with the president.
	And that starts by getting rid of someone as controversial.
	I don't think that Rod Rosenstein is doing this out of the goodness of his heart.
	I think he's reading the tea leaves and knows his days are numbered.
	And I think one of the tragedies is that when the Republicans had control of the House and they still have control of the Senate, no one has yet put Rod Rosenstein under oath to ask the seminal questions.
	Well, they tried to.
	Yeah, but, well, they didn't get there.
	I mean, Congress could have done just what the president's doing on the war.
	It could have held a much harder line than it did.
	They could have forced him to testify, and they let it pass.
	But there are some big questions that Rod Rosenstein should ask.
	Did he really talk about a plot to remove the president?
	Did he really read or not read the warrant?
	Was he aware of exculpatory information kept from the FISA court?
	Does the Justice Department have a legal obligation to tell the FISA court he's going to get off if Lindsey Graham doesn't do something incentives?
	Well, Lindsey Graham has been very clear.
	If the Democrats have their Canada subpoenas, which they appear to be ready to launch, and they're going to do nothing but nonstop investigation of the president over any little matter they can, then he's going to pick it up.
	One day we will get those 302s.
	We will get the gang of eight information.
	We will get the FISA applications and this other bucket, if you want to describe the other fourth bucket, if you will, of information.
	Yep.
	Well, the fourth bucket is some emails that the FBI were exchanging among East Southern with the National Security Division Justice Department in October before the first FISA warrant in 2016 was issued that show that they were aware of both exculpatory information and problems with their sources.
	And if that gets us a fourth bucket, I'm going to add a fifth bucket, Sean, because I've been doing some reporting the last couple of days that hopefully I'll be able to get out in the public pretty soon.
	I think there are a series of transcripts of the key players that have been, you know, that were demonizing this early on, George Papadopoulos, Carter Page.
	I believe if those transcripts are released, FBI recordings of these individuals, that we're going to learn even more about how much the FBI knew their case was wrong, how much it was off the mark in the beginning, and yet they continue to persist.
	So I want to put a fifth bucket on the table because my reporting is beginning to indicate that there are recorded transcripts that are taken.
	And it's going to come out this year.
	I mean, I know we're busy focusing on the border right now and other issues, but this is all going to be in the forefront sooner than later.
	Now that we know that Robert Mueller, in fact, destroyed the text messages with Page and Strzok, which by law, from my understanding, that shouldn't have happened.
	And number two.
	G agrees that that shouldn't have happened, right?
	There are none of those text messages that were work-related.
	They're considered government records.
	They shouldn't have been destroyed.
	And that's a problem that is going to have to be dealt with.
	And we're never going to see the ones of Stroke and Page from the time they worked on the Mueller investigation.
	They appeared to be a very important thing.
	But then you add to that what they did to General Flynn.
	Number one, he was unmasked illegally.
	Raw intelligence was taken.
	Then the deputy FBI director at the time called him and said, McCabe said that he doesn't need a lawyer.
	And then James Comey brags about the fact that he threw aside all previous protocol with previous administrations, the Obama administration, Bush administration, and he sent FBI agents in specifically.
	They already had the transcript to set a perjury trap for General Flynn after they said don't have a lawyer.
	And we saw that blow up in the courtroom, and the judge went nuts and even accused Flynn of being a traitor at one point, which he apologized for later.
	But it sounds like he wants to throw Flynn in jail over something that was illegally done to him.
	Well, one of the things that I had a column on this about a week ago, Sean, that really caught my attention is that the first event where Mike Flynn is engaged with Russia in a way that was portrayed by the media as sinister, bad, treasonous, whatever you want to call it, was this event he went to with the RT where he spoke with or sat next to Vladimir Putin and got a small speaking fee.
	It turns out he was coordinating that trip with his old employer, the DIA.
	He self-disclosed it in advance.
	He got a defensive briefing to prepare him for what would go on there, make sure he was not compromised.
	And then he came back and delivered whatever intelligence he learned from that meeting.
	When you know that that meeting actually was to the benefit of the United States instead of some treasonous thing, and you look at the reporting two years ago versus what we now have in the fact base, it is really extraordinary how distorted the tale of Mike Flynn was.
	And it's part of the reason I suspect why Robert Mueller, at the end of the day, didn't ask for any prison time for Mike Flynn, even though Mike Flynn has admitted or the judge was so pissed off.
	You know, I wouldn't trust any of that.
	He may calm down.
	Listen, part of the reason they adjourned was for everybody to take a deep breath.
	And I think the judge knows he made a mistake.
	That's why he apologized.
	And maybe the passage of time will have a different impact there.
	Yeah, this is how we trick 33-year service members, three-star generals.
	That's what we do.
	We tell them don't use a lawyer.
	And then, by the way, we'll trick you into talking to us after we illegally surveilled you.
	Everyone should learn if the FBI approaches you always consult your lawyer before talking.
	Oh, you can.
	I mean, it's unbelievable.
	All right, John Solomon, thank you.
	When we come back, Hannity watch on the government shutdown day 19 as we move forward.
