12/23/25 - Economic Numbers Don't Lie: Trump's Policies in Focus

America's best days are yet to come. That's because conservatives like you know and live the values our great country was built on. The Heritage Foundation exists to make sure your voice is heard in the D.C. swamp each day, shining the light on a bright future. The Heritage Foundation stands for your values and won't give up the fight because they know you never will. Paid for it by the Heritage Foundation. He's here. He's here. Now, broadcasting them from the Underground Command Post. Deep in the bowels of a hidden bunker, somewhere under the brick and steel of a non-district building, we've once again made contact with our leader, Mark Levin. It's the economy's stupid. That is the line that matters in every election. If you're not talking about the economy and the economy's bad, you're going to have problems. Democrats believe that the majority of you listening right now are blaming Donald Trump for what they're describing as a, quote, bad economy. I'm actually not joking. What is the data saying? It says the opposite of that. Now, I have a question I want to ask you. And I want, if you're on X, I want you to respond. If you want to call, I want to hear. Do you support the President of the United States of America on the economic numbers and the economy in general? Do you trust the President of the United States of America on the economy and the way that's going? Yes or no? 1877 3818381.3811. 1877 381.3811. You can also send me your comments on X at Ben Ferguson's show. President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, credited his tariffs with producing better than expected economic numbers. And the third quarter and added that the, quote, Trump economic golden age is full steam ahead. In a pair of true social posts, Trump said the tariffs are responsible for the great USA economic numbers and declared there is, quote, no inflation in great national security while urging support to... prey for the U.S. Supreme Court. He also touted the Commerce Department's reported 4.3% growth as a rate as proof that good government and all caps tariffs are powering what he called the Trump economic golden age. The government's initial estimates show U.S. growth and the gross domestic product numbers. are big, the broadest measure of economic output. It rose at 4.3% annual pace from July through September. That is up, not down, from the 3.8 in the second quarter, as well as the roughly 3% forecast tracked by FACET. Now, the report credited stronger consumer spending. In fact, we had record Black Friday sales and Monday Cyber Monday sales. Higher exports, by the way, and increased government outlays. for the jump. Trump sees on those details arguing that tariffs are boosting the domestic production and rebalancing trade. In his second post, Trump claimed that consumer spending is strong and it's way up. Imports and trade deficits are way down.

adding that investment is setting records because of his tax package, which he labeled the great big, beautiful bill, and his tariff policy, which Democrats said would be a disaster. That is actually not what has happened. What we've seen is incredible number of dollars that have been collected by our federal government, which will then help with our out-of-control government spending, our deficits. Now, consumer spending, and this is important, grew up a 3.5. percent annual rate in the third quarter. That is up an entire percentage point from the 2.5 in the prior period. Exports also surged and government spending also increased. Barron similarly noted that export, excuse me, jumped sharply and that business investment improved compared with the prior quarter. Even as an analyst warned trade flows can be temporarily distorted by shifting tariff expectations. That's how they described it. Now, here's what really matters. Inflation. Inflation remains a key political and economic pressure point. The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, all right, what they prefer. The personal consumption expenditures known as PCE. The price index rose at a 2.8% annual pace last quarter with core PCE at 2.9, both above the Fed's 2% target but down from where they were with Biden. That dynamic could complicate. The central bank's next steps on interest rates is what some economists are warning. Now, the GDP report was also released later than originally scheduled because of a recent government shutdown, which create a backlog of federal economic data. The shutdown is expected to weigh on the fourth quarter activity, with estimates suggested it could shave one to two percentage points off growth in the current quarter that we're in right now because the government was shut down. We know that is temporary and obviously will come back. Now, Donald Trump... And many of his advocates, his allies argued the headline growth number validates an America first approach using these tariffs to pressure adversaries, protect U.S. industry, and drive investment back home. So all of this is way better than what we were, quote, expecting. Fox Business Channel, describing it this way on what we've just witnessed. First story today is, of course, the economic growth story, which even a lot of supply siders really didn't see coming. We were expecting a third quarter to come in at a strong 3.3%. Instead, it came in a full percentage point higher, a super strong 4.3%. And with recent inflation numbers coming in generally lower than expected, it looks like President Trump's economic policies are turning Biden's stagflation on its head. Turning Biden's stagflation on its head. We're experiencing a third quarter.

that came in very strong. That is what the numbers show. What's also interesting about this is a few moments later, you had the White House send out Kevin Hassett to talk about these numbers. Listen to what he said again on Fox business. For more details, let's bring in NEC director Kevin Hassett. A good day in the White House, I imagine, Kevin. He got strong growth, lower inflation. Looks like a perfect scenario. Yeah, and one of the things that I would like to add is that Larry Cudlow and I on the show for the last two months have been telling you you're going to get a 4% number. You did. And so it's really interesting to see the headlines from the fake news. Everywhere you look, it's like, oh, it's a completely surprising north of 4% number. But the point is that President Trump's policies are working, and they're very visibly working now because we've seen the data. you know president trump when we were talking about the numbers uh he said something like well why don't we get 20 percent did you see that he truth to that today i did that's that's a little little ambitious i don't know about 20 but but the point the point is that we're in a very unprecedented time we are that the macro thing is that it's just like when we invented the computer and that or was it al gore that did that he was the internet and then all of a sudden in the 90s we had incredible growth year after year after year with no inflation and so i think we By the way, I think we can put it. I think we have those numbers. Do you have the numbers, producers? Can you put that up? Because the tax, the Reagan tax cuts, for a lot of reasons, mostly political, didn't kick in until January 1, 1983. The next six years, you were growing, the first year you grew at about 4.5%. The second year, the United States, grew at over 7%. And I think the average of six years was about 4.5%. Do you think that's going at the... going to be that case for the for the the rest of the trump administration there right like Yeah, that's right. You know, so what happened with the Reagan numbers is an example, but there was a second example. So Reagan did it with tax policy. And then it happened in the late 90s, really because computers made everybody more productive. The thing about what President Trump intuits, which is true, is that we've got both of those. So we've got artificial intelligence, increasing productivity, and we've got amazing tax policy as well. And so there's a chance that we get to numbers north of even what you've seen. without inflation. And that's the other thing that the president mentioned in his truth today, which I really want to reemphasize because he understands this, is that if you see growth because the government is setting checks to everybody and the Fed is printing money, then that's going to cause inflation. The Fed's going to have to raise race. But if you feel growth because of supply side effects, then you can get the growth without the inflation. And that's something that we're seeing right now. As you know, CPI came in with a core of 1.6% just last week.

And so we're getting growth without inflation, which is really proving both Reagan and Trump correct. So you listen to Kevin, and I play that for you because not only is this what the White House said was going to happen, but it's even better than what they were expecting. Why? Because they're empowering Americans to succeed without government subsidies. You saw inflation got a control under the Biden regime. because they were constantly wanting to send you money so you'd be totally dependent on them. And it's buying votes, right? And then we saw inflation it out of control because if you're printing money and you're giving out money and it's not actually being earned and it's not actually the economy that's doing it, then it's artificial. It's not real, right? It's like completely artificial. That is a big problem. So you look at this now and I will say it again. Because I think it's so important that people understand this. What the president has stopped and then what the president is doing right now is amazing. He has stopped by inflation that got out of control and is now turning around in 11 months. We should all be celebrating this. This is the best case scenario. And when the media is like, oh, it's going to be a disaster. Oh, it's going to be bad. Oh, it's going to be terrible. And the economy is everything. I agree. The economy is everything. I couldn't agree with you more. The economy is everything. And what the president's doing is doing exactly that. The economy is fighting because of the policies. that this president has put forward that's empowering Americans to make more of their own money, keep more of their own money, and allowing small businesses to grow. How could we not love that on top of the tariffs, on top of bringing jobs and investment back to the United States of America on the world stage? This is why things right now are moving the right direction, even while everyone in the media is trying to convince you that things are bad. The numbers don't lie. Ben Ferguson, filling in for the great one, Mark Levin. I want to get your reaction to this. Do you stand with the president? Do you think his policies are working? Do you trust him on the economy? 1877-387-381-3811. Also, send me your thoughts on X. Ben Ferguson's show on X. We'll be right back. Mark Levin.

Folks, I have a question for you. Do you believe America's best days are still ahead? With the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence coming up in less than a year, my friends at the Heritage Foundation are taking stock of the current situation, and they need your input. They've launched a survey on America's future to gauge how America's feel right now about where we are as a nation and where we're headed in the next 250 years. You know, for decades, your American values have been under attack, but now where President Trump's administration in office, an opportunity to turn the tide and usher in a new golden age for America. But the Heritage Foundation needs to hear from you. What policies do patriots like you most care about? What do you believe are the defining principles of America? What legacy do you believe we should pass on to the next generation? Please visit heritage.org slash Levin today and share your feedback and help shape the future of America. That's heritage.org slash L-E-V-I-N. Paid for by the Heritage Foundation. Welcome back. It is the Mark Levin's show. Ben Ferguson filling in for the great one. It is nice to have you with us. New economic numbers are out. And it shows that Donald Trump's plan is absolutely working. That is driving the left. Totally insane. President Trump's tariffs are responsible for what he describes as the strong economic numbers. Kevin Hassett saying President Trump's pro-growth policies are working and they're visibly working now because we've seen the data. Now this also is moving forward. with what's about to come down the pipe in 2026, which is no tax on tips, no tax on overtime will both become reality. They've been passed, but they're enacted in 2026. And no tax for the majority on Social Security. That is massive. You put that together. And I got to tell you, This is what I would refer to as supercharging the economy, especially compared to where we were. A lot of people don't get credit for implementing their policies when they do it. And if you look at the difference between where we are now and where we were when Joe Biden was in office, it is amazing. Where we're headed, though, is going to be even more than that. It's going to be more important than that. You know, you look at what Democrats are fighting over right now. And Minnesota fraud scandal is a great example of that. You've got a group of fraudsters in the small community that the Democrats won't hold accountable. It is truly remarkable that Tim Walz is even thinking about running for reelection, knowing just how bad the fraud was. Tim Walz is out there trying to divide the country and certainly in his state even more by screaming racism on everything. He's now, instead of answering the fraud questions of our tax dollars just being used to go to terrorist organizations, not a joke, by the millions.

