WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:05.440 The stone Zone, entertaining and informative on the Red Apple 2 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:06.679 podcast Network. 3 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:12.240 You are now entering the stone Zone. Kick back with 4 00:00:12.279 --> 00:00:15.919 me while I enjoy what President Richard Nixon used to 5 00:00:15.960 --> 00:00:20.120 call a silver bullet, that's an extra Duye vodka martini, 6 00:00:20.519 --> 00:00:24.760 and we review today's political news. You almost have to 7 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:28.600 admire the consistency of my friend Mike Lindell, the crazy 8 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:33.320 Pillow Guy, the my Pillow founder, went into Tuesday's Minnesota 9 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:37.520 Republican Guben Soil primary with the endorsement of President Donald Trump, 10 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:42.359 substantial name recognition, and polling that had given him reasonably 11 00:00:42.439 --> 00:00:46.439 that he could win. One Survey USA poll had Mike 12 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:50.439 Lindell at thirty five percent to his opponent, House Speaker 13 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:56.159 Lisa Dmouth's twenty six percent. But when Minnesota voters, Republican 14 00:00:56.280 --> 00:01:00.520 voters actually voted well, they delivered a rather different result. 15 00:01:00.719 --> 00:01:05.159 Now this isn't really surprising because unfortunately, my friend Mike 16 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:09.480 Lindelle undermined his entire campaign for governor right after he 17 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:13.239 was endorsed by President Donald Trump by coming out for 18 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:17.640 amnesty for illegal immigrants. With a vast majority of people 19 00:01:17.719 --> 00:01:21.959 in Minnesota and America, according to every poll, want illegal 20 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:27.040 immigrants deported. I just don't know what Mike was thinking. 21 00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:30.879 On the other hand, I warned Mike previously that former 22 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:35.280 presidential advisor Steve Bannon would ultimately be revealed as a 23 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:41.319 close revisor to Jeffrey Epstein, that Bennon had been seen 24 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:45.439 coming and going from Epstein's palatial home in Manhattan, that 25 00:01:45.480 --> 00:01:50.040 Bennon had visited Epstein's island, and ultimately, when the FBI 26 00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:56.239 released nineteen hundred emails that showed that Steve Bannon, in 27 00:01:56.280 --> 00:02:01.640 his conversations with Jeffrey Epstein, had advocated for the removal 28 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:05.239 of President Donald Trump under the twenty fifth Amendment, had 29 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:08.599 denigrated Trump and said that he Bannon, not Trump, was 30 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:12.639 the head of the MAGA movement. I warned Michael Lindell, 31 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:17.360 but Mike continued appearing on Steve Bannon's show. Now, this 32 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:20.240 wasn't in Minnesota one of those elections where somebody lost 33 00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:23.879 by six hundred votes and everybody spends three days staring 34 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:28.719 at provisional ballots. Dumouth, Mike's opponent, received forty three percent 35 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:31.400 of the vote, Lindell about thirty three percent, with a 36 00:02:31.439 --> 00:02:35.800 third candidate, Kendrill Qualls, taking roughly another twenty percent. So, 37 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:40.000 in other words, Dumouth's advantage over Mike Lendell was more 38 00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:43.840 than forty five thousand votes on the reporting count. That's 39 00:02:43.879 --> 00:02:48.199 a substantial defeat. That's not a close call. It also 40 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:51.759 represents an upset of sorts because well, Michael Lindell had 41 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:56.560 something that Republican candidates covered enormously. He had the endorsement 42 00:02:56.599 --> 00:02:59.960 of President Donald Trump. But unfortunately, I think he voiaged 43 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:03.360 that endorsement by coming out in favor of amnesty for 44 00:03:03.479 --> 00:03:07.199 illegal immigrants. Now, if you know anything about Mike Lindell, 45 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:11.199 you probably know exactly what happened next. Mike Lindell refuses 46 00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:15.240 to concede. Instead, he began talking about possible irregularities in 47 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:17.919 the election. He told the Borders that his people were 48 00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:21.319 hearing about what they call anomalies. But there's a rather 49 00:03:21.439 --> 00:03:24.039 different distinction here, particularly for those of us who take 50 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:30.639 election integrity seriously. An allegation is not evidence. As of today, 51 00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:34.759 Mike Lindell has not publicly demonstrated fraud sufficient to explain 52 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:39.560 anything resembling a forty five thousand vote deficit. And I 53 00:03:39.639 --> 00:03:42.960 have to admit there's something almost comically predictable about all 54 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:46.199 of this. If Mike Lindell entered a contest to determine 55 00:03:46.199 --> 00:03:50.280 America's favorite pillow and finished second, I suspect we'd be 56 00:03:50.280 --> 00:03:54.599 hearing by breakfast about irregularities in the pillow counting machines. 