Talkline | Oct. 20, 2025

Talking about the "No Kings" rallies held over the weekend. Coverage from differnent regions where rallies were held. Fairmont State Political Science Professor Greg Noone weighs in on the expanding power of the executive branch. Plus, Ben Beakes, President of the Metalurgical Coal Producers Association, talks about a recent trip to DC. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
No.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
King's Rallies held across the country and in West Virginia.
Will recap those and we'll kick around the question is
Trump King? Let's mentioned his talk line.

Speaker 3 (00:15):
We're underway radio turned.

Speaker 4 (00:26):
Off from the studios of w v RC Media and
the Metro News Radio and Television network, the Voice of
West Virginia comes the most powerful show in West Virginia.
This is Metro News talk Line with Dave Wilson and TJ. Meadows.

Speaker 5 (00:45):
So it's network control from Charles.

Speaker 4 (00:48):
Stand By to David DJ.

Speaker 6 (00:50):
You're on.

Speaker 4 (00:55):
Metro News. Talk Line is presented by Kova Insurance, encircling
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Visiting Covia dot com to learn more.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
Good morning, Welcome inside the in Covia Insurance studios. Dave
Wilson in Morgantown in the Miller Building. TJ. Meadows is
in Charleston. Down on the radio ranch eight hundred and
seven to sixty five. Talk is our phone number, eight
hundred and seven sixty five, eight two five five. The
text line is three or four Talk three oh four.
We're going to get into the Nope Kings Rallies held

(01:28):
across West Virginia. Yesterday. We're going to get a recap
from several locations in just a moment. Second hour, friend
of the show, political science professor Greg Noon from Fairmount
State University will join us. We'll kick around this question
of is Trump a king? What about the other presidents
who have expanded executive power? And where's Congress and all

(01:50):
of this. We'll get into that discussion. Second hour. Brad
housetops by. Yeah, we'll get into football this weekend. Mountaineers
took it on the chin. Marshall pulls one out in
double overtime as well, So we will discuss all things
football with Brad hal Jared Halpern as well. Three or
four Talk three four and eight hundred seven sixty five Talk.
Jake Link on the video stream and Sophia Wasik is

(02:13):
handling the audio today and TJ you got a bit
of an echo coming back. Okay, we gotta get that
straightened out. He's checking the board. I can see him
on the video stream. I've got a live video stream
where I can peek into Charleston and it's very creepy,
but I can see all of them. I can even
see Brad McElhinney, who is standing by on the zoom

(02:36):
machine as well. Do we get it squared away? TJ Okay, yeah, yeah,
we're good. We're good, We're good. I was just saying,
how it's up. Now it's back again again, now it's
gone again. Okay, this is a live production meeting this morning.
All right, so let's do that. You can hear me,

(02:58):
can shit, Joe? Yeah, we're good, We're all right. Let's
do this. Let's start.

Speaker 5 (03:03):
No.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
King's rallies held across the country yesterday, including here, in
several locations in West Virginia. The largest was in Charleston.
Joining us from the Metro News studios in Charleston is
Metro News newsman, sportsman, all around good guy Daniel Woods.
Daniel set the scene for us from Charleston yesterday.

Speaker 7 (03:22):
Well, I think it's safe to say that Charleston, being
one of the biggest cities in the state, you ended
up with one of the biggest crowds in the state
for these rallies. And that's not to say that there
were not large turnouts around the state as well, and
I'm sure we're gonna get into that from various points
of view, but with Charleston being the state capital, it

(03:43):
became something of the epicenter, I think, and it started early.
There was a march from the Federal Courthouse here in
Charleston down to the capitol steps. People were involved with that.
More people turned up at the capitol and it was
what you would expect from the first No King Day
that we saw earlier in the year, very similar, but

(04:04):
you did have a crowd out that was vocal, that
was passionate. And I think again with Charleston being the
state capitol in the epicenter of government in West Virginia,
you certainly saw one of the bigger turnouts that you
saw around the state.

Speaker 1 (04:21):
What are people vocal and passionate about? Because it seems
to be all comers in these things, a lot of
different themes.

Speaker 7 (04:28):
Right, and I think you can narrow it down. It's
hard to narrow it down. I shouldn't say you can
narrow it down, because it is hard to narrow it down.
There's you look at the photos and there's all kinds
of signs. There's people talking about feeling that their voices
are being suppressed. There's people that are talking about fear
of the rise of fascism under the Trump administration, fear
that he's making himself a dictator. And then there's some

(04:50):
more focused things. There's some people that were out and
about talking about their concerns with specifically ice raids or
the attack that are being made on boats coming out
of Venezuela that the Trump administration says has to do
with the drug trade. And then Wes Holden, who's an
activist here in Charleston that spoke during the rally in Charleston,

(05:13):
was on Dave Allen's local show here earlier and went
into the details of what he was speaking about. He
went into the fact that there are lawmakers in West Virginia.
He named Shelley Moore, Capito and Carol Miller specifically that
when it comes to the big Beautiful Bill, they still
haven't had a town hall with the people of West Virginia.
So you're right, it's been a very broad ranging conversation

(05:34):
coming out of these some bigger themes, but also you
could tell people that are focused on some specific issues
as well.

Speaker 2 (05:41):
All right, Daniel, we got a chance to talk to
some people there in Charleston. What they have to.

Speaker 7 (05:44):
Say, Well, I think you look at the conversations that
people have had and I think overall it is that
discussion of the overreach of the executive branch, and I
think that is what people have the greatest concern with
at this point, at least in the city of Charleston,

(06:05):
and that maybe there are people within the other branches
of government that could stand up and in the eyes
of a lot of the people at the rally on Saturday,
have chosen not to. I think that's what we've heard
a lot here in Charleston, and big picture, I think
that's what a lot of people are seeing, maybe even
across the country.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
Daniel Woods in Charleston. In Morgantown, they held a rally.
W ajr's Mike Nolting was keeping an eye on that.
Mike good Morning. He joins us from the WAJR studios today,
Mike good Morning.

Speaker 5 (06:37):
Good morning.

Speaker 3 (06:38):
Dave.

Speaker 2 (06:39):
Set the scene. What was it like in Morgantown. There
were more.

Speaker 8 (06:42):
Than two thousand people that assembled at the farmers Market
on Spruce Street and then made a march down to
the Courthouse Square. Some of the things that those people
were talking about were doge cuts. They were also talking
about deportations in major cities. Approaches to LGBTQ plus policies

(07:04):
were also a topic of discussion as well as some
of the things that are happening in the Caribbean with
efforts to control what the Trump administration says are illegal
drug runners.

Speaker 2 (07:18):
Mike had an opportunity to talk to some of the folks.
What did you hear from them?

Speaker 8 (07:22):
Well, I can tell you that there was one particular person,
Kip Busch, who has disabled children, who is very concerned
and here's what he told us.

Speaker 9 (07:33):
You have children who are special needs, We have educators
in our family, and we just wanted to represent and
make our voices heard and also include our children in
a peaceful way of getting involved in politics.

Speaker 8 (07:48):
Now right along with this, Dave and TJ, there were
about a dozen nonprofit organizations. So really what you had
was you had a protest that was also kind of
a mutual aid fair where people could get information on
where to get help for different situations that they might
be facing.

Speaker 2 (08:07):
That was in Mike, thank you very much, appreciate it.
That was in Morgantown. Brad McIlhenny covered a couple rallies
in Hardy and Hampshire counties and Brad joins us via
zoom this morning.

Speaker 10 (08:17):
Brad, Good morning, Hi, good morning. Yes, I went to
some of the more rural areas of West Virginia. I
began in Wardensville in Hardy County and then made my
way up to Romney in Hardy County. You know, I
was interested in those rallies because of what I just said.
West Virginia is a very heavily Trump area, you can

(08:40):
tell by the results of the last three elections. But
these were folks who believe that the Trump administration has
engaged in overreach on a variety of matters, and you know,
they wanted to be out together, both expressing their beliefs,
but also you know, togetherness gives you a sin of community.

(09:01):
The other thing I was interested in is both House
Speaker Mike Johnson and on the state level, Congress and
Riley Moore had suggested that these rallies would mostly be
populated by ANTIFA militants or people associated with or who
support Hamas, people who are militant in outlook, and that

(09:24):
is not what I found. I found people from West
Virginia communities who just wanted to go out with their signs.
There was no sign of fire in the streets, just
sort of fire in the heart. What was interesting, I think, well,
it was that it was that we are members of
your community. And you know, the other thing that has

(09:48):
been the result of that has been pushedback before and
after these is taking that name very literally no kings.
I would say what I heard from the the people
who were protesting was that the name of the rally
is symbolic that the America is built on not having kings.

(10:09):
And these people understand that there is not currently a king.
Their ability to protest shows that.

Speaker 2 (10:16):
But they believe that.

Speaker 10 (10:18):
The administration on several issues has has overreached. You know,
the tariffs without congressional approval, the ice raids in America cities,
the deployment of the National Guard to states and local
governments around America without the approval of the leaders of

(10:40):
those states or cities. All of those things the folks
I talked to believe were ongoing overreached by the executive
branch of the federal government.

Speaker 1 (10:53):
Brad, was there any pushback on Congress at all? You
talked about Congress letting the tariffs go. I think a
lot of these things and this is not only the
Trump administration, It's administration's long past. Now Congress has seated
their power, and so we've come to have a very
strong executive Is there any pushback against Congress not doing
their job in the ranks of those that are attending
these rallies.

Speaker 10 (11:15):
Well, I mean, I think that is that is where
people are coming from on the No Kings because Congress
has taken a back seat on many of these issues.
You know, one thing that was.

Speaker 2 (11:24):
Brought up in our.

Speaker 10 (11:26):
Earlier discussion here was the explosions of boats said to
be drug runners in the Caribbean, said to be members
of Venezuelan cartels. That may be true, but there has
not been Congressional action to go anywhere near a declaration
of war regarding Venezuela nor Colombia, which is now also involved.

