Episode 19: Superman the Politician? A Conversation with Dean Cain

endorsed Donald Trump for president. I'm talking about Dean Kane, an accomplished actor, producer, TV host, and former football player. Yes, the man can do it all. Dean is perhaps best known for planning Superman in the TV series Lewis and Clark The New Adventures of Superman. He also hosted Ripley's Believe It or Not, and it's currently working on a host of projects that we'll get into. But perhaps more than anything, Dean is a free thinker, unafraid to express

his opinions even in a hostile environment. And that's where I want to focus on our conversation. Let's go Dan Gange Welcome to Allow with Gianno calls well, thank you so much for coming on today. I'm honored to be here. Gianno, It's been a long time since we've actually had a chance to have a conversation too, so I'm always happy to do So that's that's right. And I haven't seen you in so long because we've not been around the

l A Bureau. The Fox News has been closed down since the start of the pandemic, and we're operating out of our homes these days, so it's it's really tough, but I do miss my friends. But what you don't know is I moved to Miami in the l A shutdown, where there was freedom. This is the best state in the country right now. Yeah, I hear wonderful things about Florida, that's for sure. Governor de Santis is doing great stuff. And your mayor of Miami seems like a sharp tack too.

Just jumping into you. What are you up to these days? Well, you know, it's funny. I've been I've been crazy busy. This was a weird year because of all the shutdown and all the things that happened. So so many things that I was supposed to be filming and doing didn't happen. So, like anybody else, I you know, I I will turn and and do things based on what opportunities are there.

So I actually was sworn into two different departments as a police officer last year, as a reserve police officer in Pocatello, Ida and as a sheriff's deputy in Frederick County, Virginia. My support for law enforcement and first responders in our military is true and real and a hundred percent. And so instead of just talking about it, uh, during this time where it's been such a high anti police sentiment, I made sure that I joined up and my voice and my actions match. So I got to do that

this in which was amazing. UM. And I also shot a whole bunch of little little Christian movies and UM kept myself more than more than plenty busy. And this year already I'm starting. I'm getting ready to uh produce direct star in and a picture that I wrote. UM. We were supposed to start at the end of January in in Hawaii, but they shut us down, the COVID shut us down. FUS. Now we're going in Art in New Mexico or April in New Mexico. But I'm busy

as can be all the time. And happy as a clam is a police officer, have you been and driving the cars? Like, have you pulled people over? And they say, oh my god, superman, you're pulling me over? Like what is this? No, well, I'm there. If we were going to pull somebody over, I would be the support police. I would be a support officer. So I would try to keep my mouth shut and stay out of the way from let the let the lead officer do everything. We work with the foundation called the UH well we

work with the Internet Crimes against Children I CACK. Every place has one of those UM departments, and the department we have in UH especially in Virginia, is very, very strong, and so we're doing a lot of interesting things, even talking about redoing that show to Catch a Predator, because we have so many out there with the Internet and what people are doing. I have to my god, kids are nine years old, almost ten, and the stuff they

here blows me away. So the the the access that that criminals and people with some bad intentions have to our children, into our homes, into our lives is really terrifying, and so UH I'd love to be out there talking about the dangers for kids. Pay attention to that and parents, more more than anything else, pay attention to what your kids are doing on the internet, because there are bad people who want to who want to do bad things to your kids. And it's awful. It's the reality. Um,

it's unfortunate, but it's the truth. I want to begin with the topic that you're quite familiar with, and that cancel culture. We're talking about you, talking about you personally. What are your thoughts on big text and recent efforts to siling conservatives Big tech is making a big mistake in my opinion. You can't do this is this is Orwellian.

And then we've been sort of flirting with it for a while, but suddenly everybody feels extremely empowered to go ahead and start removing people and and then their right to free speech. And I find that abhorrent. It's against everything that we stand for as Americans. You know, if we don't agree with each other, okay, let's be respectful toward one another, no violence, but let's have a conversation. They're shutting down conversation. They're shutting down one side's point

of view. Um, it's it's extremely, uh terrifying. It's a really really huge problem, and we need to address it directly. I'm not so sure that this incoming administration is going to do so, but it needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Yeah, I agree with that and your points on on free speech. So you really see

this as a really strong threat to fee free speech. Clearly, if they're censoring folks, they're banning the President of the United States is extraordinarily problematic, and they've already gone down that heel. So with that being the case, how can conservatives fight back? How can people in general fight back? Because this is something that really impacts conservatives, But I think everyone can really be under attack no matter what your political ideology is. Oh, you know, they're gonna come

for everybody. The cancel culture. You're you're gonna get brought in somehow. You know, you had an extra taco at at lunch. Oh you've just disrespected. You know. Everybody from the Mexican American community were like, we just madness the stuff that's going on. Are you trying to uh you're trying to uh appropriate that culture? Giano having a taco at lunch? When you do, it's that ridiculous. Um, So I think it's a I think it's a real, real, huge problem, and it's it's one of the biggest problems

