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May 9, 2025 - Sean Hannity Show
37:53
Sen. Lindsey Graham: What To Expect in the Middle East - May 8th, Hour 3
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If you want to be a part of the program, we have a lot of good news on the economy.
One, this came in last Friday when China reached out and said, well, if President Trump's serious about having meetings over trade and terrorists, they will meet.
Well, that's going to happen in Geneva with the Treasury Secretary Scott Besant.
And what have I been saying?
I said, at the end of the day, all of these countries, Donald Trump did something no president has done in 50 or 60 years.
He's taken on the established way or establishment way of doing things.
And he's the institutionalized thinking that, you know, it permeates that swamp known as DC.
And he's looking at everything anew.
And he saw that pretty much every country, both friend and foe alike, were kind of ripping us off with unfair tariffs and horrible trade deals.
And he decided that he was going to take action.
And I said, wait and be patient.
And I bet over time you're going to see the president announce deal after deal after deal.
And yes, eventually China will come to the table, all of which is now turning out to be true.
This is the president announcing a trade deal with the United Kingdom earlier today.
This morning, I'm thrilled to announce that we have reached a breakthrough trade deal with the United Kingdom.
Credible country.
Today is a victory day for World War II.
We won the war together exactly 80 years ago, so there could be no more perfect morning to reach this historic agreement.
And it's beautiful weather out.
I will tell you that, Kier, beautiful weather, so perfect outside.
But it's really in particular the agreement with one of our closest and most cherished allies.
And we're so happy that that's the way it worked out.
I want to thank Prime Minister Starmer and his very talented team for their outstanding work and partnership.
Today's agreement with the UK is the first in a series of agreements on trade that my administration has been negotiating over the past four weeks.
With this deal, the UK joins the United States in affirming that reciprocity and fairness is an essential and vital principle of international trade.
All right, joining us now is South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham is with us.
Senator, I never had any doubt on these deals because everyone needs access to our market.
Nobody seemed to have any confidence to challenge the old order, the old way of thinking.
You had a lot of confidence you expressed to me.
You weren't worried at all about it.
No, I mean, we got a good hand.
You just need somebody that knows how to play a good hand.
The world has a pair of twos compared to us, and Donald Trump is, you know, I told everybody, just calm down.
People want access to our markets.
They need it.
They'll come our way.
So let me give you an example of what he's trying to do.
We make BMWs, X5, X3, X7 Series in Greenville, South Carolina.
More BMWs made there than any place in the world.
And if we make a car in Greenville, South Carolina, sell it to Europe, it's a 10% tariff.
If they make a car in Munich and sell it to the United States, it's 2.5%.
That's not fair.
So we're going to wipe all that stuff out.
We're going to have fair trade deals.
We're going to have reciprocal tariffs.
Hopefully we can make them low, not high.
And we're going to engage the world on trade, and we're going to deal with China to stop being ripped off.
Why are they buying Du Boeings?
You know, that's a goodwill gesture.
People are coming to Trump.
Just be patient.
It takes a while to fix 60 years of trade abuse.
And I've got his back.
So keep doing it.
No, you have from the beginning.
I don't want ever another Iraq and America embroiled in a foreign conflict that it has no business being involved in.
However, when you couple an ideology, and they state publicly, death to Israel, death to America, and they believe in a caliphate, and that is, this is a theocracy, and that is convert to Islam or die.
They are the number one state sponsor of terror.
We've been watching that unfold now for a very long time, especially since they got a lot of money when Biden became president.
They are, according to published reports, and we talked to Aaron Cohn, who's former Intel operator, that's his business, Israeli-trained special ops intelligence veteran.
And it's the breakout time publicly, and you would know better than me because you have access to information I don't, is anywhere between three and three months and a year.
And I just think that the world cannot risk a nuclear-armed Iran.
The president has stated that is his belief.
What is your belief?
Yeah, I mean, if you want to do the most destabilizing event in the world would be give the ITO and its henchmen a nuclear weapon.
One, they would use it.
They would use it against Israel.
They say that.
They mean it.
The Arabs would want their own nuclear weapon to counter the Iranians, and you'd have a nuclear arms race in the Mideast.
It'd be a disaster.
But let's unpack what you just said.
President Trump is going to the Mideast.
The hottest economies in the world are in the Mideast, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar.
These places are the 23rd century.
You know, the MBS, the crown prince, is fundamentally changing Saudi Arabia in all the good ways.
So we're going where the action is, and they love Trump.
They love Trump because he stands up to Iran.
