WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.280 --> 00:00:03.759 Is Cuba about to launch three hundred attack drones against 2 00:00:03.759 --> 00:00:07.799 the United States. Ace Axios reporter Mark Kuputo broke the 3 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:09.960 big story, and he joins us at the top of 4 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:13.839 this hour to explain the threat from the communist dictatorship 5 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:17.839 just ninety miles away. Plus, Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massey has 6 00:00:17.879 --> 00:00:20.160 angered President Trump and is now in the fight for 7 00:00:20.199 --> 00:00:23.359 his political life. What is happening in the most expensive 8 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:26.800 Republican primary for Congress in history. We were on the 9 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:29.519 ground in the Bluegrass Straight state over the weekend. We 10 00:00:29.600 --> 00:00:32.799 have exclusive coverage from the very rally that had President 11 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:36.479 Trump doubling down on the race. Pollster Richard Barriss will 12 00:00:36.520 --> 00:00:38.759 stop by to break down all the numbers. It's all 13 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:40.520 next to the Matt Gates Show. Let's do this. 14 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:44.479 We're shaking up Washington, d C. We're breaking the fever. 15 00:00:45.240 --> 00:00:47.880 Do you haven't watch this guy on television. It's like 16 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:48.759 a machine. 17 00:00:49.320 --> 00:00:49.960 He's great. 18 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:52.320 Matt Gates. 19 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:57.560 As we join you this evening, Axios reports a chilling 20 00:00:57.560 --> 00:01:01.799 development just ninety miles south of Flora. US intelligence says 21 00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:06.159 Cuba has acquired more than three hundred military grade drones 22 00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:10.640 and has discussed using them against military assets in Guantanamo Bay, 23 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:14.959 against vessels in the Florida Straits, and possibly even against 24 00:01:15.079 --> 00:01:17.920 Key West. And before you go thinking Key West is 25 00:01:17.959 --> 00:01:21.359 a soft target, it is not. The eight square mile 26 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:25.400 island is home to two major military installations, Naval Air 27 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:28.680 Station Key West, which is home to some very combat 28 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:32.719 ready F eighteen super hornets, and Jaiadic South, which is 29 00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:36.519 a key intelligence and monitoring node for all kinds of 30 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:40.040 intere addictions throughout the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific. I've 31 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:43.920 been there and personally observed the mission. It is robust. 32 00:01:44.359 --> 00:01:47.359 Key West is not just some playground for fantasy fest 33 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:50.799 and vacation and gay people. It is a hardened US 34 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:54.760 military asset, and that really aligns with history. Key West 35 00:01:54.840 --> 00:01:58.200 was a key Union stronghold during the Civil War, and. 36 00:01:58.359 --> 00:01:59.799 There were a lot of Brits. 37 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:03.200 There during the Revolutionary War chasing down French pirates. Now, 38 00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:06.319 the drones at issue in this story reportedly came from 39 00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:11.199 Russia and Iran, two regimes already using drone warfare extensively 40 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:15.280 to menace US interests around the world. This is exactly 41 00:02:15.319 --> 00:02:17.560 the kind of threat that Trump administration has been warning 42 00:02:17.599 --> 00:02:22.719 about America's enemies no longer need expensive big aircraft carriers 43 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:26.159 or even fighter jets to threaten the homeland. They just 44 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:30.719 need cheap, attriatable drones, and hostile regimes would have a 45 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:34.199 potential launch pad close to our shores if Cuba allows 46 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:37.840 it now. CIA director John Ratcliffe traveled to Cuba last 47 00:02:37.879 --> 00:02:41.719 week and delivered a very direct warning the island cannot 48 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:45.199 be allowed to serve as a staging ground for America's 49 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:48.759 adversaries or the adversaries of peace in the Western Hemisphere. 50 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:52.120 Cuba is long believed to have been the exporter of 51 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:55.439 so much of the disruption that has seen the political 52 00:02:55.520 --> 00:03:01.360 left obtained some strongholds in places like Ecuador, Nicola, and Venezuela. 53 00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:05.280 Now we also expect action this week from the US 54 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:09.159 Department of Justice. The indictment of former Cuban leader Raoul 55 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:12.520 Castro is likely to be unsealed Wednesday. Raoul is the 56 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:16.520 brother of Fidel Castro and ordered the killing of the 57 00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:20.439 much famed Ermano cel Rascate or Brothers to the Rescue. 