Amidst a backdrop of tragedy, political leaders are confronted with the astonishing realities of rising prayer hostility. The show explores how an infamous manifesto has been misrepresented, complicating public narratives and fomenting misinformation. Additionally, the conversation shifts to discuss a surprising shift in crime rates under certain policies, as well as the viability of a balanced budget amendment, advocating fiscal responsibility moving forward.
SPEAKER 12 :
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 09 :
There’s a lot of evil in the world. We know it. We are surrounded by evil. Fortunately, we know that good always triumphs over evil. That is small comfort or solace to the families that are going to prepare to bury their little children whose only mistake was to be seated in a Catholic church and praying for the start of a successful school year. If your first reaction is to condemn evil, prayer, if your first take after a shooting such as the one that occurred yesterday is to attack the people who are praying, then you ought to take a real hard look in the mirror because something has gone terribly wrong in your life. This is beyond politics. If you just scratch the surface and look at any of this through a political lens, the Democrats have again face-planted the mayor of Minneapolis, the senator from Minnesota, popular leftist commentators, condemning prayer. Angry about prayer. Angry about prayer. Jen Psaki, when she wasn’t sobbing and heaving and crying on TV, and it was very hard to watch, she had a complete breakdown on camera because she was so emotionally distraught over this awful shooting. But she wasn’t too distraught to stop from saying, prayer isn’t freaking enough. She had to throw in a nice freaking in there because she’s angry at prayer. Prayer angers these people. Prayer angers Michael Steele. Remember that guy? This clown who used to be the RNC chairman who now happily parrots every far-left talking point so he can get a fat paycheck from MSNBC? That guy? The guy who used to pretend to be a Republican? Or maybe he really is a Republican, but he pretends to be a far leftist now so he can make a lot of money from MSNBC. I don’t know what or who he is. But I know what he said yesterday must lead Democrat consultants to pull their hair out. Check out former Republican National Committee chairman, Michael Steele, now an MSNBC star.
SPEAKER 07 :
The thoughts and prayers, I’m so beyond, so beyond that nonsense, the lie of that. Because what we have are people who continue to stand in the way of actually doing something to stop the violence against their own kids.
SPEAKER 09 :
That’s a guy who used to be the head of the RNC. That’s Michael Steele. Prayer is nonsense and a lie. It’s a lie to pray. I saw a great… post from the Federalist’s Sean Davis that just sums this up perfectly. There’s a lot of clarity yesterday. And we’re having national conversations that we were never willing to have before. It’s about time. Here’s what Sean Davis wrote that I appreciate so greatly. He said, ask yourself how an actual demon would respond to Christian children being martyred by a demon-possessed monster, probably with explicit mockery of God and prayer. I mean, I don’t call Michael Steele a demon casually. I don’t call Jen Psaki’s words demonic lightly. I am very aware of our stark political divide right now, and I don’t want to be part of the problem. I want to try to someday come to some kind of common ground. But what other word can you use? You know, you can have a debate about gun control. We can have that debate. And you can also appreciate the power of prayer. But these people don’t. Not only do they dismiss prayer, they’re angered by it. They’re angered by it. Did you hear Jacob Fry? Now, this is a guy, when George Floyd died, this was the mayor on his knees at George Floyd’s gold casket, sobbing and crying and heaving. So he certainly prays when George Floyd died. But not yesterday. No, no, no, no, no. Not when innocent little babies are murdered in a Catholic church. He’s got no room for prayer today.
SPEAKER 13 :
These were Minneapolis families. These were American families. And the amount of pain that they are suffering right now is extraordinary. Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church. These are kids that should be learning with their friends. They should be playing on the playground. They should be able to go to school or church in peace without the fear or risk of violence, and their parents should have the same kind of assurance. These are the sort of basic assurances that every family should have every step of the day, regardless of where they are in our country.