(11:50):
So I think that that was yes, if not overtly
stated by members of these crowds, certainly there as an
underlying issue in their complaints about what they see as
overreach by the executive branch on a variety of matters,
again on the No King's label. President Trump's response to

(12:11):
all of these rallies was to post on social media
an AI video of himself with a crown in a
fighter jet dumping brown sludge onto a gathered crowd. Again,
that was an AI video but that was the president's response.

Speaker 2 (12:23):
Guys, we know America has only one king and he's
buried in Memphis, Tennessee. Guys, appreciate it very much, Brad.
You can read Brad's story over at the website wv
metronews dot com with perspectives from all over the state.
Thank you, Brad. Appreciate a buddy coming back. We will
get your thoughts three or four Talk three or four.
We're just getting started on talkline from the en Cove

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Speaker 2 (14:13):
Get in a couple of texts three or four Talk
three oh four. Ben Baks gonna join us bottom of
the hour. He's president of the West Virginia Metallurgical Cold Association.
Did I get that title right? Metallurgical Coal Producers Association.
Knew I left a word out there. TJ. TJ. Meadows
in Charleston course, I'm in Morgantown. Three or four Talk
three or four of the text line. These people that

(14:35):
go on about Trump's landslide election need to accept that
accept the reality that both candidates got over seventy five
million votes, the popular vote only had a one and
a half percent difference over two thousand people in Shepherd's
talent on Saturday, it was beautiful, says the Texter. Is
Trump a king?

Speaker 13 (14:55):
No?

Speaker 2 (14:56):
Does he want unlimited power? And is he doing things
to make that happen at asolutely? No, kings is about
the erosion of checks and balances, erosion of the rule
of law, removal of independent agencies and the guard rails
they provide, and military quasi military patrolling the streets and
arresting people without due process. This is being perpetrated by
Russ Vote and Stephen Miller, and it's happening now. Meanwhile,

(15:17):
Trump tries to use the power of the government to
punish people who disagree with him, and while he lines
his own pockets. He is a lawless sociopath and has
placed fascists in the most powerful positions in government. Vote
is the architect Project twenty twenty five a blueprint for
unitary executive authoritarianism in the US? Full stop, says the Texter.

Speaker 1 (15:41):
But isn't that where it goes off the rails? I mean, yes,
Trump is trying to exert more power. He's pressing to
see what he can get away with. That is proven
alone by the docket at the Supreme Court and what
they've said yes too, and what they've said no to.
But this, oh he's a fascist, Come on, is he
really a fashion? I mean, does that really stick? That's

(16:03):
why this thing loses legitimacy. When you go to all
the hyperbolic, it just doesn't stick.

Speaker 2 (16:08):
On one hand, there's a very good argument here, and
I can see exactly what people are upset about, the
expanded power of the executive branch, sending in National Guard
troops to these cities without the mayor's or governors asking
for them, the you know, the Venezuelan cartel boats, expanding

(16:28):
that power.

Speaker 5 (16:29):
I get it.

Speaker 2 (16:30):
I see exactly what you're talking about. But like you said, TJ,
when you go into this hyperbolic area where we start
talking about authoritarianism, start talking about dictatorship and kings and
comparing this administration to the most evil regimes that have
ever existed on the planet, then you lose me. Then

(16:51):
you lose me, because these things. Look, if Trump was
what you accused him of being, these things would have
existed yesterday, right, They wouldn't have happened. There wouldn't be
constant criticism from MSNBC or CNN or pick whatever cable
news network you like. So I get it, and I
think there are very legitimate, very serious conversations that can

(17:11):
come from these rallies. But unfortunately we get focused we
in the media, you and I included. We'll we'll take
some blame here TJ on the hyperbolic and the rhetoric
versus rather, you know, getting into where you know, for instance, Congress, Hello, Congress,
the vestigial organ of the United States government. Now where's
its role that gets lost in the you know, the

(17:33):
rhetoric that is most amplified.

Speaker 1 (17:36):
And a lot of this. You heard Brad talk about this,
and Daniel gave a great example of just how far
and wide the array of issues. A lot of this
is policy. Yes, the popular vote was close, No, the
electoral vote was not. No, we should not abolish the
electoral college before somebody. Just let me get there before

(17:56):
someone calls up with that. But you know what the
remedy for that is day for these policy differences, the
next election. The next election. It's not necessary. And look,
first Amendment, go out there. Yeah, absolutely, protest, That's not
what I'm saying. But this thing is just so far
and wide that it's hard for me to get my
arms around. Really, what is the most important issue here

(18:18):
other than the fact that these spokes and their opinion,
they're welcome to it. They should celebrate it and protest it.
Just don't like Donald Trump.

Speaker 2 (18:25):
And some of this TJ circles back to I think
your commentary this morning, we're going to run out of
time in this segment. We'll get to it probably next hour. Now,
my bad, But no, that's okay. You're a commentary of
each side's unwillingness to condemn its own own transgressions, more
than happy to point out the other side, the other

(18:46):
party's transgressions, whether it's bad text, bad attitudes, bad rhetoric,
whatever the case may be, an unwillingness to look inside.
So you get to these policy disputes, and this is
what a lot of this is right, policy disputes. Well,
instead of working toward the next election, working to get
your people elected, change the policy, you know, you just
end up with rhetoric and hyperbole for.

Speaker 1 (19:07):
And I get so tired of this. Well, you're lazy.
If you want to be politically independent, No, I'm opting out.
I don't want to be all in with a party
for the sake of being all in just because I'm
going to defend my buddies even when i know they're wrong. No,
thank you, and if that's lazy, fine call me that

(19:28):
I'm done with it.

Speaker 2 (19:30):
We will get more into the commentary because I've got thoughts.
I thought it was a good commentary. I got thoughts
to share with you as well. And I know you've
got thoughts because you wrote them and posted them on
the website this morning. If you haven't read the commentary,
go to wv metro news dot com. Check it out there.
Let's get some text in here. You libs just had
to lead with the no King's clown show. The majority
don't care, says the Texter. Well, look, I don't know

(19:53):
what the numbers are, but I know they are a
heck of a lot of people who turned out in
different parts of this state on Saturday, and certainly nationwide
Team Hay. I mean there, you saw the pictures. I'm
sure there were people turned out. This was a This
was a big deal in a lot of places.

Speaker 5 (20:07):
You may not like it, but it's news.

Speaker 2 (20:09):
Sure they aren't there no Kings question mark which parties
skipped a primary and told their followers who they had
to vote for the Three Kings. People are just a
lot of unhappy left leaning folks. Grow up. Uh, Dear Dave,
thank you very much. I'm leaving the building now. Sincerely, Elvis.

(20:29):
It's that man. We we have one king. Have you
ever been to Graceland?

Speaker 1 (20:34):
By the way, I was going to ask you the
exact same thing.

Speaker 5 (20:36):
I have not.

Speaker 2 (20:37):
Shame on me, you I have not. My wife has.
She was in Memphis for work. This has been several
years ago, a lot of and you know these business trips.
You go to work, then you got downtime. Sure, so
she went to Graceland and toward Graceland. I have not.
Usually when I traveled to a place like Memphis, it's
for a ballgame and you're in and out in like
two and a half days tops.

Speaker 5 (20:58):
Yeah. So I'll put it on the lift.

Speaker 2 (21:00):
It well, you know, it should be on every person's
list to go visit grace Land at least once. All right,
coming up, we're going to talk to Ben Beeks. He
is the president of the West Virginia Metallurgical Coal Producers Association.
That's coming up other side of the break. More of
your text and Brad, how we'll recap the weekend that
was in college football. Three or four Talk three or

(21:22):
four is the text line. Eight hundred seven six five
eight two five five eight hundred seven sixty five TLK.
Those are the numbers. This is Talk Linel Metro News
from the Encode Insurance Studios. It is ten thirty time
to get a news update. Let's check in on the
Metro News radio network. Find out what's happening across the
great state of West Virginia.

Speaker 5 (21:43):
West Virginia Metro News. I'm Chris Lauren. Still concerns about
the potential impact on West Virginia healthcare as a result
of the potential Trump administration changes the H one B
visa programmed. The non immigrant visas do allow US employers
to hire foreign workers with specialty skills, and in places
like West Virginia, that includes a lot of doctors. Jim Coffin,
president of the West Virginia Hospital Association, says it's worrisome

(22:04):
if the program is scuttled with no exception.

Speaker 14 (22:06):
We are very, very concerned about that barrier. They're getting
foreign training providers in the United States, and you're right,
West Virginia and rural communities all across the country utilize
those programs to try to improve access. I know there
has been talking DC about exempting on healthcare, but we
have not seen anything specific at this point.

Speaker 5 (22:23):
Brad McIlhaney writes more about that this morning at Wbmetronews
dot com. Jackson County authorities have a man in custody
wanted on an array of felony charges. Thirty four year
old Tim Durst taking into custody following tips late Saturday
night Jackson County Sheriff's offices. He's charged with strangulation, malicious assault,
assault during the commission of a felony, grand larceny, and
sexual assault. Those charges all stemming from multiple investigations in Elkins.

(22:48):
The state police are asking for the public's help in
an ongoing grim investigation. The badly mangled body of a
woman was found early Saturday morning on a rural road
near the community of Mill Creek. The body initially was
o to have been a dead deer, but a closer
look about two o'clock Saturday morning revealed it was a
human female. Troopers hope the public will be able to
shed some light on her identity. You're listening to Metro

(23:09):
News for forty years, The Voice of West.

Speaker 4 (23:11):
Virgin premiering October twenty third on Metro News Television Peak Health.
Your Doctor's built it, your neighbors love it, and your
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Help DEA keep our community safe and healthy by participating
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Take action right in your own home by cleaning out
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(24:03):
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That's deatakeback dot Com.

