September 12, 2025 • 51 mins
As millions of Americans deal with unprecedented levels of economic frustration, President Trump pushes forward with his quest to empower working Americans and rebuild the middle class through tariffs and other means.
Guests:
Christian Briggs | CEO, Hard Asset Management
John Rogers | Pollster & Strategist, Cygnal
Eric Eggers | Vice President, Government Accountability Institute
Rev. Jim Harden | President, Compasscare Pregnancy Services
Guests:
Christian Briggs | CEO, Hard Asset Management
John Rogers | Pollster & Strategist, Cygnal
Eric Eggers | Vice President, Government Accountability Institute
Rev. Jim Harden | President, Compasscare Pregnancy Services
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to the Real Story. I'm your host, Riley Lewis.
Thank you for joining us now. Today's top story brings
us to a high stake showdown at the heart of
our nation's economy. However, before we comb into the details
of it, allow us to set the stage for a
broader conversation about the Trump administration's active efforts to improve
(00:30):
economic conditions for all Americans. The United States of America
is the largest economic force in the entire world, and
it's also the wealthiest country on Earth. There are more
millionaires and billionaires in America than in any other country,
or so it seems by far. The country is also
blessed with a wide range of natural resources that fuel
(00:53):
economic development and societal growth, and yet a massive affordability
crisis is.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Huge.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Swaths of Americans of paycheck to paycheck, with no savings,
no game plan for the future, and little to no hope.
Many of them are in debt, wondering how they'll ever
get back to square one. Many of them are working
multiple jobs, not to get ahead, but just to get by.
Many of them are worried about how they're going to
(01:23):
keep the lights on or where their next meal is
going to come from, and many of them might never
achieve a sense of financial security. Buying property certainly out
of the question. Investing in the market just not realistic.
And these people are looking for a better way and
know the situation doesn't just apply to lazy people who
(01:44):
refuse to work hard and use their money wisely. It
also applies to plenty of people out there who are ambitious,
driven and smart. And on top of it all, their
own government is destroying the dollar's value by printing and
spending money like it grows on trees, throwing funding behind
pointless projects that don't generate any return on investment. So
(02:07):
what exactly do we do? Clearly this is a massive
problem for a critical mass of Americans, but the solution
to it isn't exactly clear. But one thing is clear.
It's time for change in Washington. And that's exactly what
the Trump administration is working toward right now. That's the
(02:28):
whole strategy behind raising tariffs some countries all over the planet.
It's an effort to bring industry back to the US.
And apparently those tariffs are working, at least to some extent,
much to the surprise of so called expert economists, because
the US budget deficit actually dropped in August due to
tariff revenues. It dropped to three hundred and forty five
(02:49):
billion dollars, a nine percent drop from last year, shaving
off thirty five billion dollars in red ink net customs
duties hit a jaw dropping record of twenty nine point
five five billion dollars just last month, quadrupling from just
seven billion dollars in August of twenty twenty four. And
that's not just pocket change. It's a revenue rocket fueled
(03:12):
by the reciprocal tariffs that President Trump slapped on certain
imports starting in August, proving that protecting American workers can
pay dividends literally. Unsurprisingly, though, the globalists in Washington, DC,
who are more than happy to undermine American workers for
the sake of boosting the country's GDP, seem to be
(03:32):
entirely shocked by this news. And this report about tariff
revenues is coupled with another one from the IMF Washington's
Globalist Oracle, which says the US economy is just starting
to show some strains after shrugging off strong headwinds for years.
It says that domestic demand is cooling and job growth
is slowing, but the exact reason as to why demand
(03:55):
and growth are slowing is certainly debatable. What isn't debatable, however,
is the importance of putting American workers first. That's what
really matters in the grand scheme of things. That's what's
important for a president. Between automation, artificial intelligence, offshoing inflation,
and negative pressure on wages due to illegal immigration, the
(04:19):
American worker is up against it, and that's who the
Trump White House is really fighting for. So with that
being said, that brings us to the showdown that we
mentioned at the top of the show. One of the
main culprits behind the disenfranchisement of the middle class is
the Federal Reserve. It's their willingness to endlessly print money
(04:39):
that is destroying the dollar's value, and the Fed's Board
of Governors is at the center of a major showdown
right now. Although the problem in question here isn't about
the reckless policy, it's about internal corruption allegations. So on
that note, the Trump administration recently ousted a member of
the FED Board of Governors named Lisa Cook, and now
(05:00):
his administration is asking a federal appeals court to let
the move stand. On Thursday, the Trump administration fired off
an emergency appeal to the US Court of Appeals for
the d C Circuit, begging actually demanding that a green
light her oulster before next Tuesday's pivotal Federal Open Market
Committee meeting. President Trump made the move last month, axing
(05:21):
Cook under the Federal Reserve Axe for cause clause, zeroing
in on explosive mortgage fraught allegations on Earth by FHFA
Director Bill Polta. But it's unclear what will happen next,
but just picture this for a moment. Pulto's August fifteenth
criminal referral accuses Cook of juggling properties in Michigan and
(05:43):
Georgia as her primary residence mere weeks apart back in
twenty twenty one, with a follow up probe slamming her
for flipping a third spot between second home bliss and
cold investment rental status drilled down even further, and the
legal fireworks are blistering. US District Judge Ga Cobb threw
a wrench into this move just on Tuesday, slapping a
(06:06):
temporary block on the firing and a forty nine page
ruling saying that four cause removals can't retroactively nail pre
offfice Shenanigans only failures to faithfully execute FED duties once
sworn in. But then enter the DOJ's CounterPunch, led by
lawyer Daniel Aguilar, who torched Cobb's order as a series
(06:27):
of legal errors, cutting Article I authority, invoking Alexander Hamilton
himself to argue that when a governor's misconduct or gross
neglect crater's public trust, the President has every right to
boot him for the institution's careful and prudent administration. Then,
on the flip side, Cook's heavyweight defender fired right back,
(06:49):
saying that she did not ever commit mortgage fraud, insisting
every contradictory detail was laid bare to the Senate and
White House during her May twenty twenty two confirmation hearing.
Transparency they claim that should have buried this story from
the jump. Now, as the appealed Court raises the clock
for a Monday verdict, right before the FOMC huddle could
(07:11):
steer markets on rate cuts or hikes, one can't help
but ponder the ripple effects. Will Trump's move restore confidence
in a FED that's dodged accountability and fueled policies that
are destroying the dollar's value for far too long, Or
will activist benches keep shielding the status quote With Jerome
Powell already in the crosshairs of Trump's broader fed frustrations,
(07:34):
this isn't just a personal spat. It's a referendum on
who really called the shots in America's economic engine room.
Now here with this insights, thoughts and analysis. As Christian Briggs,
the CEO of hard Asset Management, Christian, thank you for
joining me.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Well thanks for having me.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
That's a long list of stuff that is so important
that we discussed it. And I'm glad you're taking the
reins here in the lead on this because everything you
just said is a very highly important topic. I mean,
everything is concerning, everything is gonna affect us.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
So well well done.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
I appreciate that, and I guess the central point here
is that we're in this crisis state where there's a
critical massive Americans who basically can't afford anything, and somebody
has to be held accountable and something's gotta change. The
levee is going to break. But I do want to
start here with what's going on with Lisa Cook specifically,
and get your thoughts about that situation.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
Well, I'm gonna have to go into the Dei part here. Okay,
there was a as you know, the Biden administration had
a very detailed protocol and a kind of a left
wing agenda when it came to hiring anybody that was
being put into positions of authority, especially in the power
position that I mean, Federal Reserve is the power behind
the dollar, and the dollar is the power behind the
(08:51):
sovereign good batter and different part of the United Nations.
I mean, I mean the United States and the United
Nations which has been pushed back against US, and you've
got Europe and I am f I mean, I'm jumping
already on this thing because they're trying to wheel their
power and keep her in place.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
This isn't just about her and power.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
This is the world is really trying to keep that
Federal Reserve intact. And the DEI people that have been
contributed from the Value administration all the way into various
places like on the Federal Reserve and having a board
member who's actually voting, who doesn't even really know a
lot of what she's doing.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
It reminds me of the Supreme Court Jackson.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
But At the same time, you've got the IMF saying, oh,
the United States is that straying with the tariffs?
Speaker 3 (09:32):
How do you know?
Speaker 4 (09:33):
What are you talking about? So it goes back to
that same thing. It's kind of like Trump burst the
world to keep the Federal Reserve, which is supposed to
be working in our best interest, but all the other
people out there are trying to keep her in positions.
This isn't just about one little strategic move that Trump's
trying to do. What he's trying to do is to
save the country, to save the sovereign national security, which
is what the dollar. That's what it's all about. And
(09:56):
we can go into details on this. This is a
conspiracy theory. This is we're living this in the courts
right now.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
We are, And you just actually open the door to
a much more interesting question to a lot of Americans
out there. The Federal Reserve created over one hundred years
ago for one overarching purpose stabilize the US economy, and
a lot of ways they've done just the opposite. And
it really leads one to wonder, what should we do
with the Federal Reserve moving forward? Is this an institution
(10:22):
that's worth protecting? Should we try to perform it from
within or just talk about abolishing it altogether.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Well, okay, a good question about Federal Reserve.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
It really is when you think about it, it's kind
of an autonomous agency. It works within the realm of
its own little ecosystem, and there's a lot of pressures
that are formable against it, which is what Trump's trying
to do. It's trying to say, look, we don't really
need this thing. At the time, maybe this was a
good idea. It reminds me a lot of the unions
that were there to protect child and labor back you know, one
(10:54):
hundred and hundred fifty years ago. There was maybe a
need for it then. But this thing has become a behemoth.
This thing really runs the show when it comes to
monetary policy. And I'll tell you something else which is scary.
The influence four and a half years ago when I
brought to the attention of Congress that the Central Bank
digital currency was in fact being made and behind Congress
is back the Funeral Reserve under a secret program called
(11:16):
the Hamilton Project. It shows you what the Photo Reserve
is willing to do. They teamed up with the Bank
of International Settlements and They were basically trying to create
something that they could then take over the next generation,
which is really a crypto centralized systems for a digital dollar.
This is a nefarious corporation that's owned by private people,
(11:38):
that doesn't have the kind of federal oversight that it
needs to have. And what I've been saying is Trump
is right, it's not just about removing one person. That
maybe the obstacle in the way we need to get
rid of this institution once in for all. Reminds me
of the Department of Education. Do we really need that? No,
we don't need it. At the time, maybe it was needed.
