Trump’s talking like Iran is ready to cave

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News Radio Studios in Midtown Manhattan. It's the fastest growing radio talk show. Brian Kilmeade. So glad you there. It's the Brian Kilmeade. We have a lot to discuss this hour. Rich Lowry of the National Review, Brett Farr, scrambling to join us at the top of the hour. And, of course, we're following a bunch of different events. And we hope to have the log jam ended as the airports are just slammed with people who have to wait hours to get on board. That's totally preventable. There are things that happen. A pandemic. You have terrible weather. You have the 2008 economic collapse. I understand things happen. But this is totally preventable. This is the biggest temper tantrum I've ever seen Democrats have. And I wouldn't have characterized the 45-day lockdown that the shutdown the same way in the fall. But this one is ridiculous. And it's just inconveniencing so many people. So before we get to Brett, let's get to the big three. Number three. Well, this has been a terrible tragedy. And I know that the Gorman family has suffered mightily. I agree there have been real failures. Those failures, of course, extend beyond the borders of Illinois. It's their national failures. Yes, blame Trump. Why not? The focus on the killing of two more Americans at the hands of illegal immigrant criminals in sanctuary cities continues. Why does the administration not capitalize on how they got elected, cracking down on these criminals and pointing out the sanctuary cities and the attraction to all of this? Number two. Chuck Schumer, in this instance, anyway, he's lying. He's lying like fish swim. A deal, a day away, to put THS back on track and the TSA back pay in gear, while all sides realize they have to get a deal done and how it will come together, I think, at some point today. Number one. We're in what the Wall Street Journal calls this morning the fog of diplomacy. We often speak of the fog of war, but in this case, it's the diplomacy that's hard to understand. It's just a situation that Trump likes where he wants a deal. He said that. Thanks. Using military force at the ready. Sending all these troops is the best way to get to the deal. Yep, sending more troops in. No deal yet. And there should not be. Trump's talking like Iran is ready to cave, but Iran is denying. They're even talking. We have the latest on the Iran war with Israel and the U.S. And I like to add this. The Arab state, Saudi Arabia, specifically all worried that the president will end prematurely. Instead of them worrying about their own fortunes, they're saying you cannot leave a wounded Iran. You have to take them out. Are, were they prepared to do that? I think the answer is yet. Yes, let's bring in Brett Bear. Hey, Brett. Good morning. Brett, depending on where you read, I was reading Brett Stevens today in the New York Times, how the war is going better than you think. Others saying how Trump is lying, the war is going terrible. What is your reporting reveal?

Militarily, it's going really well. They're taking out, I mean, they're up to about more than 10,000 targets. They are hitting everything they want to hit. They are degrading Iran's missile capability when they pop up from these underground facilities. They're being taken out more and more. Iranian soldiers are not wanting to do that. They're sensing. really kind of break up of the leadership structure. Someone's calling for the Navy and there is no Navy. The Air Force is diminished so decimated. I think that militarily it's going well. Politically, I think that there is a real question about how it's perceived. I mean... All of that military success, and yet all of the articles and all of the focus is how we don't yet control the Strait of Remoos and the Iranians are kind of controlling this operation, which is why I think, you know, this negotiation is going to take time. And they're not going to have a ceasefire in the middle of it until they get to the points of... issue that they want. Right. I want you to hear some of that negativity, Senator Chris Van Hollen, a reporter in CNN, and then John Brennan, former CIA director, cut to. We've learned that Donald Trump has been lying to the American people from the start, and he keeps lying to the American people. So you believe the Iranian officials over the President of the United States? I believe that based on all the information that's available and Donald Trump's track record of lying. The leaders of the Iranian regime, they lie. I think the problem is we don't know if our president is also telling the truth. I tend to believe Iran more than I do. That's crazy. Because he could not acknowledge the truth even when it is, you know, he slapped in the face with it repeatedly. So that's a CIA director who knows where Iran's been up to for the last 47 years and still saying things like that. That's stunning to me. Yeah. Listen, he's been around the block. He's known that Iran has lied to our face in negotiations where they've signed on to it, the Obama administration. And, you know, it's provable. The missiles that were just fired at Diego Garcia... going 4,000 kilometers. This is a week to 10 days after the Iranian foreign minister said they had stopped the capability of going beyond 2,000 kilometers with their missile program. It was all a sham. It's much like the nuclear where essentially Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the negotiations find out. As they hand over these papers to try to see exactly what Iran's doing, Iran doesn't realize they hand over papers that show that they have enriched to 60%, not 20%, 60%, which is only like a week away from enriching to 90% weapons grade. That's when the realization strikes, Wyckoff and Jared Kushner, that they could make 10 nuclear bombs very, very quickly.

And that's what changes the dynamic. So that's all lying. So now we have a situation where there is some talks going on. And I guess Islamabad, not Islamabad, but they're supposed to, yeah, maybe Islamabad over in Pakistan. They're supposed to have mediated talks. What do you hear about who's going to represent the U.S.? And do you think that it's the Iranians that want the vice president involved? Is that true? I think that that's been talked about, that somehow that gives it more believability. They're worried about getting killed. They're worried about showing up for talks and getting bombed. And so I think it's still going to be Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner who run points. But, you know, there is a real, I think, sense of who's leading. on the ground and who has the juice to make the deal happen. There are talks. I mean, I've talked to Steve Witkoff. I've talked to others who say they are receiving, you know, the 15-point plan. And so for all of the other officials that say there's no talks going on, well, it's possible that they don't have the communications. And, you know, I just think it's very strange to say. You're not going to believe that diplomacy is happening. The fog of diplomacy, it's still moving forward in an effort to come to an end of kinetic action. What I think is the ultimate hammer is sending 5,000 Marines and between 1 and 3,000 members of the 82nd Airborne Quick Reaction Team. So if you think that the U.S. is getting worried and panicking. No, they're reinforcing, doubling down, changing targets, bringing in more firepower, even though the general Ford is going for getting some repairs right now. What about this? I know you know Mohammed bin Salman you interviewed him before yesterday. The reports out. that he is telling the U.S. He's getting worried that we're going to talks. He is pushing Trump to continue the war against Iran, arguing the U.S.-Israeli military campaign presents an historic opportunity to remake the Middle East. And then a report yesterday that said the word from Iranian officials is, stop bombing Saudi Arabia. They're close to getting in militarily. How would we look at a Saudi getting involved militarily? Well, I think we would applaud it. I think there has been a wish for, you know, some kind of action beyond what they've done. They've let us use bases and they've been helpful, financial and otherwise. And UAE, even more so. But as far as going on a bombing run, that hasn't happened yet. It's not to say it won't happen, but it hasn't happened yet. UAE is taking action. They're starting to crack down Iranian-owned assets, starting to freeze bank accounts. A lot of these wealthy Iranians don't have any face in the real. So they do a lot of their investing in banking outside the country. That could indeed get their attention, including members of the IRGC. So Bahrain reported...

reported that they are doubling and tripling down. They are still being targeted, as is Kuwait. So the one thing they are saying is they want additional American presence. That's one way I can tell you right now, Iran's approach to dislodge our allies, our Gulf state allies, has not worked. Yeah, you're exactly right. And listen, UAE has taken the brunt of this. It's unbelievable. I mean, about 1,400 strikes. It's more than Israel has taken. And, you know, they realize the threat they're under and, you know, they've managed to take down most. of the incoming, the drones and the missiles, but they need, you know, defensive stuff. And there's going to have to be a long thought about the future of that defense. And I think that that's what Mohammed bin Salman is saying. If you don't continue, if you leave the regime and they continue their ways in, you know, 10 years, we're going to be back to square one. So, Brett, don't you have a UAA official on tonight? I do. I have a minister of state, and it'll be interesting to see how it's portrayed from their point of view. I think they're going to really make a case about continuing the fight. You know, we'll see where the diplomacy goes. I have a feeling that, you know, there's probably a number of military targets that they would still like to go after in the list of the U.S. and Israel. And UAE is probably going to cheer that on. We'll see. So I looked at, if you look at politics. You see that the one thing the RNC has, Republicans have, is a lot more money than the Democrats who are still mired in dead, taking out loans in order to, but they are getting victories. Yesterday, a victory that's got to be a stunner, a stunner to Donald Trump and the Republican Party. It looks like Emily Gregory had flipped a Palm Beach State Florida House district seat, a place that Donald Trump won by 19. And state rep Mike Caruso, who won re-election 24, won by 19, I should say. And Donald Trump won by 11. How big a shock is this? Well, it's just a PR shock. You know, it's an easy thing to talk about. It's Mar-Lago's district. The president voted by mail, you know, which also they're pointing about his... Save America Act and how he rants about mail-in ballots. So, yeah, it fits into the narrative. I do think Republicans looking at the early races see the canary in the coal mine. You know, they see the numbers turning. And despite having money, despite having policies that people see as common sense.

there is a, you know, a feeling of turn the page in a number of districts. Now, I'm not saying it's exactly what's going to happen in 26. You get a long time between now and then. But these early races are a good indicator for Democrats. No doubt about it. Brett, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Brett, always pick up. Always pick up his new book. It's a relatively new book, but he's had another new one coming out to rescue the Republic, to rescue the American spirit, Teddy Roosevelt, and the birth of a superpower. Brett, thanks so much. All right. We'll see you. Back in a moment. Real talk, real guess, real insight, where curiosity meets conversation. It's the Brian Kilmeade. Nearly home. Isn't home where we all want to be? Reba here for Realtor.com, the pro's number one most trusted app. If you're hearing me, I'm going to assume you're awake. And if you aren't... Because while you're snoozing, someone else might be finding your dream home. That's where Realtor.com comes in. With over 500,000 new real listings straight from the pros every month, that's a lot of chances to find the place you've been dreaming of. Whether you're searching for a two-story mid-century with a pool or a little extra space with a spa-inspired bathroom, Realtor.com can help you find it today. So quit hitting that snooze button. Realtor.com isn't sleeping on finding your dream home. Neither should you. Download the Realtor.com app today because you're nearly home. Make it real with Realtor.com. Pro's number one most trusted app based on August 2024 proprietary survey. Over 500,000 new listings every month based on average new for sale and rental listings, February 24 through January 2025.

