December 29, 2025 • 31 mins
Jeffrey Lord fills in for Sean Hannity with an early look at the pivotal 2026 midterm elections, spotlighting key Senate battlegrounds and the political stakes for control of Congress. Pennsylvania State Treasurer and Republican gubernatorial candidate Stacey Garrity joins the show to discuss fiscal accountability, economic growth, energy policy, and why she believes Pennsylvania is falling behind states like Florida and Texas. The conversation also covers inflation, gas prices, President Trump’s economic message, and why voters continue to prioritize cost-of-living issues heading into the next election cycle. Plus, analysis on global tensions, Israel, and why economic performance ultimately decides elections.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello America, and welcome to the Sean Hannity Show. As
you probably know, like most sensible people, Sean is taking
his annual year end vacation. Twenty twenty five is almost
over with, and Sean will be back and ready to
go when twenty twenty six arrives. So this is Jeffrey Lord,
(00:23):
the contributing editor of The American Spectator, filling in for Sean,
and I thought with twenty twenty six arriving, we can
start to take a look at what will be a
big ongoing topic next year, that being the twenty twenty
six election for state governors and members of the US
Senate and the House. We have five interesting Senate races
(00:48):
in Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, and North Carolina that are
going to be up for grabs, and Republicans certainly are
going to be pouring everything they can into an effort
to win those seats to keep their Senate majority going.
In my own Pennsylvania, and I'll come back to this
(01:10):
a little bit more in a bit, but in my
own Pennsylvania, we're going to have a very important governor's
race with Republican Stacy Garerty, who is our current state
Treasurer who won in unbelievable margins when she was elected
state treasurer, and she is going to be the Republican
(01:32):
nominee for governor running against the Democrat Governor, Josh Shapiro.
So we will have State Treasurer Guarity on to talk
about that. And she's she's a very interesting person. I
confess she's a friend. But let me let me fill
you in a bit on her background. She served in
(01:53):
the United States Army Reserve for thirty years, notably with
three deployments in the Gulf in Iraq Wars. When she
left after those thirty years, she had earned the rank
of colonel and earned two Bronze Stars in the Legion
of Merit. Moving into the private sector, Stacey served as
the vice president of Global Tungsten and Powders Corporation, a
(02:16):
company based in Tiwanda, Pennsylvania. And she was elected the
Pennsylvania State Treasurer in twenty twenty and re elected overwhelmingly
in twenty twenty four, winning over three point five million votes,
the most votes cast for any statewide candidate in Pennsylvania history.
(02:37):
Her victory over the incumbent Democrat State Treasurer was the
first time a Republican had defeated an incumbent Democrat since
nineteen ninety four. So already Stacy has won the support
of Pennsylvania Republicans, a victory that will be formalized in
the May nineteenth, twenty twenty sixth Pennsylvania Primary. Then we're
(02:58):
also going to have on as a guest. Selina Zeito
and Selena is a terrific journalist covering Pennsylvania and politics.
She joined The Washington Examiner in twenty sixteen as a
Pittsburgh based columnist and reporter covering national politics and culture
from a perspective outside the Beltway. She is the author
(03:22):
of the book Butler, The Untold Story of the near
assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland
and the Great Revolt. She began her career at the
Pittsburgh Tribune Review as a reporter and columnist covering national politics,
and she has been a contributor as well to The
New York Post and the Wall Street Journal as well
(03:44):
as currently the Washington Post. And then we also were
going to have Jeff Bartows. Jeff is also a Pennsylvanian
an American real estate developer, A lawyer and a diplomat
currently serving by the appointm of President Trump as the
US Ambassador to the United Nations for Management and Reform
(04:07):
and been serving there since this year of twenty twenty five.
So we're going to have an interesting time talking with
all these folks. Things kind of slow down, as we
all know in America when we get to that week
between Christmas and New Year's as people try and get
(04:28):
a fix on what it is their New Year's resolutions
are going to be. In this case for twenty twenty
six and twenty twenty six, as I've said, is going
to be an election year, and from the President Trump perspective,
I suspect this is very important in terms of keeping
(04:48):
control of the House and Senate, and he is I
believe I am correct in saying this. He's already said
he is going to be out there campaigning all across
the country for Republican candidates to get them, to get
them elected, and to carry the day for a Republican
(05:09):
House and a Republican Senate. Not to mention in cases
like Stacey Garrity's a Republican governor. What we're going to
be dealing with, I think President Trump has said that
the midterm elections are going to be this is his
phrase about pricing, quote unquote, and he said, what I
(05:33):
think most people out there doing their daily shopping is
they not to mention as they got ready for Christmas,
and with Christmas shopping, they could tell that the nation's
economy was much better this year than it was after
President Biden left it. And the President said that he
(05:54):
thought it is going to be about the success of
our country, meaning the twenty twenty sixth election, said they
gave us high, high, high pricing, and we're bringing it down.
Energy is way down, gasoline is way down. And I
can tell you from my Christmas experience driving from Pennsylvania
to the far end of eastern Long Island where my parents'
(06:18):
family was from. Uh, you can see the difference in
prices as you're as you're getting getting your gas here.
There is no question about that. So that's a good thing.
These elections, I have to say, uh, and I've been
through my share of them. They always come down at
the end. And unless there's a you know, a massive
(06:40):
World War two style running running crazy, Uh, the economy
is always the answer, always, And so I think you
were going to find that these candidates, both on both
sides are going to be talking about this, although if
(07:01):
you are a Republican and a Trump supporter, you're going
to want to be talking about this a lot. If
you're a Democrat, you're going to probably try and pretend
that this doesn't happen. But we will see how this goes.