Speaker 5 (24:10):
The State's Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission will have a busy
day today. They're conducting a dozen interviews with applicants seeking
an open seat on the State Supreme Court. That open
seat was vacated with the death of the late Justice
Tim Armstead. He died August twenty sixth Now Armstead was
elected to a twelve year term in twenty twenty. Now
the person selected for the job, to be appointed by
Governor Patrick Morrissey, will serve out the full and unexpired

(24:33):
part of that term. Retied Justice John Hutchinson has been
appointed to serve in the meantime. From the Metro News anchordisk,
I'm Chris Lawrence.

Speaker 2 (25:00):
We'll get some more of your texts coming up at
three oh four Talk three oh four phone numbers eight
hundred and seven sixty five Talk eight hundred seven sixty
five eight two five five. Brad Howe joins us. Next segment, Well,
recap the weekend that was in college football. Ben Beeks
is president of the Metallurgical Coal Producers Association, and he

(25:21):
was recently at the World Steel General Assembly in Washington,
d C. He now joins us from the studios in Charleston. Ben,
good morning, Good morning. So, first of all, what is
the World Steel General Assembly that was in d C?
And what were you doing there?

Speaker 13 (25:36):
Well, the World.

Speaker 16 (25:37):
Steel Association puts on the General Assembly and it is
the world's largest steel producers from across the globe. So
it was an opportunity for Central Appalachia metallurgical coal producers
to be on the world stage to tout the quality
of metallurgical coal that we have here to serve the

(25:58):
steel industry. And as we know, met coal makes steel.
At least seventy percent of the world's steel producers still
use the blast furnace used with met coal to make
their steel. So it was a great opportunity to promote
West Virginia and Central Appalachian coal miners.

Speaker 1 (26:18):
Sometimes I think here we think coal, we think thermal,
but give us an idea of just how big the
market is for met coal in West Virginia.

Speaker 16 (26:25):
Well, you know, in twenty twenty there was a group
of prominent metallurgical coal producers who essentially said, look, we're
going to be out of the thermal coal production and
be almost a pure play metallurgical coal production companies. That's
why they started the Metallurgical Coal Producers Association, so that
there would be an association that doesn't just talk about coal,

(26:45):
but talks specifically about the opportunities with metallurgical or what
we call met coal. So we have, no joke, the
best quality met coal here in Central Appalachia. Why is that, Well,
we have there are different grades of metallurtrical coal, and
steel producers have to blend a lot of different types
of met coal in order to get the perfect blend

(27:07):
for their blast furnace. Well, the benefit of central a
met coal is we have all the qualities here. We
have the low vall coals, the high vall coals, and
the mid coals. Vall stands for volatility, volatile matter that's
in the coal. So we sit on the best reserves,
we sit on the best quality, and we have great

(27:28):
access to our ports here on the East Coast.

Speaker 2 (27:32):
Where's our coal going? Is it staying here? Are we
exporting it? Where's it going? Ben? Yeah?

Speaker 16 (27:36):
Interestingly, you know United States, and we're familiar here in
West Virginia with companies like new Core developing a four
billion dollar facility there in Mason County. Obviously, they use
a technology called the electric arc furnace that does not
use met coal. So here in the States, there's still
about thirty to thirty five percent of the steel production

(27:59):
that happens here in the United States is still a
blast furnace using metallurgical coal. But of all the coal
produced in the United States met coal, sev of that
met coal is exported. It's going to Asia, places like India,
it's going to South America, places like Brazil, it's going

(28:20):
to Europe and some to Canada. So we are heavily
an export market. That's where we are producing or sending
our coal. And in fact, of all the met coal
produced and exported in the United States, two thirds of
that is going through the ports at Norfolk. So that's
all central app coal going down the railroad to the

(28:42):
ports at Norfolk and going to points Asia, Europe, in
South America.

Speaker 1 (28:48):
But that high level of exports, are we getting caught
up in trade issues tariff issues?

Speaker 16 (28:54):
Yeah, so most of that is with China and the
battle with China. They're China is not a natural market
for our met coal. Australia produces a lot of met coal.
They're more of a natural market for for them. Having
said that, we do do ship our fair share to China.
India is more of an important partner for US. India

(29:16):
is an emergency emerging economy. They're very you know, they're
looking to do more steel production, build more of their
economy there h So India becomes a very big partner
for us in the future.

Speaker 2 (29:30):
Talking to Ben Beaks, he as president of the Metallurgical
Coal Producers Association, was recently in Washington, d C. For
the World Steel General Assembly. What were your takeaways from
the assembly?

Speaker 16 (29:42):
Yeah, I was these are the world leaders, and so
when I didn't know what to expect when we got
the invite, one just the fact that they wanted us
there shows that the Metallurgical Coal Producers Association is on
the world stage. They want our input, They want to
see what our feedback is and how we advance the
steel industry because quite frankly, we are marketing the steel industry.

(30:05):
Met Coal makes steel is what we say. But these
were the CEOs of the largest steel producers in the
entire world. At lunch, I was sitting with somebody from
Saudi Arabia, somebody from India, somebody from Germany, and another
person from Canada. So this was a great opportunity for us.

(30:28):
They were very interested and glad to see that the
coal industry is promoting the steel industry as well as one.
And so what we like to say is met coal
is really just a proxy for the steel. Steel is
really just a proxy for the health of the general economy.
So they were extremely excited to see that our marketing
efforts were promoting both.

Speaker 1 (30:49):
Always be closing you get any new deals while you're
sitting there.

Speaker 16 (30:51):
With this, That's what I closed with. Actually, TJ. I said, listen,
we're here. We love to, you know, see if we
could broke her a few deals while we're here. I
think the folks from India were definitely interested to see
what we were doing and what we were about because
they know that they're going to be needing more met
coal in the future for what they're projected steel production

(31:13):
is going to be.

Speaker 2 (31:14):
Ben Beeks, President of the Metallurgical Coal Association Producers Association, Ben,
can we shorten the title just a little bit for
US radio guys.

Speaker 16 (31:24):
We made our website even more simple. Just make it
metcoal dot com and you'll find us. So we're working
on that.

Speaker 1 (31:31):
What if we just said, Ben Beeks, met cole makes steel.

Speaker 2 (31:34):
That's what we're all about.

Speaker 16 (31:35):
Met coal makes steel, and quite frankly TDJ and folks,
all your listeners, that's what we're trying to do is
make sure people, especially here in West Virginia, understand there's
a different lens through which you can view coal. We're
familiar with coal, keeps the lights on it. But the
future for at least our members is that met Coal
makes steel. When you drive your car, are you thinking

(31:56):
of coal? A lot of people aren't. When you drive
over that bridge, mech Cole made that bridge possible. When
you open your stainless steel appliance in the morning, you're refrigerator,
your oven or whatever, are you thinking of coal because
met Cole made that steel. So we have a great
future in front of us. We're excited for the position.
Even though the market's down right now. You know, the

(32:17):
future we think is very bright for you.

Speaker 1 (32:19):
Can we grow I mean, do we have enough reserves
that as you're out there selling, we can mine more?
We can grow the industry here.

Speaker 16 (32:25):
Yeah, we have minds that are being developed right now.
Even in this down market. The prices are down, and
as we all know here in West Virginia, especially the
ebbs and flows of the energy market. We understand that.
But we have some of our operations that are developing
new minds today and so that's exciting. It's all happening
here in West Virginia. So those that's exciting news for

(32:49):
the coal producing counties here in West Virginia. Yes, we
feel that there's going to be some growth in this area.
In fact, the independent analysts that were there from mckis
and company also said they have a great outlook on
that coal because of the futures for steel production around
the world.

Speaker 2 (33:07):
He's Ben Beeks, president of the Metallurgical Coal Producers Association. Hey, Ben,
appreciate the update. Thank you very much, buddy, Thanks for
having us coming up. Brad Howell joins us. It was
a tough weekend for the mountaineers in Orlando. Is there
a long term fix around the corner? Don't get your hope.
So up, we'll talk to Brad next.

Speaker 11 (33:26):
Governor Patrick Morrissey as set a very bold goal fifty
gigawats a new energy capacity by twenty fifty. Thanks to
House Build twenty fourteen, West Virginia's coal plans will be
upgraded to run longer, stronger, and more efficiently, thus delivering reliable,
affordable baseload power. Our families and businesses will be able

(33:47):
to count home. West Virginia Coal Association President Chris Hamilton
stated Governor Morrissey's plan to grow West Virginia's energy generation
capacity to fifty gigawatts by twenty fifty is a die
anamic approach to economic development which will supercharge our state's
coal industry and broader economy.

Speaker 5 (34:06):
With Governor Morrissey's.

Speaker 11 (34:07):
Leadership and the action of the legislature, West Virginia is
once again America's energy leader.

Speaker 5 (34:14):
Cold is powering Progress. Cole is powering West Virginia.

Speaker 11 (34:18):
Brought to you by the West Virginia Coal Association.

Speaker 4 (34:37):
Metro News talk Line is presented by Encova Insurance, encircling
you with coverage to protect what you care about most.
Visitancova dot com to learn more.

Speaker 2 (34:49):
Fox News Radios Jared Halpern will join us. Coming up
in just a bit. Greg Noon, Fairmont State political science professor,
will join us eleven oh six. We'll kick around this question.
Is Trump actually a king? Does he see himself as
a king. We'll get into all of that coming up
in just a bit. Three or four talk three or
four of the text line. Let's get in a couple

(35:10):
of texts before we get to Brad Howe, uh FCC
and Jimmy Kimmel. Is not normal, says the Texter, I
could go through the alphabet and never miss a letter
to describe Trump, whether he's a king, whether he's a
Marxist or a racist. He's the worst president we've ever
had twice, but the hyperboles on both sides. The White
House called democrats thugs, murderers, and thieves. It if he's

(35:35):
not an actual fascist, then he certainly is an authoritarian.
Trump's too dumb to be a fascist. His followers are
too dumb to be fascist. You've got to stop trivial at, trivillat, trivialize, trivializing. Well,
that was way too difficult to say TJ. Trump issues.

