Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.
Conservative political commentator Sean Hannity, host of Fox News' “Hannity” joins Stephen A. to discuss Donald Trump’s victory, what the Democrats did wrong, and what to expect in the next four years of a Trump administration.
My next guest is one of the most prominent and influential conservative voices.
In the United States of America.
He's the host on Hannity that can be seen Monday through Friday on Fox News nine pm. Easter is standing part Eastern Standard time. By the way, please welcome the one and only Sean Handity here to rub it in.
Before we even start, let me say.
This stop stop right there. No way, I'm not here to rub anything. I'm not spiking the football. Ask me how I feel about the election, and I will tell you I am grateful. I am relieved. It was an overwhelming win. When you made your prediction to me, I happen to be around people that you love when you made it and you told me you were like so certain which way I was going. I said, not so fast. But you know, I love the fact that we can have a dialogue and cushion and there's no spike in the football here. I feel this isn't for the bet. This is for the betterment of the country. I want you to succeed. I want every American to succeed. I want everybody to be happy. Success will be good for all of us.
See, this is the problem this is the problem. This is my platform. You've already started by staying hold up, hold up.
Then't let me get my.
First question now, because the first thing that I was.
Gonna get on was telling my audience. We had to wait a while for.
You because your hair wasn't right, the background wasn't right, and you had to look just so pristige for the camera.
So I was gonna ease.
Light was so bad you couldn't see me. So I don't I don't do. I don't have a computer. This is my brother in law's computer. He had to come over here and set it up. I don't own a computer. I don't have an email account. I have no access to my social media. I have to go through a staff to put something up on social media. But when you're on my show, I give you all the room and then I get then I get attacked Sean Hannity. So that's not my.
Yeah, ask about five minute questions before you let me answer. Oh my lord, you need to stop. You need to But listen, let's get serious here for a second. You were telling me. Credit to you. You were telling me for so long you thought Trump would win this election. You thought the Democrats would lose it, Sean, I have to admit I thought that when he got when the first attempted assassination against him took place, and he went to the ground and then ultimately got up with blood dripping down the right side of his face, and he raised his fist of the crowd, fight fight fight with Secret Service covering him, and the American flag was over him.
I said, this is a rap.
He's gonna win the election. Then he started talking and getting in his own way, and I said, I've never seen anybody blow it in such a situation in my life, but you never wavered. Why what made you so confident this outcome was going to be this outcome?
Look, there were a lot of things going on that I was confident on the issues that transcend all demographics of so sick of demographics were all Americans, you know.
At the end of the day, one great thing Trump did say was was success, you know, will unite us, and success will benefit everybody. And under his first term, the people and the narrative of the left is well. He gave tax cuts for the rich people out of the greatest world creation, greatest job creation, by the numbers, I've gone over the best numbers for the first three years. Putting aside the pandemic, here were African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, women in the workplace, African American youth unemployment. I don't like demographics. I want every American to succeed. But when you look at the disaster that was the border and twelve and a half million unvetted Harris Biden illegal immigrants, and for three years they lied and they said, no, the border is secure, the closed, and we with our own ic that it's anything but secure or closed. You had people coming from one hundred and eighty countries including Iran, Syria, Egypt, Afghanistan, Venezuela, tens and tens of thousands from China and Russia. I don't think those people are all coming here because they want to better life for themselves and their family. And they lied about it. They denied it, and then something else happened, and maybe the Democrats just thought they could ignore it. But we had dozens of Americans and I would scroll their names on my TV show that were murdered. The allegation is Harris Biden illegals did it, and that we had their names. We knew when they came here. They came here because they opened up the border and Harris pledging to get rid of that medieval vanity project, as she called the wall. Dozens of Americans dead. You know some of their names. I scrolled all their names, Rachel Moore and mother of five, Lake and Riley, joscely Nungary, little twelve year old girl in Houston, and so many others. Dozens and dozens of Americans were raped, including children. Stephen A and hundreds and hundreds of Americans were victims of violent crime. That's issue won. Now we can talk about the economy. They lied and said inflation was transitory. They told us the economy straight, but then it became on day one, I'm going to fix I'm going to fix the economy. But you were telling us for over three years of the economy is in great shape. You know what is it? And she didn't get called out a lot on it, and but people felt it every store. Let me backtrack. There are points of my life where I had to struggle to pay my rent. I couldn't buy the food that I wanted to buy did I couldn't even afford McDonald's. And I worked for ten years of my life in construction. Ten years of my life. I work in restaurants and thank God because it defined me as a human being. That and my belief in God. I think it really kept me somewhat saying. You'll argue that part, but people are suffering. Two thirds of the country were saying in polls that they are golding water financially. Last year alone, twenty five percent of Americans said they had two four go meals. Okay, those are real pocketbook issues. They transcend every demographic. Then you go to the issue. Every time you gas up your car, depending at what point we were in during the Harris Biden administration, you're paying anywhere from two and a half to a dollar to a dollar and a half more per gallon of gasoline. Donald Trump, when he left office, it was two dollars and forty eight cents a gallon. The national average never went higher than three dollars a gallon, never got to three dollars a gallon for the first time in seventy five years. He made this country energy independent, and now he wants in his second term to make us energy dominant. I don't know about you. I have the money to fill up my car It's not a problem for me financially, but I'd rather pay two dollars a gallon than three point fifty a gallon. And I think most Americans they feel it. It is hurting their businesses. Then you get to the madness of defund, dismantle, no bad laws, et cetera, et cetera. BacT to immigration. We have known terrorists in the country, we have cartels in the country, we have gang members in this country that they allowed in and by the way, they need to be sent out and sent home. And we can get into the details of that. So between all of that and a campaign that evolved into if you're a conservative, you're a racist, you're a Nazi, and you're a fascist and you like Hitler, Stalin and Massolda not exactly the best campaign.
