RADIOSeptember 02, 2024

EXPLAINED: What happens if Trump wins from PRISON?

Special counsel Jack Smith has revived his classified documents case against Donald Trump. But why is he doing this so close to the election? Will the Supreme Court's immunity ruling apply here? And what would happen if Trump wins the election from prison? Former U.S. DoJ Assistant Attorney General and Center for Renewing America senior fellow Jeff Clark joins Glenn to break it all down: “I would not be surprised if [this judge] sentenced President Trump to prison.” But he also explains why he believes the American people will see through the Left’s attempt to “criminalize politics” and realize that we have become a banana republic.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Jeff Clark, he is a senior fellow at the center for renewing America. And he knows this case, quite well.

The case against Trump. The latest indictment filed against special counsel Jack Smith.

Jeff, I have been trying to understand this story.

It's very complex. Can you just break it down for dummies, like me?

JEFF: Glenn, thanks for having me.

And, you know, you're definitely underestimating yourself, Glenn, but hopefully I can help the audience to understand the case.

GLENN: Okay.

JEFF: So, look, obviously this case was filed a way back.

And it's resulted in several important decisions, first as the district court, and then in the DC circuit, holding that President Trump was not immune.

You know, they tried to last that argument out of the lower courts, especially with this ridiculous SEAL team six hypothetical.

The idea that President Trump could order Seal Team Six to assassinate his political rivals.

And so the argument goes. You know, because that would not make any sense.

Therefore, he can't have any form of immunity. And I always thought that hypothetical was totally ridiculous, when the case eventually reached the Supreme Court. In a case called Trump v. United States, which was decided by the Supreme Court. Six to three, most of it, on July 1st of this year.

GLENN: Right.

JEFF: They gave that argument, short trip too. And they held, consistent with the fact, that every branch of government, has some form of immunity. That the president of the United States, and the one that was just applied to Donald Trump, it was applied to all presidents of the United States. Have to have, you know, a set of immunities. And the immunities they decided that he had, were basically a -- in a trichotomy.

So the first tier is that the president exercises his core executive powers.

You know, the things that are at the heart of being president. He is absolutely immune from those.

Full stop. Then second, per anything else that he does. Which is not within his core powers.

So that would include things like speaking, using the president's bully pulpit.

He's immune to the outer boundaries of his office. As long as it has the nexus to his official duties, which a lot of things do. And that there he has presumptive immunity. And in order to overcome it, you have to show that it would really make no impingement or inroads into the executive power. You know, to -- to be able to pierce that immunity. So that's also a very strong form of immunity.

GLENN: But that would be something like he's saying, you know, WWE is real. And somebody sues him. And says, it's not real.

It has nothing to do with the presidency. Right?

JEFF: Exactly right. So it certainly -- to my mind, let's take the speech, that he gave, you know, outside the -- the White House. On January 6th. He was clearly talking about matters of public concern, which the president can express himself on. And I think that that is presumptively immune. And I think to tell a president that he could not set out his views about an election, would be an inroads into the presidency. And therefore, he would also be immune for that.

GLENN: Yeah.

JEFF: So the left category, and the trichotomy is a category for which a president would not be immune, Glenn. That's the category of -- of an unofficial act. An act in a private capacity.

And so, after the Supreme Court's decision on July 1st, you know, it -- it kind of goes down each step. It steps down to the Court of Appeals level.

And they remand it back to the district court to Judge Chutkan.

And then Judge Chutkan started to set proceedings. More -- more on that in a minute.

And then what's ultimately come, once she now has jurisdiction back in the case, is that Jack Smith was off to the side, working with an entirely different grand jury, and he got this superseding indictment that came out yesterday.

And in -- in a phrase, what that indictment is, you know, new indictment. Meet the old indictment. You know, it's just the same as that old indictment.

He's just reformulated to try to make it consistent with and fit everything into the third box.

The box of everything President Trump did. That he had indicted before.

The first time. Is actually -- as opposed to a set of official acts.

And therefore, Jack Smith argues, he's not immune.

GLENN: So are they doing this, to smear him yet again. So late in the campaign.

Or is this a plan just in case he wins, they think this will keep him out of office?

JEFF: I think, Glenn, that they're doing it for all of those reasons. Right? Because they absolutely want to block him any way they can.
So this is election interference. There's no way you should be issuing a new indictment like this, using a new grand jury.

This close to a major presidential election. Especially --

GLENN: Correct.

JEFF: And it also shows me that this was being concealed. So what happens is that the court was told.

Because it was ready to go. Trying to set deadlines to try to march back toward a trial.

And Jack Smith made a filing. The last couple of weeks. Saying, no. No. No. Hold on. I need more time.

We're doing consultations inside the Justice Department.

Well, I'm sure they were doing consultations inside the Justice Department. But that's not the real reason. It's now clear, that the real reason is that he was actually in secret grand jury proceedings, getting this superseding indictment.

GLENN: Jeez.

JEFF: And the media, right? The media has been all over, watching the DC courthouse.

I mean, back in the real height of this, a year ago, you know, no one could walk into the courthouse, even if it was for an entirely different reason.

And not have the media report X, Y, Z. You know, this person went in. They must be going to the grand jury. Or there was speculation. But for this proceeding, for some reason, it surprised someone.

All the mainstream media, purported to say, well, Jack Smith was just consulting inside the Justice Department.

