It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Nicole, you never have to get out of the way with me, Thank you very much. As always, twelve before over the pirates. I hope that duck boats are ready. My name is Dan Ray. As we head to this what I think will be a very interesting evening for all of us. Rob Brooks back in Broadcast Central at Broadcast Headquarters in Medford. He will basically take care of everything tonight. A couple of programming notes. First of all, welcome on in. Always great to have you. This is
kind of one of those special different nights. So let me explain how it's going to go tonight. In the first hour, I would like to find out from you either what you expect or what you hope President Trump will say tonight. Now, this is not a State of the Union address. Let's make it very clear. This is not a State of the Union address. This is an address by the president, his first speech to Congress since his last presidential address, which was a State of the
Union message, and that was in twenty twenty. I think we all remember when Nancy Pelosi made quite a presentation of ripping up his speech and just short of throwing it in his face. I don't think that's going to happen to I think that the current House Speaker, Mike Johnson will probably applaud quite a bit, as will all of the Republicans, which is to be expected. And the Democrats. They seem to be somewhat disorganized and maybe intentionally so.
As to what they will do, whether they will attend, whether they will sit on their hands, or whether they will express their discontent with what is said, it will be interesting. Obviously, the program of the evening is controlled by President Trump and the Republican Party. Because he speaks in the House Chamber, there will be plenty of Republicans, he will have guests there, and it will be interesting. I suspect that he will certainly talk about Ukraine late today.
There's some suggestion that that deal which was wasn't consummated on Friday in the Oval Office, may soon be signed. I don't know if President Zelensky would return to Washington signed the deal personally, or whether or not it would be done on a zoom call. Who knows with an auto pen. Now whatever, he'll certainly have to talk about tariffs.
The stock market has tanked in the last couple of days, he's followed through those tariffs and now on in twenty five percent against Canada, twenty five percent against Mexico, and has raised the tariffs on the US tariffs on goods coming in from China from ten to twenty percent. Now the Prime Minister of Canada, he's a short timer. He probably will be off the political stage and certainly off the world political stage sometime later this month. The President
of Mexico, Claudier Scheinbaum. She was just only elected in October twenty twenty four, so again not really understanding how things work in Mexico per se. I think that she will be around for the long haul, and President Trump will be around, I assume for the long haul as well, or at least for the balance of his first term, unless something crazy happens, either politically or anything like that.
But we'll put that aside for the moment now. The Democrats will respond as they off, as they always do. There's always a response from the party that no longer holds the White House, and that response will be delivered by Michigan Senator Alissa Slotkin. She has only been a United Senator for two months previously to that she served in the House. You will hear her response as well, and I think it's important to hear both sides. She's a Cornell graduate, has a BA in sociology. Will know
a lot more about her. I assume in the days ahead. She has a master's from Columbia University, a school of International and Public Affairs. Now. The Democratic minority leader in the House, Hakim Jeffries, urged in a letter to his House colleagues tonight to be strong, determined and dignified, Strong determined and dignified. Whether all will comply with that request?
That is to be seen, by the way, getting back to Senator Slatkin, she's considered a moderate Democrat, more of I guess, a traditional Democrat, as opposed to say, Elizabeth Warren. I don't think they would be rolling Elizabeth Warren out for a response to the president tonight, and they have chosen newly elected Senator Elissa Slotkin. Kind of an interesting
little point on her. She was born in July of nineteen seventy six, so she's forty eight years of age and or will be yes, she's forty eight two be forty nine years of age this July. She was born in July tenth, just six days after the bicentennial that this country celebrated in the summer of nineteen seventy six.
