SPEAKER 05 : 0:10

He’s the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here’s Mike Deller.

SPEAKER 11 : 0:18

If you watched the confirmation hearings yesterday of Kash Patel or Tulsi Gabbard, if you tuned in to any of the Bobby Kennedy Jr. hearings, you got infuriated because the jig is up. They have zero interest in hearing any answers. It’s not an advice and consent process. The procedure is totally bogus. Their intent is to rage against Trump’s picks. That’s all it’s about. That’s all it’s about. And they admitted it. And they were all foaming at the mouth. I mean, rabid dogs don’t behave this way. From Pocahontas to Bernie, railing about the onesies. Lunatics. Sheldon Whitehouse had a contentious back and forth with Kash Patel, who treated them all like a boss. Kash Patel was… Tulsi Gabbard did fine. Bobby Kennedy was great. Yeah, let’s rail against the guy who wants to make America healthy. Oh, no, we can’t have that. He might be a vaccine skeptic. I heard my buddy Chris DeGaulle this morning out of Philly, our new morning host, on Salem Media Group, many stations around the country heard Chris do a splendid monologue about how Republicans like Susan Collins are brainwashed into thinking that if you exhibit any skepticism about vaccines, you’re a nut, you’re a lunatic, you ought to be in an institution. That’s how Susan Collins and these establishment people think. They’re weak people. Democrats are, by and large, weak people. They want to be told how many masks they must wear and how many shots they’ve got to get in their arm. And if you don’t go along with that, you’re a conspiracy theorist. And Susan Collins is right up there with the rest of them. Surprise, Susan Collins doesn’t wear a mask in the hearings, like some of them do. Sheldon Whitehouse, check out this exchange. This is with Kash Patel, and this guy demonstrated and proved he doesn’t want to hear any response verbally from the FBI nominee. Check this out.

SPEAKER 10 : 3:10

Is that you, Kash Patel, re-truthed, re-posting that at the top of that page?

SPEAKER 01 : 3:17

Senator, I had nothing to do with the creation of that meme.

SPEAKER 10 : 3:19

Is that you reposting it was my question. And that’s me at the top. You said FBI agents were responsible for the violence on January 6th, and I quote you here, beyond a reasonable doubt. Is that what you said? That’s completely incorrect, and I appreciate the opportunity to address that. I’ll give you an opportunity in writing, but this is my time now.

SPEAKER 11 : 3:41

Now, did you hear that? He asked him a question. Did you say such and so? Thank you for the opportunity to address it. I’d like to answer. He says, I don’t want to hear your answer. This is my time. You can send me an e-mail. That’s extraordinary. This is not advice and consent. This is garbage. These hearings are a total waste of time. Play it again, Christian. From the beginning, let me again let you hear this reprehensible, disgusting, unprofessional United States senator who admitted he doesn’t want to hear this guy give any answer to any of his questions.

SPEAKER 10 : 4:35

Is that you, Kash Patel, re-truthed, re-posting that at the top of that page?

SPEAKER 01 : 4:41

Senator, I had nothing to do with the creation of that.

SPEAKER 10 : 4:44

Is that you re-posting it was my question. And that’s me at the top. You said FBI agents were responsible for the violence on January 6th, and I quote you here, beyond a reasonable doubt. Is that what you said? That’s completely incorrect, and I appreciate the opportunity to address that. I’ll give you an opportunity in writing, but this is my time now.

SPEAKER 11 : 5:07

I’ll give you an opportunity in writing, but this is my time to talk. Well, hey, dummy, you just asked him the question. Did you say that? He’s trying to tell you why it’s wrong, and you’re not giving him the opportunity to respond. These people are a joke. These people are fools. And any Republican who votes against Kash Patel, any Republican who votes against Tulsi Gabbard, any Republican who votes against Bobby Kennedy, we’re going to come after every one of you in primary. And I’m serious. I am so fired up about this. I’m livid. And for Susan Collins or Lisa Murzkowski or Mitch McConnell or John Cornyn or Lindsey Graham or any of them to go along with this obscenity of a hearing and vote these guys down, we’re going to move heaven and earth to get you defeated. Because you’re a bigger part of the problem than even these despicable Democrats. Fired Up Friday. Welcome in. We’re in the Relief Factor studios. It’s the final day of the month, January 31st. Welcome in. Our number is 800-655-MIKE. 800-655-6453. One phone number does it all. If you want to call and come on air with me, I hope you will. If you want to text us on the MyPillow text line, hope you do that too. 800-655-6453. Your voice, your perspective, your call coming up. What you do.

SPEAKER 04 : 6:47

I will always be around. Won’t you tell me what you found, girl?

SPEAKER 11 : 7:02

I want to welcome some brand new partners to the Mike Gallagher show like Equity Protect. And this is a big, big deal. Your home’s title is often the most valuable thing you own. Next generation criminal technology is more advanced than ever. I’ve been an identity theft victim. It is no fun. You got to have Equity Protect in your corner. If you own your home mortgage-free or you got a lot of equity, you got to have Equity Protect so that scammers do not steal your equity or title. For a limited time, Equity Protect is offering you a tremendous deal, 30% off your first year, giving you one year of protection for less than $12 a month. Just go to EquityProtect.com. Use the discount code Mike30. That’s EquityProtect.com. Use the promo code Mike30. Once you have Equity Protect, you don’t need to check. Trust the team at Equity Protect. Go to EquityProtect.com and use the promo code Mike30.

