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July 17, 2024 • 44 mins

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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Day one of the Republican Convention. In the books, Donald
Trump makes his first public appearance in see assassination attempt
and the first time we've seen a picture with JD.
Vance standing next to the president as he is the
vice presidential nominee. What we saw yesterday was I think

(00:25):
a little bit different Donald Trump. I think that's okay.
There have been a lot of people saying Donald Trump
looked different night one as he was standing there with
Make America Great underneath them Byron Donald's sitting to his
left if you're looking at the President, Tucker Carlson as well,

(00:47):
sitting to his left. To the right JD. Vance to
the right of him was the speaker Mike Johnson at
the convention. When Donald Trump made his way into the arena,
it was also a little bit different. It was not
as loud as you traditionally hear at a Trump rally.

(01:08):
It was a very somber but I also think serious
moment for Donald Trump. He understands, I think better than anybody,
as we saw his ear, his right ear bandaged, that
he is an individual who could easily have died. He

(01:29):
is someone whose life could have been taken from him
because of this would be assassin and he was shot.
I want to say, if you have ever been in
a shooting, you understand what I'm about to say. Many
of you know I've been in a shooting. I had
to use a gun to save my life and had
two different people pointing a gun at me, one put
to the side of my head. And I can tell

(01:53):
you that you are different after that, no matter how
much you don't want to be different. And what I
mean by that is your perspective changes. There's anger that
comes in afterwards. We saw instantly Donald Trump be angry
when he put his fist up and yelled fight. There's
then this realization that you could have died. There is

(02:18):
then a significant change and shift to concern that it
could happen again. I have a massive amount of compassion
for our men and women in uniform that have dealt
with PTSD. I didn't understand it till after my shooting,
and I cannot imagine what men and women that go

(02:39):
through that every single day in Afghanistan, Iraq or anywhere
else around the world where they're serving, what they dealt
with after nine to eleven, for example, when you're there
for a couple of years on multiple tours of duties,
and you're being shot at, and you're shooting, and you're
seeing your friends get blown up, and you're seeing your
friends get shot, and you're seeing that life can end

(03:01):
not at a time in or a moment of your choosing,
because of evil. Donald Trump seemed different. And I don't
think that's a bad thing. But I'm sure Donald Trump
is dealing with the fact that and this is that
they call it survivor's guilt for reason, Why am I
still alive? And why did an innocent man who was
just there to support me die? Why are there others

(03:23):
that are fighting and are going to have lifelong changes
in their recovery in the hospital still who were shot?
You think about that rally, and Donald Trump is going
to be thinking about that rally. It is going to
be on his mind because he knows that there was
a kind, loving father who saved his daughter and mother's

(03:46):
life and it cost him his own as he was
shielding them from the bullets. And I'm sure there's moments
where he's gonna be thinking, did I have to do
that rally? Should we have done it indoors? Should we
have done it differently? Should we have changed the way
we did things. That is what any person with a
soul is going to be thinking in that moment. And
not only is the president having to deal with that,

(04:09):
but then there's that concern of is it gonna happen again.
I think you also realize, and this has got to
be the hardest part for President Trump. There is a
confidence with a secret service around you. I've been inside
the bubble in my career several times, many times when

(04:30):
I was a saga on the Bush campaign, and I've
been on stage with the President. It's a different level
of Secret Service protection. They are when you're sitting duck
up there, but there was a feeling of invincibility that
made you just focus on what your job was because
you're like, I got them right, Like they're around us,

(04:51):
We're gonna be fine. I'm not thinking about snipers. I'm
not thinking about a lone wolf. I'm not thinking about
a shooter in the crowd. And you go up on
that stage and you do your job well. I mean,
you look at the president last night at the convention,
and I mean this, he is a little bit different

(05:13):
and that's okay, but I wanted to paint that picture
so you understand because while all of this is going on,
and when I was involved in my shooting, I think
the most frustrating part for me afterwards was the fact
that I couldn't control my heart rate when I would

(05:38):
be doing things like pumping gas and a car would
pull up on the other side of that gas pump
and I couldn't see that person, and there's that concern,
is that person about to come around the corner and
pull a gun on me, or shoot at me, or
try to rob me or car jack me. And it
wasn't because paranoid. It was a involuntary thing that would happen.

(06:00):
It took months and months for that to go away
until I felt quote normal again. I the way that
Donald Trump is dealing with this publicly is unbelievable. But
I also want to make it clear we need to
make sure we pray for this man. We need to
pray for him and his recovery. One tenth of an

(06:21):
inch that bullet moves, he doesn't move his head, and
those are the things he's thinking about. To look at
that prompter again for the statistics, and he would not
be with us. And while you're having to deal with
all that and look there's also the fallout that comes
after this with your family. Everybody wants to talk about
this shooting that sees you. Everybody's walking up to you

(06:43):
giving you a hug, which is sincere, and saying we're
so glad you're alive. But you keep hearing that's a
different narrative. It's no longer hey, thank you for fighting
for our country. God bless America. It's now we're so
thankful you're alive. That is a different conversation he will
have with every single per and that he comes into
contact with in Milwaukee this week, and it will be

(07:04):
the same thing that has said to him for weeks.
And I would argue through election day that narrative is
not gonna change. But that's a different conversation. I'm glad
you're alive. I'm glad you're okay, I'm glad you're alive.
Continues to go back to it to remind him that
someone tried to kill him. That's a lot to deal
with for any person. If there's anybody that can deal

(07:26):
with it, it's Donald Trump. He clearly is. But then
I want you to think about what's happened since then,
that the bubble around you and the Secret Service, the
protection that you used to have that made you feel
confident to be able to go up on that stage.
That is gone right now. I don't care what anybody
says in the back of his head, he's like they
didn't get the last one. They could screw it up again.