There have been a lot of positive economic reports that
(07:22):
have shown that inflation is decreasing, with the White House
highlighting the latest data while addressing the cost of living
concerns nationwide, and according to a political poll conducted last month,
Americans say they are finding that the cost of groceries, utilities, healthcare, housing,
(07:42):
and transportation are too expensive. And so President Trump has
been going after this and they are as I say,
I certainly have noticed in terms of energy and gasoline
that prices have been coming down, and he, the President
has added that electricity is down, it's way down. And
(08:06):
then he also added, when the gasoline goes down, and
when the oil and gas go down, the electricity gap
comes down naturally. And so this is always job number
one for a president. And the long ago I worked
just to give you an example of how this works.
And the long ago I worked for President Reagan in
(08:29):
the White House as a political director when I was
younger than I am now, and he had an enormous
package of tax and budget cuts to reform the country's
the economy and get it out of the recession that
it had been thrust into in the Carter years. And
(08:54):
he got the legislation passed, he signed it in August
of twenty twenty two, I believe it was, But the
kicker or twenty twenty one. I'm sorry, but the kicker
was it didn't kick in. It takes a while for
these things to make themselves felt, and people didn't know
(09:17):
what to make of this in the nineteen eighty two elections,
and so he had a real problem getting Republicans elected
in nineteen eighty two. And then in January or so
of nineteen eighty three, then suddenly the economy took off
like a rocket and it was just it was just
incredible to behold. And by the time nineteen eighty four
(09:41):
rolled around and he himself was up for reelection, he
wound up winning a forty nine state landslide because people
were in fact, very, very happy with the state of
the economy. So that I think is going to be
is always going to be a big deal here as
we go on, and then I'm seeing a headline on
(10:05):
Fox News that the Justice Department is releasing Epstein documents
with warning about Trump allegations. And I think we will
we will see. You know, who knows what's going to happen.
You know, frankly, I don't think most Americans care about this.
Most Americans are concerned, as I was saying, about the economy.
(10:30):
That's where their bread and butter is, That's where how
they take care of their families. A story like this
is titulating to you know, various people out there in
the media and Democrats, well maybe Democrats, because some Democrats
are not so happy about it. And you know, there's
(10:51):
all kinds of things. There are pictures floating around with
former President Clinton that I suspect Democrats don't want to
see out there. So I really think that that Epstein
episode is not going to be a big deal when
it comes to elections because people just don't really care
(11:12):
that much. It doesn't affect them. So on we go
with all of that, and then we still have to
deal and President Trump has to deal with Russia, which
claims now that Ukraine attacked the residents of President Putin
with are you ready for this? Ninety one drones and
(11:36):
the Kremlin is apparently now changing ceasefire terms and all
of this kind of thing. But you know, one of
the things that is sort of amazing here, it's always
well to remember that this world of ours has been
around a very long time, and there are all kinds
of rivalries and problems and all of this kind of
(11:58):
thing going on with one kind of tree after another
that have been going on for years. I mean, none
of us were around, or most of us weren't around
when World War One broke out and came to a conclusion,
and I imagine people in the day thought, well, that's it,
it's over. We've resolved it. And then of course the
(12:20):
rise of Adolf Hitler and Germany, and suddenly there was
World War Two, and there was the problems over in
the in the Far East with with the Japanese and
all this, and so World War two came and we
had to fight the America had to fight the war
all over again. So, in other words, I think the
(12:44):
lesson and this has been true in all kinds of
situations where you think that you ended a situation, a
violence situation, and then you find out that lo and behold,
there are people out there that still want to continue fight.
And I think that that's one of the problems, that
it's basically a humanity problem. And I don't know, you'd
(13:09):
like to think that any president of the United States
could put their thumb down and say that's it, But
I have to say I think that as much as
President Trump or any other president tries, it's not always doable,
and things come back around to bite us all over again.
So you know, we'll be set with that. In the meantime,
(13:31):
I hope everybody is getting ready to celebrate New Year's Eve.
And I think I saw a story somewhere that the
ball drop that you see in New York on New
Year's Eve is going to be red, white and blue
this year. And I think the reason for that is
we are kicking off the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary
(13:55):
of the United States of America, and that is going
to be quite something. As someone who was around as
I'm sure many of you were for the nineteen seventy
six bi centennial, I can only imagine what the two
hundred and fifty celebration is going to be. It will
be a very very big deal. Indeed, So all right,
(14:18):
we'll be back in a bit. We have some great guests.
As I say, so, thank you, stay tuned, hope you
had a merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and on we go.
All right, welcome back, and I want to a very
first thing, this being what we call in the trade
talk radio, I want to give you an opportunity to
(14:40):
call in and talk and uh, just dial in eight
hundred nine four one seven three two six or eight
hundred nine four one Sean Sea and we can have
a conversation. There is so much going on here in
the world as we speak. Also today President Trump has
(15:04):
been meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin b b Bibi
Netan Yahoo, and we'll see what comes out of that.
I know Sean has been to Israel a number of times,
and I've watched these reports and they are on television
and they are just amazing to see. I had never
(15:26):
been until this year, and it was quite an amazing trip.
