This is the US Report with James Morrow.
Good evening and welcome to the program. Here's what's coming up tonight. Big trouble for John Bolton as the investigation into whether he shared his stash get It of classified intelligence with foreign actors heats up. Plus cracker barrel cracks a win for common sense. I'll have more on that later. And who's the more popular president, Donald Trump or Barack Obama?
The answer might surprise you. Now.
I'm going to talk about that horrific shooting in Minnesota this week, and the media is covering up of some of the story's most disturbing aspects, all because the facts didn't suit their narrative in a moment. But first we need to talk about the Australian American alliance forged by John Curtin and the fires of war in the Pacific, cemented by Menzies and now being undone by Anthony Albinizi.
Once upon a time, the idea of bad diplomatic blood between America and Australia was such a ludicrous idea that it became a foil for comedy.
Unfortunately, Bart, your little escapade could not have come at a worse time. America Australianian relations or at an all time low.
But now no longer for what are largely domestic political reasons. Picking up on polling showing that Donald Trump is on the nose with a lot of Australians, particularly labor voters, Prime Minister Anthony ALBINIZI has seen fit to suggest a realignment of our foreign policy, breaking away from the US in the name of national sovereignty, while following the lead of Europe on issues like Palestinian recognition, and at the same time cozying up to China, where the PM spent
six whole days recently. Now, all of this has led to the bizarre what was the point of that trip made by Defense Minister Richard Marls to Washington this week? On Wednesday, Marls posted happy snaps of himself and Ambassador Kevin Rudd meeting with a somewhat amused Vice President JD Vance and American Defense Secretary Pete Hegsath. Marls or Marls's office tweeted quote, the alliance between Australia and the United States long standing, built on our shared history of deep collaboration.
I was pleased to have the opportunity to reaffirm Australia's commitment to building on this partnership with US Vice President Jada Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseath in.
Washington, d C.
Today. Well, it seemed like things were all coming together. And Marls, who is a member of Labour's right and who I think to be fair, generally gets it on security issues, unlike some of the absolutely undergraduate bomb throwers. He shares a cabinet room with. Well, I think Marls was starting to think that he could patch things up.
But then there was this headline Pentagon denies Richard Marles had a meeting with Pete Hegseth, and that was attached to an article which described what happened between the two men as a quote happenstance encounter.
WHOA, what's going on here? What was the part of the trip?
Then if Marls was presumably I don't know, what's it gonna do, get a day pass to the Executive Office building of the White House and wander around and hope to run in some big shots, then the Pentagon put out another statement. And here I feel like this might have been a little good will gesture on the part of the Americans to help the Aussies save face. They said that Secretary Hegseth welcomed the opportunity to meet with
Marles and that meeting had been planned in advance. Yet now the latest version of the story has come out this is actually a secret mission to meet not with Hegseth but jd Vance in advance of a potential Trump Albanezi meeting. But amazingly, the Australian has reported that despite the new story that this was all about meeting jd Vance, and I have to ask why would there be secrecy around that. In fact, no meeting had been set between
Marls and Pete Hegseth. According to the Australian quote, while the Washington trip was promoted by mister Marris prior to his departure of Washington as another opportunity to discuss shared defense and security matters with mister Henseth, no meeting had been locked in with the US's Defense secretary by the time he touched down. Seriously, this is frankly very weird.
I mean, these sorts of trips are generally very tightly planned, and the notion that our Defense Minister's office hadn't locked something in with Hegseeth even while he was still in the air.
And while Marls.
Reportedly said he'd increase Australian defense spending, well, there are plenty of others I'd love to see raised here, like, for example, free speech.
I wonder if.
Jd Vance knows about our e safety commiss news antics. Look, the Australian American Alliance is long standing and vitally important. But frankly, this government, this labor government, has for very cynical and political reasons, decided to throw shade on it while pivoting, as I say, not just to Europe but also to China. It's a bad look, it's dangerous, and I hope Marls has the ability to put.
A stop to it.
Now onto that horrific story out of Minnesota this week of the shooting out of Minneapolis Catholic church where students at a back to school mass at the Annunciation Catholic School, where at least two children have died and seventeen more were injured. Now, frankly, it's really too horrible to contemplate here, but we have to talk about it because this story, this tragedy, has sadly become political.
Now.
This individual, Robins has been identified as the shooter. But because Robin identified as trans and posted a long, violent manifesto about his transgenderism and regrets and hatred of Donald Trump and Israel and the Jews and the Catholic Church and a billion other things, well, that's created a bit of a problem for the media. This American ABC report was typical.
