U.S. Pounds Iranian Mine-Laying Ships as Iran Lays Mines in the Straight of Hormuz Despite Warnings

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Morning Meeting

Episode Title: U.S. Pounds Iranian Mine-Laying Ships as Iran Lays Mines in the Strait of Hormuz Despite Warnings
Date: March 11, 2026
Host: Mark Halperin (2WAY)
Panelists: Jaime Moore, Hogan Gidley

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the fast-evolving U.S.–Iran conflict, focusing on recent U.S. strikes on Iranian mine-laying ships and Iran’s own escalation in the Strait of Hormuz. The conversation incorporates granular, forward-looking analysis: military strategy, political ramifications, economic impact (especially on global oil), and the intersection with U.S. domestic politics. Along the way, the panel touches on potential U.S.-Israeli disagreements, Russia’s and China’s roles, and implications for upcoming U.S. elections.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. War Update: Iran’s Resilience and Regional Escalation

[10:30-13:00]

• Mark opens with a summary of the past 12 hours: U.S. and Israeli strikes have not deterred Iran, which has continued attacking U.S. assets in Iraq, attempted strikes on Tel Aviv, attacks in the Gulf states, and mine-laying/sabotage in the Strait of Hormuz (including damage to a Thai ship).

• Despite reports of the new Ayatollah possibly being injured, Iran is not behaving like a defeated, "decapitated regime."

  “Iran is not acting like a decapitated regime...they could have just descended into chaos, but they just have command and control.” — Mark [15:38]

• Israeli Defense Minister’s comment (quoting at [12:54]):

  “The surviving Iranian leadership is fleeing like rats into tunnels, just like the Hamas leadership in Gaza...” — Israel Defense Minister Katz [12:54]

Key Insight: The U.S. and Israel appear stronger militarily, but Iran retains operational capability and regional influence.

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2. The Strait of Hormuz: Economic and Strategic Flashpoint

[15:30-20:30]

• The conversation pivots to oil and sea lanes. Mark notes the huge global stakes if the strait remains closed.

• Red lines are drawn: US warns Iran not to lay mines; Iran asserts control, saying no passage will be allowed.

  “They just need to destroy one ship—and they win. The US has to defend every ship.” — Mark [16:24]

• The U.S. and its allies consider releasing oil reserves as a Band-Aid solution, with Venezuela as a possible supplier; consensus is this is unsustainable.

• Mark presses for predictions:

  “Is the president going to devote the resources to saying you're not putting any more mines in there...it's binary. Yes or no?” — Mark [18:25]

  • Hogan: “Yes.” [19:00]
  • Jaime: “I think yes, I think we may have to.” [19:04]

• Both note, however, the U.S. must prevent any successful Iranian attack; even one lost ship would be a strategic catastrophe.

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3. War Planning & (Lack of) Readiness

[20:25-23:10]

• Mark questions the apparent reactive (rather than proactive) U.S. planning:

  “How could we go to war...without a comprehensive economic, military, intelligence, diplomatic plan to control this the first day?” [20:24]

• Hogan acknowledges multiple scenarios are usually planned for, but “everyone has a plan until they get hit back.”

• Panel recognizes Iran’s willingness for self-sacrifice diminishes the deterrent of “mutually assured destruction.”

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4. Russia and China: External Power Moves

[23:20-26:00]

• Russia is allegedly helping Iran with intelligence and targeting, but U.S. officials publicly downplay it.

• Putin benefits from high oil prices and sanctions relief; Mark asks what leverage the U.S. has over Putin.

  “What can the President say to Putin to say stay out of it? ... I think there's a Ukraine lever.” — Hogan [25:13]

• Jaime critiques the president’s ongoing trust of Putin:

  “Why [has the president] shown so much trust in Putin’s word, and...so limited in [his] criticism of Russia when they are in the center of conflicts that are obviously hurting America?” [25:46]

• Briefly, they discuss the likelihood of a planned China summit proceeding—consensus is that it likely will, despite war.

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5. Potential U.S.–Israel Rifts & the Politics of Regime Change

[27:22-29:57]

• Mark asks if and when a public split with Israel will erupt, especially if Netanyahu and Trump push more aggressive regime change or diverge on controlling oil resources.

• Jaime predicts friction closer to the U.S. midterms, as debates over the relationship and public support for Israel intensify.

• Hogan highlights the risk of sleeper cells in the U.S. and growing Homeland Security/funding questions.

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6. U.S. Domestic Politics: Immigration, Messaging, and Senate Showdowns

[30:04-36:00]

• Messaging war over homeland security—Hogan outlines GOP framing: “Democrats ... opened the border, allowed 20 million illegal aliens, including 700 Iranian nationalists, [and] now aren’t funding the agency to protect us.” [43:00]
• Senate political maneuvering: the potential show vote on the "Save America Act" as a test of GOP unity; John Thune and John Cornyn's post-Trump calculations; discussion on GOP prospects and filibuster strategy.

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7. Texas GOP Runoff: Cornyn vs. Paxton

[36:36-42:31]

• Analysis of Cornyn’s hard-hitting ad against Ken Paxton—highlighting personal scandals and ethics issues.
• Jaime and Hogan agree negative ads reinforce pre-existing narratives among voters rather than change minds; risk that divisive primaries chill turnout for whichever GOP candidate emerges.

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8. Listener Q&A: Generational Memories, War, and Political Waves

[46:44-58:32]

• Questions from listeners in Iowa and Texas (Greg, Chad)—subjects include generational memory of 9/11 and its impact on policy, and prospects for a Democratic midterm "wave."
• Jaime and Hogan both believe district-by-district dynamics will matter more than a national "wave," with Trump’s endorsement power remaining unusually strong.

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9. Closing Thoughts: The Next 24 Hours

[58:32-59:59]

• Jaime: Watching Iranian reactions and pressure on the president to escalate.
• Hogan: Focusing on who controls the Strait and “the island,” as well as measures to neutralize further Iranian threats.
• Both flag China’s next moves as critical.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the asymmetric dynamic in the Strait of Hormuz:

  “They just need to destroy one ship—and they win. The U.S. has to defend every ship.” — Mark [16:24]

• On Iran’s command and control:

  “Iran is not acting like a decapitated regime.” — Mark [15:38]

• On planning for conflict:

  “Everyone has a plan until they get hit back, and then everything changes.” — Hogan [21:14]

• On Putin’s influence:

  “What can the president say to Putin to say stay out of it?...there's a Ukraine lever.” — Hogan [25:13]

• On partisan messaging:

  “Democrats on purpose open the border, let in tens of 20 million illegal aliens, including 700 Iranian nationalists, and now not funding the very agency designed to protect us.” — Hogan [43:00]

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Important Timestamps by Topic

• 10:30 – Overview of fresh Iran conflict developments
• 12:54 – Israeli Defense Minister's quote on Iranian leadership
• 15:38 – Iran’s resilience and regime command/control
• 16:24 – Asymmetry in defending the Strait of Hormuz
• 18:55-20:30 – Panel forced to make binary prediction on U.S. intent in the Strait
• 23:18 – Russia, oil prices, and U.S. leverage over Putin
• 25:46 – Critique of Trump’s approach to Russia
• 29:17 – Predicted timeline for U.S.–Israel rift
• 30:43 – Homeland security and domestic political messaging
• 36:36 – Texas GOP runoff: Cornyn's negative ad and analysis
• 46:44 – Listener Q&A: generational memory of wars
• 52:28 – Listener Q&A: likelihood of a Democratic or Republican wave
• 58:32 – Hosts’ closing predictions and what to watch

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Memorable Moments

• Mark requiring binary (yes/no) answers about U.S. operations in the Strait of Hormuz [18:55]
• Sharp, adversarial political messaging over security issues [43:00]
• Rich banter about state fairs and food on a stick as comedic relief amid intensity [45:44, 46:04]

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Conclusion

This episode provides a brisk, insight-rich, and often sobering look at the U.S.–Iran conflict’s sharp escalation, its implications for geopolitics, energy markets, and U.S. domestic politics. The panel’s combination of realpolitik, insider-rooted speculation, and quippy exchanges make the recap essential for anyone needing a concise yet thorough understanding of the fast-moving 2026 news cycle.

