Tune in as Mike Gallagher teams up with economist Stephen Moore to unravel the complexities behind today’s economic headlines. With a focus on the perceived versus real state of the economy, Mike discusses the influence of political agendas on economic reporting and how the Trump administration’s policies are impacting everyday Americans. Listeners are encouraged to consider their sources critically, evaluating how media portrayal can skew public understanding. Additionally, audience interaction brings real-world perspectives on the economic climate, making this a dialogue not to be missed.
SPEAKER 10 :
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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 12 :
Boy, there’s a lot of breaking news today. The Texas Democrats are coming home. They’ve folded like a cheap suit. Like a cheap camera, they’re back. Of course, they’re going to declare victory because that’s what Democrats do. They gaslight. Nobody does gaslighting better than the Democrats do. They can turn around. I’m not even sure if the economy is in good shape or bad shape right now. I don’t know. I do this for a living. It’s anybody’s guess. I got news yesterday. I have a variety of news sources that give me information. And yesterday, I got all kinds of details about the Consumer Price Index, inflation holding steady for the year ending in July, 2.7%. That was from Yahoo Finance. That was from the AP. That was from Bloomberg. That was from CNBC. And I left work yesterday pointing out that Trump’s trade deals are winning. They’re working. The economy is booming. I haven’t watched the Today Show in forever. For some reason, I had it on this morning in the background, and I noticed that the Today Show on NBC did a big report on how bad the Consumer Price Index was yesterday. And I’m sitting there brushing my teeth. I look up at the TV, and I’m thinking, wait a minute. The inflation number is bad? And then this guy comes on, this Sorkin fellow, and he does an analysis. It’s a very peculiar time. He said, the economy is in bad shape, but the stock market is doing well. It’s peculiar. It’s unusual. It’s rare. And then he kept saying prices may go up. Prices may go up. Well, I may sprout wings like a monkey and fly home today after the show. What does that mean? Prices may go up. And I’m trying to figure out, we’ve got to get Stephen Moore on this show. And Tracy’s trying. Stephen Moore, we’re putting out the bat signal. Economist Stephen Moore is one guy that I trust to give me some solid intel on the economy. I guess, I mean, I don’t even know who to believe. But I’ll believe him. The craziest thing I’ve ever seen. In fact, we should pull that from the Today Show this morning. You would have thought, if you watch the Today Show, as I’m sure plenty of people do, that Trump is driving the economy into the ground. That the tariffs, as feared, are tanking the economy. Yesterday, The news was that Trump is defying expectations. His tariffs and trade deals are working, and he’s got the economy roaring. That was yesterday. Today, anybody know? Anybody want to take a stab at this? 800-655-MIKE. Heck, might as well trust you. I’ll trust a voice on my phone line. Here in the Relief Factor studios, more than I will Craig Melvin from NBC News Today Show. Or Aaron Sorkin, or whatever his name is. Adam Sorkin. Is he related to the guy that is the TV writer, I wonder? He was the economist on NBC’s Today Show this morning. Oh, it’s really peculiar. Yeah, the stock market’s soaring, but the economy is bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. It’s bizarre. It’s like we don’t know who to trust anymore. And I give you my word. Yes, I’m right of center. Yes, I’m a conservative. Yes, I’m a registered Republican. Yes, I’m opinionated. And I’m a big fat head, fat mouth. We all know that, right? But I’m not ever going to try to deceive you about anything. And I don’t want to deceive you about the economy. So is the economy doing well? Or is the economy tanking? How hard is that to determine? Maybe it’s more complicated. I’m not an economist. Again, I’m just a big mouth talk show host. But there’s got to be truth somewhere. 1-800-655-MIKE. Let me invite the smart kids in the room to call the show, flood my phone lines, put Alex to work, our brand-new phone screener, who yesterday, can I just say, we’ve had two days of Alex Garrett as our new screener. And Teresa was lovely and wonderful and hardworking in South Carolina. She was great. She wants to spend more time with her husband, and we get that. So Alex comes along, and I had a hunch. Eric, did I tell you about Alex Garrett? Eric, come over here and just tell me a little bit about Alex because he’s an inspiration. We love the guy. He always is smiling. He’s always got a great attitude. He loves radio. And I’m embarrassed about the story that he tells. Because you’ve heard him tell the story about interacting with Curtis Sliwa and me when Curtis and I were both colleagues at WABC years ago in New York City, right?
SPEAKER 09 :
Yes, I’ve certainly heard that story more than once.