SPEAKER 05 : 8:12

He’s the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here’s Mike Geller.

SPEAKER 11 : 8:19

It’s been quite a week, and I’m honored that we’ve been able to break it all down together, you and me, every single day on this show. What a time to be alive. What a time to have a show. What a time to be an American. And, of course, we go through highs and lows together. Clearly, the air crash disaster was a low point for aviation, for commercial aviation, for the military. Something went terribly wrong. And something sort of went wrong for me yesterday. And I want to relate this to you and share with you how sometimes I have bad luck. And look, we all have good days and bad days. So yesterday, as all the conspiracy theories were swirling around about the collision between the Black Hawk helicopter and the American Airlines jet, I said it was despicable for Democrats to blame Trump for the crash. I said on this show, it’s really not a good idea as they’re… still retrieving bodies from the Potomac to politicize a disaster like this. And then I threw in, for good measure, it’s not a great idea even for our side to bring up DEI now and whether or not DEI played a role in this plane crash. Then, of course, it was time to say, let’s go live now to the White House and we bring you President Trump. addressing the plane crash. And as you know by now, after asking for unity and a moment of silence, which was very respectful and classy, he launched into an anti-DEI tirade, blaming the Biden and Obama administrations for lowering standards and having DEI protocols that are making our skies less safe. So as expected, I got some flack for that. I was joking after it happened. I said, look, it looks like I could maybe come up with another career path. You know, I’ve always thought about retiring in South Carolina. Maybe I could, I wonder if that land where BB’s Restaurant and Drive-Thru on Lawrence Road used to sit, maybe I could reopen BB’s and rename it Mike Gallagher’s BB’s and, you know, sell cheeseburgers. Now that, you know, this talk show business hasn’t worked out. I was kidding, of course, but it wasn’t my favorite moment. But I got an email from a listener that I want to share with you. And it kind of focused me on what Trump said and, frankly, what I said. The emailer is a guy named Gordon. He says, Mike, I write my first email to you as a lifelong political independent at age 75 who, at my core, is not a fan of either party. I heard you yesterday at the beginning of your show state that anyone who politicizes Wednesday’s plane crash tragedy needs help. I don’t know if you were surprised later in the day to hear Trump do exactly that. It’s my expectation that on Friday’s show you will call him out being just as guilty as anyone else who lacked the decency to avoid that kind of rhetoric so soon after the crash. Gordon goes on to say, First, his mouth gets him into trouble almost daily. He’s incapable of being able to properly filter his thoughts as a president should before he speaks them. Second, he has a weakness that almost all politicians have. He’s not strong and secure enough to go back and admit that he ever makes a mistake in what he says or does. Now, Gordon’s email has focused me. And it’s going to allow me to, with clarity… defend what Trump did yesterday, and let me tell you why. It’s not my favorite thing to talk about DEI so soon, but what people like Gordon fail to recognize about Donald Trump is that his supposed weakness is his strength. It’s his superpower. And the Gordons of the world who want a nicey-nicey, conventional, traditional president never get this about Donald Trump. They never understand that this is a man who was shot. who was indicted and convicted of 34 bogus felony charges in a sham of a trial. This is a guy who they have tried to destroy financially. This is a man whose wife’s underwear drawer was raided and his son’s bedroom was turned inside out. There is not a single person in the universe, in the history of America, who would have been able to take all of that and win the presidency twice. No one would be capable of the kind of success that he has had in winning over the American people. Nobody. There isn’t a person alive in the history of America who would have been elected president after the entire government was weaponized against him to try to take him down, including nearly killing him. Who am I? I’m a big mouth with a talk show. Nobody shot me. Nobody’s convicted me. Nobody’s tried to ruin my life. in an effort to keep people from voting for me, and that’s all the weaponization was about. So, Gordon, I appreciate your thoughtful email, but you just don’t get it. You don’t get him, and you don’t get the American people. What he did yesterday, as uncomfortable as anybody might be about it, is how he got elected. He gives two craps, Gordon, about what you or I think about the timing of his justifiable outrage at DEI policies. If you’re going to tell me that it makes sense to hire a blind person or a totally deaf person or somebody with severe… psychiatric disabilities as an air traffic controller, I’m going to say what Trump said. You’re goofy. I’m going to agree with Donald Trump. That’s going to change. I’m going to agree with this man who said, no more. We’re not going to look for dwarfs to work in the air traffic control office. And that’s exactly what the Biden and Obama administrations were doing. That’s precisely what Pete Buttigieg committed to do. We’re going to find people with severe psychiatric problems. 3% of the workforce will be people with targeted, severe disabilities. President Trump’s point is, and I will paraphrase, that’s bullcrap. Never expected we’d have to hit the dump button yesterday, but we did over a president. But President Trump said Pete Buttigieg is bull crap, and he didn’t use the word crap. But he’s right. And what you perceive, Gordon, and people like you, to be Donald Trump’s weakness… is precisely why he’s the 47th president of the United States. And you’re going to have to cope, and you’re going to have to seethe, and you can whine about his running of his mouth all you want. It’s the running of his mouth that won over enough people to easily get him re-elected in November of 2024. There it is. That’s my response to Gordon and to anybody who wanted to criticize me. And I don’t mind the criticism. Look, again, not my favorite thing to talk about DEI or talk about hiring freezes when bodies are still in the river. But I’m not him. And I’m sure as heck not going to judge him when I know what he has survived and how he has succeeded and how he has won over the American people. Hey, Gordon, you run for something. You have what he’s been through. You get put through what he’s been put through. And I dare you. to come out the other side as successful as he has. I can guarantee you, you would not. You’d be like me. You’d curl up in a fetal position on the couch, and you’d never leave the living room. 800-655-6453. Welcome aboard. It’s a Friday episode of the Mike Gallagher Show in the Relief Factor Studios. We’ve got two open lines. I want to put your voice front and center. Your reaction, your thoughts, your take, coming up.