I think that that was essentially running a cover story for the fact that they were conveniently not -- purporting not to watch the courthouse.

Because they would have seen the prosecutors, regularly going to the grand jury to get this new indictment. And yet there was entire radio silence on that, until the surprise of yesterday.

GLENN: So what is supposedly new in this one, that changes the ground?

JEFF: It's not. It's essentially just a reformulation, right?

So the original indictment started out by saying, you know, Donald Trump, president of United States. You know, from -- from these dates, to candidate Trump.

So everything has been reframed. In the light of trying to fit it into the third box of being a private unofficial act.

GLENN: Person.

JEFF: Yeah. And otherwise, it's the same. It's the same four counts. There are -- even, you know, particularly remarkable to me, Glenn. Is not just that they have the -- trying to repackage the allegations, right? To go against Trump in his private capacity.

But the fact that two of the allegations were to this statute -- 28. I'm sorry. 18USC1512.

And that statute went to the Supreme Court, also this past term, involving the January 6ers. And the Supreme Court decided that -- that 1512C2, about obstruction with official proceeding, which I'm sure you and many of our your listeners would have heard of. You know, a statute, that really, they stretched to try to apply to January 6th. Even though they didn't. The Supreme Court held, that it did not apply to the January 6ers. And it remanded.

So, you know, Jack Smith has never said aye. He's still using 1512. Many commentators thought that after the Supreme Court's Fischer decision, that's the one about 1512C2, that he would drop the 1512 counts. And he would just go with the conspiracy counts.

Two conspiracy counts. There's 118USC371, conspiracy to defraud the US.

And then the second conspiracy count is a conspiracy against civil rights. But, no. He's using exactly the same four counts that he used before.

That's why I say, you know, the new indictment is really the same as the old indictment.

GLENN: I have to tell you, I don't think the Rosenbergs went through this kind of trial and tribulation. That Donald Trump. I've never seen anybody treated like they treat Donald Trump.

Never. What -- what the courts have done to him, what the prosecutors have done to him, in these cherry-picked courthouses and districts is absolutely obscene.

And I -- I would love to them your point of view, Jeff. I think they will put him in jail in September.

JEFF: Well, I'm actually, Glenn, making preparations to go up there, to be in Judge Merchan's court in Manhattan, on September 18th if the sentencing goes forward.

Look, two days before that time, on September 16th, Judge Merchan is supposed to issue his decision about whether the Supreme Court's immunity decision, Trump v. the US, that I've been talking about.

Whether that essentially requires a new trial to be granted. And I don't see how it couldn't possibly -- you know, you could come to any other conclusion, to the fact that it requires a new trial. Because President Trump is immune for his official acts. And there's even, in addition to the three tiers of immunity that I've described to you.

The Supreme Court created a new exclusionary rule, and said that, in terms of liberation inside the executive branch, are -- are protected. And they cannot be presented in court, as evidence against the president. And so the Alvin Bragg prosecution, it presented precisely such prohibited evidence. It had Hope Hicks in the Oval Office, talking to the president. And testifying about various things.

The jury heard that. And you can't unring that bell. They produced a verdict, based on hearing that evidence.

Alvin Bragg is trying to argue. Oh, it's all harmless error. Right?

We would have gotten that, even if we hadn't presented that evidence. Well, who knows? No one knows that. And I don't believe it. And so he needs a new trial.

So I predict, sadly, you know, for the same reasons you say that the lawfare is just so intense and unprecedented against President Trump. And it really is a dagger at the heart of the republic, that I bet, you know, Judge Merchan is going to go ahead and deny the unite-based motion for a new trial. And then he will do the sentencing. And I actually would not be surprised if he sentenced President Trump, to prison.

And maybe he tries to, you know, soften it a little bit at the end. Just by saying, this sentence wouldn't begin to run until after the election, or something like that.

Or if you really wanted to go full bore, right? You can say, no, you're remanded into custody immediately. Or you're remanded into home confinement immediately. He has a lot of different options.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh. I have to tell you, I think the American people will lose their mind.

Both Republican and Democrat. And especially I think independents. I think there are a lot of people who are sick of this. And they will see, this is a banana republic.

JEFF: I agree. It's already gotten to a banana republic level in terms of the level of lawfare directed at President Trump, at myself.

GLENN: Right.

JEFF: You know, at Steve Bannon, and Peter Navarro. You know, all of my folks down in Georgia, with Fani Willis.

GLENN: It's crazy.

JEFF: Now they have a new case out in Arizona, which they're trying to press on. You know, it's relentless.

It really is something that is trying to criminalize politics. And criminalize the ordinary operations of laughter. And pretend that Donald Trump was the chief executive of the United States.

That he -- you know, some unprecedented threat, that requires a level of treatment, that no one has ever gotten before, in the history of our country.

Just take, Glenn, the Mar-a-Lago raid. Right?

What did they do with Vice President Pence and President Biden? They negotiated an agreement to go and search through their -- their homes, right? But did President Trump get that treatment?

No. He got a jackbooted raid. With armed agents. That wouldn't even show the president's lawyer, Christina Bobb at the time, the warrant initially, until she basically had to pry it out of him.

GLENN: Would you hold on just a second, Jeff?

Because I have to take a 60-second break. And then when we come back, I would just like to know, what happens if he go to jail? Can he be president of the United States?

How would that work? Does Secret Service go with him?