SPEAKER 09 :
Now, it’s one thing to be indifferent to prayer. That’s bad enough. It’s one thing to just slough it off, to avoid it, to be apathetic about prayer or faith or God. And I pray for people who are like that, who have no faith. I really do. And I’m not trying to be patronizing. I do. But it is another thing to be openly hostile and aggravated and even enraged at prayer. That, to me, is this special level of evil. We talk about this all the time on this show. We’re in a spiritual battle in America. We are witnessing evil. the conflict between good and evil. And there are a whole lot of mainstream people who stood up yesterday and spewed a whole lot of evil. Sean Davis is right. If you were a demon, what would you do after yesterday? You’d mock prayer. If you were a demon, what would you do after this horrific act of violence yesterday? You’d mock God. You’d be cruel towards those who are praying. You would be aggravated at the prayer. That is sheer, sheer, raw, demonic behavior. And I think we have to acknowledge it. 800-655-MIKE. We’re in the Relief Factor studios. We have a lot, a lot of breaking news today, of course. Not only the shooting yesterday, but also an astounding about-face by Muriel Bowser about the effectiveness of the National Guard in her city. It’s extraordinary. And you’ve got to give credit where credit is due. We’ll tell you about that. We’ll talk about Trump’s rising poll numbers. He has, I think, discovered that Americans expect him to make cities safer because the Democrat mayors and governors are failing to do so. 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. There’s a live view of Miami, Florida on the Salem News Channel cameras. We’re glad you’re watching. We’re glad you’re tuned in all around the country. There are things that are irrefutable about what happened yesterday. There’s a lot of debate. There’s a lot of conversation right now about gun control, about mental illness. But to me, there are things that are just simple truths. If you attack God and prayer, you’re on the side of evil. All right? That’s irrefutable. How about what ABC newsman Aaron Katursky did yesterday on television? Here’s an irrefutable fact. ABC wanted its viewers to think that the shooter, that the killer, was a Trump supporter. How do I know? There was a manifesto that this monster left before this awful, awful act, before the bullets began flying. It was a video manifesto and a written manifesto that the killer left behind. On the video were all of these scrawled images or images of writing scrawled all over the gun magazines that the killer used. One of them said repeatedly, kill Trump. Kill Donald Trump. Check out the way that was conveyed to the audience watching this report by ABC newsman Aaron Katursky.
SPEAKER 02 :
23-year-old Robin Westman was able to leave what police called a video manifesto that they’re now going through to try and establish motive. We’ve also been going through it and can tell you there are crude diagrams of the church. There are also photos of the weapons, and they include all sorts of writings, the names of past mass shooters, criticism of Israel, the name of President Trump. written on the guns. There are also racial slurs, nihilistic statements.
SPEAKER 09 :
Did you see what he did there? Now, understand, it wasn’t just Trump’s name. It was kill Donald Trump. That’s what the killer wrote. That reporter knew that. The reporter confirmed he had been going over the video manifesto. And instead of accurately explaining and reporting that the killer obviously hated Trump, that reporter left his audience with the impression that the killer was a Trump supporter. There’s a phrase on social media all the time, you don’t hate the media enough. I hear that expression all the time, and I know that’s harsh, I know that’s tough, but sometimes I think that’s absolutely true. Now, again, that’s irrefutable. Do you know that I’ve got a caller on hold who wants to argue with me about what that reporter did? I can’t wait to hear Corey’s argument. Let me sit back and let’s see how this unfolds. Corey, you’re actually going to disagree with the conclusion that that reporter intentionally misled? The audience.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hi. What I was going to say is that your maybe interpretation of what that reporter said when you’re referring to him as a demon.
SPEAKER 09 :
No, I didn’t call the reporter a demon. I talked about the people mocking prayer. The reporter said that Donald Trump’s name was left behind. Not that the guy wrote, kill Donald Trump.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, I’m not. I wasn’t referring to that post. I just heard this. I mean, I just heard what what you’re just talking about right now. And I don’t agree with that. I think that’s total.
SPEAKER 09 :
Oh, my apologies.
SPEAKER 04 :
My screener had it wrong.
