WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:07.519 My views on the Iranian conflict. The Israeli Iranian conflict 2 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:13.679 are starting to get more crystallized, and I'm beginning to 3 00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:18.559 think more and more that boy, I really don't want 4 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:21.199 us to get more involved, and I think I am 5 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:28.320 leaning in the direction of the don't interveners as this continues, 6 00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:33.560 and I'm seeing the fault lines begin to show. One 7 00:00:33.640 --> 00:00:38.560 thing that did happen that I thought was valuable, and 8 00:00:39.479 --> 00:00:42.320 I kind of Tucker Carlson seems like he kind of 9 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:46.799 goes off the rails on a lot of different things. 10 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:48.039 But one of the things he did was he had 11 00:00:48.079 --> 00:00:51.719 an interview with Ted Cruz where he asked Ted Cruz, 12 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:55.880 Ted Cruz is very pro Israel, pro wanting to get involved, 13 00:00:55.920 --> 00:01:04.760 pro floating even ideas about regime change. Tucker Carlson asks 14 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:13.040 Ted Cruz what's the population of Iran? And Ted Cruz 15 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:19.120 doesn't have an answer, He's not sure. And I thought 16 00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:30.319 that was really revealing. Here's the thing. I don't necessarily 17 00:01:30.359 --> 00:01:34.480 know that I want regime change in Iran. I think 18 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:37.599 the only thing I agree with is with what the 19 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:41.159 President has said, we can't let Iran have a nuke. 20 00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:46.680 That I'm I'm fine with you can't have You can't 21 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:52.719 let Iran have a nuke. They're the world's leading state 22 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:57.319 sponsor of terrorism. It's clear that they want a nuke. 23 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:05.280 They clearly are trying to enrich way more uranium than 24 00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:08.919 is necessary. That you don't really need uranium enrichment at 25 00:02:08.919 --> 00:02:15.680 the levels they're doing it for domestic energy production. You know, 26 00:02:15.719 --> 00:02:18.319 you want nuclear power plants, that's fine, you don't need 27 00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:21.479 to be enriching uranium for it. It's obvious that they're 28 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:27.520 doing something sneaky and not good. Okay, if we want 29 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:30.639 to just sort of tell them, you're a rogue state. 30 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:34.879 You've attacked the United States a million times, You've killed 31 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:39.680 hundreds of American servicemen in Iraq, you attack Israel all 32 00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:45.280 the time, you fund terrorist operations throughout the globe through 33 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:50.919 your proxies like Hamas and the Houthis and whatnot Hezbollah. 34 00:02:55.759 --> 00:03:00.879 Then basically i'm that, And then all right, we want 35 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:05.120 to we want to blow up your nuclear projects and 36 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:07.800 stop you from being able to get a nuke. Okay, 37 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:15.639 that's good. Regime change is a different thing. You can't 38 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:17.800 just kind of take out the leadership and then not 39 00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:21.919 get involved. There's no way that that's gonna work. A 40 00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:28.639 regime change project is way more work, way more involvement, 41 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:34.039 and I'm starting to see the fault lines between people 42 00:03:34.039 --> 00:03:36.199 who don't want to intervene and get involved and those 43 00:03:36.199 --> 00:03:46.080 who do so. Here was this exchange between Tucker Carlson 44 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:49.879 and Ted Cruz on Tuesday. The Hill has a right 45 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:53.439 up on it. The conservative media personality. Carlson on Tuesday 46 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:55.360 released a clip from the interview, set to be released 47 00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:58.319 in full on Wednesday, in which he grills Cruise on 48 00:03:58.439 --> 00:04:01.919 details about Iran and its demographic makeup. When Cruz does 49 00:04:01.960 --> 00:04:04.319 not know the answers Carlson is seeking, the host blasts 50 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:06.439 a senator for failing