She was one of about six Democrats who voted for the lacoln Riley Act, which is an act named in honor of lacln Riley, the Georgia University student who was killed by someone here who should not have been here a little less than a year ago. She was simply out for a jog. Now, the President has a list of guests that he and his wife, Milennia Trump are bringing to the speech. He will reference several of them, I'm sure during the speech that is something that has
been done for quite a while. Amongst the guests who you know or have some reason to know, he will have the family of Corey Competii Competori. He's the firefighter who was killed by a gunman who also shot President Trump during that campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last July. He'll also be joined by Mark Fogel. He's the American history teacher who also happens to be from Butler, Pennsylvania, who is held hostaged by the Russian government and wrongfully
sentenced to fourteen years in a Russian prison. He was released on February twelfth, and he was received by President Trump at the White House on the day of that assassination attempt. The story goes that President Trump I met Mark's ninety five year old mom. Her name was Malphine, and he apparently made a promise to her that he would bring her son home. And he fulfilled that promise on February twelfth. And there will be others for different issues,
a lot of them related to different issues. For example, Alison and Lauren Phillips from Woodstock, Virginia. They are the mother and sister of Lacoln Riley, the young woman nursing student murdered by an illegal alien after a morning jog. The Biden administration had apprehended and released Lacoln's murderer into the county under its open border policies, and the very first bill the President signed into law was named in
honor of lacln Riley. And I'm reading from a press release from the White House there, obviously, I would hope that you'd understand that. And there will be some representatives guests brought by Democrats to the speech. Many of them will be either current or recently terminated federal employees. So it sets what all of these events are, big political drama, there's no question about that, and we'll talk about this.
By the way, there will be a Spanish response. We will play not only obviously the President's speech in its entirety, and then there will be an ABC News quick cover while the Democrat again, Senator Slotkin of Michigan, pulls your thoughts together. But there's also going to be a Spanish response by a congressman from New York, Adriana Esparlat. He represents the thirteenth Congressional district. He is seventy years old,
first elected to Congress I believe in twenty sixteen. He's the first Dominican American to serve in the House of Representatives. And he's also formed he's now the first formally illegal immigr to be elected to Congress. So a very interesting life story with that member of Congress against the backdrop of the Dow, the SNP, and the Nasdaq Wall Street really taking a dive the last two days. So we
will see how the President talks about that. And incidentally, these sorts of addresses to Congress have only been of recent vintage Ronald Reagan was the first who delivered a speech in nineteen eighty one, shortly after he was elected and before he himself was the victim of an assassination attempt. George Herbert Walker Bush did the same thing in nineteen eighty nine. Bill Clinton did the same thing in ninety three. George W. Bush did the same thing in two thousand
and one. President Obama did the same thing in two thousand and nine, and President Trump carried on the tradition as did Joe Biden. So Ever since Ronald Reagan, presidents have a given speeches to Congress, not State of the Union speeches, although in effect they will sound like a State of the Union speech. So, having set the table now, I would like to hear from all of you. Normally
at this hour we're talking to four guests. The only guest this hour of those of you who want to dial six seven two five four ten thirty or six seven nine three ten thirty. What are you looking for the president to say? What is most important to you? What is his strongest card to play, what is his weakest card to play? I feel like I'm channeling the meeting in the Oval Office the other day. What issue has he done best on in your opinion, or what
issue has he done worst on? And I think there's plenty of issues to pick on both sides of that equation. All you have to do is give us a call. We will stop phone calls at nine o'clock and then we'll listen to the speech which will be which we
will get through ABC News. There will be a little bit of interlude where some of their analysts will tell us what they thought about the speech, and they'll preview the Democratic response, and then we'll listen to the speech from the UH junior senator from Michigan, ALYSSA Slutkin, and at that point it'll be back to us for your reaction post speech. So jump on board six one seven, two, five, four ten thirty six one seven, nine three one ten thirty.
Don't be shy and realize that that this is one of the very rear eight o'clock hours in the last twenty or so months that you actually can call in and predict, uh analyze what this is. This is your opportunity to tell the nation what you expect the president to say or to or to UH not to say tonight. This is Nightside. My name is Dan Ray reminding you of the iHeart app. New and improved iHeart app is available.
I've downloaded it. You can make WBZ ten thirty your go to preset, which makes it so easy to get to Night's Side or anywhere on wb Z during the day three hundred and sixty five days a year twenty four to seven. Makes listening so easy, whether you're at home, on the road, or I don't know, taking a stroll across Boston Common. Join the conversation. We'll be right back on Nightside.