What happens? We'll talk about that in 60 seconds. First, getting poor sleep is not just an inconvenience. It absolutely ruins your day, for one thing. That's -- you know, that's not the worst part. It's also terrible for your health. And it can be very dangerous. If you've ever fallen asleep, during driving. Because you have such a terrible night of sleep. Or you've fallen asleep in a meeting. And you're like, I've got to stay awake. You're screaming at yourself, and you just can't do it.

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From the Center for Renewing America, he's the senior fellow there. Also, former US DOJ Assistant Attorney General Jeff Clark is with us.

So if they put him in jail, can a president be in jail?

If he -- let's say he wins the election. But he's in jail. What happens?

JEFF: So there are two periods, right? One would be a period, prior to inauguration. There to answer your question, right before the break.

You know, the Secret Service would still protect him.

And, you know, indeed, Alvin Bragg had been talking to the New York jail system, about trying to make accommodations for that.

And then in the period after he's inaugurated, then I think all of the -- any kind of imprisonment would have to be ended for suspended.

It would be what lawyers call preempted by the Constitution since he would be the dully elected and inaugurated president of the United States.

He can't be kept from exercising those functions by a state conviction.

GLENN: That is absolutely unbelievable.

I mean, I don't think our Founders ever -- they -- I don't think they ever saw something like this happening.

I mean, you know, our -- our checks and balances are so far out of whack. And the administrative state is so strong now.

That, you know, almost anything can happen. It is really crazy. Jeff, thank you. Go ahead.

JEFF: Thank you. Yeah. I was going to say, you're absolutely right. The republic is hanging by a thread at this point. Hopefully Judge Merchan will come to his senses. And I think the Supreme Court is always in the background to make this all come out right, like they did in the Trump immunity case on July 1st.

GLENN: Hmm. Jeff Clark, thank you very much. I appreciate it.

You can follow him on Twitter, @JeffClarkUS. @JeffClarkUS. Thanks, Jeff. Appreciate it.

I mean, can you imagine, Stu?

STU: Yeah. I was thinking about that, as you were playing out the situations.

What if -- you putting them in jail, would send a message.

I think, as you pointed out. I think would backfire on them.

Could you see them do House arrest?

So he can't campaign anywhere.

He can't do any rallies. They put an ankle bracelet on him. I don't know. That one, I could see.

Especially if they're losing. I think the more -- the more dire they feel their situation is. The more likely that happens. That he goes to prison.

Because, you know, they will see this as, well, I mean, we've got this other card to play. Why not give it a shot?

We're losing. Right now, I don't think they feel like they're in that situation. I feel like they think they're winning, and why would they shake it up?

GLENN: I have to tell you though, I think if Donald Trump was under House arrest and he couldn't leave his house, first of all, he could do video from his house. I'm sure.

And there would be people like me. You know, I would be willing to take a hiatus and go campaign for the man, if he couldn't campaign himself. And not -- and not because, well, he's a Republican or anything.

Because --

STU: It's wrong.

GLENN: -- this is an American that has been wronged. And we all have to stand up for it.

I mean, they are out of control.

STU: That's going to be fascinating to see.

GLENN: Can you imagine if they win?

Oh, my gosh. Can you imagine how much trouble we're in if they win, Stu.

I mean, everything we've ever talked about, is happening right now.
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As Jeff just said, a republic hangs by a thread. Who is going to rush in and save it?

Well, I will tell you, it will only be good and godly people.

Because it's got to be people of merit, that are trying to find favor in the eyes of God.

And say, we will be a fruitful nation. And we will bear good fruit, otherwise, he will curse us and we will whither on the vine. Quickly.

The Truth Behind Biden's Cognitive Decline Unveiled

A new book by Amie Parnes and Jonathan A. P. Allen, called “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House,” details the real mental state of President Biden during his time in office and how much was kept secret from the American people. Glenn and Stu review some of the biggest revelations, like how the Harris team had prepared a list of judges who could swear in Kamala Harris if Biden’s heart stopped, how they marked his paths with fluorescent tape, or how Biden once completely forgot who Rep. Eric Swalwell was. Glenn also asks: who sanctioned all of this? How many people knew about this when it was happening? And why did NO ONE tell us the truth?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I don't know if you saw the news yesterday. This was a little frustrating, predictable, but frustrating. By 2023, Joe Biden's allies were quietly preparing for the unthinkable, we find out yesterday.

His death in office! By 2023.

STU: I mean, I'm glad he made it. However, it wasn't unthinkable.

GLENN: No. I know. I know. I know.

STU: I just have to say, not unthinkable.

GLENN: Well, because they kept saying, he was in perfect health.

And not healthier than anyone else.

There's a new book out called Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House by Amie Parnes and Jonathan Allen.

Hey, thanks for the update now, guys. We had no idea. I mean, you did if you paid attention.
And you realized, you weren't being told the truth.

And you just watched. But what we were never shown, were the -- you know, the -- the fluorescent tape marking his path at public events to keep him from wondering off.

Did you know that?

The death pool roster that the White House had, that Kamala Harris' team drew up, listing the federal judges who might swear her in, if his heart stops.

Did you know this was happening?

Did you know -- I mean, his health and his -- his brain activity was so bad, that they had a resident makeup artist on hand, all the time.

Not just to make him up, to enhance his appearance. In case he goes on television.

But to mask the shell, that he had become.

Stephen Miller said, they were literally Michael Jacksoning him. A reference to the late pop star's own cosmetic coverups, while dismissing skeptics as conspiracy theorists.

