Sean Hannity and guests dissect security failures following the White House Correspondence Dinner assassination attempt, citing insufficient Secret Service perimeter layers and criticizing Democratic rhetoric labeling the President as a "dictator." The discussion analyzes the political fallout of Rep. Jeffries' inflammatory comments, the controversial indictment of James Comey over an Instagram code, and argues that midterms will serve as a referendum on radicalized Democrats if Iran tensions ease. Ultimately, the episode posits that safety concerns and anti-establishment sentiment will drive electoral outcomes more than traditional policy debates. [Automatically generated summary]
Transcriber: CohereLabs/cohere-transcribe-03-2026, WAV2VEC2_ASR_BASE_960H, sat-12l-sm, script v26.04.01, and large-v3-turbo
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Pressure on Home District Leaders00:14:48
This is an iHeart podcast.
Guaranteed human.
An hour to Sean Hannity Show, 800 941.
Sean, if you want to be a part of the program, there is a new survey out.
Our friend Matt Towery, Insider Advantage.
And it says everything that you would expect.
And, you know, the headline is Insider Advantage National Survey following the White House correspondence dinner assassination attempt.
Opinion shifts.
Nearly 70% say.
That Congress should now fund the Department of Homeland Security.
By the way, that includes the United States Secret Service, which, according to my sources, this week runs out of money.
I mean, this is madness.
This is insanity.
Never mind the problems that we have pointed out that they've got to sweep every inch of any area where a president is going to be.
They've got to then secure and hold that area so that it doesn't get contaminated, meaning, once you sweep it, you just don't walk away.
You've got to secure it.
And you've got to stay there and you've got to hold it.
The idea that, you know, we had Butler 130 yards away, guy just jumping up on a ladder, the perimeter's not big enough.
We know what a big perimeter's like because I've been to RNC, DNC conventions, and they have multiple perimeter layers that, you know, can stretch out a half a mile to a mile away.
I've been there.
I've experienced it.
I've been stopped four times to show my picture ID.
I've had to empty my pockets two or three times to get into one of these conventions.
They know how to do it.
You know, Trump International, they have a known area, paparazzi congregate.
And meanwhile, they didn't sweep the area where known people were, right near where the holes of this golf course are.
It's a layup shot.
And if it weren't for one sharp eyed Secret Service agent in that case, they, you know, the president, there could have been a catastrophe.
The president came within a millimeter of losing his life in Butler.
And in this particular case, how is it possible a guy can get that close to the ballroom?
Nobody had swept the hotel at all.
And that is the common theme in all three instances.
It's got to change, and it's got to change dramatically.
And the idea that we're in the middle of a war with Iran, the number one state sponsor of terror that has already plotted and planned and schemed assassination attempts against Donald Trump, and we're not taking these matters more seriously, this is a disaster in the making.
Anyway, let me play for you.
You know, the violent rhetoric of the left in this country.
We've been playing it.
Nobody else seems to want to play it.
We will continue to play it.
Listen.
Many of your fellow Democrats have used some heated rhetoric against the president.
And do you think twice about that when something like this happens?
What rhetoric do you have in mind?
Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.
You get out and you create a crowd.
And you push back on them.
And you tell them they're not welcome.
I don't understand why it's so difficult for the press to have a consistent narrative about how dangerous Trump is.
Do you think Donald Trump is a fascist?
Yes, I do.
We have a Tim Holtz in the White House right now.
Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House.
They're still going to have to go out and put a bullet in Donald Trump, and that's a fact.
When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?
We do now live in a country that has an authoritarian leader in charge.
He's just a vile creature.
The worst thing on the face of the earth, but anyway.
You think he's the worst thing on the face of the earth?
I do.
Yeah, I do.
And I love that Caroline Levitt yesterday calling out Democrats by name just in the last week or two that have been making these incendiary comments.
Party elected officials saying, such as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries just this April, this month, said, We are in an era of maximum warfare everywhere, all the time.
Governor Josh Shapiro said heads need to roll within the administration.
Senator Alex Padilla said people are, quote, dying because of fear and terror caused by the Trump administration.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, President Trump is making the country look like a, quote, fascist state.
Senator Adam Schiff saying, President Trump using a dictator playbook.
