Guest Host Dan Mandis with Gen. Richard Newton on Iran, Zach Schoenfeld on SCOTUS, and John Rich

Westwood One presents America at Night. Here's your host, McGraw-Milhaven. And my name is Dan Mandis in for McGraw-Milhaven tonight and also Monday night. He'll return Tuesday evening. This is America at Night, and you can find out more about me as I fill in for the next couple of days on the socials at Dan Mandis Show. I host a morning show in Nashville, Tennessee on Supertalk 99.7 WTN. And the phone number remains the same, 8442 McGraw, 844-262-4729. We've got a lot going on tonight. We've got a lot going on this weekend. And first of all, in this hour, Iran, of course, top of the news, the president has ships and planes and rockets at the ready. Will he actually attack? We've got Lieutenant General Richard Newton, who is going to return to the program here for an update. And also coming up this hour, the president loses the tariffs battle at the nation's highest court. What is next? We'll talk about that as well right here on America at Night. So the big question this weekend and, of course, next week as well, is President Trump going to attack Iran again? A lot of people were actually anticipating that he might even attack this weekend. Lieutenant General Richard Newton does return to the program. And, sir, your analysis, I was listening, was so good with McGraw earlier this week. I wanted to have you back, and it's very much appreciated. Hey, Dan, good evening, and just delighted to be with you. I'm very familiar with Nashville, so it's good to be on air with you specifically. So lots to talk about here specifically. I know Mideast and Iran. Very good. Yes, indeed. It has been an intense week with Iran. Of course, you know, they were saber rattling. President Trump moving more and more military assets into the region. I did think that this was a rather strange flex for Iran earlier this week, deciding to close part of the Strait of Hormuz right as the talks were starting. And President Trump was moving more assets into the region. So the days and weeks leading into the talks were tense. Talk about the attitude of both sides going in. Well, first and foremost, Iran is at its weakest state, Dan, certainly in my professional life, since really the Islamic regime took over in 1979. They're the weakest they've been politically, economically, and militarily, certainly on the post heels of that exquisite Israeli air campaign back in June, followed by Operation Midnight Hammer on June 22nd when seven V-2 bombers took out the vast majority of the nuclear weapons development capabilities of Iran, as well as 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles from a submarine. But you're right. Iran is trying to flex its muscles. First, let's talk about there's a dual track approach going on here. First and foremost is you've got negotiations on one hand whereby Iran, their core positions have not changed. They're trying to engage with a lot of distraction, you know, the negotiating travel, trying to delay, delay, delay, much like Putin has been trying to do with regard to Russia and Ukraine. And then he talked about there, you know, just a couple of days or so ago when they did those live fire exercises in the Strait of Hormuz. Why is that critical? Because the Strait of Hormuz, Dan, that's where nearly 20 to 25 percent of global shipping with oil on board passes through the Strait of Hormuz on any day. So that's significant. They've done that before. And so that bears close watching also. And they've also been talking about their ballistic missile capabilities to threaten not only Israel and not only United States men and women. We have about 50,000 of our American men and women serving in the region right now, but also Gulf Air allies such as Saudi Arabia, United Air Emirates and others. And so that's pretty much on the – certainly from Iran's perspective. And we can get into more certainly what their objectives are. But on the other hand, you've got a massive military buildup by the United States. And so we've got the largest armada of aircraft, land-based aircraft, really since 2003 when we kicked off Operation Iraqi Freedom. But also we've got significant sea power capability. There's the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group that was brought out of the South China Sea a few weeks or so ago. It was operating up in the Northern Arabian Sea. And then you've got also the USS Gerald Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, the most capable warship in my estimation in the world, also just passed through the Strait of Gervalters. So the Gerald Ford is now in the Mediterranean, steaming towards the region. By the region, I mean towards the eastern med. There are a few days or so before they would get into position. And so we've got massive sea power, air power, defensive capabilities, and I guarantee you we've got potent offensive cyber capabilities as well. Well, and certainly we have Iran's attention. But let me ask you this. You'd mentioned that Iran is at its weakest point in a long time, in decades. So is part of that saber rattling a message not only to America, to Trump, to the rest of the world, but also a message to the people of Iran that this is a show of strength, that they remain stronger than ever. At least that's what they want the people of Iran to think because of the protest that we saw a couple of months ago. Yeah, correct on both counts, Dan. Iran has never been lost for words in terms of promoting their own capabilities, and even almost as if it's a psychological operation campaign on who may consider adversaries, specifically Israel and the United States, and to some degree some of the Gulf Arab nations there who they're not on best terms with, but also trying to placate their citizenry. citizenry. 90 million citizens in Iran. It's just a little bit over the size of, almost the size of Alaska, about two and a half times the size of Texas. So it's a vast nation state, but they have been trying to corral their own people, as you mentioned, with regard to human rights violations, massacring their people in the streets since December 28th. My estimation is now I went with about 6,000 or 7,000 people killed in the streets. Now, My sources tell me it's closer to 10,000. And then you also have tens of thousands of Iranian citizens in jail. So they're trying to not only perhaps carry on this information campaign external to Iran and try to threaten the United States, threaten Israel and others, but also internally as well. And that's been going on not for just the last several weeks or months, but actually for years. This is right out of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ayatollah's playbook. General Richard Newton joining us on America at Night. So with all of those assets that you just mentioned, what kind of attack would you expect to see? What are the targets? I mean, obviously, we can't give away state secrets. But, I mean, what do you generally expect the president to go after? He's loathed to put ground troops in Iran. in Iran, but there was plenty of assets there to do plenty of damage. Correct. And I don't see it mainly as an air and sea and cyber attack. I would, if you went down the list of target sets, but let me back off just for a second. This is not going to be one or two days. this is going to be or we have the capability to conduct a sustained air and sea campaign over the period of weeks, perhaps into a month or so. And so inside of that will be strikes on nearly a 24-7 basis. We have the capability to execute such an operation should the president decide. And I guarantee you tonight, Dan, he has a range of options on his desk at the Oval Office that the United States military has provided him for beyond just discussion now, but for choices of execution. Admiral Bradley Cooper is the commander of U.S. Central Command. He will be the combatant commander in charge of this operation. Currently is in charge, obviously, with all things in the Mideast, with U.S. Central Command. First and foremost on his mind, however, is the defending U.S. military forces in the region, as well as U.S. national security interests and certainly perhaps with our close allies with regard to Israel and even other Gulf Arab partners in the region. That would include FAAD, which is a terminal high altitude area defense capability shooting down missiles. You've got the Patriot missile systems have been put in place. We have aircraft that can go against Iranian drones and so forth. Why is that important? Because Iran is still a potent force. They have nearly 2,000 ballistic missiles that can strike against U.S. forces in the region as well as Israel and others. I mentioned those Gulf partners of ours. So that's critical. But the offensive side of this, as I mentioned in the top of the conversation, this is the largest massive creation of power, military power, since 2003, as I mentioned. And so that's important because if you're going to sustain an operation, which I anticipate that's the game plan here, should the president decide to move forward with that, that'll be required. So it includes not only attack aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft, but it also includes cargo aircraft and air-refeeling tankers and so forth. And so that's really, I believe, what the site picture is here. And what that target set would look like and what the aim is would be, let's talk about the aim first. The aim, I believe, and how I would advise the president is, and what he's talked about publicly, is to compel the Iranians to stop pursuing a nuclear weapon. That's point one. Second point is to destroy their ballistic missile capability and their production capability. Third is to go after their drone technology. Not only can they attack their adversaries in their region, but they're also using it as export and making money off of it, frankly, by providing their drones to Russia. In turn, they're attacking innocent Ukrainian civilians. The other piece of this is Iran continues, Dan, to support terrorism, export of terrorism. Hezbollah, Hamas, Uthis, although they're pretty much on the ropes, they're still trying to compel those terrorist organizations to do harm against Americans and our interests in the region as well, as well as go after and try to attack American forces in the region. The other aspect of this, there's a human rights element to it, and that is, as I mentioned, the massacre of their Iranian civilians as well as putting them in jail and so forth. But the final aim, the overarching strategic aim, that all said, I believe, is to compel for the collapse of the Islamic regime led by the Ayatollah and his mullahs as well as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. That could be and should be, perhaps in my view, the aim here. And so that's why you see such a massive buildup of the United States capabilities. But we'll see. But the president has a wide range of options. General Richard Newton is joining us here on America Night. General, coming up next, you did mention the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. they are really, really embedded into the running of Iran. So coming up after this short break, I'm going to ask you about that and also ask you about a timeline and also the power vacuum that many say would happen if we were able to make the changes we want to make in Iran. My name is Dan Mandis, in for McGraw-Milhaven. We'll return next right here on America at Night. Live from coast to coast, this is America at Night with McGraw-Milhaven. Welcome to America at Night with McGraw-Milhaven. My name is Dan Mendez, and for McGraw, this is indeed America at Night. He'll be back on Tuesday evening. wrapping up our conversation with General Richard Newton, talking about the latest in Iran. And, General, when we wrapped up the conversation prior to the break, we were talking about a number of different things. But I think it's going to be really difficult once we go in, if we go in. You know, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, as you know, they are so embedded in Iran. I mean, not only are they the elite military, but they also run parts of Iran. You've also got the clerics, the state media, goes on and on. So once we go in, all of these folks are so embedded in Iran. How do you see all of this working? Would it leave a power vacuum? It's a very difficult conundrum, Dan, and you pointed out clearly. Let's go through the groups really quick. Of course, you've got the Ayatollah Khamenei, who's been in power for a couple of decades, by the way, is 86 years old. and I understand very ill, but there would be certainly a, the power vacuum would be filled under, quote, normal conditions, you know, with another Ayatollah who's just as ruthless would be my prediction. