plus, sean hannity is back to his old slot on monday, 9:00. we will see you tomorrow night. ♪ ♪ >> tucker: this is a fox news alert. moments for now, president trump will be speaking in huntsville, alabama. he has traveled there tonight to rally support for luther strange, the sitting senator from the state, and he is facing a hotly contested republican senate primary runoff. good evening, welcome to "tucker carlson tonight." peter doocy is in huntsville for us with the latest. what's going on? >> tucker, right this second, there is a "build that wall" chant going on, because they came out and put the presidential seal on the field, which means they are here at the arena in huntsville.

president trump has done this before. he has played in special elections since taking office, but the opponents have always been democrats. tonight he is going to come and tell alabama voters, as you can hear him being announced, to vote for strange over another republican. but it is pitting the president against some of his most loyal supporters, people like sarah palin, steve bannon, seth gorka, all saying that even if you really like president trump and you live in alabama, you shouldn't listen to him in this case, because they think that luther strange is too close to mitch mcconnell and if you want to see somebody make america great again then you have to vote for the person that the president did not endorse, senator -- judge ray moore, i should say. it is getting a little loud in

here. moore is known as the ten commandments judge. he was moved from the supreme court because he defied in order to get rid of a ten commandments statue and he has got all of the conservative support even though senator strange is running on a platform of being with president trump 100% of the time. senator strange told me earlier today he doesn't understand the charges, that he is part of this prompt because he has only been there since february, less time than president trump. so far at this event, when strange ''s name has been mentioned, there has been a pause. but when president trump has been a named, there has been thunderous applause. that goes to show the impact this visit could have in a tight runoff. it really could go either way right now, depending on the turnout. last night, the big headliner with sarah palin. a few hundred turned out.

tonight in this building, which has a capacity of 10,000 as i look around, it seems to be just about full. it doesn't look like anybody else is coming in. a big night for luther strange who was appointed when jeff sessions -- now has a chance for a 6-year term if president trump can get him across the finish line. tucker. >> tucker: peter doocy lied for us in huntsville. good luck with your ears. lisa boothe rates for the "washington examiner." scott bolden is a former chair of the washington, d.c., democratic party. they both join us live tonight. so, lisa, first to you, pretty unusual for a sitting president to take sides in his own party's primary. what is the thinking here, do you think? >> it is unusual, particularly with the dynamic of ben carson as well. i see it labeled as trump versus

trumpland, we do have a lot of the folks who endorsed president trump, solidly behind him, in the camp of raymore, were president trump has endorsed luther strange. i think the most important thing for the president to do tonight fort senator strange is to say, he's not with mitch mcconnell, he is with me. labeling the establishment to cozy with o'connell, a strong attack, particularly in republican primary in a red state like alabama. i think that is the best thing that president trump could do for his backed candidate, luther strange. >> tucker: it is very interesting. scott, this is not a move, if you believe the democrats description of donald trump, that you anticipate donald trump would have made. how do you explain this? >> i think that is part of trumps tripartisanship.

i've got to tell you, as a former chair of the d's, democratic party , jumping into a primary race, pitting republicans against republicans is something that almost never happens. there's a lot of political risk for donald trump here. he's got to support strange, which is kind of strange, forgive the pun. if you listen to the politics of judge moore and you look at the numbers, got about 40%. donald trump was being consistent with trumpland, but he certainly would be endorsing moore, but he hasn't. it's going to be interesting, not only tonight, whether moore or strange wins. >> a couple things about that, tucker. >> tucker: lisa, i'm sorry to cut you off. i think the president unexpectedly -- >> by all means. [laughs] >> tucker: has walked on. he's about 10 minutes early.

>> they don't want to hear me. they wanted the president. spoon president trump has walked on stage. not according to schedule. there he is embracing senator strange. and he is assuming the position. and we are going to assume that his address is going to begin in just a minute. we are told that he made -- in fact, he is likely to state something about the news on health care today. we've got that placard in front of our camera. senator john mccain coming out against a bill sponsored in part by his friend, lindsey graham. apparently, and not surprisingl surprisingly, he will speak on that tonight. you can just guess what he's going to say. lisa, in the moments before the president does speak, any idea why he has come so strongly -- oh, there he is. going to the president of the united states in huntsville, alabama.

