Will Trump Hit Back Hard After Iran Launches Drone Attacks on Its Neighbors? Are Peace Talks Dead?

Summary

The Morning Meeting – April 3, 2026

Host: Mark Halperin (2WAY)
Co-hosts: Kevin and Larry
Episode Theme:
Will Trump Hit Back Hard After Iran Launches Drone Attacks on Its Neighbors? Are Peace Talks Dead?

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the escalating tensions between the US, Iran, and their regional allies, focusing on the aftermath of recent Iranian drone attacks in the Gulf region. The panel discusses whether President Trump will launch a major counterstrike, the uncertain state of Iran’s remaining military capabilities, and the prospects (or lack thereof) for diplomatic peace initiatives. The conversation also widens to the implications for global markets, US politics, NATO, cabinet upheaval, and listener reflections on national anxieties.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Strategy and Response to Iranian Escalation

• The show opens amid speculation about Trump’s next move after fresh Iranian drone attacks, including questions about the authenticity of reports that a US pilot may have been downed over Iran.
• Mark notes:
  “The president has suggested … that he’d be escalating, the Israelis would be escalating on a daily basis—every day hit something bigger, hit something more painful for the Iranians and then say to the Iranians, do you cry uncle yet? … If they don’t cry uncle on Friday, you hit ‘em on Saturday. That seems to be what the President’s promising.” (06:07)
• Larry pushes back, clarifying that the administration’s official message stops short of forecasting constant escalations:
  “I don’t think the president said in his speech that there would be an escalation over the next three weeks. … That escalation could be the coda to ending.” (06:48)
• Discussion pivots to Iran’s retaliation capability and US/Israeli efforts to degrade it.

2. Iran’s Missile and Drone Arsenal – Are They Really Depleted?

• Kevin flags contradictory reports:
  “Close to half of Iran’s missile capabilities are still intact despite … over a month of targeting these facilities.” (07:27)
• Larry elaborates:
  “A lot of those missiles … it’s suspected are buried under rubble. They may still have them, but they can’t use them. But they will eventually, and that’s why … the job needs to be finished.” (08:41)
• Mark references his own sourcing confirming thousands of Iranian one-way attack drones remain available, questioning the wisdom of declaring victory:
  “Again, I reported this two days ago … But it raises the question about ending the war and making the claim that Iran’s capabilities are destroyed.” (11:52)

3. US/Israeli Military Activity and the Regional Fallout

• Reports discussed include:
  • Iranian claims of downing a US aircraft and offering “a precious present” for a captured pilot (04:06).
  • Targeted US, Israeli, and Iranian strikes on infrastructure, digital assets (e.g., Oracle/Amazon data centers in the Gulf), and energy facilities.
• Mark:
  “If the next three weeks feature the US hitting Iran and Israel hitting Iran … and Iran continues to hit successfully Israeli and Gulf state assets, that seems like a big escalation when the president’s trying to end the war.” (06:27)

4. Peace Process – Is It Dead?

• The collapse of high-level peace talks is considered:
  • “You also don’t hear much about the gift, the present that Donald Trump said the Iranians were giving him … They released a few ships, 10 ships have gone through, but not the 10 ships that were the present, the tribute to the president.” (14:16)
• The panel notes Iran’s leadership is newly emboldened and insulated against public diplomacy:
  “The Post [Washington Post] says basically the new leaders of Iran are dug in. They’re not going to be people who negotiate … assassinations have left an emboldened government driving a hard bargain.” (14:35)
• Kevin notes:
  “I don’t think that we’re going to see these negotiations anytime soon. But there is that interesting element with Oman.” (15:44)
• Larry mentions indirect diplomacy via Oman:
  “I think it was the foreign minister … who reluctantly conceded that there were messages being passed back and forth.” (16:47)

5. NATO, Europe, and Transatlantic Tensions

• The hosts criticize the current state of NATO cohesion, especially after European officials publicly rebuked Trump:
  • Mark: “If the Europeans wanted to dissolve NATO, they couldn’t be doing a better job because Macron attacked President Trump yesterday.” (18:29)
• Espen Barth Eide, Norwegian FM, is played explaining global efforts to pressure Iran over the Strait of Hormuz blockade:
  “We’re trying to build a global understanding, a global coalition … to have them gradually open for shipping.” (19:37 – 20:51)
• Larry and Kevin discuss fears of US NATO withdrawal (Polymarket has odds at 9%):
  • Larry: “This is a disaster … to have some kind of NATO meeting without the United States to basically trash United States.” (21:21)
  • Kevin: “It’s high. We’re not going to leave NATO. … But again … [Trump] can do things to harm our support of NATO.” (25:06)