Transcript

[Mark]

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[Jaime Moore]

Yeah.

[Hogan Gidley]

Fair. Iowa Fair.

[Mark]

Yeah. We're just going to start the show talking about the Iowa Fair. And one thing you learn in politics, don't put. Don't put on a funny hat and do not eat a corn dog on camera.

[Jaime Moore]

Please come to the fair this year. Full disclosure. That's one of my clients, so please go.

[Mark]

The fair is one of your clients?

[Jaime Moore]

Yeah.

[Mark]

Since when?

[Jaime Moore]

Good people.

[Hogan Gidley]

Can I be. Can you hook up with a Republican consultant for this? I would love that.

[Jaime Moore]

We are bipartisan. We are bipartisan firms. I have more Republican friends than you have. Maybe.

[Mark]

Since when? Since when has the Iowa State Fair been one of your clients for maybe

[Jaime Moore]

like five or six years?

[Mark]

Oh, my goodness. This is. You guys should change. This changes everything. I've been trying to get my son to the Iowa Fair forever. Ladies and gentlemen. Ladies and gentlemen, there are other states that think they have the best fair State Fair in America. They're wrong. There's only one. Except no invitation. The Iowa State Fair is the greatest time. But you should.

[Jaime Moore]

I went to the Minnesota State Fair last year.

[Mark]

Second best. It's second best. I was second best. I mean, Minnesota second best. But. But I was is hands down the best fair in America. And I've got hilarious stories like going to Iowa State Fair with presidential candidates. It's of course, where Mitt Romney said, corporations are people, too. My friend.

[Hogan Gidley]

My friend.

[Jaime Moore]

But come with me this year.

[Mark]

But it's also where I got helicopter ride with Donald J. Trump, who gave that 20 kids helicopter ride. And yeah, it was time. As I did. Welcome to the morning meeting, ladies and gentlemen. Jaime Moore is here. Hogan Giddily's here. HH&H. We call this episode like a great New York bagel. It's better toasted. Thank you for being here. In a moment, we'll get to your questions and comments. If you're here on the platform, would like to get on the conversation. Please do. We're going to talk a lot about Iran today. No surprise. There's some Late breaking developments there and a little bit of politics as well, with the president traveling domestically. I'll run through the daybook in a moment and then, of course, we'll have a conversation and then we'll love to hear from you. If you've never raised your hand before, perhaps consider raising your hand today to be part of the conversation. All voices under one roof, as I always say. I get emails every day from members of the community. Why don't you talk more about this? Why did you let him off the hook on that? Hogan has no idea what he's talking about on this. Just raise your hand. That's the beauty of this.

[Hogan Gidley]

No one ever.

[Mark]

You don't. That's a hypothetical. Yeah, it's a hypothetical. But my point is, you don't need to send me an email the day after the show saying, I can't believe that happened. Just raise your hand and say, jaime, I want to. I want to take issue with your support of the Iowa State Fair when we all know that the Nebraska State Fair is. Is better. They have those ruskas. What are those things called? I don't remember. All right, quick word from a sponsor and then to your questions. I mean, then to the daybook, rather. Code0.com promo code morning gets you 20% off. It's getting warm. Put your bubble cuddle blanket away. The dog will still use it, but you don't need it out. But you do need to runza. Thank you. You do need to switch up your sheets, your towels, maybe get some new T shirts so you're not wearing the T shirt that like Jerry Seinfeld, you've grown an odd attachment to freshen up everything in your life. Good to cozyearth.com use the promo code MORNING for 20% off everything on the site Cozy Earth Socks. We're pushing this week because the the essential socks change your life. Three different four different styles. Calf quarter show. Each pair crafted with care to fit seamlessly into your routine. I recommend buying it. Just buy two pairs of the socks and you'll see. You'll probably do what I've begun to do, which is to replace all my socks with Cozy Earth socks. Use the promo code morning for 20% [e-mail] mentioned in the post purchase survey. You heard about Cozy Earth from a dog who loves his bubble cuddle blanket. This is it.

[Jaime Moore]

The world as you know it is over. Completely done.

[Mark]

It's not about to be over.

[Jaime Moore]

It's over.

[Mark]

Some of the scientists who helped build AI are now sounding the alarm.

[Hogan Gidley]

I was selling AI as a great thing for decades.

[Mark]

And I was wrong.

[Jaime Moore]

I was wrong. There is a longer term existential threat that will arise when we create digital beings that are more intelligent than ourselves. We have no idea whether we can stay in control.

[Mark]

While others say that AI will usher in unfathomable abundance, I've always believed that

[Hogan Gidley]

it's going to be the most important invention that humanity will ever make.

[Jaime Moore]

This really will be a world of abundance.

[Mark]

And among these fears and these fantasies, we seek the story of our future. Listen to the last invention on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you for that, folks. And here we go. The president today is going to two great states. The great state of Ohio and the great state of Kentucky. And he'll be accompanied by a travel pool that includes Fox, the Daily Mail and Breitbart, amongst others. Bloomberg. He is executive time at this hour. So he's watching the show. Hello, Mr. President. Departs the White House sometime this morning. Doesn't say on the schedule when he's leaving. 2:30, he participates in a visit at Thermo Fisher Scientific 305. Participates in a local TV interview. 4:00 clock, he's in. Does a podcast interview. Is that for you for your podcast?

[Hogan Gidley]

It isn't.

[Mark]

It isn't. Okay, we'll see. That's with 425. He delivers remarks. And this is in the district of Mr. Massie Hogan. Is Mr. Massie going to win his primary?

[Hogan Gidley]

I don't know the polling, but I know he's quite disliked in a lot of sectors in Washington. How that translates to Kentucky.

[Mark]

Yeah, Jaime, it seems like the White House must think he's going to lose because the president's going appearing with his. His endorsed opponent. Did you say you asked the favorite of the underdog in the primary coming up in a few months.

[Jaime Moore]

Seems to be an underdog now, but it seems like the President is going to have over the edge.

[Mark]

Yeah, I'd be curious to see what the president. Yeah, the whole team. The whole team. We'll see. Is the House leadership for Massie? Do they have to be for him because he's an incumbent?

[Hogan Gidley]

I don't speak on behalf of the House leadership, so I don't know.

[Mark]

I know you don't speak for them, but do you know Hogan, like publicly? Where's the speaker? Is he for his incumbent publicly?

[Hogan Gidley]

I don't know if he's made a comment about Massie. I think there's a lot of public statements that range from bless his heart to I Wish he'd actually vote for Republican legislation every once in a while, but that's it.

[Mark]

But it seems like the speaker, Jaime, would be in a tougher position than the president because the president can do whatever he wants. But the speaker is supposed to support incumbents. Yeah, typically.

[Jaime Moore]

I mean that's what the Democrats are doing right now. That's what happens.

[Mark]

