Will Trump Strike Iran? | DHS Shutdown Looming

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Maya Top Fox News headquarters in New York City. Always seeking solutions, never sewing to fission. It's Brian Kilmeade. I'm so glad you're there. Brian Kilmeade on this beautiful day. I say beautiful because we're in the 30s. And I remember it was 50. And I know we got four seasons and I shouldn't act surprised every year. But it was 50. I remember taking the dogs for a walk and I was. freezing. And I thought, oh my goodness, this is going to be a brutal winter. And now I look at 30s as almost midsummer because we have never been so cold. Minnesota and all these people, they're used to it. Nebraska, I'm not used to it. So I'm talking about three and two degrees for two weeks. So where's the 30s? So it's gotten a lot better now. Also, this hour is going to be hot in a good way. Dennis Ross, William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Author of Statecraft. Nobody knows more about the Middle East, the dynamics there in him. Are we going to war in Iran? And Mark Teeson, everything domestic and foreign is okay with him. So let's get to the big three. Number three. You can pull from the driver's license databases in many of these places. Those photos are accessible to law enforcement as well for specific purposes. I don't know where they are with that yet, but that's obviously an investigative approach they could take. They were searching through the night. They might have found the gloves. Could they find the abductor? The person who perpetrated whatever crime there was for Nancy Guthrie will have the latest. Number two. But I think President Trump is prepared to let diplomacy play out for a little bit here to see if there's a possible negotiated outcome. We'll give diplomacy a chance, it seems, but I'm not that optimistic that Iran is actually going to play ball here. Neither am I. That was Nathan Sales with me on Fox and Friends. He is a former Trump official from the State Department moving into position. Don't look at the words of Trump. Look at his actions. As a second carrier group steams towards. the Gulf. Iran is the target as they've been targeting the U.S. and the president for years. Why I think it's the only decision he could make is to take them out. Number one. And the one bill that was left on the table is Department of Homeland Security covers all the agencies that keep the American people safe. And the Democrats don't want to fund it because it's political for them. Speaker Johnson, I can't believe we're saying this, but another limited shutdown. Yes, as the Dems aside, not funding ICE makes political sense. Why, I hope it all can be avoided today. Mark Teeson, former speechwriter, Washington Post columnist. He is a fellow at the AEI and he's a Fox News contributor. You also see him at the big weekend show a lot. Mark, welcome back. Your thoughts, number one, about a possible DHS shutdown? I mean, and so because of that, they will stop the Code L going to the Munich Security Conference. Maybe the Senate holds people here all over an appropriations bill that was already agreed upon. Why can't Democrats take the win? They've already got a lot of concessions.

Yeah, I don't understand it. And it's also really dumb strategy. So what they did with, what was their leverage over, over Donald Trump? Their leverage was that they were going to shut down the government and then that would shave, you know, a couple of points off of GDP growth for the economy, which would hurt him in the midterm elections. And so if they had shut down the entire government, that would be a problem for Donald Trump. But then they let all the other appropriations bills go through except for DHS funding, which means that that leverage is gone. And also, they're not even taking ice hostage, which is their problem, because ice funding has been funded through 2029 as part of the one big beautiful bill. So what are they taking hostage? They're taking hostage FEMA in the midst of all these storms that we've been having. They're taking hostage TSA, the security screening in our airport. They're taking hostage funding for the Coast Guard. I mean, what leverage do they have? I don't understand it. It's actually, you know, the first shutdown I thought was pretty stupid, but it cut, you know, Trump believes that it hurt him because it cuts some GDP growth. But now they're not going to affect GDP. They're just going to affect services that people care about and not affect the service that they're trying to stop. But you know what they're saying. We have to show our base we can fight. We'll push back against Trump. And the Gestapo, better known as ICE, from destroying and capturing children and ripping women from their cars by their hair. So to do that and for Chuck Schumer to hold his job, he has to get things like judicial warrants to go after illegal immigrant criminals. Are you crazy? Get rid of the masks and put names on uniforms? Why? So you could just. allow the would-be Antifaites to go out to their homes and houses. This is the same party that made you wear a mask or else you were anti-American. Yeah, this is, what the Democrats don't seem to understand is that they think that because people got upset about the, about the shootings in Minnesota, that therefore they are now backing them on the whole panoply of issues related to ICE and deportation. And that's not true. What, what, if you look at the polling. Six in ten Americans on almost every poll still believe we should deport illegal migrants, and nine in ten want to deport everyone with a criminal record. So what they didn't like was the execution. They thought that all the polls show that people thought Trump was being too tough. So he's now taken steps to scale back, some of the, some of the, what people would consider excesses. He's put body cams on on ice agents and customs and border patrol agents. So he's addressing the operational issues that people have. But the Democrats are, you know, Americans still back him and gave him a mandate to do what he's trying to do. They just didn't like the way he was doing it. But if he fixes the operational issues, Americans supermajorities are with him on deporting every criminal alien in this country who has been charged with or convicted of a crime.

I want to pivot. Listen, it's very frustrating. It makes us look terrible on the world stage because we did get the appropriate. They did get the appropriations bills done. Democrats were citing how good the process won. They evidently, you know, I didn't look at the details would each committee emerge with. But evidently Democrats go, yeah, I thought they were very fair. And I'm thinking to myself, wow. That's going to be an underreported great story until the shooting of the second shooting in Minneapolis. And by the way, speaking of that, Tom Homan talking now yesterday, last week he pulled out 700 ICE and Border Patrol officials. I think he's pulling another hundreds more out and talking about how many arrests they've made and clarifying their policy. And, you know, and I think Tom Homan's been a godsend for here and hopefully in future, in future situations when it comes to the crackdown with, and what I should be doing. He's a much more suited for this, don't you think? Oh, Tom Homan is great. And Tom Homan is, you know, what he's doing is he's going out and focusing on starting with the criminal elements. And so people, look, if you look at the poll in New York Times poll in January, of last year as Trump was taking office, New York Times. So this is not like some mega poll or Republican pollster. Nine in ten Americans want to deport everyone with a criminal record. Almost seven in ten wanted to deport everyone who came in during Biden's four years in office. And a 56% majority wanted to deport everyone who's here illegally. The exception is the DACA kids, kids who came here illegally when they were young, right?

the people with criminal records, which nine in ten Americans. How do the Democrats get on the wrong side of a 90-10 issue? You know, it's insane. And Tom is right to focus on those people first. Let's get all the criminal elements. And by the way, why do you think the murder rate has gone down in the country? Maybe it's because we've deported hundreds of thousands of gang members who were killing people in the city. Tom is an outstanding, both an outstanding operational head of this operation, and he's also the right face. Overall, murders are down to this country, 19%. Robberies are down 20%. Aggravated assaults 10%. 40 large American cities found homicides down 21%. So even more. Also a major shift in these cities in 30% decrease in Chicago and homicides in Baltimore. Memphis down 25%. In Orlando, 50%. So this is a great story that people, this is a quality of life story. But I'm going to go back to what you said, yes. Your stats are right. And anecdotally, I think they're right too, just by people I talk to. But in a way, Republicans have given back this issue. And Democrats are overplaying their hand now. But by going out not communicating, I believe, and possibly not understanding the mandate, I think they've ham handed a few situations in Minneapolis and Chicago where I think they could have back. I know the mayors and governors made everything horrendous. But they come home and wouldn't have let it get this bad is what I think. Yes, 100%. I think the mistake was not having Tom Homan in charge of this whole operation from the beginning, both public facing and otherwise. But look, you can fix execution if the underlying, if Americans are back to you on the underlying issue. The Americans back Trump on the objective. They didn't like the way he was doing it because no one wants to see an American killed. Even if it's not, even if it ends up being that it wasn't the officer's fault. And people don't like it. And so they, but you know, as as the, as Trump fixes those issues and gets back to doing the what nine and ten Americans want him to do, then then he's going to regain public support. Mark Ties and our guest, Mark, I tap into your foreign policy language. The president's got a big decision to make on Iran. He's got a, I guess, in another week they're going to meet again on their nuclear program. And we know that Benjamin Netanyahu is here talking specifically about joining the peace council that he put together, border peace. But he's also, I'm sure, talking tactics and strategy when it comes to hitting Iran should have come to that. Ari Fleischer on the risks, cut 18.

This is exactly why the decisions the president's make are consequential and difficult. If this turns out to be if we use our military, just like when we did against Soleimani, the previous Iranian military leader or the statue of Maduro or the use of B2s to take out their nuclear facilities, this can be very successful with the president and for peace in the region. If, on the other hand, American pilots get shot down, we don't accomplish the mission, the Ayatollah stays in a place, we're bombing for weeks. Then it's exactly what President Trump warned he would not do. So it comes down to success. Can we carry out the mission militarily successfully? Or will it become another quagmire for America? Very difficult call for the president. Pick it up from there, Mark. Yeah, so I think Ari is wrong that this is not what Donald Trump promised to do. Donald Trump has never been in isolation. Donald Trump has never said that he would not use military force. He said when he campaigned in 2016, what was his critique? We never win. We're always losing. Our leaders are idiots. It's not that we shouldn't lead on the world stage. It's not that we shouldn't use military force, is that we have to do it well. So he has to do it well. And look, MAGA voters back him to the hilt on this. The 61% in the morning consult poll support a military strike. And the problem is that the president of the United States went out and said to the Iranian regime, if you kill thousands of people, I'm coming after you. He said to the Iranian people, rise up and take your institutions. Help is on the way. If he doesn't deliver on that, then it absolutely destroys all the credibility that he has rebuilt. by taking down the Iranian nuclear program, by hitting the Houthis, by hitting the Nigerian terrorists, by taking down Maduro. It decimates his credibility on the world stage, and it's exactly what Barack Obama did in Syria. When he drew a red line and said, if you use chemical weapons on your people, that will take military action. And instead, he didn't take military action and negotiated a chemical weapons disarmament deal with them. And they violated it. And that's what would happen here. If he negotiates a nuclear deal, as soon as the armada's gone and Trump has left off, they'll cheat. And not only that, he'll have to lift sanctions as part of the deal, which means he would financially reward the Iranian regime for... killing thousands of people, carrying out some of the worst massacres we've seen in the 21st century, and give them a lifeline to rebuild and reconstitute their regime when they're at their weakest point since 1979. So a nuclear deal is a terrible idea, and I think Trump really doesn't have a choice but to follow through on his actions. I agree. I agree. And we have a pretty good source that says they've seen the attack plan, and it's somebody who I know is very hard to please, was very impressed. So, and the one thing Ari's right about is that this may be different than all the other operations because we may take some casualties and some civilians may be killed and they may hit some of our bases. And so the president has to prepare the American people for this. And he needs to do something which he's not used to. He doesn't do very much, but he does it well when he does it. He needs to deliver and when he decides to do this, he needs to deliver an address to the American people explaining why he's doing it, what the stakes are.

