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Dec. 6, 2023 - Sean Hannity Show
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Sean Spicer - December 5th, Hour 3
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When 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.
All right, dudes for Round Top Information Overload Hour.
Toll Free, our numbers 800 941 Sean.
If you want to be a part of the program coming to you from beautiful Davenport, Iowa.
Uh tonight we have our town hall with former President Trump.
Uh as we now get ever closer to the all-important Iowa caucuses.
Uh we're still getting a lot of reaction feedback uh to the debate that took place last Thursday between uh Governor Ron DeSantis and Governor Gavin Newsom.
Uh our friend Sean Spicer commented a lot on it.
Joining us now, our friend Sean Spicer is back with us, sir.
How are you?
I'm great.
And I just gotta say I know it's your show, so I don't want to take jump in and take control, but I gotta tell you, you did a I know I know it's your show, but I'm gonna take it over.
Go right ahead, Sean, take right over.
Your name is Sean, so you're halfway there.
I uh that's what I'm thinking, you know.
But I'll tell you, Sean, I know you won't say it for yourself, but I thought you did a great job.
You you too often the moderator becomes the story.
You did something that I I just you brought a Democrat from a blue state who knew how well you do your job, and that's why I just I I cannot tell you the guy who's been involved in these debates and these forums now for over a decade, you exemplified what's supposed to happen.
Tee up an issue, throw out some facts, and let the candidates go at it.
And and this is a model.
And the funny thing is you said at the top of the debate, you know, here's what my biases are, and here's whatever, but this is what I did.
It and it and it was better than any of these people who fake that they're journalists.
I just I cannot commend you enough for how well you did that, and it speaks volumes to you and your years in this business that Gavin knew some and I give him credit for showing up, but more than him showing up, it speaks volumes to you that he said, you know what?
I can go on Sean Hannity, he'll treat me fair.
Um, and I think everybody got it from the jump that your current conservative credentials are impeccable, but you are somebody that people can trust to come in and have a a fair discussion and debate the issues.
And so I just I as someone like I said who's been involved in this for a while, I really Well, I really cut look coming from you, I mean that that means a lot to me, and you've always been a dear friend.
Uh I'll tell you one thing that I think people are uncomfortable with if they're moderating.
And because I started radio in 1987, not that I want to age myself here, so it's not my first rodeo, and I've moderated so many debates over the years on radio.
And one of the things that I always that I've learned to do that I've gotten better at is to try and let an let a debate breathe.
And if the participants are just a little bit cooperative, they don't have to be a lot cooperative, a little bit cooperative.
What I have noticed is the debate can take on a whole energy of its own.
Occasionally I have to step in and say, guys, one at a time, please.
I I'd have at one point I was gonna say, don't turn me into person A, person B, or person C. I decided not to take the shot.
I don't know, maybe I'm getting a little weak in my old age, or I just you know, what's the point?
Why don't I want to start more fights?
I have enough enemies in life, right?
Uh, but it but it was fun to do, interesting, I think very revealing.
And you know, we do have this phenomenon, Sean, that is real.
I mean, people are leaving California, they're leaving New York, they're leaving uh ill Illinois, they're leaving New Jersey, and they're flocking to Tennessee, the Carolinas, they're they're flocking to Florida, Texas, uh, in numbers we've never seen before.
There's a mass migration of American citizens, and I think there's a good reason for it.
There is.
And I think the thing that was interesting is that when you put that question to Gavin Newsome, you just put up the statistics, the numbers from the Census Bureau, and he refused to acknowledge the migration from his state to to Florida and Texas and Montana, et cetera.
And I think that was telling, and that's why I love the debate, is because here's a statistic, here's a question, now answer it.
And his avoidance of that spoke volumes.
So I I actually I love the way that it was laid out, and you really revealed who these individuals were in terms of DeSantis and Newsom, whether or not they wanted to own their own record and back up, you know, the the reality of what's happening in each of their states.
And so I I found it interesting because what I think is important in these debates is giving them, like you said, an opportunity to breathe to lay out their case.