6. US Domestic Politics: Cabinet Turmoil and DOJ

• Major Justice Department shake-ups with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s departure.
  • Mark: “What are the implications … for the Justice Department or Trump’s relationship with Pam Bondi?” (26:21)
• Todd Blanche, acting Attorney General, is praised and critiqued:
  • Mark, on Blanche’s confirmation chances: “If Blanche does well, I think he might get it. But … that is not a Trumpy outfit … that does not seem like classic blue.” (32:43 – 33:08)
  • Larry: “Maybe Susie Wiles is starting to lose that iron grip … on President Trump.” (27:27)

7. Economic Fallout – Markets, Budget, and Anxieties

• Markets fluctuate—oil is up, Dow futures down as the war drags on.
• Mark questions defense spending:
  “If [Trump’s] asking for $1.5 trillion in defense spending, why does there need to be a defense supplemental … to pay for the war? Just take it out of the 1.5.” (02:07)
• Unemployment numbers are robust, but economic anxiety persists—reinforced later by listeners expressing concerns over deficit and personal finances.
  • Bill (caller): “Each day it goes on, the risk for this United States goes up. … I’m scared about my retirement and everything else.” (42:46 – 44:21)

8. Listener Questions – War, Economy, Political Prospects

• Bill from Georgia, ex-military, worries about a compounding “total mess” of war, debt, and US political gridlock.
• The panel agrees, noting:
  • The war’s duration is pushing the limit of Trump’s “get in, get out” instinct. (44:24 – 45:37)
  • Kevin: “The president this week said we might have to look at cutting Medicare and Medicaid and daycare for low-income Americans to fund this war … a lot of anxiety.” (45:38 – 46:50)
• Mark from upstate NY asks about the "ActBlue" Democratic fundraising scandal and its potential as a political wedge. Kevin and Larry explain the mechanics and historical comparisons, noting the seriousness of the foreign-donation revelations. (49:54 – 52:05)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

Trump, Iran & War Escalation

• Mark: “If the next three weeks feature the US hitting Iran and Israel hitting Iran … and Iran continues to hit successfully Israeli and Gulf state assets, that seems like a big escalation when the president’s trying to end the war. No?” (06:27)
• Kevin: “...To your point, Mark … their missile stockpiles to say nothing of their capabilities, if they’re the same ones that can hit Diego Garcia … that’s problematic.” (07:27)

The Peace Process

• Kevin: “I don’t think we’re going to see these negotiations anytime soon. But there is that interesting element with Oman.” (15:44)
• Larry: “One of the challenges for the Trump administration … is that they seem reluctant to give too much information about it because they don’t want the person killed on the other end of it …” (16:47)

NATO and Europe

• Mark: “If the Europeans wanted to dissolve NATO, they couldn’t be doing a better job because Macron attacked President Trump yesterday.” (18:29)
• Larry: “This is a disaster … to have some kind of NATO meeting without the United States …” (21:21)

DOJ Shake-up

• Larry: “I think Todd Blanche could be confirmed. I don’t think that’s an issue.” (33:50)
• Mark: “If Blanche does well, I think he might get it. But … that is not a Trumpy outfit …” (32:43 – 33:08)

Economic & Public Sentiment

• Bill (caller): “I think it’s all going to compound. … I’m scared about my retirement and everything else.” (44:21)
• Kevin: “There is a lot of anxiety in this country. And it seems like it is all coming to a head rather quickly.” (46:50)

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• 00:21 – 02:07: Host banter; market and political context; US defense budget.
• 04:04 – 05:26: Iranian media claims about downed US pilot; reliability of conflicting sources.
• 06:07 – 07:30: Discursive breakdown of Trump administration’s “escalate-until-capitulation” strategy.
• 07:27 – 09:05: Iran’s remaining military capacity; contradictory reporting.
• 11:52 – 12:25: Ongoing Iranian attacks on critical infrastructure; risk of further escalation.
• 14:14 – 16:47: The demise of peace talks, Oman’s possible mediation, radicalized Iranian leadership.
• 18:29 – 24:47: In-depth NATO and Europe segment; political missteps, dangers to transatlantic cooperation.
• 26:21 – 33:50: DOJ leadership chaos, Todd Blanche analysis, AG succession politicking.
• 42:46 – 46:50: Listener Bill’s question on war, debt, and domestic impact; hosts discuss US anxiety and prospects.
• 49:54 – 52:05: ActBlue/WinRed fundraising scandal explained and its potential for political fallout.