(07:47):
That's going to change your demeanor a little bit. And
then you've got to do everything else you're doing right now,
right go to a convention, run a convention, pick a
vice presidential candidate. JD Vance, by the way, put out
an amazing simple tweet. It said, just overwhelmed with gratitude.
What an honor it is to run alongside President Donald J. Trump.
He delivered peace and prosperity once and with your help,

(08:10):
will do it again. Onward to victory. A very very
very very very simple. Okay, a very simple tweet there,
a very important tweet. I'm going to get more of this,
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(08:31):
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He also tweeted out on the fourteenth, two days ago,

(10:22):
this dude is just built different and posted the true
social post by Donald Trump that said quote, based on
yesterday's terrible events, I was going to delay my trip
to Wisconsin the Republican National Convention by two days, but
have decided that I cannot allow a quote shooter or
potential assassin to force change the scheduling or anything else. Therefore,

(10:42):
I will be leaving for Milwaukee's schedule at three point
thirty pm today. Thank you, Donald J. Trump, and jd
Vance wrote this dude is just built different. He absolutely is.
He is built different. I want to shift for a
moment the converation from what I just described with Donald

(11:03):
Trump personally, and I just still think it's incredible what
this guy's doing right now. He's built differently. I want
to talk about Day two theme at the Republican Convention.
The Day two theme is make America Safe Again. That
means so many different things, by the way. Right now,

(11:24):
it means that we have to focus on the border crisis.
We've got to focus on crime in this country. And
I think there's going to be a lot of praise
for Trump for his resilience after this assassination attempt. Day
two at the Convention has a different meaning than when

(11:46):
they announced last week what the themes of each day
were going to be. No one was thinking that it
was going to revolve or they would have to include
the possibility of an assassination as part of the make
America Safe Again theme. It was gonna be about crime,
it was gonna be about the border, it was gonna

(12:06):
be about now security, and now it's about the idea
that there are people that are trying to kill Donald Trump.
The Republican National Convention is focusing Day two with a
crowded list of events and speakers touching on a broad
range with immigration and crime is going to be featured

(12:28):
in the most prominent way, and Democrats will not do
this at their convention. I do think this is also
a moment where you compare and contrast the two. You look, now,
Trump is formerly the GOP nominee. It's official. That happened
day one. You've got his VP candidate, that's official. Jd Vance.

(12:52):
He's there shaking hands with Tucker Carlson Byron Donald's members
of his family, Don Junior, who looked proudly at their father,
their friend who nearly lost his life two days ago,
Like that's big. There are other attendees that are there
that I'm sure are like, Okay, we gotta admit it. Now,
this guy's built differently. What do I mean by that?

(13:12):
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, He was booed when he
made his appearance. I understand why people feel like he's
not done enough. McConnell, by the way, who blamed Trump
for January sixth riot in February twenty twenty one, stating
the former president was practically and morally responsible for provoking

(13:33):
the events of that day. And you want to know
why the guy got booed. McConnell booed at the convention.
I am glad that he got booed at the convention.
I think it stands. I'm glad he got booed because
it's proof that people love Trump and can't stand the
bureaucrats that run Washington. There is a very clear divide

(13:57):
in our party right now. You're either with the Mitch
mcaon Donald's of the world that cow down to the Democrats,
don't hold them accountable, allowed them to use law fair
to get rid of their candidates and have gotten us
to the point where we had this assassination attempt. Or
you're on the side with Donald Trump and hardcore conservatives
that understand that there is evil in the world. AP

(14:20):
put it this way, hosts of speakers will applaud the
former president's strength and resilience after the shooting at isrally
in Pennsylvania day two, and will remind the country that
safety and security are a major, major issue. Nicky Hayley, right,
we're being told is going to be a part of this.

(14:40):
I'm fine with that. Let's go. I don't think she's
going to get some massive welcome. By the way, want
to make that very very clear as well. Let's talk
real quick about the pick that Donald Trump came up
with JD. Vance and the reaction and why so many
are excited about JD. Van's Eric Trump in Milwaukee on

(15:01):
Fox and Friends talking about Vance, the assassination attempt on
his father, and the campaign moving forward.