And when DeSantis spoke, he backed everything up and said, This is what we did in Florida, this is the result that it's having.
And then when Newsom did it, he refused to talk about his own state, and he would put it back on DeSantis and make some disparaging comment.
But he didn't want to own his own record, and I thought that was so revealing.
You know, it's there's such a a difference.
I mean, diametrically opposed governing philosophies.
And I've asked this question before, and I'd love for you to weigh in on it.
How do you possibly reconcile with those that believe in defund, dismantle no bail laws or quote, reimagining the police?
Let's send in shrinks instead of cops that are armed uh to deal with people that have mental health issues.
Well, people with mental health issues often can be very violent.
That that could be a very scary situation.
Um, or you know, and those that believe in law and order.
How do you reconcile sanctuary states and open borders versus law and order and secure borders?
How do you reconcile the the understanding that the lifeblood of the world's economy is oil, gas, and coal with those that want green energy now, regardless of what the cost is, and regardless of whether or not the technology is available.
I don't see any middle ground.
People always say, well, you know, let's find some middle ground.
Tell me what the middle ground is, because I don't see it.
You know, I know there's a no-labels party that is serious about bringing in a presidential contender.
Okay, well what what is their platform going to be?
A hodgepodge of you know the left and the right, and nobody will know what they stand for on any given issue.
I have no idea what they could possibly run on.
Well, they can't.
It's interesting.
On my podcast today, I had uh a former Obama administration official, and I said to them, I will let's play a game.
In 30 seconds, I will tell you why I'm supporting the Republicans and President Trump, right?
So here's what happened for four years in foreign policy, and then in domestic policy, the border was secure, taxes were lower, employment rates were lower across the board.
Okay, now you go, give me 30 seconds of what has happened under Biden.
And they could they said, well, you know what the problem was under Trump, and they said, No, no, no, no. 30 seconds, tell me something positive in the Biden administration.
Just give me, I gave you 30 seconds of Trump, give me one positive thing of Biden.
And they can't, and that gets to the nut of what you're asking.
None of these people want to defend their policies.
They don't want to live under their policies.
They want to philosophize about why the cops should be defunded.
Then you say, okay, will you live in that city?
Will you live in, you know, do you want to be governed?
Well, not me, but I it's okay for everyone else to live there.
It's the same thing with all the folks that argue about climate change.
They don't want to, they want to take their own private planes, they want to travel the way they do.
It's just everybody else should be on a carbon neutral bus powered by green energy.
They don't want to live under the policies that they espouse.
And that's the big difference between the right and the left now, whether it's foreign policy or domestic policy.
They want to tell everyone else how to live.
But when you ask those very same people, will you live by the policies that you espouse?
They immediately would try to change the subject.
And that's the difference.
And you heard that in the debate that you had with with DeSantis and and and Newsom.
Newsom didn't want To own his policies.
He wanted to talk about Florida and he and all these other random things in the Biden administration.
He won't do that.
And that's my favorite was you, Gavin.
Can you answer the question?
No, I'll get to that.
You know, uh I'm I think he used that line on me at least four times.
But again, after I go back once, twice, or even a third time, and somebody's not going to answer a question, I've learned they're never going to answer it.
Right.
And that's the thing.
But that's my point is that it's not just Gavin Newsom.
It's any Democrat, ask them, name one thing that Biden has done that you're proud of.
And you can't.
They'll say, well, under Trump.
No, no, no.
Name one thing that you are proud of that the Biden administration has, and you will never get an answer because they can't.
I can list off, probably go for much more than 30 seconds, a minute, maybe two minutes, of things that President Trump did domestically and internationally that kept us safer, more prosperous, etc.
And I'll I can keep going.
They can't do the same.
And it's because their policies are indefensible.
And that is the big difference that we face right now.
And every time that we highlight that, whether it's the debate that you have or any of these other interactions, like I said, I did it for two minutes on my podcast today.
That you can't that the left can't do it because they're not proud of the policies, and they don't want to defend them.
