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Oct. 21, 2025 - Sean Hannity Show
29:47
Insurrection Act Debate - October 20th, Hour 2
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This is an iHeart podcast.
Hour two, Sean Hannity Show, 800-941 Sean is on number.
If you want to be a part of the program, well, the president warned Democrats he will use the Insurrection Act to counter ICE resistance.
You know, you see what's happening now.
ICE agents are literally, there's a bounty on their heads.
You have governors saying, oh, they can't wear a mask and signing that into law.
You see fences that have had to be constructed to protect ICE from all of these insane protesters and crazy left-wing radicals.
You know, you have Democrats wanting to tear them down.
So the president is saying, okay, we've got to protect ICE agents, number one, number two.
What are you going to do when you have 4,000 dead people in Illinois because J.B. Pritzker doesn't want law and order, safety, security, and to protect the people of a city?
At some point, do you want your federal government to step in and protect your safety, your security, your kids' safety, your kids' security?
Look what the president's been able to do in D.C. Look what he's now been able to do in Memphis.
Dramatic turnarounds when you actually police areas, you keep people safe and secure and alive.
Anyway, here's the president dealing with it over the weekend.
And don't forget, and I haven't used it, but don't forget, I can use the Insurrection Act.
50% of the presidents almost have used that.
And that's unquestioned power.
I choose not to.
I'd rather do this.
But I'm met constantly by fake politicians, politicians that think that, you know, it's not like part of the radical left movement to have safety.
These cities have to be safe.
Our cities that are Democrat-run, exclusively just about, are unsafe cities.
They're a disaster.
What do you do?
What do you want?
Do you want law and order?
Do you want safety and security?
Do you agree with me that it's a prerequisite for any American to even contemplate the idea of pursuing happiness?
Anyway, here to weigh in on this and other issues.
Greg Jarrett, Fox News legal analyst, number one New York Times best-selling author.
Horace Cooper is with us, legal commentator, co-chair of the Black Leadership Network Project 21, author of Put Y'all Back in Chains, how Biden Policies Harms Blacks.
Welcome both of you.
Greg Jarrett.
Well, let's first talk about the history of the Insurrection Act and the president, you know, claiming that 50% of presidents have invoked it in the past and historically how it's been used.
And at what point, if cities, you know, go along with defund, dismantle no-bail laws and send in the social workers and they're not going to keep people safe and secure, you know, when does it become the responsibility of the federal government to do so?
The answer is now.
You know, liberals, predictably, Sean, are outraged that Trump might invoke the Insurrection Act.
I think they're historically ignorant.
16 different presidents throughout history have used it to quell violence.
More recently, the first president, Bush, then before him, Ronald Reagan, Lyndon Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, that it dates all the way back to George Washington and Adams and Jefferson.
And the list goes on and on.
The act is there for a reason to be used by a president when warranted.
It is not a pretty China doll to be admired behind glass on a shelf.
And Chicago is a perfect example of where the Insurrection Act should be evoked.
The guard troops are desperately needed.
The mostly gang-directed violence is victimizing horribly the African-American community.
You gave the number there, shootings, stabbings, murders, other violent crimes.
They're staggering in numbers.
And city law enforcement is either unable or unwilling to protect those innocent civilians.
And both the mayor, Pritzker, Governor Pritzker, and the Mayor Johnson seem far more interested in preserving lawlessness and disorder only because they hate Donald Trump, who demands the opposite, law and order.
You know, so far the president has used his authority in places like California and Oregon and in Chicago under a specific federal statute.
But I think it's time, given the resistance of district court judges and Pritzker and Johnson, it's time to utilize the Insurrection Act, which gives him much broader authority than the federal statute that he's been using.
Let's get your take, Horace Cooper.
I agree with Greg's analysis completely.
It is heartbreaking that I can leave this show on a Friday and kind of with pinpoint accuracy predict how many people are going to be shot, how many likely shot and killed in Chicago that coming weekend.
So I agree with Greg.
And here, let's make sure we understand what is happening, say, in the city of Chicago, isn't an accident.
It's actually the active policy of the local government to engage in a series of restrictions or limits on the use of police force, the use of prosecutions, and it puts the lives of those citizens of the United States who happen to live in the area in jeopardy.
