Join Mike Gallagher as he tackles a multitude of pressing issues, from the infamous Epstein story that refuses to fade into obscurity to the unprecedented public response to Larry Elder’s provocative statements. Traversing through breaking news about President Trump and Edison polls reflecting shifting voter sentiments, this episode serves as a window into the complex tapestry of current American politics.
SPEAKER 08 :
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 03 :
Okay, we got a lot of breaking news today. President Trump announced a big trade deal with Japan last night. Ozzy Osbourne dies. Sad news there, especially coming just a couple of weeks after his final concert in Birmingham, England. But I think we ought to start with a nice little conversation starter. Larry Elder and I are going to be bringing a few hundred of you to Alaska in a few weeks. Larry is the sage of South Central. Smart guy. trusted broadcaster, gubernatorial candidate on the Republican side in the state of California. And Larry posted something that really caught my attention, and I wanted to bring it to your attention and open up the phone lines and get your reaction. You may want the Epstein story to go away, but it will not go away. Now, I get that you could argue, well, Mike, if you stop talking about it, it’ll go away. No, it doesn’t work that way. I’m one show in the entire universe of shows, and this show is expected to reflect what people are feeling, what Americans are thinking, and what you believe. We can often disagree, but this show is nothing if not a reflection of of what the American people have on their hearts and on their minds. The Epstein story isn’t dying. You can wish it so. You could hope it would go away. You could pray that it will vanish. But it’s not. It’s not going anywhere. And so we’ve got to accept that. And we’ve got to tackle it like adults. And there is a lot of big news, I think more important stuff, over the investigation into what Tulsi Gabbard described as a treasonous conspiracy that leads right to Barack Obama. John Brennan pushing implausible Russia intelligence and an effort to sabotage the duly and rightfully elected president of the United States, during his first term. I want to read Larry Elder’s tweet, and then I’m just going to turn it over to you. Because I am nothing if not an extension of what you feel, what you believe, what is on your mind. Here’s what Larry wrote, and then I’m going to give you the phone. I’ll give you the phone number now if you want to jump on board early. 800-655-MIKE. Larry wrote at 6.15 a.m. Eastern Time, July 23, 2025, Obama isn’t sweating about the consequences of the newly released docs showing phony intel used to get Trump out. and then to make his election look illegitimate. If Obama got indicted for treason, sedition, or littering, the country would be on fire. And Obama knows it. So does Trump. I’m going to read it one more time to you, and then I’m going to open up our phone lines at 800-655-MIKE for your reaction. Barack Obama is not sweating about the consequences of these newly released docs showing the phony intel that was used to make Trump’s election look illegitimate. If Obama was indicted for treason or sedition or even littering, the country would be on fire, Obama knows it, and so does President Donald Trump. All right, your turn, because I’m going to keep my powder dry, but I want to see what you think. 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. I hope you join us as we kick things off for Wednesday here in the Relief Factor studios. I also hope you’ll consider Tritale’s Beef. and you consider getting, hey, summertime, lots of barbecuing going on, I discovered Tri-Tales Beef. And I think you’re going to love them every bit as much as I do. Five generations deep of family ranchers who are delivering real steaks, none of the mystery meat in a box. If your grandpa wouldn’t eat it, neither would they. That’s what it’s like. This is like the good old days. Every box is packed by the family. Sam and his family have been at this five generations, raised on the edge of the canyon. The Palo Duro Canyon, to be exact. Can’t fake that kind of terrain or the values that come with it. Look, it tastes like the good old days. USDA Prime, an upper third choice only. No guesswork, no mystery grades. USDA Prime and the very best of choice, the top third. Aged for 27 days. Time to