Speaker 5 (35:52):
It's still the first hour.

Speaker 2 (35:54):
Good point. By the next election, no one will be
allowed to vote out Trump says the text. More of
your texts coming up through four Talk three four, eight
hundred and seven to sixty five talk. That is the
phone number. With two wins and seven games without a
big twelve victory and four tries, the Mountaineer season sorely
needs some answers. Another fourth consecutive double digit loss over

(36:17):
the weekend forty five thirteen at the hands of UCF.
Greg Kerrey has a story post at wv Metro news
dot Com along with Joe Briccado recapping the weekend. We
bring into the conversation Brad Hall three guys before the
game Metro News sports Line, Brad, good.

Speaker 17 (36:32):
Morning, Good morning, fellas.

Speaker 2 (36:34):
Is there a long term fix or is this just
a get through the season type of situation.

Speaker 17 (36:40):
Yeah, that's a good question, it seems at this point. Again,
given even such a thin margin for air for this
group anyway, and then given the injuries that continue to mount,
I don't know that the fix is there this season,
in particular on the offensive side, So I think it
at this point, guys, you're just trying to find some
players that are going to be back with you next
year that provides some sort of life or a springboard

(37:02):
into the next season, and just trying to find some
incremental improvements if you can. Because Saturday was really a
bit surprising, to be honest. You went down to a
UCF program that's rebuilding itself and thought you would at
least be in a game right there. So to see
the way that went, it's certainly disappointing all the way around. Everyone.

Speaker 1 (37:20):
So you talked about players staying, I mean, given this record,
what will individual players well do you think their situations
will look like in the portal, and or given what
folks are seeing this year, how many players would want
to come here from the portal.

Speaker 17 (37:33):
Yeah, well, you always have people that want to come
here because you're gonna want to play, and the financial
part helps that. So I'm not worried about incoming people.
I think it's just simply a matter of where do
you start. And I mean that from a number standpoint.
If if you start to go through you're too deep,
what's the number that you land on that you want
to come back next year? As we know, famously, West
Virginia the most in the country this year at eighty

(37:54):
eighty plus new players. If you've got to go to
eighty again next year, that makes the prospers for next
season a little more daunting. So I think one of
my questions is we moved throughout the last five games
here is just how many of those guys can earn
their roster spots for next season and what number below
eighty can you get to when it comes to new players.
So I think that's what this staff is doing now

(38:17):
is having to evaluate on where do they start next
year's class with? Is there ten guys that are going
to be back? Is there fifteen? What's that number? Is
you head into next year?

Speaker 2 (38:26):
Talking to Ron? How much a new sports three guys
before the game bred? You know, coaches watch film much
differently than people like you and I and TJ how
we watch games. They're looking for certain things. If you're
the offensive coordinator first, for instance, are you looking at technique?
Are you looking I know you're going to tell me
all the above here, so you cannot use that answer.

(38:47):
Are you looking for technique? Are you looking for effort?
Are you looking for just raw potential? How are you
evaluating these positions over the next six games?

Speaker 13 (38:57):
Well?

Speaker 17 (38:57):
All do respected? Is your show, But I'll go ahead
and answer the question how I want to answer it,
not how you tell me the It is all of
the above. You're right, and I think that's what you're
That's the hard part here, because it's certainly not results based, right,
and coaches want to tell you that it's process based,
and they've got to look at the process, and they're

(39:18):
really the ones can see if there's in fact improvement
week to week that maybe we don't see when we're
tuning in once a week and see results that look
like they did on Saturday, So I think that's the
biggest thing, and I think that's what's hard to guys
on the offensive side in particular. Let's take that for
a second. As I mentioned, you were coming in with
so many new pieces and new parts, and now you're

(39:38):
down to with Scotty Fox starting on Saturday. What's that
your fourth starting quarterback in seven games. That's outrageous. I
don't know there's a school in the country that would
be having success down to its fourth quarterback. And I
know Rich said all spring and all all summer that
he was comfortable with five different guys at quarterback, but
that's really hard to have success. You're down to your
fourth and fifth running back, so that's a challenge as well.

(40:00):
So the offense looking like it does and really struggling,
I guess isn't as big a surprise as the defensive.
Defensive guys having trouble stopping the big plays. That's what's
more alarming almost is that was a defense that, at
least up through the pit game, you felt like could
keep you in some games, and just since they've got
into big twelve play, it just has not been the case.

(40:22):
So I'm less surprised with the offense given what they're
dealing with versus how the defense is playing. And that's
an area where you hope can shore up throughout the
short term of what's left during the season.

Speaker 5 (40:33):
Look at the numbers. I know you love numbers. I
do too.

Speaker 1 (40:36):
University of Central Florida three hundred and twenty three passing
yards yards per pass eight point one, rushing two fifty
five yards per rush seven point three. I mean, you
go two plays, you get a first down two plays
with those numbers. Brat, I mean, it's just it's hard
to overcome. And as I look through these numbers on
the West Virginia side of the ball, I mean, did
we really, I hate to say this, did we do

(40:58):
anything well? Is there anything that sticks out here?

Speaker 17 (41:01):
I thought Oliver Straw had a really nice game, tej.
I thought your plunter was very good, had a nice
day average sixty one yards put you inside to ten.
Thought he was very good. The defensive side to your
point there, and yeah, none of those numbers looked good.
I think the one that really jumped out to me
that was the most alarming, and it was the one
thing you couldn't allow the central Florida to do, and

(41:22):
that was hit you with explosive plays. The Knights had
had trouble going down the field and punching it in
without making a mistake when they had to drive the
length of the field. Unfortunately for West Virginia, it gave
up four hundred and eighteen yards on just sixteen explosive plays.
Those are runs of ten yards or more or passes
of fifteen yards or more. Four hundred and eighteen yards

(41:44):
just off those sixteen plays. So I thought that was
the biggest thing that undid West Virginia was the inability
to stop them from making big explosive plays on you
and Brad.

Speaker 2 (41:54):
Those big explosive plays are generally the result of one
of two things. Either the other teams just has better
guys than you, and I refuse to believe that UCF
just flat out had better guys, or there's you are
making mistakes within the defensive scheme, whether that is in
pass coverage or mistackles. It's one of the two, and
I don't believe it's just the fact that UCF has

(42:15):
these five stars all over the field. They're in the
rebuild process as well. If you're looking for a little
silver lining. That's coachable, that's fixable, but it's also concerning
you're still having schematical problems at this point in the year.
That's where those big plays come from.

Speaker 17 (42:31):
Yeah, I don't disagree with any of that, and I
think you can see that when you watch there's receivers
running with big chunks of green grass around them, and
it just feels like a similar problem to what we
talked about last year. And yeah, we can get down
in the weeds. I know we don't need to necessarily
on your show, but also add into that day, there's
just the lack of pressure that has come from the
front group or the front seven for West Virginia's defense.

(42:55):
And listen, you could explain that away against a Utah
that has one of the better lines in the country,
not just in this league, but you see if it
struggled along the offensive line. I thought this was a
game going in where West Virginia would be able to
get some pressure and then that would help the guys
on the back end with some of that coverage, and
it just simply didn't come to fruition. So yeah, there's
no question this is just one of those coming out

(43:15):
of there. There wasn't a whole lot to hang your
hat on in terms of even glimmers of hope coming
out of that game.

Speaker 5 (43:20):
What's next? What do you do from here?

Speaker 17 (43:23):
Just got to keep plugging pj in. I know that
sounds like coach coach speaking, it's cliche, but you really
don't have any other choice. You've just got to get
back out there and you put one foot in front
of the next, and you try and come out this
week and get a little bit better. But the scary
part for this week, if you want to push ahead,
and I know we'll probably talk later in the week,
is TCU's passing game is really good. Josh Hoover is
one of the best deep ball passers in the country.

(43:45):
Never mind this league, TCU's going to take it shots deep.
If you can't get pressure on him, those explosive players
are going to be a problem again. So I'm not
trying to skirt the answer. There's not an easy answer
to this. It's simply you've got to get out there
and find some guys that want to make some play
and hopefully you find some guys that understand they're playing
for roster spots next year, and that enhances performance over

(44:06):
these last few games.

Speaker 2 (44:07):
Next time we have you on the show, you will
answer the questions the way I tell you too.

Speaker 17 (44:10):
Brad, Well, I'm disappointed you guys had me on here.
We didn't even talk about the twenty point win over
Maryland in basketball in what was a secret trimmage and
we're not supposed to really know any details, but you
didn't even ask me about that.

Speaker 2 (44:21):
Well, thirty seconds, what happened in the secret scrimmage that
everybody knows about.

Speaker 17 (44:26):
West virgin You made a lot of shots, Honor Huffed
ten threes made over the course of a regulation game,
Trace and Eagles staff six threes made. This team that's
prides itself on defense, it's going to be known for
defense also made shots. When that happens, guys, that's going
to be a good night in the coliseum.

Speaker 5 (44:42):
Tom for basketball.

Speaker 2 (44:44):
Let's go, Brad Hall going out on a high note. Brad,
appreciate a buddy.

Speaker 17 (44:47):
Thank you, see you guys.

Speaker 5 (44:49):
Thanks.

Speaker 2 (44:49):
You can get the recap of the weekend over on
the ww mentioned news dot com. That's where you can
download the Three Guys podcast. Tony Hoppey and Brad breakdown
last week's game against you. Coming up, we wrap up
our number one squeeze in a couple of texts, it's
talk line from the COVI Inshortance Studios.

Speaker 18 (45:06):
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Speaker 3 (45:56):
We are here for you to care for you.

