In this compelling episode, Mike Gallagher introduces contrasting opinions on America’s strategic stance toward Iran. As Mark Levin asserts the need for military escalation, claiming dissent is unpatriotic, Mike hosts a platform for nuanced conversations. From callers sharing their thoughts to exploring trust in Trump’s decision-making, this episode is a critical reflection on the political and ethical dimensions of foreign policy.
SPEAKER 05 :
He’s the happy conservative warrior, Mike Gallagher, broadcasting across hundreds of radio stations nationwide and seen on your trusted conservative TV network, Salem News Channel. Here’s Mike.
SPEAKER 11 :
Anybody old enough to remember bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran? Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran? We’ve got to find that, Eric. That’s got to be floating around somewhere. That was years ago. We’ve been flirting with bombing Iran for a long time. Under President Trump, we may just do it. And according to Mark Levin… The great one, and I truly believe in his greatness. I love Mark Levin. But I watched him last night tell people that if you’re not on board with bombing Iran, you’re not a patriotic American. Full stop. And again, love the guy. Tempers are flaring. Tensions are high. Are we on the verge of World War III? And I’m not talking about with Iran. I’m talking about within Trump world and MAGA. Because, man, people are going at it. Ted Cruz getting pummeled by Tucker Carlson in a gotcha-style interview yesterday that’s going to be released today. And it was rough. And, you know, it’s hard to out-debate Ted Cruz. But Tucker went in with a bunch of loaded gotcha questions. What’s the population, ethnicity, composition of Iran? What’s the population? Blah, blah, blah. And it was rough. But I am really intrigued. And you know where I want to start? I’m really intrigued with the accusation that if you’re not on board with bombing Iran, you’re not a patriot. You don’t love the country. You’re not a good American. Again, I say this with deference and respect. I love the guy. I’ve learned a lot from him over the years. I’ve devoured his books. I know he’s very angry on air, and I’ve spent time with him off air. Incidentally, Mark isn’t like that all the time. He’s not, you know, hey, Mark, how are you?
SPEAKER 08 :
How are you, man? How am I? What are you talking about?
SPEAKER 11 :
He’s not like that. He’s relatively calm, cool, and collected in real life. But on air, he gets fired up, which is part of his appeal. And boy, was he fired up last night on Fox News.
SPEAKER 19 :
And we have morons, fools running around the country. This isn’t Magna. This isn’t MAGA. This isn’t what I voted for. Donald Trump is a forever war president. How so? He’s going to do what every president before him since Carter didn’t have the guts to do. He’s going to put an end to this damn thing. And that’s what needs to happen. That’s not a warmonger. That’s a peacemaker. That is a man who’s going to make sure this generation and future generations are protected from nuclear missiles coming out of the Middle East, from barbarian primitives from the 7th century. That’s what he wants to do. And then I hear the questions. Well, won’t this create a bigger war? Really, with who? Tell me, which Arab country has stepped up and said, you know what? We’re going on the side of Iran. They’re doing so great. The Israelis are kicking their asses left and right. The U.S. hasn’t even gotten involved directly. Yeah. So where are they? They’re nowhere. How about China? Nowhere. How about Russia? Nowhere. What happened to World War III? There is no World War III. They all sound like a bunch of Marxist Islamists. They don’t sound like patriotic Americans. Let me be clear. This is good versus evil. You’re either a patriotic American who’s going to get behind the President of the United States, the Commander-in-Chief, or you’re not.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay, I’m going to ask you, if you’re not on board with bombing Iran, Mark Levin says you’re not a patriotic American. Is he right? 800-655-MIKE. Ten past the hour. Let’s go right to it and take a lot of calls. A lot of first-time callers, I hope, today. I’d love to hear your voice, and I’d love to get your reaction to Mark Levin’s claim, his accusation, that this is good versus evil, right versus wrong. You’re either on board with bombing Iran, or you’re not a patriotic American. Because, look, I don’t know what President Trump is going to decide to do. Mark seems to have come to the foregone conclusion that Trump’s decision is made. I don’t know that it is. He hasn’t announced it. He’s demanding Iran’s nuclear unconditional surrender. But I’m not sure that he’s ready to drop that bunker-busting bomb. I’m not sure we’re really going to step things up that way, but we’ll find out. It’s going to be up to Trump. But I want to ask you a simple question. How do you feel about Mark Levin claiming that if you’re not on board, you’re not a patriot? You don’t love America. 800-655-MIKE. 800-655-6453. One number does it all. Text or call. We want to put your voice front and center here on this Wednesday episode of the Mike Gallagher Show. Ph.D. weight loss has changed my life. And I’ve got a little secret for you. You know Big Pharma and semaglutide and the shots in the belly. You’ve seen the story recently about the study that shows that a lot of people that are getting this are going blind. You don’t want to do this. You want a program to lose weight that’s centered around science and nutrition, a proven roadmap that has helped over 8,000 clients lose weight and keep it off. Like me, I lost 53 pounds a few years ago, and I’ve kept it off. I know what to eat and when. I know how to quiet any of the cravings I might get and finally release that unhealthy belly fat that I carried along for so long. Make the phone call that can change your life in the way it changed mine. It’s called PhD Weight Loss. PhD Weight Loss, Dr. Ashley Lucas’ program is brilliant. And how do I know? Well, 53 pounds later, here I am. 864-644-1900 is their number. Call and schedule your consultation. You can do this program from anywhere in America. Call 864-644-1900, 864-644-1900, or visit MyPhDWeightLoss.com.