What is he out there doing? Oh, he's like, all right, well, I'll figure out a way to distract from this. He's now railing against ice raids in Minnesota by accusing the Trump administration of now what he describes as, quote, white supremacy. Did you hear me? White supremacy. Tim Walz, in his own words. So, um, This is what happens when your own federal government wages war against you. This is what happens when they target communities for their own benefit. This is what happens when they scapegoat. And this is what happens when they no longer hide the idea of white supremacy when you hear the Vice President of the United States talk about, now white people won't have to apologize for being white. That's never happened once in my whole damn life. And I think everybody in this room knows what they're doing. So we're here today to say enough of this. We're here today to stand that Minnesota will protect their neighbors. White supremacy. This is what happens when they no longer hide the idea of white supremacy. So finding illegal immigrants who are committing crimes, holding people accountable for defraiding the government, he now is describing it as white supremacy.

We're coming upon the 250th birthday of the United States, and it has me thinking, what will America look like 250 years from now? My friends at the Heritage Foundation want to know what you think. What policy should America prioritize? What principles should carry us into the decades ahead? As America enters a new golden age, Heritage recognizes that this is the time to take stock and to be intentional about how we shape the future of America. And they can't do it without your input. So please go to heritage.org slash L-E-V-I-N. and let them know what you think is important. Without patriots like you stepping up and speaking up for what you believe in, America, as we know, it can't survive for another 250 years. Please go to heritage.org slash Levine, heritage.org slash L-E-V-I-N, take the survey on America's future. This survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete, but it is critical for making sure that the America we pass on to future generations is in America we're proud of. Go to heritage.org slash Levine today. That's heritage.org. slash L-E-V-I-N, paid for by the Heritage Foundation. Mark Levin, Radio's principled patriot. Call in now at 877-381-381. Welcome back. It is the Markleven Show. Ben Ferguson filling in for the great one. Good to have you with us as we are getting very close to Christmas Day. And it is always an honor and just a pleasure to spend time with you guys. I want to remind you, you can send me your comments if you can't get through on the phone lines. Follow me on X at Ben Ferguson Show. And if you're on Instagram, I put up a lot of really cool stuff there. I'd love for you to follow me on Instagram at. Ben Ferguson podcast. So put in Ben Ferguson podcast there. And down with my podcast, I'd love to keep up with you every day as I do the Ben Ferguson podcast each and every morning. If you like what I'm doing here, you'll love that. So grab it as well. All right. I want to get to some of your phone calls. Do you think the president is doing a good job improving the economy? 1877, 381, 3811. Let me go to Bob in Las Vegas. I was there last week. Bob, nice to have you with us. Hello. Hi. Yeah, I support the president's economic policies, the tariffs, and everything, the battleships, the $3,000 stipend for early, self-deport. And he can play golf once in a while. I love how they obsess over him playing golf. I think it's great to see a president, and I'm going to just make a comment that some may not like the way I say it, but I'm going to say it anyway. I think it's really important when you're older to stay active. I love that the president's playing 18 holes of golf and playing them well. Many people that I know that played with, they're like, dude, it keeps him young. It keeps him like on his toes. It keeps him excited. It keeps him engaged. Like, why would you not be in favor of that? I couldn't agree more. I like the fact that he plays golf. I also like the fact that when he plays golf,

Usually he's playing golf with brilliant minds. And if you've ever been around President Trump, it's not like he turns off the political conversations. If he's playing golf with you, you're going to have an in-depth conversation about what's going on. I think it's a way for him to spend quality time with brilliant people and ask questions and talk and have grand debates on the golf course. That to me, I've never had an issue with that. And. They get angry and they try to hit him on. They're like, well, he's playing golf again. Like, you deserve to be able to have a moment that you can spend with your family or with your friends or with your grandkids. He plays a lot of golf with his grandkids who play golf. His granddaughter is a great golfer going to college to play golf. That, like, for me, that's when I know that we're actually winning is when Democrats use that to try to hit him. Like, oh, well, he played golf. Yeah, he also works an insane work day. Like, I couldn't keep up with him. Most people around him have a hard time keeping up with him. He's getting things done for Americans. If you're getting things done with Americans, please take a semi break. Like, please take a semi break. I'm fine with that. Yeah. Oh, I'm his age. I don't know how he does that. I'm six months younger. He was born in June of 46. I was born in January of 47. Yeah, I don't know how he does it. Man, oh man, it's amazing. I'm so glad that he was elected and the election didn't go the other way. My God, that's horrible to think about. But, yeah, I support him all the way. I appreciate the phone call. Thank you, sir. It's good to talk to you. 1877, 381, 3811. Let me go to Tim in Arkansas. Tim, nice to have you on the Mark Levin. How are you? I'm doing great, man. I appreciate you. Tim, I'm going to, this is two days before Christmas, and I'm going to hijack this conversation for 20 seconds. So this is very important how you answer this. Are you ready? Okay. Are you a duck hunter? A duck hunter. No, I did. Oh, Tim, you live in duck hunting heaven in Arkansas. Like, how could you not do this? Next time, lie to me. Tell me, you go to the, like, Stuttgart area and you shoot ducks. Like, that's just a hashtag America, okay? I was trying to pump you up here to the audience.

Fine. We'll go back to politics, but if anybody else calls from Arkansas today and I take your call, you just lie to me, okay? Get me excited about some duck hunting. Anyway, go ahead, Tim. Well, I just wanted to share. Yes, I trust President Trump. We were on a runaway train headed off of a cliff. and you don't stop or turn a train on the dime. People are going to have to be patient and let him do his thing and not react to short-term things. For example, today I got notice that our health insurance went up $160 a month. Well, when you're on a sixth income, that's a heck of a blow. But he's working on it, but we got to be, we got to exercise some patience. That's just my opinion. Well, there is a problem. We live in ADD society, right? It's instant gratification society. I also think, though, some of this isn't even that. I think what it really is honestly about is the insanity from the left. And the media, I don't care how good things are. They're going to tell you it sucks. They're going to tell you that Donald Trump is failing. They're going to tell you Donald Trump's a disaster. They're going to tell you that it's the worst thing in the world.

I that is the part here that really frustrates me is that no one will just be honest about it and just be like, yeah, it's really good. Like this is impressive. What the president pulled off, just go back to the tariffs as a single issue, all right? Forget everything else, just the tariffs. Just the tariffs. If you look at the tariffs, the entire media apparatus in the Democratic Party said over and over again that we were going to have empty shelves for Christmas. That didn't happen. That you weren't going to be able to afford basic necessities. That didn't happen. And that there was going to be a shortage of basic things that we desperately needed. That also did not happen. They also said that the prices were going to skyrocket to the point where you couldn't afford. basic things that also did not happen and they said that it could start war three that also did not happen So I mean, at what point do people wake up and just realize anything the president's doing, they're going to tell you it's going to be bad. And then when it pans out that, hey, guess what it worked, that you should then trash those people and never trust them again. Like these are the same type of people that told you if you took the COVID shot that you'd stop the spread in two weeks and that everything would be fine and we go back to normal. And then they shut us down for years. So remember who these people are. These are also the same people that told you were going to die in the 90s, in the 80s from global cooling. Then they switched it to global warming and said we'd all be dead right now. Al Gore, if you don't believe me, go look at his predictions. None of them become true. So I am at a point where I just want someone to say, hey, we owe the American people an apology. We're really sorry. We just, we straight up screwed that up. Like we're liars and we screwed it up. Our bad. I don't think we're going to see that, but it would be nice, wouldn't it? Well, it would. But don't you think most people with any sense. have figured out that the mainstream media is just a tool of no no i do not i think there's still an awful lot of people out there that when they see oh the economy's in bad shape it works for it works and it makes people think oh this is somehow trump's fault like i mean there was a report Two days ago in the New York Times, it was an embarrassment, how wrong it was on the numbers that just came out. And they're not going to retract the story.

They're not going to apologize. Well, if you read that story, you probably think the economy is bad because they told you the economy is bad and the economic numbers coming out were going to be bad when in reality they weren't bad at all. They were great. But you think they're going to run the same level of story on the front page talking about while we were wrong and the president was right and the tariffs are actually working and money is pumping back into this country and manufacturing is working. They're never going to do it. They will never do it because they hate Donald Trump more than anything else. This goes back to Trump derangement. syndrome 101. I agree. I agree with that. But, but you know, we need to spend our energy, our brain power, our commitment to family, country, and we need to spend our energy on positive action and not just. get distracted, I call it distraction, by the left's lies. I mean, I don't even listen to them anymore. And 10 years ago, I did. So you guys that are leaders in what I call truth media have done a great job of informing us. of that and you've made tremendous progress and I hold as an example we got him elected and I can't imagine anything going the other way for quite some time. I appreciate the phone call. Thank you, sir. It's good to talk to you. 1877 381, 3811, 1877 3811. Ben Ferguson filling in for Mark Levin. Don't forget, you can send me your comments on X at Ben Ferguson's show. We'll be right back. Mark Levin. Folks, I have a question for you. Do you believe America's best days are still ahead? With the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence coming up in less than a year, my friends at the Heritage Foundation are taking stock of the current situation, and they need your input. They've launched a survey on America's future to gauge how America's feel right now about where we are as a nation and where we're headed in the next 250 years. You know, for decades, your American values have been under attack. But now, where President Trump's administration in office, we have an opportunity to turn the tide and usher in a new golden age for America. But the Heritage Foundation needs to hear from you. What policies do patriots like you most care about? What do you believe are the defining principles of America? What legacy do you believe we should pass on to the next generation? Please visit heritage.org slash Levin today and share your feedback and help shape the future of America. That's heritage.org slash L-E-V-I-N. Paid for by the Heritage Foundation.