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Winners & Losers of the Week (34:02+)

• Winners:
  • Kevin: NASA Artemis crew
  • Larry: US air travelers (due to TSA/payroll fixes)
  • Mark: U2 fans (new EP release)
• Losers:
  • Kevin: Vladimir Putin (first time since Ukraine war began Russia made no territorial gains in a month)
  • Larry: “D.C. reporters” bad at reading presidential speeches
  • Mark: Yankee Stadium concessions – “chicken ice cream” superseded by Texas Rangers' nacho hat

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The Takeaways

• The Iran crisis is deepening, US/Israel attempt to degrade Iran’s launch/drones are inconclusive, while Trump’s “pressure” approach continues as peace talks stall.
• US domestic politics are turbulent: looming questions about the DOJ, budget priorities, and rising public anxiety over war costs.
• NATO relations are as brittle as ever, with both sides undermining the alliance.
• Despite strong jobs numbers, the public mood is anxious and pessimistic, as war, debt, and dysfunction intersect.
• Listener engagement reflects major concern for the future, while the panel balances policy critique with signature banter and good-humored rivalry.

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For Your Radar This Weekend

• Watch for updates on a possible US pilot downed in Iran—if confirmed, “super big game changer.”
• Look for developments on peace talks via Oman.
• Eyes on NASA Artemis; Final Four sports excitement; Easter surge in US church attendance.

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This summary captures all major themes, discussions, and quotes to give non-listeners a clear, engaging sense of the episode’s insights, tone, and stakes.

Transcript

[Mark]

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[Kevin]

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[Mark]

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[Larry]

Putting it out there. Hey, maybe this is something we could do.

[Mark]

Okay, but let me ask it a different way because maybe, maybe this will get to where I want to go. What's the purpose of this? Why did the president post this a little while ago? To just, to just stick around with.

[Larry]

Okay, I'm looking at it as a timestamp of 522. He could have been that Pacific.

[Mark]

That's. That's Pacific time. So it's 8:22 Eastern.

[Larry]

Okay, so he could have been watching something on cable news and he is responding to that in his own way without directly responding. Or number two, a cynic would say that he might be trying to move the markets.

[Mark]

Yeah. Okay. Although.

[Kevin]

Hey, Mark and Larry, go ahead. Can I ask a question? You know, in a lot of the publications that we see every morning, you know, Politico, Semaphore, what have you, there's so many graphs showing the extent to which China relies so much on this rate way beyond our resources. It's interesting that we haven't seen the president telegraph much about Chinese involvement, certainly, and saying, okay, you know, China gets 40%, 25%, whatever the number is. Why aren't, you know, he's focused so much on the Europeans and NATO certainly, but this is hurting China the most based on imports and exports. I wonder why the President hasn't mentioned anything about.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Kevin]

Xi Jinping or the CCP or what have you at the summit.

[Mark]

Aisha, where are we on Brent crude and overnight Dow futures? Where are those?

[Larry]

I, last I checked, I don't think it did move the markets, but it

[Kevin]

was 110, I think, the last time I.

[Larry]

Let's see.

[Mark]

Yeah,

[Larry]

both are up.

[Mark]

Both are up. Both are. Both are up. The, The Dow futures are up and the price of oil's up.

[Larry]

Sorry. Futures are down.

[Mark]

Oil's up.

[Larry]

Futures are down.

[Mark]

How much?

[Larry]

60 points.

[Mark]

60 points. Okay, house and Senator out. They're still. The Republicans are just still dealing with how they're going to sequence, opening up HH, Homeland Security, Security and Reconciliation 2 and Reconciliation 3. It's all just still a big mess and I don't know how they're going to resolve it. President supposed to send his budget up this today. I don't really understand if he's asking for 1.5 trillion in defense spending, why there needs to be a defense Supplemental. To pay for the war. Just take it out of the 1.5. Maybe I'm. Maybe I'm a little too miserly with my tax money, but that's what I would say. The unemployment numbers were baffo. Some say super bafo. The expectations were that there'd be like 60,000 new jobs and US payrolls rose in March by. Hold your horses, ladies and gentlemen. 178,000. That's the size of, I don't know, Dayton. How many people live in Dayton? 178,000.