That means that when they want to exercise their constitutionally protected rights, they are likely at risk not just of injury, not just of serious injury, but even of death.
And by the way, our founders, particularly the Federalist Party, thought that the President of the United States had an inherent power to protect when a circumstance like this was to occur.
In Federalist number 74, actually Hamilton says that when you see the kind of wanton man that is threatening the citizens, that the president should have the authority to intervene.
The Insurrection Act was pushed by Thomas Jefferson and his party because even though the criteria had been met per the terms of what the Federalists saw, he wanted the added protection.
When Congress acts, it's okay.
It's great, in fact, but it doesn't actually take away from the inherent authority that a president has.
The communities that you talk about within 10 or 15 or 20 minutes of this program ending whose lives are going to be put in jeopardy or even lost, those people have a right to expect that the president will step in and protect them.
If the government doesn't have as its number one, as its number one goal, to keep people safe and secure, what is then therefore the purpose of government?
You know, there's a great line by Thomas Paine in Common Sense 1776, Greg Jarrett.
You know, were the guides and dictates of one's conscience irresistibly obeyed, there'd be no need for any lawgiver.
There wouldn't be a need for government.
Then it talks about that not being the case, why laws are instituted by men, but rights we believe, well, we believe that rights come from God, not from government.
However, government's role, first and foremost, has got to be to keep its citizenry safe.
Absolutely.
And I agree with Horace.
It is the inherent power in the Constitution to protect the nation.
That means its citizens.
And look, there are three advantages to invoking the Insurrection Act.
First of all, it's the primary exception to the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the role of the military and civilian law enforcement.
Second, under the Insurrection Act, the Guard troops can take a far more active role in law enforcement, where, for example, in Chicago, you know, the violent crime is just out of control.
Read section 253 of the act.
The guard would not be limited to protecting ICE.
They would be empowered to protect the civilian population and reestablishing law and order where there is unusual widespread violence.
And third and finally, the president under the Insurrection Act has greater latitude, making it more difficult for these rogue federal district court judges to try to overrule him.
And I understand the term insurrection is not precisely defined, but the Supreme Court did it.
In the seminal case of Martin versus Mott, they affirmed the president's exclusive authority to decide if conditions for invoking the Insurrection Act are met.
In other words, judges butt out.
You have no role in this to counterman the president.
So I think it's going to come to this.
I think the president likely will invoke the Insurrection Act, particularly in Chicago, but other cities as well.
Quick break.
More with Fox News legal analyst, best-selling author Greg Jarrett.
Also, more with Project 21's Horace Cooper, also a best-selling author.
We'll get to your calls coming up as well.
800-941-Sean, if you want to be a part of the program.
All right, we continue now.
Greg Jarrett and Horace Cooper are with us.
You know, Horace, we've discussed this a lot over the years.
You know, a lot of the violence that we see, a lot, the worst schools are often in predominantly minority areas.
The worst policing and the most violence, predominantly minority areas.
These areas have been run by Democrats for decades and decades and decades.
They have failed their constituents miserably.
I think we saw in the last election, you know, the dam might be breaking.
And I think maybe the stranglehold politically that the Democratic Party has had with minority communities is breaking because they have failed people so spectacularly.
And Donald Trump is actively courting people in predominantly dominated areas and saying, you know, how's it working out?
How's your school system working out?
How's law and order working out in your city, your town?
And I think it's going to be a successful message because I think it's just, I think every single person wants the same thing.
We all want, you know, safe communities, good schools for our kids, a nice neighborhood, a nice car to drive, and an opportunity to climb the ladder to success.
Well, shock, shock, shock.
Doing what's right by the American people could actually redound to the president.
Well, the opposite of that is also true.
Doing what's wrong for the American people, like many of these local governments and governors are doing in these communities, it's important.
It is essential that the president actually have the ability to do this.
What I am troubled by, and again, I agree with Greg about the precedents that's out there.
But I am troubled by federal courts in America believing that they are the best measure of whether or not our rights are being protected.
In many instances, when you're talking about something as critical as whether or not the violence level has reached such a level of danger and has become so widespread that the president needs to intervene, that's not actually something that federal courts are competently able to assess.