to know the details of quote 51 00:04:06.439 --> 00:04:09.639 the country you seek to topple. How many people live 52 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:12.680 in Iran by the way, Carlson asked, I don't know 53 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:16.199 the population? Cruz responded at all. No, I don't know 54 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:19.199 the population. Cruz said, you don't know the population in 55 00:04:19.240 --> 00:04:23.199 the country you seek to topple, Carlson retorted. When Cruz 56 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:26.920 asked Carlson the same question back, the journalist replied quickly 57 00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:30.040 ninety two million, adding how could you not know that? 58 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:35.120 I don't sit around memorizing population tables Cruz responded. The 59 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:38.519 conversation grew increasingly heated from there, as Carlson argued, the 60 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:41.040 numbers are kind of relevant because you're calling for the 61 00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:45.120 overthrow of the government. Why is it relevant if it's 62 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:47.240 ninety million or eighty million or a hundred million. Why 63 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:50.519 is that relevant? Cruz responded, before pushing back against Carlson's 64 00:04:50.519 --> 00:04:56.000 suggestion that he doesn't know anything about the country. Carlson 65 00:04:56.040 --> 00:04:59.560 then offered another trivia question, what's the ethnic mix of Iran? 66 00:05:00.680 --> 00:05:04.120 But that's not a trivia question. Well, see, this is 67 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:07.720 all really relevant. So let me say this. I think 68 00:05:07.839 --> 00:05:12.399 Tucker Carlson goes off the rails a lot. I don't 69 00:05:12.439 --> 00:05:17.399 really listen to him all that much on Russia Ukraine stuff. 70 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:20.600 As much as I am not really I sort of 71 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:23.959 join him, at least in being skeptical about American involvement 72 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:27.120 in Ukraine, the extent to which Carlson over sells it 73 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:29.839 to be like, oh, the Putin's actually maybe Putin's really 74 00:05:29.879 --> 00:05:32.800 the good guy. No, Putin's not the good guy. This 75 00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:37.639 was an unjustified aggressive war. The question is whether it's 76 00:05:37.639 --> 00:05:39.800 a smart idea for America to heavily invest in it, 77 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:41.759 which I'm not sure that it is, and I continue 78 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:43.439 to not think it is, and I think, actually we'll 79 00:05:43.480 --> 00:05:45.759 talk about that later in the show. Her recent events 80 00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:49.680 have sort of demonstrated how unwise it was to really 81 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:58.360 commit to this. But the point Tucker's making with Cruise 82 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:01.959 right now is a really good point and a really 83 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:07.720 relevant point. Here's Ted Cruz saying, yes, we should seek 84 00:06:07.800 --> 00:06:15.920 to overthrow the existing ruling government of Iran. If you 85 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:20.879 take that position, you got to kind of and you're 86 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:27.000 a US senator, you should maybe know some basic facts 87 00:06:27.480 --> 00:06:32.920 about Iran. You should know the ballpark of their population. 88 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:39.319 Probably you should know a bit about the ethnic mix, 89 00:06:39.480 --> 00:06:43.240 the ethnic background, something about the culture. Because I was 90 00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:47.560 talking about this on the show yesterday yesterday the day before. 91 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:54.839 One of the things we really learned in Iraq and 92 00:06:54.920 --> 00:07:01.480 Afghanistan was well, certainly Afghanistan, was that that was not 93 00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:04.720 a place quote ripe for regime change. We went in there, 94 00:07:04.759 --> 00:07:07.560 we kicked out the Taliban, We faced twenty years of 95 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:09.920 constant civil war, and guess what we went landed up 96 00:07:09.959 --> 00:07:14.000 at the Taliban being in charge again. Because a lot 97 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:18.480 of these cultures are not ready for eager for wanting 98 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:28.600 Western style liberal democracies, when you give populations in the 99 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:32.920 Middle East the right to vote, sometimes the form of 100 00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:42.839 government that they democratically choose is an autocratic theocratic Sharia 101 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:51.000 law mess case in point, the Gaza strip. Israel pulls 102 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:56.800 out of it, Hamas comes in and becomes the terrorist organization. 