asking them for their support backing the U.S. military in this action and preparing them for the possibility that some American lives may be lost and some and Israeli lives may be lost because he needs to explain why this is worth doing, why it's essential. And Mark, I hope that he calls on you to help write that speech when it happens. And lastly, the JD Vance was on the ground yesterday. Yeah, right. JD Vance was on the ground yesterday in Azerbaijan, and he was asked about that, and he says it's up to the Iranian people to decide on their government. We just want to make sure they don't have nuclear weapons. Is that on message? That is not on message. You know, it's not simply that the Iranian regime can't have nuclear weapons. The president said that they can't massacre their people, and also they can't have ballistic weapons. They can't support terrorists. It's a comprehensive transformation of what the Iranian regime is going to do. And look, here's the thing also where I disagree with Ari. Let's say he launches this attack and the Iran and the regime isn't toppled. Well, the Maduro regime in Venezuela isn't toppled, but we own them because we killed their top leader. We took out, we didn't kill them. We killed some of their top leaders, but we took their top leader. And we told the remnants, do what we tell you or we'll kill you too. I hear you. So it's the definition of success. It does not have to be the regime falls within days. Who, Mark Tieson. I mean, this has been an enemy since 1979. I mean, remember being an 11th grade reading about Iran, you know, and this has been the problem. So this is killed more America. And they're trying to kill more. John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, Brian Hook, and Trump. So how much more evidence do you need? Mark Teeson, thanks so much. I appreciate it. Take care. Back in a moment. Coming to you on a need-to-know basis, because, man, you need to know. It's Brian Kilmeade. Cheers to America's 250th birthday. Get 20% off your first purchase at Fox Newswinshop.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 older to order. Please drink responsibly. If you're interested in it, Brian's talking about it. You're with Brian Kilmeade. and success that has been made arresting public safety threats and other priorities since this surge operation began, as well as the unprecedented levels of coordination we have obtained from state officials and local law enforcement. I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred that this surge operation conclude. A significant drawdown has already been underway this week, and we'll continue to the next week. Tom Homan did a fantastic job. 700 ice agents and Border Patrol have been taken out of the city of Minneapolis. And now he says, I'm going to be bringing the operation to a conclusion. And he also cited the cooperation with local officials. And personally, I've got a good source that says he's flabbergasted, how different their message is behind closed doors as opposed to in front of the camera.

And because he wouldn't talk to the mayor and the mayor wouldn't talk to the administration and the governor, Waltz made a total joke of himself and decided not to run again. Now, Minneapolis, you're going to feel the heat because they're going to expose beginning today the corruption and fraud, the wasting of government dollars. How do I know that? Because. Keith Ellison is in Capitol Hill today, at which time he's going to brag about how many people he put in jail and how much money's been recovered. It's a small fraction of the billions that not only wasn't used in the right spot was used to get these people rich and to give it to Somalia. And how do we know that? We've seen reports and I watched Kaylee McAnney show, exclusive show last week, two weeks ago, where we saw the millions of dollars in suitcases brought through TSA and declared, because you got to, from Somalis living in America. I'm not sure if their citizens are not, no way of knowing, bringing suitcases of cash to Somalia. So it's not even taking a leap and what are you assuming and how are you inferring that? No, this is the facts. So now we're going to be talking about fraud today. Also some good news. Speaker Johnson yesterday passed the Save Act out of the House. And my hope is it's going to pass through the Senate. And what should Democrats do? Get on board. Why do I say that? 73%. And the number is off the charts when the African American community, Hispanic community, want voter ID. Do you understand that? They want it. So it just so happens. This is another issue that's 8020 or 70, 20 or 7 out of 10 people. And you have a chance to get on board with that. One Democrat got on board with that. Every Republican, including Thomas Massie, did. Here's Speaker Johnson on passing the Save Act yesterday. Cut nine. House Republicans have been working so hard to ensure the integrity of American elections. We had a big win tonight because we passed the Save America Act, and only one Democrat, out of all of them, joined us in that very common sense piece of legislation. John, all it does is it ensures that if you're going to register to vote, you have to have proof of citizenship, and when you show up to vote, you have to show a photo ID. These are 90% issues in public polling, and 70% of Democrats agree that it should be the law. Only one House Democrat voted for it tonight. Right. And Yomisi Egbo Wally, who's a commentator here, I hope we signed her, was on a special report last night. A Democratic work in the Joe Biden administration. Cut 10. Well, my senses I agree with Chuck Schumer is that it's going to have a tough road in the Senate. But I do think if the president changes the way he talks about the SAVE Act, a lot of it is steeped in the fact that he believes immigrants were busts to polling locations. If he's able to find some bipartisan consensus and middle ground with Democrats, I think that they will.

go with him where they need to go on the SAVE Act. I mean, having voter, voter ID is a very popular bipartisan issue, and it doesn't behoove Democrats to push against it. Right. So you have to some of the push by, oh, the president just wants to, and by the way, Barack Obama weighed in against this too, which is just sickening. Number one, who asked you? Number two is. This is voter ID. Just look at the stats. If you don't like the shooting in Minneapolis, okay, people wait in on that. You know, people see horrific stories and former presidents weigh in on that. I'm used to that. But here, you're against the Save Act when those stats are real that I just told you. And here's what they're saying. Well, this is just a way for the president to make sure people don't show up for vote. No, it's to make sure your vote counts. And the one thing I would add to that is this. I am not for making it hard for people who get divorced, get married, change their name. I don't want them to have to go through some governmental office in order to get their official name change and have a problem. People get married in October. They go to vote in November. Their license hasn't changed. Their last name is whatever. That stuff should not matter. And whatever you have paperwork you have to do to make sure that's the story is great. The other thing is, Not everyone has a passport, so don't demand a passport. Social Security card, I get it. Sometimes you don't have it. But there's things you can do electronically. And then, of course, the driver's licenses, these real driver's licenses will certainly work. And people who say that illegal immigrants and driver's licenses, legal immigrants and driver's licenses, well, they're going to have a driver's license, but doesn't mean they're legal. Yeah, it'll say right on the license, not a citizen, not good for ID or not a non-citizen. Yeah, cannot be used for voting. Just put it on there. There are things that can be done. When we come back, Dennis Ross joins us. He was in a bad area. He's in a better area now. He's going to talk about the clock ticking on Iran and more. Don't move. Diving deep into today's top stories, it's Brian Kilmeade.

Breaking news, unique opinions. Hear it all on the Brian Kilmeade. I think we saw maybe a little bit of daylight reading between the lines between the prime minister and the president. It seemed like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was here to press President Trump. Now's the time. Let's take military action against the regime while it is weak. But I think President Trump is prepared to let diplomacy play out for a little bit here to see if there's a possible negotiated outcome. Time will tell. I think watch and see how Iran responds to the olive branch that President Trump has offered. In the past, they haven't seized the opportunity to pursue peace. They've doubled down on their demands and on regime preservation. So we'll give diplomacy a chance, it seems, but I'm not that optimistic that Iran is actually going to play ball here. No way are they playing ball. He's being diplomatic because he's from the State Department. That's Nathan Sales, counterterrorism coordinator during Trump's first term. He joined me on Fox and Friends today, about an hour ago. But joining me now here on the Brian Kilmeade Radio show, Ambassador Dennis Ross, William Davidson. fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, best-selling author of Statecraft 2.0, what America needs to lead in the multipolar world. Dennis, welcome back, Dennis Ross. Your reaction to what Nathan Seale says, do you think the administration's buying a little bit of time? It looks like they want a second aircraft carrier. I do agree with what I heard and say. I do think the president is buying time, not simply because he's doing it for the purpose of... creating times who were better positioned militarily, both offensively and defensively, although that could be the case. I think he's buying time because he genuinely wants to see if there's a way to do this through diplomatic means. I don't think it's just a subterfuge. I think he generally wants to see if he can do it. I actually saw, by the way, two signs of some distancing in the president's true social comment. One was he used the word insist. on the idea of diplomacy. He could have easily said, you know, we've talked about pursuing diplomacy. He could have left it a little bit more vague in terms of whether this was something he was effect, either persuading or imposing on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The other was he exhibited a lot of optimism about what's going on in Gaza. And I think that Benjamin Netanyahu's position right now is there's no way that Hamas will actually disarm, so he's actually quite... I think pessimistic in that regard. So I think there were sort of two signs of difference there. I think the larger question will be on each. What are the next steps the president's going to pursue? On the Iran side, are the Iranians simply playing for time, which is their normal instinct? Will they make any real concessions? They continue to say they'll only deal with a nuclear issue, but Ali Larijani was... probably one of the people closest to the supreme leader. He was in Oman, and he gave him interviews where he suggested that, in fact, the ballistic missile could be dealt with after the nuclear issue was resolved.