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, they represent somewhere between 175 and 190,000 of these elite military, paramilitary, and they are embedded throughout the Iran. Think of them as a kind of a military onto itself. They're the ones that are responsible for the training, but also the export of terrorism around the world. And so they have their own Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, but there's also the conventional Iranian military that also has an Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, and so forth. So that's somewhat of the rack and sacks, if you will, from the political base, the theocratic base, down to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to their conventional military. What's most concerning to me, however, is one million of what we call the besieged militia. They're the ones that really, they rule the streets of Iran. They're the ones that you see with the pipes and the beatings and the shootings of innocent Iranian citizens in the street and in their homes. And they're the ones that are completely embedded around this vast nation state called Iran. And so they're the ones that say they swing pipes and they shoot citizens. And so I don't see them backing off. And so that's a difficult conundrum coming up next. So on that note. However, let's get back to the core here and really what Iran holds very dear in terms of red lines from the Ayatollah and certainly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is their nuclear weapons development capability, but also those ballistic missiles, as I mentioned. And that's why at the negotiating table, perhaps they'll try to have discussions based on the nuclear weapons development capability, but a red line for them is to have any discussions, any halt, any slowing down of their ballistic missile capabilities, because that's the way they're able to extend power outside of Iran, but it's also what they – you and I talked about this at the top of the conversation. This is how they demonstrate to their citizenry that they are a formidable military force that can exert power across the Middle East. That gives us, in other words, the Ayatollah and his henchmen, as well as the IRGC and others, credibility, if you will. So that's where we're at here. All right. We've only got about 30 seconds left. Do you think we're going to go in this weekend, next week? What do you think? I think a bottom line is the president has a variety of options. One could be he could do a limited strike option. That's a smaller initial strike that could occur, you know, in the coming days and so forth. But the larger package, the larger campaign is still several days off. I predict not necessarily this weekend in terms of a massive campaign. But we're ready in the coming week or two. All right, General, thank you very much for joining us. My name is Dan Mandis, in for McGraw-Milhaven. This is America at Night. This is America at Night with McGraw-Milhaven. We'll be right back. Face ID to unlock cash app. It's so sad what money does to people. It happens. That's why you don't tell anybody what you got. That guy had the brilliant idea. I don't want my relatives to know how much money I have. So every time I go to Thanksgiving, I ask them if I can borrow more. Stealth wealth. Stacking Benjamins. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. This is America at Night with McGraw-Milhaven. Welcome back to America at Night. My name is Dan Mandis in for McGraw-Milhaven. You can find out more about me on the socials at Dan Mandis Show. I host a morning show in Nashville, Tennessee on Supertalk 99.7 WTN. So big news from the Supreme Court today. As the Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump does not have the authority to use the Emergency Powers Act of 1977 to implement tariffs. And I'm ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed for not having the courage to do what's right for our country. Yeah, this is, of course, the Supreme Court ruling on tariffs. The president, of course, as everyone knows, a conservative majority in the Supreme Court. Still, though, he lost that tariff ruling six to three. They basically said that he does not have the authority to levy sweeping tariffs under the Emergency Powers Act of 1977. Basically, if I'm understanding this, is that they say that he needed congressional approval. Zach Schoenfeld is with us. She is the courts and legal reporter at The Hill. Zach, thank you for joining us here on America at Night. So you tell me, were you surprised that the court voted the way that they did? Not too surprised, Dan, but that's just based on what we heard at the November blockbuster arguments in this case, in which we heard some of the skepticism from two of Donald Trump's own appointees, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett. And if you look at the opinions that they wrote today, I don't think it comes as too much of a surprise to people who are paying close attention to those arguments, with the two of them joining Chief Justice John Roberts and the three liberal justices to make this six to three majority, but one that doesn't fall on those ideological lines. So I don't think this this came as too much of a surprise, but still a blockbuster loss here for the president. Over the past year, the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled in his favor. But those have all been emergency cases, these technically preliminary rulings, this tariffs decision. This is the first time that the court has issued a final ruling on the merits of one of the president's policies. Yeah, and it's going to be interesting, too, because the headlines are out there. Of course, one hundred and seventy five billion dollars in tariff revenue is on the table. And so one of the questions that I have is, OK, so what happens now to all of that money? And that's a question, Mark, that we didn't get an answer to from the Supreme Court. The court did not provide any guidance for what that refund process will look like. If you read through the opinions, it's actually only in the dissent when you get to Justice Brett Kavanaugh, one of the conservatives who ruled in Trump's favor in the minority today. He talked about the fact that the court wasn't providing any guidance. But this is now going to be a battle that is going to play out in the months ahead. In anticipation of the Supreme Court's ruling, hundreds of companies have already filed lawsuits to try to get refunds. That includes brands like Revlon, Costco, Bath & Body Works, even those pop sockets, those things on the back of people's phones. The list just goes on. And so you can now expect that those companies are going to go back to the trade court in New York City where this case all started and now start pushing for refunds. The Trump administration all along has insisted that they will provide refunds. But that is now a battle that's going to play out. And it's a battle that doesn't have a lot of guidance here from the Supreme Court. So this is something that could take quite a while, even if these companies do get refunds down the road. This this sounds like a mess. That is actually the exact word that Justice Amy Coney Barrett used at the arguments. As I talk to people in this case for months, whether it's the small businesses, Democratic states suing Trump, whether it's on the government side. It seems the one thing that people can agree on is that this refund process is going to be a mess. It's one of the reasons perhaps of why the Supreme Court didn't want to get too much into the nitty gritty of it, because they might not have the best answer for how this should work. The closest precedent that I can think of when we've seen something like this was something that took place in the late 90s. There was a refund of something called the Harbor Maintenance Tax. But just to give you an idea, that was something, you know, we're not talking about hundreds of billions of dollars like we are with tariffs. And that was a process that back in the late 90s took several years for companies to get refunds. So I'm clear of some of how this is going to work, but it seems everyone can agree here. It's going to be messy and it might take a while. The president, in acknowledging that he was disappointed and he lost this particular case, then he seemingly says that we're going to simply go about this in a different way. Listen to what he said. Therefore, effective immediately, all national security tariffs under Section 232 and existing Section 301 tariffs, they're existing, they're there, remain in place, fully in place and in full force and effect. Today, I will sign an order to impose a 10 percent global tariff under Section 122, over and above our normal tariffs already being charged. And we're also initiating several Section 301 and other investigations to protect our country from unfair trading practices of other countries and companies. A couple of things there. You've got the new avenue to impose tariffs. I think that's number one. He says he'll use Section 122, which, from what I can tell, gives him limited and temporary authority to impose tariffs. Then he talks about an investigation. So let's first talk about Section 122. It is limited to 150 days. It gives him, I guess, temporary authority. Can you just interpret this for us? Yeah, and this is a very different statute than the IFA statute that was at the center of the Supreme Court case. And it's one of the points as you read through the majority opinion is what Trump was arguing under the statute that now he can't use. had essentially been arguing for an unbounded vision of his tariff authority, saying that he could, in the words of the majority, they said if they endorsed his view, it would have allowed Trump to unilaterally impose almost any tariff on any country for an unlimited duration. But now he does still have all these other statutes that are backup options. But whether it's the Section 122 tariffs you mentioned with that timing limit of 150 days, he mentioned, you know, some of those other sections he's talking about investigations. It's because those statutes require that government officials conduct investigations and go through certain processes. And these are all parts of these tariff statutes that have all these technicalities and checks and balances. And it's just a very different picture. No matter which statute the president chooses, it's just much more limited than the IEPA statute that he had been trying to use to impose those Liberation Day tariffs over the past year. But you can imagine as they go embark on this plan B, to be clear, you know, the Supreme Court's ruling says nothing about those statutes. In fact, some of the justices themselves even acknowledged that the president might be able to use these backup options and emerge victorious. So this isn't over by a long shot is what you're saying. Not at all. Whether it be the refund battle that's going to be playing out, whether it be the president trying to do these backup options, you know, who knows? Maybe someone will sue again and then we could start this whole process over again. Don't get me wrong. this is a big loss for the president, but by no means is this going to be the end of the story. So is this the kind of thing where, OK, so he's going to use this Section 122. It is limited. It is temporary. But OK, so could then this end up going back in front of the Supreme Court in maybe an expedited manner? It very well could. We could be about to start this whole cycle over again, because just like when the president began, this is the tariff case that dates all the way back to February when he first declared an emergency over fentanyl to impose tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico. Then lawsuits came in very quickly, went up the chain all the way to the Supreme Court and on an expedited basis. And if the president wants to use Section 122, whether