Michael, Michael, look up. I meant to look this up earlier. Michael, look up. Just chime in when you find it. What is the speaker's position on that race? Don't know what the vice president's doing today. Be curious to see how much live coverage the president gets out there. And of course he could talk about Massie, could talk about the economy, could talk about Iran and of course he could talk about the Save America Act. We'll see where he, he, he puts his focus. House Republicans on their final day in Doral, Florida. At their, their policy meeting yesterday, James Blair told them don't talk about deporting everyone, talk about deporting illegal people who violent bill today. I don't know that we'll get to it today. But this fascinating politics. This housing bill is substantive and serious. It's one of the most important housing pieces of legislation a while it's very good for all the posse people tell me it's good. It's in theory got bipartisan support. But there's, but there's a question of whether Democrats are going to give Donald Trump a huge political win on a signature issue for the country and whether the House will accept the Senate bill. So lots going on there. The UN today is taking up a resolution sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council. Cooperation Council demanding that Iran stop attacking its Arab neighbors. There's some wispy reporting out there that these, these Gulf states and Saudi Arabia may join a coalition of the willing against Iran. I haven't confirmed that but I've seen that reported places people are talking about that possibility. BlackRock and Semaphore have a hosting a summit on American infrastructure. A lot of senators will be there, including Cortez, Mastro, Danes, McCormick, Sean Duthie will be there. Secretary Burgum and Sam Altman will be there. Consumer price Index came out at 8:30. Now this number is before the war started. So it's about unchanged. Inflation's about about the same. So if you try to do stagflation, the inflation part, it was under control last month but presumably inflation, unless this war ends today, will be up. So I'm not sure anybody much cares about the number but it was basically static Josh Shapiro, 1115, is visiting a manufacturing housing community in Berks county to meet with residents who would benefit from the governor's proposed housing reform measures included in his budget address last month. All right, we're going to talk a lot about the president today and how he's dealing with various conflicts that he's involved in. And of course, the main one main ones involve Iran. Surprised at how little coverage there has been overnight on all the developments that took place that have taken place just in like the last 12 hours in Iran, in Iran and in the region. Just for example, heard from our folks in Tel Aviv that they were they were called to go down to the bunkers more, the shelters more than they have since the war started. So Iran is not acting like their defeated power, hitting or hitting a US Asset in Iraq, hitting Tel Aviv or trying to hit Tel Aviv. No reported casualties, at least so far. Hitting civilian targets in the Gulf states, hitting ships in the Strait of Hormuz, including setting a Thai ship on fire. And some of the crew are missing. Even though there are reports that the new Ayatollah, the new supreme leader, is perhaps injured. Even though America and Israel continues to pummel Iran. Iran is not behaving like it's a defeated power, to say the least. And the Israelis this morning said that they're going to continue this fight. Here's a statement. 125 please. This is from the this from the official at the Defense ministry in Israel. 125 please. Defense Minister Israel Katz said this. The surviving Iranian leadership is fleeing like rats into tunnels, just like the Hamas leadership in Gaza. From there they give orders to fire on civilians and children in Israel and across the region. The hospital morgues in Iran are filled with many thousands members of the Revolutionary Guard and the besiege. The operation led by President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu will continue without any time limit until we achieve all objectives and win the campaign. So we're going to talk about the sub issue in a moment, guys. Of oil and the Strait of Hormuz, which I think is the big issue. But just in terms of the war overall. Hima, what do you make of the fact that the Iranians do not seem defeated at all as compared to the portrait painted by the US And Israel?

[Jaime Moore]

Yeah, I mean, I'm shocked and surprised. I was having a conversation with some friends at dinner last night and I go, why haven't we been able to beat the Iranian military back a little bit more? Why do they still have so many assets? Why do they, why Are they able to still be so active, particularly in the region? And so what, what are we, what are we going to do to, to back that back? I'm not sure. And so I'm a little shocked by it, I'm a little annoyed by it. And I think if the President and Netanyahu want to be more successful, they've got to figure out a way to, to tie that down a little bit more. If we're, if we're going to, if we're going to, we've now been there for 11 and a half days, and if we are going to spend the next two or three weeks fighting a war, they've got to be some clear daily, I think, deposits that are made that people see. So what are we trying to accomplish? Are we trying to ensure that Iran is not able to rebuild this capacity? Yes, but firstly, we've got to make sure that the capacity they have right now is not going to be utilized against us and our allies. And I think that's where we are. And I think people have some questions about why they haven't done a little bit more to bat that back.

[Mark]

Hogan, are you surprised that the Iran strikes different types of devices, drones and missiles? Are you surprised at their capability this many days in.

[Hogan Gidley]

I guess I'm surprised at two things. One is that they actually have the capability, but I'm also surprised that no one thought they didn't have the capability. I mean, they've been allowed unchecked for decades with handshake deals, with former presidents on the right and the left with the promise they would not do these types of things. It was all a lie. So I'm not surprised. They do have such a massive arsenal. I, I, you do get to see kind of some of their failings and that they're just firing off rockets to all kinds of places. They don't know, rhyme or reason. But at some point, when you hear that their Navy's destroyed, when you hear their ballistic missile capability is greatly destroyed as well, you wonder what else is there. And I think what you're seeing are some of the last gasps of what they have. The question moving forward is what are we going to do to prevent those last gasps from not only just being successful, but from being allowed to grow more tentacles in the future? And if they continue on, as the your tweet just showed, at least for some time period, whether it be a week, a month, whatever, I think they can do a pretty good job preventing them from ever doing this type of stuff again. But this is the moment I think to really, really, really crush the head of the snake here.

[Jaime Moore]

Yeah, no, go ahead, Margot. Who's commanding their, their military?

[Mark]

I don't think we know. I mean, that, you know, there are reports that, that they put in place a chain of command, kind of a chain of succession to allow there to commit, continue to be command and control. But, but again, I'm trying to find this sentence from, from. I can't remember for sure. I think it's from a Middle east analyst. They just, they just, they have command and control. I mean, they just do. I don't know who it is. I don't think we know who it is, but they've got it. They clearly have command and control. Here, here's, here's a, here's the sentence I was looking for. This from, I think a New York Times story, quote, iran is not acting like a decapitated regime. True. They're not acting that way. And, and they, they could, they don't have a choice.

[Hogan Gidley]

Right.

[Mark]

Well, well, but I mean, you could imagine, not just defections, you could just imagine chaos. But, and I'm sure it's not, it's not supremely orderly, but it is. They are. They just, again, just in the last 12 hours, they've done a bunch of stuff. And the central focus now is two related issues, a price of oil and the impact on the world economy of the cutoff of oil. And, and the Strait of Hormuz. And the president last night kind of drew a red line there, and he said, don't you dare start putting mines in there. But the Iranians have drawn, I would consider a bolder and sharper red line, which is, we control that and you're not coming in. And the challenge is, this is for the United States and any coalition of the willing the president wants to build is. This is asymmetrical. They just need to, they need to destroy one ship.

[Hogan Gidley]

Yeah.

[Mark]

And it's, and, and they win. The US and whoever works with the US has to defend every ship. And so far, we failed. The U.S. i'm told, is putting a plan together. Iran. There's a CNBC deadline headline. They're cnb, cnbc. They're stopping oil from going to anywhere except they are sending oil through the Strait of Hormuz to China, their patron. So China's getting not all the oil they need, but some of it the U.S. so there's, there's going to be a release from the petroleum reserve. I don't know if the US Is going to be included in this, but the Europeans are going to release some. That's not a. That's a Band Aid, folks. That is not a cure. Here's the headline from the journal. IAEA proposes largest ever oil release from strategic reserves. The US Is trying to increase domestic consumption, domestic production to take some of the edge off here. Here's the headline from Reuters Exclusive. Chevron, Shell closing in on first big oil production deals in Venezuela. So some more oil from the US Some more oil from European reserves, some more oil maybe from Venezuela. But this is not a solution. People in the administration will tell you there needs to be more. And now we have this showdown over the Strait of Hormuz, and yesterday the Secretary of Energy mistakenly said a ship had been escorted through. Hasn't happened. So, Hogan, are we headed towards the President and shifting military focus to say we are going to control the Strait of Hormuz? Is that what's going to happen? Or. Or is he going to back down and not open it up? Because it seems to me it's binary now after the back and forth, either the United States maybe with some coalition partners are going to control the straight, or we're not and open it back up or we're not. That ships are going to be. Go through safely or they're not. And then of course, we could take. What's the name of that island. I can never remember the name of that thing where all the oil. Oil. All the oil go through. So maybe. Maybe that car. Maybe take. Maybe take carg as well. So those are maybe two things. Are we going to control the straight. Are we going to control car? Yes or no?

[Hogan Gidley]

Well, Card, you'd need to put boots on the ground, I believe, to control.

[Mark]

Let's. I shouldn't have brought up Card yet. Just a straight. It's binary. Is the president going to devote the resources to saying we're going to. You're going to not put any mines in there. He basically said we're going to do all but not nuclear weapons on you if you do it. He's drawn a line, but so have the Iranians. So what's going to yes or no? Binary. Will. In the next few days or week, will the United States control the Strait of Hormuz or not?

[Hogan Gidley]

Do I need to answer this, yes or no?

[Mark]

You do.

[Jaime Moore]

Okay.

[Mark]

Yes or no?

[Hogan Gidley]

Can I say something? Yes.