Speaker 2 (15:10):
I know you haven't been out and about so far,
but the Democrats this morning have unveiled sixteen billboards and
one mobile billboard attacking the Trump Advance ticket on abortion
and on tax breaks for billionaires in their words, and
they're referring to it as the Trump Vance Project twenty
twenty five project.

Speaker 3 (15:31):
I can only imagine what Kamala is thinking this morning,
because you have a guy who's brilliant Yale Law school,
you know, marine incredibly successful business guy. You know, somebody's
who's gone into politics and kind of taking it by storm,
and a guy who will go into oncoming fire. And
there's almost a bad pun to use this morning, but
every single time he'll go on every single network, no
matter how hostile they are, and just prosecute the case.

(15:53):
And you know what's really interesting to see is the
chemistry be'stween my father and Advance. He's they like being
around each other. They work good together. You know, you
just you feel a natural warmth between the two, and
I think when you're sitting in the White House together,
that's that's incredibly important.

Speaker 1 (16:08):
Are you pushing for one of them? Because we know
Don Junior likes.

Speaker 4 (16:10):
Him a lot.

Speaker 3 (16:11):
Listen, I like him at the same time, I like
the other people that were being considered, and I like
a lot of the people that were being considered before that.
And you know, I always saw my father go with
your gut. You know, my opinion doesn't necessarily matter. And listen,
Advance would be my age. You were very close in age,
and he'd definitely be my agem graphigant guy I could
be great friends with and everything else. But you know,
you have to have that chemistry with people. All the

(16:32):
people that made the finalists were incredibly confident people. They
could do a great job. But you've got to have
that warmth, You've got to have that connection. You've got
to be willing to stand next to that person every
single day in the trenches for a long period of time,
and you know he's going to be excellent.

Speaker 1 (16:48):
You watch it here. Here's what you said last night
to Sean about his background.

Speaker 5 (16:53):
Can't run on the issue of is the world more
peaceful than it was four years ago. Room when Donald
Trump left office, You've had real growing peace movements all
over the world. The Abraham Accords that showed a real
promise of uniting the Israelis with some of the Suiti
Arab states.

Speaker 1 (17:08):
There was no war in Europe.

Speaker 5 (17:11):
Asia looked like it was under pretty good control. And
three years later, it seems like we have a conflict
in every corner of the world, and Americans are poorer. Sean,
you know a little about my background. I grew up
in a poor family. I remember when my grandmother, who
raised me, she used to negotiate with the meals on
wheels people to give her additional food so that.

Speaker 4 (17:29):
She could feed me.

Speaker 5 (17:31):
How does a family like that deal with Joe Biden's
grocery price inflation? How does a family like that deal
with gasoline and energy price inflation. It's gotten more expensive
just to live a good life in this country. Donald
Trump and I want to make that better, and we
have policies to make it better. Democrats have lies and distortions,
and again, I don't think the American people are going

(17:51):
to reward that.

Speaker 6 (17:52):
So I guess the big question is, what do you
think was you know, talk to your dad, liked them all.
What do you think was the final thing that he
heard that really said, this is why I'm going to
select this guy again.

Speaker 3 (18:06):
I think great energy, and I mean necessarily when you
see him go on to CNA and he's getting ruthlessly
attacked by seven people and he's just kind of dismantling them.
I certainly that you know the policies and he's he's
been just fantastic, and he does have an amazing story
to tell, right from all sides. Great in business, you know,
became very kind of successful, great in the political world,

(18:26):
you know, military background. I mean, it's somebody who can
carry the torch for a very long time.

Speaker 6 (18:31):
And that's his story, not his parents' story.

Speaker 1 (18:33):
This is actually his story. He's lived the American dream.
Nikki Hayley, she's good. I love by the way, how
he said he's going to be able to carry the
torch for a very long time. And I think that
is something that's so important now, more important now than
ever before, is that you pick your vice president to

(18:55):
be someone that if something happens to you, they can
pick up the torch in like this is this is
why we have a vice President, and now the reality
of that, I think, unfortunately I said in now more
than ever before. I also think there was something else

(19:16):
cool that happened that I that I want you to
hear because it's just awesome.

Speaker 7 (19:20):
JD.

Speaker 1 (19:21):
Vance was on Hannity from the convention, and this is
the Donald Trump that I know. Donald Trump. During the
VP call, Trump heard Vance's son seven in the background,
and I love this because it just shows the human

(19:42):
nature of the President of the United States of America.

Speaker 7 (19:46):
UH.

Speaker 1 (19:46):
And the Senator was like, you want to know what
it's like when you're on the phone with Trump. And
this is the story that I've I've told it. I
think I've told it to you guys before, and if
I haven't, I'll make it quick. But it's a it's
a great story. My wife and I we ended up
doing in vitro UH for our children. We we tried
for years and and couldn't have kids, and we had

(20:08):
to move on to the to thank goodness, the medical
miracle which is in vitro fertilization IVF. And the President
was told, this is while he was the president, that
we were going to have twins. And I got a
phone call from the White House, and when you get
a phone call from the White House, it usually comes
up to zero two with no other numbers on your phone.