SPEAKER 1 : 18:05

Slowly face the lost You glow upon the world so bright Turning, turning

SPEAKER 11 : 18:33

There’s no better time than right now to call my friends at PhD Weight Loss and Nutrition to start your journey to a healthier you. As I hear from you about how PhD Weight Loss and Nutrition has changed your life, I know that each one of us has had our own reasons for starting. I started my journey because I gained enough weight and was ready to make a change. I sat down with Dr. Ashley Lucas, and like they say, the rest was history. I lost 53 pounds, and I’ve kept it off. We all have different reasons for starting. Call 864-644-1900, 864-644-1900, or just go to MyPhDWeightLoss.com, MyPhDWeightLoss.com.

SPEAKER 05 : 19:50

The Mike Gallagher Show.

SPEAKER 14 : 19:52

We need to figure out ways to improve care, particularly for elderly, for veterans, for the poor in this country. And Medicaid, the current model, is not doing that. I would ask, you know, any of the Democrats who are chuckling just now, do you think all that money, the $900 billion that we’re sending to Medicaid every year has made Americans healthy? Do we think it’s working for anybody?

SPEAKER 05 : 20:15

In the ReliefFactor.com studios, here’s Mike Gallagher.

SPEAKER 11 : 20:19

I’m grateful for all the great text messages pouring in on the MyPillow text line. Ohio, thank you, thank you, thank you, Mike. I love every minute of your show. We need your mouth to get through to the American people. I’ve nicknamed you Mighty Mouth, and I mean that from my heart with the most respect. Keep bringing it, Mike. Thank you. Phoenix, Arizona, I absolutely appreciate your response to emailer Gordon. Good for you. Absolutely spot on. Virginia, the ridiculous policies of hiring air traffic controllers because of their disabilities proves that Democrats actually hate America. That’s David in Virginia. And Michigan, a great question from Michigan. Is it possible someone just posted those DEI requirements just to get the Republicans going? Now, because you can’t believe it. You absolutely cannot believe it. Charlie Kirk is right. Imagine waking up saying, boy, we need more armless dwarves to be air traffic controllers. We don’t have enough blind and deaf people to direct air traffic in America. We’ve got to have people with severe psychiatric disabilities up there. This is nuts. Beyond nuts. And it’s going to stop. Is the timing of bringing this up now the best? Not my favorite thing. If I’m president, I probably would wait a little bit. But guess what? I’m not president. And nobody other than Donald Trump would be capable of of soaring the way he has. He’s got this country captivated. And the Keith Olbermanns and the Stephen Colberts and the Rachel Maddows and the Joy Reads can whine and gripe and moan. They got nothing. The AOCs can take to social media all day long. They got nothing. They got zip. He’s the president. He’s going to say what he wants to say and when he wants to say it. And Americans, normal Americans, are fine with that. Absolutely fine with that. Here’s what he said yesterday about Pete Buttigieg. Now, again, they’re going to question the qualifications of Kash Patel? They have the audacity to sit around and question whether or not Pete Hegseth is qualified to be defense secretary? Tell me what the qualifications were for Pete Buttigieg to be named Transportation Secretary. I’m not asking that rhetorically. You think the mayor of South Bend, Indiana catapults you into a position like that? Give me a break. What was the qualification for Kamala Harris? Biden made it very clear. I want a black woman. I’m going to have a woman of color to be my vice presidential running mate. That’s why she was picked. That’s what Biden said. Take his word for it. Those days are gone. Those days are… Progressivism is dying in this country. Wokeism is evaporating. Cancel culture is being eliminated. And most of us love every minute of it. Mike’s in Chicago, Illinois, 22 before the hour. How are you doing, Mike? Good.

SPEAKER 09 : 24:14

Mike, you are so spot on. I said the exact same words to my wife about what they have done to this man in the last four years. He can say and do whatever he wants. He survived two assassinations. And the man, like you said, the politicians would be in a fetal position. Most all of them would be. because of what has been done to this man. He’s come out fighting stronger than ever, and God bless him for what he’s done for this country. You are so spot on.