[Kevin]

That's probably more than that.

[Larry]

I don't know.

[Mark]

I don't focus on what's a town. That would be 178,000 people. How big. How big's Charles?

[Kevin]

San Jose? San Jose is a lot bigger. We know that.

[Mark]

How big's Charleston, Kevin?

[Kevin]

That's a good question. You know, it's probably. It's probably like 600, 700 in the, you know, John's island, all around it.

[Mark]

How big is. I don't know. Michael, do ask. Chat GPT Norfolk.

[Larry]

I think it's better to go with football stadiums. This population of Charleston is 100. All right, let me run 160,000 Charleston.

[Mark]

There you go.

[Kevin]

We got to refresh that, though, because people keep moving down. It could change this morning.

[Mark]

And I had a long talk with my son the other day about the difference between the city proper and the metroplex, you know, because the metroplex is going to be a lot bigger. Do we have 125? Is that available yet? 125. So the Associated Press says this affiliate of Iranian state tv. An affiliate. So they got affiliates there, right? Got the Tehran affiliates. I don't know. Can anybody name any other cities in Iran?

[Larry]

How do you say we're warning the affiliates? We're going.

[Mark]

We're going a little bit over in person. Good question. The affiliate of Iranian state TV claims a US pilot ejected from their aircraft. Not really sure about that. Over southwestern Iran. And they say the newscaster said if you capture the pilot, you get a precious present. Now, that report is obviously, you know, who knows if it's true. But Barack Raviv, the Axios reporter who's well wired, just said that he's seems to be saying he's confirmed that from other sources, so. Well, yeah, go ahead.

[Larry]

I was going to ask you about this because it says it's per Iranian media, which is that and a source familiar with the incident. Mark, would you have gone with that?

[Mark]

Well, I'd go with it. Based on the AP went with it just based on their saying it on Iranian tv. It doesn't mean it's true that it happened, but it's true that Iranian TV is saying it. And there's photos on Twitter.

[Larry]

But, but, but hold on. The headline from AP says, specifically says Iranian State TV claims this happened. The Axios headline says it definitively it.

[Mark]

Yeah, well, I think the guy's got a pretty good track record. If somebody in the US Government, of the Israeli government said it happened. I'd go with that. If it's a good source on a good reporter, sure.

[Larry]

Yeah. I don't know. It's a vague description of the source, a source familiar with the, oh, it's,

[Kevin]

and the, and the circumstances around. He said ejected, you know, not that he was shot down.

[Mark]

If this is just a one off in the sense that we've had, we've had lots of planes obviously in Iranian airspace. So it's not, that's not new. We don't know if the plane was shot down or had some mechanical issue and we don't know if it's part of some change. What we do know is the president has suggested after the bridge yesterday that he'd be escalating, the Israelis would be escalating on a daily basis every day hit something bigger, hit something more painful for the Iranians and then say to the Iranians, do you cry uncle yet? And if they don't cry uncle on Friday, you hit him on Saturday. That seems to be what the President's promising. And of course, we know that the Iranians still have the capability to hit Israel and they still have the capability to hit the Gulf states. And they did, they hit Kuwait in the last 24 hours. So, Larry, if the next three weeks feature the US hitting Iran and Israel hitting Iran, including maybe energy assets, maybe desalination assets, and Iran continues to hit successfully Israeli and Gulf state assets, that seems like a big escalation when the president's trying to end the war. No.

[Larry]

Well, I don't think the president said in his speech that there would be an escalation over the next three weeks. And again, that escalation could be the coda to ending. Well, I don't see how.

[Mark]

My point is, but because my point is the president didn't say in his statement we're going to hit stuff and then they're going to hit stuff too, because I don't know, I could see ending the war of three weeks of intense bombing and then say the Pentagon says we've hit everything we can hit. We'll come back if we need to. But this war is over because we've destroyed their capabilities. But it seems to me my point of, my question is hard, harder to do, Kevin, if, if Iran is, is hitting desalination plants and energy sites and other things in our allied countries. No.