We've also been going through it and can tell you there are crude diagrams of the church. There are also photos of the weapons, and they include all sorts of writings, the names of past mass shooters, criticism of Israel, the name of President Trump written on the guns. There are also racial slurs.
The name of President Trump, racial slurs. You can see what they're doing here. They're trying to suggest maybe Westman was some sort of alt right white supremacist megafan. But what did the ABC leave out? Westmin had written the words kill Donald Trump on his gun.
I don't know. I kind of think that's important, you know, for context. Right.
The New York Times, of course, was just as bad. They wrote quote On social media. Some conservative activists have seized on the shooter's gender identity to portray transgender people as violent or mentally ill. The right wing uproar over ms Westman's gender identity echoed the politicized reaction to a twenty twenty three mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, which was carried out by a former student who the
police and was transgender. In a news conference, Mayor Jacob Fry of Minneapolis, a Democrat, urged the public to avoid scapegoating transgender people unquote. So you see what they did there. They did the right thing at the start by clearing up confusion about Westman's gender identity. But the paper, I'm so afraid of the conclusions its readers might draw that it surrounded the report with layer after layer of messaging.
So like, you know, if you paid the attention to the gender issue, they're saying, well, don't do that, because if you do that, your right wing and a conservative activist. And they also reminded you that Jacob Frey a Democrat, so pay attention. Urged against scapegoating all this while insisting others politicized the shooting. Well, no, sorry, I'm not going to let that slide. But it wasn't just the media. Local democrats and officials were also in on the game.
Here's the local police chief Brian O'Hara.
I cannot. I have no information to share on a motive other than saying again that there was some sort of manifesto that was time to come out on YouTube. It's been taken down and our investigators are going through that to try and develop a motive from that.
Ah.
Yes, the old We may never know the motive routine. I mean, it looked pretty clear to me, but hey, what do I know. Minnesota Center Aby clubash Are was just as bad.
These kids did extraordinary things, but they never should have been put in that position in the first place.
This was a madman.
He was an all.
Purpose hater, by the way, hated groups left.
Right, you name it.
There's no way to pin an ideology on this all purpose hater. Nothing to see here, no politics involved. And Mayor Jacob Fray, as the time suggested, well here he is.
I have heard about a whole lot of hate that's being directed at our trans community. Anybody who was using this as an using this as an opportunity to villainize our trans community.
By the way, this is a picture of Fray five years ago, carefully kneeling at the golden coffin of George Floyd but I think that tells you something about where he's coming from. Now, look, on one level, phrase right, nobody should demonize trans people over this, But frankly, that's not what this is all about. What we are seeing here is a typical all two typical media cover up. If this had been a right wing shooter, we'd have heard no end about the motivations. We'd be hearing about
this for weeks and months. But here the story is more difficult and complex for them because it goes against media pieties that have far from treating transgender people as people just like everybody else, something I reckon most people wherever they are want well. Instead, the media sanctified them and said, well, you can't talk about things like mental illness because that's not inclusive or whatever, and this story
might give them pause as well. The New York Post, which unlike The Times does not try to smother inconvenient facts, has reported that Westin was quote tired of being trans unquote. According to the newspaper, Westmin's manifesto included this, I only keep the long hair because it is pretty much my last thread of being trans. I am tired of being trans. I wish I never brainwashed myself. He wrote, Well, there
you go. But that's a very inconvenient fact for the media, which never wants to link mental illness and transgenderism or brainwashing at all. And it's not Republicans or people pointing out the facts here who are politicizing this.
This has to be said here. No, the politicization of.
This horrific crime, this horrific tragedy is coming from those Democrats and media outlets who are twisting the facts here to cover for their own agenda, and that, in my view, is disgraceful. All right, let's rip into it now. Joining me now is former White House press sector you know him well, Sewn Spicer. Shawn, thanks for joining me on the US report. Huge news broken in the last day or so involving President Trump's former National security advisor John Bolton.
Now The New York Times revealed that during his work in the White House, Bolton allegedly sent sensitive information, including emails to quote people close to him on an unclassified system. Some of this wound up overseas, and this investigation apparently started during the Biden administration, putting the lie to claims that this is just retribution. Sean, what do you make of this. Is there some trouble coming here for John Bolton?
Well, most importantly, I think what you said towards the end was the thing that I got a kick out of, for all these people who are claiming that this.
Is somehow retribution.
The New York Times very at the top of their story noted that this all started under Biden, that they their intelligence agencies run by his folks, were noting where this information was heading up in foreign governments that aren't exactly friends of ours in the United States. I obviously
think it's concerning that that information is out there. And the bigger thing James said I get a kick out of are all these people who, when President Trump's house was rated, jumped to conclusions saying that he should go to jail and he should be prosecuted, and when Bolton's house got raided, called it retribution. So it is funny watching how the same thing done. Although obviously President Trump's
in a very different situation. The president has classification authority and believe that he had the right to those documents. There's no scenario in which John Bolton is a classifying authority, so it would be a completely different scenario, and for all of the pontification and grand standing that was done. Well there you go.