>> president trump: thank you, thank you. thank you, everybody. i love this place. reset every record in alabama. i love alabama. it special. thank you very much. [crowd chanting "usa"] well, i am. i'm thrilled to be here with the really great person that i have gotten to know, luther strange, and with the hardworking patriotic citizens of this great state. you have some football games tomorrow. we're going to have a lot of fun. then you're going to win in football tomorrow. i love this state, and i love the people of this state. they've been so good to me. and we are producing. we are really producing.

thank you. thank you. [cheers and applause] on tuesday, we are going to send a real fighter and a real good guy from alabama to the united states senate on a permanent basis. and we have another great person in our audience tonight, richard shelby. where's richard? where is he? richard. where is richard. thank you, richard. stand up so they can see you, richard. fantastic. thank you, richard. respected man, i will tell you. he is respected and loved in the senate. he's only been there for, what, 34 years or something like that, right? but he loves the people of alabama too. like all of you, luther strange

knows the true source of america's strength. it's god. it's a family and its country and luther is going to be taking over for a man that you all love, what's his name? huh? senator jeff sessions. the above jeff sessions. he's doing a good job. he is doing a good job. we have been very busy watching the borders. a lot of things are happening. but luther is taking over for jeff, hopefully, and you are going to be so with what we're going to do in washington. but before we begin, i want to send our thoughts and prayers to the people of texas and louisiana and florida and georgia and puerto rico and the virgin islands and all of the

other communities that have recently been ravaged by storms and by floods. i called the other day. i spoke to your governor. i said, how are you doing? said, well, we have about 17 million people that just entered alabama for shelter, and you took such great care of those people. he related. -- you really did. i said, governor, you are the fastest-growing state anywhere in the world this week. you really did. you did a great job, and your governor is doing a great job too, by the way. when one part of america hurts, we all hurt. we grieve over all that has been lost, but we also inspired by the incredible strength and spirit and resilience of our people. together, we will recover, rebuild, and return bigger, better, stronger than ever

before. it's going to happen. it's going to happen quickly. quickly. better. [cheers and applause] we also send our prayers to the people of mexico. they got hit hard by a devastating earthquake. taking a lot of lives. a lot more than the even thought. and i have spoken with the president of mexico, and we pledged our total support. we have cruise in there right now lifting up that heavy concrete. and it's rough. it's a rough site. it's a rough site. we got a lot of people we sent down with a lot of big equipment, but that is a tough go. it's a really tough thing to look at and to see and to see the sadness. but that was bad. i have just come from a very productive week at the united nations general assembly. [cheers and applause] oh.

[crowd chanting "usa"] where we have been working with our friends and allies to pursue a future of prosperity, security, and peace, and we have got some really good people that i know and have tremendous relationships, and we have some really, really bad people. and we are going to take care of the bad people. it's about time. we are going to take care of the bad people. it's one of the greatest honors of my life to represent the american people on that world stage, and i will tell you, the world is starting to respect the united states of america again.

as i said during my address to the united nations, i will always defend america's interest above all else. i'm here for you. i'm not here for global interests. we are not here for the rest of the globe. and we want to treat the rest of the globe right. when i say america first, everyone says, gee, i never liked it from the standpoint of, if you are in another country, you want your country to be first. so nobody really understood. for years they have said, america first, although on the one that really means it. there's a big difference. [cheers and applause] and i said, i said, look, it's going to be america first. we are going to renegotiate these trade deals. were bringing a lot of people back. we are bringing companies back. you see it in alabama. you see it in alabama.

but i'm not going to worry so much about other countries. i want to treat them with respect. i want to treat them good. and i want their people to fight for them just like i'm going to fight. we are going to win. believe me. [cheers and applause] i believe the best path to a more peaceful world of are pro, independent, and sovereign nations that serve their own people. when you look around the world, you have so many where they don't respect their people. but we want nations that cooperate together to work for all people.

