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Speaker 1: And we are back with another edition of the Federalist

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Radio Hour. I'm Matt Kittle's senior elections correspondent at the

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Federalist and your experienced Shirpa on today's quest for Knowledge.

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As always, you can email the show at radio at

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the Federalist dot com, follow us on x at fbr LST,

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make sure to subscribe wherever you download your podcast, and

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of course to the premium version of our website as well.

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Our guest today is Justin Folter, former senior advisor to

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, a guy who knows a

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thing or two about what is happening in terms of

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where this department is and where it plans to go. Well,

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thank you Justin for joining us on this edition of

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the Federalist Radio Hour. Thanks so much for having me

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you bet, let's begin. What is it like working at

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the new Department of War. Lots of changes going on

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there over the last year. And I know you worked

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there for for six months and until you moved on,

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But what was that experience like?

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Speaker 2: Work working alongside Secretary Hike Seth was an incredible experience.

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And yeah, over over the past year, we've seen tremendous changes.

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I think, you know, not only from you know, a

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cultural shift and getting back to you know, focusing on

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what matters, which is war fighting and being prepared you know,

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for war to ultimately you know, pursue the peace through

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strength agenda. But overall, I mean, on top of the

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cultural changes, I think we've just seen, you know, Secretary

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Hike Seth really move out quickly on trying to pursue

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you know, increased efficiency, you know, looking at how can

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we equip our war fighters with the equipment they need quickly,

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you know, not five or ten years late and over budget.

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And ultimately you know, it was an honor of a

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lifetime to support him, and of course you know, support

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President Trump's agenda. Yeah, you're right.

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Speaker 1: I mean what we have seen in the first year

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of what was known as the Department of Defense is

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a real shift and focus that is making sure that

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America is ready for and that's the best way many

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will argue to keep the peace. So that's the question

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I have for you, based on what you have seen

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and based on your contacts at the Department of War,

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are we prepared? Are we as prepared as we need

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to be?

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Speaker 2: Well? I think we've seen over the past year major

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systematic changes to realign our military and the War Department

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to focus on what actually matters, which is, you know,

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no more DEI, no more no more distractions, no more

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climate change, but instead focusing on the real issues that matter,

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which is making sure that the US military and the

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War Department is completely prepared for whatever contingency happens across

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the globe. And I think Secretary of head Seth, you

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know it deserves enormous credit for the work that he's

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done in changing the culture to shift, you know, from

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you know, perhaps an ambiguous mission set uh you know

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previously to now a very very clear, you know, mission

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focus and aligned organization that's focused on war. Hopefully we

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don't have to use it, but ultimately that's the only

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way that piece through strength, you know, can really be

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upheld is if our adversaries believe that we are truly

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prepared and equipped. And I think Secretary head Seth has

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done a phenomenal job of getting back to the basics,

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but back to the things that matter to prepare our

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war fighters in case in situation breaks out.

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Speaker 1: The Secretary has certainly excelled at ruffling the feathers of

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the establishment, deep within the military complex and deep within

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the military industrial complex. How is that going after a

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year on the front lines of that important battle.

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Speaker 2: Well, I think a lot of significant changes have been

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made in terms of you know, challenging the status quo.

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And you know, there's a lot of always a lot

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of complaints around you know, delivery times and you know,

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capabilities that are promised that may not be you know,

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fully lived up to what was shared. And I think

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Secretary Heseth and the team has done to the heart

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of the problem, which is holding you know, large organizations

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accountable but ultimately demanding excellence across you know, not just

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our war fighters, but across any contractor and defense industrial

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base that you know is serving the Department of War.

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I mean, he's for the past couple of weeks gone

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out on his Arsenal Freedom Tour, which I think is

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really focused on highlighting these issues you know firsthand, which

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is going around and of course there's there's great photo

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ops and there's great you know meetings happening and displays

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of you know, defense industrial based power, but also behind

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closed doors, you know, he is absolutely pursuing accountability to

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make sure that this defense industrial base is completely restarted,

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so that in the event you know that it's needed,

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all of the capabilities can be in the hands of

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war fighters very quickly.

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Speaker 1: You were a senior advisor there, let me ask you this,

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did you advise the Secretary on fat generals and whipping

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them back into shape? What area? What areas did you

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offer advice regarding our defense?

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Speaker 2: That was something he took on firsthand. And you know,

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the fitness standards and you know, making sure that you know,

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everybody's held to the same same standard of excellence. You know,

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it's something he took on firsthand. One of the areas

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that I had the you know, the opportunity of serving

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was really looking at this defense industrial based challenge as

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well as you know, how can the Pentagon very quickly

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adopt new technologies, so for example, things like the drone

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dominance initiative where you know, there was a huge shift

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in war fighting that we've seen in Ukraine where you

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know now you have very you know, cheap, attriadable systems

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that are changing on almost a weekly or monthly basis,

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and so really looking at how can you know the

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Department of War actually feel these capabilities very quickly and

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instead of taking you know, one to two years to

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procure a system, how can we do this you know,

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in a matter of weeks, And so, you know, really

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looking at at those sorts of issues of you know,

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the defense industrial base, supply chain, procurement challenges, and looking

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at how can we shift the Department of War to

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acquire these capabilities quicker, but also how can we look at,

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you know, perhaps some of the new innovative, up and

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coming technology and instead of just you know, awarding contracts,

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you know, to the large defense primes, how can we

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bring in the latest and greatest technology to the War

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Department to really give our warfighters and our troops the

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absolute best technology and capabilities they need to win if

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they're called upon.