Senator Ed Markey calling President Trump.
A dictator saying that this administration's actions are authoritarianism on steroids.
Governor J.B. Pritzker, never before in my life have I called for mass protest disruptions.
These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace.
You have Rep. Presley saying, We'll see you in the streets.
Rep. Monica McIver, a Democrat representative on Capitol Hill, we will not take this from Donald Trump.
He thinks he's a dictator.
We are at war.
These are Democrat elected officials calling for war against the President of the United States in his support.
I could go on and on, but again, when you have people in positions of power that are saying things like this every single day for years, you are inspiring violence by people who are already mentally ill.
And that's what we've seen against this president for far too long.
All right, joining us now is Matt Towery.
He is the host of the leaderboard and pollster for Insider Advantage, one of the few polling groups that has historically for 11 years consistently polled Donald Trump accurately, unlike the rest of the.
The Legacy Media Mob.
John Tillman, CEO of American Culture Project, founder of the and CEO of the Hall of Giants, author, by the way, also of the new book, The Political Vice How the Radical Left Controls America and the Path to Regaining Our Liberty.
Welcome all of you.
Matt, let's talk about your survey and what is it telling you?
Well, as you said, it's pretty much expected that the public would see this.
And once again, they would be reminded of the need for Homeland Security to be completely funded.
I might note that.
The lines and airports have gone way down only because Donald Trump decided to use an executive order to fund the TSA.
Otherwise, we'd still have that madness going on as well.
And also, the president's approval rating you know, it's been underwater since the war.
It's pretty much to be expected, particularly from some of the pollsters who take advantage of it to make sure it's really underwater.
But we found the president's approval rating coming up once again.
And you'll remember this, Sean the inflection point of the election.
Back two years ago, it was after that shooting in Butler and then that second attempted shooting in Palm Beach.
And from that point on, the president's approval ratings kept going up and the numbers started to come closer together.
Now, I'm not trying to take advantage of a circumstance, I'm just reporting the circumstance.
But I will tell everyone right now this event right now is another reset button.
And if this war gets wrapped up in a clean way fairly soon, you're going to see the Republicans and Trump become much more competitive for the fall.
Than they look like right now.
I think you're right.
I think people have jumped the gun on this.
I think it'll get a lot more competitive.
What drives elections?
Safety and security.
I mean, you know, peace and prosperity.
Those are the things that drive elections.
John, let's get your take.
Well, I think what's really fascinating to me about this is David Axelrod's out there complaining about Trump using this incident to sell the ballroom and the security of it as if this is somehow irrelevant because they never talked about it at the beginning.
The ballroom's more important than ever for all the reasons just cited, but I think the most important thing is to recognize that we are in a propaganda war, and the left is so desperate because they know they cannot win elections by traditional politics, they have to use this eliminationist rhetoric to try to gin up their base and turn them out because a huge swath of voters.
Both black, all black, brown, and white across America are rejecting their moral arguments.
The way we win from this point on, the way Trump wins from this point on, is by taking the moral high ground back.
He won in 2024 because he had the moral high ground on immigration, no men and women's sports.
He has the moral high ground on national security and Iran if he takes that shot and continues to make those arguments that this is the right thing to do.
Oh, I think it's absolutely the right thing to do.
And the president is very clear and he keeps echoing the same message.
They cannot have nuclear weapons.
And for those people that didn't learn a damn thing from history in the last century and 100 million dead people, Matt Towery, I can't help stupid and I can't help ignorant.
And I don't have any tolerance for people that don't understand it.
You know, the number one state sponsor of terror, they put no value on human life.
They don't even put the value of life on their own children as they indoctrinate them into strapping bombs on themselves to kill innocent men, women, and children and promise them the reward of 72 virgins in heaven.
Sorry, you can't really.
Have a rational discussion with people that think this way?
Well, which is why we're having trouble wrapping this war up because we've gone from having completely irrational leadership to completely insane leadership.
And this can be very hard to figure out who you negotiate with to end this whole thing.
And so the rhetoric, whether it's the rhetoric coming out of Iran or the rhetoric that he was just referring to here in this country, it has gotten out of control.
And I want to say one thing I want the Republicans to get a backbone.