103 00:07:56.839 --> 00:08:00.600 Hamas becomes the dominant political party. They win the elections, 104 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:08.199 They forcibly militarily shove out Fatah, the other political party, 105 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:12.879 with like a mini little civil war in Gaza to 106 00:08:12.920 --> 00:08:17.480 shove them out militarily, and they were democratically elected by 107 00:08:17.480 --> 00:08:19.920 the people of Gaza back in the two thousands, I 108 00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:21.240 think it was like two thousand and eight or something 109 00:08:21.240 --> 00:08:27.879 like that. Some places don't think don will not greet 110 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:30.279 you as a liberator if you come in and topple 111 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:35.360 their government. I've been hearing two different things about the 112 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:41.200 Iranian threat my whole I don't know these past twenty years. 113 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:45.559 One is that Iran was days away, weeks away, mere 114 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:48.360 months away from getting a nuke. There was a story 115 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:52.639 from two thousand and six about how Iran was sixteen 116 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:57.679 days away from getting a nuke that someone posted. People 117 00:08:57.679 --> 00:08:59.639 have been saying Iran is about to get a nuke 118 00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:01.279 for a long long, long, long time, and they just 119 00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:05.320 haven't done it. Now. There have been interventions, Israeli strikes, 120 00:09:05.320 --> 00:09:09.279 all kinds of things to sort of stop Iran from 121 00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:11.960 getting a nuke. But there's a little part of me 122 00:09:12.039 --> 00:09:13.679 that's like, well, this is a kind of a boy 123 00:09:13.679 --> 00:09:16.320 who Cried Wolfe situation. How sure are we that Iran 124 00:09:16.440 --> 00:09:20.759 is actually that close to getting a nuke. I don't 125 00:09:20.840 --> 00:09:23.320 doubt that they're working towards that goal, that they want 126 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:25.519 a nuke, I just don't know how imminent a threat 127 00:09:25.559 --> 00:09:31.879 it is. The second thing I've heard for a long 128 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:37.840 time is people saying that the Iranian people are suffering 129 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:42.159 under the yoke of the horrible Iyatolas, that they resent 130 00:09:42.200 --> 00:09:45.320 the Iyatolas, that they hate the suppressive government, that eighty 131 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:50.840 percent of the Iranian people actually don't support Aatola komeni 132 00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:57.840 and the theocratic rule by the Iatolas in Iran, that 133 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:01.759 they yearn for freedom. And then people will always bring up, oh, 134 00:10:01.799 --> 00:10:05.200 remember in the seventies when when the Shaw was in charge, 135 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:08.320 how awesome that was. And I guess the Shaw's current 136 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:11.519 I don't know the Shaw who got expelled in the seventies. 137 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:14.080 I guess it's either his son or his grandson. All 138 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:17.120 of a sudden, now that he's popping up on videos 139 00:10:16.840 --> 00:10:19.799 on Twitter saying oh, we are ready, we are ready 140 00:10:19.799 --> 00:10:22.480 to come back and free the Iranian people. I'm like, 141 00:10:22.519 --> 00:10:25.480 all right, let's okay. So just a couple of things. 142 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:29.200 First of all, I keep hearing this about also the 143 00:10:29.240 --> 00:10:32.879 majority of the Iranian people reject the Iyatolas. Well, they've 144 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:35.600 been awful quiet about their rejection of the Iatolas for 145 00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:40.159 the last you know, twenty plus years, fifty plus years. 146 00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:45.000 They seem awful quiet about it because the Iatola is 147 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:49.320 still there. He's still in charge, Ayatola Komane, he's eighty 148 00:10:49.360 --> 00:10:55.159 six years old. Nobody's thought to internally topple him. You know, 149 00:10:55.240 --> 00:10:57.720 I don't know, maybe that'll happen in a week. I 150 00:10:57.720 --> 00:11:03.320 guess could happen, But it's only happening. If it happens, 151 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:05.720 it's only happening as a result of the precipitating event 152 00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:09.000 of Israel blowing up all of their major military leadership. 