He's a good ally.
He's a good friend.
And I predict the Abraham Accords will grow on Trump's watch, and we're going to go back to the table and see if we can get Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel.
I think that can happen once the Palestinian issue, the war winds down.
So that's why he's going, and he will be welcomed enthusiastically there.
As to Iran, Senator Cotton, Tom Cotton, and I introduced a resolution today saying the only acceptable outcome is dismantling the Iranian enrichment program.
They have enough enriched uranium to make six bombs within a month or two.
They're at 60% to get to 90%, which is weapons grade, is about a month.
And President Trump is going to call the question on Iran.
He's going to offer them civilian nuclear power, which we can do safely, if they'll dismantle their enrichment program, which is pathway to a bomb.
We're going to put them on the clock.
If they don't take that deal, all bets are off.
But we cannot allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon.
Israel is not going to allow that.
This is the 80th anniversary of the end.
President Trump said he's not going to allow it to happen.
And then when asked if it would be a joint military effort with Israel, he said, no, we will lead it.
Meaning he, he would lead it.
He said that.
So let's pray that there's no war, but let's also understand that the only thing worse than war sometimes is having evil people dominate your life.
And Israel, one Holocaust is enough.
80 years ago today, we're celebrating the end of the war in Europe.
We defeated the Nazis.
What did the Nazis do?
They tried to kill all the Jews.
The Jewish people founded their state in 1948.
The biggest threat to the Jewish people and the founding of Israel since the founding of Israel is Iran with a nuclear weapon.
We're not going to let that happen again.
We've got Israel's back.
No better friend of Israel than Donald Trump.
If we can't get a diplomatic solution to this problem, which is complete dismantling of the enrichment capability of Iran, I would expect Israel would have to act, and I hope we will act with them.
I hope we'll lead the way, at least join in.
This is the most decisive time in the Mideast, really, since the founding of Israel.
And I'm glad Trump is president.
You don't know how glad I am he is president during these crucial days.
Maybe the most successful thing that you have done, and you pointed out rightly so, that there's only been, what, four times in 100 years where Republicans have had control of the House, the Senate, and the White House.
And this is a historic opportunity.
We are still living under the Biden-Harris economy.
And in spite of that, the president's been able to get $8 trillion in manufacturing commitments from, and by the way, including $1.5 trillion from the UAE, $1 trillion from Saudi Arabia, hence the importance of that region for other reasons.
They're investing in America, which is fascinating to me.
And, you know, when you, as budget chairman, you know, you get to decide without going through the Senate parliamentarian, that might have been the most understated but important things you've ever done as a U.S. Senator because that allows us to go through the reconciliation process,
bypass the parliamentarian, because you made that decision unilaterally, and that ensures the possibility of the success of this one big, beautiful bill that everybody's working on, which is going to have profound implications, no?
Yeah, I think, well, so I, as budget chairman, I said it's my decision to determine whether or not the tax cuts expire.
So I made a decision no chairman has ever made before.
I'm going to make the tax cut permanent using current policy, assuming they never go away.
So what do we need to do in reconciliation?
Trump's going all over the world.
He's getting investment in America.
What else can we do?
Make those tax cuts that expire in December permanent.
The R ⁇ D credit, the expensing credit, the child tax credits that average Americans need.
Make them permanent, cut spending.
Do you know if we cut $2 trillion in spending over a 10-year period, that's 2%?
So we should be at least able to do that, if not more.
Raise the debt ceiling, make the tax cuts permanent.
If we don't do that, we will hurt the economy.
If we do that, the economy will soar.
And I'm confident Republicans are not going to fail.
Well, I'm confident they're not going to fail.
We really can't fail.
I mean, this is too important.
And as long as, you know, House Republicans, and I know everybody's not going to get everything that they want.
However, this will go a long way to securing the border.
This will go a long way to helping us achieve the president's goal of energy dominance, which is going to be great for the country.
This will help national security and fund our Defense Department and the next generation of weaponry.
It'll help shore up Social Security and Medicare.
And I think all the pieces are in place, especially with the $8 trillion committed in investment in this country.
All the pieces are in place for tremendous economic growth and prosperity, in my humble opinion.
Well, you're right.
And we just need to back up President Trump here.
So the point is reconciliation allows us to make the tax cuts permanent because the decision I made without one Democratic vote.
This is the process they used to pass Obamacare and the Inflation Reduction Act.
We used this in 2017.
So we have a chance to have $175 billion for the border, more bed space, more ICE agents, finish the wall without one Democratic vote, $150 billion of new money for the defense without being held hostage by the Democrats.