	We'll be joined by two congressmen.
	And the key issue at this moment is Congress, the Senate, the Republicans need to hold their backbone.
	We'll help them do that.
	You can help us coming up next half hour.
	Some have suggested a barrier is immoral.
	Then why do wealthy politicians build walls, fences, and gates around their homes?
	They don't build walls because they hate the people on the outside, but because they love the people on the inside.
	The only thing that is immoral is the politicians to do nothing and continue to allow more innocent people to be so horribly victimized.
	America's heart broke the day after Christmas when a young police officer in California was savagely murdered in cold blood by an illegal alien who just came across the border.
	The life of an American hero was stolen by someone who had no right to be in our country.
	Day after day, precious lives are cut short by those who have violated our borders.
	In California, an Air Force veteran was raped, murdered, and beaten to death with a hammer by an illegal alien with a long criminal history.
	In Georgia, an illegal alien was recently charged with murder for killing, beheading, and dismembering his neighbor.
	In Maryland, MS-13 gang members who arrived in the United States as unaccompanied minors were arrested and charged last year after viciously stabbing and beating a 16-year-old girl.
	Over the last several years, I've met with dozens of families whose loved ones were stolen by illegal immigration.
	I've held the hands of the weeping mothers and embraced the grief-stricken fathers.
	So sad, so terrible.
	I will never forget the pain in their eyes, the tremble in their voices, and the sadness gripping their souls.
	How much more American blood must we shed before Congress does its job?
	How much more American blood must be shed?
	Two-year period, 4,000 homicides.
	Two-year period, 30,000 sexual assaults.
	Two-year period, 100,000 violent assaults.
	Then you've got the drug trade, and you've got the cartels, and the trafficking, and the human trafficking, and the human toll and cost, and the risk for those that think they might be able to get across the border, paying the more unsavory coyotes and others to bring them to the border.
	Many people raped and killed along the way.
	All true stories.
	But it would stop if we had built the wall.
	Anyway, joining us now, Congressman Ted Budd of North Carolina, Andy Biggs of Arizona.
	Thank you both for being with us.
	Andy, let's start out in your great state of Arizona.
	Well, Sean, you're exactly right.
	Walls work.
	We know they work.
	Empirically, we can demonstrate they work.
	This is a political question for the Democrats.
	This is not a policy question for them.
	Look, what happened is Yuma was the worst.
	They became the poster child for interdiction.
	But they squeezed the people to different areas along the southern border so that the Tucson sector now is the number one problem for drugs and human trafficking.
	And we have a small fence down in Nogales, the two Nogaleses on each side of the border.
	We need to increase the fencing, and they know it.
	If they don't know it, then they need to come down and take a look.
	And by the way, I'm taking some members of Congress down in a couple weeks.
	They need to see it.
	Some of these people have never seen the border.
	They can't fathom how bad it is or how big it is or how wide open it is like you can because you've been down there.
	Listen, I've been down there so many times.
	I'm actually going back tomorrow where the president's going to be.
	I don't know if the exact area was announced, so I won't do that now, but I have been there before.
	At the time, I remember at the exact location where the president will be.
	I was interviewing Governor Perry of the great state of Texas at the time, right there at the Rio Grande.
	And it's literally a 90-second walk across the Rio Grande, and you leave Mexico and you're in the United States.
	At the time, while we were filming, a family from El Salvador literally crossed into the country right there in front of us, illegally.
	I've also been there when a gang member was arrested, didn't know at the time, found out after the arrest when they looked into his background.
	I've been in the drug warehouses.
	I've seen the tunnels.
	I've been on horseback, all-terrain vehicle, helicopters, boats.
	You know, Congressman Budd, I don't know if it's a big problem in North Carolina, but I can tell you this, that we now have, there's networks that help and assist people that cross the border into all 50 states.
	So I assume probably that it's also at times a problem in North Carolina.
	It's a huge problem in North Carolina, Sean.
	Again, thanks for having me on.
	You know, Andy sees it from being in a border state in Arizona, but we see it mostly in the drug problem.
	And 90% of the heroin that comes into our country is coming across the southern border.
	We've got people on our staff that have lost family members.
	I have met weeping mothers like the president referenced last night that have lost their sons, lost their daughters that didn't come home because they were, first of all, they may have had a drug problem that metastasized because of the illegal heroin and the fentanyl that has come into this country through the southern border.
	And it's just not been dealt with until we have a president who's finally keeping his word.
	I mean, he is, it seems like we've had president after president, you know, perhaps guilty on both sides of the aisle that have not dealt with this finally.
	We have one that is willing to fight for the cause for our country, not just for the border security issue, but for the humanitarian issue.
	You know, we've created a, by not dealing with it, Sean, we've created a perverse incentive for people from all of Central America and from Mexico to come to the border.
	Even Doctors Without Borders says that 30% of the women that have come and made this journey have been sexually abused en route to the United States.
	So it's a problem on both sides of the border.
	And finally, we've got a president who is willing to fight and deal with it.
	And yes, he's using the 25% of government shutdown as leverage as well.