Well it is interesting to me, though, Sean, because you know, we've spoken before when the President's house had been rated about and when Joe Biden had been accused of keeping classified information as well. You know, ordinary citizens with security clearances have gone and done serious jail time for so much as you know, bringing some material back to a hotel room to work on it. It does seem like, you know, there's a bit of a double standard here, of course.
Well again, I mean, look, I've had a security CLINICCE for going on twenty six years right now, so I'm very familiar with the handling of it, the yearly updates on handling sensitivities. But I will say that there is a uniqueness because, as I noted a moment ago, Jim said,
the classification authority matters. So there are certain people the Secretary of Defense, the President of the United States, I believe, the Secretary of State obviously, the CIA director, the Director of National Intelligence who have what they call classification authority. The President of course in a very different category because he is the ultimate arbiter of all of that. But in a case like John Bolton or Vice President Biden or then Senator Biden or Hillary Clinton.
Now he didn't have that right, So that's where this is.
You know, I know everybody who's an armshair quarterback likes to try to make it all seem the same. But there is some important distinctions in these cases that's worthy of noting. But again, I just get a kick out of for all of the criticism that John Bolton specifically has made of President Trump, how he's handled himself, it looks like he was a bit sloppy.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely right.
Hey, I want to ask you now about another story here and explain this to me, because I'm a little confused. The President is facing backlash for saying earlier in the week that the US will allow in six hundred thousand Chinese students.
Have listened to this. I hear so many stories about we're not going to allow their students. So we're going to allow their students to come, and we're going.
To allow It's very important, six hundred thousand students, it's very important. I'm a little confused about this because it seems like, you know, you're closing one border on the one hand down south and then you're letting in all these Chinese students where let's be Franks that there have been some national security implications and spying and a lot of other things that have happened here.
Why this change of heart?
Okay, so I'm one of these people that's not exactly fired up about this. I do believe that China is our enemy that we shouldn't be doing stuff, but I understand what President Trump's trying to do. And just to be clear that the comment you made about the southern border, the issue is whether or not people are coming into our country, whether it's students or tourus or temporary workers,
legally right and through the processes. And these students, again, I don't like where they're from, but the bottom line is they are going through legal process. I also don't like the fact that, you know, part of the explanation is that they pay full fare. So if you're a university like Harvard, you love the fact that whatever it is, twenty percent is coming from there because they pay the full tuition. They're not looking for financial aid or you know,
work programs to get true. But at the end of the day, I believe China is the existential threat not just to America but in the entire world right now. I get what the President's trying to do, though, and this is where again, the same thing's going on on a lot of other issues with trade, etc.
Which is they're trying to strike.
A deal overall, a big picture financial deal with China. So you can't punch him in the face at one time and then say, hey, can we make a deal with you. On the other hand, I get that he trumps a business guy, and at the end of the day, he understands the nuances of trying to put together a
big deal. And in the case right now, they are trying to really reset the balance of the economics between our two countries, the trade and balance that exists, the fact that manufacturing over in China is taking away a lot of US jobs, intellectual property issues, etc.
So I get it.
From a deal making standpoint, he doesn't want to be slapping their wrists on one hand and then opening the door on the other for potential trade stuff. But this is not to me the idea of bringing up with a bunch of people from China to learn all about us, our system, what's going on, to infiltrate our universities, bring it home. It's not like they're staying in America and building a great company or whatever. They're going back to
a country that's our sworn enemy. So they're almost learning about how to take us on.
Yeah, exactly right.
Hey, I wean't to talk to you about the Democrats now because after this week's DNC summer meeting.
Well, have a look here. I love this.
Here how former Democratic advisor dead turn time. He summed up what I reckon perfectly are the issues the party has today.
Hew, hell does it do this as a Democrat. It's maddening that we're still not serious, like you said it. We haven't lost four and a half million voters, nor is our brand at a historic low because we don't fight hard enough. It's because we remain completely culturally disconnected and we have absolutely no agenda. You said earlier in your monologue, Trump's trying to solve problems. We always offered the three p's, the personal attacks, which you just heard.
He's a dick and authoritative. We argue process, Oh, we shouldn't do this. He's violating customs and norms. Or it's the press, right, it's their job to do it, and then on the cultural issues, we literally have think tanks putting memos out that you know, these are the words you're not supposed to say. You add it all up and we're not in good shape.