make beef better. Try Tails Beef. Just text the word beef. to 717-767 to get more information on this amazing meat delivery service called Tri-Tales. And when you use the promo code GALLIGER15, you’ll get 15% off. That’s right. So text the word beef to 717-767. We’ll send you back the link. And when you’re ready to order… Enter the promo code GALLIGER15 to get 15% off your order. Or just go to trybeef.com slash GALLIGER. Trybeef.com slash GALLIGER. Trybeef.com slash GALLIGER for TryTales beef. TryTales beef. So good. All right, let’s dive in. Do you think the Epstein thing is going to go away? Do you think that Larry Elder is right? That if Trump… gets Obama arrested? I mean, a whole bunch of people, Glenn Beck, many others, saying you’ve got to arrest Trump. I mean, arrest Obama. They already arrested Trump. If they arrest Obama, if they charge him, if he gets indicted for treason, our country would ignite. It would be on fire. And that’s why Obama doesn’t care because he knows it’s never going to happen. And Larry adds, Trump knows it too. What do you think? Let’s find out. 800-655-MIKE. I want you to flood the zone. I want nothing but your voice. Your call, your perspective here on the Mike Gallagher Show. Because I’m a little bit lost on this. I admit, I’m lost at sea. So I need the smartest audience in America to set me straight. 800-655-6453. Join us. Something’s changed. No, it’s not done. 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. 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SPEAKER 08 :
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 03 :
I started my day reading an article about the polling in America and how poll after poll shows President Trump losing popularity with independents and young people. He’s holding steady, if not increasing in popularity with Republicans. But something seems to be happening to the will of the American people if you count yourself an independent or a young person. I’m going to say 35 or younger. Let’s just say 35 or younger. I got a text from somebody who used to work for me in New York City. He’s about 34, 35 years old. He said, Mike, I got to be honest with you, I’m starting to lose faith and confidence in President Trump. Now, this guy is a Trump voter three times, Trump supporter. And so I asked him to kind of expand on that. Here’s what Axios, for what it’s worth, and I know they’re a Washington establishment media site, but very newsy and sometimes fairly objective. And Mike Allen writes that Trump is losing by winning. Here’s Axios’ conclusion. Trump, in terms of raw accomplishments, crushed his first six months in historic ways. Massive tax cuts, record low border crossings, surging tariff revenue, stunning airstrikes in Iran. Modest inflation. Yet poll after poll suggests most Americans aren’t impressed. In fact, the way Mike Allen writes it, they seem tired of all the winning. Trump appears to be losing by winning, Mike Allen writes. The more he does, the more the general public especially independents, recoil or shrug. It’s a paradox. Because here’s Axios, a mainstream media, legacy media site, acknowledging that in terms of actual raw accomplishments, Trump has been killing it. He’s crushing it. Policy after policy achievement. He’s delivering what he promised in a massive way. And look, I have to agree with Axios about the polling. And you know how polls are. You kind of use the polls to your advantage. You try to ignore the polls if they’re not to your advantage. Here’s what Axios says, and I want to pick your brain. I want to see what you think. One poll is meaningless. But a bunch of polls, a bunch of credible polls saying the same thing are worth paying attention to. And according to Mike Allen at Axios, almost all of them show big majorities opposed to provisions of the one big beautiful bill and harsh immigration crackdown and high tariffs And pardons for January 6th convicts and wild improvisation with Russia. Trump is underwater on issue after issue in a CBS News YouGov poll out Sunday. Broad disapproval of his handling of the economy. 70% of those polled says his administration wasn’t doing enough to lower prices. 