So maybe we'll talk a little bit about that when
we when we come back. So just hang in there,
stay tuned, and we will be right back.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
The one thing you can always count on.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Sean Hannity is back on the radio. All right, we
are here. This is Jeffrey Lord from an American Spectator
and he's Max sitting in for Sean Hannity. You can
reach us here at eight hundred nine four one seven,
three two six or eight hundred and nine for one
Sean if you'd prefer. And I am delighted to have
(16:42):
as our first guest one Stacy Garrity, who is the
Pennsylvania State Treasurer who has done just enormous work. And Stacy,
before we start, I just want to do a little
bio in for our guests, particularly for Pennsylvanians who are
looking in and may not be familiar. Before she joined us,
(17:06):
as I say, let me fill you in here. She
served in the United States Army Reserved for thirty years,
notably with three deployments in the Gulf in Iraq Wars.
When she left after those thirty years, she had earned
the rank of colonel and earned two Bronze Stars and
the Legion of Merit. She moved into the private sector,
where she served as the vice president of Global Tungsten
(17:28):
and Powders Corporation, a company based and headquartered in Tiwanda, Pennsylvania.
She was elected the Pennsylvania State Treasurer in twenty twenty
and re elected overwhelmingly in twenty twenty four, winning over
three point five million votes, the most votes cast for
any statewide candidate in Pennsylvania history. Her victory over the
(17:52):
incumbent Democrat state treasurer was the first time a Republican
had defeated an incumbent Democrat since nineteen ninety four. Already,
Stacey has won the support of Pennsylvania Republicans and that
victory will be formalized on May nineteenth of twenty twenty
six and the Pennsylvania Primary. So if I may, Madam Treasurer.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Are you there, Jeffrey, I am, and it is so
great to be on with you today.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
It's great fun. And I assume you've been like every
other Pennsylvania busy with the holiday and all of that
kind of thing. But you have, I think this small
thing known as an election for governor Pennsylvania upcoming that
may be keeping you busy.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Yeah, just a little bit. In addition to my you know,
position as treasure where I'm a watchdog for one hundred
and eighty billion dollars right, expay money right.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
I mean, all of this work is is just incredible
and that you have been able to just plunge right
in and do this and be such a success as
the Pennsylvania State Treasurer. You know, my experience in Pennsylvania
politics is that people generally know who the governor is
or who's running for governor, and who the US Senator
(19:08):
is and who's running for senator. They have a harder
time knowing about the state treasurer and the auditor General
and that sort of thing because they're lower down on
the ballot and ordinarily it's not something you know. Some
of these people, you know, pick up the paper in
the morning to see what's up. So tell us a
(19:31):
little bit, I think, to explain what the treasurer does,
because I think it's it's fabulous. I've known a couple
of your predecessors, or at least one or two of them,
and I just wow, you really you really got something
here when you're doing this. So give us a little
talk about that.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Absolutely, Tue, as I think you mentioned, it is my
very first elected office. Had I not hit my mandatory
retirement date in the Army Reserve, I would have never
even thought about running because serving was and is the
honor of a lifetime. But I think because I come
from the private sector in the military that you know
I did, I was able to jump in and get
(20:12):
a lot of stuff done, and for example, giving back
a billion dollars of taxpayer money, saving parents and grandparents
over twenty two million dollars for the College and Career
Savings Plan, money that goes right back into their pockets.
I also give back military decorations, and we've been able
to give back gosh, over five hundred and thirty including
(20:34):
thirteen purple hearts, three bronze stars, and a gold Star medal.
And you know, we also implemented Pennsylvanian money Match, so
gave back fifty million dollars this calendar year to people
that didn't even know they had unclaimed property, and so
much more. We also opened up the books that Pennsylvanian
Treasury and made us the most transparent agency in the
(20:57):
entire commonwealth, because you know what, it's our money, it's
not Harrisburg.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Well, that's right, that's right. My experience with government having
worked both in Harrisburg when I started out in the
state Senate and then moving on to Washington and working
there is the people who run these things think it's
their money and it doesn't belong to the taxpayers, the
people who are out there every day, you know, getting
(21:21):
their kids up and going to work and earning the
money that has got a fund, whether it's Pennsylvania or
the federal government of the United States, and you get
too many people who just want to sort of be
spend thrifts with it.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
And exactly there isn't one taxpayer dollar that you know,
I have to say, both sides of the aisle they
want to spend. And in fact, the last budget that
was passed, which was by the way, one hundred and
thirty four days late, we are spending just about five
billion dollars Jeffrey, more than what we're bringing in effectively
blowing through the entire surplus next year. The only thing
(22:01):
that's left is the rainy day fund.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Wow. Wow. You know. My first lesson in this really
was in Washington. I was working for Congressman Bud Schuster,
was a member of the House Budget Committee, and so
I had to do this staff work and all of
that kind of thing. And one of the things I
learned this was in the first part of President Reagan's
(22:23):
term first term is that you had Republicans who were
great with the rhetoric, but when it came to budget
cuts and all of that kind of thing, they didn't
want to go there. And that's when I began to realize,
this is an institutional problem with legislators, whether they're state
(22:43):
legislators or whether they're members of Congress, is that it's
you know, count the guy behind the tree, but don't
touch me is more or less the problem with it.
So in other words, we've got to have somebody exactly
like you in that treasurer's job to be the watchdog.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Well, I agree, and right now, you know, Pennsylvania is
going in the wrong direction. We rank thirty eighth economically,
we rank thirty ninth in education, and we rank forty
first overall. And it just doesn't have to be that way,
and it should be that way.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
No, And I imagine this will be a grade A
number one issue for you as you run for governor
this this next year. I mean, now, there's always this
sort of lull. So it seems with political campaigns that
you know, it takes a while for them to kick off,
and then you get to you know, the actual election year,
(23:41):
and wow, things things heat up in a sudden here
and the work you've got to do is just just incredible.