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Speaker 1: Well, we know that Donald Trump is a builder. He's

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been a builder all of his life, and so it's

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no surprise that he wants to build up this military.

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You look at what's happening, particularly in the Navy and

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what we're seeing, as you just mentioned in the air

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force and air warfare and air to ground of warfare

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as well. How deficient was this military to the best

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of your knowledge coming in from four years of the

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Biden administration.

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Speaker 2: Well, I witnessed it firsthand when we when we came

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in into office and you know, we're really assessing. One

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of the first things we did was assess, you know,

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where things stood, so we could take an honest, you know,

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gap analysis of you know, where things were strong or

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maybe areas that were neglected. And unfortunately, we found you know,

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many areas including you know, the defense industrial base as

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well as like critical and emerging technologies that were unfortunately

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in many cases completely ignored under the previous administration. And

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so one of the first things we did was, you know,

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a Secretary head seth asked us to do, is to

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do an honest assessment of where those gaps are so

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we could just face it head on. And we knew

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that there was going to be, you know, some big

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challenges considering the previous administration just underinvested in some of

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these areas, and we just wanted to understand where things

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were so that we could get after it and really

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try to make the department, you know, significantly better. We

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had a lot of catching up to do after four

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years of neglect, but ultimately, I think what we've seen

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in the past year is a complete one eighty in

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terms of you know, not only just a huge cultural shift,

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but actually you know, turning that talk and cultural shift

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into real action.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I would assume that this is a department

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that is committed to not giving up billions of dollars

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in military equipment to the Taliban. So that's that's a

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good first step beyond the Biden administration. You also worked

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at the DOGE in the Department of Government Efficiency, and

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you did some work at the Pentagon. How much waste

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were we seeing? And waste is always a problem throughout

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big government, and we have massive amounts of it. One

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of the biggest areas of waste we've seen over the years,

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of course, has been at the Pentagon. What what did

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you find there with your work with DOGE.

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Speaker 2: Well, I think, you know, the Pentagon was a target

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rich environment for waste, fraud and abuse unfortunately, and so

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you know, we saw a huge amount of waste that

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you know, we were able to get after. But I think,

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you know, waste could be defined in two primary categories.

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You know. The first one is you know, companies that

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are just completely overcharging the government. You know, in some cases,

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you know, ten to twenty x what they're they're selling,

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you know, to the private sector. But then the other

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I think more nefarious waste that we witnessed was the

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delays on delivery. I mean, there are companies that you know,

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were five, seven, ten years behind on delivering capabilities. And

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when you see this, it's not just you know, the

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dollars that are being wasted, but it's also the opportunity

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cost of not getting you know, the technology and the

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capabilities that we need for our warfighters to have so

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that they're best equipped, you know, to go out and

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win the fight. And so you know, for us, we

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really divided it into those two categories of looking at

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like where is you know, kind of the raw waste,

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frad and abuse happening, but then also trying to you know,

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flag areas where programs were significantly delayed and behind schedule

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and flagging those for Secretary Hegseeth so that you know,

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he and the team could ultimately engage there and look

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at holding these companies accountable. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I grew up in Wisconsin, and I can tell

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you that when I was a kid, seemingly three centuries

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ago now, when I was a kid back in the

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seventies and eighties, there was a politician there by the

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name of William Procksmeyer and William Proxmyer had what was

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called the Golden Fleece Award, and he was maybe the

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last Democrat who concerned himself with waste, fraud and abuse,

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but he really was had a sharp eye on this stuff,

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and he would talk about constantly, you know, the golden

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hammer in the military, or the you know, the thousand

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dollars toilet seat, just as you mentioned just the the overcharging.

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Why do you think that is why when we have

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nationally so much respect for our military, for the service members,

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yet so many companies out there don't have respect for

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the American tax payer paying for these service members and

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what they do.

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Speaker 2: Right, And I think, you know, that's something where you know,

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for years and especially you know, in the four years

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before the second Trump administration, it was absolutely clear that

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these companies became extremely complacent because there was no accountability.

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They could essentially get away with charging the government, you know,

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almost anything they wanted, and they could also completely disregard

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any sort of you know, deadlines. And that's not to

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say that you know, this is every single company that

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was serving the Department, but this happened with billions and

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billions of dollars a year being wasted and so I

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think you know what Prashmaier was getting at is is

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spot on, which is you know, government waste, fraud and abuse.