153 00:11:12.440 --> 00:11:14.919 So clearly, whatever public support there is for getting rid 154 00:11:14.919 --> 00:11:18.039 of the Ayatola has not been able to materialize into 155 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:27.159 actual effective internal reform within Iran. No one's doing that. Secondly, 156 00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:29.879 this people always bring this up about well, back in 157 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:32.320 the seventies when the Shaw was in charge in Iran 158 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:35.840 was such an open country. Okay, well that was seventy 159 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:41.120 you know, that was fifty plus years ago. And let's 160 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:44.879 remember it was the Iranian people who overthrew the shot. 161 00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:49.080 They kicked his rear end out and replaced him with 162 00:11:51.080 --> 00:11:58.639 a theocratic, crazy regime ruled by religious leaders, by the Iatolas. 163 00:11:59.480 --> 00:12:01.720 So it was the Iranian people who got rid of 164 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:06.120 the Sha. Let's let's let's recall that. Okay. I prefer 165 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:10.399 the Shah over the Iatolas too. I prefer, you know, 166 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:17.799 pre revolution Iran to current Iran. I think it's nice 167 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:20.080 that women were able to walk around without hit jobs 168 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:25.639 and not get shot. But let's remember that it was 169 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:28.799 the Iranians who overthrew the shot, who didn't like the shot. 170 00:12:32.039 --> 00:12:36.840 So this idea that, oh, yeah, the Iran's like they're ready, 171 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:39.240 they're ready to just get rid of the Iatolas and 172 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:43.480 just go right back to you know, being you know, 173 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:49.159 the cool, groovy Iran of the nineteen seventies. Boy, I 174 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:53.600 really doubt that. I do not feel like that makes 175 00:12:53.600 --> 00:13:02.679 a lot of sense. So in short, I don't want 176 00:13:02.759 --> 00:13:06.159 us to be involved. I don't want us to be involved. 177 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:08.720 I don't want us to be involved. If we want 178 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:13.000 to be involved at the level of let's stop them 179 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:20.200 from having a nuke, and if Congress authorizes that or 180 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:24.799 something like that at some point ever happening, okay, fine 181 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:33.600 by me. But what I don't want is the president 182 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:36.039 just doing any kind of military strikes he kind of 183 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:39.879 wants to whenever he feels like it, involving us in 184 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:44.159 the actual work of regime change. And I get I 185 00:13:44.279 --> 00:13:47.279 understand the temptation on the part of the people who 186 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:53.879 want regime change. The Iranian government is terrible. They are horrible. 187 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:58.399 They are horrible, international sponsors of state of international terrorism. 188 00:13:59.879 --> 00:14:03.879 They funded Hamas who committed the October seventh attack, they 189 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:08.879 fund the Huthis who've been constantly harassing our shipping. It's bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, 190 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:15.279 always around, no question, really bad. They're a horrible country. 191 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:19.440 And I can see how tantalizing it is that with 192 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:23.919 a couple of air strikes Israel socked them much harder 193 00:14:23.960 --> 00:14:29.039 than I think even the Israelis might have expected. That 194 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:32.960 they killed basically most of their major military leadership, most 195 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:41.279 of their nuclear development leadership, and it seems like that 196 00:14:41.320 --> 00:14:44.759 Iotolo Komane's sort of isolated. He's eighty six years old. 197 00:14:46.519 --> 00:14:48.679 Maybe we're at the point where if we do one 198 00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:53.600 harder push, maybe we can take that old man out 199 00:14:54.879 --> 00:15:00.200 and allow something new to come in in Iran. If 200 00:15:00.200 --> 00:15:02.600 that's something new is going to be stable, then the 201 