that's what we care about, all people. we can't have mad men out there shooting rockets all over the place. [cheers and applause] and, by the way, rocket man should have been handled a long time ago. [cheers and applause] he should have been handled a long time ago by clinton. i won't mentioned the republicans. by obama. this is a different time. this should have been handled eight years ago and four years ago, and honestly, and 15 years ago and 28 years ago and 25 years ago. this shouldn't be handled now. but i'm going to handle it because we have to handle it.

little rocket man. we are going to do it. because we really have no choic choice. we really have no choice. now he's talking about a massive weapon exploding over the ocean. the pacific ocean. which causes tremendous, tremendous calamity. where that plume goes, so goes cancer, so goes tremendous problems. and i want to tell you something, and i'm sure he is listening, because he watches every word. alta guarantee you one thing, he is watching us like he never watched anybody before. that i can tell you. that i can tell you. and maybe something gets worked out, and maybe it doesn't.

personally, i'm not sure that it will. other people like to say, oh, we want peace. they've been saying that for 25 years. we want peace, we want peace. then he goes and just keeps going, going, going. well, maybe something gets worked out, and maybe it doesn't, but i can tell you one thing, you are protected, okay? you are protected. nobody is going to mess with our people. nobody is going to play games. nobody is going to put our people in that kind of danger. nobody. and japan and south korea and, by the way, many other countries. they are right there with us. and i have to tell you, i made a friend in china, president xi, and yesterday, and he basically took the baking industry away

from north korea. never been done before -- the banking industry away from north korea. never been done before. never been done. that is based on relationships. relationships are very good. but we are dealing with somebody that we'll figure out. he may be smart. he may be strategic. and he may be totally crazy. you know what, no matter what he is, we are going to handle it, folks, believe me. we are going to handle it. the foundation for progress begins at home with a government that protects and defends our citizens, and that's what we have to do. that is why i am here tonight to ask the good people of alabama to send luther strange to the united states senate so he can defend your interests, fight for your values, and always put

america first. go out and get out the vote. [cheers and applause] but i'm going to tell you, just tell you this quick, crazy story. why do i like luther? i have a lot of friends. and some of them say, do you mind if i go to the other candidate. really, you can. that's fine. they may not have a job on monday. right, richard? we may have to get rid of a few of them. i've already gotten rid of a few of them. but they are good people. no, they are good people. but i'll tell you what happened. the first go round on health care, i said, for seven years, we have been hearing repeal and replace obamacare, right? for seven years, repeal and replace. so i'm very much involved. they like to say, well, mr. trump, president trump sat in the oval office and didn't -- i'm on the phone screaming at people all day long, four weeks. they gave me a list of ten

people that were absolute nos. these are ten republican senators. now, john mccain's list. john mccain was not on the list. that was a totally unexpected thing. terrible. honestly, terrible. repeal and replace. because john mccain, you look at his campaign, his last campaign was all about repeal and replace, repeal and replace. so he decided to do something different, and that's fine. and i say we still have a chance. we're going to do it eventually. we're going to do it eventually. but i have to tell you this story. we are here tonight for luther strange. i'm here for two. i'm here for luther, and i'm here, it's a friday night, i really do love the people of alabama because you've treated me so well. in fact, i said -- i don't want

to speak negatively. i said if i lose this election, maybe i'll end up moving to alabama or kentucky or, like, some states, nice to go or people love you and you love them. it's special. here's what happened. here's what happened. but we'd never want to lose, despite that. we don't want to lose. because we have a great agenda and -- by the way, we're doing a lot of work. forgetting a lot of stuff done. they hate to admit it. we have a supreme court justice, judge gore goresuch, how aboutg called your second amendment, remember that? if crooked hillary got elected, you would not have a second amendment, believe me. you'd be handing in your rifles. you would be saying, hear, hear, here they are. you would be turning over your

rifles. [crowd chanting] you got to speak to jeff sessions about that. so here's what happened with luther. so luther, i get this list, ten names of people that are absolute total s. by the way, in all fairness, rand paul was on that list. they said, don't waste your time calling him. he voted twice yes, he was very good, and i haven't given up on him because i think he may come around. okay? wouldn't it be ironic if he took john mccain's place?