So you know, I'm I'm glad that you're in this
and making this an issue because I think most people
don't understand they understand the office of governor better I
think than they understand the office of treasure. But now
(24:05):
is the time for them to be aware and to
understand that your experience, whether it was in the military,
whether it's in the private sector, whether it's in government,
can play a real role in how you would serve
as governor of Pennsylvania.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Absolutely, because you know, just like we expect families to
live within their means, our states should be doing the
same thing. And unfortunately, because we both know there will
be no programs that get caught, what's going to happen
is that taxes will be raised. And you know, unfortunately,
we have a governor right now that's more interested in
Pennsylvania Avenue than Pennsylvania yea. And the fact of the
(24:46):
matter is he's never been challenged. In fact, there's never
even been an ad run against him. But there are
two sides to every story. And with everybody's help and
it is going to be an all hands on deck mission.
We're going to be able to tell this to and
if that people want to help, they can go to
garrityfourpa dot com and check it out. But when people
(25:06):
understand what he stands for, and he is a far
left liberal, he believes that biological mail should compete against
our girls in sports. He believes in gender affirming care
for trans little kids using your tax pay dollars. We
talked about the budget and the spending and both in
his offices of Attorney General as well as governor. There
(25:30):
are many many scandals that will need to come out.
So and he has sued Donald Trump over two dozen
times and rags about it. And so I think we
need a governor that's going to work with the administration,
not work against the administration, because, like you and I know,
Pennsylvania should be leading the nation. We shouldn't be falling,
(25:52):
you know, so far behind, you know, states like Florida, Texas,
the Carolinas, Tennessee.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
Well, you know, sometimes when I had to discuss this topic,
I say that his role model is as a Pennsylvanian
is James Buchanan. And for people in our audience who
may not know who that is. James Buchanan is the
only Pennsylvanian elected president of the United States. It didn't
go so well. He is generally rated by historians as
(26:21):
the one before Lincoln, and it just wasn't a good
time for the country. And I think that Josh's ambition
is very much directed towards twenty twenty eight and twenty
twenty six is the hurdle that he has to get
through or over before he gets there, as does anybody
(26:44):
in this situation. But I do think that that affects
how you do your job as governor if you're more
interested in running for president.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Absolutely, he's really a career politician, and he's really only
chose to serve himself. He's always been in one position
looking to jump to the next position, and he has
always had his eyes on the White House. That's like
the worst kept secret in Pennsylvania. And we all know
that Pennsylvania is the ultimate swing state and the key
to the Democrats blue wall. Excuse me, just look at
(27:17):
you know twenty sixteen and twenty twenty four. Democrats don't
win nationally if they don't win Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania it's
incredibly important and so again we need everybody to be
united and make sure that you know, we kick this
guy out of Harrisburg and away from the White House.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
They don't call Pennsylvania the Keystone State for nothing, and
there is a reason for that. For those who may
not know. If you look at a map of Pennsylvania
from the early colonies, it was right dead center between
north and south. And yeah, because of its size and
(28:01):
it's history, the steel industry and coal and mining and
all of these things that energy that have played such
an enormous role in Pennsylvania history. And what role do
you do you see as a governor in terms of
working with these these kind of folks who run these industries.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Oh my goodness, there's a tremendous opportunity. We could be
the hub of AI. As you know, twenty five percent
of all natural gas in America is in Pennsylvania. And
the governor is constantly you know, attacking fracking and you know,
dancing around the edges. I mean, if you look at
(28:42):
our neighbors, look at Ohio, look at Virginia, if you
look at data centers, they're really you know, they're doing
so much better than us because we are the twelfth
highest regulated state in the nation, and it is very,
very difficult to do business in Pennsylvania. And again it
does have to be this way. We could be leading
the nation. We have the best, hardest working people, We
(29:06):
have world class industries and abundant natural resources that are
the envy of the entire world.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Yes, yes, that is exactly right. And you know, the
state has such wonderful opportunity. And I must say, having
been around America a little bit, you go to places,
you know, if you live in Pennsylvania, and you go
to places like Texas and Florida, and you see that
the leaps and bounds they've made in terms of their
(29:35):
economy and free markets and all of that kind of
thing using their natural resource. It truly is astounding in
terms of comparing it with what is not done here
in Pennsylvania. And that's a big task. And when you
were elected, and note I didn't say if when you
were elected, you're going to have a lot on your hands.
(29:58):
And I think you're going to have a lot of
pennsylv Vanians we're going to want to pitch in and
help you.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
I think so as well. I visit all sixty seven
of our counties every single year, so I've done it
five times now. And what Pennsylvanians tell me, and it
doesn't matter which county they're from, that the government just
isn't working for them. They feel left behind, and Pennsylvania
right now is mediocre at best. We have a once
in a lifetime opportunity to change our state around. And
(30:25):
if we don't, you know, I'm concerned, you know, with
the situation with the budget and just the lack of
support of unleashing you know, the natural resources that we
have right under our feet that you know, it's it's
going to take a generation to.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Get all right. Well, Stacey, I'm getting the break sign here,
So it was wonderful to have you on. Have a
happy new Year. Doubtless our past will cross somewhere when
I'm back home in Pennsylvania.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
And great, good luck and thank you, Jeffrey, Happy news,
New Year, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Bye bye. Okay, this is Jeffrey Lord sitting in for
Sean Hannity. You can reach us here at eight hundred
nine for one seven three two six or eight hundred
nine four to one Sean and uh, we'll be back
very shortly. Just there was just breaking news Prime Minister
net in Yahoo, and President Trump for holding a press
(31:21):
conference this minute in mar A Lago. So things are
happening out there, so we'll be back very shortly.