SPEAKER 11 : 24:40

Mike, they wanted to lock up his kids. They rifled through his wife’s bedroom. They came up with a misdemeanor that had expired due to the statute of limitations, and that rabid, radical Alvin Bragg said, I’m going to get him. I’m going to get him. Let’s come up with 34. You and I, we’d have been destroyed by that. Exactly. And this guy, not only did he survive it, he became the president of the United States. Twice. Twice. You know how hard that is? Do you know what this… I tell you what, and I say this with love to Gordon. I don’t want to keep picking on Gordon, the independent email or whatever. You don’t have a clue what it takes to survive what he survived. And I would say this to anybody. How dare you tell that man what he should or shouldn’t say and when he should say it. Look, he’s not up for re-election. Contrary to the rumors, there won’t be a third term. He’s not running for anything. He’s running to make America great again. He’s running to make America healthy again. And these strong people in his cabinet, are able to call out the clowns of the Democrats in a way nobody else has ever done. Look at Bobby Kennedy Jr. yesterday. You know how much money, how many millions of dollars Pocahontas Warren and Comrade Bernie the Socialist have gotten from the pharmaceutical industry? And they’re up there browbeating Bobby Kennedy Jr. over his skepticism for vaccines? Are you kidding me? Well, RFK Jr. called him out perfectly yesterday. And if you’re watching on the Salem News Channel, check out Bernie turning purple because Comrade Bernie wasn’t ready to be called out for his own despicable hypocrisy, pocketing millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry that you’re defending.

SPEAKER 14 : 26:40

I’m going to make America healthier than other countries in the world right now.

SPEAKER 13 : 26:45

Will you guarantee do what every other major country does? It’s a simple question.

SPEAKER 14 : 26:50

And by the way, Bernie, you know, the problem of corruption is not just in the federal agencies. It’s in Congress, too. Almost all the members of this panel are accepting, including yourself, are accepting millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry. Oh, no, no, no.

SPEAKER 13 : 27:07

And protecting their interests. Oh, I thought that that would come. No, no, no. I ran for president like you. I got millions and millions of contributions. They did not come from the executives, not one nickel of PAC money from the pharmaceutical industry. They came from workers.

SPEAKER 14 : 27:25

In 2020, you were the single largest.

SPEAKER 13 : 27:29

Because I have four contributions from workers all over this country. Workers, not a nickel from corporate tax. No, from workers in the industry.

SPEAKER 11 : 27:46

I swear we’re watching an episode of Arrested Development starring Larry David. That guy’s Larry David. No, no, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. No, no, no, no. I didn’t get a dime from the executives. They were the workers from the pharmaceutical industry. They were the workers. No, no, no, no. Are you kidding me? You got called out, comrade. Hey, you rabid, rabid socialist, you got called out. Elizabeth Warren, same thing. Look at the list. You’ve seen it. These people have had their pockets lined for years by big pharma. And a guy comes along and says, you know what? I’m skeptical about a vaccine. I’m a little leery of nine shots because Anthony Fauci tells me to go get nine shots. Sorry, those days are gone. And people have every right to reject the government narrative about vaccines. You do you, boo. You do you. As the kids say. I saw that somebody last night posted a video. You do you, boo. You want to get nine shots? You want to wear four masks? You want to hide in your basement? You do whatever you want to do. Leave us alone. Leave us the hell alone. 800-655-MIKE-WADE in Minneapolis. Hey, Wade, welcome aboard. Wade, you there? All right, let’s try Cat in Columbus. Hey, Cat, welcome to the Mike Gallagher Show. Hello.

SPEAKER 15 : 29:22

Hello, Mike. I just wanted to call and say I am so excited about what is happening for this country. I get choked up every day and the right is finally becoming scrappers. I’ve been saying for years when the left is throwing poop. The right kept throwing candy, and now that’s not happening anymore. And because of you and President Trump, I am booking my spot on the Patriots Alaska cruise.

SPEAKER 11 : 29:49

Oh, wonderful. Do you know how much fun we’re going to have, Kat? Have you ever been to Alaska? I have. I’ve been to Alaska for work, but not anything like this. So I’m so excited. When you see that first whale, when you see a bald eagle, when you see, I mean, there’s nothing like it, Kat. I can’t wait to see you in person. And you made my day. Thank you very, very much. Because Kat is so right. The days of timidly tiptoeing around are gone. And I feel the same way she does. I get emotional every day. I get choked up every day thinking that finally, finally common sense is starting to prevail. And this Alaska cruise, hurry up because don’t put this off. $300 is all it takes to secure your stateroom. It’s the second annual Patriots Alaska cruise. Sebastian Gorka and I got to co-host it this past summer. Well, Seb now is very busy in the Trump administration. So Larry Elder is going to be my co-host. We’re going to be joined by Joe Piscopo, Jersey Joe from New York. He’ll be doing Frank Sinatra and talking politics. The wonderful Jennifer Horn from L.A. will be with us. And by day, we cruise through Alaska. We set sail from Seattle. We’re on the Euro Dam by Holland America. We’re going to see the beauty and the majesty of Alaska. And then in the evening, after dinner or before dinner, depending on the schedule, We go to the world stage, and we have events together. We talk about the country. There is nothing like being in a room filled with hundreds of like-minded patriots on a beautiful, majestic cruise ship. It’s the Patriots Alaska Cruise, August 16th through the 23rd. I want to urge you, when the space is gone, it’s gone. Space is limited. Only so many staterooms available. Go to TravelWithSalem.com to get all the details, the itinerary, the pricing. And, Kat, we can’t wait to see you in person on the ship. Go to TravelWithSalem.com to get all the details. TravelWithSalem.com. Or you can just text the keyword Alaska to our MyPillow text line, which is 800-655-MIKE. Text the keyword Alaska to 800-655-6453. Do you want to know what Bernie Sanders’ net worth is? As a lifelong politician, guy that was, what, a mayor, city councilman in, you know, Stowe, Vermont, or wherever he’s from, congressman, senator, you know what his net worth is? Around $3 million. Bernie Sanders is a multimillionaire. He doesn’t have the you know what. He shouldn’t have the you know what to question anybody like Bobby Kennedy Jr. and pretend you’re a man of the people. No, no, no, no. Those were the workers. Yeah, nice try, Bernie. Nice try. You know, there’s a cross that Mike Lindell of MyPillow wears around his neck. And for years, people have said, Mike, can we get that cross? And so I’m real proud to share with you that MyPillow is now offering the MyCross necklace. It’s a beautiful sterling silver cross, onyx-styled black enamel with a protective clear coat, mother-of-pearl-styled translucent white enamel. They’ve got a men’s size and a ladies’ size. The MyCross necklace is now available for you at MyPillow.com. If you go to MyPillow.com, look for the Mike Gallagher specials and click on that box. You’re going to get a huge discount. I mean, big-time discount. In fact, you’re going to get, I think, $30 less of a price than what is available on the MyPillow site if you don’t go to MySquare. So if you want a beautiful gift, if you want to remind yourself what matters, if you want the same cross, it’s the same cross that Mike Lindell wears every day whenever you see him on TV. This cross is now available for you, and you’re going to get a huge discount when you enter the promo code MikeG. So go to MyPillow.com, look for the Mike Gallagher specials, click on that box, and then find the MyCross. There’s also all kinds of great items to get you the best night’s sleep of your life. Just don’t forget to enter the promo code MikeG so you’ll save big, and you’ve got to go to that square. Go to MyPillow.com, look for the Mike Gallagher specials, click on that box. And then with anything you order, enter the promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. Or call 800-928-6034. 800-928-6034. Sing along with me. For the best night’s sleep in the whole wide world, visit MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG.