Sean a Democrat who gets it. But do you think they'll take his advice?
You know, Dan is my co host on The Morning Meeting, which is on my YouTube channel. We take it live.
You're free to jump on.
We take questions from anywhere in the world every morning, nine am Eastern Time, and he brings a lot of common sense. They should be listening to Dan more often. He was Hillary Clinton's top fundraiser. He knows what he's talking about. But he's absolutely right. I mean, look, here's the problem. Fundamentally, they have a messaging issue and a mechanics issue. The messaging issue is what Dan just highlighted. They're talking about stuff. They're denying there's an immigration problem
at our border. They're denying that there's crime in major cities, which just no, he believes. And then they're taking on stupid cultural wars and fighting for the lowest common denominator. But then they've also got a big mechanics issue. And this is the other dirty little secret The DNC, as of the last report, had thirteen million dollars cash on hand. The RNC and other Trump related super PACs had three
hundred million. Their party chairman, Ken Martin, you referenced this summer meeting they had just literally had to withdraw a resolution. That's that's the equivalent of like a student council resolution. It means nothing. He can't even get a resolution passed through his own committee. And I mean so they an utter disaster right now.
Dan'sright.
They're putting out memos about what words to use, but they are flailing as a party. And when you have both things going in the wrong directions, the message and the mechanics, you're in big trouble heading into a midterm.
Sean Spicer right away, we go, oh.
By the way, sorry, poor thing in every state in America that tracks voter registration by party, every single one of them, they went in the wrong direction. That's that is a big problem.
That is a big, big problem. And we're going to talk about it again soon, I hope. But I might even join you on that morning briefing sometimes. Shawn Spices, thanks so much to check out the Shawn Spicer Show. Thanks for joining me you Bett. Okay, Now, let's bring it a new guest here. We've not had him before on the program, but he is the host of the Politics, Politics, Politics podcast.
Justin.
Robert Young joins me here on the EU Westport Justin, Welcome to the program. Thanks for joining me. And I want to start out tonight by talking about the sad story, this devastating story out of Minneapolis week this week, which saw two children killed, seventeen people injured in horrific scenes. Now I spoke about this earlier in the show, how the media has really skewed its reporting on the shooter, Robert Westman, trying to obscure I think the transgender angle
to this and the mental illness connection to that. What have you made of the way this horrible story has been covered.
You know, I think the biggest thing that I've noticed is that both the media and even Democratic politicians, who are very very careful with their language, have actually been referring to the shooter as a hymn, which is something that I don't think that they would have done a
few years ago. They have referred to Robert and not Robin, which was the name that he was going by right up until this attack, but in general, there is an uncomfortable silence that happens oftentimes with stories like this, where if there is not hay to be made politically about a shooter's motivations, then it just kind of gets memory hold, which is one of the uglier elements of American politics in general in my opinion, especially when you have something
that you know, the destruction of life this young it's really ugly when political points are made on top of it.
Well, yeah, and that's the thing that really because I played a clip earlier where the American ABC they said, oh, well, the shooter had Donald Trump's name written on, you know, his guns, but it said killed Donald Trump.
And I feel like, had.
This person been you know, an explicitly right wing person, you know, committing some right wing kind of hate crime, we would hear so much more about this, and this story would kick off, you know what, do we call it? A national conversation that would run for weeks, if not months.
And that's really where I think I would hope that if there is a world where the media gets better, that we can agree killers like this very very rarely, if ever, have opinions that match upon the mainstream of political thought. They're usually disturbed in some bizarre way that really takes them out of what we would understand of even the left right spectrum of modern mainstream thought. And what I think it is better is if we just leave all of that out of there and understand that
these are seriously deranged people. And this is a mental illness question first and foremost.
Yeah, I mean, justin one of the interesting things here which you've sort of touched on, which brings me to my next topic. Here is this the away the left manipulates language and everybody manipulates language.
But we've now had a.
Story this week that Columbia Law School has had a consultant come in and tell students not to use terms like, you know, grandfathering or crazy uncle. Meanwhile, you've got the Democrat Party. They've given Democrats a whole list of terms they shouldn't use, including privileged violence, dialogue, triggering, triggering, microaggression, holding space, body shaming, subverting norms, and all sorts of
other things. Tell me, why is it that the left seems much more concerned about policing language and actually, you know, making people's lives better.
You actually love to one out there at the DNC meeting in Minneapolis this week, there was a presentation to show that protecting the peace pulled better than the phrase tough on crime, that tough on crime was bad to use politically, which I mean, if that person is not paid by the Republican Party, they should probably cash a check from them for the level of damage that they
are doing internally to the Democrats. There's a saying here in politics in America that you know, there are only three guarantees in life, death taxes, and the Democrats believing that this can be solved with messaging. For whatever reason, the staff of the Democratic Party and the people that make it up believe that there is nothing that can be either done or undone if you just say the
magic words. And they spend so much time and energy not only policing themselves, but as we saw over the last ten years, policing others where they had authority to.