I think we face as a nation right now. We've got the ability to speak, is being You're being shut out if you don't have the right point of view. It's it's insane to me. It is against everything that we stand for. And I think that there's gonna have to be some some legislative changes made. Uh, you know, whether it's Section two thirty or whatever it is. Um, you know you can't just you can't do that. You

can't just target one side. UM apply you know, rules are supposed to apply equally to everyone in this country. The law is supposed to apply everywhere to to everyone equally in this country. I believe in it. I know it doesn't always work that way, but I believe in it. And I think we're always striving toward a more perfect unions who were trying striving to make it better. It's not perfect, but what they're doing right now is the

exact wrong way to go. Cancel culture social media, social media specifically, had there been attempts to cancel you, I've been I've been canceled for everything. Let's see if I say I support President Trump's policies. Yeah, well you were the worst Superman ever. Okay, non secretary, uh uh fine. I was on Supergirl, the show Supergirl, and people were calling for me to be removed from the show because I support President Trump, you know, back in the day.

This is way early in the beginning of the administration. Because I said on the board of directors for the n r A, or because I'm a police officer, you know, because I support our military. I support everyone's right to have an opinion, and I would fight for opinions that I don't agree with. I would fight for someone's right to be able to express opinion that I don't agree with. Those are the ones that need to be protected. Um it's and what's happening in college campuses and shutting down

speakers and things like that. I'm against all of that. I'm I want people to have the conversations and respect other people's point of view. I always tried to. I tried to do with that on Twitter and everywhere else, but again I get I get canceled left, right and

center for everything. I was promoting a film that I did called Gosnell, which dealt with the atrocities of Kermit Gosnell, the abortion clinic doctor from Philadelphia who's in jail for three counts of murder and one account of manslaughter or something like that. And he was a butcher, he was killing live babies. Was awful. And we did the film, and the film I think was a very strong, very

good film, and we're out promoting it. Producers made all sorts of arrangements for where we're gonna go on, what shows and what places. And we went and spoke to the Family Research Council, which of course the Southern Poverty Law Center called a hate group. And because I was speaking there, doesn't matter anything else that I had done in my lifetime, or what I had said on on gay rights or on abortion rights or whatever. It happens

to be the fact that I spoke there. Oh, everybody wanted to cancel me there, yelled at me for that, um you know, even though I didn't even agree at the time and all with their Family Reacher Centers UH policy on abortion. I didn't agree with making it illegal. I still don't agree with making it illegal, but I have I would like to see some strong restrictions. But I was canceled for that. So I guess the short answer, Gianno. And I've been canceled more times than I can count,

and and you know how much it bothers me. None. Now speaking of that mentality, because in your Twitter byline, you say that you won't tweet something that you wouldn't say to someone's face. In other words, you're not afraid to say what you mean and me what you say? Talk about that mentality? What did it come from? And are you afraid to be in silence if you say something that the powers would be deemed to be too provocative?

I mean, I've said things that the powers that be have deemed to be too provocative or unpopular so many times. And I'm sure there's there's there's been roles and things that you know that has cost me. But I think that's ridiculous. I don't condone Robert de Niro standing up at the Tony's and saying of tromp and getting a standing ovation. I think that's ridiculous. I think that's absolutely abhorrant. Well, I still watch Meet the Focker's, Yes I will. And

I think he's funny, you know. And that's the case, and and I I'm able to separate the two. I want to have these conversations with everybody else. But you know, I just think that, um, it's gonna reach a point, and it always does in this cancel culture situation where where everybody else gets canceled. I mean even now with the you know the stuff, the abhorrent attack on the

Capitol by people trying to storm the capitol. Um, all of a sudden, Democrats are screaming about how wonderful the police and our our capitol police and our our law enforcement folks are when during all the ANTIFA riots and BLM riots and things going on, Um, they were defund the police and their police are the worst. And you know it's it's just you can't play that game. You're gonna lose that game. I am consistent. I would never

tweet something I wouldn't say directed to someone's face. And that even includes some of the rude things that I say. You gotta push me to get me to to say something like that, But I'm a grown man. At a certain point in time, I've had it and somebody's crossed the line. You know, if they say something about my kid or you know, something like that, Now you've done night night, Now you've done it. But I don't think

people follow that. I try to live my life by the Golden rule, my friend, and that includes UH in social media and as it should be. Now you've mentioned that you have different beliefs in terms of your your politics. How do you just describe your political views? You obviously have problems with the loft, but it's conservative the right label to give you if you want to say label at all. Yeah, you know, it's hard. I think I'm hard to label. I mean, I've gotten the label of