SPEAKER 05 : 34:58

He’s the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here’s Mike Deller.

SPEAKER 11 : 35:05

It’s all the kids who perished aboard American Airlines Flight 5342 that really is the gut punch. All those beautiful young kids, the young skaters and coaches who perished. The story, the one guy I saw give an interview yesterday, he lost his wife and his son. And I always think about that. I always think about how difficult and a little unusual it is to give an interview to the media when your whole life has been shattered. You know, I’m pretty selfish and I’m a fairly private guy, despite my occupation. When my wife died and we had a big, beautiful memorial for her at White’s Chapel in Methodist Church in South Lake, Texas. We had just a very, very beautiful service officiated by our dear friend, Pastor John McKellar. We all wore little sunflower boutonnieres because sunflowers were her favorite flower. But I know it’s expected that after a service, family members are supposed to stand at the church and greet or receive the people who were there. And I couldn’t do that. I didn’t want to do that. And I told my kids, I said, we had a lot of odd things happen. Those goofy Westboro Baptist Church people were planning, they said they were going to protest outside her funeral. My kids were going to bring baseball bats. I thought, that’s all I need. As well as, you know, on top of losing my 51-year-old wife, we got to deal with those loonies. Thankfully, they never showed up. Anyhow, I remember telling my kids, you know, I know there’s a lot of well-meaning people at the service. There were some listeners, I think, who came to the church, and that was very sweet. But I didn’t want to stand there and shake hands, and I just didn’t want to do it. And I remember Trevor, one of my sons, said, Dad, you do what you want to do. You lost your wife. We lost our mom. Let’s get in the car and go home. And we had a gathering at the home for our close family and friends. And I remember the mayor of Dallas. I’ll never forget this to my dying day. Good guy. Don’t know where he is now. Tom Leppert was the mayor of Dallas. And he came to the service. And which just touched me deeply. The mayor of a major metropolitan city coming to pay his respects. I got a note from George W. Bush. So a lot of very important people did their best to reach out. And I remember leaving the church in the limo, in the funeral procession or whatever. And I didn’t want to stay and shake hands. Because that was how I was grieving. I didn’t want to do that. And we got in the car and I looked out and I saw Tom Leppert, the mayor, sort of standing outside the church looking puzzled that we were leaving. Because it wasn’t probably protocol. And normal for the widower not to wait in the church. But that was how I grieved, you know? That was just a choice that I made. And I’m sorry if that was the wrong thing to do, but it worked for me. Anyway, I was thinking about that, watching this poor man talk about losing his son and his wife in this crash, and how people could say, wow, that’s odd, and that’s not protocol, and that’s unusual. That’s how he grieves. He wants to tell the world about his wife, his precious wife. He wants to tell the world about his son and how his son a few years ago discovered ice skating and the love of competitive skating. He wanted to tell anybody who wanted to know about his family. And we’ve got to give people a lot of grace, I think, because it really messes with you. When you lose the love of your life, It rocks your world. It changes everything. Everything is upside down. Nothing makes sense anymore. My wife wasn’t supposed to die the day before her 52nd birthday. That didn’t make any sense. She was the rock. She did everything. She was everything to me and to my kids. And everything was wrong. Well, at least I had a year and a half to say goodbye. And these poor people had no chance to say goodbye. And my heart goes out to every one of them. It’s why I was reluctant to dive into this DEI stuff. It’s why I was condemning people yesterday who were blaming President Trump for the crash. It’s too soon. We’ve got to get through this together as a country. Now, on the other hand, Trump went right at it. And as usual, Trump has spotlighted some very serious problems. in this country. DEI is a problem. Now, the timing of it, probably not my favorite thing, but who am I? I’m just a big mouth with a talk show. Who cares what I think about his timing? And it reminds me of when he was talking about how they were eating the cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio. Remember that? You know what the beauty of that was? Most Americans didn’t know about the Haitian migrant issue in America, how communities have had to absorb thousands of migrants from a country like Haiti. Had Trump not brought that up at that debate, it would have never been an issue. And it is an issue. Just like diversity, equity, and inclusion is an issue. Look, the fact is the diversity practices, the hiring practices by the FAA were under scrutiny long before this week’s air disaster. In fact, years before the fatal collision, critics were warning, according to the Washington Times, that the Obama and Biden administrations had jeopardized safety by prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion at the FAA. Okay. Here’s what Trump said yesterday about the way Joe Biden and his administration lowered standards for air traffic controllers.