We have a chance to make the tax cuts permanent without one Democratic vote.
The only way we're going to do these things is do it through reconciliation because Democrats are not going to help you build the wall.
They're not going to help you deport illegal immigrants.
They're not going to make the tax cuts permanent.
So to all those who are listening to Sean's show, get on the phone and make sure we don't fail.
All right, quick break more with South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and then your calls on the other side, 800-941-Sean as we continue.
All right, we continue now with South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.
Let me go to Russia and ask you.
Obviously, the minerals deal with Ukraine was huge, but the person that's been dragging his feet is Vladimir Putin.
And as we speak, Chinese Dictator Chi has extended this private meeting and press event alongside Vladimir, in which he declared that China and Russia were ready to safeguard the global multilateral trading system, presumably from Donald Trump.
Your reaction to them and Putin's reluctance to end this war.
Well, number one, the trade, the minerals deal with Ukraine is huge.
Ukraine has multiple trillions of dollars of critical minerals, digital economy.
We will get the benefit of those minerals, not Russia, not China.
So that's a big friggin deal.
It helps the future of the American economy, gives us a new relationship with Ukraine.
We don't need to give them any more money.
They got plenty of opportunity to buy weapons from us and to be a good partner.
As to Russia, Trump wants a good deal.
He wants to end this war and he wants to do it fairly and not start another war.
Putin is misjudging Trump.
You play Trump at your own peril.
Stay tuned.
I'm playing golf with the President Trump this weekend.
He's just about had it with Russia because he believes you play golf with him all the time.
Is he good?
Let me tell you.
I played with him in his first term, but hundreds of rounds of golf.
He's one of the best amateur golfers I've ever played with, period.
All right.
Wow.
That's saying a lot.
Now, are you any good?
Well, let me go back to Russia because we're running out of time.
Do you believe that Putin will make will get there?
In other words, that I don't think he's getting any more than what's currently on the table.
And by the way, I can't stand the left is saying, you know, Biden's saying, well, we've given him everything.
No, Crimea happened on your watch.
The invasion happened on your watch.
The war happened on your watch.
And he's cleaning up, you know, your Adam's shiff hole that you left behind.
Well, let me put it this way: real simple.
If I were going to call a group of people to get advice about how to deal with Putin, they would be the last people I call.
Putin raped them, basically.
Everything that's going on in the world is a result of weakness from the left.
Getting out of Afghanistan led to Putin invading Ukraine.
You got China just kicking this around all over Asia.
You got Iran trying to break out for a nuclear weapon.
Those days are over.
You know what?
It'd be nice to have a more peaceful world, wouldn't it?
And one focused on prosperity and opportunity and wealth for all.
Lindsey Graham, Senator, thank you.
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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.
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.
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This is Fiasco, Benghazi.
What difference at this point does it make?
Yes, that's right.
Lock her up.
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So when the president made this announcement, we played it earlier in the program today.
Well, let me play it again when he announces this trade deal with the United Kingdom.
I said this would happen deal after deal after deal.
Here's what he said.
This morning, I'm thrilled to announce that we have reached a breakthrough trade deal with the United Kingdom.
Credible country.
Today is a victory day for World War II.
We won the war together exactly 80 years ago, so there could be no more perfect morning to reach this historic agreement.
And it's beautiful weather out.
I will tell you that, Kier.
Beautiful weather.
So perfect outside.
But it's really in particular the agreement with one of our closest and most cherished allies.
And we're so happy that that's the way it worked out.
I want to thank Prime Minister Starmer and his very talented team for their outstanding work and partnership.
Today's agreement with the UK is the first in a series of agreements on trade that my administration has been negotiating over the past four weeks.
With this deal, the UK joins the United States in affirming that reciprocity and fairness is an essential and vital principle of international trade.
And my prediction is there's there's going to be many deals in the future.
Here's some of the details of this trade deal, the first of what will be many, with the United Kingdom.
And by the way, considering that this day, 80 years ago today, the end of World War II, I think it probably was most appropriate.
And here's some of the details.
The deal includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, dramatically increasing access for American beef, ethanol, and virtually all of the products produced by our great farmers.
In addition, the UK will reduce or eliminate numerous non-tariff barriers that unfairly discriminated against American products.
But this is now turning out, I think, really to be a great deal for both countries.
They'll also be fast-tracking American goods through their customs process, so our exports go to a very, very quick form of approval, and there won't be any red tape.