[Mark]

No. You just got to say yes or no.

[Hogan Gidley]

Yes, I believe is yes.

[Mark]

All right. That's very dramatic. Kaima, what do you think?

[Jaime Moore]

I think yes, and I think we may have to.

[Chad]

But.

[Mark]

But if we try to and they and they get one ship with a drone.

[Jaime Moore]

We're well this is.

[Mark]

We're screwed.

[Jaime Moore]

This was always the risk. I mean you know, and yes. And so I hope and I suppose when we talked about this two weeks ago right before the initial strike I said I hope the president, I hope the Secretary of Defense and Kaine have a plan. And I still want to assume that they do because this was very obvious that this was going to be the next two or three steps. And at this point when you play around with countries like Iran who at this point don't have as much to lose as we do, they don't need strategy. They're just going to go and shoot out and try to take as many assets and try to block us and try to control the oil reserves of the world and try to tank the American economy. And so we the president knew this and this is the big risk of going into this conflict and into this potential war. The end is not in front of us because Iran is reacting and if they react, we have to react. And so this is going to be something that the president got to decide if he's ready to take a much bigger step into eliminating their capacity and their control of these oil reserves or not.

[Mark]

Yeah Hogan, this is not a gotcha question or even a critical question. It's a question for you to educate the two way community. How could we go to war the United States go to war without a comprehensive economic, military, intelligence, diplomatic plan to control this the first day. How does that happen? How do you plan a war when this is Jaime said this was of course Iraq was going to Iran was going to do this. How does that happen inside the government? Did they not think about it did not think was important. How does that happen?

[Hogan Gidley]

I take a little issue with the premise I'm confused as to what part of that they're not controlled because they're

[Mark]

scrambling right now to come up with a plan to mitigate the impact of Iran at least temporarily controlling the Strait of Hormuz. And there's no obvious plan in place to take it. The president going on truth social and saying don't sounds a little like Joe

[Hogan Gidley]

Biden to some years well and again I'm not on the inside anymore so I don't necessarily know the the intelligence to to make a logical assessment or give you information other than to say I you know everybody has it's that old age of Mike Tyson everyone has a plan in the boxing actually get hit back and then everything changes. And to Jaime's point Iran reacted okay Right. And we knew, at least to some degree how they would react, because they've done so before. And Jaime hit on a point there. I think, Mark, you understand, I know the two way community does, too. This mutually assured destruction concern of the past does not apply to Iran, because their whole thing is they want to die for their cause, so that makes life less valuable to them. So us killing their military leaders, killing. That's. They're fine with that.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Hogan Gidley]

Okay, so hold on real quick.

[Mark]

Yes, go ahead.

[Hogan Gidley]

Yeah, this, this strait of hormoose which is so important, it appears as though the President does have people around the globe, other governments who are supporting our actions. What has to happen in order to control it, I think is maybe what they're thinking about now. Because, look, there's never just one plan. There are multiple plans. And you game those out. You do the war games and internally in the Situation Room with your military leaders at the Pentagon, at the White House, to have what's going to happen here, Right? And so I think what they're looking at, which one makes it go fast, which was. Which is the fastest, which one allows us to control the oil? Because remember, after the Iraq war, Trump said we should have taken the oil. Right? Yeah, that definitely is on his mind as well. How do you prevent loss of American life, too? And how do you keep America's involvement at a very, very minimal dissipation rate?

[Mark]

All right, we're going to move on. We're going to cover some stuff quickly. Three quick things. First of all, Jaime, there is a wolf in your apartment. I don't know if you know that, but just if you're listening to the audio version of the show, you may not know that Jaime's life is in danger because there is a wolf.

[Jaime Moore]

She's. She's acting up, looming behind him.

[Mark]

There it is, man.

[Hogan Gidley]

He's looking for a cut. Bubble cuddle.

[Mark]

Yeah, yeah, you got a bubble cuddle blanket you can throw that puppy? What? Yeah, yeah, come on over. All right, number two, we're gonna. We're gonna move to some other, other things real quick here. And I forget what number three is, but it'll come back to me. Putin, Steve Witkoff says, in effect, well, despite these reports that Russia is helping Iran with intelligence and targeting, we take the Russians at their word. It's not true. I think I'm characterizing what he said correctly. The US Is downplaying. Now, there have been multiple reports that, in fact, the Russians are helping. And this comes amidst negotiations with Russia and Ukraine that administration officials before the Iran conflict began, were very bullish that there would be a deal. Putin is benefiting from this war because it's raising the price of oil. And he sells. He's able to sell his oil at greater prices. And the US has been forced to take some of the sanctions off Russia to get access to the Russian oil. So the President did a call with Putin a couple days ago. Very little has been reported about what he said. But the assumption of my sources, who don't have firsthand knowledge is, but understand the dynamics of the relationship, is that the President said to Putin, stay out of this. But, Hogan, what leverage does the United States have over Putin at this point to keep him from aiding Iran, if any?

[Hogan Gidley]

Well, it depends on what we want to do with Ukraine. I mean, that's obviously one of the linchpins in that negotiation, that relationship. But listen, no one likes high oil prices. I understand. But when Russia invaded Ukraine, oil per barrel spiked to what, 148, 185 was like 180 or something. A barrel. It was like massive. This one, while it went up, went up to 100. Now back down to the. In the 80s. This whole argument over oil is fascinating to me because we are doing so much now on our domestic front to produce our own oil. The relationships and partnerships we have around the globe for countries now by Focus.

[Mark]

I'm sorry to interrupt, but focus on my question. What can the President say to Putin to say stay out of it? What? And Putin says, yeah, whatever. Like, what could the President say? And to. To intimidate Putin or to. Or to cajole him or to appeal to his better angels.

[Hogan Gidley]

What I said at the outset, I think there's a Ukrainian level.

[Mark]

But what does he say? I'll give you a better deal on Ukraine if you stay out of it.

[Hogan Gidley]

No, I think you could say I'm going to give Ukraine a hell of a lot more help than I already have.

[Mark]

Yeah. Jaime, how long can the White House deny that what seems to be true, which is that Russia's helping Iran?

[Jaime Moore]

Yeah, I mean, well, I mean, they've been denying it all this time, and I can't. And maybe Hogan can give me some insight on this, why the President has so much or has shown so much trust in Putin's word one and two, why he's been so limited in his criticism on Russia when they are in the center of conflicts that are obviously hurting America, obviously hurting our economy and our future. And when you marry this with Iran and then you married with China and potentially North Korea, on the other side, this is potentially a very dangerous relationship that we've got to break up as quickly as possible. And for some reason, the President just won't do that when it comes to Russia.

[Mark]

It would be spectacular if this episode of this show was where we saw the ten year mystery of why Donald Trump talks so kindly about Putin. Whenever I ask Hogan this question, I mean, he always says the same three words. The pee tape. That's all he ever says. Guys. What, what guys? Is the China summit. It's supposed to be in three weeks. Is it going to happen if the war is still going on? Will the war. Will the China summit happen? Will Donald Trump go to Beijing? The South China Post reports the summit's just going to be Beijing. He's not going to travel anywhere else in China. I don't know if that's true, but that's what they report. Jaime, will it happen if the war is still going on or will it be canceled?

[Jaime Moore]

I think it still will happen. I mean, it'll be a lot to talk about. So I think he will want to go.

[Mark]

Hogan, will it happen even if the war is still going on?

[Hogan Gidley]

I think so because the only three groups that really support supported America not going in to Iran were Russia, China and the Democrats.

[Mark]

Yeah. So people say that the break with Israel could come. The US And Israel could come on regime change. The president, as was alluded to earlier, he also wants the oil. I don't think Bibi cares if we get the oil. The president wants the oil too. So that's another thing that he may not get if there's no Venezuela like arrangement. Because I don't think we're going to take the oil by force. It would have to be a negotiation. So here's my question again. We've talked about this before, but it's worth checking in on. Hogan, what is the day? Just make a guess of the day. And what is the issue of over which the public disagreements with Israel, which are currently being kept under wraps. Witkoff now says he may go next week there. What's the day? And the issue which the US Israeli relationship will start to be torn a bit. It's like a game of Clue, say next Thursday over, you know, nuclear bombing, the nuclear facilities or whatever. What do you got?

