BENSON BYTE: Martha MacCallum Breaks Down Eric Swalwell, Democrats Using Accusations to Their "Political Advantage"
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By the way, roughly around the same time frame as some of these accusations. So if these women are telling the truth, then he was carrying out these heinous acts against them. potentially he's accused of drugging people's drinks while he was high and mighty with Brett Kavanaugh about something that happened in high school, which the accusers could not even pinpoint whose house had happened at or what week had happened at or where. So at that point, it was politically advantageous to Democrats to unearth this scandal against Brett Kavanaugh, which obviously came to nothing. He sits on the Supreme Court right now. But now that you've got this governor's race happening in California and Eric Swalwell not performing that well, you've got a jungle primary with two Republicans at the top, which means they could end up running against each other for the governor's seat in California. The sword was grabbed and, you know, metaphorically, he was stabbed. And so this is, I think, what people find very unseemly. That when you're aware of this kind of behavior, there isn't a push to come forward. There isn't a... you know, come to Jesus moment with him saying, look, you need to clear your name on all this. You need to get out there. This is wrong. You can't serve with these kinds of accusations hanging over you. So I think that's what people find really kind of disgusting beyond the actual act, which is disgusting enough, these charges. But it's that all these things only get used when it's to political advantage. Right. And when it's politically safe to do it and he's seen as expendable rather than... important or potentially useful or anything like that by, in this case, his party. The other thing, Martha, is there were rumors that some of these accusers were willing to come forward previously because this guy ran for president, right? He famously was the first one to really go after Biden's age on the debate stage back in 2019. And at least what I've heard is that some of this stuff was bubbling to the surface and then he dropped out of the presidential race and it sort of went away again. There have been a few members of the media who have said, oh, yes, we knew that there was a lot of smoke around this guy for many, many years, including one journalist out in California, said this was an open secret in democratic politics, especially in the county where the congressman hails from, all of that. And I just wonder if they had a lead on this for over a decade. At least some of them. It's like, now it can be told. Why wasn't that pursued more aggressively? And for some of the women who are now coming forward, you'd kind of imagine that if this is part of a pattern of behavior that was an open secret, if that's the case, by remaining quiet, by not tackling the issue. Kind of by default, you were at least risking more victimization of more people in Eric Swalwell's employ. Because on top of everything else, the women involved here, most of them, worked for him or were intern. So there was also that power dynamic in play. I don't know why that would be allowed to carry on year after year, allegedly.
Yeah, you know, I think that is something that we do hear from victims in these situations. I'm thinking of some of the obscene victims that either what ultimately made them come forward or the thing that they regret or feel guilt over not coming forward is that it happened to other people after them. And, you know, if these allegations are true that he drugged people's drinks, there's one woman who said she had one glass of wine and she doesn't remember anything that happened after that, except that she woke up and realized physically that she had been raped and choked. So these stories are so heinous and horrible that it just raises questions about. why they didn't come forward sooner. You know, it's very hard to... sort of calibrate what weighs on a woman emotionally in these situations. But whether or not, in some cases, you know, maybe they were rallied to this effort to push him out of the governor's race and convinced that it was, this is the time to come forward and there'll be numbers. If you do it, this other woman's also going to do it. And, you know, they decide for their own personal reasons that this is the time to come forward. But I think that guilt over not preventing it from happening to other people. And I think even back to the gymnast case with the. penis doctor who was abusing gymnast. That was something when I interviewed those young women that they felt terrible about, that they hadn't come forward for that reason. And I'll just add that. These are allegations. He does have a right to defend himself, a presumption of innocence. All of these claims, some of them are very disturbing, as you point out, Martha, should be tested by evidence. I've been very consistent on these things. I'm not sure he has, which is also part of his dilemma. That goes back to the politics that you mentioned at the top. Martha, I want to shift gears entirely, but I guess one common theme is the victimization of women. There is now a report, I saw this in the New York Post, that the Iranian regime is set to execute the first female, the first woman, over the most recent spate of widespread anti-regime demonstrations in that country. They've been executing a lot of people, including many young men, including some who are pretty high profile or were before they were executed. Now there's a woman who's going to be executed according to these sources. And it just reminds me, you've had one female dissident on your show a lot. Masi Alinajad. She's been on this show as well. The regime tried to have her murdered here in New York City because of what she says and her outspokenness against them. She's been on your program. She's brought other women on the show. It just seems to me, whatever people think of the war, the military conflict, I'm in favor. I'm in favor for various reasons.