57 00:03:55.159 --> 00:03:57.680 This is, after all, a man who spent years making 58 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:03.599 election fraud allegation. I've paid millions of dollars to supposedly 59 00:04:03.719 --> 00:04:07.439 former intelligence agents, but has never been able to present 60 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:10.400 the proof. So when he loses his own election and 61 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:14.319 immediately begins questioning the count nobody exactly falls out of 62 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:18.120 their chair in astonishment. But underneath the humor here is 63 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:22.079 a serious point. Election integrity matters too much to become 64 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:27.000 an automatic explanation for losing. If Mike Lindell has evidence, well, 65 00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:31.000 let's see it. If there are genuine discrepancies, investigate them. 66 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:35.519 If ballots were mishandled, documented, if election law was violated, 67 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:40.279 identified that violation. Americans should insist on transparent elections and 68 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:44.959 aggressively investigate credible evidence of wrongdoing. But the burden is 69 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:49.279 on the person making the accusation to produce actual evidence, 70 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:53.480 particularly when we're talking about a double digit defeat rather 71 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:57.959 than a razor thin recount situation. Now there's another political 72 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:01.839 story here that shouldn't be overlooked. Trump's endorsement wasn't enough, 73 00:05:01.959 --> 00:05:05.160 or rather Mike undid that endorsement by coming out for 74 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:09.000 ambesty for illegals. That does not mean that Trump's influence 75 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:13.040 of Republican primaries has suddenly disappeared. The President remains enormously 76 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:16.720 influential within the Republican Party. My phone is ringing off 77 00:05:16.759 --> 00:05:20.240 the hook with various Florida candidates at all levels seeking 78 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:24.000 the President's endorsement in the next Tuesday's Florida primary. But 79 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:28.360 endorsements aren't magic wands. Minnesota Republicans had their own state 80 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:30.920 House speaker and Lisa Dumouth, and enough of them apparently 81 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:35.120 decided she represented a stronger choice for November. The result 82 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:40.319 is particularly striking because Lindell's national profile, of course, dwarfed hers, 83 00:05:40.920 --> 00:05:44.480 and November is where this gets much harder. You see, Dumouth, 84 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:48.600 the Republican will now face US Senator Amy Klobashar, who 85 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:53.680 easily won the Democrat Farm Labor goognatorial primary and begins 86 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:59.000 a general election with formidable statewide name recognition. Republicans haven't 87 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:02.439 won a statewide cut testing Minnesotan's two thousand and six. 88 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:06.240 So Jamouz's task is considerable. She has to unite the 89 00:06:06.279 --> 00:06:09.839 Republican electorate after the primary. She has to attract independence 90 00:06:09.879 --> 00:06:14.439 to persuade voters. After years of Democrat control, Minnesota needs 91 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:18.040 a change of direction. As for my friend Mike Lindell, 92 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:20.839 he has every right to examine the results. He has 93 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:24.399 every right to request information available under Minnesota law, and 94 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:27.839 if he discovers genuine evidence of wrongdoing, he should produce it. 95 00:06:28.279 --> 00:06:31.439 But until then, the scoreboard says that his opponent won 96 00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:34.639 in Mike Lindell laws. And perhaps there's a lesson here. 97 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:38.160 You can't defend election integrity by assuming that every election 98 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:42.199 you lose must have been stolen. Sometimes the voters simply 99 00:06:42.279 --> 00:06:46.720 choose the other candidate. And therefore, for Mike Lindell, accepting 100 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:50.079 the possibility that he may have considerably lost, it will 101 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:54.279 be considerably less comfortable for him than one of his pillows. 