SPEAKER 09 :
My screener had the wrong thing. I apologize. My screener had that. You said that I was I was taking the ABC news clip out of context. I’m sorry.
SPEAKER 04 :
I thought I mean, I agree with you 100 percent on that. I’m sorry.
SPEAKER 09 :
I’m sorry. I misunderstood why you were calling. Go ahead. Go make your point. Then go right ahead, Corey. I apologize. I got I had the wrong thing.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, so who was the guy that you were referring to? I can’t remember his name.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, you’re talking about prior to the reporter clip that I just played. Yes. I’m referring to the prominent Democrats who are angry about prayer.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes. So, I mean, I think prayer is great. I do it every night with my kids. It’s a great way to kind of reflect and show gratitude on your life. Sure. I think… In the context of what happened, the politician was basically trying to say, like, it’s enough time for prayer with all of these school shootings, it seems like, every month. Can we, like… do something to prevent it.
SPEAKER 09 :
But Corey, you could say we could do more, but to be hostile about the prayer is demonic. I mean, Corey, if you were the devil, you would mock prayer, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
I guess, but I don’t agree that he was hostile. Like, he wasn’t saying prayer is unnecessary. You didn’t hear the anger in his voice? You didn’t hear Michael Steele say that it’s nonsense and a lie, that the prayers are nonsense and a lie? You think that’s out of context? That wasn’t the clip that you played, though.
SPEAKER 09 :
It was the clip I played. I played Michael Steele saying that praying right now is nonsense and a lie. Jen Psaki, who used to be the Obama press secretary, said enough with freaking prayers. They’re angry at it, Corey. They’re angry about it. They’re not frustrated.
SPEAKER 04 :
Do I sound angry? What? I think you’re just trying to incite emotion in your viewers.
SPEAKER 09 :
I’m not. I’m emotional about somebody dumping all over prayer, and you should be too if you say you pray with your kids. Doesn’t that offend you?
SPEAKER 04 :
I do pray with my kids. It doesn’t offend me because I’m just referring to whatever clip you played, it wasn’t what you’re referring to.
SPEAKER 09 :
I am referring to the hostility towards prayer, and you ought to take it seriously, Corey. As a young dad, you ought to take it seriously. That this is evil. Yeah, you could say we could do more, but don’t be hostile towards prayer. Don’t turn around and condemn it. Don’t say it’s nonsense and a lie, which is the clip that I played. At this point, I’m so confused about the clip you’re referring to, I don’t even know where to begin. But what I do know is a whole lot of prominent Democrats are acting a whole lot angry about prayer. And that’s demonic. 800-655-MIGHT. 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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SPEAKER 12 :
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 09 :
Out of all the reactions to yesterday’s school shooting in Minnesota, the tendency of a number of prominent Democrats to mock Democrats and disparage people who are praying for the victims of this monstrous shooting really, really landed hard. Probably it was the most profound thing to witness. I knew we would have the inevitable screams for gun control and the debate about you know, school, you know, armed security guards. I knew we would have all kinds of debates about mental illness, all kinds of debate about trans. There’s all kinds of conversations going on in America right now. But to mock prayer? This is from Jacob Fry, the mayor of Minneapolis, saying, to Jen Psaki on MSNBC, Michael Steele on MSNBC, anchor and host, who called praying nonsense, who called prayer a lie. Those are his words. Vice President J.D. Vance had the perfect response to all of this horrific, demonic reaction. J.D. Vance wrote, of all the weird left-wing culture wars in the last few years, this is by far the most bizarre. Quote, how dare you pray for innocent people in the midst of tragedy. Unquote. What are these people even talking about? I can appreciate that they want to ban guns. I strongly and vehemently disagree with their effort to grab guns and to make the Second Amendment a relic of the past. But you can have that conversation without attacking prayer, without attacking God. And again, back to J.D. Vance, who beautifully wrote this, “‘We pray because our hearts are broken.'” We pray because we know God listens. We pray because we know that God works in mysterious ways and can inspire us to further action. Why do you feel the need, Jen Psaki, Jacob Fry, Amy Klobuchar, Michael Steele, why do you feel the need to attack other people for praying when kids were just killed While praying. Boy, am I glad we won. Because you wouldn’t get that kind of a message from Vice President Tim Walz. I do appreciate a message that I want to play every hour today because Paul Harvey’s words in 1965 ring as true today in 2025 as they did all those years ago. We’ve played this before. I’m sure you remember it well. Let me reintroduce to you Paul Harvey’s If I Were the Devil.