SPEAKER 02 : 42:02

Then when I left office and Biden took over, he changed them back to lower than ever before. I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first and they put politics at a level that nobody’s. ever seen because this was the lowest level. Their policy was horrible and their politics was even worse. So as you know, last week, long before the crash, I signed an executive order restoring our highest standards for air traffic controllers and other important jobs throughout the country.

SPEAKER 11 : 42:41

Let’s go to the Mike Gallagher Show newsroom where Roger P. Shulman is standing by who’s been covering the FAA hiring practices. A little later this hour, Roger, we’re going to talk to a fellow Floridian, Captain Will Smith of Will Smith Aviation. He has flown in and out of Reagan many, many times. But, Roger, this is actually a very, very important issue, and I think the American people are glad, despite this horrible, horrible loss of life and this catastrophe, glad that we’re having a conversation about what qualifies somebody to be an air traffic controller.

SPEAKER 07 : 43:14

Well, it’s a very stressful job, and you have to be at the top of your game at all times. You can’t have a bad day when you’re an air traffic controller. And as the president said, you can’t have people with dim intellects Physical malfunctions that cause them to not be able to hear or see in front of a scope telling airplanes to go left, right, up or down. It just doesn’t work. And he wants the highest quality people. Now, we looked into what it takes to be an air traffic controller. It’s a very good paying job. In fact, they’re even encouraging high school kids to look into it. Go to USA Jobs or the FAA website and they’ll tell you what’s needed. You have to be a U.S. citizen. be able to speak English, be able to function. And if you’re not capable of working the drive-through at a Burger King or McDonald’s, if that’s too stressful for you, this is not the job for you. You can apply to be an air traffic controller up to age 30. You can retire after 20 years at 50. Mandatory retirement age is 56. You’ll be paid while you’re going to school, and you start at about $60,000. Within three years, you’re making over $100,000. And the… Average is about $158,000 a year. It’s a good paying job. You do work nights and weekends. But it’s a job that requires somebody who’s very dedicated. You can’t request time out because you’re stressed out because you’re going to be doing very important things. But it does, Mike, require the highest quality people who are very dedicated. And the pay is really quite good.

SPEAKER 11 : 44:44

You know, I appreciate your facts and statistics, Roger, in this issue because there’s a lot of misinformation out there. I mean, there are so many wild conspiracy theories about what happened this week. I suppose it’s a sign of the times, isn’t it, that we have to be very careful to sift through fact and fiction.

SPEAKER 07 : 45:05

It is. And the fact is that they do now with the president want the highest quality people applying. And it’s it’s no longer going to be a DEI situation where you have to accept some people who are not up to standard. There are certain jobs where you cannot have. a person of low intellect or low abilities or low commitment. You don’t want your doctor to be that way. You don’t want your pilot to be that way. You want a Will Smith. You don’t want somebody who was hired because they just squeaked by almost. You want somebody who’s really good in these positions. And this is an area where I think the president is spot on.

SPEAKER 11 : 45:40

And we don’t want just any newsman on the Mike Gallagher show. We want the best. And that’s why we appreciate your contributions, Roger P. Shulman. Thanks for your work. Keep fighting the good fight.

SPEAKER 07 : 45:51

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER 11 : 45:52

More coming up, including a visit with Captain Will Smith. He has flown in and out of Reagan National hundreds of times. He’s got some very, very definite beliefs about these government positions and DEI practices and how it is impacting our airspace. Stick around. More coming up on this busy Friday. Glad to have you here.

SPEAKER 04 : 46:28

Don’t you know?

SPEAKER 08 : 46:39

Hi, everyone. If you’ve been injured in an accident that was not your fault, listen up. We have legal professionals standing by to answer your questions for free. Call now and find out if you have a case and how much it’s potentially worth. Call 800-702-5400. I’m here with spokesman John Wolf. So, John, tell everyone listening who should call right now.

SPEAKER 06 : 47:02

Well, Maria, first off, thank you for having me here. It’s always nice to answer the listeners’ questions. Now, as far as who should call in, anyone who’s been injured in an accident and think you deserve compensation, give us a call right now. 800-702-5400. You’ll find out if you have a case and how much it’s potentially worth.

SPEAKER 08 : 47:21

Thanks, John. You heard it, folks. Take advantage of this opportunity and call now. 800-702-5400.

SPEAKER 06 : 47:31

Advertisement sponsored by Legal Help Center may not be available in all states.

SPEAKER 05 : 47:36

Mike Gallagher. Every day, Mike visits with Mark Davis, morning host on 660 AM, The Answer in Dallas. Here’s today’s M&M experience.