102 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:57.639 In the meantime, I've been watching very closely the South 103 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:01.279 Carolina Senate race. That's got a lot more interesting when 104 00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:06.120 Senator Lindsey Graham died suddenly on July eleventh. Governor Henry McMaster, 105 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:10.279 an old friend of mine, appointed Graham's sister, Darlene Graham, 106 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:13.879 to temporarily fill the seat. Or initially looked like a 107 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:18.319 caretaker appointment, quickly became something more. President Trump encouraged her 108 00:07:18.360 --> 00:07:21.839 to run for a full term, endorsed her, and the 109 00:07:21.879 --> 00:07:26.160 Republican establishment largely foulid place behind her. Yesterday was the 110 00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:29.720 first round of the South Carolina Republican primary, and South 111 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:33.639 Carolina Republicans got their first chance to render a verdict, 112 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:37.920 and that verdict was decidedly mixed to see. Darlene Graham 113 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:41.600 finished first in a ten candidate Republican field with about 114 00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:45.639 thirty three percent of the vote. Congressman Ralph Norman, a 115 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:49.439 reliable conservative, came in second with roughly twenty four percent 116 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:53.560 of the vote. Congressman Russell Fry took about twenty percent 117 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:57.240 of the vote. Former Governor Mark Sandford remember him, He's 118 00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:00.959 the guy who went missing while said he was he 119 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:04.439 was on the Appalachian Trail, when in fact he was 120 00:08:04.680 --> 00:08:08.079 in South America with his mistress. He got an amazing 121 00:08:08.120 --> 00:08:12.160 fifteen percent, but well, nobody reached the majority required for 122 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:15.279 the nomination. So now the two top vote getters, Darlene 123 00:08:15.319 --> 00:08:19.480 Graham and Ralph Norman head into an August twenty fifth runoff. 124 00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:23.279 Now there's two completely different ways to read these numbers. 125 00:08:23.480 --> 00:08:26.480 Graham can, of course say I won well. She finished 126 00:08:26.759 --> 00:08:30.240 nine points ahead of Norman, despite being a political newcomer 127 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:34.440 thrown into a statewide campaign un extraordinarily short notice. She 128 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:38.159 also has the most valuable endorsement available in South Carolina 129 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:42.799 in a Republican primary, that of President Donald Trump, and 130 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:45.960 Trump isn't merely leaving his name on a press release. 131 00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:48.600 He said Tuesday night that he intends to go to 132 00:08:48.679 --> 00:08:52.399 South Carolina to campaign for her. But Norman can look 133 00:08:52.440 --> 00:08:55.159 at exactly the same returns and make a very different argument. 134 00:08:55.879 --> 00:08:59.799 Sixty seven percent of Republican voters voted for someone other 135 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:03.799 than Darlene Graham, the sister of the late Lindsay Graham, 136 00:09:04.600 --> 00:09:08.440 So Norman, Fry, and Stanford together accounted for nearly sixty 137 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:11.240 percent of the vote. Of course, you can't simply add 138 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:14.519 those numbers together and hand them to Norman. Politics doesn't 139 00:09:14.519 --> 00:09:18.000 really work that way. But in a two person runoff, 140 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:21.799 those voters suddenly became the entire ballgame, and Norman only 141 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:24.360 has to find enough of them to erase a nine 142 00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:28.840 point first round deficit. That brings us to Russell Fry. 143 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:31.679 That congressman had roughly twenty percent might now be the 144 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:35.639 most valuable block for Republican votes in South Carolina. Where 145 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:38.759 Fry goes personally matters, because where his votes go matter 146 00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:42.879 is considerably more. Norman needs to consolidate Republicans who wanted 147 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:47.000 an alternative to Lindsay Graham's sister. Graham's objective is the opposite, 148 00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:51.279 present this from becoming a simple anti Graham coalition. If 149 00:09:51.320 --> 00:09:54.120 she can hold her first round votes, picking up a 150 00:09:54.399 --> 00:09:58.519 meaningful piece of Fry's support, and benefit from a Trump 151 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:03.279 driven turnout operation, well the repetip could change very quickly. 