they definitely do not like each other. when that be ironic? that would be very ironic for those of you that know the inner workings of the senate. so with luther, i have a list, and one of the names as luther strange. and i know he's the senator from alabama, but i don't know him. i met him once. i said, that is the tallest human being i've ever seen. i am tall, i've never seen that. should be on the new york knicks. they could use them. that's why i call him big luther. everyone is calling him big luther. i have to tell you, i call up the different people. "well, mr. president, could you have dinner with my wife, myself, my family, my uncles, my cousins, and i like to talk to you about it?" okay, come over, the family, pictures all night, okay. and i'll get a vote or i won't. whatever. but brutal, brutal. you know what that is, folks, right?

it's called brutality. i call another one and i say, senator, i need your vote. and we are opposed to it. well, you know, i think i can get there, but you have to do me a favor. you have to see my brother and his wife. they love you and they want to have dinner with you. they want to have breakfast with you and lunch. then after you're finished with them, how about we'll go out for a picnic someplace on the white house lawn. and then after that, maybe we'll start talking about it. it was brutal. you have no idea. okay. now i call luther strange. i say, oh, i've got to call this guy, and he is a "no," right? and i say, senator, i need your help. i said, i've got to get your vote on health care. he says, "you've got it." [cheers and applause] i said, what do you mean, i have

it? because i've just been hammered by all of these people. "what do you mean, i have it? "he said, "sir, i was for you right from the beginning, i knew you were going to end the whole thing. i've always been for you. my family has always been for you. and honestly, mr. president, if you want my vote, you have it." i said, "do i have to come and meet you someplace? do i have to have dinner with your family? no matt?" i think his wife is fantastic, but i said , do i have to have dinner with you and your wife? "no, sir, i supported you from the beginning, don't waste more time talking to me. mr. president, you have my total support." i went home and told my wife, that's the coolest thing that has happened to me in six months, okay? it's true, it's a true story. and then time goes by.

john mccain came in 19 when thumbs down at 3:00 in the morning. i know so much, folks, i could tell you. we have a couple of other senators, but at least we knew. that was, like, really horrible thing. honestly. that was a horrible, horrible thing that happened to the republican party. that was a horrible thing. anyway, so time goes by, and i see luther is in a race. people are saying he is friendly. whether you like mitch mcconnell or not doesn't matter. they are saying he is friendly with mitch. he doesn't even know mitch mcconnell. he was just there for a few months, and they put that mantle around his neck. i told mitch i would like to say this. i don't like to, but i'm telling you. he doesn't know mitch mcconnell at all. luther is a tough, tough cookie. he doesn't deal with and kowtow to anybody.

so they bring it around. all of a sudden, i see he is down in the race by a lot, and i said, man, that's really unfair. they were giving him a bum rap because he happened to be in the senate, they were giving him a bum rap. and i remember the call -- by the way, the other people that i called -- and they were all fine. you don't remember. the dinners, you don't remember any of it. remember one sentence. "sir, don't even waste your time talking anymore. with a lot of business to do. you have my vote." this was a definite note -- a definite no. i checked, and he was down because of being saddled with stuff, he was down by quite a bit. and i said, i'm going to endorse you. he didn't believe it. he said, you would do that? the last thing i want to do is be involved in a primary, okay. i could be sitting home right now getting to watch some of the

games tomorrow, getting ready. right? but seriously, the last thing i wanted to do. but i'll never forget the way he did that. it was really cool. so what happened is, i called him, i say -- first of all, how are you doing? how are you doing? and he said, honestly, i'm down a little bit. i said, i think you're going to come back. i think you're going to come back and kick everyone's ass and you're going to do great. you're going to do great. because he got saddled with things that he should not have gotten saddled with. so he started off here. he was in third or fourth. he went to the third come on, and now it is, like, almost pretty even, right? and i called him up a week ago, and i said, you know, i think you're down by a few points. but i'm going to come to

alabama, and i'm going to make a speech for you on friday. [cheers and applause] and such a true story. as soon as we announced. you know the media, the fake news, i call it. the worst. fake news. they won't show this. they'll say, donald trump spoke before a small crowd in alabama last night. it was a small crowd. very unenthusiastic crowd. it was a terrible evening. now, these are among the most dishonest people. i really mean it. these are among the most dishonest. for instance -- [cheers and applause] look at the crowd. i would love to have them show the crowd. but they don't show the crowd. they show me the whole night. i go home and i say, melania --