Hello America, and welcome to the Sean Hannity Show. As
you probably know, like most sensible people, Sean is taking
his annual year end vacation. Twenty twenty five is almost
over with, and Sean will be back and ready to
go when twenty twenty six arrives. So this is Jeffrey Lord,
(00:23):
the contributing editor of The American Spectator, filling in for Sean,
and I thought with twenty twenty six arriving, we can
start to take a look at what will be a
big ongoing topic next year, that being the twenty twenty
six election for state governors and members of the US
Senate and the House. We have five interesting Senate races
(00:48):
in Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, and North Carolina that are
going to be up for grabs, and Republicans certainly are
going to be pouring everything they can into an effort
to win those seats to keep their Senate majority going.
In my own Pennsylvania, and I'll come back to this
(01:10):
a little bit more in a bit, but in my
own Pennsylvania, we're going to have a very important governor's
race with Republican Stacy Garerty, who is our current state
Treasurer who won in unbelievable margins when she was elected
state treasurer, and she is going to be the Republican
(01:32):
nominee for governor running against the Democrat Governor, Josh Shapiro.
So we will have State Treasurer Guarity on to talk
about that. And she's she's a very interesting person. I
confess she's a friend. But let me let me fill
you in a bit on her background. She served in
(01:53):
the United States Army Reserve for thirty years, notably with
three deployments in the Gulf in Iraq Wars. When she
left after those thirty years, she had earned the rank
of colonel and earned two Bronze Stars in the Legion
of Merit. Moving into the private sector, Stacey served as
the vice president of Global Tungsten and Powders Corporation, a
(02:16):
company based in Tiwanda, Pennsylvania. And she was elected the
Pennsylvania State Treasurer in twenty twenty and re elected overwhelmingly
in twenty twenty four, winning over three point five million votes,
the most votes cast for any statewide candidate in Pennsylvania history.
(02:37):
Her victory over the incumbent Democrat State Treasurer was the
first time a Republican had defeated an incumbent Democrat since
nineteen ninety four. So already Stacy has won the support
of Pennsylvania Republicans, a victory that will be formalized in
the May nineteenth, twenty twenty sixth Pennsylvania Primary. Then we're
(02:58):
also going to have on as a guest. Selina Zeito
and Selena is a terrific journalist covering Pennsylvania and politics.
She joined The Washington Examiner in twenty sixteen as a
Pittsburgh based columnist and reporter covering national politics and culture
from a perspective outside the Beltway. She is the author
(03:22):
of the book Butler, The Untold Story of the near
assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland
and the Great Revolt. She began her career at the
Pittsburgh Tribune Review as a reporter and columnist covering national politics,
and she has been a contributor as well to The
New York Post and the Wall Street Journal as well
(03:44):
as currently the Washington Post. And then we also were
going to have Jeff Bartows. Jeff is also a Pennsylvanian
an American real estate developer, A lawyer and a diplomat
currently serving by the appointm of President Trump as the
US Ambassador to the United Nations for Management and Reform
(04:07):
and been serving there since this year of twenty twenty five.
So we're going to have an interesting time talking with
all these folks. Things kind of slow down, as we
all know in America when we get to that week
between Christmas and New Year's as people try and get
(04:28):
a fix on what it is their New Year's resolutions
are going to be. In this case for twenty twenty
six and twenty twenty six, as I've said, is going
to be an election year, and from the President Trump perspective,
I suspect this is very important in terms of keeping
(04:48):
control of the House and Senate, and he is I
believe I am correct in saying this. He's already said
he is going to be out there campaigning all across
the country for Republican candidates to get them, to get
them elected, and to carry the day for a Republican
(05:09):
House and a Republican Senate. Not to mention in cases
like Stacey Garrity's a Republican governor. What we're going to
be dealing with, I think President Trump has said that
the midterm elections are going to be this is his
phrase about pricing, quote unquote, and he said, what I
(05:33):
think most people out there doing their daily shopping is
they not to mention as they got ready for Christmas,
and with Christmas shopping, they could tell that the nation's
economy was much better this year than it was after
President Biden left it. And the President said that he
(05:54):
thought it is going to be about the success of
our country, meaning the twenty twenty sixth election, said they
gave us high, high, high pricing, and we're bringing it down.
Energy is way down, gasoline is way down. And I
can tell you from my Christmas experience driving from Pennsylvania
to the far end of eastern Long Island where my parents'
(06:18):
family was from. Uh, you can see the difference in
prices as you're as you're getting getting your gas here.
There is no question about that. So that's a good thing.
These elections, I have to say, uh, and I've been
through my share of them. They always come down at
the end. And unless there's a you know, a massive
(06:40):
World War two style running running crazy, Uh, the economy
is always the answer, always, And so I think you
were going to find that these candidates, both on both
sides are going to be talking about this, although if
(07:01):
you are a Republican and a Trump supporter, you're going
to want to be talking about this a lot. If
you're a Democrat, you're going to probably try and pretend
that this doesn't happen. But we will see how this goes.