Oh, and by the way, when they get it wrong, more American lives are jeopardized.
This is why this type of responsibility, our founders would have thought were quintessentially something that the executive power should do.
But, Horace, I don't get this.
I mean, under J.B. Pritzker, 4,000 people murdered.
They've got five times the murder-homicide rate in Illinois than they do in Chicago, than they do in New York City.
Now, at some point, you know, he's more mad at Donald Trump than he is at all the people getting shot and shot and killed.
And I'm like, you know, where are your priorities here?
That's what I meant by this isn't an accident.
This isn't just a little chaos getting out of control.
This is the intentional policy to say to people who live in these communities, you will not have the rights.
You will not have the privileges.
You will not have the freedom that other communities are taking for granted.
That's why the president should invoke the Insurrection Act to make sure that he can put a stop to it.
If Governor Pritzker wants to stand in the way, then he's going to be like we saw with President Eisenhower.
If you do, you'll be arrested.
If those who help you attempt, they'll be arrested too.
Well, the people deserve to be safe.
Last word, Greg Garrett.
You know, some of these federal district court judges are contorting the law and trying to stop Trump by substituting their own subjective judgment as to whether it's merited.
Horace is right.
Those judges are not competent.
They're not equipped to do that.
They don't have the full facts.
They're not commander in chief.
Those judges think they're super presidents who can counterman anything Trump does.
And in doing so, they're ignoring what the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said recently, upholding Trump's use of the guard in L.A., that a judge must always give a great level of deference to the president when he decides that troops are necessary.
So I think the law is on the president's side on this.
All right, Horace Cooper, Greg Jarrett, thank you both.
Appreciate you both.
800-941 showing us on number if you want to be a part of the program.
You know, it was a great New York Post.
Look, I think it's a fait accompli.
I hope I'm wrong.
I'm not saying to give up hope in any way, but it looks like New York is going to embrace Mr. I Can't Condemn Global Antifada, Zoron Marxist, Kami Mamdani.
New York Post rightly pointed out something this weekend, and that is the Democrats' biggest problem isn't just Mamdani and socialists.
And I don't care if it's the No Kings protests this weekend.
You know, Stephen A. Smith says, you see the size of these crowds?
I'm like, yeah, that's basically a Kamala Harris rally.
And I'm like, the left has that base.
That's not the problem.
And the rest of the headline goes, it's the moderates who cave to them.
And Hakeem Jeffries has indicated he's probably going to endorse Momdani this week.
I would imagine Chucky Schumer is going to end up endorsing Mamdani as well.
Anyway, so he goes to this mosque.
There's a report about this Imam.
His name is Wahaj.
You know, Mamdani has absolutely no problem at all powling around with this guy, you know, and putting it up on social media.
And then when asked about it this weekend, remains silent when questioned why he was with him this weekend.
FBI agents, according to Foxnews.com, are absolutely apoplectic that this is all happening.
New York Post wrote an editorial, what hubris, Zoro Mamdani, is so convinced he has the mayor's race in the bag.
He's happily embracing the most extremist elements of his coalition, talking about, you know, a visit, you know, to at PACWA, the Bedstein Mosque, where Imam Wahaj was the,
you know, where the candidate then posted and publicized all of this on X. Again, he was indicted, unindicted co-conspirator in the Trade Center bombing and testified in support of Sheikh Abdel Rahman, the infamous blind sheikh, if you recall that case.
He denies his links to terrorism, but none of this is sufficient to steer Mamdani away.
No, not at all.
He's just digging in deeper.
Now, Andrew Cuomo is warning, well, socialism could mean the death of New York of New York.
Oh, then I read that he took 10 days off on the campaign trail since what?
Labor Day.
And then you have these polls are meaningless, by the way.
He keeps saying, oh, it's close.
If it's one-on-one, Andrew Cuomo versus Mamdani, he's within four points.
I'm like, well, that's meaningless because Curtis Lee was not getting out of the race.
He said it again and again and again, even claimed that he was offered $10 million to get out of the race.
I mean, there's so much on this guy and, you know, and, you know, the quotes attributed to Wahaj, you have to wonder why anybody would ever want to associate with this.
