Bobby Jindal opens up about his 2016 presidential run on 'Hannity'

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Bobby Jindal opens up about his presidential run

One-on-one with the Louisiana governor on 'Hannity'

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," July 3, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Welcome to "Hannity." The 2016 GOP field continues to take shape, and Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal recently declared he is, in fact, running for president. He joins us tonight for the full hour.

But first, let's take a look at how this big announcement went down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL, R-LA., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My name is Bobby Jindal.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

JINDAL: I am governor of the great state of Louisiana, and I am running for president of the greatest country in the world, the United States of America!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

JINDAL: I'm not running for president to be somebody, I'm running for president to do something!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

JINDAL: I will secure our borders. I will grow the private sector economy. I will rebuild America's defenses and restore our standing on the world stage!

My dad told me as a young child that Americans can do anything. I believed him then, and I believe it now. I am asking you to believe again, believe in what we can do, believe in what America can do!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: All right, joining me now for the full hour is 2016 GOP presidential candidate, the great governor of the great state of Louisiana, Governor Bobby Jindal. How are you, Governor? Good to see you.

JINDAL: Sean. Doing great.

HANNITY: A very...

JINDAL: Thank you for having me.

HANNITY: ... small field this time.

(LAUGHTER)

HANNITY: Just a couple of competitors. Here's the question I'm asking every candidate now as they get into this race. How do you break out?  It's so hard. I mean, you got such a crowded field. It's difficult, right?

JINDAL: Absolutely. But Sean, let me tell you what my approach is. I think Jeb Bush is absolutely wrong. Remember when he said that we've got to lose the primary in order to win the general? Let me translate that.  What he is really saying is we've got to hide our conservative ideals. I think that's nonsense.

I'm running as an authentic conservative. We have tried to make the left happy. We've tried to make the media happy. We've tried to hide our beliefs. It doesn't work.

The reality is, President Obama, Hillary Clinton are trying to turn the American dream into the European nightmare. Sean, we're on the path to socialism. Let's call it what it is.

HANNITY: Are we on the path, or are we there?

JINDAL: Well, look...

HANNITY: Right?

JINDAL: ... with ObamaCare -- the president went to the Catholic Health Association, tried to make the moral case for ObamaCare. I think it's immoral.

It's immoral to make people dependent on government, immoral to create a new entitlement program when we can't afford the one we've got. I think it's immoral -- the ones we've got. It's immoral to borrow money without a plan to pay it back. It's immoral to lie to the American, tell them you're going to reduce costs, let them keep their doctors and plans. It's not true.

He's making the case for socialism! And look, people that are for socialism always try to make the moral case. Doesn't work in the real world.

HANNITY: You brought up Governor Bush, interestingly. He's obviously one of the front-runners going in, at the beginning of this -- this campaign.

I looked at his record before I interviewed him -- very conservative governor, created a lot of jobs, lowered the workforce (sic), got rid of a lot of debt, first governor ever to institute school choice, which I thought was good.

Now it seems that the two issues that he has to deal with are immigration and Common Core. Is that what a campaign should be based on, those two issues, or is it based on your record or is it a combination of all things?  Because, you know, obviously, people are looking at your record now.

JINDAL: Well, look, a couple of things. One, I think the voters are going to get to decide. I happen to think Common Core is a mistake. I think it's a violation of the 10th Amendment to the Constitution. I'm suing the Arne Duncan and the federal government, saying the federal government should never be involved in local K through 12 curriculum decisions.

I think for a lot of voters, they don't like Common Core. But they also don't like it as a symbol of this president's overreach and growing the federal government into areas it never belonged in, including ObamaCare.

Sean, I think in this election, we need a doer, not a talker. We've got a slick talker in the White House, got a lot of talkers running. We've got a first-term senator who never ran anything as president of the United States. We can't afford on-the-job training.

Here's my record. We've cut our state budget 26 percent, over 30,000 fewer state government bureaucrats since the day I took office, eight credit upgrades, top 10 state when it comes to private sector job creation, 25 years of out migration, 7 years in a row in migration, statewide school choice. We privatized our charity hospital system.

When you do that, the big government crowd complains. So what they say about me is, Well, he cuts too much, there's never enough...

HANNITY: So wait a minute. Is that 26 percent cut in government -- is that real dollars?

JINDAL: That's -- our budget is 26 percent smaller.

HANNITY: Smaller than when you took office.

JINDAL: That's right. We're not slowing the growth...

HANNITY: 30,000 fewer government workers.

JINDAL: Over 30,000 fewer state government bureaucrats.

HANNITY: Eight bond upgrades.

JINDAL: That's right.

HANNITY: That's pretty impressive. I know that the Louisiana economy, like Texas a little bit and maybe North Dakota, with the declining price of oil, you guys took a little hit there. How has that impacted the economy?

JINDAL: Well, we have, but you look at it month over month, compared to year over year, our private sector employment continues to grow. We're 55 months in a row. We set a record in April for the most people that ever worked in Louisiana's history in April, over two million people working, the first time in our state's history, per capita income ranking the highest that it's been. We've got over $60 billion, over 90,000 private sector jobs coming into our state.