[Hogan Gidley]

I don't know.

[Mark]

All right, Jaime, you got a guess?

[Hogan Gidley]

This is a very. That's a very hypothetical. I don't know.

[Jaime Moore]

Yeah, no, it's hypothetical. But I, I do think as we get closer. We talked about this a bit last week, closer to the to the midterms. And as this question of Israel and the relationship becomes a question and a point in the districts during the midterms where Republican members have to answer, are we close, are we too close to Israel, are we close enough, etc. Etc. So once those questions start happening on the ground organically and look, and you can see the vast, the vast amount of American voters are still not extremely pro Israel in this, in this regard. However, there are a lot, there's a lot happening right now with Iran and obviously there are a lot of concerns around the Muslim Brotherhood popping back up and sort of taking over that region. And so Iran, I don't know, but I do think that there's going to be a point over the next couple months where it's going to be a little bit more fraught than it is right now.

[Mark]

Oh, I think it's going to, it's going to come to a head much sooner, I think. Yeah, go ahead.

[Hogan Gidley]

Possibly. But also remember, this didn't happen in a vacuum. We've already had now the media, as you know, the two forms of bias or what you cover and how you cover it.

[Jaime Moore]

Yeah.

[Hogan Gidley]

I've heard little, if anything and what I have heard has been inaccurate about the two homegrown, not homegrown, rather, two Islamic terrorist attacks on our own soil after this war started. They're not talking about that at all. My point is if there's a rift with Israel and that comes to the fore and we litigate that, okay, but what happens in the meantime with some of these sleeper cells that Iran has in America or more attack on other places, that could change things too.

[Mark]

I think next week there's going to be an open conflict over, over how long to continue the operation next week.

[Jaime Moore]

Well, this is, well, Mark, this is also going to go into the conversation around DHS funding and the government. Hogan just made a really incredible point. You know, we've, we, and look, I'm not going to, you guys know, I try to be a good Democrat so I'm not going to admonish the Democrats for what they're doing right now. However, if we're talking about a full fledged war and we have, we've already seen there are a couple of sleeper cells here. The homeland has got to be secure as quickly as possible and we've got to make sure that the new secretary is going to take this seriously because at some point we're going to have to, this is going to come to our front door and we're going to have to be ready for It.

[Hogan Gidley]

And if I'm, if I'm the Republican Party, what I am pushing them to message is. And Jaime, this is where the messaging war begins. But I would be like, all right, first of all, let me get this straight. Democrats on purpose open the border, then they turn around, let in tens of 20 million illegal aliens, including 700 Iranian nationalists. And third, they're now not funding the very agency designed to protect us from the threats they let in the country. Like, I would completely lean in on that. As more and more of these things happen from Iranian nationalists or from jihadists on our soil, that becomes, I think, a bigger problem for the Democrats and less of a problem for, for Republicans.

[Jaime Moore]

It's a pretty salient message. Yeah.

[Mark]

Yeah. All right, guys, two more topics. We're gonna throw some off the sled because I want to get to questions again. Raise your hand if you want to get in on the conversation. Trump versus Thune. John Thune has said, okay, you want to vote on the Save America act, which is doom, because we don't have the votes to break a filibuster. Sure, we'll give you a show vote, and then you'll see we don't have the votes, and then maybe we can move on. And it takes a lot to piss off John Thune, but as a student of John Thune from back when he was a House member, I think he's pretty pissed about all this. Okay, so let's assume that happens. Hogan, don't dissent. It's hypothetical if you don't believe it. Thune does a vote, tries to get it passed. If it doesn't pass, then what happens, Jaime? The president give up? Does he blame John Thune? Does he threaten to primary every Republican who votes no? What happens after it fails?

[Jaime Moore]

Maybe a combination of the above. But look, you know, you can say what you want to say about, about John Thune, but he is a. He has played this game masterful over the, over the past few decades, and he's incredibly skilled legislator and he understands this body more than most, with the exception of old school McConnell. And so I think John Th is already starting to make his plan for a post Trump Senate. And I think these next couple votes and couple floor scuffles are going to. Are going to be emblematic of how he's thinking about moving his caucus forward. Post Trump.

[Hogan Gidley]

The. The. The.

[Mark]

The.

[Hogan Gidley]

Yes, except for this calculation that may be a miscalculation by our good leader in the U.S. senate. He's playing for a post Trump Senate. Don't pass the Save Act. You may not. You may have a post th Senate as well, because this is a huge issue for our side of the aisle. And Thune, I think, to his credit, is going. All right, here's the deal, Mr. President. You've got a lot of problems in the Senate. I'm going to run this SAVE act to show you they're not named John Thune.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Hogan Gidley]

Other people who are the problem here.

[Mark]

Here's one of my biggest complaints about reporters on Capitol Hill. I've not seen and I've read a lot about it and I've not had time to do it myself, but I don't cover Capitol Hill full time. Who are the votes they can't get? Why isn't anybody writing a story about who are the votes they can't get? When Jonathan says we don't have the votes, who are they? Hogan, do you know who they are?

[Hogan Gidley]

Yeah, there was a list of them today.

[Mark]

I actually saw on Twitter that Murkowski, Collins, McConnell. Yeah, Tillis.

[Hogan Gidley]

But of the 25 Republican senators, 47% GOP conference, 22 of them are from safe red states.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Hogan Gidley]

So nine are from where states. Trump won by more than 30 points.

[Mark]

But when Thune says I don't have the votes, whose votes can he get?

[Hogan Gidley]

It's not the vote for the SAVE Act. There was the vote to get rid of.

[Mark]

I understand, I understand, but who, who's that?

[Hogan Gidley]

I know. I just want everyone to get the.

[Mark]

Okay, he's also.

[Jaime Moore]

He's also not going to whip those votes either. So I think that's the. I think that's.

[Mark]

That's a dirty little secret. Yes, but you see.

[Hogan Gidley]

Did you see Cornyn's op ed in the Post?

[Mark]

Yes. Let's talk about John Cornyn. Cornyn. Do you guys think Donald Trump's going to endorse John Cornyn? Jaime?

[Jaime Moore]

I think so. And I also have to caveat this by saying, Mark, couple weeks ago I said that Telerico was going to win. You did not agree with me.

[Mark]

You did.

[Jaime Moore]

I was right on that ground game about, about Crockett.

[Mark]

You were right and Kamala Harris and I were wrong. Hogan, is John Hornen going to get the endorsement of the president perhaps simply because of this.

[Hogan Gidley]

Simply because of this move on the SAVE Act.

[Jaime Moore]

And yeah, I think he has to

[Hogan Gidley]

argument in that op ed was quite fascinating. I was on another show with our good friend Rick Santorum this morning, who was vehemently opposed to doing anything to subvert the filibuster to get rid of the filibuster, which I Get. I get the arguments for both sides here, but Cornyn's flip on that is actually fairly large because he also called on his colleagues to join him with getting rid of it if need be. Then that precipitates the story you were just talking about, Mark, which is, who are the colleagues that need to flip on the filibuster?

[Jaime Moore]

Yeah.

[Mark]

So until. Until. Go ahead. I'm a.

[Jaime Moore]

Well, I'm saying, well, if, you know, if I were. If I were a Republican, I would. I would not flip the filibuster at this point with the Senate being up for contention. And I think best case scenario for Republicans, as it stands is 49, 51 or 50 50. And if you slide one more, then the Democrats are going to use that to their advantage. And that's what Thune has been saying. I think that is a. That is a salient message. The Democrats. If the Republicans get rid of the filibuster, the Democrats are prepared to take advantage of that if they take over the Senate.

[Mark]

Yeah. As you know. As you know, a lot of. As you know, a lot of Republicans say Democrats will do it anyway, so they're going to. Yes, they.

[Jaime Moore]

I don't know.

[Mark]

I don't know. Anyway, until. Until. And unless the President endorses and gets Paxton out of the race. Till that happens. Unless that happens, we got a primary. We got a runoff, ladies and gentlemen, and cards are being played in the runoff. Money's being raised and ads are being run. Here's a pretty tough ad from John Cornyn against his Republican opponent, Mr. Paxton. Play that, please.