Welcome back. It is the Mark Levin show. It's nice to have you with us, Ben Ferguson, filling in for the great one. And the economy, the numbers are showing that what Donald Trump said he was going to do, it's working. The tariffs are working. Wall Street hitting more highs this week. People are having more money in their retirement accounts than they've ever had before. Oil and gas prices low. But the president said he is not done yet. He wants there to be more, and he believes that there is more that can be done moving into the new years. So what does this mean moving forward? I believe we should trust the president and where he's going. So far, I think what he's done has been truly incredible. Pulling us back from the brink is incredible. It is important. that we allow the policies to work. That's something many Democrats disagree with. They want there to be pain, suffering, and a real disaster. So let's get to your phone calls. 1877-381-381-3811. 1877-381-3811. Let me go to Dennis in New York. Welcome. You are on the Mark Levin. Ben Ferguson with you, hi. Yep. Hi, Dennis. Go ahead. Hey, hi. Yep. I disagree. I think that Trump's economic policies right now are not aiding the individual. They're aiding the corporations, right? Low-cost money provides inflationary cycle. So he's a builder. Low-cost money. His buildings are priced higher right after he builds because the inflationary that he built in with the low-cost money, not helping the little folks. So when you see the GDP numbers where they are, you see home prices. dropping rental prices dropping gas at the pump i i got premium unleaded for under 250 a gallon yesterday you think that's not helping No, I do not. No, what happened? Sure, we're getting the decrease in prices of things that have already been inflationary, inflated. So where they're coming back to a pre-inflationary cycle? Not close, but they are dropping down to that less demand than housing. So then what, let me ask this. What would you actually say would be something you get excited about? Is it a dollar gas? Like, would that give you? Are you like, okay, I'll give some credit or no? Well, listen, dollar gas is what it will do is fine. It'll be cheaper for people to travel around. Absolutely. It should lower the cost of goods and services, but it does not. It does not. Hold on. That's not. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That's not true. I buy a lot of things that have to be shipped with different businesses that I'm a part of. And the price of shipping has dropped over the last nine months in a way that is. I mean, to my bottom line, thousands and thousands of dollars a month. To my bottom food line, hundreds and hundreds of dollars a month plus. It has not gone down. All right. There's a lot of bully. So, okay, so let me ask you this. Let's cut the chase. It sounds like you more or less just don't like Donald Trump. Oh, absolutely. I've been a Trump supporter since I've known Donald Trump since he's a young man in New York. I'm from New York, from Brooklyn.

But if this isn't good news, having, hold on, having inflation go down, unemployment low, prices at the pump going down, compared to where they were at $5 a gallon and you're saying it's not good enough, I don't know what there could be that it could do for you that would be good enough. I don't know which market that unemployment is down when people that are not applying for jobs anymore because there are no jobs to apply for. All right. The younger folks, medium term, medium age folks, anybody who is looking for a position right now in the job market is not getting one. Corporations are not filling slots that are opening up by retirements or leaving at all. And if you know anybody in the job market that says that's wrong, oh, I'd love to speak to them. I'm looking right now online. If you go to ZipRecruiter right now, and you're saying there's no jobs available, I got to tell you, like, that's just not true. I'm looking at jobs right now that are available in 100 to $200,000 to $300,000 categories. Nothing. You're talking about lower paying jobs, down on the cycle. Nothing. Hold on, hold on. So, so, wait, let me get this right. So you only care about the top one percent is how Democrats would describe that. The top one percent? No, what do you mean the only top one percent? If you're making $100,000 or $200,000 on Long Island, you are not in the top one percent of anything. You're in a middle class, maybe. All right. So this top one percent based upon just an economic number, that's baloney. I get, I'm in shock at what you're saying based on reality because what you're saying seems to be like political talking points. It doesn't seem to be based in reality. Whose reality are you speaking of? I think of the average American right now. I mean, look at, I mean, when you say you want wage growth. Like, how much do you want the wages to go up for you to be happy? What does that look like? I think that the wages should be to the area that you're living in. There should be a job supply of those that are qualified for the jobs. And there are very few jobs. Very few. I get, I'm looking at the jobs as we speak. I don't understand where you're getting your data from. Okay. And then I will give you. Let me just go to, let me go to this. The average earnings increases over the last year been 4 to 4.6%. Yeah. Those average require to what? We put out. That's real wage. That's across all sectors, sir. Hold on. As a, as of, I mean, as of all sectors.

Fast-growing sectors where we've seen even bigger is child care, significant year-over-year increase, 4.8%. Data indicates, and again, I'm going on the jobs report, that the median wage gain, so the average in the middle, okay? So not just poor people, as you described earlier at lower-paying jobs, is 4.6%. So, I mean, again, I deal with facts here. The facts say, you're selling propaganda, the same propaganda at the New York Times got busted before two days ago, for selling out there that's not based in reality. Ben Ferguson, filling in for the great one, Markle then. We'll be right back. This segment of the podcast is exclusively sponsored by Pure Talk. Pure Talk offers great coverage and can save your family money on your wireless bill every single month. Go to puretalk.com to find the plan that's right for you. Thank you again for listening, and thank you so much for this sponsorship, Pure Talk. He's here. He's here. Now, broadcasting from the underground command post. Deep in the bowels of a hidden bunker, somewhere under the brick and steel of a non-discreet building, we've once again made contact with our leader, Mark Levin. Hour 2, Mark Levin's show, Ben Ferguson filling in for the great one, and it is really nice to have you with us. President Trump ran on getting rid of waste, fraud, and abuse within our government. It's something that we know has been rampant for quite some time. But we're finally starting to witness some of that wastefront abuse disappear. We know a lot of it was done when Doge was started with Elon Musk being in charge. But the journey is still a big one. The battle is still an uphill battle. And the government, we now are learning, has funded a lot of things that are going to make you want to beat your head against the wall. The government has funded experiments. That dose dogs with cocaine. You're paying for that. Also, your tax hours are paying to force ferrets to binge drink. Those are just some of the highlights coming out from Senator Rand Paul's Festivist report released. By the end of the year, he wants you to know every year what your dollars have been going for. The Kentucky Republican uses his annual holiday report to air the grievances and highlight examples of massive government waste, which his reports say totaled more than $1.6 trillion when counting the interest payments on debt.

The 2025 report cites examples ranging from the Department of Health and Human Services, paying social media influencers a collective $40 million to promote COVID-19 vaccination for racial and ethnic minority groups to the State Department spending $1.5 million. to boost American films, television shows, and I'm not joking, video games abroad. No matter how much taxpayer money, Washington burns through. Politicians can't help but demand more. Fiscal responsibility may not be the most crowded road, but it's one I've walked for years and years, and this holiday season will be no different. That's what Senator Paul Chairman, the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee said in a statement. He said, so, before we go to the feats of strength, it's time for my airing of spending grievances. referring to the Festivist tradition popularized in the 1990 sitcom Seinfeld. The bulk of the federal spending, Mr. Paul refers to his waste, is the record, and this should make every American beyond angry. $1.2 trillion that we spent in interest payments this year on the government's $38.4 trillion debt. So $1.4 trillion. of the money that was spent this year just went to interest. That makes interest, and this is how out of control our government spending and borrowing has become, the third largest government expense only after Social Security and Medicare. Again, something that should make you very, very, very angry. Now, He said the government refuses to balance its budget, and taxpayers are stuck picking up the trillion-dollar tab annually. The more than $400 billion in the 2025 wasteful spending outline of interest payments on the debt included hundreds of millions. spent on gain of function research laboratory experiments on dogs, monkeys, and rats, something we know was a disaster with the COVID-19 vaccine, something that Dr. Anthony Fauci is accused of lying to Congress on the issue of gain of function research. He went on to say that includes more than 13.8 million that we spent alone on Beagle experiments, 14,688. $3,280 to make monkeys play a Price is Right inspired video game. Again, almost $15 million just for that and so much more. He credited white coat waste, a nonprofit watchdog organization that once the end government funded animal testing with helping identify those and other expenses. Again, bipartisanship is a good thing.