[Kevin]

And we know their willingness to do it because they continue to do it. And it's, you know, they. To your point, Mark, uae, Kuwait, Saudi interests, especially in the energy sector. I'm up two minds right now in terms of what I'm seeing this morning. It's interesting to me that there's footage now of course, low flying helicopters potentially as part of this search and rescue. That shows to me that not just the B52s flying over, but the Iranian air, you know, air surface to air missile capabilities to target these aircraft have been completely decimated. The fact that we can fly low flying helicopters over parts of the country is extraordinary. But you also have reports out this morning that close to half of the Iranians missile capabilities are still intact despite, you know, over a month of targeting these facilities. So it's almost this double edged sword. Good thing that we can fly these aircraft, especially the B52s, without fear of them being shot down. But then also to this reporting that they still have a lot of missile stockpiles to say nothing of their capabilities. If they're the same ones that can hit Diego Garcia, can hit Turkey, can hit NATO countries, that's problematic.

[Larry]

Yeah, I mean, listen, the message from the administration has been consistent that there's still missile capability and that's what they continue to target. But if you drill down in that story that got so much attention yesterday that half of their missiles are still, you know, still have missile capability. A lot of those missiles, a good chunk of them it's, it's suspected is buried under rubble. You know, so they may still have them, but they can't use them.

[Kevin]

But they can't use them.

[Larry]

Yeah, but, but they will eventually and that's why it's important that the job needs to be finished. Sorry for jumping in. Mark, go ahead.

[Mark]

That's okay. Got a lot I need to do here, including dealing with some technical issues because I'm also in charge of producing the show some days. Let me do a quick word from a sponsor and then, and then we're going to get to a bunch of elements here and more conversation about the question of what's going on in the ground in Iran and the issue Kevin raised about their, their lingering capabilities. Cozy Earth community members continue to say, well we love the pants and the socks and the towels. But really we're just about buying the bubble cuddle blanket for our pets. So here are the latest pictures of pups with, with a bubble cuddle blanket. You got to look closely on this one. You got to look closely on this one, ladies and gentlemen. This tiny little pup is, as always, almost the same color as the bubble cuddle blanket.

[Larry]

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[Mark]

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[Larry]

Mark dropping or me, you know, it's

[Kevin]

where Mark is going in and out. But I think we got him now.

[Mark]

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[Matt Ebert]

chat 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.

[Larry]

That's how you get separation from everybody else.

[Kevin]

I was at Harvard Law School.

[Larry]

I was, blah, blah, blah.

[Mark]

I looked up, let me tell you something. There's kids in my neighborhood putting in sheetrock that is smarter than you. AI is going to disrupt a lot of stuff.

[Kevin]

It is never going to disrupt physical

[Mark]

blue collar trade skill.

[Larry]

And the guy just looked at me

[Todd Blanche]

and he said it's bloody impossible.

[Kevin]

So I asked him this question.

[Matt Ebert]

I said, it's impossible unless that's podcrash with me, Matt Ebert watch on YouTube and listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[Mark]

All right, let me just run through some stuff. Kevin mentioned this issue and it connects to the question of winding down the war. My sources said, and I reported this the other day. CNN's reporting it now. This is number 109, that the Iranians have extraordinary capacity left. The U.S. has destroyed a lot, but a lot of their missile capacities. Underground. And according to cnn, roughly half of Iran's missile launchers are still intact. And thousands of one way attack drones remain in Iran's arsenal despite the daily pounding. Again, I've reported this two days ago. It's true, and you haven't seen this very many places. But it raises the question about ending the war and making the claim that Iran's capabilities are destroyed. Okay, a few other things, gentlemen, on this question of the current state of the battle. 107 Jerusalem Post. The IRGC claims to have attacked the Oracle data center in Dubai. That would be a big hit. Two drones targeted a US Diplomatic facility near Baghdad airport. The IRGC attacked an Amazon cloud computing center in Bahrain. Again, they can do this today. Will they be able to do it in three weeks when the president wants to end the war? Here's an interesting question to go back to the question of what's happening on the ground. Will the US invade Iran before the end of the year 111. And here's what's interesting, ladies and gentlemen. Watch the chart. I'll read it. For those of you listening, this was down at 65% this morning. It shot up 10 points. It's at 75, but it was all the way up to 80. The US would invade Iran by the end of the month. And what's interesting is some people think, well, what are people keying off of? Is somebody have some inside knowledge or access to facts on the ground in Iran? Super interesting question. And let's see, that's all I want to say about that. Peace talks. Remember once upon a time the vice president was supposed to go to the region, go to Pakistan or Turkey, maybe Kushner and Witkoff. You don't hear much about that. And the vice president's going to, where's he going? Hungary next week he's going to Hungary

[Kevin]

to stop for Orban.