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:05.240 temptation's gonna be well. America needs to come in, help 202 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:08.440 us out and help stabilize things, help train our military, 203 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:11.679 and blah blah blah. Like I don't know, man, Like, 204 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:16.919 I understand how tantalizing it is if you could get 205 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:21.519 rid of the Ayatolas. But presumably whoever Comani's successor is 206 00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:23.440 is already ready to go. It's not just a thing 207 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:27.320 of killing an eighty six year old man. They have 208 00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:31.240 a whole kind of system in place over there, so 209 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:40.360 I'm and backed by support of the military. So now 210 00:15:40.440 --> 00:15:42.720 a lot of their senior military leadership is all dead. 211 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:49.399 I'm just saying, if you want to do regime change, 212 00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:54.159 Ted Cruz, you probably should have a sense of what Israel, 213 00:15:54.440 --> 00:15:56.879 of what the Iranian population is. You should have a 214 00:15:56.919 --> 00:15:59.120 sense of their ethnic background. You should have a sense 215 00:15:59.159 --> 00:16:03.159 of their cultural feelings about the shaw versus the current government. 216 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:06.679 Without just resorting to platitudes about all the noble Iranian 217 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:10.360 people chafe under the yoke of the audiotols do they do? 218 00:16:10.440 --> 00:16:12.519 They chase under the yoke? I feel like a lot 219 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:15.159 of them, what like the yoke? I think a lot 220 00:16:15.159 --> 00:16:19.759 of them are like, you know what, this yoke I'm yoking. 221 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:25.320 We're yoking it up under the iatolas just an ox 222 00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:31.240 feeling very comfortable with my yoke of Sharia Islamist lunacy. 223 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:34.639 A lot of people in the Middle East like that crap. 224 00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:37.200 They do. They vote for it when they get the 225 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:41.480 chance to, they overthrow the shot to get it. This 226 00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:44.679 country overthrew the show to get it. Do you think 227 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:48.360 they're less inclined that way after fifty years of indoctrination. 228 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:54.440 I don't know. I don't think so. It's not like 229 00:16:54.559 --> 00:16:57.679 the I mean, it's not like the education system was 230 00:16:57.799 --> 00:17:00.840 teaching kids the last fifty years. You know what, back 231 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:02.960 in the good old days of the Shah people, you know, 232 00:17:03.559 --> 00:17:06.880 people were able to buy cool Western clothes. Nobody was 233 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:09.759 raised that way for fifty years. You've got like three 234 00:17:09.799 --> 00:17:15.279 generations of people brought up for this form of government. 235 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:19.480 So I just don't believe this is like a country 236 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:25.279 ready for regime change. Now when we return, why I 237 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:27.720 feel like I kind of trust President Trump on this 238 00:17:28.279 --> 00:17:30.720 of all people. That's next on the John Girardi Show. 239 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:35.200 I think I really trust President Trump on all this 240 00:17:35.880 --> 00:17:44.039 with one caveat one caveat now jd Vance. Jd Vance, 241 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:47.480 being a millennial, is still willing to go on Twitter 242 00:17:47.640 --> 00:17:51.759 and debate with people and sort of defend the President's 243 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:54.240 position on a lot of this stuff, including on the 244 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:58.920 Run stuff, and he wrote that basically, Hey, President Trump's 245 00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:02.359 been really consistent out one not wanting to get America 246 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:07.400 involved into destructive wars in the Middle East. He's still 247 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:11.480 that guy. He's still consistent in that. But he's also 248 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:15.839 been very consistent that Iran kan't avenuke and if the 249 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:18.400 United States gets involved or doesn't get involved, I think 250 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:21.960 that President Trump deserves a level of grace and a 251 