he wants to go the Section 232 route, whatever statute he uses, this whole cycle could play out again. So this is crazy. I'm going to I'm going to ask this question. What if he gets rejected on 122? Then he can just use another statute and another statute and another statute. Could this extend beyond his presidency? It very well could. Now, you might imagine that depending on who wins in 28, that they might not want to continue those policies. But it very well could. We could be sitting here at the end of the Trump presidency and still be dealing with litigation over tariffs. And the other thing I would I would just point out here in the question you asked is, you know, this is all a question of what can the president do? Congress could act, too, because the constitutional authority for tariffs lies with Congress. The whole issue of this case is the fact that the president is claiming he has authority under some statute that Congress has passed that he says delegates in the tariff authority. Supreme Court says no. But if Congress were to act tomorrow and pass a law that, you know, reimposes these tariffs, that wouldn't be a legal case because Congress has the constitutional authority to do so. This is a question of what can the president do? And I think you're right, Dan. He really could go Section 122 and then just start working his way through all the other statutes. And that's why you see the president in this press conference following the ruling, saying that he believes that this could be litigated for years. We have a very slim majority in the House of Representatives, and we have a higher majority in the Senate. But I just I don't think the makeup of the House and the Senate right now would would give the president that authority. Do you think it would? I don't think either. And you know I think that one of the reasons you seen the president looking to all these statutes trying to figure out what unilateral authority do I have is because of the fact that we have seen that Congress might not be willing to provide those votes I mean just look to last week You had the House pass a resolution with several Republicans crossing over party lines joining Democrats to to invalidate the president Canadian tariffs That's irrelevant now because the Supreme Court has now struck them down. But just goes to show that it's not even Democrats who are against this. There are some Republicans, too. So I think you're right on there. You know, I just say that to point out the legality and the constitutionality of all this. But I think you're right on that just the political climate and the makeup of Congress, that that's not going to be an avenue that goes anywhere. I think this whole thing is going to be fascinating to watch. I mean, there are a lot of people that praise the president for pushing the envelope. But now here we go with, as you said, Amy Coney Barrett, basically saying that this whole thing is a mess. Do you have an opinion on how the market will ultimately react to this in the next, you know, days, weeks and months? I mean, the market's been up and down with all of the reactions of the Supreme Court, what Donald Trump says, what he does, what he implements, what he takes away. I mean, I think this is going to be fascinating to watch just from an economic standpoint. I think you're right on there. I mean, we did see the markets right as the opinion came out in the morning. They did have a jolt there. But, you know, I think it remains to be seen beyond maybe that first 20 minutes of the markets reaction, what's actually going to happen. And, you know, perhaps the reason that the markets didn't have an even bigger jump right at 10 a.m. when the opinion came down is because of the fact there still are all of these unanswered questions, whether it be we still don't know when companies are going to get refunds. We don't know if the president going to be successful in implementing these other tariffs. And, of course, one of the things that businesses and markets have been grappling with is not even the tariffs themselves, but just the constant changing nature of them and all of the uncertainty. And, you know, we'd almost gotten to a point where, you know, businesses had months under their belt of dealing with these IEPA tariffs that have now been struck down. But now if we're going back to the drawing board and starting under new statutes and new tariffs, this could really cause a whole new wave of uncertainty. Well, and if there's one thing the market does hate, it is uncertainty. There's a lot of unpredictability right now with all of these tariffs and what the president's going to do, what the president's not going to do, how it's ultimately going to end up in front of the Supreme Court. Do you have an idea or maybe a prediction on how the market is going to react to all of this? And as we saw when the president had his Liberation Day announcement back in April when stocks took a tumble, you know, if we see that again, whether he calls it Liberation Day Part 2 or something else, you know, whatever the specifics, the nitty gritty of it is, you know, we just look at that historical example of just one year ago, how the markets reacted to the original Liberation Day announcement that was delayed, Then there were trade deals. And we've seen that the markets, when Trump is making these tariff threats and it's just constantly changing, just how much volatility and at times significant drops and sell offs there has been in the market. So perhaps we will see that again. All right, Zach Schoenfeld, courts and legal reporter for The Hill. Zach, thank you very much for joining us here on America at Night. Thanks for having me. Great conversation. Now, coming up, we do have more reaction from the Trump administration. The phone number remains 8442 McGraw, 844-262-4729. My name is Dan Mandis in Fort McGraw. He'll return on Tuesday night. So you've got me obviously tonight and also a Monday evening as well. You can follow me on the socials at DanMandisShow. I host a morning show in Nashville, Tennessee on Supertalk 99.7 WTN. You can find out more about that show at our website 99.7 WTN.com. We'll return next. This is America at Night. America at Night with McGraw-Milhaven. This is America at Night with McGraw-Milhaven. My name is Dan Mandis in for McGraw. Tonight, also Monday night, he returns on Tuesday, 844-262-4729. So the Trump administration is now responding to their loss at the Supreme Court. One of the things that I would mention is that for months, the president, of course, has been saying that a loss at the Supreme Court on tariffs would be catastrophic. A failure of the Supreme Court does end up handing the president a big-time loss. And so now the question is, how catastrophic is it going to be really? Well, this is Stephen Miller, of course, with the Trump administration. He was on with Laura Ingram. Justice Thomas said so brilliantly and eloquently, the language of the statute is clear. Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the president has the authority to regulate foreign trade. And going back to the founding of our country, the term regulate has always meant and included the power to levy duties. But here's the good news, Laura. As cowardly, as horrendous as the Supreme Court ruling was, as poorly as it reflects on John Roberts' court and the continued torturing of our statutes and our Constitution, here's the good news. The court also affirmed the president has the authority under Section 301, Section 232, Section 122, Section 338, and many other provisions of federal law that the president can levy tariffs on foreign nations. So his program will not only be fully reconstituted, but it will be expanded. And one more point, Laura, the Supreme Court also affirmed that under IEPA, the president has authority to restrict, impede, deny, license, or even fully embargo any foreign trade. So the net result of all this is we're going to keep and grow the tariffs to bring back American manufacturing, which keeps prices low by incentivizing products we made here in America. But it also means that President Trump has even more tools when it comes to dealing with foreign countries that undermine our security. Yeah. So and I think the president has always had a plan, you know, obviously, A, but a B, C and D as well. I think we all know because we've been watching President Trump for years that he's got a lot of hyperbole, of course. And he's been saying that a lawsuit to the Supreme Court would be catastrophic. We would end up being, as the president would say, a loser nation. But I think part of that was obviously an attempt to try to pressure the Supreme Court to vote his way. But he does already have a second plan, a third and a fourth as well, with the various backup plans he's got in place. Now, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, he was actually giving a speech when this whole thing came down. And this is this is part of what the Treasury Secretary had to say. I would also like to take a moment to address today's Supreme Court ruling. President Trump will always put our national security and Americans first. And as I have said before, the president has multiple tools in his toolbox. Let's be clear about what today's ruling was and what it wasn't. Despite the misplaced gloating from Democrats, ill-informed media outlets, and the very people who gutted our industrial base, the court did not rule against President Trump's tariffs. Six justices simply ruled that IEPA authorities cannot be used to raise even $1 of revenue. So he is right. Realize two of those justices were ones that Donald Trump nominated in Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch. So for the president, this is also clearly a personal loss and he does feel betrayed. But he is right. They ruled that the Emergency Powers Act cannot be used, but that that doesn't necessarily mean that there are not other ways to try and tariff nations and companies. And so I think that the president has always had a plan B and a plan C. This administration will invoke alternative legal authorities to replace the IEPA tariffs. We will be leveraging Section 232 and Section 301 tariff authorities that have been validated through thousands of legal challenges. Treasury's estimates show that the use of Section 122 authority, combined with potentially enhanced Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs will result in virtually unchanged tariff revenue in 2026. Oh, but what about that $175 billion that we have already collected from tariffs? As I said in my interview earlier, this is going to be a mess and fascinating to watch. The phone number, 844-2-McGraw, 844-262-4729. My name is Dan Mandis in Fort McGraw-Millhaven. This is America at Night. Westwood One presents America at Night. Here's your host, McGraw-Milhaven. My name is Dan Mandis, and for McGraw tonight and also Monday, this is America at Night. It's always great to fill in. McGraw, by the way, he'll be back on Tuesday night. The phone number remains 8442 McGraw, 844-262-4729. I host a morning show in Nashville, Tennessee on Supertalk 99.7 WTN. You can follow me on the socials at DanMandaShow. By the way, staying true to the format even when McGraw is gone. So coming up in the next hour, we will be doing open phones. I'm also going to talk a little bit about dysfunction in America as well here in the next couple of hours as it relates to politics. Because I've got to tell you, I'm active on the socials. Follow me on the socials at DanMandyShow, if I didn't already say that. But I've got to tell you, the more that I spend time on the socials, the more that I believe that people are losing their ever-loving minds. And part of me thinks that it's perhaps good that these folks are exposing themselves. I've got some must-hear audio of a woman who actually takes to social media and she starts advocating for people to grab their guns and just start shooting at the enemy. And do you know who the enemy is? ICE and the Border Patrol, which, by the way, happens to be a crime. And so I think that part of what we're seeing in the world today, in America today, part of what we're seeing is a combination of social media and social media simply allowing people. And stop me when you've heard this before. This isn't exactly a new concept. But social media is allowing people to just instantly post all