being a conservative big time. But if you talk to like really staunch conservatives that they wouldn't think I'm conservative. I I happen to be very socially, very liberal. UH. Fiscally, foreign policy wise, I'm very conservative. I'm a big supporter of our military. I believe in living, limited government, low taxation. I believe in capitalism to the nth degree. I believe in Marita priscy. I don't believe in in UH. I believe in the quality of opportunity, but not of outcome ever. Ever,

and you try to make that happen, you're creating. You're creating something that can't exist. It's just beyond human nature. I believe we should have some sort of a safety net for folks who were in trouble, but giving them a hand up as opposed to hand out, instead of encouraging them, encouraging them to get out of that cycle of poverty, instead of um getting comfortable in it, you know. And and so these are those are real basic goals.

If that makes me a conservative, so be it. If it makes me a liberal, I don't care what people do on their socially. I've been four gay marriage forever. I grew up in Hollywood. I grew up Malou, California. I grew up with Sean Penn, crisp Pen, Roblow, Charlie Sheen, you know, Amelio Estada is Holly Robinson. These are the kids that I grew up with. And I wouldn't say

many of them are conservative, you know. And we've had these conversations and so on, and so you know, I'm all for the quality of opportunity, but but not outcome. Oh wow, yeah, so not even a libertarian, you per se. But I really appreciate what you said in terms of giving the people a hand up, not a hand out, and you're talking about the protection of the safety that I think that's critically important as someone who comes from poverty,

grew up with nothing in Chicago, much of nothing. I think people realize, oftentimes once they come out of that, that the best policy is to give someone a job, well not even get for them to earn an opportunity for themselves. And with that being the case, I think that safety net, having a strong safety net, it's temporary, it's so beneficial to people. So you're you're hitting a lot of hard nuggets which would make people say you're a Republican for sure. Yep. Here in California, I am

a decline to state. You know, there's a recall election just being discussed here in California. There's a petition to remove Gavin Newsham a k a. Patrick Bates from American Psycho. He looks like him. I'm just thought I thought that was funny. But uh, but he looks like he's trying to pose for a g Q thing at the same time. So it's a weird visual. But he's the recompetition for him. Uh, and if that happens, I've been I've been hearing I've just been fielding a large number of inquiries to get

me to run for governor. Here in California. Again, I'm so very liberal, but fiscally in foreign policy wise I am. I am. I'm very very conservative. Uh, and I'm a low taxation guy. We have the worst tax laws in the country here in California and they're just getting worse. And we have terrible forest management going on. We have terrible you know, water management going I mean, we have so many problems here. You know, these power outages constantly.

We're like living in a third world country here sometimes, and we're locked down and for reasons that I don't agree with. And there's just different ways. California is this huge state to make a blanket um, you know, proclamation as to how everything has to be runn It's just there's so much wrong with it. But I keep I'm continually getting sort of this bar jag of hey, run for governor and uh, I don't want to. But that's the only reason that would make me think that I should.

I don't want to be a politician. I don't want it. That's terrible. My life is fantastic. Why would I want to mucky it up with that, you know, jump in the middle of that. In politics, it's ugly and gross, but if I thought I could do some good, I might consider that. I think, especially for California, having lived there for so many years, what you've noticed is a lot of Republicans more leaning towards the the issues of the economy and building people up, businesses, et cetera. And

they leave the social issues to someone else. So I think that's right in line with what we've seen. Who would you say if you were to run, or if you were to be governor of California, who do you think you would govern like? Well, I would like to say Ronald Reagan. Um, because I I fortunately had a chance to meet there. He is right there. Me can see that there's a picture behind you because it's Alio only,

so you gotta picture of Reagan. You're with Reagan and fhoto, Yes, sir, young me and probably nine with former President Reagan at the time. And I had studied so much about what he had done as a history major, and uh, just watching you know, things happen in the end of the Cold War, and um, you know he had also been my governor here in California, and um, just the things he said, I promise you this right now, if I

do run, I'm gonna. I will steal and cite half of my words from Ronald Reagan because the things he said we're just dead on. That's really interesting. I want to pick up from there in a moment, but first let's take a quick break. So this is really interesting case. We've got some breaking news out of you that that's so exciting. So are there more Republicans and Conservatives in

Hollywood than what we think? Yeah? So along those lines of where we just discussed, like, I'll be on set and have these conversations, right and some maybe someone will be upset or whatever and blah blah blah. But then I'll have seven grips the electrician, three other actors walk up, go hey man, that's exactly how I feel. I just don't want to say anything. Thank you for standing up. You know. It's just, you know, we don't We're all afraid to say anything because we want to keep our jobs,

So just don't say anything. I'm like, that's all right, I'll take the heat for now. But it's nice to know that people appreciate it. I get stopped all the time and quietly thanked for for my positions and for speaking out, not so much for my positions and my positions, and I don't do it to get thanked, but for speaking out, people thank me all the time, and almost never does someone have a conversation and and challenge me.

