SPEAKER 1 : 0:00

Thank you.

SPEAKER 07 : 0:05

Welcome to the Mike Gallagher Show Week in Review podcast. I’m Eric Hansen. It’s Friday, October 17th, 2025. This week, Charlie Kirk posthumously receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Florida residents may get a break on taxes, and New York City hears the warning about Zoran Mamdani. But will they listen? We begin in Israel, where the remaining hostages finally returned home.

SPEAKER 04 : 0:27

It’s a little bit hard to believe, isn’t it? For two years, we’ve heard… He’s Adolf Hitler. Well, Adolf Hitler just achieved peace in the Middle East, and what are they going to say now? What are the No Kings protesters going to protest this weekend? Well, you don’t like the presence of the National Guard in crime-ravaged Chicago? Really? You don’t want communities being made safer? Seriously? And you’re going to denounce this president who brokered a deal The world is rejoicing. Israel is waving Trump flags. They’re handing out red baseball caps in Israel that say he’s the people’s president. What an extraordinary time to be alive. And yet, and yet, I keep thinking about what people who hate him must be saying and feeling today. Everybody’s acknowledging he did this. Everybody’s giving him credit, even the people in the media that hate him. It’s one of those rare times where there’s kind of unity. In a strange way, there’s a sense of unity. How about giving you Charlemagne the God? Now, this is a guy in New York City, host of a very popular urban radio show, just a very popular guy. He’s a little bit like Joe Rogan in the urban media environment. This is the way Charlemagne the God describes President Donald J. Trump.

SPEAKER 08 : 2:26

Donald Trump shows me what’s politically possible. Trump shows me what presidents can do if they want to do it. Donald Trump shows me what can be said if you are willing to say it. It’s not about what can’t be done. It’s about who has the political will to do it. I don’t want to hear a peep from Democrats about nothing until they get the balls to say what’s really on their mind. in regards to this country and this world. Trump doesn’t care if it sounds ridiculous. Trump doesn’t care if it makes sense. It’s no political correctness whatsoever. As I’ve been saying for years, the language of politics is dead, and Donald Trump killed it. Period.

SPEAKER 04 : 2:58

That’s it. I mean, he doesn’t care. And I think it’s the not caring that really is making the difference. There’s not any sort of pulling your punches, tiptoeing around, walking on eggshells. He just doesn’t care. You want to criticize him? Call him Hitler. I mean, what’s worse than nearly getting a bullet in the brain? They tried to kill him twice.

SPEAKER 07 : 3:22

We’ve talked about the contenders in the New York City mayor’s race, and this week we welcomed one of them.

SPEAKER 04 : 3:28

There’s got to be people who love you, who say, who know that you’re a true, you’re Gotham’s Batman. You know, you’ve been fighting crime your whole life. You’ve got policy after policy that make economic sense, that make fiscal sense, that’s going to restore safety and peace to the streets of New York. But for people who say, ah, Curtis, come on, you’ve got to take it for the team. You’ve got to do what’s right for New York. You’re going to cost us the election. Look, I got there, thank goodness. I know what the right thing is to do. But what do you say as the candidate to people who might be wavering like I did briefly a couple of weeks ago?