	He should.
	We want to reopen.
	We want to reopen the government.
	We want to make sure everyone is paid.
	That is an issue.
	But the bigger issue is the longevity of our country, and that starts at the southern border.
	Well, it seems like that, what they reduced it, you know, watch.
	I felt like I was watching a Saturday Night Live skit when Chuck and Nancy came out.
	And I couldn't even believe the setting that they're there, but especially with their past of supporting border security.
	What did James Carville say about it?
	He looked forward to it like a colonoscopy, I believe.
	Yeah, I think, well, he said it.
	He's probably right.
	And I've done speeches with Carville, and he's pretty darn funny.
	I got to tell you that.
	But you look at these, you know, look at all these incidents.
	The fact that they're saying this is manufactured, and you've got 300 deaths a week from heroin overdoses.
	Everyone says we want to deal with the opioid crisis.
	90% of the heroin crosses that southern border.
	You can see on television programs like Trade and Drugs Inc. that they show you the exact routes that are taken and the manufacturing centers that are in Mexico and in Central America and how they make it to the southern border.
	Well, if we're losing 300 Americans a week because of the opioid crisis, 90% of that's heroin, some of the fentanyl now also coming across the border.
	That would seem to me to be a national security crisis.
	And the fact that they kept saying it's a manufactured crisis, well, how do you look the parents of Officer Singh in the eye, Andy Biggs, and his five-month-old son that'll never know his father?
	How do you look that kid in his eyes and say this is manufactured?
	Or how do you look in the eyes, as I did the other night, of the parents of Pierce Corcoran, 22-year-old kid killed a week ago in Knoxville, Tennessee, by a drunk driver, illegal immigrant?
	Both cases, both these illegal immigrants have been in the criminal justice system.
	The one in California that killed Officer Singh had sanctuary state protection.
	Otherwise, he could have been picked up by ICE and deported.
	How do you say it's manufactured to any of these families?
	You can't do that unless there's a cold spot in your heart because the reality is we have the Angel families.
	We have Steve Ronenbeck, who I know you know, and his son Grant, who was killed, and Brandon Mendoza, son of Mary Ann Mendoza.
	And the list goes on.
	By the way, I know them personally.
	I know them well.
	They've been on my radio and TV shows many times.
	And Laura Wilkerson's another one.
	I even did a town hall with them and the then president-elect or then candidate Trump.
	He's met them, you know, and these women, they tell their stories, they cry on TV, and we don't listen.
	That's right.
	I mean, what's immoral is to see this happening to people who are law-abiding, faithful, good citizens, or they're here legally, and they're being victimized by people who have no business being in this country.
	And a big reason that they're able to get in this country and victimize us as Americans is because we don't have that border wall, which, as you said, and is empirically demonstrated, it will cut down about 90% of the illegal crossers.
	Not only that, it also will channel people who are trying to cross illegally.
	They'll either go to a port of entry now or they will move to places where we can interdict them.
	We can arrest them easier.
	It'll be safer for our Border Patrol people.
	This is really what's immoral is to get on there and turn this into a political issue.
	That's what's immoral.
	Well, it's more immoral because they had, they sounded more like Donald Trump just a few short years ago than Donald Trump sounds like Donald Trump.
	And, you know, my only worry and fear, and guys, don't take this the wrong way, I don't have enough faith in Republican congressmen and Republican senators that they're going to be able to, like the president, withstand the pressure if this goes on for any extended period of time, which I suspect it probably will.
	And that being the case, I don't think the president's going to give up.
	I think the president may go to another option, which would be declaring a national emergency or appropriating defense fund, considering this is about the defense of our homeland.
	I think a strong argument is made there, and I think a legitimate one.
	And I think one ultimately, if it made it to the Supreme Court, that would be one that he would win, but that may take a protracted period of time.
	But I always get worried, Congressman Budd, always, about, you know, Republicans that don't have a spine, and I think you know who they are.
	Well, a lot of those are gone this last election.
	We did lose some good ones, but some of them are gone.
	I know Andy Biggs will stand strong.
	I know I will.
	And Andy referenced, and you referenced this fact of what Nancy Pelosi said is immoral.
	You know, that is total hypocrisy because it was just five years ago that the Democrat-controlled Senate voted to double the length of a new border fence with Mexico and end the visa diversity visa lottery and spend $40 billion on border security.
	Now the fact that President Trump is in office, they're completely against it.
	And I think that's not only that's immoral, but that's total hypocrisy on their end.
	By the way, I'm going to talk.
	When we come back, I'll hold you both over.
	Congressman Ted Budd and Congressman Andy Biggs, House Freedom Caucus members, they have an effort to reach the people so the American people can participate in informing those that they elected to serve them and let them know how they feel about the issue.
	You can also call the switchboard, and that number is 202-224-3121.
	All right, joining us, Congressman Ted Budd of North Carolina and Representative Congressman Andy Biggs of Arizona.
	As you talk to your Republican colleagues and your friends in the Senate, do you believe the consensus is there to back and support the president that this is a crisis that needs to be solved?