Yeah, I don't know, justin I think one of the phrases that we use on this showing off a lot is nineteen eighty four was a warning.
Not an instruction manual.
But you know, meanwhile, meanwhile in the real world, here the new poll here saying that President Trump has actually got a forty five percent approval rating, which runs, you know, counter to what a lot of the headlines would say. And funnily enough, it turns out that if you actually compare President Trump and President Obama at this same time in their second terms, you can see that Trump is
actually out in front. Look, I mean, whether or not you're a Trump lover or a Trump hater or a big maga guy, this one seems suggested the president is not doing the horrible job that you know you were thinking was if you just read the New York Times and the Washington Post.
You know what's interesting is that obviously, internationally, or at least whenever I've traveled internationally, there's a very specific lens on American politics post Trump. Not to say that they were ever particularly friendly to Republicans in the past, but with Trump it is kind of ratcheted up to another level. In America, he has looked at as more popular. Even
in the mainstream media. You'll see more stories that he's more popular than he was in his first term, which is odd because usually in American politics, the president is as popular as they're ever going to be in their first term and then sink to a lower level in their second term. And he saw that with Clinton, with Obama and with George W. Bush, surely, but he had a war that was weighing him down. With Trump, it's
kind of the opposite. The longer he's been around, the more people in public polling, and I would say even in the media lens to a certain extent, have understood that he has a very, very not only a special connection with his base, but that base in the coalition of the Republican Party is growing, and that does have
to be reckoned with. If you're Donald Trump and you're the White House, you look at that number and you say, well, they usually undercount us by about three points anyway, So really where at forty eight or forty nine will take it?
Justin, We're gonna have to leave it there. Thank you so much. Everybody listened to his Politics, Politics, Politics podcast. It's fantastic. Now stick around. We're gonna hit a quick break here, but when we return, our favorite form of trouble deviser. Christian Witten joins me. But first a quick shout out to this Chicago cameraman who undercut Illinois Governor JB. Pritzker's claims that he's living rent free in Donald Trump's head, and he did this in I think the funniest way possible.
We're very pleased about the progress that we're making. I know that I live rent free in the President's head, and I wish he would spend some time in Chicago so that he could see what a lovely city we have.
Governor, call up, what do you do if the National Guard is activated and comes here?
I love those optics, you know what, I think it might be the other way around, Governor Christian Witten in a tick, welcome.
Back to the program.
And you know what they say, A week is a long time in politics and the culture wars.
Now.
The last time we got together, country theme restaurant Chained Cracker Barrel was in a home as a trouble because it changed its traditional logo from this to this as part of a broader rebrand. Well, people lost their minds and the company has relented, saying, hey, we made an opsie and the old branding stays.
Chalking up is a win for the.
Good guys, even if there are bigger issues to fight about. But I do think it is hilarious that the same lefties who say, oh, what's the big deal. It's just a logo. Are so exercised about it? Now the logo's gone back. Take, for example, Democrat Vermont Cong's ruin Becca Ballant.
I just have to say, who gives us about the cracker barrel logo?
It doesn't impact our safety, our security, or ability to provide for our children.
Don't take the bait.
Yeah, except though she did take the bait. Anyway, Here's hoping other companies get the message that it is never too late to change or rather change back. I mean, maybe the good folks at Jaguar could relent on their woke rebrand, which is seeing them go broke and go back to giving people what they really want. Oh yeah, that's the stuff, you know. I always wanted to be a Jagman. Well, joining me now is former Trump senior advisor Christian Witten. Christian, welcome back to the program. Thanks
for joining me. And I want to talk to us very quickly about this cracker barrel story because it does sound like it's been another win on the commercial culture wars front. And I just spoke about the rebrand, but coming on the heels of all that Sidney Sweeney business, it does feel like something is changing out there.
What's your take.
It is, I think there are instances where corporate boards and executives are getting a backbone and up to wokeness. Now, it's hard if the CEO herself is the one who's generating the wokeness. But you know, I was talking to a friend who served in the first Trump administration who's saying he is a lawyer for a large corporation saying it's actually okay to be a Republican in corporate America now. And you know, you see that there's serious financial downside.
It's not like an established organization called for a boycott. Eventually, Donald Trump did say that these people should change their logo back. But if you look at this, if you look at the bud light controversy, with sending a bud light to a man who dressed like a woman and having her be part of some promotional something or other that's destroyed that brand. There's a real financial consequences to this. And the uprising is spontaneous. It just comes from the people.