SPEAKER 03 : 4:10

Yes, Mike. You see, you’re not alone. They did that when Andrew Cuomo lost against Zohan Mandami. And then all of a sudden, Eric Adams was revived and resurrected and he came back. And there was a chorus and Curtis, you got to jump out. You got to jump out. And in reality, to drop out. Why? I’m the only Republican with Republican principles. Look at what Eric Adams did. He eventually dropped out because they have paved the way for this. They have allowed the socialists into their party. It was Governor Cuomo then who actually implemented every policy that has destroyed our state and destroyed our city. No cash bail. Zoran Mandami is in agreement with that. Raise the age. Now we have teenagers doing drive-by shootings. Close our only prison. That’s what Zohan Mandami wants to do. He would never have been able to actually talk about how he could do that as mayor if Governor Cuomo hadn’t do it. So, Mike, that’s like having the arsonist suddenly show back up after burning your house down and pretending to be the firefighter. I’m the only candidate talking about cutting taxes. That’s what’s causing such a tremendous flight to places that you’ve not only broadcast from, but live. South Carolina, Texas, Florida, Tennessee. Incredible amounts of equity and wealth have already left without there even being a Mayor Zorhan Mandami. And I’m the only one saying we got to cut the income tax. We got to cut the corporate tax. The one tax I can cut is the property tax. And we have the first ever in the United States congestion pricing, which is nothing but a tax for cars coming into Manhattan. And it has been a complete catastrophe. All these small storefronts that are closing by the day, they don’t have enough foot traffic. And the merchants, the men and women who hire the working class people that I represent in New York City, are fleeing in droves. So my whole campaign is improve, don’t move. And I completely disagree in every campaign policy position than Cuomo and Zohan Mandami. In fact, if you want to think of it this way, because people really don’t know Zohan Mandami, he’s very affable, he’s very nice. It’s like that song, Sade Smooth Operator. He’s sort of the JV to Barack Obama. He is Bill de Blasio on steroids. Bill was hated by the left, hated by the right by the time he destroyed the city after eight years. Andrew Cuomo is constantly reinventing himself. Nobody trusts him. He’s the guy who’s responsible for the deaths of 15,000 elderly because of his executive orders during COVID that he refuses to apologize for. And if your listeners and viewers want to know who’s Curtis Leroy, Just think of Rudy Giuliani 2.0. Mike, last week, Rudy, with a broken back, rose up and said enough of this Cuomo nonsense. The only real New Yorker, the only crime fighter, the only law and order candidate is my friend Curtis Lee. And, you know, in a city like New York. When you mention Rudy Giuliani and you say that I’m Rudy Giuliani 2.0, that resonates with a lot of people who knows how he saved this city and was the greatest mayor that we’ve ever had.

SPEAKER 04 : 7:31

Well, Rudy Giuliani is 100% correct about you. It’s a three-person race. It’s Zoran Mamdani, it’s Andrew Cuomo, it’s Curtis Sliwa. I predicted last week, something’s got to give. I mean, something maybe has to change where Cuomo and Curtis somehow form any kind of a line. I want to just ask you that question. Is there any path forward? for a Curtis Lewa to say, I’m going to make Cuomo part of my administration if I’m the nominee? Is there any way that Cuomo says, I’m going to make Curtis an important part of my administration if I stay in it over the next 22 days? Any chance of anything changing other than this three-person race between now and Election Day, Curtis?

SPEAKER 03 : 8:17

Mike, we are like two scorpions in a brandy glass, and that’s all because of Cuomo. As you know, as governor, he was vengeful. He was vindictive. He believed in blood vendettas. He is a cold-hearted man. He is the reason we have so many homeless people on the streets, so many emotionally disturbed. He closed the mental health care hospitals. So every problem that plagues New York City is the result of what he did. And remember, just think of this. When President Donald Trump was being impeached, did he pick up and flee to Mar-a-Lago? No. He stood in Washington, D.C. When he was unfairly prosecuted by Tish James and Alvin Bragg in New York City, he went into court each and every time and stood there. and had to deal with the absolute insanity of the charges that were being waged against him. He never ran. He never retreated. Andrew Cuomo, when he faced impeachment by his own Democrats in Albany, fled, fled to the Hamptons. You cannot all of a sudden pave the way for a person who has waved the white flag and who recently said if Zoran Mandami were to win, he would flee to Florida also. That’s not a leader. You need a leader to help recover this city. And that’s not Andrew Cuomo. No way.

