Join us as we explore the ongoing debate over voter ID laws and mail-in voting in light of President Trump’s recent executive orders. The discussion reaches beyond politics as we consider the implications for voter integrity amidst accusations of fraud and manipulation. The episode also covers the potential impact on upcoming elections, drawing on recent polls and statements from both sides of the aisle. Through rigorous discourse, we examine whether these contested measures serve democracy or politically strategic interests.
SPEAKER 08 :
Wow, I just saw a Brandon Johnson clip who now has elevated his pro-crime opposition to Trump’s
SPEAKER 19 :
federalizing cities to a whole new level screaming are you prepared to defend the land of slaves he’s bringing slavery into the argument that chicago shouldn’t be made safer we know that when the national guard goes into a city it becomes safer just ask mayor muriel bowser who I got to believe is about to enter the Witness Protection Program, surely the Democrats are angry at her for acknowledging that Trump’s plan worked in Washington, D.C. Now Brandon Johnson is hysterically screeching that in the land of slavery… Trump’s troops are going to, I don’t know, create more slaves. I don’t know. Christian will turn this around and we’ll play this clip for you because it’s a doozy. Wow. What a way to start a Tuesday after Labor Day. I hope you had a great holiday weekend. We’ve got a lot of stuff to cover today. Today, 2 p.m. Eastern, Trump making a big announcement. What’s it going to be? Is it about his health? If you had the misfortune of opening up X… or Facebook, or Instagram, or TikTok over the weekend, all you saw were reports that Trump is dying. He’s sick. He’s deathly ill. He hasn’t been seen in public. He may be golfing. He’s not golfing. That may be a picture. It’s not a picture. There’s a shot of the second floor of the White House. Somebody’s throwing stuff out the window. I’m not kidding. I’m not making any of this up. You know what I’m talking about if you were on social media. It’s insane the level of speculation about the health of the President of the United States. It’s probably, the announcement today probably has to do with trade or with maybe sending the troops into Chicago. I don’t know. I admit there’s a nagging part of me that wonders why he has been relatively low-key the last few days. Now, that may mean nothing. I don’t know. That may be absolutely – there may be nothing to it. There is something to the Democrats’ opposition to making a city safer. I just saw a poll that just came out here in New York City where I’m going to be based for a couple of days. We’re in town for the big Barrett Media Summit, which is coming this Wednesday, and I’ll be telling you all about that in the days to come. And New York is really in bad shape. There’s no way anybody could argue with a straight face that things are going well here. If it’s pretty shaky under Eric Adams, imagine what it’ll be like under Zoran Mamdani. Now, check out this poll that I just saw moments ago. He right now is at 44%. Eric Adams, the incumbent, who’s now been kind of kicked out of the Democrat Party, is an independent. Curtis Sliwa, the Republican, and Cuomo, the Democrat. The three of them combined… are at 44%. Mamdani almost beats all of them combined. And so the only chance New York has to escape Mamdani is if these three men, Eric Adams, Cuomo and Sliwa consolidate efforts and all coalesce behind one candidate. That’s the only chance that New York’s got. I don’t see any of them doing that. It’s probably not going to happen. But then again, if this polling continues this way, maybe it will. Meanwhile, if you want… A Brandon Johnson on socialist and communist steroids, that’s what you’ll get. Over the weekend, over 50 people were shot in Chicago. It was a bloodbath. Chicago had one of the bloodiest labor days on record. Crime completely out of control in the city of Chicago. Okay? Now, I want you to hear, Christian, you have it ready? I want you to hear Brandon Johnson, who is staking out the position that we don’t want to make Chicago safer. We don’t want to save those young lives, young people being murdered in the streets of Chicago. Forget what… Muriel Bowser said about D.C., forget it’s Trump after all, so we’re not going to let Trump send the troops into Chicago to help with the crime crisis that we have in the Windy City. And I want you to hear what level of insane rhetoric Brandon Johnson is at now.
SPEAKER 09 :
Are you prepared to defend this land, this land that was built by slaves, a land that was built by indigenous people, a land that is built by workers? Are you prepared to defend this land? The people united will always prevail. I need you all to stand firm, to stand strong.
SPEAKER 19 :
Can you imagine being that powerful? Insane, over-lowering crime? Think about this. Think about one of America’s most prominent mayors invoking slavery and indigenous people in an effort to reject making his city safer. Here was his big announcement over the weekend, in case you missed it. The order that he signed to resist the effort to make Chicago’s streets safer by sending in the troops.
SPEAKER 10 :
We may see militarized immigration enforcement. We may also see National Guard troops. We may even see active duty military and armed vehicles in our streets. We have not called for this. Our people have not asked for this. But nevertheless, we find ourselves having to respond to this.
SPEAKER 19 :
You know, there’s a color on hold that says they’ve all lost their minds. It’s hard not to get to this conclusion. I want to give you a city alderman of Chicago. I don’t even know the alderman’s name. Who cares? But this is part of the Brandon Johnson government in Chicago. Because when all else fails, obviously there’s a crime problem in Chicago. But who are you going to blame? Donald Trump, of course.