Speaker 2 (46:02):
We are here. A couple of texts here before we

(46:27):
clear the hour. Riley Moore's comments on Saturday's rally show
that he is out of touch with constituents. No Kings America.
Trump hasn't been in office a year. He's just getting started.
How long did it take the guy from Germany to
completely take over? David TJ. Crown's reminded me of the
teacher strike, a bunch of bullies and thugs, Congress, the

(46:51):
vestigial organ of the US government, and a fire emoji
from the Texter. Jackpots are growing in West Virginia. Jack
Potts are on the rise every week. Power Ball hits
Monday's winds Days and Saturdays, Mega Millions lights up Tuesdays
and Fridays. Powerball jackpots three hundred four million, Mega Millions
jackpots six hundred and fifty million back in six minutes.

Speaker 4 (47:15):
Metro News talk Line is presented by Encova Insurance, encircling
you with coverage to protect what you care about most.
Visit Incova dot com to learn more.

Speaker 2 (47:27):
Second hour of Metro News talk Line. Hope you're having
a great start to your day. Appreciate you listening in
on one of our great affiliates across the state of
West Virginia, or if you're watching on the Metro News
TV app. Jakelink runs the video stream. Sophia Wassik is
our audio producer. This morning, She's sitting by an eight
hundred and seven to sixty five Talk eight hundred and

(47:47):
seven six five eight two five y five. You can
also text the show at three or four Talk three
oh four. Jared Hauburn, Fox News Radio joints us at
the bottom of the hour once again, Morning TJ. Meadows,
who anchors coverage from the Capital City in Charleston, Morning TJ.

Speaker 5 (48:06):
Morning.

Speaker 1 (48:07):
Bill Nye, the science guy apparently rallying in DC for
the protests this weekend. He said the Trump administration and
his associates quote cannot tolerate dissent. So there you have
it from Bill Nye.

Speaker 2 (48:21):
When you said, Bill Nye, I was dead certain for
about a second and a half. Then you were going
to tell us that Bill and I had passed away. No,
how else are you programmed that when you see a
celebrity name trending on social media, you just assume they've
passed away?

Speaker 1 (48:38):
Well, I mean, nowadays, how many of them get spoofed?
I guess or whatever you call it. They come out
all they passed away, and then like two hours later
up here, I am got a copy of today's newspaper.
I'm good, you know, see the date or.

Speaker 2 (48:52):
That's a sad commentary. On something. I just haven't figured
it out yet.

Speaker 1 (48:56):
It's a sad commentary on just trolling. And I mean
it's not just celebrity trolling. I was thinking about this
on the drive in. I think I got four or
five different texts calls over the weekend. Hey, this is
about to expire. You'll lose your fifty dollars.

Speaker 19 (49:16):
Da da.

Speaker 1 (49:17):
I mean it's everywhere, man, it's everywhere.

Speaker 2 (49:20):
You cannot escape.

Speaker 1 (49:21):
It used to be you got rid of the landline,
at least they didn't get you on the cell. Right
now they get you on the cell. I mean it's everywhere.
How many emails do you get that a long lost
prince and Lord knows where needs just that ten dollars
from you or whatever in order to get his telegram
sent and then he'll pay you millions back.

Speaker 5 (49:36):
That kind of thing.

Speaker 2 (49:37):
That's not the worst are the ones with them when
I can handle, right, But the ones that are believable
where they say you owe tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike
and I'm sitting there going when was the last time.

Speaker 5 (49:48):
I was on the turnpike?

Speaker 2 (49:49):
I know, did I know? Do I I actually got
a bill from the Pennsylvania Turnpike recently, and I wasn't
sure if it was real or not. Oh no, because
you don't as my car.

Speaker 1 (50:00):
And you know, it used to be I can be
off on this. It used to be they were trying
to extort some kind of fund from you, regul they
wanted some kind of payment, they were trying to rip
you off. Now it's just as cool just to make
you go down the rabbit hole and think about, well
is this legit?

Speaker 5 (50:17):
Do I have to do?

Speaker 14 (50:18):
So?

Speaker 1 (50:18):
You know what I mean, It's just that's just the deal.
People get their jollies that way these days. It's I
don't know, didn't mean to get on.

Speaker 2 (50:25):
A rant TJ on a soapbox. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've
been talking about the no King's rallies held across the
country and here in West Virginia several locations Morgantown, Charleston,
Eastern Panhandle rallies were held. But what about this idea?
Is is Trump a king? Question mark? Does he have
king like tendencies? What's Congress's role in seding all of

(50:46):
this power to the executive branch? Welcome into the discussion.
A friend of the program and Fairmont State University Political
Science Professor Greg noon, Greg, good morning.

Speaker 13 (50:56):
Hey, good morning, and and PJ. Eccentia texts about that
money you will need.

Speaker 2 (51:02):
So you were that number in gift cards and prepaid
visa cards, right.

Speaker 13 (51:06):
That's right, only gift cards, right, All right?

Speaker 2 (51:09):
Greg, is Trump the king? Let's just start the conversation there.

Speaker 13 (51:14):
Yeah, So let's look at the Constitution, right, and it
all starts there. We live under this myth that we've
taught all our kids since sort of growing up, that
we have three co equal branches of government, and that
is incorrect. The most powerful branch of the government is Congress.
That's the way the founders designed it. They wanted to

(51:35):
make sure that we would never have an all powerful
being that could tell us when taxes went up or
taxes went down. It had to go through a process
of elected representatives by the people, accountable to the people.
And that's why the House is elected every two years
to make that accountability a rapid reaction to whatever Congress
may be doing if people don't like it. So in

(51:57):
the Constitution, it's clear Congress is an in charge of
the budgets, in charge of passing laws. Of course, they
go to the President's desk of course, he has the
authority to veto them all part of the checks and balances,
but then Congress can override that veto. The whole concept
of advice and consent to the Congress is to keep
the executive in check. So we have in front of

(52:18):
us an executive branch that is looking at budgets that
assigned into law and then picking and choosing which parts
to carry out, pulling back money that's already obligated, issuing
tariffs that are again clearly part of Congress's role in
the Constitution, disregarding due process and court orders. You know,

(52:41):
when you call me this morning, said hey, come on
in and see if we can talk about these No
King's rallies. And I started writing down a list of
all the things that we're talking about. And you know,
some obviously people can agree and have logical arguments about
or disagree and have logical arguments about anything I'm saying.
But the fact of the matter is I got to

(53:01):
about fifteen things that aren't the way we've done business
in the past. Former presidents have lost their jobs for
doing any one of these things. And I stopped at
fifteen only because I ran out of time.

Speaker 1 (53:16):
But if Congress doesn't utilize that authority left right center.
Any executive is going to come in and try to
take that authority. That's just human nature. I think that's
why the balance Montet was set up in the first place.
So I guess my question is, Okay, who do I
blame them? Do I blame Trump? Do I blame Congress?
Do I blame them both? Because no one's talking about Congress.

(53:37):
I don't hear that when people are out, it's just
Trump's a king, Trump's a.

Speaker 13 (53:40):
KINGDJ I was having this conversation. I was invited by
the Lifelong Learners of Marion County and that had a
wonderful conversation, and I basically said the same thing I said,
I blame Congress. Congress has abdicated its role. They're standing back,
and believe me, it least a majority of that Congress.

(54:02):
If that was a president with the D after his name,
and I'm not being you know, D's ours, but let's
put the shoe on the other foot, like we always
talk about. If that was Obama, they'd be losing their
mind if he took the Massachusetts National Guard and sent
them to West Virginia because they didn't like what you know,
the teachers were striking or whatever. So let's let's be

(54:25):
intellectually honest. And it is. It is quite troubling that
people are happy if their guy does it, but if
the other guy did it, suddenly they're all law abiding
constitutional scholars. So Congress has absolutely abdicated its role here.
And I would want to ask Jim Justice and Shelling
Moore Capital and our congressman, what are they doing? Why

(54:48):
are they letting this happen? Because President Trump's not going
to be president forever, and it's not going to be
a Republican president forever. There will be a Democrat in there,
and we'll Shelling Moore Capital suddenly realized that the Constitution
does apply and Congress has a role.

Speaker 2 (55:04):
Talking to Greg Newon, Fairmont State political science professor joining
a Serio and Mentro News talk line, Greg are especially
in Congress. But but you can look at this over
the political spectrum. Are candidates just two two closely tied
or tied to the fringes of each party, where if
they if they move off thing, you well wait a minute, no,

(55:26):
you know, just because you remember the party, you can't
do this if they move from that, are they are
they afraid. Is that what this boils down to on
some level.

Speaker 13 (55:35):
That's that's a big part of it, right, I mean
both parties have gone through this, uh you know, purity
test of who can be a real Democrat or who
can be a real Republican. Both parties have engaged thoroughly
in this cancel culture of somebody stumping out of line
and saying one thing that doesn't sit in with the

(55:56):
credo of what the party is supposed to express, and
and they get they get how did it in many
ways either at the ballot box or in the fundraising
or frankly with violence. So the fact of the matter
is we have developed two parties that neither tolerate diversity
of thought within their parties.

Speaker 5 (56:15):
And that's very dangerous. So how do we fix it?