I want them to get a backbone.
I want to know why in the world the leader of the Senate can't find ways to have leverage over these senators who won't vote on critical issues for Trump and won't bust that filibuster apart.
Because if they did that, half the things we worry about right now, Sean, we could deal with and get fixed.
It's not like we have to win another midterm to save this country.
We could do it right this minute.
And you're not going to tell me that the leaders of the Senate can't find a way to have political leverage over these four or five.
Now, maybe Susan Collins is an exception because she's running for reelection.
Even that's McConnell.
Even that's McConnell.
He wants a single bridge or a bust or anything.
And by the way, his approval rating is at about 15% in his home state.
Isn't that nice?
I'm sure he's really proud of that if he even knows what it is or if he's even awake.
I don't even think he cares at this point.
Exactly.
I think he's half asleep.
He's got a lot of.
I don't know what's in the water in Kentucky.
Something's going on in Kentucky.
You tell me.
I mean, between Rand Paul and Massey and McConnell, it's just unbelievable.
But I put a call out today.
That Republicans finally get a backbone like their president.
And we need to put, if it were me right now, I would be running ads in John Thune's home state, left and right, telling the people in that state what he's not doing.
And I'd be doing it in every other state as well, because I'm really sick and tired of this lip service we get from Republicans and then nothing to back up the president.
I totally agree.
You know, John, I'd like to see more of a backbone, too.
Quick break more with Matt Towery, John Tillman on the other side, then we'll get.
your calls as well.
Of the news of the day coming up straight ahead, also 800 941 Sean, as we continue.
If you're ready to get out of the media spin room, you've come to the right place.
This is the Sean Hannity Show.
Thank you.
All right, we continue now.
Matt Towery and John Tillman are with us.
I understand the math.
We don't have a big majority in the House.
We don't have a big majority in the Senate.
The Senate has draconian rules.
I know there's been a push to get rid of the filibuster so the president can accomplish certain things.
Democrats are already telegraphing.
James Carville saying the quiet part out loud, which is if the Democrats get control, they will nuke the filibuster.
They'll have D.C., Puerto Rico statehood, and they'll pack the courts.
So we know where they're headed if they ever get back in power.
Sean, that reflects one of my rules of politics, which is when Republicans, when Democrats gain political power, no matter how small the majority, they can't wait to implement their agenda, no matter how extreme it may be.
When Republicans gain political power, they can't wait to equivocate on their agenda, no matter how large their majorities are.
And that's exactly the situation we're in.
And the reason that there is bipartisan resentment of Trump is because he doesn't tolerate that.
He wants to actually get things done.
And he's frustrated with the leadership in both chambers as a result of everything that both you and Matt have been saying.
And the only way to change that is for people out across America.
To come together and do exactly as Matt just suggested a moment ago, which is putting some money into the pot and putting pressure on these leaders in their home districts and make them fear their own voters more than they fear whoever it is that's persuading them to do nothing.
You know, look, I do think that the sooner that the president is able to resolve the situation with Iran, I think the better.
I think we've now gotten to the point where the president is probably.
The blockade is very successful.
They're losing $400 or $500 million a day, Matt Towery.
Their economy is in a full collapse.
If you add to that, You know, 10% degrading of their infrastructure daily, and every three days will degrade 10% more until you realize this is going to be the future of your economy.
You won't have one.
I think that would be an added amount of pressure.
Thoughts?
Well, my thought is a blockade is always one of the best military strategies you can take if you want to avoid direct conflict.
It worked well for Kennedy in Cuba, it's working well now for us.
It's going to take time, and the public doesn't have any patience.
Economic Collapse and Blockade Success00:03:31
And let me just add this the national media has done a wonderful job.
Of putting the clock on this at about 30 seconds.
You would think that we literally have 30 seconds to solve every problem in this country.
This war has been going on, conflict, whatever you want to call it, for about 50 something days.
That is a minimal amount of time, and so much has been taken out.
So much in terms of leadership, in terms of things that they value, in terms of infrastructure.
It's gone.
They don't have a Navy, they don't have an Air Force, they don't have radar.
They're down to nothing.
And I think within the next few weeks, the economics of this will push this tighter.