There have been a lot of positive economic reports that
(07:22):
have shown that inflation is decreasing, with the White House
highlighting the latest data while addressing the cost of living
concerns nationwide, and according to a political poll conducted last month,
Americans say they are finding that the cost of groceries, utilities, healthcare, housing,
(07:42):
and transportation are too expensive. And so President Trump has
been going after this and they are as I say,
I certainly have noticed in terms of energy and gasoline
that prices have been coming down, and he, the President
has added that electricity is down, it's way down. And
(08:06):
then he also added, when the gasoline goes down, and
when the oil and gas go down, the electricity gap
comes down naturally. And so this is always job number
one for a president. And the long ago I worked
just to give you an example of how this works.
And the long ago I worked for President Reagan in
(08:29):
the White House as a political director when I was
younger than I am now, and he had an enormous
package of tax and budget cuts to reform the country's
the economy and get it out of the recession that
it had been thrust into in the Carter years. And
(08:54):
he got the legislation passed, he signed it in August
of twenty twenty two, I believe it was, But the
kicker or twenty twenty one. I'm sorry, but the kicker
was it didn't kick in. It takes a while for
these things to make themselves felt, and people didn't know
(09:17):
what to make of this in the nineteen eighty two elections,
and so he had a real problem getting Republicans elected
in nineteen eighty two. And then in January or so
of nineteen eighty three, then suddenly the economy took off
like a rocket and it was just it was just
incredible to behold. And by the time nineteen eighty four
(09:41):
rolled around and he himself was up for reelection, he
wound up winning a forty nine state landslide because people
were in fact, very, very happy with the state of
the economy. So that I think is going to be
is always going to be a big deal here as
we go on, and then I'm seeing a headline on
(10:05):
Fox News that the Justice Department is releasing Epstein documents
with warning about Trump allegations. And I think we will
we will see. You know, who knows what's going to happen.
You know, frankly, I don't think most Americans care about this.
Most Americans are concerned, as I was saying, about the economy.
(10:30):
That's where their bread and butter is, That's where how
they take care of their families. A story like this
is titulating to you know, various people out there in
the media and Democrats, well maybe Democrats, because some Democrats
are not so happy about it. And you know, there's
(10:51):
all kinds of things. There are pictures floating around with
former President Clinton that I suspect Democrats don't want to
see out there. So I really think that that Epstein
episode is not going to be a big deal when
it comes to elections because people just don't really care
(11:12):
that much. It doesn't affect them. So on we go
with all of that, and then we still have to
deal and President Trump has to deal with Russia, which
claims now that Ukraine attacked the residents of President Putin
with are you ready for this? Ninety one drones and
(11:36):
the Kremlin is apparently now changing ceasefire terms and all
of this kind of thing. But you know, one of
the things that is sort of amazing here, it's always
well to remember that this world of ours has been
around a very long time, and there are all kinds
of rivalries and problems and all of this kind of
(11:58):
thing going on with one kind of tree after another
that have been going on for years. I mean, none
of us were around, or most of us weren't around
when World War One broke out and came to a conclusion,
and I imagine people in the day thought, well, that's it,
it's over. We've resolved it. And then of course the
(12:20):
rise of Adolf Hitler and Germany, and suddenly there was
World War Two, and there was the problems over in
the in the Far East with with the Japanese and
all this, and so World War two came and we
had to fight the America had to fight the war
all over again. So, in other words, I think the
(12:44):
lesson and this has been true in all kinds of
situations where you think that you ended a situation, a
violence situation, and then you find out that lo and behold,
there are people out there that still want to continue fight.
And I think that that's one of the problems, that
it's basically a humanity problem. And I don't know, you'd
(13:09):
like to think that any president of the United States
could put their thumb down and say that's it, But
I have to say I think that as much as
President Trump or any other president tries, it's not always doable,
and things come back around to bite us all over again.
So you know, we'll be set with that. In the meantime,
(13:31):
I hope everybody is getting ready to celebrate New Year's Eve.
And I think I saw a story somewhere that the
ball drop that you see in New York on New
Year's Eve is going to be red, white and blue
this year. And I think the reason for that is
we are kicking off the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary
(13:55):
of the United States of America, and that is going
to be quite something. As someone who was around as
I'm sure many of you were for the nineteen seventy
six bi centennial, I can only imagine what the two
hundred and fifty celebration is going to be. It will
be a very very big deal. Indeed, So all right,
(14:18):
we'll be back in a bit. We have some great guests.
As I say, so, thank you, stay tuned, hope you
had a merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and on we go.
All right, welcome back, and I want to a very
first thing, this being what we call in the trade
talk radio, I want to give you an opportunity to
(14:40):
call in and talk and uh, just dial in eight
hundred nine four one seven three two six or eight
hundred nine four one Sean Sea and we can have
a conversation. There is so much going on here in
the world as we speak. Also today President Trump has
(15:04):
been meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin b b Bibi
Netan Yahoo, and we'll see what comes out of that.
I know Sean has been to Israel a number of times,
and I've watched these reports and they are on television
and they are just amazing to see. I had never
(15:26):
been until this year, and it was quite an amazing trip.
So maybe we'll talk a little bit about that when
we when we come back. So just hang in there,
stay tuned, and we will be right back.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
The one thing you can always count on.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Sean Hannity is back on the radio. All right, we
are here. This is Jeffrey Lord from an American Spectator
and he's Max sitting in for Sean Hannity. You can
reach us here at eight hundred nine four one seven,
three two six or eight hundred and nine for one
Sean if you'd prefer. And I am delighted to have
(16:42):
as our first guest one Stacy Garrity, who is the
Pennsylvania State Treasurer who has done just enormous work. And Stacy,
before we start, I just want to do a little
bio in for our guests, particularly for Pennsylvanians who are
looking in and may not be familiar. Before she joined us,
(17:06):
as I say, let me fill you in here. She
served in the United States Army Reserved for thirty years,
notably with three deployments in the Gulf in Iraq Wars.