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I mean, they're not partisan problems. These are depending on

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it has been plagued by these for a long time

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and in many ways they're institutional. And I think ultimately

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where Secretary Hegseth deserves immense credit is for you know,

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taking this on firsthand and actually you know, holding these

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companies accountable, which with all the vested interests in Washington,

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it's incredibly difficult to do because you know, of all

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the different labs dollars in Congress and so many you know,

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vested interests that you know are incentivized to keep this waste,

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fraud and abuse in place. So I'm a mental respect

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for Sectary Hike Seth taking that on firsthand, and I

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think he deserves a tremendous amount of credit.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I hope that that success continues moving forward, because

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you know, as I said, this thing has been going

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on for a long time. I mean Simon Cameron, who

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is Secretary of War during the Lincoln administration, you know,

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was caught up in all kinds of graft and all

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kinds of abuses and fraud, and you know, shoes falling

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apart for union soldiers on the front lines because they

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had contractors who absolutely took advantage of the situation. And

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again that goes on yet today and it sounds like

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the Department of War is is really looking into and

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addressing some of those larger areas. Now, let's talk a

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little bit about the politics of this all. And I

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know that Secretary Hegseth is not one to tolerate a

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lot of politics in the Pentagon. That said, nothing is

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in a vacuum. And what he does and what that

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department does is constantly being scrutinized by the media, generally

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the accomplice media harshly and of course their friends in

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the Democrat Party. There have been some bumps and bruises

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along the way. I mean the signal gate, there was

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no picnic, and there were clearly some problems there, particularly

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letting someone from the Atlantic in on something like that,

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let alone, you know, anybody, you know. But there has

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been a drive and there certainly was early on before

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confirmation of Pete Hexseth, and then after confirmation to just

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destroy this guy. I mean that the full fire of

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the Democrat machine and the uh, the corporate media machine

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was on taking this guy out. He has admirably survived

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and thrived. All of that is the is is he

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still dealing with the kind of uh you know, uh

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fire that that he has he had seen earlier and

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we just were just not necessarily seeing that in the

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news today.

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Speaker 2: Well, I think you know, certainly the media has has

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not let up in any ways, you know, towards Secretary

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Hike Seth. But I will say I think they've realized that,

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you know, his tenacity and focus. It's it's it's almost

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wasted energy to try to go after him. I mean

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they put every single, you know effort they could in

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the early days of the administration to just do whatever

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they could to try to discredit and frankly try to

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push them out of his positions as Secretary of War.

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And I think you know, ultimately, you know, he persevered

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through that. And you know, there's any department is never perfect.

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But I think you know, despite the immense pressure, he's

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handled this situation extremely well. And I mean everything from

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you know, Operation Midnight Hammer to you know, the Madurero raid.

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I mean, this just goes to show that you know,

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despite you know, nothing happening in a vacuum, his resolve

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has resonated, you know, across the ADMIN and frankly across

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the world. With the effects that the Department of War

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have made.

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Speaker 1: We hear a lot, especially online, about conservatives attacking other conservatives.

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Sometimes it even seems like conservatives they're fighting each other

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more than they fight the left. That's where the new

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podcast Conservative Crossroads with Henry Olsen, Senior Fellow at the

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Ethics and Public Policy Center comes in. It doesn't shy

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away from these disputes. It leans into them by putting

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two conservatives who disagree about an important issue together to

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hash it out on the air. Every other week, Conservative

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Crossroads does what no other program does explore conservatisms disagreements

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00:18:29,279 --> 00:18:34,680
without name calling. Conservative Crossroads is the podcast for conservatives

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who want to understand what's happening to their movement. Join

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00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:43,000
Henry Olsen and his guest at Conservative Crossroads every other

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Monday as they hash out the ideas and principles that

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will decide the future of the right. Download Conservative Crossroads

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from our partner Ricochet or any platform where you get

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00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:59,240
your podcast. Conservatism is at a crossroads, which is why

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all conservs it's need conservative crossroads listen today, Yeah, no

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doubt about it. I mean at every turn you have

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seen you know, the narrative from the left and from

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the accomplice media on this constantly training the fire on

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heg Seth. But just about every turn we find out,

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not surprisingly that you know, it is a narrative. There

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isn't fact behind a lot of this stuff, and it

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is just simply trying to you know, erode the Trump administration.

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And that's been the campaign since the first Trump administration

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and that resistance movement, if you will, goes on, how

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does he handle that pressure? You've been in the room

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with him, how does he handle all of that?

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Speaker 2: Well? I think you know, ultimately he handles it extremely well.

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He's he's focused on on the mission and the why,

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you know ultimately, but you know, ultimately the mission is

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what you know, allows him to transcend these distractions and

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that's what they are. I mean, the media has constantly

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berated Secretary head Seth. You know, even even in some

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of the most positive, you know, successful missions like Operation

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Midnight Hammer. You know, within hours of announcing the strikes,

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you know, the corporate media machine had completely you know,

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tried to discredit every single step along the way of

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a successful operation. And so, you know, it's it's kind

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of sad to say, but you know, he could he

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could literally do anything and then get criticized. And that's

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you know, ultimately, I think it speaks to his character

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of of really having that resolve under pressure and being

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able to you know, maintain the focus on the mission

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despite you know, the public narrative from corporate media just

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absolutely being against him every step of the way.