SPEAKER 07 : 9:40

This past Tuesday would have been Charlie Kirk’s 32nd birthday. The White House marked the occasion by posthumously awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

SPEAKER 04 : 9:50

President Trump, I’ve been told from people who know him that he’s been deeply impacted by Charlie’s assassination. After all, President Trump himself narrowly avoided the same fate. And President Trump was deeply, deeply impacted by Charlie’s murder. Here’s what he said yesterday about the will to fight, the need to carry on. And again, as sad as all of this was yesterday, I couldn’t help but be inspired. I was inspired by Charlie’s mom and dad, their strength, their bravery, their resolve. I was inspired by Erica. And Erica’s going to be a fascinating person to watch. She didn’t, I don’t think she, she certainly didn’t expect it, but she didn’t want to take over Turning Point USA, this vast, huge organization. Anybody who’s been to Phoenix and has seen the Turning Point headquarters, I mean, it is an immense operation. First time I got a tour of Turning Point by my buddy Tom Sudeika, who’s one of the original board members at Turning Point, and a dear friend of ours. I couldn’t believe it. I mean, the people, the equipment, the facilities. Turning Point is an immense operation. And Erica now is going to take over, has taken over from her husband. Here’s what President Trump said about what needs to be done in Charlie’s honor.

SPEAKER 10 : 11:42

One month after Charlie’s death, we still feel the terrible shock and the pain of his loss like just about nobody I can think of. Charlie Kirk was one of a kind. He was unstoppable. And he really was. Boy, when he had an idea in his head, oh, he would call me. Sir, please, you haven’t done it yet. I said, Charlie, relax. Just relax. He didn’t relax. He called me the next day again. Got it done. But he was like indomitable and always will be. He’s really irreplaceable. Nobody can replace him, but they’re going to do great. But you can’t replace that kind of person and that kind of talent. Frankly, the word talent is an important word, but that kind of talent. So we hold his memory in our hearts forever. Every single day of this administration, we will continue to carry out. the mission for which he lived, and he really did. He lived for this country. He lived for his wife and his family, but he lived for this country too. In Charlie’s honor, we will continue like we have been to fight, fight, fight, and to win, win, win. We’re going to win so much.

SPEAKER 04 : 12:53

It was such, and you think about who will carry on. It’s going to be Erica. It’s going to be his wife. And as you’re going to hear this hour, because I want to play every word of her speech, you’re going to hear from a young woman who is undoubtedly shattered by this horrific, life-changing event. She’s now having to raise these two little babies alone without her loving husband. And it’s heartbreaking on every level. But she’s going to carry the torch. She’s going to take over. And she’s running Turning Point. And the word I get is, she’s up, she’s ready for it. Here was a president, and let’s, this has been said often. We talked about it after Trump was reelected. A whole lot of people believe that Donald Trump wouldn’t be the 47th president of the United States were it not for Turning Point and Charlie Kirk. There was such a massive get out the vote movement What did Charlie always say? You’ve got to chase the votes. You’ve got to chase the votes. You’ve got to knock on doors. We’ve got to make phone calls. We’ve got to get online. We’ve got to be involved in the digital space. We’re going to get this done. One of my happiest moments of Trump’s reelection was seeing the video clip of Charlie behind the Salem media microphone and cameras and breaking out in that grin when it was obvious that Trump was going to be elected. Here’s what President Trump said about Charlie’s impact on the 2024 election.

SPEAKER 10 : 14:39

from the time Charlie worked on my presidential campaign in 2016. And he was there right from the beginning. He liked me. I don’t know. I have no idea why. What the hell was he thinking? He said, you’re going to win, sir. I said, you know, I’m running against 17 senators and a lot of tough people and governors. We have all these people. And he said, no, you’re going to win, sir. He said, not going to be close. And he made it happen. He helped make it happen. I’ll tell you that. Without him, who knows what would be. Maybe you’d have Kamala standing here today. That would not be good.

SPEAKER 04 : 15:16

No, that would not be good. Just think a little bit about what could have gone horribly wrong had we not had the outcome that we had. And so, you know, I’m just thinking a lot about his impact, his legacy. I’m thinking a lot about this kid today. having an idea for Turning Point in his parents’ garage.

SPEAKER 07 : 15:43

In a certain sign that Democrats are losing the national conversation, ABC host George Stephanopoulos bailed on Vice President J.D. Vance mid-interview.