It's not you know, organizations calling for it.
Yeah, yeah, no, exactly. Now, I want to go on to the great topic of the Australian American alliance. Now I spoke about this at the start of the show, but I want to ask you about this, whether you've been hearing about this mass confusions surrounding our own Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marls, also the Defense Minister, and his meeting with JD Vance and Pete Hegseith this week.
To what degree.
Christian is Australia on the radar of the Trump administration. We've got the aucust deal, but are you getting any sense that this relationship is getting frosty as a result of some of the labor government Here's actions.
Yeah, a little bit.
I think it is because you know, Australia's greatest asset isn't the percentage of GDP it spends on defense, but it's an image of Frankly being a happy warrior. Whether that image is correct or not, that's the one Americans tend to have, you know, it was the one that's commented on one of my videos that you have to remember Australia has fought with the States in every war since World War Two, including the dumb Ones, which is something that Briton can't say. I don't know that's always great,
but if that image is cultivated. I think that's good, not just in the Defense Department, but across the US government culture. If, on the other and Australians, because of their political leaders, start to look like Karen's from the UK, just in the southern hemisphere, then I think that that changes. If Australian culture has looked like a bunch of skolds because of a left wing government.
You know.
As for the trip for the Defense minister, he got to meet with the Vice president. That's pretty good. I think the relationship is good in that sense.
Yeah, yeah, fair enough.
Hey, now let's go to Chicago because Italy Governor JB. Pritzker potential presidential contender, I might add, so keep an eye on that one as well as Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have both called on the president called off the President sending in the National Guard to help the city's crime crisis. Now, remarkably, this is what the mayor Brandon Johnson said about sending war criminals to jail.
We cannot incarcerate our way out of violence. We've already tried that. If we've ended up with the largest prison population in the world without solving the problem of crime and violence. The addiction on jails and incarceration in this country.
We have moved past that.
It is racist, it is immoral, it is unholy, and it is not the way to drive violence down.
But I couldn't believe that CNN let this go to air because apparently some Chicago locals do endorse the move from military intervention o.
Ours reaction was this is a good thing.
I think that the governor as well as the mayor should be on board with it, just so we can get a bit more of security in Chicago the way do we need.
The crime has dropped since twenty twenty four. Do you feel like the city feels safer?
No, not at all.
Christian Chicago said, one of the highest murder rates in the United States is not the highest. Why would anyone be against lowering the crime rate.
Yeah, it's weird, and of course you know they're manipulating the figures. And you know, if the mayor doesn't want to put people in jail, man, we should just do it. Singapore does and kne lower level prisoners and then they can go on their way. Just partially joking there. Incarceration works great, Police crackdowns work great. It's what rually Rudy Giuliani did to make New York safe, to clean it up after the seventies and eighties and decades of decay.
And everyone said, oh, if you cracked down on crime, it just moved from one area to another.
It just wasn't true.
Actually, if you cracked out on crime, you cracked out on crime.
And that there's one important point here is if Donald Trump can prove again what Rudy Giuliani proved in New York, if you can remind voters of that, then that's this is sort of the last vestige of Democrat power.
Are these cities.
There's really no city that's run by a Democrat by Republican maybe the exception of Miami. Currently it is a Democrat stronghold. And unlike other Democrat constituencies that Trump is shipped away at, like Hispanics, black men, you know, virtually everyone but Karen's frankly that if he starts to pull political support from these Democrat machines in the cities, and
the Democrats really have nothing left. And just final point, Yeah, when you go and talk to actual people in these cities, not the politicians or the aging white hippies, liberal white hippies, but actual citizens who have to deal with crime. They're in favor of the crime.
Hey, before I let you go, we got to talk about Gavin Newsom, because everybody's talking about Gavin Newsom now and Gavin Newsom, well, he's talking about Donald Trump and saying that he's made America a laughing stock. Hear him at the Pligo Subody in California just a little while ago.
I've had the privilege of meeting a lot of foreign leaders.
I mean, what's the general I'm putting their.
Laughing behind his back? That did not happen. I'm making this clear.
They're telling there, do not conflate.
What I just said with the eating I had with the Denmark delegation.
Now it wasn't them.
Other foreign leaders are.
I've got dozens and dozens ambassadors now with them.
What are they saying?
They're laughing behind his back? He's being played everywhere.
It's an embarrassment. I don't know.
I don't talk to a lot of world leaders, But what do you think are world leaders really laughing behind Trump's back?
I don't know. Maybe some are. I kind of doubt it. You know, that's exactly what they said about rond Reagan.