	Congressman Biggs.
	Sean, right now, I think there is a strong sense of support in the Republican conference in the House of Representatives.
	I've talked to a lot of my colleagues, also outside of my normal echo chamber, just to kind of get a sense.
	And the support is strong, and it's there.
	I will tell you that you're right.
	I'm concerned about a handful of people who I think are, you know, they weren't really there to begin with and, you know, without naming them.
	But the vast majority of the conference, I believe, is strong and locked in at this point.
	And your thoughts, Congressman Ted Budd.
	So this is really about pain tolerance.
	And, you know, so far, Sean, for many in a country, because 75% of the government is still open and functioning, then the 25% hasn't been as painful.
	But as that becomes more painful to more people and as they push back on the representatives, that's what concerns me.
	And again, I mentioned before, I know Andy will stay strong.
	I know many of us remaining 200 will stay strong.
	And I pray that we will continue to, because this is a fight worth having.
	I plan on sticking with the president on this.
	This was not only, it's not just that it was a campaign promise.
	It is exactly what is right for our country for the next 100 years fixing this problem right now.
	All right.
	Again, if people want to call and contact their congressman or your senator, you can call the switchboard at 202-224-3121 and tell them to hold the line and don't cave.
	And those people that are furloughed, I know it's inconvenient.
	I know it's difficult.
	They have bills they have to pay.
	I fully support them getting all their back pay and they'll be able to take care of business.
	But protecting the American people and protecting people like Officer Singh and Pierce Corcoran are far more important at this moment.
	It is a matter of life and death.
	Stopping drug trafficking, human trafficking.
	All right, when we come back, news roundup, information overload, we'll get to your calls also in the next half hours.
	That's all coming up straight ahead.
	All right, news roundup, information overload, Sean Hannity Show, 800-941.
	Sean, if you want to be a part of the program, we'll get to your calls this hour, I promise.
	You know, one of the things that frustrates me more than anything in life is just pure, utter hypocrisy and raw, disgusting politics.
	And what do I mean by that?
	Where are core principles that guide people in life?
	Where are the principles that, all right, you make promises to your constituents that you're going to go and you're supposed to be a public servant, and you go and last year you're supporting building a wall when, or two years ago when another guy was a president in your party, but then we have a new president, and now you say that the wall that you paid for the last time and paid for two or three other times in your career is immoral and racist or whatever adjective you happen to be using for it.
	That was what was on full display last night.
	You know, we have tape after tape after tape of Schumer, Pelosi, and Hillary and Biden and Obama all saying over and over again exactly what Donald Trump is saying.
	Except now with the heroin epidemic, now with human trafficking worse than it's ever been, and now with two years of 4,000 homicides and 30,000 sexual assaults and 100,000 incidences of violence as a result of open borders, then they have the unmitigated gall to not only flip their position, but say it's a manufactured crisis when they were making the case that Trump was making just a short time ago.
	Who said the following?
	Illegal immigration is wrong.
	And illegal immigration reform must be used to dramatically curtail illegal immigration.
	Chuck Schumer, Chuck Schumer calling for significant increases in infrastructure, technology, border personnel to achieve operational control of our borders, in addition to e-verify, to disincentivize illegal immigrants coming to the U.S. for jobs.
	Then he said, when we use phrases like undocumented workers, we convey a message to the American people that their government is not serious about combating illegal immigration, which the American people overwhelmingly oppose, Schumer said.
	If you don't think it's illegal, you're not going to say it.
	I think it is illegal and wrong, illegal and wrong, and we have to change it.
	People who enter the United States without permission are illegal aliens, and illegal aliens should not be treated the same as people who enter the U.S. legally.
	Chuck Schumer said all of that.
	And he also noted a border fence contributed to an extraordinary decline in the number of Mexican immigrants coming into the United States.
	He only said that back in, you know, 2018.
	Now, you got to ask, in 2009, in 2006, in 2013, all the same.
	And this is every major Democrat now that is saying this is a manufactured crisis.
	Let's say, there's a little bit long here, but we put together a montage.
	Both Chuck and Nancy, you know, the experts that they are, they don't want to build the wall, but do they?
	And then, you know, it's this whole issue of it's not a crisis.
	This is manufactured.
	Okay, well, we have a way to debunk that.
	And we're going to play it for you now.
	The experts say you can do border security without a wall, which is wasteful and doesn't solve the problem.
	The question is not about do we need to protect our borders?
	Of course we do.
	Is it effective to build a wall?
	Even if it costs 10 cents, is it an answer?
	My name is Brandon Jedd.
	I'm the president of the National Border Patrol Council.
	I've been a border patrol agent for 21 years.
	I can personally tell you from the work that I have done on the southwest border that physical barriers, that walls actually work.
	The experts say you can do border security without a wall.
	Is it effective to build a wall?
	Even if it costs 10 cents, is it an answer?
	My name is Art Del Cueto.
	I am a vice president with the National Border Patrol Council.
	It comes down to border security.
	We fully support the president and all his efforts to secure our nation's borders.