SPEAKER 01 :
I think that what we need to do is that we also have a mass shooting in a Catholic school. We also have had many, many instances where the administration has really escalated, exacerbated the violence in our country, in our cities. Trump is a dictator. I think we’ve got to be very clear. He’s trying to normalize violence. He’s trying to normalize military deployment in American cities like LA, DC, Chicago, and many others to come. But what we have not seen is really a systemic investment that will actually address the core issues. I had shootings in my ward. One of them was a tragic shooting of an unhoused neighbor. So the Trump administration is saying that they are going to address the issue of unhoused residents by putting them in jails and concentration camps. Are they going to address the issue of violence by withholding $800 million that have gone to the cities like Chicago for violence prevention programs, $200 million that the Trump administration is withholding for substance abuse programs? I think that this has to do a lot with distracting the public and to create distractions in a time when the American public needs solutions.
SPEAKER 19 :
Now, again, lunacy. I suppose, from a political point of view, we ought to welcome the Democrats’ insane reaction to this. Their insane position. And it is. It’s lunacy. On the other hand, and we ought to welcome it. If you’re a Republican, this is great news for the Republican Party headed into the midterms. These nuts, these kooks, don’t want crime to be reduced. So from a political standpoint, it’s a big win, right? But I keep thinking about a grieving family burying a loved one this week. I keep thinking about families who lost their son, their daughter, their husband, their wife. The city was a bloodbath over the weekend. And these Democrats don’t want to prevent those deaths. It’s amazing to me. It’s astounding. 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. Give me your reaction to all of it here on this Tuesday in the Relief Factor Studios. Great having you along for the ride. 800-655-MIKE. I hope you join us. Ph.D. weight loss has changed my life, and I’ve got a little secret for you. You know Big Pharma and semaglutide and the shots in the belly. You’ve seen the story recently about the study that shows that a lot of people that are getting this are going blind. You don’t want to do this. You want a program to lose weight that’s centered around science and nutrition, a proven roadmap that has helped over 8,000 clients lose weight and keep it off, like me. I lost 53 pounds a few years ago, and I’ve kept it off. I know what to eat and when. I know how to quiet any of the cravings I might get and finally release that unhealthy belly fat that I carried along for so long. Make the phone call that can change your life in the way it changed mine. It’s called PhD Weight Loss. PhD Weight Loss, Dr. Ashley Lucas’ program is brilliant. And how do I know? Well, 53 pounds later, here I am. 864-644-1900 is their number. Call and schedule your consultation. You can do this program from anywhere in America. Call 864-644-1900, 864-644-1900, or visit MyPhDWeightLoss.com.
SPEAKER 08 :
The Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 04 :
Anyone in California can drop off a ballot where they don’t verify the citizenship of who submits it, the residency, the age, the criminal history, the eligibility, or the signature. Completely anonymous. Vote by mail.
SPEAKER 08 :
In the ReliefFactor.com studios, here’s Mike.
SPEAKER 19 :
That’s Stephen Miller, of course, with Laura Ingram on Fox News Channel. Voting by mail. It’s got to end. And I know a lot of people like early voting. You like absentee voting. I get it. But if you’re not concerned about the abuse, and you wait and see, they’ll come up with another COVID excuse if they have their way. President Trump announced over the weekend that he’s going to issue an executive order to require voter ID to vote and minimalize minimize voter mail-in voting. Here’s what he wrote. Voter ID must be part of every single vote, no exceptions. Now that’s controversial in Democrat world. Somehow that’s novel. You’ve got to use an ID to do everything in life except vote, according to the Democrats. And you know why? Because they want to cheat. There’s no other explanation. You know that’s what the reason is. Frankly, it’s why they’re opposed to any crackdown on illegal immigration. I was listening to Tara this morning in South Carolina, and she played a clip from Victor Davis Hanson on a podcast who brilliantly laid out that this chaos with crime, with illegal immigration, it’s all by design in order to tip the demographic balance towards the Democrat Party. There is a real method. There’s no other. You can’t just say it’s because it’s Trump that they’re opposing making cities safer. Muriel Bowser isn’t saying that anymore. Muriel Bowser… is basically thanking the president. And so it has to do with voter fraud. It has to do with demographic shifts. It has to do with redistricting and making sure that congressional districts are unfairly weighted to benefit Democrats despite a Republican population. So Trump said, I will be doing an executive order No mail-in voting, except for those that are very ill and the faraway military. Use paper ballots only. And voter ID must be part of every single vote. Now, a normal American doesn’t have any objection to that. None. There’s no way. I’m going to read this post one more time, and I defy you to tell me that you would disagree with anything Trump wrote in this Truth Social post. And I’m going to read it word for word. Quote, voter ID must be part of every single vote. No exceptions. I will be