The 13.8 million for Beagle experiments refers to the ongoing National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Grant funding for the University of Missouri, Columbia that was first approved during Anthony Fauci's tenure. The experiments expose hundreds of beagles as young as four months old to ticks to infect the dogs with illnesses like Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The dogs are intentionally denied pain relief so that it does not interact with the infection or experimental vaccines. That is what White Coast Waste Research has found. The group also identified an ongoing $5.2 million project funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse in which Beagles are dosed with cocaine and methamphetamines. The National Science Foundation and other agencies also monkeyed around with your tax towers. Paul wrote in the report using a pun to highlight the 14 million in federal grants for inhumane research involving the monkeys, he says. Researchers at Brown University track the monkey's brain activity and eye movements as they play a video game called Plinko, a variation of the famous Price is Right game. The monkeys have head posts screwed into their skulls to keep their heads still. While they play the game, the report also says. The Department of Veterans, by the way, approved a $1 million project in which teenage ferrets are forced to binge drink alcohol for up to 90 days before they're killed. That sounds exciting. The researchers claim the goal of the drunken ferrets experiment, which you're paying for, is to pave the way, quote unquote, for teenage ferrets to be used to test chemical weapons, opioids, extreme stress. TBI, traumatic brain injuries, or to conduct studies related to depression, stress responses, addiction, schizophrenia, suicide, and sensory processing the report states. Justin Goodman, by the way, the senior vice president at White Coat Waste said the group is proud. The Mr. Paul continues to include research on wasteful government spending and wasteful government animal tests as well. Now, this is just some of what we found out, but there's even more. I'll give you another example of some of the shock and where your money is also going. Not only do we spend $1.5 million for the HHS spending on celebrity influencers to discourage the drug use, right? That's one of your tax hours, but $1.9 million. We also spent for mobile phone intervention for childhood obesity, Latino family specifically. That was where your tax dollars went. $1.9 million for that. We also know that there was 244,000 funding for a Pakistani children's climate cartoons. So we're still paying for our cartoons to be created in places like Pakistan. 1.5 million promotion of U.S. and media films overseas. 2.5 million for the National Science Foundation Fund to promote insect consumption. So we're now paying 2.5 million for you to eat bugs. A million and a half.

for an influencer-led anti-drug TikTok campaign. 40 million for COVID vaccine promotion after the pandemic had already ended. Let me say that again. Your tax hours this year, we spent 40 million to promote the COVID vaccine even after the pandemic had ended. 20 million. Controversial experiment involving all the ferrets, the dogs, the monkeys, I mentioned a moment ago. 3.3 million for anti-racism campus program at Northwestern University. 3.3 million of your tax hours for that. 7.5 billion, with a B, allocated to EV infrastructure, electric vehicle infrastructure, but only 68 charging stations have been built. So we spent... 8.5, or excuse me, 7.5 billion on 65 charging stations. Again, another example of the corruption in our government. Another 22.6, not million, but billion spending on migrant benefits. So if you want to know what illegal immigrants are costing at the bare minimum, 22.6 billion, which we had to borrow the money. And now, once we borrow the money, now we're spending that over trillion dollars a year on interest payments alone. Now, the report also combines government spending, deem wasteful, with categories some may view as improper and sufficient is what the left says about this. They say, well, you know, there's a lot here that you don't understand, right? All right. Well, let's go to this. Another example. The Department of Health and Human Services approving a $2.1 million four-year project where New York University researchers plan to camp outside EDM festivals to collect saliva samples to test for over 1,000 drugs. Quote, perhaps we don't need a multimillion-dollar rave reconnaissance mission to confirm that nightclub drugs are in fact drugs. is what was said by Senator Paul. HHS is also giving $2.9 million to the University of Michigan to investigate a mystery that had baffled absolutely no one, whether toddlers spending all day on iPads might affect their development. Now, these are just some of the highlights of your tax dollars, waste, fraud, and abuse being brought to light. The question now is, how do we get rid of it? And what is the president plan to do on that issue? I'll give you some of that coming up in a moment. Ben Ferguson, filling in for the great one, Mark Levin. We'll be right back. Mark Levin.

As a consumer, you can carry the success or failure of businesses in the palm of your hand. Their success can depend on your decision to spend money with them or their competitor. Well, my friends of Pure Talk would like to say thank you from the bottom of their hearts for choosing Pure Talk for your wireless needs. Because of you, they've had a record-breaking year. Because of your generosity through their Roundup for charity program, they've been able to donate over half a million dollars to America's Warrior Partnership. who stands on the front lines of helping to prevent veteran suicide. Your patronage has allowed Pure Talk to donate a thousand hand-sowed Maine in America flags to your fellow veterans. And when you choose Pure Talk as your wireless provider, you help Pure Talk support American jobs right here in our country. Like I said, as a consumer, you have the power to make or break companies. And with the money, the big wireless guys throw around on advertising, you're inundated with offers everywhere you look. So from everyone in the Pure Talk family, thank you for your trust, and God bless you. Q3, GDP came in at 4.3%, blowing past the expectations of 3.2%. 60 of 61, Bloomberg economists got it wrong. That part of what President Trump posted earlier today, consumer spending is strong, net exports are way up, imports and trade deficits are way down, and there's no inflation. The president said the Trump economic golden age is full steam ahead and you haven't seen anything yet. That literally being signed by Donald J. Trump. So the question is, why is the media continuing to lie to us about it? I want to get to your phone calls and see what you think. 1877381. 3811, 1877, 381, 381, 3811. All right, let me go first to Tony in New Jersey. Welcome, you are on the Mark Levin. Hi. Hi, is this band Ferguson? It is. How are you? Merry Christmas, happy New Year. Merry Christmas, you as well. Your question to us tonight was, you know, are we, what was your question? Would you repeat it for me and everyone? Because I've been on. Sure. Do you trust the president of the United States of America on the economy? And do you have confidence that we are headed in the right direction? So I'd have to say yes. And if you ask me why, I'll tell you my story just in two seconds. When President Trump was in office, I was working. And in his year 2019, which was his almost last year, I retired. And I was very concerned, Ben, about finances, you know, but I was ready to do it. It was the right time.

Within, so in 20 things were wonderful. And I was able to move my life. The economy, I was very sensitive to the finances of the country, the costs of food, everything people were talking about. And we were in an economy that everything, it was beautiful. People could afford food. People were in a good economy. So that's the first part of my answer is my president did, President Trump did a beautiful job with the economy, the stock market, et cetera, et cetera. The second part of it is, is that when COVID hit and President Trump was no longer in office the following year, we had the election. Everything hit the fan. I could tell you that within a short time, we were seeing the prices change, and we were told this is because of, you know, COVID and they were saying the availability of items and all this other stuff. And we saw the Democratic Party shut down a whole economy, insanity. So my question is, why would I trust anybody who did that? When every... state or country that did not shut down, did fine, they did very well. So I have to wonder, why would the Democrat Party do that to us and why would I want to trust them now? So now my president Trump has turned around. He's not 100% there, but he's pretty much, what would you say, 75% there? I bet you if you asked him, I bet you if you asked him, he'd say that you're 30, 40% of the way there because of what he has planned. Like he's saying this is just the beginning. And stopping us from going the wrong direction and then pulling us back, that's the part everybody should be excited about, is that you're moving in the right direction now, not in the wrong direction. Of course, we're moving in the direction to save our country from devastation, which we were on the brink of. Can I remind you of that, Ben Ferguson? We were on the brink of devastation here. The Democratic Party shut down the whole country and paid people to stay home. Yeah. And that's why all the jobs and people, you know, after a while, what happened is they paid everyone as directed by the federal government. And then people couldn't hold jobs open anymore. And corporations suffered because of what this administration did. So why would I believe anything they said? Number three, and I'll conclude with this. Just being very economical about it, I read the book by Larry Kudlow on JFK and the Reagan administration revolution. And the tax cuts that we have now will hit after JFK.

was assassinated. That really plummeted all the approvals for getting through to the tax cut. You know, everybody agreed. Let's do the tax cuts. And the nation thrived. So the tax cuts are going to help us, you know, economically. Research shows it. That's proven. Number two. We had a president named McKinley who was assassinated and he did tariffs and that benefited the country. So President Trump is doing nothing. then that hasn't been done by other presidents and has worked well for our country. No, I agree with you. And I appreciate your phone call because I think what this pulls down to is you have a president that's saying it's a multifaceted approach. I mean, I know people in the oil and gas industry right now, they're actually very frustrated. And the reason why they're frustrated is because. They don't like how low the gas prices have gotten. They don't like how low the oil price have gotten because their interests are in places where you need $65 gallon gas to really make a profit, right? Like that's part of it. They want to, they want to make sure that there is, you know, that the people in this country, Trump wants to make sure people are successful instead of hooking up special interests. And that includes oil and gas industry. He's like, no, no, no, you don't understand. I want cheap gas. The American people deserve cheap gas. We shouldn't make people that hate us rich by buying their gas. All of this I couldn't agree more with. Ben Ferguson, filling in for the great one, Mark Levin. We'll be right back. As a consumer, you can carry the success or failure of businesses in the palm of your hand. Their success can depend on your decision to spend money with them or their competitor. Well, my friends of Pure Talk would like to say thank you from the bottom of their hearts for choosing Pure Talk for your wireless needs. Because of you, they've had a record-breaking year. Because of your generosity through their Roundup for charity program, they've been able to donate over half a million dollars to America's Warrior Partnership. who stands on the front lines of helping to prevent veteran suicide. Your patronage has allowed Pure Talk to donate a thousand hand-sowed Maine in America flags to your fellow veterans. And when you choose Pure Talk as your wireless provider, you help Pure Talk support American jobs right here in our country. Like I said, as a consumer, you have the power to make or break companies. And with the money, the big wireless guys throw around on advertising, you're inundated with offers everywhere you look. So from everyone in the Pure Talk family, thank you for your trust, and God bless you. The Mark Levin, the pool feed for the conservative media. Dive in now, 877-381-3811. All right, welcome back. It is the Markleven show. Ben Ferguson filling in for the great one. During the holidays, we all are about, at least I am, and I think probably the majority of you.