SPEAKER 11 : 47:47

Let’s talk about how we do our thing. Let’s do it. Because here’s my day yesterday. I was reconsidering my career choices. I was thinking, all right, this is going to be my 50, 65th year. In April, I will turn the dreaded or heralded 65. Nothing to it. Maybe not too late to switch careers after I go on the air and do this whole thing about how it’s wrong to politicize the Potomac crash and the Democrats are demonic and isn’t that awful? And then I even had to throw in a little caveat right before I threw it to President Trump.

SPEAKER 04 : 48:20

Of course, because he’s a lot.

SPEAKER 11 : 48:22

He’s on live. He’s coming up. But before he came on live, I thought it would be smart. I thought I made the decision that it would be a good call to say, look, even some of us are making the same mistake. There are some people who are bringing up DEI right before even before the bodies are pulled out of the river. And then we go live to Donald Trump. And of course, how many seconds did it take? About a half a minute. I mean, he starts out, moment of silence, which was nice. And then he says, let’s be unified, which was great. And then he dives headfirst into Pete Buttigieg destroying the FAA and the DEI. We got armless dwarves, apparently, up in the control tower, which I didn’t have on my bingo card. Did you know that?

SPEAKER 12 : 49:03

I don’t know if they were armless dwarves. I think they might be. Some people were armless and some people were dwarves. There was a variety of impediments that might have been difficult to make you in air traffic.

SPEAKER 11 : 49:12

Well, I mean, but I looked this up. Charlie Kirk pointed this out yesterday, and it gave me pause. He said, look, think about you’re in the Biden administration. You wake up one morning, and you say, we don’t have enough dwarfs or people without limbs, or we have deaf people or blind people who want to be in the air traffic controller tower. Now, first of all, pardon me, how are you blind and deaf, and you’re an air traffic controller? I don’t know. How does that even work? Correct. I guess you could do it without your arms. And if you’re a dwarf, I guess you could prop them up on a phone book or something and give them a milk crate. I mean, give them a stool. But I mean, that’s what you’re looking for? And look, and Trump’s point is, I want the best people for the job who will keep this guy safe.

SPEAKER 12 : 50:04

Now, let me go back to my- And it’s a superb point. And as I sometimes will need to do and we do this for each other let me give you a hundred percent cover on this because i your instincts were right we had just blistered people who went political in the wake of the crash for going after trump you know this this idiot is it man wish we had a real secretary of defense because we need answers and we said let’s not be political that’s ugly and being the gracious soul that you are you said let’s not you know commit the similar sin on our side And I would suggest to you that that’s not what he was doing at all. And I think we’re going to agree on this, that while there may not be anything necessarily in that air traffic control tower or any of those cockpits that necessarily speak to DEI, it is always a good idea, especially after situations like this. To examine safety and anything that makes us safer is good. Anything that stands in the way of safety is bad. And DEI and quotas and cherry picking and weird outreach makes us less safe. President was 100 percent right.

SPEAKER 11 : 51:08

Well, it has to do with the timing. Of course, he’s right. And it’s entirely correct. But here’s my I’m going to give myself cover. Let me tell you why. You know, I’m absolutely going to own what I said about the timing, but I’m also going to defend President Trump. Look, who am I to tell this guy what the right timing is going to be? I’m just a big mouth with a talk show. This is a guy, I defy you to find any individual in the history of mankind who could have withstood what he withstood. I got an email from a guy, nice guy, and I got a lot of feedback on this saying, Mike, I hope you call Trump out for this. The timing was terrible. This is what he does wrong. This is his big, this is his fatal flaw, they say. This is his weakness. It’s killed him, clearly. Obviously kept him from winning again. Well, that’s my point. What they think is his weakness, Mark, is his strength. What they think is his brusque, tacky, bad timing and all, what they don’t get is this guy was shot. This guy was convicted 34 counts. This guy, they tried to bankrupt him. Nobody would have gone through that and got elected to president twice except him. So you know what? And incidentally, they would have never given him any grace if he would have just been, oh, kumbaya, hunky-dory. They wouldn’t have said, oh, good for him. They’d look for the next thing to attack him for. And you know what? He knows that, Mark. And so he gives two craps. He gives two craps. He wants to rail against DEI? Then you know what? He’s going to do it. Not my favorite thing to do it yesterday when the bodies aren’t out of the river. I wouldn’t have done it, but I’m not him. Nobody shot me.

SPEAKER 12 : 52:57

I didn’t mind at all. And I know these are matters of pretty small degree, but I really, really didn’t. I found no, and I heard a bunch of people say, how must these families feel, you know, while they’re still grieving loved ones, and here’s Trump railing at prior administrations for having cast too broad a net for people who maybe shouldn’t be. First of all, I think that if you just had a loved one die in the icy Potomac Trump’s news conference is not front of mind for you.

SPEAKER 11 : 53:27

It’s the last thing you’re worried about.

SPEAKER 12 : 53:28

It just doesn’t matter. This was the province of the haters. And I will tell you, the day after we lose people, the day after people die is a magnificent time to focus on the safety of our system. And if there are things in past policy that have made our system less safe, you bet that’s the time to bring it up in that way that only he uniquely can do.