doing an executive order to that end. Also, no mail-in voting except for those that are very ill and the faraway military. Use paper ballots only. President D.J.T. He left out, thank you for your attention to this matter this time. But he’s right. And as soon as he signs these executive orders, federal judges try to swoop in and reverse it. In March, he signed an executive order that required voters to show proof of citizenship. Didn’t take long. June, a federal judge struck down part of that order. Look, he is convinced that he was cheated in 2020. He believes that voter fraud and mail-in voting cost him the election. If I took a straw poll today, 98% of you would agree with that. I guarantee you, it would be practically 100%. A lot of bad actors. A lot of bad faith people. And when you… try to pretend these are not bad faith people, you give me a legitimate argument against voter ID. There is none. There is none. There isn’t a single concrete shred of an argument you could make that voter ID shouldn’t be in place. Where you have to affirm… that you are who you say you are when you show up to cast your ballot. Nobody blinks at having to do that to cash a check. Nobody blinks at having to do that when you go into a bank or you get on a plane or you walk into a building. We’re asked for our ID in life in about every aspect of functionality in this country. I’ve told you this story a million times. voting in the 2016 presidential election in New York City. That was quite the experience. And I walked into the polling place near my apartment in Midtown Manhattan, and I stupidly pulled out my wallet to show the lady my driver’s license. She actually giggled. She said, oh, you don’t need to, we don’t ask for any ID here at all. She was almost offended, I think. It almost rubbed her the wrong way. She said, what’s your name? I said, Mike Gallagher. Okay, go right over there. Booth number four. I could have said I was Ronald McDonald. My gosh. 800-655-MIKE. Let’s get some more calls in here. We’re talking a little bit, of course, about Brandon Johnson. Incidentally, you heard him say, nobody wants this here. No Chicagoan wants this. troops in our city, right? Brandon Johnson presumes to speak for Chicagoans. Fox News Channel had a little montage of Chicago residents. Let’s take a little listen. to what actual people who live in Chicago are saying about the concept of federal troops, the National Guard, coming in to reduce the murder rate, to reduce the carjacking rate, to reduce the assault rates, to lower crime in Chicago. Here’s a little sampling of what real Chicagoans are saying.
SPEAKER 07 :
From bad to worse to disaster. No one really feels safe. It’s impossible to feel safe in a city like this, especially with the leadership we have. These kids are carrying guns like around the ages of eight years old, and they’re killing other eight-year-old kids with guns. It’s insane. My opinion, not enough police officers. A police officer’s hands are tied. So the police is really unappreciative offhand under Brandon Johnson, Lori Lightfoot. J.B. Prister. Those three are the reason why nobody wants to be a police. Their policies, when it comes to crime, it’s not working at all.
SPEAKER 12 :
I think the biggest piece of the pie has to be more police officers, more protection. That’s what the people want.
SPEAKER 19 :
Now, how did the Labor Day weekend go in Chicago? Don’t take my word for it. Let’s listen. Let’s read the Chicago Sun-Times together. Chicago Sun-Times, hardly a conservative publication. No one’s going to ever mistake the Chicago Sun-Times for being a pro-Trump or pro-Republican publication. Took three reporters to write this article. Here’s what it says. Chicago saw its most violent holiday weekend of the summer. as President Trump’s threats to send the National Guard into the city have put local crime rates in the national spotlight. At least nine people were killed and 52 others wounded in shootings and other violence citywide over the Labor Day weekend. This weekend’s gun violence was a significant jump from last year’s late summer holiday weekend. Only eight people were killed then. Only 22 were wounded. Boy, there’s a victory then. Only eight killed over Labor Day weekend last year. Nine this year. Now, with that in mind… Let’s listen again to Brandon Johnson ranting and raving about slavery, about indigenous people, about having to protect Chicago from additional law enforcement actions that would save lives.
SPEAKER 09 :
Are you prepared to defend this land, this land that was built by slaves, a land that was built by indigenous people, a land that is built by workers? Are you prepared to defend this land? The people united will always prevail. I need you all to stand firm, to stand strong.
SPEAKER 19 :
That’s the mayor of Chicago. John’s in Milwaukee, not far from Chicagoland. Hey, John, thanks for your patience. Welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 17 :
Hello. To quote Rahm Emanuel, never let a crisis go to waste. I have one other thing, if I could say it. Sure. It’s amazing how most of these people killed, they were black, they were minorities. This man was sworn to protect people. That’s in his oath when he took office. His host as mayor of Chicago. He’s doing a horrible job. And also, I don’t know if you covered it. I don’t believe you did. But the mayor of Chicago had a proclamation, too, on Friday. It’s like, who trumps who? I know. I know.
SPEAKER 19 :
But answer this question for me. You’re a smart guy. Well, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Let me ask you this. Seriously, could Brandon Johnson really be this stupid to fall for almost a political trap that is being laid for him?
