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The Morning Meeting
What Does the Video Show? Trump Sends "Tough But Fair" Tom Homan to Minnesota Amid Uproar Over Death
01:04:55
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- [00:01]
Mark
This is it. The world as you know it is over.
- [00:04]
Chris
Completely done.
- [00:06]
Mark
It's not about to be over.
- [00:08]
Eric Erickson
It's over.
- [00:09]
Mark
Some of the scientists who helped build AI are now sounding the alarm. I was selling AI as a great thing for decades and I was wrong. I was wrong.
- [00:22]
Melissa DeRosa
There's a longer term existential threat that will arise when we create digital beings that that are more intelligent than ourselves.
- [00:30]
Mark
We have no idea whether we can stay in control. While others say that AI will usher in unfathomable abundance, I've always believed that it's going to be the most important invention that humanity will ever make. This really will be a world of abundance. 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.
- [01:00]
James Patterson
I'm James Patterson. I write way too many books. Welcome to Hungry Dogs. The title comes from my maternal grandmother, Isabel Zelvis Morris. Nan used to always say, hungry dogs run faster, James. And I've been running fast ever since. Here's what will be coming your way soon, and this is a really terrific list. I think you'll hear from some incredible people like Stacey Abrams. Yay. BJ Novak.
- [01:26]
Eric Erickson
Yay.
- [01:27]
James Patterson
Kathy Bates, Dolly Parton, Josh Gad. And Pope Leo. Okay, maybe not Pope Leo, but who knows, Maybe he'll show up. Hungry dogs run faster. Thank you, Grandma, for turning me into a hopeless, obsessive compulsive. Listen to Hungry Dogs with James Patterson. That'd be me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
- [02:01]
Mark
Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the morning meeting. Thank you for being here. Eric Erickson, Melissa DeRosa here to talk about news of the day. We will keep our normal format in the sense that we'll be very forward looking. We'll be focused on what's likely to happen next. But we'll talk a lot about Minnesota. There's other topics we want to get to the Fed. Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Affordability, Shapiro and Newsom. We may get to them, we may not, because we're going to have a full conversation about Minnesota. Part of what this platform exists for is to. For people to be able to participate and say what they want and ask questions. Everybody under one roof here. There are people here who'd like the whole show to be about the signal chat amongst protesters in Minnesota and Governor Waltz's record. And there are people here who would like to simply focus on Kristi Noem not telling the truth, or we'll talk about it. All whatever's on your mind. But our main focus, as I said, will be on what happens next. And I'll get to the daybook in a second. But shortly before we started this morning, the president, consistent with my sources who said he's going to change tact and you saw yesterday conflicting signals from the president, seemingly conciliatory in his Wall Street Journal five minute interview with Josh Dawsey, less conciliatory in his Truth Social post, another truth social post here, which is a clear indication, I believe, that he's going to change course. Here is what the president put on Truth Social just moments ago. I'm sending Tom Homans to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair and will report directly to me. He then goes on to talk about the welfare fraud and Congresswoman Omar's personal wealth. But let's focus on those first few sentence. Eric, you advocated this and your words to the president's typing explain the significance in your mind for what happens next of Tom Homans reporting directly to the president, not to Secretary Noem, not to Stephen Miller. Tell me what you think the significance of this is.
- [04:01]
Eric Erickson
So a lot of people say, in fact, the Wall Street Journal and others all been saying ice, it's actually Border Patrol and Greg Bevino who has been in charge of the operations. Tom Holman, the border czar, favors more targeted, systematic roundups of people we know to be criminals, members of gangs, drug dealers, instead of these broad, expansive, provocative things. That's why he was sidelined, according to multiple press reports by Kristi Noem. So sending him in is a signal to calm down. And by the way, the Democrats widely respect him. Barack Obama gave him an award. So it's an attempt, I guess you could say through a personnel change to deescalate the situation. Situation.
- [04:37]
Mark
All right, Eric, thank you for being here. Melissa, thank you for being here. Do you share Eric's view that this is a, a good sign for de escalation going forward 100%?
- [04:46]
Melissa DeRosa
I think Christine needs to be sidelined. I think Tom Holman should have been running this thing all along. I, you know, the Republicans can rightly point to the fact that Obama gave him the Medal of Honor. And even though he is someone who was viewed as really aggressive, I mean, everyone in New York will remember when he came and sat on FOX News's couch with Eric Adams and said if you if he didn't cooperate with ice, he was going to have his foot up his butt. I Think was the line he used. But he is viewed as the reasonable actor here. And in the immediate aftermath of the first fatal shooting, it's hard to believe those words are coming out of my mouth. A couple weeks ago he said there should be an investigation, whereas everyone else was rushing to defend the actions and sort of whitewash what happened. So I couldn't agree more. This was the right move and it's long overdue.
- [05:30]
Mark
Maybe it's too obvious to ask an answer, but Eric, why is the president saying Homan's reports directly to him? Why is that in his post?
- [05:37]
Eric Erickson
In large part because Home and his border czar people think the board, the czars, have unlimited power. They really don't. They have to get other people to do things. And in large part he's got to get the secretary of Homeland Security to cooperate. So by having him report directly to the president, you're cutting Kristi Noem out of the conversation.
- [05:54]
Mark
Do you think Noem and Bavino will be on on TV today and tomorrow or do you think this means they're going to stay off tv? What do you think?
- [06:01]
Eric Erickson
I would be very surprised given just the conversations I had with a White House official last night after 11 o' clock that a lot of people very upset about Noman Bovino's performance in the last 48 hours.
- [06:13]
Mark
But you think you'll see him on TV in the next 48 hours or no?
- [06:16]
Eric Erickson
I don't think that you will.
- [06:17]
Mark
Okay, Melissa, you think you'll see them on tv?
- [06:22]
Melissa DeRosa
Look, I don't have necessarily the same insight into the administration as Eric does, but I would say that it would be a massive mistake and we shouldn't see them on tv. They need a new face of this.
- [06:31]
Mark
Yeah, I don't think they'll be on tv. That's my sense from talking to folks. Again, we're going to change format a little bit. I'm going to run through the daybook and then I'm going to show you a few things from Minnesota and then we'll talk a little bit amongst ourselves and then to your questions on Minnesota early. So if you want to be in on the conversation. We just think it's so important for people in the country to have a chance to voice their views and to hear views of their fellow citizens, fellow members of the community here. So we'll get to that. And then if we have time for other stories today, we'll certainly get to them. Okay. Day book the president today. I don't know if we learned who he did his print Interview with it might have been the one he did on Friday. Might have been with New York magazine for the big story about the president's health, which by the way, New York magazine seemed to think the president's in pretty good health. But sorry for another day. Big event today because the president, as of now, nothing open press, but that could change. Caroline Levitt briefs at 1. Of course, she'll get a lot of questions about Minnesota. The president has a policy meeting of some nature at 2:30, another one at 3, and then a radio interview. Eric, you know who that's with?