Things are going to move very quickly both ways.
The final details are being written up in the coming weeks.
We'll have it all very conclusive, but the actual deal is a very conclusive one.
We think just about everything's been approved.
We'll also receive new market access for American chemicals, machinery, and many other industrial products that weren't allowed.
Furthermore, in a historic step, the deal includes plans that will bring the United Kingdom into the economic security alignment with the United States.
That's the first of its kind.
So we have a big economic security blanket.
And also, the President did touch on trade negotiations with China.
Mr. President, if the talks go well this weekend between Secretary Bassett and Ambassador Greer, with their Chinese counterparts, not preemptively, but if the talks go well, would you then consider lowering the tariff rate on China?
Well, it could be.
I mean, we're going to see.
Right now, you can't get any higher.
It's at 145, so we know it's coming down.
I think we're going to have a very good relationship.
You know, I always got along very well with President Xi.
That relationship was greatly disturbed by COVID when COVID came in.
But we get along very well now.
I mean, we had a, I mean, the relationship was hurt with a lot of people, a lot of countries when COVID came in.
But I think we're going to have a very good relationship.
I expect to have a very good relationship with China Scott.
I think it's a very friendly meeting.
They look forward to doing it in an elegant way.
China, as you know, has a tremendous trade surplus with us, and we just can't have that.
But I think it's going to be very good for both countries.
I would like to see China opened.
But no, I think that we're going to have a good weekend with China.
I think they have a lot to gain.
I do think they have far more to gain than we do in a sense, but I think we're going to have a very good weekend.
I hope we do have a good relationship.
Who wants war?
Who wants, you know, okay, this is like mutually assured destruction.
They need access to our markets.
We need their rare earth minerals.
Isn't it better if you get along?
You know, it's better for Ukraine and Putin, you know, maybe stop shelling each other and start making money and prospering and doing deals together.
All right, let's get to our busy phones.
Let's say hi to Rob in Oklahoma.
Rob, how are you?
Glad you called.
Good morning, sir.
Morning, sir.
It's afternoon, but whatever.
Who's counting?
I wanted to focus on this new Pope.
As a cradled Catholic, I hold great hope for him to be a guy who takes care of his business.
In other words, he needs to focus on my soul and on the Bible, not on politics.
Sergeant Alvin York, who I know you know, found this verse of Mark 12, 17.
It says, render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, render unto God what is God's.
And I have great hope that our new American Pope will do that very thing and focus on the words of the Bible and not on our politics, not weigh in nonsensically in politics.
Look, I have great hope for this Pope.
I really do.
And I hope that he can revitalize.
I mean, human beings are mind, body, and spirit.
I hope he can revitalize the spirit of mankind in ways that really only God can and remind us that we're all his children, etc.
We're talking about the first American Pope.
His name is Robert Prévost.
He has taken on the name Pope Leo the 14th.
Donald Trump released a statement congratulating him.
Look, being raised Catholic for me, and I consider myself a Christian now, non-denominational over Catholic.
I have some issues with the church handling of the corruption issues, et cetera, that bother me.
I still think the Mass is quite beautiful and the history of the churches.
I don't know why they changed what was their original policy about priests being married for the first 11, 1,200 years of the church.
They allowed that.
I think that greatly diminished the ability to attract good people into that service.
My view, I'm not being critical here, especially on what is this very special day for all my friends that are Catholic.
With that said, it gave me a foundational spiritual belief in God, in Christ, et cetera, that I rely on every day of my life.
And that's why I've been working hard on Linda, who's, you know, a little bit of backsliding going on with the hate list.
I'm trying to work on her.
But she's focused in, too.
She knows what's right.
No, she's, I think half the time she's pushing my buttons, if you want to know the truth.
Anyway, listen, great prayers for him.
An American-born cardinal, graduated from Villanova, now elected Pope.
And our prayers were with him and every Catholic as they celebrate this big day for them.
Thank you, my friend.
800-941-Sean is a number if you want to be a part of the program.
Grant in Alabama.
What's up, Grant?
How are you?
Roll tide.
Glad you called.
Yeah, thank you for having me, Sean.
Oh, you know who I met recently?
I never met him before.
Nick Sabin.
Oh, Nick, so hey, that man is a, he is a saint in his own right.
I know the Pope was just elected.
And Alabama, football, Alabama football is a religion.
I learned that firsthand.
I had no idea.
I was not a big college sports fan as I am now, but at the time, because where I grew up, it was all professional sports.