In some days, Biden would endure the makeup ritual, only then to cancel all of his briefings, entirely, and call it a day!

STU: What?

GLENN: Uh-huh. So I want to know, who sanctioned all of this?

STU: Yes!

GLENN: Because the AIDS knew it. All the leadership in the White House knew it.

The people that applied to makeup knew it. The schedulers who cleared his calendar, knew it.

I mean, why wouldn't they say?

Were they protecting the president.

Because you're supposed to protect the presidency.

The president and the presidency.

And the presidency is even more important. That's why, if Barack Obama, and we talked about this years ago, Barack Obama would have invited me to the White House. I would have absolutely gone, like Bill Maher did. I would have been polite. I would have shaken his hand. I would respect him. Because I respect the office.

I don't have to like the man. I respect the office. Because the office is more important than any man!

Then came the moments, we're finding out in this new book, of the cognitive unraveling. It was there in plain sight.

But if you said anything about it, remember, you were a conspiracy theorist. So Swalwell. Eric Swalwell, the Congressman. He comes to the White House. And he is supposed to meet with the president. They meet. And Biden doesn't even know who he is.

Has no idea who Congressman Swalwell is. Swalwell had to say, remember me?

I'm a Congressman. I worked on this with you and this. And he was like, oh, yeah. Yeah. That's right. That's right. I remember.

Holy cow.

STU: How do we make it through that? Only God could have got us through that, I swear.

GLENN: How did we not know?

Why were no cameras allowed to capture it? Why didn't anyone say anything? Why were there no leaks on this?

You are committing an act of treason, I believe, to the country.

If you swore an oath to the country. To the Constitution. Why are you not warning on this?

Who is making the decisions?

Why did no one sound the alarm?

Shouldn't Swalwell do it himself?

Of course. Of course.

Then everything comes crashing down in 2024.

Biden steps down as the democratic nominee. It was forced on him by Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.

And then what we didn't see, was the backstage, back stabbing that was going on.

Harris, remember. When this happened, Biden came out and said, I'm stepping down.

No endorsement. Then like 30 minutes later, this endorsement for -- for Kamala comes out.

Right?

Well, now we know what happened. Kamala calls and says, hey. You've got to endorse me.

Or they will go for an open.

Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. They want an open primary.

You've got to endorse me!

And so he does. He endorses.

Just to screw Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama!

Nobody is talking about the screwing of the system. He's painted as a hero for doing something brave, when he intentionally viewed the system, because he wanted to screw Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama.

Okay. Nobody says anything about it. Just the noble farewell to him. He's just great. Nobody heard about the power plays. Nobody heard about the back stabbing.

Nobody heard about the subversion of the Constitution. Here.

Okay. Great. And, again, nobody says anything. Nobody says anything.

Huh. Why?

Why weren't we allowed to see? And how deep did this actually run?

Who was responsible? Who was giving the orders?

Who was telling everybody to shut up, as they Michael Jackson him?

Why did no one say, I've got a real problem. We have to put little fluorescent stickies on the floor, so he knows where to walk.

Isn't that a problem?

Well, there was nobody that said, by the way. We're just -- we're just trying to line up the right justice to swear her in.

Because we want that photo op. We want that to look really good. We want the correct justice.

Holy cow.

What else don't we know?

What about the -- the memos?

Any memos buried?

How about the doctors. Remember when the doctors were going, no. He's fine. He's fine.

You know what, I had a problem. I had some toenail fungus. I asked him to look at my feet. He is so fine.

That he is almost a doctor, right now.

He is so sharp. What happened, in those?

Remember those meetings. And the doctors came out. Wait a minute. Aren't you a guy that specializes in dementia?

No! Why weren't we told this?

These are the questions that you must ask, because no one else will.

Who else knew? Cabinet members. Obviously, the first lady. And I'm going to stop calling them the press Corp. Because they really are.

They're dead to me. They are the Press Corps. They really are.

Let's pronounce that, as it's sounds -- as it's spelled. Pronounce it incorrectly. Because they're the Press Corpse. They're just -- they're as useful as dead people.

Why -- why were they so eager to debunk anybody as cheap fakes?

Why wouldn't they dig into any of these?

Why weren't we trusted with the truth?

What medical reports were suppressed?

Who gave the orders to keep this going?

And what's going to happen to the media?

All those that knew. Here's what's going to happen. Nothing. Believe me. Nothing.

They all knew. At best, they all just convinced themselves that it wasn't try. They allowed their own mob to convince them, that nobody really knows what the truth is. And it's better for America to hide it. That's what they've convinced themselves of. But that's not their decision. It's not their job. It's our decision. Their job is to tell America the truth of what's really going on, and let us decide. Because this is all of our country. This is not just the Democrats, or the Republicans. And it's certainly not the elites in Washington. It's we, the people. Not we, the press. Not we, the educated. Not we, the elite. But we, the people. All of us.

We're paying a price for all of this. Will they pay a price?

Will anyone who still watches them, stand up and say, wait a minute? Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

I just read the New York Times. And you're now covering all of the things that you told us, were conspiracy theories on Ukraine.

In fact, it's worse than what the conspiracy theorists were saying, about what we were doing in Ukraine.

You told us, that we weren't funding Colour Revolutions, with USAID. But now it comes out. Yes. We were. The Great Reset. Conspiracy theory? No. It's real.

COVID. No. Didn't tell us the truth.