- [07:34]
Eric Erickson
I do not.
- [07:35]
Mark
But it's not you. You can. We can rule you out.
- [07:38]
Eric Erickson
Yep. Okay.
- [07:39]
Mark
Not over there. All right, so four o'. Clock. Some sort of radio, I assume. It's not live. It says it's closed press, but we'll see. Don't know what the vice president's doing. The House is out. The Senate's supposed to come back. A lot of senators went back to D.C. yesterday in advance of the storm, but I don't believe all of them did. And of course, they're dealing with the fact that Democrats are fired up and energized, including Senate Democrats, about opposing the piece of the continue of the continuing resolution or funding, sorry, funding bill that would deal with Homeland Security and ice, even though ICE is funded for two more years because the big beautiful bill. So there's headed towards a partial government shutdown with the House away. If the Senate changes the bill, the House would have to come back to pass it. So Congress is a big mess currently. But again, Democrats are so fired up about this, they believe they're morally right and they're on the right side of public opinion. So unless the White House makes some concessions, I think we are headed for a partial government shutdown. Two big court cases in Minnesota today. And you know, as those of you who know my view on federal judges, they're all just politicians in robes. They just decide based on their own personal politics almost always and not always, but almost always. And the federal judges in Minnesota, regardless of who they were nominated by, whatever president, they're a bunch of liberals and there are a bunch of members of the community, we're on daybook, who want to put an end to. Who want to put an end to the operation. So two big cases today. One district court judge is hearing Minnesota's request that the operation be canceled. Now, I don't know how a federal judge can order that. I'm no legal expert, but I've never heard of something like that. But Minnesota is trying to get that done. And of course, if a federal judge ordered that, they'd go right to the court of appeals and I'm sure the court of appeals would stay it. So this is a slow gestating matter. And then another judge is listening to over the weekend the state said to the Fed, to the district court judge, don't let the feds destroy evidence from the shooting. The judge granted that but didn't hear it on the merits, just said, yeah, for now nobody destroy evidence. Seems weird they have to tell the federal government not to destroy evidence. But whatever. Today there's a hearing on the merits of that case. And again the local government, state government are asking the federal government to preserve the evidence. Week ahead, the president's going to Iowa tomorrow. Wednesday he's got a big event on those kid savings accounts. Wednesday, Melania Trump rings the opening bell in New York at the Stock Exchange. Marco Rubio on Wednesday appears before Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Powell. The Fed meets and Chairman Powell has his first press conference since all this brouhaha began. Let's see Melania film opens on Friday. Over the weekend we expect more trilateral conversations between Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. jimmy Kimmel's guests this week include both Marco Robbie and Joe Scarborough. The Tonight show has both Paris Hilton and Kevin James. And the Late show has both Governor Shapiro and Bad Bunny. Those are all good pairings. All right. Let's look at some some a few elements in this fast moving story of Minnesota that want to show you lots of statements over the weekend in support of the protesters and in recognition of the death of their one of their fellow citizens. The NBA Players Association 112 put out a very purposeful statement about the shooting and and siding quite clearly with the protesters. The Minnesota business community put out a statement a little bit more ambiguous but calling for peace and reconciliation. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama both weighed in rare instance where the New York Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post editorial boards all pretty much in the same place amongst those Republicans calling for investigation and speaking out in favor of, of, of transparency. 118 Please some usual suspects, Murkowski and and Tillis Collins but also ricketts of Nebraska, McCormick of Pennsylvania, Cassidy of Louisiana all calling for investigation. Now this is amongst the most significant things. Bill Melujian is a Fox reporter who's covered the border for a long time long tweet from him over the weekend 120 in which he reports that many people he's talked to over a dozen federal sources involved in immigration enforcement Say they're uneasy and frustrated, primarily focused on the claims made. False claims, manifestly false claims by the Secretary of dhs. And here's one paragraph specifically, I'm told there is extreme frustration with DHS officials going on TV and putting out statements claiming that Alex Preddy was, was intending to conduct a, quote, massacre of federal agents or wanted to carry out, quote, maximum danger, even after numerous videos appeared to show those claims were inaccurate. While they say it was a terrible decision to show up with a gun and inject himself into a federal enforcement operation, there is no indication Pretty was there to murder law enforcement. As video appears to show he never drew his holstered firearm. There's a million other things I could show you. And again, some of you are going to be concerned on blue or red issues like the signal chat or, or governor or sanctuary cities. And some of you're going to just say, you know, you're allowed to show up at a protest with a gun even though Scott Besson says you should show up with the sign. So, Melissa, where are we going? I don't want to try. It's always on the program to be forward looking. Now that Homans is going, now we have these court cases. Where are we going with this story?
- [13:19]
Melissa DeRosa
I think that this, that this is in the hands of Donald Trump at this point and he can make a choice. And I think he made the wrong choice, the good incident. And I think he can course correct right now governmentally and help get this right back on track, put Homan in charge, de escalate. You saw last night that you've got the Misoto National Guard out. They were handing out coffee, they were talking to protesters, bringing the temperature down. So there can be one path whereby not only in terms of tone coming from the top is their reorientation of how they're dealing with this, but also a fundamental change in enforcement. Not going around and asking people for their papers because they have an accent, not having people on the ground who have 47 days of training, potentially, I don't know, get rid of the completely arbitrary 3,000 person a day expulsion from the country guidelines set by Stephen Miller. They can make some real reforms here that can get them back on the right side of the issue that helped put him in the White House in the first place or not. And they can double down. And I think that you can sort of see in some of the tweets from Trump and in some of the reporting that there's the angel devil on both of his shoulders and he's struggling to figure out who to listen to. The fact that Kristi Noem is going, I feel like, is a sign in the right direction. But there has to be a fundamental change in terms of how they are implementing the enforcement across the board in order to get their arms back around this. Or they could double down. They could continue to do what they're doing. More viral videos can come out and then you can activate all across the country, which, frankly, I'm shocked. Hasn't happened yet. Protests that devolve into riots, things that then end up in ballot boxes where the Republicans just get completely smoked because the country desires balance and some sort of feeling like there's an adult in the room where at a crossroads moment here. And it's up to President Trump where it goes.
- [15:20]
Mark
If you don't read Eric's substack every day, you're making a big mistake. But the last two on this matter were just singular because Eric is a singular voice of clarity. And amongst the things Eric, you've written about is this. Second Amendment advocates are furious about what the administration has said, understandably so. I mean, if Barack Obama said you couldn't show up, and if you're, if you've got a license for concealed care, you couldn't show up at a protest with a gun, the right would be crazy. And to the NRA's credit, principled Second Amendment advocates, they've been critical of the administration. Eric, first question is the conventional wisdom is one thing. If the president backs down, if he does de escalate that it will somehow be showing weakness to the left. Is that something the president would be or should be concerned about in deciding what to do next?