152 00:10:03.799 --> 00:10:06.879 But there's another fascinating wrinkle here. There is not a 153 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:11.639 conventional magaver's establishment race. Norman is a House Freedom Caucus 154 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:15.120 conservative with an actual congressional voting record, and Graham is 155 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:19.200 the candidate endorsed by President Trump. Norman's vulnerability is that 156 00:10:19.240 --> 00:10:22.159 he supported Nikki Haley rather than Trump during the twenty 157 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:26.399 twenty four presidential primary, although he endorsed Trump after Haley withdrew. 158 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:29.840 But that's a significant negative in the Trump crowd, including 159 00:10:29.879 --> 00:10:33.200 with me. His opportunities to make the run off about 160 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:37.919 experience and ideological record rather than personalities or political history. 161 00:10:38.440 --> 00:10:41.960 Graham's opportunities to make it about Trump's judgment and her 162 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:45.919 status as an outsider. And that's why this next two 163 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:48.519 weeks could be even more revealing than the first round. 164 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:54.519 You see, runoffs are different animals, turnout contracts, intensity matters more, 165 00:10:54.919 --> 00:10:59.480 endorsements matter more, and organization matters enormously. Norman has to 166 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:02.679 persuade a Republicans who voted for Fry Sandford and the 167 00:11:02.759 --> 00:11:06.679 other candidates that he is their logical second choice. Graham 168 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:10.919 has to convinced them that yesterday's results central the fundamental question. 169 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:14.919 She finished first, She has Trump's backing, and Republicans should 170 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:18.360 unite behind her. Trump campaign appearance could therefore be one 171 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:22.080 of the most pivotal moments of this race. So I 172 00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:25.159 would resist declaring a favorite tonight. Darlene Graham won the 173 00:11:25.159 --> 00:11:28.240 first battle, but Ralph Norman may have the more intriguing 174 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:31.879 arithmetic Here. Graham has Trump, the Senate seat and the 175 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:34.960 Graham political name, as well as the institutional backing of 176 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:38.159 the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and of course a very 177 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:43.080 popular governor Henry McMaster. Norman has experience a freedom caucus 178 00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:46.200 record and a potentially enormous pool of first round voters 179 00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:50.559 sixty seven percent who chose someone other than Darlene Graham 180 00:11:51.080 --> 00:11:53.960 August twenty fifth will tell us which matters more in 181 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:56.480 a state that hasn't elected a Democrat to the US 182 00:11:56.519 --> 00:11:59.360 Senate in twenty eight years, there's a very good argument 183 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:03.399 that this this runoff is merely another Republican primary. It 184 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:06.840 could definitely be the contest that effectively determines the South 185 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:11.440 Carolina next US Center. In other words, whoever wins this 186 00:12:11.559 --> 00:12:15.000 runoff on the twenty fifth is almost certainly to go 187 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:19.639 to the US Senate. Take your pick. I was not 188 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:22.039 particularly a fan of Lindsey Graham, but I will not 189 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:24.519 speak ill of the dead. But his sister is in 190 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:27.759 the pole position here to win this contest, while Ralph Norman, 191 00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:31.600 who unfortunately for him, supported Nikki Haley, has got to 192 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:35.559 pull together an awful lot of votes. We're talking politics 193 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:38.039 with the kind of breakdown that only we can give 194 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:40.799 right here in the Stone Zone. Don't go away, because 195 00:12:40.840 --> 00:12:43.480 we'll be back with more. As I begin to jam 196 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:47.080 and whether Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman can pull an 197 00:12:47.159 --> 00:12:51.240 upset and actually defeat Kathy Hochel in the upcoming contest 198 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:53.320 for governor of the Empire State. 