Masks. Vaccines. Russia gate. On and on and on.

All of the lies.

Will they pay with the price -- the price they should pay.

Embarrassment and shame, for what they've done, just for power.

No!

They won't pay.

And you know why? Because the tale that we are reading or expected to read, in this new book out. The tell-all book, that nobody knew, except everybody knew. The real story there of Biden's decline is a mirror.

And it's not reflecting one man's fall. But it reflects our -- our willingness to look away, until it's too late.

That has to change.

And until it does, that goes right back to the opening monologue in today's broadcast.

Donald Trump is at least telling us, we have to do these things, if we want to be competitive.

That's the closest we've gotten to a doctor, that actually, one, that will tell you the truth.

The country has cancer. And we have to cut it out.

Here's the chemotherapy. It's these trade barriers.

You may not like them.

But you hired me, to cure the patient. And I think chemotherapy, is the only way.

And it will hurt a lot. When was the last time you heard a president tell you the truth on anything?

When was the last time you heard the press tell you the truth?

And here's the truth: Everything we're facing right now, is a little scary.

And you know why?

Because we haven't faced it, when it wasn't scary.

When it was just a choice.

We made all of the easy choices. You know this with your kids.

Just put a little extra work into it.

Your choice. All these doors will open up.

But the more you don't do, the more you avoid, the more doors that close for you. And at the end, you won't like the doors that are left. Because they will be so few. And you will be like, okay. I guess I will be that guy for the rest of my life.

Well, that's what we're doing as a nation. The same thing that we bitch about with our kids. Just do the right thing, and all of these options are in front of you.

But every day, you choose not to do the right thing. Those doors close. More and more, every single day.

Let's open those doors back up. But that requires all of us, and I don't know if you're going to get those people. I talk about it if I have time today.

I don't know if you will get those people who have been sucked into this system.

I mean, here's another example. They're just showing you, they lied to you. They lied to you.

Over and over again.

Are you ever going to be able to convince those people that are still watching the people that lied to them?

You ever going to get them to wake up?

I don't know.

I honestly think, that the left is creating a new Palestinian state.

They are creating, the same thing, that honestly, they created, over the last 70 years.

This bogus story, about Palestinians. This is their land. And the Jews had nothing to do with it. And whipping these people up into a frenzy.

To where they have no other options, other than, kill the other side.

They won't listen to reason, anymore.

They can't even see it! Because they have been trained almost since birth, to hate the other side!

And if you think that's hyperbole, just look at who is supporting the Palestinians and all of the lies.

Look who is saying, on October 8th,, well, that's okay.

The Israelis deserved it.

What?

The same people who are the other of these lies, about our country.

Let's pray, for our neighbors and our friends. And our family.

That haven't woken up yet.

ill Trump's 'Liberation Day' Tariffs Lead to a Manufacturing Resurgence in America?

President Trump has declared April 2, 2025, “Liberation Day.” But will his reciprocal tariff plan work and bring manufacturing jobs and prosperity back to America? Glenn speaks with economist Stephen Moore on what Americans can expect once the tariffs hit. Yes, there will be pain, Moore says. But “Trump is the single best negotiator I have ever met in my life and I think, in the end, he will prevail.” Moore also urges the White House to emphasize its regulation and tax cuts along with the tariffs. Plus, he predicts what America could look like a year from now and what Americans should prepare for.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Stephen Moore. My good friend, how are you, sir?

Stephen, are you there?

STEPHEN: Good morning.

GLENN: How are you, man?

STEPHEN: Hi, Glenn. Great to be with you.

GLENN: Thank you very much. Today is Liberation Day. How are you feeling?

STEPHEN: Well, you know, I -- I think it's a Liberation Day. But I'm feeling a little maybe trepidation day as well.

We will see what's out there. I don't know exactly what the details are. I don't think anybody does.

Except Donald Trump at this moment.

Look, I'm a free trade guy. I understands the benefits. Benefits both countries.

But I would say, on the other hand. Because this is really a debate. Where I can go at either side of it.

Trump has an important point.

A lot of people don't understand. You have a wise listenership.

But A lot of Americans don't understand, that we're the lowest terror country in the world right now, among all the major trade partners. And what Trump is simply saying is it's not a level playing field. It's not fair. These other countries are not playing by the rules.

And they need to trade with the United States. So they better get their act together, they better start treating us fairly, or he will hit them with these tariffs. I've been listening to you, for the last 15, 20 minutes. There will be some costs to Americans.

In buying cars. And we might see a little rise in prices of things. Trump describes this as, you know, short-term pain for long-term gain. And I think it's for every American to kind of figure out where they stand on this right now.

I'm a little bit worried about it. I will say this, Trump is the single best negotiator I've ever met in my life. And I think in the end, he will prevail.

GLENN: So is he going just for a strange level field?

You can't say it's a -- it's a free market. Because there are tariffs involved. But if our tariffs are only reflecting everybody else's. Then it is a free market, if you will.

Just trying to bring everything level up to the -- you know, the place where everybody else is. Is that the goal here, which would lead me to believe, there might be some short-term effects, because we can turn the negotiating power on. Pretty quickly.

Or is he trying to bring manufacturing back, which is -- I mean, I think he's calling it Liberation Day. Because it harkens back to World War II. And he's liberating us from almost everything that we set up, right after World War II.

He's saying, effectively, with almost -- in almost every category. All of that stuff is broken. And we can't do that anymore.