- [16:06]
Eric Erickson
I do think he has to be concerned about how you do this, because if the president has dramatically change course, there will be a lot of people on the left who say, we gotta win now. Let's double down and do something. I will tell you, though, there are a number of people I've spoken to who they go back to the invasion into the church in Minnesota, and they think that this is only a matter of time before if the president changes course, the left interprets it as if we do these things, he changes course, they'll overplay their hand. There are a number of people, and I think they're right that you will see this escalation on the left that gets out of hand if the president continues to pursue deportations at all, which they're going to do, they're not gonna back down from the policy, even if they change course on how they do it. But that's still going to cause protests because a lot of the agitators in Minnesota have taken the position that any deportations of anyone short of someone who's being released from prison is a bridge too far. But most Americans actually support that policy.
- [17:07]
Mark
I believe, based on the polling data and the calls the President and others in the White House have gotten, that this is now akin to what happened with Matt Gaetz to be Attorney General. The President bullied through a bunch of nominees about whom members of Congress had serious doubts, including Pete Hegseth, including Kristi Noem, including Bobby Kennedy. He couldn't get gates through because it was a bridge too far. Now, that was less about public opinion than it was about elite opinion. The senators just didn't think that he should be the Attorney General. In this case, the public opinion is overwhelming. It's not just the so called fake news polls, although every poll is the same on this matter as are the private polls that the President has been shown by his own pollsters. And the number of Republicans speaking out publicly against how this has gone is nothing compared to the numbers who are privately very concerned. And to their credit, they're not just concerned about the politics of it.
- [17:58]
Melissa DeRosa
They.
- [17:59]
Mark
They also don't think it's right in America to have people shoot, shoot law enforcement shooting Americans in close range in situations that are, let's say, at a minimum, ambiguous. Do we have the picture of that was posted by the retired military leader. You know what I'm talking about. I don't see it on my list. In any event, I'll just say there are plenty of people in America who conveyed to the White House and to the President, members of Congress, retired military, business leaders. This is not. This is not right. Okay? And they may be. And many of them do feel Joe Biden failed on the border. Many of them do feel sanctuary cities are ridiculous. Many of them do feel that Governor Waltz and Mayor Fry are ridiculous. Many of them do feel you shouldn't show up at a protest with a concealed weapon and if you're stopped, you should say that you should put up your hands and say, I have a gun. Many of them feel that way. They're right in league with those of you listening to me who are very MAGA and reflexively supportive of this operation. They agree with all of that. But they also think that the way this is being conducted has to stop. Okay? And, and I'm telling you that I'm almost certain never want to predict Donald Trump. It's like I say, Donald Trump is less predictable than Kim Jong Un. Okay. Never want to predict him. But I'm just telling you this is headed towards a change and we saw the first step this morning with the decision to announce decision to send Homans. One more question for each of you. And then, and then, and then we're going to go to some hands. Eric. I know and Melissa's right. The president's the player here. The president's going to decide how this goes above all else. What about the performance of the governor? Is the governor times sounds like he's, he's conciliatory but at times very confrontational. Do you think, what would you like to see the governor do now?
- [19:55]
Eric Erickson
Look, I think the governor, I mean yesterday comparing this to Anne Frank hiding in an attic, the governor said we're in a fight with the federal government. I think if the president and those around him need to tone it down, the governor and frankly the mayor as well need to tone it down. They have been provocative more than they needed to be and there are ways for them to work with the federal government here on the basic policies. I mean the whole, this isn't happening anywhere else and it has a lot to do with Minneapolis's recalcitrants in being willing to help deal with border patrol and immigration when they reach out on status of those detained.
- [20:33]
Mark
Melissa, if you were an advisor to the Senate, Republican Senate Democrats who are, who are threatening to shut the government down, parts of the government down over this, what's the right way for Democrats to talk about this now?
- [20:47]
Melissa DeRosa
I think the Democrats need to talk about this as we are in the midst of a constitutional crisis. This is the rights, these are Americans that are being shot, Two Americans in several weeks being assassinated on the streets by American law enforcement. These are Americans whose Fourth Amendment rights are being violated and being dragged out of their house half clothed because they are falsely being accused of harboring criminals. So this is no longer like don't make this about the non documented people necessarily make this about civil liberties and about Americans losing their constitutional freedoms under this president and go hard on the Second Amendment if the right all of a sudden believes that there should be limitations on the second Amendment and where you can carry guns. I've got a few other thoughts. And we're, we shouldn't carry them. How about schools? How about churches? So I mean I would keep them on defense, but on the points that are core to American freedoms and put the, put the Republicans on defense there. And that's where I would advise that.
- [21:50]
Mark
They go, okay, I didn't tell the truth. I have one more topic I want to cover with the two of you. The credibility of the government. Governments lie when they're under pressure. They lie during war. They lie during domestic crises. Secretary Noem and other people in the executive branch have simply not told the truth. And they've done it precipitously in the immediate aftermath after both shootings. They've said things that they couldn't possibly know were true. And then their excuse is, well, we wanted to get information out as quickly as possible. No, that's not right. And the danger of this is not just to them politically. The danger of this is for America to have to have credit, not have trust in the government. Here is the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche on Fox and Friends this morning. FOX and Friends did not cover this story until 17 minutes into the show this morning. By the way, here is the deputy attorney general on FOX and Friends talking about the prospects of an investigation. He's usually pretty combative. Listen to his tone.
- [22:47]
Todd Blanche
Look, we're, we'll be in court today. There is an ongoing investigation, as we've said all weekend. And obviously we're not destroying evidence. And so to the extent that the, that the state of Minnesota wants to make this a show and go in front of a judge to insist that we do something we're absolutely not ever going to do, we'll be there. But this was a tragic situation that happened. And the fact that now we're going to go to court to say exactly what we're doing, which is, of course, we're investigating. We always investigate any conduct like this, any shooting like this, and we'll get to the bottom of everything that happened. But it is extraordinarily important that we do not jump conclusions about anything that happened on Saturday morning. And remember, remember what we saw on Saturday morning, what we all saw in that 10:15 second video is not the whole story. And every American should know that. The story goes way beyond that. It starts with the fact that literally for months we have received zero assistance from the state of Minnesota and any assistance from law enforcement. And it leads to what you saw on Saturday morning, which is out of control rioters and the tragic situation unfolding.
- [24:03]
Mark
Eric, we're all open to more information, but there's zero evidence so far that Preddy was a terrorist or that he was there to massacre law enforcement. What is the cost to our country of Secretary Noem and others just saying false, inflammatory things meant to spin the facts in a way that's not supported by evidence?