(20:30):
And I knew this from my time when I was
in the in the you know, working with the Bush administration.
And so it came up and I answered, and it
was someone that I knew that said, hey, the President
would like to talk to you. Can you take the call?
And I was like, of course, like all right, well,
you know we're gonna call you in just a minute,
I think, is how if I remember correctly, I was
like sure, And then sure enough, a few minutes later,

(20:50):
Donald Trump calls and it's the phone and in classic
Trump world, he goes bend. I was like, I'm as
president because I'm I'm he goes, he goes, Donald J.
Trump here from the Oval Office, which is just such
a you know, an arm flex, and it's so classic

(21:12):
Trump and and I was like, I'm as president. He goes,
I hear, there's he here. There's great news in your family,
And I said, yes, sir. He goes, you're having twins.
I said, I am, and he said, well we know
what they are. I said, yeah, that's going to be boys.
And he said he goes, well, you got to name
two boys. I was like, yes, sir. He goes, well,

(21:33):
I'm just going to say, Donald's a pretty good name.
Worst case scenario, you're a billionaire mogul. Best case scenario
it's presidential. And I'm dying laughing cause it's like and
he's not like, it's not like a one line like
he sells pitching it, y'all. It was amazing, and I
start laughing and I was like, I said, well, I said, sir.

(21:55):
I was like, I was like that, you got a
whole other person you're gonna have to convince of that name.
And he goes, what do you mean? I said, well,
it was like my wife. And he goes where is she?
And I was like, she's downstairs. He goes, well, go
get her and put her on the phone. So I
walked downstairs from my office and I'm on the phone
and I look at my wife and I was like, hey,

(22:16):
I was like, somebody's on the phone for you. And
she looks at me weird, like what are you? Like what?
Because that's not normal, right? You just call her phone?
And I'm like and she's like, who is it? And
I'm like, here, I don't tell her, and I handed
her the phone and she's holding our oldest son at
the time, who was still a baby, and she answers that.
She goes hello, and I can hear him. He goes, Anna,
Donald J. Trump here from the Oval Office, and her

(22:39):
face immediately just turns like bright red and she's like, Hi,
I'm as president and he doesn't miss it be He's like, look,
we got to talk about these names. Your job as
a parent is to give your kid a bold name,
an important name, a name that significants her name for
their whole life. They will be no like he's they
will be known by this forever. It'll be for the

(23:00):
day they're born to the day they die, and the
legacy afterwards. We look, we got to talk about these names.
And she's like, uh huh. He's like, look, you got
two to name. I'm just saying I think one of
them a good name would be Donald. And she starts
like laughing and like and she's like, well, miss, you know,
well we're thinking you know family names. He's like, well, look,
you got two. One can be family one. Can you
do middle names? For probably five to six minutes it was,

(23:24):
and I'm just sitting there sitting back dying laughing because
it's just so funny. And I wish I would have
had my phone, but she obviously had to take picture
of this moment. And I don't have that, but I
have the memory. And that is exactly what Donald Trump
is like he was and then and then he turned
very sincere. He's like, look, I just want to say
I'm so excited for you guys. And he was like,
I'll be praying for your children's health, your health anna,

(23:46):
you know, et cetera, and and was very very sincere.

Speaker 6 (23:50):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (23:50):
And as soon as they were born, I got a
phone call while we were still at the hospital of
him saying congratulations about the kids. And and when I
was in the Oval for his final say the Union,
I was asked to come up and meet with him
in the Oval the day before this final stay of
the Union. And he immediately at the end, he grabbed me.

(24:13):
He's like a right, He's like, let's let's go get
some swag. And he signed a hat for both of
my sons. And he knew that my young my oldest
was you know, he was young young at the time,
but he knew he was obsessed with golf. And he
grabs some prov ones the presidential seal and signed that
for my son as well. And so he goes, look,
you can't go home empty handed. And he and he

(24:34):
and he said, you know, he's very He goes, look,
I know you got three at kids at home. I
know this is you know, getting up here, and I
appreciate it. And so he signed three different things for
my boys.

Speaker 7 (24:43):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (24:43):
And it was just one of those in our picture
with him at the Oval. I actually have that golf
ball in my hand that he signed for my oldest
and the other two hats for my other two sons.
And that's just who Donald Trump is. And and I
go back to that part of the story to tell you,
you know, during this VP call, Trump heard Vance's son

(25:06):
seven years old in the background and made a very
quote special request. And this is just who he is.
I want you to hear JD. Vance tell this story
about Donald Trump in the moment that he got the
phone call from Donald Trump offering him the VP job. Now,

(25:27):
this was either going to be a good call or
a really bad call. Right, you're just sitting there, you're waiting,
and I want you to hear just how kind Donald
Trump was with his seven year old son in the background,
and I want you to hear this, and then you're
gonna hear about who JD. Vance is and the lefts
attacks on him and him responding. Take a listen. This

(25:49):
is at the convention, his first big interview with Hannity.

Speaker 8 (25:52):
Further Ado showing us now marine senator, author of the
massive Big Hit, both in a book for him and movie.