58 00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:24.360 These brothers were Cuban expats based in Miami. They would 59 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:28.280 deploy small boats and aircraft to rescue Cubans who were 60 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:32.919 fleeing the Communist dictatorship via the dangerous shark infested waters 61 00:03:32.919 --> 00:03:36.919 of the Florida Straits. The Brothers made hundreds of daring rescues, 62 00:03:37.159 --> 00:03:40.199 saving thousands of lives that otherwise would have been lost 63 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:43.560 to these torrent waters. They've long been rumored to have 64 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:46.719 been aided by the CIA during many of these missions, 65 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:50.120 and on February twenty fourth, nineteen ninety six, they were 66 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:54.479 shot down on the orders of the Castro Brothers. Justice 67 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:57.520 for the Brothers to the rescue could be coming this week. 68 00:03:57.960 --> 00:04:01.479 Secretary of Defense Pete Hegsath also so flagged the danger 69 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:06.439 of foreign powers operating high tech intelligence facilities so close 70 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:09.879 to the United States. That's the China play to buy 71 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:13.439 out old Russian assets that have been rusted out or 72 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:16.160 degrading in Cuba for the last two decades and then 73 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:20.839 convert them into highly capable, dual use military assets. Keep 74 00:04:20.839 --> 00:04:24.439 in mind, the United States tests most of our weapons 75 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:26.959 system that do air to air and air to land 76 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:29.920 over the Gulf of Mexico. When I was a Congressman 77 00:04:29.959 --> 00:04:33.120 for North Florida, I put hundreds of millions of dollars 78 00:04:33.160 --> 00:04:37.639 into developing test assets in the Gulf Test range, because 79 00:04:37.959 --> 00:04:40.439 that's a place typically where the United States had the 80 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:44.439 ability to do these sensitive military maneuvers without some foreign 81 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:48.519 power listening. Now, Cuba cannot be allowed to become China's 82 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:53.839 stationary aircraft carrier just ninety miles south of Florida. DoD 83 00:04:54.040 --> 00:04:57.360 officials say Cuba has been receiving drones from Russia and 84 00:04:57.399 --> 00:05:00.439 Iran since twenty twenty three, while Cuban personnel well have 85 00:05:00.519 --> 00:05:05.199 reportedly been fighting for Russia in Ukraine and learning drone 86 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:09.360 tactics on the battlefield. Reportedly, Russia is paying Cuba about 87 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:12.680 twenty five thousand dollars per Cuban that they produce for 88 00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:17.319 the meat grinder that is the Russia war against Ukraine. Meanwhile, 89 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:22.399 Iranian drone warfare has already damaged American bases and disrupted 90 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:24.199 shipping in the Middle East as a. 91 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:25.600 Consequence of that war. 92 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:28.399 So officials do not believe Cuba right now is preparing 93 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:32.240 some sort of offensive imminent attack. It's more likely that 94 00:05:32.279 --> 00:05:36.720 they're preparing a planned retaliation, but the threat here is 95 00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:42.279 no longer theoretical. A weak, collapsing Marxist regime backed by Russia, 96 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:47.399 Iran and China is now reportedly studying how to bring modern. 97 00:05:47.319 --> 00:05:51.319 Drone warfare to America's doorstep. Joining us now is the 98 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:52.439 man who broke the story. 99 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:55.959 White House correspondent and senior political reporter for Axios and 100 00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:59.040 well known member of the conc Republic, Mark Capudo. 101 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:01.240 MARKU identified three. 102 00:06:01.079 --> 00:06:04.399 Areas of potential Cuban drone strikes in your story of 103 00:06:04.439 --> 00:06:07.639 the Florida Straits, Key West and Guantanamo Bay. Do you 104 00:06:07.639 --> 00:06:10.759 have a sense from your discussions with administration officials which 105 00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:12.279 are more or less. 106 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:16.319 Likely the naval base on Guantanamo or the Guantanamo Baying 107 00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:19.720 naval based simply because it's on Cuba, it's also a 108 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:23.920 good military target for other military to strike. To be clear, 109 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:27.199 one of the reasons the United States has this concern 110 00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:29.800 is not only do they claim or say that this 111 00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:32.879 was picked up in the chatter, but a military base 112 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:35.879 or military basis in the Middle East had been struck 113 00:06:35.879 --> 00:06:38.279 by Iranian drones and they figured that this would be 114 00:06:38.279 --> 00:06:39.399 sort of a copycat attack. 