SPEAKER 04 :
Mike Gallagher.
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Live look of downtown Tampa, our home base, the Tampa Bay area where we proudly broadcast from every day. If you’re watching the Salem News Channel, you’re seeing the skyline of Tampa. And we’re glad you could tune in. Don’t forget SNC.TV, the antidote to the mainstream media and just tremendous. Last month. Incidentally, streaming television surpassed broadcasting cable for the first time ever. The month of May saw more people streaming than watching cable or watching broadcast television. So, look, this… over-the-top platform that we broadcast on, on Salem News Channel, just growing by leaps and bounds. I love watching the MyPillow text line light up like a little Christmas tree. Michigan writes, Mark Levin shouldn’t be calling people’s patriotism into question because they don’t agree with him. That’s not cool. However, I do agree with the points he made about doing it. I have a hard time believing that World War III will start over this. Russia and China aren’t going to start throwing nukes over this. Colorado writes, Mike, Mark said if you’re not behind President Trump, then you aren’t a patriot. He didn’t say if you’re not on board with bombing Iran that you’re not a patriot. At least quote the man right. Well, he also went on a tirade about suggesting that us attacking Iran, you know, would be problematic. He mocked those who suggested that a U.S. attack could lead to a wider war in the region or the world. He’s clearly on board with attacking Iran. But, you know, you’re right. He’s saying be on board with whatever President Trump decides. And incidentally, if he doesn’t, I’ve got to stop saying incidentally. Somebody emailed me that complaint last week. You know how Sean Hannity always says, is it by the way? I think it’s the phrase, by the way, he always says. I think it’s by the way. And I say incidentally too much. I’ve got to work on my catchphrases. But P.S. P.S. If Trump doesn’t decide to escalate the military against Iran, then what are all the voices of support for escalating the military against Iran going to say then? It sounds to me like, I imagine Mark is probably on board with President Trump’s agenda. I’ll bet, and I’m sure Mark has the same view I have. It boils down to two little words. Trust Trump. Trust Trump. I think trust Trump ought to be the doctrine. Trust Trump on the border. Did you see the border news? Do you know that Did you hear the number of how many people were released after illegal boarding crossings in May? It was, of course, thousands and thousands in May of 2024 under Biden, under Grandpa Joe. You want to know how many illegals were released into the United States as a result of illegal border crossings last month, month of May? Zero. Nada. Nunca. Zip. That’s the official number. It was 62,000 under Biden in May of 2024. It was zero in May. Trust Trump. And if you trust Trump on domestic policies, you certainly can trust Trump, I believe, on foreign policy. Dan’s in Pittsburgh. Hey, Dan, welcome back. How are you? Good, how are you, Mike? Good, thanks. What do you think?
SPEAKER 09 :
Good, Mike. Well, I’m all on board with Mike, and I’ll tell you why. You’re dealing with a religious zealot that doesn’t understand anything but evil. Right. And if we don’t eliminate the threat, which, in fact, they ought to take him out, because this is all… You’re talking about the Ayatollah Khomeini. Yes, I’m sorry. And if we don’t eliminate the ayatollah, we have no chance of getting a regime change and getting this whole mess straightened out. Most Arab states are supportive of that.
SPEAKER 11 :
So you believe the goal should be regime change? Yes. Okay, all right. I mean, that’s a buzz phrase, and a lot of people run to the hills when they hear that. But look, you’re not alone. Kay’s in Montgomery, Alabama. Hello, Kay. Hello. Hi. How are you? I’m good. How are you? I’m fine. I’m nervous. No, don’t be nervous. Look, you know what I always tell people? Do not think of the 7 million people who are hanging on right now to your every word. Don’t even think about that, Kay. That helps a lot. No, I’m glad you joined us, Kay, and I appreciate you stepping up here because I wonder if you agree with me. Let’s follow the doctrine that I believe in. Trust Trump.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s right. I started supporting him when he came down the escalator. I’m a veteran of the Air Force. I flew in EC-135s before women were allowed to fly. Wow. Before it was common. I know what the nuclear force does. I know what their job is. We do not want a nuclear war. We do not want people on the ground. Trust Trump. I voted for him, not Mark Levin. Mark Levin did not support Trump back in the beginning. I remember those days, Mark. I’ve supported him since he came down the escalator, and I didn’t even know who he was, not really.
SPEAKER 11 :
Right, right.
SPEAKER 02 :
So trust Trump. He’s got all the info. I don’t.