Spending time with your family, right? Your kids, your grandkids, your loved ones, your family members. You may not realize, but there are an awful lot, unfortunately, of people out there that they don't have their kids. They are kids that are lost. They are kids that have been abducted. They are kids that have been forced into sex trafficking and slavery. There are a lot of parents out there that have kids that have been kidnapped that are exploited. Thank goodness this administration is fighting hard to bring those kids back home to get them out of these horrible conditions. A lot of this was because of minors that were released to people that we did not vet in this country. with our wide open southern borders. That's part of the problem and what many people should be very angry about. Now, I say that to play for you some of the successes that we're having that aren't getting the coverage. This is coming out of Fox 10, local news coverage, talking about missing children that were found across Florida. And what they referred to as Operation Northern Lights. This was not happening under the last regime, but this president has made it clear we will hunt you down and find you. And we're going to find the children. Well, they found 43 missing children in Florida so far in Operation Northern Lights. And here's how the local media covering it, the national media, not touching it. And you've got to ask yourself the question, why? This video taken by the Leon County Sheriff's Office in Florida shows federal agents and law enforcement officers working behind the scenes to rescue dozens of critically missing children. This was the largest missing child operation ever conducted in northern Florida and we're very proud. to say that 43 children will now be home safe for the holidays. According to the U.S. Marshals through Operation Northern Light, children ranging from one and a half to 17 years old were reunited with their families. Of those include a one, 15 and 17 year old missing out of Okalusa County. The one and 17-year-old were rescued by U.S. Marshals outside Jackson, Mississippi. The agency says one person was arrested for interfering with child custody. The U.S. Marshals say the 15-year-old and the child's abductor were found in Ocala. The adult was arrested and charged with interference with child custody. Greg Ledjadol, acting U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Florida. Say the children that were saved were critically missing, meaning they were at risk of violent crimes or other serious harms, like drugs, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, or crime exposure. During the course the operation, we ended up recovering children from multiple states, including Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. We had a lot of these cases that could potentially lead to charges.

of human trafficking, of interference with child custody, in just a lot of really, really bad situations that these children had found themselves in. Lel Gidal says this wouldn't have been possible without the help of state law enforcement and local agencies, including Pensacola PD. Lel Gidal says the biggest takeaway from this operation is to always know what your child is doing, who they are associating with, and be involved in their lives. By the way, where was this help in the last administration? You think about those 43 missing children that are now going to be reunited with their families for the holidays, who are, as they described it, critically missing, meaning they were at risk of violent crimes. Serious harm like drug, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, or crime exposure. Why is it the last administration completely looked the other way? They didn't care. They wanted to fundamentally change this country. They wanted to bring in as many illegal immigrants as humanly possible. And the reason why they wanted to bring them in is simple. Because then they would gain power and hopefully their votes one day. They would gain the votes of their friends that can vote. That's also really, really important that you understand that. And this goes back to, I think, the President of the United States of America saying we're going to find these kids. We're not going to look the other way. We will find them. We will protect.

them. 187 or the eight I should say one eight seven three eight one thirty eight eleven one eight eleven one eight eleven let's get to some of your phone calls Roberta in Springfield Missouri welcome you are on the mark of end show Ben Ferguson with you hi yeah good evening he's good to talk to you you as well go ahead give me your thoughts Yeah, you wanted to know if Trump's doing a good job, and I think he's doing an excellent job in spite of people throwing trash in the path that he's walking to make America great. And I am so enraged that all this stuff about Jeffrey Etzine, and there's nothing about Clinton and all the pictures with him. I'm tired of... Donald Trump being trashed and always trying to paint everything as though he was the enemy. And he's trying to make, do such a good job. And he is doing a real good job here in getting America back on shape. And it is wonderful to be hearing people say Merry Christmas. There's a lot of people I know here in Missouri that are behind him 100%. I don't get it where the Democrats know nothing. They would vote for Jack the Ripper if he was on the Democrat ticket. They just don't get it. And it's all strictly party. And I'm so sorry for that. You know, it is. And it's also, it's like when you look at the Democratic Party, it's like, whose team are you on, right? Like, like who, like for real? Whose side are you on? Are you so obsessed with Donald Trump being what is being described as a failure, right?

that you do know you're rooting against the American people making it. You're rooting against the American people succeeding. You're rooting against the American people succeeding. You're rooting against children living a great life. Living a good life. That's part of this that I really do think that people should talk about more often is what are they actually rooting against? Really, what are you rooting against? You're rooting against the success of the American people and you say that the economy is bad and you don't want to fix it. That's what you're doing. And so I believe that we're in this moment where we should call it out for what it is. You hate Trump so much that you want Americans to suffer, live in poverty, live in high crime so that you can then say this is Donald Trump's fault because you care more about power than the American people succeeding. Middle class Americans succeeding. and especially poor people succeeding. I appreciate the phone call. Thank you. 1877-381, 3811. Let me go to Anita in Grantville, West Virginia. You are on the Markovend Show, Ben Ferguson, filling in. Hi. Hi. It's Anita back. Can you hear me? Okay. Yeah, I can hear. Just fine. I need to go ahead. So, do I need to go over what I previously said? And we've got a bad connection here, so we'll try to get you back. But we've got a humming noise, and it's hard to hear you, so we'll try to get you back. When we got to Chris in upstate New York, line three, you're on the Mark Levin Show. Hello. Yes. And especially poor people. Chris, have you turned on your radio so we don't get the refeed? I'd appreciate it and go ahead with your thoughts. Okay. What I was saying, I was listening to the gentleman who called earlier about the average person not really feeling any price discounts. And it's true. For people who live... and earn maybe 150,000, and maybe there's only one person working. It's not happening. Maybe the eggs went down a little bit, gas went down a little bit, but electric, food, health care, it's over the top for the average person. And I'm a Trump supporter, not a Democrat. I like what he's doing, but we just need to feel it. And I don't know if it's just going to take time or, you know, or what. That's what something needs to be done for the people that live, you know, under these conditions. So how fast do you think all of those things should be able to be fixed? Because, I mean, we are talking about a president that got there. He's been there less than a year. Do you feel like in the last year he's moving you in the right direction? Yes, I do. Absolutely. Okay. So you're saying you are working. You are moving in the right direction. I'm willing to stick with you, but you want it to get better. Yes.

Yeah, so that we can go to the grocery store and not pay $150,000 for two people in a week. And my electric bills, $350 a month. It's, you know, I mean, maybe it's because we're in New York. But still, it's just, it's just harder. It's like we're feeling the effects, but, I mean, things are going down, but we're not feeling the drop. That's what I'm trying to say. But I like, I mean, I'm glad he, I believe he's for the people. He's doing it, but I think he just needs to look to the average person than what they're going through. All right, I'll see those thinking. I appreciate the phone call. Thank you. It's good to talk to you. Let me go to Roberta. You're on the Mark Levin. Ben Ferguson with you. Hi. Roberta, we lost you. Let me go to Michael Line 1, Longview, Texas. Hello. Yes. How are you, Michael? Good. How are you? Doing well. Give me your thoughts. Go ahead. Oh, is this Mr. Ferguson? Yes, it is. You're on the air. Go ahead. I just noticed, you know, when Tim Walz was speaking, that he was saying that the essence of it was that your government is waging war against you. And he was talking about us, right? Yes. And their job of removing illegal immigrants. By the way, let me pause with you. Let me play this. It's 30 seconds long for people to say, know what you're referencing. Tim Walz railed against ICE raids in Minnesota, accusing the Trump administration of what he described as white supremacy. Listen. So. This is what happens when your own federal government wages war against you. This is what happens when they target communities for their own benefit. This is what happens when they scapegoat. And this is what happens when they no longer hide the idea of white supremacy when you hear the Vice President of the United States talk about, now white people won't have to apologize for being white. That's never happened once in my whole damn life. And I think everybody in this room knows what they're doing. So we're here today to say enough of this. We're here today to stand that Minnesota will protect their neighbors. $90 billion is what we're talking about in the fraud there. And that's what Tim Walz had to say about the government corruption. And countless mayors who have now come out, many of them Democrats, against him saying what he did and the amount of money our communities lost because of what he did is out of control. Right. You know, it's just a way to deflect. And, you know, the white supremacy stuff is just a tremendous hyperbolic leap to go to that. You know, I'm just going back to the root of what it, the root of his premise in saying that it's your government. you know, waiting war against you, well, it's not the illegal, it's not a government of the illegal immigrant, by the illegal, the illegal immigrant, and for the illegal immigrant. It's not their government. It's our government, my government, and I don't feel like I'm having war waged against me.

I appreciate the phone call. Thank you, sir. It's good to talk to you. 1877-381-3811. Ben Ferguson filling him for the great one. You can also send me your comments on Instagram, Ben Ferguson podcast. They're on X Ben Ferguson Show. And make sure you grab my podcast, the Ben Ferguson podcast, wherever you get your podcast. You can listen each and every day. We'll be right back. Mark, Love, Ben. As a consumer, you can carry the success or failure of businesses in the palm of your hand. Their success can depend on your decision to spend money with them or their competitor. Well, my friends of Pure Talk would like to say thank you from the bottom of their hearts for choosing Pure Talk for your wireless needs. Because of you, they've had a record-breaking year. Because of your generosity through their Roundup for charity program, they've been able to donate over half a million dollars to America's Warrior Partnership. who stands on the front lines of helping to prevent veteran suicide. Your patronage has allowed Pure Talk to donate a thousand hand-sowed, Maine in America flags to your fellow veterans. And when you choose Pure Talk as your wireless provider, you help Pure Talk support American jobs right here in our country. Like I said, as a consumer, you have the power to make or break companies. And with the money, the big wireless guys throw around on advertising, you're inundated with offers everywhere you look. So from everyone in the Pure Talk family, thank you for your trust, and God bless you. Welcome back. It is the Markovins show. It is good to have you with us. And if you just joined us, we are chatting right now about the end of the year and some of the biggest wins for the President of the United States of America coming actually on the economy. New numbers coming out showing the president is moving us in the right direction, not in the wrong direction. Also, there's been a report that Republicans are losing momentum and steam in the elections, and that's going to be a problem for the midterms. Now, if you believe that, then let me just tell you this story and see if you actually buy it. You ready? This is what we're witnessing in Pennsylvania. The GOP has netted 12,000 voter registration surge in Pennsylvania in one week as Democrat lead shrinks over time. A rapid shift in Pennsylvania's voter registration landscape is added to the Republican Party's long-term momentum in the state. It's a swing state. A recent data shows a notable weekly game that continues to chip away at the Democratic's edge that's been built over decades in a key battleground state. According to the newly released report today, Republicans achieved a net game of 12,488 voter registrations over the Democrats in a single week. This gain reflects a continuation of broader momentum for the GOP in Pennsylvania, where the Democratic advantage has been steadily shrinking over the past 10 years. As of now, Democrats do hold a registration lead of only 49,558 voters. Let me give you that in comparison to 2016 when Trump ran for president the first time. Democrats had a lead of when it came to register voters of almost a million more in Pennsylvania.