61% said it was putting too much focus on tariffs. On the administration’s deportations of illegals, the CBS News YouGov poll found overall support dropping 10 points over the last five months. Now, the GOP base remains overwhelmingly supportive. CNN poll, again, CNN, of course, a CNN poll found a 10-point increase in U.S. adults who say Trump has gone too far. So, look, I’m confused by a lot of this stuff. I’m confused by Mike Johnson pulling the plug on voting yesterday because they don’t want an Epstein vote. I guess it’s because the Democrats now are trying to politicize Epstein, and we knew that was going to happen. So we’re going to try to navigate those choppy waters, too. But I’m wondering how much of a factor you feel the Epstein thing is affecting the polls. This former employee of mine, because I asked him, I said, explain it to me. Why are you losing faith now in Trump? He said, I voted for Trump and I support him because he delivers on his promises. He’s always been the candidate that could not be compromised by the deep state. But with how the administration is handling the Epstein issue, it seems to me that there’s a cover-up going on, maybe at the highest levels of government. Now, his argument then is he’s losing faith in Trump over Epstein. The polling, I think, largely predates the explosiveness of the Epstein controversy. But I don’t know. What I do know is I trust you. And I trust your instincts and I trust your judgment. So as we kick off a Wednesday here in the Relief Factor studios, I want to open my phone lines. I want to throw them wide open to you. And I want to get a bunch of calls in here. The Epstein story isn’t going to go away. And I’ve got a 35-year-old in my life who says, look, I trust him to take on the deep state. Epstein isn’t helping him. In fact, it’s hurting him. And I don’t know that I agree or disagree. I tend to disagree. But then again, I’m a talk show host who’s grateful for all of the ways that Trump has been, as Axios puts it, crushing it. Massive tax cuts. It’s going to affect all of us. Record low border crossing. The border is shut. Surging tariff revenues. And yet, it doesn’t seem to be enough. What’s going on here? Let’s try to sort it out together here on the Mike Gallagher Show. Thank you for tuning in. 1-800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. I hope you join us. You never know until you try. We’re partnering with our friends at the nonprofit relief agency, Food for the Poor, and rushing emergency relief kits to these flood-ravaged part of the world. 128 people confirmed dead. Many, many more are still missing. As you know, President Trump and the First Lady visited the flood zone in Texas over the weekend. As you can hear, he was pretty emotional. You can hear in the sound of his voice about what he witnessed. They lost their child or two children and children.
SPEAKER 05 :
Just hard to believe what I’ve never seen anything like it. A little narrow river that becomes a monster.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, as the president observed, we’re all grieving. We’re we’re. There’s been such a terrible loss of life. Entire communities are still being impacted. There are flooded out homes. There are closed businesses. And there are many still displaced, and they desperately need your help. Now, there is a Help Texas banner on my website, MikeOnline.com, where you can make a secure online donation. Please help us rush emergency relief kits to Texas. These kits contain tarps, hygiene items, diapers, children’s activity materials, and other essentials needed to ease the crisis for these poor people. Food for the Poor, in coordination with a trusted partner in San Antonio, has responded to the central Texas flooding. Nobody responds like the Mike Gallagher audience. Right now, already $13,000 in the first day or two. of donations have come in. We have a sort of an unofficial goal of 40,000. In my heart of hearts, we’ll soar past that goal. Let’s support our fellow Americans. Let’s support the Texans who have been through so much. Please go to mikeonline.com and click on the Help Texas banner. You can also phone in your donation. And a lot of people do that. Just call 844-860-HOPE. That’s 844-860-4673. Thank you for supporting these poor families who’ve been through so much. Let’s get emergency relief kits to as many people as we can, and let’s make sure that the Mike Gallagher Show once again is the torchbearer. the leader in sending as many materials as possible to these poor people. Again, you can go to MikeOnline.com and click on the Help Texas banner or call 844-860-HOPE, 844-860-4673. Tyler’s in Delaware. Tyler, welcome.
