Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to The Jonathan and Kelly Show. Jonathan Rush, they spit,
we hit.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Nobody's gonna spit on our police offices. Nobody's gonna spit
on our military.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Kelly Nash from Lamar.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
First ending Marine.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
But already what I think it is.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
I mean, if we see danger to our country and
to our citizens, it's about law and order.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
The Jonathan and Kelly Show w dooc.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Donald Trump earlier in the week. As now, I guess
that's what we've gotta have all week, the national coverage
of the illegal criminal deportations and other people that are
being swept up there are here illegally.
Speaker 5 (00:39):
Yeah, they're they're trying to tear America apart. And with
this it's not just La now now it's moving to
New York, Chicago, Seattle. They're out in full force.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
And also we had an interview this week with our
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson. We're going to get
into that coming up here in segment one in just
a second. It was a big week for interviews, a
lot of important conversation. Remember last week, as we were
on the air, we were all still reading about the
jobs numbers and doctor Joey von Nessen from the University
of South Carolina Darling Moore School of Business.
Speaker 5 (01:10):
We have good news, kind of interesting, maybe concerning news
out of the job supports for South Carolina.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
And in segment three is going to be an interesting
swamp talk because we're going to talk to somebody in
the swamp. We're going to talk to US Congressman Ralph
Norman checking in live from the swamp. He's knee deep
in the mud up there. And then we'll have an
opportunity to hear from my originlind County Sheriff Leon Lott.
It's all coming up. Let's start here, Kelly ash Welcome
on the phone. South Carolina Attorney General Allen Wilson, Hey,
good morning.
Speaker 6 (01:37):
Hey, good morning guys. It's great to be with you again.
Thanks for having me back.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
You are one of the busiest men in South Carolina.
We read about the opioid settlement, the money that I'll
be coming in to help support those families and persons
who are still struggling with that issue. But one of
the things we wanted to talk to more importantly is
as most of the news is covering illegal immigration and
other problems that came across the border, like Fittenhall and
the cartels. Tell us about the Low Country visit you had.
Speaker 6 (02:03):
First off, last week, I had the opportunity to go
down and sport local enforcement that Charleston County Sheriff's Department,
State Law Enforcement Division. We were there with a number
of federal law enforcement agencies. The Governor was there. They
had a major bust where they went to a nightclub
called Out and they were able to apprehend a number
(02:24):
of Mexican drug cartel members as well as an individual
with a murder warrant from Interpol. We were able to
liberate a number of human trafficking victims and also found
a large number of miners in that club at three
o'clock in the morning. They seized numerous amounts of drugs
and a large bag of cash. So this is a
considerable bust with involving cartails, gangs, and drug trafficking and
(02:48):
possibly human trafficking.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
We're talking with the Attorney General Alan Wilson and Jonathan
and I were both kind of shocked to read a
story the other day that said when Trump took office
in twenty twenty five, there were there's only three counties
in all of South Carolina that had signed what I
think it's called the two eighty seven G to, agreed
to work basically with ICE. Now you've been encouraging that
(03:11):
since you since the Trump administration took office, and now
we're up to thirteen counties. Is there a reason why
every county wouldn't want to be a part of this.
Speaker 6 (03:20):
Well, yes, the two eighty seven g program has been
around since nineteen ninety six, nearly thirty years, and it's
federal local law enforcement to be deputized to perform certain
ICE or immigration enforcement functions. This is a good thing
for local law enforcement to be in. Sadly, under the
Obama administrations and lately under the Biden administration, they gutted
(03:42):
the program. They made it so cumbersome and so difficult
for local law enforcement to be members of this program
that it just wasn't worth the squeeze, so they just
didn't join. For instance, by way of example, I was
told by one sheriff's departments you had to be able
to accommodate transgender inmates, and if you couldn't build an
extra jail for that, then you couldn't be part of
the program. Just by way of example, when President Trump
(04:05):
came into office, five months ago his team and I
spoke with Secretary Christy Numb about this very matter, as
well as Tom Homan. They gutted that program, they rebuilt it,
and then they re initialized it so that local law
enforcement can more easily and efficiently join this program. So
I've been traveling the state trying to get sheriff's departments
in law enforcement agencies to sign up, and we expect
(04:26):
more than twenty or so will eventually be a member
of this program.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
You mentioned a minute ago with the LATS and Bust
that you're actually arrested someone who has had an outstanding
warrant from Enterpol. It's amazing that you open up the
southern border, what's available to come through the back door,
and how quickly it spreads to all fifty states, which
backs up the argument that every state is a border state.
I don't know if this is the first time you've
been able to apprehend will be a part of an
effort that apprehended the international criminal. But as we look
(04:52):
in now at Los Angeles and see what's going on
and the effort to spread that nationwide, how do you
feel about South Carolina's preparation for what it could be
more protest in the street, much like we saw with
George Floyd.
Speaker 6 (05:03):
Well, look, we're not going to tolerate any violent protests
in South Carolina. If anyone engages in any illegal conduct
or that involves attacking or assaulting law enforcement officials, you
will be arrested and we will prosecute you to the
fullest extent of the law. We will put you under
the jail if you attack law enforcement. But Johnson, I
want to go back to one other thing you were
teeing up is South Carolina is a border state as
(05:26):
much as Texas or Arizona. About three weeks ago, I
was at the Yuma border, the Uma sector at the
southern border in Arizona. I met with border patrol officials
down there. They told me that in May of twenty
twenty three, they were averaging fifteen hundred illegal crossings per day.
This is at the height of the Biden administration. In
(05:47):
May of twenty twenty five, just two weeks ago, they
were averaging four illegal crossings a day in the month
of May, from fifteen hundred a day to four a day.
All of those people that were crossing at that time,
they went somewhere and a lot of them sadly are
come into states like South Carolina, and many of them
are engaging in illistic criminal conduct that is resulting in
(06:08):
lives being being killed.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
I mentioned at the beginning I wanted to go back
real quick and ask you about the settlement where I
know you and several other attorneys general from the different
states worked to get a settlement out of the opioid
epidemic that was previous to fentanyl. And now people are
starting to realize this seemingly legal drug cartel, which is
able to push drugs in prescription form all across the country,
(06:32):
is having to answer finally for some of the things
that they lied about and some of the things that
they did. In South Carolinians were hurt by that and
many families are never going to recover from losses. I
know you're not in charge of the administration of the money,
but talk about the amounts of money and then how
it's going to be targeted to help South Carolinians.
Speaker 6 (06:50):
So thank you for raising this. This is a very
very important issue. It's somewhat related to the cartel issues
because of the fentanyl and the opioid epidemics that's going on.
Sentinel is in everything and opioids have been a main
stay over the last several years. Over the last several decades,
these lawsuits have been something that I have been personally
involved with for nearly a decade. We have recovered at
nearly six hundred and eighty million dollars for the state
(07:13):
of South Carolina over the next eighteen years. This is
from about four years ago. This latest case that you
referenced is a seven point four billion dollar settlement with
Perdue Pharmaceutical Company, which is owned by the Sackler family.
As you know, this company marketed opioids for decades, knowing
of its its addictive effects. They participated in this and
(07:35):
basically this lawsuit is a forty plus state lawsuit. We
were able to get them divested from Perdue. They have
to pay seven point four billion dollars over the next
fifteen years. Seventy three million of that will come to
South Carolina and it will go to organizations to help
with opioid addiction, mental health, and other treatment.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
Sping with the Attorney General Alan Wilson, a couple of
weeks ago, you made an announcement which was I found shocking.
Hadn't even considered this that Meta, the parent company of
Facebook and Instagram may have used AI powered tools to
expose children to sexually explicit content and allow adults to
(08:15):
start grooming miners. And so you and I guess twenty
seven other states have now demanded answers from Meta as
we record this on June tenth, Today was the deadline
that you and those states had given to Meta to
get back to y'all, have you heard anything from them
about AI exposing kids to sexually explicit material?
Speaker 6 (08:35):
So I actually have spoke with representatives of Meta last week.
They are gathering their response and they're going to get
it to us. We told them that we would give
them extension if they needed it. I'm not at the
office right now. They obviously have to the close the business.
But at the end of the day, Meta runs a
number of platforms. You have WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and they
have what's called an AI companion that can give you
(08:55):
a virtual experience where you can talk to someone who
is a celebrities say, and you can ask these the
person questions you can engage with this AI companion, and
their reports that this AI companion is engaging in sexualized graphics,
sexualized conversations with children, and even even knows that they're children.
(09:17):
Are the people posing as children rather are asking questions
and the AI companions saying, look, I can go to
jail if I tell you this, but I will tell
you anyway. And so that is the kind of stuff
that we're dealing with. We want to know what META knows,
what they're doing to stop it, and if they don't,
then there's legal recourses that they're going to have to suffer.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Fascinating new frontiers. You're battling State Attorney General Alan Wilson.
We appreciate your time. Thank you, sir.