Know they think this is just a dumb actor who reads lines in the staff behind their back. And you know, then he in Thatcher and others helped and win the Cold War and restored the United States, restored the West, and with Trump, maybe some of the Europeans still chuckled behind his back. But guess what, Europe is the laughing stock now they've proved that they can't that NATO essentially is nothing without the United States. They're all in political crisis.
Vladimir put and Donald Trump. They're going to outlast all of the political leaders in Europe. And you know, if
they're laughing, that's fine, but I doubt it. And I don't think Kim John Un or Putin Or's usuen PingER laughing the same way they would have if Kamala Harris had been president, or if Gavin knew some slick Gavin with a state that's in fiscal crisis, that's a beautiful state with tons of natural resources that people are moving out of because of his mismanagement and the highest income taxes in the country.
That's a great point. I'm glad you brought up bring because I remember that too. Anyway, Thank you so much, Chris Wit for your time. Really appreciated. We'll see you again soon here on the US Report. Now, in a moment, I'll be joined by one of the few conservatives covering Hollywood, Christian Toto, to tell us about the new romantic comedy
made just for the Trump Europe. But speaking of Hollywood in California, let's check in again on that Governor Gavin Newsom, who's also having an absolutely normal one, all because Trump's people keep trolling him by sending him Trump twenty twenty eight hats.
I don't think Donald Trump wants another election. You think for a second you want I have two dozen Trump twenty twenty eight hats.
His folks keep sending me, and you think he's gonna run again?
Don't give me.
You know who spends two hundred million dollars on a ballroom at their home and then leaves the house.
Yeah, keep sending those hats. Donald, They're working, Christian Toto.
After the break, Welcome back to the program. Well, joining me now is Hollywood journalist, author, chronicler of celebrity wokeness, and creator of the Fantastic Hollywood in Toto website and podcast, Christian Toto Christian, thanks so much for joining me on the US sport And I want to start with a great piece you've written this week, highlighting something that I had not heard about before, a new romantic comedy film titled The Elephant in the Room, set in twenty twenty one,
which explores what happens if a leftist woman meets a maga man and falls in love. Here's a little bit of the trailer.
Is he a right were?
Well?
I only voted for him twice?
Oh my god, you'd look past that as one. So if it's just about sex, who cares? So what do you like about Look?
I don't think he's a nice guy.
Okay, it's just more.
Open about it, which is refreshing.
That is refreshing to you. Tell her you think the election was legit.
She'll eat that up. Christian.
I think this is absolutely fascinating here that Hollywood's actually gone there with something that portrays a Trump supporter in at least a bit of a sympathetic way, Because you know, I think we all know people in their personal lives who've had very similar conversations to what we've just seen.
They're that trailer. Tell us about this.
Yeah, it's the movie we need right now more than ever. But actually that might be the case. It is a romantic comedy. It is traditional in a way, but the conflict is very of the moment, and like you said, so many people have had similar situations in their lives where they've got this conflict line. You know, friends they've known for years, if not decades, fighting like they never fought before. What about a romantic couple who seem to have a spark and a connection, but they've got this
thing between them, this political divide. Can they get along? Can love really happen? It's a great idea. It's fraught with complications for sure, but I found it early charming and I thought they did a nice job with the balance that was the key issue here. You're not really citing one way the other. I think there's a real sense of both sides of this situation get to say there's their piece, and they do it in a very intelligent way. It's a shocking film from that perspective alone.
Well that's pretty shocking. I mean, you know, for Hollywood to do that, and we all know the sort of the stories about and the polls we've seen where left wing people won't date right wing people. Right wing people date left wing people. So maybe this will help bridge some divides, but it does sound too Christian like. There are some other divides that are unbridgable. Because veteran Hollywood actor Luis Guzman caused a stir after he called Latino
Americans who voted for Trump ignorant. Now, I guess this is because the president won a pretty large percentage of Latino vote in last year's election.
What is going on here?
Because this seems like again a return to the bad old days of the hard left Hollywood.
Yeah, you know, I listen, He's a terrific actor. He's been doing it for decades, you know, calling an entire group of people, a very large group ignorant. I think he needs to leave his ideological bubble and actually talk to some of the Trump voters who happened to be Latino, find out why they voted the way they did, what were the issues that were top of mind. I think he might get a really interesting education if he did that.
But just saying that they're ignorant, it feels a little bit weak, to say the ear least.
Hmm.
Indeed, indeed, hey, speaking of California though, where it all comes from. In Hollywood is Governor Kevin Newsom. He is locked into a battle with one of his predecessors, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Apparently, Newsom is reportedly refusing to honor Schwarzenegger with a key state honor because of Schwarzenegger's disapproval of Newsom's pushed to redistrict the state and jerrymander it so that basically the
entire place becomes democratic. Congressionally, tell us about a bit more about this year, what the terminator is doing here to Newsom and how this is all happening.