Speaker 7 (26:00):
Hillbilly Elegy is the Republican Vice.

Speaker 8 (26:02):
President Joe nominee JD Event Sir, how are you, good man?
How are you seeing?

Speaker 7 (26:07):
I'm sure you've had a very slow day today.

Speaker 4 (26:09):
Yeah, that's right. Nothing happened pretty boring.

Speaker 8 (26:11):
Nothing that happen pretty pretty more today, let's talk about
the process. Sure, a lot of questions were you obviously, Uh,
what was it like? Because the last couple of days,
well it's down to two el and Senator Rubio?

Speaker 7 (26:23):
What was that like for you?

Speaker 4 (26:25):
You know, I just tried to enjoy the ride.

Speaker 9 (26:26):
What an honor to be considered if it had been
sent or Ruby? Obviously, Marcus a good guy's good friend.
So I try to just have a good attitude about it. Yeah,
my family's very excited, obviously, asking a lot of questions
I will say, Sean, I hope I'm not betraying too
many confidences here. But when the president called me today,
it actually formally offered me to become, you know, the
vice president's nominee, which just sounds crazy. My son, my

(26:47):
seven year old son, was sort of making noise in
the background.

Speaker 4 (26:49):
You know, I'm getting so embarrassed. It's like, oh my god,
Donald Trump's asking me to.

Speaker 8 (26:52):
Be his vice So the phone rings, he calls you,
and you're like, Okay, this is the call, or maybe
not the.

Speaker 5 (26:58):
Call, or maybe it's a bad call. Right, it's the
who knows whether it's good or bad. But then he
actually has me put my seven year old son on
the phone. If you think about this, everything that's happened.
The guy just got shot at a couple of days ago,
and he takes the time to talk to my seven
year old.

Speaker 4 (27:12):
It's a moment I'll never forget, all right, And what.

Speaker 8 (27:15):
Did he actually say, you know, he.

Speaker 5 (27:18):
Just said, Look, I think I'm gonna go save this country.
I think you're the guy who can help me in
the best way. You can help me govern, you can
help me win, you can help me in some of
these Midwestern states like Pennsylvania, Michigan.

Speaker 4 (27:28):
And so forth.

Speaker 5 (27:29):
And he said rightfully that we have been very, very
close for a long time, but especially since I endorsed
you in twenty twenty two, and I would not have
won that race without Donald Trump's endorsement and the President's
trust then in his partnership since then has been something
I value a great deal.

Speaker 8 (27:45):
Let me let me ask you. You know, this happens
all the time. You get announced and incoming begins.

Speaker 4 (27:53):
Let's go over some of it, please, and.

Speaker 8 (27:55):
Not questions you haven't heard before, new would be asked.
All of them are fairly predictable, but I think Americans
want the answers.

Speaker 4 (28:02):
Sure.

Speaker 8 (28:02):
Let me go back to, for example, after you know
he announced this the media, I'm starting to read every
article right yeah, and criticizing you that you know, here's
a guy. This came out of Ohio. His support for
a national abortion band and his twisted belief that women
should stay in violent marriages for the benefit of their
children exemplifies his dangerous extreme extremism. He's not just wrong

(28:27):
for Ohio, he's wrong for the country. I actually saw
those articles this weekend and I said, why would I wait?

Speaker 7 (28:34):
I wanted to know the answer.

Speaker 8 (28:36):
I called you, Yeah, how do you address that?

Speaker 9 (28:39):
Well?

Speaker 5 (28:39):
Look, so on, first of all, Democrats have completely twisted
my words here, and as you know, both me and
my mom actually were victims of domestic violence. The way
they say that, you know, Dvance has supported women staying
in violent marriages. I think it's shameful for them to
take a guy with my history and my background and
say that that's what I believe.

Speaker 4 (28:58):
It's not what I believe.

Speaker 5 (28:59):
It's not what I say, And I think, Sean, it's
evidence of the democrats complete inability.

Speaker 4 (29:04):
To talk about the future.

Speaker 5 (29:05):
What are Republicans running on delivering the peace and prosperity
that Donald Trump already delivered in his four years. What
are Democrats running on lies and complete distortions of people's records.

Speaker 4 (29:16):
That is something I think the American people want to reject.
They're too smart for it. You know.

Speaker 8 (29:19):
I said on January second, when the year started, I said,
let me tell you what this year is going to
be like. And I try to give a perspective to
my audience. It's not my first rodeo, that's right, ad,
And I said, the Democrats are going to try to
make this election about.

Speaker 7 (29:33):
Quote democracy, in peril.

Speaker 8 (29:34):
How often have we heard that meanwhile, they might want
to disenfranchise every primary voter that they had, and they
wanted to get Donald Trump off the ticket in some states.
Another example, it'd be about January sixth, it would be
about abortion, and we hate Donald Trump exactly right. Can
they run on the issue is the country better off

(29:56):
that it was four years ago?

Speaker 4 (29:58):
Of course they can't, Sean, they can't run on that
at all. And they can't run on the issue.

