Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We have got serious business to get to here. Kyle
(00:02):
Olsen from the Midwestern the Midwesterner Dot News joining us now.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Kyle, appreciate you being in it with us today.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Thanks for having me so help me understand this.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
What is she trying to drum up some business? Because
here here's the business that I got problems with. This
is this is really what it is. It's her policies
that are the real issue. And what I mean by
that is we got all of this manufacturing, reshoring and
expanding here in the country right now thanks to President
(00:33):
Trump and his policies. By the way, is approval rating
Trafalgar Groups got it just came out for June fifty
three point seven percent approve of his job as president.
He's still in the positive. No matter how much mainstream
media wants to hammer at him on a daily basis.
People still happy, particularly probably with the border initiatives. The
(00:56):
fact that we had zero we had this number, Yes,
we talked about zero return right, set free, set loose
inside the country, as opposed to the thousands that Biden
had the year before. Yesterday, So these are big numbers,
big stories. He's bringing people and they've heard everything We've
heard about the terrace, but he's bringing work in manufacturing
(01:18):
bake and he's also this is trickling down.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
They say this trickle down. This doesn't happen when it's
trickling down. We see that.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Blue collar wage growth as just shot through the roof.
We had that story earlier this week as well. These
are all big stories, but the thing that concerns me
the most, and I talked about this was speaker Matt
Hall the other day, and again I just can't help
but keep coming back to it. She's down under in
Australia trying to shake the trees for I don't know
(01:46):
whatever it is that they have down in Australia, shrimp
on the barbie or whatever whatever else.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
But right back at home, we got problems.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
There's this story that you all had yesterday and it's look,
it's it's to me. I just look at this and
you go, I can't believe it. We got a plant
that wants to invest seventy million dollars in a new factory,
create three hundred new jobs, but they won't do it
in Michigan. They're going to Indiana. And it's a company
that's right here in Kentwood. It's just boggles my mind,
(02:18):
floors me.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yeah, I think that Gretchen Whitmer goes to Australia, to
the United Kingdom, to Japan, to the Middle East because
they don't understand. I think that the people around the
world don't understand the intricate intricacies of the Michigan economy
and how in the terrible conditions that she's created, and
(02:42):
she's going to try and throw corporate welfare around trying
to lure companies. But what's interesting to me is she's
not going to Ohio, she's not going to Indiana, she's
not even going to Illinois, which is a worse state
than Michigan. She's going to other countries. And I think
it's really what's going on is she's going and she's
(03:03):
getting pictures and she's getting video, and she's trying to
build this sort of foreign policy resume as a reason
why she should run for president, and she's doing it
at our expense. She is wasting time going around all
of these countries when she should be fixing the Michigan economy.
She should be going to certainly neighboring states, but other
(03:27):
states as well, trying to lure businesses here, but she's not.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Doing that weller resume, I think speaks much louder than
any of those pr photo ops.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
That she might be trying to get in and hopefully.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Folks throughout the country we'll see that as well. I mean,
we got this, we got this announcement for Ford, the
four billion dollars. That's a beautiful thing, right, But I
just wonder how much we're missing out on when it
comes to some of the other major manufacturers that have
announced plans and expansion and other places throughout the country.
(04:02):
To me, I just hate to see Michigan missing out.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Yeah. Well, and I think what we're seeing right now
is manufacturers like Ford, like GM but others are saying
we're going to bring business back to America because it's
because of the tariffs. It will be cheaper to do
production in America than it will be to to you know,
be in Mexico or somewhere else or Canada and then
(04:30):
bring those products, you know, pay the tariffs and bring
those products in. And so I think it's pretty clear
that President Trump's strategy, tariff strategy is working now. The
Democrats are you know, have been crying about that Gretcha
Whitmer was was, you know, wringing her hands about what
that was going to do, but she was very quick
to take credit for the jobs that GM announced, and
(04:54):
so on the one hand, she was attacking the tariffs,
but GM was pretty clear that they're moving the production
back to America because of the tariffs, and so she's
claiming credit for the production moving back, and so she's
I mean, she's trying to have it both ways. But
I think I think a lot of people see through that.