SPEAKER 12 :
And I’m so embarrassed because you know what’s awful? What? And I love the story. Yeah? I don’t remember it.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, I mean, you know, you’re a big star. Oh, shut up.
SPEAKER 12 :
I’m not a big star.
SPEAKER 09 :
Stop it.
SPEAKER 12 :
Hush. No, no, no. But Alex tells a story that Curtis and I were so nice to him. And he said that I encouraged him and that I was very, you know, that I was very helpful. And I was very positive and encouraging to him. And he took took the path that had to be. What was that, Eric, 25 years ago?
SPEAKER 09 :
That’s it’s got to be more than that, because I started with you 26 years ago and you were at ABC before that.
SPEAKER 12 :
So it had to be over nearly 30 years ago. And here he’s been at WNYM all this time, I guess, right, for many years. And they love him there. In fact, the general manager was worried when we hired him, don’t take him away from us. And now we’re all sharing him. But there’s plenty of Alex to go around. But anyway, the point is, he’s doing a fantastic job. And I think, Eric, our director of operations would concur, would you?
SPEAKER 09 :
I absolutely would. He does a great job, although I do think he might be lying about his age. I’m going to get to the bottom of that.
SPEAKER 12 :
What’s he telling you? He’s 29?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, I always thought he was about 27 years old, but he clearly is older than that because he would have been an infant as an intern. I don’t know how you do that. I mean, he might have found a way.
SPEAKER 12 :
That’s right, because that was nearly 30 years ago. He does. He’s got that youthful appearance. Anyway, welcome Alex to the team. Put him to work. 800-655-MIKE. Give him a call. I want to flood the phone lines, and I want you to make Alex, the new screener, very busy. And welcome him when you call as our new screener, because he’s doing a splendid job. 800-655-6453. How hard is it to understand how good our economy is? And we’re going to try to get Stephen Moore on as quickly as possible. 800-655-MIKE. Give me your take on… I know it’s a little dry. I know it’s, you know, data. And I know it’s, you know, maybe not as sexy as some of the stuff, as sizzling as some of the things we talk about. But I think this is media gaslighting. What I watched today on the Today Show… I was flabbergasted. Economy is bad. Trump is bad. Orange man bad. But the stock market is great. PhD 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 08 :
Mike Gallagher.
SPEAKER 12 :
21 past the hour. By the way, did you hear about the D.C. police chief’s response to a highly technical question? I can’t blame her. She does not know, apparently, what the term chain of command means. DEI anyone? Boy, oh boy, oh boy. All right, let’s tackle this, though. We’re working on Stephen Moore. Tracy hasn’t given me a thumbs up yet, but she’s been talking to somebody, and we’re hoping to get Stephen on the show hopefully soon. Alex has contacts with Stephen Moore. Hey, Alex, you’ve got his cell number. Reach out to him. Let’s get him on ASAP, because I would love to get an economist. a financial guy like Stephen Moore, on the show, not only to talk about what the actual economy is doing right now, but perhaps tackle the bizarre way we can’t get truth in the media ever. If I had to ask you right now, what’s the state of the economy, what would you tell me? Because according to NBC and the Today Show this morning, it’s tanking. Yesterday, according to what I got, what I received on this show, during this show, the Consumer Price Index was released, and the number was 2.7. I mean, even the number is goofy. Yesterday’s number was 2.7. The Today Show said it was 3.1. And then they made a caveat. And my eagle ear, my sharp ears picked it up. The caveat was the 3.1 number excluded food and energy. I’m sure that’s a slight of hand that economists employ. But for crying out loud, you’re not going to include food prices or energy prices in the inflation rate? So I guess if you… Extract that, you get a number that’s not as good as the number that we were presented yesterday. It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. I cannot for the life of me get a straight answer, and we’re working on it. Anthony in Louisville, Kentucky, on line one here, 800-655-MIKE is our number. Anthony, welcome aboard. How are you doing? I’m great, buddy. How are you doing? I’m great. What do you think? Is the economy doing well? Is it tanking? What do you make of this?
SPEAKER 07 :
I think if you’re a normal red-blooded American working hard and living life, having a family, the economy’s doing great. But if you’re a left-leaning NBC TV show host, your future economy looks terrible. That’s right.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, and if you say that Trump’s plan is working, you’re betraying your own values as a leftist propagandist. Oh, yeah. Live by the law, die by the law. I got it. All right, Anthony. John in California. John, welcome. How are you?