- [24:25]
Eric Erickson
It's deeply corrosive to the republic when public officials are working as spinmeisters instead of trying to be accurate. This goes back to Covid and before that, the level of distrust on the right that developed because the experts were saying things we now know they didn't believe or weren't sure seeded lots of doubts in the authorities on health care. Now here come law enforcement, border patrol saying the same thing. It festers conspiracies. We have a lot more conspiracies today than we have because people simply can't trust the government to tell us the truth at this point. And a republic can't survive if you can't trust the government for just the basic minimum of the facts. When you and I can watch a video, we can see what's happening and then have the government try to gaslight us on it. It's one, deeply inappropriate and two, corrosive to the stability of the Republic.
- [25:16]
Mark
Melissa, there are stories every day about since Saturday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, about the lack of truth in the New York Times, the Washington Post on tv. But it almost isn't, isn't big enough. Is there a way for the press, as guardians of the public interest, to hold them more accountable than we're doing for not telling the truth about such fundamental aspects of this? Can we do more and better or no?
- [25:41]
Melissa DeRosa
Look, I think the press is doing what the press is doing. I think the press is irrelevant at this point. At this point, to be perfectly frank. I mean, what I thought of this weekend when I saw that shooting and when I watched the video and audibly gasped, because even on the first viewing, you're like, I just witnessed an assassination of an American by law enforcement open on the streets. I thought about the debate stage with Donald Trump and Joe Biden when Joe Biden walked out, and I audibly gasped and said, my God. And. And afterwards you had Democrats going out and spinning and saying, he had a bad night, he was tired, he had been up all night, he was dealing with Israel, whatever the excuses were. And it was like, no, he has early onset dementia. And we all just saw it. And now you're asking us not to believe our lying eyes, and now we don't believe you on anything. And you know what happens after that? Politicians get punished at the ballot box because ultimately the people have the say and that's the road we're headed down. Not to make this political because it really shouldn't be, but the Republicans are headed down such a dark path right now in the midterms in general for so many reasons. This issue is something that if they don't clean it up quickly and really course correct is going to be something that 100% topples them. Do not tell me, Kristi Noem, that this guy was out there to go and engage in a massacre of law enforcement. To do not tell me that he was a threat to these people. You know what you thought that he was impeding enforcement? Great. Put a set of handcuffs on him. He did not draw his weapon. He was assassinated in the country. Watched it. And so this further undermines everything that comes out of the federal government. And sure, it undermines the press, but I'm sorry to say this, I think the press has zero credibility as it stands right now. Because if you're on the left, you report left facts. If you're on the right, report right facts. So now it really does come down to what Americans can see with their own eyes, which is why these viral videos are. Are so damaging.
- [27:37]
Mark
Okay, to your.
- [27:37]
Eric Erickson
Go ahead real quick.
- [27:39]
Mark
Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
- [27:40]
Eric Erickson
To the press. Yeah, take the Renee Good situation. She hit the agent. I don't even want to argue whether or not he should have shot her, but she hit the agent. And the mass of the press insisting that she hadn't based on their piecing together of videos. And it turns out she did. But it's not just that the press, and I'm not talking about the hardcore biased press, talking about the press that claims to be objective and claims to be fair is not these days. And they do take sides. And I think to have a republic we need a free press. And press is no longer free. It's captured by its prejudices in a way that's detrimental as well as the politicians lie.
- [28:24]
Mark
Want to get to a lot of you. So please, I'm going to ask you to be short in your questions or comments if you can. Let Eric and Melissa respond and then we'll get to a bunch of you. Lawrence, your first. Good morning. I wish the government would publish a monthly updated summary of the Bad Hombres list by location and itemize why people are on that list. I don't understand why they don't do that. Okay. By location, I mean. Yep, understood. Okay, thank you, Lawrence. Melissa, would you. Would you be for that? Against that don't care to publish a list of all the people who've been deported who have committed crimes. They put it out occasionally, but I think Lawrence is saying not the people deported. The people that are on the list to be deported. Okay. People who have. By location. So that if you're in. Yeah, understood. Got it. Now you can see who they're after. Yeah, Melissa.
- [29:16]
Melissa DeRosa
I mean, look, Lawrence, I think you're saying the same thing that the President's advisors are saying to him, which is why last week when he did the press conference on his one year anniversary in office, you saw him start with the first 15 minutes holding up photographs of people and the crimes they had committed that they were deporting. And then you saw an hour later, there was an ICE press conference in Minneapolis where they started off the first 10 minutes doing the same thing. And so it's clear internally they're having discussions about needing to shift the narrative away from the enforcement and to the people who are being deported or who are being pursued to be deported. But I don't think that that helps. Again, when you see videos online of agents saying, let me see your papers, as if this is Poland, 1938, and they say, why? And they say, because you have an accent. My grandfather, till the day he died a year ago, had a thick Italian accent and he had been a citizen of this country since 1952. This is where it goes back to the erosion of basic rights of Americans. And, and what you're saying, I don't think people are arguing with get rid of the rapists, the gang members, the criminals. Yes. Remind people that's what their mission is. But until they change some of these tactics and make actual adjustments on the ground and these videos keep coming up, none of it is going to help.
- [30:34]
Mark
Eric, you're missing the point. Hold on, hold on. I'm sorry, hold on, Lawrence. What's the point we're missing? The point is, is that this is a national issue that is theoretical for most Americans. Yeah, no, we, we get that. We get, we get your point. This would make you, make it local. Yeah, Lawrence, we get it. Real. We get it. It's not real for most people. Understand? Agree with you, Eric.
- [30:59]
Eric Erickson
I, I, I actually think I. One, I would be hesitant to put out the list of people who are to be deported because that would just inspire, I think, some level of vigilantism.
- [31:07]
Melissa DeRosa
But, oh, yeah, I wouldn't say their names.
- [31:09]
Eric Erickson
Most Americans.
- [31:10]
Melissa DeRosa
I agree with that.
- [31:11]
Eric Erickson
No, for example, I didn't know until they put it out on Twitter last week, there were 25 people from Minnesota that were rounded up and deported. Who? Child pedophiles, child rapists, rapists, gang bangers. They should be more forthcoming about the people who are being deported so people get a sense of they actually are targeting the bad guys. The problem here is we now know that there's A significant portion of this Border Patrol effort of the person who's the grandmother who's been here for 40 years. And that could cause some people to question exactly how we're targeting people. So they should probably target better and release the names.
- [31:48]
Mark
Lawrence, thank you. John. Welcome in.