I don't ever think that it was. I think we
(11:58):
were doing justifying without it, quite honestly. But at the
end of the day, you've got to remember, this is
still a very powerful machine. Yes, with a lot of
powerful friends that aren't just domestic but international. They want
this thing to stay around because why, it can print
money out of thin air.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
I mean, who doesn't want that. That's a fantastic deal.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Every day, Well, of course, it allows them to dodge
reality for a little bit, because aside from just printing cash,
there's only a couple of things you can do to
generate revenue, and one of them is taxation, and we
just can't afford to tax the American people any more
than we already do. It's just disgusting to me and
for so many reasons. But Christen, then, following up on
your point, for people out there who are wondering, who
(12:37):
don't really know that much about the fed's history or
exactly what they do day to day, what were to
happen in this country if let's say tomorrow the FED
is just gone just like that.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Well, that's exactly what we did with the Genius Act.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Even though the Genius Act may not be something that's
known to a lot of people, and it's a good bill,
there's still some things we're going to work around getting
fixed in that, but they may. And the main thing, though,
is this, we are taking the role of monetary policy
away from the Federal Reserve. Trump's plan is to dissolve
the Federal Reserve, put that responsibility in the hands of
(13:13):
corporations that meet or exceed the minimum federal requirements to
issue digital stable coins, which then themselves are extremely efficient,
and that'll create a stability because they're paying to the dollar.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
And all of this.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
Where did this all this inflation come from. It came
from the Federal Reserve. Yes, the Federal Reserve on its
own has printed money.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
I'm gonna tell you something. What Trump's doing is unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
He's changing the course of history to take away from
the ability of somebody that you who wants the Federal Reserve?
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Does anybody really know?
Speaker 4 (13:46):
But yet they're in charge of our entire world and
world being in the United States because they are the
ones who control the flow or however much money hits.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Look at interest rates.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
That is a perfect example of how they can control credit.
You want to minimize credit, you want to solve the
economy down, great, just don't go our interist rates. Okay,
you want to increase welfare, you want to increase our
recessionary potential, Well how about this.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Increase rates or just stay where they're at. Well, what's happening.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
So what's happening with Trump right now is in his
administration and Scott present is obviously be part of that
with lading is that they're trying to take away the
power of the Fed and give it back.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
To somebody that's going to meet or exceed with oversight.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
And that's going to be corporations kind of like banks,
you know, because they have to have a banking license
that use table coins with a minimum ten billion dollars
or greater in assets. And here's the best part. You'll
love this. They have to have dollars and or short
term treasuries as a collateralization for everyone for one staple
coin that they issue. So we're going to have demand
for dollars, and we're gonna demand for short term rates
(14:49):
that's bonds because the interest rates will go down, which
is what we want and.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
What goes happening lately.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
It's working, but here's the thing, it's not working fast
enough because here's a number. I'll i'll let you, I'll
bring it back to you. A week ago, we were
at one hundred and twenty three point four to three
percent debt to GDP ratio. We are now at one
twenty three point eight five. In less than seventy six days,
we've gone up forty two bases points. And that's a
(15:16):
lot when you consider almost a half a percent of
almost thirty eight trillion dollars.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
So this has to happen fast. We've got to lower
those rates.
Speaker 4 (15:24):
And what we have to do is we have to
get those rates down and getting rid of the futal
Reserve will put it back in the hands of the
people who care about this country, which are people that
have government regulatory oversight.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Okay, I don't know if it's tariffs, just cutting down
and reckless spending bringing dog back, but we've got to
find a better way forward because we have a massive
affordability crisis in this country, and I'm just wondering, what
are your thoughts about addressing that in a long term
and lasting way so that we can try to lift
more people up in this country.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Well, okay, so how much time do we have left?
Speaker 1 (16:01):
I'm sorry, it's a crisis, and it's reaching massive proportions,
and it's we're talking about human lives. Are fellow Americans
people who are thinking, do I put gas in my car?
Do I pay my student loan bill this month? Do
I try to feed myself? Where am I going to live?
Where's my next meal coming from? It's a massive problem,
and I just we have to do something about it.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
I think the biggest thing you'd better do is what
Trump is trying to do is bring manufacturing back here.
He's like, look, you can have one of two ways
to buy this product A or B one is made
in Europe and were made in China, and it's fifty
percent more than a domestic product that's being made.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
That was the goal of the.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Terriffs was to penalize a lot of times where China
was doing what they call predatory sell it. We noticed
for they did it for thirty thirty five years in
various commodities aluminum, steel, and a host of things that
would otherwise jeopardize or just eliminate our own domestic manufacturing.
What he's trying to do is to play the way
of which they played with US is lower our currency,
(16:57):
make manufacturing much more I would say acceptable on pricing
points here in the US. And I look at this
and I say, it's got to work, because if it doesn't,
we're leaving a few people behind.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
I believe.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Okay, I really appreciate that, And thank you for your
time today and very much, Christian. I just it means
a lot to me.
Speaker 4 (17:15):
Okay, I appreciate you too, a great topics, great show, brother,
I'll look forward to next time.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Thank you me too, coming up next. Given the economic
issues facing Americans now, it's more important than ever to
realize what's really at stake in the twenty twenty six
midterm elections, and you're to help us walk through those points.
Is poster and strategist John Rogers. More details after the.
Speaker 5 (17:36):
Break, Watch OM Live on cloudtv dot com and see
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Speaker 1 (18:02):
Welcome back to the real story. Can election polls really
be trusted? That's the critical question at the center of
today's next story. Polls are just surveys designed to measure
public opinion, and when comes to election polls specifically, they're
designed to provide candidates, elected officials, and even consultants with
(18:24):
some critical insight into what voters really think about certain
issues ahead of or during voting periods, and in theory,
they serve a critical purpose in our constitutional republic. However,
anybody who's ever held office, or say worked in politics,
especially on a campaign, can attest to the fact that
(18:46):
accurately polling the public is both an art and a science,
and the results of polls can sometimes be misleading. Only
the best and brightest in the business are really able
to truly capture what the American people are thinking at
any given time. Now, that brings us to our next
guest today. His name is John Rogers. He's a polster
(19:10):
and political strategist for the polling and analytics firm Signal,
and he's here to walk us through the new poll
that Signal released this week. The poll designed to provide
us with some very important insight into the political landscape
in this country ahead of the twenty twenty six midterm elections,
and it does just that, looking at all sorts of
(19:30):
key issues like the economy, public safety, and the overall
direction of the country, and of course perceptions of the
Trump administration's approach to things like foreign affairs and economics.
Speaker 5 (19:43):
So on that note.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Here to join us is the man himself, John Rogers. John,
thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Riley. Great to be with you.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
So there's a lot of interesting stuff, but I actually
want to start with a quote from you and then
we'll go from there. So you're quoted as saying, as
Bernie's and AOC and Zooranmumdani represent the face of the
political left, voters continue to trust Republicans more than Democrats
on cost of living, and inflation issues. Swing Voters trust
(20:13):
Republicans by a plus seven point margin over Democrats on
the economy and jobs, which is something that is going
to keep Chuck Schumer up at night as the midterm
kicks into high gear. That is a fascinating statement to make,
and I want to get you know, your thoughts about
what's really going on behind the scenes with that.
Speaker 6 (20:32):
Yeah, well, you see that voters are still concerned about
inflation as we approach about one year away from the
midterm elections. But it's also very clear that voters trust
Republicans more than they trust Democrats on cost of living,
the inflation, the economy, and jobs.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
And you've read some of the.
Speaker 6 (20:49):
Figures that were there in the press release that we
sent out, and part of it's because you have people
like AOC and Mendanni who represent the face of the
modern Democratic Party, and voters look at that, and voters
are not interested in the socialist policies that are on
offer from the Democratic Party right now. And I think
that voters are seeing that the economy has some durable
(21:09):
strength and they're willing to continue to give Republicans a
chance as the economy stabilizes. Coming into the fourth quarter
of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
That's very interesting. Then, just broadening this conversation to some
other issues as well, based on your polling and your research,
what would you say are maybe the three or four
most important issues going into the midterms next year.
Speaker 6 (21:33):
Yeah, the three issues that are dominating are the economy
and inflation, and in that with inflation, cost of living,
and I think part of that is the housing market
really crisis, especially for Americans under the age of fifty.
And then you also have power rates, electrical rates, utility
rates that have gone up.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Across the country.
Speaker 6 (21:51):
And a lot of this are policies that at the
state and local level have been driven by Democrats that
have driven up regulatory costs, which have then affected the
cost of living in those two areas. And then the
second and the third area is that voters are really
concerned about a crime in public safety and then immigration,
and on both of those issues, Republicans are trusted by
(22:13):
a wide margin.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
It's really interesting.
Speaker 6 (22:15):
Even black men under the age of fifty five trust
Republicans more on crime in public safety by a plus
six net margin.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
That's interesting. What specifically, then, because in light of everything
that's happened this week, the tragedies and the horror, especially
with the assassination of Charlie Kirk, do you think that
we're going to see public safety become maybe the top
issue for voters on both sides of the political spectrum
moving into the elections next year.
Speaker 6 (22:43):
I think crime in public safety is going to rise
as a concern as we think about the terrible events
and tragedies have happened over the last couple of days.
I don't see that going down as a priority for voters.
And it's clear that voters trust Republicans far more on
that issue. And even when in our poll we asked
(23:03):
if voters agreed or disagreed with President Trump's characterization that
cities like Washington, d C. Baltimore, Chicago have been overtaken
by criminal gangs, in seventy percent of black men out
of the age of fifty five agreed with that characterization,
as did a majority of the American electorate.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
That's really interesting. Now, just to get into some nitty
gritty here as well, because polls, as we said both
an Art and at Science, let's talk about who you polled,
how many people there were, sort of demographic information, what
was the sample size here? For the survey that you did.
Speaker 6 (23:36):
Yeah, the sample size was in fifteen hundred of likely
general election voters, and you started your segment with a
really interesting kind of tidbit. And what I would say
on that is that pollingb's done by top tier private
polsters is still very accurate. We've had the fortune of
being ranked the most accurate private polster on the GP
side for four cycles running by Nate Silver, who knows
(23:58):
polling as well as anybody there's right from five thirty
eight Siveral Bolts. And there's some misconceptions, especially kind of
in the mainstream media, about the efficacy of polling, and
a lot of that is driven by the fact that
you have a lot of public polling that's done by
universities of varying degrees quality, and some of that you
know as a private pollster, if we're not accurate and
(24:19):
the information that we provide to our clients into the public,
we'll go out of business. And thankfully we've been able
to grow like a rocket ship over the last sixty
eight years.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
So in terms of strategy, then how is it different
for an organization like you're a signal as compared to
say Quinnepiac or a giant university, right, and some of.