All right, quick break more with our friend Sean Spicer on the other side as we continue from Davenport, Iowa, the site of tonight's town hall with former President Donald Trump.
That's all happening nine Eastern tonight on Hannity.
then we'll get to your calls, 800-941-SEAN, our number, if you'd like to check in with us today.
We continue now, Davenport, Iowa, with our friend Sean Spicer, who's with us.
What I have said over the years, and I believe this with all my heart, or else why would I believe the things that I believe?
Um I have been a consistent, solid conservative.
All these years I have been on the air.
My value system, I've gotten a little smarter.
My value system is not changed.
The principles that I believe in have not changed.
I stand by that conservatism is by far the best ideology, governing philosophy.
It's one of that is predicated on freedom, limited government, less taxation, less regulation, one that believes in the power of the individual and stays out of the way, that believes in a strong national defense, peace through strength, free and fair trade deals, secure borders, law and order, safety security is a prerequisite to pursue happiness.
Uh constitutionalists on the on the bench, not people that legislate from the bench.
I don't think conservatism is that complicated.
If I can explain it in a minute, every conservative ought to be able to explain it in a minute.
That's right, but that's the difference between the right and the left.
You and I can sit here and espouse our conservative principles.
We can back them up, we can point to examples, and we're proud of them, and we're unwavering on them.
When the left does things, they don't want to defend it.
They don't want to back it up.
They they pivot, they obfuscate.
You saw that in the debate that you had, that they don't want to own their own policies, and that's the fundamental difference.
I will fight for our policies every day of the week.
I will want to live under them.
I will, you know, I will abide by them, etc.
The left will tell you what why everybody else should live under their policies, but they don't want to do it themselves.
And you brought it up, it got brought up in the debate.
Newsom brought it up this the French laundry incident, right?
So here's COVID.
California locks down, but Gavin Newsom says, no, no, no, not for me.
I get to go out to dinner where I want.
I get to live by a separate set of rules.
And that's continuously.
Whereas we on the conservatives say, hey, we don't want to be locked down.
We want to be free.
And we espouse the same principles that we would want to live by.
And that is the fundamental difference between the two sides.
You know, it was interesting when I interviewed him one-on-one.
And by the way, I made a promise to him going into that interview, not about any questions or topics or anything like that.
I just said, I will give you time uninterrupted to answer the question.
Rather than just sit there and he speaks, you know, four words.
I know he's not answering the question and just jump down his throat.
That was the only reason why I think he was willing to do this debate.
And and I tried to do that.
I just think I I don't think the left has the arguments that the American people want.
However, what they're really good at is that they're much better at the game of politics than Republicans are.
And by that, they'll they'll pull out their playbook that they do every two years, every four years, although now it seems like almost every day, which is Republicans are racist, that they are sexist, that they're misogynist, they're homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, transphobic, they want dirty air and water, and they want to kill your grandmother, kill your grandfather, and throw them over a cliff.
And that, and by the way, they're MAGA Republicans.
That's scary word, MAGA Republicans.
And that's basically the platform they're going to run on.
They are not going to want this election to be about Joe Biden's record.
If it was Gavin Newsom running, they would he would not want the election to be about California's record.
Um, and and then the other thing that they're good at, to be honest, they're doing a lot better job when it comes to voting early, voting by mail.
I know Ronald McDaniel has started, you know, bank your vote.
That's part of what needs to be done.
The second part of it needs to be legal ballot harvesting.
Democrats are great at that also.
Uh, Republicans aren't even in that game.
And lastly, I think state legislatures, especially run by Republicans, you know, they have dropped the ball when it comes to integrity issues with with voting, and that means voter ID, signature verification, chain of custody command uh controls, uh, updated voter roles, partisan observers watching the voting all day and the vote counting all night.
And I don't think Republicans have done a good enough job making sure we put integrity measures in place, by the way, which benefits every side.
I mean, why are people against voter ID?
I'll give you the last word.
Not just that, but why why are people why are we having to negotiate border security when we know that people on the terrorist watch list are coming in, that fentanyl's pouring over the southern border?
Why is that something that we have to negotiate with Democrats?