From his mouth to your ears, it's Brian Kilmeade. They are an authoritarian regime who's known to live. Call me down. Well, I tend to believe Iran more than I do. That's crazy. Because he could not acknowledge the truth, even when it is slapped in the face with it repeatedly. And it's clear that, you know, he is flailing right now. He's trying to figure out how he's going to get out of this debacle that he has created. And so he's going to make these claims about negotiations that the Iranians now are sending signals that they really want to make a deal and indicates that it's going to make a deal on our terms. I don't think anything close to the truth in that statement. Number one, there is a deal. Why don't you just ask the representatives from Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey. They have said that they've reached out on behalf to us on behalf of Iran. Number three, it's already been confirmed. And John Brennan, so blindly idiotic and political, shows you how an empty was and how little respect he had as a CIA director to think an American president who obviously found out that you were trumpeting up the whole Russia hoax. Remember your statement about the whole? dossier, you know, it might not be true, but it sounds true. You're the CIA director looking at an international document. You're supposed to be the lead investigator. And you say, but it sounds true as you decide to take that story, that story into four years of exile because Donald Trump won the election over Hillary Clinton and really foamed along with James Comey, the whole Russia situation. You got caught lying about it. You have almost no respect in that building. And now he hops on that terrible network with Simone Bernie Sanders and to say, I'd rather believe the Iranians. We just caught the Iranians claiming they didn't have intermediate range missiles and just shot one 2,500 miles. We just heard the Iranians say they weren't weaponizing uranium and then admit they was at 60% with 460 kilograms buried underneath the rubble. Yeah. So we just caught him lying twice, but you're going to still play politics? It's just criminal. The way he's using that title that he had in order to give credibility to his statements. Hopefully people are smarter than that. Here's General Jack Keen on what's really happening on the ground cut four. What are we really trying to achieve here? One is that we're going to strip them of their ballistic missile program now and in the future. The same thing with drones. what they have and also what they're capable of manufacturing. So taking down the current capability and the future capability is vitally important. When it comes to nuclear, absolutely take away their capability to do nuclear.

specifically the enrichment, but also the centrifuges, the metallurgy that they need to do conversion. It's a comprehensive enterprise, and we have to take all of it away from them. That is the intent of the military operation. And it's holistic and comprehensive. And they're going to get to the Strait of Ramuz. I believe they're going to lock out, if not land on those islands and let them know you no longer have control of your oil. They'll also have the British coming through with their mine sweepers. And they're going to start picking up the 11 or 12 that are down there. And we'll be able to destroy the boats in the Gulf, the fast boats that are causing us a bit of a problem before they even get out of port. So they are slowly turning the screws systematically. Not a matter Donald Trump didn't come up with this plan. It was kind of, it came up of years of studying at CENTCOM. And now it's put forward by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and staff and everybody at CENTCOM who are executing this in the way it's been doing. And it's actually going better than you would think. Then it's been reported. And that is key. So they're looking to do a bunch of things while talking at the same time. But how much stronger is your hand when you talk and say the bombing continues, you're being slowly disabled and destroyed? Now the targets get harder, and now sooner than later, you'll have all your fastboats, and soon the oil and the straight will be in our hands. The question is, will we ever give it up? Because we'll start, just like we did in the 80s, we'll start escorting our way through. That's not going to be a problem. And then we're going to be having minesweepers and allies work with us too. And if a tanker gets hit, and Iranian official will pay the price. That's the way we will work it out. And I have 100% believe that the Mossad is on the ground, working with Iranian assets, to take down all those high-value targets and as many besieged troopers as possible. For over two decades, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation has been there for our fallen and catastrophically injured first responders, military, and Gold Star families. Born from the tragedy of 9-11, Tunnel to Towers provides mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and built specifically adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. The Foundation also offers scholarships for college and trade school programs for... the children of Gold Star families, fallen first responders, and catastrophically injured veterans. And Tunnels to Tower is committed to eradicating veteran homelessness and helping America never forget September 11th. To learn more about the Foundation's mission, impact, and how you can support our nation's heroes, visit T2T.org.

a talk show that's real. This is the Brian Kilmeade. All right, we're back. Hi, everybody. We have this hour. We're going to be taking your calls in 15 minutes, 1866, 408-7669. We're just talking about what's happening with the Iran war and so many people on the Democratic side willing to call it chaotic. We're losing. The president's panicking. He didn't think this through. And then there's the facts about the war. And that's what I want to keep it to, the generals, the people that know what's happening on the ground. And I'll get you an example. Yesterday we had a chance to. to interview Kosovo Esfani and his family was forced out when he was about 11 years old. He's leading a democratic Iran movement here in the U.S. and has countless contacts inside Iran. And I played Ro Khanna just saying that this is a mess and biggest mistake in this century, the military mistake we've made this century. And I wanted him to hear that. And here's his response to Ro Khanna, cut 12. arrogant, ill-informed, and out of his depth. He talks about the fatwa that the Supreme Leader has issued. I have studied Khomeini for over a decade. I have documented everything that man has done. That fatwa doesn't exist. That was a lie. I have written extensively about it. You can check up the article on Atlantic Council, the fatwa that didn't exist. It didn't. exist how many times these democrats are going to repeat a single lie to sell a horrible deal that president obama side with this genocidal terrorist state it takes a lot of golf for people like rocana to criticize president trump when they backed an otopin get over yourself so kosaro basically said he was responding to the fact that there's this fatwa that they say the grand iatola uh issued that said they will never build a nuclear weapon he said i did a sense of research that never happened never issued but would have now rocana answered this yes on twitter rocana wrote back saying i doubt the american people will agree with him well that's a guy that says i have no facts I'm playing politics, and this guy knows what's going on on the ground. Let's bring in National Review's editor-in-chief, Rich Lowry. Rich, welcome back. Hey, Brian. Your thoughts about what's really going on on the ground? Hard to know. Hard to know. Look, I think obviously the military element of this time is not on a wrong side. We're destroying everything. We're going to work it down to a nub eventually. We'll probably never get them to zero potential launch missiles, but to destroy the lion's share of it. But political economic time is not on our side. So the sooner you can destroy everything you want to destroy it and resolve it and hopefully open up the straight, the better.

So in the short term, Democrats see this as nothing but an opportunity. Of all places, on MSNBC, Chuck Schumer got some pushback, cut 13. It's good that the terrorist regime, their military and capabilities have been degraded radically. The question, Mike, though, is political. It's the political question. What is the political impact? What's the impact in the straits? What's the impact in the region? Joe, in all due respect, if you ask the American people, if you have the choice of degrading the military, the military structure in Iran, but having gasoline be $6 a gallon and our economy falling into a deep recession where millions lose their job, what do you think of Americans would say? Senator, you're not listening to me. That's the political side of it. No, it's not political. Okay. It's a consequence, just like Mika said. All right, why don't we talk about the Yankees because you're not following me here without due respect? I just don't agree with you. No, what, you don't understand me. There's a big difference. And, you know, obviously, first your thoughts on this. Well, I think Scarborough has been fairly reasonable on the war, all things considered, and Democrats can't say anything good about it or compute that there's any good that's come from it whatsoever. I would say on domestic politics, it is mostly downside. I don't think if the war ends tomorrow with an unconditional Iranian surrender, I don't think anyone's voting on this. in November, but if gas is $5 a gallon, in November, people are voting on it. So I don't think this is a political play for Trump. I think it's a legacy play. I think it's him hating this regime for about 50 years. Well, wait a second. Can I say some, Rich? Yeah. Legacy is not, I don't think legacy, you could look at his presidency, success or failure, foreign policy, success or failure. But this is a problem he inherited that we've had, and you write about, we've had for almost 50 years. So he's trying to say this is, they're rebuilding their nuclear program. They are going to, they have, they've just admitted they got weaponized uranium at 60%. How could I let this go? They're only going to get stronger. So to me, that's a, I think it's too broad to say legacy. Yeah. Well, it's. Another way to put it, I agree with you. I mean, another way to put it, it's a huge problem that he wanted to deal with. But he's not doing it for, you know, there's no political upside to him. It's just taking care of a problem. And if he does take care of it, it will be one of the main things he's remembered for on the positive side of the ledger. And I also don't, I don't buy all these people saying he's tricked into it by Israel. It's so ridiculous. We've never had more of a president who's in charge than this guy and more his own man. than this guy. And if the Israelis were going to launch an operation against Iran that Trump felt was going to force our hand and put U.S. troops at risk if we didn't join in, he just would have said no. He would have said no. He told Benjamin Netanyahu no before no one pushes this guy around. So this is totally a Trump operation.

So let's talk about the DHS and the shutdown. We thought we had a deal yesterday. We still might have one by tomorrow when I think people have got to feel the pressure like last time, but this is not even a bipartisan. This is a pure Democratic play to shut down ice, but ice is still rolling. They shut down TSA. Listen to Senator John Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the deal that Chuck Schumer suddenly doesn't want. Cut 16. Well, look, Chuck Schumer in this instance, anyway, he's lying. He's lying like fish swim. I mean, here's what's going on. We've been to, we've had DHS shut down for 38 days, I think. The Democrats at one point voted to fund DHS, and then they backtracked. We've been debating the Save Act for, I don't know, 10 days, I guess. We're stuck. I'm a big believer that when you're stuck... You ought to try to plow around the stump, not through it. So what they did is they're going to have funding for Save America Act separately, at which time they're going to be able to serve ICE. They said, okay, we'll fund everything except ICE, that's everything but 6% of the budget. And Lindsey Graham and Company said, we'll find a way to a reconciliation package to finish funding ICE. But they said, but if you don't fund ICE, don't expect any reforms. And that was okay with tumor, but then I guess he got pressure from his caucus. Yeah, we'll see. This has to come on stock. I mean, this is real national disgrace. What's being done to people who just want to get from one point to another standing for hours and lines? And it's entirely on Democrats, entirely. And it violates every rule of media coverage and these things we've learned over the decades, Brian, that if you're the one demanding changes in order to support a spending bill, and the spending bill is not passing because the changes you want, you're responsible for the shutdown. and everyone blames you, and the media says how terrible you are, and you lose. And that's not happening here at all, even though Democrats have entirely forced this situation. And it's... The other level of irrationality is that ICE has funded, right? It's funded through the reconciliation bill. So it's entirely symbolic thing that's having a real effect on American life. I mean, it's just really, I mean, it's four or five hours waiting on a line because two people want to make a symbolic move against ICE, which is already funded. It's nuts. It's insane, if you ask me, I just don't get it. But I just think it's another example of...