We've diversified our economy. Now, yes, falling energy prices has an impact. We've diversified our economy. Sean, we measure success by how people are doing in the private sector, not the government sector. Hillary Clinton measures it in the government sector. It's either/or. You can't have both.

HANNITY: Could you -- here's my problem. Neither party -- and I'm angry at Republicans...

JINDAL: Sure.

HANNITY: ... because they have bought into baseline budgeting under Obama.  They have control -- they have the power of the purse. They haven't used it.

Are you saying -- if you became the president of the United States, do you really think in your time in four years, six years, eight years that you could decrease spending in government in real dollars 26 percent?

JINDAL: We need to shrink it and we need to balance the budget. Sean, if we can't shrink the size of the federal budget, we might as well go home because we're done as a country.

And let's be honest. This is a great country. Our best days are ahead of us. But this hour is late. We don't have time. It's over $18 trillion of debt. And that's with artificially low interest rates. This is only going to get worse, not better.

And if you want to be popular in D.C., you can't talk like you and I talk.  If you want to be popular in D.C. with Republicans and Democrats...

HANNITY: Republicans won't even take my call anymore. They're mad at me because I think that they have been weak by not using the power of the purse.

JINDAL: But you're right. And look, when I'm president I'll take your call.

HANNITY: OK. Thank you. I'll hold you to that. Go ahead.

JINDAL: And we've got it on video. Look, Republicans in D.C., Democrats in D.C. will tell you you can't do term limits. You can't repeal ObamaCare. You can't undo amnesty. You can't secure the border.

What is the point of having a Republican Party? They seem to accept -- not only do they accept baseline spending, they accept baseline dependence.

HANNITY: Here's two areas of failure. They said that they would repeal and replace ObamaCare, 50 votes that were symbolic, but they never used the power of the purse. Do you agree?

JINDAL: Absolutely.

HANNITY: And you agree on executive amnesty. They said they would stop it, not fund the Department of Homeland Security. They ended up funding Obama's executive amnesty.

JINDAL: Absolutely. And they told us when they -- when they asked for the Senate majority in November, two specific promises they made, and they were in almost every TV ad -- Elect us and we'll repeal "Obama care." Elect us, we'll stop the illegal amnesty.

No wonder voters are frustrated. I'm the only candidate with a detailed plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

HANNITY: What is your plan?

JINDAL: Well, it's three different parts. First, let's do what the president said he was going to do, actually decrease costs, standard tax deduction, voluntary purchasing pools, cross-state purchase of insurance, expanded access to health savings accounts, wellness accounts, crack down on frivolous lawsuits, Medicare premium support, Medicaid global grants to the state, more flexibility, more accountability.

That first principle, you could reduce premiums for the average family by $5,000.

HANNITY: Next year, on average -- on average -- it's going to go up over 30 percent! And the president said, Keep your doctor, keep your plan, and save $2,500 per year. None of that's coming true.

Well, I want to pick it up.

JINDAL: Sure.

HANNITY: I have a very important question I've asked every candidate so far. It's about the economy, the state of the economy and specifically how you'll fix that.

And coming up -- we're getting things started. 2016 GOP presidential candidate Governor Bobby Jindal will be here for the entire hour. Coming up next, we'll ask the governor about his plans for this ailing economy.

And then later, it's your turn to get in on the action. Now, we're going to ask Governor Jindal some of the questions you've been sending us via Facebook and Twitter.

And that and much more as "Hannity" continues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JINDAL: Now we have more people working than at any time in our state's history, with the highest incomes in our state's history. A job for your family, a paycheck in your mailbox -- they're the ultimate proof that your state is doing things right!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JINDAL: Now we have more people working than at any time in our state's history, with the highest incomes in our state's history. A job for your family, a paycheck in your mailbox -- they're the ultimate proof that your state is doing things right!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

JINDAL: The big government crowd, they hate what we have done. They say that we have cut the government more than anyone, that government budgets are always running low on funds with me in the governor's office. My response to the big government crowd is simply this. Yes, I am guilty as charged, and our state is better off for it today!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: And we continue with 2016 GOP presidential candidate Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal.

All right, this is a question I have asked every candidate. And the reason we are doing this for the hour is to give you the opportunity to explain to our audience what you would do.

The next president of the United States will inherit $20 trillion in debt, $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities, 93 million Americans out of the labor force, nearly 50 million Americans in poverty, 46 million Americans on food stamps for 40 months or longer.

It seems insurmountable! How do you get those people out of poverty, back in the labor force and off of food stamps and participating again?

JINDAL: Sean, and that's exactly what this election should be about, breaking that cycle of dependency, that culture of dependency that President Obama and Hillary celebrate. Several things. First, repeal and replace "Obama care" so employers have certainty, drive down health care costs. Secondly...

HANNITY: Meaning they'll hire more people.

JINDAL: That's exactly right. And more hours, as well. Secondly, lower and a flatter tax code. We can't have the highest tax rate in the developed world. Third, we need to rein in the EPA...