916,000 change in 2016. That number is now dropped to 49,000. Now, you compare that with the same period last year. Republicans have netted 82,373 new registrations over the Democrats. The surge also helped with the recent efforts by Democrats to reactivate dormant voters and left-leaning strongholds. It builds on a longer trend of GOP gains that have significantly altered the voter registration landscape in Pennsylvania as well. Now, long-term erosion of the Democratic voter registration advantage in Pennsylvania is easy to document. In August, for example, Democrats lead a drop to just 59,153 voters out of the more than 8.3 million registered in the state. That represents one of the narrow gaps in recent history. The data also shows that since the 2024 election cycle, Democrats, and pay attention to this, have lost 449,000 registered voters, nearly twice the 222,000 lost by Republicans. That results in a net gain of over 227,000 voters for the GOP. Now, this shift has occurred in tandem with economic development under President Donald Trump's second term, Trump who carried Pennsylvania in 2024 by with 50.4% of the vote over Democrat Kamala Harris has since highlighted economic gains in the state. In December speech, You may have seen it the other day at Mount Pocono. The president signed the creation of more than 60,000 jobs, including 4,000 in manufacturing and nearly 100 billion in new investments in the state. If you don't think Make America Great Again is working, you're not paying attention. Ben Ferguson filling in for the great one. We'll be right back. Folks, Mark Levin here with a new episode of On the Front Lines, my original podcast series in partnership with the great international fellowship of Christians and Jews. This week's episode, Nations Under God, in partnership with the international fellowship of Christians and Jews, looks at America's 250th year legacy and its enduring friendship with the state of Israel. Build on shared values. faith, and moral conviction. And at a time when history is being forgotten and alliances are tested, we examine why this relationship matters now more than ever. So find on the front lines on the Mark Levin Show podcast feed wherever you get your podcast. Please subscribe now. Join us on the front lines of freedom, faith, and fellowship. He's here. He's here. Now, broadcasting them from the underground command post. Deep in the bowels of a hidden bunker, somewhere under the brick and steel of a non-discreet building, we've once again made contact with our leader, Mark Levin. Hour three, Ben Ferguson, filling in for the great one, Mark Levin, and it is really nice to have you with us.

Where do we even start now when it comes to the victories that the president has given us and how the media continues to have egg on their face as they lie and they get it wrong? We also know that the president of the United States of America has had to fight other battles. That includes the legal battles that are coming at him as Democrats will appeal on anything to the Supreme Court. Now, the Supreme Court has ruled against President Donald Trump's plan to federalize and send 300 Illinois National Guardsmen to the Sanctuary City of Chicago to help protect immigration and customs enforcement agents from the violent rioters there. You've got to understand in Chicago and in Illinois, you've got a hardcore leftist radical governor in J.B. Pritzker. who doesn't care that he was the death capital of America in Chicago. Now, in October, Trump had sought to deploy the National Guard to assist ICE agents, but a federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden blocked the effort with a temporary restraining order. When the Trump administration asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to stay the judge's order, the panel of judges denied the administration's plea. That is when the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court. to stay the federal judge's order so National Guardsmen could be deployed to Chicago. Well, this week, SCOTUS ruled in a 6-3 decision that the Trump administration, quote, has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute laws, the laws in Illinois, and therefore the administration's application for a stay was denied. Now, at the preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify a source, they say, of authority that would allow... the military to execute the laws in Illinois. The president has not invoked a statute that provides an exception. For this, instead, he relied on inherent constitutional authority that, according to the government, allows him to use the military to protect federal personnel and property. But the government also claimed, consistent with the longstanding view of the executive branch, that performing such protective functions does not constitute executing the laws within the meeting of the act. If that is correct, it is hard to see how performing those functions could constitute executing the laws. Under 12406-3, this court does not lightly assume that Congress silently silently attaches different meanings to the same term in the same or related statutes. Thus, at the least in this posture, the government has not carried its burden to show. that this permits the President to federalize the Guard in the exercise of inherent authority to protect federal personnel and property in Illinois. We need not and do not address the reviewability of findings made by the President under 12406-3 or any other statute. The application for stay is denied. Now, Justice is Robert, Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett.

Ketanji Brown Jackson, they all backed the unsigned order by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who wrote a concurring opinion. Samuel Alito wrote a descending opinion, which Clarence Thomas joined, the Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a dissenting opinion as well, saying this, whatever one may think about the current administration's enforcement of the immigration laws or the way ICE has conducted its operations, the protection of federal officers. from potentially lethal attacks should be thwarted, Samuel Alito wrote in these dissenting opinion. I therefore respectfully dissent. Now, this all goes back to the issue of if you are dealing with individuals who refuse to abide by the laws of the land and break the federal laws, should you as a citizen be held hostage in that scenario. I would argue and say absolutely not. Now, there are many out there that believe that the state should have the ultimate rights on fighting crime and dealing with illegal immigration. If they want to be sanctuary cities, that's what they should be able to be. I think that is incredibly naive and incredibly stupid. Sanctuary cities destroy people's American citizens' lives. I think that's one of the things we should just straight up start with. Not only do they destroy people's lives, but I also think that what the president has said here is he wants to keep people safe, even if you're in a liberal area, even if you voted against them. That's important to put that into context. This is a president that's sitting in the National Guard into places like Memphis and Chicago and Illinois, etc. And why is he doing it? Because he wants to save people's lives. That's it. He wants to save people's lives. Let's get to your phone calls and see what you think about all of this. 1877381 3811. 1877 381 3811. Let me go to Dana in Bismarck, North Dakota. Welcome. You are on the Mark Levin. Ben Ferguson with you. Hi. How are you doing there, Ben? Thank you for letting me on. I want to comment on Donald Trump's performance here. Everyone take a look at this. He's only been in their year. and he's ended how many wars, eight or nine. He's taking care of the border on the south end and the north end. He's taking care of the narco trafficking. He's made peace treaties and got awards from different countries for doing his job. And the reason is he's not a politician. He's a businessman, and we made the right choice by electing him because he doesn't just talk about it and waste time. He gets on it and he gets it done. Even when he's playing golf, I bet when he swings, he's designing the deck on one of these ships. So I got to say for the Americans out there, when the midterms are up, don't vote with your, how would you say, opinion. Vote with the facts with how you know how it works.

If he doesn't have the Senate and the Congress behind him, all they'll do is fight everything he wants to do, and this thing is going to stalemate out like it always does, and we'll get nothing. So I really encourage you to think that through when you go vote. And even if you do vote out some of these career politicians, which in my mind should go, stick with the same party, but get new blood. Ones that are like Donald Trump that are willing to change that, we can't do that. We can't do that. And the caller that said that the prices aren't coming down, that's only because the suppliers aren't taking the gas money savings. They're making and passing it on to the people. Yeah, but I am saying prices fall. That's where I just disagree. Grocer prices are down overall. gasoline down overall. Buying Christmas presents this year, some of the things I was buying, they were not crazy compared to, for example, last year. That's another part of this. I mean, if you think everything's doom and gloom right now, then all I can say is if you think everything's doom and gloom right now, I don't know if you're ever going to be happy. And he's just started. He's got three more years. I can't wait to see what comes here in 26. Let that man roll. He's got a brain that does not quit. Yeah. No, you're right there. You're absolutely right. And I really appreciate your phone call. Thank you, sir. Good to talk to you. 1877, 381, 381, 3811. Yakim, on line four. You are on the Mark Levin. Ben Ferguson with you, hi.

It came you there? Yes, I am. Hi, go ahead. Okay. Hello, Ben? Yes, hi, I got you. Go ahead. Oh, you do. Okay, I'm sorry. For some reason, I was on hold. I couldn't hear the show. It wasn't coming through. I, you know, I really want to address that caller from Long Island. I'm a former Long Islander myself, and I moved out to Pennsylvania in 2001. And also, too, I've been a truck driver since 1981. And I actually watched the deindustrialization, you know, happened in this country from the seat of a truck behind the windshield. You know, it really was quite devastating. The first problem is that, you know, on Long Island, you have such high property taxes, but property values have gone through the roof. And at some point, probably it may wind up becoming unsustainable. And then to top it off, you have the exodus from New York of corporations, you know, due to the policies of New York itself. What you're looking at is basically, you know, the national economy versus, you know, it's a local issue for a Long Island and for New York State and for maybe other places like it. And even as far as things like groceries go, when you consider the costs of, especially in New York City, of all the tolls that are involved, The prices are truck pays now, I can't even imagine. You know, and so all these things compound to make it look like the economy's not doing so good out there. And I really want to also address the food price issue. You know, we've had a number of catastrophic things occurring at food plants throughout the country over the last couple of years. And then aside from even that, Dunder Obama, when it comes down to, you know, they talk about beef prices and things like that. You know, they basically federalized a lot of state lands that were being utilized for grazing. And that was actually, if you remember, the tumbleweed wars with the Bundy family, and I forgot the name of the other family that was involved, because they all of a sudden lost their grazing rights. So there's been a number of things that have been happening. And unfortunately, you know, there's only so much that President Trump can do. And some of these things, it's going to take time, especially with the tariffs, when you consider back when I started driving truck, Longout, again, this goes to Long Island, had a very thriving aerospace industry. My father worked at Grumman. And I worked for a heat trading corporation. And the amount of, you know, small to medium and large businesses that were out there, you know, in that industry, I don't know how much of that has even left there anymore. Yeah. No, look, I think all of what you're talking about there is is incredibly accurate. I agree with you on a lot of what you're saying. I've got to take a hard break. We'll come right back. Ben Ferguson filling in for the great one, Mark Levin, 877, 381, 3011. Don't forget, I do a podcast every day. I'd love to keep up with you there. So if you'll download the Ben Ferguson podcast as well, follow me on social media during the break on X Ben Ferguson show and on Instagram Ben Ferguson podcast. We'll be right back.