And that implies, and I suspect that's exactly what they're conveying to Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. We're not saying no to that, but we're saying let's do it in a sequence. And maybe that increases their hope, meaning Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, that this is something that can be resolved diplomatically. I would say I'm not optimistic. I do think there may be some possibility because I think the Iranians are profoundly weak and the last thing they need is a military conflict with us. I know. But for us, the president's got a credibility issue because he made it clear, I got your back. And also, they've never been weaker, more vulnerable. And for the last 40 years, Dennis Ross, they have been an enemy of America. I want you to hear Alex Gray, the former NSC chief of staff, cut 19. What I think the president should be focused on and likely is very focused on is maintaining American credibility. We cannot have a situation like the Obama red line in Syria, which I don't think President Trump would ever allow American credibility to be questioned that way. But we have to show that when he said that help was on the way, we have to show that America means what it says and that says what it means. I don't think anyone questions that with President Trump, but we have to make sure at all time. for reasons that go from the Taiwan straight to Eastern Europe to our own hemisphere, that when the American president speaks, he always means what he says. You agree? Yes, I do. I've written, as you know, I've written extensively on the issue of the Obama red line and the consequences of the lack of living up to it, the consequences it had for us everywhere. The president did raise a set of expectations. I have a colleague at the Washington Institute, who is from Iran, maintains interesting informal connections there. And she has described that the people she was talking to there had very high expectations after the president said help was on the way. So there is a degree of, I would say. I wouldn't say betrayal, but I think there's a sense among the Iranian people that they thought they were going to be rescued, and obviously they weren't. A couple of things. They'll understand if he takes action now because you have to have assets in place because Iran, even though diminished, they have into, they have ballistic missiles. They have, our bases have to be secured. We have vulnerabilities there. So the president's saying, you know, we're not going to, he doesn't go halfway. He's not got to let's do a little hit. He knows he's got to overprepure for this and prepare for the worst. And, you know, Mark Tieson was on a short while ago and he says, the president, while he does this, let's say he decides to go, he's got to address the American people and say there will be casualties. This is the risks. And for those people who think, well, we should be focusing on China. I've said this before. This is the best way to focus on China. Because if you can get rid of the one, there's always going to be challenges. The one fomenter of unrest in the Middle East, it's Iran. And with the Houthis, with Hamas, with Hezbollah, and what they do on their own. No longer do you have for now worry about Syria.

It is really isolated to that one country who makes it clear, I like to assassinate your president, kill Mike Bombayle, kill John Bolton, kill Brian Hooks, and a journalist in Brooklyn that they tried to assassinate last year that wrote bad things about the government. So they made it clear they're an enemy of ours. And a way to pivot would be to give the best chance for the Middle East to be calmer. Look, think about the implications. And again, I don't, like you, I don't want to minimize the risk. I think it's wrong to minimize the risk. We, the Iranians have a large number of drones. They have a large number of cruise missiles. We have bases in the area. They will respond this time because they will think if they don't respond, that also threatens the regime. The Supreme Leader is caught in the horns of a dilemma. He gets into a shooting war with us when they're already weakened and he knows how angry and so long his public is. And if we attack the means of control of the regime, he has to know that threatens the survivability of the regime. But if he doesn't respond, then he fears that also threatens a survivability of the regime. So they will have to make a point. They will, they don't want this to be open-ended any more than the president does. But the fact is they have to assume if the president makes a decision to go ahead and strike. This is going to be something that's going to be pretty profound, and they will, therefore, attack our assets in the region. They will probably strike Israel for sure, but they will go after every American base, and they have very large numbers of short-range ballistic missiles, large numbers of drones, large numbers of cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles. So this is, no one should assume that this isn't a risk. I completely agree with you that if the president makes a decision, he has to. Explain to the American public why he has done it, number one. Number two, if this is successful, what you were talking about the Middle East, believe it or not, it's almost an understatement. It changes the future of Iraq. It changes the future of Lebanon. It means that Hamas understands they have no choice because there's going to be no support. from the Iranians. Now think about all that. Think about the impact that has on China. China looks at us and they see us being successful with how we're able to fuse intelligence and military operations. They have no experience fighting. They look at us and they say, gee, should we really think about challenging the president over Taiwan? I mean, this is at a time when the Chinese leader has basically purged his military, so they're even less capable at the top. So all these things in an interesting way, they kind of fit together. But you have to do this with your eyes open. You do not diminish the risks that you were running. Sorry about this. I'm at an airport. No, no, it's okay. So you have to take into account all of this. You weigh what your options are. You think through how you do it.

If nothing else, what it also tells you is you do not soften your terms of the negotiation with the Iranians. You know, the idea that let's meet them part way. This is, they have no part way interest. They have an interest in terms of surviving, but the way they define their survival is through the ideology. And think about it, you know, what Henry Kissinger used to say about Iran, they have to decide are they a cause or are they a country? For the Supreme Leader, they remain a cause. So, you know, Laurie Fleischer came out. I'm not going to play the cut. And he just said, look, you have to think about the worst case scenario. Worst case scenario, we get casualties. There's bombing. And Ayatollah stays in power. And the longer he lasts, the stronger he looks. And remember, you lived it, George H.W. Bush, in the beginning of the Persian Gulf War, remember how impatient he got after the sorties? And he said, enough of these sorties. I need to bring this to a close. There's a worry there, right? You have to think about that. You do. Completely. No, for sure. I mean, again, I think people like us who see this in the larger sort of strategic frame also have to realize that if you're not going to be successful, that undercut your ability to use force. You're not stronger if you lose the ability to lose force and others perceive that. So you do have to think this through in a way that allows you to anticipate the worst case. Always the approach has to be you plan for the best and you assume the worst. Meaning you assume, actually you assume you hope for the best and you plan for the worst. So I've listened, I've done interviews at airports. I know it's really had to scramble to do it. Ambassador Dennis Ross, our audience appreciates your insight and so do I. Brian, it's always great to be with you. Same here. So listen to you listen to Brian Kilmeade, Joe. Don't move.

Radio Studios in Midtown Manhattan. It's the fastest growing radio talk show. Brian Kilmeade. I want so glad you're there. It's the Brian Kilmeade. A lot going on. We got Josh Crash out to break it down in Washington. The clock's ticking on a shutdown. That's number one. Tom Homan just spoke about the operation in Minneapolis that affects what's going on in Washington. It's going to be a big wind down. I have the details. And, of course, the clock is ticking on various other things. The president's got a huge announcement when it comes to green energy. And what he calls the hoax. And I, the overproduction and the scare tactics used, those days are over. And Lee Zeldin, the administrator on the EPA is making it happen. An executive order on doing all the burdens that Barack Obama put on us is coming down today. There's going to be a lot going on. So the president's going to make that announcement. And also, I also think it's important on Black History Month, the Speaker Johnson and Congressman Byron Donalds, who wants to be the next governor of Florida and Representative Bowen. to host of Frederick Douglass Press Gallery dedication. Frederick Douglass, a Republican, one of the great Americans of all time. Nobody better to honor. Very few better to honor than that. So let's get to the big three. Number three. You can pull from the driver's license databases in many of these places. Those photos are accessible to law enforcement as well for specific purposes. But I don't know where they are with that yet, but that's obviously an investigative approach they could take. There you go. Nancy Guthrie. A massive surge continues in Tucson as they find a set of gloves. And they start to fan off on this certain area about a mile and a half from the house while sending up a tent right next to the house. Number two. But I think President Trump is prepared to let diplomacy play out for a little bit here to see if there's a possible negotiated outcome. We'll give diplomacy a chance, it seems, but I'm not that optimistic that Iran is actually going to play ball here. I'm zero optimistic, but I'm afraid they are because they're so desperate because they've never been more vulnerable, moving into position. Don't look at the words of Donald Trump. Look at his actions, as he's now calling a second carrier group into the Gulf. Iran is... the target as they've been targeting the U.S. and the president for years. Why I think it's the only decision he could make. Number one. And the one bill that was left on the table is Department of Homeland Security covers all the agencies that keep the American people safe. And the Democrats don't want to fund it because it's political for them. That is Speaker Johnson, and it's sad. I can't believe I'm saying this. A partial shutdown is on deck. Yes, the Zemdeside funding, defunding ICE makes political sense, and they're going to hang up everybody from...

The TSA, the air traffic controllers to the Border Patrol, everything that Homeland Security does, everything is going to hold up paying it because they have 10 to 20 ridiculous demands to defang ice. And it's unacceptable. They know that most of them are non-starters. So they gave an offer. Republicans gave an offer last night. No word if they're going to accept it. So this is, and I'm just embarrassing even going over it, I try not to even cover it. But now that we're have a test. vote set for the Senate today to avoid to avoid the DHS funding. I thought we should bring it up. They are looking at a Band-Aid approach, maybe a patch that gets us another two weeks to have some talks. I think that would work. Just come up with some reforms. Ladies and gentlemen, you could, if you're a Democrat, take the win. Tom Homan announced an hour ago. I'm winding down our operation of Minneapolis. Last week, 700 out. Kristi Noem out. Gregory Bovino put back as an original position. You could say, hey, I stood up to Donald Trump and high five me. Look how tough. Whatever you want to say. And then you go, well, I want body cams. You got them. I want no roving patrols. I'll confirm it. I want the name on the uniform. Absolutely not. I want judicial warrants in order to pursue any would-be killer, rapist, burglar, whatever. No, it's not going to happen. Administrative warrants, yeah, that outline why we're going into that house. But I think there's going to be a new strategy when it comes to... sanctuary cities because the cops aren't allowed to be cops. These ice agents have to be secure their own perimeter while they try to zero in on a subject. You know what Tomeman brought up, Tom Homan brought up before I made the announcement because you knew all the networks could be tuning in, all the people they pulled out and some of their criminal backgrounds. Never went into a school. Stop saying they're arresting children. Stop saying they're going into Home Depot's just grabbing people. That's not the way they're doing it. The worst first, and he said 4,000 are now out. Every major city is citing unbelievable drops in all types of crime. I mean, the numbers are incredible. Don't tell me, these aren't all related. Of course they are. But in terms of negotiation, John Thune says honing in on conclusion that we'll probably keep people here to vote on it. Now, why I think that maybe Dems might give on this? Because they see what I just said? And there's the non-extremists, the rational actors, and they want to go to Munich. It's a security conference, which for legitimate lawmakers. It's a great way to find out what's going on. Find out about the funding. Find out about the NATO buildup. Find out about the weapon systems and talk about the security vulnerabilities. Find out in the later off the record what's really going on in Russia, what they're hearing about what's next in these wars. They love doing it. Let alone go to Munich hanging out meeting people. This is one of the things. They get paid $174,000. So when they go on these codels, it's paid for. And it should be. These are the contacts that gives you intelligence on all sorts of things.