115 00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:40.680 Mark. 116 00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:43.000 I read this piece and I got the sense that 117 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:46.800 it was an approved leak, Like I could just imagine 118 00:06:46.839 --> 00:06:49.720 President Trump being briefed on these three hundred drones being 119 00:06:49.720 --> 00:06:53.199 purchased and saying that he wanted to get that information out. 120 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:56.160 I know yours well sourced as anyone in the press 121 00:06:56.199 --> 00:06:58.560 corps when it comes to the Trump administration, But did 122 00:06:58.600 --> 00:07:01.079 you get this sense that there it was like approved 123 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:04.480 leak energy around your discussions, and if so, do you 124 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:08.639 think that signals forthcoming efforts for regime change in Cuba? 125 00:07:08.759 --> 00:07:11.040 I could certainly say that there were members of the 126 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:12.959 administration wanted to get this out, and that's why I 127 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:16.279 got out. As for just what regime change is going 128 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:17.839 to look like and when, I'm not sure, but it's 129 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:21.160 certainly part of a long standing pressure campaign. What I 130 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:23.519 don't know, and what we don't know, is did this 131 00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:26.600 information get out because the United States wants to use 132 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:29.480 this as a negotiating chip, a bargaining chip to try 133 00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:31.879 to get the Cubans at the table, or is this 134 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:34.839 just basically a pretext to go to war by the 135 00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:38.319 United States. Now I'm being waved off of the idea 136 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:40.439 that any of these strikes are imminent, or that any 137 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:43.959 military action by the United States is imminent. But nevertheless, 138 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:47.199 I've never seen this amount of hostility from the US 139 00:07:47.240 --> 00:07:50.279 toward Cuba or Cuba toward the US, and all my 140 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:51.199 years reporting on. 141 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:55.000 This, well, your story does link these Cuban drone purchases 142 00:07:55.079 --> 00:07:58.519 to what's happening more broadly in the Russia Ukraine War. 143 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:02.519 Walk us through what evidence you think establishes those connections 144 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:05.360 other than someone just asserting it. 145 00:08:05.480 --> 00:08:10.240 The ties to the Ukraine War is what the officials 146 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:12.759 had told us, which is essentially that not only have 147 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:19.199 the Iranians use drone technology and swarms of drones effectively 148 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:21.680 the Middle East, but there were as many as five 149 00:08:21.720 --> 00:08:25.399 thousand Cuban nationals, Cuban soldiers who had allegedly been drafted 150 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:28.160 by Putin into the war in Ukraine, and they came 151 00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:30.959 back to Cuba and said, Hey, these drones that Ukraine 152 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:34.559 is using against Cuba, or better said, Russia are being 153 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:39.360 used with devastating effect. These are things that Cuba should get. 154 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:42.440 The more important aspect I think of this is that 155 00:08:42.679 --> 00:08:45.480 there is just this paranoia and concern by the United 156 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:51.759 States that asymmetric warfare from these smaller armed forces can 157 00:08:51.919 --> 00:08:55.519 more effectively be waged with this technology, and the US 158 00:08:55.559 --> 00:08:59.200 military establishment is starting to grapple with what the meaning 159 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:01.639 of that is and how sort of the old way 160 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:06.559 of looking at warfare, including having established naval bases, can 161 00:09:06.600 --> 00:09:09.759 sometimes not just be a benefit to that bigger force, 162 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:12.519 but can be a liability when this sort of asymmetric 163 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:13.919 warfare can be waged. 164 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:18.320 We do have substantial military assets in the Florida Keys 165 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:21.720 at Guantanamo Bay. Did any of the officials you speak 166 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:25.360 with reflect to you that the force posture or force 167 00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:28.480 protection protocols would need to be changed as a result 168 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:29.480 of this emerging threat. 