Speaker 6 (24:38):
Those universities do great work. I don't want to discount
that at all. There's some universities that do some fantastic research,
But there are some universities that I think they're driven
more by their commshop and their pr people to be honest,
and they think of, well, we'll just do a quick
online survey and you know, do it as cost effective
as possible to ask a few questions, and we'll put
that in the public and get some nice news art.
(25:00):
Especially because honestly, there are a lot of state and
local media outlets that are started for content right now,
right and so you really, as a quality poster is
going to take their time. And what's really important is
making sure that you're talking to people in the way
that they communicate via live interviews, SMS, online, that kind
of thing, and then making sure that you're hitting all
of those sub quotas of different individuals and whatever geography
(25:23):
that you're trying to pull.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Okay, now we've talked about some of the most important
issues going into the midterms. What are some less important
issues going into the midterms.
Speaker 6 (25:35):
Well, I think that voters are just not interested in
some of the themes that Democrats have really tried to
make voters be interested in over the last couple of years.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
One of those threats to democracy. And there's just.
Speaker 6 (25:45):
Very little appetite, very little interest among swing voters in
thinking that half the country is a threat to democracy
or that the Republican Party is inherently fascistic.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Voters have just rejected that.
Speaker 6 (25:56):
Right, and so voters are interested in the kitchen table
issue of what is going to make their life better,
what is going to make the life of their family better.
So threats to democracy is a theme that I just
don't think really resonates for any voter group outside of the.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Hard committed radical left and then group.
Speaker 6 (26:13):
Another issue I would say that voters are just you know,
not really as interested in is on illegal immigration and
crime in public safety.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Voters want results, and.
Speaker 6 (26:22):
So you see in New York City that Mandami has
talked about that there are areas of New York City
that he literally has said he thinks that police officers
should pull back from and that he would replace with
social workers. And that's just something that outside of a
very small segment of maybe the upper East side of
Brooklyn voters in this country are just not interested in that.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
To your point, which is a really interesting one, I
think that this is exactly why someone like California Governor
Gavin Newsom, as an example, is fighting so hard with
Prop fifty in this tyrannical redistricting plan, which would deprive
thousands of Californians of any sort of meaningful representation in Washington,
is because they're looking at the house right now now
and some critical races, and they're nervous. And I don't
(27:03):
blame them whatsoever, especially given what's happened in recent uh
you know, recent days and weeks, so obviously, like you said,
lots of time before them in terms themselves, anything can
happen in twelve months. But I want to thank you
for stopping by today and giving us this insight into
what's happening.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
John Bradley, great to be with you.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Coming up next, Eric Eggers, the vice president of the
Government Accountability Institute, joins us to discuss a groundbreaking legal
saga involving bribery, betrayal, and corruption at the highest levels
of the US government. More details after the.
Speaker 5 (27:36):
Break, watch AM Live on cloudtv dot com and see
what you're missing. Download the cloud TV app and watch
one America News Network wherever you go, visit klowd tv
dot com Today. That's klowd tv dot com Today.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Welcome back to the real story.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
No one is above the law.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
This concept is one of America's most foundational principles, and
even though it's profound, it's also so simple that even
a child could understand it. If we want our country
to flourish, then we must hold everybody accountable to the
same standards, regardless of where they come from or who
they are. And that brings us to our next story today,
(28:28):
which touches on thieves of anger, accountability, justice, betrayal, and
even resentment. So on that note, picture this a Manhattan
courtroom thick with tension, where Nadine Menendez, wife of the
once mighty New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, breaks down in
tears as she was slapped with four and a half
(28:49):
years behind bars on Thursday for her starring role and
a jaw dropping corruption scandal. She's looking at federal prison
time for her role in her husband's bribery scheme, with
the sentence lighter than the seven year long sentence that
prosecutors pushed for. Reportedly due to her battle with pressed cancer. However,
it's still quite the gut punch for someone who might
(29:09):
have believed that she was also above the law. The Dean,
convicted back in April as the lynchpin of this entire
bribery web, wept openly at the hearing, begging for mercy
while painting herself as a tragic pawd in her husband's
sinister game. Strangely, though, her husband, who's currently serving an
(29:30):
eleven year prison sentence, himself blamed her at his trial
last year, which is interesting, isn't it. And this whole
he said, she said leaves us wondering if she was
really just a puppet or if she was the puppet
master pulling the strings. Diving deeper into the madness, and
one uncovers a scheme straight out of a spy thriller.
(29:53):
The Dean was the slick go between, funneling bribes from
Egyptian and Kentari power players, cash stuff, envelopes, and gleaming
gold bars right to her Democrat senator husband, who chaired
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, no less, and in exchange,
Bob twisted arms in Washington, d C. To unlock hundreds
of millions of dollars installed Egyptian military aid, which certainly
(30:17):
looks like something of a quid pro quo. So a
three term powerhouse turned felon, already rotting away on an
eleven year bid. It's a family affair of greed. That
also leased one with several other questions, For example, did
any of his colleagues in the Senate know about what
was going on? Did any of them guide him or
possibly participate in the scheme directly or even indirectly?
Speaker 3 (30:41):
And why him?
Speaker 1 (30:43):
Did the power players that Mendenas did business with choose
him for a specific reason. There are many unanswered questions here,
but one thing is crystal clear. This situation speaks to
a broader issue of corruption inside the highest levels of
the US government, something that everybody can agree must be addressed.
Now that brings us back to righte where we started.
(31:05):
Nobody is above the law, including lawmakers themselves. Now here
with this thoughts and reaction is Eric Eggers, vice president
of the Government Accountability Institute. Eric, thank you for being here.
Speaker 7 (31:18):
Hey, it's my pleasure, Riley. This is a very important
story and I'm glad you're covering it with the attention.
It deserves.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
I completely agree with you, and I want to get
your initial thoughts about the senator's wife, now also being
sentenced to four and a half years behind bars.
Speaker 7 (31:32):
Well, Riley, you always start off our segments with a quote,
so I brought one for you today. You know, it
was Aristotle that said where laws have no authority, there
is no constitution. And I think what we're found yesterday
in the sentencing of the Dean Menendez is that laws
do have authority, even for the people who help write
them and their spouses. The fact that Senator Bob Menendez,
(31:53):
former Senator Bob Menendez was sentenced to eleven years for
his role in this corruption scheme is I think at
least appropriate, and there's a lot of really interesting dynamics
to unpack here. I'm sympathetic to Nadine in terms of
like the fact that she says, well, this is something
that he may have going on without her. There are
facts that support that. Remember, Bob Menendez was indicted for
(32:16):
basically the same thing back in twenty fifteen, so this
is not the first time he's been accused of this behavior.
The really galling thing, Riley, there's two entities that I
think should also feel a significant amount of shame in
this beyond Nadine Menendez. Number one are the citizens in
New Jersey because they re elected Robert Menendez in twenty eighteen,
(32:36):
even after he was indicted for his role in this
scheme back in twenty fifteen. The second entity that should
be ashamed is the United States Senate because when he
was initially indicted in twenty fifteen, Menendez had to resign
his position as the chair of the Senate Form Relations Committee.
But guess what, he was allowed to resume that position
after the charges were dismissed. So I mean, this is
(32:58):
not This is someone who has been playing with fire
the Menindaz family, and it's a shame and a tragedy
personally that he and his wife ultimately were burned.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
That is really interesting.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
It brings me to a question then about Bob's case,
especially why this specific individual. I don't know if he
was just personally close to some of these officials in
Egypt or Qatar, but I do wonder we have fifty
senators in the Senate, so why him specifically?
Speaker 7 (33:25):
Though I'm not sure how much you saw the coverage
of the initial trial back in April, Riley, but Nadeen Menendez,
I think, attempted to sort of distract the jurors from
the allegations of her vast accumulation of wealth, allegations by
the way, that included gold bars and something like four
hundred thousand dollars in cash strewn about the Menendez household,
including stuffed in the pockets of his official United States
(33:48):
Senate blazer for Senator Menendez. Nadein tried to distract from
that by showing up with what The New York Posts
called a cheap Amazon Prime tote bag. The problem, though,
is when you show up with a bag that says
on Prime, it sends home the message everything is for sale.
And I think that's why people did business with the
Menendez is because he clearly from as soon as he
(34:09):
began to do business in the Senate seemed open for business.
He was charged or alleged to be participating in some
elicit behavior in the Dominican Republic. We mentioned an indictment
in twenty fifteen, so he clearly did not set up
healthy boundaries from an ethics perspective. So I think it's
kind of like if you when you're open for business
that way, the business tends to find you, and that's
(34:29):
one of the reasons why I think he found himself
in this position repeatedly.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Wow, that is really fascinating. So moving forward, clearly this
is a very disturbing situation. All Americans should be concerned
for a wide range of reasons. But I want to
ask you final question, what is your key takeaway looking
at the situation? I mean, what does it really say
to you that lawmakers would even think to engage and
(34:55):
behavior like this in the first place.
Speaker 7 (35:00):
I hate that this is not a more optimistic note, Riley,
because that's a Friday, we should all feel good about ourselves.
But what I think it says is that certain members
of the United States Senate and Congress do this because
they think they can get away with it, because they
have gotten away with it for so long. The fact
that Menendez did this or some version of this ten
years ago, and then his business partner ultimately had his
(35:20):
sentence commuted, and then he had the charges dismissed, and
then he has able to even resume his position on
the Formulations Committee shows there's clearly a very high tolerance
for this type of behavior and they don't take the
law very seriously because those are the people that write
the laws themselves. There's actually a number of laws that
the United States Congress is immune from that the rest
(35:40):
of us have to abide by. So and even the
fact that Nadine Menendez, you know, she was sentenced yesterday,
but guess when she actually has to report for prison
next July. I don't know that the rest of us
would have this level of grace period to kind of
get our affairs in order, and who knows what else
she's going to try to do. So Unfortunately, there remains
(36:01):
a set of rules for thee and a set of
rules for me. When you are in high positions of
power in this country, and I think you know, this
is a great win for the law and for the
American people, But these wins are few and far between.
I'm sorry to say.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
I'm sorry to hear that, as well as an American,
as a taxpayer, just as someone who would like to
believe that, you know, our leaders in Washington are above
this kind of behavior, I guess not. So It's a
very sobering and eye opening moment for me. But I
appreciate your insight and your perspective on this, Eric, truly.
Speaker 7 (36:32):
Hey, and let's all keep an eye on the other Menendez.
His son is also starting a term in the House,
so the family business may continue, Riley, So stay tuned.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
Okay, well do Coming up next, law enforcement officials have
taken into custody the heinous individual who tragically assassinated TPUSA
founder Charlie Kirk. We have the latest information about it
and what it says about the breakdown of moral virtue
in modern America. More details after the break.
Speaker 5 (37:04):
Watch an live on cloudtv dot com and see what
you're missing. Download the cloud tv app and watch one
America News Network. Wherever you go, visit klowd tv dot com. Today.