And so what I think one of the maybe the
(05:16):
most stunning story this week and maybe of the month
or the year, is that while Gretchen Whitmer is in
Australia with executives from the MEDC, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation,
Dana Nessel, also a Democrat, raids the MEDC for documents
(05:38):
and also raids the home of Fabe Done, who is
a Democrat donor and was an appointee by Gretchen Whitmer
to the DC board. And she's the one that in
one of the recent budgets, got a twenty million dollar
earmark to create a business, and they allocated the money
(06:02):
and then she created the business and Dana Nessel, the
Attorney General, actually rated the MEDC. I don't think the
significance of this can be understated. And it was while
the MEDC was halfway across the world with the governor.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
What do you think is going on there? What's her
what's the end game for nessl.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Well? I think this is one of those ear marks
that got a lot of attention. And it's interesting because
the woman who got the ear mark is so closely
tied to the Democratic Party, to all these individuals involved,
and there was a lot of you know, there was
a lot of coverage about some of the ways that
(06:47):
she spent money. She spent forty five hundred dollars on
a coffee maker, she spent eleven thousand dollars on tickets
to Budapest, she spent forty thousand dollars on office furniture,
et cetera. And that got a lot of attention. But
of course the bigger question is, Okay, she got twenty
million dollars, where where did that go? What are her results?
(07:08):
And this is really one of the fundamental problems of
the way Lansing operates is up until the latest, the
latest budget in the in the in what Matt Hall
is doing the way he's changed earmarks, and we need
to see how that's still going to play out because
the budget's not yet completed. But up to this point,
it was just a free for all and there was
(07:30):
in the state. Legislators would just give millions and millions
of dollars to these companies and then everybody would just
move on. There was no accountability, there was no Why
didn't you send us a report in the next year
and tell us how you spent this money? There wasn't
any of that. And so things are changing under Matt
Hall's leadership. Again, we there's not a budget that's really
(07:55):
been hashed out yet, so we've got to see how
that's going to play out. But this sort of thing
is not It seems to be coming to an end
and it needs to.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Yeah, I will tell you I.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
This all of this that's happening, and I think maybe
the we're coming to the end of the line here
on this. You've got to wonder what's Nessel's next move.
Where does she go after she's the attorney Joe. She
clearly is not going to be able to run for anything.
Her political career is over.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
I think you can.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Argue Whitmer's is over, although I don't think she's realized
that yet, and Benson wants to step up into the
next ring oversee her her own election. With all the
questions and the chaos that surround her position as a
Secretary of State, it really is a wild time here
in Michigan. And you just you're watching all of this happen.
(08:48):
It's it's, like I said, never a dull moment. But
you know who really hurts in the in the long
terms of people in Michigan. Somebody just said in the chat,
by the way, I can't believe you're surprised by this.
You know, business is leaving the state. I said, not surprised,
I'm saddened by it. That's the thing that makes me.
I think the most upset is that it is wiping
(09:08):
out again the middle class, the people who built this country.
Really this state put the world on wheels, right, And
we've got the opportunity, We've got the ability to be
a part of the next Golden Age, right, We've got
the ability to be a part of this the opportunity here,
but it's being squandered by these folks who are trying
to sell us out.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
And down the river.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
And again this just goes to show elections have consequences,
and just as consequential as I believe the twenty twenty
four election was for not just the nation, but the
entire world, I think the same could be said for
Michigan in twenty twenty six. This is make or break
with this next election here in Michigan. We have the opportunity.
(09:53):
We're out of crossroads. Can we get the state back
on track or is it lost?
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Well that remains to be seen. But I don't know.
You asked about Dana Nessel. I don't I don't know
what her end strategy is. She's not running for governor,
she's not running for Senate. I don't know if she's
got something else in mind, or she wants an appointment,
or I don't know. Joscelyn Benson, obviously you and I
(10:21):
have talked about her at length. I think that I
think that Joscelyn Benson is infinitely worse than Gretchen Whitmer.
I think Gretchen Whitmer it was just sort of her
career path to get to be to run for governor,
and you know, the Lansing establishment was behind her, and
and she won. Joscelyn Benson is a very different person.
(10:45):
And I think Joscelyn Benson knows much better than Gretchen
Whitmer how to weaponize government and and if she has,
if she has control over the entire state Beocracy, the MEDC,
the Eagle, and all of the other state police, all
(11:07):
of the other agencies, it will be a disaster for Michigan. Well,
so people need to realize that. Yes, I think you're right,
twenty twenty six is a major, major year.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
And I think it goes also to the point of
what you're making about Benson in her background, how she
came up, the Soros ties and what that looks like.
I mean, you talk about radical what she wants to do.