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Speaker 1: I think it's a reflection of how they feel about

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his boss, obviously, the commander in chief, President of the

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United States, Donald Trump. I mean we've said it before.

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Trump could literally cure cancer, and you would have the

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corporate media and the leftist saying, well, he wasn't equitable

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about whatever their excuse is, they would find some way

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to vilify him for that. And I think Hegxeth, you know,

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fits into that, not just because you know, he serves

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President Donald Trump, but because he also has many of

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the you know, the same fighting instincts to go up

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against corporate media, to go up against these allegations and

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charges in the narrative, and I think that's why he

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has based on the people. I'm other folks. I'm talking

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to Pentagon sources and others who are are close to them.

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He's had a great deal of success working with the

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most important people, and that's the front line people, you know,

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the people, the soldiers, the troops, the sailors, the pilots.

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You know, that's who he's really reached. Is that what

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you have seen as well? I've seen it firsthand. I

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Mean there's one one event stands out, you know, very clearly,

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when when we visit a womb and you know, we

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roll up to this aircraft hangar and you know, there's

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hundreds of you know, our men and women in uniform

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there and and I mean they're extremely excited when he

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walks up on the stage.

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Speaker 2: They're cheering, they're incredibly fired up. And it's just so

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clear that there's been one hundred and eighty degree cultural

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shift in terms of actually serving the people that matter,

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not corporate interest, but you know, our men and women

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in uniform. And I think Secretary hag Seth made that,

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you know, his top priority and a core part of

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his ethos for anything that he did. And I think

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the troops, you know, certainly recognize that, and I think

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you know he's seen the most success there, which in

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my opinion is, you know, very clearly the most important

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constituent that.

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Speaker 1: Matters our guest today is Justin Fulcher, former Senior advisor

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to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, joining us on this

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edition the Federalist Radio Hour. Let's talk about some of

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those campaigns, the use of that Department of War, I believe,

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and correct me if I'm wrong. You were there when

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the call came to target those those bunkers with those

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bunker busting bombs in Iran. Can you give us a

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sense of what that was like, because that was a

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huge decision and a huge moment for this Department for

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foreign policy for this country.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and I think you know it was definitely a humbling,

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humbling moment. And you know, any any use of force

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or contemplation of use of force is something that you know,

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both the President's Secretary heg Seth and and every single

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person I interacted with at the Department of War, you know,

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took extremely seriously. And you know, Iran was a situation

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where you know, President Trump made the consequences very clear

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that if they don't abandon their nuclear program, that there

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would be consequences, and I think you know, ultimately, in

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the in the days and weeks leading up to that,

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you know, a lot of different options were of course,

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you know, reviewed and and you know, Secretary of hag

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Seth's first priority was how can we you know, execute

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any sort of operation that you know would minimize the

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potential you know, placing of troops in harm's way and

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of course you know, not trying to get entangled in

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any sort of forever war in the region. And I think,

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you know, ultimately the decision that was made, you know,

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for the precision you know strikes and the and the

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B two bombing of the facilities you know, of course,

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was flawlessly executed, and all credit goes you know, to

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the minimum in uniform that you know executed that and

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supported it. But ultimately, you know, I think it was

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the just the resolve of secondary head Seth and the

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President of being willing to make those tough calls and ultimately,

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you know, back up words with action when necessary.

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Speaker 1: And of course they were roundly criticized by their opponents

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on the left, who of course see Donald Trump as

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more of a threat to democracy then you know, the

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the despotic regime in Iran. But here we are, and

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that's the state of American politics to day. One of

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the narratives surrounding that event, the bombings at the time,

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was well, yeah, they may have gotten in there, they

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may have dropped those bombs, but Iran still has the

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potential to move forward on their nuclear weaponry now. And

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I remember, this is the same group that told you

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that Iran was not and would not thanks to the

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agreement the Obama and Biden administration signed with the help

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of palettes of cash, that they weren't moving toward nuclear weaponry.

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It was all for peaceful use. But you were there,

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Can you give us a sense of what went down

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in terms of the destruction? And it's clear now that

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the original narrative from the left wasn't correct. But how

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much damage did this military exert.

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Speaker 2: It was an incredibly successful series of strikes that caused

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enormous damage. And I think what was so fascinating, you know,

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to witness, you know, on the inside, was you know,

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we of course you know, had had very you know,

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inside information of exactly you know, the situation. The best

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we could, you know, with all the different tools of

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American power. But within literally minutes of the strikes being announced,

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you had mainstream media interests already calling out and saying

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the strikes were unsuccessful. We're basically trying to prop up

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this counter narrative that it was a complete failure. And

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so for us, it was just so fascinating to see,

428
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you know, the juxtaposition between what we witness firsthand being

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incredibly successful strikes and you know, complete destruction of the

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ability for Iran, you know, to pursue these nuclear capabilities

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in those facilities. But then, you know, minutes and hours

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after the strikes were announced, the media saying there were

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complete failures or you know, in many ways, you know, unsuccessful.