SPEAKER 17 :
I do believe this man is probably sitting in a fetal position somewhere. When you hear the newscast in Chicago, of course they all sing his praises, but the guy has a whack job. It’s, as a previous caller said, the city of Chicago.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, but, oh, pardon me, I didn’t mean to hit the button here. John, thank you very much for your input. The trouble is, he’s not an outlier. He’s not alone. You think Zoran Mamdani wants the National Guard in New York City? You think he wants a beefed-up law enforcement presence? He hates the police. He can’t stand the cops. He’s called for the police to be defunded. He wants social workers to go to violent crime scenes. I’d like to believe—I think we’ve got to be careful— to guard against believing that Brandon Johnson is a lone, you know, aberration. He’s not. He is absolutely emblematic of today’s Democrat Party. Why? Maybe it lies in the Victor Davis Hanson answer. I want to see if we can track that podcast clip down where he talks about why Democrats are favoring crime, why they’re on the side of criminals, I guess why they want people to die. Because nobody handles this kind of stuff better than a smart guy like Victor Davis Hanson. 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 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.
SPEAKER 11 :
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SPEAKER 19 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
Mike Gallagher.
SPEAKER 19 :
There’s a little update on President Trump’s announcement today at 2 p.m. The latest is that, and this is Caroline Levitt, she told Newsweek that President Trump will be making an exciting announcement related to the Department of Defense. Hmm. Hmm. The Department of Defense. Boy, that’s going to be a big disappointment. to all the ghouls who are hoping and praying that he’s deathly ill and something terrible is going to happen to him. It’s a lot of sick, evil, awful, ugly people in the world. We all know it. And again, politically speaking, the Democrats’ opposition to lowering crime rates is a blessing to the Republican Party. This is a gift. This is a big, fat, gift-wrapped present that Brandon Johnson is delivering to the Republican Party on a giant silver platter. Check out pollster Larry Sabato, who was on CNN talking about how the Democrats are giving the Republicans a giant victory.
SPEAKER 16 :
Do you think that this crime crackdown is going to be a successful midterm sales pitch for Trump?
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, it’s a plus for Trump and Republicans. If you have a sense of history, you already know that because consistently the crime issue, law and order, has been a plus for Republicans since Richard Nixon first put the emphasis on it in 1968 and had a famous TV ad on that subject. Look, elections are about a lot of things. Democrats are not going to win this argument. They never win the argument. In fact, partly because, correctly, they’re worried about due process and what’s happening to the cities and whether it’s improving the situation or not. That isn’t a winning argument.
SPEAKER 19 :
He’s right. They’re not going to win this argument. They’re trying. You know, Nicole Malliotakis, who’s a Republican from New York, was on Fox News Channel, pointed out the obvious. The Democrats could fix this. They just don’t seem to want to.
SPEAKER 12 :
President Trump is doing what he needs to do to keep our community safe. And guess what? If they don’t want President Trump inserting and trying to protect the American people, then they should actually reverse the policies that have created these crimes, that have created this really unsafe aspect of quality of life.
SPEAKER 19 :
How hard is that? How hard is that? She’s right. If you don’t want the troops in there, Brandon Johnson, get rid of cashless bail. What about sanctuary city status? How about the sanctuary city status? New York, hey, sanctuary city. Stroll down 8th Avenue, 11 o’clock at night. Hundreds of men, women, and children. Migrants, as they like to call them in blue cities like New York. Roaming the streets. Little kids. Lord knows what happens to those children. as they’re prowling the streets of New York City at 11 o’clock. And I’m talking about little kids. Look, it’s catastrophic for the Democrats, but maybe the catastrophe has to… exist long enough to get Republicans in office over and over and over again. Got good news for you from my friends over at MyPillow. Mike Lindell, I was talking to him a couple of days ago. Great news for our audience. A big retail store canceled a huge order, leaving MyPillow with a ton of extra classic standards. That’s good news for you. Wholesale prices $17.98 for a standard MyPillow. The classic collection. Only $22.98 for a queen. Only $24.98 for a king. All you got to do is go to MyPillow.com. Look for that Mike Gallagher special square. Click on that box. And then with anything you order, enter the promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. Or call 800-928-6034. Hey, if you missed the little girl singing Respect, don’t worry. We’re going to play it again for you coming up next hour because I want to hear this. I need a little inspiration. I need some joy in my life. And this little girl gave a whole lot of us a bunch of joy. We’ll also give you the latest on the New York Times claiming why they’re claiming that Zoran Mamdani is not a socialist. Nothing to see here, says the New York Times. Don’t believe your lying eyes and your lying ears.