HANNITY: Flat tax or fair tax?

JINDAL: Well, we'll put out a detailed plan, and I suspect it'll have lower, flatter rates. Both sides have to give up their carve-outs, their exemptions, no special deals, No more Solyndras for anybody, either Republicans or Democrats.

Third, we've got to rein in the EPA. We can be energy-independent. We can bring back good-paying manufacturing jobs. Sean, the regulatory overreach is one of the worst job killers in this economy under this administration.

HANNITY: Fifty percent fewer leases on federal lands under Obama. All of the energy boom has been on private land.

JINDAL: It was so odd to hear him in his State of the Union a couple years ago bragging about rising oil and gas production. I said it was like the rooster taking credit for the sun coming up every morning.

(LAUGHTER)

JINDAL: He had nothing to do with it! He's tried everything he can do the stop it! You know, they don't like fracking. They don't like oil. They don't like natural gas...

HANNITY: But these are high-paying jobs!

JINDAL: $50,000, $60,000 $70,000. And it's not just in oil and gas. It's steel. It's fertilizer. It's petrochemical. These are industries coming back to Louisiana. We can compete with China and other countries if we have affordable energy.

HANNITY: So energy independence, getting rid of "Obama care," spending -- you talked about...

JINDAL: Got to cut spending back.

HANNITY: Real dollars.

JINDAL: Real dollars.

HANNITY: Eliminate baseline budgeting.

JINDAL: That's right. Not just eliminating -- not just slowing down the growth. Otherwise, this economy will swallow us.

We need meaningful school choice where the dollars follow the child. The quality of a child's education can't depend on their zip code. Yes, we've got to get rid of Common Core, but let's empower parents. We have the most educated, the smartest kids, smartest people anywhere in the world.

HANNITY: Should they get -- should families get a check, and -- based on what we're paying the federal government every year to send the kid to school and give him a choice?

JINDAL: Absolutely.

HANNITY: So we can eliminate the Department of Education?

JINDAL: Well, look, the reason Arne Duncan's able to blackmail states into Common Core is because he threatens them. If you want a No Child Left Behind waiver, if you want your own tax dollars back, you're going to have do what we want.

If you make those dollars portable and divisible, not only do the dollars follow the student, they should be able to break them up so they can take one private course or two public courses or all public courses or on line or home schooled, whatever the family thinks is the best.

HANNITY: What do you think about the penny plan? Cutting one cent out of every dollar government spends every year for six years gets you to a balanced budget, one penny.

JINDAL: I like cutting across -- we need to cut -- in some departments, we need more than a penny. There's one thing that I'd point out. There are some areas we have to invest in more, for example, defense.

We've got a president who's hollowing out our military. And I want to shrink the government. I want to balance the budget. We're spending a record portion of our economy on the government as we're spending a record low on the military since World War 2.

In these last few years, Sean, our enemies don't fear us. Our friends don't trust us. We -- it is wrong! We've got the finest military in the world. I never want them in a fair fight.

HANNITY: Let me ask you, though -- with 93 million Americans out of the labor force, are we going to get those people back in? And how quickly?  In other words, I don't really believe we've had a full recovery. We have anemic growth. The last quarter, we had negative growth. We have two -- another quarter, that would mean we're in a recession again.

So if 93 million -- you're saying that through repealing and replacing "Obama care," through, you know...

JINDAL: Cutting taxes.

HANNITY: ... cutting taxes...

JINDAL: ... cutting spending, cutting regulations -- the energy...

HANNITY: And energy. You're saying that -- how many people could we realistically expect back to work?

JINDAL: Let me just finish that last thought so nobody -- no viewer -- I don't want our military in a fair fights. I want them to dominate any potential fight.

In terms of changing the culture and getting people back in the workforce, this is why it's so critical we need big change in D.C. Sean, I agree with you. My concern is we not make this the new normal. Four more years of this president's policies, where it's all about redistribution and class envy and government dependence, then you'll have a whole generation of Americans that thinks we can't grow the economy.

This last quarter was negative. They call 2 percent growth a recovery.  Nonsense. After this recession, that's not a recovery. We need a stronger economic recovery where we tell folks that, look, We'll give you -- the American dream is not that we're going to take care of you. The American dream is we'll give you equal opportunity. You have the chance to work hard, get an education and do great things for yourself, for your kids.

You know, the great thing in American is it doesn't matter what your last name is, doesn't matter if you're wealthy.

HANNITY: What do you think about the divide in America? You've got -- every election, the Democrats, you know what they're going to do. It's black versus white, rich versus poor, old versus young. And you're a conservative, so that means you want to throw grandma over the cliff and you want to poison the air and water and you want to kill children.

So how do Republicans counter the predictable narrative that comes up every election cycle?

JINDAL: Well, a couple things. One, I -- look, I'm tired of this president and Hillary trying to divide us. You're exactly right. It's by class, gender, race, everything. I'm tired of hyphenated-Americans. We're not Irish-Americans or Indian-Americans or African-Americans or rich Americans or poor Americans. We're all Americans.