So Speaker Johnson says if this is not signed and voted on or extended, you're not going. You can pay it out of your own pocket. Most of these people would say, I'm not going to Munich, but I'm my own money. And also the family get to go. So that's why I think it might stop just out of self-interest. And it's just crazy. Speaker Johnson was on with Sean last night. And he's, you know, he's got now, I think, a one-vote margin. One-vote margin. Now they're looking to fill that seat in California, which will certainly be a Republican seat. And there's a few others. But for the most part, it's going to be about three. And everyone thinks time is running out. because the midterms are going to flip the Democrats direction. Really? It might. And some of the generic ballots show it is. But on some things on the economy, on the border, on immigration, there's like five major issues. Republicans still grade higher. One of the things in which the Democrats have a 22-point lead on, and I don't even get the question, is transgender issues. Yes, congratulations. You have transgender issues. As we watch another school shooter this time in Canada, going through a air quote transition, become a mass murderer. Did that happen in Minnesota? Yeah, it did. I think the last, I think Tennessee, it's hard, sadly. They all blend together. There was another one in Tennessee. Transitioner. But we don't want to talk about that. How you can report these stories and not talk about the shooter and what they're changing genders does? I mean, there's the after effect psychologically and who knows what the chemicals are putting into people's body. But about the midterms, it's not done yet. I firmly believe it. Even if Democrats end up winning it, you know, getting the majorities in the in the House. And dare I say, I think Republicans are trailing in four Senate races, according to George P. Bush yesterday, who's got a super PAC and is pretty clued in on everything. Here's Speaker Johnson, cut 34. That's one of the reasons we're so confident about this midterm election coming up. We are going to make history. We're going to grow the majority for the Republican Party because we have an extraordinary record to run on, and they have an outrageous record that they have produced with their votes. And we're going to continue to put them on record, Sean, and make sure the people know exactly what they stand for. This is an insurgent left party. This is not your father's Democrat party anymore. They're not serious people. They have an absolute Marxist, far-left socialist ideology. and that is what you will get if you elect Democrats to Congress. You've just seen it on display tonight. So this is an important election for all the reasons we know, all the marbles. And I believe Republicans are going to overperform in this election, and we're going to keep the majority and keep the Trump agenda, the American First agenda going for four full years. Well, they have to in order to do that. And I'd hate to see Speaker Johnson go into the minority and leave. He's such a valuable lawmaker. He's a level-headed guy smart. With a lot of options, he'll make huge money when he gets out.

But he's not going to make any money besides the speaker, speaker fees when he's there. He's just an honest guy. So is Speaker Johnson speaking optimistically. But what the president, what he said about the Democrats is, I think he could amend it. To be totally candid, that's not where every Democrat is. But it's the ones that keep winning. I'm looking at the mayor's race in Seattle. I'm looking at the mayor's race in New York City. I'm looking at the congressional, Mikey. Mikie Sherrill, who's now the new governor of New Jersey, her seat got open and the Democrats had their primary, and you just saw a socialist win. You almost had one win over in Minneapolis. You got one almost as bad as the guy that ended up prevailing. He was a Somali who used to campaign with a Somali flag, and he still almost won in Minneapolis. The momentum is there. But I don't look at Chuck Schumer as a left-win extremist. I don't look at Dick Durbin as a left-wing extremist. And they don't show up at Zohran Mamdani's inaugural, which is unbelievable. Yellow Brand is not an extremist. But all the momentum and money is by the squad and by those socialists, the Bernie Sanders disciples. And that's what Republicans should be pointing out. This is not center left, center right. If you lose, you go way left. And you talk about a calculus that just can't exist in a democracy, a capitalism, capitalistic system that just doesn't exist. The other thing to have yesterday that gives me less hope on Capitol Hill, if anything ever getting done, was this Epstein files. In a way, I'm not saying there weren't serious victims here, but in a way, and I know I'm in the minority here, especially on the right. This is like, in a way, the Russia hoax. Not that the word hoax belongs in it, but the concern that Democrats and Thomas Massie are showing for it is a joke. Because you showed no interest in it when he was in jail the first time, which was a joke because he was basically allowed to leave during the day and go back at night. It was crazy. And when the indictment got exposed, yep, Donald Trump was president. you know, about what a laffer it was and how he got off so easy. And then when he got hung in 2019. And then for four years, Joe Biden did nothing. But now Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, I got to get to the bottom of this. Everybody's got to get to the bottom of this. And they blame Pam Bondi because she hasn't let go of all the millions of paid paperwork. Now, they're upset because names got exposed in this million plus drop. And they got millions more. It's because they can't go through it fast enough. And somehow these victims' names that were unredacted. So Pam Bondi goes to Capitol Hill to talk about it. Cut 27. The American people need to know this. They are talking about Epstein today. This has been around since the Obama administration. This administration released over 3 million, and Donald Trump signed that law to release all of those documents. He is the most transparent president in the nation's history.

Okay, that was her side. Now let's look at some of the fireworks, cut 20, if you can hear that, by the way. It works for radio, but you're not going to be able to get here or anything, but just to show you how angry both sides are, cut 28. Mr. Chairman, I have asked, she asked Merrick Garland this. I am reclaiming my time. I will continue to answer. I'm not going to get in the gutter for her theatrics. The question was, you may not like the answer, but she gets to a. The question was, how many of FCS? They don't like the answer, Chairman, because it's honest. May I answer? Attorney General can respond? I find it interesting that she keeps going after President Trump, the greatest president in American history. And if they could maintain their composure, this isn't a circus. This is a hearing. Just obviously, it was credible. So Nadler, the congressman from New York, before the hearing started, he was asleep in his chair. I mean, is this unbelievable? These guys just last forever. Donald Trump's working 20 hours a day is an anomaly. And then you have a woman in Maine, the governor of Maine, who's running for the Senate. It's already 79 years old. So Nadler's falling asleep and then he wakes up in time to ask some ridiculous questions. He's as partisan as it gets. Cut 30. How many of Epstein's co-conspirators have you indicted? First. You showed it. I find it. How many have you indicted? Excuse me. I'm going to answer the question. I answer my question. No, I'm going to answer the question the way. You're going to answer the question the way I ask it. Restore 45 seconds, Mr. Navajo, please, Mr. Chairman. You can let her filibuster all day long, but not on our watch. Be clear. Not on our time. No way. And I told you about that, Attorney General, before you started. You don't tell me anything. Yeah, I did tell you because we saw what you did in the Senate. Not even a lawyer. Middy will be in order. Yeah, I mean, they have it coming. You watch that guy, Jamie Raskin or the whole Russia hoax, the impeachment crap, all he makes crap up all the time. And now he cares about the Epstein files. Where was your interest four years ago when Joe Biden could have let go all the millions, unredacted? Are you going to have done anything? But now you think it's a distraction, whether you think Trump handled it or not. And in retrospect, I don't think you could have handled it at all. I mean, I wouldn't have brought up at the stump period. But knowing people aren't bringing up that Donald Trump is on the record talking to the cops in Palm Beach, thanking them for arresting and charging Epstein and said horrible things about Maxwell. No one brings that up. And no one brings up the fact that they were colluding to stop Trump for running for office again. And the first time, we have to stop him. I think he's named Michael Wolf, who wrote that horrible book about Trump where all the stuff is unverified. It's just basically a gossip column. And he's talking with Epstein, we need something on Trump. And guess what? They got nothing. But now Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna are going to get something on Trump?

Cut 32. I am asking you to do is put the report back. Restore the data. Stop scrubbing important data from your website. Stop taking down reports that you know the American people need to know about. There are violent, dangerous people out here with real threats. And the history from your agency comes from the covering up of these threats that could hurt American people and put our lives at rest. Do better. And with that, I yield back. The lady yields back the gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. May I have one moment? You may. Her district includes Culver City, and she's not talking about any crime in her districts, nothing about helping crime in her district. She's not even worth getting into the details. Yeah, you worry about Epstein, hung himself in 2019. How about focusing on you? I love it. I mean, Pam Bondi's a fighter. All right, when we come back, I'll be able to take some of your calls for the first time. 1866408-7669. Just a quick note. We are very excited about it. Got a YouTube channel, YouTube.com slash at the Brian Kilmeade. You'll find this entire show. You'll find clips from the show because most of the guests are streamed now. And then you find clips of me all over Fox. Today I'm doing the five. We'll pull some clips and we'll post that too. Don't move. From breaking news to big name guests, Brian brings you insight you won't hear anywhere else. You're listening to The Brian Kilmeade.

The fastest three hours in radio. You're with Brian Kilmeade. I want to say something about the various unfounded complaints I'm hearing about ICE enforcement operations. During the surge operation, ICE has not arrested anybody inside a hospital. We have not arrested anybody inside of a school, an elementary school. We have not arrested anybody inside a church. As a matter of fact, the only one is a disrespect to the sanctuary of a church or the agitators that have been arrested and prosecuted, and so far we have nine of them. However, those locations are not off the table. I said it's day one. There's no sanctuary for a significant public safety threat. or national security threat. But as far as those stories about ICE going into churches, arresting people in hospitals, it simply has not happened. And if you have a case where it happened, do you let me know? And you know how to get a hold of him, and he wants to know. I mean, when I saw some of the testimony yesterday on Todd Lyons, not yesterday, two days ago, and Rodney Scott, they're just saying, you're going in and you're grabbing children out of schools and using them as bait. And I'm sitting there going, I don't even know what they're talking about. And what Tom Homan saying is they're making a lot of this up. But if they were overstepping at all, everyone oversteps every day and every business that you're in, the one you're in, the one I'm in, then brain them in. The talk show that's getting you talking. You're with.