Now back to Dan ray line from the Window World Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.
All right, here we go, gonna get reaction from folks in advance. What do you hope the President's going to say? What do you think he's going to say? What do you think he might try to avoid? Let me go to Joe, who is a longtime listener and a very loyal follower of this program. Joe your first this hour Nightside, Go ahead, Joe, Dan, I.
Think he's going to talk about how he's gonna make America great again. Also, how is he going to explain that he didn't end the war in Ukraine in one day? Second, he said, if Amas didn't give back all of the hostages, they would be bomb to Smith therenes. And how about his plan for inflation in the economy. All the prices are high, but Mike gasoline went down a dime today.
Well that's a that's a good thing, certainly, Joe. Look, look what did they say the old adages Rome wasn't built in a day. I think that he had to if if it turns out that this deal with Zelensky has signed in the next few days, or perhaps even as early as tomorrow, that ugly confrontation on Friday, I guess will have proven to have been worth it if if the deal gets done, because I think that will
provide security for Ukraine. I think the president has to respond to what the stock market has done the last day or so last couple of days. I mean, it's in the tank, and not everybody's invested in the stock market, but more people are invested in the stark. Then realize if they have a furrow one k or some other you know, you know program program like a fur one k. In terms of prices, I didn't think that grocery prices were going to drop the moment that he took his
hand off the Bible. But he's doing this these tariffs, and they might in the short term increase, so he's got to address that as well. I think you hit on a number of points, Joe that he's going to have to talk about tonight. Good analysis.
I voted for him three times, and I thought he was the greatest thing in the sky. Now I think maybe he's just the less of two evils now, and I'd vote for him a fourth time.
I think you've got to give him more than six weeks. He's not going to be able to run again. That's that would be that's against the constitution. But I think it's been six weeks. Let's see how it goes tonight. Let's see what the stock market does tomorrow. Let's see if the Ukraine deal. I think that things have moved pretty quickly. I think that they have probably on DoD which overreached. I think they're a little out over their skis on that. It'll be interesting to say to see
what he says about that tonight. But again, remember it's not the words that count, its action and results. Joe has always.
Thanks, Yeah, give him a chance, right, Dan, I would say, you got to give any president a chance, absolutely, but as I say, we could still criticize him, that's for sure.
Thanks, Joe, appreciate your call. All right, we've got the news coming up. Thanks Joe, talk to you later. So there's one line at six one, seven, two, five, four to ten thirty. If you want to get in now before the nine o'clock news, dial that or dial six one seven, nine three one ten thirty. What do you want him to see? What do you want him to say? And next up we have after the news, we have a long distance call coming in which is going to give us a little bit of a different perspective from
a very interesting part of the world. Back on Nightside, stay with us.
If you're on night Side with Dan Ray, I'm WZ Boston's news radio.
I think we're going to take you to Panama. Meial, are you in Panama, Panama or back in the home.
Country while I'm in Panama, and I plan to return back to the home country, the home station, the home base at some point in the next couple of months. Yeah.
Well, great to hear your voice. Let me ask you, what was the reaction of people in Panama. I assumed that the president will at least make reference to his suggestion that it's time for the US to take back control of the Panama Canal, or however he might put it. What was the reaction of people in Panama.
Yeah, I did some primary research on that on that front, I mean, my own little network, and you know, I am hoping to hear him clarify some of his bluster because it's largely inactive totally accurate. So I divided it up into about three strata, three classes, fairly or unfairly, That's just how I thought about it. Kind of the professional class down at the other end of the street here. Now this was started back on New Year's Eve when I got down here, so it was all pretty fresh
and new back then. So I had an engineer, and then around the corner is two teachers of English hand surgeon doctor Julio you used to live in Needham, worked at Susan Newton, worked at Boston Medical Center for a bit. And these folks were all convinced, you know, once bit and twice shy that Donnie t was going to be invading down here and taking back the canal. They were convinced that's happened before. And then kind of this middle class the Uber I shouldn't call them the Uber class,
it sounds like a Germanic massive reference. But Uber drivers who are kind of in a middle class and they are largely of the position it's okay, you want to take the canal, Take the canal? What's in it for me that I don't see a dime? They don't see a penny from this. And the canal's run very well, extremely well, and it's so well that they were able to budget and plan for the Supermax expansion and they did that well with out a hitch, and it's nearly perfect.