So is he saying, we're not going to be part of this global thing anymore. We will bring manufacturing back here. And that will be tough. But it's the only way to really, truly grow our economy.

By building things here. Which is it, or is it both? Stephen.

STEPHEN: These are complicated questions. You know, and I can't get into Donald Trump's mind. Look, let's start with why he won this election. He won the election by winning blue-collar, middle class voters into the Republican Party, many of whom have voted Democratic, but realized that Trump was the one who really stood behind them.

I believe, gren, to answer your question about how do we make America number one in manufacturing and, you know, obviously technology. And other industries that are so important.

I believe many of the other things that Trump is doing.

For example, lead article in the Wall Street Journal this week, didn't get a lot of attention.

Front page. That Trump is deregulating our economy. It will reduce costs for American companies, by as much as a trillion dollars. So that will make us very competitive.

GLENN: Hang on just a second.

I was just talking about, I'm not seeing enough about cutting the regulation, and also cutting of tax cuts.

STEPHEN: Right. That's right!

GLENN: Because if you don't have those to go along with the tariffs, this isn't going to work. This is just not going to work.

STEPHEN: Exactly. Yeah. Great minds think alike. And that's exactly what I was going to say.

And it was almost like we were saying the same thing.

As you know, you look at the tax plan. As you know, Larry Kudlow and I -- the very first version of that tax plan. Eight or nine years ago.
And it was a huge success. Huge success.

Glenn, one of my frustrations right now, with the Trump administration, with the president. I love this guy. I mean, I would -- I would go through a burning building for him.

And he would do those things for the country. Have you heard him talk a lot about the tax cut in the last month? No. And have you ever heard him talk about deregulation last month? No.

GLENN: No. No.

STEPHEN: No. It's all been about tariffs. And, you know, that's the medicine, but people want to see the good stuff. There are issues that unify the Republican Party, like lowering tax rates, deregulating the economy, pro-America energy policy. Those kinds of things.

Frankly, the tariff issue is the kind of issue that divides us. Some of my best friends are in favor of it. I'm kind of on the fence on it. Others are strongly against it. So I want to see Trump talking a little bit more about all of the benefits of these other things that he's doing.

In fact, I've waited 40 years, Glenn, for a president to say, we're going to dismantle the US Department of Education because it's totally useless. It probably does more damage to our schools. Well, he did it.

I was there when he signed that executive order. That was amazing. He's doing incredible things for our country.

But a lot of it gets overshadowed, because all he's talking about right now is tariffs.

GLENN: Well, he's got to bring a lot of people to the table. So what do you think is going to happen?

He obviously picked 4 o'clock, because the stock market is closed, right?

STEPHEN: I guess so. He may very well be right. I think it's going to be -- nobody knows exactly what he's going to say.

But I think he is going to call for a ten to 20 percent across-the-board tariffs, on just about anything that comes into the US. Now, that will raise prices. I mean, if you put a tax on things that come in, to some extent, you know, consumers will pay the cost of that.

And then, I think he's going to go after certain countries, that are the worst abusers like China.

And, by the way, I'm all in favor of going after China. I think China is a menace. You were one of the first people that started talking about this, 25 years ago. So China is the enemy. One thing I don't get.

And I say this with all due respect, because I do love this president. I don't understand why we've got so much discussion about Canada.

Canada is one of our most important allies. And why aren't we talking about China, and some of these other countries, that are -- you know, dangerous to our economy and national security.

GLENN: I know. Yeah. I've been questioning that.

And so let me ask you, best case scenario. What happens?

What do we look like in a year from now?

STEPHEN: Other countries dramatically bring down their tariffs. Not just tariffs, by the way, Glenn.

Trump made an important point here.

Also, nontariff barriers. The fact that many of these countries have various rules that close the markets to American products. And I'm not just talking about manufacturing products. You know, we're the breadbasket of the world. We have the greatest, most productive farmers in the world. We produce more of our food and agricultural products than any other country.

And yet, many countries lock out our wheat and our corn and our barley and our meat. Our dairy products.

So I think, if this works out. And I would never bet against this president. I think you will see other countries having to open up their markets to American manufacturers and American farmers and American technology. Because, by the way, our technology company is completely discriminated against by these Europeans and these other countries.

So there's a lot to be angry about.

GLENN: Brussels said, I think yesterday, or early this morning. We've got war plans. You know, economic war plans. You go ahead, you launch these.

We're relaunching our own attack. You know, tomorrow.

Bluster or real?

STEPHEN: I'm sorry, who said that?

GLENN: Brussels. Yeah, the EU.

STEPHEN: Oh, the EU. Yeah. Right. Okay. Well, let me address that.

Because, first of all, I'm so sick and tired of these sanctimonious.

GLENN: We don't hang out enough, Stephen. I just love you. Go ahead.

STEPHEN: You know, oh, my gosh. How tear Donald Trump do this. He's starting a trade war.

I know what Donald Trump would say, if he was on your show right now. He would say, what are you talking about?

I'm -- one-third as high as theirs now. They have a lot of nerve to say Trump is causing a trade war!

I mean, you know, it's like -- if I came up to you, Glenn, and punched you in the nose.

And then you tried to fight back. How dare you start a fight with me! I mean, so Trump has the moral high ground here because we do open up our markets.

And the other countries. By the way, there was a very famous incident that happened, I wasn't there.