Speaker 13 (56:20):
Yeah, if you and I have an answer, we're making
a lot more money than we are right now sitting
on the radio. Look, I think we need courage, and
I know that sounds kind of a cliched, but we
need people that will stand up and speak what they
believe and not be afraid. Unfortunately, the last couple of

(56:42):
people have done that have been run out of office
on a rail. So whether you're talking about Liz Cheney
or Mitt Romney or Adam King Singer. I mean, these
people have been run out of office faster than you
can blink your eye. But we need courage. Seth Molten
from Massachusetts not too long ago, was talking about how
his two daughters play soccer. I think they're ten and

(57:03):
eleven or whatever, and he said, look, I don't want
I don't want someone who who was born a male running,
you know, steamroll in my daughters. And boy did he
catch flack from from the Democrat. And two days later
he came out and said, there it is, he goes,
I can't express an opinion if my opinion doesn't match
everyone else's opinion. I'm somehow on the outside. And so

(57:26):
you need people like that who are willing to state
what they say and then push back when the inevitable
screaming comes at them. So we need more people like that.
So at first and foremost, I'd start with courage. Secondly,
I would remind all of these people in Congress they're
responsible to us. I mean, I get it, you're part

(57:48):
of a party, you're part of a tribe, But is
what's happening good for the people of West Virginia, the
amount of people that are going to lose healthcare in
a very short order. The amount of people that are
going to have their healthcare weeks go up, which essentially
means they won't be able to afford it and they'll
lose health care. So add them to that, the amount

(58:09):
of people on snap benefits, food Stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, all
of these things have been cut in the one big
beautiful bill, and the amount of people in West Virginia
that are going to suffer is going to be just
beyond imaginable. And now we're going to turn around and
have somebody with a little gold pin their cherished Congress
badge tell us it's the other party's fault. Well, no,

(58:32):
you're our elected representative. What did you do to save
these these treasured parts of our life in our system
that allows us to live a decent and honorable life.
And that's where the rubber is going to meet the road.
So people have to stand up for themselves.

Speaker 2 (58:50):
Greg. When you look throughout human history and make it
a little deep here, maybe not, maybe this is really shallow.
I don't know, but when you look throughout human history,
a former government is the anomaly, not the rule. The
rule seems to be throughout most of history, kings some
sort of monarchy, authoritarian whatever. Is this an inevitable evolution

(59:12):
of our form of government?

Speaker 13 (59:14):
Yeah, a date. Look, we have the greatest country on
earth for a reason, and some would argue the greatest
country in the history of man for a reason because
of what you just said. In this two hundred and
fifty year experiment has always suffered from people who have
tried to push these boundaries because they want personal power,

(59:35):
because the power and greed are the two motivators here, right,
And so I don't think it's inevitable, but I think
we got a little too comfortable with how awesome our
democracy is, and we're watching it slide with a series
of things. I mean, look, when you're publicly declaring an
enemy's list of political opponents, think about it. For Obama,

(59:57):
ever stond in his office and said, I want these
people prosecuted and fired every prosecutor. Until we found a
prosecutor that would indict people, we'd lose our mind. And
so the fact of the matter is that we got
too comfortable. We need to stand up for our democracy.
And I'm certainly not saying anything that should be more

(01:00:17):
than peaceful. But we need to understand that democracy is
a very fragile thing. And that's just not a tagline,
but it's something we have to have to make sure
that we're looking out for every day of a week.
It's not something we can take for granted.

Speaker 5 (01:00:32):
Greg, I hear you.

Speaker 1 (01:00:33):
But enough of what the President does, I think is
also couched to a degree with enough common sense that
people are willing to tolerate it. You talk about what
happened in DC, and DC's a very specific example. It's
a federal city. But then with these other cities, Portland,
et cetera. People don't want to walk down the street

(01:00:56):
and feel like they're afraid, and the crime statistics are
way out of control in a lot of these cities.
And here's a solution. Whether it goes against poss comatatas
or whatever the mechanism may be, common sense seems to
be trumping no pun intended, these checks and balances that

(01:01:17):
we have because people are so thirsty for change that
aligns with common sense. They're not worried about Tariff's long term.
They're worried about what the economy is going to do. Tomorrow,
in the next day, but two years down the road
when Tariff's finally hit us, they don't care. It's all
about what happens today. I mean, it's hard for people
to want to look forward. They're so thirsty for change.

(01:01:40):
Nothing is changing. I'm still not fully clear on how
it's gotten as far as as it does if there's
not some merit in what the president is trying to do.

Speaker 13 (01:01:52):
Yeah, TJ really well, put you don't have to pay
me as much money as I texted you for. But
the fact of the fact of the matter is people
are frustrated. People are tired of this party and that
party telling them here's what we're going to do, and
then they don't do it, or they do it and
somehow doesn't they don't see any benefits to it. So

(01:02:13):
I completely understand the frustration. I feel the frustration, and
you know, but as soon as we start saying all
those pesty laws are just getting in the way, then
that's when we start sliding away from democracy. That when
we're talking about Chicago, we're talking about Portland or any
of these other cities LA. They have Chicago and LA

(01:02:33):
and some of the largest police forces in the United states,
we have to allow law enforcement to do their job.
And then, of course then there's that other issue is well,
are we asking law enforcement to enforce these laws and
not these laws? That that's a legitimate conversation to take place,
But what we don't need is the military being put

(01:02:54):
in those places. The most respected, least politicized military on
the face of the earth does not need to be
inserting itself or being inserted into situations that have to
be resolved locally. And how you know, we like the
mayor because we think he's doing a good job on
crime or not. I mean, that's up to the people

(01:03:15):
of la that's up to the people of Chicago. But
having this, you know, one person who decides everything and
decides which laws we're going to enforce and which laws
we're not going to enforce, that certainly sounds kinglike And
that's where people are getting very frustrated, because you're right, TJ.
These are common says, Well, they're drug dealers coming out

(01:03:37):
of Venezuela. Let's just let's just splash them, let's just
blow them up. And that's fine in that common sense way,
but the reality of it is is we've been doing
drug in addiction for a very long time, and we're
really really good at it. The Coast Guard and the
Navy are extraordinary at it. We can't just start saying
guilty and then executing people. Actually follow the law, and

(01:04:01):
when we fall the law, we're better for it, and
innocent lives will be saved in the long run and
the short run as well. So I understand the frustration.
You know, the ends just by the means, and you know,
let's take a little shortcut here, but those shortcuts will
end badly.

Speaker 2 (01:04:19):
Greg Noon, Fairmont State University, Political Science professor, always appreciate
the insights. Thank you so much, Greg, My pleasure, gentlemen,
take care. Coming up, we'll get some of your thoughts.
Jarre at Halperm bottom of the hour.

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Speaker 1 (01:05:20):
We are there to care for you, and.

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We are here.

Speaker 2 (01:05:47):
Jared Halpern, Fox News Radio. Coming up a couple of
minutes from now. Let's go to Tommy and Charleston. Tommy,
keep it tight, r up against the clock.

Speaker 3 (01:05:54):
But go ahead, let.

Speaker 21 (01:05:56):
Me say this no change thing. A lot revolves around
Trump's affection for sweeping constitutionally child challenging executive orders, the
birther thing. You know, you're born in the USA, that's
you're an American. He doesn't like that if your parents
were illegal illegally in the country. And that's important, and

(01:06:17):
that's a big issue. On the speedboat thing and the
shooting of these vessels at sea, Hey, they should certainly
not be shooting at a fishing trawler suspective of smuggling
dope or other contraband. Because he's easy to catch. You
board him. He knows every guy who does it commercially

(01:06:40):
is ready to cooperate with the coastguard, et cetera of
any nation. But the speedboat. The problem there is they're
acting on intel, and those speedboats have improved from being
super fast being even faster and bigger. They could carry
cargo that's worked a ton of money, whereas even twenty

(01:07:03):
years ago that would be difficult to do with a speedboat.
And once they're at sea, try to catch him with
the equipment of the coastguard of the navy. Well, you
ain't going to catch him. So they decided, based on intel,
to whack them, and that's a really treacherous road to

(01:07:23):
go down. I think they should track them because eventually,
no matter how fast he's gone, he's gonna stop and
you could catch him when he gets someplace. I really
think they have to toe him down on the use
of heavy duty firepower. But I understand the dilemma. We
can't pull this guy over, so let's blow him up.

Speaker 2 (01:07:45):
Hey, Tommy, appreciate the call. We're coming up on the
break here and TJ. That gets back to what you
were referencing there with Greg neon the common sensicalness, if
you will, of the situation. And I think this is
part of the genius of Trump is do something that
makes a lot of common sense. We're go in, we're
going to stop crime. We're not going to mess around
with these drug cartels. They don't respect our laws. We're

(01:08:06):
going to take them out. And on a lot of levels,
you're not going to get a lot of pushback on that.

Speaker 1 (01:08:11):
No, you're not, you're not. And uh, it makes it
Uh look, it makes it money. He's the first president
to do that, and it's working. And that's why he's
able to create the kind of debate that he has.
And we have to figure out how we're going to
handle that in this country moving forward. In Congress, they're
sitting around on their thumbs.

Speaker 2 (01:08:33):
And have been for twenty years, most of my lifetime.

Speaker 1 (01:08:37):
Yeah, yeah, and now we've gotten so accustomed to that.
I mean, you're running from the day you get there, right,
you got to raise money from the day you're there.
That's all they care about.

Speaker 2 (01:08:46):
Coming up, Jared Halpern Fox News Radio will check in
on news of the day on Capitol Hill. This is
talk Line on Metro News for forty years, the voice
of West Virginia. It is eleven thirty. Time to get
a news update. Let's check in with the Metro News
radio network find out what's happening across the great state
of West Virginia.

Speaker 5 (01:09:05):
West Virginia Metro News, I'm Chris Lawrence. One of the
state's largest office buildings is getting a work over in
the coming year.

Speaker 22 (01:09:11):
Twenty one year old DP Headquarters in Charleston, Kanas City
will have nearly ten million dollars at work done beginning
today and lasting for the next year. The EP spokesman,
Terry Fletcher says a contractor will replace the hbox system,
reseal the three story buildings, dozens of windows, work on
expansion joints, and fix the roof.

Speaker 13 (01:09:28):
Upgrades that are a bit overdue that we need to
get taken care of, just to maintain safety and comfortable
of our public workers and just for the efficiencies of
the building.

Speaker 22 (01:09:36):
The building house is six hundred and eighteen State workers,
most of them are deep workers, but the building also
is home to PEIA, the Retirement Board, real estate division,
and rehabilitation services. The northern part of the building will
be the focus of the first six months. Some workers
will switch offices, others will work from home. I'm Jeff Jenkins,
wv metro News dot Com.