The idea that that is not a universal principle of every American, but it just again, it shows you where they're at.
I agree with everything you said.
The idea that voter integrity is not a universal principle that we should know that one person, one ballot is something that we all agree on.
Unless you have some kind of alter ulterior motive, then you should be on board on all that.
And that just goes to their motive.
But I I'm with you 100%.
Again, I would just my last word is this congratulations on another great job done.
This is a guide.
I'm down here in Tuscaloosa for this debate, and I think everybody should have to watch how you handled yourself and say that's how a moderator does their job.
Good job, Sean Hannity.
You know why I know I didn't do a horrible job is you know, there are one or two articles, sweet baby James pointed out, but I didn't get the crap kicked out of me.
Trust me, if I screwed up or one of my and we we did so much fact checking ahead of that debate to make sure everything was factual.
I said at the beginning of that debate it would be a fact-based debate.
Had I gotten one thing wrong, I promise you, the entire country would know by now.
Uh Sean Spicer, appreciate it as always, my friend.
God bless you.
Thank you, sir.
800-941 Sean, you want to be a part of the program.
We are in Davenport.
We're in beautiful Iowa.
I wish it was a little warmer, but the people are awesome.
They have warm hearts, the heart and soul of our country, and uh the people here are wonderful.
I've I've been coming here, you know, for every presidential election, and it's always an honor to meet the the good folks here.
Uh anyway, I look forward to seeing many of you tonight.
Quick break right back.
Your calls on the other side, straight ahead.
Hey there.
I'm Mary Catherine Hamm.
And I'm Carol Markowitz.
We've been in political media for a long time.
Long enough to know that it's gotten, well, a little insane.
That's why we started normally a podcast for people who are over the hysteria and just want clarity.
We talk about the issues that actually matter to the country without panic, without yelling, and with a healthy dose of humor.
We don't take ourselves too seriously, but we do take the truth seriously.
So if you're into common sense, sanity, and some occasional sass.
You're our kind of people.
Catch new episodes of Normally every Tuesday and Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
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 a 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.
It's almost a dirty word.
One that connotes conspiracy theory.
Will we ever get the truth about the Benghazi massacre?
Bad faith, political warfare, and frankly, bullshit.
We kill the ambassador just to cover something up.
You put two and two together.
Was it an overblown distraction or a sinister conspiracy?
Benghazi is a rosetta stone for everything that's been going on for the last 20 years.
I'm Leon Nafok from Prologue Projects and Pushkin Industries.
This is Fiasco Benghazi.
What difference at this point does it make?
Yeah, that's right.
Locker up.
Listen to Fiasco Benghazi on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey there.
I'm Mary Catherine Hamm.
And I'm Carol Markowitz.
We've been in political media for a long time.
Long enough to know that it's gotten, well, a little insane.
That's why we started normally, a podcast for people who are over the hysteria and just want clarity.
We talk about the issues that actually matter to the country without panic, without yelling, and with a healthy dose of humor.
We don't take ourselves too seriously, but we do take the truth seriously.
So if you're into common sense, sanity, and some occasional sass.
You're our kind of people.
Catch new episodes of Normally every Tuesday and Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
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 a 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.
It's almost a dirty word.
One that connotes conspiracy theory.
Will we ever get the truth about the Benghazi massacre?
Bad faith, political warfare, and frankly, bullshit.
We kill the ambassador just to cover something up.
You put two and two together.
Was it an overblown distraction or a sinister conspiracy?
Benghazi is a rosetta stone for everything that's been going on for the last 20 years.
I'm Leon Nafok from Prologue Projects and Pushkin Industries.
This is Fiasco Benghazi.
What difference at this point does it make?
Yeah, that's right.
Locker up.
Listen to Fiasco Benghazi on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Just about, what, three hours and 25 minutes from right about now, we will be starting our town hall.
We're in Davenport, Iowa, with former President Donald Trump.
Looking forward to seeing many of you tonight.
And tickets are free, by the way.
Hannity.com.
If you're in New York, we have audience shows tomorrow and Thursday night.
