July 18, 2025 • 6 mins
Rory O’Neill speaks with Mendte in the Morning about Donald Trumps efforts to reopen Alcatraz and how much sense that it makes.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So we have Alligator Alcatraz, right, they got a whole
lot of fanfare. But what about the real Alcatraz? Remember
months ago Donald Trump talked about bringing balok Alcatraz. Now
apparently he was serious about that. Let's talk to Rory O'Neil,
wr National correspondent about it. So is there a real
(00:20):
possibility that they could reopen Alcatraz?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Well?
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Look, Attorney General General Pam Bondi and Doug Bergham, the
Interior Secretary, both went out to Alcatraz yesterday to look
at what it would take to bring that prison back online.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
It does be closed.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Back in nineteen sixty three, largely because with that.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
No, I'm sorry, I thought you were done. Go ahead,
keep going, Oh, I said.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
It closed in nineteen sixty three largely because it needed
millions of dollars in repairs, and the Bureau of Prison said,
you know what, this just doesn't make sense financially anymore.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Question is does it make financial sense in twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Five, And it doesn't seem like the people in that
area wanted. I heard the mayor was complaining about it
because I guess as a tourist attraction, it makes a
lot of.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Money, right, generates millions of dollars in revenue. One point
five million visitors go there. You know, there's some laws
that would have to be changed because technically it's now
part of the National Park Service. That's why the Interior
Secretary went with the ag for this tour, so it
would have to come out of the Park Service, and
that sort of disrupts things because it's all one big
(01:28):
bill to put the Golden gate Bridge and the presidio
sort of all in there together. So yeah, there's some
laws that would have to be changed. And of course
we don't know how much this is going to cost.
Some have speculated a couple one hundred million dollars, but
you know, government contracts, and then that's just the cost
of getting it ready. The cost of running the place
would could be prohibitive. You know already Alligator Alcatraz costs
(01:50):
about two hundred and forty five dollars per inmate per day.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Well, i'll tell you what I did here. I heard
that press conference with the mayor and the mayor at
one point set they're talking about spending billions of dollars.
We could use it right here in the city. If
you're going to spend billions of dollars. The state could
use it because we've got some real problems. Why add
another one?
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Which I said, you know, with the two hundred and
forty five dollars a day, you can get a cruise
out of Miami for about seventy nine dollars a day
that also includes rooming board and then that the cruise
ship can just unload somewhere else.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Right, that's true, that's true. And no alligators and no pythons. Hey,
we talked earlier about this kiss can and I know
you you've been covering that too. Tell us what you.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Know, right.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
So, it was an amazing concert in Foxborough before Coldplay
playing there, and during the concert they take a camera
and show it around the crowd, and what's remarkable is
they showed one loving couple, but they look suddenly mortified,
and turns out it was the CEO of a company
and the head of HR for that and astronaut and
(03:03):
they're married to other people. So even when showing the
camera around, Chris Martin, the lead singer for Coldplay, said, boy,
they're either very shy or they're having an affair, and
he was that, right, No, we have no idea.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
What's happened since then?
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Right, Well, there's reports online that the CEO put out
a statement saying that he was embarrassed and says that
the camera caught what should have been a private moment.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
He quoted back some coldplay lyrics and things like that.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
But yeah, I heard that was now the company said
that was not a real statement, not him.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yeah, so it was a little suspicious.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Well, he certainly described the marriage situation. Now, I think
you cover.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
So many things in a day. I love this story
too that you have there. I mean, it's amazing the
width and breadth of the things you cover, but it
is you know, Donald Trump has a habit of just riffing,
you know, doing these news for He talks constantly, and
he'll talk about the strangest things. And I apparently he
talked about changing the formula of Coca Cola. Is it
(04:08):
true that Coke may take him up on that?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Well, this was a post on truth social saying he's
been speaking to Coca Cola about using real cane sugar
in coke. Again, remember President Trump drinks diet coke, so
I don't know why he cares about coke anyway, Apparently
this was news to Coca Cola. So they put out
a response saying, we appreciate the President's enthusiasm for our products,
(04:33):
but more details on new innovative, innovative offerings will be
announced soon. So look, coke has always offered both. It's
called Mexican coke, the one with the real cane.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
Yeah, that's what I was going to say, because if
you go to Bodega's or even supermarkets around here, phil
have Coca Cola's, usually in glass jars made in Mexico,
and that's made with cane sugar. For people who don't
want to have a high fruit toast corn syrup.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Know that from Disney World, that there's Coca Cola's from
around the world and they all taste a little bit differently.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Yes, I've got a glass of Bentley for you. That's
the gross one. If anyone knows. I'pcot that was the
gross one that made everyone spit it out. But yeah,
what's it called Bentley? And where is that from? I
think it was a British product, But yeah, that was
that used to be in that world of Coca Cola's place.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Of course, it's I'm.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Sorry not be Beverly Beverly, Beverly Okay, my son got
obsessed with Fanta when he was in Europe because it's
not made anything like here. It's made with fruit juice
and it tastes so good. I actually had to import
a case of it for Christmas right once because it
was like this, you can't find anything like it here.
It's too bad.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
The orange, it is such a different Our orange looks
like a neon tree.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yes, I wonder why it's different here. Is it because
it's cheaper they have to do a cheaper or is
it because of federal restrictions.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
I would say it's cheaper lack of restriction, Yes, the
lack of restrictions here in the US that let them
put anything in it. Europe is much more concerned. They
don't even have cheese whiz in Europe, so what are
they not?