SPEAKER 11 :
You’re right on the money, and I agree with you. I happen to agree with you 110%, and you know what, Kay? You didn’t sound nervous at all. You didn’t sound nervous at all. You did great. Thank you. Thank you very much. One open line, 800-655-MIKE. Juan is in St. Pete, Florida. Hey, Juan, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yes, I agree, you know, that we must get rid of the leader of Iran. It’s sort of like to me, is this how I take it? It’s sort of like when you promise somebody and it makes it kind of difficult and you want to. Make peace. It doesn’t matter how you keep your promise. You have to eliminate this guy. You get rid of him for the rest of the world, for Israel, for us, so our soldiers don’t get killed anymore. Nobody provides terrorists around the world. It’s like he will fix all the problems. Look, and I’m a Trump man. I mean, I follow Trump. from the 80s, okay? I think he’s a great man. Trust him, but I know he’s doing the right thing, so don’t doubt the man.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, appreciate it, Juan. Thank you. Trust Trump. And that’s the doctrine. And look, I will tell you, based on what I keep hearing, I’m talking text messages, I’m talking emails, I’m talking phone calls, the majority of people do agree with Mark Levin. The majority of Americans do agree with those who believe that we need to take out Iranian leadership. And, you know, it’s as if the October 7th massacre by Hamas in Israel was a game changer. It’s like the the penchant for evil from these barbarians came to the forefront like that. That was a completely unprovoked. attack that slaughtered so many men, women, and children in Israel. You know, we took the show over there. I was there weeks after October 7th. I interviewed survivors. I saw near Oz. I saw the kibbutz. I saw the Nova Music Festival location, and they just slaughtered and sexually, I mean, they raped and slaughtered and terrorized I mean, that was a terror attack against Israel. And it’s like you realize when Iran promises to obliterate Israel, well, they would if they can get a nuke, if they can finish their evil attempts to get a nuke. And now the common theme, I think, I keep hearing is, well, they’ve been claiming that Iran is trying to get a nuclear weapon for decades. Oh, so this Fordow nuclear facility in the mountain doesn’t exist? How long do you want to wait? Who cares? If that’s always been Iran’s evil intention, who cares? You’re going to sit around and wait for them to do it? Wipe Israel off the map? And when they’re through with Israel, you don’t think they’ll do everything they can to slaughter as many Americans as possible? I mean, grow up. Now, I understand the pushback. I just strongly disagree with it. And I’m not going to shut it down. If you disagree with me, if you disagree with Mark Levin, if you disagree with most of our callers today, look, you’ve got a seat at the table here. 800-655-MIKE. 800-655-6453. We’ll be sure to put you up front and center because I understand that there’s two sides to this. Portions of our show brought to you by MyPillow and Big Deal. Two sales in one. First, they’re having a closeout sale on the percale bedsheets. Any size, any color, $25. You can get Queens, Kings, Split Kings, California Kings, any size, any color, $25. It’s a crazy sale from MyPillow.com. Look for the Mike Gallagher Special Square. The second sale, Mike Lindell has introduced a brand new energy drink called Rev7. It’s a premium energy drink that’s good for you. It tastes great, gives you energy all day. I sampled it yesterday for the first time. It is delicious. No sugar, no caffeine. Rev7 is so special because it’s powered with a premium nootropic that helps fuel your mind. MyPillow is so confident you’re going to love Rev7 that for a limited time you can try their introductory three-pack absolutely free. Now, these offers aren’t going to last long. So go to MyPillow.com, use the promo code MikeG, MyPillow.com, promo code MikeG, or call 800-928-6034, 800-928-6034. Sing along with me.
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SPEAKER 04 :
Mike Gallagher.
SPEAKER 11 :
Looks like a cloudy day in Cincinnati, Ohio. If you’re watching on Salem News Channel, you’re seeing a live shot, a live look at the Queen City. Welcome in to a Wednesday. I love, you know, I gotta get back to South Carolina. I’m gonna go in July for sure, if not sooner. Of course, it’s like my home away from home. In fact, hey, Hotel Hartness, my home away from home, one of the best-ranked hotels not only in the country but actually in the world. Travel and Leisure’s world best. Rates at one of the top resorts in the world. You can stay there, too. It’s where I stay when I’m in the upstate. HotelHartness.com. HotelHartness.com. Check out this text from the upstate. Let the people who have the guts to make the hard decisions do the job. Incidentally, they didn’t use the word guts, but that is my… Cleaning it up. You can imagine what they said. Everyone else who just wants to whine and complain, get the hell out of the way. Hard choices have to be made so our grandkids don’t have to live in fear. This is from me, a man who served in the military for 20 years and 20 years in law enforcement. Amen, South Carolina. Trust Trump. My doctrine, the official Mike Gallagher show official doctrine, which I’m sure will result in somebody making fun of me or mocking me. I’m a sycophant. I’m in a cult. I’m not. I believe in the guy. Trust Trump. Trust Trump on the border. Did you see the border crossings number yesterday that came out for May? You know how many people crossed the border illegally and were released into the United States? Now, it was 62,000 in May of 2024 under Grandpa Joe. Year to date, you know what it was yesterday? For May. That was the number. The May number of illegals who were released into the United States? Zero. That’s the official number. Nobody was released into the United States illegally. after an illegal border crossing in the month of May. 62,000, which incidentally proves that this was all intentional. Biden could have stopped it at the drop of a hat because, let’s face it, Trump stopped it pretty much at the drop of a hat. So this was deliberate, it was destructive, and it was intentional. It’s what the Democrats wanted. And Trump stopped that. Trust Trump. The guy knows what he’s doing. Here he was moments ago on the lawn of the White House, supervising a group of construction workers. Don’t forget, he’s a builder. And he decided that he wanted two big, beautiful American flags on either side of the White House. While there, he talked to some reporters, and he was asked about Iran.