Yeah, I mean it seems petty as possible, just on the surface. You know, it's so funny because Newsom has been having this really aggressive effort to rebrand him on social media. He's the tough guy. He's fighting fire with fire with Trump. But if he can't stand up to Schwarzenegger, who is not very political at this point in his career. Yes he was a Republican, still is, but he's the softest of Republicans you'll possibly find, so he's not throwing
sharp elbows. So this just seems like a very, very very minor way to strike back at someone who's criticizing something you're doing, but engage with the governator and see why there are why they might agree on some issues as well. So it just seems like a bad political move of someone who's got a little bit of energy right now for better or worse.
But Christian, you know you're in California. I have a lot of people here in Australia talking to me about Gavin Newsom asking what I think about him, and I feel like this is one of those moments. It's very revealing about the guy's character. I mean, if he's going to be so petty about this, you know, is everything just going to be this political fight, turning everybody into either friends or enemies.
Yeah, it's a bad look for sure, and it's something he shouldn't really be engaging with. He should just honor the ex governor, who's obviously a huge movie star and a pop culture icon and just leave it there. I mean, I think that's magnanimous and I think it's what people want to see from the politicians. Yes, you know, we'll get in the fight and we'll throw some sharp elbows, but then the day you've got to kind of rise to a certain level and just be above it all
and just this is the perfect moment. And you know the fact that Politico is reporting on this, which is not exactly a conservative website, makes it more interesting for sure. Just a quick note, I'm actually based in Denver, Colorado, but I'm sorry Hollywood and California excessively.
My apologies for the miss geography there. I guess we can call it there. Hey, before I should go there?
How dare I? But it's Colorado, sir.
But I want to get your thoughts finally before I let you go about this amazing story about Vanity Fair magazine where apparently the journals are going to walk out because first Lady Milania Trump is set to feature on the magazine's front cover.
I would sink that.
Malania Trump is this incredibly glamorous woman who speaks a bunch of languages and has brought, you know, her own flare and elegance to the White House.
Yet people can't accept her. What's going on here?
That even that at Vanity Fair they won't come into the office if they run her on the cover.
I mean, none of this is surprising. There is a reason why she hasn't graced any covers in many years, despite what she's been accomplishing and because of her role in the White House. But I would just suggest to the people who are blowing a gasket over this particular potential cover to watch the movie we just talked about,
Elephant in the Room. They may kind of open their minds a bet about, Hey, maybe we all can get along and maybe a beautiful, interesting first lady deserves to be on her magazine cover without all sorts of consternation. Or I could just say quit leave. I'm sure a lot of journalists out there would love the jobs you have. I think they'll step in pretty quickly.
Yeah, it's just amazing to me that anybody would be walking out of a magazine job in New York. But there you go, Christian Toto, thank you so much for your time, and check out the Hollywood and Tote website now so you stick around, because only in America is in a second.
But isn't it great that.
The United States is serviced by such a staid and serious White House press corps. I mean, here's one CBS reporter soberly taking the news that Taylor Swift had just become engaged.
Taylor Swift is engaged. Taylor Swift is engaged. Taylor Swift is engaged. This come back to me. She just posted it. Oh my god, Oh my god.
Oh it's huge.
The ring is jo enormous. This is so exciting.
Oh my god, oh my god, Oh my god. It's on her Instagram. It's on her Instagram. It's on her Instagram. Oh my god, Oh my god, Oh my god, Oh my god, my god.
I feel like.
Paul Revere right now. This is a very exciting moment for me in my professional career because I get to announce that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey are engaged.
Call me a grump.
I don't care, but I do care because Only in America is next to stick around. Welcome back to the program, and now it's time for a little segment we like to call Only in America. Well, this week on Only in America, it seems like the old Keystone Cops are alive and well and getting it done or not done, as the case may be. In San Francisco. Now check
this out here. This is footage from San Francisco, one of the crown jewels in future presidential contender Gavin Newsom's crown of a robbery suspect who appears to have been pinned down and cornered by the cops in his car with nowhere to run. But let's watch for a moment here. I mean, it looks like they've pretty much got him, don't they. There got the roadspikes. They're swinging something at the car.
Boa. No, no, no, he's gone. He is gone. I'm sorry.
What don't the San Francisco cops have guns? How did that happen? Tell you what if Donald Trump is looking for the next place to send the National Guard?
Here? San Francisco was lovely this time of year.
Well, that's all the time we have for this week, So until next week, Bye bye.