SPEAKER 14 :
Hi. Hi. Hi, Mike. First time caller. I’m actually here in Atlanta, Georgia. My phone number will come up at San Bernardino. Gotcha. I ran screaming out there about five years ago.
SPEAKER 12 :
I hear you.
SPEAKER 14 :
I can relate.
SPEAKER 12 :
I ran screaming out of New York a few years ago to Florida. I get it. I know that.
SPEAKER 14 :
I heard you, brother. Yes, sir. My comments on the economy, and I’m going to tell you right now I’m a welder for a fence supply company. Right. and we’ve been mighty, mighty, mighty slow. So as far as that end of it goes, in the construction industry, it seems like we’re getting a little beat up here, but I understand it’s got to happen. I’m a Trump supporter from way back then.
SPEAKER 12 :
Sure, sure, sure. Well, and that could be. I mean, good to know that from your profession, things are a little slow. I know, for example, the real estate market in Florida is slow. You know, everything to me hinges, and this is, again, not an economist. I don’t play one on TV. But it seems pretty simple to me. They’ve got to reduce the interest rates. The Fed’s got to lower the interest rate. Once the interest rate is reduced, a whole lot of good things are going to happen. And Trump’s been pushing Powell and pushing Powell and pushing Powell, and he won’t do it. He just won’t do it. But look, let’s face it. The left is mystified. at the things that Trump is accomplishing in just a few short months. I missed this clip from yesterday, and I’m kicking myself, but we picked it up for today, because I pointed out that in Democrat land, in liberal land, in progressive world, making cities safer is a bad thing. If you… Send in the troops in a dangerous place like Washington, D.C. You’re a racist. You’re an authoritarian. You’re a terrible person. Okay? Let’s just face it. Democrats are pro-crime and anti-police. No way around it. Take them at their own word. And when I kept saying that they took to the streets to protest yesterday, after Trump made the announcement, actually it was on Monday, I wasn’t kidding. And I found the protest. Now this one, I have to hand it to them. I got to hand it to them. This one will make you inspired. This one will fill, this will warm the cockles of your heart. This one will really fire you up. I give you a group of boomers in Washington, D.C. with an organized protest about Trump’s efforts to make D.C. safer.
SPEAKER 13 :
D.C. is our home.
SPEAKER 1 :
You can have it, Trump. D.C. is our home. You can have it, Trump. It’s our home, so it’s our home.
SPEAKER 12 :
And they’re clapping for themselves. They’re applauding themselves. And again, as all these protests go, all white boomers. They’re all white baby boomers. There isn’t a person of color within 10 miles of that protest. And I found some stuff out about the Renna protests, because that’s what’s going on. More on that next. Every single day it’s a joy to remind you that portions of our show are sponsored by MyPillow. As you know, our friend Mike Lindell, big legal victory last week. He’s been in a ton of hot water, as you know, because he believes in election integrity. Of course, due to his friendship with President Trump. Well, last week there was a $5 million vote. judgment against Mike that was overturned by the courts. Good news for MyPillow. So you keep praying for MyPillow, and you keep supporting this great American company. The premium MyPillow, limited time, great price, $18.98. If you go to MyPillow.com, this pillow is a godsend. Look, I bring the MyPillow products with me when I’m on the road. Here at the hotel in Washington State, I’ve got the MySlippers with me. Those unbelievable slippers because I pat around in the hotel room. I don’t know what’s on that rug. I bring the MyPillow with me. I roll it up into the suitcase. I’ve even got my MyPillow loungewear. Tons of great products. If you haven’t been to the site in a while, go check it out. Go to MyPillow.com. Look for the Mike Gallagher specials. Click on that box. And with anything you order, enter the promo code MikeG. You’re going to save big. The slippers, the doggy beds, and the Giza dream sheets. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. Or call 800-928-6034. 800-928-6034. Like we love to sing.
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For the best night’s sleep in the whole wide world, visit MyPillow.com.
SPEAKER 12 :
Promo code MikeG.
SPEAKER 08 :
The Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 06 :
The intentions of this president is to establish law and order using legal and lawful and constitutional means, which he completely has. And you know why they don’t like him? He’s got the guts to do it. He’s got the guts to say, I’m going to federalize the police that don’t work. I’m going to bring in the National Guard. I’m going to bring in federal marshals. I’m going to bring in the park police. How long will that be? Who knows?
SPEAKER 08 :
In the Relief Factor studios on Salem News Channel and Salem Radio Network, here’s Mike.