That's klowd tv dot com Today.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
Welcome back to the real Story. On Wednesday at Utah
Valley University, conservative free speech advocate and champion for Christ
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was tragically assassinated
by a sniper mid event, his thirty one years of
unapologetic patriotism erased and a burst of psychotic partisan rage
(37:46):
that highlights America's unraveling and breaking. Today, it appears the
assassin has been captured and is currently being held in
federal custody. Folks, this isn't some isolated nightmare. It's the
boiling point of a political violence epidemic scorching our great nation.
Reuters tallied over three hundred incidents of political violence between
(38:08):
twenty twenty one and the twenty twenty four election frenzy,
including of course, two near miss assassination attempts on President
Trump himself, and in less than two months. The Armed
Conflict Location and Event Data Project reports a one hundred
and fifty percent surge in armed demonstrations since twenty twenty,
(38:28):
while the Princeton Bridging Divides Initiative warns these trends are
morphing into a full blown threat for twenty twenty five.
Remember the twenty twenty riots. Excuse me, I mean the
Summer of Love billions in damage from coast to coast,
with cities like Portland, Seattle, and Minneapolis practically turned into
war zones by so called peaceful protesters, torching of businesses
(38:52):
and clashing with police officers. Over two thousand officers injured nationwide,
per the Major Cities Chiefs Association, and the rhetoric its
rocket fuel left wing talking head spew resistance like it's
a virtue, while online mobs are actually cheering the chaos worse,
Yet they defy some of the worst or deify some
(39:15):
of the worst people imaginable. For example, kilmar Abrego Garcia,
the Maryland Father and m S thirteen thug busted by
ICE in twenty twenty five for human trafficking, wife beater
and child predator, yet released by an Obama appointed judge
in August, drawing conservative fury as DHS Secretary Christinome slammed
(39:37):
the move as being soft on crime. Or how about
Luigi Mangione, the cold blooded assassin who executed United Healthcare
CEO Brian Thompson last December in Manhattan, now facing federal
murder charges, but hailed as some sort of folk hero
by tik tok radicals and left leaning sympathizers griping about
(39:58):
big Pharma. When villains worthy of a Bond film get
virtue signaled, society's guardrails crumble, and at the core of
this madness, we've booted God from the blueprint. Pew's Religious
Landscape study takes Christians at sixty two percent of Americans,
plummeting nine points since the year two thousand and seven,
(40:19):
with gallop clocking church attendants at a dismal thirty percent,
the lowest number ever. No divine compass means no moral breaks.
Hatred festers where humility once flourished. Tie that then, to
Charlie Kirk. In a God centered America, his bold debates
might have bridged divides instead of drawing bullets. That's because
(40:40):
faith fosters forgiveness over fury. Allowing us all to see
our ideological foes is our fellow citizens and fellow children
of God. So without it we lose voices like Kirk's raw,
real and relentlessly pro America, pro family, and pro God.
But here's the twist. God's not done with us just yet.
(41:05):
As we grieve this unimaginable loss, let's rally to restore
that secret spark to prevent the next shots from ringing out.
The radical left is clearly waging a war in common decency, humanity,
and spirituality. But we must honor Charlie's memory by always
using arguments and reason, and most importantly, by refusing to
(41:25):
sink to their level. Violence is never the solution to
a disagreement, despite what the maniacs and the media and
the Internet might say. So speak your mind, don't be afraid,
but stay vigilant. And live life as Charlie did. Take
these incredible words of wisdom from the man himself.
Speaker 4 (41:44):
If the most important thing for you is just feeling good,
you're gonna end up miserable.
Speaker 5 (41:50):
But if the most important thing is doing good, you'll
end up purposeful. Purpose will give you happiness.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
Now Here with his reaction is president of Compass Care
Pregnancy Services, Reverend Jim Harden. Reverend, thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2 (42:05):
Thanks for having me back again. It's an honor and.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
I'm so happy you're joining us. Horrific circumstances or it's
like heartbreaking and maddening, confusing, they're not strong enough. So
forgive me if I have trouble finding my words here,
because I'm still processing everything that we've seen in this country,
and I'm beyond disappointed to see what's become of America.
(42:27):
But I'm hopeful for the future. And my first question
to you today, Reverend, what has happened to this country
and more specifically, what do you think is driving this
breakdown and moral virtue in modern America.
Speaker 8 (42:41):
Well, I think you hit the nail on the head
in the introduction. We have forgotten God. When we take
God out of the equation, we unmoor ourselves from reality.
We are afloat on a sea of chaos. We don't
know what is right wrong, We don't know which way
(43:01):
to go. We have no north star, so to speak, morally,
And so that's what we've done in America intentionally. We've
intentionally de christianized America for the last one hundred years
and have created a monstrosity of a society that has
three hundred and forty million people all deciding for themselves
(43:23):
what is their purpose and what is right and wrong.
And as Charlie, just the clip that you just showed demonstrated,
you know, purpose is what gives us happiness. But we
can't find purpose unless we know who our maker is.
And Charlie espoused his faith. Charlie was first and foremost
a Christian right. And he was engaging the world on
(43:46):
college campuses and a very winsome, oftentimes humorous, wise and
respectful manner. And he was using kind of the debated
issues of the day, abortion, transgenderism, you know, environmental you know, sex, trafficking,
these these these debated issues of the day as a
springboard to the truth. And by truth I mean capital
(44:08):
T that is the truth found in God we are.
Our founders understood this of America. We are endowed by
our creator, yes that's capital C, with certain unalienable rights.
Our understanding about who we are and how we ought
to live comes directly from our creator, because in the
fact that when when Charlie was shot that day, my
(44:30):
wife called me and said, my son was asking her
this question, Mom, what is sin? And so she called
me and said, Jim, how would you answer that? And
I said, well, uh, sin is thinking and behaving in
ways that are inconsistent with the character and nature of
God in whose image we are made. And so if
you extract God from the equation, we have no idea
(44:54):
what it is we're supposed to think and do. But
when you connect us back again, when we are realigned
with God, we are realigned with our purpose. And we
now know what it means to be a man. We
now know what it means to be a woman. We
now know that human life is sacred and infinitely valuable,
from the moment of conception, from the moment of fertilization
(45:15):
all the way to natural death. We now know what
right and wrong is. We now have a filter for
understanding proper policy and how government should interact in human affairs.
We know now we have the answers right. We have
hope in Christ. And Charlie Kirk understood that the only
hope for man was not found in government. It was
(45:35):
found in Christ and Jesus. Christ died on the cross,
taking the wrath of God upon himself for sin, so
that the door could be open for us to realign
ourselves with God and walk with Him in a very
dark and sinful world. And the way in which we
must walk is the path of forgiveness. But here's the thing.
(45:57):
Forgiveness is oftentimes described, and rightly so, by turning the
other cheek. But in that section of scripture in Matthew five,
when Jesus said, you know, when someone slaps you on
the cheek, he's basically describing being backhanded. You know, when
you're backhanded, it's a slight, it's an insult.
Speaker 4 (46:14):
Yes.
Speaker 8 (46:15):
And when you're standing your ground and say, hey, give
me the other here's the other cheek. That's not an
act of spinelessness. That's a demonstration that I will not
sink to your levels and use your tactics. But I
will not go away, I will not stand down, I
will not shrink back, I will stand my ground, and
that's exactly what Charlie Kirk did. And I watched him
(46:37):
being shot, and I saw the dichotomy between Charlie Kirk's
spirit of courage and the panic and fear that struck
the crowd when Charlie was struck by the bullet. We
must be a people of courage that are willing to
endure hardship and suffering for the truth, for the truth,
(47:01):
for the sake of humanity, for the sake of America.
And that is only found in Christ.
Speaker 1 (47:08):
There's really no better way to put it than that, Reverend.
I've been thinking about this a lot. I'm really hopeful
for the future. There are still so many amazing people
in this country who are lost, who've given their lives
over to God. Especially now. It's these darkest moments that
sometimes drive people to seek out the light in a
way they never have before in their lives. But I'm
(47:30):
just at a loss and I just want to say
thank you for your time today, and you're just you're
profound insight into what's going on in America. I appreciate
your time.
Speaker 8 (47:37):
Reverend, my pleasure, Thank you, God bless.
Speaker 1 (47:40):
Coming up next on Today's edition of Real Good News.
We have a fascinating story about this amazing scientific breakthrough
that will bring a new sense of hope to pet
owners all over the world. More details about it after the.
Speaker 5 (47:52):
Break Watch AM Live on cloud dot com and see
what you're missing. Download the Cloud tv app and watch
One America News Network wherever you go. Visit klowd tv
dot com Today. That's klowd tv dot com Today.
Speaker 1 (48:22):
Welcome back to the Real Story. In this age of
modern medicine, we get closer to curing cancer every single year,
and that's the subject of today's edition of Real Good News,
where we have a story about a dog who was
cured of cancer through a clinical trial after being given
just six months to live. Lola, a nine year old
(48:43):
Golden Retriever, was diagnosed with oral melanoma that was found
to have rapidly spread to her lungs, but thanks to
a treatment that's currently being used in some clinical trials,
she's now cancer free. Lola received her care at uc Davis,
where she received munotherapy treatments through inhaling cancer fighting drugs.
(49:04):
The drugs, called IL fifteen began to grow her tumors
even more so doctors dropped the treatment and decided to
enroll her in radiation. Then, her owner, Alison roth Or,
said she thought she was going to lose Lola, but
when they did another X ray just a few months later,
all of Lola's tumors were miraculously gone, just like that.
(49:27):
One doctor and co principal investigator of the trial, doctor
Robert Reben, even, said that sometimes immunotherapies can result in
inflammation of tumors, making them appear larger before they actually shrink.
This is called pseudoprogression and is quite common in humans
and appears to be what happened with Lola. So now
(49:47):
Lola is coming up on her two year anniversary of
being cancer free, but continues to have regular checkups by
the team at UC Davis and their veterinarian hospital, and miraculously, again,
none of her tumors have have returned.
Speaker 2 (50:01):
And now Lola is off for the X ray.
Speaker 1 (50:06):
The last hurdle in this healing marathon is a clear scan,
and so.
Speaker 5 (50:12):
They wait.
Speaker 1 (50:20):
Good girl, Lola.
Speaker 5 (50:21):
Goodness, Lola is still cancer free.
Speaker 1 (50:28):
Wow. And that concludes today's broadcast. We truly hope you
enjoyed it, and remember we always want to hear from you.
So please email your feedback and any news stories you'd
like us to cover to the Real Story at oa
NN dot com and follow us on social media at
the Real story an. So until we meet again, God
(50:49):
bless you, God bless our troops, and God bless America.