We need to make that point. We used to proudly call this country the melting pot. And you can be proud of your heritage. My parents came here over 40 years ago legally. They wanted to be Americans.

HANNITY: You know, so much has been made over the fact that Barack Obama is the first black president. Hillary's saying that she wants to be the first woman president. But we've got -- let's see, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz -- they would be the first Hispanic presidents. You would be the first Indian-American president, even though you don't like hyphenated American. I understand. The Republican Party is far more diverse than the media gives it credit for. True or false?

JINDAL: Oh, absolutely because we don't judge people by their backgrounds.  We just people based on ideas, accomplishments. Look, the Democrats are about to crown Hillary Clinton right in an open contest. Let's compare our records. Let's compare our policies.

But Sean, in terms of unifying our people, I think this president's done so much damage. This whole politics of envy, of class warfare, of redistribution -- that's not what's made this country great. That's not how we got here.

HANNITY: How do you describe Barack Obama and his presidency?

JINDAL: Look, first of all, from my perspective, it's a complete failure.  But he was honest with us on one thing. In 2008, when he was campaigning, remember, he said he wanted to be as transformative as Ronald Reagan. He didn't want to be like Bill Clinton.

Well, I hate to say it, but he has been transformative. He's done more damage in seven years than I thought possible. You look at the damage he's done to us culturally, internationally, domestically. He's bankrupting us at home. He's destroying our standing abroad.

In seven short years, we no longer stand with Israel. In seven short years, we're on the verge of allowing Iran to become a nuclear power, starting a potential nuclear arms race in the Middle East. After winning the cold war, we're about to allow Putin to continue to threaten Eastern Europe. He's already in the Ukraine.

We've allowed ISIS to grow in the void that he created in Iraq and now could be creating, is creating in the rest of the Middle East, including Afghanistan. China's rising. We've got countries that are looking for American leadership.

It's amazing how much damage he's done. And we haven't even talked about what he's done to take God out of the public square, his assault on religious liberty.

I think he's been an absolute failure. But you have to give him a very back-handed compliment. He's done more damage, he's been more transformative than any president I can remember. He's also the only president I know of that doesn't believe in American exceptionalism.

HANNITY: Bizarre (ph), right? All right, stay there on foreign policy, because when we come back, Governor Jindal will explain his foreign policy agenda. What would the Jindal agenda be, as it goes all across the board and all across the world?

And then later, it's your turn to get in on the action. We're going to ask the governor some of the questions you've been sending us via social media.

That and much more tonight as "Hannity" continues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JINDAL: I will not be intimidated from talking about the fact that radical Islam is evil and it must be destroyed!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JINDAL: I will not be intimidated from talking about the fact that radical Islam is evil and it must be destroyed!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

JINDAL: Containment is a strategy for losers! But as General George S. Patton famously observed, Americans play to win all the time. Americans don't play to lose.

President Obama has it wrong. Secretary Clinton has it wrong. Our allies need to trust us. Our enemies need to fear us. It is time we play to win again!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: And back with us for the hour is 2016 GOP presidential candidate Governor Bobby Jindal.

all right, you mentioned you could start talking about foreign policy.  Here's where we stand. If you become the next president of the United States (INAUDIBLE) Iran is on the verge of nuclear weapons. We got China pursuing their territorial ambitions seemingly with abandon. Putin, Crimea, Ukraine and all of Europe now concerned because he could turn off the spigot. Worst relations we've had with Israel. ISIS has taken over land that our soldiers fought, bled and died for in Iraq. And Afghanistan is following in its footsteps.

How do you solve that? Where do you begin?

JINDAL: Well, look, leading from behind doesn't work. Peace through strength does. We need to invest in our military. We need to stand with Israel unequivocally, our most important ally in the Middle East. They share our values. This president always talks about them in terms of moral equivalence. That's nonsense. We need to make clear to Iran...

HANNITY: Would you -- let's stay on Israel. Would you say to the Israelis or the world that an attack on Israel is an attack on the United States?

JINDAL: Absolutely. I would also say Jerusalem is their capital. I would recognize it as such, and I would say that we are not going to be putting unilateral demands or pressures on Israel at a time -- let's remember, there's no equivalence with Hamas and Hezbollah, who are using innocent civilians targets or using suicide bombers and civilian targets. There's no equivalence between them and Israel, which is simply trying to defend its right to exist.

HANNITY: What would you do about the Saudis -- obviously, they have their own personal issues, but the Saudis now are fighting the Iranian-backed rebels, the Yemeni rebels. Then you've got the Egyptians have tried to make peace overtures. They're under attack by ISIS. The Jordanians are not far behind. They're under attack by ISIS. I see an alliance between those four countries coming together.

JINDAL: Well, look, the Saudis are already trying to work with the Israelis behind the scenes. You got a president who, Sean, won't even name the enemy. You've got leaders in the Middle East that understand the threat of radical Islamic terrorism. We've got a president won't even say those words!

HANNITY: What is it -- why? Why do you think that's (INAUDIBLE)

JINDAL: He would rather criticize America. He would rather declare war on trans fats and junk food. He would rather declare war on the Crusades and medieval Christians...