Well let me ask you this, Sean. Yeah, if they if we had.
A stronger economy, and they make the argument that the economy had improved, inflation obviously was inherited from Trump to bid them at one and a half percent, it ballooned to about nine point one percent if I remember correctly, before it ultimately dipped down. I know they make the argument. The left made the argument that the economy had improved, reports said that as well. You begged to differ. But here's my question. If, for the sake of argument, the economy was good but the border crisis had not taken place, you know, would it have been a different outcome in your estimation if Biden had never opened the border.
Essentially, what I mean, if.
They would have done their job. In other words, would they have had a better chance of winning?
Would they have never opened a border? Would they if they had never opened a border?
If they never opened the border? Well, first of all, this is now going to be the biggest national security threat in our lifetime. I have been warning for the longest time, and I mean this with all my heart because I was there on nine to eleven. You were there on nine to eleven. Nobody's going to forget where they were on nine to eleven. And we lost two, nine and seventy seven of our fellow Americans that day, the worst terror attack in history. And we have known terrorists in this country right now. We have Iranian assassination squads in this country right now, and their goal is to take out Donald Trump. After two would be assassins during this campaign. So if you're asking me. We were told there are thirteen thousand known murderers that they let into this country. They allowed it known terrorists, but we don't know where they are in the country. So I would assume that they're plotting, planning, and scheving their next attack. And I set on the air many times they have blood on their hands, but the people murdered, the people raped, and the people victims of violent crime. And I think it's sadly a matter of when and not if this country's going to get hit with a terror attack, and they will have more blood on their hands. Now I say that, and I always follow it up with I pray to God, our father, that I am wrong, that I am dead wrong. I don't think I am stephen A. They allowed too many of them men, and for whatever reason I don't know. I think the plan ultimately, oh, come on, said what the plan was, decriminalize the illegal immigrants, offer them free food, housing, healthcare, education along with the running legal drivers' licenses, free sex change surgeries if you want one, taxpayer funded, and then an earned path to citizenship, which is really called amnesty. That was their plan. And the American people they're not going to buy that. And the mainstream. I call it the legacy media is dead in America as of right now. Because dead, they're done, because because it's over, because look at what they have done to this man. No man has ever been persecuted to this level. Whether you like him or don't like him, you like his policies, you don't like his style, I don't care. The Russia hoax was three years of a never ending lie. They took out PISA warrance to spy on a candidate Donald Trump, a president elect Donald Trump, and then a President Donald Trump, and they lied to a Pisa for it. Every one of the people that signed those PISA warrants eventually had to go before Lindsey Graham in the US Senate and asked the question, well, knowing what you know now, would you have signed the warrants? And every one of them said no. And they signed it based on a dirty Russian bought and paid for disinformation dossier of Hillary Clinton that happened in our country. Steve and A, it can't happen again. We've got to clean up these agencies. We can't weaponize the DOJ to go after political opponents. We can't use what was formerly the greatest law enforcement agency in the in the world, the FBI, and politicize it. We can't take the greatest intelligence agencies in the world and politicize it. Fifty one former Intel officials that knew nothing about a laptop. That laptop was very real, and they did that in the weeks leading up to the twenty twenty election. Fair enough, is there's deep corruption there?
Well that halet me time in here. Let me time me here.
And the reason why I'm going to time in here is Number one, a lot of what you're saying is correct.
The left absolutely categorically there's nothing wrong. Let me get to my bigger point.
My bigger point is, first of all, I always had a problem with the whole law fare issue, only from the standpoint that to me, the Democrats were making it clear, and I think we now see they really believe they.
Could beat them.
I think one could easily make the argument against them with that. But when somebody looks at Sean Hannity and they listen to you talk about Trump, They're say to themselves, and I've seen liberals say this, So he's just going to ignore thirty four felony convictions.
He's just going to ignore two impeachments.