SPEAKER 04 : 15:53

You think about the level of respect from somebody like B.B. Netanyahu and compare that to the lack of respect that our president and vice president get here in the states. Did you see the George Stephanopoulos exchange with Vice President J.D. Vance? This is so unbelievable. And I hate to take a great day like today and dampen it with an acknowledgement that the mainstream media is as corrupt as hell. And they are. Stephanopoulos, of course, is a longtime Clinton stooge. He was Bill Clinton’s right-hand man. Somehow he morphed into a supposedly objective journalist. Well, he’s not objective any more than I am. He has no neutrality. As evidenced by the way he cut off the Vice President of the United States mid-sentence and through to a commercial break. When J.D. Vance… was taking Stephanopoulos on ABC’s This Week yesterday morning to the woodshed. When it got too dicey for Stephanopoulos, he lost his cool, blew his top, lost his temper, cut the vice president off mid-sentence, and tossed a commercial. I kid you not. Here it is.

SPEAKER 06 : 17:27

I don’t know what tape you’re referring to, George. I saw media reports that Tom Homan accepted a bribe. There’s no evidence of that. And here’s, George, why fewer and fewer people watch your program and why you’re losing credibility. Because you’re talking for now five minutes with the vice president of the United States about this story regarding Tom Homan, a story that I’ve read about, but I don’t even know the video that you’re talking about. Meanwhile, low-income women… can’t get food because the Democrats and Chuck Schumer have shut down the government. Right now, we’re trying to figure out how to pay our troops because Chuck Schumer has shut down the government. You are focused on a bogus story. You’re insinuating criminal wrongdoing against a guy who has done nothing wrong instead of focusing on the fact that our country is struggling because our government’s shut down. Let’s talk about the real issues, George. I think the American people would benefit much more from that than from you going down some weird left-wing rabbit hole where the facts clearly show that Tom Holman didn’t engage in any criminal wrongdoing.

SPEAKER 11 : 18:26

It’s not a weird left-wing rabbit hole. I didn’t insinuate anything. I asked you whether Tom Holman accepted $50,000, as was heard on an audio tape recorded by the FBI in September 2024, and you did not answer the question. Thank you for your time this morning. No, George, I said that I don’t… We’ll be right back.

SPEAKER 04 : 18:45

Wow. Now, how that guy continues to have… Maybe that’s what they want him to do. Wouldn’t you be embarrassed if you’re an ABC executive? Wouldn’t that be kind of appalling that ABC News actually cut off the vice president of the United States mid-sentence as the vice president was attempting to make a point to refute what Stephanopoulos had to get the last word in and had to cut him off? Even though this is not some random author, this isn’t some, you know, junior, you know, freshman, this is the vice president of the United States. But this is who they are. This is why they have created so much ill will. There’ll be a whole lot of people Saturday at the No Kings protest. who’ve been brainwashed by people like George Stephanopoulos. There’s always MyPillow Christmas gifts under the tree in anything Gallagher family related. You’ve helped MyPillow and their employees in these tough times. Mike knows it, and he always wants to give back with deals on his most popular products. The MyPillow six-piece bath towel sets are back in stock. Now, this is a proprietary technology that makes the towels amazingly absorbent. I first heard about the towels from Peg and Joey. They said, you can’t believe it. These towels actually work. Now, they’re regularly $69.98, two bath towels, two hand towels, two washcloths, $69.98, but for a limited time. When you enter the promo code MikeG at the Mike Gallagher Specials Square, just $39.98. A six-piece towel set that you will just be amazed at the absorbency. So go to MyPillow.com. Look for the Mike Gallagher Special Square. Click on that box, and with anything you order, enter the promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com, promo code MikeG for this special offer and many, many more. The towels, the sheets, the pillows, the doggy beds, the slippers. Oh, boy, the slippers. MyPillow.com, promo code MikeG, or call 800-928-6034, 800-928-6034, like we love to sing. For the best night’s sleep in the whole wide world, visit MyPillow.com.

SPEAKER 07 : 21:19

This is the Mike Gallagher Show Week in Review podcast. I’m Eric Hansen. Best-selling author and investigative journalist Peter Schweitzer visited the show this week to offer his perspective on the controversial mayor’s race in New York City.