	The experts say you can do border security without a wall.
	Is it effective to build a wall?
	Even if it costs 10 cents, is it an answer?
	Once we deport these people, these people will not stay in their country.
	These criminal aliens that have been released from jail that have been deported will come right back into the United States.
	However, we had a physical barrier.
	If we had a wall, we would be able to stop that.
	We asked our congressmen to fund border security and fund the border wall.
	The experts say you can do border security without a wall.
	Is it effective to build a wall?
	Even if it costs 10 cents.
	But the big scam of the whole address was that there's a crisis.
	There's not a crisis.
	911, what is the address?
	Marie Hill, West Broad Street.
	How many love being in a red car?
	What is he overdosing on her?
	I think Helen, her neighbor and her sister was overdosed on Airlines.
	The victim appeared to have been executed and left in the street.
	We were able to identify a group of MS-13 gang members who we believe are responsible.
	And the suspect in a series of brutal crimes is a gang member and illegal immigrant who's been deported four times.
	Tommy Vladimir Alvarado Ventura is accused of stabbing two women and sexually assaulting a two-year-old girl.
	We saw from Trump today the typical lying, the nonsense, the spinning of crises out of whole cloth.
	MS-13 gang members were rounded up this morning, charged in three murders.
	16-year-old Kayla Cuevas and her 15-year-old best friend, Misa Mickens, brutally beaten to death.
	Miguel Alvarez Flores and Diego Hernandez Rivera both face aggravated kidnapping and murder charges for allegedly killing a teenage girl during a satanic ritual last month in Texas.
	America's overdose crisis is worse than ever before because of the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
	It is deadlier than heroin.
	Overdose deaths have almost doubled from at least time last year.
	Synthetic opioid fentanyl is causing carnage like America has never seen.
	Overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50.
	Let's start out with this idea of crisis.
	The president used that word several times in the speech.
	Just because you say it's a crisis, George, doesn't necessarily make it once.
	Suffolk County Police announcing the arrest of 17 gang members after a series of violent incidents, including the massacre of four young men.
	If heroin's the epidemic, fentanyl's the plague, and the plague is here.
	Process, by the way, feels like a colossal waste of time so he can deliver on a chant he began three years ago at some of his rallies.
	It's all about nothing.
	Does that sound like a manufactured crisis to you?
	I don't care what part of this country you're listening to this program, and we're now on 610 radio stations around this country.
	And every corner of this country, you ask yourself, is there a drug problem in your neighborhood?
	Is there a drug problem in a nearby neighborhood?
	Is there a drug problem in your town, in cities?
	Do you hear about kids and schools and overdoses?
	Well, 90% of the heroin coming into the country, now more often than not, laced with fentanyl.
	You know, you take a grain of salt, take three of them, three little grains of salt, iodized salt, and you have three, the size of three grains of iodized salt, and it's fentanyl, is a death sentence for a 250-pound six-foot-two man.
	That's how dangerous these drugs have now gotten.
	You know, you got to watch these shows like Trade on Showtime, and Nat Geo has a great series on drugs.
	And, you know, you listen, they have these dealers undercover with masks on.
	They don't give a flying rip about your kids and that they may die and that once we get you once, we got you.
	You hear dealer after dealer say this.
	So you got the drug problem.
	You got 90% of our heroin crossing that border.
	Well, that's aimed at our families.
	That's aimed at American kids that are too stupid and take this crap.
	Now, it doesn't mean we're going to stop all drug use, but at least you're cutting off 90% of the supply and maybe, just maybe, they won't be able to afford it and they'll get off this garbage that's going to ruin their life.
	You know, the recidivism rate in terms of drug addicts once addicted to heroin, only about 15% can kick that habit.
	You get on heroin, it's over.
	It's done.
	Your life is finished for most people.
	And that's what we're dealing with.
	You know, for all those, you know, a manufactured crisis, well, I interviewed two wonderful people this week, and I don't know how they get out of bed every day because a week ago, they lost their 22-year-old son, Pierce Corcoran.
	Parents' names are Wendy and DJ.
	They've been in the country.
	This guy that killed them, illegal immigrant, driving drunk, wrong side of the road, 14 years.
	14 years.
	And of course, it had been in the criminal justice system, just like the person that killed Officer Singh had been in the criminal justice system.
	But California, being a sanctuary state, didn't allow ICE to do their job.
	They normally would know when to pick up illegal immigrants that were in the justice system in jail, pick them up when they were released and send them home and get them out of here.
	You know, Kate Steinley's case, the guy came back eight separate times, deported and comes back, deported, comes back.
	You know, you cannot look in the eyes of these mothers and fathers, these angel moms and dads.
	We've had Mrs. Mendoza on this program and Laura Wilkerson on this program.
	And these are people that I've become friends with and Mr. Ronabach on this program.
	We've done full shows where we have interviewed angel moms and dads that have lost their loved ones to illegal immigrants that were criminals in the system.
	And even then, we don't deport them.
	You know, then we could add another factor, which is the cost, $70,000 annually per illegal immigrant in the country.