169 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:32.440 They didn't say that because they don't want to make 170 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:35.759 a look as you can imagine that the United States 171 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:39.039 is weak or feels weak, especially against an opponent such 172 00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:40.879 as Cuba. At the same time, they're sort of balancing 173 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:46.000 or balancing delicately on that high wire, which is at 174 00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:48.240 one time saying that this thing is a threat, but oh, 175 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:51.840 it's not imminent. The reality is, as the New York 176 00:09:51.879 --> 00:09:54.840 Post I think first coined the term the Don Road doctrine, 177 00:09:55.399 --> 00:09:59.559 is President Trump is keenly interested in force projection and 178 00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:04.440 project us power throughout the hemisphere, and in the perceptions 179 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:07.639 of Donald Trump and certainly a Secretary of State Mark Rubio, 180 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:12.320 the sort of hub of the large wheel of anti 181 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:17.000 American Marxism and leftism is Cuba. It is the sort 182 00:10:17.039 --> 00:10:20.440 of head of the snake, the center of those destabilizing efforts. 183 00:10:20.759 --> 00:10:22.679 And this has been a long time target in the 184 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:25.159 United States, but since nineteen fifty nine to get rid 185 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:28.399 of the Cuban regime there. And that's what makes Cuba 186 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:30.879 at this point such an inviting target as far as 187 00:10:30.919 --> 00:10:34.080 the United States is concerned, as well as a possible 188 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:38.000 one to sort of defeat through just slow, steady pressure. 189 00:10:38.120 --> 00:10:41.399 As more and more sanctions are piled on and Cuba 190 00:10:41.480 --> 00:10:44.240 runs out of fuel, it runs out of food, and 191 00:10:44.279 --> 00:10:46.639 it runs out of money to be able to purchase 192 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:47.480 the first two. 193 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:50.240 It almost seems like a buried lead that there are 194 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:52.759 five thousand Cubans fighting in the Russia Ukraine War. 195 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:54.480 I've studied that pretty closely. 196 00:10:54.519 --> 00:10:57.080 Like I'm sitting here thinking to myself, how did five 197 00:10:57.240 --> 00:11:01.519 thousand Cubans get into that theater without the United States knowing? 198 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:03.759 And if we knew that there were some major transport 199 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:06.240 planes bringing five thousand people into. 200 00:11:06.039 --> 00:11:08.519 That fight, why did we allow it? 201 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:11.519 Did it seem like that was maybe an unintentional part 202 00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:14.360 of this discussion you had with the ADMIN officials. 203 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:15.240 I don't know. 204 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:16.960 It certainly surprised me, That's why I put it in. 205 00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:20.159 And apparently the Cuban government had paid been paid as 206 00:11:20.200 --> 00:11:22.679 many as twenty five thousand dollars for each head there. 207 00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:27.480 I think Ukraine, or better said, Russia as also drafted 208 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:31.879 or paid mercenaries from North Korea as well. What's sort 209 00:11:31.879 --> 00:11:35.240 of surprising in this entire matter is just the number 210 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:40.000 of reported casualties from Russia that the United States is reporting. 211 00:11:40.039 --> 00:11:42.600 I think they claim it's upwards a five hundred thousand now, 212 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:45.080 which is just an astonishing amount. But as one of 213 00:11:45.080 --> 00:11:48.559 the officials from the United States have told us, as 214 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:52.200 part of this is it's not just Russia, it's also Iran. 215 00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:55.559 So not only is Cuba part of quote Putin's meat grinder, 216 00:11:55.799 --> 00:11:57.840 but they're also sort of in the orbit and the 217 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:01.799 sway of Iranian forces. And this is as these drones 218 00:12:01.879 --> 00:12:04.399 that Cuba has that the United States just doesn't want 219 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:04.679 to take. 220 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:08.759 Your story comes out, it gets international attention, and I 221 00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:12.759 just wonder if it was presented to you to coincide 222 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:16.960 with the expected unsealing of the indictment of Rabuel Castro 223 00:12:17.399 --> 00:12:20.159 this week. Of course, we expect him to that unseiling 224 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:24.000 to showcase an indictment for ordering the killing of Ramanald 225 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:25.960 Clroscate over the Florida Straits. 226 00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:27.600 Do you see these things as linked. 227 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:30.120 I mean, it's hard not to see them as linked. 