HANNITY: Or the evil deeds done in the name of Jesus Christ.

JINDAL: Right. Well, it's not politically correct, I suppose, to say that Islam's got a problem, that they need to condemn the individuals. These individuals are not martyrs. They're not going to their reward in the afterlife. They're going straight to hell.

He needs to say that, and needs to ask for -- he needs to tell clerics and Islamic leaders they need to explicitly recognize the religious rights of others with different beliefs.

Going back to foreign policy. We stand with Israel. I would make it clear to Iran, I don't care what deal this president signs, I'm not abiding by any deal unless it truly gets rid of their enrichment capacity, their enriched uranium, anytime, anywhere inspections...

HANNITY: Well, you heard the -- their -- the Iranian parliament just voted, and they said no, no inspections and they said the destruction of Israel is non-negotiable.

HANNITY: Well, and they're -- well, not only that, they're chanting "Death to America"!

(CROSSTALK)

JINDAL: The great Satan and the little Satan in their eyes. And they've got our prisoners. We can't even can't them to release our hostages, we're giving them billion of dollars!

With Putin, we put tank brigades in Eastern Europe. Right now...

HANNITY: How many troops would you put there?

JINDAL: We put two brigades. But right now, it's not clear to me we've got the resources to do that because he keeps -- this president keeps hollowing out the military.

And China, we would work not only with our allies, like Japan and South Korea and Taiwan. We'd work with non-aligned countries like India and Vietnam that are desperate and hungry for American leadership.

But Sean, it starts with a vision of America as playing a unique role in the world. This president -- I think when he leads from behind, when he criticizes America, he doesn't embrace American exceptionalism the way that you and I do. We understand that America is different, America is special.  We are unique, and we're unabashed to say so. It's not arrogance to say that we are a special country and that we are going to protect our interests and our allies. And we're going to back that up.

Here's the irony. President Reagan understood that. He stared down the great evil of the time, communism, and won the cold war without firing a shot. He deployed troops less frequently than his predecessors or his successors.

Weakness actually is a provocative to evil. You don't beat evil with weakness. You don't beat evil with concessions. You don't beat radical Islam by giving them more territory, giving them more money. You beat evil by strength. This president doesn't understand that. We need to fight radical Islam diplomatically, militarily, culturally -- culturally -- this president barely gets it diplomatically. He's not doing it militarily. He doesn't certainly get it culturally.

HANNITY: Do we need to fight back for those cities that Americans shed their blood on, Mosul, Ramadi, Fallujah, Tikrit?

JINDAL: Three things. One, we absolutely need to be arming and training and working with the Kurds. They've had doing great -- have great success in Kobani. They're defending Christians and other religious minorities.  The combination of allied air strikes and Kurdish forces has been very successful.

Secondly, we have Sunni allies that are willing to help us if they thought we were committed to victory. They don't want to go in there and beat ISIS to help Assad and help Iran. Remember the famous red line. It meant nothing, and to them, that had consequences.

Third, this president -- he's the only commander-in-chief who tells our enemies what we won't do, sends an authorization of the use of military force, says three-year ban, no ground -- three-year deadline, no ground troops.

Why in the world would we put political handcuffs on our military planners?  As commander-in-chief, I'd say, Give me a plan for victory. It's wrong to send troops in harm's way without the resources, the support, the plan they need to get the job done.

HANNITY: We now have had two wars that Americans have shed their blood in -- Vietnam, 58,000 lives lost. Nearly 5,000 in Iraq and Afghanistan -- only to give up that land because the war gets politicized in Washington.  We can't -- if you agree with me, I don't think we should ever ask our military to fight and win a city and maybe die in a city that we're going to give back two years later!

JINDAL: Well, that's right. Look, Obama failed to get a status of forces agreement done with Iraq. He unilaterally withdrew the troops for a political deadline, and as a result, created the border (ph).

Remember, he said that al Qaeda was defeated. This was the JV team, talking about ISIS.

HANNITY: ISIS. It was only a little -- well, a year-and-a-half ago.

JINDAL: Twice admitted -- he has twice admitted he has no strategic plan.  Sean, that's not a gaffe. He was being -- and every time he says that, some administration official says, Well, the president didn't mean what he said.

HANNITY: Yes.

JINDAL: Here's the bottom line. Peace through strength works. We've got the greatest military in the world. I want them to dominate any potential conflict. The Chinese and others will wage asymmetrical fights against us, cyberattacks, as we've seen, could be biological attacks, could be a non- state-sponsored attack...

HANNITY: Seventeen million they might have in this latest cyber-attack.

JINDAL: Well, and our federal government is too busy trying to regulate every water pond through this water rule. They're trying to -- too busy trying to regulate what kind of insurance you've got to buy, too busy telling you what kind of Twinkies or Oreos or microwave popcorn you can eat. Yet they don't have the time to harden our infrastructure and defend our country.

HANNITY: By the way, would it be wrong if I made an offer to the Chinese or Vladimir Putin if they have a copy of Hillary's server, would it be OK if I bought it?