SPEAKER 12 :
So I leave the studio yesterday with really good economic news. The Consumer Price Index revealed 2.7%. Inflation holding steady. CNN, I played a report from CNN. They were forced to report that food prices, for example, are actually going down. And then I make the mistake of turning on NBC’s Today Show this morning. And this guy, Sorkin… is doing a report that basically says, no, it’s all bad. It’s the economy’s terrible. Trump’s destroying the economy. The real consumer price index inflation number is 3.1. I thought, wait a minute, what’s 3.1? And so I had to, what’s the expression? Get me, I said to the team, get me Stephen Moore. Who’s the person that would say, get me, is it James Bond? I’m trying to think of who that famous expression is. Get me a truth teller. Get me somebody who can make sense of this. And I said, please get me economist, author, senior visiting fellow in economics at the Heritage Foundation. Get me Stephen Moore. And just like that, here he is. Stephen, great to see you. Thanks so much. I know it’s no notice. You’ve been great to grab your phone and come on air with us. Because, Stephen, I’m so baffled right now. I’m so tired of trying to understand what the truth is. I want to play this report for you. You know Aaron Sorkin, right, from NBC? I do. Andrew. Andrew Sorkin, I mean. I said I always want to say Aaron. Andrew Ross Sorkin, right? Andrew Ross Sorkin said the following on NBC’s Today show this morning. I had to get the Stephen Moore translation of what he reported to his audience.
SPEAKER 02 :
Help us understand how we should be reading these latest inflation numbers. So many analysts said prices were going to soar from tariffs, but that hasn’t exactly happened.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, thank you. There’s a couple of things going on. And I think the new numbers reflect this. You have the first sort of real signs that inflation is starting as a result of those tariffs to find its way into the economy. But just a little bit. And actually, as you just mentioned, a lot less than people had expected back in April. Now, back in April, there was these expectations that tariffs were going to be at 145 percent for the Chinese, for example, and that was going to have a huge impact on us. The president has delayed and continued to postpone those tariffs as those negotiations continue. But there is starting to be an expectation that come this fall, prices are going to go up. We had a lot of companies in America. effectively eat the cost of those tariffs for example ford lost 800 million dollars in a quarter and so there’s a sense that some of these companies are going to start to have to raise prices the other piece of this is a lot of companies started to bring merchandise from outside the united states into the country as fast as they could in april in may in june to avoid tariffs yeah But now, as we get into the fall, some of those prices may go up. Now, you may say to yourself, well, why would the stock market go up if things are actually going to get tougher? Well, the other piece of this is there’s a chance the Fed may lower interest rates. And that’s in part because the labor market is starting to slow. So this is one of these very strange situations where bad news happens. in the economy may actually look like good news in the stock market because the Federal Reserve might lower those interest rates to try to make things a little bit better.
SPEAKER 12 :
Wow. All right, Stephen Moore. Help. Help.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, Michael, first of all, thanks for having me on the show. And I really appreciated that segment you just did. I was listening on Rich Lowry and National Review because it really struck a chord with me. Because, Mike, you may recall back in early 2016, Larry Kudlow and I were two of the first conservative economists who really got behind Donald Trump. And we took a beating. from conservatives. We were called sellouts. So Trump is a fake conservative, et cetera, et cetera. And I do remember that issue of National Review. They devoted an entire issue to trashing Trump. And so and by the way, Rich Lowry is a good friend of mine, as he is yours. And I appreciate the fact that he is now saying, hey, you know what? It turned out really well. This is the most conservative free market president. He may even be turned out to be more conservative than Reagan. And
SPEAKER 12 :
And, Steve, it’s important to give credit where credit is due, I think, because, look, Rich Lowry and a lot of establishment Republicans were hell-bent on blocking. I remember when they tried to change the rules at the Republican National Convention to keep him off the ballot. I do.