Speaker 5 (30:01):
Of is the world more peaceful than it was four
years ago? Remember when Donald Trump left office, you had
real growing peace movements all over the world, the Abraham
Accords that showed a real promise of uniting the Israelis
with some of the Sudi Arab states. There was no
war in Europe. Asia looked like it was under pretty
good control. And three years later, it seems like we

(30:22):
have a conflict in every corner of the world, and
Americans are poorer. Sean, you know a little about my background.
I grew up in a poor family. I remember when
my grandmother, who raised me, she used to negotiate with
the meals on wheels people to give her additional food
so that she could feed me, how does a family
like that deal with Joe Biden's grocery price inflation? How
does a family like that deal with gasoline and energy

(30:45):
price inflation? It's gotten more expensive just to live a
good life in this country. Donald Trump and I want
to make that better, and we have policies to make
it better. Democrats have lies and distortions, and again, I
don't think the American people are going to reward.

Speaker 7 (30:58):
That opportunity to talk to Donald Trump.

Speaker 8 (31:01):
And I knew this question would come up, actually for
almost every person that was under consideration, and that was
past comments that you had made about him, and when
I'll tell you after what his response was, But you
weren't didn't have the nicest things to say about him
back in twenty sixteen, which seems like a long time ago.
Now you know that you literally said, you texted a

(31:23):
friend that Trump is a cynical ahole like Nixon, who
wouldn't be that bad and might even prove useful, and
that he's America's hitler, and you compared him to a
cultural heroine in the Atlantic Monthly.

Speaker 7 (31:37):
And I'll tell you Trump's response. But you said that,
then what do you say to people that say well,
wait a minute, what did he mean.

Speaker 4 (31:46):
Well, so I don't hide from that.

Speaker 5 (31:48):
I was certainly skeptical of Donald Trump in twenty sixteen.
But President Trump was a great president, and he changed
my mind. I think he changed the minds of a
lot of Americans because again he delivered that peace and prosperity.

Speaker 4 (31:59):
If you go back to what I thought.

Speaker 5 (32:00):
In twenty sixteen, another thing that was going on, Sean
is I bought.

Speaker 4 (32:04):
Into the media's lies and distortions.

Speaker 5 (32:05):
I bought into this idea that somehow he was going
to be so different, a terrible threat to democracy.

Speaker 7 (32:11):
It was a joke.

Speaker 4 (32:13):
Joe Biden is the one who's trying to throw his
political opposition in jail.

Speaker 5 (32:16):
Joe Biden is the one who's trying to undermine American
law and order. President Trump did a really good job,
and I actually think it's a good thing.

Speaker 4 (32:24):
When you see somebody you were wrong about him, You
ought to admit the mistake and admit that you were wrong.

Speaker 8 (32:29):
When I brought it up to him, he said, I
can't wait for this, Okay. When I brought it up
to him, he said, yeah, he goes, But he doesn't
think that way, now, does he. So he actually had
a very good sense of humor about it. I also
says a lot about him and he understands. Were you
as political back then?

Speaker 4 (32:45):
Not really, Sean. I mean, you know, my book came
out in twenty sixteen, he'll bili elogy. It's really the
sort of the story.

Speaker 5 (32:49):
Of growing up in poverty, achieving the American dream, starting
out in business.

Speaker 4 (32:53):
And I really didn't care that much about politics. I
certainly had views.

Speaker 5 (32:57):
I was a Republican, but I was not as nearly
as involved obviously as I am today. And again because
something that really changed for me, and I think for
a lot of Americans is we saw the results of
the Trump presidency compared to the obsessive, deranged media reaction.

Speaker 4 (33:13):
In twenty nineteen and twenty twenty, Like, what's going on?
What's so bad about this guy?

Speaker 5 (33:17):
That he's delivered rising wages for American workers and peace
in the world.

Speaker 4 (33:21):
Why is the media so obsessed with him?

Speaker 5 (33:22):
I think a lot of Americans actually have had a
similar wakening over the last few years because you compare
the results with the reaction, and clearly the people with
the reaction of the problem that's not President Trump's problem.

Speaker 8 (33:32):
You know, a lot of people forget too back in
the first debate, I believe it was. And Kamala Harris
was on the stage with Joe Biden at the time,
and she said, I was that girl. If you remember
that moment, it was a very hard hitting moment. What
she was referring to is the fact that Joe Biden
had partnered with a former klansman and tried to stop
the integration of public schools. Joe Biden's words, he didn't

(33:55):
want those schools to become racial Jungles.

Speaker 5 (33:59):
Seun Ilamila Harris basically said, Joe Biden wouldn't want a
little black girl like me to live in her neighborhood.
He also powered around with clansmen. She said this months
before she joined his ticket. Sean, I said some bad
things about Donald Trump ten years ago. But I think
it's actually important to be able again to admit that
you're wrong. And if we can make a good pick
case of the American people, people who may have been
skeptical of the president back in twenty sixteen, who can

(34:22):
be skeptical now that we've seen the results.

Speaker 7 (34:23):
All right, let's talk about a little bit.