SPEAKER 08 :
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. Breaking now on the Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 03 :
The Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, has released additional information posting on X. that this is the truth. Obama ordered the intelligence community to create an intelligence community assessment they knew was false, promoting a contrived narrative with the intent of undermining the legitimacy and power of a duly elected president of the United States, Donald Trump. New evidence, she says, has emerged. And I’m going to share it all with you. Look, I’m going to be as blunt and as crystal clear as you’ve ever heard me. This is the only thing that matters right now. And you’ve got a whole bunch of people with various agendas trying to wave shiny objects at you to distract you from what has been revealed about the Obama administration. You’ve got a whole lot of screaming about everything and anything but what is in front of us. Tulsi Gabbard wrote, Earlier today, new evidence has emerged of the most egregious weaponization and politicization of intelligence in American history. She goes on to say that per President Trump’s directive, I have declassified a House intelligence oversight majority staff report. that exposes how the Obama administration manufactured the January 2017 intelligence community assessment that they knew was false, promoting the lie that Vladimir Putin and the Russian government helped President Trump win the 2016 election. Look, this is as big as it gets, and we can… wallow all we want about all of these other issues, if we don’t get this right, if there’s not accountability, we have lost our country. We got nothing left. We might as well be some tin pot dictatorship. And nothing will matter until there’s accountability here. Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, just declared on X that in doing so, they conspired to subvert the will of the American people working with their partners in the media to promote the lie in order to undermine the legitimacy of President Trump, essentially enacting a years-long coup against him. And this report that she posted is 46 pages long. We’re going to make it available to you on the MyPillow text line because you’re going to want to read it because I’ve been thumbing through it for the last few minutes. And this is scathing. This is a scathing, scathing indictment of the corruption that was enacted in order to try to take down the Trump presidency. The Russia hoax was a lie that was knowingly created by the Obama administration to undermine the legitimacy of President Donald Trump. Boy, this is big. And we’re all over it. Here’s what President Trump said in the Oval Office about his faith in Tulsi Gabbard, his belief… that the Department of National Intelligence has been on it. And look, this is as big as it gets. So there’s new evidence now that has emerged. Of course, the mainstream media will try to avoid this, like the plague. They won’t touch this with a 10-foot pole. But it’s so big that they will not be able to bury it. 800-655-MIKE. We’ve got a lot of breaking news today. We’ve got the Brian Kohlberger hearing inside a courtroom right now in Boise, Idaho. We’ll take you to Boise for some of that testimony. One of the surviving roommates. is now speaking or will be speaking out, Bethany Funk, who is one of the surviving roommates of that massacre that killed four of her friends and her roommates. Brian Kohlberger is sitting there scowling in an orange jumpsuit next to his lawyers. We’ll take you there as well. It is a really, really evil, evil, awful case. But let’s get your reaction to all of this. 800-655-MIKE. 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. For the best night’s sleep in the whole wide world, visit MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG.
SPEAKER 08 :
The Mike Gallagher Show on Salem News Channel and the Salem Radio Network.
SPEAKER 09 :
Does crack cocaine make you act any differently? No. Is it safer than alcohol? Probably. People think of crack as being dirty. It’s the exact opposite. When you make crack, what you’re doing is you’re burning off all the impurities so that it combines with the sodium bicarbonate, which makes it smokable. That’s all.
SPEAKER 08 :
In the relieffactor.com studios, here’s Mike.
SPEAKER 03 :
When President Trump accused President Obama of treason, the meltdown has already begun. Check out former Clinton White House aide Keith Boykin battling Brad Todd last night on CNN. They didn’t even influence votes.
SPEAKER 07 :
They had intentions of meddling in the election.
SPEAKER 06 :
Why are we talking about this? This is not the issue. You’re trying to avoid the subject.
SPEAKER 07 :
President Obama said that Russia did not manipulate votes. We should note that. Because every liberal in America said that was the case.
SPEAKER 06 :
You’re doing everything you possibly can. Not to talk about the fact that the president of the United States, the current president of the United States, just accused a former president of treason and suggested a prosecution of that former president with no evidence. That is the problem. You can calm down. I don’t think he’s guilty of treason. I don’t think he’ll be prosecuted.