Speaker 5 (51:00):
Watch o AN live on cloudtv dot com and see
what you're missing. Download the cloud tv app and watch
One America News Network wherever you go. Visit k l
o w d tv dot com Today. That's k l
o w d tv dot com Today.
Welcome to the Real Story. I'm your host, Riley Lewis.
Thank you for joining us now. Today's top story brings
us to a high stake showdown at the heart of
our nation's economy. However, before we comb into the details
of it, allow us to set the stage for a
broader conversation about the Trump administration's active efforts to improve
(00:30):
economic conditions for all Americans. The United States of America
is the largest economic force in the entire world, and
it's also the wealthiest country on Earth. There are more
millionaires and billionaires in America than in any other country,
or so it seems by far. The country is also
blessed with a wide range of natural resources that fuel
(00:53):
economic development and societal growth, and yet a massive affordability
crisis is.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Huge.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Swaths of Americans of paycheck to paycheck, with no savings,
no game plan for the future, and little to no hope.
Many of them are in debt, wondering how they'll ever
get back to square one. Many of them are working
multiple jobs, not to get ahead, but just to get by.
Many of them are worried about how they're going to
(01:23):
keep the lights on or where their next meal is
going to come from, and many of them might never
achieve a sense of financial security. Buying property certainly out
of the question. Investing in the market just not realistic.
And these people are looking for a better way and
know the situation doesn't just apply to lazy people who
(01:44):
refuse to work hard and use their money wisely. It
also applies to plenty of people out there who are ambitious,
driven and smart. And on top of it all, their
own government is destroying the dollar's value by printing and
spending money like it grows on trees, throwing funding behind
pointless projects that don't generate any return on investment. So
(02:07):
what exactly do we do? Clearly this is a massive
problem for a critical mass of Americans, but the solution
to it isn't exactly clear. But one thing is clear.
It's time for change in Washington. And that's exactly what
the Trump administration is working toward right now. That's the
(02:28):
whole strategy behind raising tariffs some countries all over the planet.
It's an effort to bring industry back to the US.
And apparently those tariffs are working, at least to some extent,
much to the surprise of so called expert economists, because
the US budget deficit actually dropped in August due to
tariff revenues. It dropped to three hundred and forty five
(02:49):
billion dollars, a nine percent drop from last year, shaving
off thirty five billion dollars in red ink net customs
duties hit a jaw dropping record of twenty nine point
five five billion dollars just last month, quadrupling from just
seven billion dollars in August of twenty twenty four. And
that's not just pocket change. It's a revenue rocket fueled
(03:12):
by the reciprocal tariffs that President Trump slapped on certain
imports starting in August, proving that protecting American workers can
pay dividends literally. Unsurprisingly, though, the globalists in Washington, DC,
who are more than happy to undermine American workers for
the sake of boosting the country's GDP, seem to be
(03:32):
entirely shocked by this news. And this report about tariff
revenues is coupled with another one from the IMF Washington's
Globalist Oracle, which says the US economy is just starting
to show some strains after shrugging off strong headwinds for years.
It says that domestic demand is cooling and job growth
is slowing, but the exact reason as to why demand
(03:55):
and growth are slowing is certainly debatable. What isn't debatable, however,
is the importance of putting American workers first. That's what
really matters in the grand scheme of things. That's what's
important for a president. Between automation, artificial intelligence, offshoing inflation,
and negative pressure on wages due to illegal immigration, the
(04:19):
American worker is up against it, and that's who the
Trump White House is really fighting for. So with that
being said, that brings us to the showdown that we
mentioned at the top of the show. One of the
main culprits behind the disenfranchisement of the middle class is
the Federal Reserve. It's their willingness to endlessly print money
(04:39):
that is destroying the dollar's value, and the Fed's Board
of Governors is at the center of a major showdown
right now. Although the problem in question here isn't about
the reckless policy, it's about internal corruption allegations. So on
that note, the Trump administration recently ousted a member of
the FED Board of Governors named Lisa Cook, and now
(05:00):
his administration is asking a federal appeals court to let
the move stand. On Thursday, the Trump administration fired off
an emergency appeal to the US Court of Appeals for
the d C Circuit, begging actually demanding that a green
light her oulster before next Tuesday's pivotal Federal Open Market
Committee meeting. President Trump made the move last month, axing
(05:21):
Cook under the Federal Reserve Axe for cause clause, zeroing
in on explosive mortgage fraught allegations on Earth by FHFA
Director Bill Polta. But it's unclear what will happen next,
but just picture this for a moment. Pulto's August fifteenth
criminal referral accuses Cook of juggling properties in Michigan and
(05:43):
Georgia as her primary residence mere weeks apart back in
twenty twenty one, with a follow up probe slamming her
for flipping a third spot between second home bliss and
cold investment rental status drilled down even further, and the
legal fireworks are blistering. US District Judge Ga Cobb threw
a wrench into this move just on Tuesday, slapping a
(06:06):
temporary block on the firing and a forty nine page
ruling saying that four cause removals can't retroactively nail pre
offfice Shenanigans only failures to faithfully execute FED duties once
sworn in. But then enter the DOJ's CounterPunch, led by
lawyer Daniel Aguilar, who torched Cobb's order as a series
(06:27):
of legal errors, cutting Article I authority, invoking Alexander Hamilton
himself to argue that when a governor's misconduct or gross
neglect crater's public trust, the President has every right to
boot him for the institution's careful and prudent administration. Then,
on the flip side, Cook's heavyweight defender fired right back,
(06:49):
saying that she did not ever commit mortgage fraud, insisting
every contradictory detail was laid bare to the Senate and
White House during her May twenty twenty two confirmation hearing.
Transparency they claim that should have buried this story from
the jump. Now, as the appealed Court raises the clock
for a Monday verdict, right before the FOMC huddle could
(07:11):
steer markets on rate cuts or hikes, one can't help
but ponder the ripple effects. Will Trump's move restore confidence
in a FED that's dodged accountability and fueled policies that
are destroying the dollar's value for far too long, Or
will activist benches keep shielding the status quote With Jerome
Powell already in the crosshairs of Trump's broader fed frustrations,
(07:34):
this isn't just a personal spat. It's a referendum on
who really called the shots in America's economic engine room.
Now here with this insights, thoughts and analysis. As Christian Briggs,
the CEO of hard Asset Management, Christian, thank you for
joining me.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Well thanks for having me.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
That's a long list of stuff that is so important
that we discussed it. And I'm glad you're taking the
reins here in the lead on this because everything you
just said is a very highly important topic. I mean,
everything is concerning, everything is gonna affect us.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
So well well done.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
I appreciate that, and I guess the central point here
is that we're in this crisis state where there's a
critical massive Americans who basically can't afford anything, and somebody
has to be held accountable and something's gotta change. The
levee is going to break. But I do want to
start here with what's going on with Lisa Cook specifically,
and get your thoughts about that situation.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
Well, I'm gonna have to go into the Dei part here. Okay,
there was a as you know, the Biden administration had
a very detailed protocol and a kind of a left
wing agenda when it came to hiring anybody that was
being put into positions of authority, especially in the power
position that I mean, Federal Reserve is the power behind
the dollar, and the dollar is the power behind the
(08:51):
sovereign good batter and different part of the United Nations.
I mean, I mean the United States and the United
Nations which has been pushed back against US, and you've
got Europe and I am f I mean, I'm jumping
already on this thing because they're trying to wheel their
power and keep her in place.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
This isn't just about her and power.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
This is the world is really trying to keep that
Federal Reserve intact. And the DEI people that have been
contributed from the Value administration all the way into various
places like on the Federal Reserve and having a board
member who's actually voting, who doesn't even really know a
lot of what she's doing.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
It reminds me of the Supreme Court Jackson.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
But At the same time, you've got the IMF saying, oh,
the United States is that straying with the tariffs?
Speaker 3 (09:32):
How do you know?
Speaker 4 (09:33):
What are you talking about? So it goes back to
that same thing. It's kind of like Trump burst the
world to keep the Federal Reserve, which is supposed to
be working in our best interest, but all the other
people out there are trying to keep her in positions.
This isn't just about one little strategic move that Trump's
trying to do. What he's trying to do is to
save the country, to save the sovereign national security, which
is what the dollar. That's what it's all about. And
(09:56):
we can go into details on this. This is a
conspiracy theory. This is we're living this in the courts
right now.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
We are, And you just actually open the door to
a much more interesting question to a lot of Americans
out there. The Federal Reserve created over one hundred years
ago for one overarching purpose stabilize the US economy, and
a lot of ways they've done just the opposite. And
it really leads one to wonder, what should we do
with the Federal Reserve moving forward? Is this an institution
(10:22):
that's worth protecting? Should we try to perform it from
within or just talk about abolishing it altogether.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Well, okay, a good question about Federal Reserve.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
It really is when you think about it, it's kind
of an autonomous agency. It works within the realm of
its own little ecosystem, and there's a lot of pressures
that are formable against it, which is what Trump's trying
to do. It's trying to say, look, we don't really
need this thing. At the time, maybe this was a
good idea. It reminds me a lot of the unions
that were there to protect child and labor back you know, one
(10:54):
hundred and hundred fifty years ago. There was maybe a
need for it then. But this thing has become a behemoth.
This thing really runs the show when it comes to
monetary policy. And I'll tell you something else which is scary.
The influence four and a half years ago when I
brought to the attention of Congress that the Central Bank
digital currency was in fact being made and behind Congress
is back the Funeral Reserve under a secret program called
(11:16):
the Hamilton Project. It shows you what the Photo Reserve
is willing to do. They teamed up with the Bank
of International Settlements and They were basically trying to create
something that they could then take over the next generation,
which is really a crypto centralized systems for a digital dollar.
This is a nefarious corporation that's owned by private people,
(11:38):
that doesn't have the kind of federal oversight that it
needs to have. And what I've been saying is Trump
is right, it's not just about removing one person. That
maybe the obstacle in the way we need to get
rid of this institution once in for all. Reminds me
of the Department of Education. Do we really need that? No,
we don't need it. At the time, maybe it was needed.