SPEAKER 15 :
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 :
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 19 :
Yeah, it’s a real struggle, all right. You send in the troops. Send in the guard. Make crime decrease, not increase. My goodness, what a time to be witnessing all of this, to be watching it all unfurl around us. It’s an extraordinary thing. And I saw a poll this morning. Zoran Mamdani is at 44%. This is going to be such an interesting story if this guy… who is clearly a socialist, if not a full-fledged communist, if he gets elected. And, you know, maybe to his supporters, people like you and me, who are trying to sound the alarm, are just giving the guy more oxygen. Maybe we’re just boosting his favorabilities. The New York Times pulled quite the shocker over the weekend. The New York Times is, according to hotair.com, is engaged in whitewashing Zoran Mamdani’s record as a radical socialist. Now, presumably that is because Trump has been calling Mamdani a communist and And if there’s anything that smells like catnip to a liberal journalist, writes David Strom over at Hot Air, it’s the opportunity to contradict anything President Trump says. There’s an actual sentence in a news report from the New York Times that reads, and I quote, the closest Mr. Mamdani gets to socialism is in his belief that in treating people more equitably. I mean, this man has been calling himself a socialist for as long as he’s been in the public eye. This is really, really gaslighting stuff on an epic level. He regularly quotes Marx. He talks about seize the means of production. He wants to eliminate private property. And he’s a literal member of both the New York City and National Democratic Socialists of America. He belongs to the Socialists’ clubs. And the New York Times says, no, no, no, no. He’s not a socialist. The closest he is to socialism is that he believes that people should all be treated equitably, fairly. The truth is… Even the New York Times understands that if you call Mamdani what he is, maybe, just maybe, he doesn’t win. Strom writes, I think it is safe to say that the average New York Times reader is queasy about a socialist, really a communist, winning the mayoral race. It’s one thing to mouth noises about social justice and all that, but if you look at the ads in the New York Times, you’ll notice that its readership is very wealthy, likely works in a high-income white-collar job, and is more interested in virtue signaling than actually having their own property seized. That may just be a bridge too far for your typical, comfy New York Times reader to have their private property seized. A dedicated socialist, while not probably able to actually seize private property, he could do quite a bit of damage. He could do quite a bit of damage. Let’s listen a little bit to Zoran Mamdani. I’ll let Christian play for you a couple of examples of what Zoran has said. This is not AI. This is really him. This is the guy who right now is sitting as poised, and according to the polls, is the odds-on favorite to become elected the next mayor of New York City.
SPEAKER 05 :
What the purpose is about this entire project, it’s not simply to raise class consciousness, but to win socialism. And obviously raising class consciousness is a critical part of that. But making sure that we have candidates that both understand that and are willing to put that forward at every which moment that they have, at every which opportunity that they are given. We have to continue to elect more socialists. And we have to ensure that we are unapologetic about our socialism. There are also other issues that we firmly believe in. whether it’s BDS, right, or whether it’s the end goal of seizing the means of production.
SPEAKER 19 :
Seize the means of production. And the New York Times sees no commonality between saying that and socialism. David Strom writes, trust nothing you read in the New York Times. It is trash. kind of hard to disagree with that. There’s an actual line from a news item about Zoran Mamdani that says the closest Mr. Mamdani gets to socialism is in his belief in treating people more equitably. Who doesn’t want to treat people more equitably, right? Who doesn’t want to believe that? That’s what he’s about. Now, again, this is a He also said, I prefer if we abolish private property. You got that clip, Christian? Check out his belief in abolishing private property.
SPEAKER 06 :
If there was any system that could guarantee each person housing, whether you call it the abolition of private property or you call it just a statewide housing guarantee, it is preferable to what is going on right now.
SPEAKER 19 :
He’s no socialist. No, no, no. And, of course, the New York Times, all the news that’s fit to print, insists that we may never know the motive of the Minneapolis church shooter. Just this weekend. This manifesto is everywhere. The killer’s manifesto, the video and written manifesto, In the killer’s own words, everywhere. Headline, New York Times. I kid you not. What motivated the Minneapolis church shooter? We may never know. I mean, wow. I’m going to give you a little bit of a smile today. I want you to hear and see this little girl who’s saying respect. I just am loving that. We’re going to share that with you here in a little bit. We’ll talk about Trump’s announcement today at 2 o’clock. It is said to be having something to do, exciting announcement about the Defense Department, according to Caroline Leavitt. More on that in just a moment. But in the meantime, as always, our Relief Factor podcast. Phone lines are open to you. 800-655-MIKE. Call or text on this Tuesday. I hope you had a great Labor Day holiday weekend. I am avoiding any talk of college football. I guarantee you we got plenty of Clemson and North Carolina fans in the audience. You know me. Carolina’s home for me. I’m going to be back there a week after next. We’re going to have a big kind of a celebration, a big event that Joey Hudson and I are going to kind of co-host along with 98.9 WORD. It’s going to be, I think it’s a week from Saturday, if I’m not mistaken. Check out the WORD website, 98.9 WORD.com for details. If you’re a Clemson fan… It was a rough, rough, rough night. Oof. Ooh, is that painful. If you’re a North Carolina fan, Bill Belichick’s college debut, rough. Oof. Oof. Brutal, as a matter of fact. Evidently, the NFL magic did not translate into the collegiate ranks for Coach Belichick. And meanwhile, I’m watching Kurt Herbstreet, the famous ABC ESPN sportscaster. This guy, he’s all over the place. He must have a time travel machine. He was at Ohio State Saturday morning honoring Lee Corso. Then I guess he gets on a plane and flies to Death Valley to call the Clemson LSU game. Saturday night. And I’m sorry, you just don’t stroll into a stadium and call a football game. That is the craziest. And I was just fascinated about how he pulls all that off. And all these people giving him a lot of love and a lot of hate. You know, being a sportscaster is almost as bad as being a big mouth talk show host like me. Everything we say gets criticized. Apparently people either love Kirk Herbstreet or you hate him. I think he’s fantastic. I love his analysis. I think he’s a great, great, great broadcaster. But, man, he must have a private jet on standby just taking him all over the place. Meanwhile, they showed a clip of Lee Corso. That poor guy is at an airport somewhere waiting to get on a Southwest plane commercial to go for his final game. Couldn’t they have loaned him a jet? Couldn’t Kurt have swung by the airport and picked up his buddy Lee Corso? I hope Lee Corso at least got the A seating. On Southwest Airlines, it was kind of cute. The gate agent did a whole big greeting to him, and everybody clapped for him. It was a nice moment. But not a nice moment on the field if you’re a Clemson Tiger fan like I am or a North Carolina Tar Heels fan like many of you are. Rough, rough weekend for week number one of college football, which is my absolute favorite. I got up Saturday morning. I was all set. Got in front of that TV and just plopped myself down on the – On the couch and enjoyed Saturday, at least until the Clemson game began. Well, the beginning wasn’t so bad. It was the ending that stunk. Never missed it. Never saw it.