Speaker 6 (09:41):
Thank you guys.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
That interview was.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Edited slightly only because of the time restraints of this program.
You can hear the complete interview with Alan Wilson, our
Attorney General, on our podcast.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
Look for the Rash Thought podcast on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
We're going to talk about the numbers and the economy
at South Carolina.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Next.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Jonathan and Kelly Show. Jonathan Rush look.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
At that shift a forty point shift to the right
among immigrant voters.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Kelly Nash the group of voters who became more hawkish
on immigration were in fact immigrants themselves.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
And Kelly Show, every time I see that guy on CNN.
I look at the host of the segment for that
particular show on CNN, Yeah, and I'm thinking, how did
you draw the short straw? They just poll numbers do
look good for Donald Trump for a lot of good reasons.
And we recorded this program for broadcast on Saturday prior
(10:35):
we just found out about the China's rade, so there's
even more good news.
Speaker 5 (10:39):
Yeah, we are way ahead this week, and we're recording
it on Wednesday instead of a Friday. And like you said,
Trump's just made the announcement minutes ago that they got
to deal with China on the trade agreement. Now that
I mean is subject to change as always. Sure, but
the polling numbers, as you alluded to through the roof,
the one that really shocked him. I think the legal
(11:01):
immigrants have had a forty two point shift since twenty sixteen,
huge forty two points. So now Donald Trump is who
they say is the right person to lead immigration.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Well, there's going to be more, particularly after the China announcement,
focus on the trade deals, which kind of plays into
our next opportunity for an interview. We got a bunch
of great interviews lined up for you this week. We
had an opportunity to speak with doctor Joey von Nessen
from the Darla Moore School of Business at the University. Tello, sir,
and thank you for being here.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
Morning doctor, Good morning guys, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Certainly with at least the national coverage, we saw where
the job's number was higher than Wall Street and anticipated,
but it was lower than April because we're talking about
May's job numbers, and we saw some increases slightly in
the hourly wages, just from a broad view perspective before
we delve into South Carolina? Is that pretty much your
feel of it? What did you guys find as you
were pouring over the numbers?
Speaker 4 (11:54):
Zo, So it is a good report overall in a
thirty thousand foot view, as you mentioned it, it suggests
that the labor market remains resilient as we head into
the summer months, which is really good news as we
move forward. One hundred and thirty nine thousand jobs is
right where we want to be. Remember that the sweet
spot for job creation at the national level is between
one hundred and two hundred thousand. That's what we want
(12:15):
to see every month. That's the sign of a good report.
So that's the good news. The bad news is that
the economy is still very much bifurcated, meaning that most
of the job creation this year and this month included,
came from the services sector, not from the goods market,
and that's largely because of the back and forth on
tariff policy, and we can get into the details on that,
(12:37):
but most of the job creation coming from the services
sector and the weakness of the goods market is still
something to keep an eye on.
Speaker 5 (12:45):
Doctor von Nesson, we're supposed to be talking about South
Carolina specifically, and you said that we had good news,
but kind of maybe alarming news in the sense that
most of the jobs are being created or in the
service industry. Is that true here in South Carolina as well.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
It is, and I wouldn't necessarily clearly use the word alarming.
I think it's something certainly to keep our eye on
as we move into the second half of the year.
But in South Carolina, the way that we see that
is that manufacturing has had a fairly slow start to
the year in South Carolina, as has the housing market,
which has had a very weak sales growth during the
spring months and early as we move into the summer,
(13:22):
and of course for the housing market. The summer is
the prime buying and selling season, so we'll see if
that continues. A lot of that is because of the
uncertainty that the back and forth on trade policy has created,
but I think from a political perspective, it looks like
we may be past the bulk of that back and forth. Again,
we'll see. I can't speak to the politics of it,
but if that's the case, then we see the tariff
(13:44):
policies resolved in the second half of the year, and
we see the text cuts from the first Trump administration extended,
then that would put us in a good position as
we move ahead into twenty twenty six.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Now you mentioned hospitality, and certainly that becomes a seasonal
higher and with this would be the time of the
gear that we would see that increases.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
Yes, and the good news is when we see that
spending activity, that means that consumers are still spending. And
consumer spending overall has been very resilient through the first
half of the year, which is good news. But they
are very sensitive to price increases and to this uncertainty,
and so they have in a sense shifted towards services
and away from good because of the price changes that
(14:23):
we've seen, and so the real question as we move
into the second half of the year is whether or
not inflation is going to tick up, going to rebound
or not. And that's going to go a long way
towards explaining how the US economy and South Carolina's economy
does in the second half of the year.
Speaker 5 (14:37):
Doctor vron nesson with us on the phone local economists
talking about the South Carolina economy. At the national level.
You mentioned earlier in this discussion that the sweet spot
is between one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand new
jobs per month need to be created. I'm reading a
Reuter's story here, and they say the economy needs to
create roughly one hundred thousand jobs per month to keep
(14:59):
up with growth and the working age population, and they
show the stats. By the way, good news every month
the president has been the president. Currently, we've hit that
one hundred thousand dollars or one hundred thousand jobs, although
they did revise April down to just ninety five thousand.
But if you look at the end of the Biden administration,
he didn't hit it in June, July, August, or October.
(15:22):
So we seem to be moving in a right direction
with that. My question, I guess is how I thought
we had a shrinking population in the sense that the
baby boomers were dying off or at least leaving the
job market. Gen xers are a much smaller population, and
we are not creating babies at the pace that we're
supposed to be. We're creating less than two children per family. Now,
(15:47):
why do we still need to create one hundred thousand
new jobs a month? At some point, wouldn't we have
to make less?
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Right now? That's the pace that we're on and what
we need to be doing. But you're right at the population.
The demographics are shifting, and we can see that on
the back end where we see the baby boomers retiring,
and that has caused a decrease in labor force participation
that is going to continue. And that's one of the
good things about what we're seeing with this AI revolution
is it's going to help with the ongoing labor shortage
(16:14):
that all industries face because of the aging population. But
on the flip side, we are seeing fewer young people
as well, and over the next several years. The early
two thousands was really when we began to see that
population and that demographics shift down so fast forward eighteen
years and we're just now getting to the point where
colleges are going to start to see lower enrollment over
(16:35):
the next decade. So that is a reality that we're
facing and something that we have to look at because again,
these are demographic shifts and reflect long term changes to
our job market and to our economy that we have
to factor in when we're testing the both the short
end the long run outlook.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
I'm looking at the US labor force participation rate, which
seems to be around sixty two percent now, but you know,
in reality, we have a very aging population. I'm looking
at I guess this is from the Saint Louis FED
and they're showing the job labor force participation rate for
(17:09):
twenty five to fifty four year olds, and one of
the things that I find stunning, and we look pretty
healthy there. According to then, we're at eighty three point
four percent in twenty twenty five, and we've been above
eighty percent for quite a while, which seems to be
about right that most people over you know, over twenty
(17:31):
five and under fifty four would be healthy enough to work,
but that we didn't actually get to eighty percent until
nineteen eighty, and if you go all the way back
to like nineteen fifty, it was like sixty percent of
twenty five to fifty four year olds we're actually working.
Are we looking at a time when we're seeing younger
people get more active into the workforce, or are we
(17:52):
seeing it stalled out or are we starting to see
it reverse.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
Well, one of the major reasons that you see that
major increase since the nineteen fifties is because women joined
the labor force, and so that increased it it significantly.
But you're right, we've seen so after you get to
the nineteen nineties, where we're women becoming part of the
labor force really becomes the norm. In recent decades, in
(18:17):
the twenty first century, you've seen labor force participation not
necessarily across all age groups, but most age groups have
been ticking downwards. And that's because of the aging population.
And in South Carolina, where our labor force participation has
been consistently below the national average, that's largely because even
(18:39):
with an aging population, South Carolina is older than the
national average, so we struggle a bit more with that.
Part of that is intentional, because we're a retirement state.
We have long marketed ourselves ourselves as a retirement destination,
and a lot of industry in South Carolina benefits from that.
So that is a good thing that we're a retirement
desak the nation, but it also creates those additional challenges
(19:03):
with workforce needs. And the other factor for South Carolina
is that our industry mix tends to favor earlier retirees.
So if you look at manufacturing, and you look at
military professions and government professions, all three of which are
large in South Carolina, those tend to see people retire
(19:24):
in their fifties as opposed to in their sixties, and
so that also decreases labor force participation. So there are
a number of reasons why South Carolina's economy is structurally
different from the national economy, and so why our labor
force participation is, at least for the foreseeable future, always
likely to be lower than the national average. But that's
not necessarily a bad thing. It's just the difference between
(19:47):
the two economies.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Doctor Joy van Neilson, we really appreciate you taking the
time to talk to us specifically about the Palmetto State
jobs numbers, and we look forward to speak with you
again as we hopefully see more and hopefully South Carolinians
make an advantage of University of South Carolina and other
schools to retool themselves to make themselves more valuable with
the new face of AI and the corporate structure.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
Absolutely, and that's another area we didn't talk about today,
but that's another factory. And not only our CEOs wrestling
with AI, but also colleges are as well, and how
to train students appropriately to use it. How does that
change the education process itself? So there are a lot
of questions from both a corporate and an education perspective
that we're going to be wrestling with for a number
(20:30):
of years now.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
That interview was edited only slightly for the restraints of
the program time wise, we only got an hour here, Kelly.