199 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:58.639 The Stone Zone entertaining and informative on the Red Apple 200 00:12:58.759 --> 00:12:59.840 podcast Network. 201 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:05.679 Welcome back in to the Stone Zone. President Trump announced 202 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:09.240 today that Caroline Levitt will be departing her role as 203 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:12.559 the White House Press Secretary to spend more time with 204 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:16.440 her young children. Now, in my fifty years in American politics, 205 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:20.720 I've known for presidential press secretaries, some of them good, 206 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:23.519 some of them great. But I have to tell you 207 00:13:23.639 --> 00:13:27.240 Carolyn Levitt has been the best. She first came to 208 00:13:27.320 --> 00:13:31.279 my attention when she ran a spirited campaign for Congress 209 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:34.279 in New Hampshire. She didn't win that, but she gained 210 00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:38.200 valuable experience, and as the president spokesperson, I think she's 211 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:42.279 been enormously effective. She has been feisty. One of the 212 00:13:42.360 --> 00:13:47.240 job required that she has provided information is necessary to 213 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:50.720 a largely hostile press corps, but she didn't put up 214 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:54.519 with any guff. President Trump put out a statement. His 215 00:13:54.600 --> 00:13:57.919 statement said, our wonderful White House Press Secretary and one 216 00:13:57.960 --> 00:14:01.320 of my most trustless aids, Caroline Levity, will be departing 217 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:02.919 her role at the end of the month so she 218 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:06.360 can spend more time with a beautiful young children and family, 219 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:11.279 a decision I totally understand and respect. Caroline will now 220 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:14.279 be one of my top outside advisors and an influential 221 00:14:14.360 --> 00:14:17.320 voice within the Republican Party as we work to defy 222 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:22.240 history and conclusively win the midterm elections. Caroline has been 223 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:24.240 a real leader in the White House and has done 224 00:14:24.279 --> 00:14:28.480 a phenomenal job fighting for justice, liberty, and freedom since 225 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:33.600 twenty eighteen, including our historic reelection campaign in twenty twenty four. 226 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:36.559 Caroline Levin has been one of the best White House 227 00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:38.919 Press secretary of the history of the office. Thank you, 228 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:44.120 Caroline for a job well done. Signed President Donald Trump. 229 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:47.240 This comes on the heels of the White House Council. 230 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:52.039 David Warrington also tendering his resignation to go back to 231 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:55.559 private visiting. Dave Warrington and I have been friends since 232 00:14:55.559 --> 00:15:00.519 we were in Young Americans for Freedom together. Named as 233 00:15:00.519 --> 00:15:04.759 his replacement is Will Sharf. Will Sharf is one of 234 00:15:04.759 --> 00:15:09.159 the sharpest young lawyers I know. Actually supported his unsuccessful 235 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:15.559 campaign for the Attorney General's office in his native Missouri. 236 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:18.600 By the way, my general experience in politics, in which 237 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:20.919 I have quite a bit, is that candidates who run 238 00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:26.679 and lose are always better the second time around. The 239 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:30.039 very best candidates are those who learned from that first experience. 240 00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:33.320 I think of Tom Kane of New Jersey, who ran 241 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:37.919 for governor in nineteen seventy seven, lost that contest, lost 242 00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:42.039 the Republican primary to state Senator Ray Bateman, who went 243 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:45.320 on to lose to Brendan Byrn in nineteen eighty one. 244 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:48.480 Tom Kine came back and ran again. This time he 245 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:50.919 ran a much better campaign, and he was a much 246 00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:54.759 better candidate. In every case, candidates who have run and 247 00:15:54.799 --> 00:15:57.879 lost have profited if they view it not as a 248 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:04.200 defeat but as a building experience. As my mentor Richard 249 00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:09.320 Nixon said, a man is not finished when he is defeated. 