228 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:33.159 In addition to that, we have the sanctions that, yeah, 229 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:36.000 we're talking about sort of the sexy or interesting stuff 230 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:41.000 of drones and the indictment of Raul Castro, but sort 231 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:45.240 of the real trouble that Cuba is experiencing from the 232 00:12:45.320 --> 00:12:48.519 United States is from the sanctions that have been slowly 233 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:52.600 imposed and the executive order that Donald Trump issued on 234 00:12:52.679 --> 00:12:55.200 May first. And I understand he issued on May first 235 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:58.279 for a reason because Marco Rubio, the child of the 236 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:02.240 Miami Cuban ex exile community, made sure that May Day, 237 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:05.679 the Communist Day, was interrupted by this sort of anti 238 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:09.519 Marxist messaging and executive order, and that has just made 239 00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:13.919 it very difficult for foreign companies to do business in Cuba. 240 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:16.440 You're seeing more and more of them leave, You're probably 241 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:18.440 going to see more and more of them slapped with 242 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:20.799 sanctions going forward, and you're just going to see more 243 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:22.159 and more of this pressure piled on. 244 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:25.240 Final question for you, you are very much a creature 245 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:26.440 of South Florida. 246 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:28.159 You have a home in the Keys. 247 00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:30.679 I can only imagine a lot of people, you know, 248 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:35.000 reached out to you following this big scoop that you published. 249 00:13:35.320 --> 00:13:38.080 How are people in the Keys and South Florida reacting 250 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:42.120 to thinking about Cuba as a potential threat in a 251 00:13:42.159 --> 00:13:43.639 way we haven't in decades. 252 00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:46.279 Well, you hit the nail on the head. For a 253 00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:48.960 long time, Key West has sort of been different from Miami, 254 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:51.039 and that Key West has always wanted this reproach mom 255 00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:53.600 with a Cuba sort of nose strings attached. Hey, let's 256 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:56.840 do business, were ninety miles away. Good times here are 257 00:13:57.240 --> 00:13:59.399 here again, That's what they've always wanted. But yes, I 258 00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:02.440 did feel few phone calls from friends and people on 259 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:05.399 the island, including US one Radio, to make sure that 260 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:06.679 they didn't have to duck and cover. 261 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:07.759 I told them no. 262 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:10.360 As the story had said, the United States doesn't believe 263 00:14:10.360 --> 00:14:13.240 there's any threat of an imminent attack, but nevertheless, the 264 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:13.840 threat is there. 265 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:16.519 According to the United States, if the attack is coming 266 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:18.720 for Key West, the first reporter who will know will 267 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:20.720 be Axios's own Mark Capudo. 268 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:23.399 Thank you so much as always for showing us. Thank 269 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:25.159 you man and coming out. 270 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:28.240 The race for Kentucky's fourth congressional district gets decided in 271 00:14:28.279 --> 00:14:31.840 an election tomorrow. It has already been a historic contest. 272 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:35.759 Never before in American political history has a Republican primary 273 00:14:35.799 --> 00:14:38.480 election costs so much We already know that more than 274 00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:41.320 twenty million dollars has been spent in this area. We 275 00:14:41.320 --> 00:14:44.159 were on the ground in Kentucky and have that exclusive 276 00:14:44.200 --> 00:14:44.799 reporting for you. 277 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:51.200 Next, for all of our viewers out there asking where 278 00:14:51.240 --> 00:14:53.600 to watch one American news, we'd like to introduce you 279 00:14:53.879 --> 00:14:56.639 to OAN Live. Oan Live is the best way to 280 00:14:56.679 --> 00:14:58.919 stay up to date on the hardest hitting news and 281 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:01.600 our talk shows. And the best part is oaan Live 282 00:15:01.720 --> 00:15:05.159 is only four ninety nine per month credible, honest and 283 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:07.240 unbiased reporting at a fraction of. 284 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:08.039 The cost of cable. 