As America celebrates 250 years of independence, we're reminded that freedom is a blessing and a responsibility. America and Israel share a unique bond of friendship rooted in faith, freedom, democracy, and the belief that every person is created with dignity and purpose. Today, that friendship matters more than ever. At this very hour, the people of Israel face ongoing deadly attacks from all sides. Jewish families live in fear and constant uncertainty. Yet through the international fellowship of Christians and Jews, Christians across America now have an opportunity to stand strong on behalf of our Jewish brothers and sisters. To commemorate this historic moment and show your support for the enduring friendship between America and Israel, you can request your free U.S. Israel flagpin today from the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. It's a simple reminder of the two nations united by shared values and of your commitment to stand with Israel. Visit levin for thefellowship.org, that's L-E-V-I-N for the Fellowship.org, to request your U.S.-Israel flagpin today. That's Levine for thefellowship.org, L-E-V-I-N for the Fellowship.org. Welcome back. It is the Mark Levin show, Ben Ferguson, filling in for the great one, and I've got one big, great piece of news for you, and that is gas prices. are coming down fast. Donald Trump talking about gas prices a few days ago, had this to say. We're now at about $2.50 a gallon. We're going to be, I think, at $2 a gallon. We could even crack that at some point. I'd love to do it. But, and we could do it more easily if we weren't building up the strategic national reserves, which Biden emptied out before the election so that he could try and get elected, meaning she, he started it, then he got thrown out of the race, and she took over and she kept it going, and they emptied out these strategic national reserves, which are really meant for something else. They're not meant to keep people happy with a gasoline price. They're meant for war. They meant for problems, big problems. He emptied it out and then she continued it during the process of trying to get elected. Didn't work out too well for them. And they virtually brought it down to the lowest level, I believe, in history. And it didn't have much of an impact because the prices were very high. But our prices now for energy, but for gasoline are really low. Electricity's coming down. And when that comes down, everything comes down. When that goes down, everything comes down. He's right. There are people that are saying the president isn't doing enough. What is wrong with you? State by state right now. I'll give you Alabama, for example. What are they saying about the holiday week gas prices? What are you paying? Here's an Alabama. Well, good news. If you're getting ready for a long drive during this holiday week, AAA, saying you're paying $2.56 on average for a gallon of regular right now. That's below the national average, which is $2.85 this week. This time last year, the average price of gas here in the state was $274. Gas Buddy says Christmas Day gas prices will fall to the lowest level since 2020. West?

The lowest level since 2020, and they want you to believe that the economy is not going in the right direction. It's not just Alabama. Check in Ohio, local WTOL Channel 11 there. For hitting the roadways because Toledo area gas prices continuing to trend downward, which is great news there. A gas buddy analyst shows that... Average gas prices are falling and actually fell nearly 40 cents in the last week. A gallon of gas on average is going to cost you about 248, which is almost 41 cents lower than a month ago and more than 61 cents lower than a year ago. 60 cents a gallon lower than a year ago. That's real. But be like, oh, no, he's not doing enough. Okay, really? We're not? Like, we're not? All right. So let's just go to another city where they're talking about this. Phoenix, Arizona. Just not sustainable. Where your wallet will find some holiday cheer is at the gas station. More than 109 million Americans are expected to drive to their year end destination. According to AAA, up 2% from last year. Low gas prices are a big reason why. As of Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular. $2.85, down 19 cents from last year. If you're looking for last minute gifts and last minute savings, consider sporting goods, dish sets and smartphones, all items that generally, according to government inflation data, cost less than they did last year. In Washington, whoa, did you hear that? Smartphones are less, tablets are less way. That can't be, right? Like, that can't be happening. No, I thought everything was bad. I mean, isn't that what they said to us? They told us that everything's bad. How can there be this much good news? Because they said it was terrible news. They said that everything was going in the wrong direction, that Donald Trump was a disaster. Somebody's got to explain this to me. Insert sarcasm there. I mean, it's amazing. 1877 3818, 3811, 1877, 381, 381, 3811. Harrison, in Gloversville, New York, you are on the Markleven show, Ben Ferguson, with you, hi. You're there? All right, I guess Harrison can put his phone down. We'll try to get back to him. Let me go to Rob in Baltimore, Maryland. You are on the Mark Levin show. How are you, Rob?

Rob, you there? Go ahead. Oh, yes, sir. All right, Rob, for some reason you guys aren't hearing me. We'll try to get that fixed during the break. 1877-381-3811. 1877-381-3811. By the way, something interesting that just happened. Speaker Johnson is moving forward with pursuing construction of a Charlie Kirk statue inside the U.S. Capitol. Much deserved. for Charlie Kirk. We'll keep you up dead on that one, but some good news there. Very quick break. Don't forget, you can send me your comments during the break on X Ben Ferguson Show on Instagram. Follow me during the break, Ben Ferguson podcast. We'll be right back. What is Toyota affordability? It all starts with buying smart, and your Toyota dealer has great deals available to qualified customers on reliable cars and SUVs, including the redesigned Rav4, Spacious Grand Highlander, sporty Camrys, and corollas. It means driving for less, with efficient hybrid and plug-in hybrid options available throughout the lineup, extending your overall driving range and delivering great MPGs, saving you money at the pump. And it means trading for more. Toyota is known for building long-lasting vehicles and has the best resale value brand according to Kelly Blue Book, your Toyota can be worth thousands more than average when it's time to trade in. That's Toyota affordability. Buy smart, drive for less, and trade for more. Shop Toyota.com or your local dealer for deals and details. Vehicles projected resale value is specific to the 2026 model year. For more information, visit Kelly Blue Books, KB.com. Toyota brand average resale value is 53% versus the average vehicle at 45%. Toyota, let's go places. The Mark Levin, where we create the talking points. Call in now 877-381-3811. Welcome back. It is the Markovins show, Ben Ferguson, with you. And if you just join us, we've been chatting a lot about the economy. The numbers are coming out. Things are looking better and better. Gas prices are down. It is a trend nationwide. Many are paying 60, 70, 80 cents less a gallon than they were last year. That is really incredible. I want to get to your phone calls and get your reaction to some of this. 877381. 3811, 877, 381, 3011. Let me go to Rob, welcome. You're on the Marklevine show, Ben Ferguson, with you. Hi. Rob, you there? All right, we'll try you one more time. Rob, now I got you. Go ahead. All right, Rob, I guess you, can you hear me? Oh, yeah, I can hear you now. I'm sorry. All right, great. Go ahead. Yes, sir. Yeah, thank you. Thank you for your show. I appreciate it. Merry Christmas to you. Happy New Year. You as well. I just, yeah, I just, if you don't mind, I just thinking about going back a little while ago, you had mentioned the, did you say $9 billion in fraud in Minnesota? Yeah. Do you now or $90 billion? I want to say it was $90 billion. I have to go back and look.

Okay, well, I know. I thought I heard you say 90 billion, but anyhow, I just, you know, I was looking it up and, you know, I just, I can't imagine the people of Minnesota being defrauded like this. You know, also – By the way, let me be clear. It's $9 billion so far. Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have suggested that half or more of the approximately $19 billion in federal funds distributed through the 14 state-run Medicaid Services program since 18 may have been lost to fraud, exceeding $9 billion in the state alone. So just on that one program is $9 billion. So it's much more than that overall. Oh, gosh. That's just in the, so that's at least, let me give the CBS line. At least nine billion billed across 14 Medicaid services in Minnesota may have been fraudulent. Top prosecutors are now accusing. So that's a lot of money. Oh, gosh, yes. And then I heard there's a special task force that was assigned that they sent in. Did you hear anything about that? Yeah, I mean, they're certainly looking at a lot of this fraud, but you've got to understand you have a governor there that says if you question the corruption in the Somali community and the money going back to actual terrorist organizations, Al-Shabaab, that you are now a racist and you're a white supremacist in essence. Yeah, the typical Democrat response. Now, I also heard there is some issues going on in Maine and in Ohio and possibly other states with this. I don't know if you heard anything about that. But, you know, this is what I think. I think President Trump should really hammer these people and the state representatives there for Minnesota. I wonder what Amy Klobuchar has to say about this, too, also. You know, they ought to hammer this and say, look, at the very least, the people of Minnesota, I think, should be reimbursed something to help them. You know, because that's ridiculous. You've got people struggling, I'm sorry, struggling, you know, with their food and their health insurance and their gas and electric bills and everything else. You know, I would love President Trump to come up with something with some type of maybe like American taxpayer relief. dividend, you know, or something, and then dare these Republicans, I mean, the Democrats to vote against this. Yeah. Just dare them to, you know, these people need relief, Ben. Well, you go, you go back. Just listen to this. This is CBS News, okay? CBS put this out, saying at least $9 billion billed across 14 Medicaid services in Minnesota may have been fraudulent. Here's how they are reporting it. This is how bad is. And yet, and yet Walt is saying if you ask.