But at some point, President Trump is basically just going to have to, I believe, in my opinion, take out the oil reserves they have.
He's going to have to take out perhaps some degree of energy, not leaving the country destitute, declare victory and come home.
And the Europeans are going to have to start figuring out how they're going to get that straight, kept open.
Because if they depend on it, we don't.
I think that's a good point.
Matt Towery, appreciate your time.
John Tillman, thank you.
800 941 Sean, if you want to be a part of the program.
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Continuing to build the foundation for conservative victory.
Victory.
Now, back to the Sean Hannity Show.
Let me go back to our top story from earlier today.
We now know that the former FBI director, James Comey, has been indicted yet again.
And by the way, I talked to Dan Bongino on my podcast about this.
We just dropped it this morning.
In relation to his 86 47 seashell post.
On Instagram last year.
I have no idea what this means, none at all whatsoever.
I mean, 8647, I didn't know that meant anything.
When you posted this message, 8647, and I said there are different interpretations of it, but one interpretation of it is to end someone or something.
Was there anything in the back of your mind that said, maybe I just shouldn't post this?
Yeah, no, literally nothing, because it seemed entirely innocent and clever to me.
I have never, and actually still don't, associate 86 with violence, but.
Because I heard that some folks were, whether they do that reasonably or not, I don't want any part of it.
And so that's why I took it down from my Instagram account.
Okay.
He's full of Adam Schiff, but putting all that aside.
But, you know, in this atmosphere where it's death assassination culture, it's really beyond frustrating.
Suspicious Security Perimeter Choices00:06:53
Here to weigh in on this, the pending election, everything that's been going on, is our friend Mark Halpern is back with us.
I know you were at the White House Correspondence Dinner because.
You know, after the room had long been cleared, there was a shot of you with three people and you're in a circle having a pleasant conversation, which is not a bad thing to do, but obviously not an easy night for anybody in that room.
What went on from your vantage point?
Sean, great to be back.
I did hang around afterwards.
You know, I'm an American and I'm a dad and a husband, but also a reporter.
And so I didn't really want to give up the opportunity to talk to folks until the service kicked us out.
I was sitting in the center of the ballroom.
Kash Patel was at my table, so I got to watch him deal with the aftermath and dealing with it in the room and then as he left the room.
And by the way, can you confirm?
I mean, he's been unfairly smeared in all of this, and I know from other people that were with him that within moments he was with the perpetrator and questioning him, and they had this guy in an ambulance on the way, and they were questioning him on the way.
And getting information, intel, and they had more background on this guy within an hour's time than anybody has any idea about.
So much so that, of course, people on the left have all these conspiracy theories about how they allowed it to happen or they engineered it.
I can't confirm what he did after he left the table, but he was definitely engaged from the minute it happened.
And this moment was, for reporters, kind of a paradox because, you know, hundreds of reporters in a room with the biggest story in the world and very little cell coverage or Wi Fi coverage, and most everybody.
We're under the table.
I didn't go under the table.
My reporter's instinct told me it would be safe to be above, and I wanted to look around and see what was happening.
But it was intense.
And my main takeaway from the thing is besides the fact that the agents at that security point did a great job, is the security perimeter should not have been where it was.
It should have been at the perimeter of the hotel and not within feet of the ballroom.
And I really question that as just a judgment call about how to secure that venue.
I have two criticisms, and I think that it's time for a total, complete.
Top to bottom reevaluation of how they handle presidential security.
If you look at Butler, if you look at Trump International, and you look at the incident on Saturday night, there's certainly a major failure.
Now, I got to give props to all of the Secret Service people in the room, and you witnessed it up close and personal.
They acted, they were all willing to take a bullet for their respective people that they were covering.
They sprung into action.
They're amazing people.
I have nothing but praise for them.
However, you mentioned the perimeter.
That's one part of the equation.
If you go to an RNC convention, a DNC convention, Sometimes the first layer of perimeter, and there are multiple perimeters, is a half a mile or longer away.
And to get in, you need to show your credentials multiple times.
You need to empty your pockets multiple times.
You get wandered multiple times.
You go through a mag multiple times.
Okay, so the perimeter was very short in this particular case.