He's just going to ignore those kind of things and act like Donald Trump is the paragon of virtue.
What do you say to people who say.
That about Sean Hannity when it comes to him talking about Donald Trump, I.
Say, I don't really give a damn what people say or think of Sean Hannity. I really don't care. I will say this that are more important than they are. I guarantee you let me take it away from you. Okay, Every major business in New York, and I guarantee you the Prosecutor's Office in New York have signed legal NDAs nondisclosure agreements that were put together by lawyers, that were billed as a legal expense, taxes paid as appropriately and nothing would have happened. So if you're asking me if I think this was the weaponization of a legal system against Donald Trump, my straight up answer is tell me where I'm wrong, because I bet you that Prosecutor's Office, if we got to their internal memos, they probably have signed MBAs too. There's probably not a company you've worked for your career that has not signed them. It is a very common practice. There are probably people you interview, sports legends the people you talk to every day, they probably have them too. If you want a date player X, you got to sign an NBA before you even go on a date with them, you know, and I know that's true.
Sean.
Will you bring up the issue of immigration and you talk about the immigrants that entered this country, you talked about thirteen thousand of them. You guys were told we're criminals. Now, obviously we looked at the border and I think the number has said it's said to have eclipsed eleven point six million.
That entered this country.
Didn't have if not more.
They've talked about that as well.
What do you say to folks from the Latino, from the Hispanic communities throughout this country that say, when Trump speaks, he might not highlight it's thirteen thousand. He speaks as if it's most, if not all, of them, and that creates such a negative stereotype about immigrants entering this country.
What do you think about it? I would gently disagree with you and say that when he spoke, he talked about the fact that we didn't vet people. We have a legal process to come into this country. Look, I am My grandparents all came from Ireland, at the turn of the last century, and they came here, Dirk for they faced their level of discrimination and Irish Catholic need not apply. They had no money at all whatsoever, and you know it was terrible for them. But I know that I stand on their shoulders. I don't care where you come from, steven A. I just want to vet you. I want to make sure you don't have radical associations. I want to make sure post pandemic that we have a health check. I want to make sure that you're not going to be a financial burden on the American people. And if you do it legally, and we ought to expedite the process, it's process. It ought not be that difficult. Then I don't care what part of the world you come from. Welcome to our country. We can't take in the world's population, but we can be selective about who we take into the country, and we certainly must have a background check. There are evil people in this world and we cannot let them into this country. We've got to protect our family here first. And if we do that, if you come in legally, welcome to America. God bless you and I wish you the best of success. May God bless you and your family. And Donald Trump. You know, look at the numbers, stephen A. They don't lie. I mean he had the largest increase in vote with minorities, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, young people, women, I mean all across the board. People know. And the reason is is for the reasons I've discussed earlier, everybody wants lower gas prices. I would do my own grocery shopping. You know what the average the average family thirteen thousand dollars more a year. They're paying what they were buying in twenty twenty. People are putting bare necessities on credit cards. You know, it's the economy stupid. It's law and order and this madness of defund dismantle no bail laws and reimagining the police. It's wide open borders. It's sex change operations. It's woke is and we can talk about that all day if you want. And it's all and what frustrated me in the campaign is kind of a flat out lie to the American people. Repeatedly. She tried to scare seniors in this country and say Donald Trump is going to take your social Security and your Medicare. No, he's not social Security Medicare benefits went up in his first term, and he has pledged never to do that. Well. He supports Project twenty twenty five. He doesn't even know what it is. I've asked him myself numerous apps. They Kamalas said that he's going to sign a national abortion band. He promised he wouldn't. She said he would limit your access to contraception. He never said that he would limit IVF treatments. He never said that either. And I don't like, For one, I don't like being lied to. We're both parents. If your kid does something wrong, okay, it's probably not as bad as the things, and the things I did a lot worse. That's fine. But if they're lie to you about it, you're gonna be a much more trouble of my world.
My world as well.
Two points I want to address that you brought up. Yes, Trump didn't talk about a national abortion band. The flip side to it, however, is that justices who would condone that, who seem as if they would support that, are people obviously he elevated to the Supreme Court. One would argue, when you talk about it because no longer being a federal issue, it's now states rights. Some people say, yeah, Donald Trump, but you had everything to do with that. So I look at it from that perspective. There's no question about that.