Washington not working, which doesn't work for anyone. So here's Tom Homan on the changes he's asking for. Cut 25. Donald Trump made a brilliant move this week, and he called me, says, let's send ice in the airport. I thought it's a smart move. And we're filling the holes. The waitlines already dropped. Plus, we're doing a security function at the airports. We're going to arrest criminals going to do its airport. We're going to look for human trafficking, sex trafficking, money smuggling. We're going to be at the airport working with our brothers and sisters of TSA. They're our brothers and sister within DHS. President Trump made a smart move. We're going to keep the airport. flying, we're going to get the American people to those lines quicker, and we're not going to give up. President Trump's promise to American people to make this country safer every day, and that's what we're going to keep doing. And, you know, ICE, when they did show up, where they did show up, it is making the lines better, but they take it a lot of abuse, too. Yeah, totally. This is not what these guys signed up for. I think it's a clever stopgap, but there's no substitute to just getting this thing funding, funded, getting TSA agents to show up every day again and pay them the way they deserve. So let's talk about what happened in Palm Beach, a big upset, a place that was won by the Republican by 19 points. In a special election, Mike Crusoe moved to another. Excuse me, yeah, they moved to another, Mike Russo moved to another slot. In a special election, the Democrat wins. Is that a bad sign? Yes, a bad sign. Look, but it's a typical sign before midterms when you control. everything, you usually take a shalacking one way or the other in the midterms, and that's what we're heading for. And it's just a question of how big it will be, I believe, in the House, because I think the House is more or less lost, and then whether Republicans can hold the Senate. And I'm still fairly optimistic there. I think you can get the Democrats of 49 in the Senate fairly easily if Sue Susan Collins goes down. Now, she's a survivor, but it's a tough state. Republicans lose North Carolina, which seems more likely or not. But after that, it gets tough unless Democrats are going to win Texas. still seems unlikely in someplace else. And by the way, it looks like Mike Rogers is in front in Michigan. He'll be very strong. And if John Sununu has a shot more than a shot in New Hampshire, Chris would have won easily. We'll see if he can really compete there. Susan Collins has got to hold her seat in Maine. That'll be key. And Jon Ossoff's got to get an opponent. We'll see because Governor Brian Kemp has made his choice made. And that's duly. Yeah, if you just get one Republican pickup, the chance of the Democrats.

taking the Senate is basically no. Right. I don't think the House has lost yet. Let's see what happens with this war and when things get down and their refunds are in. I think the war will be done in about two weeks, two and a half weeks, and then we'll watch the economy pick up momentum and then we'll see. I think at one point Democrats have to say what they would do besides raise taxes. That's their problem. Yeah, and some of the generic polling, by the way, you just prefer Democrats or Republicans to take Congress. There's some polls that are sincerely even, which is kind of shocking, which just goes to Democrats' images still on the toilet. They've done nothing to help themselves. All right, Rich Lauer, pick up National Review. Thanks so much, Rich. Hey, thanks, Brian. All right. Yeah, so last night there was a relatively big upset. I thought upset, but it's not so substantial. But it is surprising. Then when you're in Palm Beach where Mara Lago is located and you have Republican running against a Democrat and the Republican won the last time, the last seat by 19 points. And Donald Trump won that district by 11. You have Republican state rep Mike Caruso who won re-election in 24 by 19. He moved over to the county clerk and controller seat. So in Mar-a-Lago area right there, the president endorsed the opponent of Emily Gregory and Emily Gregory won. So that's another example. There was an upset in Miami Beach, too, during a mayor's race. Another example of Democrats can feel like they're about to do something big. What's holding them back? The opportunity for Trump has got the White House, the bully pulpit, and for things to get going economically after this war. Also, party cash, 165 million for Republicans, 85 million for Democrats. And they got a huge, they have a huge loan out. that they have not paid back yet to help win New Jersey and governor's gubernatorial races. All right, listen to the Brian Kilmeade. We come back. I'll take your calls or your emails. 1866408-769. As well as your email, just go to Brian Kilmeade.com, click on comments. Don't move. Giving you everything you need to know. You're with Brian Kilmeade. Across the country, United Health Group is working with local partners to build healthier communities every day. That includes helping partners like the Goodacre provide 45,000 meals and lower A1C in the Twin Cities. And helping Hello Family Dool Us deliver 44% fewer underweight births in Spartanburg. Because building healthier communities starts by giving people access to the care and services they need to live healthier lives. Learn more. at UnitedHealthgroup.com slash commitment.

show like no other. It's Brian Kilmeade. The discordant part is that as this discussion by the president, emphatic call for peace goes forward, so does a plan, it seems to deploy the 82nd airborne and two marine amphibious units. many thousands of troops. What are they going to do? Are they going to seek to occupy Karg Island or other parts of Iran? You send that many troops to the Middle East. There's obviously some plan for how they'll specifically be used. Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of Sentcom, has rehearsed this so many times. So just a situation that Trump likes where he wants a deal. He said that, but he thinks using military force at the ready. Sending all these troops is the best way to get to the deal. And I think the honest truth would just have to wait a couple days and see where he is. And by the way, everything that David Nation was saying was backing up an advantage, I think Trump has. He's saying, I don't know what we're doing. It seems like he wants to talk at the same time. He's bringing so many for enforcement here. And the bombing is not abated. So that plays to Trump's strength where the Iranians say, wait, we're in talks with them twice. And we ended up getting in a war with him, 12 days and now currently. Now we're going to do talks again while he's sending the Marines here in the 82nd Airborne. Well, I know we're just told everybody, we think he wants to wind down the war. We think he overestimated what the resiliency of the Iranians. Not really. Did you think he looked paddock yesterday in the Oval Office or waiting to get on Marine One? I don't think so. Meanwhile, I love that Jake Dan Sullivan is doing the Daily Show and mocking this policy when he should be ashamed of his foreign policy during Obama and during the Biden years, as well as former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who admitted at Harvard that they let politics get in the way of their policy. Cut six. So they got in the way because President Biden didn't want to get into a... I think we were looking at the right time to try to get this done. But at the end of the day, even with all of that factored in, the Iranians weren't doing enough, weren't conceding enough to make that deal worthwhile. So what did we do? We actually kept the pressure on them. We made sure that the sanctions that were in place remained in place. We looked at how we could tighten it. We looked at trying to create the conditions where they'd come back to the table and we could get that longer and stronger agreement. And have there been a second term under the conditions that existed when we were in office, I think that's something that maybe we could have gotten done. Well, number one, Jake Dan Sullivan flat out lied to John Stewart and said, we had weapons inspectors climbing all over that place. We've been monitoring the deal that Obama signed off on but never got ratified by Congress, which allowed Trump to overturn it. That is not true. They had cameras, but there were certain areas. We were never allowed on any of these inspection sites or these nuke sites. And it was going to end in 10 years. He said, well, if we got back there, we would have redone it. Well, it would have went worse.

Because now we know that they were weaponizing this whole time. You're going to say they just did it when Trump got into office? What they're really trying to do and the Russians are trying to push, they want Republicans not to be successful. The Russians know that Donald Trump and Republicans, for the most part, are much more aggressive. Iran knows Republicans are much more aggressive. Trump in particular, they lost Soleimani. They lost the Grand Diatola. They lost about 80 of their higher ups, over 300 besieged fighters. This is Trump. Now, Anthony Blinken shows you the weakness of the Joe Biden administration. Well, we ran out of time. And there was an election and we didn't really want to get involved in the type of confrontation with Iran. Then you got the other president says, I'm just going to do what's right. Even if temporarily it's against my political fortunes, even if no CNN will show a few polls. It says I've dropped in those polls. In the big picture, this is where I disagree a little bit with Rich Lowry. This is legacy building. No, I think legacy building is going to Africa and maybe doing some to all types of AIDS. I don't think when you address a. a cancer in the Middle East directly. It's legacy building. I think it's like, well, I got to make these four years as productive as possible. And I agree with him on this. It's not going to help you in the midterms. Unless you're a deep thinker and understand global politics and how it plays at home and how eventually we're going to get all this money back. Maybe right away, a percentage of Iranian oil. That sounds like a Trump thing. Hi, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Are you looking for a beach read this summer? May I suggest your big wireless bill? It's got suspense, mystery, a slightly flat, emotional arc, and a shocking twist where you realize you've been overpaying the entire time. Fortunately, though, Mint's story is better. Every plan, $15 dollars a month a month, even unlimited. That's it. Happy ending, zero tiers. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three months, $90 for $1.20 for $12-month plan required to $50.com. See terms. From high atop, Fox News headquarters in New York City, always seeking solutions, never sowing division. It's Brian Kilmeade. Thanks so much for being there, everybody. It's the Brian Kilmeade. We appreciate it. We come to you from 48th and 6th and Midtown Manhattan, but we're heard around the country and around the world. We're following everything that's going on and breaking throughout the day. And we hope there's a breakthrough in Washington, D.C. about this TSA impasse. If you're flying or if you intended to fly, I know it's affecting you. I don't care how rich you are, unless you have, unless, of course, you have your own plane. And still, it's got to be a challenge. Let's get to before we get. to a great roster of guests this hour, including Steve Hilton, who is first or second in every poll to the governor's race out in California and Gene Hamilton, America First Legal President and most recently served as Deputy White House Counsel to President Donald Trump. Let's get to the big three. Number three.

This has been a terrible tragedy, and I know that the Gorman family has suffered mightily. I agree there have been real failures. Those failures, of course, extend beyond the borders of Illinois. It's their national failures. That is the failed governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, focused on the killing of two more Americans in the hands of illegal immigrants. They have long rap sheets. They will let go by lenient policies and by sanctuary city policies. It's time for Donald Trump to realize that's how he got elected and rejigger this conversation to stop this in its tracks and let people know why he won the election that he did. Number two. Chuck Schumer, in this instance, anyway, he's lying. He's lying like fish swim. That is the Senator Robert F. Kennedy Jr., of course, a deal a day away to put DHS back on track. Although suddenly the Democrats decide they want more reforms to ICE. TSA, wait, ICE not going to be funded and reforms. TSA getting back pay, that's got to happen immediately as people are now waiting five plus hours to get on their plane. Number one. We're in what the Wall Street Journal calls this morning the fog of diplomacy. We often speak of the fog of war, but in this case, it's the diplomacy that's hard to understand. It's just a situation that Trump likes where he wants a deal. He said that. He thinks using military force at the ready. Sending all these troops is the best way to get to the deal. Well, there you go, Dave Ignatius, no deal yet, and there should not be. Trump's talking like Iran is ready to cave, but Iran's denying they're even talking. And Arab states, the Gulf states say, Mr. President. finish the job. We have your back, might even fight with you. Man, that's encouraging. We have the latest on the Iran War. And let's bring in my next guest. Steve Hilton, running for governor of California, Fox News contributor, and formerly used to work on Britain in the political side, David Cameron. So let me ask you, Steve, right away. It looks like the UK is going to get involved. And it looks like they're going to send mine sweepers to the area, which they got. And we'll help in the straight of Ramuz. But it's happening now. They got to pick the ship they're sending. I'm encouraged by that. Are you? Yeah. I mean, you could say, finally, they do the right thing. You could say too little too late. You can, you can say all those things. I've been incredibly.

critical of Kea Keir Starmer, he's totally pathetic. He's a weak, weak leader, even though he's a huge majority in Parliament. He has been weak on every issue domestically, and he's been weak on this. And so he wanted to have it both ways. He didn't want to offend the president because he knows that it's in the UK's interest to have a strong relationship with President Trump, but neither did he want to actually confront his far-left party members and activists. And so he's been all over the place on this, but at least in a practical situation. sense something useful is happening. So we got to support that. And Steve, just the last thing, and I want to tell what was happening in California. But Tony Blair came out right away and said, it's simple. You're back to the U.S. And look, isn't he center left? Exactly. He was a Labour Prime Minister. Same party that Keir Starmer now leads. And there was no equivocation, not a second or a shadow of doubt. And that's what real leadership is. And that's how Tony Blair changed the Labour Party. And it just reminds us that it's a long time since that party's had a leader with the kind of common sense and strength to do what Tony Blair did. And by the way, Steve, I had a chance to meet your son. And his classmates who came to New York City. You did a fantastic job. What a great kid. And very comfortable in the U.S., obviously. He says he loves it here in California. And that's what you want to do. You want to make it better. And that's where you're running. The last poll I saw, you had Eric Swalwell as the only guy ahead of you, 1713. I don't know how many polls you've seen are consolidated. Where do you think this race is at as a Republican running for governor in a huge field? Yeah, well, you know, funny enough, that poll was a bit of an outlier. The real clear politics average has me up, I think it's two and a half over all the field. The last two polls, one of them had me leading 20. Eric Swalwell, 15, the other Republican 14. Then yesterday, a poll by the Democratic Party in California itself, commissioned by them, had me leading on 16. So the majority of the recent polls in the last couple of months have me leading. I'm happy about that. Of course, we've got a long way to go. You've got this ridiculous situation where the Democrats canceled a debate last night. I should have been debating. Tell us what happened in USC. So USC were hosting a debate, ABC and Univision with a media partner going to be broadcast statewide. It was the second. televised TV debate statewide. They had a criteria. They put rules in place for who could be on the debate. You've got a lot of Democrats running. Most of them are not doing very well. I call them the LPDs, the low polling Democrats. So they were not invited to the debate because they're in two, three, four percent in the polls and they didn't meet the fundraising criteria. Now, it happens that all four of the candidates who were cut off from doing the debate were, as the Democrats put it,