I don't ever think that it was. I think we
(11:58):
were doing justifying without it, quite honestly. But at the
end of the day, you've got to remember, this is
still a very powerful machine. Yes, with a lot of
powerful friends that aren't just domestic but international. They want
this thing to stay around because why, it can print
money out of thin air.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
I mean, who doesn't want that. That's a fantastic deal.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Every day, Well, of course, it allows them to dodge
reality for a little bit, because aside from just printing cash,
there's only a couple of things you can do to
generate revenue, and one of them is taxation, and we
just can't afford to tax the American people any more
than we already do. It's just disgusting to me and
for so many reasons. But Christen, then, following up on
your point, for people out there who are wondering, who
(12:37):
don't really know that much about the fed's history or
exactly what they do day to day, what were to
happen in this country if let's say tomorrow the FED
is just gone just like that.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Well, that's exactly what we did with the Genius Act.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Even though the Genius Act may not be something that's
known to a lot of people, and it's a good bill,
there's still some things we're going to work around getting
fixed in that, but they may. And the main thing, though,
is this, we are taking the role of monetary policy
away from the Federal Reserve. Trump's plan is to dissolve
the Federal Reserve, put that responsibility in the hands of
(13:13):
corporations that meet or exceed the minimum federal requirements to
issue digital stable coins, which then themselves are extremely efficient,
and that'll create a stability because they're paying to the dollar.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
And all of this.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
Where did this all this inflation come from. It came
from the Federal Reserve. Yes, the Federal Reserve on its
own has printed money.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
I'm gonna tell you something. What Trump's doing is unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
He's changing the course of history to take away from
the ability of somebody that you who wants the Federal Reserve?
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Does anybody really know?
Speaker 4 (13:46):
But yet they're in charge of our entire world and
world being in the United States because they are the
ones who control the flow or however much money hits.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Look at interest rates.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
That is a perfect example of how they can control credit.
You want to minimize credit, you want to solve the
economy down, great, just don't go our interist rates. Okay,
you want to increase welfare, you want to increase our
recessionary potential, Well how about this.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Increase rates or just stay where they're at. Well, what's happening.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
So what's happening with Trump right now is in his
administration and Scott present is obviously be part of that
with lading is that they're trying to take away the
power of the Fed and give it back.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
To somebody that's going to meet or exceed with oversight.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
And that's going to be corporations kind of like banks,
you know, because they have to have a banking license
that use table coins with a minimum ten billion dollars
or greater in assets. And here's the best part. You'll
love this. They have to have dollars and or short
term treasuries as a collateralization for everyone for one staple
coin that they issue. So we're going to have demand
for dollars, and we're gonna demand for short term rates
(14:49):
that's bonds because the interest rates will go down, which
is what we want and.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
What goes happening lately.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
It's working, but here's the thing, it's not working fast
enough because here's a number. I'll i'll let you, I'll
bring it back to you. A week ago, we were
at one hundred and twenty three point four to three
percent debt to GDP ratio. We are now at one
twenty three point eight five. In less than seventy six days,
we've gone up forty two bases points. And that's a
(15:16):
lot when you consider almost a half a percent of
almost thirty eight trillion dollars.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
So this has to happen fast. We've got to lower
those rates.
Speaker 4 (15:24):
And what we have to do is we have to
get those rates down and getting rid of the futal
Reserve will put it back in the hands of the
people who care about this country, which are people that
have government regulatory oversight.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Okay, I don't know if it's tariffs, just cutting down
and reckless spending bringing dog back, but we've got to
find a better way forward because we have a massive
affordability crisis in this country, and I'm just wondering, what
are your thoughts about addressing that in a long term
and lasting way so that we can try to lift
more people up in this country.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Well, okay, so how much time do we have left?
Speaker 1 (16:01):
I'm sorry, it's a crisis, and it's reaching massive proportions,
and it's we're talking about human lives. Are fellow Americans
people who are thinking, do I put gas in my car?
Do I pay my student loan bill this month? Do
I try to feed myself? Where am I going to live?
Where's my next meal coming from? It's a massive problem,
and I just we have to do something about it.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
I think the biggest thing you'd better do is what
Trump is trying to do is bring manufacturing back here.
He's like, look, you can have one of two ways
to buy this product A or B one is made
in Europe and were made in China, and it's fifty
percent more than a domestic product that's being made.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
That was the goal of the.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Terriffs was to penalize a lot of times where China
was doing what they call predatory sell it. We noticed
for they did it for thirty thirty five years in
various commodities aluminum, steel, and a host of things that
would otherwise jeopardize or just eliminate our own domestic manufacturing.
What he's trying to do is to play the way
of which they played with US is lower our currency,
(16:57):
make manufacturing much more I would say acceptable on pricing
points here in the US. And I look at this
and I say, it's got to work, because if it doesn't,
we're leaving a few people behind.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
I believe.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Okay, I really appreciate that, And thank you for your
time today and very much, Christian. I just it means
a lot to me.
Speaker 4 (17:15):
Okay, I appreciate you too, a great topics, great show, brother,
I'll look forward to next time.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Thank you me too, coming up next. Given the economic
issues facing Americans now, it's more important than ever to
realize what's really at stake in the twenty twenty six
midterm elections, and you're to help us walk through those points.
Is poster and strategist John Rogers. More details after the.
Speaker 5 (17:36):
Break, Watch OM Live on cloudtv dot com and see
what you're missing. Download the cloud tv app and watch
One America News Network wherever you go. Visit klowd tv
dot com Today. That's klowd tv dot com Today.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
Welcome back to the real story. Can election polls really
be trusted? That's the critical question at the center of
today's next story. Polls are just surveys designed to measure
public opinion, and when comes to election polls specifically, they're
designed to provide candidates, elected officials, and even consultants with
(18:24):
some critical insight into what voters really think about certain
issues ahead of or during voting periods, and in theory,
they serve a critical purpose in our constitutional republic. However,
anybody who's ever held office, or say worked in politics,
especially on a campaign, can attest to the fact that
(18:46):
accurately polling the public is both an art and a science,
and the results of polls can sometimes be misleading. Only
the best and brightest in the business are really able
to truly capture what the American people are thinking at
any given time. Now, that brings us to our next
guest today. His name is John Rogers. He's a polster
(19:10):
and political strategist for the polling and analytics firm Signal,
and he's here to walk us through the new poll
that Signal released this week. The poll designed to provide
us with some very important insight into the political landscape
in this country ahead of the twenty twenty six midterm elections,
and it does just that, looking at all sorts of
(19:30):
key issues like the economy, public safety, and the overall
direction of the country, and of course perceptions of the
Trump administration's approach to things like foreign affairs and economics.
Speaker 5 (19:43):
So on that note.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Here to join us is the man himself, John Rogers. John,
thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Riley. Great to be with you.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
So there's a lot of interesting stuff, but I actually
want to start with a quote from you and then
we'll go from there. So you're quoted as saying, as
Bernie's and AOC and Zooranmumdani represent the face of the
political left, voters continue to trust Republicans more than Democrats
on cost of living, and inflation issues. Swing Voters trust
(20:13):
Republicans by a plus seven point margin over Democrats on
the economy and jobs, which is something that is going
to keep Chuck Schumer up at night as the midterm
kicks into high gear. That is a fascinating statement to make,
and I want to get you know, your thoughts about
what's really going on behind the scenes with that.
Speaker 6 (20:32):
Yeah, well, you see that voters are still concerned about
inflation as we approach about one year away from the
midterm elections. But it's also very clear that voters trust
Republicans more than they trust Democrats on cost of living,
the inflation, the economy, and jobs.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
And you've read some of the.
Speaker 6 (20:49):
Figures that were there in the press release that we
sent out, and part of it's because you have people
like AOC and Mendanni who represent the face of the
modern Democratic Party, and voters look at that, and voters
are not interested in the socialist policies that are on
offer from the Democratic Party right now. And I think
that voters are seeing that the economy has some durable
(21:09):
strength and they're willing to continue to give Republicans a
chance as the economy stabilizes. Coming into the fourth quarter
of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
That's very interesting. Then, just broadening this conversation to some
other issues as well, based on your polling and your research,
what would you say are maybe the three or four
most important issues going into the midterms next year.
Speaker 6 (21:33):
Yeah, the three issues that are dominating are the economy
and inflation, and in that with inflation, cost of living,
and I think part of that is the housing market
really crisis, especially for Americans under the age of fifty.
And then you also have power rates, electrical rates, utility
rates that have gone up.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Across the country.
Speaker 6 (21:51):
And a lot of this are policies that at the
state and local level have been driven by Democrats that
have driven up regulatory costs, which have then affected the
cost of living in those two areas. And then the
second and the third area is that voters are really
concerned about a crime in public safety and then immigration,
and on both of those issues, Republicans are trusted by
(22:13):
a wide margin.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
It's really interesting.
Speaker 6 (22:15):
Even black men under the age of fifty five trust
Republicans more on crime in public safety by a plus
six net margin.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
That's interesting. What specifically, then, because in light of everything
that's happened this week, the tragedies and the horror, especially
with the assassination of Charlie Kirk, do you think that
we're going to see public safety become maybe the top
issue for voters on both sides of the political spectrum
moving into the elections next year.
Speaker 6 (22:43):
I think crime in public safety is going to rise
as a concern as we think about the terrible events
and tragedies have happened over the last couple of days.
I don't see that going down as a priority for voters.
And it's clear that voters trust Republicans far more on
that issue. And even when in our poll we asked
(23:03):
if voters agreed or disagreed with President Trump's characterization that
cities like Washington, d C. Baltimore, Chicago have been overtaken
by criminal gangs, in seventy percent of black men out
of the age of fifty five agreed with that characterization,
as did a majority of the American electorate.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
That's really interesting. Now, just to get into some nitty
gritty here as well, because polls, as we said both
an Art and at Science, let's talk about who you polled,
how many people there were, sort of demographic information, what
was the sample size here? For the survey that you did.
Speaker 6 (23:36):
Yeah, the sample size was in fifteen hundred of likely
general election voters, and you started your segment with a
really interesting kind of tidbit. And what I would say
on that is that pollingb's done by top tier private
polsters is still very accurate. We've had the fortune of
being ranked the most accurate private polster on the GP
side for four cycles running by Nate Silver, who knows
(23:58):
polling as well as anybody there's right from five thirty
eight Siveral Bolts. And there's some misconceptions, especially kind of
in the mainstream media, about the efficacy of polling, and
a lot of that is driven by the fact that
you have a lot of public polling that's done by
universities of varying degrees quality, and some of that you
know as a private pollster, if we're not accurate and
(24:19):
the information that we provide to our clients into the public,
we'll go out of business. And thankfully we've been able
to grow like a rocket ship over the last sixty
eight years.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
So in terms of strategy, then how is it different
for an organization like you're a signal as compared to
say Quinnepiac or a giant university, right, and some of.
Speaker 6 (24:38):
Those universities do great work. I don't want to discount
that at all. There's some universities that do some fantastic research,
But there are some universities that I think they're driven
more by their commshop and their pr people to be honest,
and they think of, well, we'll just do a quick
online survey and you know, do it as cost effective
as possible to ask a few questions, and we'll put
that in the public and get some nice news art.