of their thoughts and ideas on all of the crazy things that they're thinking, including threatening federal law enforcement. And so you combine that with, of course, the craziness of politics today and Trump derangement syndrome and all of that. And it can make for a very, very messy political dialogue here in America today. So we'll have that conversation coming up in the last hour during open phones and certainly on a Friday night. It should be fun. 8442 McGraw, 844-262-4729. OK, coming up next, I'm going to try not to fanboy too much, but coming up next, we've got one of my all time favorite musicians. You've probably heard of him. Maybe, maybe not. If you pay attention to country music, if you pay attention to political dialogue, I've got John Rich coming up next. Maybe you've seen him on Fox News. Maybe you've seen him on Newsmax. But, you know, he's much more than a country musician. He was the founder, one of the founders, of course, of Big and Rich. And they have a lot of hits. But, you know, he's got a lot to say. And he's got a lot to say about learning from his failures, learning from his mistakes. and also what is next for him. He's got an amazing story to tell. That story is coming up next. My name is Dan Mandis. This is America Night. In from McGraw-Milhaven, we'll return next. Coming to you from the heart of the nation, this is America at Night with McGraw-Milhaven. Relax. You're listening to America at Night with McGraw-Milhaven. Welcome on in to America at Night. My name is Dan Mandis in for McGraw-Milhaven tonight and also Monday night. McGraw returns on Tuesday. I've really been looking forward to this next interview with none other than John Rich. He is part of, of course, the powerhouse country music duo Big and Rich. And not only is John a country musician, he is also an advocate for the veterans. He is an entrepreneur, brilliant songwriter, and he's also our guest right here on America at Night. John, thanks for being here. Well, it's good to be with you, Dan. How are you? I'm doing great. So your career amazes me. You went from, I want to do country music first. You went from Lone Star to a solo career to, of course, Big and Rich to business ventures to, frankly, standing up for what's right. So I want to talk first just a little bit, to be honest, about your music career. I've always liked your music, but I like your personality and the guts you have a lot more, to be candid. It takes a lot of bravery to do what you do. Let's touch on the music first, though. I was surprised, to be honest, because I'm a big music fan. I was surprised you were such a great guitar player that you played bass in Lone Star and not guitar. You also, of course, co-wrote Lone Star's number one hit, Come Crying to Me, and clearly a big part of that band, both playing and writing. You weren't happy. You have admitted that you got fired. Yes, I did. Yeah, it's funny you bring up playing the bass. I played the bass in Lone Star because they needed a bass player. And I wasn't that great at bass, but I was good enough to kind of limp my way along until I got good enough at it. My main thing was playing guitar. But I wanted to be in that band, and I actually turned down a four-year scholarship to Belmont University. I had a full ride on a vocal scholarship to that school. But this band kind of formed, and they said, hey, you want to go out on the road? We're going to play like 175 nights this coming year. And I said, I can't do that. I'm going to college. They said, oh, that's too bad. I said, well, hang on a minute. How much money you think I'll make? They said, man, you're probably going to make like $400 or $500 a week. And I said, are you kidding me? I couldn't believe I would get paid that kind of money to play music. And what I wanted to do was, my American dream, play the Grand Ole Opry, write hit country songs, and be on the radio. Those were the three things I wanted, and I couldn't understand how going to college would make that happen. And so I made a calculated risk and said, you know what, I'm going to not go to college. And instead, I'm going to go on the road with these guys that I barely know, driving around in a van, pulling a trailer like you've always heard the story. That's what it was. And that band became Lone Star, got a record deal, sold millions of records. And that was my first big splash into country music. Fascinating and not surprising either, knowing you personally as I do. In reading about this time between Lone Star and Big and Rich, was there a lot of self-discovery in that time? There was a lot of anger, jealousy, depression, all kinds of things because Lone Star fired me because they should have fired me because I was uncontrollable. I mean, I was really like out of control ego, terrible attitude, disrespectful. All the things you would think about a guy who's 21, 22 years old writing number one songs. I mean, just picture that, and that's what I was, just total rock star attitude. And they had enough of it and fired me. And then the next song that they put out was a song called Amazed, which is one of the biggest songs that's ever been released, not just in country but period. And I look on my TV on the CMA Awards as I am sitting home in an apartment I no longer can afford. and watch these guys sing Amazed, and it's up for song of the year, and there's four guys on the stage instead of five, and there's the guy playing bass. They just hired a side guy to play bass. It's like I was never even there, and that's when I started writing. That's when I realized, you know what? I may never get another shot at being a singer, but I can write songs. It's the one thing I can still control is a pencil and a piece of paper, so maybe I'm just going to be a career songwriter. That'd be fine with me. And so in the course of about four or five years between Lone Star and when I met Big Kenny and Big and Rich happened, I wrote over 600 songs in that window of time that, Dan, nobody cared about. Nobody cared about my songs. And if they did hear them, they went, what in the world am I listening to? Because my brand of country music didn't sound like anything that was on the radio at that point. But I just stuck with it. And little by little, over the years, you start meeting the right people. Met Big Kenny, met Gretchen Wilson. We started the Music Mafia, which was kind of an underground music jam on Tuesday nights for talented people that had no record deals from all different genres. That got the attention of Music Row and eventually got back on the horse and Big and Rich got a record deal. So listen, my career has been all over the map, but I believe in the right to pursue happiness. And the key word in that phrase is pursue. I don't believe in the right to be happy. I believe I have the right to pursue it, the right to go after it. And that's pretty much the end of it. And sometimes you get it and sometimes you don't. But that's what it means to be an American. I've got to ask. So you're watching Lone Star on the Grammys and hearing the song Amazed. They've got a guy that's taken your place on the base. And at any point, did you regret not taking that scholarship from Belmont? No, I didn't. Because at that point, I had written a number one song, I had played the Grand Ole Opry, and I had been on the radio with Lone Star, I mean, in a very, very big way. And at that point, no, I didn't regret not going to college, because now I had done it to a pretty high level. The question now was, I looked at myself as damaged goods. I mean, these guys fired me and that they're doing better than they were doing when I was in the band. So that's pretty embarrassing and humbling. And then I put out a solo record, which did absolutely nothing. I put out two songs that didn't even break the top 50. And then I lost that deal. So I failed in a band or I got fired from a band. I failed at a solo career. And that's when I decided, I guess I'm a career songwriter. I'd never thought about duo. That's not anything I'd ever considered to be another option, but God had different plans. He had this long-haired country boy from Virginia he wanted me to meet, apparently, named Big Kenny. And that has been the ride I've been on for the past 20 years. I got to tell you, because I'm a longtime country fan, so I remember when Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy came along. And I'm going to be honest with you, first time I heard it, I was like, what the hell is this? Of course. Yeah, but I mean, it just became the music mafia. It became huge. It became more than music. It really was part of a culture. And you've got Come Into Your City. That becomes the theme song for ESPN's College Game Day. So you get fired from Lone Star, solo career, as you say, not doing well. Suddenly, you and Big Kenny, you guys are absolutely crushing it. What I loved about Big and Rich was that the band was truly unique. And I would say that you probably, I don't know, maybe you'd disagree with me, but I think that you influenced Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, perhaps, among others. Talk about that period in your life where you're coming off being fired from Lone Star. you are perhaps, I don't know if it was or not, but perhaps the lowest period in your career. And then suddenly things explode. What's that like? Well, it definitely was the lowest period in my career. That's a fact. You know, in my head, the way I heard country music was it sounded different than what was on the radio. What was on the radio at that time to me was very redundant. It was boring. It was calculated. It didn't have anything interesting going on in it. And I had studied all my heroes, Johnny Cash, Haggard, Willie. You go down Conway, Eddie Arnold, all these guys I had studied growing up listening to them. And the one thing they all had in common is Nashville basically told them, you're not country. I mean they told Eddie Arnold, you're not country. And the reason they told him that is because he would wear a bow tie and a suit coat and walk out on stage and sing, and they told Eddie Arnold, you should be with Glenn Miller or Count Basie Orchestra. You're not country, Eddie. They told Johnny Cash, you're definitely not country. You made your record in Memphis, and you show up in Nashville singing about sex, drugs, and rock and roll and killing people, and you're never going to play the Grand Ole Opry. Get out of here, you crazy man. Johnny Cash is not country. And I was being told, you're not country. The kind of songs you're writing, we don't know what that is. And it was songs like Save a Horse and Come Into Your City and others, Hicktown that I wrote for Jason Aldean. John, we don't know what that is, but it ain't country. Well, it's country to me. And Big Kenny said it sounds like country music as far as I'm concerned. I mean that's how I like to sing my country music, me too. Well, what we realized and the industry finally realized is the audience had also shifted their ears. It was around that time that the internet was really starting to become a thing. People were getting their laptops, and you could stream music. You could be exposed to other genres of music that you never heard outside of your local radio station because before that, whatever your local stations were playing, that's what you heard. And you know how radio is. that gets determined by the program director, not by the audience. And so all these new influences we're hearing and we're using components of other sounds and lyrics and ideas into our version of country music, big and rich music. And that caught on like a wildfire. The industry never really totally loved what we did, but the audience was a different story. And that's where that cultural shift happened. And you are correct. Florida Georgia Line counts big and rich as the reason and they moved to Nashville. Jason Aldean, I wrote seven out of the ten songs on his first record. So in Gretchen Wilson, her entire first two records I wrote with Gretchen, produced those records, and here she comes out of nowhere saying, I'm a redneck woman. I mean, no girl. It was Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Martina McBride. Here comes Gretchen spitting Copenhagen into a styrofoam cup and smoking a cigarette on a video saying, I'm a redneck woman. Well, what do you know, Dan, there's about 50 million women that identify with