SPEAKER 03 :
I was there in Cleveland and they tried to steal the nomination from Trump. So you’re right. And and Trump has really look. And by the way, I don’t agree with everything Trump does. And he’s a friend. I spent an hour with him in the in the Oval Office last week. And and I’m not a big fan of terrorists. But what he has done for our country is astounding. And so you asked me about the economy, Michael. First of all, that was one of the most dishonest segments that I know, Andrew. than that so there was so so much misinformation in that statement first of all let me let me not bury bury the lead okay mike um the economy is very strong right now i mean almost all of the signals are pointing north i mean we’ve got strong consumer confidence we have uh record, very low inflation. I’d like to see it come down a little bit more, Michael, but it’s really much, much better. I mean, the inflation rate is now less than half of what it was under Biden. And remember when the inflation went to 9% under Biden, we are now at 2.7%. That’s a huge improvement. Now, yes, I know people say I want grocery prices to come down more. I do too. But the trend is very good there. How about the fact that the stock market is at an all-time high. That’s an amazing thing, and I think it’ll go higher. How about the fact that we passed the biggest tax cut in American history? And by the way, I am a skeptic, as you know, Michael, about tariffs. I’m an old Milton Friedman free trade guy. But I had to tell Trump when I was in the Oval Office last week, you know, you’re you’re getting some really good deals here that are going to bring tariffs down. In other words, these other countries have been cheating and they’ve been ripping off America and Trump is getting good deals. So what’s not to like about this picture?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, that’s just it, and yet what’s not to like apparently is plenty for a guy like this Squawk Box guy from CNBC, Andrew Ross Sorkin. And to me, Steve, the tell, the giveaway, is when he says, admittedly, and he publicly says, I’m paraphrasing, of course, but it’s peculiar that the stock market is doing so well when the economy is doing so poorly. It’s as if these so-called experts want to pretend that the stock market is… wholly irrelevant to our economic picture. It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.
SPEAKER 03 :
It is. And look, we all own, you know, 80 percent of Americans now own stock, either through 401k plans and so on. So our wealth is increasing. You know, one of the statistics that I saw, you saw that clip on Fox News last week, but I was in the Oval Office and I recited the statistic that in the first five months of Trump’s presidency. Are you ready for this, Mike? I think you’re sitting down there because it’s an amazing statistic. Median people in the exact middle of the income spectrum. These are middle class, blue collar, working class Americans. Their incomes in just the first five months adjusted for inflation are up $1,100. That’s twice as much as median income went up for families in four years under Joe Biden.
SPEAKER 12 :
Wow. And that gets back to the point you made about Rich Lowry’s column that, to me, is astounding. Donald Trump is truly historic, he writes. And for all the talk about how he doesn’t have any core convictions, he has favored tariffs for decades. I know how you feel about tariffs. You and I have talked about it before. But the truth of the matter is… Trump has always believed in the strength of these tariffs. This is not new for him. Doesn’t it feel like this term, this second term, is so different from the first one on so many levels? It’s almost as if he understands, look, this is my last hurrah. I’m in this Oval Office for four years. I’m going to make it all count. It almost didn’t. As good as things went the first term, and we had a great economy in his first term, But it does feel like he’s got a sense. And you talk to him. You’re in the Oval Office with him a week ago. You know him. Doesn’t it feel like there’s a sense of urgency that he has right now that he didn’t have before?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, there are several things there, Michael, that I’d like to mention. Number one. I believe that Trump wants to be on Mount Rushmore. He wants to go down in history as one of our great presidents. By the way, I believe Ronald Reagan belongs on Mount Rushmore. I think he was probably one of our five greatest presidents. But what Trump is doing, I mean, he’s looking at—he wants to make history here. He wants to rebuild America. And if he stays on this course, he may well get up there on Mount Rushmore because it’s astonishing what he has achieved. Not just for the economy, Michael, but also what he’s doing with respect. How about school choice? It’s an issue that I’ve spent my whole life working on. We are vastly expanding school choice for parents. This week and next week are the weeks that kids go back to school. You know, we have over a million kids this year that are going to have school choice in large part because of the great governors and what Donald Trump is doing about the fact we’re expanding the medical savings account. So people have more control of the health care deals. Do you remember, Mike, about the when when Biden wanted those mandates that were going to require everybody to buy an electric vehicle? Remember that? I sure do. Guess what? Guess who? Guess who just repealed that? I know. The one and only. Donald Trump. Steve Moore is our guest. You know… Let me, before we get out of here… I was going to say, hold on, let me just say one thing. Sure. I could speak to you for a half an hour, and we would run out of time, about the great things that Donald Trump has done for the economy. So, you know, when I said to Donald Trump, when I was in the… Slow down, Mr. President, we can’t keep up with you. Well, it’s… And it’s heartbreaking to watch a guy…