250 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:13.759 He is only finished when he quits. And that is 251 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:17.639 the story of American politics. That is a story of 252 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:21.360 all of these kiddings. Caroline Levitt is quitting today. She's 253 00:16:21.639 --> 00:16:24.799 leaving a job. But at her age and with her 254 00:16:24.840 --> 00:16:27.600 talent level, I have no doubt whatsoever she will be 255 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:31.000 back in the political arena again to fight for her country. 256 00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:34.440 How do the president point it, to fight for justice, liberty, 257 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:37.519 and freedom. I have no doubt whatsoever that in the 258 00:16:37.559 --> 00:16:41.759 future fight for America. Caroline Levitt will be in the 259 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:44.639 front lines. I'm Roger Stone to listen to Stones, and 260 00:16:44.679 --> 00:16:47.240 when we come back, we're going to look at Bruce Blakeman, 261 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:50.120 the Nassau County executive, and whether he could really be 262 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:52.600 New York Governor Kathy ople. 263 00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:10.039 The Stone Zone entertaining and informative on the Red Apple 264 00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:11.359 Podcast networks. 265 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:15.839 You know the best thing about summer, of course, if 266 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:20.240 you're a well dressed gentleman, is the summer alternatives available 267 00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:25.079 to you. Linen, sear, sucker, silk, madras, and of course 268 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:29.079 my favorite, those two tone spectator shoes or a nice 269 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:34.279 pair of white bucks. Combine that with a sharp looking 270 00:17:34.359 --> 00:17:38.359 pair of suspenders and a madress bow tie, you've got 271 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:41.279 a great look. So I love this time of year 272 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:43.960 because I'm a political junkie, I of course have been 273 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:48.039 very carefully watching the upcoming race between Bruce Blakeman and 274 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:51.920 Kathy Hockel. Now here's the political number we're paying attention to. 275 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:55.960 Forty nine to thirty nine. That's Governor Kathy Hockel's lead 276 00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:59.599 over Republican Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau accounting executive, in the 277 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:03.799 New Siana poll of likely New York voters first one 278 00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:07.319 morning sign. An incumbent under fifty is generally thought to 279 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:10.559 be in trouble. In this case, Kathy Hokeel, with universal 280 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:14.160 name I Do and enormous resources is not breaking fifty 281 00:18:14.200 --> 00:18:17.200 percent of the vote. Now, a ten point deficit is 282 00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:20.680 obviously still a deficit in Anybody telling you that Bruce 283 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:23.440 Blakeman is presently won in this race doesn't know how 284 00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:25.839 to read the poll. But here's what makes the number interesting. 285 00:18:26.440 --> 00:18:30.440 At roughly this stage, four years ago, Sienna had Hochel 286 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:33.759 beating Republican congressman and a good friend of mine, Lie 287 00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:38.200 Zelden by fourteen points fifty three to thirty nine. Again, 288 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:43.960 Hokeel over fifty and a fourteen point margin. Zelgen ultimately lost, 289 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:47.839 but in the end only by about six points. So 290 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:50.599 that history doesn't tell us what will happen in November, 291 00:18:51.079 --> 00:18:54.200 but it does tell us not to dismiss a upset 292 00:18:54.400 --> 00:18:57.519 in the New York governor's race as early as August, 293 00:18:57.640 --> 00:19:02.079 remember the chronology of twenty twenty two. In augusta had 294 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:05.599 Hochel ahead by fourteen points, but by late September her 295 00:19:05.640 --> 00:19:10.079 sien elite had actually expanded to seventeen points fifty four 296 00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:13.960 to thirty seven. The conventional wisdom by some said the 297 00:19:14.039 --> 00:19:18.880 race was basically over them. Then something happened. New York 298 00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:23.200 governors started focusing intensely on the election. Zelden hammered away 299 00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:26.400 on crime and the economy, as well as high taxes, 300 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:32.240 and the contest tightened dramatically, even though Hokel had unlimited 301 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:37.240 money and Zeldin had to struggle to raise money. By 302 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:41.640 October eighteenth, Siena