We got to keep pushing forward.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
Now we have a lot more chit chat time on
our podcast. You can find the rash Thought podcast on
the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
Very special swap talk recorded while standing in the swamp
Us Congressman Ralph Norman's coming up next.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
The Jonathan and Kelly Show, Jonathan Rush. If immigration raids
had not happened here, we would.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Not have the disorder. Kelly people in the city have
a rapid restomponse network.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
If they see ice, they go out and they protest.
The Jonathan and Kelly Showbo, La Mayor Karen Large's mouth
bass just keeps waiting in the hypocrisy.
Speaker 5 (21:17):
I mean, every time a Democrat opens their mouth right
now about this, they just look dumber and dumber.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
It is amazing.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
This week for Swamp Talk, we are going to have
a special guest, US Congressman Ralph Norman.
Speaker 7 (21:27):
Good morning, glad to be with you.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
It has been a flurry of activity and most of
the dust has settled over on the House as the
big beautiful bill headed over to the Senate. Talk to
me about how you felt about the finalization that thinks
at this point with the reconciliation and how you guys
are doing with that.
Speaker 7 (21:41):
The great part about what we're doing is the fact
that we're actually making cuts now. It's been a long
time coming. It's been a lot of work. It's been
a lot of I guess, anxious nights for a lot
of people, because every dollar in Washington, d C. Has
got an advocate. But what I'm excited about is we're
going to pass a reconciliation bill. While not perfect, it
(22:04):
seals the tax cuts that had they expired, would have
been a twenty eight to thirty percent increase for every American.
We've got things that Elon Musk has identified that should
have never been paid for or even put on the
books as an expense because of the ludicrocy of it,
that are going to be cut. So I'm excited and
(22:27):
the American people. It's been a good day. Had Donald
Trump not going in office and Kamala Harris she had won,
you've never even see any of these things that we're doing,
and the fact that it's happening now couldn't come too quick.
Speaker 5 (22:40):
Well, we're talking with Congressman Ralph Norman, and I know
you are a hawk when it comes to the budget,
but not everybody in Congress agrees with you, obviously, to
the point where I believe that part of the major
part of the fallout between Donald Trump and Elon Musk
was the I don't know, maybe lack of respect for
(23:01):
the work that he did, not by Donald Trump per se,
but by Congress that he found all these things and
it seemed as if Congress didn't want to move on it,
and you end up with the big, beautiful bill that
ends up actually according to again, I understand that the
CBO is not very perfect when it comes to these predictions,
but it would add to the deficit. Does how do
(23:24):
I want to phrase this question? Because it's it just
seems like Kennedy, Senator Kennedy is right. You can only
cut the budget to the point where you have enough
votes to pass it. Do you feel like you guys
are going to be able to get more cuts?
Speaker 7 (23:38):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (23:38):
I do.
Speaker 7 (23:39):
I think the fact what Elon Musk has done, and
by the way, for your listeners, he's a phenom. I mean,
we won't see another Elon Musk I know in my lifetime.
But what the man has done free of charge. He's
not wanted any of this glory for himself. He's not
doing it for money. He's doing it but it's the
(24:01):
right thing to do. I mean, I remember when the
people in North Carolina when Helene came through, the government
didn't step in. They offered a meagre seven hundred dollars
and Biden was doing photo ops at the Greenville Airport.
Who came through for the people in North Carolina, Elon
Musk was starlink, didn't charge my dime and he's getting
(24:22):
criticism and he shouldn't. He's what he's saying is right.
It's not cut enough. But Elion's used to run his
own company, and when you used to run in your
own company, you see things differently. And he's getting a
doz of what government's about. And it's why we have
to trim it back and stay on top of it
to eliminate the ways for all abuse, which he's done.
(24:45):
And I can't tell you when he I first heard
of the some of the things he's found, you know,
to cut three million for a Rocky Sesame Street, four
million for Sedit Terry, migrats in Columbia, over one hundred
find me, and for the World Health Organization which is
run by China. He's identified all these things and it's
(25:06):
up to us to cut it. And for your listeners
this week on the cuts, that will be voting on
any Republican, any of them that vote against any of
these giveaways cannot campaign on being a conservative if they
don't follow through with the votes. And this is going
to be one of the most pivotal times I know
(25:28):
since I've been up here, because you'll see who you
know who backs it up with their actions, and you know,
it's gonna be a great day. I think we'll pass it,
but it's going to be close. We will get zero
Democrat votes because they do not like what Elon Musk
has done for the American people, and they're flat out wrong.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
Congressman Ralph Norman on the phone with us. We've heard
from several congress people, including Marjorie Taylor Green, that there
was things inside the big beautiful bill that they weren't
aware of when they voted for it. Did you have
enough time to go through the bill and were you
shocked by anything that you saw in it?
Speaker 7 (26:04):
Well? I was shocked that yeah. On the on the
some of the tax credits, you know this, We've all
heard about the seven thousand per electric car which should
have never been in there, the wind and solar credits.
I'm sorry that the sun doesn't shine twenty four to seven, uh,
And I'm sorry some of the giveaways on that. But
(26:24):
and I'm sorry that we couldn't get more cuts. But
I think, yeah, I mean we've One of the reasons
I was one of the three that voted against moving
the budget forward is to get more cuts, because you know,
the nine point four b and that we're going to
be voting on this week in recisions is a tear
drop in the ocean, but it's still a step in
(26:46):
the right direction. Yeah, we went through it and didn't
catch everything. But the tax cuts, the tax part of
this is the beauty of this. But did we get enough? No,
but we got all we could get to get the
two hundred and eighteen votes.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
I know you're not directly associated with this issue, but
I want to bring it up because it's the biggest
issue that Donald Trump ran on with the border security.
As you watch what's unfolding now in California and the
efforts now to spread it across the country with a
pushback on the deportation of illegal immigrants in our country.
What are your thoughts on how we continue in.
Speaker 7 (27:22):
This People are telling me they want consequences for those
who break the law. You know, we've got our First
Amendment rights. We can say what we will when it
crosses the line. And this is what the Biden administration,
the Obama administration never believed in. Is consequences. When you
burn a police car, when you take over a college dorm,
when you break windows, you pay a consequence. Where's the
(27:43):
empathy for the victims of those who are running businesses,
who are having the property destroyed. You know, you've got
to have consequences. Donald Trump is going to put the
people in place to arrest them.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
All.
Speaker 7 (27:55):
This is orchestrated, and you are going to see it
spread across the country because the liberal left knows that
they're losing their power. Seventy seven million people put a
conservative in office. They're mad and they're gone to violence.
We've got to meet that violence and stop it if
we don't, and I think pamp Bondy will, but it's
not going to be easy. And what's happening in Los Angeles,
(28:17):
you send it in Texas, I fully expect to happen
in other cities.
Speaker 5 (28:20):
The President of Mexico last month made a speech and
that went viral over the last twenty four hours or so,
and in it, she is talking about the Big Beautiful
Bill and she's saying, we do not want that three
and a half percent tax on remittances from Mexican citizens
trying to ship money back to Mexico, and she threatens,
(28:43):
if necessary, we'll mobilize. Are we seeing the sleeper cells
activated in Los Angeles right now?
Speaker 7 (28:50):
Yes, you're seeing the sleeper sales. You're seeing the George
saw Us money. How do you think when they tore
the fifty cities up back there in the George Floyd riots,
when they just tore them up with no consequences and
they pee, someone was posting their bail. Someone is bringing
the palletts of brick and block frozen water bottles. I mean,
(29:10):
it's an insult to our rule of law and it's
gonna stop. But yeah, it's the sleeper sales that keeps
cash for tail up. It keeps any law enforcement officer
that you talked to in d C. Or really anywhere.
We've got a problem here, but the only way you
fix it is what they're doing, which Tom Holman is
taking them out of the country. And I hate that
(29:33):
we're having to pay for it twice because I've been
to the border twice. I saw the stacks of food
and the airplanes when the particular airplane when I came
back on we're mostly illegals because that's what the Biden
administration did in their mind, create a voting block, and
they should never have the keys to power again for
what they did this country. It's just gonna take time.
(29:53):
It's gonna take money. But Trump is not gonna be stopped.