SPEAKER 12 :
It’s heartbreaking to watch a guy like this Sorkin guy on TV as if they’re rooting against America. It’s almost as if it feels like they want the country to fail so they can say, aha, we were right about Trump all along. Look at what a disaster he is. It’s a little bit like the crime-fighting issue in D.C. My gosh, are they actually against making D.C. safer? But they are, Steve. They’re coming down against. They’re calling it racist. They’re calling it authoritarian. This is a awful thing. Wait a minute. I saw the mother yesterday of the young kid who got murdered. A young congressional intern slaughtered. He was driving by shooting. And she’s saying, thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for trying to make some improvements in the quality of life here. It’s as if his critics abandon any love they have for America due to their blind hatred of him.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, you know what that is, Mike. That is called a Trump derangement syndrome. And it is a true affliction of liberals. So I have to say, though, by the way, probably the most liberal network on TV is MSNBC. But I don’t know if you saw this, Mike, but just yesterday they admitted that crime is out of control. in uh in washington dc i live in washington dc there are there are many many neighborhoods in washington dc within a mile of the capital the nation’s capital that you cannot go in at night because they are unsafe you’re going to get shot or robbed or you know worse and um so even msnbc said you know what we do have a crime problem and and and and that a lot of liberals secretly are happy that trump is doing this what’s wrong with making our nation’s capital safe
SPEAKER 12 :
I mean, when this unfolded Monday, I’m in the middle of the show. We’re carrying Trump’s press conference. And I thought, oh, my gosh, they’re going to be against this, too. And I thought, this can’t be. This is impossible. All right, final question from a texter in Philadelphia who says, Mike, you and Steve Moore both know Rich Lowry. Ask Steve this question for me in Philadelphia. Is Rich Lowry… actually coming around or is he surrendering?
SPEAKER 03 :
No, Rich has been a lot. I’ve known Rich for 30 years. A great friend, great conservative. You know, there are a lot of conservative. Look, Mike, it’s very simple. A lot of conservatives had doubt about Donald Trump at the beginning. And I had some doubts myself. And when I, you know, famous of the famous meeting I had with Trump, with Larry Kudlow, we spent I went into that room not liking Donald Trump. I was like Rich Lowry. I thought he was a fraud. Larry and I walked out of that room, Mike, with our we spent an hour and a half with him. And we looked at each other and said, he’s the one. I mean, you know, you’ve met Trump. Well, I have. He’s amazing.
SPEAKER 12 :
He’s unstoppable. And Joe Piscopo, you know Joe in New York. Joe and I huddled in the hallway. He’s a dear friend of ours as well. And Joe and I huddled in the hall right after he came down the escalator and we both knew it. And And, you know, unlike some of our friends and colleagues, present company included, you’re talking to a guy who’s been on board from day one. I knew he would tap in to what Americans were yearning for. I had a feeling that he was that brand of populism with conservatism. I know it’s not everybody’s cup of tea. But, look, the list is very lengthy of people today. You’re one of them, frankly. You came around. Look at the list. I’ll put them out there. Glenn Beck. Hugh Hewitt, Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham. I mean, hey, J.D. Vance. So there’s a whole lot of people, right? I mean, there’s a lot of people that have come around.
SPEAKER 03 :
I want to congratulate you, Mike, because you got on board the Trump train even before I did, because I wasn’t convinced when he came down that escalator. In fact, when he came down the escalator, I thought it was just a publicity stunt. I didn’t even think he really was running for president. And as I said, all you have to do, folks, you spend a little time with Donald Trump. The guy loves America. I don’t agree with everything he does, Mike. But even when I was in the Oval Office with him and he made decisions that I didn’t agree with, I always believed he was doing it in his heart because he thought it was what was best for America.
SPEAKER 12 :
His heart is in the right place, and he wants to do what’s best for America. By the way, how does the Oval Office look? I hear he’s made some renovations in there. What’s it look like?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, one just really quick funny story. He said, Steve, what do you think? He’s put up all these portraits in America. And he had about 12 of them. He had obviously Washington, Lincoln, Polk, etc. Reagan, of course, the one right behind him. And I said, Mr. President, you’re missing somebody. And he looked at me quizzically and said, who? Now, Mike, do you know who is one of the three or four greatest presidents that was not up there?
SPEAKER 12 :
Uh-oh. FDR? Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Kennedy? No, not after you. Calvin Coolidge, who gave us the Roaring Twenties, cut tax rates from 75% to 20%. And I said to Mr. President, you’ve got to get Calvin Coolidge up there. Next time I’m in the office, I’m going to give him a portrait of Calvin Coolidge.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, as much as he respects and admires you, I’ll bet he’ll put it up there. And we do, too. Steve, thanks for taking time. I know it was hectic last minute, but you’re the best. Keep fighting the good fight.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thanks, Mike. And we’ve got to get E.J. Antonian at the BLS. He’s a great economist, good friend of mine, and the left is at war with him. We cannot let them take our people out. You got it.