itself had Hockel's advantage down to eleven 303 00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:46.160 points fifty two to forty one. Then came election Day, 304 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:49.519 lee Zelden didn't win, but became considerably closer than those 305 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:53.400 earlier polls it suggested he might. And that matters in 306 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:57.319 twenty twenty six because Bruce Blakeman isn't trying to invent 307 00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:01.279 a Republican coalition that has never existed. He's trying to 308 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:05.160 take the base coalition that Zelden assembled four years ago 309 00:20:05.640 --> 00:20:09.240 and find the additional votes that Zelden couldn't find with 310 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.920 lesser resources. That's a difficult assignment and heavily democratic New York. 311 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:18.319 But it's as much more concrete problem than people saying 312 00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:22.559 Republicans can't win in New York because that's not necessarily 313 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:26.440 true and looked underneath today's statewide numbers, because this is 314 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:30.319 where the race becomes even more interesting. Sienna has Blakeman 315 00:20:30.440 --> 00:20:34.839 leading in the suburbs forty nine to forty one, essentially 316 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:38.960 even with her upstate and Hopel's enormous firewalls. Of course, 317 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:43.240 New York City, where Sienna has her leading sixty forty nineteen. 318 00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:47.880 So that tells you exactly what the geographical equation looks like. 319 00:20:48.519 --> 00:20:52.359 Blakeman needs a major suburban performance. He has to win 320 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:55.839 on Long Island, he has to win in Westchester up 321 00:20:55.880 --> 00:20:59.599 through Rockland, he has to win in the suburbs, and 322 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:03.160 he needs to prevent Hoko from building an insurmoutrable margin 323 00:21:03.559 --> 00:21:07.119 inside New York City. Blakeman also comes into this race 324 00:21:07.160 --> 00:21:10.240 with a different resume than my Friendly's elder. He's the 325 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:13.440 Nassau County executive and he can point to running one 326 00:21:13.480 --> 00:21:17.480 of the biggest suburban governments in America rather than campaigning 327 00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:21.279 purely as a legislator, and Nassau County sits right in 328 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:24.920 the suburban battlefield. A Republican has to dominate there to 329 00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:29.039 have chances statewide. Whose Blakeman has won in Nassau County 330 00:21:29.039 --> 00:21:35.119 by large margins several times. His campaign is emphasizing taxes, affordability, crime, 331 00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:39.319 and immigration, while attempting to tie Hokul to policies coming 332 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:43.279 of New York Cities Democratic left. And here's where Republicans 333 00:21:43.319 --> 00:21:46.359 have to be realistic. However, till point ten points is 334 00:21:46.359 --> 00:21:49.400 still a substantial gap. Hockel is at forty nine in 335 00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:53.799 the Santa Pore, and New York's underlying Democrat advantage hasn't disappeared. 336 00:21:54.440 --> 00:21:57.000 She has an overwhelming lead New York City and substantial 337 00:21:57.000 --> 00:22:01.119 advantages among both women and black voters. So Blakeman cannot 338 00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:05.680 merely reproduce normal Republican turnout and hope dissatisfaction with already 339 00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:09.119 carries him over the line. He has to somehow expand 340 00:22:09.160 --> 00:22:13.559 the Republican coalition, particularly among suburban and working class voters, 341 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:18.319 while improving the Republican Party's performance somewhere within the five boroughs. 342 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:21.440 Here's what he does have going for him. In the 343 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:24.039 fifty years that I have been looking at poling, I 344 00:22:24.039 --> 00:22:27.359 have never seen a public official with a higher disapproval 345 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:32.720 rating than Kathy Hochel. Never that encouraging factor means that 346 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:36.319 this could really become a race, and the encouraging historical 347 00:22:36.359 --> 00:22:39.319 comparison for Blakeman is that we've already watched the New 348 00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:44.160 York ubernatorial race move significantly. In his final months, Zelman 349 00:22:44.279 --> 00:22:48.559 demonstrated that issues such as crime, inflation, and dissatisfaction which 350 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:53.319 state government could make New York considerably more competitive than 351 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:57.079 its presidential voting record might suggest. But there's also a 352 00:22:57.119 --> 00:23:00.480 warning in the