People of colour. You had Antonio Villaragos, the former mayor of LA, Xavier Becerra, Biden's HHS secretary, Tony Thurman, the current superintendent of education, Betty Yee, a former state controller. And so they all complained. And of course, because it's the Democrats, they played the race card. They said, we were kicked out of the debate because we're not white. No, they weren't. Nothing to do with race. They were kicked out because they're not doing well enough in the race. Anyway, the Democrat machine got to work, and a day before the debate, all the leaders of the Democratic Party in the state legislature wrote a letter to USC demanding that these LPDs be included in the debate, the low polling Democrats, and unbelievably USC caved. and demanded that they expand the people on stage. ABC said, no, that's not what we agreed to. And so they cancelled the debate. By the way, within 24 hours, I was 6 a.m. yesterday leaving for the airport to get a flight down to L.A. when I found out, it's just a total shambles. It shows that the Democrats don't care about... People, they only care about their insiders and their party interest. They always put ideology before anything practical and they can't run anything. But Steve, I'll add something else in. The political correctness that's plagued your state, many states like it. Oh, we don't want to be called a racist. Really? You're not a racist. If you're not a racist and you're looking at numbers, hardcore facts, stand up for something in your life. Most of these people on the field, except for you are Democrats. Exactly. Well, that's the other thing, by the way. They are in a complete panic because I'm leading. And in some of these polls, the other Republican is there with me at the top. And so they're looking at this and saying, Is it really possible that we could lose California? And my argument is, yes, it is, because you've done such a catastrophically bad job. We have the highest cost of living in the country, highest poverty rate, highest unemployment rate. Everything is a disaster in California. And the stories get worse and worse, because there's a lot of pressure now building, so many investigations into the fraud and the corruption and the election fraud. All of this now coming in to the... Democrat machine in California exposing where the money's been going for all these years and why we have the worst results in the country for the highest taxes in the country. I want you to hear this is what the state should have had. Tom Steyer, Steve Hilton, Eric Swalwell, Katie Porter, Matt Mayhan, Chad Bianco of Riverside County Sheriff. That's the other Republican. Matt Mayhan is where all the big money's going from Silicon Valley. He's the San Jose mayor. But he's not getting anywhere. He's still in single digits. I can't, see, whatever happens, you cannot let Eric Swalwell win. This guy's the most incompetent congressman. He's never run anything. He stands for zero. You can't let this guy win. Well, I know. This is one of the reasons when people say, do you really think a Republican can win in California? I point to a couple of things. We've got.

Two ballot initiatives on the ballot in November that will really drive Republican turnout. Voter ID is going to be on the ballot. And save Prop 13, that's a property tax measure. Republicans really love those ballot initiatives, so we're going to get a big vote. But the other point is, look at the Democrat candidates. I mean, as the president would say, they're not sending their best. Eric Swalwell, you got Katie Porter? Tom Steyer, the billionaire climate fanatic, whose ideas are the main reason we have the highest gas prices and electric bills and housing costs in the country. These people are a joke. And so right now, Brian, it does really look as if the Democrat machine is getting behind Eric Swalwell. He got the endorsement of one of the biggest unions. He's guiding people at Adam Schiff, the Nancy Pelosi machine, getting behind him. So I think if you had to ask me now, what's that match up in the general election? It's me and Eric Scra. well, so that's going to be a lot of fun. Yeah, it's scary. A couple of things. The billionaires tax. Where is that on the ballot? And the damage it's done is cataclysmic in terms of revenue. You're losing a billionaire a week that had gotten out before this thing is going to be voted on. And no one, billionaires don't get billionaires by throwing money in the street. So tell me where that's at. Yeah, so they're collecting signatures to try and get it on the ballot. They are, it's a big union that's paying for this. It's the SCIU that backed Eric Swalwell. And so there's an expectation that they will get. By the way, you know how they get the signatures? That was what was exposed last week. They pay for them. They're going around paying homeless people cash. To make up names to get these things on the ballot. So there's a whole bunch of fraud and corruption there. Anyway, the expectation is that it's going to get on the ballot. The polling shows that it's kind of 50-50 right now. I don't think it'll pass because one thing that is true about billionaires is that they have a lot of money. And so I think that actually this time, the... The flip side of it is that the proposed billionaire tax, you're right, it's already done so much damage, just the threat of it, because so many people have left, and then we've lost the tax revenue already, even if it doesn't pass. But they've really woken up, and they're really going to, and they are fired up, all the people we're talking about in the business community in California that for years has just let the Democrats take power. I think that if it's me and Swolwell, I'm going to have them behind me, and I think that is going to really help win in November. So when you go out, we might have put Steve Hilton back probably. When you go out there on the stump, by the way, we're streaming Steve Hilton, and then somebody mysteriously popped up on the screen. Don't be worried. We didn't switch stations. But Steve, when you're out in the stump, do you find that you have to... explain that you are president you and trump are friends and do you find that to be a detriment or would you play it down i know Bruce Blakeman is trying to be the republican nominee here in new york and he's going to get it and he's going against a democrat but him and trump have great personal friends too but yet trump wouldn't win in new york so how do you play it

I play it by telling the truth that I'm friends with the president. I have a good relationship with the president. And that is going to be useful for us in California. Because when I'm governor and you've got an administration that's trying to do common sense things to help California, like opening up oil and gas production, like fighting fraud and corruption, like forest management to stop wildfires. trying to do sensible things, helping our farmers. And instead of what you got now, which is Gavin Newsom and the state attorney general, literally every week trying to file another lawsuit to block the Trump administration, I'll be there working with them to deliver good results for Californians. And I think that is useful to have a close relationship between the governor of California. And the president. So I'm 100% positive about it. And I'm very direct. Right. So, yeah, we're just going to try to lower whatever that other audio is. Steve, my last question to you is the offshore drilling president signing executive order to start it again. Has it started? And I know the governor wants to stop it. Do you know where that's at? Yeah, it started but a much, which is good news. Thank you again to the Energy Secretary for pushing that forward and for the President. Because, you know that deposit there, Sable Oil's deposit, that is now the second biggest oil reserve in America. It is a huge opportunity for California and for our only second only to the Permian Basin. And Gavin Newsom wants to leave it in the ground. It is insane. By the way, they talk about that for environmental reasons because it has been blocked for all these years by the Democrats. You're actually getting oil seepage because of the pressure build up on the beaches. around Santa Barbara. I mean, I'm there all the time. And the people that say, please open up the oil production because it's now seeping. But it is flowing right now. But it is flowing right now. But at a lower rate than it could be, but it's better than nothing. Okay. Gavin Newsom's still trying to block it. Of course, that's a great example of how I would completely... have a green light to that so that we maximize our old production in California instead of what we're doing now, which is importing it halfway around the world, including from Iraq, which is insane. So, Steve, you've got to give yourself so much credit. I know there's a lot of way to run. No one knew who you were. And now you're leading or first or second in the polls. It's pretty amazing running for the governor of California. Steve, where do you go if people want to help you out? Steve Hilton for governor.com, F-O-R. We've got a lot of volunteers. There's real energy in this campaign. Honestly, we're doing town halls up and down the state all the time, hundreds of people coming each time. There's something happening in California. I'm the opposite of complacent. We're working even harder every month. But I really think we could do it this year. I know you do. Steve Hilton, thanks so much. Best of luck. We're pulling for you. And we'll check in with you again. 1866408-7669. Don't move.

Diving deep into today's top stories. It's Brian Kilmeade. When it's time to scale your business, it's time for Shopify. Get everything you need to grow the way you want. Like all the way. Stack more sales with the best converting checkout on the planet. Track your chichings from every channel, right in one spot, and turn real-time reporting into big-time opportunities. Take your business to a whole new level. Switch to Shopify. Start your free trial today. The more you listen, the more you'll listen. It's Brian Kilmeade. People want authenticity. Yeah. And I think that the talk shows, to a large part, became really agenda-based. Yeah. They were going to evangelical people to what they thought. You know what I mean? And so people just rejected it because it didn't feel offensive. It felt like they had an agenda. It stopped being funny, and it started feeling like I was in a class I didn't want to take. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? Oh, for sure. I've been scolded. 100%. Yeah, 100%. And so I think that's the phenomenon isn't what they say. They always blame technology. But the reality is it's the approach. So that is Vince Vaughn on the Theo Von podcast and talking about late night television. And he's saying that it's like a class you don't want to take. Now, he's conservative. He doesn't want to be labeled. Why would he be? Why would anybody want to be labeled conservative or liberal? It makes no sense. He want to be an activist like these guys like Rob Reiner was or like Robert De Niro is. He's too smart. But he's also very patriotic. And he came out and he says, he goes on to say part of the job of being a talk show host at night. You've got to talk about current events. But you don't want to become part of a group and feel like you're a champion for one ideologist. Your ideology, you want to make fun of everybody. How many times have we said that, Allison? We say this all the time. All the time. We used to play. You used to have five or six late night cuts. during the Mitt Romney, where Mitt Romney run for office, how many times would we play both sides, right? And SNL, you would pull, it would be rare for you not to have three clips from the weekend update or something in the cold open. You know, it's rare when we get a funny late night clip. It's almost never. It's not even like, let me go check if they're funny or not. It's if I happen to see someone else play one that was appropriate, then I go look, but otherwise it's not worth. Right. I mean, I still, for some reason, I left on my DVR to pick to Tonight Show because Jimmy Fallon so likable. But, come on. It's the best of the bunch. I know, but I got nothing. I got there's nothing. I mean, and he's afraid to do it. That makes it worse. It's like, well, I don't like Trump. I know he likes Trump. He can't. I mean, he must. He got blowback when he messed up his hair. I know. It's crazy. All right. When we come back, a special guest is going to be with us. Gene Hamilton, you're going to love him.