that exact lifestyle, and she became their hero. So I think just through authenticity and the fact that we didn't really have anything to lose, we just wrote and recorded our country music the way we wanted it to sound. What an amazing story. And, you know, one of the things that I find interesting as we shift more into the more political times in your life is you and Big Kenny, You actually – I've heard you say that you've had some political differences. Did it ever get in the way of the music or the relationship? Definitely, yeah. I mean there were times where me and Kenny – it's kind of like Bo and Luke Duke on the Dukes of Hazzard. But if you mess with Kenny, you're going to have me to deal with. But if I mess with Kenny, that's a different story. Like brothers that also fought each other and fight everybody else. And so that was kind of the relationship. So there were a lot of – even during the Biden administration in the beginning when some of those things were happening, we had total diametrically opposed thoughts about some of those things. And you'd sit on the tour bus late at night after a concert and have two-hour-long heated debates about it. But I think it speaks to the friendship and the music that we make together that we're still out playing. And we're still pulling 50 cities a year and having a blast. And I think Big and Rich is about as American as it gets. Two guys that have a lot in common but have certain things that they don't have in common. But that doesn't override the friendship, which is what America used to be. I mean we used to have Archie Bunker and George Jefferson as neighbors. And they would show up and fight with each other, and we'd all laugh at it and then go to bed. And it wasn't a big deal because they were still Americans. And they would protect each other if they had to. And I think that's the America I'd like to see come back. It's definitely how me and Big Kenny operate. I love that, John. And if only America could operate like that. My name is Dan Mandis in Fort McGraw-Milhaven. This is America at Night. And, yes, we are talking to John Rich from Big and Rich. We've got a lot more straight ahead right here on America at Night. You can find out more about me on my socials. Follow me at DanMandisShow. I do host a morning show in Nashville, Tennessee on Supertalk 99.7. WTN, and that is on 6 to 10 Eastern Time. Find us online there at 99.7 WTN.com. More with John Rich coming up next. This is America at Night. Coming to you from the heart of the nation, this is America at Night with McGraw-Milhaven. And. Thank you. Welcome to America at Night with McGraw Dan Mandis here back with America at Night and John Rich from Big and Rich is joining me and let continue our conversation John, I've got to ask because you do a lot of incredible charitable work. I want to make sure that we get in some of the amazing things that you do for the veterans. As a matter of fact, your brand, Redneck Riviera, has a built-in charitable engine for veterans. So you've raised millions for veterans. And in 2025, you won the Bob Hope Award for Entertainment. Talk about what drives your charitable efforts. Well, I look at our veterans and our active duty, and I realize that short of them being willing to serve and die if necessary, I don't have an American dream. I don't have the right to pursue happiness. I don't have any of those things that we have in this country. I'm a high school graduate, grew up as a kid in a double-wide trailer out in Texas. Now, it was a good double-wide. Don't get me wrong. It was. But, you know, grew up pretty much month to month, and I've been able to go out here and build a pretty incredible life and experience a lot of incredible things. And I owe that to our veterans and our active duty. So as I launched businesses like Redneck Riviera Whiskey, we're in 9,000 stores. I wanted to give back to those families that have sacrificed like that. And so, yes, the Folds of Honor is who I decided to support. They put college grants together for kids and spouses who have a family member that's either been killed in action or is severely disabled. And so right now there's people going to college, Dan, around the United States, partially subsidized by sales of my brand, Redneck Revere Whiskey, which is something I'm really happy about. And that Bob Hope Award, that came out of nowhere. I mean I got the phone call from Gary Sinise, and he said, well, I got some news for you, partner. I go, what's that? He goes, the Medal of Honor Society wants to give you the Bob Hope Award for your support of veterans. And I just about choked. And I called my dad, who I never bother him with the stuff I'm doing. I called my dad. I called the whole family. I said, I want you all to go if you can. And my whole family put on tuxedos and dresses and went down to Chattanooga and watched me get that award. It was my two sons sitting in the room, 14 and 16, with 36 Medal of Honor recipients all in the room at the same time. It was an epic, epic family moment. I got to tell you, I got chills just hearing about that because you and I share a passion for the veterans. Let's talk about Redneck Riviera for a minute. This is a huge brand. Not only do you have whiskey, you've got bars in Nashville and Las Vegas. Was it your end goal to always be a musician and an entrepreneur, or did it just evolve over time? You know, I'm an idea guy, and so I think if you boil me all the way down, I'm a songwriter. Well, in the process of writing a song, what is that? Like what's a hit song? What makes a hit song? What makes a song a hit is that you have a very simple idea, very few words strung together that stick, that mean something to people. It evokes some type of emotion, whether it makes them laugh, cry, makes them want to fight, makes them want to do whatever. It evokes emotion. And so at the core, I'm an idea guy. I'm a creative guy. And so when I have a creative idea like redneck Riviera, which is a phrase that's been around since the early 1960s, I'm seeing this phrase and nobody's ever done anything really meaningful with it. I went and argued with the US government for a year trying to get that trademark and finally got it and decided this is a really, really big phrase. It's the blue-collar Riviera. You can't go to the French Riviera, so where are we going to go? We're going to go to the redneck Riviera. And that rang a bell with me. I mean that's how I was raised, and so I thought, well, okay, if I'm going to be able to launch a brand, whether it's successful or not, I need to give back to the people that allow guys like me to start businesses, to have a crazy idea and chase it. That's the American dream, and so that's where we peel off those percentage points and send it back to the folds of honor. Amazing. Of all the words to describe you, and there are many, Courageous, I would put as number one, you, of course, being a country musician. You come out, of course, as conservative, Christian, these days a Trump supporter. Now, logically, you would think that would fit with a country music brand, but not quite these days or probably in the last, I don't know, you tell me, 10 years, whatever. When did you first realize that you had a lot to say outside of songwriting? And talk about the risks involved and how you didn't care. Well, when Obama became president and I saw some of the distribution of wealth, I saw bailing out of massive government entities. I saw socialism creeping in. I saw the school system starting to change and curriculums changing. I started talking about it. Now, at this point, I'm still on Warner Brothers Records, which is run by a bunch of liberals. I mean, hardcore. And they would call me into the office after I'd do an interview with Sean Hannity, like the Tea Party movement was going on right through there. They'd see me doing something, call me in and say, listen, you can't do those interviews anymore. You can't talk about that subject. You know, you are – we own your music, which is basically saying we own you, which they do, by the way. When you sign that record deal, they pretty much own you. and we've invested a lot of money in you, and you're going to polarize the audience, and you're going to hurt our business. You can't talk like that anymore, and I started to realize, hang on a minute. I'm going to have to decide if my freedom of speech is more valuable to me than the approval of the music industry or the other way around. Like am I going to be the guy that sits at home in front of my kids yelling at the TV, at the nonsense going on that the liberals are doing, and then put on my boots and my hat and walk down the red carpet and play patty cake with the same exact people I was just yelling at? Because that's hypocritical, Dan. That's being a hypocrite. And it was crawling all over me. I was like I cannot be that guy, and I cannot lay that example out for my two sons. I don't want them to be hypocrites, but they're looking right at me. So they are going to grow up and be hypocrites if I keep doing this. And so eventually I just said, you know what? I'm getting a divorce. I'm divorcing the music industry. I want to be independent. I want to say what I want to say, sing the songs I want to sing. If that means I don't get invited to your award shows, fine. If I don't get another hit song on the radio, fine. At least I can sleep well at night. And you know what? I have slept well at night ever since then. And I did lose a lot to do that, but I also gained a lot on the other side. The second you start becoming courageous, unapologetic, and saying how you feel, it's interesting how tens of millions of people who feel exactly the way you do come to your defense, come to your back, and support what you do. Do you think that – we talked earlier about your entrepreneurship and all the things that you've done. Had you stayed with Warner Brothers and, as you would say, keep your mouth shut and just shut up and sing, right? Do you think that you would have become an entrepreneur? Do you think that you would have won the Bob Hope Award and all those things? Because that really seems like sort of the point where you really did start to find your voice and find yourself, really, is when you're able to really speak out and say how you felt. Yeah, the answer to that question is absolutely no. That would have not happened, and here's how I encapsulate that, and again, as a songwriter, probably would. It's success versus significance. They are not one and the same. Sometimes something successful can also be significant, and sometimes something significant can have success to it. But significant things most of the time mean that they don't personally benefit you. They benefit a bigger situation. They help people outside of what influences you. There are things that need to be addressed, need to be said, need to be done, action that needs to be taken for or against something that's happening, and it is a significant outcome when you win. And that is really what I focus on these days is not success as the world would define it. It is significance. What can I do with the amount of heartbeats I have left, and nobody knows how many that's going to be, that are significant landmark things that my own sons get to look at and go, that's what dad actually cared about. Dad actually cared – he cared about that way more than the plaques on the wall, way more than seeing himself on TV. He cared about that, and that's really been my drive here for probably the past eight to ten years. And that's, Dan, probably when you started, I probably got on your radar because I started trying to do things and say things that were significant. Absolutely. John Rich joining us here on America at Night. So you over the last, I think it's been the last couple of months, right? You have become, talking about what you do with the time left, with the heartbeats you have left, you have become an appointed citizen advocate for the Trump administration. Talk about what that is. What does it entail? And that's got to be just an amazing honor. Well, so last year I waged a war against a company called the TVA, the Tennessee Valley Authority. They run power through seven different states. They're a federal power company, the only one in existence, set up in 1933 by FDR, and they still exist today. They're very brutal in the way they deal with landowners. They came