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:28.759 level of trust on this point, especially from conservatives. Okay, 252 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:33.359 I find that to be a fairly compelling argument. And 253 00:18:33.640 --> 00:18:39.039 oddly enough, as much as you know, I've been frustrated 254 00:18:39.079 --> 00:18:42.039 with Trump on certain things with social conservative issues and 255 00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:45.680 sometimes on you know, his postured during the campaign on 256 00:18:45.720 --> 00:18:49.279 abortion was I think frustrating. He's governed pretty pro life, 257 00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:52.519 but there's still some very significant things that I'm hoping 258 00:18:52.599 --> 00:18:55.079 he acts on, particularly with the abortion pill and things 259 00:18:55.079 --> 00:19:00.000 like that. Honestly, though, with foreign policy, I trust Trump 260 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:06.960 way more than I trust almost anybody else. I feel 261 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:11.200 like the foreign policy blob of experts have been wrong 262 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:17.480 about everything all the time, always. I feel like Trump 263 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:22.000 was the only the first Trump administration was like the 264 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:26.599 most successful foreign policy four years that we've had for 265 00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:34.759 a very long time. Started, no new wars, helped crush isis, 266 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:42.319 fostering good relations between Israel and various of its Arab neighbors, 267 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:47.880 thonging of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Israel signs treaty, 268 00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:52.640 you know, treaties with various other Middle Eastern countries, to 269 00:19:52.680 --> 00:19:56.000 exchange embassies and have international flights and trade agreements, the 270 00:19:56.039 --> 00:20:00.319 whole Abraham Accurts thing. Trump is wildly more successful, full 271 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:05.079 then all of these other people who have been in charge. 272 00:20:05.640 --> 00:20:09.519 So I'm very inclined to trust President Trump with all 273 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:13.240 of this, with only this caveat, With only this caveat. 274 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:15.599 One of the things Vance was saying was, you know, 275 00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:19.319 it's going to be up to President Trump whether to 276 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:25.880 engage in military strikes or whatnot. Blah blah blah. Eh. 277 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:31.440 This is a thing I've hated about military operations in general. 278 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:37.480 It's not really up to President Trump whether to engage 279 00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:44.880 in strikes. If America is getting attacked, yes, President Trump 280 00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:53.799 can defensively initiate things. But if we're talking about America 281 00:20:53.839 --> 00:21:02.039 offensively engaging in something has to be involved. Congress has 282 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:07.519 to be involved. The president is not unilaterally. Yes, once 283 00:21:07.559 --> 00:21:10.799 the military is engaged in something, the president has total 284 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:14.960 control over the conduct of the military. Once Congress declares war, 285 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:18.559 once Congress authorizes his use of military force, the president 286 00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:21.720 is in charge. The president is in charge of how 287 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:26.559 the military conducts itself in battle. One hundred percent totally agree, 288 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:33.000 no argument there. But the decision of going to war, 289 00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:40.000 Congress needs to be involved with that. Particularly the House. Okay, 290 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:43.880 the House, as the representative of the American people, as 291 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:49.599 the most directly proportional representative of the American population. The 292 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:54.079 House has been involved, is involved, is mandated to be 293 00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:57.519 involved in the text of the Constitution because it's the 294 00:21:57.519 --> 00:22:00.000 American people deciding are we going to put our life 295 00:22:00.279 --> 00:22:01.599 on the line, Are we going to put the lives 296 00:22:01.640 --> 00:22:05.359 of our sons on the line to fight for this 297 00:22:05.559 --> 00:22:11.279 or that cause. Why has the US not ever directly 298 00:22:11.319 --> 00:22:14.839 engaged in the Ukraine War because the American people don't 299 