SPEAKER 11 : 53:50

Let’s look factually at what Pete Buttigieg, the then Secretary of Transportation, did. He set a hiring goal. And I’m reading this right from the Transportation Department’s own information. They set a hiring goal of 3% per fiscal year for individuals with targeted… parentheses, severe disabilities. Now, here’s the list. The targeted disabilities are those disabilities that the federal government, as a matter of policy, has identified for special emphasis in recruitment and hiring. Now, let me go for, let me take a moment and share with you the list of those targeted disabilities. This is from the government site. This is not fake news. Hearing, parentheses, total deafness in both ears. Yeah. vision, parentheses, blind, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability. psychiatric disability, and yes, indeed, dwarfism. Now, like Charlie Kirk said, imagine waking up and thinking, folks, I feel like we don’t have enough psychotic or mentally handicapped air traffic controllers. This was the Biden Department of Transportation. You know what the miracle is? That we don’t have more Potomac crashes. On a regular basis. I mean, we’re lucky. And look, they’ve been warning about near misses for a long time. A year ago, the Washington Times did a whole big article about how turning people away because they’re white from the air traffic control system is going to jeopardize safety. Well, look at what happened. Now, here’s the bottom line, though. But here’s the caveat that we all probably have to acknowledge. None of this may have anything to do with what happened the night before last.

SPEAKER 12 : 55:43

Right, correct. It may not be specific to this, but the subject is still completely germane and completely proper.

SPEAKER 11 : 55:50

Right. Look, Trump is angry. It’s normal. 67 people dead. Children. These stories are so heart-wrenching. Figures that moms and dads with their little kids and beautiful stories and the guy that couldn’t get on the plane because his dog was too big. Imagine his survivor’s guilt for the rest of his life. And so, look, it is fair to say that these dreadful DEI policies are awful for the American people. And, look, I don’t know what the right time is to talk about it, but I’m not going to. Anytime. Okay. All right. I’ll go with that.

SPEAKER 12 : 56:32

Unburden yourself. It’s fine.

SPEAKER 11 : 56:34

I’ll go with that. Now, final minute. Go ahead. Let’s talk about the hearings yesterday because I got to get this off my chest. I was so riveted by watching Democrats. I mean, they were hysterical. I mean, between, I mean, Elizabeth Warren. Adam Schiff was shrieking. He sounded like a soprano from the Morbin Tabernacle Choir. He’s this high, shrilly voice. Turn around and look at the puller. What the hell is wrong with these? They’re nuts, Mark. And Chris DeGaulle, I was listening to him a little bit before I turned your show on at 7. Chris had such a great point. To a number of, to all the Democrats and even some Republicans, if you exhibit any skepticism about any vaccine, you’re to be put into a mental institution.

SPEAKER 12 : 57:23

That’s it. That’s where the bar is set.

SPEAKER 11 : 57:25

You’re a conspiracy theorist. Put a tinfoil hat on you. Well, guess what? You’re allowed to be skeptical about anything you want to be skeptical about. And Susan Collins and all Susan Collins yesterday. Oh, people would be in a classroom without an unvaccinated with an unvaccinated child, which would lead to herd immunity. She’s reciting all the crap that’s been debunked. It’s all been debunked.

SPEAKER 12 : 57:48

So, you know, can I give you a show? 30 seconds. Can I give you a show today? Because I’m going to give myself one in the following way. Cash Patel. Fantastic. By the way, Tulsi Gabbard is great, too. I’m going to ask you the Tulsi Gabbard question. Edward Snowden, is he a traitor? Yes or no? And she’s not going to take the bait, and I’m not either.

SPEAKER 11 : 58:04

I’ll take it. Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER 12 : 58:09

100% traitor.

SPEAKER 11 : 58:09

That’s what Adam Schiff wants you to say. No, it’s not. It’s true. But it’s what Adam Schiff wants you to say. I don’t care. I know, but she does. She’s not going to give him what he wants. And I’m glad she answered it the way she did.

SPEAKER 12 : 58:22

She has what you might call a more nuanced view. I understand that nuance. And here’s what we’ll talk about a little bit. And feel free to take this no charge. If you break the laws of the United States and surrender some of our secrets… Does it become heroic if it’s stuff that the country should not be doing? Therein lies the question.

SPEAKER 11 : 58:42

It’s a great topic. But again, but I also love the way she answered it. I love what Kash Patel said. Look, if you look at that hearing yesterday, these senators, these miserable, decrepit senators, they clearly admitted they didn’t want to hear his answer. I mean, he would start to answer. They’d shut him down. In fact, at one point, one of the senators said, I don’t want to hear your answer. You can give me your answer in writing. This is my time. So they’re not interested. This isn’t advice and consent. It’s a TV show. It’s performance art. That’s all it is. Guess what? Conform them all. And if they don’t, any Republican who doesn’t, get primaried. Get your butt primaried. They’re going to go after you, John Cornyn. Hey, John Cornyn, you listening? Hey, Tom Tillis, you paying attention? You’re going to get primaried. You better do the right thing here.

SPEAKER 12 : 59:30

I think Cornyn and Tillis will both be good soldiers. Susan Collins and Murkowski, I just don’t know. All right, man, have a fantastic show and a great weekend. I love you.

SPEAKER 11 : 59:37

I love you. Have a great weekend. See you Monday.

SPEAKER 05 : 59:41

Download the podcast and hear all of Mike and Mark’s conversations at MikeOnline.com for the M&M experience.