(25:00):
Especially because honestly, there are a lot of state and
local media outlets that are started for content right now,
right and so you really, as a quality poster is
going to take their time. And what's really important is
making sure that you're talking to people in the way
that they communicate via live interviews, SMS, online, that kind
of thing, and then making sure that you're hitting all
of those sub quotas of different individuals and whatever geography
(25:23):
that you're trying to pull.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Okay, now we've talked about some of the most important
issues going into the midterms. What are some less important
issues going into the midterms.
Speaker 6 (25:35):
Well, I think that voters are just not interested in
some of the themes that Democrats have really tried to
make voters be interested in over the last couple of years.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
One of those threats to democracy. And there's just.
Speaker 6 (25:45):
Very little appetite, very little interest among swing voters in
thinking that half the country is a threat to democracy
or that the Republican Party is inherently fascistic.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Voters have just rejected that.
Speaker 6 (25:56):
Right, and so voters are interested in the kitchen table
issue of what is going to make their life better,
what is going to make the life of their family better.
So threats to democracy is a theme that I just
don't think really resonates for any voter group outside of the.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Hard committed radical left and then group.
Speaker 6 (26:13):
Another issue I would say that voters are just you know,
not really as interested in is on illegal immigration and
crime in public safety.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Voters want results, and.
Speaker 6 (26:22):
So you see in New York City that Mandami has
talked about that there are areas of New York City
that he literally has said he thinks that police officers
should pull back from and that he would replace with
social workers. And that's just something that outside of a
very small segment of maybe the upper East side of
Brooklyn voters in this country are just not interested in that.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
To your point, which is a really interesting one, I
think that this is exactly why someone like California Governor
Gavin Newsom, as an example, is fighting so hard with
Prop fifty in this tyrannical redistricting plan, which would deprive
thousands of Californians of any sort of meaningful representation in Washington,
is because they're looking at the house right now now
and some critical races, and they're nervous. And I don't
(27:03):
blame them whatsoever, especially given what's happened in recent uh
you know, recent days and weeks, so obviously, like you said,
lots of time before them in terms themselves, anything can
happen in twelve months. But I want to thank you
for stopping by today and giving us this insight into
what's happening.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
John Bradley, great to be with you.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Coming up next, Eric Eggers, the vice president of the
Government Accountability Institute, joins us to discuss a groundbreaking legal
saga involving bribery, betrayal, and corruption at the highest levels
of the US government. More details after the.
Speaker 5 (27:36):
Break, watch AM Live on cloudtv dot com and see
what you're missing. Download the cloud TV app and watch
one America News Network wherever you go, visit klowd tv
dot com Today. That's klowd tv dot com Today.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Welcome back to the real story.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
No one is above the law.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
This concept is one of America's most foundational principles, and
even though it's profound, it's also so simple that even
a child could understand it. If we want our country
to flourish, then we must hold everybody accountable to the
same standards, regardless of where they come from or who
they are. And that brings us to our next story today,
(28:28):
which touches on thieves of anger, accountability, justice, betrayal, and
even resentment. So on that note, picture this a Manhattan
courtroom thick with tension, where Nadine Menendez, wife of the
once mighty New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, breaks down in
tears as she was slapped with four and a half
(28:49):
years behind bars on Thursday for her starring role and
a jaw dropping corruption scandal. She's looking at federal prison
time for her role in her husband's bribery scheme, with
the sentence lighter than the seven year long sentence that
prosecutors pushed for. Reportedly due to her battle with pressed cancer. However,
it's still quite the gut punch for someone who might
(29:09):
have believed that she was also above the law. The Dean,
convicted back in April as the lynchpin of this entire
bribery web, wept openly at the hearing, begging for mercy
while painting herself as a tragic pawd in her husband's
sinister game. Strangely, though, her husband, who's currently serving an
(29:30):
eleven year prison sentence, himself blamed her at his trial
last year, which is interesting, isn't it. And this whole
he said, she said leaves us wondering if she was
really just a puppet or if she was the puppet
master pulling the strings. Diving deeper into the madness, and
one uncovers a scheme straight out of a spy thriller.
(29:53):
The Dean was the slick go between, funneling bribes from
Egyptian and Kentari power players, cash stuff, envelopes, and gleaming
gold bars right to her Democrat senator husband, who chaired
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, no less, and in exchange,
Bob twisted arms in Washington, d C. To unlock hundreds
of millions of dollars installed Egyptian military aid, which certainly
(30:17):
looks like something of a quid pro quo. So a
three term powerhouse turned felon, already rotting away on an
eleven year bid. It's a family affair of greed. That
also leased one with several other questions, For example, did
any of his colleagues in the Senate know about what
was going on? Did any of them guide him or
possibly participate in the scheme directly or even indirectly?
Speaker 3 (30:41):
And why him?
Speaker 1 (30:43):
Did the power players that Mendenas did business with choose
him for a specific reason. There are many unanswered questions here,
but one thing is crystal clear. This situation speaks to
a broader issue of corruption inside the highest levels of
the US government, something that everybody can agree must be addressed.
Now that brings us back to righte where we started.
(31:05):
Nobody is above the law, including lawmakers themselves. Now here
with this thoughts and reaction is Eric Eggers, vice president
of the Government Accountability Institute. Eric, thank you for being here.
Speaker 7 (31:18):
Hey, it's my pleasure, Riley. This is a very important
story and I'm glad you're covering it with the attention.
It deserves.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
I completely agree with you, and I want to get
your initial thoughts about the senator's wife, now also being
sentenced to four and a half years behind bars.
Speaker 7 (31:32):
Well, Riley, you always start off our segments with a quote,
so I brought one for you today. You know, it
was Aristotle that said where laws have no authority, there
is no constitution. And I think what we're found yesterday
in the sentencing of the Dean Menendez is that laws
do have authority, even for the people who help write
them and their spouses. The fact that Senator Bob Menendez,
(31:53):
former Senator Bob Menendez was sentenced to eleven years for
his role in this corruption scheme is I think at
least appropriate, and there's a lot of really interesting dynamics
to unpack here. I'm sympathetic to Nadine in terms of
like the fact that she says, well, this is something
that he may have going on without her. There are
facts that support that. Remember, Bob Menendez was indicted for
(32:16):
basically the same thing back in twenty fifteen, so this
is not the first time he's been accused of this behavior.
The really galling thing, Riley, there's two entities that I
think should also feel a significant amount of shame in
this beyond Nadine Menendez. Number one are the citizens in
New Jersey because they re elected Robert Menendez in twenty eighteen,
(32:36):
even after he was indicted for his role in this
scheme back in twenty fifteen. The second entity that should
be ashamed is the United States Senate because when he
was initially indicted in twenty fifteen, Menendez had to resign
his position as the chair of the Senate Form Relations Committee.
But guess what, he was allowed to resume that position
after the charges were dismissed. So I mean, this is
(32:58):
not This is someone who has been playing with fire
the Menindaz family, and it's a shame and a tragedy
personally that he and his wife ultimately were burned.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
That is really interesting.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
It brings me to a question then about Bob's case,
especially why this specific individual. I don't know if he
was just personally close to some of these officials in
Egypt or Qatar, but I do wonder we have fifty
senators in the Senate, so why him specifically?
Speaker 7 (33:25):
Though I'm not sure how much you saw the coverage
of the initial trial back in April, Riley, but Nadeen Menendez,
I think, attempted to sort of distract the jurors from
the allegations of her vast accumulation of wealth, allegations by
the way, that included gold bars and something like four
hundred thousand dollars in cash strewn about the Menendez household,
including stuffed in the pockets of his official United States
(33:48):
Senate blazer for Senator Menendez. Nadein tried to distract from
that by showing up with what The New York Posts
called a cheap Amazon Prime tote bag. The problem, though,
is when you show up with a bag that says
on Prime, it sends home the message everything is for sale.
And I think that's why people did business with the
Menendez is because he clearly from as soon as he
(34:09):
began to do business in the Senate seemed open for business.
He was charged or alleged to be participating in some
elicit behavior in the Dominican Republic. We mentioned an indictment
in twenty fifteen, so he clearly did not set up
healthy boundaries from an ethics perspective. So I think it's
kind of like if you when you're open for business
that way, the business tends to find you, and that's
(34:29):
one of the reasons why I think he found himself
in this position repeatedly.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Wow, that is really fascinating. So moving forward, clearly this
is a very disturbing situation. All Americans should be concerned
for a wide range of reasons. But I want to
ask you final question, what is your key takeaway looking
at the situation? I mean, what does it really say
to you that lawmakers would even think to engage and
(34:55):
behavior like this in the first place.
Speaker 7 (35:00):
I hate that this is not a more optimistic note, Riley,
because that's a Friday, we should all feel good about ourselves.
But what I think it says is that certain members
of the United States Senate and Congress do this because
they think they can get away with it, because they
have gotten away with it for so long. The fact
that Menendez did this or some version of this ten
years ago, and then his business partner ultimately had his
(35:20):
sentence commuted, and then he had the charges dismissed, and
then he has able to even resume his position on
the Formulations Committee shows there's clearly a very high tolerance
for this type of behavior and they don't take the
law very seriously because those are the people that write
the laws themselves. There's actually a number of laws that
the United States Congress is immune from that the rest
(35:40):
of us have to abide by. So and even the
fact that Nadine Menendez, you know, she was sentenced yesterday,
but guess when she actually has to report for prison
next July. I don't know that the rest of us
would have this level of grace period to kind of
get our affairs in order, and who knows what else
she's going to try to do. So Unfortunately, there remains
(36:01):
a set of rules for thee and a set of
rules for me. When you are in high positions of
power in this country, and I think you know, this
is a great win for the law and for the
American people, But these wins are few and far between.
I'm sorry to say.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
I'm sorry to hear that, as well as an American,
as a taxpayer, just as someone who would like to
believe that, you know, our leaders in Washington are above
this kind of behavior, I guess not. So It's a
very sobering and eye opening moment for me. But I
appreciate your insight and your perspective on this, Eric, truly.
Speaker 7 (36:32):
Hey, and let's all keep an eye on the other Menendez.
His son is also starting a term in the House,
so the family business may continue, Riley, So stay tuned.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
Okay, well do Coming up next, law enforcement officials have
taken into custody the heinous individual who tragically assassinated TPUSA
founder Charlie Kirk. We have the latest information about it
and what it says about the breakdown of moral virtue
in modern America. More details after the break.
Speaker 5 (37:04):
Watch an live on cloudtv dot com and see what
you're missing. Download the cloud tv app and watch one
America News Network. Wherever you go, visit klowd tv dot com. Today.