of course impacts Russia's access to resources because Iran is also another major oil exporter. China is a major importer of Iran's oil. So this operation has strategic implications. There's no question about it. And there's an economic side of it, of course, with stability in the global markets. That is Robert Greenway. He's talking about it. what it would mean to the global markets on an Iran strike. Now, originally the prices would go up because they're an oil producer, but they're under, they're so sanctioned. The one thing it would affect is China. They get discount oil from. The one thing, that's another place in which I know they took the patent, but Russia is getting the Shi drones from Iran. So, I mean, the positive possibilities are really enticing. And I just think the downside is not acting. The president will never get back his credibility after that. And I know about the risk and that one person wants a casualty. And I know about the extreme rights is we shouldn't be worrying about it. And there are certain people that say Iran's good guy, great guy. The president of Iran, wonderful individual. Vladimir Putin misunderstood. You got to see how much fun Saudi Arabia is. And look how clean the subways are in Russia. That's the type of attitude that's on the right. And it might be with the vice president. I'm not sure. I know one thing for sure. Josh Kraschauer joins us now. Fox News Radio analyst and editor-in-chief of the Jewish insider. Josh, what do you think comes out of the meeting with the prime minister of Israel and the president yesterday? Well, what was notable, Brian, is we didn't hear a lot from either side. Usually you have sometimes the bylad and the press conference, more fulsome comments publicly from the prime minister. And the prime minister who returned to Israel this morning. He put out a pretty succinct statement, not saying a whole lot. Same with the president. Look, I think there's a lot going behind the scenes in terms of preparing for a potential military strike against Iran.

you know, warning setting a red line, essentially, of what would happen if they killed protesters. And we know that Iran killed thousands and thousands of young people slaughter them in the streets of their country. And nothing has been done yet on the U.S. side. So, I mean, look, I think there was probably a lot of sensitive conversations about military options, about coordinating plans on what could happen if there is a military option used. But the president has also said very publicly that he wants to see diplomacy. out. And even as the Iranians seem to have no inclination to actually come to the table and offer any compromise or confession, they're just trying to drag this along as long as they can. And they've said so publicly and internally, too. So, you know, I think we're in a waiting game here. It's been a while. Trump has certainly kept the military option on the table. We've moved military assets to the region, but I have seen no inclination. Well, I mean, a second aircraft carrier is a lot, and I do think they rush Patriots and missile defense systems to the area. Another president's worried about casualties and some of the right. How much do you think the extreme right the podcast world is affecting him? You know, I don't think the president is that persuaded by some of the more extremist voices on the bottom. But he listens, frankly, to a lot of these crazy podcasts that often punch. more attention than they really deserve. If you want to get the president's attention, do you start this, do you start a sentence with this? Here's what the base thinks. Yeah, well, look, I think you alluded to this at the top, Brian. The vice president is sympathetic.

who JD Vance is closest with are people who are less enthused about the notion of engaging with Iran. They were against taking out Iran's nuclear program last year, which proved to be remarkably successful. But we know who they were. They spoke publicly, and there were a lot of people leaking and saying things very, very skeptically before Trump actually did make the decision. does hear it through those channels. But I really do think that when you talk about lawmakers, when you talk about people who the president listens to, the vast majority of those who are very concerned about Iran's nuclear program and very concerned about the slaughter. And the threats to the president, by the way, like the assassination attempts of the efforts that Iran has done to destabilize the United States. So let's pivot if we can and let's talk about what's happening with the economy. So the President of the United States is extremely happy with those jobs numbers. But the twist of fate for economists and for the Fed is less likely to act if they don't think they have to lower rates to fix jobs, right? If they're not worried about inflation, but they don't have to fix jobs, they're most likely not to lower rates. And that affected the market negatively yesterday. Right now it's slightly up. Here's the president on the stock market. Cut 37. Biden and the radical left wanted to abolish call. They did everything they could, everything possible. But on day one of this administration, I ended the war on call. We terminated the green news scam, and we withdrew from the unfair, one-sided Paris Climate Accord. That was another beauty we had. We paid $1 trillion. Nobody else had to pay 10 cents. You went on to say the stock market's on the all-time historical high, which is true, said a lot of people are getting rich, 401Ks are getting better, our country is on the way back. That message is typical Trump. Is that going to help? Is he right? Well, look, there are a lot of indicators, macroeconomic indicators, the stock market, I think first and foremost, going about 50,000 in the past week. as a sign that the economy is fairly healthy. A sign that, despite all the doom and gloom we've heard, and frankly, I've been kind of worried about some of the micro indicators, but when you look at sort of the expectations that economists have with the jobs report lately and the actual jobs report, they've always, not always, they've been in the last few months ahead of, ahead of expectations. And anyone kind of trying to sell the U.S. economy short has been surprised and has seen the economy chug along. story to tell. I thought it was interesting that Pam Bondi was trying to tell that story and an otherwise contentious hearing that the, even if she's not responsible for the economy, the economic headlines, she almost was trying to get in there because there is a good story for the White House to tell. I think the problem, and we've talked about this a lot, Brian, is that they've been so focused on some of these side issues. immigration, the operation in Minnesota. They've been kind of getting away from their bread and butter that they've been shooting themselves in the foot, literally. They have a good story to tell the economy. They need to be doing more of it. They need to communicate better and actually tout the very, very good news that a lot of economists are seen. But unfortunately, they just have been sidelined with a lot of other scandals.

pushing that message front and center. So we saw a lot of fireworks this week, Pam Bondi knew the Epstein files, Todd Lyons and others being told he's going to burn in hell by a congresswoman who's been indicted for trying to bullrush her way into ice facility, the New Jersey congresswoman McIver. So we saw a lot of juvenile behavior, but we are looking for DHS being defunded unless they can come to some type of an agreement. Josh, you're always tapped into Washington. Can we expect DHS to not be funded? I would be very surprised. I think there's an incentive on both sides to come together to make a deal. I mean, look, I think it's notable Tom Homan today underscored that they're pulling the extra law enforcement in Minneapolis and they're coming out of the state. Winding it down. Winding it down, as he said, yeah. So, I mean, that's a sign of conciliation of trying to come together to find some middle ground. And I think there is a desire. I mean, look, Democrats have it. immigration and border security. They don't want to defund DHS. I think that's not a good look for them headed into a midterm election. But Republicans did a lot of damage over the last two months with the nature of these enforcement operations and just the aggressive bit, just the fact they weren't focused on going out for the worst of the worst, which is that that's the sweet spot. And I think Tom Homan knows that. He's been saying that himself. But unfortunately, I think their operations were far beyond that. And I think if you can kind of find a policy and a funding mechanism that gets, gets to the middle, I think that's going to lead to a deal in the compromise. So you do think it's, and here we are on Thursday, and you're saying it could lead to a deal. You know one thing that I think it matters? And you're going to think it doesn't, but that Kodell, that they're going to Munich. I think there's a lot of lawmakers who are going to Munich at that security conference. And Speaker Johnson says, we're not funding it if you don't not fund the DHS. Do you think that matters? Well, look, deadlines always make action take play. I mean, that that's always clarifies the mind. be a great look, by the way, if you have a lot of senator, I know a lot of Republican senators, along with some Democrats going to the security conference in Germany, to not fund DHS and going overseas would be a very bad look politically. So, look, I tend to think these deals get done at the last minute. We saw it with the other parts of the government funding last week. So, you know, if I had the bet, I would say something, some deal gets struck. I think there is a, I mean, the Democrats feel like they have, they have the wind at their backs, but they

for them. Even now, if you look at comparing who do you rather have the control of immigration policy, Trump versus the Democrats, Trump still hold the advantage on that issue. So they're feeling a little cocky, but I think they also understand intellectually that the vulnerability for them and they'd be smart to make a deal. All right. Lastly, on fraud, Keith Ellison said this in December about how he's cracking down on fraud. He's the AG of Minneapolis, excuse me, of Minnesota, and he's the guy that oversaw maybe as much as $50 billion, maybe go to another country. They're going to get to the bottom of it. Cut 35. Scambers think Minnesotans are easy targets. They are wrong. When scammers go after our seniors, students, or families. I step in fast and we shut them down. If you plan to scam Minnesotans, think again. You're stepping into the wrong ring. But of course, he was caught out a wiretap, talking with some of the people that perpetrated the billions of dollars worth of misappropriated funds for autism programs, feeding America programs. So Keith Ellison on Capitol Hill today, the fraud is something you might even get bipartisan support on. Do you think he's going to fend off this type of inquiry? There's a lot there, and he's got a lot of fingerprints on a lot of the more problematic scandalous parts of the fraud and abuse with the welfare programs in Minnesota. So, look, Keith Ellison was a left-wing. It's like he was Ilhan Omar before there was Ilhan Omar, and he is responsible as Attorney General for overseeing, you know, making sure that there wasn't corruption going on. And there was a very live result, all done at the federal level, the very little enforcement. and an investigation at the state level. So he's got a lot of questions to answer. He's been very defensive, and I think it's not going to go well for him, given the record. Yeah, well, just hopefully, instead of scoring, I want to get to the bottom of her. I mean, you saw the report last week of millions of dollars in suitcases leaving through TSA and declared en route to Somalia. I mean, you literally have suitcases full of cash. I mean, at one point, someone's got to go to jail. Yeah, I mean, that's what's so frustrating, Minnesotans, that there's no accountability. People are saying they're taking care of it. If it wasn't for some really good investigative journals, I'm reminding people about how the scope and scale of this fraud. You know, we swept under the rug, and that wouldn't have been a political issue in the election in the governor's race and AG race this year. All right, Josh. You're predicting they'll get some type of patch or some type of deal done and fund DHS. Tom Homan makes it clear that winding down their operations in Minneapolis. So you could, if you're a Democrat, you could say, look at how good we did. We got them to put body cameras on. We got them to down. We got Bovino off the case. We got Kristi Noem pushing elsewhere and Tom Homan in charge. Well, you could declare a win. Just take the win. Don't go for this. It just hurts the country. Josh Krasher, thanks so much. Thanks, Brian. All right. Back in a moment. Quick note. I have my own YouTube channel, YouTube.com slash the Brian Kilmeade. You'll get the whole show. Clips from different stuff I do around the day, my own clips. And of course, when I do other shows like the five, don't move. Diving deep into today's top stories. It's Brian Kilmeade.