I'm happy to please. Let's have a discussion and see where we find common around and see where we disagree and why we disagree, and you know, agree to disagree

on certain things. But so many people, too many people are afraid to have the conversations and won't have the conversations, and they shut you down by calling you, you know, an ism or an isst you're you know, it's it's you're you're a racist, you're xenophobe, your this that, you know, just because I think we should have strong immigration law, you know, and I think and I believe in the border wall, and I believe that Congress needs to get

off their tail and and reform immigration law. You know. I think these things are real simple and they should be done. But people they're like, well, the president, it's his fault for doing this, and no it isn't. He doesn't set immigration law. That's right, that's set like Congress. And people like well, what I'm like, well, don't you're you don't really know what you're talking about, do you? And and that's that's where we start getting into it.

And I love that and having those conversations. I think, you know, it empowers everybody because you get it's more knowledge for everybody to discuss, and I'm always open to it. That's so much that needs to be reformed in our government. Is just hard to pinpoint everything because there's so much. There is so much, and part of the problem is in trench politicians and that in trench bureaucracy that exists.

If if anybody spends any time in Washington, d C, you know that all you have to do in Washington, d C. To move up in the ranks is to hang around, just be there. You don't talented and good, you're eventually going to move up the ranks because that's just what they do. They some plug and play. And it's ridiculous because you get so many of these unelected bureaucrats that just keep rising. It's like Hollywood. You know,

you can fail upward in Hollywood very easily. Do you think you should have term limit on every elected official where especially those in Congress? But do you think we should have term limits as it really should be a national mandate. I'd like to see it happen because I think they get too entrenched. Um, you know, maybe six terms in the House and two terms of senators. I mean, how much time do you have to be in government.

I cannot stand the political class. We were never ever supposed to have a political class here in the United States. We're supposed to be citizen politicians. And that makes sense to me. I mean, twelve years to be a senator, that's a long time. Twelve years a long time. You can be governing for twelve years and then go back and be the governed. You can also do twelve years in the House. Okay, now you've got twenty four years. I mean you're looking at a lot of time in politics.

But people have been doing it yet forever. Joe Biden forty seven years. I mean, that's it all he's ever done. And it's like what, it's not how, it's not how it should be. And I don't like that for America. So yes, I believe there should be tournaments, you know. And you know, it's interesting that you you mentioned Joe Biden and his time in office, and one of the classic lines from the debate was Joe, you've been in

office for forty seven years? What have you done? It's like you can't even point to some of the things these politicians have done, because outside of cutting ribbons and maybe shaking hands, it's like, how has your time and office benefited my life? And I think that's where they get in so much trouble. Well that I co sponsored eleven bills? What does that even means? You know, right, thing there, I know how it works. Somebody goes, hey, well you coach? Okay, that's it. You don't even reading

staffers reading it. They don't read the bills half the time. They're not looking through stuff. I mean some do and I and I applaud them. But you know, when you give them five thousand page you know bill and have to be be voted on tomorrow, that's insane. And that happens. It just happened. So that kind of stuff is ridiculous. A stimulus bill, it's five thousand pages long. We give it to you today. By tomorrow at five pm, we gotta vote on it. But I don't know how you

later it's two hours later. To just ridiculous. Come on, it shouldn't happen. It shouldn't be allowed to happen. Back in July, you appeared on Fox News and you said, cancel. Culture has gotten so bad that you probably wouldn't be able to say Superman's catchphrase today, and the catch phrases of course, truth justice in the American way. What did

you mean when you said that? Good question, sir, uh so if you've noticed um, except because immediately someone else popped off and said, oh, you called me MF for this, and blah blah blah. I said, I just wrote hit those words into this recent comic. I was like, I don't, I haven't seen him, but okay, let me take a look. I looked and saw it. And it wasn't him Superman

that said it. Was someone else who said it who was sort of a U so you're like a blood of blood lusting soldier person who had been shooting people. But whatever, that's the person who said it. The reason I say it is because they haven't said it in any of the iterations of Superman for the longest time. They won't say it, you know, truth, justice and all

that stuff. They'll say stuff like that. The reason I find it so important, and I think it's such an important phrase is truth and justice we all agree should be that. That is not something that I think is up for argument. Truth and justice should prevail the American way. So when you take a character like Superman, it's very pro America. He is very pro American values. This is