SPEAKER 10 :
If I Were the Devil. If I were the prince of darkness, I’d want to engulf the whole world in darkness, and I’d have a third of its real estate and four-fifths of its population, but I wouldn’t be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree. The. So I’d set about however necessary to take over the United States. I’d subvert the churches first. I’d begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve, “‘Do as you please.'” To the young I would whisper that the Bible is a myth. I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what’s bad is good and what’s good is square. And the old I would teach to pray after me, our father, which art in Washington. And then I’d get organized. I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa. I’d peddle narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills. If I were the devil, I’d soon have families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves, and nations at war with themselves, until each in its turn was consumed. And with promises of higher ratings, I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames. If I were the devil, I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions. Just let those run wild. Until before you knew it, you’d have to have drug-sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door. Within a decade… I’d have prisons overflowing. I’d have judges promoting pornography. Soon I could evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress. And in his own churches, I would substitute psychology for religion and deify science. I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls and church money. If I were the devil, I’d make the symbol of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas. A bottle. If I were the devil, I’d take from those who have and give to those who wanted until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious. And what’ll you bet? I couldn’t get whole states to promote gambling as the way to get rich. I would caution against extremes in hard work, in patriotism, in moral conduct. I would convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned, that swinging is more fun, that what you see on TV is the way to be. And thus I could undress you in public, and I could lure you into bed with diseases for which there is no cure. In other words, if I were the devil, I’d just keep right on doing what he’s doing.
SPEAKER 09 :
Wow, that’s Paul Harvey, a national treasure. If you want that video clip, we’ll happily send it back to you so you can have it. Just text the keyword devil to our MyPillow text line, which is 800-655-MIKE, and we’ll send it back. Please never text and drive. Standard text messaging rates may apply. But those words from 1965 are even truer, I think, in 2025 than they were all those years ago. Sixty years ago. Welcome into the Mike Gallagher Show in the Relief Factor Studios. Our number is 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. There is a lot of evil in the world. We are surrounded by it. We know it. But we know what the foundation of good is. We know that prayer is the foundation of faith, of good, of godliness, of hope, of peace, and love. And I am… Absolutely grateful for the words of Paul Harvey that can comfort us because we know what we’re up against. And while this is not a political debate, this transcends politics. This is good versus evil. When you hear the kinds of things that people said, people with prominent platforms. Michael Steele used to be the Republican National Committee chairman. He’s a former Republican, now an MSNBC star. And here’s what he thought was smart to say yesterday in the hours after these beautiful little children were slaughtered in church.
SPEAKER 07 :
I’m not, the thoughts and prayers, I’m so beyond, so beyond that, that nonsense, the lie.
SPEAKER 09 :
The nonsense, the lie of praying, the nonsense, it’s a lie. It’s a lie, don’t you know? Says the former RNC chair turned MSNBC star, Michael Steele. Oh no, there’s real evil and we’re seeing evil. I saw a post from Sean Davis from The Federalist that was so perfect that echoes my reaction to seeing this celebration of evil, this rejection of prayer. And it was kind of in line with the Paul Harvey clip as well, If I Were the Devil. This is what evil sounds like. It’s what it feels like. It’s what it looks like. Sean Davis wrote, ask yourself how an actual demon would respond to Christian children being martyred by a demon-possessed monster, probably with explicit mockery of God and prayer. Then ask yourself why people like Jen Psaki and Michael Steele and the rest of them, that’s exactly how an actual demon would respond. This is demonic. This is beyond politics. It’s good versus evil. Thankfully, we know how this story ends. Don’t ever stop leaning into your faith, your praying, your beliefs.