He's got the courage to do it, and he's gonna
call the Marines out, He's gonna call the National are
whatever it takes, he will do it to get it
under control. And let him go to any city in
this country, and Donald Trump's gonna have the same attitude
of law and order.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
I'm thinking that South Carolina, hopefully because of our strong
law enforcement presence the last time, will help our citizens
be able to avoid any kind of personal affront in
the streets.
Speaker 7 (30:19):
Well, I want to thank the sheriffs and the chiefs
of police. I think they get it, and I think
they feel the surge of support from people.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
You know.
Speaker 7 (30:28):
I know in York County we elected a sheriff who
he will do whatever it takes to make sure it
doesn't happen, and I think others across the state will
do the same.
Speaker 5 (30:37):
I find it ironic that the governor of California is
suing the Trump administration for sending in the National Guard
to stop the riots. The riots have been going on
at that point for four days, and the fact that
he wants to sue, I guess he wants to embolden
them even more.
Speaker 7 (30:51):
Gavin news of ought to be kicked out of office.
You know, he's protected lives. What if it happens to
his family, Let's see his point of view. If his
wife gets a bottle thrown at or a brick, Let's
see if his house is batalized. I mean, he's a
typical politician who is a left wing nut who ought
to be kicked out of office by the voters. But
California is gonna have to do it. If they don't
(31:12):
take action, now, get somebody like that. I don't know
what could save them.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
And you could also hear that complete interview with the
congressman on our podcast.
Speaker 5 (31:20):
Look for the RASOD podcast. It's on the iHeartRadio app.
All right, we're going to talk with Sheriff Leon Lott.
Coming up in a second.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Jonathan and Kelly Show. Jonathan Rush. Local law enforcement has
said they can handle the protest.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
It's no different than when a team wins a national
championship and people get over excited and they overturn vehicles
and light them on fire.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
Kelly Nash, it is violence that I've seen is disgusting.
Individuals out there shooting commercial grade fireworks at our officers
that can kill you. Jonathan and Kelly show woc Kelly
Nash welcome back in the studio.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Originally Unty Sheriff Leon Lott.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
Hey, good morning, good morn. Great to be with y'all.
Have been a busy, busy, busy time here in the
Columbia and.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
It hasn't been hot fun and the summer.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
No hot fun in the summertime is not taking a
summer break. Now when it's hot, when crime goes up.
Speaker 5 (32:10):
And so you got some problems going on right now.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
We got some a lot of issues going on. We've
had a couple of murders, we've got it's just a busy,
busy time for all of us in Richland County. And
that's between city and Lexington and Richland County, so the
whole Midlands area that is being hit pretty hard right now.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
And on top of all that, which is tragic enough
for our community. I was bragging about you yesterday because
we're seeing that there's going to be more and more
protests coming having to do with illegal criminal deportations that
we've seen in Los Angeles, but now they're spreading out
all across the country. And I was saying, I don't
think you're going to see Antifa coming back to Columbia.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Columbia is not LA. I can tell you that right now,
and it's not. We're not going to tolerate anything like that.
And you brought up Antifa, and that's what's happening. We
saw that in previous riots, and Tifa just looks for
an excuse come and do destruction. And that's what we're
seeing in LA and some of these other cities too.
They could care less about deportation or anything like that.
(33:07):
It's just an opportunity for them. The wreck havoc. You know,
they're professionals at doing that, and they know how to
do it. You know, they put out a sheet that
tells you exactly what to wear and protect yourself, bring
an umbrella to keep the stuff from getting on you,
your mask, and how to wear knee pads. All this stuff.
They come fully equipped. Well.
Speaker 5 (33:26):
Saturday is Flag Day. It's also a big military celebration.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Fiftieth anniversary of the Army and the lso the anniversary
of my fiftieth year of being a cop Happy interview.
Speaker 5 (33:38):
So with this big military parade happening in DC, a
lot of people around the country are have named it
Trump's Birthday celebration because it is his birthday as well.
And they're saying they're going to have these no Kings protests,
and one of them is scheduled for Columbia twelve thirty
till four, and the Attorney General has issued a warning
(33:59):
to them. Do you have any things you'd like to
say to the people going to the No King's protest?
Speaker 2 (34:03):
Peaceful protests and there's nothing wrong with that. You're gonna
go to the State House grounds and peacely protests and
make speeches and all that stuff. That's great. Don't come
off the State House ground and think you're gonna go
down Main Street or break in buildings and deluding and
burning cars. That ain't gonna happen. We're not going to
allow that.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
You know, one of the things that happened this year
for the state, given our new budget and Richland County
and several other counties. But I know Richland Counties had
school resource officers in place at schools, all the schools
in the county. As we go into this next school session,
I know this is the time of the year when
you meet with administrators and talk about how to make
(34:40):
sure that their buildings are secure and safe and safety
protocols and you make recommendations. How did this past year
go and what do you anticipate for your training for
this year.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Well, this past year was good. I mean we at
the beginning of the school we had some knucklehead kids
who thought they could bring stuff in through the middle detectors.
Of course that didn't work. They had to find oubt
that you know, you can't bring the metal of your
gun or your knife in there. So we had a
few of those, but didn't have any shootings at our schools.
We actually had a very good safe here. We didn't
(35:09):
have incidents. At football games or other athletic events are
a large gathering, so you know, and I all plot
all three school districts that we deal with that they
do a good job and understanding that safety is first,
and so I know they have budget restraints, but when
it comes to safety that they don't shortcut on the money.
(35:29):
So we're able to have high visibility at these events
and have lots of s ros involved that know the kids,
you know, so that that helps out a lot too.
Instead of just having a deputy that don't knows people,
you have deputies that's in the feeder schools say it's
a high school game, all the schools that feed in there,
the middle schools and elementary because that's knows all those
(35:52):
kids they go to these football games so they can
go Little Johnny, I know you and that that works
as a thought process to go was into that. So
last year, this past school year was a good one.
We already ramping up for next year. Our s ros
are at the SCASROW which is the South Carolina School
Resource Officer Association Conference, and then the DARE conferences going on.
(36:16):
So we've got them both in in conferences, learning more,
get more up to date information and hopefully will just
continue to do a good path.
Speaker 5 (36:25):
Excellent surif Lea and Lott with us on the show today.
And you know, in years previous we've had you on
talking about the hate crime law and how you wanted
one for the state of South Carolina. Last week, Richland
County became the first county in the state to pass
one of those laws. I imagine you had something to
do with that. And what do you think of the
new bill that they passed.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Yeah, I had a lot to do with that, just
unfortunately have not been able to get it passed in
the State House, but rich And County Council and unanimous decision,
so that was Republicans and Democrats all voted for it.
That's just another tool that we can use that you
know it's hate or bias. If you commit a crime
(37:07):
just based on that, then you need to have a
little bit extra added to your sentence and be held accountable.
So I think it made a big statement to everybody
in Richland County that's the good people and the bad people.
You're not going to be able to do some of
these things in Richland County you've been able to do
in the past. And we track these tracke crimes, and
(37:27):
I will tell you it is. I think most people believe, well,
it's a minority that's the one that's being targeted. It's
the other way around. It's more white people have been
victims of a hate bias crime in Richland County than
it has been a minority. And I think that surprises people.
And I think when it came down to vote, some
(37:47):
of those that look like me decided, hey, that numbers
shouldn't be that way, so they voted for it. So
I'm proud of Richland County council for doing what they do,
and counsel Woman Tyre Little, when she got elected back
in November, took over in January. She met with me
and that was one thing that we discussed. So that
was her pet project and she made it happen. The
state law that we've been pushing. You don't get arrested
(38:10):
the hate crime. You got arrested for another crime, but
if hate or bias was part of it, then you
got more time put So it was an enhancement. So
it wasn't where I'm going to go out here and
lock you up because you use certain words. But if
you commit a crime and you use those words and
you're focusing on hate or bias somehow, then you should
be held accountable more than just the crime that you committed.
(38:33):
So that added to it. But we haven't been able
to get that passed either. We're one or two states.
Wyoming is the only other state that doesn't have a
state wide law. We've made these cases and I've had
to turn them over to US Attorney's office. We had
four African American men and one woman who was focusing
on the Hispanic population on robberies, I mean, and we
(38:55):
got their text messages, how they talked about, that's who
they were going after, why they were going after. They
probably did fifteen robberies and we finally caught them. Couldn't
do Notwingham state wide. The Feds took it and I
think the last any of them got was thirty years.
I think it was right well, thirty to thirty five
years they got because the Feds have a Hey crime.
Speaker 3 (39:15):
All Richly Kenny, Sheriff Leon Live, thank you again for
your efforts. Also, big salute to other sheriffs, deputies, volunteers,
anybody who works with law enforcement. We appreciate your help.