If you thought Whitmer was bad, she's just a walk
in the park. When you talk about the background of
Benson and really essentially what she wants to pull off
(11:40):
in the days ahead, folks, I don't think it's I
really don't think it's possible to overstate it here. Hey,
let me ask you one other question, when are we
going to get that special election? We've got an entire district,
entire area and noted that Nessel was out at these
no Kings Day protests that kind of flopped over the week. Again,
she was out of a couple in fact, in that
(12:02):
area where these people are not being represented right now,
tax station without representation, in that area where they just
should be holding that special election for the Senate, and
Whitmer's just dragging her feet.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
She's down in Australia. What does she care? Why are
we going to get one or are we going to
get one?
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Well, that's a very good question, and it wouldn't surprise
me if she calls it next year, in twenty twenty six,
and so you could basically have two elections, two campaigns
were working almost simultaneously, and it's I think it's shameful
what she's doing. There is a twenty there is a
nineteen eighteen Democrat majority in the state Senate, and clearly
(12:47):
I don't think there's any other explanation other than she's
afraid that Democrats will lose that election and if they do,
it's a nineteen nineteen tie and then she really can't
get anything done, and so she's just not calling the election. Now.
Darlin Gilchrist, the Lieutenant Governor, has come out and said
there should be an election dand Nessels has said the same,
(13:11):
Garland Gilchris, when Gretchen Witmer is out of the state, Yes,
Darln Gilchris, the lieutenant governor is the acting governor. He
could call it right now, the power of the governor.
He could call it right now. And he was asked
about that, and he stood down. He then drunk from
the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
And I guess he's just disqualified himself from being a leader.
If you can't lead in the tough moments, gar why
do you think we're going to give you the job
when it comes to full on in twenty twenty six.
I mean, you're going to stand in Whimer's shadow? Are
you going to stand up and be a man? And
I guess the answer is.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Clear, yep.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
I think we found that out this week. And so
I don't know what is you know what Democrat voters
would find compelling about him when he's not willing to
be a leader. But the voters in Midland and Bay
and that area it don't have leaders, don't have leadership
(14:08):
Saganaw County as well, they don't have leadership or in
the state Senate and representation and uh, and it's a shame.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Kyle Olson, the midwestern or the Midwesterner. DOT is always
a pleasure
We have got serious business to get to here. Kyle
(00:02):
Olsen from the Midwestern the Midwesterner Dot News joining us now.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Kyle, appreciate you being in it with us today.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Thanks for having me so help me understand this.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
What is she trying to drum up some business? Because
here here's the business that I got problems with. This
is this is really what it is. It's her policies
that are the real issue. And what I mean by
that is we got all of this manufacturing, reshoring and
expanding here in the country right now thanks to President
(00:33):
Trump and his policies. By the way, is approval rating
Trafalgar Groups got it just came out for June fifty
three point seven percent approve of his job as president.
He's still in the positive. No matter how much mainstream
media wants to hammer at him on a daily basis.
People still happy, particularly probably with the border initiatives. The
(00:56):
fact that we had zero we had this number, Yes,
we talked about zero return right, set free, set loose
inside the country, as opposed to the thousands that Biden
had the year before. Yesterday, So these are big numbers,
big stories. He's bringing people and they've heard everything We've
heard about the terrace, but he's bringing work in manufacturing
(01:18):
bake and he's also this is trickling down.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
They say this trickle down. This doesn't happen when it's
trickling down. We see that.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Blue collar wage growth as just shot through the roof.
We had that story earlier this week as well. These
are all big stories, but the thing that concerns me
the most, and I talked about this was speaker Matt
Hall the other day, and again I just can't help
but keep coming back to it. She's down under in
Australia trying to shake the trees for I don't know
(01:46):
whatever it is that they have down in Australia, shrimp
on the barbie or whatever whatever else.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
But right back at home, we got problems.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
There's this story that you all had yesterday and it's look,
it's it's to me. I just look at this and
you go, I can't believe it. We got a plant
that wants to invest seventy million dollars in a new factory,
create three hundred new jobs, but they won't do it
in Michigan. They're going to Indiana. And it's a company
that's right here in Kentwood. It's just boggles my mind,
(02:18):
floors me.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yeah, I think that Gretchen Whitmer goes to Australia, to
the United Kingdom, to Japan, to the Middle East because
they don't understand. I think that the people around the
world don't understand the intricate intricacies of the Michigan economy
and how in the terrible conditions that she's created, and
(02:42):
she's going to try and throw corporate welfare around trying
to lure companies. But what's interesting to me is she's
not going to Ohio, she's not going to Indiana, she's
not even going to Illinois, which is a worse state
than Michigan. She's going to other countries. And I think
it's really what's going on is she's going and she's
(03:03):
getting pictures and she's getting video, and she's trying to
build this sort of foreign policy resume as a reason
why she should run for president, and she's doing it
at our expense. She is wasting time going around all
of these countries when she should be fixing the Michigan economy.