(LAUGHTER)

JINDAL: You raise a great point, though. Everybody -- a lot of people have focused on all of her scandals -- there are many of them. We really need to look at the national security implications of this.

HANNITY: I talked to a security cyber expert the other day. He told me 95 plus percent certain they've got it. Scary, right?

All right, more with Governor Bobby Jindal. We're going to ask him some of you questions, the ones you've been sending via Facebook and Twitter as we continue straight ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JINDAL: Every Republican will tell you they are for school choice, shrinking government, cutting the government workforce and getting rid of Common Core. But talk is cheap. Talk is just talk. I haven't just talked about these things. I've actually done these things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JINDAL: Every Republican will tell you they are for school choice, shrinking government, cutting the government workforce and getting rid of Common Core. But talk is cheap. Talk is just talk. I haven't just talked about these things. I've actually done these things.

Every Republican will say they will fight to protect the unborn, repeal ObamaCare, secure the border, and destroy ISIS. I won't simply talk about these things. I will get these things done.   (APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: We continue for the full hour with 2016 GOP presidential candidate Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. All right, let's go through some of the social issues. You are prolife.

JINDAL: I am, indeed.

HANNITY: You make exceptions -- rape, incest, mother's life?

JINDAL: I want to create a culture of life where every innocent human life is welcome to the world. I know those are difficult cases, but I am prolife. And I understand we've got to go through the Supreme Court.

HANNITY: You don't make the exceptions?

JINDAL: I want to create a culture where every innocent human life is accepted in this country and this culture.

HANNITY: Gay marriage?

JINDAL: Look, I'm -- my Christian faith teaches me marriage is between man and a woman. I'm not evolving with the polls. I'm not changing like Hillary Clinton or President Obama.

I will say this. I think, and I gave a speech at the Reagan Library over a year ago talking about the upcoming assault on religious liberty. Sean, it's not upcoming. It's here today. They are now -- it's moved beyond this. In Louisiana our definition of marriage is in our constitution.  This is beyond the definition of marriage. And marriage is important and I'm for that definition. But now the left wants to discriminate against Christians who want to follow their conscious, caterers, businesses, musicians, florists that don't want to participate in weddings that's violate their sincerely held beliefs.

That's wrong. In America the First Amendment protects our religious liberty rights. I will say this, and I want to say it slowly so Hillary can understand it -- America didn't create religious liberty. Religious liberty created the United States of America. And this is a big fight that's coming. The left wants to take God out of the public square. We cannot let them do that.

HANNITY: Colorado, marijuana, good or bad?

JINDAL: I'm not for legalization. In Louisiana we have done sentencing reforms so that folks that can be rehabilitated, we want to rehabilitate them. No sense locking up nonviolent first time offenders if we can make them productive taxpayers. No to legalization. On medical marijuana, if it's tightly controlled under a doctor's supervision, not like California where it's just everybody.

HANNITY: Do you support the right of the states to make these decisions?

JINDAL: I like what we've done in Louisiana in terms of sentencing reforms. I don't think federally we need to legalize it. I don't think states should be legalizing it. But I like the fact in Louisiana we've been able to do sentencing reforms and tightly controlled medical marijuana. We've got a lot of problems in this country. I don't see how legalized access to pot is going to cure them.

HANNITY: Second Amendment, do law abiding citizens, should they have the right to concealed carry if they have never broken any laws?

JINDAL: Absolutely. And I think one of the next big opportunities for us is reciprocity of concealed carry permits across state lines.

HANNITY: That's happening, actually.

JINDAL: I want to do it nationally. I want to do it so that law abiding citizens have the right. I know the president doesn't like Second Amendment rights. The left, they have their armed guards. They don't want the rest of us to have our Second Amendment right, the hypocrisy. Same thing with Obamacare and school choice, they want to live their lives differently than the rest of us.

HANNITY: Is climate change real or is it a left wing agenda?

JINDAL: A couple of things. Look, I'm sure that human activity has some impact on the environment. How much I'll leave it to scientists.

Here's what I know from a policy perspective, two things. We can have a strong economy, affordable energy, and protect our environment. This president doesn't believe you can do all of those things.

Secondly, we shouldn't be doing anything that unilaterally hurts our economy vis-a-vis our competitors, countries we compete with and trade with like this president is doing with China. So he's hurting our economy, not making them do anything in the short term.

HANNITY: Immigration, it's a big issue in this campaign. What is your immigration policy?

JINDAL: Secure the border. We don't need a comprehensive bill. We don't know 1,000-page bill. Secure the border.

HANNITY: You become president, how quickly could you secure the border?

JINDAL: I think this president, he always talks about his pen and phone, he could do it now. This isn't complicated. Sean, you and I have both been to the border.

HANNITY: I've been there 10 times.

JINDAL: They just need to get this done. And by the way, for folks that are coming here, they should follow the law. They should learn our language, learn our values, and then get to work.

HANNITY: So after you secure the border then we deal separately and independently, in other words, it's like a boat that's taking on water.  You plug up the hole and deal with the problem of 11 million or whatever the number is.