Let me play for you.
This is Zoron Marxist Kami Mamdani saying that the Imam, you know, that he met with previous mayors, and he says the only reason it's a national issue is because of his faith.
The same Imam met with Mayor Bloomberg, met with Mayor de Blasio, campaigned alongside Eric Adams.
And the only time it became an issue of national attention was when I met with him.
And that's because of the fact of my faith and because I'm on the precipice of winning this election.
And then, by the way, the Imam, controversial Imam, endorsed Mamdani for mayor.
Man Saraj Wahaz, your brother, coming to make a recommendation.
You know, we have one of the most important elections coming up soon, and that is the mayor of New York City.
And you have to admit, New York City is one of the most important cities in the whole world.
Alhamdulillah, we want to make sure we make the right decision.
Allah has blessed us.
We have a very, very, very, very good candidate.
His name is Zahan Mandani.
You must have heard him by now.
And he's not a novice.
He's not known.
He's a state legislator.
And he's running for Mayor of New York City with a lot of other folks.
Our recommendation, my recommendations, and many, many leaders that I know, Muslims and non-Muslims, are recommending that we vote for this young man.
Okay, let's have some tape of this imam from over the years.
Let's play it.
You're getting here because it's the American thing.
You're getting American Ferritics because Frederick is going to be a weapon to you.
It is an orthodox.
Yes.
You want to defend this country?
Know what this country is?
It's a garbage can.
Filthy.
Filthy and sick.
Every day they will go to school and they put an American flag in front of these little babies.
Meutrum babies.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands.
Okay.
Let's get to our phones.
Dominic is in Queens, New York.
What's up, Dominic?
How are you?
Oh, my God.
I was just listening to what you had playing, and it's making me sick.
It's ridiculous, man.
It's ridiculous.
Why aren't we pushing Schliwa?
We need to push Schliwa.
I mean, I don't care about him taking away.
Listen, I've had him on radio, TV repeatedly.
I had him on radio and TV last week.
I'm not giving him airtime.
We're giving him a lot of air cover.
Everybody needs to do this, Panny.
Everybody.
It's just ridiculous.
Hey, Trump couldn't do it, right?
He can't do it.
And look what happened.
Look what happened.
Even the third time, even the third time he ran, the Republicans didn't want Trump in.
Why?
Because he riles up the base.
To hell with the base.
To hell with all of that.
Curtis.
Curtis got to get in.
This is ridiculous.
We are.
I got a note from Sid Rosenberg asking me, you know, I don't know.
I think maybe I'm going to have to move towards Cuomo.
I said, I'm not moving towards Cuomo.
I'm just not.
I just don't, you know, I don't really, he's not as extreme as Mamdani, but you know, he brought no bail law to New York, New York State.
You know, it was his COVID handling was a disaster.
Come on.
I see absolutely no hope for New York City.
You look, Linda hates this.
I'm not feeling good about it.
Do you want me to be Pollyannish and say, oh, I'm being realistic about every race.
If you're a Republican in New Jersey, you have a really good shot.
If you're a Republican in the Commonwealth of Virginia with some Sears, you have a really good shot.
Take it seriously, galvanize.
Your vote is going to matter.
New York City, nowhere near as optimistic.
Just the opposite.
I'm pessimistic.
Now, I can be a fake and a phony and a fraud, and I'm not going to do that to you.
I owe it to you to tell you the truth.
I know we're in Bizarro world, like you always say, but it's just infuriating.
It's insane.
It is.
Listen, then get everybody in New York City to wake the hell up because it's going to be a disaster.
That I can promise you.
That is the net result of this.
It's no good.
The only good that may come out of it is Kathy Holkul.
47% of independents say Holkul's support of Mamdani would likely cause them to vote for Elise Stefanik.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, you know what?
We roll the dice.
We throw Curtis out there and just keep pushing him.
That's it.
I'm supporting him.
Let me be very clear.
I am supporting him.
I think he'd be Rudy Giuliani 2.0.
I actually saw Rudy this weekend and he agreed with me.
So, anyway, I appreciate it, Dominic.
Good luck, man.
All right, quick break, right back to our phones.