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Rory O'Neil, wr National correspondent, thank you so much
So we have Alligator Alcatraz, right, they got a whole
lot of fanfare. But what about the real Alcatraz? Remember
months ago Donald Trump talked about bringing balok Alcatraz. Now
apparently he was serious about that. Let's talk to Rory O'Neil,
wr National correspondent about it. So is there a real
(00:20):
possibility that they could reopen Alcatraz?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Well?
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Look, Attorney General General Pam Bondi and Doug Bergham, the
Interior Secretary, both went out to Alcatraz yesterday to look
at what it would take to bring that prison back online.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
It does be closed.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Back in nineteen sixty three, largely because with that.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
No, I'm sorry, I thought you were done. Go ahead,
keep going, Oh, I said.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
It closed in nineteen sixty three largely because it needed
millions of dollars in repairs, and the Bureau of Prison said,
you know what, this just doesn't make sense financially anymore.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Question is does it make financial sense in twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Five, And it doesn't seem like the people in that
area wanted. I heard the mayor was complaining about it
because I guess as a tourist attraction, it makes a
lot of.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Money, right, generates millions of dollars in revenue. One point
five million visitors go there. You know, there's some laws
that would have to be changed because technically it's now
part of the National Park Service. That's why the Interior
Secretary went with the ag for this tour, so it
would have to come out of the Park Service, and
that sort of disrupts things because it's all one big
(01:28):
bill to put the Golden gate Bridge and the presidio
sort of all in there together. So yeah, there's some
laws that would have to be changed. And of course
we don't know how much this is going to cost.
Some have speculated a couple one hundred million dollars, but
you know, government contracts, and then that's just the cost
of getting it ready. The cost of running the place
would could be prohibitive. You know already Alligator Alcatraz costs
(01:50):
about two hundred and forty five dollars per inmate per day.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Well, i'll tell you what I did here. I heard
that press conference with the mayor and the mayor at
one point set they're talking about spending billions of dollars.
We could use it right here in the city. If
you're going to spend billions of dollars. The state could
use it because we've got some real problems. Why add
another one?
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Which I said, you know, with the two hundred and
forty five dollars a day, you can get a cruise
out of Miami for about seventy nine dollars a day
that also includes rooming board and then that the cruise
ship can just unload somewhere else.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Right, that's true, that's true. And no alligators and no pythons. Hey,
we talked earlier about this kiss can and I know
you you've been covering that too. Tell us what you.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Know, right.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
So, it was an amazing concert in Foxborough before Coldplay
playing there, and during the concert they take a camera
and show it around the crowd, and what's remarkable is
they showed one loving couple, but they look suddenly mortified,
and turns out it was the CEO of a company
and the head of HR for that and astronaut and
(03:03):
they're married to other people. So even when showing the
camera around, Chris Martin, the lead singer for Coldplay, said, boy,
they're either very shy or they're having an affair, and
he was that, right, No, we have no idea.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
What's happened since then?
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Right, Well, there's reports online that the CEO put out
a statement saying that he was embarrassed and says that
the camera caught what should have been a private moment.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
He quoted back some coldplay lyrics and things like that.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
But yeah, I heard that was now the company said
that was not a real statement, not him.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yeah, so it was a little suspicious.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Well, he certainly described the marriage situation. Now, I think
you cover.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
So many things in a day. I love this story
too that you have there. I mean, it's amazing the
width and breadth of the things you cover, but it
is you know, Donald Trump has a habit of just riffing,
you know, doing these news for He talks constantly, and
he'll talk about the strangest things. And I apparently he
talked about changing the formula of Coca Cola. Is it
(04:08):
true that Coke may take him up on that?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Well, this was a post on truth social saying he's
been speaking to Coca Cola about using real cane sugar
in coke. Again, remember President Trump drinks diet coke, so
I don't know why he cares about coke anyway, Apparently
this was news to Coca Cola. So they put out
a response saying, we appreciate the President's enthusiasm for our products,
(04:33):
but more details on new innovative, innovative offerings will be
announced soon. So look, coke has always offered both. It's
called Mexican coke, the one with the real cane.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
Yeah, that's what I was going to say, because if
you go to Bodega's or even supermarkets around here, phil
have Coca Cola's, usually in glass jars made in Mexico,
and that's made with cane sugar. For people who don't
want to have a high fruit toast corn syrup.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Know that from Disney World, that there's Coca Cola's from
around the world and they all taste a little bit differently.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Yes, I've got a glass of Bentley for you. That's
the gross one. If anyone knows. I'pcot that was the
gross one that made everyone spit it out. But yeah,
what's it called Bentley? And where is that from? I
think it was a British product, But yeah, that was
that used to be in that world of Coca Cola's place.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Of course, it's I'm.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Sorry not be Beverly Beverly, Beverly Okay, my son got
obsessed with Fanta when he was in Europe because it's
not made anything like here. It's made with fruit juice
and it tastes so good. I actually had to import
a case of it for Christmas right once because it
was like this, you can't find anything like it here.
It's too bad.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
The orange, it is such a different Our orange looks
like a neon tree.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yes, I wonder why it's different here. Is it because
it's cheaper they have to do a cheaper or is
it because of federal restrictions.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
I would say it's cheaper lack of restriction, Yes, the
lack of restrictions here in the US that let them
put anything in it. Europe is much more concerned. They
don't even have cheese whiz in Europe, so what are
they not?
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Rory O'Neil, wr National correspondent, thank you so much
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