00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:17.680 want it. Congress is smart enough to realize that they 300 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:19.799 can't even put that to a vote. All of the 301 00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:23.400 foreign policy blob who would love for American time, treasure, 302 00:22:23.480 --> 00:22:26.400 and blood to be invested in the Ukraine Russian War, 303 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:29.200 they don't even dare say it because they know that 304 00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:32.480 the American people think it's nuts. They don't want American 305 00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:40.960 boys to die for the DNBAS. So now, maybe President 306 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:45.440 Trump can try to argue that he's got coverage for 307 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:51.640 using military force based on the two thousand and one 308 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:56.599 Congressional Authorization for military force that President Bush and President 309 00:22:56.599 --> 00:23:00.640 Obama and President Trump and all the present and since 310 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:08.559 have used for fighting terrorism in the Middle East. Maybe 311 00:23:08.599 --> 00:23:12.839 he still has that. I find that to be a 312 00:23:12.880 --> 00:23:19.599 big stretch personally. I'm just saying, if we're gonna get 313 00:23:19.640 --> 00:23:23.680 to the point of regime change, especially, we need another 314 00:23:23.720 --> 00:23:26.880 authorized use in military force. And the problem is they're 315 00:23:26.920 --> 00:23:30.359 not gonna get it. All these people who want to 316 00:23:30.359 --> 00:23:33.160 top of the Iranian government. I just don't think the 317 00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:38.079 American people want a regime change war, which necessarily will 318 00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:43.759 require investment of more American time and treasure time, treasure blood, 319 00:23:43.799 --> 00:23:48.599 and American troops. I don't think people want that. I 320 00:23:48.599 --> 00:23:51.920 don't think the American people are gonna sign up for that. Now, 321 00:23:52.359 --> 00:23:55.119 limited air strikes, you get authorized used for limited air 322 00:23:55.160 --> 00:23:59.759 strikes just to take out Iranian stuff, or even just 323 00:23:59.759 --> 00:24:03.880 get giving the Israelis some of the bunker buster bombs 324 00:24:03.880 --> 00:24:05.880 that they don't have that we have that they might 325 00:24:05.960 --> 00:24:09.519 need for finishing the job with some of Iran's nuclear facilities. Okay, 326 00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:13.160 the American people might like that, but I do think 327 00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:16.680 Congress needs to be somewhat involved to the extent that 328 00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:19.039 they legally need to be. When we return, we'll talk 329 00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:21.559 about Ukraine. What's happening there next on the John Gerardi Show. 330 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:28.440 The situation in Ukraine is getting worse and worse and 331 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:36.319 is deteriorating more and more. And there's now that there's 332 00:24:36.359 --> 00:24:40.680 more and more of a rift developing between the American 333 00:24:40.759 --> 00:24:43.799 foreign policy folks who really want more intervention in Ukraine 334 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:46.160 and those who don't. And the frustration on the part 335 00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:48.880 of those who want more intervention is why aren't we 336 00:24:49.319 --> 00:24:51.880 continuing to supply the Ukrainian Why aren't we giving them 337 00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:55.839 more aid? Why you know, Ukraine's gonna be suffer this 338 00:24:56.240 --> 00:25:00.599 terrible defeat and America's gonna look terrible. The reputation costs 339 00:25:00.599 --> 00:25:04.000 the United States is going to be terrible, to which 340 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:09.079 all the people who said maybe we shouldn't get involved 341 00:25:09.079 --> 00:25:13.319 in this are starting to very rightly say, I told yousel. 342 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:18.039 This piece by Michael Brennan Doherty in National Review has 343 00:25:18.039 --> 00:25:22.000 been one of the leading foreign policy talking heads against 344 00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:28.440 more American involvement in Ukraine. He writes this Three years ago. 345 00:25:29.319 --> 00:25:34.440 Daherty wrote this on how to Lose Big in Ukraine. 