	It has devastated the country financially, our country, in terms of the cost for our criminal justice system, our educational system, and our health care system.
	Now we have states putting signs out like California, New York City's doing it.
	Soon New York State will do it that say basically free health care if you are here illegally.
	Well, if you need health care, my advice is go to New York City or go to California and just say Gavin Newsom sent me or Comrade de Blasio sent me or Andrew Cuomo sent me because that's what they're offering.
	But the utter rank hypocrisy just disgusts me on so many levels.
	You know, the president last night pointing out to Congress and the country, he already has the authorization to do this.
	I went over this earlier in the program, the legality of it.
	If he declares a national state of emergency, also the Defense Department, those appropriations are available.
	I went through all that as well.
	But if you go back to 2006, they had what was called the Secure Fence Act of 2006.
	And it passed by huge congressional majorities in both houses.
	And Chuck Schumer, Hillary Clinton, Biden, Barack Obama all voted for it.
	You hear Democrats complaining today that President Trump doesn't have the legal authority to build the wall without Congress.
	Well, actually, the truth is just the opposite because every president who failed to build that wall since this 2006 Secure the Fence Act, that when they failed to do that, and it was passed 13 years ago, they've actually, they're the ones that defied the will of Congress, as was expressed by the law that was passed by them and signed into law by, I believe, George W. Bush.
	You know, Trump not only has the authority, he has the congressional mandate required.
	Now, you know, some of the highlights of that, you know, we're talking about real money at the time.
	The question is, at what point, you know, the American people have a decision here.
	And I don't want to be callous towards those that are furloughed at the current time, but, you know, 70% of your government is up and running.
	For those of you that think the government is shut down, it's not shut down.
	I mean, maybe some tours, maybe some monuments, some public parks, certain things are not open that normally would be open.
	And I know that there are families and they got to pay their rent and their mortgage and they got to pay their car payments.
	And my heart goes out to them.
	I fully support back pay for the time that they have been furloughed.
	This is through no doing of their own and they shouldn't be caught in the political crossfire.
	But the reality is the arguments that they were making last night were so pathetically static and cold-hearted.
	And they're really trying to say that it's more important that people get a paycheck on time.
	They're going to get their paycheck, but get their paycheck on time and then literally lie to the American people and say that this is a manufacturer crisis.
	Because you cannot go to my website, as I told you earlier today, and click on a list of names.
	If you print it out, it's 350 some-odd pages.
	And look at the names and look at the pictures of those that are dead that have been killed by illegal immigrants.
	There are fellow Americans, real people with real names and real stories, and you can read every one of them.
	And we'll scroll this tonight on Hannity, Nine Eastern on the Fox News channel.
	But there's nobody else in the media.
	They're all just echoing the Democratic talking point, which is what they always do.
	The question, they always claim to have a monopoly of compassion for people.
	Well, they sounded pretty cold-hearted last night, and it seemed rather insensitive to the most recent cases of the family of Pierce Corcoran and the family of Officer Singh.
	I didn't hear them mention the five-month-old son that will never see his father last night.
	That's manufactured.
	You're going to tell that family that that's manufactured when that kid's 10 years old and ask questions about his father?
	That was just a manufactured crisis.
	Is that what we're going to say to him?
	All right, quick break right back, and we'll continue.
	You know, I wanted to, at times, we're playing little itsy-bitsy pieces.
	The president did not speak that long last night, but it was powerful and it was direct and it was factual.
	And, you know, then to watch the Democrats literally flip and flop and flail from a position they have had now for the last 15 years is pretty remarkable.
	And how they're going to look into the faces of any of the 300 Americans weekly that die from heroin overdoses in this country and 90% comes from our southern border is how do you, what do you say to them?
	That we, well, we didn't need a wall and this is a manufactured crisis.
	Are you going to say to the family, the wife, the five-month-old son of Officer Singh in California, oh, sorry, this is just a manufactured crisis.
	It's not real.
	Are you going to say the same thing to Pierce Corcoran's parents, who I interviewed earlier this week on TV?
	Going to say the same thing to them?
	I thought liberals were so overwhelmingly loving and compassionate.
	You know, we're going to, all we're saying is protect the borders, protect the American people.
	If government doesn't do that job, what are they there for?
	That is their fundamental role.
	And they're obviously playing politics with this.
	By the way, if you want to help your congressman or woman or senator get a spine and call their office 202-224-3121, this is the president from the Oval Office from last night.
	My fellow Americans, tonight I am speaking to you because there is a growing humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border.
	Every day, customs and border patrol agents encounter thousands of illegal immigrants trying to enter our country.
	We are out of space to hold them, and we have no way to promptly return them back home to their country.
	America proudly welcomes millions of lawful immigrants who enrich our society and contribute to our nation.
	But all Americans are hurt by uncontrolled illegal migration.
	It strains public resources and drives down jobs and wages.
	Among those hardest hit are African Americans and Hispanic Americans.
	Our southern border is a pipeline for vast quantities of illegal drugs, including meth, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl.
	Every week, 300 of our citizens are killed by heroin alone, 90% of which floods across from our southern border.