[Hogan Gidley]

What do a burner phone, a $1,000 Montblanc pen, and this cash machine have in common. They are symbols of Ken Paxton's depravity.

[Mark]

Paxton used the burner phone and an

[Hogan Gidley]

alias to hide his affair from the mother of his children. Now his wife's divorcing him on biblical grounds.

[Jaime Moore]

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

[Hogan Gidley]

A Mont Blanc pen stolen from another lawyer. Because once a crook, always a crook.

[Jaime Moore]

Thou shalt not steal.

[Hogan Gidley]

And while in office, Crooked Ken increased his net worth by up to 7,000%, then used that fortune to buy 10 properties and claimed three of them as his principal residence to get cheaper mortgage rates.

[Jaime Moore]

Thou shalt not bear false witness.

[Hogan Gidley]

Judgment day comes for all of us eventually. This year in Texas, Ken Paxton faces the voters.

[Jaime Moore]

Defeat the crook. I'm John Cornyn, and I approve this message. Join my team and give today.

[Mark]

Now, that's a devastating ad. Under normal circumstances, I don't read the chat, but I glance at it. Professor Kenny, you're right, it's a great ad. But here's what I don't get. Voters in the primary, the first round, they all knew. They knew all this stuff. There were already ads about all this stuff. There was tons of news coverage. So how does Cornyn think he's going to win the primary, the runoff, on this stuff? I don't understand that. Educate me, gentlemen. Like, what's the point of doing more advertising on something maybe in the general election that, that, that message would be good. But, but, you know, Paxton tied Cornyn in the, in the, in the first round.

[Jaime Moore]

You got to continue. I mean, look, Corn has put out some incredible ads over the last few weeks, and this is, I think my favorite one was the one that came out right before the, the primary, which had a lot of the same messaging as this one. But look, you got to continue the drum beat. And so he. He's running a race. You know, he has some. He called him crooked pax and a crooked kin. I think that was. Yeah, that was, that was. That was a direct correlation to crooked Hillary. And maybe the president's going to see that and say, oh, this is great messaging, but it was really well done at. He's. What I'm. What I. If I were a Republican, what I will be concerned about is if, If Paxton does emerge as the nominee and gets into the general election, Cornyn is planting an amazing amount of seeds to grow beautiful trees of opposition on. And all we have to do is tell. If I was tellarico paste these same ads that Corn is putting out with.

[Chad]

With.

[Jaime Moore]

With his wife and his Bible and say the same exact thing and just hammer it home. And so I think in some ways, Cornyn is not, not necessarily damaging Paxton because we know a lot of these things are baked in, but he is reinforcing the narrative. It was sort of like Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Bernie Sanders said a lot of things about Hillary Clinton that most people already assumed or thought, but they, But Bernie Sanders brought it to the forefront. Forefront. And when Hillary got into the general election, Donald Trump just took all of Bernie Sanders messaging and copied and paste and use it against Hillary a salient way. And I think Tal Rico is skilled enough to do something similar, I think.

[Hogan Gidley]

Well, I don't know if Talarico is skilled enough. We yet to see him actually in the pressure cooker. But I will say from the Republican side, you know, it's. It's you. You really lose election elections when you surprise the electorate. Everyone knew Clinton was a dirtbag, so stuff Came out about Clinton. Who cares? Read my lips. No new taxes. And then George HWS raises taxes. That surprised people. Yeah. This is not a surprise about Paxton. However, interestingly enough, that electorate's fairly divided in Texas because Cornyn has all the Bushies, has all of that old guard conservatism. The new guard, the MAGA folks, are so fired up about Paxton. If Cornyn were the nominee, I'm not certain the Paxton Republicans would turn out and vote for Cornyn and vice versa. I don't know. The Cornyn people would be too excited about Paxton based on the nastiness of this election. And we talk about all the time. Remember the Willie Horton ad that was so devastating back in the day was brought up in the Democrat primary. It was used flawlessly, I think by Reagan, I guess. Was it Reagan or hw?

[Mark]

Hw.

[Jaime Moore]

It was actually.

[Mark]

It actually wasn't.

[Hogan Gidley]

But let me say one thing about this ad, okay? I get it to some degree. First of all, I don't think anyone knows what a burner phone is. Unless you follow NCAA recruiting.

[Mark]

We all know what a burner phone.

[Hogan Gidley]

I don't know that most Americans what

[Mark]

a burner phone is. All right, put in the chat. Put in the chat, folks. Yes. Put in the chat. Yes or no? Put in. If people know what a burner phone is. Put in. Yes, yes, yes.

[Hogan Gidley]

You could have said a private phone. Yes, of course. This. But this community is so knowledgeable.

[Mark]

A very high. A very high percentage of the community. And also a lot of them run drugs, so they've all got.

[Hogan Gidley]

But also. But also the voice of God piece I found very cheesy.

[Jaime Moore]

Yeah, I didn't, like, I didn't.

[Hogan Gidley]

I didn't get very cheesy.

[Mark]

I gotta find out who makes the ad.

[Hogan Gidley]

That was supposed to be serious.

[Mark]

Yeah, I, I agree. I. The fact that I did that voiceover shouldn't bother.

[Hogan Gidley]

Well, it's good money if you can keep it up.

[Jaime Moore]

As a Democrat, I'm having a hard time with this, this race on the Republican side, obviously. And I'm like, oh, my God, I can't believe I'm, I'm, I'm. I'm hoping for John Cornyn to emerge as, as the nominee. Even though I think we can beat Paxton. I'm like, oh, man, I think you guys are doing poor John Cornyn so poorly.

[Mark]

I still. I just want to see if the President endorses because obviously Mag has gotten to him and he's worried about doing it.

[Jaime Moore]

I don't think he has a choice but to endorse him. And you agree all the things that are happening right now. And I mean, but he should.

[Mark]

But he should do it now. He should do it.

[Jaime Moore]

Ran a beautiful campaign in North Carolina for the primary and got out with an incredible amount of votes. And so North Carolina is already leaning blue and you look at these other states and Gallia, Ruben Gallego just endorse Grant Prattner. And so there's a lot happening. And I think the president is going to be smart about this and he's got to help Corn and get over the finish line.

[Mark]

But the sooner he does, the better to go to the point Hogan made, which is you're just going to have be pissing off all the MAGA people seeing these negative ads against their guy. Just get him out, have him endorse. Have them both endorse Cornyn, get him out, give him whatever he needs and start running against.

[Jaime Moore]

Has Wesley Hunt endorsed yet?

[Mark]

No, not to my.

[Hogan Gidley]

Didn't Paxton say he'd get out if Cornyn supported the SAVE Act?

[Mark]

I don't know if he said it was just Paxton, just corn and supporting it. I thought he said it had to pass. I think he said it had to pass.

[Jaime Moore]

I think he says, yeah, something like. Something like that. Yes.

[Mark]

Yeah. Anyway. All right, quick word from a sponsored end of your questions. Please raise your hand if you want to get in the conversation. Ladies and gentlemen, in addition to being drug runners, most of you all like money. That's part of why you sell drugs so frequently to them around the world. And here's a chance to get some more money. Our friends at the free Upside app want to give you a free money load on your phone. You use it to purchase three things. We all buy gas at gas stations, food at restaurants, and stuff at the grocery store. Free cash back doesn't interfere at all with whatever you get. Benefits you get on your card. This is not points that you earn. This is not some membership deal. This is just free cash back. Go now to your phone. Download the Upside app. The app is free using it's free and if you want an additional 25 cents off each gallon of gas on your first tank fill up, use the promo code mark and you'll get 25 cents back on each gallon of gas. This app just gives you cash back groceries, dining and and gas. Use it over at over 100,000 locations around the country. You just open the app, claim an offer, pay with your card like normal and you get paid. That is it. Upside's given back over a billion dollars to folks around the Country. To find out how much you could earn, download the free upside app and use the promo code Mark to get that extra 25 cents back.