SPEAKER 07 :
But why don’t you talk about that instead of talking about Obama? Because Obama just undid three years of Democrat mythology.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow. They’re already melting down, and that was before this latest document release, these declassified materials. The intelligence community, look, as Tulsi Gabbard puts it, for months preceding the 2016 election, the intelligence community shared a consensus view that Russia lacked the intent and the capability to hack U.S. elections. But after Trump won, Everything changed. Everything changed. On December the 8th, 2016, IC officials prepared an assessment for the president’s daily brief, finding that Russia did not impact recent U.S. election results. Before it could reach the president, it was abruptly pulled. The next day, top national security officials, including… FBI Director James Comey, CIA Director John Brennan, DNI James Clapper, gathered at the Obama White House to discuss Russia. Obama, according to Tulsi Gabbard and this intelligence report that was just released, Obama directed the IC to create a new intelligence assessment The detailed Russian election meddling. And then, of course, the Obama administration leaned on their allies in the legacy media to advance the lie. Anonymous intelligence community sources leaked classified information to the Washington Post and others that Russia intervened to hack the election in Trump’s favor. This is bad. This is really, really bad. And here’s a text from Louisville, Kentucky. Yes, what Epstein did was terrible and it was all bad, but it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t affect my daily life. What Obama did to this country did. If this is true, we are witnessing… one of the most grotesque examples of the weaponization of the deep state against Donald Trump and the American people. Let’s go to your phone calls. I want to get a bunch of calls. 800-655-MIKE. Nathan is in Springfield, Illinois. Hi, Nathan. Thanks for holding. How are you?
SPEAKER 02 :
Hey, thanks for calling. A couple quick comments. One, we the American people have to do a better job at educating ourselves. I’m so tired of all these arguments online. They read the headline of an article, but we don’t read the article. So one, we’ve got to do better with education. And two, I think people want to see a trophy, so to speak. They want to see something in their hands. We’ve had so many years of false words and false promises, it’s almost like they’re thirsty for blood.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, but not only that, let me just point out, I’ve quoted my friend Larry Elder a lot today, and I love the guy. We’ll be together in Alaska in a few weeks. We’ve got the big Patriots Alaska cruise coming up. And Larry makes the point, he says Obama isn’t concerned at all. He isn’t worried about any consequences for what it is alleged he did and his administration did. Because if Obama got indicted, the country would be on fire. And Obama knows it. Larry goes on to say, Trump knows it too. So Larry Elder’s belief is that there won’t be any accountability because essentially we’re afraid of what the lunatics on the left are going to do like they did after George Floyd. Now, you can get into all the nuances of what causes lunatic leftists to riot. Thankfully, race doesn’t play a role in any of this, I don’t think. I suppose the Obama sycophants will say, oh, well, he’s being attacked because he’s a black man, but that dog won’t hunt, so there’s not going to be any race component. And perhaps it could be argued that the volatility of the George Floyd riots was steeped in race relations. So perhaps it won’t be. But look, if the reason not to expect accountability is because we’re afraid that violent criminals are going to riot, look, I love Larry. That’s not a very good reason. Now, maybe he’s just being pragmatic. But, look, you’ve got to let the chips fall where they may. There’s got to be accountability. George in Newark, New Jersey. George, you’re on the Mike Gallagher Show. Hi.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thanks for the time. Sure thing. Okay, in life, I think everything is an artichoke. And when you start peeling the artichoke, what do you get to? The heart. So the question is, since 2016, the heart of the artichoke is why. Why has there been all of this tomfoolery against Trump?
SPEAKER 03 :
What is the underlying cause? Oh, well, that answer is easy, to destroy his presidency. Why? What did they see?
SPEAKER 05 :
Was it power? Was it just him? Was it because he could come in and they knew he could do things? Why? And that’s what has to be answered.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, of course, and all of this should come out. But I’m afraid that we’re witnessing such a destruction of any faith we have in our institutions, in the federal law enforcement agencies. All of it, all of it hangs in the balance right now. All of it. And the media can try to avert their eyes all they want. This is not going to go away. You know, we can speculate about whether the Epstein mess is going to go away. Fascinating that big article today in Axios by Mike Allen says, who acknowledges, this is Axios, President Trump, in terms of raw accomplishments, crushed his first six months in historic ways. Massive tax cuts, record low border crossings, surging tariff revenues, stunning airstrikes in Iran, modest inflation. And the article goes on to say, but his polling suggests that he’s becoming less popular with independents and young people. To the question that the caller before me, the caller a moment ago just raised, why? Pretty simple. He promised to drain the swamp. He promised to expose the deep state, and they’re not going to go down without a fight. They had him seated, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
He was in a giant chair, and he released a little statement with some production. As he said, I’m so sorry to be sitting here in this chair, you know, but that’s what enables me to sing and be in good voice. I mean, there are all kinds of people who can stand up but can’t sing anymore. Ozzy was seated and did that library the great honor that it deserved with his original. bandmates for more than 50 years. You know, we missed one yesterday. Malcolm Jamal Warner, Theo from the Cosby Show.