She should be going to certainly neighboring states, but other
(03:27):
states as well, trying to lure businesses here, but she's not.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Doing that weller resume, I think speaks much louder than
any of those pr photo ops.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
That she might be trying to get in and hopefully.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Folks throughout the country we'll see that as well. I mean,
we got this, we got this announcement for Ford, the
four billion dollars. That's a beautiful thing, right, But I
just wonder how much we're missing out on when it
comes to some of the other major manufacturers that have
announced plans and expansion and other places throughout the country.
(04:02):
To me, I just hate to see Michigan missing out.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Yeah. Well, and I think what we're seeing right now
is manufacturers like Ford, like GM but others are saying
we're going to bring business back to America because it's
because of the tariffs. It will be cheaper to do
production in America than it will be to to you know,
be in Mexico or somewhere else or Canada and then
(04:30):
bring those products, you know, pay the tariffs and bring
those products in. And so I think it's pretty clear
that President Trump's strategy, tariff strategy is working now. The
Democrats are you know, have been crying about that Gretcha
Whitmer was was, you know, wringing her hands about what
that was going to do, but she was very quick
to take credit for the jobs that GM announced, and
(04:54):
so on the one hand, she was attacking the tariffs,
but GM was pretty clear that they're moving the production
back to America because of the tariffs, and so she's
claiming credit for the production moving back, and so she's
I mean, she's trying to have it both ways. But
I think I think a lot of people see through that.
And so what I think one of the maybe the
(05:16):
most stunning story this week and maybe of the month
or the year, is that while Gretchen Whitmer is in
Australia with executives from the MEDC, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation,
Dana Nessel, also a Democrat, raids the MEDC for documents
(05:38):
and also raids the home of Fabe Done, who is
a Democrat donor and was an appointee by Gretchen Whitmer
to the DC board. And she's the one that in
one of the recent budgets, got a twenty million dollar
earmark to create a business, and they allocated the money
(06:02):
and then she created the business and Dana Nessel, the
Attorney General, actually rated the MEDC. I don't think the
significance of this can be understated. And it was while
the MEDC was halfway across the world with the governor.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
What do you think is going on there? What's her
what's the end game for nessl.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Well? I think this is one of those ear marks
that got a lot of attention. And it's interesting because
the woman who got the ear mark is so closely
tied to the Democratic Party, to all these individuals involved,
and there was a lot of you know, there was
a lot of coverage about some of the ways that
(06:47):
she spent money. She spent forty five hundred dollars on
a coffee maker, she spent eleven thousand dollars on tickets
to Budapest, she spent forty thousand dollars on office furniture,
et cetera. And that got a lot of attention. But
of course the bigger question is, Okay, she got twenty
million dollars, where where did that go? What are her results?
(07:08):
And this is really one of the fundamental problems of
the way Lansing operates is up until the latest, the
latest budget in the in the in what Matt Hall
is doing the way he's changed earmarks, and we need
to see how that's still going to play out because
the budget's not yet completed. But up to this point,
it was just a free for all and there was
(07:30):
in the state. Legislators would just give millions and millions
of dollars to these companies and then everybody would just
move on. There was no accountability, there was no Why
didn't you send us a report in the next year
and tell us how you spent this money? There wasn't
any of that. And so things are changing under Matt
Hall's leadership. Again, we there's not a budget that's really
(07:55):
been hashed out yet, so we've got to see how
that's going to play out. But this sort of thing
is not It seems to be coming to an end
and it needs to.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Yeah, I will tell you I.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
This all of this that's happening, and I think maybe
the we're coming to the end of the line here
on this. You've got to wonder what's Nessel's next move.
Where does she go after she's the attorney Joe. She
clearly is not going to be able to run for anything.
Her political career is over.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
I think you can.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Argue Whitmer's is over, although I don't think she's realized
that yet, and Benson wants to step up into the
next ring oversee her her own election. With all the
questions and the chaos that surround her position as a
Secretary of State, it really is a wild time here
in Michigan. And you just you're watching all of this happen.