But my buddy Larry Kudlow was there.

At one of the G20 meetings, I think it was in Ottawa.

And the Europeans were sitting there and complaining and grousing about Trump talking about tariffs. I don't know if you're aware of this.

But Trump, it's on the record. People were there. Trump said, okay! You know what, why don't we all go to zero on tariffs?

They ran to the doors as quickly as they could.

GLENN: I know. I know. I know.

So now, tell me what you think is -- is -- say likely nor a, if things don't go exactly the way. You know, bring this up. Because Paul Krugman. The New York Times.

He said, with Biden. Don't dismiss the careful work of our statistical agencies because you're feeling angry on the check out line.

I don't want to say that about tariffs.

I mean, it's going to make things harder to buy what you need.

And we shouldn't downplay that.

The president is not even downplaying that.

He says, it's going to be a little painful for a while, right?

But people are on the edge financially. And, you know, no amount of political theory helps people pay for the groceries, or makes it feel better when you're paying for the groceries, so I don't want to be in that camp.

What should people mentally respect for, that is a likely scenario, even if it turns out, that it was the right thing? What's coming our way?

STEPHEN: So I think that Trump has -- has -- has made a mistake here, in the sense that, we should have done this tax bill, first!

GLENN: Yeah. I agree.

STEPHEN: That would have been a huge victory. I hope your listeners understand, if we don't get this thing done. We're talking about a 3,000-dollar per family tax increase. On January 1st. And, by the way, every single Democrat in Congress voted for that.

$3,000 per family tax increase. So we should -- I -- I hope as he's talking about these tariffs. He links that to the fact that he's talking about, you know -- a major growth enhancing tax reduction.

You know, I like his idea, for example, Glenn. Where he said, look, if you will bring something into the country.

You will pay a 15 percent tariff on.

But if it's made in America. You will only pay a 15 percent tax.

I love that. Let's do that.

Let's implement that now. What you're doing is giving a little bit of favoritism to some, in Ohio and Maine and Vermont.

GLENN: My guess is, he would have done that, if he could count on the Republicans.

STEPHEN: He can't! I know.

GLENN: I know. There are two groups of people that worry me.

Congress. And, quite honestly, the Justice Department. I don't know where Pam Bondi is, but that's a different story. But Congress needs to do their job.

STEPHEN: And, you know, I think you're right. What are we?

Day 89. I can't keep track.

But it's amazing what Trump has done already. I mean, Trump should have that tax bill -- he has the voter mandate.

Why have the Fed been sitting on this for five weeks?

GLENN: I can't tell you. I can't tell you. So tell me about the -- tell me about the -- tell me about the regulations that you're seeing.

Is the regulation -- because tariffs, tax cuts, regulations.

Tell me about the regulations that you're seeing.

Is it significant? The regulation slicing!

STEPHEN: Enormously so. So remember, you remember. What was the first thing that Joe Biden did when he became president?

GLENN: Energy.

STEPHEN: Yeah. He killed all our energy infrastructure project.

That's something our enemies would have done to us.

Biden did it to us. He shut down the pipelines.

He put incredibly onerous climate change taxes on our goal and gas and coal industry.

Remember Hillary saying, well, that's okay.

The coal miners can become computer programmers or something.

GLENN: That's working.

STEPHEN: Exactly. So Trump is opening up our energy. We have more oil, gas, and minerals, by the way.

You know, this new Secretary of Interior, Governor Doug.

GLENN: Burgum. Burgum.

STEPHEN: Burgum. He's doing an amazing job. You know, we have $10 trillion of mineable, critical minerals in this country. In the mountains of Utah and Dakotas. We can do that.

You know, he's --

GLENN: So, but what I want to ask you.

STEPHEN: He can allow more mergers and acquisitions. So our companies can be more effective. It's all over the board.

It's on transportation policy. And that will cut costs dramatically for American consumers and that's a really positive thing. In fact, when I give talks to small businesses, you give a lot more talks than I do.

I always ask the men and women, I say, which is worse for you? The tax burden or the regulation burden? And you know what they said, the regulations.

GLENN: The regulations, every time.

Why Tesla Vandals May Be the DUMBEST "Activists"

Teslas are being vandalized all over the country by leftist “activists” who, Glenn points out, aren’t that smart. Not only do they fail to realize that they’re committing the “hate crimes” they claim to despise, but they’re vandalizing cars that have cameras all over them! Glenn and Stu review the tape of one vandal who completely changed his tune when the car’s owner confronted him. Then, Stu crunches the numbers: Are leftists who burn Cybertrucks doing more damage to the environment than people who drive gas-powered vehicles?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I want to play a couple of things. First of all, I want to -- Stu, if untilled. We will describe this video here.

STU: Okay.

GLENN: This is a vandal, working some arc on a Tesla. Go ahead. Play this.

There he is. Describing. He's getting out of the car.

STU: He's hiding. Which is always --

GLENN: He's hiding. Now -- he --

STU: Again, these people don't realize that Tesla have cameras. Every angle.

GLENN: Just so stupid.

Okay. So he's hiding in that. Now, he was caught on camera. And so the person that -- who had the Tesla. It was -- his car was keyed. He confronted him in the parking lot. This is satisfying.

Listen to this.

VOICE: Tree service. Free service. (?) how about you pay for the repairs.

Write a check. You bought a Tesla. (?)

VOICE: No. It is a hate crime, sir. Did you write a swastika on there?