Yeah, but here but stephen A. For years, those of us that looked at Roe v. Wade, if you believe in federalism, can you believe in states, you know, having the ability to make these decisions and putting it into the hands of the people directly through their duly elected representatives or through a referendum process or proposition process like that have out in California. Let's take a red state, Ohio, Okay, Roe v wadeers overturned the referendum vote on abortion, and they vote for one of the most liberal abortion laws in the country. Abortion is not going to be outlawed in America in our lifetime period, end of sentence. It is. They're demagoguing it, they'll flat out lying, and they're trying to scare women and they know what they're doing. That's the worst part of it. Now, I happen to have views. I'm very pro life. I'm a Christian and my faith means everything to me. You and I have talked about our faith with each other, and however, I understand where the country is, and the country to me is probably first trimester or Dobbs fifteen weeks. And by the way, that's where even the most liberal European countries are. I mean, they don't go beyond that. Kamala Harris and Tim Walls absolutely no restrictions on abortion in months seven, eight, and nine. Okay, that's called in fantaside because that child can live independently outside the womb. That is morally repugnant to me. The other thing that, you know, we want to stay a little bit on some of the social issues. You know, why would California and Minnesota offer gender affirming care two minors. I'm a libertarian like you. You're an adult, live your life. It's none of Sean Hannity's business, none of my business at all, no criticism for me. But if it's somebody's children, I believe in parents rights. I know you believe in parents rights. Why do you think, as a bureaucrat or a government that you could offer medical care that could be life all watering two children and not consult with the parents.
Listen, we don't, we don't.
We don't have to believeor that point because I think that the left went a bit too far with the you know, with the progressive left. I think they were held hostile is by the progressive left. I think that's why Biden opened the border from day one.
But let me get back to something about Trump.
I think the Democratic Party is the progressive left. Well, I don't think if they had a primary tomorrow they would pick somebody like Kamala Harris. They wouldn't pick it, wouldn't pick stephen A. Smith.
Well, I think you're wrong.
I think I think you're wrong, especially after the results of this election. I think you're absolutely wrong about that. I think they've learned their lesson, make no mistake about it, after this butt whipping. I mean, there's no question they should rethink things, no question about it. But I'm gonna get back to Trump before I get into it with you. With some things that do need to change, particularly when it comes to the Democratic part I want the war Thor lectured. Excuse me, after you spent two years lecturing me about Tim Tebow, you're going to play with me about this.
You better stop right now, You better stop right now. But let me ask you this.
The best is my son. Who's your biggest fad? Right and and he had an opportunity to hang with us and.
Oh many time. Sorry about day and you know I mean that. But man, you talk about his cowboys and it's like lights out, Dad, Dad, Steve. It ain't at it again exactly.
And they got stopped yesterday. But let me get back to Trump. You talk about money, you talk about the economy, you also talk about our national deficit and the exorbitant spending that the Democrats have done over the years. When Trump was in office, he did increase the national deficit by about eight point four trillion dollars, showing I didn't hear you. I don't hear you bring that up too often.
What's up with Well, there were extenuating circumstances in the last year of the Trump administration in the first year of the Biden administration, and that would be the worst pandemic at one hundred years. So I think we have to extrapolate from both sides to be fair. Those years out and he had to spend a lot of money and all that, and that's a big part of where it came from. However, post COVID years, Kamala and Joe have been putting another two trillion dollars to the bottom line, Republicans, in my view, pay very close attention. They are not paying enough attention to our national debt. It is projected to soon be fifty trillion dollars. Now. The best part of Trump's agenda that people are not going to be paying attention to is you've heard the term all throughout your life oil rich countries, energy rich countries. Well, we are the richest of all those countries combined. We have more oil, natural gas, coal than all of them. Now, the first step was energy independence. That was hard to achieve. Trump got it done the first time in seventy five years. And in interviews that I have had with him and private conversations that I've had with him, if America wants to get wealthy. For example, I got kicked out of New York. I had two governors say, get the hell out of here, get the hell out of here. We don't want you.
Oh, you didn't get kicked out.
You wanted to leave. Stop Dad, you wanted to leave. Comed about text.
I'll call, I'll quote him for you, and then we'll get back to energy. If you're one of those conceive itives, that is pro guy and pro issure. Weapon and anti gay. You're not in New Yorker and there's no place for you in Europe. First of all, I'm not anti gay anything, not at all. Friends, relatives, people in my life love them, their family to me, not an issue in John Hannay's world. But the fact that he said that, and Kathy Hochl says Lee Zeldon, all your Trump guys, get out of bus, go down to Florida, get the hell out of here, get the hell out of here. So I got the hell out and I barely go back. You know. It's so they did do it. But back to energy if America but in one way to save New York would be fracky. It's the dumbest decision ever. You could lower taxes in California and New York immediately if you just tap into the energy rich the energy resources both states out if America. If Donald Trump is able to succeed and providing all of Western Europe with their energy needs, we will be an energy rich country. What does that mean? We can pay off that debt, we can lower our taxes, The American people can benefit even from the resources to shared resources we have. I'll give you an example. If you are a residence citizen of Alaska, and they sell you don't pay the income taxes. They give you a check every year because you share the energy resources of that state. Most people don't know that. One other thing I would do. And the President is going to allow Elon Musk to come in. That's why I know he's looking to get rid of two trillion dollars in spending. Well, we tried this once before in the Reagan years. It was called the Grace Commission, and they look for ways to get rid of waste, fraud, and abuse. And they heat the best, brightest business minds in America and they came up with all these ideas. How many Steven a quick pop quiz of the hundreds of ideas they came up with, how many do you think Congress adopted?