(08:48):
It's it's, like I said, never a dull moment. But
you know who really hurts in the in the long
terms of people in Michigan. Somebody just said in the chat,
by the way, I can't believe you're surprised by this.
You know, business is leaving the state. I said, not surprised,
I'm saddened by it. That's the thing that makes me.
I think the most upset is that it is wiping
(09:08):
out again the middle class, the people who built this country.
Really this state put the world on wheels, right, And
we've got the opportunity, We've got the ability to be
a part of the next Golden Age, right, We've got
the ability to be a part of this the opportunity here,
but it's being squandered by these folks who are trying
to sell us out.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
And down the river.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
And again this just goes to show elections have consequences,
and just as consequential as I believe the twenty twenty
four election was for not just the nation, but the
entire world, I think the same could be said for
Michigan in twenty twenty six. This is make or break
with this next election here in Michigan. We have the opportunity.
(09:53):
We're out of crossroads. Can we get the state back
on track or is it lost?
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Well that remains to be seen. But I don't know.
You asked about Dana Nessel. I don't I don't know
what her end strategy is. She's not running for governor,
she's not running for Senate. I don't know if she's
got something else in mind, or she wants an appointment,
or I don't know. Joscelyn Benson, obviously you and I
(10:21):
have talked about her at length. I think that I
think that Joscelyn Benson is infinitely worse than Gretchen Whitmer.
I think Gretchen Whitmer it was just sort of her
career path to get to be to run for governor,
and you know, the Lansing establishment was behind her, and
and she won. Joscelyn Benson is a very different person.
(10:45):
And I think Joscelyn Benson knows much better than Gretchen
Whitmer how to weaponize government and and if she has,
if she has control over the entire state Beocracy, the MEDC,
the Eagle, and all of the other state police, all
(11:07):
of the other agencies, it will be a disaster for Michigan. Well,
so people need to realize that. Yes, I think you're right,
twenty twenty six is a major, major year.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
And I think it goes also to the point of
what you're making about Benson in her background, how she
came up, the Soros ties and what that looks like.
I mean, you talk about radical what she wants to do.
If you thought Whitmer was bad, she's just a walk
in the park. When you talk about the background of
Benson and really essentially what she wants to pull off
(11:40):
in the days ahead, folks, I don't think it's I
really don't think it's possible to overstate it here. Hey,
let me ask you one other question, when are we
going to get that special election? We've got an entire district,
entire area and noted that Nessel was out at these
no Kings Day protests that kind of flopped over the week. Again,
she was out of a couple in fact, in that
(12:02):
area where these people are not being represented right now,
tax station without representation, in that area where they just
should be holding that special election for the Senate, and
Whitmer's just dragging her feet.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
She's down in Australia. What does she care? Why are
we going to get one or are we going to
get one?
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Well, that's a very good question, and it wouldn't surprise
me if she calls it next year, in twenty twenty six,
and so you could basically have two elections, two campaigns
were working almost simultaneously, and it's I think it's shameful
what she's doing. There is a twenty there is a
nineteen eighteen Democrat majority in the state Senate, and clearly
(12:47):
I don't think there's any other explanation other than she's
afraid that Democrats will lose that election and if they do,
it's a nineteen nineteen tie and then she really can't
get anything done, and so she's just not calling the election. Now.
Darlin Gilchrist, the Lieutenant Governor, has come out and said
there should be an election dand Nessels has said the same,
(13:11):
Garland Gilchris, when Gretchen Witmer is out of the state, Yes,
Darln Gilchris, the lieutenant governor is the acting governor. He
could call it right now, the power of the governor.
He could call it right now. And he was asked
about that, and he stood down. He then drunk from
the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
And I guess he's just disqualified himself from being a leader.
If you can't lead in the tough moments, gar why
do you think we're going to give you the job
when it comes to full on in twenty twenty six.
I mean, you're going to stand in Whimer's shadow? Are
you going to stand up and be a man? And
I guess the answer is.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Clear, yep.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
I think we found that out this week. And so
I don't know what is you know what Democrat voters
would find compelling about him when he's not willing to
be a leader. But the voters in Midland and Bay
and that area it don't have leaders, don't have leadership
(14:08):
Saganaw County as well, they don't have leadership or in
the state Senate and representation and uh, and it's a shame.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Kyle Olson, the midwestern or the Midwesterner. DOT is always
a pleasure
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