Questions about this corruption in the Somali community? You're white supremacist. Minnesota's fraud crisis is growing. Today, prosecutors charge more people for billing the state for social services they did not provide. The federal prosecutor says it's possible. Half or more of the $18 billion billed to 14 programs since 2018 is fraudulent. We have team coverage, starting with Jonah Kaplan, with more on what we've learned about these latest charges. So we've gone for maybe a billion dollars to possibly $9 billion or more? Well, we've heard from the new U.S. Attorney, Frank, that we're not even at the end of the beginning of this investigation, and now we know why. Feeding our future was just the tip of the iceberg. The fraud is not small. It isn't isolated. The magnitude cannot be overstated. Prosecutors on Thursday indicting six people, including one already charged in another case. The five new defendants are all accused of defrauding a state program meant to provide housing assistance to the disabled and those dealing with addiction. Two people charged aren't even from here. According to officials, Anthony Jefferson and Lester Brown came from Philadelphia to Minnesota looking for an opportunity to make money. They set up two fake companies and collected $3.5 million. This is an instance of what's essentially fraud tourism. Mr. Jefferson and Brown were residents of Philadelphia who had no connection to Minnesota. Except for they heard that Minnesota and its housing stabilization services program was easy money. The state already cut off the housing stabilization program because of suspected fraud. But it's one of 14 social programs now under federal investigation. Together, they billed $18 billion since 2018. We asked how much could have been fraud. You know... I don't make these generalizations in a hasty way. So when I say a significant amount, I'm talking on the order of half or more. But we'll see. One of the new indictments accuses a fraudster of exploiting a program to help children with autism. Court documents say Abdin Najib Hassan Yusuf used some of the $6 million he stole to buy a freight liner semi-truck. Governor Walls in a statement said he applauds the new indictments saying, quote, this is exactly the type of strong action we need from prosecutors to ensure fraudsters are put behind bars. Frank, this is not going away anytime soon. I mean, I love how the local media covers that, right? They're the ones that will tell you the truth on this. They're like, yeah, it's really bad, not going away any time. Meanwhile, the national media is like, oh, come on. Come on, it's totally fine. Like, nothing to see here, nothing to be concerned about here. Everything's good. Everything's fine. And it's just your tax hours being, you know, abused. But really, it's totally okay. Bill, welcome. You are on the Marklevencho, Ben Ferguson, with you. Hi. Bill, you there? Yeah, I'm here. How are you, sir? Go ahead. Good. Hey, Ben.

You were saying that things are getting better. Prices are going down and average people are supposed to be filling it. Before COVID, I had three food trucks, food carts. Business got hit pretty hard during COVID, couldn't do anything. I was starting to come back. This year, January 22nd, I had to shut down two food trucks. The food costs, beef went out outrageous, dairy went outrageous, lettuce, tomatoes, bananas, everything, my prices spiked by 40%. Costs of labor spiked by 40%. And also my insurance went up. for my trailer. I was paying $700 a month for a parking spot for it. That went up to $1,000 a month. I've lost 90% of my income. That's obviously a lot. So your takeaway from where we are now is what? I'm worse than I was when Trump come in. You know, the only thing, like you said, gas prices are going down, but my bottom line costs, okay, have skyrocketed. So do you blame, are you blaming Trump for that? Are you willing to admit that, hey, a lot of this actually has to do with another issue, and that is what he inherited, and now he's going back in the right direction? I can honestly say that my beef prices were less, okay, they're in the Biden era and they've more during Trump. My vegetables, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, you know, have skyrocketed. A case of Roma tomatoes are almost $60 a case. Okay? I paid $20 a case last year. Okay. I look at my bank account and, you know, it's a lot less. So you are you angry? Is that what you're telling me with Trump? What I'm telling you? People say, well, what? When these tariffs come in, raising business prices, cost and everything, three events that I used to go to. Austin, Austin. Let me ask you this question. Let me ask you a different way. You're telling me that you would rather go back to Joe Biden's policies. You feel like they were better? What I'm telling you, business for me was better under Biden than under Trump. I can't afford to go to the Texas State Fair, which I went to. So you want to go back to Joe Biden inflation? Sir, it wasn't inflation. I didn't have, you know, I didn't lose two food carts under Biden. I lost them under Trump. Okay, so again, you want to go back to Joe Biden being present. That's what you're telling me.

I wouldn't mind the situation to be what it was prior to last year. Okay. I was making money. I mean, so then, I mean, I just have to go back to the part about this. It's so insane. Prices of services are down. Gas prices are down. Some areas below $2 a gallon. Food costs have come down from where they were. Inflation was as high as 9.7% under Biden, and you want me to believe that life was better with Joe Biden. I'm telling you, home prices have come down. Rent prices have come down. And you want me to believe that it was better under Joe Biden. Well, let me put it this way, okay? Like I said, $20 a case for Roma tomatoes compared to $60 a case. And that was just Monday that I bought those. Okay? I paid $40 more a case for Roma tomatoes than I did, okay, previous. So I've got Roma tomatoes right now. You're paying how much a case? $60 a case. Okay. So, and your definition of a case is how many pounds? 40 pounds. Okay. So 40 pound case is what you're looking at. You're saying $60 and a year ago you paid what? I paid $20. Okay. And that you think is Donald Trump's false. It's a tariff, my friend. It's the wintertime, you know. I'm telling you. All I'm telling you. Okay, so last year, Roma, I've now got the data in front of me. It was between in 2024, Roma cases through the year were between $35 to $60 for a 25 pound case, depending on the season. That was the average. Right now, the average is exactly the same. Well, I'll take it home. I mean, right now, right now, and this is retail. This isn't what you should be buying for if you've got a restaurant because I own a couple restaurants, okay? Roma tomatoes right now, 25 pounds, you're looking about $29. I'm talking about a 40 pound case. I understand that. But what I'm saying is that's exactly where it was a year ago. So I don't understand how you're saying it's more than double because last year you were not getting it for $20 a case at any point in the year. It was 35 to 60 in 2024. But by my volume was so either you got really bad at buying or you're lying. No, I'm not lying. But, you know, under. So hold on. I deal with facts here. Then explain to me how you were buying them below the market rate a year ago. Were you buying them on the black market? No, sir. Were you buying from illegal aliens? No. So then how did you go from 20 to 60 while everybody else was playing between 35 to 60 and 2024? And now you want to blame Donald Trump for it.

I'm not blaming Donald Trump. I'm blaming the tariffs, my friend. So you're saying that the tariffs right now are making you pay the exact same amount that people paid last year? No, sir. I told you what I paid Monday for a case. Okay. All right. I think I've proven my point here. Ben Ferguson, filling in for the great one, Mark Levin. You've got to fact check these guys more coming up. Traditional banks are making it harder than ever to secure a small business loan. That's why thousands of business owners trust Cardiff for same-day funding. With over two decades of expertise, business owners keep voting Cardiff, America's favorite small business lender. Apply now for up to $500,000 in same-day business funding at cardiff.co slash Spotify. Again, that's cardiff.com slash Spotify. Cardiff, borrow better. Welcome back. It is the Ben Ferguson show. It is good to have you. Not Ben Ferguson, Galilee. This is when you know I do my own show. The Mark Levin Show. Don't laugh at me, Mr. Produce. They're laughing at me. I made it almost the entire show without screw up. All right. We'll just start it all over. It's the Mark Levin show. Ben Ferguson filling in for the great one. I was reading, by the way, while I was doing that. It's just a habit. You know, when you do your own show every day, it's just, it's a habit. So I just got off the phone during the commercial break with... someone that works in the food services industry was selling. I said, give me the real background, the Roma Tomatoes, and he laughed. He said, so there's an internet meme. He said that's claiming that the new tariffs have made the price of Roma tomatoes skyrocket. He said it's actually not true. He said, if you ordered a year ago from this, and I don't want to tell you which food provider that says, but it's one of the big three, all right, because I don't want him to get in trouble. But he said that... Without the tariff fight, you'd get the tomatoes for about 17% less. So if you want to talk about an increase, they haven't doubled. It's a 17% tariff. He also said that the price right now was on the books multiple times because the commodity is constantly changing. In 2024, he said when Joe Biden was president. So he said the new tariffs on fresh tomato imports, that is not, as he described, having a massive impact. He said it's about 70%. He said actually right now, Rome. tomatoes are pretty good. They're well under a dollar pound in most grocery stores. Number two, he said, Mexico supplies the majority of our tomatoes, around 70, 90% of tomatoes consumed in the U.S. come from Mexico, depending on the season. And they said, again, the tariff costs, he said, you could be paying 17% more, but this idea that they're double what they were because of tariffs, he says, an absolute lie. Some forecasts say that tomato prices could rise significantly in some estimates up to 50% over current levels if a deal is not done. That, again, has not happened. So the idea that they've doubled in the last year is just unfair. Now, domestic growers are arguing that tariffs help protect them from unfairly low-price imports, which is the policy that they're pursuing. So that's something else you need to understand. And there's not a supply chain issue on this either. So when you hear, and that's why I look, I don't like to say that people are lying until I know for a fact and do the research. Now that I can feel confident that the last guy was a woke liberal who's trying to blame Donald Trump. And we sniffed him out there, folks. We did. We smoked him out. Follow me wherever you are on social media. Have a great night and a Merry Christmas. See you soon.