We're interested in it. Brian's talking about it. You're with Brian Kilmeade. Hey, we are back. Gene Hamilton's with us now. America First Legal President. Most recently serves as Deputy White House Counsel to President Trump. Gene, welcome. Appreciate you joining us. Thanks for having me, Brian. And by the way, Gene, you can see him on Zoom. So if you're watching on our app or if you're watching on the stream, you could watch it visually. So. So, Gene, when you see what's happening right now with DHS and the shutdown, this has got it. This is so frustrating for anyone trying to get on a plane. This is so much worse than the 40-day shutdown in the fall because this is all, this is a Democratic temper tantrum. There's no just this is, and now you have a deal where they have agreed not to fund ICE. They go, well, no, that's still not good enough. Yeah, it's absolutely crazy. I mean, we all know, I think most of the American people know, that ICE, their operations, at least through the one big, beautiful bill for the deportation officers on the front lines were funded through 2029. And so what the Democrats are doing is they're purposely choosing to prioritize. the needs of illegal aliens trying to shut down ice over the needs of the American people, over the traveling public. And you look at the disaster at the airports, and this is all on their shoulders. I mean, look, I tried to fly the other day. I was at the Atlanta airport. There were five-hour lines. I mean, it was insane. You couldn't even get through the airport, so I ended up driving instead. This is... And I am just one person who was on a business trip. There are so many other people who are missing flights to go see friends, family, medical appointments, otherwise, who have been wrecked by the Democrats and by their intransigence and their refusal to just do the right thing, fund TSA, fund the rest of DHS, and stop prioritizing the needs of illegal aliens over American citizens. Here's with Senator James Langford, hardly an irrational firebrand. Cut 21. A lot of Democrats are demanding lots of things. They want to limit border patrol. They want to prevent them from actually doing arrests anywhere, but right next to the border. We've said that's absurd. We're never going to agree to that, and we're going to be able to just keep moving forward on this. But I do think we have enough Democrats on board to be able to say, we'll at least get everything else funding. Because Democrats are the ones right now. They're blocking all the TSA, blocking FEMA funding, blocking Secret Service funding, Coast Guard, all those things because they're so mad at eyes. So, I mean, that's crazy because now they have ice at airports. That's their greatest nightmare. And so one of the best chess moves ever because they're still getting paid, even though they're the object of the Democratic ire. Yeah, absolutely. And they're doing a great job. I mean, if you look at everywhere that they're showing up, it seems like the lines are going down because the TSA agents are able to reallocate towards the actual screening operations. ICE can focus on security. And as it turns out, when people see them, oh, wow, these are normal men and women of ICE. These aren't the monsters that they're making them out to be. So it was a brilliant move by the president. And, you know, look, I would love for these folks to be able.

to get back to their day jobs and for the Democrats to fund TSA so that they can get back to doing the things that need to be done. But, you know, in the meantime, they're patriots, they're hardworking Americans, and they're going to do what it takes to fill the American people's needs. And Gene, right now they're talking about maybe have the save a shelving to save America. Act in maybe funding it partially with the reconciliation package after they restart DHS as a department and then maybe finishing it off in the fall and attaching it to another reconciliation package, which you can't pass things without a financial stake on a simple majority. But if you attach it to a financial package, if the parliamentary, parliamentarian, the referee allows it, you could pass it that way, which is essentially a voter ID. Right. I mean, look, there's a lot of things that the federal government can do with the use of funding and money to incentivize and to create... even more than incentives for states to require voter ID for people to go in and vote in elections, which again, Brian, this is a 90-10 issue. I mean, people don't oppose requiring identification for voting in our elections. And so if they can get it done through a reconciliation bill, that would be awesome. It would be fantastic. It would be a big win for the American people, and it would be a big win for the president. Of course, the Save America Act in all of its entirety would be amazing to get through in regular order. But, you know, it's D.C. These are the way these things go, as you and I both know. So you're a lawyer, right, Gene? Yep. So when people say like Mitch McConnell, I don't want elections federalized, that's why I don't want to do this. What do you say? I would say that, look, yes, we don't want necessarily all elections federalized, but the most basic basic, basic command you could ever imagine. The most basic duty of any government, any sovereign government, is to ensure that only citizens are participating in the elections. And so if the federal government is to play any role whatsoever, in the administration of our elections across the country, one would certainly think that the federal government that is responsible for granting people who naturalize and become citizens and responsible for administering our immigration system would at least have some role to play in determining who is eligible to vote in our elections. And so, yes, I mean, you certainly don't want a complete and total federal takeover because you don't want our elections being run like... any number of other government entities. But there's certainly a very, very fundamental and basic role for the Congress to play. And Congress has certainly done so multiple times over the years when it comes to the administration of our election system. During the Biden years, Obama years, if you came out and said, I need asylum. I feel my life's in danger. You get to stay and get a court date to see if you fit the asylum criteria. Well, the administration stopped that in 2016. Courts overturned it. Now the Supreme Court seems to be open to Donald Trump's

request to block asylum seekers at the border and stopping that rule where if you step foot, you get to stay, at least get your day in court. You don't show up in court. You end up just somewhere in the interior of the country. So they don't usually write things like that unless they heard something during deliberations. Is that what you're hearing, Gene? It seems like this is going to go the administration's way. Yeah, I think like many of the things in the immigration system, this one is definitely going to go the administration's way. I mean, I was there in Trump 1.0 for the entire four years, and very familiar with the implementation of this policy that became the subject of this case that was finally heard by the Supreme Court yesterday. And it's just common sense. If you look at the immigration laws and you'd look at who's considered to be present or who's arriving in the United States, what the Democrats in the left, and quite frankly, a lot of the bureaucracy has assumed. for years and years and years, as you just pointed out, is that you step one foot. on U.S. soil and you're automatically entitled to have an asylum hearing and you're automatically entitled to be released and the obligation of the United States government is to commit all kinds of resources to allowing you to have your day in court, so to speak. But that's just ridiculous. It's insane. That means that there is no order. There's complete and total chaos at the border if that's in fact what the situation is. And so what the administration did in 1.0 and what they've certainly have been trying to do since then, then is this concept of metering. And it's allowing people, only certain people to come in at certain times of the day so they can maintain or they can maintain a regular process at our borders. Because look, if you're a person who's trying to seek asylum, well, at the same time, CBP is having to inspect trucks. They're having to inspect people coming in on visas. all kinds of other things at the international boundary points. And the notion that they just have to stop doing all of those things just to give somebody who just decides to cross the border at their own desire on, you know, at will that they have the right to supersede all the government's priorities because they simply want to make their claim for asylum. It's absurd. It's ridiculous. And it's. inconsistent with common sense and it's inconsistent with the statute. And so when you have that good combination, things that are contrary to common sense, things are contrary to law, they end to go, they tend to go a certain way at the Supreme Court when cases eventually arise there. So I want you now talk about Sheridan Gorman. She's 18 years old in West Chetton County. She happened to be in Chicago, University in Chicago student. She happened to be walking at 1 o'clock in the morning and got killed by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record who didn't belong here, got here illegally. committed a crime, got to stay. Here he is in a sanctuary city and he kills Sheridan Gorman. Some of the reaction from J.B. Pritzker, you think there'd be some semblance that sometimes people abuse our system and maybe this is the bad side to sanctuary cities? Anything? No. This is what you got. Blame Trump. Cut 29.

Well, this has been a terrible tragedy, and I know that the Gorman family has suffered mightily. I agree there have been real failures. Those failures, of course, extend beyond the borders of Illinois. It's their national failures, a failure to have comprehensive immigration reform, a failure of the president, to follow his own edict to go after the worst of the worst. And in my view, we have a lot of work that we need to continue to do. But it is the job of the federal government to go after. Okay, I can't hear it. Gene, your thoughts about the governor of Illinois blaming Donald Trump not passing comprehensive immigration reform as the reason. Brian, it's insane. It is the most insane thing you could ever hear. And this is a great point because this is a Democratic talking point. Oh, if we only had comprehensive immigration reform, then we would have had no problems. And this woman would not have been murdered. And here's the deal. If they passed comprehensive immigration reform, you know what would have happened? That killer, that murderer, would be on the streets today with some kind of status, some kind of temporary status or some kind of green card because what comprehensive immigration reform always means for the Democrats is giving amnesty to people who are here. So there are no outer bounds. They don't want to actually secure the borders. They don't actually want to do something that's going to secure our communities. And instead, when they pivot to comprehensive immigration reform, that means letting everybody say. So he defeats his own point. He defeats his own point. When he says that they failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform and this woman was murdered. As a result, that's completely contradicted by the fact of what comprehensive immigration reform would have represented. He is afraid. He knows his policies are wrong. He knows he's in the wrong. And so he's having to pivot. And he keeps doing it time and again and again when the most common sense thing would be to cooperate with the federal government. Get rid of the criminals. Get rid of the folks who are going to pose threats to the American people on the streets of our cities. And look, you're always going to have citizens who are going to be here and commit crimes. there's going to be other things you're stuck with them that's fine the very least we could do is remove the presence of people who don't have a right to be here and at least mitigate against that threat because if it's your son your daughter your wife your cousin whomever who is murdered by an illegal alien in the middle of the night in chicago I think you're going to feel a lot differently about the status of these so-called sanctuary cities than what Governor J.B. Pritzker seems to. Gene Hamilton, our guest from American First Legal. Lastly, we're watching the hearings about Arctic Frost, which was Jack Smith's quest to put Donald Trump in jail by leveraging and extorting, in my view. All the people in his life saying you're going to be in trouble. I'm going to take your phone records, find something on you, and get you to flip on the former president, who now is the current president. What is your takeaway from Arctic Frost as you find out the phone records were taken from sitting senators all the way down to Susie Wiles and a very aggressive investigation of Kash Patel?

Yeah, it's Jack Smith was on the equivalent of a legal jihad against Donald Trump and everyone affiliated with him. And his tactics, his strategies to go after everybody affiliated with Donald Trump. I mean, look, he went after my organization's payroll records years ago, as we found out a number of months ago. We had nothing to do with anything. We are a legal organization that started after the end of the Trump administration, and he even went after our records. He went after everybody. This is what happens when you have an ideologue who is given the power of a prosecutor, of an investigator, and give an unlimited leash to run with. And if anyone thinks that it was bad, and we keep seeing shocking news coming out of different things related to his investigation, just imagine how much worse. It will be if the Democrat sees power again in the future, it will make Jack Smith look like the JV team. Well, you said Governor J.B. Pritzker says it's going to be Operation 2029 to put the Trump people in jail. And yet Susan Rice come out and say any corporation that sided with Trump, we're not going to forget who you are. That seems to be a party of retribution. Right. Yeah, no, that's their game. That's their MO. And I would like to think that the American people are in their lesson. They had four years to observe this type of activity. And of course, they weren't even aware of the extent of it as we're discovering as you're revealing here and talking about the Jack Smith investigation. And just imagine how much worse it's going to be. They are going to come after everyone. And they're not going to stop with Donald Trump and his supporters and his affiliates. They're going to come after everyone. who stands in their way ideologically. And so the American people have to make conscious decisions between now and 2028 especially and make decisions that are going to ensure that they are not targeted, that they are not the subjects of a retribution campaign driven by ideologues who don't want anything more than to just control their lives and control every aspect of American society going forward. Gene Hamilton, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thanks for having me. Nice to have you join us. 1-866-408-7669. You have the Brian Kilmeade Show. When we come back, we're going to look into the latest on the war. And some of the reports coming out of Middle Eastern TV stations, which is going to get Democrats upset. It turns out there is panic among the Iranians. A lack of communication. There is massive defections. I know you don't want to hear that because you want to make Donald Trump look like a loser. But please, for once, cheer for America. I'll explain. From breaking news to big name guests, Brian brings you insight you won't hear anywhere else. You're listening to The Brian Kilmeade.