- [31:51]
John
Good morning. Like you all and everyone, I'm grieved by it all. I am a conservative. I voted for Mr. Trump twice. I do support these policies overall, and I can hold two truths at the same time, meaning that Renee and Alex who died, they believed that they were doing what was right. They were not domestic terrorists, but they were protesters who were doing illegal things. And what I'm upset about is the ineffective leadership. They can't seem to separate protesters because if I'm the mayor or the governor, citizens are going to stay 25 yards away from ice because ice is performing lawful, lawful duties. They're not assassinating. You can say that they over. They use excessive force and the. And the investigation will show that. But what I'm frustrated by, even if I'm a liberal Democrat who's totally against ice, I'm going to make sure my citizens stay 25 yards away from ice and I'm going to work with ice until I go through the court systems and get what I want. But that's where I'm at.
- [32:55]
Eric Erickson
Yeah.
- [32:56]
Mark
Eric, I again, we all can have complicated thoughts at the same time. And I was very heartened on X this weekend. A number of people in my feedback were expressing views similar to John's, balanced views and seeing things on both sides. Eric, I do feel you have a right to protest. You have right to film video. But when you get that close to ICE officers, particularly if you've got a gun, you're creating a different situation, aren't you? Yeah.
- [33:20]
Eric Erickson
Yeah, you absolutely are. Alex Preddy should be alive. He got way too close, more than he should have. There's been this embodiment of righteousness and the cause. We get that now from some of the investigations of the signal chat and the like. They think they're on the side. But at the same time, my concern in this case is different from the Renee Good case, who was the entire day harassing ice, using her vehicle to block them before the tragedy unfolded. This guy had a camera and was assaulted after he had walked away. When a Border Patrol agent, not ice, Border Patrol, knocked someone down and he was trying to kill, get between that person and the Border Patrol agent, it got out of hand. Yes, I understand the argument that he had a gun and that could be provocative. But, you know, I've got one. I'm in the South. We all carry. It was his right to do. It's a sad situation that I think has been needlessly escalated. And you should not go try to intervene with Border Patrol when they're deporting people. Protest is nonviolent in this country, Melissa.
- [34:30]
Mark
People on the right look at the signal chat group, they look at the history of the last 20 years or more, and they say, here's what happens. Liberals organize, they're provocative, they look for confrontation, and then they use the confrontation to try to demand change and an end to the programs they don't like. Is that a true accusation?
- [34:52]
Melissa DeRosa
I think in some instances it is. I don't think in all instances it is. I do agree that. I think that Tim Waltz has done a terrible job this entire time. Again, you know, last night when I saw they deployed the National Guard, who was immediately engaging in de escalation tactics. I worked for the governor of the state of New York during the George Floyd aftermath and during the summer that followed where there was protests that bordered on rioting at various points. And I will tell you, when I was sitting in that chair, the number one thing that we were looking to do was de escalate. And I think a lot of what Waltz was doing was in flame. And I think that there are certain, certain law enforcement that are trained specifically to go in and de escalate and that they hesitated from deploying those people and sort of let this mayhem go. And then last night, all of a sudden, you see a change in tactics when things got so hot and the second person has been killed and. And I thought to myself, why the hell didn't you do that all along? And so I think that we should be doing those kinds of things and that leaders, first and foremost, need to look to de escalate and try to keep First Amendment. Yes, but you cannot harass, you cannot destroy property, you cannot throw things at law enforcement. You cannot burn cop cars. You cannot do those things. And that line also has to be very clear, John.
- [36:09]
Mark
If the President called you and said, I saw you on the morning meeting I'm sending home, and what else should I do? What else would you tell them to do?
- [36:19]
John
I. I want him and Waltz to agree that ICE can take people that are already been arrested, that have a deportation order and that they provide local protection to provide that separation. And then that way they can get the 3,000. They can, you know, go down to 500 or a thousand, whatever the right number is. But what they need to do, to stop, to stop these tragedies from happening. The federal government, the state, they need to reach an agreement for the good of the people.
- [36:48]
Eric Erickson
Because there's.
- [36:49]
John
We can all agree there's no reason this should have happened, right? They had goodwill. And ICE is not the Gestapo, they're not the Nazis. The ICE saves lives. And in our government, both sides need to work together for the good of the people. And both sides are not doing that right now.
- [37:08]
Mark
Okay, John, thank you. Very thoughtful. Grateful to you. Chris, welcome in as send. Everybody else, please try to be brief. Question or comment?
- [37:19]
Chris
My comment is that I think that one of you, I think the lady. Sorry, I can't remember your name.
- [37:30]
Mark
Co hosting.
- [37:31]
Eric Erickson
Today.
- [37:33]
Chris
You mentioned that the media is not really going to be helpful or the media won't be helpful in part because if you watch Fox News all day, your understanding of what's going on is either minimal or very distorted. Now, I watch MSNBC all day. Ms. Now all day. I can tell. I can assure you that my knowledge of what happened, it may not be totally accurate, but it's closer to the truth than what Fox is gonna show. Most of the people who are on this call, who only watch FOX all day. So one of the problems is that mainstream media, that term is not used appropriately anymore because mainstream media for MAGA is Fox. And FOX is the most distortive of the media outlets, way more than cnn.
- [38:22]
Mark
Chris, do you want them to comment on what you just said or do you wanna ask a short question?
- [38:26]
Chris
Here's the short question. Did I miss something? Because I didn't see this guy pretty. On the video I saw getting too close to ice. I saw him trying to help a lady who had been shoved by ice and then they went after him. So he wasn't even, from what I can see, the initial target of their activity.
- [38:46]
Mark
Yeah, she was. Understood. Thank you. Eric. You've watched a lot of the film. I know from what you wrote. At times he did get, he did get close, but. Go ahead.
- [38:54]
Eric Erickson
Yeah, he did get close, but he also, he maintained his camera. ICE was. Again, we all keep saying ice. It's Border Patrol. It's not ice. ICE is getting a bad rap for Border Patrol. Border Patrol was accosting someone who was accosting them. Preddy tries to get assistance to this person, someone else. They've now walked away. Their backs are turned. A Border Patrol agent shoves them, knocks them down, begins to spray. Preddy positions himself to try to protect the other two people from being sprayed. And he's Then pulled back, the scuffle begins. And they very clearly discover the gun. He does not brandish it, he does not point it, he does not appear to say he's got a gun. They find it, remove it, and then he's shot. And that's the most disturbing part of this, is the, they found the gun, appear to have removed the gun, and then he shot. I will say this, though, Mark. I've been on MSNBC a good bit. I was a contributor for Fox and for cnn. I don't think that I can say that MSNBC is somehow less biased than Fox. I think they very much both are. And if you do think that you're getting more truth from your network than the other, I would consume multiple networks because they all have those biases.