And as a reminder, if you're going to go be
going to the No Kings rally, be sure in protests
peacefully and don't come off the state House grounds. It's over.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
I wish that all of you will come back again
next week.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Can you come back next week. I'll be back same
time next week. Well, sow on pile, we'll be back
next week. That's what we get you. You got to
come back next week
Welcome to The Jonathan and Kelly Show. Jonathan Rush, they spit,
we hit.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Nobody's gonna spit on our police offices. Nobody's gonna spit
on our military.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Kelly Nash from Lamar.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
First ending Marine.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
But already what I think it is.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
I mean, if we see danger to our country and
to our citizens, it's about law and order.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
The Jonathan and Kelly Show w dooc.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Donald Trump earlier in the week. As now, I guess
that's what we've gotta have all week, the national coverage
of the illegal criminal deportations and other people that are
being swept up there are here illegally.
Speaker 5 (00:39):
Yeah, they're they're trying to tear America apart. And with
this it's not just La now now it's moving to
New York, Chicago, Seattle. They're out in full force.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
And also we had an interview this week with our
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson. We're going to get
into that coming up here in segment one in just
a second. It was a big week for interviews, a
lot of important conversation. Remember last week, as we were
on the air, we were all still reading about the
jobs numbers and doctor Joey von Nessen from the University
of South Carolina Darling Moore School of Business.
Speaker 5 (01:10):
We have good news, kind of interesting, maybe concerning news
out of the job supports for South Carolina.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
And in segment three is going to be an interesting
swamp talk because we're going to talk to somebody in
the swamp. We're going to talk to US Congressman Ralph
Norman checking in live from the swamp. He's knee deep
in the mud up there. And then we'll have an
opportunity to hear from my originlind County Sheriff Leon Lott.
It's all coming up. Let's start here, Kelly ash Welcome
on the phone. South Carolina Attorney General Allen Wilson, Hey,
good morning.
Speaker 6 (01:37):
Hey, good morning guys. It's great to be with you again.
Thanks for having me back.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
You are one of the busiest men in South Carolina.
We read about the opioid settlement, the money that I'll
be coming in to help support those families and persons
who are still struggling with that issue. But one of
the things we wanted to talk to more importantly is
as most of the news is covering illegal immigration and
other problems that came across the border, like Fittenhall and
the cartels. Tell us about the Low Country visit you had.
Speaker 6 (02:03):
First off, last week, I had the opportunity to go
down and sport local enforcement that Charleston County Sheriff's Department,
State Law Enforcement Division. We were there with a number
of federal law enforcement agencies. The Governor was there. They
had a major bust where they went to a nightclub
called Out and they were able to apprehend a number
(02:24):
of Mexican drug cartel members as well as an individual
with a murder warrant from Interpol. We were able to
liberate a number of human trafficking victims and also found
a large number of miners in that club at three
o'clock in the morning. They seized numerous amounts of drugs
and a large bag of cash. So this is a
considerable bust with involving cartails, gangs, and drug trafficking and
(02:48):
possibly human trafficking.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
We're talking with the Attorney General Alan Wilson and Jonathan
and I were both kind of shocked to read a
story the other day that said when Trump took office
in twenty twenty five, there were there's only three counties
in all of South Carolina that had signed what I
think it's called the two eighty seven G to, agreed
to work basically with ICE. Now you've been encouraging that
(03:11):
since you since the Trump administration took office, and now
we're up to thirteen counties. Is there a reason why
every county wouldn't want to be a part of this.
Speaker 6 (03:20):
Well, yes, the two eighty seven g program has been
around since nineteen ninety six, nearly thirty years, and it's
federal local law enforcement to be deputized to perform certain
ICE or immigration enforcement functions. This is a good thing
for local law enforcement to be in. Sadly, under the
Obama administrations and lately under the Biden administration, they gutted
(03:42):
the program. They made it so cumbersome and so difficult
for local law enforcement to be members of this program
that it just wasn't worth the squeeze, so they just
didn't join. For instance, by way of example, I was
told by one sheriff's departments you had to be able
to accommodate transgender inmates, and if you couldn't build an
extra jail for that, then you couldn't be part of
the program. Just by way of example, when President Trump
(04:05):
came into office, five months ago his team and I
spoke with Secretary Christy Numb about this very matter, as
well as Tom Homan. They gutted that program, they rebuilt it,
and then they re initialized it so that local law
enforcement can more easily and efficiently join this program. So
I've been traveling the state trying to get sheriff's departments
in law enforcement agencies to sign up, and we expect
(04:26):
more than twenty or so will eventually be a member
of this program.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
You mentioned a minute ago with the LATS and Bust
that you're actually arrested someone who has had an outstanding
warrant from Enterpol. It's amazing that you open up the
southern border, what's available to come through the back door,
and how quickly it spreads to all fifty states, which
backs up the argument that every state is a border state.
I don't know if this is the first time you've
been able to apprehend will be a part of an
effort that apprehended the international criminal. But as we look
(04:52):
in now at Los Angeles and see what's going on
and the effort to spread that nationwide, how do you
feel about South Carolina's preparation for what it could be
more protest in the street, much like we saw with
George Floyd.
Speaker 6 (05:03):
Well, look, we're not going to tolerate any violent protests
in South Carolina. If anyone engages in any illegal conduct
or that involves attacking or assaulting law enforcement officials, you
will be arrested and we will prosecute you to the
fullest extent of the law. We will put you under
the jail if you attack law enforcement. But Johnson, I
want to go back to one other thing you were
teeing up is South Carolina is a border state as
(05:26):
much as Texas or Arizona. About three weeks ago, I
was at the Yuma border, the Uma sector at the
southern border in Arizona. I met with border patrol officials
down there. They told me that in May of twenty
twenty three, they were averaging fifteen hundred illegal crossings per day.
This is at the height of the Biden administration. In
(05:47):
May of twenty twenty five, just two weeks ago, they
were averaging four illegal crossings a day in the month
of May, from fifteen hundred a day to four a day.
All of those people that were crossing at that time,
they went somewhere and a lot of them sadly are
come into states like South Carolina, and many of them
are engaging in illistic criminal conduct that is resulting in
(06:08):
lives being being killed.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
I mentioned at the beginning I wanted to go back
real quick and ask you about the settlement where I
know you and several other attorneys general from the different
states worked to get a settlement out of the opioid
epidemic that was previous to fentanyl. And now people are
starting to realize this seemingly legal drug cartel, which is
able to push drugs in prescription form all across the country,
(06:32):
is having to answer finally for some of the things
that they lied about and some of the things that
they did. In South Carolinians were hurt by that and
many families are never going to recover from losses. I
know you're not in charge of the administration of the money,
but talk about the amounts of money and then how
it's going to be targeted to help South Carolinians.
Speaker 6 (06:50):
So thank you for raising this. This is a very
very important issue. It's somewhat related to the cartel issues
because of the fentanyl and the opioid epidemics that's going on.
Sentinel is in everything and opioids have been a main
stay over the last several years. Over the last several decades,
these lawsuits have been something that I have been personally
involved with for nearly a decade. We have recovered at
nearly six hundred and eighty million dollars for the state
(07:13):
of South Carolina over the next eighteen years. This is
from about four years ago. This latest case that you
referenced is a seven point four billion dollar settlement with
Perdue Pharmaceutical Company, which is owned by the Sackler family.
As you know, this company marketed opioids for decades, knowing
of its its addictive effects. They participated in this and
(07:35):
basically this lawsuit is a forty plus state lawsuit. We
were able to get them divested from Perdue. They have
to pay seven point four billion dollars over the next
fifteen years. Seventy three million of that will come to
South Carolina and it will go to organizations to help
with opioid addiction, mental health, and other treatment.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
Sping with the Attorney General Alan Wilson, a couple of
weeks ago, you made an announcement which was I found shocking.
Hadn't even considered this that Meta, the parent company of
Facebook and Instagram may have used AI powered tools to
expose children to sexually explicit content and allow adults to
(08:15):
start grooming miners. And so you and I guess twenty
seven other states have now demanded answers from Meta as
we record this on June tenth, Today was the deadline
that you and those states had given to Meta to
get back to y'all, have you heard anything from them
about AI exposing kids to sexually explicit material?
Speaker 6 (08:35):
So I actually have spoke with representatives of Meta last week.
They are gathering their response and they're going to get
it to us. We told them that we would give
them extension if they needed it. I'm not at the
office right now. They obviously have to the close the business.
But at the end of the day, Meta runs a
number of platforms. You have WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and they
have what's called an AI companion that can give you
(08:55):
a virtual experience where you can talk to someone who
is a celebrities say, and you can ask these the
person questions you can engage with this AI companion, and
their reports that this AI companion is engaging in sexualized graphics,
sexualized conversations with children, and even even knows that they're children.
(09:17):
Are the people posing as children rather are asking questions
and the AI companions saying, look, I can go to
jail if I tell you this, but I will tell
you anyway. And so that is the kind of stuff
that we're dealing with. We want to know what META knows,
what they're doing to stop it, and if they don't,
then there's legal recourses that they're going to have to suffer.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Fascinating new frontiers. You're battling State Attorney General Alan Wilson.
We appreciate your time. Thank you, sir.