But they don't see a dime. Are you going to come in and give us money for roads and bridges and schools and the rest? Then take it? And then they have enlightened me as to a third class, which is unnamed, who have probably never seen the canal unless it's on TV and the news, and don't get a penny, don't get a dime. They're just trying to survive day to day as wages stagnate and caused rise. So that's kind of how it's divided up. And I verified all that with my sources, so to speak.
Okay, so let me ask you this Okay, correct me on the history of it. I think I might have mentioned to you that my godfather, who I never met, worked in the Panama Canal. I have no idea. She expect they might have been in the CIA or something. His name was Frank Castle. If anyone in the audience could have telled me, he's I'm sure a long since past. But he was a close friend of my dad and he was god He was my godfather, and his wife
was my godmother. Never met either one of them. They probably were my christening, but I don't have a specific recall of that. So we built the canal? Any question about that at all? Down there or no?
Yes, that's a range. We don't have time to cover that in a formative phone call. I can give you an oversimplified history of that back of it. Go ahead, hitt the time.
Yeah, well no, just give me give me quick. Okay, let me ask you just people in Panama who built the canal.
It was the US obviously who did all the planning. It was really the French, and there was a Frenchman who in nineteen oh three Panama was still a province of Columbia, US guaranteed and paid for Panamanian independence because they had an independent movement, they had flags and people in place. US built the canal with a treaty for US control operations in the canal zone, which was ten miles on either side of the canal for the fifty one mile length of the canal, and we gifted it
to Panama with only one string attached neutrality. This was way back during card This I advanced, you.
Know, don't you know? Look, I know this part of the story because I remember when Jimmy Carter I thought he might have sold it for a dollar or whatever, or maybe it was a gift. Whatever it was, it was a very controversial activity. As matter of fact, he was a Republican congressman out of Illinois at the time named Philip Crane, who was That was his campaign for president Get back the Canal in nineteen eighty. But okay, so now a couple of other quick questions, if I could,
how much influence does China have? President Trump has talked about China controlling.
Reports down there. He's wrong. They have two ports. They also have one on either end of the canal, crist of Ball on the Caribbean end and Balboa on the Pacific end, and they are two ports. There's two others. US has control of one. They were bid on in nineteen ninety three under a Hutchinson Wampoa which was out of Hong Kong and British owned. Not anything to do with China except then eventually China.
China took over Hong Kong, right right, and So's.
Billionaires kept in and took the ports from Hutchison Wampoa. So they are at least partial owned and operated. But they have fifty plus ports around the globe, including one on either end of the Suez Canal. They have them in Argentina, they had them.
Sounds like it sounds like the Chinese government knows what they're doing. So should we be concerned about that?
In your opinion the kneel, No, you should not, because they bid them in nineteen ninety seven. Excuse me, not ninety three ninety seven, and you could have bid them and you didn't. You showed no interest. So who's crying like children? Johnny T So, the Chinese are not a threat to anyone down here. And if they're not a threat to the Suez Canal, how can they possibly be a threat to the Panama Canal? Well, Johnny t lost his Trump Tower for tax division here back in twenty nineteen.
So my opinion, but that is a fact. My opinion tying these two together is that he soured great revenge and vengeance from losing Trump Tower.