SPEAKER 04 : 21:31

the Rush Limbaugh mantra that it’s hard to beat Santa Claus when he’s offering a lot of free stuff. And that, of course, is what Zoran Mamdani seems to be adept at. Hey, free bus ride. Free, fast bus rides. And we’re going to freeze rents to struggling young people in New York City. He’s like a dream come true. But in reality, he’s a nightmare. He would be a nightmare for the city. It’ll be a blessing probably for the Republican Party nationally if he wins. But what you revealed with Mark Sunday night was so important, and I wanted you to share with us, for the benefit of people who didn’t see it, what you learned about Zoran Mamdani’s family and the Qatari royal family.

SPEAKER 05 : 22:18

Yeah, I mean, look, New York is an international city in a lot of respects. But I think what a lot of people haven’t appreciated is that there are a lot of international entities that are paying attention to this race. And I would argue that many of these are nefarious or troubling international entities. Yeah, the Al Thani family, which has ruled Qatar for decades, is all in with Mamdani. First, the family has funded the Mamdani family to the tune of millions of dollars over the years. They’re the ones that bankrolled Mamdani’s mother’s film career. The second thing to know about the relationship is that the family has gone on social media. They have a large international following because they have a lot of money. And they are extolling the virtues of Mamdani’s campaign. They’re putting out his policy positions. They’re encouraging people to support his campaign, to donate to his campaign. And the third thing that people need to know is that Mamdani himself sees Qatar in a way as a constituency, because what did he do in September? He’s running to be mayor of New York City. I don’t know of any other American mayoral candidate that when they’re running for city hall goes on Qatari TV, which Mamdani did in September and, of course, denounced Israel, denounced the United States for its involvement in genocide, as he put it. The bottom line being is that he sees them as, I think, an important component to what he wants to accomplish. And going beyond the Qatari family, the Qatari royal family, you see that Iran and a whole bunch of other international entities are also watching and enthusiastic about his campaign. One final thing about the Thani family that rules Qatar, this is the same family that in the 1990s, gave refuge to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Now, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed may be one of those names that sounds familiar. Who is he? He was involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. When that happened, he fled. And where did he go? He went to Qatar, where the Al Thani family gave him refuge, gave him a paid job working for the government. When Louis Freeh, the director of the FBI in the 1990s, tracked him down to Qatar and said, we want to arrest this guy, the Al-Thani family helped to tip him off and helped him to flee Qatar, where he went to Pakistan. What did he do in Pakistan? He planned the 9-11 attack on the Twin Towers. And it’s important to know, I think, that Louis Freeh explained later on that had they been able to get Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Qatar, that probably would have prevented 9-11 from ever happening because he truly was a mastermind behind the attack. So that is an example of one of many of these international actors that are backing Moondani’s campaign in New York City and enthusiastic about his campaign.

SPEAKER 04 : 25:23

Peter, it’s hard to believe that we are where we are. I was in the Empire State Building the morning of September the 11th, so I still feel it quite personally, as New Yorkers do and did. It’s hard to believe that we’ve gone from that terror attack of September 11th to today. where a guy like this could very well become the next mayor of New York City. And incidentally, we don’t have to go to the past. Today, in 2025, the political organization that he belongs to, the Democratic Socialists of America, DSA, here’s the headline takeaway. The Democrat Socialist group backing Mamdani condemns the Gaza ceasefire and calls for more anti-Israel resistance. Now, this is not—Peter, this isn’t even being hidden. I mean, this is out here in plain sight for all who have eyes to see and ears to hear, and yet this freight train seems to be hurling down the tracks—

SPEAKER 07 : 26:28

Here’s an interesting idea out of the state of Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis has proposed eliminating state property taxes. There’s already no income tax, so how does that work? Our newsman, Roger P. Shulman, stopped by to fill us in.

SPEAKER 04 : 26:42

Ron DeSantis, the governor, has said, let’s get rid of property tax. You buy a microwave oven, you don’t pay tax on it for the rest of your life. You buy a TV, you don’t pay property tax on it for the rest of your life. It’s not fair to seniors, especially, to continue to pay property taxes. So, Roger, how does this work? Let’s start with the Joey Hudson question. How in the world do you replace that revenue that entities like counties and the state would lose?