	More Americans will die from drugs this year than were killed in the entire Vietnam War.
	In the last two years, ICE officers made 266,000 arrests of aliens with criminal records, including those charged or convicted of 100,000 assaults, 30,000 sex crimes, and 4,000 violent killings.
	Over the years, thousands of Americans have been brutally killed by those who illegally entered our country, and thousands more lives will be lost if we don't act right now.
	This is a humanitarian crisis, a crisis of the heart, and a crisis of the soul.
	Last month, 20,000 migrant children were illegally brought into the United States, a dramatic increase.
	These children are used as human pawns by vicious coyotes and ruthless gangs.
	One in three women are sexually assaulted on the dangerous trek up through Mexico.
	Women or children are the biggest victims by far of our broken system.
	This is the tragic reality of illegal immigration on our southern border.
	This is the cycle of human suffering that I am determined to end.
	Finally, as part of an overall approach to border security, law enforcement professionals have requested $5.7 billion for a physical barrier.
	At the request of Democrats, it will be a steel barrier rather than a concrete wall.
	This barrier is absolutely critical to border security.
	It's also what our professionals at the border want and need.
	This is just common sense.
	The border wall would very quickly pay for itself.
	The cost of illegal drugs exceeds $500 billion a year, vastly more than the $5.7 billion we have requested from Congress.
	The wall will also be paid for indirectly by the great new trade deal we have made with Mexico.
	Senator Chuck Schumer, who you will be hearing from later tonight, has repeatedly supported a physical barrier in the past, along with many other Democrats.
	They changed their mind only after I was elected president.
	Democrats in Congress have refused to acknowledge the crisis.
	And they have refused to provide our brave border agents with the tools they desperately need to protect our families and our nation.
	The federal government remains shut down for one reason and one reason only, because Democrats will not fund border security.
	My administration is doing everything in our power to help those impacted by the situation.
	But the only solution is for Democrats to pass a spending bill that defends our borders and reopens the government.
	This situation could be solved in a 45-minute meeting.
	Some have suggested a barrier is immoral.
	Then why do wealthy politicians build walls, fences, and gates around their homes?
	They don't build walls because they hate the people on the outside, but because they love the people on the inside.
	The only thing that is immoral is the politicians to do nothing and continue to allow more innocent people to be so horribly victimized.
	America's heart broke the day after Christmas when a young police officer in California was savagely murdered in cold blood by an illegal alien who just came across the border.
	The life of an American hero was stolen by someone who had no right to be in our country.
	Day after day, precious lives are cut short by those who have violated our borders.
	In California, an Air Force veteran was raped, murdered, and beaten to death with a hammer by an illegal alien with a long criminal history.
	In Georgia, an illegal alien was recently charged with murder for killing, beheading, and dismembering his neighbor.
	In Maryland, MS-13 gang members who arrived in the United States as unaccompanied minors were arrested and charged last year after viciously stabbing and beating a 16-year-old girl.
	Over the last several years, I've met with dozens of families whose loved ones were stolen by illegal immigration.
	I've held the hands of the weeping mothers and embraced the grief-stricken fathers.
	So sad, so terrible.
	I will never forget the pain in their eyes, the tremble in their voices, and the sadness gripping their souls.
	How much more American blood must we shed before Congress does its job?
	For those who refuse to compromise in the name of border security, I would ask, imagine if it was your child, your husband, or your wife, whose life was so cruelly shattered and totally broken.
	To every member of Congress, pass a bill that ends this crisis.
	To every citizen call Congress and tell them to finally, after all of these decades, secure our border.
	This is a choice between right and wrong, justice and injustice.
	This is about whether we fulfill our sacred duty to the American citizens we serve.
	When I took the oath of office, I swore to protect our country.
	And that is what I will always do.
	So help me, God.
	This is a strong case.
	And I'm not worried about the president because the president, as I described in detail earlier, has other options.
	He'll declare a national emergency.
	He might get challenged in the court.
	They'll go judge shopping somewhere in California, likely, right to the Ninth Circuit.
	But at some point, if it's a national emergency, I know the Supreme Court prefers lower courts to work through the lower courts, but in an emergency, they may have to take this case sooner than they think.
	And the president, as a matter of law and constitutional authority, has the right to do it.
	And as I mentioned before, especially on the legal aspect of this, I mean, you even have people that work for Obama that recognize that, yeah, a key Democrat agrees that the president has the authority to do this.
	Who was it that was on with George Stephanopoulos?
	Oh, you have the House Armed Service Committee Chairman Adam Smith.
	He was asked, does the president have the ability and authority to declare a national emergency and have the military build the wall?
	And his answer was, well, unfortunately, the short answer is yes.
	There's a provision in the law that says the president can declare an emergency.
	It's been done a number of times, primarily been done to use the military to build facilities in Afghanistan and Iraq.
	Well, if they can do it there, you'd think they might be able to do it to protect Americans at our southern border.
	And then it goes back to the Pentagon has $13 billion available today that they can allocate towards the wall.