by the way, she has become very popular, hasn't she? she has become very popular. i mean, the white house, we love the white house, they said about me that i call the white house a dump. i think the white house is one of the most beautiful buildings i have seen and i speak of it with reverence, and they said that. and they went retracted, and i hated it. i love the white house. but my wife respects the white house greatly. when she leaves the plane, we are going to texas where they have the hurricane, and she leaves the plane, and she is dressed appropriately for the white house because we respect the white house a lot. and she is wearing high heels, like many of you would do, and they went after her. but she didn't know. and when she got out of the plane in texas, she was wearing sneakers, which she had with he

her. and they know it was dishonest, but that's the way it was. they said she wore high heels, going to go into the floods with her high heels. but she has become very popular. but i have to say this. so luther did that for me, and i remembered luther. we have to be loyal in life. there is something called loyalty. and i might have made a mistake. and i'll be honest, i might have made a mistake, because, you know, here's a story. if luther doesn't when, they're not going to say we picked up 2d of time. they're going to say, donald trump, the president of the united states, was unable to pull his candidate across the line. it is a terrible, terrible moment for trump. this is total embarrassment. these are bad people. by the way, both are good men, both good men.

and i told luther, i have to say this, if his opponent wins, i'm going to be here campaigning like hell for him. but i have to say this, and you understand this. just look at the polls. luther will definitely win. you know what i'm saying. roy has a very good chance of not winning in the general election. it's all about the general -- don't forget, we don't stop here. you have an election coming up the day this is over, this is over on tuesday, on wednesday morning, the new race begins. you've got to be a democrat. luther is going to win easily and roy is going to have a hard time winning. but i will be backing him if he wins. i will be backing him. okay? i'll tell you that.

if you look at huntsville, billions and billions of dollars to the missile-defense, how important -- by the way, by the way, how important are those words now when you hear ms. ms. so defense. thank you very much, huntsville thank you. missile-defense you know, when you hear those two words, last week, as you saw. just a proved a $700 billion budget, much higher than originally anticipated. if the other candidate had win against me, that would have gone way down. it was going way down. we are rebuilding the military at a level to which it has never been before.

we are rebuilding. but that would have gone way, way down. you look at it as an example, the new fbi facility that's being built. you look at nasa, how about nasa, billions of dollars. -- anne richard shelby has been a big help in this, i have to tell you. big help. he has been a big help. but i will say this. we're spending a tremendous amount of money in alabama, and you are doing great, and as long as i'm president, you are going to have so much money spent here. lots of other states also. we are bringing back jobs. we bring about companies. companies are not building and other areas. in some cases they have already started the plant. i am renegotiating nafta, one of

the worst trade deals ever made. one of the worst trade deals ever made. i'll tell you what, we have jobs and companies pouring back into this country like you haven't seen. the lowest unemployment in seven years. the most number of jobs. the most number of jobs in the history of our country. with all of that being said, we have a lot of people that have given up on finding jobs. those people are going to be taken care of. that is one of the reasons that we as a group -- that's why we won. one of the reasons. i think we won because of the military. i think we won because of the vets. i think we won because of the evangelicals. take a look at that, right?

but i had to tell that story about luther. i thought it was really cool. i said i'll be there. and then i said some things i didn't like. he was down further that i liked. and i said, luther, you have got what it takes. you have really got it. and let's go. that was two months ago. and you got yourself and even race. if you get out the vote, you're going to win, going to have a great senator. you're going to have a great senator. and he won't only be great, he'll be the tallest senator in the history of the united states. okay. that's not so bad, right? and shelby is pretty tall too, by the way. but he is going to be great. because he's tough on crime. he's tough on borders. don't worry. don't even think about it. and you know who i have here

tonight? general john kelly, who headed up homeland security, and what a job he did. where is the general? where is he? where is he? general, come appear quick, come here. come here. for a star. come, come, come, come. this guy, what a great man this is. no games. you know the expression, there are no games being played. four-star marine, very few, four-star general. [cheers and applause] he just wants to work. he's done a great job.