Maybe two.
Zero zero. They're addicted to spending. They get their power through spending. And there's another idea that I would implement. And I talked to Trump in his first term about it. I've not talked to recently about it. It was put together by a Florida congressman at the time, Connie Mack. It was called the Penny Plan. And every year what they have what's called baseline budgeting, and every year in government, every single department they build in an increase seven percent a year, every year, seven years, et cetera. Eliminate baseline budgeting. Don't impact social security and medicare as a matter of fact, you need to replenish the lock box that they raided and stole from. And once they because they're headed towards in solveigncy. Once they do that, except for defense, everything else has got to stay remain constant for six or seven years. You cut one or two cents out of every dollar that you're spending now, and you'll meet a balanced budget. The last time we balanced the budget, it was Nu Gingrich when he was a speaker and Bill Clinton is present.
They did in nineteen ninety four.
Let me get to you personally on a couple of hours. Check this out. I often joke about this. I often joke about this. You've heard me joke about this, but you're not offended by it. I want to do that to you. I've said to.
People, and obviously I'm being very facetious here.
If a Republican shot somebody in broad daylight on Fifth Avenue, New York City, the first words.
Out of your mouth would be the Democrats.
Did the first everything that anything that you come up with that the Conservatives do, the Democrats are bigger culprits.
When in this when Steve, when is this edition?
This is Stephen trying to be provoking. I'm just asking, I'm just playing your game. I'm telling you when Republicans are wrong. I have a history of calling them out when they spend too much money, when they go for stopgap measures, and and continuing when they don't fight for the things they say they're going to fight.
That's not what I'm saying watching that day, That's not what i'm saying.
Spoken.
No, No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm not questioning that. It's absolutely true.
I've seen you attack many of Republicans when you think they're wrong.
I'm only talking about them.
It compareson to Democrats, particularly when they're running for office, because I know on a Republican's worst day, you will pick them ahead of any Democrat on a planet that I know about you.
I'm lying, Well, admit, listen, I'll tell you one day I'm a little I'm not going to say I don't like the word proud. I say I'm proud that I did this. I'm grateful that I have a microphone and a camera every day in front of the NFL. I thank my audience, I thank your audience, and I am humbled and grateful for it. However, I am I am appreciative that we did coverage in this election that nobody else did. Nobody. I played Kamala Harris in her own words supporting the radical ninety three trillion dollar renew deal and heard her own voice saying, and she would eliminate the filibuster to pass it. She co sponsored that bill with Bernie Sanders. Nobody else covered that. I she co sponsored with Bernie Sanders again, Medicare for all, and she's on tape saying she would eliminate the choice of private health care she talked about many times. And I played those tapes of mandatory gun buybacks. That's called conferenceation.
And you never bought her changed positions. I never want to play.
Her position on every single major issue in her own words. And I put together and I put it on my website, Kamala and her own words, the Kamala Files. And guess what, I deputized everybody in my audience. We're on seven hundred and fifty radio stations. Serious x Adam. I do a podcast, as you know, and I'm on Fox every night, and I put it together and people shared it with their friends and neighbors. They're coworkers, strangers, social media. And guess what I take credit for people knowing about that radicalism? Stephen A. Is there one person you know that wants taxpayer funded sex change surgeries, convicted felon's or illegal immigrants? Is there one one person in your life?
No? But you also, but you also.
You wouldn't know it except for people like me. But you're welcome.
But you're very big on character as well, and we all know that there are question marks about Trump's character in a lot of people's eyes.
I'm being kind to you.
What you want to talk You want to talk about Kamala's husband, Okay.
See he's not going to He didn't rub for president Shawan. He didn't rub for president. It was it was Tama habits president Donald Trump.
You see talking about Doug.
That's all.
By the way. Did I talk Did I talk a lot about Doug on my show?
No? You did not.
No I did not, No, you did not. You know, Look, I don't know what's true or not true. I as a Christian, I do believe we've all sinned, included starting right here. Look, look, look closely, we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. If we're looking for perfection in a leader, you're never going to find it. And what I've learned about the smartest, brightest, most created, most all the people in the world, and I actually put you in that category, except not in this category. Is their blessing? Is their curse? A lot of times what makes them great can also be could also hurt them sometimes, and I accept that that brilliance, that gift. You know, look at the imperfect people in the Bible. You know, here's here's King David, right, And I'm not comparing. I'm not talking about Trump anymore, but that's that's off the table. I'm not talking about Kamal or her husband. But you know, God picks certain people at certain times, and he picks the most interesting figures in the world, doesn't he. I mean, he blessed both of us. You know, we have very similar backgrounds, and to have an opportunity to talk to large audiences every day, that is such a blessing and neither one of us deserve it be very especially you.