Speaker 8 (34:26):
And I think these are important times in a consequential time.

Speaker 7 (34:29):
Sure, and we see what's happening with the border.

Speaker 8 (34:31):
For example, I think it's now become the number one
national security threat.

Speaker 4 (34:35):
Oh absolutely.

Speaker 8 (34:36):
And we have nearly eleven million unvetted Joe Biden illegal
immigrants in this country.

Speaker 7 (34:41):
What should we do with them?

Speaker 4 (34:42):
Well, so we have to deport people.

Speaker 5 (34:44):
We have to deport people who broke our laws who
came in here, and I think we start with the
violent criminals.

Speaker 4 (34:48):
And President Trump has.

Speaker 5 (34:50):
Been very very effective at communicating on this so to
the point where now a majority of Americans believe that
we needed to port a large number of people who've
come here illegally. That's a major political victory for him,
and I think it's going to lead to a policy
victory for the American people. But John, we have to
talk about the fentanyl problem because this is something that
I know extremely personally, and we have close to one

(35:10):
hundred thousand Americans dying of drug over nurses every single year.
Most of us is brought in by Mexican drug cartels
manufacturing in China, been brought in by these cartels. To
get a little personal, you know, my mom started with
addiction for a big chunk on my early life.

Speaker 4 (35:23):
That's why my grandmother, who I call Mamma, raised me.

Speaker 5 (35:26):
But the coolest thing, maybe the greatest blessing of my life,
is that my mom is about to celebrate ten years sober,
and she is able to celebrate ten years sober, frankly
because the poison that's coming across the border now wasn't
coming across in such large.

Speaker 4 (35:40):
Numbers fifteen years ago.

Speaker 5 (35:41):
We are depriving Americans of a second chance with their
loved ones. You cannot keep on doing this. You're orphaning
an entire generation in kids. Go to Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Seawan.
You have thousands of grandparents raising grandchildren that they weren't
expecting to raise because of the poison.

Speaker 4 (35:59):
Joe Biden come across the border.

Speaker 5 (36:01):
President Trump is the guy to stop this, and if
we don't stop it, we're in generation young kids.

Speaker 8 (36:07):
You know, when I saw you in Atlanta, I said,
I felt a little embarrassed because one of the few Americans,
because most people knew Hillbilly elog. It was a massive
bestseller that became a movie, and I didn't. I literally
read at least a book a day researching. I know
you do radio and television and so I decided I

(36:27):
watched the movie, and when I saw you, I did
ask you, is this really what your life was, Appalachia.

Speaker 7 (36:36):
And this is the history of your life, Appalachia.

Speaker 8 (36:39):
You become a marine and by the way, your mom
was a drug addict and an alcoholic. Your father not
exactly the greatest father in the world, and you grew
up poor and you had an amazing grandmother that came
out of your life too, right. But then you joined
the Marines, you served in Iraq, You came out of school,
you went to Ohio State, you went to Yale, You
prospered at Yale. Then you went on to be successful

(37:01):
in business, which, by the way, democrats are criticizing you
for they wish you fell by you guess when they
wrote that, considering where you came from.

Speaker 7 (37:09):
It's the American dream. And then you know, you got
into politics and you did so successfully.

Speaker 8 (37:17):
A pretty amazing story to give us some texture and
context to that life that.

Speaker 7 (37:22):
I mean, that's a tough life you had.

Speaker 5 (37:25):
Yeah, Sawan, it was tough in a lot of ways,
but blessed in a lot of ways. And I think
you got to sort of accept the good with the bad.

Speaker 9 (37:30):
I wouldn't see the world the same way that I
see it without that experience that I really do see
it as a blessing. The grandmother who raised me was
such an amazing person. I mean, she was a woman
of deep Christian faith.

Speaker 5 (37:41):
She cursed like a sailor. I mean, she had a
mouth that would really make a Marine Corps rill.

Speaker 4 (37:45):
Instruct her blush.

Speaker 5 (37:46):
But she was so loving and so disciplined, and I
really think that all the opportunities that I've had come
directly from her. She also believed in this country and
recognized that most people to Washington do not care about
people like her.

Speaker 4 (38:00):
And I talk about.

Speaker 5 (38:00):
Generations of grandparents raising generations of grandchildren. That's exactly what
I think about, because I remember that my mamma, she
couldn't afford her Medicaid payments, She couldn't afford the.

Speaker 4 (38:11):
Prescription drugs that she needed.

Speaker 5 (38:12):
She sometimes couldn't even afford food for both me and her.
Those are the people who suffer when we have the
policies that we've had over the last three and a
half years, And those are the people who stand to
benefit the most from President Trump.

Speaker 4 (38:25):
Round two.

Speaker 8 (38:25):
Let me go back to the scene and you referred
to it earlier meals on wheels. Yeah, and she would
negotiate an extra something because you had nothing else nothing.

Speaker 5 (38:37):
Well, we sometimes we struggled, but sometimes strown. We didn't
have anything, and she would negotiate to get a little
bit of extra so that she could share with me
and also have enough for herself.