When she left after those thirty years, she had earned
the rank of colonel and earned two Bronze Stars and
the Legion of Merit. She moved into the private sector,
where she served as the vice president of Global Tungsten
(17:28):
and Powders Corporation, a company based and headquartered in Tiwanda, Pennsylvania.
She was elected the Pennsylvania State Treasurer in twenty twenty
and re elected overwhelmingly in twenty twenty four, winning over
three point five million votes, the most votes cast for
any statewide candidate in Pennsylvania history. Her victory over the
(17:52):
incumbent Democrat state treasurer was the first time a Republican
had defeated an incumbent Democrat since nineteen ninety four. Already,
Stacey has won the support of Pennsylvania Republicans and that
victory will be formalized on May nineteenth of twenty twenty
six and the Pennsylvania Primary. So if I may, Madam Treasurer.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Are you there, Jeffrey, I am, and it is so
great to be on with you today.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
It's great fun. And I assume you've been like every
other Pennsylvania busy with the holiday and all of that
kind of thing. But you have, I think this small
thing known as an election for governor Pennsylvania upcoming that
may be keeping you busy.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Yeah, just a little bit. In addition to my you know,
position as treasure where I'm a watchdog for one hundred
and eighty billion dollars right, expay money right.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
I mean, all of this work is is just incredible
and that you have been able to just plunge right
in and do this and be such a success as
the Pennsylvania State Treasurer. You know, my experience in Pennsylvania
politics is that people generally know who the governor is
or who's running for governor, and who the US Senator
(19:08):
is and who's running for senator. They have a harder
time knowing about the state treasurer and the auditor General
and that sort of thing because they're lower down on
the ballot and ordinarily it's not something you know. Some
of these people, you know, pick up the paper in
the morning to see what's up. So tell us a
(19:31):
little bit, I think, to explain what the treasurer does,
because I think it's it's fabulous. I've known a couple
of your predecessors, or at least one or two of them,
and I just wow, you really you really got something
here when you're doing this. So give us a little
talk about that.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Absolutely, Tue, as I think you mentioned, it is my
very first elected office. Had I not hit my mandatory
retirement date in the Army Reserve, I would have never
even thought about running because serving was and is the
honor of a lifetime. But I think because I come
from the private sector in the military that you know
I did, I was able to jump in and get
(20:12):
a lot of stuff done, and for example, giving back
a billion dollars of taxpayer money, saving parents and grandparents
over twenty two million dollars for the College and Career
Savings Plan, money that goes right back into their pockets.
I also give back military decorations, and we've been able
to give back gosh, over five hundred and thirty including
(20:34):
thirteen purple hearts, three bronze stars, and a gold Star medal.
And you know, we also implemented Pennsylvanian money Match, so
gave back fifty million dollars this calendar year to people
that didn't even know they had unclaimed property, and so
much more. We also opened up the books that Pennsylvanian
Treasury and made us the most transparent agency in the
(20:57):
entire commonwealth, because you know what, it's our money, it's
not Harrisburg.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Well, that's right, that's right. My experience with government having
worked both in Harrisburg when I started out in the
state Senate and then moving on to Washington and working
there is the people who run these things think it's
their money and it doesn't belong to the taxpayers, the
people who are out there every day, you know, getting
(21:21):
their kids up and going to work and earning the
money that has got a fund, whether it's Pennsylvania or
the federal government of the United States, and you get
too many people who just want to sort of be
spend thrifts with it.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
And exactly there isn't one taxpayer dollar that you know,
I have to say, both sides of the aisle they
want to spend. And in fact, the last budget that
was passed, which was by the way, one hundred and
thirty four days late, we are spending just about five
billion dollars Jeffrey, more than what we're bringing in effectively
blowing through the entire surplus next year. The only thing
(22:01):
that's left is the rainy day fund.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Wow. Wow. You know. My first lesson in this really
was in Washington. I was working for Congressman Bud Schuster,
was a member of the House Budget Committee, and so
I had to do this staff work and all of
that kind of thing. And one of the things I
learned this was in the first part of President Reagan's
(22:23):
term first term is that you had Republicans who were
great with the rhetoric, but when it came to budget
cuts and all of that kind of thing, they didn't
want to go there. And that's when I began to realize,
this is an institutional problem with legislators, whether they're state
(22:43):
legislators or whether they're members of Congress, is that it's
you know, count the guy behind the tree, but don't
touch me is more or less the problem with it.
So in other words, we've got to have somebody exactly
like you in that treasurer's job to be the watchdog.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Well, I agree, and right now, you know, Pennsylvania is
going in the wrong direction. We rank thirty eighth economically,
we rank thirty ninth in education, and we rank forty
first overall. And it just doesn't have to be that way,
and it should be that way.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
No, And I imagine this will be a grade A
number one issue for you as you run for governor
this this next year. I mean, now, there's always this
sort of lull. So it seems with political campaigns that
you know, it takes a while for them to kick off,
and then you get to you know, the actual election year,
(23:41):
and wow, things things heat up in a sudden here
and the work you've got to do is just just incredible.