Again, tickets are free.
You know, people does anyone believe me when I say, oh no, they're a million dollars apiece.
I hope people figure out that's a joke.
If you can't figure out that's a joke, you can't, you you cannot be a listener to the show.
I don't know, certain basic fundamentals have to apply that qualify for listening.
Just kidding.
Anyway, we're in beautiful Davenport.
We're having a great time.
Everybody we've met here, it could not be nicer.
I mean, it's so it's so refreshing whenever you get out of New York, how much nicer people are in the country.
I can't explain it.
Now, New York, they're just not that nice.
Now, my friends are nice.
The people that I work with are nice.
Um, Linda has her days, but you know, putting that little aspect of it aside.
But the rest of the country doesn't need to ride the subway.
The rest of the country doesn't need to be climbing.
I wouldn't want to ride the subway with you to be honest.
You look so mean down there.
Listen, let me tell you something.
That face has saved me a lot of problems.
Because they look around the subway.
They look for who's on their phone, who's not paying attention, and then they see me.
And I'm eyes wide open.
I'm looking right back at them.
I'm like, go ahead.
Let's make this.
Then they see me.
Um and by the way, Linda looked at the temperature in Iowa today and said, I think uh Blair's gonna go today and sweet baby James.
By the way, and I said, What what did I say?
I said, No problem.
I said, You never have to travel ever.
You got a beautiful seven year old son, he's like my my adopted nephew, love Liam.
Nobody's bought him more trains.
Nobody bought him more choo-choo trains than Uncle Sean, I'll tell you that.
I've been able to manage being a good mom and a good employee, so I I think I'm doing okay.
I'm not going that Blair, am I complaining?
What did I say?
I'm not I didn't I say over and over again, I'm good.
I'm glad she stayed home.
So this is what happens when you two travel alone, you start to side with one another?
Because that's a problem.
That's not going to be allowed.
Linda, help.
Linda, help Linda.
Help with what?
I'm being nice.
You know what Linda can't handle this when I'm nice.
Why can't you just accept that you know we're perfectly happy?
Because I don't want the audience to think that as a working mom on unable to balance while I appreciate it.
You sound like a California snowflake right now.
Good.
I don't drink cocoa or color anymore, so that's not even an option.
Second of all She drinks that disgusting.
I I drink green machine juice.
Projectile vomit puke shake of yours.
Well, yeah, sometimes you need to do it on uh, you know.
Yeah.
No, sometimes I've lived my whole life without that that puke green vomits to whatever you do.
But now you're eating kale and broccoli, so you're dang close.
I don't eat kale.
I will eat broccoli.
You're so full of crap.
You totally do.
I've seen you eat kale chips.
Go ahead.
Think about it.
You must have stuck that on me because I have no recollection of ever eating a kale chip.
You had it on the plane and I told you do not eat that on an airplane.
Weird things happen.
It's not a good thing.
If I would have known, I wouldn't have touched it.
I bet you I didn't like it, did I?
Uh you said it was better than you thought it needed salt.
But that's your answer to most things.
Uh I noticed Karin Jean Pierre had a hard time uh commenting and refused to comment on Congresswoman Jayapal's uh comments on Hamas rape.
Listen to this.
Do you think the representative needs to clarify her remarks?
So look, I'm gonna let the represent representative speak for herself.
I'm I just can't speak for her.
I speak for the president of the United States.
I am the White House press secretary, obviously, so that's who I speak for.
And what I can say, and I said this in Sarah's question when I answered it, which is it is when it comes to rape, that's reprehensible.
When it comes to using rape as a weapon of war, that's reprehensible.
We are we are very, very clear about denouncing Hamas's actions, and that's what the president has been clear about, and that's as administration more more broadly.
We're gonna continue to do that.
Do you think because of her perch, though, as a progressive leader, she should clarify her remarks?
I I speak for the president, she has to speak for herself.
We have been very, very clear.
Very clear anyway.
The word progressive is a misnomer.
Well, she's the chair of the progressive.
Yeah, okay.