Okay, so ok just devil's advocate, Devil's advocate for a second. Okay, China has it having control of all of these ports around the world. Obviously there is a design that China has, And it was our money that gave the canal to Panama. And we have something that still exists, and it's the Monroe doctrine that in this part of the world, this part of the hemisphere, there are things that we do
not want encroaching on us. We came parallelsly close to nuclear war in nineteen sixty two October of nineteen sixty two when Russians Russia tried to put some nuclear warheads into the island of Cuba. What should we do? Just allow it to continue controlling ale as many ports as possible. Could China at some point say hey, guess what our ports down there are. We've gotten some some ships down there. We're going to close off the Panama can help.
I don't see how they're going to do that. I'm sure anything is possible. And Little Marco was down here during the Chinese Lunar New Year, which was interesting. He came in right where all the Chinese because the huge Chinese population down here's the estimated that maybe ten percent of all Panamanians have Asian Chinese lineage. But that's the digression. He said that these are dual use ports. We'll show me a port that isn't. So is it possible? Could
it happened? I suppose it could happen. But the Panama Canal Authority owns all of the canal from top to bottom or north to south. However you want to divide it up, and there is actually no threat. If there's a thread in Panama, why is there not a threat in the Suez Canal?
Well, I think that our interest backyards a lot closer to the Panama Canal. I think as much as the strategically located. I would not doubt that that if China wanted to close off the Suez Canal, either through their own people or through the Hoodies, the group in Yemen, yeah that's yeah, or other terrorists. I mean this this is a I think it's always better to act first as opposed to react, so we'll see. I really appreciate
the information, Neil. That is fabulous. Now, the only thing you got to do for me is find out who Frank Castle was and what the hell was he doing down there during my childhood. He had to be down there overthrowing some governments. As far as I'm.
Sorry, I'm sure that's short money for the for the deep state, especially back then, it's short money to do. One thing to keep in mind before before I go, is that, yes, the US built the original canal, but there is the more profitable SuperMac ex Supermacs expansion that Kindama paid for and built. So what are you going to take the half that you built and not the other half is more offitable. So I don't see how you're gonna be able to take it.
I think there should be some negotiation that will occur here at the new treat that our footprint needs to uh, we need to have a bigger presence. I'm in that area of the world. I think that's a critical area of the world.
Atlantic to invest invest that's all they ask for his investment. You've had every opportunity to invest in you refuse.
To well, not me personally. Hey Neil, as always, I love the conversation. Thank you, my friend. That that's a history lesson and a lesson also in current political philosophy as well. Thanks Neil, appreciate it. Talk soon what I'm here for?
You got it all right?
Thank you much, Neil, who is our nightside ambassador to Panama checking in tonight. A very important conversation. I believe we'll be back on nightside. I got Susan and Lewis
coming up back on nightside. Uh. I can probably fit another one or two in if you want to try six one seven nine or six one seven, two, five, four, ten thirty, and we will be giving way in a few minutes to the President of these United States and the Democratic response, and then after that will get your response to what the President actually says and actually proposes tonight back on Nightside.
Right after this, now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Right back to the huones are going to get both of these calls in Lewis and Shrewsbury. Lewis, what do you think the President will say or not say tonight?
Well, what I'm hoping one of the things I'm hoping Dan is that he clarifies. I think there's a lot of misunderstanding in the general population, and I think that's kind of exacerbated by, in a way, kind of a fear campaign that general media seems to be raising about tariffs and what.
The goals are.
And my understanding after doing a little bit of my understanding, after doing a little bit of homework, is simply this that we're looking for fair trade business terms sort of the same the same terms that that we provide other countries.
L called a level playing field. That that's the best. That is the best way to describe it. Yep.
Yeah, And I find a lot of people don't even understand the word reciprocal. I get a blanket there. So so I mean, in a nutshell, I know you're pressed for time, but it seems like when people understand that, they have a hard time being critical. Despite like I said, I really I hate to say it, I'm sensing sort of an exaggeration and almost almost intentional confusion that's being delivered anyway.