Here's our toll-free number: it's 800-941 Sean.
If you want to be a part of the program, this Monday.
Final hour roundup is next.
You do not want to miss it.
And stay tuned for the final hour free-for-all on the Sean Hannity Show.
Let's get back to our busy phones.
800-941 Sean, if you want to join us.
Go to Bill in New Jersey.
Bill, how are you?
Glad you called.
Don, how are you doing today?
I read this report on Fox News today, and it was, I think it was in the New York Post today as well.
Passaic Democrats voted against putting cameras, early voting, I guess, starting in New Jersey, and they are against putting cameras in the rooms where the ballots are or cameras outside the room.
Why wouldn't Democrats?
I mean, both Democrats and Republicans have complained about election results.
Why wouldn't you put election integrity measures in place that benefit both parties?
And that's simple.
You know, voter ID, signature verification, gain of custody controls, put those cameras as soon as they are the minute they get in a building, cameras the whole time so nobody can go in there and play with mail-in ballots, updated voter rolls, partisan observers of observing vote counts all day long, vote counting all night long.
Why would Democrats be against that considering they complain bitterly when they lose?
Well, I can tell you why.
Okay.
And it's called the Families Working Party or the Working Families Party.
I forget exactly how they say it.
But what they are is they're a communist party that took over the Democratic Party.
And that's why everybody is lying step in the row because communists can't steal an election if there's verification.
It's impossible.
And that Communist Party took over the Democratic Party, and we know that now.
I mean, there's no doubt because everybody that's part of that is just happen to be everybody that they're running at this point.
And, you know, I think that it's up to you.
And, you know, because obviously you helped Trump win that election by getting out the truth.
But the more Democrats know about the working party, right, the better chance we have of fixing it, you know, because we can have communists take over.
And it's obvious.
It's obvious what they are.
I mean, it's like every communist.
People are going to hate me for saying this, but I'm going to say it anyway because it's true.
And we're all about just simply telling the truth on this program.
I am telling you, it's horrible for New York City, what is likely about to happen to it.
It's great for the Republican Party nationally.
It's great for Republicans nationally.
That's it.
Because people are going to look at this and say, uh-uh, no thanks.
Not happening.
You know, send in the socialists, reimagine the police, no bail, defund, decriminalize everything.
I mean, they're going to watch this unfold and they're going to realize this is an unmitigated disaster.
And that's only going to help, you know, reaffirm people's values and validate who they, you know, the things that they believe in.
Because you're going to see in real time these policies fail and fail spectacularly as they will.
Oh, yeah.
First thing the communists do when they take over, they empty the prisons out to cause anarchy.
You know, the second thing they do is they kill everybody that's against them.
You know, there's forests out in Eastern Europe where you have indentations in the ground for miles in every direction from 15 million buried Christians that were against them when they took over.
And everybody fails to remember this is not a democracy.
This is a constitutional republic.
A democracy, we would have already had these communists take over.
You know, but the Constitutional Republic is the only thing that's been protecting us and people like you getting out the word of what's really going on.
Why do you think Democrats want to pack the courts?
Why do you think Democrats, if they get in power, they want DC statehood, Puerto Rico statehood?
Why do you think they want to eliminate the Electoral College?
Oh, because they want power in perpetuity.
Why do you think they want the new Green Deal?
Because they control then every aspect of your life.
Anyway, I appreciate good call.
Bill, New Jersey, you have a real shot, by the way, but Chitterelli.
That's real.
That I can tell you.
But everyone in New Jersey, this is your opportunity.
This may be your last opportunity, actually.
It may be.
Not that I want to sound fatalistic.
I haven't heard Linda yell at me yet for telling the truth.
You know I'm telling the truth.
You know that.
I think that the truth is whatever we want it to be.
And I want it to be Curtis Lewa, and I'm all in on Curtis.
Oh, the truth is I'm president.
That's the truth.
That's whatever I want it to be.
That's right.
The truth is I'm a multi-multi-multi-billionaire.
You are.
The truth is I own the free state of Florida.
I mean, that's really.
You very well may.
I mean, I'm not arguing these points.
You know what I'm saying?
Just because you think it doesn't make it so.
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