[Jaime Moore]

I started with one shop. No college degree, no big investors. It was just a willingness to work. Over time, that one shop turned into a multi billion dollar business called Crash Champions. All the lessons I learned along the way came from the grind. And that's what my show Pod Crash is all about. We have real conversations with people who've built things the hard way. We talk to founders, athletes, and blue collar leaders who kept going when things got tough. You'll hear stories of grit, leadership and growth. Plus real world lessons you can take back to your team and your life tomorrow.

[Mark]

When you get momentum, you step on the gas. That's how you get separation from everybody else.

[Hogan Gidley]

I was at Harvard Law School.

[Mark]

I was.

[Hogan Gidley]

Blah, blah, blah. I looked up, Let me tell you something. There's kids in my neighborhood putting in Sheetrock that are smarter than you.

[Jaime Moore]

AI is going to disrupt a lot of stuff. It is never going to disrupt physical

[Mark]

blue collar trade skill.

[Jaime Moore]

And the guy just looked at me and he said, it's bloody impossible.

[Hogan Gidley]

So I asked him this question.

[Jaime Moore]

I said, it's impossible.

[Mark]

I.

[Jaime Moore]

Unless that's. Podcast with me, Matt ebert. Watch on YouTube and listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[Mark]

Thank you for your attention to this matter, ladies and gentlemen. It's the part of the show that Haima likes best and terrifies. Hogan. Take questions from the community. Here we go, Greg. Welcome,

[Jaime Moore]

Des Moines, Iowa. I want to know what your favorite food on a stick is, Mark.

[Mark]

Pork chop on a stick. Thank you for asking. Just pure protein. No, nothing, Nothing co. Nothing breaded. Just the pork chop on the stick. How about you?

[Jaime Moore]

I love the pork chop, but I'm old school, so I'm just like a corn dog. I eat as many corn dogs as possible.

[Mark]

Yeah. Greg, how about you?

[Hogan Gidley]

Oh, boy.

[Jaime Moore]

I tried cheese on a stick one time. That was a little too much for me. It was too much.

[Mark]

Yeah. I do, I do like the fried Oreos, I have to say, but they're not technically on a stick.

[Jaime Moore]

I have to say, Greg, if, you know, the butter cow is still in, in D.C. right now, just, just so you know.

[Hogan Gidley]

Oh, wow.

[Jaime Moore]

That's amazing. I'll be perfectly honest with you. This Iowan can take the fair every few years, but it, you know, I don't necessarily go every year, but it is a wonderful place.

[Mark]

I love, I love the fair. We're going to do a whole episode about the fair, Hyma and I'm going to be, I'm going to run in on that. Gail, you going to regale you with some of my stories. Greg, what's on your mind for the, for the gentleman?

[Jaime Moore]

Well, I just have a big picture question. I'm a Gen Xer, you know, the, the generation that nobody cares about. And I'm a little curious. You know, it seems everybody talks about the Iraq war, but it seems like everybody's memories only go back to 2003, not 2001. And I understand the Iraq war we got in a slog, many people died, cost a lot of money. We didn't really accomplish much.

[Mark]

I get that.

[Jaime Moore]

I'm not denying that. But There was also 9, 11 and that has to be part of our entire foreign policy awareness as well. So how do you see that fitting into Iran and people's views on that and everything and generational gap on that?

[Mark]

Great question, Jaime.

[Jaime Moore]

Yeah, that's a great, I think you're right. I think people, well, people are having a hard time with this. I was, I was at Arlington National Cemetery yesterday for, for a lovely event on service dogs and a number of veterans, both of the Iraq and Afghanistan war spoke and you can almost see the, the, the, the them reliving these instances because of, because we're in the middle of a new war right now. So I think that's one. So I think there's a visceral emotional reaction that people, both veterans and just regular Americans are having. That's just one. But two, I think you're right and I think Hogan made a point earlier about making sure that we protect this homeland. And so there are two things. There's one, there's eliminating the threat over in the Middle east and then making sure that they can't bring this to our front doors. And that's what people are trying to deal with right now. What's the most important thing we should be having our hearts on? Is it eliminating the threat over in Iran or is it making sure that these individuals do not come anywhere near us? And I think that's the confusion. I think that's what people, you know, can't really contend with. 1 and then lastly it's the, it's the Hogan always says this is the politics of it all. The Democrats are going to say one thing to make you feel a certain kind of way in the world. And so that's, and so intentionally both parties are playing ping pong with the emotional aspect of this war. And I think that's what, that's why there's been so much confusion and so much lack of historical understanding.

[Mark]

Brilliant answer, Hogan. Top that if you can.

[Hogan Gidley]

I. I can't, but I'll. I'll give you my answer, Greg. And it's an interesting question because I don't think people remember that at all. Look at what they just did in New York with who they elected as the mayor, for heaven's sakes. Look at what he's doing. No one's fighting back on that. No one has the historical rep. That's not even in Iowa, by the way. That's not Des Moines. That's not Charleston, South Carolina. It's not, you know, El Dorado, Arkansas. That happened in New York. And it's like they don't care. So I wish they had a better understanding of the context of what got us to this point, but will say this is good because Democrats will say this is bad, because none of that matters, in my opinion, unless we win. If we win and people view it as a win, then it's a great idea. If something happens and we lose more life and we lose more assets, it becomes a problem. Then it's a horrible idea. The outcome, I think it's like a. You're Des Moines. Are you a Hawkeye fan or a.

[Jaime Moore]

Well, I'm originally from Ohio, so I'm a Buckeye fan.

[Hogan Gidley]

Okay, Buckeye fan.

[Mark]

Okay.

[Jaime Moore]

You should have kept that to yourself the last time.

[Hogan Gidley]

When Ohio State runs a trick play,

[Mark]

the Ohio State, everyone in real time

[Hogan Gidley]

of the trick play is like, no, no, no, no. And then it works. And they're like, that's the most brilliant call ever. It doesn't work. And everyone goes, that's the stupidest coach I've ever seen. Why would you run that there? Get him out. Right. The outcome matters more to a lot of people, and that's just a fact. But real quick, fun note fair. I didn't get asked this, Mark. Bad hosting duties there.

[Jaime Moore]

Yeah.

[Hogan Gidley]

I was with Mike Huckabee at the Iowa State Fair, and I'm kind of a health nut, and I won't eat that for the most part. Some staff offered me a hundred dollars to eat a corn dog, and I took the hundred dollars and ate the corn dog. So I know the corn dogs are good. I'm not eating.

[Mark]

Greg. Thank you. I could tell you it's there. I have lots that are actually consequential, like when. When Trump was there and. And I've been there with John McCain, the Clintons, a bunch of candidates. But I was there once with Evan Bai and Senator from center from Indiana. And nobody knew who he was. So we're walking around and, you know, there's press, but there were way more press than voters wanted to talk to him. And so finally one of the Iowans said to me, who's. Who's that guy? Who is he? I said, it's actor Kevin Klein from A Fish Called Wanda. And then word spread around the fair that actor Kevin Klein was there, and then he was mobbed. People, people got photos for him. So I inadvertently helped out the buy campaign by making people think they were getting a photo with actor, actor Kevin Klein.

[Hogan Gidley]

There is a documentary called Caucus, Just another caucus by guy named A.J. schnack. And I was part of this documentary. Not. This isn't a plug a little bit. It beautifully captures the awkwardness of campaigning. So much of it centers around Iowa, campaigning through Iowa and the fair. It is a fascinating watch. You won a lot of awards, but you know the word. The movie's cost.

[Mark]

Yeah. Jaime, are we going to be doing a live morning meeting from the fair?

[Jaime Moore]

I hope so.

[Hogan Gidley]

I said that.

[Mark]

I know. I'm just trying to confirm it.

[Jaime Moore]

Let's do it.

[Mark]

Chad, welcome in. Thank you for being here. You ever been to the Iowa State Fair?

[Chad]

I haven't. I'm. I'm from the great state of Texas, and we have a pretty good fair here in Dallas.

[Hogan Gidley]

Yeah.

[Mark]

As we say. As we say in Midland. Your fair is Midland.

[Chad]

Ah, all right. That's okay.

[Mark]

I love it. Yeah, it's, it's, it's. It's. The Texas fair is top 10.