Speaker 6 (09:41):
Thank you guys.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
That interview was.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Edited slightly only because of the time restraints of this program.
You can hear the complete interview with Alan Wilson, our
Attorney General, on our podcast.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
Look for the Rash Thought podcast on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
We're going to talk about the numbers and the economy
at South Carolina.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Next.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Jonathan and Kelly Show. Jonathan Rush look.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
At that shift a forty point shift to the right
among immigrant voters.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Kelly Nash the group of voters who became more hawkish
on immigration were in fact immigrants themselves.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
And Kelly Show, every time I see that guy on CNN.
I look at the host of the segment for that
particular show on CNN, Yeah, and I'm thinking, how did
you draw the short straw? They just poll numbers do
look good for Donald Trump for a lot of good reasons.
And we recorded this program for broadcast on Saturday prior
(10:35):
we just found out about the China's rade, so there's
even more good news.
Speaker 5 (10:39):
Yeah, we are way ahead this week, and we're recording
it on Wednesday instead of a Friday. And like you said,
Trump's just made the announcement minutes ago that they got
to deal with China on the trade agreement. Now that
I mean is subject to change as always. Sure, but
the polling numbers, as you alluded to through the roof,
the one that really shocked him. I think the legal
(11:01):
immigrants have had a forty two point shift since twenty sixteen,
huge forty two points. So now Donald Trump is who
they say is the right person to lead immigration.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Well, there's going to be more, particularly after the China announcement,
focus on the trade deals, which kind of plays into
our next opportunity for an interview. We got a bunch
of great interviews lined up for you this week. We
had an opportunity to speak with doctor Joey von Nessen
from the Darla Moore School of Business at the University. Tello, sir,
and thank you for being here.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
Morning doctor, Good morning guys, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Certainly with at least the national coverage, we saw where
the job's number was higher than Wall Street and anticipated,
but it was lower than April because we're talking about
May's job numbers, and we saw some increases slightly in
the hourly wages, just from a broad view perspective before
we delve into South Carolina? Is that pretty much your
feel of it? What did you guys find as you
were pouring over the numbers?
Speaker 4 (11:54):
Zo, So it is a good report overall in a
thirty thousand foot view, as you mentioned it, it suggests
that the labor market remains resilient as we head into
the summer months, which is really good news as we
move forward. One hundred and thirty nine thousand jobs is
right where we want to be. Remember that the sweet
spot for job creation at the national level is between
one hundred and two hundred thousand. That's what we want
(12:15):
to see every month. That's the sign of a good report.
So that's the good news. The bad news is that
the economy is still very much bifurcated, meaning that most
of the job creation this year and this month included,
came from the services sector, not from the goods market,
and that's largely because of the back and forth on
tariff policy, and we can get into the details on that,
(12:37):
but most of the job creation coming from the services
sector and the weakness of the goods market is still
something to keep an eye on.
Speaker 5 (12:45):
Doctor von Nesson, we're supposed to be talking about South
Carolina specifically, and you said that we had good news,
but kind of maybe alarming news in the sense that
most of the jobs are being created or in the
service industry. Is that true here in South Carolina as well.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
It is, and I wouldn't necessarily clearly use the word alarming.
I think it's something certainly to keep our eye on
as we move into the second half of the year.
But in South Carolina, the way that we see that
is that manufacturing has had a fairly slow start to
the year in South Carolina, as has the housing market,
which has had a very weak sales growth during the
spring months and early as we move into the summer,
(13:22):
and of course for the housing market. The summer is
the prime buying and selling season, so we'll see if
that continues. A lot of that is because of the
uncertainty that the back and forth on trade policy has created,
but I think from a political perspective, it looks like
we may be past the bulk of that back and forth. Again,
we'll see. I can't speak to the politics of it,
but if that's the case, then we see the tariff
(13:44):
policies resolved in the second half of the year, and
we see the text cuts from the first Trump administration extended,
then that would put us in a good position as
we move ahead into twenty twenty six.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Now you mentioned hospitality, and certainly that becomes a seasonal
higher and with this would be the time of the
gear that we would see that increases.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
Yes, and the good news is when we see that
spending activity, that means that consumers are still spending. And
consumer spending overall has been very resilient through the first
half of the year, which is good news. But they
are very sensitive to price increases and to this uncertainty,
and so they have in a sense shifted towards services
and away from good because of the price changes that
(14:23):
we've seen, and so the real question as we move
into the second half of the year is whether or
not inflation is going to tick up, going to rebound
or not. And that's going to go a long way
towards explaining how the US economy and South Carolina's economy
does in the second half of the year.
Speaker 5 (14:37):
Doctor vron nesson with us on the phone local economists
talking about the South Carolina economy. At the national level.
You mentioned earlier in this discussion that the sweet spot
is between one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand new
jobs per month need to be created. I'm reading a
Reuter's story here, and they say the economy needs to
create roughly one hundred thousand jobs per month to keep
(14:59):
up with growth and the working age population, and they
show the stats. By the way, good news every month
the president has been the president. Currently, we've hit that
one hundred thousand dollars or one hundred thousand jobs, although
they did revise April down to just ninety five thousand.
But if you look at the end of the Biden administration,
he didn't hit it in June, July, August, or October.
(15:22):
So we seem to be moving in a right direction
with that. My question, I guess is how I thought
we had a shrinking population in the sense that the
baby boomers were dying off or at least leaving the
job market. Gen xers are a much smaller population, and
we are not creating babies at the pace that we're
supposed to be. We're creating less than two children per family. Now,
(15:47):
why do we still need to create one hundred thousand
new jobs a month? At some point, wouldn't we have
to make less?
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Right now? That's the pace that we're on and what
we need to be doing. But you're right at the population.
The demographics are shifting, and we can see that on
the back end where we see the baby boomers retiring,
and that has caused a decrease in labor force participation
that is going to continue. And that's one of the
good things about what we're seeing with this AI revolution
is it's going to help with the ongoing labor shortage
(16:14):
that all industries face because of the aging population. But
on the flip side, we are seeing fewer young people
as well, and over the next several years. The early
two thousands was really when we began to see that
population and that demographics shift down so fast forward eighteen
years and we're just now getting to the point where
colleges are going to start to see lower enrollment over
(16:35):
the next decade. So that is a reality that we're
facing and something that we have to look at because again,
these are demographic shifts and reflect long term changes to
our job market and to our economy that we have
to factor in when we're testing the both the short
end the long run outlook.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
I'm looking at the US labor force participation rate, which
seems to be around sixty two percent now, but you know,
in reality, we have a very aging population. I'm looking
at I guess this is from the Saint Louis FED
and they're showing the job labor force participation rate for
(17:09):
twenty five to fifty four year olds, and one of
the things that I find stunning, and we look pretty
healthy there. According to then, we're at eighty three point
four percent in twenty twenty five, and we've been above
eighty percent for quite a while, which seems to be
about right that most people over you know, over twenty
(17:31):
five and under fifty four would be healthy enough to work,
but that we didn't actually get to eighty percent until
nineteen eighty, and if you go all the way back
to like nineteen fifty, it was like sixty percent of
twenty five to fifty four year olds we're actually working.
Are we looking at a time when we're seeing younger
people get more active into the workforce, or are we
(17:52):
seeing it stalled out or are we starting to see
it reverse.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
Well, one of the major reasons that you see that
major increase since the nineteen fifties is because women joined
the labor force, and so that increased it it significantly.
But you're right, we've seen so after you get to
the nineteen nineties, where we're women becoming part of the
labor force really becomes the norm. In recent decades, in
(18:17):
the twenty first century, you've seen labor force participation not
necessarily across all age groups, but most age groups have
been ticking downwards. And that's because of the aging population.
And in South Carolina, where our labor force participation has
been consistently below the national average, that's largely because even
(18:39):
with an aging population, South Carolina is older than the
national average, so we struggle a bit more with that.
Part of that is intentional, because we're a retirement state.
We have long marketed ourselves ourselves as a retirement destination,
and a lot of industry in South Carolina benefits from that.
So that is a good thing that we're a retirement
desak the nation, but it also creates those additional challenges
(19:03):
with workforce needs. And the other factor for South Carolina
is that our industry mix tends to favor earlier retirees.
So if you look at manufacturing, and you look at
military professions and government professions, all three of which are
large in South Carolina, those tend to see people retire
(19:24):
in their fifties as opposed to in their sixties, and
so that also decreases labor force participation. So there are
a number of reasons why South Carolina's economy is structurally
different from the national economy, and so why our labor
force participation is, at least for the foreseeable future, always
likely to be lower than the national average. But that's
not necessarily a bad thing. It's just the difference between
(19:47):
the two economies.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Doctor Joy van Neilson, we really appreciate you taking the
time to talk to us specifically about the Palmetto State
jobs numbers, and we look forward to speak with you
again as we hopefully see more and hopefully South Carolinians
make an advantage of University of South Carolina and other
schools to retool themselves to make themselves more valuable with
the new face of AI and the corporate structure.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
Absolutely, and that's another area we didn't talk about today,
but that's another factory. And not only our CEOs wrestling
with AI, but also colleges are as well, and how
to train students appropriately to use it. How does that
change the education process itself? So there are a lot
of questions from both a corporate and an education perspective
that we're going to be wrestling with for a number
(20:30):
of years now.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
That interview was edited only slightly for the restraints of
the program time wise, we only got an hour here, Kelly.