SPEAKER 11 :
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 12 :
The Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 06 :
You really want to be asked to go. You know, I hate to barge in on a city and then be treated horribly by corrupt politicians and bad politicians like a guy like Pritzker. He ought to spend more time in the gym, actually. This guy is a disaster. Gavin Newsom’s a disaster.
SPEAKER 12 :
In the Relief Factor studios, here’s Mike on Salem News Channel and Salem Radio Network.
SPEAKER 09 :
You hear the news about the GDP? Holy moly, good news. Second quarter GDP growth has been revised upward to a robust 3.3%, surpassing expectations. Inflation has gone down. It’s been adjusted downward to 2%. It’s all good news. On the economic front, the economy is humming. The Democrats hate this. The Democrats don’t know what to do. Nothing is working for them right now. It is pretty extraordinary the way nothing is working. And maybe even Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, D.C. yesterday, shocked the world. by acknowledging that crime is going down thanks to Trump’s federalizing the District of Columbia. This is Muriel Bowser. This almost looked like a hostage video. She was having to confess, well, Trump was right.
SPEAKER 01 :
We greatly appreciate the surge of officers that enhance what MPD has been able to do in this city. thing that we are highlighting today is the area of crime that was most troubling for us in 2023. Now, we have driven it down over the last years, but for carjackings, the difference between this period, this 20-day period of this federal surge and last year represents an 87% reduction in carjackings in Washington, D.C. We know that when carjackings go down, when the use of gun goes down, when homicide or robbery go down, neighborhoods feel safer and are safer. So this surge has been important to us for that reason.
SPEAKER 09 :
Uh-oh. Holy cow. Dogs and cats living together. Birds swimming with fish. It’s the end times. Muriel Bowser just acknowledged that Trump’s policy worked and is continuing to work. Hey, Chicago, you paying attention? Brandon Johnson, are you listening to your fellow mayor, Muriel Bowser? Wow. Wow. Chicago’s next, you know. And I want to know what that… Goofy Brandon Johnson is going to say when he can look at one of his colleagues, fellow Democrat Muriel Bowser, doing everything but donning a red MAGA hat. The only thing missing from Muriel Bowser’s comments was the red hat. Way to go, Mayor Bowser. Way to go. MAGA. MAGA. MAGA. Let’s talk fiscal policy here for a moment with one of the best and the brightest, Kurt Couchman, a senior fellow in fiscal policy for Americans for Prosperity, because there’s big, big news here economically. Kurt, what a day. You know, we’ve got a lot of breaking news. We’ve got, of course, the tragedy in this horrific catastrophe yesterday in Minneapolis. We’re reacting to that. There’s a big national conversation going on about all the issues surrounding that. But in the middle of this news comes the announcement that the second quarter GDP numbers have come in. The revision revised upward a robust 3.3 percent. I just saw on the break an analysis over on CNBC, and they’re all acknowledging that The economy is humming. I mean, give me your take, Kurt, as we talk a little bit about fiscal issues. We’re going to talk about the balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. But give me your take to this good economic news.
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely. Well, first of all, thanks for having me back. It’s great when the economy is growing. We need that. Unleashing prosperity and abundance for all Americans lets more and more people live their version of life. of the American dream. That’s wonderful. We do have a problem with the federal government spending too much and borrowing too much. So that needs to be the next thing we focus on.
SPEAKER 09 :
Amen. And one way to do that is a balanced budget amendment. Let’s talk about the House voting on the balanced budget amendment. What does this mean? And what do you think are the steps that need to happen, Kurt?
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. So this came out of the negotiations on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the reconciliation legislation, where some members of the House said, hey, we’re doing a lot of good things here. We need to do more. And a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution would be part of that. So we need to reboot that conversation and start rebuilding the consensus that this is something that we should be doing. And so we’ve looked back at what happened in 1995 when the House passed a balanced budget amendment for the first and only time. And it turns out that they had competition between different BBA proposals, conservative ones, progressive ones, bipartisan ones. And they hashed all that out. So that could be a really important part of getting America’s fiscal health back on track. And we’re doing as much as we can to support that and help members of Congress understand the different features and why it’s good for people across the political spectrum to control the debt and not crowd out economic investment and prosperity.