And, you know, how many, except for St. John's basketball, how many, you know, there are no major New York football teams.
Everything is focused on the Yankees and the Mets and the Rangers and the Knicks and the Nets and et cetera.
Not so much on college sports.
It's weird.
And you go south, everything southern is college.
It is absolutely a religion down here.
So, Sean, what I wanted to talk to you about, I'm a first-time voter.
My first election was in November, which is kind of exciting.
And, you know, I've cast my vote for Donald Trump.
And I want to, I mean, a lot of people have asked me why I did that, a lot of people around me, not in like a, you know, a hostile way, but I think it all comes down to common sense and bringing common sense politics back into the United States of America.
I can't sit here and rationalize in front of a ballot that the murder of children is health care or that boys can be girls and girls can be boys.
And that's really what it came down to in this election.
And this being my first election, those issues were the ones that were important to me, and that's why I voted the way that I did.
Well, look, I think that everybody's got to follow their own heart and who they vote for.
And the one thing I will say is I like to vote for common sense.
I believe conservatism is common sense.
Limited government is common sense.
Eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse, common sense.
Vetting people to come into our country is common sense.
Absolutely.
Living within your means is common sense.
Having a strong military, knowing evil exists in this world is common sense.
And, you know, I like to consider myself a common sense person.
Oh, absolutely.
And I wouldn't even, you know, when people ask me, I mean, I voted Republican, obviously, but when people say, oh, are you right-wing?
Well, today, if you're right-wing, that just means that you support the rule of law being upheld.
You support the police.
You support kids getting to go to the schools that their parents have chosen.
And if those things are all true for me, which they are, then I suppose that I am right-wing.
But the bottom line is that it comes down to common sense and common thinking.
And that's what I believe in.
And that is why I had to vote for Donald Trump in this election.
Common sense to me is God-given, except common sense is not so common.
I mean, think of it that way.
You were right about that.
Yeah.
All right, my friend.
All the best to our friends in Alabama.
All right, back to our phones.
Let's say hi to Peter, South Carolina.
Peter, hi, how are you?
Glad you called, sir.
Good afternoon, Sean.
I got to tell you, I am calling you from my Pure Talk phone.
Okay.
And what a great company.
First of all.
By the way, and you get the same service, and you saving over $1,000 a year for the same service?
God, I'm saving a lot of money talking to you on my brand new iPhone through Pure Talk.
And, you know, I'm not going to, I'll stop right there, but I just want to let you know that what a great company.
And what I wanted to touch on, I put you on a pedestal along with, I grew up in the Paul Harvey era.
All right, so I put you on a pedestal with Paul Harvey and Rushland.
Oh, man.
God bless.
And God bless their souls.
I've been listening to you for years and years.
Okay.
But what disturbs me is now that I'm retired since 2018, I still have to pay in.
I still have to pay taxes on Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid.
That's going away as soon as that reconciliation bill is done.
No tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime.
That is all, that's not even in question.
That will be part of that bill.
Yeah, because I'm on, you know, now that I've retired, I'm on obviously a fixed budget, and I am so looking forward to what the president has presented and what is going to be pushed through.
And I'm actually excited about it because people, you know, blue-collar workers like me, you know, I've paid in, believe it or not, I've downloaded from a Social Security Administration.
I've paid in over $450,000 in Medicare, Medicaid, and Taxes.
And I'd like to see a little of that coming back.
Listen, let me tell you something.
We've made a vow, a promise to our seniors.
And I'm telling you right now that we've got to keep that vow.
That's all there is to it.
And we have to keep that promise.
And we will.
And by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse, we can, you know, these programs that are headed towards insolvency because of their incompetence, mismanagement, and frankly, outright theft.
We've got to make up that difference.
And then we've got to stop robbing from our kids and grandkids.
We owe it to them to leave this country better than we found it.
You're a great American, sir.
God bless you.
I hope you enjoy your retirement.
You certainly sound like you earned it.
800-941-Sean, if you want to be a part of the program.
All right, that's going to wrap things up for today.
Great Hannity tonight, 9 Eastern on the Fox News channel.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Where do you hear the mess he inherited from Pothole Pete and Joe Biden?
What a mess.
I can't believe how bad it is, how dangerous it is.
Senator Tom Cotton on how we're going to deal with Iran and Vladimir Putin.
Senator Mark Wayne Mullen, Charles Payne on all the good economic news, and now the forecasts are showing, oh, massive GDP growth projected for the second quarter.
We'll see you tonight at nine, back here tomorrow.
Thank you for making this show possible.
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