SPEAKER 02 : 27:11

Well, Florida is in a fairly unique position. We have millions of tourists who come here and we can raise the costs for them. We already have bed taxes, room taxes on hotels, attraction taxes, rental car taxes. They can all contribute. And we also have the ability to raise the sales tax for everyone. That is part of it. So there is a lot of funding sources. Florida is a very unique state. We have a 16 to 20 billion dollar surplus. We don’t run deficits in Florida. So we have a surplus gives us a little wiggle room. So we’ve got a lot coming in. Problem here is the property taxes since 2019 have increased 40 to 60 percent. So if you had a house, let’s say you came here 10 years ago, bought a house for $300,000. That house is now appraised at $750,000, and you’re paying the increased property taxes on that. And that’s why the governor wants to have an election in November of next year to see if we can eliminate the property taxes on a lot of people. Now, Mike, property taxes are not going away entirely. It’s just for your homesteaded home. Your second home is not covered industrial and commercial property. They are still paying property taxes.

SPEAKER 04 : 28:30

So and explain homesteaded, because that’s kind of a unique Florida proposition as well, right?

SPEAKER 02 : 28:36

Your home is not attackable. Let’s say you’re in debt. You can’t attack your homesteaded home. You can also get a homestead exemption if you’re a certain age to eliminate a large amount of the taxes on it. So your home is your castle in Florida except for the property taxes, which they can take away your home if you do not pay at this point. And that’s something the governor wants to eliminate.

SPEAKER 04 : 29:03

I’m telling you, and look, I’m very lucky. I’m blessed. I make a good living. When I get that notice every year from, I don’t know what his name is, Twitty or Conway or whatever, he’s the property tax appraiser guy or whatever, my heart sinks because I know there’s going to be a stunning number in there of what I have to pay for property tax. And to Governor DeSantis’ point, This isn’t right. I mean, why in the world is your home, as you put it, your castle, subject to a tax that you have to pay for the rest of your life? Seniors have scrimped and scraped and saved and in many cases have paid off their home, but yet they can’t afford to live in their home anymore because of the insane rising property taxes.

SPEAKER 02 : 29:55

And they have to sell and move to something else. But even getting an apartment here now, we’ve got an apartment cost increase in Florida that makes it impossible for a lot of people to live in the cities that they work in. They have to drive 50 miles and live in some area that’s far outside because the rents are less. So it’s not a good situation. And it’s something that does have to be addressed one way or another.

SPEAKER 04 : 30:19

It clearly does. Now, do you get a sense of the will of the legislature and how this might go in November of 2026? Is the Florida legislature inclined to pass this?

SPEAKER 02 : 30:33

I believe they are. And there’s a lot of convincing going on. And it would take 60 percent of the population to vote this in, too. Now, I read a poll that said 33 percent of the population’s in favor of it, but not everybody’s educated on it. It is fairly early in the in the game right now. Now, Florida is not the only state that is looking into this. Texas, even Illinois, which is a Democratic state, is looking into doing this, too. So we’re not alone in Florida in trying to eliminate these property taxes. It’s getting to be a pretty popular thing around the nation.

SPEAKER 04 : 31:06

It’s a great idea. And you’re right. I just I’m reading about a ballot initiative that could eliminate property taxes in Michigan. And there are other states that, in fact. A listener gave me a suggestion of somebody to reach out, Carl, as somebody who we’re going to maybe reach out to as well, because I’m really fascinated by this. You know what I love about, and you talked about the tourists, but somebody else told me that there are other ways, maybe an increase, and people dread this too, but perhaps an increase in sales tax to offset.

SPEAKER 02 : 31:35

Yes, and that is true. That is one of the main ways of doing it. Yeah, a lot of people do dread that. And it does have a worse effect on lower income people. But it is a possibility. And if you’re not paying property taxes, you’ll have a little more money to pay the sales taxes. But we’ll see. There’s going to be a lot of adjustments here.

SPEAKER 04 : 31:53

And with sales tax increases, you really are in control. You control your own destiny. The more you make, the more you probably spend.

SPEAKER 07 : 32:02

The Mike Gallagher Show made it onto the virtual pages of townhall.com this week after a debate with fellow talk show host Hugh Hewitt.