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Unconditional surrender. Two very simple words. Very simple. Unconditional surrender. That means I’ve had it. Okay, I’ve had it. I give up. No more. Then we go blow up all the nuclear stuff that’s all over the place. No, they had bad intentions. You know, for 40 years they’ve been saying death to America, death to Israel, death to anybody else that they didn’t like. They were bullies. They were schoolyard bullies. And now they’re not bullies anymore, but we’ll see what happens. Look, nothing’s finished until it’s finished. You know, war is very complex. A lot of bad things can happen. A lot of turns are made. So I don’t know. I wouldn’t say that we won anything yet. I would say that we sure as hell made a lot of progress. And we’ll see. The next week is going to be very big, maybe less than a week, maybe less.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay, let’s dive into this showdown between Tucker Carlson and Senator Ted Cruz. Senator Cruz agreed to get interviewed by Tucker, I guess. And Tucker was loaded for bear. And by that I mean he was ready with some gotcha questions about Iran, the country that, according to Tucker, Senator Cruz wants to obliterate. Now, I believe that that’s not really true. But a lot of people are opposed to our military escalation with Iran. Clearly, Tucker is one of those. And this is rough. This is tough to watch and hear. But here’s a little bit of what it sounded like.
SPEAKER 07 :
How many people live in Iran, by the way? I don’t know the population. At all? No, I don’t know the population. You don’t know the population of the country you seek to topple? How many people live in Iran?
SPEAKER 06 :
92 million.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay. Yeah. How could you not know that? I don’t sit around memorizing population tables. Well, it’s kind of relevant because you’re calling for the overthrow of the government. Why is it relevant? Whether it will be 90 million or 80 million or 100 million? Why is that? I don’t know anything about the country. I didn’t say I don’t know anything about. OK, what’s the ethnic mix of Iran? They are Persians and predominantly Shia.
SPEAKER 17 :
OK, you don’t know anything about Iran.
SPEAKER 07 :
So, OK, I am not the Tucker Carlson expert on Iran. You’re a senator who’s calling for the overthrow of the government. You’re the one who claims you don’t know anything about the country. No, you don’t know anything about the country. You’re the one who claims they’re not trying to murder Donald Trump. No, I’m not saying that. Who can’t figure out if it was a good idea to kill General Soleimani and you said it was bad. You don’t believe they’re trying to murder Trump. Yes, I do. Because you’re not calling for military strikes against them in retaliation. If you really believe that. We’re carrying out military strikes today. You said Israel was. Right. With our help. I said we. Israel is leading them, but we’re supporting them. Well, you’re breaking news here because the U.S. government last night denied, the National Security Council spokesman Alex Pfeiffer denied, on behalf of Trump, that we were acting on Israel’s behalf in any offensive capacity at all. We’re not bombing them. Israel’s bombing them. You just said we were. We are supporting Israel. This is high stakes. You’re a senator. If you’re saying the United States government is at war with Iran right now, people are listening. Hey.
SPEAKER 11 :
Now, my friend Mark Davis posted after he saw that last night on Twitter, on X. Mark said, what a stupid sophomoric game being played by Tucker here, to the surprise of no one. Almanac factoids mean nothing if they are not accompanied by policy wisdom. Those debates can be had, but not in a bad faith atmosphere like this. Now, look, I don’t want to make this about Tucker or Ted Cruz or For his part, Senator Cruz posted on social media, I did a long interview with Tucker. He released a snippet playing a gotcha on the population of Iran. I declined to play that silly game. Watch the full two-hour interview where Tucker attacks Trump, attacks the, quote, and falsely claims Iran is not trying to assassinate Trump. Look, this is a tough battle. This is a tough issue. I’m not a fan of gotcha interviews, but I also know that Tucker represents a point of view that we should not ignore. There are lots of people who elected Donald Trump who don’t want us to escalate with Iran. I don’t agree with that, but I understand it, and I’m certainly not going to shut it down. Let’s see what you think about what you just heard. 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. We’ve got an open line. Join us.
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SPEAKER 05 :
The Mike Gallagher Show in the Relief Factor Studios.
SPEAKER 13 :
America First means we’re going to defend American personnel and American interests. So when you see jets and you see air defense assets and counter UAS assets, that’s because my job as the Secretary of Defense is to ensure that our people are safe and that we’re strong so that we can set the conditions for a deal.
SPEAKER 05 :
On Salem News Channel and Salem Radio Network, here’s Mike.