The very real human toll, the evil of what this regime perpetrates on a daily basis, especially against women. You think of the soccer team, et cetera. It just feels like in a media environment that really... highlights certain victims. It's pretty stunning when other victims writ large, as almost as a class or a group, are ignored or downplayed. And I feel like with very few exceptions, your show being one of them, these Iranian female in particular victims have gotten pretty scant media attention in the West. I wonder if you share that perception. And if so, why do you think that is? Yeah, I mean, it's a great question, and it's a question that Masayalina Jod raises a lot on my show and your show and others guy. You know, where is the outrage about these killings from the left in the United States? And, you know, I think about Chuck Schumer, who's calling for a ceasefire. So essentially, I don't think you can. crafted any other way in terms of takeaway that he's, I guess, trying to make sure that the current regime stays in place. And they're about to, according to reports, they're about to hang the first woman. I don't know that she's the first woman who has ever hung, I doubt it, in Iran, but she would be the first who participated or is accused of participating in the bloody January 2026 protests. And, you know, the numbers are so overwhelming and that I think they get lost in the reporting. But anywhere from 15,000 to 40,000 people. And the fact that we don't know tells you how closed this society is, but even the Iranian government has recognized thousands of deaths of these protesters who they say, you know, are just hostile to the regime. But, you know, what we understand right now is that the... Death sentences were issued for four of these protesters from the January protests and that two of them are a couple. The husband is Mohamed Reza Pahlavi, Majidi Al, and the wife is Bita Hamati. Yeah, that the hanging of this woman shows that, or the potential hanging of this woman just shows that they are not daunted by this war, that they are incredibly... radically, theologically driven in their protection of the regime. They do not look at things, you know, which is what constantly comes to my mind when I think about these negotiations. I mean, there's just two totally different ways of looking at the world on the other side of this table. And I think it's very hard to be like, oh, we're going to let you do this for five years and that for 10 years when you're talking with a regime who's hanging people from cranes in the street. And we're live from the living room as Doug eyes up the match day spread. He's reaching for the Buffalo wing. Perfect. Hang on, what's this? Oh, he's gone for a can of Pepsi too. Incredible. What a finish. Sensational combination. Look at the delight on his face. There's no doubt about it. It just tastes better. Match days deserve Pepsi. Food deserves Pepsi. Grab a pack of Pepsi Zero Sugar for today's match.
It's poetry in motion. Honey, did you invite the minions over? Well, you know how we talked about getting Wi-Fi from Xfinity? Yeah. I ordered it this morning. It was online in minutes. Then they showed up. So they just came over to use the Wi-Fi? For what? Better not to know. Get online in minutes with same-day Wi-Fi from Xfinity. Plus lock in your price for five years and see minions and monsters only in theaters. Exfinity, imagine that. Restrictions apply not available in all areas. Learn more at Xfinity.com slash same-day Wi-Fi. Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills. But it turns out... That's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Yes, I think that's exactly right. And I also think back to the Gaza War. started by Hamas on October 7, 2023, whenever there was a report about an Israeli bomb dropping somewhere in a hospital parking lot, even when it was made up and it didn't happen, or was an errant rocket fired by Islamic jihad, whenever there was an opportunity to blame the Israelis for any civilian deaths, the Hamas-run, so-called Ministry of Health in Gaza would put out instantly some number of deaths and fatalities. Women, children, hardest hit. The international media would run with it instantaneously. It would be all around the world, the latest anti-Israel propaganda, true or not, intentional or not, with civilians almost always unintentional with the Israelis, that was a drumbeat. And yet, here we have verified tens of thousands of innocent people slaughtered in the streets, going back to these protests, by the regime. These are Muslims who are being mowed down and now some of them still being murdered by this regime. And it just feels like... The coverage is almost non-existent or just kind of like a shrug, oh, well, allegedly this happened and this is what the regime does, but, and then it's off to whatever the talking point is. And you juxtapose that with people running wild with whatever Hamas would tell them to on civilian casualties in a separate context. Other than very dark ideological aims here, I can't explain that discrepancy. Yeah, I mean, you put it so well, Guy, and your coverage has been great on this, and you articulate it beautifully. It's this question of just believing whatever one side tells you and ignoring what's happening on the other side. I have a hard time understanding it in any other way than...