Speaker 5 (01:09:54):
Governor Patrick Morrissey expected to detail plans for a major
water and sewer infrastructure announcement today in clarksburgnnouncement set for
this hour at the Robinson Grand Theater. Like much of
the country, hundreds turned out for various locations in West
Virginia protesting what they consider overreaches but the White House.
Over the weekend, the no Kings protests held in a
number of West Virginia communities, including Morgantown, where Cynthia Fox

(01:10:15):
was an organizer.

Speaker 15 (01:10:16):
People to think of strength and resistance can have different faces,
and resiliency is.

Speaker 9 (01:10:23):
A face and building community.

Speaker 13 (01:10:25):
Is a face.

Speaker 5 (01:10:26):
They were complaining about actions by the Trump administration. You're
listening to Matter News for forty years, the Voice of
West Virginia.

Speaker 23 (01:10:34):
There's a lot of noise out there about the market
and the economy, but what's really important to you in
your future. I'm Shelley Hustle, a member of Huntington Banks
Local Wealth Team right here in West Virginia. Join us
for Money Minutes this Thursday, three forty five on hotline
as we discuss the most important topics and what they
mean for you, your family, and your business. Join us

(01:10:54):
on Thursday for Money Minutes, providing insight into the market
and how we'll impact.

Speaker 1 (01:10:58):
Us right here at home.

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(01:11:27):
great state of West Virginia.

Speaker 19 (01:11:28):
Find out what CEC can do for you. Visit ceci
nc dot com. It's the start of the National school
Bus Safety Week. Major Justice Rains with the nin tro
Police says, don't get in a hurry because the consequences
can be catastrophe.

Speaker 5 (01:11:41):
You have to look at the you know.

Speaker 1 (01:11:42):
The adverse of that decision is if you're really in
a big hurry and you're so you.

Speaker 24 (01:11:46):
Push the issue and you do pass the school bus
because you're like, well maybe I can beat that stop.

Speaker 5 (01:11:50):
Sign, or you know, well the side isn't all the
way out, or whatever the case.

Speaker 19 (01:11:54):
Might be.

Speaker 2 (01:11:54):
I mean, the you know, the other end of that
decision is that you could strike a child and potentially,
you know, injure or kill that child.

Speaker 5 (01:12:01):
From the Metro News anchor dass guy Chris Lauren.

Speaker 2 (01:12:26):
Text line three or four Talk three oh four, Texter
says Trump is definitely not a king, He's just an idiot.
Another text, America's future is being orchestrated by power hungry
and silent evildoers in high places. It's a civil war
refresh we are drawn into. Don't play into that game.

(01:12:47):
Live the golden rule. When people do the Trump Hitler comparisons,
they're really naive and uninformed. Did Bridge Day happen? Yes
it did, Yes it did. Bridge Day happened, and by
all accounts looked like it was an awesome day down
on the New River over the weekend. Three or four

(01:13:08):
Talk three before. We'll get some more of your texts
coming up in just a little bit. In fact, we'll
have an open segment next all for you. Well, there's
one guy I know is walking just a little bit
taller today around Washington, d C. After his cowboys put
down a pretty good smack down on the Commander's second team. Offense,
joining us as Jared Halpern from the White House. Jared,
good morning.

Speaker 25 (01:13:28):
I'd feel better if, like we could beat somebody other
than just the Commanders. That's kind of been the isn't
the playbook the last couple of seasons.

Speaker 2 (01:13:36):
But we'll see it's Dac like seven to zero against
them now.

Speaker 25 (01:13:39):
Yeah, especially when they're in Arlington, when they're into Yeah,
he's like undefeat, like no interceptions. He plays out of
his mind. I don't know, like why we can't replicate that.

Speaker 2 (01:13:49):
I mean, it's easy to win with the golf course.

Speaker 25 (01:13:52):
Like I'll flush a seven iron and I'm like, how
did I do that?

Speaker 13 (01:13:55):
Again?

Speaker 25 (01:13:55):
Like you can't, you can't replicate it. It's just the
conditions at the time. But it was fun to watch,
especially you know, here had my Cowboys stuff on last night.
Walking around town. It's always feels good.

Speaker 2 (01:14:09):
Jared hal Fox his radio, what's the President up to today?

Speaker 25 (01:14:12):
Buddy's got to sit down with the Prime Minister of Australia.
It's actually a pretty important sit down for a number
of reasons. We've talked a lot over the last several
weeks about rare earth minerals, those critical minerals that we
need to produce electronics, a whole host of defense and
consumer products. China, as we know, has a big hold

(01:14:33):
on a lot of those and is now threatening some
import restrictions, some export restrictions on those. The US is
racing to kind of mine our own critical minerals in
places like Alaska, but Australia is pretty rich in critical minerals.
What they lack, though, is kind of that refinement capacity.
The United States has that refinement capacity, and so certainly

(01:14:56):
one of the things on the agenda here for the
President and and the Prime Minister is to see if
there can be some sort of cooperative agreement here right
where the US gets access to some of those again
another way to cut up that supply chain from China.
I think what the Prime Minister of Australia is looking
for is an assurance that AUCUS is going to remain

(01:15:19):
in place. August stands for Australia UK US. It is
a submarine compact, kind of a submarine cooperative defensive compact.
Australia is looking to buy I think six or seven
nuclear submarines from the US. The Pentagon is reviewing AUCUST

(01:15:39):
and kind of what the future of that looks like
it has been very successful and important to Australia again
kind of in the broader context of China and patrolling
the Indo Pacific, and so those are going to be
two big issues for sure. And of course whenever you
sit down with the President as a foreign leader, you
anticipate you're going to talk about trade and tariffs as well.

Speaker 1 (01:16:00):
So, speaking of trade and tariffs, if we get that
deal with Australia around rare minerals, how much more leverage
Jared does that give the President with China.

Speaker 25 (01:16:10):
Well, it helps because anytime you can kind of reduce
that supply chain, it makes the US less dependent and
so therefore it weakens their hand. Now, a deal with
Australia isn't going to end China's control on the rare
earth marketplace. But again, the US is trying to diversify
the supply chain here and part of that is going

(01:16:34):
to places where there are rare earths where maybe they
don't have the capacity to refine them. That's a big part,
by the way of what the President put forward with
Ukraine or called it. One of the caveats in this
Ukraine economic partnership is the US has access now to
these rare earths in eastern Ukraine. The US is looking
at those relationships and parts of Africa as well, and

(01:16:55):
so again it just diversifies the supply chain for rare
earth minerals as the United States is also increasing mining
capacity in Alaska, something that the previous administration was much
slower to do amid environmental concerns. Obviously, this administration taking

(01:17:15):
a little bit of a different strategies relates to some
of those regulations given what they view as a national
security need here, especially with the tape trade tension that
we have with China. Now again, this China thing could
could resolve itself. President Trump's going to meet with she
in a couple of weeks, I think next week actually
in South Korea for a big summit. Sometimes those conversations

(01:17:39):
in the past have lowered the temperature, sometimes they haven't.
So we'll see what comes out of that meeting in
two weeks.

Speaker 2 (01:17:46):
Fox News Radio is Jared Halpern joining us. Jared, you
mentioned Ukraine a moment ago, President Trump meeting with President
Zelenski recently. How did those conversations go. Are we getting
any closer to some sort of a deal in the
Russia Ukraine war.

Speaker 25 (01:18:01):
Again. I think if you're the Ukrainians, there's a sense
of frustration here, right, because President Trump had certainly soured,
especially after Alaska on Putin right had complained that he
says really nice things and then does something else and
didn't believe that he was ready to make peace. And
even at the UN General Assembly, President Trump, meeting with Zelensky,

(01:18:22):
said that he thought Ukraine could take back all of
the land that is currently occupied by Russia. And then
this meeting happens. A big part of this meeting was
Selensky trying to make the pitch for these Tomahawk missiles.
These are long range missiles that could strike deep into
Russian territories, something that Zelensky says is necessary to basically

(01:18:45):
balance out air superiority. Right, So, because so many of
these these Russian attacks are launched from deep inside Russian territory,
President Trump seemed inclined to do that, had a conversation
with Putin the day before, and then when zelen came in,
they kind of talked about this as escalation and we
need them for ourselves. And then the President on Air

(01:19:06):
Force One yesterday said that he thinks that there should
be a cease fire with the battle lines just stopped
where they are now. That would mean Ukraine giving up
an awful lot of the Donbass region. That's eastern Ukraine region,
which Russia right now occupies about seventy percent of. And
so it's a much different view of much different message

(01:19:27):
coming out from President Trump than even just a couple
of weeks ago. And so I think right now there's
a question of, you know, is Putin serious. Perhaps this
is a way of President Trump to kind of say, listen,
we're giving Putin a lot of what he wants, and
if he doesn't accept this, then maybe that changes the
calculus for him. But I don't think Zelenski walked away
Friday from the White House with much of what he

(01:19:51):
was seeking to secure. Before his sit down.

Speaker 1 (01:19:54):
With President Trump, Columbia's presidents accused the US of murder
and power. President had a very swift response, bring us
up a speed.

Speaker 25 (01:20:04):
This is something that has been simmering for a while.
There was a new president of Colombia. He is very progressive,
very liberal, a leftist type of president that is the
first in decades in Columbia. President Trump has accused him
of being too cozy with the drug cartels in a
social media post over the weekend, essentially called him like

(01:20:25):
a narco terror sympathizer some strong words, threatened to cut
off all US aid and subsidies to Columbia. In response
to Colombian president said that President Trump's actions in the
Caribbean are unlawful and said that one of these attacks
on a alleged drug boat was a simple, in the
words of the President, a simple fisherman and had nothing

(01:20:50):
to do with this narco terror organization. So we'll see
where this goes. But right now, it is certainly an
indication that a relationship with Columbia in the United States,
which has largely been predicated on eradicating the drug trade
out of Columbia, is at a rupture point.