SPEAKER 12 :
We’ll tell the audience all about it. The great Stephen Moore joining us here on the Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 04 :
Out in these parts, some folks call it radio. We call it the last campfire of the American spirit. Stoke the fire of freedom with American Ground Radio with Louis R. Avalone and Stephen Parr. American Ground Radio, planting seeds, growing freedom. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and visit our website at AmericanGroundRadio.com.
SPEAKER 08 :
Mike Gallagher. Every day, Mike visits with Mark Davis, morning host on 660 AM, The Answer in Dallas. Here’s today’s Eminem experience.
SPEAKER 12 :
Texas Democrats who fled to stop redistricting just folded like a bad poker hand. That’s red state. As predicted, the legislators who fled to blue states have folded. Still, writes Banshee, I’m not sure anyone expected them to fold this soon. Well, they had to fold eventually. I mean, it was just a matter of time, right?
SPEAKER 11 :
Correct. So here comes a second special session. This one will come to an end on Friday. And they’re just going to get the ground running and hit a reset. And the expectation is this time they will realize that the proverbial jig is up and that they would return.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, there you go. And as true gaslighters do, I see the headline, they are going to declare victory.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, sure. Why not? And they will have made some money, because they’ve all been fundraising off of it. And they will have been able to say… And this is so funny. To be a fighter. To be a fighter is a good thing, right? It’s one of the things we love about Trump. People overlook some of the things that might not be their favorite thing about Trump in Republican land because, man, he’s fighting. He has the right enemies. He’s out there fighting the good fight, fighting the things that have needed to be fought forever and ever and ever. The flip side of that coin doesn’t exactly… Translate. What does Democrat fighting even look like? Just in your yard, howling at the moon, Trump is evil, Trump’s a Nazi, orange man bad. They’re making stuff up and posturing in such empty and ridiculous ways. That’s not fighting. That’s be clowning yourself.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, there’s only so much they can do. I mean, I’m fast. I really have to admit I’m fascinated by Gavin Newsom. He’s trolling Trump with these all caps warnings and threats to Trump on social media. And then he’s ending and he’s saying you have one day to back down or we’re going to redistrict in California to offset the gains that Texas is going to make.
SPEAKER 11 :
And then what does California’s turn to? Because California’s already 43 to 9 in congressional seats.
SPEAKER 12 :
Supposedly they can get five more Democrat seats if they do it. But Newsom is sounding like, I’m not kidding you, like Rosie O’Donnell on a bender. He’s writing these late night tweets. This is the governor of California. And he’s trolling Trump with these all caps. He’s fighting.
SPEAKER 11 :
He’s fighting. Yep.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, Beto O’Rourke gets up there. He’s cursing, dropping the F-bomb. He’s fighting. This is their version of victory. It’s kind of wild. And meanwhile, Trump beautifully, masterfully baited them into actually opposing making cities like Washington, D.C. safer again. They are pro-crime. They’re pro-crime. And anti-police. Anti-law enforcement. No way around it. No way you could do… They’re trying the race card. Oh, he’s racist for doing this. Oh, he’s authoritarian. Or as one of the Democrat leaders called it last night, authoritarian.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, words are hard.
SPEAKER 12 :
I mean, some of these people are not. We didn’t exactly send our best in these positions of authority. Did you see the D.C. police chief, a woman by the name of Pamela Smith? I did. Mark, Mark. Now, let’s play it quickly for the benefit of people who don’t know. She was holding a press conference and, you know, decrying. Well, although the police union is all for this.
SPEAKER 11 :
Greg Pemberton, the D.C. Police Union chief, says this is great. Rank and file saying this is wonderful.
SPEAKER 12 :
Thank you, President Trump. Crime’s out of control. Every block is a carjacking. We got blah, blah, blah, blah. So here’s the police chief. Now, the police chief evidently went from being the head of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
SPEAKER 11 :
From the DEI manager to police chief. Isn’t that a career track you always want?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, and I give you what that results in. Here was the exchange yesterday.
SPEAKER 03 :
What does that mean? I mean, she literally when the person said, what’s the chain of command now?
SPEAKER 07 :
She scrunched up her face and said, what does that mean?
SPEAKER 12 :
What does that mean? What does chain of command mean, asks the police chief of Washington, D.C., a place where liberals assure us is perfectly run and there’s no crime.