the strongest being on the planet. And he could be whatever he wants to be, evil good, however, but he was raised in small town Kansas with small town family values, small town American values. It wouldn't matter if the parents were black, white, green, yellow, orange. If they're raised with those values. That's what I talk about. That's the American way. And that is um what I mean by saying that people don't like the American way. They don't believe in

that meritocracy. They don't believe in self reliance and and and some of these things that I think are just hugely important building blocks of America and what makes America that shining city on a hill. Everybody wants to be here. I don't care what these people are talking about when they're talking about like, oh, nobody wants to be in America. I'm all over the world. I've had a home in Europe for twenty years, Bologna. Everybody wants to be in America,

because in America you can make anything of yourself. That possibility exists, and it doesn't exist in other countries. And many other countries, that ability, regardless of your skin color, your religion, your caste, any of that stuff wouldn't matter here in the United States. You invent the zipper, you're a bajillionaire. Congratulations, you're just helping in kind and uh, you get to reap the benefits of your reward. You

do that. In North Korea, well you get nothing. And and it's such a shame that that that's kind of where we are. And let's get to know that you have a home, and you're about I travel with the country all the time, and I love to have a place to stay. So thanks on air, I will, I will promise you it's yours, my friend. I don't all my friends go and stay there. And I offer it to my friends all the time, and then they're like, hey, listen, I just I'm gonna go and take you up on it.

I go. I wouldn't offer it if I didn't mean it, And so I'm offering it up to you, my friend, and well, I'm very serious. Accept that really brings me to my next question. You, of course played professional football. I want to ask you about that experience later, but first I was struck by a quote that I found from you. You once said this, there are so many things about playing football that seemed to be uniquely American. Anybody can succeed, anybody can play, but you've got to

work hard to do it. Talk about being uniquely American? What values and traditions do you think define us? Like, what really defines us? You mentioned some of the things, but in terms of being America, and now we losing that at this point, it seems like a lot of our norms are dissipating. You think about Nancy Pelosi saying, Hey, we're gonna take out mother and father and all these different things, Like it seems like we blinked in. Life

is just changing drastically. What what what? What's going on here? Uh? That is so terrifying. That's that who Owellian new speak. Stuff that's going on that I think is insane. Um. Yes, but you know, at the same time as that, you hear those things from the top. If people call Nancy Pelosi and her you know, from her vaulted ceilings and her ice cream refrigerator and stuff like that. Speaking down to the masses. That's one thing for her to make

those changes. Those things don't change, uh, at the dinner table, and that's where things really take in the United States. There's moms and there's dads, and that nuclear family and having strong mothers and fathers raising our children. That's number one. That's where it begins. Nancy Pelosi can take the word mother or father or brother or sister or daughter or whatever out of out of the official language, but at the dinner table, I'm dad, and as yes, sir, and

that's mom, and as yes, ma'am. And you do. And when those states are taught that, then you have that discipline and respect. But the things about football that are uniquely American that I go back to is meritocracy. I don't care where you're from. We're a football team and your defensive linement, I need you to do your job so I can do mine. You put pressure on that quarterback, I'm gonna pick him off, and then I'm gonna thank you for putting pressure on that quarterback for making so

allowed me to make my play. That's what you learn, um, and and we need each other as Americans and we come together. We always have in our two forty four year history or whatever we're at now, you know we have we come together, and that's uniquely American and playing as t as a team and again a meritocracy. You put together a football team, everybody's got a whole complete different backgrounds, upbringings, whatever, and the only thing that matters is what you do on the field and how you

do it together. We're playing football together. I don't care if you're gay, straight, sideways, whatever you are. You're a good defensive put back. I love you. Let's go, you know, let's play ball. I don't care about any of that stuff. You're Republican or Democrat, I don't care. We'll do our jobs. We'll do our jobs together, and we win. That's that's very interesting, is one of those traditions what makes America America unity. And I think back to nine eleven September eleven,

two thousand and one. I was a freshman at Semion High School in Chicago. I was walking into music class and I recalled the music teacher saying it was the TV on which was never on. He was like, oh, there was a plane that just went in the tower. They think this is an accident. And I was watching, watching, watching, and then I saw the second plane going to the tower, which I thought was just a replay of the first, and I'm like, wow, they got this on tape. And

then we realized that we were at war. But what came out of it, the ramifications of that attack is Americans could not be more united. It didn't matter what ray issues existed. You're black, you're white, whatever you income status, none of that matter. We united as a country. We were the greatest. And I had never in my life seen anything like that before um and since then, I've not really seen it. Since. Absolutely I agree we should unify.

But do you think it's disingenuous, the disingenuous the calls that the Democrats are making when they're continuing to try to divide us at the same time. Yes, their calls are completely disingenuous, There's no doubt about that. But let me go back real quick to what you said, like that unity you've never really seen about America. I've always felt that that's America. Like for me, that wasn't new unity.