SPEAKER 03 :
No, I talked about it on my show. You and I didn’t talk about it.
SPEAKER 04 :
You and me.
SPEAKER 03 :
He posted, speaking of last messages, he had a video clip of Instagram where he was in his car driving in Atlanta before he and his family went on vacation to Costa Rica where he ultimately drowned evidently. So I hear. Terrible tragedy. But his message, Mark, was, hey, smile. Life is lifin’. Let’s get out there and live. I thought, wow, it was just chilling that this young man in his 50s. What a terrible, terrible tragedy.
SPEAKER 04 :
And he said he just smiled. I don’t know if he’s driving and Instagramming at the same time. Probably shouldn’t do that. But he said, listen, find a way to make somebody – or find a reason to smile. Find that every day there’s a reason to smile. And if you look real hard at your day and you can’t find a reason to smile, maybe it’s time for you to be somebody else’s reason to smile.
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s like – Did you actually just nag him? Did you actually just nag the late Malcolm Jamal Warner because he was texting and driving?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
You are such a Karen. Sorry, sorry. You and this THC stuff. I’ll tell you what, dude. What does it feel like to know that your audience is in mass revolt over you and this THC stuff?
SPEAKER 04 :
The silent majority knows I’m right. Before we leave famous passings. Before we leave famous passings, Malcolm Jamal Warner and Ozzy now has a lot of people looking for, have we ever discussed this? The trifecta. Oh, I know. The concept that people die in threes. This is 1,000% false. It is a concoction. People don’t die in pairs. They don’t die in fives. They don’t die in threes. You can draw a circle around any two, any seven. Actually, trifecta already happened if you count Connie Francis not so long ago. Correct. But that’s just a complete… Well, we’ll count three.
SPEAKER 03 :
We’ll count your professional career if you keep going on raging against… adults getting the choice to smoke marijuana if they want to.
SPEAKER 04 :
Mike Gallagher thinks that more intoxicants are a good idea in society.
SPEAKER 03 :
Please share with me about that. Well, first of all, let’s agree that you walk through Manhattan right now and you get overwhelmed by the stench of marijuana. It is everywhere. Because now it’s legal in New York and you can smoke it on the street corners. That’s where this is all going. It’s unpleasant. It’s wrong. But for… I’m really intrigued, and I think I’ve evolved on this. I used to be right where you are. Like, we don’t need one more intoxicant. Oh, you’ve evolved, so I’m a Neanderthal. Go ahead. Well, I don’t think you’re a Neanderthal, but I’ll bet you at least had a glass of wine last night.
SPEAKER 04 :
Sure did. It’s legal. It’s woven through. Well, not last night. It’s woven through. Alcohol is. People abuse alcohol. I get it. Alcohol exists. Not everybody drinking alcohol is looking to get drunk. Everybody using THC products is looking to get high. So alcohol exists. Another question is, what are we going to do?
SPEAKER 03 :
Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Let’s unpack that. Everybody wanting to use THC wants to get high?
SPEAKER 04 :
Recreationally. I always put aside the notion of valid medical purposes. We need to find ways to get veterans and suffering people with whatever, what they need in a legal way without these stupid shops that are there to get your teenager high, and that’s it. But please tell me why you think this is good. I’m…
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I mean, your words mean something here, and your verbiage is interesting. So if you have a glass or two of wine, you’re kind of buzzed. You’re not really drunk, but you’re kind of buzzed. If you have one joint or you smoke one pipe, are you buzzed? hot you say hi are you incapacitated or are you just a little buzz like you would be for the glass of wine precisely right so do we need more inside so alcohol exists we we stipulate that’s not going anywhere we tried that didn’t work and you and you and you and you practice it right you engage and okay wow well no no i mean that i think there’s a point there because i’m a for example for example Here’s the irony. I’m a teetotaler. Like, I don’t drink at all. And so I’m sitting here thinking, if you’re a 50-year-old man and you want to have a marijuana cigarette at night before you go to bed, I got Mark Davis saying, no, no, no, no, you can’t do that. While Mark has a glass of wine with his lovely wife.