four-star marine. that's good. what he did on the borders -- and this is without the wall. by the way, the wall is happening, folks. believe me. the wall is happening. in fact, you probably saw -- you know, we have the ball up there now, and re-renovating it already. pristine, perfect, just as good as new, though we may go a little higher than that, but that's okay. and we are building samples of a new wall. you don't have to be a see-through wall. i don't know if you know this. i didn't know it until about a year ago. as much as i say, you don't know who's on the other side. now we have people on the other side. literally, i was giving an example, it is so good, going to stop drugs, a lot of great things, it is out of control, we are going to stop it. we are going to stop it. but they would literally -- so you have the concrete wall.

that's what i do best. that's what i do best. that is what i really do. we have done a good job of politics too. in all fairness, we've only been doing it for about two years. but what i do best, i build. you have a concrete wall and you have mexico. wonderful, wonderful place. mexico. you have over here the united states. you can't see anything, right? they take drugs, literally, and throw it, 100 pounds of drugs, they throw it over the wall. they have catapults. they throw it over the wall, and it lands and it hit somebody on the head. you don't even know they're there. believe it or not, this is the kind of stuff that happens. so you need to have a great while, but it has to be see-through. we are not looking at samples, we have four samples that have been built, right? in looking at different samples of see-through walls. i think also, to be honest with you, he see-through wall would look better.

i don't have that whatever it might be. but we are looking at four different samples both bifocal great companies, just about completed. i'm going to go out and look at them personally, going to pick the right one, we are renovating the existing mall, and we are going to have as much wall as we need. you don't need it all the way. you have a lot of natural barriers, et cetera. are you going to build that wall in the middle of the river? that nobody can go in? are you going to build that wall on the mountain? you have a mountain which is a wall. but we are going to build a wall. it is coming along great. we are soon going to have the final choices done, and the renovations will be done, i will say, in the next several months. i just wanted to let you know where we are. so we are very, very happy about that. every once in a while, you hear,

he doesn't really want to build the wall. i say, excuse me? that is the great thing about twitter. you know, when the press is dishonest, which is most of the time, and when they say, i don't want to build a wall, i can tweet, "that was a false story, boom, boom, boom." it is really not a question about, we want a wall. you have to do a wall. the drugs in particular. and we've been dealing with i.c.e., dealing with the border patrol. for they have both endorsed me. first time they've endorsed a candidate for president. and they know better than anybody, better than the architects, better than the consultants. they used to go out and get consultants, they spent a fortune on consultants. they didn't have a clue. they got out of the harvard

school of something. let me just tell you, the best guys to tell you what to do are the border patrol. you know what it costs? it costs nothing. i was with them two weeks ago. they're happy to do that. it is going to be a very important element to making america great again, like you have. when it comes to reforming washington and taking on the bureaucracy, i'm telling you, because i have seen him, he is tough as hell, luther is your man. luther wants to end business as usual, stop the insider dealing, and luther strange is determined to drain that swamp.

[cheers and applause] luther has been fighting hard for the people of alabama and for the people of the united states since his first job in office. i have to tell you something. hasn't been there very long. again, he doesn't know those people, they can't settle him with that, but luther has worked so hard. i know the ones that work hard and i know the ones that don't work hard. i was talking about it with richard before. we were talking about it. we were talking about -- he is a right nomadic hard worker, richard, i want to tell you that. he's been working hard for 34 years. but we were talking about who were the smart ones, who were the hardworking ones. talked about who were the last smart ones too. i learned a lot. that's a lot of knowledge. but luther shares our convictions and our visions, and

maybe most importantly, he shares our agenda. remember, he's going to win back the race. he's going to win the race. and i'm not talking here. i'm talking against the democrats, which starts very quickly. but it is why we need each and every one of you to get a friend, go out, get a family member, get the whole family, and bring them out to vote for big luther strange. got to vote for him. big luther. luther and i and everyone in this arena tonight are unified by the same great american values. we are proud of our country. we respect our flag.