into the county I live, and we're going to just destroy thousands of acres of land and hundreds of houses and wrecking this rural county, and nobody in the county had a way to fight them. And so I stepped into the fray, and I started fighting them. And I didn't know if I could beat them either, but it wound up going all the way to the president of the United States, to the Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary Rollins, got on their radars, and they went, what John is yelling about is horrible. We've got to put a stop to that. And so they stepped in, and we stopped it, and we saved that county from what was going to happen. Well, that led to the president calling me one day and offering me a board position on the TVA board, which is a job that all kinds of people want. It's a very powerful, lofty position, and I told the president no. Now, Trump is not used to hearing the word no, but it was a respectful no, and I said respectfully, sir, I'm going to decline the offer because I would rather be a citizen advocate. I don't want to work with the power company. I want to work to protect landowners from the power companies. Can you set up some kind of situation like that? He goes, you know what? That's an interesting idea. Let me work on that. And about two or three months later, I get a phone call, and they said, we'd like you to come to D.C. We're building out this lawfare committee of powerful attorneys, and our whole job is going to be to protect landowners from egregious behavior from state governments, local governments, power companies, you name it. And we want you to be the face of it, the voice of it, and do what it is that you do, and we'll back you up in the courts. Well, that is exactly where I should be, brother. I am not a government guy. I don't want to be in politics. But you put me in that slot, that's where I'm effective. And so over these next few years, you're going to see many, many, many things that I interject myself in between landowners and powerful people raining down on them to try to protect them. and push the bad guys back. And that is awesome. And as a guy who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and I've dealt with the TVA myself, that is a great thing that you're doing. I'm listening to your journey from a bass player at Lone Star to leaving that gig and solo career that didn't quite take off to, you know, big and rich entrepreneur, helping the veterans and now working with the Trump administration. I want to ask you this question. Do you learn more from your many successes or the failures that you've had in your life? Which lessons have been more valuable? I think unequivocally failure, because when you fail, you have to do an autopsy on why did I fail? What happened? Because, man, that was a slam dunk and I didn't get it. And when you go back and look at it, you can always blame it on yourself, always. Because a lot of people make the mistake of saying that didn't work because so-and-so screwed it up or this guy lied to me or whatever. But at the end of the day, if you're really looking at it critically and wanting to learn from it, you go, I should have known that guy was not the right guy. I didn't do my research on that guy. I didn't read him right. Something about him wasn't right, and I looked past it, and I did it anyway, and that's what blew up the deal. It's always going to be something you did as to why it didn't work out. And so over time, I've tried to correct those things. I move slower, more methodically. I really dig into people and make sure they are who they say they are, that they're not a wolf in sheep's clothing and that they're legit, which, by the way, means your circle of friends gets very, very small, very small. But one thing about me I hope that people know is that if you see me saying something, I mean it. If you see me really pushing hard for or against something, nobody is paying me to do that. I'm not being paid to be a citizen advocate. I don't work for the government. I don't get paid by the government. I don't work for politicians. Most Republicans I can't stand, and I'm a conservative. So I look at myself as I just want to say what I know to be true, follow through on it until the end, whether I win or lose. And hopefully that means something to the general public. Like that John Rich guy, well, I might disagree with him, but man, at least he believes what he says. And I hope that's the thing people get from me. I hope you get that from me, Dan. I think you do. That's probably why you call me. Well, absolutely, John. You stand up for the veterans. You stand up for the little guy here in Tennessee. and soon across America. And, of course, you play great music. John Rich, thank you for joining us here on America at Night. Yes, sir. Thank you. What a great conversation. John Rich is one of those guys that I've always admired and finally got to interview. And he's a great guy. By the way, if you missed any part of that interview, you can find the links on my social media. You can follow me at DanMandaShow. 8442 McGraw is the telephone number. 844-262-4729. My name is Dan Mandis. In for McGraw-Milhaven, this is America at Night. America at Night with McGraw-Milhaven, where the nation comes to talk. This is America at Night with McGraw-Milhaven. All right, you saw that Barack Obama really stepped in it regarding UFOs. Listen to this. Are aliens real? They're real, but I haven't seen them, and they're not being kept in, what is it? Area 51. Area 51. There's no underground facility. unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States. What was the first question you wanted answered when you became president? Where are the aliens? Where are the aliens? So it turns out, oh, Barack Obama there, what he did was he revealed classified information. And by the way, if you've seen the various documentaries, they actually do keep the information regarding the aliens away from even the president of the United States. So Donald Trump, of course, was asked about all this. Barack Obama said that aliens are real. Have you seen any evidence of non-human visitors? Well, he gave us the right information. He's not supposed to be doing that. So aliens are real? Well, I don't know if they're real or not. I can tell you he gave classified information. He's not supposed to be doing that. He made a big mistake. He took it out of classified information. No, I don't have an opinion on it. I never talk about it. A lot of people do. A lot of people believe it. Do you believe it, Peter? Well, the president can declassify anything that he wants to. Well, maybe I'll get him out of trouble. I may get him out of trouble by declassifying. We know illegally. Yeah, illegal. Only illegals. So that is Donald Trump. Apparently he's going to bail out Barack Obama. He is now ordering all of the relevant departments and agencies to begin the process of identifying and releasing the government files related to all things UFOs. Did you happen to see the documentary? It's called Age of Disclosure. The American people are ready to receive the truth. Humanity is not the only intelligence in the universe. Humanity is not the only intelligent species. We are absolutely not alone. Non-human intelligence exists. UAPs are real. They're here. And they're not human. So now we have the prediction markets. They are a big thing. And they are all the rage. And they are saying, Polymarket and Couchy both showing a huge spike in bets. and looks like a lot of people are betting the odds that we will, before the end of this year, find out if aliens really do exist. We'll return next. This is America at Night. Westwood One presents America at Night. Here's your host, McGraw Milhaven. Well, McGraw is out tonight. He is also out Monday night. He does return on Tuesday evening. My name is Dan Mandis. Happy to fill in here on America at Night. And you can find out more about me. I'm on the socials at Dan Mandis Show. I do host a morning show in Nashville, Tennessee. Super Talk 99.7 WTN. And the phone number remains 8442 McGraw, 844-262-4729. And this is the hour of open phones. Now, I'm going to tell you, you may not believe this. I've been hosting talk shows for 20 years. In my career, I've never actually done open phones. So this is going to be an experiment for me. So take it easy on the host, 844-2-MGRAW. And phone lines are open. I do have a couple of calls. While the phones fill up, I want to talk a little bit about where we are in America today as far as dialogue goes. Now, you may or may not have heard, but there was another attack on law enforcement. This happened earlier this week. We're getting more details out now, but it was an attack or an attempted attack on a DHS facility. Boise Police Department and the Meridian Fire Department responded to a 911 call reporting that a Canyon County paramedics ambulance had been stolen from the ambulance bay at St. Luke's West. Right. So this guy steals an ambulance from the local hospital right there in Idaho. He drives to a nearby DHS office. He pulls in. And he's got a bunch of gasoline that he pours all over the vehicle and he wanted to set it on fire. Basically, don't forget that an ambulance has oxygen. So what he basically wanted to do was use this stolen ambulance and the gasoline and the oxygen as a bomb to destroy the DHS offices. Investigators believe the suspect poured an accelerant inside and around the outside of the ambulance. At this time, it appears the suspect was unable to ignite the accelerant before being scared off by responding agencies. We want to emphasize that this was a serious criminal act. Yeah, and again, this is Meridian, Idaho, police chief, a guy by the name of Tracy Basterichia. So now you've got the ATF, the DHS, Idaho State Police, FBI, all investigating this. The guy got away. Apparently the cops shows up and he was trying to, you know, light the ambulance on fire with all of that gasoline and oxygen. He fled, and as far as I know, he's still on the loose. But here's the deal. Attacks on DHS and law enforcement, particularly federal law enforcement, continues to skyrocket. What are people doing? Doxing, online harassment, extremists are targeting ICE personnel as well. We've all seen that. If you listen to talk radio, you know what's going on. Now, remember the DHS, the Department of Homeland Security, houses ICE, Border Patrol, FEMA, TSA. But obviously, you know, everyone is focused on ICE and the Border Patrol these days. And just the other day where I live in Middle Tennessee, just the thought of a detention center turned out to be a false alarm. But just the thought of a detention center brought out hostility, anger and protests. So there have now been an 8,000 percent increase in death threats against ICE. That is nearly triple the number from the last 25 years. There has been a lot of rhetoric surrounding the Department of Homeland Security leasing office space at this location. And comments on social media such as property damage isn't violence is absolutely false. This was absolutely an act of violence. And if the suspect had not been interrupted, there is no doubt this building would have been burned, putting the lives of first responders and others at risk. Yeah, I mean, this officer, he is spot on about the rhetoric that we're seeing online. I mean, I'm seeing you can follow me on the socials, X at Dan Mendes show, Facebook at Dan Mendes show as well. I have seen more and more of these types of videos out there. I want you to listen to how unhinged people are getting. And I'm seeing innocent people being killed by ICE. What the f*** are you guys doing? I hope you see this video. Because I'm going to tell America right here, right now, this ends when we stand up and we start shooting back. Get your guns, get your militia, get your people. And when ICE comes to town, don't give them a chance. Get a sniper and shoot. Blow their f***ing faces off. Watch them f***ing drown in their own f***ing blood. Because America will be great again when we realize that we're the ones who make the rules, people. if you don't like the motherfuckers that are in there, then take them the f*** out. Because if you don't, they're going to take us the f*** out. Stand up for your goddamn rights. Stop being p***ers. Stop yelling and asking them what's wrong with them. What's wrong with them is they've been given power that does not