SPEAKER 04 :
Here’s a bad comparison. Here’s a flawed comparison.
SPEAKER 03 :
Apples to apples.
SPEAKER 04 :
Here’s the admittedly flawed comparison, but it’s meant to point out the flaw in the logic you’re bringing. Is it possible for someone to be an adult and high-functioning and have a cocaine habit? Of course it is.
SPEAKER 03 :
I’ve known people. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 04 :
You just compared marijuana to cocaine? Not at all. I’ve said three times I wasn’t. But using the let adults do what they want argument, you can’t argue against letting high-functioning cocaine people just do that because, hey, it’s grown-ups doing what they want to do.
SPEAKER 03 :
But the apples to apples. is your glass of wine and your neighbor’s marijuana cigarette. That’s apples to apples.
SPEAKER 04 :
Exactly it is.
SPEAKER 03 :
So you want to nag the guy next door to you saying you’re not allowed to have that marijuana because I’m up on my high moral horse here, but I’m going to have as many glasses of wine as I want with my wife.
SPEAKER 04 :
Come on, Mark. I don’t want to make it. the person, about the individual user. I want to make it about society in the following way. Alcohol exists. We know that. So is it a good idea or a bad idea to have more intoxicants legal? I say it’s a bad idea. Mike Gallagher says it’s a good idea.
SPEAKER 03 :
And if you were to be consistent, if I’m going to follow the Mark Davis logic, if I’m going to follow the Mark Davis consistency test, you ought to be saying you ought to be saying we ought to go back to prohibition.
SPEAKER 04 :
But that’s impossible.
SPEAKER 03 :
Because
SPEAKER 04 :
That’s obviously not possible. It’s not going to work. Alcohol is woven through the entire history of humanity. It’s biblical, for crying out loud. You talk about not being apples and apples. Well, marijuana is from the ground.
SPEAKER 03 :
Marijuana is from the earth. Yes, it is. There’s plants. That’s biblical somewhere. It’s Leviticus, I think. Oh, sure it is. But I think there’s a pragmatic approach to this. And this is where you and I probably differ because the pragmatism of me says it’s also impossible to push back against adults who want to have the right to have access to marijuana. What do you mean it’s impossible?
SPEAKER 04 :
What do you mean it’s impossible to push back? You get less of what you make illegal. You get more of what you make legal. You get less of what you make illegal. Having weed illegal, having THC illegal is better for society.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, my heart kind of agrees with you. My head says it’s not realistic. And I think we’re definitely, you’re definitely in the minority on this, Mark. And I’m sort of, I’m somebody who pays close attention to the audience. I’m also really intrigued. I’m listening to the audience about Epstein right now. And I’m listening to the audience about Trump. Is that going away? This is important stuff right now because I’m confused. Help me understand the declaration of an early recess so that they can’t take a vote on releasing the Epstein files. I know. I talked to Anna Polina Luna last week, and she said, look, she’s terrific, and she said, all I’m about is transparency. Yep. All I’m about is transparency. Okay, so wait a minute. So they were facing a vote to release the Epstein files, and Speaker Johnson shut it down? Can you help me understand this, Mark? Make it make sense.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, it’s time. Their answer would probably be time for the recess. It’s not.
SPEAKER 03 :
They recessed early.
SPEAKER 04 :
And they found a way to get out of town and avoid this vote. And it doesn’t look good. And by the way, when I say it doesn’t look good, I don’t mean, well, that must mean the list does exist and members of Congress are on it. Please don’t give the tinfoil hat people more material. But generally speaking, I obviously completely agree with you on this.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right.