So you know, I'm I'm glad that you're in this
and making this an issue because I think most people
don't understand they understand the office of governor better I
think than they understand the office of treasure. But now
(24:05):
is the time for them to be aware and to
understand that your experience, whether it was in the military,
whether it's in the private sector, whether it's in government,
can play a real role in how you would serve
as governor of Pennsylvania.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Absolutely, because you know, just like we expect families to
live within their means, our states should be doing the
same thing. And unfortunately, because we both know there will
be no programs that get caught, what's going to happen
is that taxes will be raised. And you know, unfortunately,
we have a governor right now that's more interested in
Pennsylvania Avenue than Pennsylvania yea. And the fact of the
(24:46):
matter is he's never been challenged. In fact, there's never
even been an ad run against him. But there are
two sides to every story. And with everybody's help and
it is going to be an all hands on deck mission.
We're going to be able to tell this to and
if that people want to help, they can go to
garrityfourpa dot com and check it out. But when people
(25:06):
understand what he stands for, and he is a far
left liberal, he believes that biological mail should compete against
our girls in sports. He believes in gender affirming care
for trans little kids using your tax pay dollars. We
talked about the budget and the spending and both in
his offices of Attorney General as well as governor. There
(25:30):
are many many scandals that will need to come out.
So and he has sued Donald Trump over two dozen
times and rags about it. And so I think we
need a governor that's going to work with the administration,
not work against the administration, because, like you and I know,
Pennsylvania should be leading the nation. We shouldn't be falling,
(25:52):
you know, so far behind, you know, states like Florida, Texas,
the Carolinas, Tennessee.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
Well, you know, sometimes when I had to discuss this topic,
I say that his role model is as a Pennsylvanian
is James Buchanan. And for people in our audience who
may not know who that is. James Buchanan is the
only Pennsylvanian elected president of the United States. It didn't
go so well. He is generally rated by historians as
(26:21):
the one before Lincoln, and it just wasn't a good
time for the country. And I think that Josh's ambition
is very much directed towards twenty twenty eight and twenty
twenty six is the hurdle that he has to get
through or over before he gets there, as does anybody
(26:44):
in this situation. But I do think that that affects
how you do your job as governor if you're more
interested in running for president.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Absolutely, he's really a career politician, and he's really only
chose to serve himself. He's always been in one position
looking to jump to the next position, and he has
always had his eyes on the White House. That's like
the worst kept secret in Pennsylvania. And we all know
that Pennsylvania is the ultimate swing state and the key
to the Democrats blue wall. Excuse me, just look at
(27:17):
you know twenty sixteen and twenty twenty four. Democrats don't
win nationally if they don't win Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania it's
incredibly important and so again we need everybody to be
united and make sure that you know, we kick this
guy out of Harrisburg and away from the White House.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
They don't call Pennsylvania the Keystone State for nothing, and
there is a reason for that. For those who may
not know. If you look at a map of Pennsylvania
from the early colonies, it was right dead center between
north and south. And yeah, because of its size and
(28:01):
it's history, the steel industry and coal and mining and
all of these things that energy that have played such
an enormous role in Pennsylvania history. And what role do
you do you see as a governor in terms of
working with these these kind of folks who run these industries.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Oh my goodness, there's a tremendous opportunity. We could be
the hub of AI. As you know, twenty five percent
of all natural gas in America is in Pennsylvania. And
the governor is constantly you know, attacking fracking and you know,
dancing around the edges. I mean, if you look at
(28:42):
our neighbors, look at Ohio, look at Virginia, if you
look at data centers, they're really you know, they're doing
so much better than us because we are the twelfth
highest regulated state in the nation, and it is very,
very difficult to do business in Pennsylvania. And again it
does have to be this way. We could be leading
the nation. We have the best, hardest working people, We
(29:06):
have world class industries and abundant natural resources that are
the envy of the entire world.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Yes, yes, that is exactly right. And you know, the
state has such wonderful opportunity. And I must say, having
been around America a little bit, you go to places,
you know, if you live in Pennsylvania, and you go
to places like Texas and Florida, and you see that
the leaps and bounds they've made in terms of their
(29:35):
economy and free markets and all of that kind of
thing using their natural resource. It truly is astounding in
terms of comparing it with what is not done here
in Pennsylvania. And that's a big task. And when you
were elected, and note I didn't say if when you
were elected, you're going to have a lot on your hands.
(29:58):
And I think you're going to have a lot of
pennsylv Vanians we're going to want to pitch in and
help you.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
I think so as well. I visit all sixty seven
of our counties every single year, so I've done it
five times now. And what Pennsylvanians tell me, and it
doesn't matter which county they're from, that the government just
isn't working for them. They feel left behind, and Pennsylvania
right now is mediocre at best. We have a once
in a lifetime opportunity to change our state around. And
(30:25):
if we don't, you know, I'm concerned, you know, with
the situation with the budget and just the lack of
support of unleashing you know, the natural resources that we
have right under our feet that you know, it's it's
going to take a generation to.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Get all right. Well, Stacey, I'm getting the break sign here,
So it was wonderful to have you on. Have a
happy new Year. Doubtless our past will cross somewhere when
I'm back home in Pennsylvania.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
And great, good luck and thank you, Jeffrey, Happy news,
New Year, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Bye bye. Okay, this is Jeffrey Lord sitting in for
Sean Hannity. You can reach us here at eight hundred
nine for one seven three two six or eight hundred
nine four to one Sean and uh, we'll be back
very shortly. Just there was just breaking news Prime Minister
net in Yahoo, and President Trump for holding a press
(31:21):
conference this minute in mar A Lago. So things are
happening out there, so we'll be back very shortly.
The Sean Hannity Show News
Host
Sean Hannity
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.