JINDAL: In the 80s they said, oh, trust us. We'll do it all at once. And guess what. They gave amnesty and they never secured the border.

HANNITY: They didn't secure the border, because I think this -- that for a lot of people is a really huge issue. And, you know, what do you do with the 11 million people after that?

JINDAL: Again, I think the American people would be compassionate and practical. But we need to be talking about assimilation as well, something that is politically incorrect, I know, to say that people should learn English, should learn American exceptionalism, shouldn't come here to use our freedoms to undermine the freedoms we give to everybody. There's nothing wrong with saying people who want to come here should want to be Americans.

HANNITY: I asked you about Barack Obama. I've going to give you quick one-sentence answers on people's names. Hillary Clinton?

JINDAL: Third term of President Obama. The only thing she has run is his failed foreign policy.

HANNITY: Bill Clinton?

JINDAL: Here is a guy who will say anything if you let him stay in power.  In the south we say if you see a mob, a politician will get in front of it and call it a parade. That's Bill Clinton.

HANNITY: Rand Paul?

JINDAL: Libertarian.

HANNITY: Marco Rubio?

JINDAL: Great speaker.

HANNITY: Ted Cruz?

JINDAL: Filibuster.

HANNITY: Jeb Bush?

JINDAL: Frontrunner.

HANNITY: Walker?

JINDAL: I yield on that one, sir.

HANNITY: Carly Fiorina?

JINDAL: Hewlett Packard, HP. I'm getting quicker.

HANNITY: It's not the quickness. I'm not sure if it's given me enough intel. But Governor Rick Perry?

JINDAL: Friend. A neighbor, a competitor, a good guy.

HANNITY: You guys are always coming up to New York fighting to steal New York companies. That's why I got to see you and Rick Scott of Florida as well.

JINDAL: He's another good guy. Rick's done a great job in Florida as well. Donald is a business man and entertainer. He brought Miss USA to Louisiana and we're grateful for it.

HANNITY: John Kasich?

JINDAL: John Kasich was a budget chairman and that's what I remember. That's the first thought to come to my mind.

HANNITY: Chris Christie?

JINDAL: Chris -- Sandy. He got a lot of attention for how he handled the super-storm.

HANNITY: You're being extraordinarily nice. We want a like big fight between you. I'm only kidding.

We'll take break. We'll come back. And coming up, Governor Bobby Jindal will answer some of the questions you have sent us on Facebook and Twitter as HANNITY continues straight ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JINDAL: We're not simply trying to reclaim the past. No, quite to the contrary. We are laying out claim on the future, a future where America leads the world.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." And still with us for the entire hours 2016 GOP presidential candidate Governor Bobby Jindal. It's time for the governor to answer some of the questions you've been sending us via Facebook and Twitter. All right, let's start. A question from a viewer Chark1951, "What will you" -- meaning he, "do to promote unity with the races? It seems it has been destroyed during this administration?"

JINDAL: I think that's right. I think this president is so decisive.  Look, after the tragedy last week, one of the first things he did was start talking about politics and gun control. You contrast that with Nikki Haley. What a great job she did trying to unify people and bring people together. You saw this amazing act of generosity when the victims' families forgave the killer. The killer --

HANNITY: That was a big untold story in my opinion.

JINDAL: Absolutely. Talk about this tremendous act of Christian charity.  I think most families would rightfully want vengeance.

HANNITY: I am in that category. I am not the good Christian. I mean this in all sincerity, I would not have the grace that they have.

JINDAL: But what a great example of the best elements of our shared Christian faith. But the question about unity, look, the president sets the tone. He unites us and says this president has been the head of the liberal wing of the Democratic party his entire time, ever after his last election. He never pivoted and said I am going to be president for everybody.

I think the president can set a tone and say we're not divided by gender, age, race. We're all Americans and want the same things. We want the best things for our kids. We want the rules to be fair. If they work hard, get a great education, they should be able to join the middle class.

HANNITY: When you look at the issue of race, I assume you support Nikki Haley on the flag.

JINDAL: I trust Nikki and Tim and Scott and the others to make the best decision for their state.

HANNITY: I watch this, I watch Baltimore, I watch Ferguson, Missouri. I watch a president that has rushed to judgment and been wrong on high profile race cases. And I'm wondering, why would he involve himself without the facts being in?

JINDAL: Sean, there's this jump to want to be a victim. And not just the president, but the left, they're trying to redefine our culture into a culture of division and victimhood. That's not the American story.

HANNITY: I was offended by The Washington Post saying as an Indian- American that you had abandoned the Indian-American community, and something to that effect. I felt that was a racial comment.

JINDAL: Absolutely. Look, they can't fathom the fact that you can be conservative and smart or that you can look a different way and still be a Christian.

HANNITY: You went to Brown University, an Ivy League school, you're pretty smart.

JINDAL: I think that doesn't compute for them. I really don't. They think that if you're smart you must be a liberal.

HANNITY: You cut spending 26 percent. You eliminated 30,000 jobs. That's better than they've done.