Across the country, United Health Group is working with local partners to build healthier communities every day. That includes helping partners like the Goodacre provide 45,000 meals and lower A1C in the Twin Cities and helping Hello Family Doolas deliver 44% fewer underweight births in Spartanburg because building healthier communities starts by giving people access to the care and services they need to live healthier lives. Learn more at UnitedHealthgroup.com. slash commitment. Radio that makes you think. This is the Brian Kilmeade. I would just have a busy schedule always saw I would. Oh, hiking with my dogs in the morning. And then I would go straight to the gym in my jeans. And, you know, it was just a convenience to work out. And then when I was campaigning, a couple of people took pictures of me in the gym wearing jeans. And then I don't know. And then I just got in too deep. It's a problem, and that's how Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the fittest guy in Washington at 70-something years old, using testosterone replacement being honest and being a workout maven, you watch him, if you see pictures him at 30 or 28 years old, the guy was kind of heavy, kind of like scrawny, and now he's a big stud who often works out without a shirt on, no body hair and jeans, but this is so typical because he says I'm in too deep. It's like, if I change and I wore shorts, people are going to think I backed off. So that's what he means by in too deep. Now I gotta work out, which can't be comfortable, by the way. There's no way working out with jeans is comfortable. Unless they're super stretchy jeans, but I feel like men don't really wear super stretchy. I never work out. I never work out with sweatpants. Even if I have to wear them to the gym going out, can't work out. You have to be in shorts. Yeah, you want the legs to move. Yeah, I've never thought to myself, let me just get a pair of jeans. You need to give those soccer legs some freedom, Brian. Thank you very much. That may or may not still be there. We'll have to say. So that is little of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. He's still trying to get a surgeon general pass. Cali, Casey means? Casey means, yes. is trying to get past the Surgeon General. He's having problems. And here's the thing. Bill Cassidy's voting against her because he's a doctor and doesn't like her answers on vaccines. But if Bill Cassidy doesn't want to alienate a huge portion of the Maha base, which is the MAGA base, he's got to get on board. Try to shape the thoughts using influence. I think if you kick her to the curb, man, she is a standard bearer. She is, but they definitely had to delay her for a little bit, I think. They're really delayed. Yeah. And then she had the kid. Yes. I mean, why would a woman have a kid? How dare she? Right. But people say, hey, wait a second. She could have finished up. She went in early because she knew the momentum wasn't on her side. And she is a very impressive person. No, she's fantastic. We've had her on. When we went through medical school says, I can't take it. This system is corrupt. It's not there to cure people. It's to get the most money out of people. So.

I think Trump's got to go into bat for him, but he already alienated Bill Cassidy by saying I'm not endorsing you. Yeah, so I don't think he's going to win him over. I mean, I think the question is this the right role for her. Like she's wonderful, but I think that's what people are questioning. Yeah, I mean, I like Neshwatt. Dr. Neshawad, I thought was perfectly balanced in all this stuff, but she's now with the VA, which is great. Just real quick. When I went to break, I was just saying, I'm watching a lot of these Middle Eastern channels. I'm watching a few closed caption. Obviously, I don't speak Arabic or Farsi. There is panic inside Iran. Multiple outlets. I'm sending it out to our reporters. I'm saying, hey, do you believe this? Am I to take this verbatim? There is panic, lack of communication. There's massive defections amongst the military. You're not going to get that on other channels. We have very few people on the inside, but hold tight. At Walmart, we're helping our associates build meaningful careers. One way we're doing that, investing $1 billion in training and education. Last year, more than 100,000 associates earned promotions. Combined with benefits like 401K matching and paid parental leave, we're proving that Walmart isn't just a place to work, it's a place to grow. Learn more at walmart.com slash grow at Walmart. Fox News Radio Studios in Midtown Manhattan. It's the fastest growing radio talk show. Brian Kilmeade.

Hi, everyone. So glad you're there. I come to you from Midtown Manhattan, heard around the country, around the world. John Franco's got to be with us. Bottom of the hour, no stranger to any New Yorkers. Fantastic pitcher. Maybe the best lefty closer in the history of baseball. He's getting pumped for opening day today. It'll be the Yankees Giants opening up on Netflix. A new tradition begins. Calroba is standing by. He doesn't care. He focuses on old things Texas-oriented. So I assume he's going for those Texas Rangers because the boss that he used to have, used to own that team. I just assume we'll find. out shortly, but we're all finding the latest because we're hoping for some break with TSA. It has not happened yet. 475 TSA workers have flat out quit. Thousands have not showed up. Now you're waiting hours upon hours in order to get to your plane, often missing the plane. This is horrendous, embarrassing, aggravating, and I am incensed by it because they had a deal done. Before we get to Carl, let's get to the big three. Number three. Well, this has been a terrible tragedy, and I know that the Gorman family has suffered mightily. I agree there have been real failures. Those failures, of course, extend beyond the borders of Illinois. It's their national failures. That is J.B. Pritzker. Really? The focus on killing two more Americans at the hands of illegal criminals with long rap sheets should refocus the Donald Trump administration on the reason where he got elected. Illegal immigrants running wild in sanctuary cities. And you have a J.B. Pritzker who wants to be the next president blaming, drum roll, please Donald Trump. He can't get away with that. Number two. Chuck Schumer in this instance anyway, he's lying. He's lying like fish swim. That is Senator Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a deal a day away to put DHS back on track in the TSA getting back pay. Why all sides realize they have to get something done. But mysteriously, the Dems seem to be walking away even though they'd get away with not funding ice. Number one. We're in what the Wall Street Journal calls this morning the fog of diplomacy. We often speak of the fog of war, but in this case, it's the diplomacy that's hard to understand. It's just a situation that Trump likes where he wants a deal. He said that. He thinks using military force at the ready. Sending all these troops is the best way to get to the deal. No deal yet, and there should not be. Trump's talking like Iran is ready to cave, but Iran's denying they're even talking. An Arab state of the president. Finish the job. We have the latest on the Iran War. And the president's sending 5,000 Marines and a few thousand from the 82nd Airborne sends a different message than I'm ready to talk. And that is we still have more to do. Karl Rove joins us now. No Stranger to Middle Eastern Wars. One down, two dominated during his time with the Bush administration. Carl, welcome back.

Thanks for having me. So the president says, I know you want to talk to a call. You don't want to talk to Steve Witkoff? He told the Iranian delegation. I know you don't want to talk to Jared Kushner. They want to talk to JD Vance and Marco Rubio. Should the president grant him that? Well, look, this is going to be a call that should be made by people who are in the middle of this. Large parts of this are opaque to us and should be. Diplomacy should not be all conducted out in the public with all of us kibbutzine about it. So I think this is a call the president has to make. If the Iranians are serious and they want to talk to the vice president and the secretary of state, there ought to be a way to. try and make that, arrange that, but only if they determine that they're seriously looking for a way out. And you and I can't make that judgment. They can make that judgment because they're the people who are doing the talking. And look, there are lots of people conversing in this, not just the U.S. and Iran, but Saudi Arabia, the Turks, Egypt, the Gulf states, all of these are players in this with contacts inside the Iranian regime and capable of giving inside to where they really are on this. Now, how great is it the Gulf states standing with us? In fact, Saudi Arabia is concerned that will end it early, said finish off this regime and change history in the Middle East comprehensively. They know Iran's the problem. You know Iran's the problem. And adding to that, they're getting close to getting into the fight themselves. So that shows also the UK, Australia. also beginning to send minesweepers immobilized to open the Hamoos straight. So a lot of things that come in our direction while at the same time the president playing a game, I think, with talks. And if I'm looking some of the Middle Eastern coverage, Carl. There is chaos amongst the higher-ups in the IRGC. There's massive defections. At least 300 besieged forces have been killed. We don't know how strong they are still in the streets. People like to pretend like everything's going great in Iran and it's chaotic here because they don't like the president. That's just not the case. Yeah, I think that's absolutely right. Yeah, I want to go back to something you mentioned about the Gulf states. This really is critical. This is, you know, a... big mistake by the Iranians to send drones into Qatar and Bahrain and Dubai and Doha. You know, they made a mistake because they said, well, we're only going to attack military bases. And so then they sent the attack to energy facilities, hotels, a hotel in Dubai has a drone flying into it. So they're making enemies of people who. you know, we're dealing gingerly with Iran because they live, you know, 30 or 40 miles across the straight from them in places. So big mistake by the Iranians. They're turning the region against them. And ultimately, they need to have the region at least afraid of them or pacified, not against them. I want you to hear with secretary, former secretary of state, Anthony Blinken said about the deal that was in place and would stop them from doing another. He worked for Biden and he had a role with Obama, cut six. So they got in the way because.

President Biden didn't want to get into a... I think we were looking at the right time to try to get this done. But at the end of the day, even with all of that factored in, the Iranians weren't doing enough, weren't conceding enough to make that deal worthwhile. So what did we do? We actually kept the pressure on them. We made sure that the sanctions that were in place remained in place. We looked at how we could tighten it. We looked at trying to create the conditions where they'd come back to the table, and we could get that longer and stronger agreement. And had there been a second term under the conditions that existed when we were in office, I think that's something that maybe we could have gotten done. Cole, what's he missing in that explanation? Any connection to reality. Look, he was in the Obama administration, which cut a bad deal with Iran. And they lied to us, and we knew that they were lying to us. And then we had Biden. Does anybody think that Biden was a strong president capable of... striking fear into the hearts of the Iranians or cutting a tough deal with them? No. He's the guy who sort of sent the signal to him by saying, we're out of here in Afghanistan. And I'm confident the Iranians looked at that and said, how foolish of that is the Americans? of the Americans. They had pacified Iran, actually Afghanistan, which is on the eastern border of Iran. And that gave us the ability to look into them and see what they were doing. And it was a counterweight. And we walked away from it. And they looked at that and said, they're retreating from the region. They took it as a sign of weakness and they acted accordingly. Let's, you know, it's more evidence that we can thumb our nose at the West and continue our aspirations. for not only the creation of a nuclear weapon, but also for intercontinental ballistic missiles and drones and allies throughout the region who can serve our interests and not the interests of the West in the United States and Israel. Yeah, and otherwise, Secretary is so wrong in that, you know, by the way, that never passed the Senate, that deal that was done. They got a whole bunch of money, that deal that was done. And the one of the things that Joe Biden did is let them sell oil and look the other way, that all that smothering operation that was there during Trump, they allowed him to sell millions of barrels of oil, mostly to the benefit of China. In other words, an outstretched hand. We want to do a deal. I'm going to show you. I'll look the other way. Also, I'll make the Houthis, take them off the tarot watch list, and I'll call Saudi Arabia a pariah nation. How did that work out? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Name me one thing in that list that you just gave that was logical, rational, and reasonable, and in the interest of the United States, not a single one. And what they're trying to do is mollify the mullahs, and that's impossible to do. They are not, you know, they need to act out of self-interest. And if you give them things, it simply encourages bad behavior because that's what gets, gets them in a position to receive things. Carl, have you had to try to get on a plane lately?