wouldn't you love to see one of these nfl owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, get that son of a bitch off the field right now. he is fired. he's fired! [cheers and applause] [crowd chanting "usa"] you know, some owner is going to do that. he is going to say, back on the disrespects our flag, he is fired. they don't know it. they are friends of mine, they

don't know, they are going to be the most popular person for a week. they will be the most popular person in this country. total disrespect of our heritage, a total disrespect of everything that we stand for. everything that we stand for. and i know that we have freedoms and we have freedom of choice and many, many different freedoms. you know what? it is still totally disrespectful. and you know when the nfl ratings are down massively, massively, the nfl ratings are down massively. the number one reason happens to be that they like watching what's happening with yours truly. they like what's happening. because, you know, today, if you hit too hard -- they hit too hard, 15 yards, throw him out of the game. they had that last week. i watched for a couple of minutes. two guys, really beautiful

tackle, boom, 15 yards, the referee gets on television. his wife is sitting at home, so proud of him. they are ruining the game, right? they are ruining the. look, that's what they want to do. they want to hit. they want to hit. but it is hurting the game. but you know it's hurting the game more than that? when people like yourselves turn on television and you see those people taking the knee when they are playing our great national anthem. the only thing you could do better is if you see it, even if it's one player, leave the stadium, i guarantee things. great things. he had just picked up and leave. pick up and leave. not the same game anymore anywa anyway. now, one of the things we've done -- and when i say "we," it is us together. we protect religious liberty.

because we know that faith and family, not government and bureaucracy, are the true centers of american life. in america, we don't worship government. we worship god. [cheers and applause] right? [cheers and applause] we cherish our magnificent constitution, and we believe judges must interpret the constitution as written, and that includes defending, as i just said, our great second amendment. we support the rule of law, and we stand strong with the incredible men and women of law enforcement.

[cheers and applause] we protect our citizens, uphold our traditions, and we will always defend our borders. these are alabama values. i understand the people of alabama. i feel like i'm from alabama, frankly. [cheers and applause] isn't it a little weird when a guy who lives on fifth avenue in the most beautiful apartment you've ever seen comes to alabama and alabama loves that guy? it's crazy. it's crazy. but i do. i understand your values. i love your values, and those are the values that i believe

in. those are the values -- those are the values that make this country. those are the values that made this country great. those are the values. i understand those values. but as you know, those values have been under attack for many years in washington, and that's why we need a person like luther strange. we need him. you've got to get out and vote. you know, i think if everybody in this room gets out and votes, luther, you win easily. got to vote. just get out and vote. got to get out and vote. so luther is not in washington to serve the special interests like a lot of people. even the way he handled that thing with me. in the end that, what did he do?

he got better. i would never have done that. let's say it was difficult. he never went quid pro quo. he just treated me great, and i told him, you want me to help you? he couldn't believe it. he said, why? i said, because he gave me the coolest dancer i've had in a long time. that's why i'm here. he didn't ask me. the only mistake he made -- i shouldn't say this. he said, sir, we have a venue that holds 1,000 people. i said, luther that's no good. 1,000 people? we can do much better than that. then we came up with this job, and we are packed. by the way, outside, there are thousands of people that can't get in. they do not have your real estate ability. thousands, we have thousands of people outside. thousands.

and they may be listening because we put some big speakers out there, and i hope they're going to vote for luther. they may not be too happy. but i think they will. so luther came to washington to serve you and to represent you, and i can tell you that when big luther -- we call him now big luther -- did people call you back luther before he met trump? you know, i brand people. some people i brand as this or that. we don't have to go into that because a lot of them are now friends of mine. a lot of them are friends of mine. nobody ever called the big luther? i think it's a great name. the guy is 7 feet tall. i could never call him little luther, right? but i do, i just saw him. i said, he is big luther, and that's cool. but when he walks in, everybody knows that alabama has arrived. [cheers and applause] luther was a very, very advanced

eagle scout who has not spent his lifetime in politics. he only entered public life in recent years, and he has been in washington for even less time than me. so he doesn't know all these people that he's supposed to know. he has his own mind. he has the mind that you want. in his short time in public office, luther has proved that he is not beholden to anyone and not afraid to take on anyone, and i have seen it. as your attorney general and alabama, luther won over 25 public corruption convictions. [cheers and applause] and now he has brought that same political courage to washington. and i have to tell you, friends of mine, i have a lot of friends in alabama, and friends of mine have told me very strongly that if luther wasn't appointed to office for the short term, if he