SPEAKER 04 :
What is the what? You know, the problem is, OK, so when we say release stuff. What do we mean? You can’t release everything. We’re going to redact victims, obviously.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right, and redact victims, and there are also parts of this testimony and the grand jury proceedings that have been sealed by the courts, but then release everything else. I mean, are there bad guys?
SPEAKER 04 :
Do you know what’s in there? You know what’s in every file about everybody? If you had one, if I had one, if Joe Blow had one. Accusations made by people that are stone cold false. False accusations maliciously made. I know. We’re going to release those?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, what’s transparency? How do you define transparency? We both agree that Annapurna is great. And I asked her the question. She said she was very coy about it because she doesn’t want to get on Trump’s bad side. None of us do. But ultimately, and he’s frustrated because look at this Axios piece this morning. There was a big three-part article about how in winning, Trump seems to be losing. And by that, they say, and it’s a fairly balanced perspective. Like it or not, poll after poll after poll after poll shows his popularity among, now only two categories here, admittedly, young people and independents is plummeting. His approval with Republicans is fine. He’s fine with rock-ribbed Republicans. But with independents, which, by the way, we need independents and young people for the midterms, Mark.
SPEAKER 04 :
That is correct.
SPEAKER 03 :
So why is his popularity dropping among independents and young people?
SPEAKER 04 :
I know. And I think, you know, too, it’s because some of those folks, some of those young people in independence aren’t exactly the most literate, plugged into news people in the world. All they hear is a media culture that is berating and slamming him every day, making paying attention to immigration look like evil, making support for Israel look like evil. And a bunch of dunderheads hear that coverage, that drumbeat every day and go, oh, maybe Trump’s not as good as I thought. There’s where you get your polls.
SPEAKER 02 :
What happened?
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, hello. I lost you. I’m right here.
SPEAKER 03 :
Where’d you go?
SPEAKER 04 :
I’m right here.
SPEAKER 03 :
Where’d you go? I lost you.
SPEAKER 04 :
I am right here. This should be fun.
SPEAKER 03 :
I don’t think it’s my headset. I’m going to stay with this. This is fun. We’re 60 seconds away from being done. Did my thing fall out? This is great. I think I’ve slumped over. Hang on a second.
SPEAKER 04 :
Don’t panic. I’m not. We’re going to stay with you. Mike is struggling to put his earpiece back in.
SPEAKER 03 :
My thing fell right out of my head.
SPEAKER 04 :
This could be the best segment ever. How do you not know that something falls out of your ear? Are you back now? Have you lost sensation in your ear? How do you not know your IFB fell out?
SPEAKER 03 :
Have I lost sensation in my ear? That was incredible. It was the clip behind me. They got this thing. You got clipped on the back of your coat for Salem News Channel.
SPEAKER 04 :
And the IFB is in your ear. The thing fell out of your ear. But the part from the back clips in.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, I get you.
SPEAKER 04 :
So the thing was still in your ear, but the connection had been broken.
SPEAKER 03 :
The ear didn’t. It was either that or I was having a massive stroke.
SPEAKER 04 :
Which enabled me to finish an eloquent, magnificent, tie a bow around its sentence and then be met with a layout for the ages as you just kind of looked like a deer in the headlights, not reacting at all. I thought, good, is he having a stroke?
SPEAKER 03 :
I know, I know, I know. Now I got the wires hanging out all over the place.
SPEAKER 04 :
I’ll never recreate that.
SPEAKER 03 :
I can’t, I’m done. No, I’m sorry. I’m good, though. I’m not coming home yet. Mama, I’m not coming home yet. I’m still here. I’m still standing. I love you. By the way, one text message that will put a smile on your face from North Texas. Legal THC is a bad idea, and this is not a minority opinion. So there you go. Tell your family to stop texting me.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, indeed, Uncle Fred, leave Mike alone. Call him at 10 when his show is on. I love you, man. You got it. Love you. Take care. That’s when Mike is there, ready for you, ready for all of us, 10 o’clock, as soon as we wrap up here.