I always felt like I knew we have some divisions here and there, little things going on about this, that the other. But I never felt like any of them were so big that they weren't like they were just small issues, And I felt like on the whole we were tremendously united. These current Democrats calls for unity are joke eitherity, we should be together. Let's impeach the president again in a political impeachment, which we shouldn't have done

the first time. And literally everything that was warned about in the Federalist papers and everything every framer of the Constitution explained that this should never be done for political purposes, And it's being done a dent for political purposes now, um ridiculous. And people are thrown around words like insurrection and and trader and sedition um when they don't really know what they're talking about, and that that grosses me out. That just makes the words useless, same as the way

they throw around racist or nazi or xenophobe. Uh, you know you're you're really devaluing what those words mean when you call anybody who disagrees with you a Nazi, I'm sorry do and political violence I don't support at any point in time. Chris Kyle, who's also on my wall behind me there um had a had a saying that he took from somebody else, which says, and I'm not advocating violence. Let they put that up front. But that little thing that they little saying that they went by

was this desp what your mama told you. Violence does solve problems. And that's the and that's the mindset of a war fighter. And that's the mindset of me. If you touch my child, you know, and there's there's things like that. It's like certain times, you know that I don't ever want to be violent, but knowing that I can be violent might change somebody's opinion to walk up to me and, you know, try to hit me in the head with an egg. Absolutely. Now, let me ask

you a question, because you mentioned the capital. Do you think President Trump bear is any responsibility to uh what happened a week ago? Two weeks ago? Yeah, I wasn't. I didn't. I was busy during that time, honestly, So I missed all the speeches and all the things that happened. And what I've caught up with. Uh, it seems to me like, you know, if they decided to censure him for that, that would make sense. Does he bear some

responsibility short I'm sure he does. Some of the things he said was you know, it seems like he was calling to get people to go to the capital and um, and he was inflaming tensions to some degree. But I don't think it's any worse than things that have been said by numerous folks on the other side of the aisle that are now castigating. Pardon Mecine Award is being

one of them. You see a Trump supporter or anybody administration get in their face, um, you know, and they're they're the stuffy're talking about now, you know, deprogramming trumpets and the culture and you these words they're using are frightening if you know anything about you know, communism or about quote de programming people who who with whom you don't agree. I mean, that's like the humanizing people, which

is the next step to the Holocaust. I mean, then we'll take all Trump supporters and we'll put them in trains and we'll take him. That the people saying this stuff is insane not hiring anybody from from the former administration, because you know, they're pariah. This that it's it's that's the whole thing. It's group thinking. You have to go along with what we say about you can't be part

of the team. That's insane. I want to shift the conversation from council culture the patriotism right after a quick word from our starts. I talked to a lot of folks and people, especially in the spots that we're in on television and the media and before the spot. People are seriously concerned and it feels like there's an attack if you if you're putting together a hit list, which

is what um. Some organizations the Lincoln Project together lists of folks who worked in the administration under Donald Trump, and they want to follow them throughout their career and ensure that they don't get any opportunities. That's dangerous me personally. I think it's no secret to anybody who's listening or even you. I don't agree with everything President Trump says,

and I'll say it. I think he shouldn't have said that, or he's made it all about him, or people can consider this to be racist what he said in this moment um, whether he meant it or not, or however he did it like. I don't mind calling them out, but as you mentioned, the policies have been extraordinarily beneficial and I believe in uh policy over rhetoric. So and if you look and you didn't say it, a lot

of problematic things. You didn't say things that people can construe his races, like if you don't vote for me and you ain't black like Bill, we can go down a list, list list, So when you try to compare to to, it's like you're not calling balls and stripes. It's like you see people who are clearly biased in their assessment. But now it's gon gone to a level

where there's people legitimately scared. I'm talking about conservatives in a lot of cases because you just don't know what the left will do next, and that fear is just showing up everywhere. Yeah, I and I think it's legitimate. I understand it. I hear it from tons and tons of people. People say it to me constantly, how they're so scared of this that or the other thing. I've had a lot of quiet phone calls going like, hey man, this is out of control and and and I'm terrified,

and I understand it and listen. If I were just starting my career, I probably wouldn't be nearly as vocal. But I'm a growing I'm fifty four years old. I'm a grown man, you know, a father whose kids in college. Um, I just I have to speak my piece, and i'd like you. I didn't. I didn't agree with everything the president said. I supported his policies almost every single one I thought were fantastic policies. I would like to send