	All right, let's get to our phones.
	Let's see.
	Let's go to California, Don, the sanctuary state of California, where illegal immigrants have been invited to get free health care from your new governor, Gavin Newsom.
	Oh, yeah.
	I'm pretty sad about that.
	By the way, you voted for the guy.
	Your state voted for him.
	Well, by the way, it's happening in my state of New York and in New York City.
	Comrade de Blasio, he's offering the same thing.
	So I guess who am I to say?
	Yeah.
	Well, what I wanted to say, Sean, is about this whole immigration crisis thing is this.
	You used to nail the liberals on taxes by asking them to give you a number, tell you what is too much tax, and they never could.
	I never heard any one of them tell you, give you an answer on that.
	So I've got something else you can nail them with, and it's this.
	You can ask them, how many Kate Steinleys and Officer Sings have to die at the hands of criminal aliens?
	How many Americans have to overdose on drugs coming to our southern border?
	How many of their beloved illegals have to crawl through holes in our border only to die in our deserts or suffocate in the backs of trucks?
	How high does the pile of bodies have to be before they can see it, put aside their political Trump derangement and acknowledge there's an actual crisis on our border?
	I don't know what it's going to take.
	I mean, you know, when people are willing to play politics and say it's not a crisis when it's an obvious crisis and lives are being lost, but it's not impacting them.
	The idea of all these guys, it's sort of like, you know, you watch the Golden Globes the other night and you look around and what do you see?
	You see all these famous people with security guards.
	They're all armed and most of them are anti-gun.
	You know, anyway, back to our phones.
	Thank you.
	Charles, Ohio, next Sean Hannity Show.
	What's going on?
	Hey, it might have a solution for you.
	Back in the late 80s, the savings and loans were having a problem, and we came up with something called the Resolution Trust Corporation, and they sold bonds and fixed the savings and loan situation.
	So I think what we do is we come up with what I call the Pelosi Plan.
	Pelosi is an acronym, and it stands for Protect Everybody's Loved Ones with Secure Infrastructure.
	So you come up with the agency that sells $20 billion of bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government.
	Maybe it costs them 4% a year.
	They pay back $1 billion of principal every year, plus $400 million of interest.
	That fits within the Democrats' $1.6 billion they're willing to pay for border security.
	And we have the $20 billion.
	We build what we can with the wall, and we don't have to go back for appropriations every year to the Congress because it's done and it's put to bed.
	And only people who want to build the wall buy the bonds.
	And if you're a Democrat, you don't like the bonds, then don't buy them.
	By the way, we could also have a protocol to that, the Chucky Protocol, and Chucky stands for change how undocumented criminals keep illegally entering.
	It just, you know, you got to have cute names for the new federal government program.
	Yeah, I'm waiting for Trump.
	Trump has not come up with nicknames for Schumer or Pelosi.
	That ought to be interesting.
	At some point, I would imagine that's probably going to happen.
	Anyway, thanks for the call.
	We're going to do something tonight nobody in the media would ever dare touch.
	We're going to do something during the show tonight for the entire hour that I promise you they will not go near in the media.
	By the way, I will be a guest on this program tomorrow.
	Quick programming note.
	Greg Jarrett is filling in for me.
	I will be with the president down at the border, but Greg Jarrett is going to be filling in, and I'm going to be calling in and updating everybody what's going on down there.
	All right, so all of us here on the Sean Hannity show, we're all proud members.
	All right, today is Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.
	We want to say thank you to all those brave men and women that protect and serve us every day and risk their own lives.
	Amazing people, amazing citizens, and they have a hard job and they're underappreciated, sadly.
	Hannity tonight at nine, we are going to cover this issue of how it is not a manufactured crisis at all in a way that I promise nobody in the media would ever dare do.
	Have a great night.
	We'll see you at nine.
	Don't miss the show.
	Great opening monologue.
	Nine Eastern on Hannity.
	We'll see you back here tomorrow.
	You want smart political talk without the meltdowns?
	We got you.
	I'm Carol Markowitz and I'm Mary Catherine Hamm.
	We've been around the block in media and we're doing things differently.
	Normally is about real conversations.
	Thoughtful, try to be funny, grounded, and no panic.
	We'll keep you informed and entertained without ruining your day.
	Join us every Tuesday and Thursday, normally, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
	I'm Ben Ferguson and I'm Ted Cruz.
	Three times a week, we do our podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz.
	Nationwide, we have millions of listeners.
	Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we break down the news and bring you behind the scenes inside the White House, inside the Senate, inside the United States Supreme Court.
	And we cover the stories that you're not getting anywhere else.
	We arm you with the facts to be able to know and advocate for the truth with your friends and family.
	So down with Verdict with Ted Cruz now, wherever you get your podcasts.
	What I told people I was making a podcast about Benghazi, nine times out of ten, they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes, or just asked, why?
	Benghazi, the truth became a web of lies.
	From Prologue Projects and Pushkin Industries, this is Fiasco, Benghazi.
	What difference at this point does it make?
	Listen to Fiasco, Benghazi, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

▲