SPEAKER 04 : 32:10

Not so fast, Hugh Hewitt. That’s the name of the column that appears in today’s townhall.com from Kevin McCullough, who’s a fine host in New York City. Kevin writes, A few days ago, I had the privilege of moderating a townhall forum that drew more than 1,400 attendees and reached millions more across the airwaves. It was a dynamic high-energy evening featuring two of my esteemed Salem Media colleagues, Hugh Hewitt and Mike Gallagher. as so often happens when Hugh and Mike share a stage, sparks flew. The evening’s first question produced one of those quintessential Hugh Hewitt moments. In his trademark professorial style, Hugh invoked a favorite mantle. As a Buckley conservative, he said. He promptly announced that he was following the Bill Buckley rule. Vote for the most conservative candidate who can win. Then with that glint of wry certainty in his eye, Hugh added, so vote for Andrew Cuomo. You want to stop Zoran Mamdani? And just like that, Kevin writes, the fireworks began. Gallagher, never one to shy away from a little holy friction, pushed back with his own brand of common sense and conviction and said, vote your conscience and let God work it all out. Kevin says the contrast couldn’t have been starker. Hewitt’s clinical pragmatism versus Gallagher’s convictional faith. And that exchange perfectly distilled the agony of the 2025 New York City mayoral race, a contest that has vexed me like none other. Kevin writes. Let’s start with Hewitt’s pick. Andrew Cuomo is nothing if not a household name. He’s got brand recognition. And look, running for mayor, that’s no small advantage. But his record is the stuff of nightmares. He presided over one of the darkest chapters of the COVID pandemic, sending infected patients into nursing homes, a decision that contributed to the deaths of roughly 26,000 elderly New Yorkers. And yet, in the macabre ledger of Cuomo’s misdeeds, that may not even rank near the top. The bullying, the cover-ups, the arrogance that drips from every syllable he utters, these are not the qualities of a man New Yorkers should trust again with power. He despises conservatives, Kevin writes. He mocks people of faith. He treats dissent as disloyalty. Meanwhile, Curtis Lewa has done what few candidates ever bother to do— He’s hit the pavement. He’s everywhere. Comparing that to the Cuomo campaign, where it was perhaps the most lifeless, self-absorbed, poorly executed campaign for public office anybody’s ever seen. For Curtis, he’s everywhere. He rides the subways. He’s walking neighborhoods. He’s listening to shopkeepers, rabbis, cops, teachers, mothers. He’s showing up. He’s not reading polls. He’s not whispering with consultants. According to the latest public filings, Sliwa and Cuomo both have more cash on hand than Mamdani, meaning neither man is limping toward the finish line. Which brings us to Mamdani, the radical assemblyman from Queens who has somehow managed to make AOC look like a moderate. Mamdani refuses to retract his vile rallying cry, globalize the intifada. Let’s be clear, that’s not about solidarity. That’s a battle cry for genocide. The man wants to see Israel eradicated. And he would put the one million Jews living in New York City at mortal risk under his leadership. He also goes back to Hewitt’s cry for pragmatism, vote Cuomo to stop Mamdani. It’s on the surface tempting, he writes, but it’s also misguided. Hewitt likes to cloak this kind of thinking in the legend of William F. Buckley Jr., claiming that the rule was to back the most conservative candidate who can win. Sounds clever, sounds mature, but it’s a selective retelling of history. Yes, Buckley once made that statement back in 1967, but the Buckleys didn’t live by it. In fact, William F. Buckley himself ran for mayor of New York in 1965 as a third-party conservative candidate. A long shot if there ever was one. His brother James ran as a third-party candidate for U.S. Senate in 1970 and won. The Buckley family didn’t shrink from uphill battles. They ran into them with conviction. That’s why Hewitt’s invocation of the Buckley rule… feels more like theological malpractice. So, look, he said, in this race, my strong inclination, and thus my endorsement, is to side with Mike Gallagher’s proposition, vote your conscience, vote for Curtis Sliwa, let God work it all out. Who knows, he says, maybe God will ordain that Mondani and Cuomo cannibalize the Democrat vote, while independents and Republicans rally around Sliwa for the win. And in a city where elections are sometimes decided by barely 17% of registered voters, stranger things have certainly happened.