You know, yesterday I was supposed to fly to Dallas at 605, and it would have got me in at about 715 for morning meetings. including a visit with the former president of the United States. And I said to myself, you know, that's going to require me to go to the Austin airport. Apparently it's somewhere around 3 or 3.30 in the morning to make a 6-05 flight. So I got on what's called the Von Lane, which is a luxury bus that drives between Austin, Dallas, and Houston. And I got on the bus at 6 o'clock. I literally had to wait maybe five minutes to board the bus. And I got there in time. So I got a couple extra hours of sleep yesterday morning because I decided not. to fly this is idiotic and the democrats are making a huge mistake in my opinion yes people are sitting in those lines and saying the pox on both houses but the democrats are the ones who are looking like they are holding up a salute to this and they missed an off ramp they missed a big off ramp in the mullin hearings if they had said to mullin you know what We want to know if you're going to deal, if you're the secretary, if you're confirmed, will you deal with this honestly and fairly in resolving the following five things that we're concerned about? Two things would have happened. One is we'd have a better idea of what the hell they were carrying about. Who knows what they're carrying about now? It's something to deal with ICE, but they're not specific. And the second thing it would have done is they could still have voted against him, but then they could have gone to him and said, You promised in good faith to negotiate with us on these points. And if he did, great. If he didn't, they got another talking point. But they get themselves off the hook of looking like they are the people making us all stand in those lines for hours. And keeping those poor people who are on the TSA payroll from having to getting a paycheck. I know. And ICE is getting paid. And they were sent to the airports and they're helping out in some areas. So listen to Hakeem Jeffries said, what he fears now that ICE is in airports cut 26. The last thing that the American people need are for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country, potentially to brutalize or in some instances kill them. We've already seen how ICE conducts itself. These are untrained individuals when it comes to doing the current job that they have for the most part, let alone deploying them. in close exposure and highly sensitive situations at airports across the country. So ICE is going to brutalize and shoot people in the airports? Yeah. Look, look, you know what this sounds like? Defund the police. Yes. Abolish police, abolish ICE. Abolish the Border Patrol. I mean, this is why, this is going to blow your mind. This is in my column tomorrow. If you take the approval rating of the president. He's got about a 14-point deficit. If you take the approval rating of the Republican Party, it has about a 15-point deficit. That is to say, the favorable, the people who approve of the Republican Party are 14 points less than the group of people who disapprove. Of the Democratic Party, it's a 20-point gap.

That is to say, there are 20 points more people who disapprove of the Democratic Party than approve of it. So how did they make themselves less popular than President Trump and the Republicans by saying stupid things like what Hakeem Jeffries just said? Come on, wake up. Smell the coffee. You're blowing it. This is the year which you should have a huge blowout. They had in 2018 a 8.4 point advantage in the generic gap and the generic ballot. And they picked up 41 seats. Today, they're just over four points. And it's because they got a lousy. Reputation as a party. They're the least popular of the three. Trump, Republicans and Democrats are the least popular of the Democrats. All right. This has gotten good news for Republicans. It's not good news for Republicans. Palm Beach, state Senate race. Went to the Democrat. It's a city that was won by the Republican Caruso by 19. Yes. And we're him by Trump by 11. Harry Enten looked at the polls on CNN. Listen. It is happening now in Donald Trump's backyard. But it has been happening across the country. We have seen these massive shifts in these special elections. I looked at all of them. Okay, so far to date, the state legislative, the federal special elections. No matter what it's for, no matter special election. Correct. For state legislative or federal for Congress. And what we've seen so far is a shift to the Democrats on average of 12 points. We've seen a shift of 12 points from the Kamala Harris baseline, from what we saw. Which is about where this race looks like is the end. Exactly right. This is emblematic, Aaron, of what we've seen nationwide, which is a double digit shift. towards the Democrats versus that 2024 baseline. Your thoughts on those numbers. Well, first of all, I think this is a brilliant guy. You know, he's one smart dude who just comforts everybody. And second of all, I think he's absolutely on target with regard to special elections. But special elections are not things like midterm elections. There will be a much larger turnout. And the Democrats will have an advantage, but they're not going to have the advantage that they have in special elections. And they certainly, at least at this point, do not have the advantage that they had in 20. when they were more popular than the Republicans. And they weren't the most unpopular of the three of the triad of Republicans, Democrats, and the president. They weren't the most unpopular of them. This time they are. So they could get the base out in a special election, which is low turnout. I'm not certain that they're going to be that, that they're going to run 12 points ahead of their 2020 for performance in the fall election. In fact, I'm pretty confident they won't. All right. Thanks so much, Karl Rove. Fascinating time, even in your Texas, at Senate race in Texas with John Cornyn and Ken Paxton's very close. And then in the general, there'll be a lot of focus there too.

You bet. All right. Go get him. Big Reds. Won't have it. And we look forward to your Wall Street Journal column tomorrow. You listen to the Brian Kilmeade Show. Coming up at the bottom of the hour, lefty legend John Franco. Don't move. Learning something new every day on the Brian Kilmeade. How can we help make stronger communities happen? Well, at J.P. Morgan Chase, we invest in what's working. Because when businesses can grow, that growth means more jobs for more people and more goods that can go to more restaurants and main streets and schools in the communities we love. Make the greengrass grow all around, all around, make the greengrass go all around. Make momentum happen. Learn more at JPMorganchase.com slash impact. Breaking news, unique opinions. Hear it all on the Brian Kilmeade. The kids coming out of college right now learned how to program with AI. They're really good at it. And so... I think we will go heavy on new grads because there's so much more AI native. It's the old people like me. It's like I didn't want to give it up. I finally did. Like the models got good enough. But that's like my craft. It's my hobby. It's my first love. I don't want to like not write code anymore. Right. The younger people don't have that package. They just write with AI. And so I think there's so many reasons to hire new grads. Also the best. New grads, like, if you don't hire them as new grads, you will never see them. They will never be on the job market again. They're too valuable to ever let them be on the job market. So if you don't hire them when they're young, you will never see them. Or if you do, they're 100x more expensive. So that's the Reddit CEO talking about the reason to hire people out of school. But I hear it's a terrible job market right now for people just getting out of school. And because even if you do know AI, but I also saw Larry Fink talking or earlier due on BBC this morning saying that he is looking for people right out of school that can be open to AI. He says they don't have to be taught. They've been just absorbing it. So I think that's clear. I watched Jamie Dimon to be interviewed. He had a different feeling about it that AI is wiping out a lot of the entry-level jobs and doesn't make him as hungry to get that next generation of top students coming out of finance with finance degrees. So I think it's a mix of everything. And I also think the market is somewhat up in the air because they don't know when this war is going to end. And I don't think we're really at a graduation point now. We're in between graduation points. But by May, we should have a better idea. But the best thing I think people can do is, number one, if you don't, if you want, if you're into trades, go to it, go for it. If you're in the middle of graduating, close to graduate, graduate, get you great, never hurt. But if you are into trades, you go with your hands. Go do it. Don't even hesitate. Number one. Number two, if you, uh,

If you are in college, I would dominate when it comes to AI and just say this is, I know more. I'm not learning on the fly. I've learned it as it was developing. And those people. will end up teaching these courses and taking care of the next generation. So I think it's a real fascinating time. When we come back, it's opening day. Yankees play against the Giants tonight. Then all your teams are going to get a chance to get out there. Does this still have the passion for America's pastime? Also a great special on Fox Nation coming out. John Franco plays a part of it. It's called Never Forget how baseball helped New York heal. And I think the country healed 25 years ago virtually as 9-11 happened. Don't move. Cheers to America's 250th birthday. Get 20% off your first purchase at Fox Newswineshop.com with code FNRadio 20. 20% discount excludes wine club offers and cannot be combined with any other promotion. Expires July 31st, 2026. Must be 21 order to order. Please drink responsibly.

hours in radio. You're with Brian Kilmeade. Welcome back, everybody. Joining us shortly will be John Franco, the New York Mets, got a special out called Never Forget how baseball help New York heel. But I only think it's the country heel. We'll talk about that. We'll focus on America 250 and we should be focused on America 250. But we also can't forget. 25 years since the 9-11. And I know we'll be down there. They do a fantastic job, all except the pandemic year when Donald the Towers had to take over. We know they do a fantastic job and they'll get there soon, but besides a pandemic. But those are a few things that were happening. I want you to hear some of the special that's now going to be out. And it's looking back at 9-11. And here's one of the moments. The Mets and Yankees played such a prominent role. The Yankees, I think, were the first ones to come back. This moment is when the crowd erupts as the Mets win in dramatic fashion. You'll hear on the call how he rose. Let's listen back. Cut 43. And it's hit deep to left center. Andrew Jay Jones on the line. This one has a chance. Home run by Piazza and the Mets lead, three to two. As soon as he hit the ball, I knew it was a home run. I knew it was die. I really never heard a crowd unload like that.

It was like a firecracker going off. And it lit up everyone's face in their hearts. Their hugs and high fives like I had never seen before. People were, you know, all of a sudden that moment, the Mets fan, whoever, New York fan, it was like, you know. We just start crying. Everybody in the box is crying. It sounded like the whole stadium took a... Like a deep breath. Guys, everybody was up clapping. I mean, when I talk about it now, the hair stands up with my arms. So that was Harry Rose, Steve Carsey, the Atlanta Braves. Bobby Valentine, the manager, Al Leiter, the former great Mets pitcher, Steve Phillips, the GM at the time. And then John Franco was the last name. And with me right now is John Franco, the best lefty stopper ever. Great to see you, John. Thanks. Thanks, Brian. Set the scene again when Mike Piazza gets up to the plate. What kind of year were you guys having in 9-11, 2001? 2001 was so-so, yeah. In 99, we made the playoffs, 2000 with the World Series. So we're still in the thicker things a little bit, making a playoff pitcher, but then we kind of fell out of it. But, you know, get into that game, particular game, the first seven innings were, like, very calm. Like, it was just like... fans were just talking to each other. It wasn't as loud as a week after 9-11? Is this two weeks or two? That was the 21st. Okay. About the first game. So it was very quiet. And then, you know, our superstar comes up with a guy on base and everybody was saying, well, this would be great if Mike hits a home run. And he hit the home run. The whole stadium just erupted. I mean... Soda beer, everything being thrown in the air, people hugging each other, people crying. I was in a dugout. You look back at the crowd and it was just how everybody just erupted. They just needed that for that moment. Right. And we were very happy that we won the game, obviously because of what happened in 9-11, but we were home. And just to make the fans who were in the stadium and whoever was watching on TV, just to forget just for a minute or two of what happened. I mean, you'll never forget what happened, but just to take their minds off of it. And, you know, we put a little Band-Aid on a big wound. And to play that game. And I remember Chipper Jay Jones saying if there was one game that they wanted to lose, that was the game that they wanted to lose. And he haunted you guys. Oh, he killed us. He killed us, man. They were baseman for the Atlanta Braves. So, yeah, I mean, that was just one of the moments, a part of this special, and you're a part of it, right? So you thought, I don't actually think it's misnamed. It's not really New York. I think it's a country. Yeah. I mean, it was, you know, Yankees and men, people like to hate you, hate you guys. But not then. Everybody, Love the New York teams. You know, when we went after that series back, the first game back in New York was the 21st, but prior to that, we went back to Pittsburgh to play before the first game in New York. And when we got to Pittsburgh, there were signs. We're with you, New York, you know, USA, blah, blah, blah. And the fans gave us stand in ovations. But you were a New Yorker, too. What does it mean for you? I mentioned. You got traded there, but you grew up here. Yeah.