f*** belong to them. Because we act like we're scared little b***ers. Let them know who's f***ing boss and take the motherf***ers out. It's as serious and as simple as that. Pick up your guns. End the tyranny. And blow their f***ing asses away. Game over. This is illegal. U.S. law prohibits true threats and incitement to imminent lawless action. Calling for the murder of federal agents on social media is indeed illegal. But, you know, beyond that, this is just unhinged. I mean, I'm here to tell you there were a lot of things that I disagreed with Joe Biden on. There were a lot of things that I disagreed with Barack Obama on. And yes, there's even things that I disagree with Donald Trump on. But getting that unhinged, really? So I'm trying to figure out. Have people always been this unhinged and social media is now giving us the opportunity to see it and it gives these people the opportunity to expose it? Or is social media exacerbating the unhinged nature of some Americans? Now, yeah, I did mention that that is illegal. Under the Supreme Court's Brandenburg v. Ohio, speech loses First Amendment protection if it's directed at inciting imminent lawless action and likely to produce such action. So I checked it out on chat GPT and it says that explicitly urging people to kill government employees almost always meets that threshold. This lady, and I've got to be honest with you, I wasn't sure if it was a lady or a guy, but I can tell you the person is absolutely unhinged. She could face up to 10 years in a federal prison, fines, probation. And I think that she does deserve to go to prison. Now, one guy in Arizona who threatened to execute FBI agents ended up with 15 months in federal prison. My favorite part of that story, the dude in Arizona, basically he said to the FBI, show up at my house and you'll see what happens. Well, he got arrested and he spent 15 months in a federal prison. That's what happened. But if you think this is the craziest thing you've seen on the Internet, think again. The lunatic fringe on the left, many of these folks on the left, listen to this political ad from a woman running to be the lieutenant governor for the state of Illinois. F*** Trump. Vote Juliana. F*** Trump. Vote Juliana. F*** Trump. Vote Juliana. They said it, not me. I'm Juliana Stratton, and I'm proud to have lived my whole life on the south side of Chicago. I'm not scared of a wannabe dictator. I'm running for Senate to stand up to Donald Trump. I'll abolish ICE and hold Trump accountable for the crimes he's committed. Just like they said, fuck Trump, fuck Trump, fuck Trump. Fuck Juliana. That's why I approve this message. OK, so number one, a lieutenant governor cannot abolish ICE, just so we're clear. But I mean, just wow. And at the end of that commercial, you actually have Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker standing next to her saying he supports this vile woman and this horrific ad as well. Now, just so you know, because I'm a Republican, I'm conservative, but if a Republican or conservative had an ad like that, I would condemn it. But I beginning to think that society itself basically has no bottom when I see these kinds of videos You know when we see people trying to burn down ICE officers like we saw in Idaho and we see people threatening to kill law enforcement, think about, you know, the mainstream media and all of their attacks on the president and conservatives. This is CNN Tonight. I'm Don Lemon. The president of the United States is racist. Right. And again, think about the ad from this woman wanting to be lieutenant governor. F*** Trump. You know, all of this stems from the vile and reprehensible behavior of, I would say, many in the mainstream media, the politicians that they support as well. And so you have all of this going on. And I just wonder, have people always been this vile or is social media exacerbating the situation? But just to let you know that all is not lost, I want you to check this out, because we've seen all of these students walking out of class across the country. One principal in Pennsylvania stood up to the student mob. Go back to class and we're good. If you stay out here, we will get your names. You will be suspended. OK, that is your option at this point, because you are operating outside the bounds of what was granted. That event was canceled. You left school without permission. Your rights do not supersede the school. So if you understand that, that is your option. If you wish to return, Dr. Damiani will let you in that door over there. If not, I will be getting your names. You will be suspended. Okay? Those are your options. Your rights do not exceed that of the school. So that was a couple of days ago. The principal is a guy named Daniel Weber. Some students did return. Some actually did get suspended. But, you know, he brings up a good point. And you just look that up, which is, you know, protest when you aren't supposed to be in school. Protest on a Saturday morning. Let's see how passionate you really feel about whatever issue that you're protesting about. You know, it's one thing to ditch school and go out and protest, which you're not necessarily allowed to do. It just depends on the district. But wake up early on a Saturday morning and let's see how passionate you are about whatever issue it is that you are screaming about. The phone number is 8442-MACRAH. Let's say hello to Catherine in Vancouver. Catherine, thanks for calling America at Night. Hi, Dan. I just have some questions that are done in fun. Okay. But McGraw told me I have to be nice to you. So you have the right to remain silent. And they're really quick. They're like, yes, no, really quick. Cat or dog? Dog. Have you been to Canada? I have been to Canada. I've actually been to Vancouver for a job interview years ago. It has to be a short answer. Chocolate or licorice? Chocolate. Chocolate or licorice? Football or baseball? Can I say both? Yep. Electric, guitar, or bass? What was that last one? Oh, electric, guitar, or bass? It's not on. I still got two more. Electric, guitar, or bass? Bass. Stevie Ray Vaughan or Queen? Queen. Thank you. All right. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. You know what's so funny? The life of a talk show host? I could have probably gone an hour on each and every one of those topics. All right. Got a lot more calls. That's straight ahead. 844-2-MGRAW is the phone number. 844-262-4729. Got a lot more. Open phones straight ahead on America at Night. Call now, 844-262-4729. That's 844-2-MGRAW. Thank you. The floor is yours. Call or text 844-262-4729. That's 844-2-MGRAW. My name is Dan Mandis in Fort McGraw-Milhaven here on America at Night. It is open phones. And let's go to the phones and say hello to Gil calling from San Antonio, Texas. Gil, thanks for calling. Oh, you're very welcome. And thank you for covering for the host. I lived all over the world and I agree with President Trump and his tariff policy for this reason. Almost every other country in the world has a value-added or a national sales tax to fund their governmental operations on a national level. Mexico's value-added tax is 16%. Canada has a 5% value-added tax, and the provinces tack on another 5% for the province. Yes. So our goods that we ship to these countries are taxed again, and they're turned into a cash cow to fund the governmental operations of these countries. Well, and, hey, Gil, if I can jump in, also don't forget that our exports into those other countries, oftentimes they have a lot of rules and regulations that also make it more difficult to even do business in those countries. Well, that's correct. I've lived a number of years in Asia and visited most of the countries there. And just about all of them have some sort of national sales tax. And I lived in Mexico for a good period of time. And all the national sales tax there, all it does is go up. When I went there first, it was 12%. Now it's at 16%. So the tariffs that President Trump is putting on just kind of evens the game out. Well, and Gil, I will say this. For the president and for the president's supporters, today was a bit of a backstep with the Supreme Court, a little bit of a setback. But the president, and we covered this earlier in the program, he's got all kinds of things that he wants to do. and we'll just see how the whole thing progresses. And, Gil, I very much appreciate the call. Let's say hello to Scott in St. Louis, Missouri, on America at Night. Yeah. Yeah, last year we lost, like, 70,000 factory jobs. So it doesn't look like the tariffs are working. Is that it? So for, well, number one, I'm not here to defend the tariffs. There is there are statistics out there that will tell you that, yes, we have lost some manufacturing jobs. We've also gained some manufacturing jobs. Also, think about the income that the tariffs have brought into the country. But I also do understand that there are many people that will say that the tariffs are what are impacting inflation, causing it to go up a tick. So appreciate the call. It's Dan Mandis here on America at Night. Coming to you from the heart of the nation, this is America at Night with McGraw-Millhaven. Welcome back to America at Night. Call now, 844-262-4729. That's 844-2-MGRAW. Dan Mattis here in for McGraw-Millhaven. This is indeed America at Night. So right before the last break, a guy a guy called up and he and he said that manufacturing jobs are on the decline. So obviously the tariffs aren't working. So I didn't have a lot of time to argue with him. But here's what I would say to that. Number one. It's and as I said during the call, it is not my job to defend Donald Trump's tariffs. I think that this is something that is a long-term play. I understand what the president is trying to do. I understand what he's trying to accomplish. But that being said, I do understand that prices on the American people have gone up because of the tariffs. But it's part of a broader economic picture for the president. But about manufacturing jobs, so you look up the latest stats. And, of course, manufacturing jobs have gone down over the decades. But the reality is, like, year to year, since Donald Trump has implemented the tariffs, I'm not seeing that manufacturing jobs have gone down. As a matter of fact, with all of the AI that's going on and all of the folks out there that are plumbers and electricians and people like that, you know, there's not enough of those people to go around. So I would argue the fact that he says that the manufacturing jobs are on the decline. I mean, I don't like to argue statistics because everybody's got a statistic. But here's what I would say. What I would say is the tariffs, it's a long-term play for the president. I do believe that right now, if you are, and we can talk about college education all day long, But if you are somebody who trade school or, you know, if I had a kid right now, I'm just going to say this. If I've got a 12 year old stepson and he is going to be going to college or whatever in the next six years. But somebody asked me the question a while ago. And is the question was, if you had to make a decision right now, would you send your your stepson to college or a trade school? And obviously the answer is, well, what is he going to study in college? But I'm a big trade school guy. Like for me, I'm a big fan of trade schools and, you know, plumbers, electricians, welders, those people. There's not enough of them, which is why, you know, in a lot of states there are programs to try to bring more people to the trades. And I think that is a that is a very good thing. Paul is in Boise, Idaho on America at Night. Hey, Paul. Good evening, sir. How are you? I disagree with that gentleman's comment, too, about 78,000 jobs lost, manufacturing jobs. And you hit it with the answer of the number one answer, and that's AI. You can thank AI for the loss of jobs. It doesn't matter what sector it is. and uh but i did want to talk about the uh the inability of the iranians to deal uh oh i guess the old-fashioned way with a handhake you you might say you can't expect that from them but what you can expect is when they say something maybe they'll stick to it they don't seem to have stick-to-it-ness. So you're talking about Iran? Yeah, what did I say? No, you said Iran. I just want to make sure that we're on the same page. I don't trust Iran as far as I can throw