SPEAKER 11 :
Moments ago at that White House flag-planting ceremony, President Trump said some pretty chilling words. It gives me chills anyway. He told the reporters, I used to be the hunted, but now I’m the hunter. Wow. How true is that, huh? Tracy had a good idea. We’ve got to come up with some Trust Trump t-shirts and bumpers. We’ve got to get a whole line of merchandise. That’s going to be my new, we should get on that. Let’s get Rob Ellis on the horn and see if we can’t get the Mike Gallagher store to produce some Trust Trump swag, some memorabilia. Here’s a text from Louisville, Kentucky. Well, Mike, that clip of Senator Cruz and Tucker Carlson just destroyed any respect I had for Tucker. What happened to him? Another one writes, as much as I’ve always liked Tucker, I agree with you that these teaser videos with Ted Cruz and gotcha moments were just clickbait. As I say, I like Tucker, but I trust Ted Cruz. I trust President Trump. I just had an argument with somebody on my team. I don’t want to mention any names, Christian. But somebody was arguing. Christian was arguing with me. I don’t think those are gotcha questions. If you’re going to go to war with Iran, you need to know what the population demographic is. You need to know what the breakdown is. You need to know the ethnic. Look, I know I’m a simple guy, and I’m not as smart as either one of those guys. But I don’t need to know what the, as Mark Davis put it, almanac breakdown is of the population of Iran to know that the mullahs, the barbaric 18th century mullahs, want to kill, destroy Israel. They want to kill Americans. And they already have. They’ve killed hundreds of Americans. And they’ve been promising to kill us forever. Let’s get the job done. Let’s help Israel. Let’s stand together. With Israel. Joe is in Illinois. Joe, welcome to the Mike Gallagher Show. Hi.
SPEAKER 10 :
Mike, great show once again. Thank you. Besides the fact this appeared just to be all about Tucker. I just wonder, when does the left-leaning, mainstream dinosaur media attack their own so viciously? I think he was just self-promoting, and it was despicable. He could have had a serious conversation about a serious topic.
SPEAKER 11 :
And a nuanced topic, Joe, a complicated topic. This is not easy. Trump has the weight of the world on his shoulders right now, but you make a great point. You never see people on the left do that to one of their own. Never happens.
SPEAKER 10 :
Mike, may I add another thing? Sure. I recall before the U.S. invaded Iraq, as bittersweet as that mistake was, Saddam Hussein threatening, saying American soldiers would be swimming in their own blood. When I hear the mullahs talk about… how they’re going to punish us.
SPEAKER 11 :
I just recall that. Well, it’s another good point, Joe, and I appreciate your kind words. You know, I saw that the narrative, the counter-narrative from those who don’t want us to escalate, well, Iran’s been developing a nuclear weapon for decades. How long do you want to wait? You want to roll that dice? You want to take a chance that they’re bluffing? I thought all the intelligence confirms the Fordo Mountain, the nuclear infrastructure buried deep in that mountain. All right, take it out. If we’ve got the bunker buster to do it, take it out. But again, like the cop, the former cop and military man in South Carolina said, who am I? A big mouth talk show host. It’s President Trump who’s got the decision to make. And it’s a tough decision. It’s a complicated decision. But do you know how much joy I have on my monitor right now watching Trump kind of supervise the construction workers? And these guys have hard hats on. They’ve got a giant crane out there. And they are installing big, beautiful flags, two of them, outside the White House. And it’s just such a neat moment. You know, it’s like we’re back. Patriotism is back. Love of country is back. American sovereignty is back. And honestly, we’re at a point right now where we’re definitely… Trump has a major decision to make regarding what we do with Iran. Mark Levin from Fox News, the great one, a guy I like a lot, says you’re either… You know, you’re either with Trump and taking on Iran or you’re not a patriotic American. I mean, Mark put it in very stark terms in his characteristic rage last night on camera. Here’s what Mark Levin said.
SPEAKER 19 :
And we have morons, fools running around the country. This isn’t magna. This isn’t MAGA. This isn’t what I voted for. Donald Trump is a forever war president. How so? He’s going to do what every president before him since Carter didn’t have the guts to do. He’s going to put an end to this damn thing. And that’s what needs to happen. That’s not a warmonger. That’s a peacemaker. That is a man who’s going to make sure this generation and future generations are protected from nuclear missiles coming out of the Middle East, from barbarian primitives from the 7th century. That’s what he wants to do. And then I hear the questions. Oh, won’t this create a bigger war? Really, with who? Tell me, which Arab country has stepped up and said, you know what? We’re going on the side of Iran. They’re doing so great. The Israelis are kicking their asses left and right. The U.S. hasn’t even gotten involved directly. Yeah. So where are they? They’re nowhere. How about China? Nowhere. How about Russia? Nowhere. What happened to World War III? There is no World War III. They all sound like a bunch of Marxist Islamists. They don’t sound like patriotic Americans. Let me be clear. This is good versus evil. You’re either a patriotic American who’s going to get behind the President of the United States, the Commander-in-Chief, or you’re not.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right. What do you think? He’s laid down the gauntlet. Remind me never to get Mark Levin mad at me, okay? Promise me to remind me if I ever, and I love the guy. I do. I’ve read his books. I’ve devoured what he writes, written about the Supreme Court. He’s a smart guy, passionate guy. You’re either a patriotic American standing by the commander-in-chief or you’re not. Over on One America News, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene made her case for opposing military escalation with Iran.