We got to keep pushing forward.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
Now we have a lot more chit chat time on
our podcast. You can find the rash Thought podcast on
the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
Very special swap talk recorded while standing in the swamp
Us Congressman Ralph Norman's coming up next.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
The Jonathan and Kelly Show, Jonathan Rush. If immigration raids
had not happened here, we would.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Not have the disorder. Kelly people in the city have
a rapid restomponse network.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
If they see ice, they go out and they protest.
The Jonathan and Kelly Showbo, La Mayor Karen Large's mouth
bass just keeps waiting in the hypocrisy.
Speaker 5 (21:17):
I mean, every time a Democrat opens their mouth right
now about this, they just look dumber and dumber.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
It is amazing.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
This week for Swamp Talk, we are going to have
a special guest, US Congressman Ralph Norman.
Speaker 7 (21:27):
Good morning, glad to be with you.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
It has been a flurry of activity and most of
the dust has settled over on the House as the
big beautiful bill headed over to the Senate. Talk to
me about how you felt about the finalization that thinks
at this point with the reconciliation and how you guys
are doing with that.
Speaker 7 (21:41):
The great part about what we're doing is the fact
that we're actually making cuts now. It's been a long
time coming. It's been a lot of work. It's been
a lot of I guess, anxious nights for a lot
of people, because every dollar in Washington, d C. Has
got an advocate. But what I'm excited about is we're
going to pass a reconciliation bill. While not perfect, it
(22:04):
seals the tax cuts that had they expired, would have
been a twenty eight to thirty percent increase for every American.
We've got things that Elon Musk has identified that should
have never been paid for or even put on the
books as an expense because of the ludicrocy of it,
that are going to be cut. So I'm excited and
(22:27):
the American people. It's been a good day. Had Donald
Trump not going in office and Kamala Harris she had won,
you've never even see any of these things that we're doing,
and the fact that it's happening now couldn't come too quick.
Speaker 5 (22:40):
Well, we're talking with Congressman Ralph Norman, and I know
you are a hawk when it comes to the budget,
but not everybody in Congress agrees with you, obviously, to
the point where I believe that part of the major
part of the fallout between Donald Trump and Elon Musk
was the I don't know, maybe lack of respect for
(23:01):
the work that he did, not by Donald Trump per se,
but by Congress that he found all these things and
it seemed as if Congress didn't want to move on it,
and you end up with the big, beautiful bill that
ends up actually according to again, I understand that the
CBO is not very perfect when it comes to these predictions,
but it would add to the deficit. Does how do
(23:24):
I want to phrase this question? Because it's it just
seems like Kennedy, Senator Kennedy is right. You can only
cut the budget to the point where you have enough
votes to pass it. Do you feel like you guys
are going to be able to get more cuts?
Speaker 7 (23:38):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (23:38):
I do.
Speaker 7 (23:39):
I think the fact what Elon Musk has done, and
by the way, for your listeners, he's a phenom. I mean,
we won't see another Elon Musk I know in my lifetime.
But what the man has done free of charge. He's
not wanted any of this glory for himself. He's not
doing it for money. He's doing it but it's the
(24:01):
right thing to do. I mean, I remember when the
people in North Carolina when Helene came through, the government
didn't step in. They offered a meagre seven hundred dollars
and Biden was doing photo ops at the Greenville Airport.
Who came through for the people in North Carolina, Elon
Musk was starlink, didn't charge my dime and he's getting
(24:22):
criticism and he shouldn't. He's what he's saying is right.
It's not cut enough. But Elion's used to run his
own company, and when you used to run in your
own company, you see things differently. And he's getting a
doz of what government's about. And it's why we have
to trim it back and stay on top of it
to eliminate the ways for all abuse, which he's done.
(24:45):
And I can't tell you when he I first heard
of the some of the things he's found, you know,
to cut three million for a Rocky Sesame Street, four
million for Sedit Terry, migrats in Columbia, over one hundred
find me, and for the World Health Organization which is
run by China. He's identified all these things and it's
(25:06):
up to us to cut it. And for your listeners
this week on the cuts, that will be voting on
any Republican, any of them that vote against any of
these giveaways cannot campaign on being a conservative if they
don't follow through with the votes. And this is going
to be one of the most pivotal times I know
(25:28):
since I've been up here, because you'll see who you
know who backs it up with their actions, and you know,
it's gonna be a great day. I think we'll pass it,
but it's going to be close. We will get zero
Democrat votes because they do not like what Elon Musk
has done for the American people, and they're flat out wrong.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
Congressman Ralph Norman on the phone with us. We've heard
from several congress people, including Marjorie Taylor Green, that there
was things inside the big beautiful bill that they weren't
aware of when they voted for it. Did you have
enough time to go through the bill and were you
shocked by anything that you saw in it?
Speaker 7 (26:04):
Well? I was shocked that yeah. On the on the
some of the tax credits, you know this, We've all
heard about the seven thousand per electric car which should
have never been in there, the wind and solar credits.
I'm sorry that the sun doesn't shine twenty four to seven, uh,
And I'm sorry some of the giveaways on that. But
(26:24):
and I'm sorry that we couldn't get more cuts. But
I think, yeah, I mean we've One of the reasons
I was one of the three that voted against moving
the budget forward is to get more cuts, because you know,
the nine point four b and that we're going to
be voting on this week in recisions is a tear
drop in the ocean, but it's still a step in
(26:46):
the right direction. Yeah, we went through it and didn't
catch everything. But the tax cuts, the tax part of
this is the beauty of this. But did we get enough? No,
but we got all we could get to get the
two hundred and eighteen votes.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
I know you're not directly associated with this issue, but
I want to bring it up because it's the biggest
issue that Donald Trump ran on with the border security.
As you watch what's unfolding now in California and the
efforts now to spread it across the country with a
pushback on the deportation of illegal immigrants in our country.
What are your thoughts on how we continue in.
Speaker 7 (27:22):
This People are telling me they want consequences for those
who break the law. You know, we've got our First
Amendment rights. We can say what we will when it
crosses the line. And this is what the Biden administration,
the Obama administration never believed in. Is consequences. When you
burn a police car, when you take over a college dorm,
when you break windows, you pay a consequence. Where's the
(27:43):
empathy for the victims of those who are running businesses,
who are having the property destroyed. You know, you've got
to have consequences. Donald Trump is going to put the
people in place to arrest them.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
All.
Speaker 7 (27:55):
This is orchestrated, and you are going to see it
spread across the country because the liberal left knows that
they're losing their power. Seventy seven million people put a
conservative in office. They're mad and they're gone to violence.
We've got to meet that violence and stop it if
we don't, and I think pamp Bondy will, but it's
not going to be easy. And what's happening in Los Angeles,
(28:17):
you send it in Texas, I fully expect to happen
in other cities.
Speaker 5 (28:20):
The President of Mexico last month made a speech and
that went viral over the last twenty four hours or so,
and in it, she is talking about the Big Beautiful
Bill and she's saying, we do not want that three
and a half percent tax on remittances from Mexican citizens
trying to ship money back to Mexico, and she threatens,
(28:43):
if necessary, we'll mobilize. Are we seeing the sleeper cells
activated in Los Angeles right now?
Speaker 7 (28:50):
Yes, you're seeing the sleeper sales. You're seeing the George
saw Us money. How do you think when they tore
the fifty cities up back there in the George Floyd riots,
when they just tore them up with no consequences and
they pee, someone was posting their bail. Someone is bringing
the palletts of brick and block frozen water bottles. I mean,
(29:10):
it's an insult to our rule of law and it's
gonna stop. But yeah, it's the sleeper sales that keeps
cash for tail up. It keeps any law enforcement officer
that you talked to in d C. Or really anywhere.
We've got a problem here, but the only way you
fix it is what they're doing, which Tom Holman is
taking them out of the country. And I hate that
(29:33):
we're having to pay for it twice because I've been
to the border twice. I saw the stacks of food
and the airplanes when the particular airplane when I came
back on we're mostly illegals because that's what the Biden
administration did in their mind, create a voting block, and
they should never have the keys to power again for
what they did this country. It's just gonna take time.
(29:53):
It's gonna take money. But Trump is not gonna be stopped.