Speaker 4 (38:46):
Look, sometimes tough work.

Speaker 5 (38:47):
Sometimes times were heart right, and you know, but I
look back on that and I think to myself, when
I go and talk to people, when I serve people
as a United States Senator from the state of Ohio,
I go and visit a food bank, I actually understand
a little bit what people are going through. And so, yeah,
it was tough when I was dealing with it, but
now I really do think it's a blessing because it's
given me a perspective a lot of politicians don't have.

Speaker 8 (39:08):
Let's talk about what you believe the role of a
vice president should be.

Speaker 4 (39:12):
Sure, Well, look, Sean, I think it's very simple. Number One.

Speaker 5 (39:15):
You need to support the president in enacting the agenda,
whether it's going and meeting with foreign leaders, whether it's
working with the Senate and the House to get legislation passed.
The president can't be everywhere, even Donald Trump can't be everywhere.
So you've got to be a person he can trust,
he can rely on to actually advance the agenda. That's
the most important job. Of course, if something God forbid happens,

(39:36):
you got to be ready to step into that office.
That's one of the most important roles the vice president.
But I think Donald Trump very healthy, going to serve
a four very good years. But we've got to have
Republicans who are helping him with the agenda. You remember
this as well as anybody, Sean. As successful as he
was politically, even after he was elected, certain Republicans didn't
want to actually enact the America First agenda.

Speaker 4 (39:59):
You've got to have leaders in Washington who are supporting him,
not fighting against him.

Speaker 8 (40:03):
Let's talk about an occasion where you might disagree with him.

Speaker 7 (40:06):
Sure, how do you view your role in terms of
handling that moment.

Speaker 4 (40:10):
That's very simple, Sean.

Speaker 5 (40:11):
I think that you owe it to the president to
be honest with him if you don't think that he's
doing the right thing. If you disagree with him, but
you do it in private. You offer your counsel in private.
Because a lot of the vultures in the press, they
will blow up every public So.

Speaker 8 (40:24):
You've met my colleagues right here. I call him state
run media.

Speaker 4 (40:28):
No, they absolutely are are state run media.

Speaker 5 (40:31):
In fact, they're so state run that even after President
Trump was shot and he showed a remarkable amount of
unity and defiance and calmness.

Speaker 4 (40:40):
They blamed him for the rhetoric, even though he was
the victim of a near assassination.

Speaker 5 (40:46):
It's crazy, but I think it's really important that you
don't have Republicans who blow up disagreements so that they
can win points with the media who are never going
to treat Republicans fairly. The job is to help the
nact the agenda.

Speaker 4 (41:00):
And why does that matter? Because that's what's going to
make people's lives better.

Speaker 1 (41:04):
Let me say this also about JD. Vance real quick,
just to put it in perspective. I think how incredible
this pick is. You look at his history, you look
at his background, you listen to and talk about his upbringing.
He's going to remember so many Americans that keep getting forgotten.
He is going to remember those that are struggling. You know,

(41:28):
in this country there has been this kind of a
I guess you could say obsession, and it is an
obsession that only Democrats can care for those that are poor,
because they have convinced poor people that they're the only
ones that are there for them. And the only reason

(41:48):
why that's the case. Okay, the only reason why that's
the case is because they keep people addicted to poverty
because of government. A Hey, come vote for me and
I'll give you some food. Here's your pentance from the
US government. Right, keep voting for me. The other guys
don't want you to want to give you food stamps

(42:09):
or you know, utility assistance or housing credits, whatever it
may be, public housing. Now, we want you to not
live a life literally in the below poverty. That's the
difference between conservative liberals. Liberals want to keep you there
for your whole life, so they own you like a
modern day slave, so that you will always vote for them. Okay,
that is the part that people don't understand. Okay, that

(42:33):
is the part that people do not get. And I
think that's really really important. I think it's a really
important point that needs to be made. And I think
this is where JD can be a great candidate for
the president, to go out there and to tell people like, hey,

(42:55):
I understand Hey, I get it. Hey, I comprehend what's
going on here. I understand how hard it is to survive.
I've been there, I've done that. Look at my life,
Look at my grandmother that raised me, look at my mom.
He can understand those that deal with addiction. And I

(43:19):
do believe that's going to be incredibly important for the
American people. He has a lot of compassion for people
that are struggling. I think this is going to be
very important for this campaign. I think it's gonna be
incredibly important for Donald Trump to have someone out there
that can walk out there and say, I've been where
you are right now, and we want to get you

(43:39):
out of this. We don't want to keep you in it.
I want you to be able to succeed, not live
in poverty. And that is your legacy for your entire life.
Because the Democrats never want to get you out of poverty.
They want to keep you there so you're dependent on them,
so you will vote for them, and they own you
like a modern day slave, Make no mistake about it.
That's what this is about. That's why I think the

(44:01):
President picked him, and I think he's a great pick
for him. Make sure you share this podcast with your
family and your friends. Please share it on social media
wherever you are, and I'll see you back here tomorrow
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Host

Ben Ferguson

Ben Ferguson

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