the deficit go down. Some of the I had issues with some of the things he did, and certainly some of the things he said, But all in all, yeah, my support for the president and his policies was tremendous. And I looked at Widen and the people he's bringing in, and I I'm terrified for our country. I just think it's gonna be do we how How how does the country weather this? I don't think it's gonna be great

for us. I'll tell you what's really gonna happen is that the news that twenty four news cycle is going to slow down to molasses, my friend, because if you don't have president. When President Trump, it was like on cocaine and a speedball, and then people just it was like insanity. I couldn't believe the speed with what what stuff was happening. It's like it's only two day. I think now it's gonna be like molasses dripping. If the progressive super progress of wing gets to take over, I

think we're in big trouble. And I think they're gonna get a backlash because I don't think Americans will stand for that very long. And that and that's where we go to. So hopefully we can As Republicans me personally, I'm hoping that we're gonna be able to take back the House. But it doesn't sound like you have like quite an optimistic view about a Biden presidency of what he brings to the table. Listen, I hope he does well. I hope he does well because I root for America,

and if he does well in America, does well. But the policies he's talking about, I hope they don't do well because they're not good policies, you know. Re Entering the RAND, the j c p o A, the Iran Nuclear Deal is a joke. Re Entering the Paris Climate Accords is a joke. It's a non binding treat It should be a treaty that's supposed to be a treaty. Its supposed to get ratified by Congress. But they won't do that you know, these things shouldn't happen by executive fiat.

There's a reason that they got undone by a new president. There's a process for it, and they're stepping across the process. Obama did it with his pen and a phone and that's not okay, and that's not how it's supposed to get done. So there's a lot of things putting people back in positions of power, Samantha power for example. Um, it's all the same people from the former administration, and I just look at and go, h. You know, there's always these questions about kind of where do we go

from here? And I mentioned faith and you talked about putting in the work. But there's a pin tweet on your Twitter account there's you and your son praying at a spot where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptiste. What role does faith play in your life and how important is religion to maintain in a healthy country. Well, I think for me personally, faith is something I don't talk about, Like I don't beat people over the head

with my faith or what I believe. But um, you know, when you raise a kid, that's one of the things you have to discuss with your partner upfront, is what do we teach these kids? What are we talking about? Because you start talking about things that maybe you don't as a young person, you're not talking about every day what happens. When I had explained to my son, you know, he's gonna die someday, man, When I told him that that three year old kids started shaking like he couldn't

sleep at night. I would have to take him outside and sit under the stars and just sort of just soothe him, because the thought of the thought of dying to him, you know, was this thing. And so we start talking about, you know, why are we here? What? You know, what do we believe in? These sorts of things. And he actually helped me find my faith, you know, in in a way his journey was sort of a

journey for me too. And I've been exposed to the Bible and teachings in the Bible, and so for me, my faith is a personal thing, and I don't judge anybody by their faith. I have friends who are One of my really good friends is one of the foremost Islamic scholars in the world. Him and my son had some of the greatest conversations. I was I was like a fly on the wall watching these two talk. It was incredible. Um. So for me, it's an important part of my morality and my deeds and the things that

I personally do. Um. You know, I don't pray all day every day. Uh, but I've had moments where God and I have had some real clear conversations now that I realize how blessed I am and and the situation. I mean, there are things that I want to do to help my fellow man, my fellow human h um and but I am human. And Uh. The reason that is on my pin Twitter spot is because, Um, that was such an incredible moment in the Kingdom of Jordan's that I had with my son, and uh, I was

able to share that with him. And there they say, there's places where it feels like, you know, the the sky is thin and the air is thin, like the space between Heaven and Earth kind of just you feel it really close. And you know, being all over Israel and Jordan and being these places, and I really felt like the air was very thin there. And to be able to share that with my son was one of

the greatest moments of my life. So that's why it's my pinned been on Twitter not to hit anybody over the head with my faith, but to say this was an incredible experience that we experienced together and to share that. That's why it's up there, and my faith guides every decision to make. That's powerful. That is really powerful. That's a really powerful moment. My last question to you, and this is one thing I try to do. One I allow with giantto called Well, is to share stories about

people who overcame adversity to inspire others. As you know, and people thank you all for getting my book taking for granted how Conservatism can went back to Americas the liberalism failed. But people know I grew up in poverty on the South Side of Chicago, and now I'm hosting this podcast and talking to well known actor, a famous guy who maybe the governor of California. And I'll come back if you're the governor of moving that gain immediately.