Now, if it was about MAGA Republicans, I guarantee Karine Jean Pierre would have a lot more to say.
Uh let's go to Marshall.
He's in South Carolina next, 800-941 Sean on number as we continue from Davenport, Iowa.
What's going on?
How are you, Marshall?
Glad you called.
Good afternoon, Sean.
Thanks for taking the call.
Uh I'm a fan when I listen, and I just had a question.
I heard you uh mentioning on the radio yesterday that no one could uh you know assume to to know the outcome of an election.
Now, not knowing the outcome, but wanting to get some insight on what the the lead up to the election is in small uh community circles, unaligned circles, no real party affiliation, the bug that I've heard is that how does President Trump's name get so much airplay in the conversation at this time with party posturing leading up to uh caucuses and debates and things of the sort?
How does he survive legal hurdles and and keep his momentum leading up to any election?
Listen, you're you're raising questions that I can't answer, and I don't think anybody else can answer either.
I can give you my best educated guess, but you know, we we won't know.
In 11 months from now, which is when we'll be voting, we don't know what the the driving issues will be.
What will what state will the economy be in?
What state will Joe Biden's mind be in?
Will Joe Biden even be on the ticket at that point?
What impact will these criminal trials have on President Trump?
Uh what about the possible impeachment of Joe Biden?
What impact would that have on the country?
So I just think there are so many issues out there.
What is going to happen on the world stage?
What's going on with China?
What will they do with Taiwan?
Uh what's going on with Ukraine and Russia and war in Europe?
What's going on with the war in the Middle East and Israel and Hamas and maybe Hezbollah, maybe the Houthi rebels, and maybe Iran at some point, you know, God only knows what they're capable of doing.
So I I don't think I can intelligently really give you an answer except to say that, you know, these are times unlike any I've ever seen before.
I've been telling friends, and I mean it, and I didn't know in past elections.
I've said it, so maybe it sounds like, you know, I just say it every election season.
I I have never felt this concerned about the future direction of our country.
I can tell you that.
That is a fact.
I have never in my life felt this concerned about the world and what's going on in the world either.
This is what the world looks like when America abdicates its role on the world stage as the world's leader.
This is what it looks like.
Uh the economy, I worry about the 60 plus percent of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, and of that 60 some odd percent, uh, a significant portion of people, you know what?
That they're having to borrow money just to get bare necessities.
You know, they're putting building up credit card debt that I don't think they're ever going to be able to pay back, or cashing in pensions that, you know, with massive penalties just to make ends meet every month.
I don't know when the housing market comes back.
I don't know the impact on inflation and interest rates.
I mean, these are all things that concern me.
And, you know, maybe one of the best things I think that God did for me in my life is for 20 years of my life, I did real work.
I won't regurgitate every job I had, but 10 years in the restaurant business, 10 years in the construction business, and I'm just telling you that I know what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck, and it kind of sucks.
There's a lot of pressure on you.
And uh, you know, to have that pressure when you have a family, you know, makes it 10 times harder, a thousand times harder.
Because now you have to take care of other people, and that's what people are living through.
Um look, I live in a fairly, I'd say upper middle class affluent town.
And I can tell you that two of my best friends, they they donate their time and they they help out at the local food pantry.
And I always tell them whenever you guys are up against uh, you know, get in trouble or you need more money and you're really desperate, I said, anytime you get to that point, just come to me.
And they have come to me a number of times.
By the way, and which I want them to do.
And, you know, the I I went down one time, and I I just could not believe the numbers, a sheer number of people that were online just to get the bare necessities, just to just to get food.
Now, you the it in one case you'd see people that had actually pretty nice cars.
And you see, in in some cases, um, and you would think, well, they must be taking advantage.
They weren't taking advantage.
But what had happened is they assumed things would stay the same.
They assumed that they'd be able to afford their home, their insurance, their the school for their kids, clothes for their kids, uh, their car payment.
They were making ends meet.
They were probably even saving a little bit of money.
But Joe's economy has sent them reeling to a point they can't they can't meet a budget any longer.