SPEAKER 09 :
Now, you know, we talk about the idea of a balanced budget amendment, and we kind of throw that term around a little bit, but it’s got to be viable, right? What makes a viable balanced budget amendment, Kurt?
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. So you have to understand that constitutional amendments require two thirds in both houses of Congress. So you need something that appeals to a bunch of Republicans, a bunch of Democrats. And so that means that if you have partisan provisions in the BBA that one side or the other can’t tolerate, then that’s just not going to work. And the other thing that’s really important is that every BBA that’s ever been voted on would require annual balance so that spending and revenue. would have to be the same every year. The problem with that is the revenue is really volatile. It jumps around from year to year by quite a lot. And so if you tie spending to that volatile revenue, you end up with a lot of uncertainty in both the spending side and the revenue side. It’s a pain in the butt. Politicians won’t do it. So you need to balance over the medium term, like Switzerland and Germany and Sweden, And actually a bunch of U.S. states do this as well, where like during the good times, you’re putting money away. You’re not spending all that revenue. And then during the bad times, you can draw on those reserves that you’ve built up. So that’s a really important piece of it. And there are others we could go on. I’ve actually written a book about all this stuff. So if folks are interested, Fiscal Democracy in America just came out.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, well, absolutely. Fiscal democracy in America, how a balanced budget amendment can restore sound governance. I know this is kind of in the weeds stuff, but it’s really, really important because, you know, we all complain about the government borrowing too much, spending too much, and we don’t do anything about it. Can you kind of walk us through the legislative process, what that looks like to secure an actual amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would memorialize this once and for all?
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely. So Article 5 of the Constitution sets out the way that the Constitution can be amended. The traditional route is that two-thirds of both houses of Congress, the House and the Senate, approve the same provisions, the same proposal, and then it goes to the state legislatures. And then when three-fourths of them, so 38 state legislatures, have approved it, then it’s ratified and it becomes an operative part of the Constitution. So that clearly requires a lot of people in both parties, both in Congress and in state legislatures, to be okay with that. So you need something that has overwhelming support, something that is more principles-based, is similar to what’s already in the Constitution. You look at most provisions of the Constitution and you think about, what does that mean? And it actually leads to more questions than answers. And then Congress has to come in and pass regular laws that fill in all the details, the mechanics. And I talk about that in the book, too, toward the end. And we’ve actually been working with members of Congress of both parties to build out and support those different pieces. That really gets into the weeds. But it’s important to have that stuff on the shelf and ready to go for when a moment like this comes up, you can say, and this is how we do it.
SPEAKER 09 :
This is how you do it. And Americans for Prosperity does it just better than anybody. And I hope everybody gets involved because you can get off the sidelines, you can make your voice heard, and you can be part of the solution. Go to americansforprosperity.org and find out what AFP is up to. Follow the work of Kurt Couchman and the many, many great people at Americans for Prosperity. We so appreciate your expertise and your good timing on this with this good news with the GDP and good news economically. Kurt Couchman, keep fighting the good fight. Thanks for joining us on The Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thanks for having me, Mike. Great to be with you.
SPEAKER 09 :
You bet. AmericansForProsperity.org, AmericansForProsperity.org. I got into a real spirited conversation with my friend Joey Hudson yesterday about the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz. Tim Walz was thankful yesterday that President Trump expressed his condolences and prayers and support for the community that has been through so much. And not that I don’t appreciate a Democrat willing to give Trump an acknowledgement, but this really bothers me. And I’m going to tell you why. I’m going to lay it all out for you because I really want to get into your brain a little bit. I want to find out when you think a politician like Tim Walz is telling the truth. And when he’s not.