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So that was shocking to witness firsthand, but ultimately, you know, unsurprising.

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Like you mentioned before, you know, President Trump could have

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cured cancer and they'd still find a way to vilify. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: I wish the American voter, the American consumer of information,

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quite frankly, didn't have the attention span of a gnat,

439
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because that's really I mean, you know, every time you

440
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see the corporate media take this path, and we've seen

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it over and over again, the Russia collusion hoax, you know,

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the Arctic Fox, all of this sort of stuff. You know,

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it's just been one lie after another, and the the

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corporate media have just continued to serve as the water

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carriers of the left in a campaign to degrade the

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administration of Donald Trump. And so I just you know,

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that was a huge issue where the American public was like, Okay, yeah,

448
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we are getting the wrong story, the incorrect, the false,

449
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the lying story from corporate media. It's just one of

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the myriad examples. But they don't remember that when, for instance,

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we're taking a look at the ice issue in Minneapolis,

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or you know, myriad other issues that come up to

453
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I want to jump forward now several months. What where

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do you think we are heading with the Iran question?

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Given the massive protests from pro democracy forces inside Iran,

456
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will will there be US military engagement there? In your estimation?

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Speaker 2: Well, I think you know, the most important thing to

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understand about Iran right now is that this is a

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deliberate test of deterrence. You know, President Trump has been

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extremely clear about the outcome he wants, which is no

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nuclear weapons and an end to the regime killing its

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own people. And while he's not broadcasting you know, timelines

463
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or doing any sort of negotiating, you know, through the press.

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He has delivered that message very clearly to Tehran, and

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the Iranian regime knows the terms and what's at stake,

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and I think, you know, they'd be wise to heed

467
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his words, considering, you know, the successful Operation Midnight Hammer,

468
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you know, months back. But ultimately, I think you know,

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despite you know, naval posturing and developments and deployments in

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the region, I think that you know, force may or

471
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may not be necessary here because the Iranian regime knows

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that when President Trump speaks, he means what he says,

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and he's prepared to back it up with force if

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the situation requires it.

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Speaker 1: Indeed, speaking of that, were you at all surprised by

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the Marxist left in US politics seemingly coming to the

477
00:31:13,039 --> 00:31:18,599
aid the defense of Nicholas Maduro in Venezuela with that

478
00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:23,559
amazing operation that went down. I mean, we will be

479
00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:27,559
talking about this for many, many years to come, but

480
00:31:28,559 --> 00:31:33,200
it was it was incredible, not only to see how

481
00:31:33,279 --> 00:31:38,359
that happened, Maduro in handcuffs in the in US custody,

482
00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:45,079
but then the immediate response from the Alexandria Ocasio Corteses

483
00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:49,880
of the world, the real Marxist about Nicholas Maduro's due

484
00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:54,359
process rights and all of these sorts of things. I

485
00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:57,839
can't say I'm surprised. I mean, despite the fact that

486
00:31:58,039 --> 00:32:00,640
you know, we witnessed, you know, arguably one of the

487
00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:06,079
most effective and impressive, you know, joint operations in modern history,

488
00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:09,680
every by every standard, it seems to me, with the

489
00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:13,440
people I've talked to and you know, and reading the accounts,

490
00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,160
this was precision at its finest.

491
00:32:17,079 --> 00:32:19,799
Speaker 2: Oh absolutely, And I mean, you know, just what's been

492
00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:23,519
released to the public, I think there's no other response

493
00:32:23,559 --> 00:32:27,599
than to be impressed with our military's capabilities. And you know,

494
00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:29,799
it's I think it's frustrating for many folks on the

495
00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:34,000
left because of how effective these operations are, and so

496
00:32:34,359 --> 00:32:36,720
their natural response is just to look for any sort

497
00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:40,079
of way to tear it down. I mean, Maduro was

498
00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:44,200
captured alive. I mean, how impressive is that. And when

499
00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:47,319
you talk about due process rights, I mean, he's getting

500
00:32:47,319 --> 00:32:50,559
his day in court, he is getting due process rights.

501
00:32:50,799 --> 00:32:52,519
But at the end of the day, I mean the

502
00:32:52,799 --> 00:32:56,119
US military, under the leadership of Secretary HeiG Seth and

503
00:32:56,160 --> 00:33:00,839
President Trump, I mean, deserve enormous credit for that. Effective

504
00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:02,160
operation in Venezuela.

505
00:33:02,559 --> 00:33:05,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, that made the Noriega operation in eighty nine look

506
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:08,920
like a piker. I mean, it really had to wait

507
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:13,720
that cat out, you know, that massive drug lord. They

508
00:33:13,759 --> 00:33:16,839
had to wait him out, you know, in Panama. And

509
00:33:17,519 --> 00:33:21,599
apparently they were playing really bad pop hits that drove

510
00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:24,680
him out of his his little asylum over there. But

511
00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:31,000
this was in out, you know, and mission truly accomplished

512
00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:34,480
on this front. We'll see what lies ahead. And that's

513
00:33:34,480 --> 00:33:37,240
the question, what do you think comes next? Is a

514
00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:40,519
lot of talk about Venezuela oil opening up those markets there.