SPEAKER 01 :
We’ve watched for decades propaganda news. I’ll call out Fox News and the New York Post. They’re known to be the neocon network news. We have propaganda news on our side, just like the left does. And the American people have been brainwashed into believing that America has to engage in these foreign wars in order for us to survive. And it’s absolutely not true. Prime Minister Netanyahu said, I saw on video, he said today, that America first is America dead. And that sounds like a threat to me. And I completely, completely disagree with him on that. In order for America to not be dead, it’s to stay America first. And this is what the American people want. It is not anti-Semitic. to say that we do not want to go to war against Iran or any other country, that is not anti-Semitic at all. It’s actually rational, it’s sane, and it’s loving to people all over the world. A Middle Eastern war will pull America back 20 years, just like you showed in your intro for your show. It’s exactly the lies that we were told after 9-11, and many people know it’s not true. So I’m completely opposed to this war. Of course, we don’t want to see the people in Israel bombed, but they’re only being bombed because Israel attacked Iran first. And that’s the truth that we need to be talking about.
SPEAKER 11 :
Now, a couple things to unpack from what Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene said. First of all, she’s right. It’s not anti-Semitic to oppose us stepping up efforts to bomb Iran and to escalate with Iran. We can’t always go down that rabbit hole and say you’re a bigot. if you want America first. But incidentally, I just have to respectfully correct her. Benjamin Netanyahu, Bibi did not say America first is America dead. That is not at all what he said. And I’m doing this from memory. I mean, the team here can give me the actual words. But what he said was, I like America first. I don’t like America dead. So Congresswoman Netanyahu Marjorie Taylor Greene characterized it as him saying that the America First movement means America dead. That’s not at all what Beebe said. So I just want to kind of set the record straight. 800-655-MIKE. Philip in Portland, Oregon disagrees with military escalation regarding Iran. Hi, Philip. Welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hi there. Hi. Hey, I like your show. I like your position. I like how you kind of allow all the positions as, hey, this has merit. But I think in June of 2025, we should not be involved physically with Iran. Israel is doing a spectacular job of taking our weapons and their courage. and giving them the beatdown they deserve. If it escalates beyond that, yeah, I think we can get involved. But right now, they’re doing a great job. They’ve got guts. Sometimes guts is enough.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, you know, and again, that argument has merit. I’m not going to shut it down. I have to ask you, though, it sounds like escalation means, as I understand it, as we understand it, providing this so-called bunker buster bomb that is capable of taking out their nuclear facility. It’s called Fordo. And evidently Israel doesn’t have that capability. Would you be in favor of us either directly flying our aircraft over that facility and dropping that bomb or providing that somehow to Israel to do it? I mean, is that level of escalation acceptable in your mind?
SPEAKER 03 :
No, not in June of 2025. I don’t think so. I think Israel has to be… the deliverer of any ordinance that takes Iran out.
SPEAKER 11 :
Got it. Got it. Okay. Appreciate it, Philip. Let’s see what others have to say. 15 before the hour, one open line, 800-655-MIKE. Incidentally, text from North Carolina. I’m surprised Trump isn’t putting those two big flags up himself, you know, being king and all. well kings don’t do that themselves kings have minions to do that for them you know one thing about trump on a personal level all the times i’ve interviewed him over the years every time he called into the show eric was always astounded it was never please hold for the president or please hold for mr trump it was always him yeah hi it’s donald trump for mike is he around i’m ready to do the interview he always calls he just picks up the phone and calls We’ve never, ever seen an era like this, and we probably never will. We probably never will. 800-655-MIKE.
SPEAKER 08 :
On yesterday’s Mark and Mike segment, we were talking about everybody being 82. Biden’s 82. Harrison Ford’s 82. Martin Scorsese, 82. McCartney, 82. Not anymore. The great Paul McCartney, one of the iconic songwriters in human history, 83 today. And look, I know what it would be. Hey, Jude, I know. Long and winding road, man. I might…
SPEAKER 11 :
Welcome.
SPEAKER 08 :
I love the whole Wings era. I love that. Thank you. Thank you. I mean, I know the Beatles are going to swallow up all the oxygen, but as soon as he started making records with Paul and Linda, even weird things like Uncle Albert and Admiral Halsey, Red Rose Speedway, Venus and Mars, absolutely great. All right, let’s hop to it. Have you said anything online about what we’re about to do?
SPEAKER 11 :
I posted the clip and I said, this is rough.
SPEAKER 08 :
Which triggered me. I don’t know if I saw you first or saw this first. Let’s just go right to it. Is it a good idea for Tucker Carlson to invite Ted Cruz? Sure. What could go wrong? This went wrong. I’m just going to shut up.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay, it went wrong. What do you mean, what could go wrong? It went wrong.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, it did not go well. But who comes off at the bad end of this? Let’s just play it. Because I did. I could not restrain myself from posting about it. Of course. Then we’ll find out if my talk show buddy agrees. So the subject, of course, the thing that’s hanging from every Raptor, is what should America do with regard to our continuing deepening involvement in the Iran and Israel war? What’s the proper thing? Where does conservatism properly lead us? So Ted Cruz sits down with Tucker Carlson, and this happens. How many people live in Iran, by the way?
SPEAKER 07 :
I don’t know the population. At all? No, I don’t know the population. You don’t know the population of the country you seek to topple? How many people live in Iran?