He's so busy. He'll make your head spin. It's Brian Kilmeade. Trump's name appears more times in the Epstein files than God's name appears in the book about God. Okay, by the way, this is the Trump Bible. Move over King James. So first of all, nothing is funny about mocking the Bible and holding up a Trump Bible. That's what you did. You made a joke and I find a sense to that. That's all I have to say. I want it from the burn book. Shame. For you idiots, they keep looking at Epstein files and saying, why is Trump's name in there? Do you understand? He handled financing for countries, the rich, the famous celebrities for decades. And they ran and were friends. Trump and Epstein were friends, like he had, as you could tell, by the millions of documents. Hundreds of powerful friends from royalty on down. If you had money and you wanted a quick return on your investment or a steady return in your investment, you went to another guy with that. That's why the CEO or the CFO of Goldman Sachs, the lead lawyer for the attorney for one of the major firms, she's in trouble. Wasserman, one of the lead presidents of leading advertising representative firm, he's in trouble. I mean, go on and on, you know, Prince Andrew, Bill Gates. They were hanging out with a guy, most of which had no idea. Okay, he's a single guy dating younger women. Did they think teenagers? I'm pretty sure after the indictment, they should have. But just say Trump's name appeared they were friends. Now ask you, who on that email list were they plotting against? Wouldn't name one person they plotted against. Donald Trump, who was putting against him? Michael Wolfe, the author who was trying to be best friends with Epstein. Why is Wolf allowed in all these circles when he was best friends with Epstein? You know, the former head of the CIA was meeting with Epstein now that he was getting into the private world about possible jobs, the head of the CIA. Burns, William Burns. What about that? So nobody says he wasn't friends. And then you see a total cutoff to the point where he's asked Epstein to provide the smoking gun to get rid of Trump and he couldn't because there is none. So why do you bring up Donald Trump? Why do all these left-wing stories have Donald Trump involved with kids on an island when none of that happened? Howard Lutnick's a different story. He said he cut off relations with him. He turns out he's on the island five years later. Let him handle that. That's up to him. For the President of the United States, he knows in those circles. They're like, yeah, Epstein was with Bill Clinton all the time. Also, if you're out there and you go, guy seems a little like a playboy. That guy's just like got his own island. He's got his old people. But he's with the president, former President of the United States. It's got to be okay. How bad can it be? He's one of the leading supporters of the Clinton Foundation. Yeah, I know. Clinton Foundation. So that's why Bill Clinton's been hauled in. That's why James Comer goes, yeah, we've got to look into this. Let's see him Bill Gates. Up until recently, a huge supporter of every Democratic cause and every left-wing green cause. Until he realized the future of our country would be essentially over because we'd be left behind on technology if we didn't use fossil fuels to fuel the energy source for these huge data centers that will supply the power.

for all our AI opportunities. Then all of a sudden these guys say, well, you know, I'm not really for that, maybe I'm more to the right. You know, maybe I'll side with the conservatives here. And I don't think you can overstate how important today's press conference is going to be when the President of the United States with the administrator, the EPA by his side, makes an announcement getting rid of all those green, all that green legislation put forward under the, I think it's called the Clean Air Act with Barack Obama. So that's going to be undone immediately. And you notice, no one's throwing jelly jars, paint on Picasso paintings. No one's cuffing themselves to the White House fence. You don't see these radicals who say the world's going to end because they know. You got to be responsible about our environment, but you can't be militant and stupid about it and destroy our country economically because you're worshipping at the feet of the green god. Not anymore. It's been exposed. Don't forget, I want to see you this Saturday night in Fort Myers, Florida, live in theater, Barbara Ann Theater, Brian Kilney.com for tickets and streaming on Fox Nation, 8 p.m.

Fox News headquarters in New York City. Always seeking solutions, never sewing division. It's Brian Kilmeade. Nice much for being there. It's the Brian Kilmeade, 18664.087669. This hour, going to be joined by a guy willing the leaders to be the next governor of California, Steve Hilton. He's Republican. Julian Epstein served as chief counsel to the House Judiciary Committee. He wants to weigh in on the direction of his party. Some things he's happy about and some people he's really concerned about. Like, for example, over in New Jersey, you just had a socialist beat a liberal in Malinowski. I can't even pronounce her name. But she ran like Zohran Mamdani. And Zohran Mamdani is the mayor of New York City who said, basically, I'm a socialist, don't like capitalism. And she won the primary. to replace Mikie Sherrill, who became the governor of New Jersey, which is another story. So we'll be following all that. Today is Tom Homan's already made some news. He had a press conference three hours ago, at which time he said, we're winding down in Minneapolis. So last week he took out 700. This week, he's going to wind the rest down. I imagine he had up to 3,000. Speaker Johnson and Congressman Donald's doing something pretty cool. They're going to host a Frederick Douglass Press Gallery dedication. And the president's going to make a huge announcement on the EPA with the administrator of the EPA, Lee Zeldin. Lee Zeldin, everyone in New York knows him, Congressman, who almost became governor of New York. But they're going to be winding down that whole Obama-era clean air stuff that was hamstringing the economy and the country. And we're going to get down to rational energy use. Fossil fuels, coal, used responsibly. So let's get to the big three. Number three. You can pull from the driver's license databases in many of these places. Those photos are accessible to law enforcement as well for specific purposes. But I don't know where they are with that yet, but that's obviously an investigative approach they could take. Yep, that is the Nancy Guthrie case. That was one of the investigators. A massive surge continues in Tucson. They got some gloves. They were searching the side of the road. And the family has just released home videos that shows what she was like. Nancy was like growing up. Hopefully people realize they got to act quick. Number two. But I think President Trump is prepared to let diplomacy play out for a little bit here to see if there's a possible negotiated outcome. We'll give diplomacy a chance, it seems, but I'm not that optimistic that Iran is actually going to play ball here. They're lifting something, by the way, out of the house of Nancy Guthrie and putting into the back of a pickup truck as they move around that place. Nathan Sales, weighing in when it comes to Iran. Don't look at the words of Donald Trump. Look at his actions. He's asking for a second aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf. We're going to have talks with Iran. There's no way they'll produce anything worthwhile in my view. What about yours? Number one. And the one bill that was left on the table is Department of Homeland Security covers all the agencies that keep the American people safe. And the Democrats don't want to fund it because it's political for them. It's true. Another shutdown. Yes, the Dems decide not funding ICE makes political sense. Why, I hope it's all avoided today. And they're talking about doing some type of patch situation where you go for two more weeks and negotiate. They are 20 points. I think the Republicans who had four or five where they'll say, okay.

You got it. Let's move on. And that's what we'll see when it comes to ICE. I think you're going to see with Tom Homan, able to come in there, fresh set of eyes is the way of implementing things, getting things done, engaging Minnesota politicians, mayors, governors, sheriffs. I think it all helps to wind this thing down. Here's a little of Tom Homan earlier today at his press conference talking about what his intent was. In success that has been made, arresting public safety threats and other priorities since this surge operation began, as well as the unprecedented levels of coordination we have obtained from state officials and local law enforcement, I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred that this surge operation conclude. A significant drawdown has already been underway this week, and we'll continue to the next week. Yep. And I think he's right. It would have been great if the mayor and governor, when they come out, I think the governor's speaking a little while, comes out and says, yeah, it's great work with Tom Homan. I think we got on the same page in a lot of things. Tom Homan went on to say, too, how many people they pulled out, how many criminals that are no longer free, and how many kids they found. As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals. And we are proud of the public safety threats we have removed from the criminal ambulance out of the state. Think about that. They have... They said, I think they found over 3,000 unaccompanied minors that just seemed to disappear in the system. Now, don't let anyone kid you. This was the situation during the Biden years. You show up as an adult. You say that you're related to that person. You get that kid. Or you're a sponsor family, barely screened. You end up in an area. We don't know what happened to those kids if they're trafficked, if they're used for some other purpose or any type of slave labor. Just total, just get those kids out. We don't want the optics of kids being held in storage at the border. So now it's up to this president to clean it all up. I've not talked much about the Guthrie case on this Thursday, but there are some things that have happened. Number one, they found gloves on the side of the road. On the surface, what I've seen, it looks exactly like the gloves, the guy that was wearing that was sitting in the doorway of the Guthrie's. What else is significant? When the guy walked up who would be perpetrator that broke into the house and had his mask on, when he initially walked up, he had no gun. And no backpack. Now, I don't know in what order he did this. But the next time you see him, he's got a backpack and he's got a gun in a polyester holster holster right in the front of his body. Gun guys, which I'm not one, not anti-gun. I just didn't grow up in the gun culture. Say they've seen almost no one carry a gun like that. And people say it's a Mexican carry. It's not. Other people push back and say that's not a Mexican carry.

It looks like some experts have told me it's impossible to drive with a gun in your lap like that. So it looks like he got geared up in the car, geared up on the street, but he had to go get his backpack. They looked at the backpack and Harvey Levin said, you know, I've been looking around. They do have one in a Walmart exactly like that. Harvey Levin's doing a lot of this stuff with TMC, TMZ, because he's getting a lot of these ransom letters, which I think they're dismissing more and more. So here on the significance of the gloves, they're bulking. Some say they're in, they're reminiscent and used often in the, you know, grocery stores or any type of food service industry. Here's the former FBI agent, cut 22. Not only would the suspect's DNA beyond those gloves, it is very likely on the outside of the gloves that we might find Nancy's DNA. And I think that's the first thing they're going to try and eliminate is see, obviously they know her DNA. They can't necessarily identify or segregate his DNA yet. That will come. But right now, if they can test those gloves, they're going to test them for her DNA to see if she was touched by those gloves at any time. And if so, then obviously we know those gloves are related to this crime. Yeah, we'll see. Nancy Grace was on too. Watched all this. Saw what we saw last night and right in here, cut 23. Regarding DNA, we saw him with the... the balaclava, the ski mask. We saw him with the gloves. We saw him with layers of clothing, which I got a theory on. He was trying so hard to leave no trace behind. He was in there, 40 plus minutes. All I need, Sean, is one hair, one. Be it nuclear or non-nuclear, meaning no root or root. All I need is one. Why? Because that DNA that they have found there is coming back. Even if he doesn't have a record. Still, genetic genealogy busted. So we just don't have any details. So one day after the FBI released the video, an individual standing in the doorway and everything I just mentioned. We don't have any information about facial recognition. We don't have any leads about a would-be, what he looks like underneath that mask. We hear we have the technology to do it. Authorities have provided basic identification details of the person, an estimated height, weight, or other physical characteristics, but nothing. I'm not going to write the end of this story because we don't have it. But I think one of the stories is this sheriff is a political animal. Doesn't? like any Republicans, has to run for office to get that job.