515
00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:44,480
You know, it's obviously the reality of the damage that

516
00:33:44,559 --> 00:33:49,160
has been done there over the years, the collapse of

517
00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:53,400
that country and its wealth, the rebuilding of it the

518
00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:59,079
next you know, administration in there, if you will, for

519
00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:01,759
for Venice Wheel. Where where does this all go from here?

520
00:34:01,799 --> 00:34:03,799
Do you think? Well?

521
00:34:03,799 --> 00:34:06,599
Speaker 2: I think we're we're starting to see that play out

522
00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:10,159
right now, which is you know that the oil, Venezuelan

523
00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:13,320
oil finally being able to be sold, you know, on

524
00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:16,280
the free market. I think we'll have verberating effects. I

525
00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:20,840
think it has effects even now on on Russia joining

526
00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:23,920
the peace talks in Abu Dhabi of you know, now

527
00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:28,280
facing even stronger economic pressure, and so ultimately, I think,

528
00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:31,599
you know, the President Trump has made it clear that,

529
00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:36,559
you know, prosperity in Venezuela is an option, you know,

530
00:34:36,679 --> 00:34:40,280
if free and fair elections are are able to happen.

531
00:34:40,599 --> 00:34:43,239
And I think that the current you know, interim government

532
00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:47,960
there is wise to you know, collaborate and cooperate with

533
00:34:48,039 --> 00:34:51,480
the Trump administration to help ensure that that that happens.

534
00:34:51,639 --> 00:34:56,760
And ultimately, you know, revitalizing the Venezuelan economy, you know,

535
00:34:56,840 --> 00:34:59,199
from from what it was under Maduro to what it

536
00:34:59,199 --> 00:35:01,000
looks like in the future. Sure, I think, will you know,

537
00:35:01,079 --> 00:35:05,039
not only benefit an enormous amount of folks in Venezuela,

538
00:35:05,119 --> 00:35:07,760
but the entire region and the United States.

539
00:35:10,519 --> 00:35:13,559
Speaker 3: How does consumer confidence fall into the lowest level in

540
00:35:13,679 --> 00:35:16,239
over a decade. The watch dout own Wall Street podcast

541
00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:19,239
with Chris Markowski. Every day Chris helps unpack the connection

542
00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:22,119
between politics and the economy and how it affects your wallet.

543
00:35:22,119 --> 00:35:25,079
The media income is eighty four thousand dollars, but people

544
00:35:25,119 --> 00:35:27,519
feel like they need one hundred and thirty thousand just

545
00:35:27,559 --> 00:35:30,199
to feel like they're getting ahead. Until housing and insurance

546
00:35:30,239 --> 00:35:32,239
costs go down. Will it be more of the same.

547
00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:34,360
Whether it's happening in DC or down on Wall Street,

548
00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:35,599
it's affecting you financially.

549
00:35:35,679 --> 00:35:36,199
Speaker 1: Be informed.

550
00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:38,119
Speaker 3: Check out the Watch Doot on Wall Street podcast with

551
00:35:38,199 --> 00:35:41,880
Chris Markowski on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

552
00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:48,159
Speaker 1: Something tells me, and you never know with human beings,

553
00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:57,480
and you know their repensity to repeat history, but something

554
00:35:57,559 --> 00:36:03,440
tells me that the people who originally supported, maybe voted

555
00:36:03,519 --> 00:36:08,440
for Marxist in that country many years ago will not

556
00:36:08,679 --> 00:36:12,440
go that way again. They have learned some very powerful

557
00:36:12,559 --> 00:36:16,159
lessons that unfortunately members of the left in this country

558
00:36:16,159 --> 00:36:20,719
who are fleeing California and Oregon and Illinois and New

559
00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:23,480
York they haven't learned. In fact, they just end up

560
00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:30,199
taking their miserable policies and support for those miserable policies

561
00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:36,760
with them. You mentioned the Kremlin. What do you think

562
00:36:37,039 --> 00:36:42,400
that very successful mission in capturing Nicholas Maduro did for

563
00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:48,639
the situation in Ukraine, the ongoing, the never ending war

564
00:36:49,039 --> 00:36:53,599
between Russia and Ukraine. Did that send a message to

565
00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:57,960
Vladimir Putin that this is a country that means what

566
00:36:58,039 --> 00:36:58,519
it says.

567
00:37:00,039 --> 00:37:03,039
Speaker 2: Absolutely. I think it's been a very clear and strong

568
00:37:03,119 --> 00:37:06,519
message to every country around the globe. And I think,

569
00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:10,920
you know, as as countries like Venezuela, who you know,

570
00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:15,159
are historically aligned with Russia and China, they need to

571
00:37:15,159 --> 00:37:20,960
realize that, you know, they they don't necessarily have any

572
00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:24,320
sort of assurance or guarantee just because you know, Russia

573
00:37:24,719 --> 00:37:28,079
or China is promising them, you know, defense aid. I mean,

574
00:37:28,079 --> 00:37:31,119
the United States operation of Venezuela, you know, showed that,

575
00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:35,320
you know, frankly, no one is immune from US military power.