Well, normally, the uh, the Republican Party has been against tariffs, but this is a different type of Republican president. Traditional Republicans from the the Romney McCain Bush wing of the party would always say, hey, tariffs are no good for anybody, and in fact they're probably right. But when there were countries around the world that have tariffs against us, or if there are countries around like Mexico, which were allowing things to happen within their borders, that that we want
to impact. One way that a president can do something is impose some tariffs. Now that action has gotten the attention of the leadership of Mexico President shanbaum Uh and they were about I believe twenty cartel leaders who had been in prison in Mexico have been turned over to the US. That's that's a step of the right direction. And no, let's let's see how this how this plays out. I think in the short run, we're all gonna pay
a little bit more for items. I think that many of the corporations of this country will take an opportunity to raise their prices, and they're gonna say, well, see, that's what the tariffs do, and in fact they do, but they may right make they may take an opportunity here. So let's see how it plays out. Just as let's see how this Ukraine thing plays out. I mean, tonight there's some speculation that maybe is ready to to do what the President was urging him to do on Friday.
Yeah, I think so, and I hope that, as you said, people have given us a little time. I mean, I think back of my father Michaels and the sacrifice that they may literally go into war. I like to think that for you know, three or four months, you know, we can just deal with it in the hopes of just getting an equitable, a fair relationship in our business going forward. How we got into this mess is another subject, but just just give us, you know, the same terms
that we give you. And I don't think that's unreasonable.
No, I agree with you. The other thing, too, is we've lost a lot of manufacturing to to other parts of the of the world, and maybe they can they can be brought back. Maybe we can get some of those car companies to bring there their industry back to the States if it costs them a little bit more to they you know, make cars elsewhere make you know, let's let's get American jobs back as well. Again, that's
Democrats used to be saying. Donald Trump is not as much he's a little bit of a traditional Democrat here as well, and people are responding to that career. Lewis, I thank you, my friend. I want to grab one more call here if I can. Thanks, Leis. We'll talk to him. Call more often. Susan and Weymouth. Okay, thanks, thanks very much, Lewis. Appreciate you. Call.
Hi.
Susan in Weymouth. You were next. Hi. How are you?
I'm good at pleasant, good evening to you. I'm just calling, thank you. I'm a retired educator and a baby Booma and I just had a couple of observations about tonight. My first one is the president's speech. I think they're going to be giving the Democrats oxygen by the time he's done. Maybe well, they're not gonna like what he has to say. He's going to be dropping ball.
When you say oxygen, you don't mean political oxygen.
You mean you think no, I mean the regular oxygen so they don't pass out in the aisle.
Okay. I took it total. I took it one hundred and any degrees a different, different way, but go right ahead.
Okay.
But I think what people forget about him is he's not a politician, so he doesn't work through that lens. Yeah, and I think that's what people are finding how to understand. And with him laying people off, he's doing what he said he was going to do, but he's not. He's it's like a band aid. He's not picking in here by here, he's ripping it right off.
Yeah. And I also think that they've overreached their out over their skis I have. We're going to talk about this later this week. There's a volunteer organization in this country of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, medical person who are on a twenty four hour or you know, literally a two hour alert standby to respond and go to areas in America and around the world where there's a natural disaster. And those folks who are all volunteers and do not
they're not government deployees. I have been told that they have to submit statements as to what they've done in the last week for their job. They do their job in the private secretary and when the crisis occurs, they're ready to go. Go ahead. We got about thirty seconds left, so I want I want to.
Give you the other thing I wanted to say. As as an educator, I think the best thing he's doing is get rid of the Department of Education. That was the worst thing Jimmy Codda did.
Yeah, I don't forget.
I'm I know you're a educator, and I think that I'm.
A buma though I was way back.
No, I got it. I totally haven't. Look, I very much appreciate your call. And it will it won't mean if they get rid of the Department of Education the schools and all it will mean is that schools will be regulated by the various states, and I think we should be maybe a good thing. Susan, I love you. Call call back soon.
Okay, you're welcome, Thank you very much, Bye, thank you.
All right, we've got the President's address coming up. We're going to go to ABC News special coverage of the President's addressed to a Joint Session of Congress. After that, we'll have the Democratic response, and then we'll hear from you as soon as it's all over. Stay with Nightside here on WBZ