285 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:10.320 So just click on the link at the top of 286 00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:13.759 our homepage oann dot com to easily sign up for 287 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:16.960 the news and conservative talk you can't get anywhere else. 288 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:25.600 The much watched race for Kentucky's fourth congressional district gets 289 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:29.159 decided in an election tomorrow, and it has already been 290 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:33.879 a historic contest. Never before in American political history has 291 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:38.120 a Republican primary election to the House of Representatives costs 292 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:41.399 so much money. We already know of more than twenty 293 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:45.320 million dollars that's been spent in this rural, relatively poor 294 00:15:45.399 --> 00:15:49.159 Kentucky district, and estimates are once all expenditures are reported, 295 00:15:49.279 --> 00:15:52.399 we can be looking at more than thirty five million 296 00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:56.159 dollars spent when you combine both sides, regardless of who 297 00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:59.200 you support in the race. It is just an astonishing figure. 298 00:15:59.559 --> 00:16:01.200 Thirty five million dollars. 299 00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:04.039 Could you like buy all of Kentucky for that amount? 300 00:16:04.360 --> 00:16:06.559 I mean, just to put this into context, when I 301 00:16:06.679 --> 00:16:10.320 removed Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker, he was big mad 302 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:12.919 to say the least, and he was flushed with cash. 303 00:16:13.080 --> 00:16:16.240 Following his brief stint as Republican leader. He only spent 304 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:19.799 about four million dollars in a failed and quixotic attempt 305 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:23.279 to defeat me. So one would have to multiply Kevin 306 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:26.840 McCarthy's rage spending by a factor of five or six 307 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:29.200 times just to reach what we are seeing in Kentucky. 308 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:32.519 So the big question why is this happening? The incumbent 309 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:35.919 in the races, Congressman Thomas Massey. Massey was first selected 310 00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:38.639 in twenty twelve. His tenure has been defined by a 311 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:42.360 very strong libertarian streak, which has put him at odds 312 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:44.759 with many of his Republican colleagues and the leader of 313 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:49.399 the Republican Party, President Trump. President Trump has campaigned against 314 00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:52.320 Massey in this very district and has endorsed his opponent, 315 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:56.120 Ed Galleran. Massey hasn't just gotten on the wrong side 316 00:16:56.120 --> 00:16:59.000 of Trump, He's also angered a pack. It is a 317 00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:03.759 very strong lobby of Americans whose organizing principle is not 318 00:17:03.799 --> 00:17:07.920 the support of America, but Israel. Trump has painted Massy 319 00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:10.799 with some very blistering rhetoric and it has been a 320 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:14.519 pack in their aligned groups who have supplied historic funding 321 00:17:14.599 --> 00:17:17.000 in the effort to defeat Massy. It's a point that 322 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:19.599 Massy made light of at his recent rally that we 323 00:17:19.720 --> 00:17:21.720 covered in Florence, Kentucky on Saturday. 324 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:25.559 You know, just in case I lose, they gave me 325 00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:28.839 the number to call to concede. 326 00:17:28.680 --> 00:17:30.839 The area code is tel Aviv. 327 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:41.920 Though we traveled to Kentucky to get an inside look 328 00:17:41.960 --> 00:17:44.960 at this race, who is showing up and who's showing out, 329 00:17:45.079 --> 00:17:48.880 we also wanted to know how voters in Kentucky were 330 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:53.440 reacting to the deluge of advertising that accompanies these type 331 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:57.799 of cash dumps in in district advertising over politics, So 332 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:01.359 we caught up with Jeremy Todd he's with Independence Kentucky. 333 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:04.759 He can't even vote for or against Thomas Massey in 334 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:09.240 the Republican primary. Only Republicans will cast meaningful votes in 335 00:18:09.319 --> 00:18:13.599 that contest. For the sheer amount of spend motivated mister 336 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:16.799 Todd to reject what was being pushed by outside forces. 337 00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:21.400 We love Thomas Massey. He stands for liberty, freedom, and 338 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:22.920 we have to fight for him today. 339 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:23.960 The age gap. 340 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:28.920 Divide has really defined this race. The youth of America 341 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:33.039 wants Thomas Massey. It's all been grassroots all across the country. 