SPEAKER 12 :
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 09 :
This bizarre, bizarre young man, the mayor of Minneapolis. Do you remember him on his knees at George Floyd’s casket? Sobbing at the gold casket of George Floyd. Crying and wailing and sobbing while on his knees before the gold casket of George Floyd. But yesterday, he’s livid at the prospect of prayer. So you can pray for George Floyd, but not for these martyred children at Annunciation Catholic School. Mark, this is demonic. This is as bad as it gets.
SPEAKER 08 :
This is brilliant. Sean Davis, who writes for The Federalist, is just great. And thank you for that great example. The wonderful Paul Harvey did a thing probably in the 60s or something. Yep, I played it a month ago. It’s sort of like if I were the devil, what would I do to America? I would drive people away from churches. I would have them focus only on their own troubles. I would drive them away from you. I would fill them with entertainment that distracts them from the central importance of worship, blah, blah, blah. And that was done in the 60s. It sure was. It sure was. How perfect is that? Exactly right. So along that same narrative, if indeed you think about what the enemy, what the devil would do, it would be to distract people in this moment. Say, no, no, no, don’t be praying. No, no, no, no, no. Think that you’re in control. Think that you and your members of Congress and your legislators can, by doing things to weaken the Second Amendment in America, a nation created by God with his help, that you have all the tools. Don’t go to him. Don’t go to that God, that invisible man in the sky. Nothing’s going to happen there. This is in your hands. You are in control. Focus on you. You are the king of your own destiny. You are the ruler of your own life. This is exactly what the enemy wants us to feel.
SPEAKER 09 :
If your first reaction to a madman murdering innocent children at a Catholic school is to attack the people who are praying, golly, you’re in a place where you talk about a lot of – there’s a lot of conversations about mental illness. But that’s one that you’ve got to look in the mirror. And from a political standpoint, I watched that disgusting Michael Steele. And he disgusts me because this is a guy who functioned for a time as the chair of the RNC.
SPEAKER 08 :
I had the nicest segment with him at the 2008 Democrat Convention at the Pepsi Center in Denver. And it was like, wow, you know, black guy’s the RNC chairman. Yay. You know, and I don’t care what color anybody is, but if that’s an extra checkbox, it’s like, hey, you know, we’re not just the white people’s party. That’s lovely. And he was never going to be, you know, the most conservative knife in the drawer. But that’s OK. There are lots of ways to be a Republican. But in the MSNBC coven, in that cult, he has become so noxious and so hostile to things he once believed in. Have you got the sort of the paraphrase of his?
SPEAKER 09 :
But that’s my question, though.
SPEAKER 08 :
Did he believe them then or does he believe it now?
SPEAKER 09 :
I don’t know. I am so fascinated by the trajectory of people like Michael Steele, who now is as far left. And again, he was the RNC chairman. He called himself a Republican. Does he denounce all of his conservatism in order to get a paycheck now at MSNBC? Does he not really believe what he spews on MSNBC, but he wants the money? I don’t know how that works, but I do know this. Another great post on social media…
SPEAKER 08 :
The Michael Steele quote that has us animated at the moment is this. It says, I’m tired of these thoughts and prayers. I’m so beyond that nonsense. I’m so beyond that nonsense.
SPEAKER 09 :
The lie of that, he called it. The lie. Prayer is a lie. Now, somebody posted a clip of him saying that and wrote, somewhere in America, there are DNC consultants watching their party call prayer nonsense and a lie, and they’re tearing their hair out. Look, from a political standpoint, and I’m sorry to even go there because we’ve got families that are burying their 8- and 10-year-old children, but it’s true, normal people are repulsed by this. Normal Americans who called themselves Democrats are saying, no, no, no, I can’t associate with these people anymore. These people don’t represent sanity. And by the way, one more point about wondering about the trajectory of things. I had a great conversation with my buddy Joey Hudson about this yesterday. Did you see Tim Walz, that goofy governor of Minnesota, thank President Trump and express gratitude for Trump’s call of support yesterday? Now, a couple of days, Tim Walz.