346 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:39.359 The mismatch is quite clear consistent with the theory that 347 00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:45.400 Russia ultimately cares more about this conflict. It is acting 348 00:25:45.480 --> 00:25:49.480 vigorously to achieve an acceptable end. Russia is acting chief 349 00:25:49.960 --> 00:25:53.839 vigorously to achieve an end that's acceptable to itself. Meanwhile, 350 00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:58.440 the United States, unable to rally the deep passions of 351 00:25:58.480 --> 00:26:02.039 the American people to take signs significant risks in this conflict, 352 00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:07.240 must satisfy itself with hoping that more of the same 353 00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:13.200 failed strategy will yield a marginally less humiliating outcome. Our 354 00:26:13.319 --> 00:26:16.319 policymakers in the executive branch and across the blob of 355 00:26:16.559 --> 00:26:21.000 NGOs are cut off from the people whom the constitution 356 00:26:21.240 --> 00:26:26.319 authorizes to declare war through their elective elected representatives. So basically, 357 00:26:26.359 --> 00:26:34.960 here's what Darty saying. In Russia, policy for their military 358 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:41.000 operations is vested pretty much totally in Vladimir Putin. Putin decides, 359 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:43.880 he completely controls the politics over there. He decides, and 360 00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:48.839 he desperately wants to get some kind of acceptable outcome 361 00:26:48.839 --> 00:26:51.200 in Ukraine. He wants some level of victory in Ukraine, 362 00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:54.319 whether even if it's not the total takeover of Ukraine, 363 00:26:55.119 --> 00:27:01.559 it's capturing a lot of it. And he seems still 364 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:05.279 aligned with the Russian people on wanting to achieve that goal. 365 00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:10.039 So that's really important to them. The Ukraine situations the 366 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:16.039 most important thing for the Russians right now. Well, Ukraine 367 00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:19.039 is just not that important to the decision makers on 368 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:26.119 war and peace in America, namely the American people. The 369 00:27:26.160 --> 00:27:31.079 American people, through their elected representatives in Congress, who authorize 370 00:27:31.079 --> 00:27:38.759 the President to engage in military conflicts, who through Congress 371 00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:44.559 declare war. They are not willing to take the same 372 00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:48.119 risks that the Russians are. They just don't care about 373 00:27:48.119 --> 00:27:51.039 it at the level that the Russians do, and the 374 00:27:51.079 --> 00:27:54.000 Foreign policy Blob can rant and rape, but it's so 375 00:27:54.160 --> 00:27:57.880 critically important. Okay, you think it's important the American people, don't, 376 00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:04.720 you know how? I know. We're not even close to 377 00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:11.039 thinking about proposing to Congress the idea of America declaring 378 00:28:11.079 --> 00:28:15.480 war on Russia over Ukraine. We're not close. We have 379 00:28:15.559 --> 00:28:18.599 debates in Congress about whether or not we will give 380 00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:23.519 the Ukrainians money, and half of half are a very 381 00:28:23.559 --> 00:28:30.920 sizable minority anyway of Congress, half approaching a majority says no, 382 00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:34.359 we don't want to give them more money, like we've given. 383 00:28:34.359 --> 00:28:36.079 How much are we going to give? What's the end 384 00:28:36.200 --> 00:28:41.160 goal here? We're ambivalent about giving the Ukrainians money as 385 00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:46.920 a country, and frankly, it's just not something the American 386 00:28:46.960 --> 00:28:49.440 people care about. The Foreign policy Blob can rant and 387 00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:52.000 rap about this all they want. The simple fact of 388 00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:55.440 the matter is it does not impact the United States 389 00:28:55.720 --> 00:28:59.240 one wit who controls the DNVAS region. It just doesn't. 390 00:29:00.119 --> 00:29:02.839 It does not impact the lives of a single person 391 00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:06.799 who lives in Oklahoma or Illinois, or Chicago or Los Angeles. 392 00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:13.839 It just doesn't. It does not change the price of fish. 393 00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:15.759 It does not change. The price of beef does not 394 00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:21.200 change the price of it. Just there are so many 395 00:29:21.319 --> 00:29:25.440 more issues that are so much more important to the 396 00:29:25.480 --> 00:29:29.200 American people right now. They just don't care about it 397 00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:34.319 to the level that the Foreign policy Blob wants. Hence, 398 00:29:34.359 --> 00:29:38.720 the American people are not willing to declare war. The 399 00:29:38.759 --> 00:29:42.519 American people are barely willing to fund the Ukrainians. So 400 00:29:42.839 --> 00:29:46.759 the idea that you're going to get mad that why 401 00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:48.880