- [40:11]
Mark
I'll just remind everybody, in the spirit of peace, love and understanding, I'm going to suspend the $40,000 fine. But if you call it MSNBC, you're supposed to have to pay a $40,000 fine for branding. Melissa, just a quick follow on that. Is the, Is the, is the. How do I phrase this? Is the messaging by the. You said the media doesn't matter. Does the messaging by the parties matter? Like what matters and how and how this is framed for people?
- [40:40]
Melissa DeRosa
I think that it ma. I think that the messaging from the party matters. And I. Let me revise my previous statement. I think that the media matters insofar as to the point where everything is now viewed as being so us against them and so hyper partisan that what you often see is, you know, my Twitter feed is a certain tunnel visioned view and I repeat the same thing that the algorithm feeds me, which is the same kind of thing I watch on the news. And, and so to the extent that the party messaging or the media messaging from the various outlets, none of which I think are nonpartisan at this point. Not, not the New York Times, not the Washington Post, none. I think that, you know, it matters insofar as whatever you're consuming, you tend to agree and repeat with and double down on. And so I think that it would be great if there was a little bit more media that was out there, like this platform that sought to bring both sides together and have a civilized conversation that really listened to one another, that would be great. But to the extent that the messaging matters, I think that the messaging matters and that it just reinforces a point of view, which is why it's so significant. When you see senators who aren't Susan Collins breaking with the President, when you see Comer come out and say certain things. That's when it matters. When it's the people that aren't always the only go tos that break with the party. That break with the party.
- [41:57]
Eric Erickson
Yep.
- [41:57]
Mark
Okay, quick sponsors and then back to your questions on on this matter. Right now, our friends at Cozy Earth are making available a special discount possibility to buy one and get one free of the bamboo pajama set. You might say to yourself, mark, why would I need one, let alone two bamboo pajama sets? Well, classic Cozy Earth favorite. They were sold out for a while, but now they're available again. You'll love slipping into them night after night. Lightweight, yet cozy, this effortlessly soft set helps you fall asleep faster and stay comfortable longer. I'll be honest, I don't have that yet, but I will soon. And I wouldn't doubt our friends at Cozy Earth because they tend to be right right now. Use the promo code for the pajama set. Michael, where is this promo code? It's a really. It's too long a promo code. It couldn't be the promo code. 2W. Yeah. 2WMM.
- [42:49]
Eric Erickson
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Mark
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- [43:17]
James Patterson
I'm James Patterson. I write way too many books. Welcome to Hungry Dogs. The title comes from my maternal grandmother, Isabel Zelvis Morris. Nan used to always say, hungry dogs run faster, James. And I've been running fast ever since. Here's what will be coming your way soon. And this is a really terrific list. I think you'll hear from some incredible people like Stacey Abrams.
- [43:41]
Mark
Yay.
- [43:42]
James Patterson
BJ Novak.
- [43:43]
Mark
Yay.
- [43:44]
James Patterson
Kathy Bates, Dolly Parton, Josh Gad, and Pope Leo. Okay, maybe not Pope Leo, but who knows? Maybe he'll show up. Hungry dogs run faster. Thank you, Grandma, for turning me into a hopeless obsessive compulsive. Listen to Hungry Dogs with James Patterson. That'd be me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
- [44:14]
Mark
All right, back to questions. Michael Briggs, one of our favorites. He rarely raises his hand, but is one of the wisest people I know. Michael, welcome in. Thank you for being here. Question or comment?
- [44:25]
James Patterson
Thank you.
- [44:26]
Mark
Question for you, please. Yes, sir. Given stipulating that there are bad actors in government at both the state and.
- [44:33]
James Patterson
Local and national level, do any of.
- [44:36]
Mark
You think that it would help the situation if Kristi Noem were to resign? Were to resign? All right, that's a good hypothetical. Melissa. Would it be helpful for Secretary Noem to resign? Did Melissa freeze Eric? Would it be helpful?
- [44:55]
Eric Erickson
I think it would. I think it helps reset the conversation in a different way for the President to move beyond what has happened. It would be a very interesting Senate confirmation fight for whoever the replacement is. But I frankly, I'll tell you, I think Kristi Noem has completely disqualified herself in the past 48 hours over her handling of this. And I had reservations about her to begin with, wasn't a fan of her appointment. So I do have that bias. But I think the last 48 hours have been deeply discrediting.
- [45:24]
Melissa DeRosa
Okay, Melissa, I'm sorry, my computer froze for a second. If the question was would it be.
- [45:30]
Mark
Helpful, would it be helpful if she resigned?
- [45:32]
Melissa DeRosa
Yes. I think that they need to turn the page. And if it's, and if, if it's pride that they don't want to look like they're giving the left to win, then I think they should like disappear her. She needs to go sit in a back office somewh and not be doing press conferences and not be the face of this anymore. People rightly have lost total faith in her. She's lied to the American public on too many occasions on something too important. She's got to step aside.
- [45:55]
Mark
I will say, although we try to be forward looking here, I was amazed when the first batch of cabinet nominees came out and everybody said, well, they're going to target Hegseth and Kennedy and Gates. I was amazed she was not targeted. I was amazed that even some Republicans didn't say what, what is in her resume as the governor of South Dakota to, to be, to, to be in one of the biggest jobs in the government. But she was not, I mean, I don't think she got very many Democratic votes. I think she got some. But no Republicans spoke out against her and Michael. I think it would be helpful as both Eric and Melissa said, I don't anticipate it happening. I don't anticipate it happening now. Could, could the President move to fire her? I think he might. I think he might. I think he might. I don't, I'm not predicting it, but I think he might.
- [46:42]
Melissa DeRosa
Again, if they're too prideful, just bench her. But if you're Susie Wiles, if you're trying to get the message this week back on the economy and going to Iowa tomorrow and talking about what he's done on college savings loans, like none of that's going to get covered this week. The entire week is going to be about this. And it's not entirely her fault. She didn't pull the trigger, but my God, she made it worse. So just even for that alone, politically bench her.
- [47:07]
Mark
Yeah. Michael's worked for two United States senators, Democrats. Michael, I'm wondering what you think the Democrats in the Senate will do this week in conjunction with the funding bill. I'm afraid that they're going to go.
- [47:19]
James Patterson
Down the shutdown route again.
- [47:21]
Mark
You think that's a bad idea in this case? Yeah, I do. I do. Why?
- [47:27]
James Patterson
Because it doesn't accomplish what needs to.
- [47:31]
Mark
Be accomplished as far as getting the country back on the even path here. What about policy changes at ice? You don't think they could leverage that threat to get some changes? Maybe, but doubtful. Interesting, because as you know, they're very united in doing it. Very united. Sure they are. Sure they are. And my former boss is for it. But yeah, I just.
- [47:59]
James Patterson
What happened? What did they get the last time.
- [48:01]
Mark
They shut down the government?
- [48:02]
Melissa DeRosa
Nothing.