SPEAKER 06 :
92 million. Okay.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
How could you not know that?
SPEAKER 07 :
I don’t sit around memorizing population tables. Well, it’s kind of relevant because you’re calling for the overthrow of the government. Why is it relevant, whether it’s 90 million or 80 million or 100 million? Well, because if you don’t know anything about the country. I didn’t say I don’t know anything about. OK, what’s the ethnic mix of Iran? They are Persians and predominantly Shia.
SPEAKER 17 :
OK, no, you don’t know anything about Iran.
SPEAKER 07 :
So, OK, I am not the Tucker Carlson expert on Iran. You’re a senator who’s calling for the overthrow of the government and you don’t know anything about the country. No, you don’t know anything about the country. You’re the one who claims they’re not trying to murder Donald Trump. You’re the one who can’t figure out if it was a good idea to kill General Soleimani and you said it was bad. You don’t believe they’re trying to murder Trump. Yes, I do. Because you’re not calling for military strikes against them in retaliation. And if you really believe that. We’re carrying out military strikes today. You said Israel was. Right. With our help. I said we. Israel is leading them, but we’re supporting them. Well, you’re breaking news here because the U.S. government last night denied, the National Security Council spokesman Alex Pfeiffer denied on behalf of Trump that we were acting on Israel’s behalf in any offensive capacity at all. No, we’re not bombing them. Israel’s bombing them. You just said we were. We are supporting Israel. This is high stakes. You’re a senator. If you’re saying the United States government is at war with Iran right now, people are listening. Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
My online reaction to this, and I’ll just offer it to the public and thus to you, was, what a stupid and sophomoric game being played by Tucker here, to the surprise of no one. Almanac factoids mean nothing if they are not accompanied by policy wisdom. That’s a debate that can be had, but not in a bad faith atmosphere like this. Tucker Carlson, in this clip, is a king-sized a-hole.
SPEAKER 11 :
Why don’t you tell us what you really think? I just have. I mean, I hate how you hold back. I really do. You’re so restrained. I’m shy. Well, look, let’s stipulate you’re not a fan of Tucker. You never have been.
SPEAKER 08 :
I’m an enormous fan of Tucker. Really? I miss the guy he used to be. I have found occasional moments of weirdness that you have then said that I’m out on him completely, which I’m still not. I think there’s wisdom to be found in there. Sure, sure. But this performative… You talk. It’s your turn. Don’t tell me I’m not a Tucker fan. I have been and I remain when he doesn’t engage in BS like this.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, respectfully, I think your audience might disagree with your characterization of being a self-proclaimed Tucker fan. But nonetheless, put that aside. Honestly, I also have to stipulate that. The gotcha-style interview is the lowest, cheapest form. I’ve seen people do it, and I always cringe every time. It’s easy to do, by the way. You come up with facts that you think are going to blindside your guest. And you try to make them look stupid. And incidentally, there was another, that was a clip that was released, pre-released from the actual full interview that’s going to air today on Tucker’s platform. There was another clip he released about Israel spying on us. And he challenged Cruz about why we provide all this kind of financial aid to a country that spies on us relentlessly. And, of course, Ted Cruz rightfully said, well, true, they do. We spy on them. They spy on us. Everybody spies on everybody. But then Tucker pushed back on that. It was another form of the gotcha game. Look, I don’t dispute at all. It was uncomfortable and unpleasant to watch and to listen. It’s not my favorite thing to see. I will express admiration to Senator Cruz, but… Because he had to know he was going to walk into that lion’s den. It’s not like Tucker’s position on this is a mystery. And Tucker’s position, or Marjorie Taylor Greene’s position, a lot of MAGA… are uncomfortable with the idea of us actively engaging Iran in a war. And we can debate the merits of it. I happen to agree that we ought to drop that bunker-busting bomb and decimate the nuclear facility and end it. We meaning we, meaning us, U.S., as Paul Harvey once said?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, we. I believe that. Let me play this out. Let me play this out. Let me play this out. The strategy?
SPEAKER 11 :
I happen to believe that we are right to end the mullahs and end the reign of terror and step up because we’re already involved with Iran in this war, whether we like it or not. I don’t understand what the problem is to finish it. However, let’s not ignore the other faction of MAGA that helped get Trump elected who are very uncomfortable with that.
SPEAKER 08 :
One hundred percent correct. And what you’ve just done and what we’re going to do some more here in a couple of minutes is very in good faith. Evaluate what folks over here say and what folks over here say. You have so many great points and there are some pretty great points that can be made in reply because you’re right there. There’s just a glowing moral imperative to, oh, man, let’s take these people out. They’ve been a thorn in our side and trying to kill us and our president. They want to kill us.
SPEAKER 11 :
Exactly. So what they want to destroy us. This is not Ukraine.
SPEAKER 08 :
This is a different story. The other side of this that folks like Charlie Kirk have brought is, yeah, we can sit here and glibly talk about regime change, but the chaos, the refugee crises, the additional violence, this regime may be the devil you know that may be – somewhat better than the devil. You don’t know. Be careful what you wish for with regime change. And what you and I are doing right now is sort of presenting, not even in disagreeing about this, presenting all sides, which Tucker, just to end this, I don’t need to dwell forever on Tucker and Cruz, had no interest in doing. He had no interest in a good faith exchange. Tucker is a performative clown in this clip. I do still value what he brings to the table. He absolutely can bring things to the table. And right now he’s bringing to the table.