That's klowd tv dot com Today.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
Welcome back to the real Story. On Wednesday at Utah
Valley University, conservative free speech advocate and champion for Christ
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was tragically assassinated
by a sniper mid event, his thirty one years of
unapologetic patriotism erased and a burst of psychotic partisan rage
(37:46):
that highlights America's unraveling and breaking. Today, it appears the
assassin has been captured and is currently being held in
federal custody. Folks, this isn't some isolated nightmare. It's the
boiling point of a political violence epidemic scorching our great nation.
Reuters tallied over three hundred incidents of political violence between
(38:08):
twenty twenty one and the twenty twenty four election frenzy,
including of course, two near miss assassination attempts on President
Trump himself, and in less than two months. The Armed
Conflict Location and Event Data Project reports a one hundred
and fifty percent surge in armed demonstrations since twenty twenty,
(38:28):
while the Princeton Bridging Divides Initiative warns these trends are
morphing into a full blown threat for twenty twenty five.
Remember the twenty twenty riots. Excuse me, I mean the
Summer of Love billions in damage from coast to coast,
with cities like Portland, Seattle, and Minneapolis practically turned into
war zones by so called peaceful protesters, torching of businesses
(38:52):
and clashing with police officers. Over two thousand officers injured nationwide,
per the Major Cities Chiefs Association, and the rhetoric its
rocket fuel left wing talking head spew resistance like it's
a virtue, while online mobs are actually cheering the chaos worse,
Yet they defy some of the worst or deify some
(39:15):
of the worst people imaginable. For example, kilmar Abrego Garcia,
the Maryland Father and m S thirteen thug busted by
ICE in twenty twenty five for human trafficking, wife beater
and child predator, yet released by an Obama appointed judge
in August, drawing conservative fury as DHS Secretary Christinome slammed
(39:37):
the move as being soft on crime. Or how about
Luigi Mangione, the cold blooded assassin who executed United Healthcare
CEO Brian Thompson last December in Manhattan, now facing federal
murder charges, but hailed as some sort of folk hero
by tik tok radicals and left leaning sympathizers griping about
(39:58):
big Pharma. When villains worthy of a Bond film get
virtue signaled, society's guardrails crumble, and at the core of
this madness, we've booted God from the blueprint. Pew's Religious
Landscape study takes Christians at sixty two percent of Americans,
plummeting nine points since the year two thousand and seven,
(40:19):
with gallop clocking church attendants at a dismal thirty percent,
the lowest number ever. No divine compass means no moral breaks.
Hatred festers where humility once flourished. Tie that then, to
Charlie Kirk. In a God centered America, his bold debates
might have bridged divides instead of drawing bullets. That's because
(40:40):
faith fosters forgiveness over fury. Allowing us all to see
our ideological foes is our fellow citizens and fellow children
of God. So without it we lose voices like Kirk's raw,
real and relentlessly pro America, pro family, and pro God.
But here's the twist. God's not done with us just yet.
(41:05):
As we grieve this unimaginable loss, let's rally to restore
that secret spark to prevent the next shots from ringing out.
The radical left is clearly waging a war in common decency, humanity,
and spirituality. But we must honor Charlie's memory by always
using arguments and reason, and most importantly, by refusing to
(41:25):
sink to their level. Violence is never the solution to
a disagreement, despite what the maniacs and the media and
the Internet might say. So speak your mind, don't be afraid,
but stay vigilant. And live life as Charlie did. Take
these incredible words of wisdom from the man himself.
Speaker 4 (41:44):
If the most important thing for you is just feeling good,
you're gonna end up miserable.
Speaker 5 (41:50):
But if the most important thing is doing good, you'll
end up purposeful. Purpose will give you happiness.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
Now Here with his reaction is president of Compass Care
Pregnancy Services, Reverend Jim Harden. Reverend, thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2 (42:05):
Thanks for having me back again. It's an honor and.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
I'm so happy you're joining us. Horrific circumstances or it's
like heartbreaking and maddening, confusing, they're not strong enough. So
forgive me if I have trouble finding my words here,
because I'm still processing everything that we've seen in this country,
and I'm beyond disappointed to see what's become of America.
(42:27):
But I'm hopeful for the future. And my first question
to you today, Reverend, what has happened to this country
and more specifically, what do you think is driving this
breakdown and moral virtue in modern America.
Speaker 8 (42:41):
Well, I think you hit the nail on the head
in the introduction. We have forgotten God. When we take
God out of the equation, we unmoor ourselves from reality.
We are afloat on a sea of chaos. We don't
know what is right wrong, We don't know which way
(43:01):
to go. We have no north star, so to speak, morally,
And so that's what we've done in America intentionally. We've
intentionally de christianized America for the last one hundred years
and have created a monstrosity of a society that has
three hundred and forty million people all deciding for themselves
(43:23):
what is their purpose and what is right and wrong.
And as Charlie, just the clip that you just showed demonstrated,
you know, purpose is what gives us happiness. But we
can't find purpose unless we know who our maker is.
And Charlie espoused his faith. Charlie was first and foremost
a Christian right. And he was engaging the world on
(43:46):
college campuses and a very winsome, oftentimes humorous, wise and
respectful manner. And he was using kind of the debated
issues of the day, abortion, transgenderism, you know, environmental you know, sex, trafficking,
these these these debated issues of the day as a
springboard to the truth. And by truth I mean capital
(44:08):
T that is the truth found in God we are.
Our founders understood this of America. We are endowed by
our creator, yes that's capital C, with certain unalienable rights.
Our understanding about who we are and how we ought
to live comes directly from our creator, because in the
fact that when when Charlie was shot that day, my
(44:30):
wife called me and said, my son was asking her
this question, Mom, what is sin? And so she called
me and said, Jim, how would you answer that? And
I said, well, uh, sin is thinking and behaving in
ways that are inconsistent with the character and nature of
God in whose image we are made. And so if
you extract God from the equation, we have no idea
(44:54):
what it is we're supposed to think and do. But
when you connect us back again, when we are realigned
with God, we are realigned with our purpose. And we
now know what it means to be a man. We
now know what it means to be a woman. We
now know that human life is sacred and infinitely valuable,
from the moment of conception, from the moment of fertilization
(45:15):
all the way to natural death. We now know what
right and wrong is. We now have a filter for
understanding proper policy and how government should interact in human affairs.
We know now we have the answers right. We have
hope in Christ. And Charlie Kirk understood that the only
hope for man was not found in government. It was
(45:35):
found in Christ and Jesus. Christ died on the cross,
taking the wrath of God upon himself for sin, so
that the door could be open for us to realign
ourselves with God and walk with Him in a very
dark and sinful world. And the way in which we
must walk is the path of forgiveness. But here's the thing.
(45:57):
Forgiveness is oftentimes described, and rightly so, by turning the
other cheek. But in that section of scripture in Matthew five,
when Jesus said, you know, when someone slaps you on
the cheek, he's basically describing being backhanded. You know, when
you're backhanded, it's a slight, it's an insult.
Speaker 4 (46:14):
Yes.
Speaker 8 (46:15):
And when you're standing your ground and say, hey, give
me the other here's the other cheek. That's not an
act of spinelessness. That's a demonstration that I will not
sink to your levels and use your tactics. But I
will not go away, I will not stand down, I
will not shrink back, I will stand my ground, and
that's exactly what Charlie Kirk did. And I watched him
(46:37):
being shot, and I saw the dichotomy between Charlie Kirk's
spirit of courage and the panic and fear that struck
the crowd when Charlie was struck by the bullet. We
must be a people of courage that are willing to
endure hardship and suffering for the truth, for the truth,
(47:01):
for the sake of humanity, for the sake of America.
And that is only found in Christ.
Speaker 1 (47:08):
There's really no better way to put it than that, Reverend.
I've been thinking about this a lot. I'm really hopeful
for the future. There are still so many amazing people
in this country who are lost, who've given their lives
over to God. Especially now. It's these darkest moments that
sometimes drive people to seek out the light in a
way they never have before in their lives. But I'm
(47:30):
just at a loss and I just want to say
thank you for your time today, and you're just you're
profound insight into what's going on in America. I appreciate
your time.
Speaker 8 (47:37):
Reverend, my pleasure, Thank you, God bless.
Speaker 1 (47:40):
Coming up next on Today's edition of Real Good News.
We have a fascinating story about this amazing scientific breakthrough
that will bring a new sense of hope to pet
owners all over the world. More details about it after the.
Speaker 5 (47:52):
Break Watch AM Live on cloud dot com and see
what you're missing. Download the Cloud tv app and watch
One America News Network wherever you go. Visit klowd tv
dot com Today. That's klowd tv dot com Today.
Speaker 1 (48:22):
Welcome back to the Real Story. In this age of
modern medicine, we get closer to curing cancer every single year,
and that's the subject of today's edition of Real Good News,
where we have a story about a dog who was
cured of cancer through a clinical trial after being given
just six months to live. Lola, a nine year old
(48:43):
Golden Retriever, was diagnosed with oral melanoma that was found
to have rapidly spread to her lungs, but thanks to
a treatment that's currently being used in some clinical trials,
she's now cancer free. Lola received her care at uc Davis,
where she received munotherapy treatments through inhaling cancer fighting drugs.
(49:04):
The drugs, called IL fifteen began to grow her tumors
even more so doctors dropped the treatment and decided to
enroll her in radiation. Then, her owner, Alison roth Or,
said she thought she was going to lose Lola, but
when they did another X ray just a few months later,
all of Lola's tumors were miraculously gone, just like that.
(49:27):
One doctor and co principal investigator of the trial, doctor
Robert Reben, even, said that sometimes immunotherapies can result in
inflammation of tumors, making them appear larger before they actually shrink.
This is called pseudoprogression and is quite common in humans
and appears to be what happened with Lola. So now
(49:47):
Lola is coming up on her two year anniversary of
being cancer free, but continues to have regular checkups by
the team at UC Davis and their veterinarian hospital, and miraculously, again,
none of her tumors have have returned.
Speaker 2 (50:01):
And now Lola is off for the X ray.
Speaker 1 (50:06):
The last hurdle in this healing marathon is a clear scan,
and so.
Speaker 5 (50:12):
They wait.
Speaker 1 (50:20):
Good girl, Lola.
Speaker 5 (50:21):
Goodness, Lola is still cancer free.
Speaker 1 (50:28):
Wow. And that concludes today's broadcast. We truly hope you
enjoyed it, and remember we always want to hear from you.
So please email your feedback and any news stories you'd
like us to cover to the Real Story at oa
NN dot com and follow us on social media at
the Real story an. So until we meet again, God
(50:49):
bless you, God bless our troops, and God bless America.
Speaker 5 (51:00):
Watch o AN live on cloudtv dot com and see
what you're missing. Download the cloud tv app and watch
One America News Network wherever you go. Visit k l
o w d tv dot com Today. That's k l
o w d tv dot com Today.
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