- [48:03]
Mark
Did they get. They elevated the issue. They would say they elevated, they elevated the issue for a while and. But as a practical matter, what did it accomplish? Yeah, Michael's reference to his former boss amongst the people he's worked for is Senator Sanders. Michael, thank you. Grateful to you always for coming on. Thank you. All right, let's bring Wendy back. Wendy lives in Minnesota and told us some pretty interesting stuff on Friday about her daughter who's a politician, going door to door and hearing from folks, Republican, older Republican voters, unhappiness with the operation that was before the shooting. So Wendy, again, even for you, if you can be short, how are people in your world reacting in the aftermath of the shooting?
- [48:44]
Wendy
I think that John that spoke about having a perimeter around ICE and that kind of thing and everything else that he said is exactly how conservatives are thinking here in Minnesota, you know, in my group. And, and again, what my daughter's hearing at the door, my, forgive me if I have my, my tinfoil cap on today, but I want to ask you guys something that's been rolling around in my mind and that I've been reading about it with the signal chat stuff that's been, that's been published. You know, it's obvious that there is a well funded and well organized far left that is using this issue to Rile up Americans against the government again, Maybe I have a tinfoil hat on. My concern is if ICE pulls out completely and the left wins, that this stuff will spread across the country on all kinds of issues. And, and I don't want the left, far left to keep pushing, pushing, pushing until the crazies on the far right take to the streets. That's just not going to be good. And I think that's maybe their goal. So, based on the signal stuff and all of that, are any of you concerned about that this from the far left, this isn't really about immigration, it's about antigovernment anarchy, or am I nuts?
- [50:10]
Melissa DeRosa
Yeah, Melissa, I mean, look, as someone who couldn't be more vocal opponent of the far left, the problem that Trump faces, the country faces right now is you didn't need a signal chat to be completely, you know, overtaken with what we are seeing in these images and get riled up. I don't need a signal chat to tell me that what I saw was abhorrent and to feel something. And in a country where literally there could be a mass shooting at a school tomorrow and it won't make the front page, the fact that there is this national reaction to what they're seeing in some of this border, Border Patrol enforcement means it has hit a nerve. Will the far left seek to exploit it? Yes, they will. But they didn't pull that trigger. They didn't say, show me your papers because you have an accent. And so the right, Trump, and the way that they are enforcing these laws are handing them this issue and allowing it to animate many more people, I think, than would otherwise be animated by the removal of rapist gang members, murderers who absolutely should not be here. And as a Democrat and as someone who supported Barack Obama when he was deporter in chief, agree with. So I think that there is. Obviously, the far left is going to try to seize those moments when they happen to organize to get everyone riled up. But these moments are happening, and that's the problem, and that's what can be avoided.
- [51:37]
Mark
Eric, no surprise to me that they're using technology to communicate and organize. I think some people are trying to paint just the fact of that as nefarious. But to the extent that there are communists and socialists involved in these groups, is that something that speaks to a bigger problem for the country?
- [51:53]
Eric Erickson
Yeah, look, I agree with Wendy's point that I do think that the Trump administration has certainly made it easy for them and given them an easy cause to gravitate towards. But they wanted to find something in order to oppose the Trump administration. They really believe the fight, whatever it is, is important. And these agitators, we've seen them, whether it was after October 7th on college campuses or things like this, they're finding causes and ways to pull people in to agitate and move towards more violence. The storming of the church in Minnesota after the Renee Goode situation and then to have local officials and state officials like Keith Ellison, for example, justify the protests in the church only exacerbates the situation. There are people looking for violence in the country right now, and I think both sides, frankly, have to be mindful of that. Either side could very easily far overplay its hand. And until the Border Patrol incident with Alex Preddy, the moving of people into, into the church was headed towards a rapid escalation on the left.
- [52:59]
Mark
Neither of you go ahead, Wendy, you.
- [53:02]
Wendy
Were talking about other announcements that groups had made and businesses and stuff. There was also a publication put out by the Minnesota Peace Officers association statewide police union, asking to meet with the administration because they want to support ice. They want to find a way to support having these bad people out. I think it's just the governor and the mayor and the Minneapolis PD that do not.
- [53:28]
Eric Erickson
Yeah.
- [53:28]
Mark
Either Eric or Melissa have question for Wendy if you'd like to. You don't need to, but if you do, feel free to ask who lives in Minnesota? Okay, Wendy, thank you. Grateful to you. Thank you. All right, quick word from another sponsor, then back to your questions. 25% off all the products right now on CB Distillery. Go to CBDistillery.com promo code 2WMM for 25% off everything on the site, CB Distillery products. 50% of adults say they'd feel better if they got more sleep. And stress is often the biggest barrier to that. And for many people, including the 2 million customers a CB distillery has already sold to find their natural solutions for street sleep and stress can help break the cycle of not enough sleep. Premium quality third party tested free from artificial dyes and fillers. All the products on CBDistillery.com now are available to you as a listener to this and viewer of this program. 25% off your entire purchase go to CB Distillery. Use the promo code 2WMM. CBDistillery.com promo code 2WMM for 25 off everything. If you're looking for more sleep, better sleep right now. Give it a try. CBDistillery.com promo code 2 WMM Aaron, welcome in. Tell folks what's on your mind. Again, if you can Be brief. That would be fantastic.
- [54:45]
Aaron
Oh, God, I gotta be brief. I don't know how to do that.
- [54:48]
Mark
I guess if you have.
- [54:52]
Aaron
An ICE agent that is. Or CBP agent that's running down, Is tracing people down the street and with all the kinetic energy they can possibly muster, shoving women to the ground one after the next. This is my, this is my thought exercise, you know, and let's say there's an infinite number of them. At what number do you step in? Lost the gentleman, Eric. Mark, so we won't ask you to step in.
- [55:19]
Mark
What number do you remember as a member of the public or as a protester?
- [55:24]
Aaron
As a guy standing there?
- [55:25]
Mark
Yeah, it's just.
- [55:26]
Aaron
It's just personally like. And I, I'm pretty sure I'd be dead today. Like, I'm pretty sure I'd be dead because I would have stepped in and I would have a gun on me. Not because I'm a bad guy, but just because that's who I am.
- [55:40]
Mark
Right.
- [55:41]
Aaron
And, you know, I'm pretty sure I'd be dead. And so this is frustrating to watch. This, this guy, you know, I understand. Hey, lady, get out of here. I understand. Hey, lady, if you don't get out of here, I'm gonna arrest you. I understand. She didn't get out here. Actually taking her into custody, that all seems like professional policing. This third thing that they do where they crank it immediately up to 11 and just start shoving people and bear spraying people and abusing people. That doesn't seem like professional policing.
- [56:18]
Mark
Yeah. Aaron, you ever voted for, Ever voted for a Republican for president, Eric?