you know, Israel bad, according to the media, and give every ounce of benefit to Iran, to their proxies, to the terrorist regime and the terrorist activity that they've carried out for 47 years. I mean, it's, it is. It's unfathomable. And so, you know, if you purport to be any sort of news organization, you have to give equal time to what's happening here. And in some ways, you know, when you're talking about dissidents who are reporting the deaths of these wrestlers and athletes and all of these young people who have promising futures in Iran who are getting cut down for simply speaking out against their government or going out into the street and you don't care about that, it just makes it really hard too. to pay attention to your other arguments. Martha, the mayor of New York City, a story much closer to home. He is announced with great fanfare, this city grocery store, which, well, I'll let him fill you in on some of the details in his triumphant press conference, cut 17. New York City, it is time for a grand experiment once again. Just as LaGuardia used government to respond to the challenges of the Great Depression, we will use government to respond to rising prices and unaffordable groceries. Between 2013 and 2023, grocery prices increased in New York City by nearly 66%, significantly higher than the national average. During our campaign, we promised New Yorkers that we would create a network of city-owned grocery stores, one in each borough. And we are here today to celebrate the site of the Manhattan store, La Marquetta, which will be open by 2029. Three years from now, Martha, they'll open this. The price tag to start is $30 million somehow. A lot of people pointing out that there are active groceries for sale. Grocery stores for sale in New York right now for a fraction of that. But this is some giant city government project, $30 million, three years of lead time here of this announcement. He calls it a grand experiment. We've seen a less than grand experiment exactly on this front in other cities. We've seen how that has gone. But he seems to believe it's going to work in New York, plowing 30 million into it. And... This all against the backdrop of the mayor saying that the city is beyond broke and they're going to have to cut all this other stuff. Apparently, not this one, Martha. Interesting priority here. And the word experiment does come to mind because as I said, we've seen the results of very similar ones. Yeah, I mean, a couple of things come to mind and I would just reiterate the point that you just made because I think it's worth reiterating. They could be buying a grocery store that's already built for less than $3 million that is standing empty. They could clean it up. They could, you know, begin this project, which would make a lot of sense. Even if you think this project might work, why not do a test project and why not get it open in the next 60 days? You know, that's the kind of ingenuity that is possible. It is just a...
repulsive reflection of government bureaucracy that you're going to spend $30 million and it's going to take three years to open the doors of a grocery store. And I've always honestly entertained a bit when I hear him make comparisons to LaGuardia, which he made on the campaign trail as well. Fioro LaGuardia was dealing with the post-depression period when there were unemployment rates of 25% of the American population. It was a dire situation that required... a very emergency band-aid to just help people survive and stay alive. LaGuardia also served in Congress for close to two decades before he took on the job of mayor of New York. So he understood finance. He understood passing legislative bills. He understood the power of the purse. He also fought in World War I and was an intelligence officer. So to compare Zohran Mamdani to LaGuardia, and I know he admires LaGuardia, and that's great, but maybe he should also admire some of the practicality with which LaGuardia sought to solve problems in New York. And the life experience being a factor there, as you've alluded to as well. Martha, we've got to let you go. At some point in the next couple of weeks, we'd love to have you back because... The king and queen of England are coming to the U.S. late this month to help celebrate America's 250. That's a big moment. I know you'll be covering that very closely. I would love to get you back to preview it. I'd love to do it. Thank you, Guy. That was yet another Guy Benson bite. For full episodes of Guy Benson, go to Guy Benson.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
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