SPEAKER 03 :
You didn’t do Dances with Wolves?
SPEAKER 19 :
Dude. Okay. Kind of bores me. The subject matter bores me. Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER 03 :
Does he really dance with the wolves? Sort of, kind of. But the occasion for this is one of the great, great, great, great Native American actors in history, the wonderful Graham Greene. And it’s funny, it doesn’t ring a bell. Google him and you’ll go, oh, that guy’s been in everything. Dances with Wolves, Green Mile, Maverick, Wind River, Thunderheart. So a great actor gone to his rest, the wonderful Graham Greene.
SPEAKER 19 :
I’ve got my own problems. I’ve had such a morning. Sorry for his family. Sorry for the loss. I don’t know who he is. All I know is that the ATM machine this morning gobbled my card and kept my $1,000. Oh, no. Oh, I’ve never had this happen in my life. Now, picture this.
SPEAKER 03 :
I had to keep a card. Like, I forgot my code, and so it said, well, we’ll just keep the card. I was a big dummy, so I understand that. But it kept the card. Okay, but did it hit your account for the $1,000?
SPEAKER 19 :
It did. It did. And it kept the card. It said, finally, after five minutes of clicking and buzzing and bells, it says, this ATM is malfunctioning. Contact your financial institution. Now, here’s the rub. You’d think the bank that has the thieving ATM, the dastardly, diabolical ATM that ate my card and kept the $1,000, you’d think they’d step up. Oh, no, because it’s not there. I used a different financial institution’s card. Right. So they’re telling me, you’ve got to go to your financial institution. They’ve got to cancel the car. I said, what did you do? Where’s my money? I mean, I’m standing there. I’m sweating. It’s the Port Authority bus station. There’s degenerates all around. It’s unbelievable.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is in New York.
SPEAKER 19 :
Oh, yeah, I’m in New York City, and I’m trying to get on the subway because I didn’t follow your advice, and I took the subway. So big mistake, big mistake, big mistake. So anyway, I got it.
SPEAKER 03 :
I also want to know, where do you find these ATMs that will give you $1,000? I think I’ve maxed out at $400 anywhere I’ve ever been anywhere.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and it’s a brand-new ATM. I use this machine. There’s actually two side-by-side, and they’re brand-new. I don’t want to mention bank institutions, but I’ve never had a problem before, and so here I am.
SPEAKER 03 :
So there’s a machine that’ll crank out $1,000 for somebody in the Port Authority bus terminal?
SPEAKER 19 :
Is that healthy for society? In retrospect, it’s probably not a smart move. Now that you put it that way, because I’m not kidding you, do you know that the intersection of 42nd and 8th, which is where I was, is literally the most dangerous block in all of New York City? Here you would have been waving, you know, would that have come out in 20s?
SPEAKER 03 :
You need a brakes truck to bring that thing. 50s.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, I put it in 50s, but here’s what I think is going to happen. The next person… that puts in a card, they’re going to get $1,000. Because it didn’t give me the money. And I said to the bank lady on the phone who was not helpful, I said, look, what’s going to happen to the $1,000? It hit my bank. Are you guys going to think that I have the money? She said, Mr. Gallagher, you have to call your financial institution. I said, if you say that one more time, my head’s going to explode.
SPEAKER 18 :
I know.
SPEAKER 19 :
So that’s my day. We’ll need a full resolution on this.
SPEAKER 03 :
I need to know how this plays out.
SPEAKER 19 :
And then we’ve got bigger fish to fry because President Trump is going to make an announcement of some kind at 2 o’clock today. 2 Eastern, 1 Central, correct?
SPEAKER 03 :
Right.
SPEAKER 19 :
I don’t want to go along with the conspiracy stuff.
SPEAKER 03 :
Which conspiracy stuff are you talking about?
SPEAKER 19 :
Is he going to make some revelation about his ill health? Is it true that he hasn’t really spoken in public in seven days? If that’s true. Seems like we would notice because he’s usually everywhere. Well, and he’s not. I think I can confirm that he hasn’t spoken in public in seven days. Now, let’s just put all of our Trump loyalty on hold for a moment. Let’s be objective. Are you and I capable of being objective at all? Of course. Can we be objective? Isn’t it weird that he hasn’t spoken in public in seven days? Yes. That’s strange, right?