VOICE: I'm sorry you're upset. It didn't even work.

VOICE: Did you write a swastika?

VOICE: It's a key, sir. We see it on the video.

VOICE: It's not a keep I was putting my keys in the --

VOICE: Is there a key (?)

VOICE: Yes. Is it a swastika. It's at the police right now. It's being fingerprinted.

VOICE: What do you mean, (?) thankfully, Facebook tracked you down. So your business, your freaking livelihood, everything now. Because you chose to write -- tell Facebook that you're sorry for writing a swastika eye Tesla. (?)

VOICE: I said, I'm sorry.

VOICE: For what? For what?

VOICE: I apologize. I have nothing against the car. And I have nothing against I.

VOICE: So why did you put a swastika against a Tesla?

VOICE: Obviously that's.

VOICE: Because (?) it was bought and paid for. It was bought and paid for a long time ago.

VOICE: That's why it's misguided. And obviously I did not intend to.

GLENN: Total change. What do you mean it's at the police? They're finger printing it? (?), boy, was that, oh. Wow. I feel completely different.

STU: Yeah. His explanation at the end there, say good one.

For like a mean tweet.

Right?

Like, you know, you're right.

I shouldn't. I got carried away.

And I'm upset.

I shouldn't have done that.

You're keying a car. I mean, he says he wasn't keying it.

A lot of people have crayons on their (?)

GLENN: Come out of car. Holding it like a key.

STU: Yeah.

Are Illegals Getting "Maximum" Social Security Benefits?

Elon Musk and Valor Equity Partners CEO Antonio Gracias recently announced a shocking discovery made by DOGE: over 4.8 million “noncitizens” have been given Social Security numbers since President Biden entered office. Even more shocking was the discovery that “the defaults in the system, from Social Security to all of the benefit programs, have been set to max inclusion, max pay for these people — and minimum collection,” according to Gracias. And some of these noncitizens even registered to vote! So, how many were legal immigrants on work visas, and how many were illegal immigrants? Musk and Gracias noted that under Biden, applying for asylum became much easier and there was “no interview” required to obtain these Social Security numbers. Glenn and Stu discuss the story …

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Okay. Let me get into the SSI thing.

Social Security insurance.

So Elon Musk and a friend of his, they were out in Wisconsin. Doing a -- doing a rally or a town hall.

And they were talking about how -- how they -- what they found on Social Security, is just horrible.

The government was giving away Social Security numbers. And it wasn't haphazard. It was planned. People were coming across the border.

And they were handing them a Social Security number.

And it was clear, I don't remember the numbers. But it's a very high number.

We are paying people who came here illegally. We're giving them Social Security.

When our -- when our old people can't afford to eat, we're just giving this away, to people who are here illegally.

That's crazy!

Crazy! So, you know, we don't survive as a nation. Without some accountability.

And without some common ground. And I don't know -- again, when did it become okay, to cheer or jeer. For somebody who is stopping corruption in our government.

When did it become okay? I mean, how did we get here? How did we get to the point to where people actually cheer the idea of our government, secretly, and denying it, if you ask them.

Giving them taxpayer funded benefits like Social Security, to millions of people, who are here illegally. And most people don't even blink now.

How did we forget? Forget politics.

Forget red team, blue team. Just let me say this. Let me ask your friend. Ask yourself this question.

If the people who you trusted the least were doing this, would you be okay with it?

That's to my son. Would you be okay with it? I would be fine, if you had an Elon Musk in there, doing this.

Would be totally fine, and exposing all of this.

Yep. It's not a gotcha. It's a principle. It's critical thinking. Would you be okay?

You know, critical thinking really needs to make a comeback. Because when we stop thinking critically. We start defending nonsense. Because our side is doing it.

And we lies something bigger than an argument. We lose trust. We lose connection. We lose the ability to have any kind of honest conversations with the people that we love.

So how do you talk to your friends and family, who just don't seem to see, what we see?

Well, it doesn't start with confrontation. It starts with curiosity. Which brings us to questions you can ask.

You ask them, can we just look at them, as if we didn't know who was in office?

Because then we can find our principles.

Would you still feel like this was okay?

What's the limiting principle here?

If this is allowed, for the government to deny that they're doing this, but give all of this money. All of these benefits to people who are here illegally, while denying they're doing it. And it's not within the bounds of the law!

If we can just do this now, is there any limiting principle? What can't we do?

What happens to a country when the law no longer means what it says? Don't accuse. I -- we just need to start inviting people to answer these questions. Show respect for their mommy. Because deep down, most people don't want to be hypocrites.

They don't.

And that's the conflict they're having in their head right now.

Okay. They want to be consistent.

They want to be fair. But sometimes they need a little help connecting the dots. What they'll say is, well, Trump did. Stop them right there. It's not about Trump. It's about policies and principles right now. Can we judge this on its own merits. The dishonest ones will end the conversation there, and they will want to just go back to the outrage machine. But you stay in reality, because we can't see our neighbors as enemies, just because they see the world differently.

But the first step to helping each other is ask honest questions.

Have the courage to listen to their answer. Not be thinking. Oh, good. They said that. Just listen. Even when it makes you really uncomfortable.

Because we have to find our way back to actual truth. We have to find our way back to logic. Because it's not political.

It's just about right and wrong.

And if we can't do this, then the fight isn't about left versus right anymore.

It honestly isn't even about good and evil.

It's about sane versus the insane.