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s right. I said, look on your face. Well, interesting day yesterday because D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, she didn’t say thank you, President Trump, but she said, you know what? Crime is better and the surge of law enforcement is why. Correct.
SPEAKER 09 :
But go back to Tim Walz for a moment. Tim Walz stood there and thanked, basically acknowledged that President Trump showed his support and he expressed gratitude to President Trump. For doing so. Well, good. Now, a couple days ago, Tim Walz stood up on a stage at their DNC summer camp. I know. And called Trump that thing in the White House. I know. And called him Hitler and fascist. Now, here’s my point. When he was calling Trump Hitler and fascist and that thing, but then yesterday said, I’m grateful to President Trump for his support. Which one’s a lie? Which one’s the lie? And we know what it is. They don’t think he’s a fascist.
SPEAKER 08 :
No, that’s performative.
SPEAKER 09 :
That’s performative nonsense. But that’s what I mean. And this is my whole point about politics. Politics to these people is just a big game. Yeah. Lives are at stake here, and we’re talking about actual human beings and Americans, but to them, it’s all just a game. It’s all performative. None of it is real, Mark. It’s sickening. It’s sickening. Yesterday was real. You got a president calling a governor saying, we’re sorry about what happened to your state, and we’re going to give you all the resources we can, yada, yada, yada. And Tim Walz goes out there and says, oh, thank you, President Trump. But the other day, you were calling him that thing. I know.
SPEAKER 08 :
I know.
SPEAKER 09 :
Do you really thank the thing? Do you thank Hitler? Do you have lunch with Hitler? I mean, it just infuriates me.
SPEAKER 08 :
After the election, after he won, and there were Democrats who sort of, they weren’t fawning in their congratulation, but they were decent, and they paid some proper respects to the freshly elected president. And I remember you and I said, wait a minute, excuse me, do you even say nice things to Hitler? Do you acknowledge any attribute of the devil himself? Because that’s what you folks said he was just moments ago.
SPEAKER 09 :
Because we know they don’t believe it. Final note on the fury of the day, and I want to get to the Muriel Bowser thing and all that. I know we’re almost out of time. Did you see the investigative journalist Aaron Katursky on ABC News and his reporting?
SPEAKER 08 :
Was this about the video left by the shooter?
SPEAKER 09 :
The manifesto and the video.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right.
SPEAKER 09 :
And the video included, as we know, I mean, the guy was a monster, hated Trump. All right. He had killed Trump on his guns. Mm-hmm. I want you to hear how Aaron Katursky described that. He knows the manifesto had already been online. Yep. We all saw it. We all know what the shooter thought of Donald Trump. Mm-hmm. I want you to hear what a senior ABC journalist chose to do in describing that manifesto. Listen.
SPEAKER 02 :
23-year-old Robin Westman was able to leave what police called a video manifesto that they’re now going through to try and establish motive. We’ve also been going through it and can tell you there are crude diagrams of the church. There are also photos of the weapons, and they include all sorts of writings, the names of past mass shooters, criticism of Israel, the name of President Trump.
SPEAKER 08 :
The name of President Trump, which makes you… Did it just say Donald Trump? Did it say Trump on the stock or on the barrel? No, it said kill Trump, right?
SPEAKER 09 :
Kill Trump, but he left that out so that the viewers of his report would think that he’s a Trump supporter. Yeah. Mark, that is that is scurrilous. That is repulsive. He did. And you know, he did it on purpose. The name of you think leaving out kill Donald Trump is all might have been a key thing.
SPEAKER 12 :
Download the podcast and hear all of Mike and Mark’s conversations at Mike online dot com for the Eminem experience.
SPEAKER 09 :
That’ll do it for Thursday. Thanks so much for joining us. Thanks to the team, of course, Eric and Tracy and Christian and Alex. We’ll do it again tomorrow for a Friday episode. Hope you can join us then. Have a great day. Be safe and keep fighting the good fight. I’m Mike Gallagher. God bless America.