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s because he’s usually multiple times. Well, okay. But here’s what’s weird. When you say that, I think, okay, have we gone a seven-day stretch maybe ever without him speaking in public? No. Maybe? No.
SPEAKER 19 :
He was on the Home Shopping Network last night. He’s on.
SPEAKER 03 :
He’s everywhere. What do you mean? But when three of them are the Labor Day weekend, where maybe he… What passes for downtime? He has no downtime. He doesn’t sleep. He doesn’t sleep. He never stops. A lot of what he does is social media posting. A lot of what he does is… Which could be anybody. It could… I think it’s always him. I don’t know that it is. With all those weird capitalizations. I mean, unless they’ve got somebody who’s real good at channeling him on Truth Social, I think that’s him dictating and maybe somebody else’s thumbs are on the device or something.
SPEAKER 19 :
He’s got a team that wrote Koveffy. A team wrote Koveffy. He didn’t write Koveffy. I don’t know what’s going on. I have a funny feeling. Have you seen the video of somebody throwing stuff out the second floor of the White House? No. Oh, yeah. Check that video out. Somebody’s got a video. They were shooting the White House with their cell phone camera. And you see somebody off in the distance open the second floor window. Now, it could be AI. I don’t know. But it looks like somebody’s throwing things out the window of the second floor of the White House.
SPEAKER 03 :
Unless it’s Melania throwing out his suits, I think we’re in good shape. I think we’re going to be. And I hope I’m right about this because I think you’ve been trolled a little. I don’t mean you have, but I mean. Oh, I may have. There’s just something. It is, you know, there’s going to be a white. But it’s also vintage Trump, isn’t it? Think about it. It’s like, now I don’t know about you, but I’m canceling business appointments at 1 o’clock Central, 2 o’clock Eastern. Because it’s from the Oval Office, right?
SPEAKER 19 :
See, yeah, but I also love the idea that he may just be going along with the whole troll and saying, oh, they think I’m dying. They think I’m sick. They’ve got bruises on my head.
SPEAKER 03 :
I’ve never felt better.
SPEAKER 19 :
And I feel like a million bucks, but I’m going to lay low for a few days just to add fuel. That’s Trump. That could be him. Or today at 2 o’clock, he’s going to tell us. you know, that Gabriel’s calling and J.D. Vance is coming along. And isn’t it sick to watch his critics hope that something is really dreadfully wrong with him? Aren’t they sick?
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s not. That’s who they are. It is who they are. There’s something about this social media cable news segment era that takes the, I hope it’s a sliver, whatever percentage of horrible people and elevates them and gives them bigger megaphones. That’s not
SPEAKER 19 :
real america is it that’s not even the real democrat well here’s what i know is when joe biden was obviously in bad shape physically and cognitively nobody on our side was hoping he would die nobody nobody did that no do you do you remember anybody saying oh i hope the guy keels over any minute now nobody nobody on our side did that no did they no i mean not not noteworthy i mean can i find the occasional you know Well, nobody on the internet, but nobody of any sort. No, of course not. But there’s a lot of… Meanwhile, can I bring up Jasmine Crockett for a moment? Why, of course. Tell me you’ve seen the before and after accent. She’s now going 2.0 on her kind of in the hood. All right, so Kristen, can you cue this up for Mark? Because this is a before and after. When she was on the campaign trail… She was proper. She was dignified. She was polished. I mean, and now, well, let’s just check it out. Here’s the before and after. This is representative, the pride and joy of Texas. Your 30th district congresswoman. 30th district congresswoman. Here’s her during the campaign and just the other day.
SPEAKER 13 :
First of all, it’s good to see you in the new year. You know, no one could have told me that when I went down to Austin, now it looks like a little bit over a year ago, that I would be running for Congress.
SPEAKER 14 :
Maybe because these people, they are crazy because they always talk about how Christian they is. Yeah, I don’t know how many of them on that side are getting divorced because they’re getting caught up sleeping with their co-workers, staffers, interns, all the things. Yeah, you ain’t got to believe me. Just go Google. You’ll find some of it. I’m telling you, and the wives is being messy and petty.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, my. Mark, now. Oh, my. Now, Mark. I knew the point you were going to make, and I’ve seen some side-by-side before. Nothing like that. I mean, so which one? That’s like going from Condoleezza Rice to Nicki Minaj. So which is the truth? Which is real? I mean, how does she really talk? The first one. The second one. So the hood? It’s an affectation. I mean, she’s not even… They is? I know. Subject-verb agreement went right out the window. It’s like, whoa. Whoa.
SPEAKER 19 :
I mean, none of this is real. It’s all a game to these people. Back to Trump for a moment. Did you see his post about COVID and drugs and Operation Warp Speed?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, he’s in an interesting spot because when we were all scared to death and like, please, anything, anything, the idea of Warp Speed bringing a vaccine to the market seemed good. I’m still not going to bag on bringing it to the market as long as people are left with a choice as to whether to use it or not. And now in the Maha RFK Jr. era and some of the revisions being made to vaccine policy, not telling people they can’t do anything, but also not telling them that they must. If you’re Trump, what is exactly, what line are you walking?