[Mark]

And you also don't hear much about the gift, the present that Donald Trump said the Iranians were giving him of ships going through. Now a few ships, 10 ships have gone through, but not the 10 ships that were the present, the tribute to the president. So are you sure?

[Larry]

I thought those 10 ships didn't go through. Are you sure?

[Mark]

Nope, I don't believe they have. And the Washington Post has a great story. We don't utter those words too often these days, but they do 1 10. I recommend you read the whole thing, slip by the paywall if you don't subscribe to the Post. They say basically the new leaders of Iran are dug in. They're not going to be people who negotiate. The headline Trump heralds regime change, but Iran's leaders remain hardliners. The president says the country's surviving leaders are more reasonable. But assassinations have left an emboldened government driving a hard bargain. One thing that's happening, ladies and gentlemen, I can assure you, based on my reporting during these three weeks, which could be the final three weeks of the war or not, the Israelis continue to be on the ground killing people and insinuating themselves into the lives of the Iranian people in a way that will allow them to foster regime change when the war is that part of the war is over, the bombing part of the war is over. So again, Kevin, is the peace track dead? There's no one to negotiate with. They're not doing the tribute to the president. Is the peace track dead? Or could we suddenly hear about meeting in Islamabad?

[Kevin]

I mean, the interesting reporting out this morning is and I mentioned this kind of tollbooth thing that they want to set up with the strait with Iranians in partnership with Oman. And Oman has been a broker between party so far. I think they hosted some of the pre war summits between the Iranians and Wyckoff and Jared. So there potentially is an opening there, I think, with Oman. Again, the indications are if they're working with another country on this, that we could go down that road. But again, that reporting is interesting in the Post saying these folks are obviously even more radicalized, more reactionary, they're more siloed, Right. So there's no the reporting is they're not engaging in public. They've gotten wise that the moment they step out into the sunshine, they're going to get killed. And when you're, when you're separated from one another trying to run this country, I think that even radicalizes these folks even more. So I don't think that we're going to see these negotiations anytime soon. But there is that interesting element with Oman.

[Mark]

Larry?

[Larry]

Well, I agree. I think the Oman aspect of it and in fact, I think it was the foreign minister, is it Aragachi? I always, I think I'm pronouncing it wrong and I apologize. Who reluctantly conceded that there were messages being passed back and forth and Oman was indirectly involved in that. And that is interesting. And that was, I think, as recently as Wednesday night, Thursday morning, that that message was put out. So I mean, again, I think that one of the challenges for the Trump administration, if in fact there are these negotiations going on or these discussions going on, is that they seem reluctant to send give Too much information about it because they don't want the person killed on the other end of it and how high level that person may be and how hardline they may be. Impossible to know at this point based on the information we've got.

[Mark]

Yep, well said. Let's talk about NATO and then we're going to move on to other topics. And again, if you're here on the platform, want to get in the conversation, raise your hand. You know, if, if the Democrats had to purposely wanted to help Donald Trump get elected from 2020, 29, 2020 to 2024 or 2021 to 2024, there's really not much they could have done better. If their goal was to secretly help Donald Trump, trying to kick him off the ballot, indicting him in four jurisdictions, talking about trans stuff, I mean, they

[Kevin]

really, really sealing, not really sealing the border.

[Mark]

Not sealing the border.

[Kevin]

You know, as a former Biden surrogate, that was a little problematic.

[Mark]

Allowing Joe Biden to stay on the ticket up until it was too late. 107 days. I mean they really, they really were the most valuable player of.

[Larry]

This is a wonderful walk down memory lane. Keep going, keep going.

[Mark]

Well, and what I'm comparing with the reason I'm raising it now, I'm starting to shake again.

[Kevin]

I'm starting to shake over here.

[Mark]

If the Europeans wanted to dissolve yet NATO dissolved, they couldn't be doing a better job because Macron attacked President Trump yesterday. Now the president directly, not just, not

[Kevin]

just the American in general.