SPEAKER 11 :
He’s bringing a counter narrative to the look. The neocons are very excited about this. The neocons attack anybody who pushes back. And I don’t like that. I don’t like the attacking and the attempt to marginalize an opposing point of view. But look, this is all going to come down to President Trump’s decision. Sure. That’s all. I mean, we can sit around and scream from the sidelines until we’re blue in the face. It’s not going to matter. And look, it depends kind of on how Trump feels when he wakes up and says whether he’s going to do this or not. I mean, I think Trump, though, is very cognizant of the Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Charlie Kirk sort of pushback. A lot of his voters. He sure is. bingo so let’s just not let’s not attack them the do you see mark levin screeching on fox news last night holy moly do you see any of this yeah i’m gonna play some of it later and well let’s play a little bit of it now christian hit it let’s listen to mark let’s let mark hear a little bit of of mark levin who’s got the the position that you and i both hold look we stand with israel and if iran gets their hands on a nuke Israel’s gone. And then we’re next. So let’s not ignore that. But Mark Levin took it up a few notches. As he will do.
SPEAKER 19 :
And we have morons, fools running around the country. This isn’t Magna. This isn’t MAGA. This isn’t what I voted for. Donald Trump is a forever war president. How so? He’s going to do what every president before him since Carter didn’t have the guts to do. He’s going to put an end to this damn thing. And that’s what needs to happen. That’s not a warmonger. That’s a peacemaker. That is a man who’s going to make sure this generation and future generations are protected from nuclear missiles coming out of the Middle East, from barbarian primitives from the 7th century. That’s what he wants to do.
SPEAKER 08 :
I mean, he’s not wrong, Mark. He’s not wrong. And I don’t want to put you in bed with Lindsey Graham, so to speak. But and the Levin point there is all in favor of some definitive action that has the very noble goal of taking out a regime that has been a scourge to us into that region forever. The point in reply, and I think it’s a worthy point in reply, is it. may not be that simple it may not be hey if we just do that bunker buster they’ll go away with their tail between their legs have you met these people who comes in to be the next regime does it suddenly turn into a jeffersonian democracy no so i think but but there are but there are millions of people in iran who crave democracy there sure are there is a resistance and that’s what we and why can’t we help that resistance we’ve done that before with many nations we have we can do that Not by bombing the existing regime deeper into the Stone Age. No. We’ve usually done sort of things within the networks. Eliminating.
SPEAKER 11 :
Wait a minute. You’ve got to eliminate the regime, Mark. If the people are going to rise up over there and the resistance is going to have a footing, you’ve got to take out these barbaric mullahs who want to bomb everybody else out of existence. So, you know, look, this is tough. I continue to pray for the president. 100%. Can we do a quick 30 seconds? We haven’t covered this. Did you see what they revealed about the Minnesota shooting? How the police showed up at the doorstep of the woman who was murdered? Yep. They got there before the guy got into the house. They saw him on the porch. Did you know this? No. This has been not really covered in the mainstream media, but it’s true. They had a hunch that she could be in jeopardy. They go racing over to her house. They see this fake… patrol car in the driveway with this fake lights blinking, and they see the guy with the scary latex mask and the cop uniform standing on the front porch. They realize right away this is bogus. This guy’s, they get into a shootout with him. And he gets away. No, he gets into the house and then murders the state representative, her husband, and the family dog, a big, beautiful Irish retriever, just breaks my heart, and escapes. Now, wait a minute. The cops are there already before any of that carnage began. I’m pro-police, but my gosh, Mark, you talk about a failure? Some Barney Fife action going here, maybe? There’s some Barney Fife action there. I mean, my gosh. You see him at the front, go around to the back. I mean, surround the house, stop him. They’re in a shootout. I think these guys ducked for cover. And in the time when they’re out in the driveway… He’s murdering these poor people.
SPEAKER 08 :
Is it possible? Is it possible? 2020 hindsight, and we weren’t there. What we always say is that they see this guy, suspicious guy. They exchange fire. They didn’t hit him. Oops, they should have. And then he’s able to go in and ply his evil trade. It may not be as inept as we think. Well, that’s what happened. I mean, that is what happened.
SPEAKER 11 :
And I’m not trying to say it’s nefarious. But if you’ve got the police, how would you like to be their loved one? And I think about those poor kids.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, man.
SPEAKER 11 :
Those children who are now orphaned by this monster. And I wonder, and I just have to put it out there, is the left going to Luigi this guy? They’re going to be a GoFundMe for this guy?
SPEAKER 08 :
He’ll have love letters from confused women immediately. You know how grateful I am for you, because here comes the Mike Gallagher show and the rest of mine, where we’re going to welcome all the views on this very complex field of war. Just thank God for you and your show, because that’s what we’re here to do. Back at you.
SPEAKER 11 :
Back at you. I love you, too.
SPEAKER 08 :
Have a great one. See you. That is Mike. It’s always a great one when he plugs in as soon as we’re done.