342 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:36.759 Liberty lovers have supported him, and it's been unfortunately local 343 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:40.359 Fox News boomers who have been kind of duped by 344 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:42.799 the money that's trying to buy this race. I think 345 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:45.640 it sends a message that you cannot buy elections in 346 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:46.200 this country. 347 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:46.960 Well, you can't buy. 348 00:18:46.839 --> 00:18:49.599 All of them, at least right there is still a 349 00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:53.640 place for people who love freedom and they don't do 350 00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:55.519 what Mike Johnson tells him to do. They don't have 351 00:18:55.599 --> 00:18:57.440 to do what the president tells him to do. They 352 00:18:57.440 --> 00:18:58.640 stand for their punt. 353 00:18:58.680 --> 00:19:01.759 Massy's opponent in this race is not new to politics, 354 00:19:01.960 --> 00:19:05.400 enter Ed Galleran. He ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate 355 00:19:05.480 --> 00:19:09.759 last election cycle. But now he has the most powerful 356 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:13.960 and potent thing imaginable in a twenty twenty six Republican primary, 357 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:17.960 the endorsement of the most popular Republican on the planet, 358 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:20.480 Donald J. Trump, and he's running. 359 00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:24.480 Neck and neck with a fifteen year incumbent. That alone 360 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:26.240 is really newsworthy. 361 00:19:26.440 --> 00:19:29.920 Keep in mind, in this election cycle, the only Republican 362 00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:34.640 congressman who lost a primary was Tony Gonzalez, his legislative 363 00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:38.880 aid turned paramore tragically killed herself by lighting herself on fire. 364 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:42.519 We could obviously say those are unique circumstances, but no 365 00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:46.920 other Republican is lost in a primary other than Gonzales. 366 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:51.240 And here Massey is truly wired wire in the contest. Now, 367 00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:54.400 we wanted to learn more about Ed Galleran's campaign. Our 368 00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:57.519 network reached out to his team to request an interview. 369 00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:00.160 We did not hear back. So then we saw that 370 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:02.559 Ed Galleran was hosting a rally and we planned to 371 00:20:02.599 --> 00:20:06.039 attend that rally. It was abruptly canceled the day it 372 00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:09.400 was supposed to happen. Gallerin had hosted similar gatherings with 373 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:10.440 Kentucky voters. 374 00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:11.480 Here's how that went. 375 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:14.599 So you might guess I'm not sud urge about nothing, 376 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:15.640 you know in terms of that. 377 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:18.480 But you haven't abated them. 378 00:20:18.599 --> 00:20:20.319 I'm debating you might now you know you're not. 379 00:20:20.920 --> 00:20:25.000 You're not debating them. You're You're giving a bunch of platitudes. 380 00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:26.680 You're not explaining anything. 381 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:29.960 You've not gone Toed Tod with the Congressman. You're not 382 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:31.880 explaining your difference. 383 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:33.240 Is you're not doing anything. 384 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:37.200 You're You're just you're just you're like, you're. 385 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:40.200 Not explaining any differences. I just laid it all out 386 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:40.640 of young man. 387 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:41.640 It made no sense. 388 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:46.839 Ed Galleran did appear on the Dan Bongino Show. Here's 389 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:49.599 his pitch in the final moments of this campaign to voters. 390 00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:52.519 Now served its seven sealed teams and the units include 391 00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:55.920 twice the Siltem six for career spanning three decades. So 392 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:58.720 President asked me to meet with him on seventeen October 393 00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:02.559 and he basically made a challenge to me to serve 394 00:21:02.599 --> 00:21:05.119 my nation again. Lifetime member of the NRA Rifle and 395 00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:07.799 Pistol Instructor that I'm a fifth generation farmer. We've been 396 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:09.640 farming in Kentucky for over one hundred years. 397 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:13.680 Where do you stand on this? What frame the anchor 398 00:21:13.720 --> 00:21:14.400 baby problem. 399 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:16.720 We have to be very wary in this nation of 400 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:20.440 the intentions of our adversaries. It's a disruption operation to 401 00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:21.279