You know, yeah, absolutely. You were in the NFL at one time, you sound to the Buffalo Bills and you suffered a knee injury that ended your career prematurely. Can you talk about that experience and how difficult that was for you. Have you had any other setbacks that made you question everything you pushed through. Nonetheless, Oh there's been tons of setbacks. That's the thing. Anybody who's achieved anything has been told you can never do it, you can

never do it. And you hear those stories from everybody who's ever achieved anything. Dude, you'll never make it. Somebody's a comedian, You're you were clowning class, and they'd be I'm just you know, tremendously famous comedian or whatever. Everybody will tell you a hundred million times you can't get something done, you can't do it. I was told i'd never make it to the NFL. I got to the NFL. I was really comfortable. I really liked where I was. I was with the Buffalo Bills. The defense was set

up perfectly the way I like to play. It's literally like if I could craft a defense where I would fit in as a free safety, that was the defense. I was like Daddy's home. This is how I like to do things. And I was really excited, and I thought I was gonna have a great career there. And I was injured and it was over, and I realized that was still an undrafted rookie and I was there but then only took three of us that were undrafted rookies that year, and that team was full of Hall

of Fame guys. But I was very happy to be there. I was like, this is gonna be great, this is where I want to be. And then I was injured, and it just kind of shocks you. You're like, WHOA. I mean, I was prepared for life after football by going to Princeton and having a an education to fall back on. I just didn't think it was gonna happen that fast. And the truth is, when I was injured and had their surgery, I didn't think it was over.

In fact, I was on like year three of Lois and Clark playing Superman, and I was already, you know, twenty seven nine years old. I was in like year three of that before I realized, Man, I'm never going to play in the NFL again. I graduated. I was like, dang, I'm just like everybody else. Now, all the stuff I've achieved. Now, if I want to work in film, I'm brand new. Nobody cares so I it's the same thing, all right. I'll put my nose to the grindstone and just hard work,

hard work, and I'm gonna earn it. You know. It's like anything else, hard work and perseverance will pay off. And that's the thing I talked about. Anybody says, how could I ever be successful? And I just say that the my number one thing is to never give up, to always keep pursuing what it is that you want to do, and that's how you become successful. You know. Michael Jordan's I've never seen a man so competitive as

Michael Jordan in my lifetime. And it was when he was doing space Sham and he was getting ready to make his comeback for the NBA and he had come back the year before. He's on my wall behind me here and with Magic, one of my other favorite players ever, and he, you know, didn't they didn't come back and win the championship. He was so focused and so angry, and they were out there playing and they made up a whole gym for him, and he allowed me to

come in there and play. There was one day when I was playing against Mike's team and I hit the winning basket and Mike had to sit down. He was hot, he was angry, angry, and we'll playing the next game. We're kind of running this other team off, and I like, somebody makes steel comes from the outlet. I just alley oop to somebody. This guy dunks it and Mike's on the sideline is like, hey, every dog has his day. And he's I was like, is Michael Jordan's like talking

smack to me right now? I was like, because he was? He was. It was mad that he lost that game and it wasn't like I did anything real special to win the game or and I mean I made the shot, but but you know I can't. He he was. But yeah, because that's that focus. It's that person. You're not gonna beat him because he won't let you. I'm telling you what an hour and You've left us with a really

good nugget, and I'll add something to it. I heard you say hard work, persistence, and for me it would be faith in God with supersedes every human obstacle there is. And I'll put you in a room of something you don't deserve. You'll have it just that faith and God will do that. So I man, brother Dean, I'm telling you, this has been a fantastic time and I've learned so much about your journey personally and uh more importantly, you

may be the next governor of California. Yours here man, Then we'll see you're the of the guy to do it, no, no question. Absolutely. How can people follow you in and stay in touch? Well, currently I'm on Twitter uh at at Real Deancane until they throw me off or they try to. I'm on cloud Hub at Dean Kane, um at parlor if they were unlock parlor at Dean Kane uh and uh Instagram, I'm a do his nineteen sixty six. I can explain that that's my kid. He put an Instagram.

I was like, what's up to? Hadjuices? I was like, all right, I go. So he said, you gotta be on Instagram, all right, go give me give me And he said all right. I put you on his douices and then I couldn't because someone had deuces. So he said, do you use the year of my birth nineteen sixty six? Yes, I'm that old. I'll be sure to follow you there. So again, thank you so much for your time. It's been great, and thank you for joining it out loud

with Janna called blow Dean Kane. Everybody. Thanks to Dean King for a great interview. If you're enjoying the show. Please leave us a review and rate us with five stars on Apple Podcast. If you have any questions for me, please email me at out Loud at Gingrid Street sixty dot com and I'll try to answer them at our future episodes. You can also find me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook,

and parlor at Giano Caldwell. If you're interested in learning more about my story, please pick up a copy of my best selling book titled Take It for Granted, How Conservatism Can Win Back to the Americans to the Blipolism Failed Special thanks to our producer Steve and Joan Researcher and Klingman, and executive producers Debbie Myers and speaker New Gingrich, all part of the Ginglish three sixties Network,