576
00:37:35,679 --> 00:37:37,719
And I think it really will cause a change in

577
00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:41,199
the calculus. And ultimately, I think why, you know, butin

578
00:37:41,239 --> 00:37:44,039
and the Kremlin have decided that it's best to come

579
00:37:44,039 --> 00:37:46,719
to the table in Abu Dhabi and actually have a

580
00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:49,639
trilateral discussion. Now the outcome of that, you know, is

581
00:37:49,679 --> 00:37:52,519
still to be determined, it's ongoing right now, but I

582
00:37:52,519 --> 00:37:56,079
think ultimately them being at the table is a signal

583
00:37:56,519 --> 00:37:58,599
that that calculus has changed.

584
00:37:58,920 --> 00:38:01,880
Speaker 1: Tough question for you, but you know, you know, people

585
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:05,000
in the know, do you think this war ends this year?

586
00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:10,559
Speaker 2: I think that there are a variety of factors that

587
00:38:10,599 --> 00:38:14,000
are underway now, you know, both you know, economically, but

588
00:38:14,119 --> 00:38:18,280
also just the attrition factor of this war that is

589
00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:21,559
really weighing on you know, of course the Ukrainian people,

590
00:38:21,639 --> 00:38:24,800
but but especially in Russia. And I think these trilateral

591
00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:28,360
talks in Abu Dhabi, you know, show that you know,

592
00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:32,280
people are getting you know, fatigued and beyond fatigue in

593
00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:35,559
many ways. And ultimately, I think, you know, we we

594
00:38:35,599 --> 00:38:38,239
do see a lot of conditions aligning to where this

595
00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:41,639
could get resolved, you know, in the coming months. So

596
00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:43,639
there's there's a lot of factors at play here. And

597
00:38:43,679 --> 00:38:46,719
of course, you know, when dealing with with actors like

598
00:38:46,719 --> 00:38:50,199
like Putin, the enemy does get a vote here. But

599
00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:53,719
I think ultimately there's a lot of converging factors that

600
00:38:54,280 --> 00:38:57,800
suggest that this is getting wrapped up, you know, hopefully,

601
00:38:58,039 --> 00:38:59,559
you know, much sooner than later.

602
00:39:00,079 --> 00:39:03,719
Speaker 1: So many people have so senselessly died, of course, and

603
00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:07,880
that's what we've seen in so many wars in world history.

604
00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:12,199
This isn't any exception to the rule. Here just a

605
00:39:12,199 --> 00:39:18,320
few minutes left, But can we talk Greenland absolutely, Now,

606
00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:21,079
you were at the Department of War when you know

607
00:39:21,159 --> 00:39:23,559
a lot of this talk was going on. The President

608
00:39:23,599 --> 00:39:26,000
brought this up in his first administration. Everybody thought it

609
00:39:26,039 --> 00:39:29,320
was a big joke. I had a feeling he was

610
00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:33,320
serious from the get go on this. But you know,

611
00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:37,440
I think we all think of Greenland as frankly no

612
00:39:37,559 --> 00:39:42,039
tourist destination. I think the population is somewhere around the

613
00:39:42,079 --> 00:39:47,800
size of Dubuque, Iowa, and they're controlled by one of

614
00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:52,360
the smallest countries in Europe. And so you had all

615
00:39:52,440 --> 00:39:57,159
of this craziness going on, But the one thing that

616
00:39:57,280 --> 00:40:05,320
cannot be disputed is the strict TGIC benefits that Greenland

617
00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:06,960
would bring. What do you think about.

618
00:40:06,719 --> 00:40:11,840
Speaker 2: All of this, Well, I think you're exactly right. Greenland

619
00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:17,199
matters because it sits at this intersection where you know, geography, security,

620
00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:21,599
and even you know defense, industrial based power all all intersect.

621
00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:25,719
I mean geographically, it's sitting right between the North Atlantic

622
00:40:25,719 --> 00:40:29,280
and the Arctic, which make it absolutely essential for you know,

623
00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:33,159
missile warning, space tracking, air and sea routes that connect

624
00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:36,000
you know, North America and Europe. But also you know

625
00:40:36,039 --> 00:40:38,920
there's a second layer that's just as important here, which

626
00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:43,559
Greenland sits on enormous amounts of critical mineral reserves, which

627
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:47,480
you know could all go into fighter jets, satellites, radar,

628
00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:52,119
and other you know, military and consumer applications. So I

629
00:40:52,159 --> 00:40:55,760
think you know, Greenland goes you know, far beyond just

630
00:40:56,039 --> 00:40:59,320
you know, the territory and basing rights. But I think

631
00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:01,599
it's it's really about whether the US and its allies

632
00:41:01,639 --> 00:41:05,440
can you know, control these modern you know, choke points

633
00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:07,440
that make modern power possible.