Speaker 2 (01:21:09):
Fox News Radios Jared Halpern, Jared, congratulations again on your
cowboys beating Washington's second team offense. How about them cowboys
abouts Jared, thanks you. I'm gonna let that slide. Daniels
got hurt. No receivers, just want to point that out.
Three oh four talk three or four is the text
line eight hundred and seven sixty five eight two five five.
That's the text line. That's the phone number. Rest of

(01:21:30):
the show is yours back at a Moment.

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Metro News talk.

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the text line we go three oh four talk three
oh four. They did it, They got into the louver,
Yes they did. Did you see the big height, the
big jewel heist at the loop? We did.

Speaker 5 (01:23:36):
How are you gonna how are you gonna move that stuff? Though?

Speaker 2 (01:23:39):
Come on that market, right? Black market?

Speaker 5 (01:23:43):
I guess I don't know. Do we know drop it
on eBay or Amazon or something?

Speaker 2 (01:23:47):
Do we know where George Clooney and Brad Pitt were yesterday?

Speaker 5 (01:23:52):
Did you see what they did though?

Speaker 1 (01:23:53):
They literally just backed a crane up to one of
the balconies and literally he had the elevator on the
crane that just went right up almost like a lift
got into the balcony.

Speaker 5 (01:24:05):
Just pride the window. I would think.

Speaker 1 (01:24:07):
Someone would see that huge machine being pulled up to
someone moving for that doesn't look right.

Speaker 5 (01:24:14):
Yeah, you know, h must be cleaning the windows.

Speaker 2 (01:24:20):
Texter says, how about another civics lesson, guys, I believe
the law says a person can only be president two terms?
Now is that two in a row or two times?
No matter what asks the texter, the latter correct. And
let's face it, look for the folk for the twenty
twenty eight election, people, Trump is how old right now? Eighty?

(01:24:42):
Is he eighty seventy nine? Eighty years old?

Speaker 5 (01:24:46):
Right? I'll find out.

Speaker 2 (01:24:48):
Look, I say this with as much sensitivity as possible.
It's a long time between now and twenty eight, first
of all, and just you know four a person his age. Secondly,
the presidency is stressful at ages. People. Look, even if
TJ he could somehow come up with some kakamamy way

(01:25:10):
to figure out how to run again, he's going to
be eighty three.

Speaker 5 (01:25:13):
Eighty four years old, seventy nine now.

Speaker 2 (01:25:16):
Okay, so he'll be what eighty three or eighty two?
Eighty three years old? Here in a couple of years,
it ain't gonna happen.

Speaker 3 (01:25:24):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:25:24):
Hello, guys, Trump is not a king. He is a CEO.
And a common trait of CEOs is narcissism.

Speaker 1 (01:25:32):
You know what, that's a fair point. I hadn't thought
about that. Not every CEO, but a lot of them. Yeah,
I mean your type A you're Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:25:41):
Well, how many you don't have to indict anybody? TJ.
How many people have you worked for who just say
get it done. I don't care, just get it done.

Speaker 5 (01:25:48):
Oh quite a number.

Speaker 2 (01:25:49):
Well, when you're in government, unfortunately, and we lamit this
all the time. Don't mean how slow the government is,
and there's all this stuff that gets in the way.
I don't care. Just blow the drug boat up. Maybe
that's a poor example, but you get what I'm driving at.
If you're that type mentality, this is a dramatic change
of pace.

Speaker 1 (01:26:09):
But you know the other side of that again, I
think that's more a symptom we have become so dependent
on government where we didn't used to be that. Now
you have to act that way, you have to go
beyond some of these bounds. I do kind of think it's.

Speaker 5 (01:26:27):
Call it what it is.

Speaker 1 (01:26:27):
I think it's a little funny. Actually, you have people
out demanding health care, but they don't want a king,
but they'll take health care from the king the government.
I mean, am I the only one that sees a
little oxymoron in that?

Speaker 2 (01:26:41):
Just A tad Texter says, I'm feeling I feel like
I'm listening to the Communist News Network CNN. You guys
are giving way too much time to people with Trump
derangement syndrome. For my friends, everything for you. The law,
your guest is a romantic. Congress is beholden to their owners,
not their voters. Congress, Congress deserves a lot of I

(01:27:07):
hate to say blame, because them we're blat but but
you know, the executives, and it's not just Trump. The
executives of years of President Obama, President Biden go back
to hw or not HWW Bush. They've all been able
to expand the authority of the executive branch. Why is
teach Congress let them? Congress let them.

Speaker 1 (01:27:28):
Because Congress wants to be there for thirty years. They
don't want to ruffle feathers. It's a good gig. They
want to keep the gig, the notoriety and the power.
So what are they What are they You know what,
if I wanted to raise money for something, Dave, you
know who I would hire an ex congressman, because no
one raises money seriously like a congressman. That's exactly who
I would hire.

Speaker 2 (01:27:48):
Uh, Texas says Biden, did exactly that. Look at his
prosecutions and who but yeah, tims a new thing. I
have nothing but respect for protesters speaking their minds and
demonstrating in an effort to change the direction of our country.
Having said that I intended the No King's protest in Morgantown,
it could only find one person that had any idea
the reason why they were protesting, and he thought it

(01:28:09):
was because Trump was starting wars. Was a joke, says
the Texter.

Speaker 1 (01:28:14):
There's something there. I mean, you ask folks. I listened
to some of the coverage over the weekend, various media outlets.
Reporter would say what are you here for? We'd get
some answer to some question. But it wasn't that question.
I mean, it was this wide ranging, all this bad
do tell me why you're here?

Speaker 2 (01:28:35):
Didn't get it, And now I can't remember if we
had this conversation on the air off here at this
point to youj but it goes to this idea that yes,
there are some very there's legitimate concerns. Greg Noon, I
think did a great job of outlining the actual concerns
of having too much power with the executive branch or
side stepping law, side stepping constitutional norms. Very good conversations,

(01:29:00):
necessary conversations that need to happen. Trump's mean is not
a reason. No, you get my drive that if that, Hey,
you can vote for whoever you want, for whyever you want.
But if we're going to have some of these serious conversations,
let's have them. Let's have these discussions and leave the
rhetoric and quite frankly, the feelings off to the side.

Speaker 1 (01:29:22):
And I do think we need to point out we
haven't talked about that third branch yet in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court, now, look, they've given Trump some wins
as of late, but over his two terms, his what
five years now whatever it is in counting, he hasn't
gotten a blank check from the court. They've slapped him
down on a couple of things. District courts have slapped

(01:29:43):
him down, causing him to go to the Supreme Court.
And there are still matters out there being adjudicated so
it's not like he's had a blank check to do everything.

Speaker 5 (01:29:52):
That he wanted.

Speaker 2 (01:29:54):
He is certainly trying to find out what will stick though.

Speaker 5 (01:29:57):
No, he's searching it.

Speaker 1 (01:29:58):
But you know what, with his background, his mentality, why
did we expect anything different? If no one, if Congress
isn't gonna step up and say no, mister President and
do something to stop him. That's human nature, isn't it,
Especially for a Type A that becomes president of the
United States. You are gonna go and go and go
until someone stops you. I'm not saying that's good. I'm

(01:30:19):
not saying it's bad. It's reality. It's either Type A
or a two year old. They both do the same thing.
If they both do the same thing, they press the limits.

Speaker 5 (01:30:27):
Three or four.

Speaker 2 (01:30:28):
Talk three or four is a text line. We're never
gonna get through the entire text line, but we'll try.
We'll come back right after this wrap things up, get
some more text. It's talk line from the Encova Insurance Studios.

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(01:32:20):
a day.

Speaker 19 (01:32:21):
Oh.

Speaker 2 (01:32:21):
We're not going to leave you much time to answer this, TJ,
but try. Texter says, I'm not certain I understand where
you're coming from with your criticism of the folks protesting
for healthcare. I don't think a robust healthcare delivery system
equates to advocating for a king. We are, after all,
the only industrialized nation that does not have a national
health care system. Do all of those countries have authoritarian governments? No,

(01:32:42):
they do not, says the Texter.

Speaker 1 (01:32:45):
I think it's a bit laughable, frankly, when you talk
about you don't want a king, you don't want a
president who's a king. You don't want government control. That's
what I take from that. And yet at the same time,
you want the government to provide you something. You want
to live under the king's blessing. You want to take
what the king gives you. Sorry, I think markets are
the best way to do healthcare. Been pretty clear on that.

Speaker 2 (01:33:05):
Three or four talk three four, couple of Texters asking
about the George Santos, President Trump commuting his sentence. Yeah,
I don't get it. Kind of goes back to your
commentary this morning to Jay, Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:33:19):
That's what Santos said. Santo says, well, you know they
pardoned Hunter Biden. How that's not a very good George Santos,
I would imagine, But I mean, yeah, why the guy
should do his seven years?

Speaker 5 (01:33:32):
I don't get that move at all.

Speaker 2 (01:33:34):
Three or four talk three oh four. Let me see.
President Trump has kept his promises to strengthen the country.
Best president I've ever seen. I've never seen. Uh. It's
a feature of government, not a flaw. We all want thoughtful,
smart government that protects citizens' rights. A person who did

(01:33:59):
not want to be a king would not have said
they could not shoot someone and get away with it.
I appreciate the acknowledgments, but I was hoping for some
details all from Bridge Day. Uh, sorry about that. People
are saying Trump wants to be a king. They need
to look at Congress. We have some who've been in
office for thirty plus years at all levels of government

(01:34:20):
needs term limits. I think that's a fair point. We
are plumb at a time. Metro News Midday coming up
on many of these same Metro Neese radio stations. Talk
to you tomorrow. This is talk LINEL Metro News, the
voice of West Virginia.