SPEAKER 07 : 37:23

And finally, with the peace agreement in the Middle East and all of the success of the Trump administration, is it possible that some of his critics might be coming around?

SPEAKER 04 : 37:33

This is the start of something massive. He is the peace president. You’ve been wrong. And it’s all right to admit when you’re wrong. And I’m judging by the emails I’m getting and the text messages and the calls. People are saying, no, no, I’m coming around on this guy. Well, I hope so. I hope when you see the video of these hostages being reunited with their loved ones, I hope when you see the tears of And you appreciate the joy that the entire Middle East, not just Israel, but the Muslim countries as well, they don’t want this war. They don’t want the carnage and the destruction and the despair. And one guy, one guy brought peace to this complicated process. Now, if you don’t think things can get even crazier, hell just froze over. Is there a bigger Trump hater than Ana Navarro over at The View? Check out what she said today on The View.

SPEAKER 01 : 38:50

I’m cautiously optimistic because we’ve been here before and then it’s gone wrong. And I pray that this time it’s different. I stayed up last night until, I don’t know, two or three in the morning watching the first batch of hostages as they were And I love that there was a split screen that was showing the joy of the hostages being released, but also the throngs of people from Gaza walking back. A sea of people walking back into that city that’s rubble. And you think of all the suffering just. Two plus years of relentless, unending, unimaginable suffering. The families suffering, the victims suffering, the hostages suffering, the people who had to flee Gaza, the innocent ones suffering. And for what? For what purpose were these two years of such pain? So, you know, honestly, let me just quote John Lennon. Can we please just try to give peace a chance? Yeah.

SPEAKER 04 : 39:52

Now, that’s a different Ana Navarro from the Ana Navarro we’ve heard for years. And, of course, you can answer her question when she says, for what? You’d have to ask Hamas. You’d have to ask the men who raped and mutilated and burned alive and destroyed the lives of innocent Jews in Israel. Hey, Ana, you want to ask that question for what? Go ask the terrorists, because they’re the ones who did it. You want to know why there’s not one living female hostage? You want to know why they slaughtered all the female hostages? The 20 living hostages are all men. It’s because of what they did to those poor women. The hell that they put those women through. The torture, the rapes, the mutilation. And they didn’t dare allow one living female hostage to tell the world what these monsters did to them. So they killed them all. Ana Navarro, you want to know why? That’s why. That’s why. One more example of nature healing. Charlemagne the God. And he isn’t really one of the typical rabid Trump haters. Very popular morning personality in New York. Listen to Charlemagne the God explaining Donald Trump in a nutshell.

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Donald Trump shows me what’s politically possible. Trump shows me what presidents can do if they want to do it. Donald Trump shows me what can be said if you are willing to say it. It’s not about what can’t be done. It’s about who has the political will to do it. I don’t want to hear a peep from Democrats about nothing until they get the balls to say what’s really on their mind. In regards to this country and this world, Trump doesn’t care if it sounds ridiculous. Trump doesn’t care if it makes sense. It’s no political correctness whatsoever. As I’ve been saying for years, the language of politics is dead and Donald Trump killed it. Period.

SPEAKER 04 : 41:49

He’s right, and you know, his comments make me think of what is the secret sauce, the superpower for Donald Trump. He just doesn’t care about the haters, about the critics. Look, none of us love to be criticized. None of us love it, right? It’s not our favorite thing. When somebody writes me a hateful email or sends me a text or calls and is all enraged at me, it’s uncomfortable. Nobody likes that. The key, the secret… is to ignore it. The secret is to ignore the No Kings protest this Saturday. The secret is to ignore the haters. That’s the superpower. And that’s Donald Trump’s kryptonite.

SPEAKER 07 : 42:29

And that’ll do it for the Mike Gallagher Show Week in Review podcast for Friday, October 17th, 2025. I’m Eric Hansen. Be sure to subscribe to all of the podcasts and follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And if you like the show, be sure to share it with a friend. We’ll see you back here next week on the Mike Gallagher Show Week in Review podcast.