just said, he's going to run when you have to run, which is now, he would be leading every poll by 50 points. he'd be killing everybody. but the fact that he got appointed to him. he was thinking about not accepting that. but if luther just didn't take an appointment, if he just ran, there wouldn't even be a contest. nobody could come close to him. so it has been one of those things. i can tell you personally, because i have been dealing with him for the months that he has been there, i am very lucky, and this country is very lucky that he did take that appointment. because he has done a hell of a job. and that is what we need in washington, people who have the courage to stand strong for our values, our families, our nation, people who have the courage to challenge a failed system. look, with obamacare, i have been listening for seven years

as many of these people -- now, richard kept voting against it, but many of these people kept saying repeal and replace. repeal and replace. they didn't care. nobody cared because they had a president that wasn't going to sign it and they didn't have the senate. it so it didn't matter. so it didn't take much courage. so they were getting all these great votes. i think they voted, what, 61 times. like, 61 times to repair or replace, they finally get a president who will sign the legislation and they don't have the guts to vote for it, okay? they don't have the guts to vote for it. and i was told, congratulations, you won. you won. you know why i won? because the electoral college is a very special thing. and i decided, i think intelligently, to campaign in the states that you have to win

for the electoral college that you need. i took a pass on a lot of state states. i appreciate it. no, no, i'll tell you what. to me, winning the popular vote is easier, you go to new york, you go to california, you go to texas. the beauty of the electoral college, i was going to maine, i was going all over. i was going to smaller states. it brings the whole country into play. it brings certain states into play that would never really be thought of. but i focused heavily on pennsylvania and north carolina. i focused very heavily here, but actually made one speech here, and i said, fellows and folks, do you mind if i don't come back for a while? because we have, like, 8:30 8-point lead, and i would much rather spend my time in florida, which we won quite

easily, and pennsylvania, north carolina, lots of other places. so alabama, you were great. we won by so much. so the electoral college is actually something i have come to respect. but it is sort of like, if you are a 100-yard -- dash guy, go different. if hillary runs again and four years, which i hope she does, we are going to teach her -- we are going to teach her to spend more time in michigan. we are going to teach her to go to wisconsin. we are going to teach her to spend a little more capability in pennsylvania, north carolina, and florida, which she lost, and she actually spent a tremendous amount of money. so i just want to -- because you hear so much about this. remember this. if you are going for the electoral college, it is a much

different race. you don't spend your time in california and new york and these different places. you spend your time in iowa and ohio! remember? you can't win and leslie win ohio. well, we won ohio by a lot because i spent a lot of time up there. but i would rather have the popular vote count because, for me, it would be easier than winning the electoral college, which they said a republican could not win, if you remember. remember, they said there is no way to 270. that is why i went to maine four times. i needed one. i needed one. they said there is no way. i said, we ended up at 306. there is no way. i guess they were right. no, luther, they were right. they were 100% right. there is no way to 270, right, but there is a way to 306, okay?

we won by a lot. but when you hear all this nonsense -- when you are a golfer and you have match play or you are a golfer and you have a stroke play, different term, and you train devoutly. same with runners. same with other things. they have to learn their lesson, they have to campaign in areas that really matter. but we had such a great victory, it was just something that was awe-inspiring and something that i think everybody in this room will never, ever forget. and i appreciate the fact that the people of alabama were with me right from the first day, and they said to me, don't come back. go to those other states that you have to work. i appreciate it. by the way, folks. just in case you were curious, no, russia did not help me. okay?

russia. i call it the russian hoax. one of the great hoaxes. that was the thing i was thinking about. that's the thing that the democrats did best. they lost the election, and they didn't know what happened. and they needed an excuse. so they said, russia. and then they said, wait a minute, wait a minute. russia and trump. honestly, it's the thing they did best. they did a rotten job of running, but to convince people about this hoax that was probably the thing that they did best, but it is one great hoax. russia did not help me. that i can tell you, okay? any russians in the audience? are there any russians in the audience? i don't see too many russians. i didn't see too many russians in pennsylvania. i didn't see too many russians. we need people in this