[Jaime Moore]

It's the best. They are the best fried Oreos of any state fair I've been to. You got to admit that.

[Mark]

Texas, Texas or Iowa.

[Jaime Moore]

No, Texas.

[Mark]

Yeah. Chad, what's on your mind, sir?

[Chad]

So I know this is a forward looking show, and so I'm just trying to think about. I'm thinking ahead to the. To the midterms. And I remember. Well, as I think ahead, I remember the red wave that was supposed to come back in the midterms with Joe Biden. And it was all predicted and it was all said and done.

[Mark]

Right.

[Chad]

Everybody knew it was going to happen and then it didn't. And I'm just wondering what. What are the chances that it's just. That's kind of what we have here, too, that it's kind of all baked in. The electorate kind of knows what they know and what they like. And maybe there's going to be a bit of a blue tilt, but maybe it's not as bad as everybody thinks. And as soon as the Trump campaign starts spending that money and he gets out there more and more like he does, because there's a lot of things I don't like about him. But campaigning is a pretty big gift he has during the election. When, when the McDonald's story happened, when the garbage truck, the, you know, all these things are happening, he goes on all these podcasts. It changes things because he has a way of, of connecting with people. And does it fire up the base? I'm. I don't think that the base has really has lost, you know, interest in him at all, like some people want to say. So I don't know. I'm just thinking, I don't know. Do we.

[Jaime Moore]

Are we.

[Chad]

Is there a chance that we're running into the same thing that, you know, it was going to be this big red wave, but then it all kind of comes crashing down where this is supposed to be a blue wave and it's really not? Or am I just wishful thinking?

[Mark]

Great, great, great question, Chad Hogan.

[Hogan Gidley]

I'm hoping you're correct, Chad. I'll be honest. Data tells me it's going to be difficult. My argument, though, is to the Republicans. They need to start that messaging and start those conversations. Now, one of the things Democrats, I think, do so beautifully that Republicans do this is 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in season, out of season. Republicans, after the summer, like, hey, we should start thinking about turnout and getting an election ready, and maybe we should do some door knocking. All of that stuff is baked by that time. And Democrats have already seated that ground very well. And so I'm a little concerned from the turnout apparatus because as we talked about on the show, no one turns out votes better than Donald Trump. Just naturally, you have to have a turnout mechanism. He just does it, but he does it on the Republican, Democrat side. And if he's not on the ticket, Democrats still run on Donald Trump and still get out their vote because of Donald Trump. And Republicans tend to withdraw a little bit. That's my concern, is turnout.

[Jaime Moore]

Yeah. I mean, and hobby. Just to correct the record, that is not my religion. I, I have my own religion that deals with God, not politics. So let's not continue that messaging. They're good Democrats who are good Christians and Muslims and Jews and whatever. But, Chad, I think this is, this is a really good, this is a really good question. I've lost a lot of sleep over this because I obviously hope that the blue wave does come. But I have been very, very, very, very judicious in the way I'm thinking about these, these districts and they're about 24, 25 that are up for consideration right now. A lot of those are lean red or lean blue. And so it's hard to kind of find there's never going to be a big wave ever again until, until, until gerrymandering, you know, allows for it. So right now the best case scenario for Democrats is they get sort of a plus, you know, plus 10, plus 15, which is very hard to get. So that's 1, 2 I Togan kind of subtly made the point, but your point self and he's very good at getting elected himself. That doesn't always translate very well to electing other Republicans, particularly in primaries and particularly in midterms. And so, yes, I think you're right. The, the vast majority of the MAGA base has not grown tired or malaised over Donald Trump as it stands. But that does not mean that they're going to go ahead and vote for a random Republican who they do not know in their district because Donald Trump told them to. When they're half there may be a good Independent or a good Democrat who they've known for 30, 45 in the 30, 40, 50 years. And so it all goes down to the nuance of the districts and the type of candidate that Republicans and Democrats have. If the Democrats have a candidate that is more connected to the community and the Republicans present, just a maga, you know, ideologue, then that's going to be a little bit more difficult to get over the over the hump. And so that's sort of the, the way we're all looking at it. And so no, it's not going to be a grand blue wave. But as it stands, Republican Democrats do have an advantage when they look when you look at district by district at

[Hogan Gidley]

the same time, I've never seen a candidate's endorsement matter more than Donald Trump. And by the way, that's fair on the Democrat side too. But I've never seen a candidate clear a field faster when he endorses a person than Donald Trump does.

[Jaime Moore]

And I think what we've also seen, and Mark's talked about this a lot, you got to look, we've seen so such high turn on the Democratic side. Let me look at your state of Texas. How many Democrats went out and voted in that primary last week? And that is historic. That's happening in Louisiana, Indiana, Arkansas, you know, Georgia, all over. And so those indicators do give some proof that Republicans are going to have a little bit more suppressed vote while Democrats have a little bit more enthusiasm and that combination could lead for Democrats.

[Mark]

Chad, if you could give the president one piece of advice about Iran, what would it be? Say again? We'll never, we'll never, we'll never know what Chad's advice was because his mic stopped working. Chad, thank you. Not sure why that happened. Gentlemen, curious about try to end up most of the shows this way these days. What are you looking for today in Iran? You've been focusing on oil prices, gas prices. You focused on straight. What are you focused on? President's remarks. Haim, are you first?

[Jaime Moore]

I'm focused on this, straight that. And I'm also focusing on the continued reaction from Iran. And I think at some point we're going to have to, the president have to decide to, to he's what he said last week, total elimination. You know, what does that mean? And I think he's going to have to decide over the next couple of days if we continue to allow Iran to react in the way they've reacted, you know, or do we, do we get a little bit more aggressive?

[Hogan Gidley]

Hogan, you asked just about Iran or

[Mark]

did you say in general just, just about Iran. What are you looking for?

[Hogan Gidley]

I'm looking for who controls the island and also the strait. I think that determines so much. The markets want and like and thrive on certainty. They don't have it in these instances, although still way better off than we were because we're producing our own oil and have better agreements than we ever had in the past thanks to Donald Trump. I'm still concerned about the strait and the island and if we can get those two things figured out. And then third, I think part and parcel to what Jaime said, what are we doing to eliminate the rest of those threats that we deem problematic for the region and for our homeland? Are we doing that, doing to get those ones running down the tunnels, as the Twitter author stated earlier?

[Mark]

Yeah, very, very well. And one last.

[Jaime Moore]

China.

[Mark]

Yes, sir.

[Jaime Moore]

We got to make sure that we keep an eye on China and how they continue to react to all of this.

[Mark]

You guys said all the stuff I was going to say. So I'll yield back the balance of my time. Except to say Citizen McCain is back at noon. Megan's back pretty soon, but not this episode. Miranda welcomes two of our favorites, Yemisei Biwale and Ryan Gardusky. That's a Noon on two way. If you've never watched the show recommended to you while Megan's away, Miranda has you covered two way tonight, five o', clock, full coverage of the latest on Iran and the President's trip to Ohio and Kentucky. And on this program tomorrow, sadly, we lose Hogan and Jaime. But if you have to do without Hogan and Jaime, ladies and gentlemen, what better way to try to make it through the morning then Larry O' Connor and Melissa DeRosa, they will be here tomorrow. I'm moving over right now to Sirius xm, rolling to the second hour of the morning meeting. You can call me there if you'd like to, to be part of the conversation. And gentlemen, I couldn't be more pleased to have you here. Love having you on the program. And Jaime will start a subcommittee to work on planning the state fair. I've got all sorts, sorts of all sorts of ideas and including maybe we get some candidates, some prospective presidential candidates to stop by.

[Jaime Moore]

Well, let's start pooling our money so we can get Hogan to eat as much junk as we, as we can find.

[Mark]

I assume Hogan gets the VIP discount?

[Jaime Moore]

Oh, we'll make sure he does.

[Mark]

When people, when people see Hogan, they'll be like free corn dogs, Mr. Gidley. Free corn dogs. Thank you all for being part of the two way community again. I'll see at 5 o' clock tonight on the morning meeting in 23 hours. Right back here, gentlemen. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Have a great day. See you on Sirius XM111 in moments.

[Jaime Moore]

Happy Tuesday.