- [56:22]
Eric Erickson
I have.
- [56:23]
Mark
Yeah.
- [56:23]
Aaron
I voted for Trump twice.
- [56:25]
Mark
Yeah. Okay. Just.
- [56:27]
Aaron
I'm the guy.
- [56:27]
Mark
I'm the guy just making sure people understand. Just making sure that you are speaking not just for millions and maybe tens of millions, but for many Trump voters who are looking at these images and have the same reaction you did. Eric, what are your.
- [56:40]
Aaron
And I'm a. I'm the most heartless person when it comes to these deportations. If your abuela has been here for 30 years, I call that a good run. It's time for her to go home. So I'm, I'm.
- [56:51]
Mark
Yeah, under. Understood. Very, very important context, because again, you're not, you're, you're more hawkish on immigration than a lot of the president supporters. Eric, thoughts on that?
- [57:00]
Eric Erickson
Yeah, look, I, I'm, I, I, I kind of. I get this. I saw the video. I had a number of me on both sides to. I spent my Sunday watching videos of a man getting killed from Multiple angles. And for the life of me, I looked at it and was he probably too close with his camera? Yes. Did he need to be shot? No. He was putting himself between two people who had been shoved after they had walked away. And that to me is the thing that struck me is as someone who could look at the Renee Goode situation and say, I understand why this happened and she shouldn't have put herself in this position. These individuals had turned their backs to border patrol, were walking away, and the border patrol agent shoved them to the ground.
- [57:50]
Mark
Right. Eric, it's not the only instance where we've seen shoving and spraying in situations. I mean, one of the things we still don't know, at least I don't know, is at the moment of the minutes before the two killings, what were they doing? Were they about to, were they about to apprehend someone or they just driving around town? Like, what are they actually doing? Because they don't seem to me in either instance to be on the precipice. In other words, the interfering with law enforcement is kind of a little bit high level and abstract. At least as best we can see from the videos. They're not, they're not rushing someplace. And again, what's the purpose of that shove? Why do they have to shove her over? Because it didn't seem like she was interrupting anything. She was annoying them. She was too close to them by some standards. But, but what's the point is that, is that their training. Are they trained to shove that woman over and spray her? Is that what they're trained to do?
- [58:43]
Eric Erickson
Well, you know, it's also worth pointing out that they don't have full law enforcement training. The border patrol agents, they're not technically law enforcement. And that's about. From several people within the administration.
- [58:53]
Mark
Yeah, yeah, I just, I just find the shove, the shove in this instance, which, you know, set off the dominoes, just seemed gratuitous. Now, again, we don't know all the facts, but, but, but Aaron's, I think point is if you're, you know, if you're a man who believes in gallantry, it's just natural instinct to say, hey, stop shoving her. Like you could hurt. You could seriously hurt her. And, and, and as you guys have both said, they were walking away. They weren't. They weren't. The extent they were interfering in something, they didn't seem to be interested in continuing to interfere.
- [59:25]
Melissa DeRosa
Well, and I, this is.
- [59:27]
Aaron
I'm sorry, go ahead, Melissa.
- [59:28]
Melissa DeRosa
Well, and first of all, I appreciate that you're suggesting basically that you would get between me and that cop. That was very, very kind of you. But, you know, and this is the thing that's so frustrating for people who've actually worked in government, who have actually managed police departments, which I have, police are trained to deal with protesters. Police routinely get spat on, they get yelled at in their face, they have objects hurled at them. This is not the Minneapolis is not the first time this has happened. It does not make it right. But let's have a reality check here. The attitude coming from the top from Kristi Noem and others, and I understand the blue line and you know you're going to stand up for them no matter what, but they're acting with full impunity. And some of these videos almost look like the back slapping going on after they shove someone to the ground is like you're at a frat party and these guys don't have proper training. That's part of the issue. 47 days does not a police officer make like when you are putting people in these situations where it is high tension, high stress, where you know that there are going to be some agitators in there, where you know that people are going to be out there with their phones, where you know, people are trying to catch certain moments you need, it's required to have that extra level of training on de escalation and how to deal with it. So that's another huge part of this issue. But I think some of that attitude coming from these border patrol agents is that they are acting with full impunity because that's the direction they're getting from the top. Which is why I think the Tom Homan change is absolutely necessary at this juncture.
- [61:04]
Mark
Aaron, thank you for the question and for the view of the puppies. Quick one, one last sponsor. Get your free quote on health life Insurance now from ethos.com Go to ethos.com, get a free quote on life insurance. Ethos, an online platform that makes it easy to get life insurance. Protect your family's future in minutes, not in hours or months. Ethos helps provide financial security. Imagine losing access to the breadwinner in your home through a tragedy. And can't pay your bills, can't pay the mortgage, can't pay rent, can't pay college tuition. You can get a quote in as little as 10 minutes. Go to ethos.commark for a free quote. The opportunity to get the peace of mind you need. It's 100% online, no medical exam required. Just a few health questions and you can get a quote as I said, in as little as 10 minutes and up to $3 million in coverage. Go right now to ethos.com/ for your free quote to get the peace of mind your family needs. Don't put it off. This is something people put off for obvious reasons. Do not put it off. Tonight two way tonight, 5:00pm Eastern time, new time. You can watch it at six on YouTube. You can watch it at seven on YouTube, at eight on YouTube whenever you want. But if you want to watch it live and you want to participate live, please join me now. New time permanent change as much as anything in Media is permanent. 5:00pm Eastern Time here on two way and then at 7:00 Eastern Time, join Ethan Suplee on lifelong. Ethan Bernard is his Bernard is his guest. Ethan Supley lifelong to understand how to be part of an community that believes in living a healthier life. Eric, remind people where they can see, read, hear and listen to your work.
- [62:35]
Eric Erickson
Eric Erickson.com is Erick or EW. Erickson is pretty much all over social media, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, you name it. EW Erickson.
- [62:44]
Mark
Yeah, I'm telling you folks, Eric is one of the most original thinkers. He's courageous and you should read him every day and listen to him. He just his singular voice in America and very grateful. Eric, whenever you join us here, Melissa, buy Melissa's book which is about her time in government and more.
- [62:58]
Melissa DeRosa
And Melissa, what's your handle on social It's Melissa derosa. And Eric, I just want to tell give use this opportunity to tell you that I am a center left Democrat and I follow you religiously and I appreciate your voice on these topics.
- [63:12]
Mark
Thank you both for being here. Thank you all for raising your hand. I'm sorry we didn't get to all of you had your hand up. We'll be back in 23 hours. Another opportunity and again join me tonight. Again new time for the 28 tonight 5pm Eastern time. Thanks to Eric, Melissa, all of you. I'll see you at 5pm tonight and tomorrow at 9am Have a good day.