Now, will a lot of those people end up probably selling those cars and buying cheaper cars?
Yeah.
But then they weren't taking advantage of anybody.
They're they they're desperate.
And I'm hearing that, or uh anecdotes anecdotes like that from friends all around the country.
So there's so much that'll happen between now and them, and I'll tell you that.
It's pretty scary.
Anyway, I appreciate the call, Marshall.
God bless you, buddy.
Uh, let's see what happens.
Um let's say hi to John in Virginia, the Commonwealth of Virginia.
John, hi, how are you?
Glad you called.
Hey, Sean, how are you doing?
Welcome to Davenport.
What's going on?
All right.
So I just wanted to know your opinion on um Trump's campaign tactic of avoiding the R and C debates.
And do you think it would benefit them come 2024 and earn the elections?
You know, look, there's two schools of thought.
If I put on what I would prefer to watch, of course I'd rather watch Donald Trump.
That debate's going to be a hell of a lot more interesting if he's there.
Um do I think if I was his political advisors and I'm looking at polls one after another after another after another that show him with a significant lead, do I think the advice that I would give him would be, yeah, go throw yourself in the arena so they can beat the crap out of you for an hour and a half, two hours, and and not expect that you know what's the upside for him?
You always gotta ask upside-downside.
What is the upside for him to show up?
Tell me.
Well, honestly, he's been doing really good, to be honest, which he's up in the polls, and I mean, you know, as they say, the more you attack Donald Trump, the stronger he seems to get.
Well, it seems like he's been holding up pretty well without going into the debates.
It seems like it wouldn't do it many good to show up.
Listen, he has defied, as I've said many times, that he defies all conventional political gravity.
If somebody you if a candidate got arrested, indicted, and arraigned, you would think their poll numbers go down.
Nope.
His go up.
He made a comment recently.
It was kind of glib, and he's like, I'm just one arrest short of being guaranteed victory in November.
I mean, it's kind of funny.
800-941 Sean is our number.
Uh, let's say hi to Tony in California.
Tony, how are you?
Hey, Sean, can you hear me?
I can hear you.
What's going on?
Welcome to Davenport, Iowa.
First of all, I've been listening to you forever.
I mean, uh, thank you.
I uh the debate the other night cracked me up because uh let's just say that I I drive a heavy equipment uh tractor on the roads down in LA for a company.
Oh wow working down here over 20 years.
And after listening to Newsom, I wish I could have just a word with him because I've watched the progression.
I watched the homeless when it started.
I watched the road, the roads and everything, and it's getting worse.
And it it's we're headed down a bad path.
And everything he says, I realize.
Unfortunately, I think he's not always telling the truth, and he's fledging the numbers because uh the freeway thing with the high uh freeway 10 catching on fire.
Sean, I've been driving under that road for the last 20 years to get on the freeway, and I see all the homeless sense, all the junk and everything, and it hasn't been monitored.
And surprise, surprise, a fire starts.
So it just blows my mind.
And uh I listened to Richard Kylie the other day, the U.S. House representative, of course.
I don't know if you saw that, Sean, where he did a blistering fact check of Governor Newsom on the House floor.
And uh just completely blew him out of the water, and I'm not surprised at all.
Uh I appreciate the call.
God bless you, sir.
Uh, thank you for your kind words.
It means a lot.
Thanks for being out there.
All right, that's gonna wrap things up for today.
Uh many, many thanks to our friends here in Davenport, Iowa, and really looking forward to seeing all of you tonight, nine Eastern.
Set your DVR, Hannity on the Fox News Channel.
Uh, it's gonna be a great town hall.
Former President Donald Trump.
We haven't done one with him in a while.
Looking forward to it tonight.
Uh, we've got a lot to talk about.
Director Ray's testimony on top of everything else.
Uh Iowa caucuses right around the corner.
Uh primaries, polls, uh, what he is running on, what his plan for another term would look like, what he thinks about what's happening economically, what he thinks about what's happening around the world, how he would be handling things different.
Anyway, we'll see you tonight at nine.
Back here tomorrow.
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