This is a rush transcript from “Hannity,” July 13, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Actor Jon Voight came under attack for criticizing the president in a recent speech, but that’s not stopping him from vocalizing his anger with the administration.
Now, not only does Voight oppose Judge Sotomayor’s appointment to the Supreme Court, but he’s also upset by the reckless spending, the stimulus package, the president’s responses, or lack thereof, in Iran and the impending cap-and-tax bill and much, much more. And he joins me now.
Jon Voight — and on top of everything, I’ve got to tell you, you are one guy that has been out there, defending our troops and our military. You know, this is the antithesis. I thought Hollywood guys didn’t do this stuff. How come you do?
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JON VOIGHT, ACTOR: Well, obviously, Sean, you know, the things that we do, we shouldn’t be in a situation where we can do enough for the troops. These guys step up for us. You know, they put themselves on the line. And — and I know their families. And you and I know visiting these guys in the hospitals as we do, we find that they’re the best of us. And it’s a very great honor for us to serve them.
HANNITY: These are the best of the best.
One of the things, you came out — here you are, you’re willing to openly criticize the Obama administration, but anybody that does this is attacked, demonized. In your profession oftentimes it hurts their career. What has been the reaction to you speaking out?
VOIGHT: Well, let me say this, first of all, Sean. There was a — I made a speech at the House Senate dinner for the Republicans, and it was well-received, and then I had a lot of response. And of course, as you say, you know you’re going to be attacked if you step out and criticize our president.
And Teresa Albano, editor of People’s Weekly World, which was formerly the Daily Worker found a way to take a phrase I used and not put it in context, and then she made this statement. She said, “Jon Voight made a threat against the president of the United States.”
And my response to this, which was to a reporter from The Washington Times, I said Teresa Albano has targeted me with vicious, harmful lies. She’s igniting hate against me. I would never threaten the president. I said his policies must fail because they’re creating a socialist America. Why do I step out and say that knowing I’m just going to get a whole bunch of other stuff coming back at me? It’s important that we speak out. That’s our duty as citizens.
I’m against his silence on Iran. I’m against Obama’s lie that he was going to protect Israel. And now as president he arrogantly tells them what they can do and what they can’t do. Has he forgot that our only hope to defend us against Iran’s nuclear buildup is Israel?
And I’m against his very cunning ability to push things — to rush things through without anybody having a chance to look at them. His stimulus package has failed. We’re losing job after job.
And, of course, now they’re thinking, well, maybe another stimulus package. I agree with what Bill O’Reilly said, Sean. Recently, he said that Obama’s on his way to bankrupting America. I agree with him.
HANNITY: I’ve been saying it for months, that he — it’s not he’s on his way. He is bankrupting the country, you know. And you’ve just got to look at the numbers, Jon, and the numbers speak for themselves. You cannot spend this much money, quadruple the debt in five months, quadruple the deficit. We’re going to be paying a trillion in debt, and that’s before cap-and-trade. That’s before nationalized health care.
That’s — that’s one of the things that’s most frightening to me is that — all these rosy predictions that they’ve had, none of which have come true, just the opposite is happening. So once they have to readjust these figures, they go up exponentially.
VOIGHT: And you’re getting it out there, and other people are getting it out there. Millions are expressing their dissatisfaction, but the mainstream press is not reporting it, Sean.
Thank God for you guys at FOX and yourself for covering the tea parties because without you, we wouldn’t think anything was going on. Absolutely no — no other network covered it. Nobody. Except maybe Janeane Garofalo covered it.
Can you imagine, Sean, 37,000 people came out in the — in protest in a town in Texas to protest against this irresponsible spending that’s going to leave their grandchildren in great debt and burden. And she said about that, she said, “Oh, well, these people are just — they’re rednecks, you know, they’re just people who are…”
HANNITY: Racist.
VOIGHT: Prejudice against a black president. You know, a remark like that, and she would have to — my take is she would have to be suffering from severe guilt thinking perhaps she’s a descendant of white slave owners.
HANNITY: That’s what you’re thinking that she is? All right. But on a more serious note. Go ahead.
VOIGHT: OK. You know, I — I had heard something on the other line and it distracted me, Sean. I’m sorry.
HANNITY: Well, look, let me go back to this question. See, look, I take it as a given. Jon, I’m on the air four hours a day. I believe as you do he’s bankrupting this country, socialism doesn’t work, we’re robbing from our kids and grandkids, he’s unilaterally disarming this country, nationalized health care will be a disgrace. All of these things we talk about: the Supreme Court under Sonia Sotomayor is as radical as it will be in terms of her being a justice.
I speak out. I’m willing to accept the role and be the punching bag for the left. That just goes with the territory. I dish it out, I take it.
You are not used — you’re not used to being in that role. Has it impacted your work, your profession?
VOIGHT: Well, look, when I think of this — first of all, I’m a fellow who is — I’ve been around, and I’ve taken care of myself, and I’m not — I’m not worried about losing jobs, but I am worried about millions of people with small families losing jobs. It’s a big deal to me. So you know, I want to speak up.
But, you know, slowly but surely we can see that Obama’s policies are failing. But the people who brought him in — the people who brought him in to office will defend them, you know, no matter what, because they refuse to — to feel that they made a mistake.
Now, who brought him into office? The press brought him in. The press was a big factor, and so was — they got a lot of help from ACORN, this corrupt organization that is now under indictment in many states throughout the country for voter fraud and registration fraud, and also, by the way, responsible for the stealing of the election of Norm Coleman in Minnesota.
But the press — the press brought him in, and now they want to make sure that nobody topples the throne, it seems. So they don’t report anything that will interfere with his policies.
But when the news is biased, it can — you know, it can control the people in a dangerous way. We see what’s going on in Venezuela, and we’re shocked. We’re shocked to see Hugo Chavez closing down the — the opposition media. We’re shocked when we see what’s happening to the truth in Iran.
But this same thing is happening in our country right now. The Obama regime is controlling the press. They protect them, they cover for him, and they don’t want the truth to come out that there is this dissatisfaction, that people are waking up, and it’s being expressed in these tea parties.
HANNITY: Well, you know, it’s funny. I watched you this weekend in “Pearl Harbor,” where you played — where you played FDR. And one of the moments that really struck me in the movie, and you’re a phenomenal actor, and we’re good friends. But the moment when you said, “Don’t tell me we can’t, and you stood up,” and obviously FDR, and you showed that courage. It seems to me that in many ways in your real life you stand up, and you’re counted. And you don’t see a lot of people in your profession do it.
And I know you’re probably going to, you know, take some heat again for this, but I admire you for it. And I want to thank you, because I think it’s a wake-up call to those that seem to be living in that hypnotic Obama trance, if you will.
VOIGHT: Can I — can I just say one little thing about the Sotomayor candidacy?
HANNITY: Yes, sir.
VOIGHT: There are two people who I know you know, Sean, Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell, who are two guys — two of our leading economists and philosophers. They’re both very successful African-Americans. They have always had a great pride in our country.
And they have a different take on affirmative action than — than Sotomayor who — who is very proud to say that’s of that school.
They say that they are very glad that they weren’t, quote, “victims” — victims of affirmative action, that all their successes and who they are today came from the school of hard work, of study, and of competition. And I think that that those are the — that is the kind of character we should look for when we’re seeking people for high office, not the other.
HANNITY: Jon Voight, thank you for being with us. Appreciate your time tonight.
VOIGHT: Thanks very much, Sean.
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