What it means to me, it was like, you know, obviously what happened was a punch in the stomach, you know. It was just, you know, just so mad, so pissed off that would happen. But to see the West of the country come together and to see the way New Yorkers came together during that time, it was really... Really nice to see that. I mean, downtown, you see Orvander Holyfield serving the FDNY and the cops, you know, dinner and lunch and all the celebrities coming down, but treated like everybody else. And then we're watching you guys. I've seen this video and over again, but people should understand. You guys were actually loading trucks. Yeah. I mean, it wasn't those symbolic things show up and say hello. No, we put you to work. We had, we worked out for an hour and a half, two hours. And then. You know, me being the team captain, I don't have to say nothing to any one of the guys. I just said, hey, I'm going out. We're going to go out and help unload trucks. 25 guys came out. coaches Bobby Valentine, who was great. A lot of Sue Lucci, who were stadium operations. In fact, you want to hear some of this? She's actually on the special. Yes. Here's a cut. Cut 44. It really started as something just so simple. I took a whiteboard and I just wrote donations here. And the next thing we know, this turned into a 10-day. effort. It was surreal. It was like baseball immediately became secondary. We went from packed parking lots with fans coming to the game. to trailers being pulled in and firefighters that were coming in and staying in the halls of the stadium and sleeping on cots. It was quite a transformation. We turned the parking lot into like a Home Depot with aisles of boxes all organized from jeans to underwear to eye wash to things that were brought up from North Carolina on buses. Track the trailers are lined up. The backs were open. It was packed with boots and batteries and water and blankets and flashlights or whatever supplies that were needed. It was 24-7, 4 o'clock in the morning. She was after. People were out here. You know, it was a group of Africa. So you and did you going back listening to us, what are your thoughts, John Franco? I'm very thankful for the help that my teammates and everyone around the country. The way the supplies were coming in from North Carolina, they were driving track the trails from North Carolina, Florida, Texas. I remember Bobby telling the story that he was there late one night and a motorcycle that I think the Hells Angels came in and they were helping.

donate stuff and take stuff out of the truck. So I remember jumping on the back of a tractor trailer and just throwing boxes to my teammates. And we had a line going and dropping things. Wasn't your dad a firefighter? My dad was a sanitation work. Sanitation? I have an uncle, two cousins who were firefighters. Unfortunately, my son's little league coach is one of the firefighters that passed away in 9-11. And a friend of mine is Sal Calabro, who was a firefighter that I played football with, was a... in the building when it collapsed also. So I have that close knit with the fire department and I have some family members who are police officers too. So you don't have to explain to your son the impact. He saw it. I mean, to lose your coach like that. Yeah, yeah. It was terrible. John Bergen was a great guy. Love the kids. They were just doing their job. You know, I said this earlier today. The police and the firemen are running into burning buildings and people are running out. The police are running after criminals shooting at them. They're shooting at them. You can't put a dollar sign on what these men and women do day in and day out. And because of them, we're able to sleep comfortable at night. And so you must have been beside yourself, too, with the whole defund the police thing. Yeah, that's just ridiculous. I mean, we're seeing now the disrespect to cops. We're coming out of it, but now we're seeing defund ICE, but that must just drive you as crazy it does me. It does be crazy. But, you know, Saturday night, Jim Dolan, the owner of the... Rangers and MSG is doing a great thing at Madison Square Garden. We're putting on the show for the police department. All the police department and family members are coming and they're putting on a show where athletes like myself are going to be presenters. Cindy Lopper is going to be singing. Fat Joe is going to be singing. There's going to be a bunch of talent there. And this is his way, our way of saying. how we appreciate the New York City police, how we appreciate what they're doing day in and day out. And now since that time, we've come up on 25 years. They've done an unbelievable job, aside from the pandemic when they didn't do anything. Right. But, and I worry about this mayor, you don't have to weigh in, not understanding what. what 9-11 is. He has not just showed me anything different. He doesn't understand it. So I'm not counting on him, and I don't think you guys have to either. But every year, stuff done with the beams into the sky and stuff is done to memorize. Went through the longest time to clean it up, number one. Then you had just a Hulk there. Then we couldn't design and design. And then the build happened. And now it looks beautiful down there. Yes. What would it been like for you as you go back and watch the building and rebuilding downtown? I live two blocks right now from the Freedom Tower. So I've seen it from bottom up. And what they've done down there is amazing, how they cleaned it up, how the area is beautiful, how the fountains are going 24-7. And the commemoration with the museum. Yes, the museum was unbelievable. If you never had a chance to go to a museum, you should go to a museum. They still have one of the trees that survive. It's blocked off. That was the only tree in the area that survived. The fall of the buildings. So that area is... Probably the safest area in the country right now with all the police and anti-terrorist police down there. So it felt pretty safe down there. But they did a fabulous job and cleaning that area up. So Fox Nation's got this brand new special. It's called Never Forget Out Baseball Help New York.

a heel, and I think it's the country. John Franco's with us. John, I hope you don't mind. I want to play. It's not just about the Mets. It's about the Yankees, too. And here is, and of course, they got to the World Series that year. They lost game seven to the Diamondbacks. Would have been great had they had won, except for them if you're a Diamondback fan. Here's Brian Cashman and some. Oh, we don't have that one? Okay, so we don't have that one. But for the Yankees, they also rallied after 9-11. Not just the Yankees, the Jets, the Rangers, the Knicks, the Giants. Every New York team did something to their part to help out, whether it was, you know, something at the gardens, Yankee Stadium. You know, President Bush throwing out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium and Derek Jeter. messing around with him telling them don't bounce it they'll boo you you know so uh every every every every new york every professional team here in new york did something did their part to help out so when we come back i want to ask john about this upcoming baseball season and talk about some changes that we're going to see and are we looking at a lockout next year in baseball as they try to reconfigure their salary cap situation, that luxury tax situation, and its technology infiltrating, I think it's welcome, but many traditionalists don't, infiltrating America's pastime. You listen to the Brian Kilmeade. Again, the special is never forget how baseball helped New York heal. Another reason to get Fox Nation. Don't move. Big guests, bold opinions, better information. This is the Brian Kilmeade.

that's getting you talking. You're with Bruce. Hey, welcome back. John Franco with us now, the greatest lefty closer in baseball history. John, we're talking about your special, never forget. But also, let's talk a little bit about St. John's where you graduated. Yes, let's talk about it. So now, Rick Petino has brought that, brought that team back. There's people that don't know that St. John's was a staple. Chris Mullen and Walter Bari Weiss. The Leuconeseka days. Yeah, they were just, they were contending every year. They were back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999. What about, do you feel it? I love it. I've gone to seven, eight games this year. You know, every time they play at the garden, I've gone to the games. And what's it like? Is it back? It is back. It's back when Connesecker and Mullins were at the garden. You know, the old Big East days, you know, the Georgetown will come in. That place would be sold out. It's been a long time. You know, last year, Patino took us to the NCAAs, and we lost in the second round. But it's been a long time for the St. John fan and alumni to enjoy this ride. And we're having a hell of a time. And hopefully Friday night it'll be better. What do you think against Duke? I think we got a hell of a chance. I mean, Duke really hasn't played great. They've been vulnerable. You know, Sienna had them pretty well. And then their first half for the last game, they didn't play well. They played well the second half. St. John is a different animal. They play a defense. They have a good defensive team. Yeah, you play the Giants tonight. We all kick it off. It's going to be on Netflix, right? And then we're going to start, we're going to start every team 162 games. Are you worried that baseball is becoming the so-called regional sport that people pull for their team, but they don't have a sense of the league. Where in football, there's more of a sense of a national situation. Yes. Yes, in a way. Most of the people are regional teams. You know, I know friends who are Dallas Cowboy fans and stuff like that. Yeah. But it's more, you know, Met Yankee, Met Yankee, Met Yankee, rather than, you know, Matt Dodger, Seattle, you know. So it concerns me a little bit. Are you concerned? People always talk about the best teams. I'm worried about so many teams have no shot. You know the Pittsburgh Pirates haven't tried to be contended since the 80s. Right. Don't you think there should be a bottom threshold in minimum amount paid towards rosters instead of focusing on the salary cap? What about a salary bottom? Yeah, I agree. For years, you know, I was part of the union when we were negotiating back in the day. And the teams like Pittsburgh and the teams like that don't spend the Baltimore Orioles back in the day, the Marlins. You know, they don't spend, they're getting money from the owners. They're getting TV money and they're not spending. So they're doing a just justice. They get the luxury tax money. Yeah. So they need to do something to figure it out to make them more competitive. The pirates do have a good young team, good young pitching staff. Until they get paid. Then they all got to go. Right. So what happens is like the Marlins. The Marlins, they won two World Series. They dismantled the team.

And it's a shame because they don't draw down in Florida. Which is crazy because they have a passion. Absolutely. So it's got to be something more of the owners. The owners have to get together because I know the owners that do have and the owners that don't have. And most of the owners do have. They just don't want to spend. Right. How many do you think, do you have a sense of how many teams are making money? I think all of them are making money. You know, when a team is up for sale, people are lining up to buy it. So, you know, you're not going to buy. You're not going to buy something that's not making money. So technology coming in, and now we have maybe an electronic. strike zone. And you said there's two timeouts a game to challenge this. Right. How soon do we have a fully electronic strike zone? And are you for that? I don't think we're going to have that automatic robot umpire about that. I think there's going to be some type of human element. But you must have been frustrated when you know you threw a strike, right? Yeah, you know, I think this is good because it's going to hold umpires accountable. They know they could be called out. There were umpires. If you see some old videos of Eric Craig, Angel Hernandez, who weren't very good umpires in their strike zone was, you know, the home plate's 17 inches. It would be 21 inches outside where guys wouldn't have a chance to hit. As a pitcher, you love that because they're calling that. But to be fair, you hold the umpires accountable. And if they're not, you know, if I'm not doing my job as a baseball player, I get sent to the minor leagues. That's what the umpires should be held accountable. If you're not doing your job, you're a young umpire up here who could do that job. So now they're saying the next year, baseball is going to look to reconfigure and get a salary cap and some of the bigger teams want it, like the Yankees. Your thought as a former players union, we have the strongest union in sports. Your thoughts about where that's heading. I think it's going to be tough to get a salary cap. There is a soft salary cap now, but teams still overspend and they've got to pay on that luxury tax. It'll be interesting to see. how the owners really stick together with this because usually the owners, the ones that have don't want to stay out too long and the ones that don't have, they really don't care. And that's how it was years ago. So it'll be interested to see how this collective bargaining is tackled. And how you think the Mets and Yankees will do for our listeners on WNBC? I'm hoping the Mets have a better year than they did last year. We started off great. I think the team is, I was down in spring training. I saw the team. I think the team is in great shape. I think they're going to do very well this year. And the Yankees are the Yankees. Yankees always get into the playoffs somehow or another. They find the way to get in. If they don't win it all, they feel it's a failure. Yeah, exactly. John Franco, thanks so much. You got it.

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