And yeah, I'll take that, especially me. I'll take I'll take a showing. But listen, I'll say this to you in all honesty. I've been dying to ask you this one question, no matter what election there is, because I've been listening to you for twenty years. We've been friends for twenty years. You've always been there for me, and I've.
Always appreciated that.
That's why we've been such good friends, because you've.
Always if you've always had my back.
I got to ask you. I've got to ask you. You've talked on numerous occasions, through numerous elections, how fearful you were of the state of our country if the Left had won an election.
Barack Obama won.
Ultimately in two thousand and eight, of course, and obviously Clinton at one in ninety two. We get all of that, But I ask you, honestly, going into this election. Was I wrong in surmising that you were genuinely more fearful of the state of our country for this past election that just happened last week more so than any other election you can recall in your adult.
Life by far. And I said it. I said it often. This to me, this was an inflection point. If we would have kept the borders open the way we have. The risk is already so high of really bad things happening in this country that I pray to God that it doesn't happen on that issue, the New Green Deal that she co sponsored her bills, she never got asked that question by the legacy media. That's why legacy media is dead. You know, with everything they threw at Trump, ABC, NBCCBS, you know, Washington Post, New York Times, USA Today, all these liberal cable channels, all these celebrities, all these endorsements. Fuck the American people. They don't care what they say. I think you're saying anymore. They now have They have found talk radio, they have found podcasting, they have found Fox News. They now have alternatives that they didn't have years and years but started in this business. And so yeah, and I'll tell you why, because the New Green Deal would have destroyed capitalism. I don't want to live in a country where we have government run healthcare. What is it tell me what government runs? Well, now, look at most of the schools. They're horrible. They can't keep towns and cities safe and secure so people can pursue happiness. You know, tell me, how is it you We're going to give more power and authority to the people that raided the lock box or Social Security and Medicare that are now headed towards insolveigncy. The same people that won't control our borders and follow the laws that exist in this country, but they take it a step further. They aid in a bet in the law breaking. Why do people have confidence in a government to promise, you know, uh, you're going to keep your doctor, keep your plan, and the average family is going to save, you know, on average twenty five hundred dollars a year, and millions lose their doctors, millions lose their plans. Forty percent of the country has one Obama Care exchange option and everybody's paying two hundred and fifty to three hundred percent more. Why do people put their faith in the government. I believe in the individual. I believe in the cause of freedom. May I answer that with freedom comes responsibility. I have since the time I am eight years old, worked in my life. I don't you know these people that work eight hour days, I don't know. There's nobody in astment my world that I know that's successful that works eight hours a day. I don't stop working. I work because it's my passion and it's my job. It is what I do, and I work hard and I the rest of the time, I'm I'm a bit of a hermit, as you know, and I hang out with my family in front.
And when you and I and when you and I have had these these conversations and you've always thrown these questions back to me, I've openly confessed. I remember you were shocked when I told you. I said, listen, my mother and father voted Democrat every day of the week.
But I don't know what the hell that was for.
Because we lived a very in a very conservative household all my life.
I've never recalled it being a liberal. It was conservative. So you had me there.
But I also talked about, you know, splitting the baby down the middle, and I met that this way.
The points that you just articulated.
Fine, but let's go to federal route for a second. As a black man, I'm thinking about the Civil Rights Act of nineteen sixty four, I'm thinking about the Voter Rights Act of nineteen sixty five. There is a place for federal intervention there is a place for federal oversight. I said, maybe not with everything, but with some things. And I brought that up to you.
Question, who was it that philipbustered the sixty four Civil Rights Act and the sixty five Voting Rights Act. Do you know the guy's name? It was a guy by the name Robert, the former klemsman KKK Byrd.
I called, yes, Robert North and West Virginia.
You know that Robert Byrd and Joe Biden. Very few people seem to know this. I pointed it out during the twenty twenty election and many times since that they partnered and the only one to call him out on the Democratic side during the primary in twenty twenty it was Kamala. Interestingly, that Joe partnered with somebody he referred to as his mentor and his friend. We were friendsmen and the guy that philipbustered the civil rights side, and he partnered with him to stop the integration to public schools. Joe Biden's words, he didn't want published schools and bussing at the time, he didn't want them to become racial jungles. Did you know that Joe Biden said that? Or am I teaching something new today.
No, I'm aware. I'm aware, no question about it. I brought it up, Kamala brought it up. So we can't escape that.
Sean. I'm going to let you get out of here, but I got one more question for you.
Wait a minute. I wanted to talk about one last thing.
Okay, you asked.