Zelden experience. Getting closes it's the same 353 00:23:00.519 --> 00:23:04.799 thing as getting fifty percent. Zelden ran an unexpectedly strong 354 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:10.240 campaign still couldn't overcome the Democrat advantage statewide. Blakeman therefore 355 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:13.400 has to improve upon Zelden's coalition, not just recreate it. 356 00:23:13.960 --> 00:23:16.680 And that's where I put this race tonight. Hochel is 357 00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:19.319 still the leader, but Blakeman has a plausible path to 358 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:22.839 making it competitive. He sent a poe doesn't establish what 359 00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:25.279 New York is about to elect a Republican government, but 360 00:23:25.319 --> 00:23:28.720 what it does establish is something more modest but more 361 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:32.359 politically significant. Blakeman is closer to Hochel at this stage 362 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:36.160 than Zelden was in Sciana's August twenty twenty two survey, 363 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:40.279 and Zelden subsequently turned that race into a six point contest. 364 00:23:40.759 --> 00:23:45.240 If Blake can can dominate the suburbs, remain competitive upstate, 365 00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:50.079 or actually increases its position upstate, improve Republican performs in 366 00:23:50.119 --> 00:23:53.519 New York City only slightly, and make the election a 367 00:23:53.559 --> 00:23:57.079 referendum out Hochel rather than national politics, then New York 368 00:23:57.119 --> 00:24:00.359 could once again give us a Republican governor's race worth 369 00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:04.759 watching all the way to election night. Meanwhile, there's a 370 00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:07.720 remarkable story coming out of President Trump's trip to Turkey, 371 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:11.400 and naturally, much of the coverage has concentrated on the 372 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:14.720 cloak and dagger aspects of it. See last month, after 373 00:24:14.759 --> 00:24:18.559 the NATO Summit and Ankora, Trump publicly boarded the familiar 374 00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:23.599 Presidential seven forty seven. But intelligence indicated a credible Iranian 375 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:27.119 threat against President Trump, so the Secret Service and the 376 00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:32.200 military did something extraordinary. Trump was quietly taken off that aircraft, 377 00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:36.559 moved across the airport, concealed in a catering vehicle, and 378 00:24:36.680 --> 00:24:40.119 put aboard a smaller Air Force C thirty two A, 379 00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:46.319 the big president'ial rejet took off without Trump. Trump was 380 00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:51.839 somewhere else. This wasn't Hollywood, This was presidential security. Now 381 00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:55.200 the controversy is that the White House staff and members 382 00:24:55.200 --> 00:24:57.880 of the press remained to board the other aircraft without 383 00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:01.000 knowing that Trump had left it. Critics are calling them 384 00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:05.240 human decoys and asking whether they were unnecessarily in danger. 385 00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:09.119 Those are legitimate questions of the Secret Service to answer 386 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:12.240 our guests before we should come to the breathless suggestion 387 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:15.839 that using deception to protect an American president is somehow 388 00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:20.640 a Trump invention is a rather inconvenient piece of presidential history. 389 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:25.079 Here worth remembering. His name is Bill Clinton. Go back 390 00:25:25.079 --> 00:25:28.279 to March of two thousand. Clinton was traveling through South 391 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:31.480 Asia wanted to make a highly sensitive visit to Pakistan. 392 00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:36.559 This wasn't exactly a garden variety presidential stop. Pakistan had 393 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:40.240 undergone a military coup on the months earlier. The region 394 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:45.759 was extraordinarily dangerous, and America officials were deeply concerned about terrorism. 395 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:50.880 Before Clinton. National security officer Bruce Ridel later wrote, the 396 00:25:50.920 --> 00:25:54.359 United States had reliable reporting that Al Qaeda was targeting 397 00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:58.400 Clinton for assassination. The Secret Service took the danger seriously, 398 00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:01.720 as it should have. So what did the Clinton White 399 00:26:01.759 --> 00:26:07.240 House do? They also use deception? Clinton flew into Islamabad 400 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:12.440 aboard a small, unmarked aircraft. Another aircraft bearing the official 401 00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:16.440