634
00:41:08,039 --> 00:41:11,400
Speaker 1: Looking at the agreement that was signed, because everybody was

635
00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:15,159
up in arms that Secretary heg Seth and the President

636
00:41:15,199 --> 00:41:18,360
wouldn't take military action off the table. But if they

637
00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:21,480
followed this administration, they should know they never take military

638
00:41:21,519 --> 00:41:23,800
action off the table. It doesn't matter what it is.

639
00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:27,559
And so you know, that may may have been an

640
00:41:27,599 --> 00:41:30,880
option well down the line, but it's always an option.

641
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:35,639
But what did you think of the final agreement, if

642
00:41:35,679 --> 00:41:37,679
you will, that was hashed out moving forward?

643
00:41:38,880 --> 00:41:42,760
Speaker 2: Well, I think the final agreement definitely, you know, aligns

644
00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:46,159
the interests of the United States and the America First Agenda,

645
00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:49,199
you know, much better than it was before. And I

646
00:41:49,239 --> 00:41:52,039
think you know, ultimately even you know, the investments that

647
00:41:52,079 --> 00:41:54,880
the United States will make in Greenland will also benefit

648
00:41:55,159 --> 00:41:58,719
you know, the people of Greenland as well. But you know, ultimately,

649
00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:01,760
you know, when when folks get get fired up about

650
00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:04,599
the potential use of you know, military force, I mean

651
00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:07,280
by by no means is that ever, you know, the

652
00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:12,679
first option, But it would be incredibly unwise to take

653
00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:15,599
military action off the table for any sort of you know,

654
00:42:15,679 --> 00:42:18,039
strategic interests of the United States. I mean, it's a

655
00:42:18,079 --> 00:42:21,519
core element of our national power. Doesn't mean, you know,

656
00:42:21,599 --> 00:42:26,159
we'll provoke war or strike first or you know, unnecessarily

657
00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:28,960
you know, use military action when it's not required. But

658
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:31,800
of course it's always an option in the back pocket

659
00:42:31,880 --> 00:42:32,639
if necessary.

660
00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:37,039
Speaker 1: Well, I guess people got used to presidents who like

661
00:42:37,159 --> 00:42:41,559
to talk about red lines in the Middle East and elsewhere,

662
00:42:41,639 --> 00:42:45,800
and then of course those red lines meant absolutely nothing.

663
00:42:45,960 --> 00:42:48,760
There has been an absolute change and and I guess

664
00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:54,159
that's what do you see in two aspects here the

665
00:42:54,199 --> 00:43:00,079
world waking up to the idea that the United States

666
00:43:00,079 --> 00:43:03,159
of America is not to be taken for granted, and

667
00:43:03,199 --> 00:43:06,800
it is not to be underestimated, and it certainly is

668
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:11,440
not to be disrespected as it has been for so long.

669
00:43:12,280 --> 00:43:14,599
And how how do you think that will play since

670
00:43:14,639 --> 00:43:17,880
we've talked about none of this is in a vacuum,

671
00:43:17,920 --> 00:43:20,320
how do you think it will play out in this

672
00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:22,559
upcoming midterm election season?

673
00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:29,519
Speaker 2: Well, simply put, America is back, and I think you know,

674
00:43:29,639 --> 00:43:32,760
despite you know, different folks and actors on the world stage,

675
00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:36,320
maybe being being shocked that America is flexing its power

676
00:43:36,360 --> 00:43:39,320
and mobilizing, you know, in various parts of the globe.

677
00:43:39,519 --> 00:43:42,280
I think it's very clear that you know when President

678
00:43:42,320 --> 00:43:46,679
Trump speaks that he means business. And you know wherever

679
00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:50,719
you are, whether you're in you know, Moscow or in Beijing,

680
00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:54,480
that the US is back and needs to be taken

681
00:43:54,519 --> 00:43:58,199
seriously and respected again. And ultimately, I think you know,

682
00:43:58,239 --> 00:44:01,039
as it relates to the midterms, I think you know,

683
00:44:01,199 --> 00:44:06,679
the American people recognize the respect that you know, from

684
00:44:06,719 --> 00:44:09,320
our US military to our economy and other aspects of

685
00:44:09,960 --> 00:44:13,079
our country. US being back and being revitalized. I think

686
00:44:13,159 --> 00:44:16,440
that will only bode well in the midterms for the

687
00:44:16,519 --> 00:44:17,360
Trump administration.

688
00:44:18,320 --> 00:44:21,000
Speaker 1: It is a different day in America, there is no

689
00:44:21,039 --> 00:44:24,800
doubt about that. Thanks to my guest today, Justin Fulcher,

690
00:44:24,920 --> 00:44:29,480
former senior advisor to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, you've

691
00:44:29,519 --> 00:44:32,079
been listening to another edition of the Federalist Radio Hour.

692
00:44:32,280 --> 00:44:36,440
I'm Matt Kittle's senior elections correspondent at the Federalist. We'll

693
00:44:36,440 --> 00:44:40,000
be back soon with more. Until then, stay lovers of freedom,

694
00:44:40,639 --> 00:44:55,840
anxious for the pray,