You came on my show after the election. I watched you, You went on another show, and then I watched you. You came on my show. Yep, And there's very few people that were as you and I know how you want with the vote to go. I've been on the air many times after an election going away. I didn't want it to go, and I try to show the same respect and I don't sit there and cry. You've got women now shaving their heads, pledging to divorce their husbands and pledging to never have sex with men again, which is up their choice. I'm not going to get puffed in their private life. But it's crazy you asked, very you just brought up how does America if you and I can be friends. We don't agree on all these issues. We don't agree on every sports issue, we don't agree on every political issue. How do we reconcile the idea that there's half the country that wants open borders and half the country that wants secure borders. How do you reconcile those that want, you know, ev mandates and refrigerator mandates and dishwasher mandates and washer drying mandates, and those that believe in freedom. How do we reconcile those that want energy independence and those that want the band fracking and offshore drilling. How do we reconcile those that believe in law and order so we can be safe and secure to pursue happiness versus defundus man, is.
What I think.
How we do deal radical marks and socialism with capitalism? Now, that's a deep and profound question right now. The way we are dealing with it is one side wins and one side loses. Is there a middle ground? Tell me? I think I'll.
Answer that question as a lead into my very last question to you.
There's a happy.
Medium, is long as there's common ground on people wanting America to be as great as it's supposed to be, considering the fact that we're the richest country in the world. See, I think the part that some people miss and I'm not accusing you of this. There are some people whose definition or whose vision of America in terms of the vision that they want, they want to see America burned to the ground.
They want to see America crumble. See people like that you can't talk to.
Because I'm not gonna say.
I see how you see, how you see how you do Now, I'm not going to say that.
I'm not going to say that.
What I'm saying to you is that you might have a different vision of America in terms of what it will take to make America what it's supposed to be. Then I but if we both want America to be great, it's just about our vision. You got to make sure to take those in a bowl and separate them from those you really want America to burn to the ground. That's what I'm saying.
How do you reconcile open borders, closed borders, energy and dependence and dominance and no drilling or fracking. How do you reconcile defund dismantle the police, and no bawn laws versus law and order. How do you reconcile any of these issues? I don't seem the ground to be honest, Okay, I really don't see it. Okay, Well, we'll defund half the police departments. We'll dismantle half of them, and then we'll fund the other half. It's not gonna work that way. We'll open half the border, but not the other half of the border. Well, well, let me say, let me say this to you.
I'll tell you what we do it. I'll tell you what and this and this again. This leads to my last question.
I think if you have an economy where the vast majority of Americans are flourishing.
I think if you have safe streets in America.
I think the combination of those two things and we're moving in a forward direction where people are able to look at it and say, I don't have everything I want, but I can't deny that this country is in a good place. I think you'll find folks saying, Okay, that's where we're what we're addicted to, We're fine. My question to you, last question is this, Donald Trump, what a deficit in the trillions?
Okay, when you consider the plight, When.
You consider that, economists came out and said the money that he's going to have to spend, it's just going to it's going to elevate the deficit even more, which will put us in even worse times. All of those things being considered, Sean Hannity, how do you think he is going to end up doing and what do we get to do to define whether or not Donald Trump has a successful presidency over the upcoming four years.
Well, you're asking two separate questions, Okay, okay, So for him to succeed, now, we have to rebuild our military. Our military we have we're almost back to where we were when Reagan took office, a huge gap of vulnerability. China and Russia have hypersonic technology, we don't. Stephen A. We got to spend a lot of money on that. We're going to have to spend a lot of money to secure our border. We're going to have to spend lot of money to shore up social security and medicare. We're going to have to spend a lot of money to make sure the border is secure and that towns and cities are safe and secure. And let's be honest, Democratic run cities have the worst schools. They suck, and we are robbing our children of the latter to success and the talent that God gave them. So that all costs money. But I gave you the answer earlier. There's only two ways to deal with that. One, energy will make this country the richest country on Earth. Two, you've got to cut back on spending. I like the Penny plan that I mentioned. I like Elon Musk getting rid of waste brought and abuse. That would be very helpful. Is there a magic Is there is this something that will be accomplished by year two. No, it will not. It's going to take the full four years. Let's see where we are. It will be deficit spending because there are things he has to do. We've got to be able to battle the worst geopolitical foes one could imagine in China, Russia, Iran, and maybe North Korea, especially the Iranians. The Iranians are very dangerous right now because they have this radical convert or die madness. They're funding four proxy wars against Israel. They have pledged death to America, death to Israel. It's extraordinarily dangerous. So we've got to rebuild a military. With that said, his legacy will be this. If Donald Trump keeps the promise to secure the border, if he keeps the promise to get our cities more safe and secure, if he keeps the promise to get the economy back on track for everyday Americans, the people that really do make this country great, and every small town in every big city, if he keeps the promise to make us energy dominant, if he restores America's place in the world where our adversaries in top geopolitical foes respect us again and are fearful in a good way, healthy way of this president. I think this is going to not only was this the greatest political comeback in the modern era in mic go down as one of the greatest, may go down as the greatest political comeback ever only happened one other time in this country. And knowing him privately publicly, I know that's where his gut is and he's going to hit the ground running so freaking hard on day one. Don't be surprised. It's going to be hyperbole. He's throwing out all these people that didn't respect our laws, our borders, our sovereignty. Oh, he's a racist, these are this, He's that he's a monster in tournament camps. All that rhetoric is going to happen. But we got to get the country safe and secure and people come in legally, and you're welcome and be a part of our family. Just do it legally, please. So that's a prediction. But I think he is legacy. He is primed to have a legacy that'll be second then none if he does it right.