I was talking to somebody this morning said he fired his one helicopter guy. He fired his homicide guys. There's only been five homicides in his area to get rid of these people. It is crazy to get rid of people with experience. Number two, he has not let the FBI take the lead. Why is the FBI not taking the lead? I mean, clearly this guy won't hold a press conference. Half the stuff he said in this first press conference was wrong. The second half, he barely said anything. He said one of the lines was just perfect to show how I think. not assured I feel is when he said, yeah, I said some things last time I realized you guys are going to hold me to it. Yeah, we're going to hold you to it. We assume when the law enforcement official says something, they believe it's true. We don't know did they break into the front door? They knocked the steel, screw storm door off its hinges. What was left? I don't know. What was left? Was it broken? Was the door broken? Did they just kick it down? Was the deadbolt manipulated? Did she forget to lock the door? If she got to lock the door, it's kind of interesting because she went through the garage to get home. Did anyone walk her to the door? Who dropped her off? I mean, you don't want to tell us that because it hurts the investigation. I don't see why. Every other one we found out about. But I think that's going to be one of the stories that are going to emerge here. Let's just hope to get a good outcome. You listen to the Brian Kilmeade. Politics, current events, and news that affects you. Brian's got a lot more to say. Stay with Brian Kilmeade. Information you want, truth you demand. This is the Brian Kilmeade. Take a look at Minnesota. So we think it's at least $19 billion of fraud, medical, every fraud. Somalia has come in here. What they've done to our country, these people, they've come into our country, and what they've done with that fake congresswoman, she's so bad. No, we're going to get to the bottom of it. We have the best people in the, maybe in the whole country. Looking at that. We're looking at California too because California is worse. It is. And they're trying to find out more and more. Steve Hilton, Republican California gubernatorial candidate served as director of strategy for the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, a Fox News contributor for a while and host. Steve Hilton, your thoughts about what they're going to find in California because we found a lot of Minnesota watching a very defiant, delusional attorney general testify right now in Capitol Hill. Well, I want to change it slightly, Brian, to say what will we find? Because now we are on the case in California as well. Just over two weeks ago, I launched something called Caldoge, the California Department of Government Efficiency. One part of its work will be hunting the fraud. And we're already turning up. fraud. Just through our own whistleblower tip line, califraud.com, we found tips last week when we made this announcement, unbelievably, that thanks to Gavin Newsom's expansion of free health care for illegal immigrants in California, we now have Mexican citizens living in Mexico claiming health benefits from Mexico paid for by California taxpayers. We have fake illegal immigrants. There's another announcement. This is just in the last...

Week or so, we found another one here in California, which was money that was supposed to be coming from the cannabis tax that was intended through a ballot referendum to be spent on substance abuse assistance, actually being siphoned off $370 million to Democrat Front organizations doing things like registering people to vote. So we're already finding that. And now you have the president and his team. And Bill Isseli, the U.S. attorney for the Central District in California, in L.A., who's doing fantastic work pursuing the homeless industrial complex fraud. Dr. Oz. Kelly Loeffler was here from the Small Business Administration finding billions of dollars of fraud there. You've got a pince of movement now, Brian. The feds finding fraud. And now... My team at Caldoge doing it too. We're going to stop this in California. And now they got this billionaires tax. They know it's political kryptonite. And even the governor says, that's not a good idea. But they're leaving. The latest one is Mark Zuckerberg says, I'm out. I'll go to Miami. People say, well, what, you're being selfish. It's not being selfish. You're going to tax me for being successful. Take another 5%. I mean, in New York, they're doing the same thing with the 2% tax on millionaires, which would be $20,000 to millionaires along with 60% of the taxes between the state and federal government. So they want to let you keep only four of $10 that you make. What's the impact to this billionaires tax? What have you heard? What have you seen? Well, you've got people leaving and one after another, taking now the estimate is $2 trillion of wealth have left already just with the threat of this tax. This isn't even real this tax. This is a proposal for one of the unions to put it on the ballot for this November. They haven't even started that process really. And yet the money's already leaving the state. And so they've already lost for good. billions of dollars in tax revenue. And they say, oh, the rich must pay their fair share. You know, in California, the top 1% already pay 50% of the income tax. It's totally insane. It's like you've got this Democrat death wish in California. This is what you get after 16 years of one party rule. They've totally lost touch with reality. It's all about their own internal politics, the unions, the far-left activists, and they're driving away the people and the businesses that generate all the wealth. No wonder we have in California today the highest poverty rate in... the country and the highest unemployment rate. And it's only going to get worse unless we change direction this year and vote for me as governor. And we'll go completely the other way and restore California to what it should be, the best place in the world to start and run a business to start and raise a family. So Emerson did a poll in December they showed you're basically... in second place, tied in second place with Eric Swalwell, in 13%, and this is so within the margin of error, it's almost not worthy saying, but is another Republican, Chad Bianco. And then you got Paul, Katie Porter with 11. How she could have even 11 votes is beyond me. And then you have three of the Democrats like Mayor Verra Grasso. Veracosa. Yeah, Veracosa and Tom Steyer with like roughly, you know, pulling up the rear.

So how do you lock up that lead with something so tight? Well, a lot's changed since then. That was months ago, Brian. We just had the first TV debate in the governor's race. That was last week, and that's really shaken things up. First of all, it was me against six other Democrats. The TV audience poll, in terms of who won that debate, made the best impression. I won that debate with 66%. The nearest candidate was a new Democrat in the race with 17%. He's called Matt Mayhan. He's the mayor of San Jose. So now what you're looking at in California is two. well-funded Democrats. The mayor of San Jose, he's just entered the race, but he's got millions and millions from big tech. And then you've got either Eric Swalwell or Katie Porter. They're going to get the unions behind them. So you're going to get two well-funded Democrats. We have a top two system in California. And even though it is obvious we need change, unless we get behind one Republican candidate, we could very well see two Democrats. in the general election final, because of this ridiculous system we have. And that's why I'm making a strong argument now, that we have to get behind one Republican candidate, the strongest candidate, and that's me. I don't have the baggage of the other guy. And in fact, after that debate, the first poll that was taken after that debate showed me opening up a nine-point lead over the other Republicans. So it's time to get behind one Republican so we can beat the Democrats. Because I think that when the choice is clear between another... four years of one party rule after 16 years of one party rule and change. People want change. That was what you saw in that view of poll after the debate. People responded just to the simple point that we can't go on like this with the highest cost of living in the country. And you do say Bianca, the other Republican took a knee during the George Floyd riots? Well, this is why we can't have him as the candidate. He's got too much baggage. Exactly as you say, in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter riots, he took a knee for BLM. And there's video. People can watch it who don't believe me. It's kind of unbelievable. But you can watch it at BLM Chad Bianco.org. The video is there. He's got a story about what he was doing that's different. Fine. People can say what they want to say, but the video doesn't lie. And unfortunately, regardless of what he says or I say, if he's the candidate in the final, the Democrats are going to use that... BLM Chad Bianco video to depress the Republican turnout. And everyone knows the way you win in a midterm year is by boosting Republican turnout, which will happen this year because we have voter ID on the ballot in California. That's one of the big ways that we can get that big vote and win in November. Which we know seven out of every 10 Democrats won.

Steve Hilton, thanks so much. Best of luck. Appreciate it. Thank you. Keep going. Good to be with you. All right. When we come back, we're Julian Epstein. He'll talk more about the Democrats. He's more in the middle guy. Is he worried about the left-wingers in his party? From his mouth. Brian Kilmeade. There are still 3,000 ICE officers in Minneapolis, more police officers than are in Minneapolis today. ICE is still removing young children from their homes all throughout this country. Nothing has changed. Tom Homan hasn't changed any of the practices, and that's why the American people are just basically saying to us in Congress, do not fund this agency unless they change what they're doing, unless they stop terrorizing families and young children. Tom Homan just said it, we might even have the sound bite. He says, I researched everything. There is no, no one's terrorizing families. Illegal immigrant families got to go. That were breaking the law. If you have kids and you break the law, you still got to go with your kids, if you want. All this stuff is all BS. This guy, Senator Chris Murphy, what are you people thinking in Connecticut? Why would you ever put this guy in power? He just comes out with venom every single day. He thinks it's going to make him president. I think he makes him radioactive to his own party. He certainly doesn't do anything except polarized squad style, I should add. Julian Epstein joins us now, serves as chief counsels of the House Judiciary Committee and staff director of the House Oversight Committee. And Julian's got really concerned about it. his party in the direction. Julian, why don't Democrats take the win? Tom Homan's winding down Minneapolis. Bovino is gone. Kristi Noem's been focusing more on the border. They have a lot of things they could be high-fiving about. It's my party, Brian. It's the new Confederates. I mean, can you imagine? If you had a political party that was opposing and getting gangs of people in the streets to oppose desegregation laws and said, we will fight federal law enforcement coming in to enforce the federal civil rights laws, I mean, this is seditionist kind of stuff. We had an election. The public voted not just for closed borders, for deportation of the millions of people that came in that are unassimilated under the Biden years. And what the Democratic strategy now is is to say, we will fight you in the streets so you can't enforce federal law. Okay. That's what Orville Fabus did. That's what George Wallace did in the 1960s when he didn't like civil rights laws and desegregation laws. Democrats are doing the exact same thing, and they're using their mobs in the streets, often many of whom are financed to sort of do the frontline work. Then they're saying,

as a second line of defense that we are going to defund the federal enforcement apparatus that the American people voted for. And all at the same time, while saying with a straight face, that we're defending democracy. I mean, both things can't be true. You can't have an election. where the public asks to enforce a set of federal immigration laws to close the borders and to deport people that came in here illegally under the Biden administration and say, we're going to fight that violently in the streets so you can't enforce it. Then we're going to try and defund it, all while saying you're defending democracy. The federalist system cannot stand if this kind of thing is thought to be okay. So a couple of things. Tom Homan just said all that capturing your kids doing that. He says there's no evidence of it. I haven't found it anywhere. It's not happening. Number two, he said he got cooperation from the mayor and governor, even if they didn't talk publicly in every sheriff. And it's winded things down significantly, but they got over 4,000 criminals. And I think, and thousands of unaccompanied minors have been located in Minnesota, a sanctuary state, sanctuary city. So a couple of things. When you look at what's happening right now, the market has dropped, I think. 500 points because word is out that the that the Democrats are not backing off and will defund DHS. And because of that, the market is tanking and they look strong. And that brings me to what I said before. What they gained in the last lockdown, those 43 days, the market was hemmed in. It was held back. We didn't get any numbers, but now we got them. The only thing to stop the GDP from being over 4% was that shutdown lockdown over health care, which they haven't even brought up in a month. So this is a thing. They'll come out and they'll say, I'm doing the right thing, but what they're really trying to do is stop an economy from recovering. And that is, I think, insidious. And it makes these TSA agents, the victims here, the air traffic control, the border patrols, the Secret Service, all under the headline of DHS. Yeah. Well, as for the children abductions and that kind of thing, you know, I think the way the Democrats in the social media era. by politics is with rage bait. I mean, that, there may be a few outlier examples. I think they're, they're far and few. I think the central issue here is whether the federal government under the supremacy clause has the right to enforce federal law. And the Democrats are trying to prevent it because, again, they're playing to the base rather than the broader electorate. On the shutdown, you know, it's the same thing. They are effectively, they have lost an election, and they are now using their leverage in the budget process to demand effectively a repeal of the 2024 election by saying, we're not going to allow you to enforce the immigration laws. So the position they're taking as fundamentally, as an ethical matter, is fundamentally anti-democratic, fundamentally contrary.