Many people have discussed it.
And the second thing is, in each case, they have not effectively swept the areas where a president.
Former president, presidential candidate is going to be.
Trump International, case in point.
Butler, case in point.
How does a guy get on a ladder 130 yards away from a president with a long rifle?
How is that even possible?
At Trump International, those particular golf holes where the president was headed, when this one sharp eyed Secret Service agent saw this guy through the bushes, it was lucky.
It was a known place where paparazzi would congregate, Mark, and they never swept the area.
Never mind sweep and hold the area, clear the area, and keep it cleared.
That never happened.
They didn't do it here either.
I'm sorry, but that is a failure of a magnitude we cannot have in this country if we want to keep our elected officials alive.
I agree 100%.
And if we want the best people to be willing to go into elective office, because there are a lot of families that would say, uh uh, I'm not letting my family member in.
The fact that the tickets didn't have QR codes, the fact that you could get onto the premises and within feet of the ballroom if you had a Hilton Hotel key envelope.
And they didn't check IDs.
My ID was not checked.
I simply showed them my ticket, which doesn't have a QR code on it.
Well, everybody knows who Mark Halford is.
You know who I am, right?
I'm Mark Halford.
Exactly.
Tough for security at Yankee Stadium, tough for security at most urban high schools.
And there's just no excuse for that.
And I will say, based on where that guy went, if it had been seven guys with AK 47s and they had stormed that same checkpoint, because the mags he went through, the magnetometers he went through, are much smaller.
Than the main entrance.
There's a second entrance, a flight above the ballroom that has a staircase down to the ballroom.
If it had been seven guys with high powered weapons, I shudder to think what would have happened.
Well, in a time where we're not funding the Department of Homeland Security and Secret Services under their purview, it's unconscionable to me.
And if that's a hill the Democrats want to die on, it's unconscionable.
Let me go to this issue the former FBI Director James Comey.
Now, I dropped a podcast this morning with Dan Bongino.
And we talked about Comey, and he's now been indicted for a second time.
And, you know, obviously in September this 86, which 86 47.
Now, did you ever believe for one second that he had no idea what that was?
I didn't believe him for a second.
I think he's a liar.
That's my own impression.
Yeah, it's hard to know.
I mean, it's really hard to know.
What does your gut tell you?
I don't like to just.
You're highly suspicious.
I would say I'm at least somewhat suspicious.
How about that?
I would say more likely than not he knew, but I think he's got bigger problems than whether he lied about that.
Well, I think the bigger problem is this investigation into a grand conspiracy, which is 11 years.
And with all the information that is coming out, and Bongina goes into great detail into this, and he actually believes that people, good people in the FBI, purposefully left those burn bags.
They purposefully left information behind and a trail behind, hoping that honest people coming in would find it.
He actually told me that.
Yeah, could be.
I mean, you know, the FBI is interesting.
Sometimes they're cast as anti Trump, sometimes pro Trump.
Defining the Midterm Outcome00:03:31
But the culture there is a tough one, and I think you're going to see more revelations for the last decade of things that have happened at the FBI.
You know, you're one of the few people that I feel is objective in the media.
You're not like me, you're not a partisan conservative.
However, you do fair analysis, and we spoke quite often before the 2024 election, and we were very much on the same page in terms of we actually spent the time, we looked at daily numbers that were coming in for early voting and things that.
Most people in our industry ignored.
You said something the other day that caught my attention.
When you speak, I kind of pay attention to what you say.
And that was that, yeah, for those people that think that this election is over, meaning the midterms, you're out of your mind.
Because I don't think what will define the outcome of this midterm has happened yet.
I don't think we know.
I think a lot of it will be dependent on how the situation with Iran turns out.
I think it will turn out favorably.
Yeah, it's going on a little bit longer than maybe people anticipated, but it's not going to be a forever war, Mark.
I can promise you that.
Number one.
Number two, what drives elections?
Peace and prosperity.
And if we have enough runway and the economy is able to recover, gas prices stabilize, and the president's economic foundation that he laid in the first year of this presidency kicks in, I think that the economy is going to be doing a lot better.
And I think that is a game changer.
I don't think what will define the outcome of those elections happened yet.
Well, I agree with you.