SPEAKER 11 :
As they are cruel to us, as they give us no quarter and no margin for error, this is me trying to be as gracious and accommodating as possible, and I’ll probably be smacked down for it. And I may well deserve it. It is possible. There’s a way she could have phrased that. What’s the chain of command now? And where she might say, what do you mean by that? In terms of how are we interacting with A.G. Bondi? Or do you mean internally, does our chain of command at D.C. police headquarters change? There’s a way, and maybe that’s what she meant, although I probably doubt it.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, maybe. I don’t know.
SPEAKER 11 :
There are people that shouldn’t be
SPEAKER 12 :
Let’s just acknowledge their people shouldn’t be in the position they’re in. But they’re there because of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
SPEAKER 11 :
You can’t get away from that. I tweeted yesterday, I really don’t want to get to a point where I steadfastly say that I oppose women police chiefs. I really don’t want to do it. But when so many of them are dreadful, just dreadful, this figure they got out there in Cincinnati with the excuse-making for the Cincinnati beatdown. But I will tell you this. In one of yours and my favorite cities, Jessica Tisch is awesome as New York City’s police commissioner, so I’m not there yet saying, there’s a job that a woman can’t do. I don’t believe that, but man, it’s problematic sometimes.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, it can be, but you’re so right. There’s nothing about being a woman that should exclude you from being in a position of authority. Look, this was near and dear to my heart. In another life, I used to be a pretty successful baseball umpire. I umpired in the SEC. This is so cool. Well, it’s just something I did. When I was in high school, I started umpiring Little League, and I worked my way up the ranks, and I actually worked the NCAA Division II College World Series a few times. I got a College World Series ring twice, and I actually went, I think, four times. maybe three or four times um and and again i worked big time georgia tech i mean clemson uh all over the country so i and and so for me officiating is what i watch i watched a ball game the other night and all i watch are the umpires well okay where were you on the field what did you were you behind the plate were you out there where you were a specific place really what for the world series
SPEAKER 11 :
So any given umpire in your world, there’s not like one behind-the-plate designated guy, one first-baseline guy. Oh, no, no, no.
SPEAKER 12 :
You rotate clockwise. So for game one of a four-game series, you’re at the plate. Then you go to third, second, first.
SPEAKER 11 :
Isn’t balls and strikes behind the plate 20 times more stressful because it’s all about you a thousand times a game more than calling whether something was fair or foul along the third base?
SPEAKER 12 :
Absolutely, and that’s what’s bringing me to my point of this week. They had, for the first time ever, a female umpire on a Major League Baseball field. It’s never happened before. There was years ago, I remember back when I was umpiring, there was a woman named Pam Postema, and she made it to AAA, but she only got to work in spring exhibition games. But the other day, and I don’t know her, I forget her name. Her name is Jen Powell, and it’s spelled P-A-W-O-L, but I think it’s pronounced Powell, Jen Powell. So Jen gets out there, and for the first time ever, umpired in a Major League Baseball regular season game. Braves and the Marlins. Okay, first pitch is on the inside corner. Now, I saw the pitch, and I’ve called a lot of balls and strikes. I’ve called… Remember the one-armed player, Greg Abbott from Michigan?
SPEAKER 11 :
I mean, he was a big-time… Jim Abbott. Greg Abbott.
SPEAKER 12 :
I mean, Jim Abbott. Not Greg Abbott.
SPEAKER 11 :
Jim Abbott, I mean.
SPEAKER 12 :
But he was a big-time talent, and I worked that level of ball. I worked something called the double… So I’ve worked… Guys throwing 95-mile fastballs, and you’ve got to know what you’re… That was a questionable pitch. I will tell you, it was marginal. It was not an obvious ball. She called it a ball, and everybody said, Oh, look, she blew the first pitch. Look, D-E-I, the female had… Look, she’s not going to be out on that field if she’s not qualified…
SPEAKER 08 :
Download the podcast and hear all of Mike and Mark’s conversations at MikeOnline.com for the Eminem experience.
SPEAKER 12 :
That’ll do it for Wednesday. We appreciate you joining us. Let’s do it again tomorrow, okay? Keep it here all day long for news, opinion, passion. Have a great day. Be safe and keep fighting the good fight. I’m Mike Gallagher. God bless America.
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
Pledge to protect Social Security at aarp.org slash we earned it. That’s aarp.org slash we earned it. Paid for by AARP.