SPEAKER 19 :
I got crucified on Friday’s show. And I don’t even, I still to this day don’t know what I did. I don’t know what I did. I mentioned that I got the vaccine.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, there you are.
SPEAKER 19 :
That was all it took. That was all it took.
SPEAKER 03 :
And then I pointed out that I probably don’t say, but I hope the word booster didn’t come out of your mouth.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, well, well, but but I got people went nuts. People started and I said, look, I’m not telling anybody. You talk about going down a rabbit hole. Here’s what Trump said for the benefit of people didn’t say, because this is fascinating. Here’s what he wrote. It is very important that the drug companies justify the success of their various COVID drugs. Many people think they are a miracle that saved millions of lives. Others disagree. With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer and I want it now. He said, I’ve been shown information from Pfizer, and others that is extraordinary, but they never seem to show those results to the public. Why not? They go off to the next hunt and let everyone rip themselves apart, including Bobby Kennedy Jr. and the CDC trying to figure out the success or failure of the drug company’s COVID work. They show me great numbers and results, but they don’t seem to be showing them to many others. I want them to show them now to the CDC and the public and clear up this mess one way or the other. Then he finishes with, I hope Operation Warp Speed was as brilliant as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it. And why? Thank you for your attention to this very important matter.
SPEAKER 03 :
I knew that was coming. President DJT.
SPEAKER 19 :
I think those are good questions, don’t you? Well, sure it is. Remember when he got booed in Dallas with Bill O’Reilly? Oh, yes, yes, yes. And he was genuinely surprised. I mean, I don’t think, look, this is, again, we probably shouldn’t even touch this rabbit hole because people go bonkers on this issue. People are so fed up. Look, COVID is over. COVID is over. I’ve got people in my life. And so are COVID vaccines, by the way.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s it.
SPEAKER 19 :
It’s gone. I’m sorry. People aren’t going to take it. Maybe if you’re vulnerable, if you’ve got cancer, if you’ve got a severely, but that’s between you and your doctor. Now that’s not Mark and Mike telling you to get a vaccine. Please send all inquiries to Mark Davis. Thank you for your attention to this matter at Mark Davis. Not Mike. I am not going to get yelled at anymore from these people.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, let’s finish on something that I think, Not like I’m Einstein or anything. Let’s stipulate Democrats have hardly ever been worse off, right? They’re desperate. They’re in bad shape. They’re against exactly polling terribly. And, of course, part of it is because their ideas are awful. But isn’t that always true? No, they’ve gotten worse. The other end of that equation. But what’s made them worse? Trump has made them worse. His successes, his… connection with the American people, including a lot of the Democrat base. Democrats are no longer the party of the working class. There are black and Hispanic voters coming Republican in slow and gradual waves. I think it is the power of the Trump agenda that has helped send the Democrat party over the cliff just for the moment.
SPEAKER 19 :
Their default position is to oppose any of his policies, including successfully fighting crime.
SPEAKER 03 :
I just cured cancer. I think we’re pro-cancer, say the Democrats.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, we’re okay with curing cancer. We think that’s probably a good thing, but they can’t do that. So look what you got Muriel Bowser touting the success of the surge. But Brandon Johnson is saying we’re not going to militarize Chicago. And we want you to stand up.
SPEAKER 03 :
We’re going to stand up against that invasion or whatever. What is he calling on Chicagoans to do?
SPEAKER 19 :
And Chicago had one of the bloodiest weekends they’ve had ever this weekend. 50 people shot. 50 people shot over the weekend in Chicago, and they’re acting like everything’s okay. So, look, wish me luck. I’m going to be collecting bottles from the side of the road.
SPEAKER 03 :
I’m going to donate some blood. I need some money.
SPEAKER 19 :
Send a brother some money.
SPEAKER 03 :
So pray for me. I need ATM recovery story. And tomorrow, of course, we’ll talk about whatever Trump tells us this afternoon. I’m going to presume that it’s all good, that he’s having a little fun with us, and that nothing bad’s coming, at least.
SPEAKER 19 :
All right. Let me make a prediction. I think it’ll be bigger than that. I think something big is coming today. Big and not good? Not necessarily good. I don’t know. Well, we’ll see.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. I understand.
SPEAKER 19 :
I don’t know whether it’s good or bad, but I have a feeling something…
SPEAKER 03 :
Something daunting.
SPEAKER 19 :
Something we’re not expecting.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, isn’t that true every day, though?
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, I’m sure tomorrow I’ll be wrong and you’ll be right. And it’ll just be another day in paradise in New York City. And I hope you get your $1,000 back. And I hope I don’t get set on fire tomorrow when I come into work on the subway.
SPEAKER 03 :
I hope so, too. We wish you well. I love you. Goodbye. And we’ll be listening. Mike Gallagher from New York City. Today at 10, as soon as we’re done. Right here on 660 AM, The Answer.