to how our system is supposed to operate fundamentally undermining of our democracy. I think the Democratic position here has been, for the most part, shameful. Now, have the Republicans played into this with, you know, some ineptitude and how they have handled, you know, particularly the aftermath of the shootings and the gums were made? For sure. I think Kristi Noem has not helped the situation. But that doesn't change the larger issue here that the Trump administration ran on not just closing the borders, but deportation of the tens of millions that came in illegally. And the Democrats are now trying to overturn that election all while preaching piously. about how they are the defenders of democracy. I mean, this is in many ways, this is the Democrats J6. They lost an election. They didn't like it. And now they are using street violence to try to overturn those results. As for the economy, you know, I think the numbers in the fourth quarter, when we get all the final numbers are going to look pretty good for the economy. I think the economy is in very good condition right now, even if a lot of people aren't. feeling it, recognizing it, but I think the overall trends are good. And I think the Democrats, they're going to play this game again. And particularly as you get into TSA and other issues, I think it's not going to play out well for them long term. So Julian Epstein, the Democrats did a good job saying affordability. Okay. If you brought up affordability when Joe Biden was in office, they would run from it. But now when President Trump took over, he talks in extremes. When I take over, the prices are going to drop. Everything's going to be great. So that's a little of President Trump doing saying things to get elected because he knew he's put his policies in place. In reality, you can never reverse an economy in a day or a week. You can make the market go up in a day or week because of a policy. But it's beginning. to turn around in other things. And a lot of it is the key is something very unsexy in politics, cutting regulation. Now, I know as a Democrat, one of the foundations of the Democratic Party from Bill Clinton, especially Al Gore and others, has been this whole push to greener economy. We have to fight back against global warming. He got an Oscar for his documentary, did Al Gore. Today, they're going to unwind the Obama-era Clean Air Act and start deregulating all in those areas. How do you feel about that? Because I don't see the wild protest I used to see. I don't see people laying in the streets or throwing paint on a Picasso picture. Are they beginning to realize that maybe we were hoodwinked when it comes to climate change and that maybe we don't have the control we thought we have, even if it is taking place? Well, you had the chief scientist at the Department of Energy under Obama come out recently and say that the climate science industry had lied to the American people by putting forward all of the worst models and the worst predictions talking about what the effects of climate change.

could be and sort of you know i think there has been this massive hoodwinking about the consequences of of climate change and i think that's sort of i think people are recognizing that including many on the left it is interesting that people would tie themselves to burning stakes a couple years ago to protest the lack of action on climate change. And now there's this silence. And it raises the question, are people just hooked on the amphetamine of rage? Or do they really understand any of these issues? I mean, I think the same is true. of the Palestinian issue. I think the same is true of COVID. I think the same is true across a lot of issues on the left, where the addiction is to rage in protest and not really understand what's going on. You know, look, I think the answer on climate change, I think the Republican Party. has some on the right have said this. The answer on climate change is technology. It's not austerity. You know, to deindustrialize the West in the name of a theoretical possibility of some consequences of climate change without fully understanding them is civilizational suicide. It's economic suicide. The answer long term is going to be what the answer has always been since the industrial era, which is new technology, new innovation. And I think the left has missed that. And I think the right has sort of understood that. It typifies, again, what the left is today. The left is not about building. It's not about new innovation. It is about tearing down. It is about tearing down the industrial economy, which the Green New Deal would have done. It's about tearing down all kinds of things when it comes to family and gender. It's about tearing down a non-discriminatory. civil rights regime and replacing it with, you know, racial favoritism for in-groups. The left is all about tearing down the West as we know it rather than building. And I think the climate example is just one example. How about the Voting Act? So the SAVE Act passes the House. We'll see what it does in the Senate. They need 60 votes. But the one thing they have is you saw these polls, Julian Epstein. You see the polls that show maybe seven out of every 10. Americans, including 80, like 90% of Republicans, over 70% of Democrats, including all ethnic groups, want voter ID.

So the same act comes in. You might not like elements of it. Go negotiate with it, but stay true to your school. You have to sacrifice anything you believe. Look at the people that put you in office and understand that because you might be lower class or working class, it doesn't mean you don't need ID. I thought Ari Fleischer brought up a great point that I had forgotten. If you want food stamps, you need ID. I mean, you get obviously in airport you need ID to go anywhere you need ID, even if you don't drive. So even if you can't afford a car, President Obama, though, push back. He says, if you pass the Save Act, it will disenfranchise millions. Chuck Schumer calls it Jim Crow 2.0. Come on. What's going on here? They tried that with Georgia and more people showed up in Georgia to vote. That's right. I mean, I think Georgia is a test case. I think that's right, Brian. I mean, Joe Biden went down and called the Georgia law where they tried to tighten up all of the sort of election laws, including voter ID, and Joe Biden said this is Jim Crow 2.0, and the Democrats are using that line. Again, it's, again, it's sort of. rage bait as the democratic strategy. It's grievance. It's, you know, you're going to do bad things to us. You're bad people. You're terrible people. You're racist. And that sort of play sheet is getting to be very, really old and tired. As you pointed out in Florida, in Georgia, black voter participation in 22 and 24 shot through the roof. And they claim that this was racist or that it would have racially disparate effects, you know, doesn't seem to have been born out anywhere. Voter ID is, is, is, is, is, is, is popular. But I think the other thing we have to keep in mind is we need voter ID, not just for, we need photo ID, not just for voting rights. I think we need it for a whole bunch of security issues. Tens of millions of people came in. to this country, tens of millions of immigrants came into this country during the Biden years. We have no idea who many of them are. There were reports that there were hundreds of thousands who had criminal backgrounds. We don't know how many terrorists came in, how many terrorist cells are operating. I think we need some type of photo ID system just for a basic security for a whole host of reasons. You know, we're an open society, but there's a fine line between being an open society and being a chump. And I think a lot of the bad guys play us as chumps. And one of the things that we can do that's just a bare minimum is start putting in place basic security. systems like photo ID across the board, not just promoting across the board. 90 seconds. In New York, we have a mayor that says, I'm a socialist, I don't like capitalism. Now we got a congresswoman, excuse me, a nominee in Congress to replace Mikie Sherrill, since she became governor, who just beat Tom Melanowski, who's considered a liberal, beat her in the primary. So we watched the mayor get inaugurated, and the two sitting Democratic senators did not show up.

What's happening with the party? What do you hope gets remedied before the midterms? What is driving the party now is a social media phenomenon where people are playing to the rage, to the grievance that is echoed in social media. The Democratic Party is going to be known for two things. It's going to be known for... increasing public assistance welfare state spending in the name of bind votes and it's as one, and two, identity grievance as the two basic animating ideas. These are ideas that animate activists in the online space. They are not ideas that animate the general electorate. The Democrats are going down the same rabbit hole that they've gone down to since gone down for the last decade, and it's not working. Julian Epstein, thanks so much. Appreciate it. I wish there were Democratic candidates who would run like you. Therefore, if Democrats win, the country doesn't change that much. And Republicans win, they don't change that much. But all the extremes that are running right now really have me concerned back in a moment. Keeping you informed, engaged, and always a step ahead. It's the Brian Kilmeade.

A talk show that's real. This is the Brian Kilmeade. Sponsored by Previgin. Previgin, made for your brain. We just find it incredulous that we have Planned Parenthood here, and women are 51% of the population. And the majority of the questions, all of these questions have really been about other issues. And this happens over and over and over again. You wonder why we have such... a horrific war on women in this country and that these guys are getting away with it because you don't seem to care. So I just offer that with love. What is wrong with her? Evidently, this made huge news in a week as she goes ahead. She's with Planned Parenthood. And because guys aren't asking questions about this, they're bad. I think she, I mean, think about her as a first lady. I don't know much about her, but just think about her, would you be as a first lady? Governor Gavin Newsom goes out to the Super Bowl. He's basically campaigning. He goes overseas to the big conference over there. to Davos and he's campaigning over there. I cannot wait for Gavin Newsom to get cut up by other Democrats from Ro Khanna already beating up on him. I'm curious to see him fight back on that and how he's going to pivot away from that. Is he going to run on that left-wing Democratic primary to the left? When one of the things that I thought he was doing with his podcast is interviewing Ben Shapiro and Charlie Kirk and others in order to show that he's a moderate who listens to the other side. He does that. That's not going to get him through. But if you look at his track record, he is so vulnerable. The other guy they wrote up this week, I didn't go over in detail is Pete Buttigieg. And the problem with Pete Buttigieg, everyone's like, oh, he served in the military, and he was Secretary of Transportation and a mayor. The problem with Pete Buttigieg is he served as Secretary of Transportation and a mayor. He had nothing distinguished himself in the military, so forget about that. As mayor, he was average at best. And as Secretary of Transportation, he was MIA. He literally didn't spend the billions of dollars that he got on the infrastructure deal. He didn't award it. How hard is it to give money to other Democrats to spend? So good luck.