You've been on message. You do not change. You feel what you feel. You've always said it, You've done it repeatedly.
I've told this to people many Occasions's got seven over. You're on seven hundred and fifty radio stations across the United States of America, plus serious XM Radio. You got three hours a day on radio, then another hour every week night on Fox News Channel Okay at nine pm Eastern Standard Tom. Every single conversation, every single interview, every single monologue.
Every single show, you say the same damn thing. I keep tired. I get tired of people. Tell me Steven and get him. You gotta say, I mean, what bring this up? Bringing that I said? You just don't understand. The message will not change.
You don't understand he says the same damn thing every day that they've been doing it.
But I do. But I say, you're asking me questions why I believe what I believe. I'll tell you why go ahead, because I believe in the and the principles of conservative because conservatism works. I wrote a chapter in my last book. I saw I'm never going to write another book, and I wrote it in twenty twenty. It went to number one, Thank you, thank God. And it was called Livery or Die America in the World on the Brink, And I had a chapter about socialism in there, and it's called socialism. It's history of failure. I don't care what name you slap on it, what manifestation it takes on. The New Green Deal to me, represented socialism, Marxism, whatever world you want to do, whatever label you want to place on, And every single time it has been tried, it always ends the same way. Unfulfilled promises more poverty and a loss of freedom. How much freedom did you give up in the name of false security for Obamacare? Or why is social security and medicare going towards insolvency? And why can't our government have better schools, keep our border secure and make sure our towns and cities are saved man? To me, it's about people, America. We need to aspire to be great again, to be the greatest. The Washington Post had an article, well the next generation. They're going to have to start worrying about not affording a house, so they need to settle for a townhouse. I'm like, no, they don't. Why would we settle. That's like Jimmy Carter telling us to wear a sweater and turn down the thermostack. No, we're better than that, aspired to higher than that. You know, Elon Musk is about to send a rocket ship to rescue astronauts in space. He's planning to go to Mars. That's the America, the America that took Stephen A. Smith, that who started out. And I won't get into your life story because I don't know how much you want me to reveal. Who started out where people did not believe in him at the highest level, and it inspired you and motivated you. And you are ESPN Sports. There is no ESPN as far as I'm concerned, in my opinion, without Steven A. Smith. And then you expand out into politics, which I got a lot of work to do. And then you expand out into a podcast, and then you come on my shows, and then that's when I let you talk. By the way, you.
Don't you never let me talk like this. I tell you that much but look, man, go to work. I gotta go.
I really appreciate you taking time out of your business today.
What's up, bro, what's going on?
I love you. You're a dear friend.
I appreciate the same right right back at you.
Like I told, you've always been there for me man, always, I will never I will never apologize for being your friend.
Any damn body. I don't agree with you. Damn it. You understand. I wish Kamala had won. You understand.
But I hope that Trump is everything you say and you believe he is. And I do say this as a country. It was a fair election, and he won by a rock, swept all the swings and what have you? Eradicated the blue wall. The American people have the vote. The American and won a popular vote and the electoral college vote. The American people have spoken. There's nowhere for there's nothing for us to say. We got to accept it, eat it. And now let's see if he lives up to And I'm getting.
Ready to go. But go ahead, Sean.
You know all these people, I wonder if they're gonna Rachel Maddow, the Ladies of the View. You know, they're gonna take us off the air and arrest us. You know who's stuck up for Bill Marer probably doesn't remember it. He stuck up for Bill Maher. Bill Maher was about to be taken off the air.
I spoke to him about that. He doesn't about me.
He does, and he hates me. Now Joy read over at MSDNC was on the verge of getting fired. I know because months later I went on here and said, give her an opportunity to apologize and give her another chance. And NBC executive True Story told me your comments allowed meet us to save her career. She wrote me the nicest note. She didn't. She probably doesn't remember, but I do. And you know I don't support cancel culture. I don't support boycotts. I never have, never will. I believe in freedom of speech. That's why you're so good at what you do.
Don't say that free edumb and then say, but that's why you're so great with you. I know, I just louck in the snuck in that comment. Be nice, be nice.
That was being nice. I'm not taking it.
I got you, no shot there right back at you. I'll be watching handed the tonight, my man.
Thanks so man, I appreciate it, thanks a lot, all the love man take care but