And Scott Benson agrees with you.
I did a series of interviews with him last couple weeks.
And he says the economic, the war won't be forever, as you said.
And the economic growth that will be spread around will happen in the third quarter before the midterms.
We'll see.
You know, I don't know if you saw a new talk to the New York Times in their piece about the midterms.
And he said if the election's in May, we'll lose.
But it's not in May.
And there is time.
But.
The war does have to end, and I know the president wants it to end and is determined to end it.
But right now, there are a lot of smart people who support the president who don't see how he gets out of this with the proper result.
It's not that saying it can't happen, but it's not currently on offer.
So we'll see.
But Republicans have things going for them that could counter the historical norm of doing poorly in the midterms when you control the White House.
And we'll just have to see if that environment of peace and prosperity can be part of what they have going for them.
Well, you're right.
Historical trends are that the party in power loses seats in a midterm.
I mean, that is a common trait.
However, you also are dealing with a different, very different Democratic Party today, one that is quite radicalized.
And I think their rhetoric and I think their lack of a real motivating agenda that resonates with the American people is problematic for them.
Thoughts?
Well, you know, you typically look at presidential.
Let me put it another way they're crazy, Mark.
They're insane.
They have a lot of positions that are not popular.
And if you look at a presidential election, the idea is to make it a referendum, a choice election.
Midterms are typically a referendum on the incumbent.
James Blair and the other people who work with the president on politics, their goal is to make it a referendum, not a referendum, but a choice.
And they want to say that the Democratic Party is crazy on taxes.
They're crazy on trans issues.
They're crazy on the border.
And if they can pull that off.
Conservative Solutions vs Popular Positions00:02:25
Let me see if I can.
Do you see any policies that really resonate with the American people?
Well, there's one policy, therefore, not Trump.
Other than that, no.
But sometimes in the midterms, historically, that's been enough to just say you want to check on the people in the White House.
We'll see if it's enough this time when the president's side will have a lot of money.
They've got very good coordination.
I think it'll be one of the best coordinated.
Midterm campaigns ever by a White House.
And we'll have to see if they can make Democrats pay a price for not having much of a positive agenda and having some policy positions that are very far to the left.
We'll see if they can do that.
Again, that runs counter to what normally happens in a midterm where the out party's record and positions are usually not the issue.
We'll see, though, and that's their goal.
And we'll see some primaries where, you know, in Maine and Michigan, where Democrats might nominate Senate candidates who are too far to the left, I think, to probably win.
Quick break right back.
More with Mark Halpern on the other side.
Toll free, it's 800-941-Sean if you want to be a part of the program as we continue.
The final hour of The Sean Hannity Show is up next.
Hang on for Sean's conservative solutions.
Mark Halpern, editor-in-chief of Two Way, is with us as we analyze what happens Saturday night and all the other political issues of our day.
You know, you're a bit of an anomaly in this sense.
I think you're an old school kind of shoe leather, objective guy that does a lot of the hard work behind the scenes.
And I bet you probably even get a little pushback for coming on this show.
Maybe I'm wrong.
If you don't, just tell me.
All the people who hate you and would hate my coming on the show don't listen to it, don't even know.
You're able to hide it?
It's sort of like a covert operation when you come on?
Anomaly in Political Objectivity00:01:04
I'm just saying, it's probably an overlap with no Venn diagram overlap.
You know, by the way, I have a perfect record.
I've never been to a single White House correspondence dinner.
I'm very proud of that record.
Yeah, it's a good record to have.
You know, there's pros and cons to going.
I live in New York and I have for years, so it's an opportunity for me to do some wholesale business and see a lot of D.C. people.
So I don't mind going.
Yeah, did you run into liberal Joe, your old buddy?
He didn't go.
Oh, he didn't go either.
Nobody wants to see him anyway.
Who cares?
It really doesn't matter.
I'll say the things you want to say, but won't work.
Don't worry.
I'll take care of you.
You mean Joe Scarborough?
Who do you mean?
Who's he?
I don't know.
You mean the guy that once claimed to be a conservative from Pensacola in the panhandle of Florida and now claims he's still the same guy and he's working at MSTNC peddling anti Trump hate every second of every day?