JINDAL: Six years in a row the most prolife state in the country. We're fighting for conservative principals.

HANNITY: All right, on Twitter, question from Jared, "What made you decide to run for office? And who do you believe will be your biggest competitor?" I'll add competitors to that because you mentioned Jeb Bush earlier.

JINDAL: Sure. Look, that's a great question. I never thought I'd run for office. My home state was headed in the wrong direction, 20 plus years where our kids were leaving the state. My wife and I, we've been raised there. At that time we had a young child, we wanted to raise her.  Now we got three young children. We wanted to make big changes, and that is what we did for our state. Now running for president I have the same concern about our country. I think the hour is late. I think this is still a country that has our best days ahead of us. I think we're a young country. I don't think it's inevitable. Our 40th president said --

HANNITY: In other words, we could sink. We could become Greece.

JINDAL: Look, Reagan said every generation has to renew our principles of freedom for ourselves. It's not etched in our soil or magically in our DNA. This is something we've got to choose, absolutely.

HANNITY: Question from Terry Meeks on Twitter, "What can you offer us that other Republican candidates cannot?"

JINDAL: A couple of things. We're the only ones offering a detailed plan.  Every Republican has a one-liner on ObamaCare. We've got detailed plans on energy independence, on school choice, on health care, on foreign policy.  They all hire somebody to write their plans. They can borrow mine. We've actually got ideas. Plus, we've got a proven track record. Again, enough with the slick talkers. Let's elect somebody that's done something.

And, finally, we're willing to stand up to leaders in both parties. The Republican Party is not supposed to be the party of big government. Sean, we're not supposed to be the party of big business, either. On Common Core, on amnesty, on religious liberty, we've seen too many Republicans fold the tent, not fight for conservatives.

HANNITY: Facebook post from a viewer, Gus Peterson. "Are you a conservative? And will you look us in the eye and promise to remain a conservative?" I guess he wants you to look into that camera.

JINDAL: I'm a constitutional conservative. Sean, I've heard you describe yourself as a Reagan constitutional conservative. I can think of no three better words to describe my political philosophy. I'm a Reagan constitutional conservative. I will remain a Reagan constitutional conservative. It doesn't matter to what the elites D.C. think in the Republican or the Democratic Party.

HANNITY: All right, I'm going to another Facebook post from Mark. And he says "How fast would you use your executive authority to overturn the damage as president," he's talking obviously about the president's executive orders.

JINDAL: As quickly as they can give me a pen. We've got to get rid of the illegal, unconstitutional act on amnesty. The other, just this arrogance, this overreach of federal power, you see the EPA, you see the federal Department of Education. We did statewide school choice. The Department of Justice sued us. We had to beat them in federal court, 90 percent of the kids are minorities.

HANNITY: How much did you have to pay for that?

JINDAL: Look, it's worth it so the kids can escape failing schools. But it's wrong we have to fight our own federal government just to give those kids a chance. They only grow up once.

HANNITY: When we come back, more with Governor Bobby Jindal, he's running for president, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity" as we continue with Governor Bobby Jindal. I have one question and then we give you your final minute to appeal to our viewers. I look at Hillary Clinton. Two questions, can you name any specific accomplishment that has made peoples' lives better in all of her years in public service?

JINDAL: The only thing she's run is the failed foreign policy. We are weaker everywhere across the world. The world is more dangerous everywhere you look. You went through the list, Iran, the Middle East, China, Russia.  That is the only thing she has run.

HANNITY: How hard politically, assuming she gets the nomination, coronation, whatever you want to call it, assuming she gets it, how tough of a competitor do you think it will be? When you look at the electoral map, you start out without California, Oregon, Washington. It's hard to get Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin. You've got to get Iowa. You've got to get New Hampshire. You've got to get New Mexico, Nevada, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia. How do you break that cycle?

JINDAL: I think you fight for every vote. There's an old country song, who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes? I think you ask the American people, are you really better off than before this president was elected? His policies have been so damaging that people he says he was trying to help, the young and others that had a tough time getting good- paying jobs, she's going to make it worse.

HANNITY: In the final 45 second we give every candidate an opportunity to make your case to the people that are watching.

JINDAL: I'm Bobby Jindal. I'm asking you to join a cause, not a campaign.  If you want somebody who is just going to manage the descent of America into mediocrity, I'm not your candidate. If you want somebody who is running for office to do something and not just be somebody, if you want somebody who is going to go to D.C. and make bold changes, repeal ObamaCare, secure our border, grow our private sector economy, rebuild our defenses, get back to a place where our friends trust us, our enemies fear us, if you want somebody who understands that America is about growth, not envy, not redistribution, if you understand we've got to stop this march towards government dependence and socialism, if you want to rescue the American dream from becoming the European nightmare, I invite you to join my cause. Go to BobbyJindal.com

HANNITY: Governor, thank you so much for being with. Good luck. We'll see you on the campaign trail. Thank you for spending so much time with our audience.

JINDAL: Thanks for having me.

HANNITY: That's all the time we have left this evening. Thank you for being with us. We hope you have a great night.

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