them. They are, in my opinion, the bane of the existence of the free world. Iran, obviously, we all know what they do. They fund terrorism. And I will tell you that You know, I'm not a big fan of regime change and all of those things. And I will tell you that I'm I'm very cautious about what the president wants to do with Iran, because there's a lot of risks. We had a great interview with General Richard Newton earlier where, you know, we talked about the perils of Donald Trump possibly going into Iran in the next in the next couple of weeks. He doesn't want to put troops on the ground, but at the same time, he's been very clear that he wants to see regime change. But I will tell you that right now, the radicals in Iran, those roots are very deep. So that's going to be not nearly as easy as what we saw. And I'm not saying that getting Maduro out of Venezuela was easy, but Iran's going to take a lot longer to change that regime. And I just think that's going to be a lot more challenging. Shaz of Iran's son, Balazi. Balazi, I'm not necessarily pronouncing it. I'm butchering the guy's name. But he makes a lot of sense. And when he talks, he talks with humility about being able to go back to his country again. And I could see him rallying the troops, as it were. Yeah, but here's – and Paul, you're right. Here's the problem, and I appreciate the call. The problem is this. You've got the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, right? So they essentially – I'm not going to say they control the country, but they have a lot of control in the country. And so whoever goes in there is going to have to get the support of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. And so that is going to be a big challenge for whoever goes in there. And the problem is whoever does go in there, there's going to be a bunch of other groups that decide that they should be in power. And so just my concern, bottom line on this whole thing, is that our allies are worried. Israel is worried, even though they seem to be on the same page as Donald Trump. But this could be, I'm going to say this about what's about to happen in Iran. It could be the greatest thing that Donald Trump does while in office, or it could be the worst thing. We'll have to wait and see what happens. And again, I appreciate your call. John is. Oh, John's on the text line. And what he says about the extremism that we're seeing online, he says extremism breeds more extremism. I would say that that's absolutely true. I mean, I would say that when you look at the level of extremism that is going on online, it kind of it feeds off each other. It really does. And it is really sad what what is happening on social media, because, you know, here's the deal. Is that people and you don't you don't know me. This is like my first day filling in here on America at night. Maybe you've heard me filling in on other national shows. Maybe you know me from I don't know my show in Nashville. But here's the thing. When you look at extremism and when you look at how polarized we are right now, I am one of millions of Americans who have lost family members because of where I stand politically. As a matter of fact, I've lost two family members, one that was incredibly close to me, hasn't spoken to me in, what, eight, nine years now, something like that. Can't get him back. I tried for years. And unfortunately, when you try to talk to somebody who is so incredibly polarized, and I'm going to give you this example. All I wanted to do when I was talking to this family member, all I wanted to do was talk about our relationship and how I wanted to reconnect. And I wanted to be back in this person's life. And all he wanted to do was tell me about how much he thought that I was a racist. And so I think that that is an extreme opinion. I think that is incredibly extreme. The guy had, you know, this particular person had never even heard me say anything remotely close to, you know, racial slurs or anything like that. He just because of the person that I supported for president, which is Trump, he felt like I was a racist and he unfortunately disconnected. And I tried for years. To get these two family members back in my life, ultimately, and a friend as well. So ultimately, you do your best, you mourn, and then you go and you live another day and you get on with your life. Unfortunately, that's what you have to do. The phone number is 8442 McGraw, 844262-4729. Who have I not taken yet? Let's see. Eduardo is in Tampa, Florida. Eduardo, thanks for calling. Yeah, Dan. Well, it's good to see you on a different time here. Yes, sir. Yeah. I've got to bring up the disappointing decision today. And I've been telling people that the Democrats were ready with their judicial attack, especially with Trump and the Congress being all Republican. And speaking of that, that should have been something that President Trump should have worked harder with Johnson and the House and the Senate. Because, as you know, when a Democrat gets in there, they're going to erase whatever executive orders President Trump puts on there, regardless if there would have been a decision today or not. So I thought they're I think they're wobbly on their attack against the Democrats because I think they've been so far. I use the judicial despite there being some idiot judges, you know, sneaking the illegals out the back. They've been a little bit more clever. And I think this there should President Trump needs to go on to use the military offensive. Otherwise, we're not going to hang on to the midterms. You know, well, yeah. So you brought a lot up, Eduardo. So give me a give me a yes or no. Do you want the Republicans in the Senate to eliminate the filibuster? Bingo. That was on my mind, too. I almost forgot about that. You reminded me. Thank you very much. Bingo. Yes. 100 percent. Yes. Yeah. I'll tell you. And Eduardo, thanks for the call. So you brought up a lot. So let me just put a button on it. In the Senate, you've got John Thune in the House of Representatives. Of course, you got Mike Johnson. He's the leader of the House. The House has passed now a second version of the Save Act. It's now called the Save America Act. And I believe that Eduardo is correct. I do believe that the Democrats, if they get the Senate, they will ultimately choose to eliminate the filibuster. The Republicans are talking about mandating, forcing back the talking filibuster. But ultimately what that does is that keeps the filibuster in place. The question is, and this is the conundrum that John Thune, the leader in the Senate for the Republicans, this is where he finds himself in, is that if he eliminates the filibuster, then if the Democrats get back in power, they have that excuse to say, well, the Republicans did it, so we can do it too. Here's the thing, though, and this is the unknown, is that if the Republicans don't eliminate the filibuster, they lose the power in the Senate. They have gotten not nearly enough done, and the Democrats will come in, flag the tape, mark my words, they will eliminate the filibuster. And they'll put the policies in place that will essentially guarantee that they'll keep power forever. Because what they want to do, what the Democrats want to do is essentially, and I don't have a lot of time to get into it, but essentially what the Democrats want to do is they want to basically eliminate all rules when it comes to voting. So, you know, you're talking about no ID needed to go and vote. You don't need to have any ID to register to vote. You never are going to clean up the voter rolls. And so you're going to have all these dead people on the voter rolls. All of these things are what the Democrats wanted to do. And so when they get into power again, and they will at some point, that is going to be the big question. So that is the big conundrum that John Thune and the Republicans face. And I really appreciate the call, Eduardo, and appreciate talking to you here on America at Night. 844-2-MGRAH, 844-262-4729. My name is Dan Mandis. This is America at Night. Join the conversation. Call 844-2-MGRAH. America at Night with McGraw-Milhaven. The text line is open. Send us a message at 844-2-MGRAW. That's 844-262-4729. And you can call that number. It is open lines here in the last hour of the radio program, 844-2-MGRAW. My name is Dan Mandis in for McGraw-Milhaven, and I'm going to be on Monday night, and McGraw returns on Tuesday. And Steve is calling from Atlanta, GA. Hey, Steve, thanks for calling. Hey, Dan. So lots of questions. You brought up a lot of topics. First one is, are you going to start doing call-ins on your own radio show? Well, I work mornings, and this is a little in the weeds of radio, but when you're a morning show host, there's not a lot of time to take phone calls. But, yeah, I do like taking phone calls, and I do whenever I can. Cool. So, okay, so on Iran, I think it's, if I had to bet, it's going to be less than 15 days of bombing. And Assad has already smuggled in 50,000 ARs. That's what I think is going to happen, and he's going to leave the rest of it to the Iranian people. All right. Okay. Now we'll move on. We'll move on to the next subject. I think when you take calls that your screeners should ask, are you demonic? Because that lady who asked you all those questions, she's probably putting a spell on you right about now. Okay. Well, okay. Okay. Hey, Steve. Dog or cats? Dogs or cats? No, no. I'm not doing that. No, you can't cast a spell on me. All right. Fair enough. I'm not playing that game. All right, man. Well, thanks for calling. I appreciate it. And you know what? We have no idea what's going to happen in Iran. I mean, Steve has a perfectly valid point about what he thinks could happen in Iran. 15 days? We'll have to see what happens. Hopefully, I'll be back to talk about it. I know I'm going to be back on Monday. Let's see here. Phone number is 8442 McGraw. And oh, who is the last phone caller that I have real quick? This is Tony. Tony, thanks for calling. How are you doing? I'll do this really quick. I call what's going on in the United States the death of shame or the advocacy by the leftists of extremism. And this to me is an uncivil war. And I really believe it's based on the pursuit of power because your country is gerrymandered from the states that don't represent properly the Republican vote. Look, you have a non-compost mentis leftist elite that are, I call it, excavating the barrel into the lower barrels of hell. Because, you know, you get to the bottom of the barrel and you say, can we get any lower? Well, the Democrats are excavating to hell, and their advocacy is violence. There's zero tolerance for respect and public humility, especially what that lady was saying in Chicago that you had earlier mentioned. I mean, what type of humility and public respect are you demonstrating when you're swearing at the president of the United States and the governor of Pritzker is supporting that stuff? Look, the left did not even, the left actually cheered for the death of Charlie Kirk. They mocked his death. They did poses. They attacked Trump in the media. They ignored two assassination attempts. You know, the whole thing is that the world, and I'm calling from Canada, you know, we see the United States as degenerating into an uncivil war. I don't believe these claims will ever meet. There's no such ability for the Republicans that are advocating for just normalcy to deal with people that are on ideological vents of transgenderism. Well, and Tony, you hear the music. The network waits for no one. But I do appreciate the call. And, boy, when you talk about gerrymandering here in America, boy, oh, boy. Yeah, there are states where, you know, Trump has a lot of support but no representation in Congress. Sad. The C.J. Pearson Show. Every week, we'll take on the biggest cultural, political, and moral battles in America head on. C.J. presents the most passionate voices in the black community. When you're going around and talking to people in actual communities, you get to know what people actually care about. As a black man, why can't I be the first one in my family to graduate from college? Why can't it be me? Yeah. shift the way that I think about the world. Bold truth, real conviction, zero permission. This is The C.J. Pearson Show. The C.J. Pearson Show. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.