He's got the courage to do it, and he's gonna
call the Marines out, He's gonna call the National are
whatever it takes, he will do it to get it
under control. And let him go to any city in
this country, and Donald Trump's gonna have the same attitude
of law and order.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
I'm thinking that South Carolina, hopefully because of our strong
law enforcement presence the last time, will help our citizens
be able to avoid any kind of personal affront in
the streets.
Speaker 7 (30:19):
Well, I want to thank the sheriffs and the chiefs
of police. I think they get it, and I think
they feel the surge of support from people.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
You know.
Speaker 7 (30:28):
I know in York County we elected a sheriff who
he will do whatever it takes to make sure it
doesn't happen, and I think others across the state will
do the same.
Speaker 5 (30:37):
I find it ironic that the governor of California is
suing the Trump administration for sending in the National Guard
to stop the riots. The riots have been going on
at that point for four days, and the fact that
he wants to sue, I guess he wants to embolden
them even more.
Speaker 7 (30:51):
Gavin news of ought to be kicked out of office.
You know, he's protected lives. What if it happens to
his family, Let's see his point of view. If his
wife gets a bottle thrown at or a brick, Let's
see if his house is batalized. I mean, he's a
typical politician who is a left wing nut who ought
to be kicked out of office by the voters. But
California is gonna have to do it. If they don't
(31:12):
take action, now, get somebody like that. I don't know
what could save them.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
And you could also hear that complete interview with the
congressman on our podcast.
Speaker 5 (31:20):
Look for the RASOD podcast. It's on the iHeartRadio app.
All right, we're going to talk with Sheriff Leon Lott.
Coming up in a second.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Jonathan and Kelly Show. Jonathan Rush. Local law enforcement has
said they can handle the protest.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
It's no different than when a team wins a national
championship and people get over excited and they overturn vehicles
and light them on fire.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
Kelly Nash, it is violence that I've seen is disgusting.
Individuals out there shooting commercial grade fireworks at our officers
that can kill you. Jonathan and Kelly show woc Kelly
Nash welcome back in the studio.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Originally Unty Sheriff Leon Lott.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
Hey, good morning, good morn. Great to be with y'all.
Have been a busy, busy, busy time here in the
Columbia and.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
It hasn't been hot fun and the summer.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
No hot fun in the summertime is not taking a
summer break. Now when it's hot, when crime goes up.
Speaker 5 (32:10):
And so you got some problems going on right now.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
We got some a lot of issues going on. We've
had a couple of murders, we've got it's just a busy,
busy time for all of us in Richland County. And
that's between city and Lexington and Richland County, so the
whole Midlands area that is being hit pretty hard right now.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
And on top of all that, which is tragic enough
for our community. I was bragging about you yesterday because
we're seeing that there's going to be more and more
protests coming having to do with illegal criminal deportations that
we've seen in Los Angeles, but now they're spreading out
all across the country. And I was saying, I don't
think you're going to see Antifa coming back to Columbia.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Columbia is not LA. I can tell you that right now,
and it's not. We're not going to tolerate anything like that.
And you brought up Antifa, and that's what's happening. We
saw that in previous riots, and Tifa just looks for
an excuse come and do destruction. And that's what we're
seeing in LA and some of these other cities too.
They could care less about deportation or anything like that.
(33:07):
It's just an opportunity for them. The wreck havoc. You know,
they're professionals at doing that, and they know how to
do it. You know, they put out a sheet that
tells you exactly what to wear and protect yourself, bring
an umbrella to keep the stuff from getting on you,
your mask, and how to wear knee pads. All this stuff.
They come fully equipped. Well.
Speaker 5 (33:26):
Saturday is Flag Day. It's also a big military celebration.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Fiftieth anniversary of the Army and the lso the anniversary
of my fiftieth year of being a cop Happy interview.
Speaker 5 (33:38):
So with this big military parade happening in DC, a
lot of people around the country are have named it
Trump's Birthday celebration because it is his birthday as well.
And they're saying they're going to have these no Kings protests,
and one of them is scheduled for Columbia twelve thirty
till four, and the Attorney General has issued a warning
(33:59):
to them. Do you have any things you'd like to
say to the people going to the No King's protest?
Speaker 2 (34:03):
Peaceful protests and there's nothing wrong with that. You're gonna
go to the State House grounds and peacely protests and
make speeches and all that stuff. That's great. Don't come
off the State House ground and think you're gonna go
down Main Street or break in buildings and deluding and
burning cars. That ain't gonna happen. We're not going to
allow that.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
You know, one of the things that happened this year
for the state, given our new budget and Richland County
and several other counties. But I know Richland Counties had
school resource officers in place at schools, all the schools
in the county. As we go into this next school session,
I know this is the time of the year when
you meet with administrators and talk about how to make
(34:40):
sure that their buildings are secure and safe and safety
protocols and you make recommendations. How did this past year
go and what do you anticipate for your training for
this year.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Well, this past year was good. I mean we at
the beginning of the school we had some knucklehead kids
who thought they could bring stuff in through the middle detectors.
Of course that didn't work. They had to find oubt
that you know, you can't bring the metal of your
gun or your knife in there. So we had a
few of those, but didn't have any shootings at our schools.
We actually had a very good safe here. We didn't
(35:09):
have incidents. At football games or other athletic events are
a large gathering, so you know, and I all plot
all three school districts that we deal with that they
do a good job and understanding that safety is first,
and so I know they have budget restraints, but when
it comes to safety that they don't shortcut on the money.
(35:29):
So we're able to have high visibility at these events
and have lots of s ros involved that know the kids,
you know, so that that helps out a lot too.
Instead of just having a deputy that don't knows people,
you have deputies that's in the feeder schools say it's
a high school game, all the schools that feed in there,
the middle schools and elementary because that's knows all those
(35:52):
kids they go to these football games so they can
go Little Johnny, I know you and that that works
as a thought process to go was into that. So
last year, this past school year was a good one.
We already ramping up for next year. Our s ros
are at the SCASROW which is the South Carolina School
Resource Officer Association Conference, and then the DARE conferences going on.
(36:16):
So we've got them both in in conferences, learning more,
get more up to date information and hopefully will just
continue to do a good path.
Speaker 5 (36:25):
Excellent surif Lea and Lott with us on the show today.
And you know, in years previous we've had you on
talking about the hate crime law and how you wanted
one for the state of South Carolina. Last week, Richland
County became the first county in the state to pass
one of those laws. I imagine you had something to
do with that. And what do you think of the
new bill that they passed.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Yeah, I had a lot to do with that, just
unfortunately have not been able to get it passed in
the State House, but rich And County Council and unanimous decision,
so that was Republicans and Democrats all voted for it.
That's just another tool that we can use that you
know it's hate or bias. If you commit a crime
(37:07):
just based on that, then you need to have a
little bit extra added to your sentence and be held accountable.
So I think it made a big statement to everybody
in Richland County that's the good people and the bad people.
You're not going to be able to do some of
these things in Richland County you've been able to do
in the past. And we track these tracke crimes, and
(37:27):
I will tell you it is. I think most people believe, well,
it's a minority that's the one that's being targeted. It's
the other way around. It's more white people have been
victims of a hate bias crime in Richland County than
it has been a minority. And I think that surprises people.
And I think when it came down to vote, some
(37:47):
of those that look like me decided, hey, that numbers
shouldn't be that way, so they voted for it. So
I'm proud of Richland County council for doing what they do,
and counsel Woman Tyre Little, when she got elected back
in November, took over in January. She met with me
and that was one thing that we discussed. So that
was her pet project and she made it happen. The
state law that we've been pushing. You don't get arrested
(38:10):
the hate crime. You got arrested for another crime, but
if hate or bias was part of it, then you
got more time put So it was an enhancement. So
it wasn't where I'm going to go out here and
lock you up because you use certain words. But if
you commit a crime and you use those words and
you're focusing on hate or bias somehow, then you should
be held accountable more than just the crime that you committed.
(38:33):
So that added to it. But we haven't been able
to get that passed either. We're one or two states.
Wyoming is the only other state that doesn't have a
state wide law. We've made these cases and I've had
to turn them over to US Attorney's office. We had
four African American men and one woman who was focusing
on the Hispanic population on robberies, I mean, and we
(38:55):
got their text messages, how they talked about, that's who
they were going after, why they were going after. They
probably did fifteen robberies and we finally caught them. Couldn't
do Notwingham state wide. The Feds took it and I
think the last any of them got was thirty years.
I think it was right well, thirty to thirty five
years they got because the Feds have a Hey crime.
Speaker 3 (39:15):
All Richly Kenny, Sheriff Leon Live, thank you again for
your efforts. Also, big salute to other sheriffs, deputies, volunteers,
anybody who works with law enforcement. We appreciate your help.
And as a reminder, if you're going to go be
going to the No Kings rally, be sure in protests
peacefully and don't come off the state House grounds. It's over.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
I wish that all of you will come back again
next week.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Can you come back next week. I'll be back same
time next week. Well, sow on pile, we'll be back
next week. That's what we get you. You got to
come back next week
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
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.