[Mark]

Exactly. Now the president joke at the Easter lunch about Macron's marriage. But I mean, again, let's just be realistic here. We're the big dog. We're the top gun, we're the, we got all the, all the juice here. And so if they want NATO to survive, don't attack Donald Trump and then don't have a 30 country conference call chaired by the Brits to say, to say, well, we'll get involved in opening the strait when the war's over. I mean seriously, NATO, meet me at camera two. You guys, you want NATO dissolved? Apparently. And then the last thing you shouldn't do is you shouldn't put Esben Barth Ida, Norway's foreign minister on CNN wearing sandals and beads to explain the euro position on opening the strait. This is cnn. This is Espen Barth Ida, foreign minister. 113, please.

[Espen Barth Eide]

And it had the foreign ministers from literally all over the world, from all continents taking part. This was a very wide range of countries that all agree that this blockade de facto blockade or is closing for most ships of the hormones strait is a global problem. We are seeing, as you mentioned, serious shocks to not only energy prices but also to energy supply but also fertiliser, which is important now for food production, and helium, which is important for semiconductors. So we have a very serious problem. And what we discussed was principally a joint diplomatic pressure on Iran to respect the key principle of unclosed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas, which says that an international strait which connects two parts of the open ocean has to be respected and pointing out to them that this affects a lot of countries that are not party to the conflict. So we're trying to build a global understanding, a global coalition to put that clear pressure on the warring parties, but principally, of course, here on Iran, which is a neighbor to the straits, in order to have them gradually open for shipping.

[Mark]

Again, nothing pressures the mullahs more than a strongly worded press release. Larry? Larry, I think NATO should hire us as consultants because I can tell them how to get on. Now Mr. Ruta is coming to Washington next week and maybe he is a bit of a Trump whist, he's a bit of a Trump whisperer. But if I were NATO, I would keep Aspen Barth Ida off of American television. Larry, what is NATO doing to fix this? Anything?

[Larry]

Well, Matt Whitaker, I think friend of two way, if I'm not mistaken. Mistaken.

[Mark]

Love, love us some Iowa's Matt Whitaker,

[Larry]

tight end for the Iowa Hawkeyes, by

[Kevin]

the way, one of my former sparring, one of my former sparring buddies on Fox.

[Mark]

Yeah, yeah.

[Larry]

And he of course, now is our phenomenal ambassador to NATO. I'm pretty sure he's having some pretty high level serious discussions with Mr. Ruta before his trip here. And I think that you'll see a big cleanup on aisle Pennsylvania Avenue when he gets here. This is a disaster. I don't know what they're thinking to have some kind of NATO meeting without the United States to basically trash United States. I can tell you I've spoken to people from the first Trump administration who had diplomatic responsibilities in Europe. And one of the biggest goals of the first Trump administration was to get Europe to divest from Iran. They were all in bed with them. Germany was in bed with Iran with the basic business interests. We had sanctions against that country and Europe didn't give a crap about those sanctions. That's why it's so funny when they scream about sanctions against Russia and other countries when they never respect them because they just want to do business with every monster on the planet. So they have always been weak on Iran. They have always had a problem. But as we sort of evaluated yesterday when one of our community members from France came in, they've got a serious problem because if they don't look like they're bending the knee to the Islamists in the Middle east, they're going to have a problem in their own neighborhoods because of their own migration crisis. So I guess they're trying to thread some needle here, Mark, but it ain't working and it's going to be a real problem.

[Mark]

Kevin, before you jump in. Hey, Laurie, see if Matt Whitaker will come on two way again soon, please. Thank you, Kevin. Thoughts on natto?

[Kevin]

Yeah, All I'll say is NATO is incredibly important going back to the Truman administration. It's a vital allyship. Of course, we increased it by two with Sweden and Finland during the Biden administration. I will say though, one of the important factors coming out of this is Europeans realizing over the last not just with the war in Ukraine, but obviously Trump around one, that they have to step up in terms of their own defense. Many of them have been a vassal state of ours for far too long. And I think that's one of the important outcomes of this. There's even now analysis that if the US does not come to their aid in Article 5, if Russia attacks one of their countries, which would be hugely problematic, and we will go to their aid because you see strong bipartisan support on the Hill that they're gaming out the timeframe for which Europe can repel Russia on its own. And that's, you know, something over the next 10 years. So this is important to see NATO stepping up as well and being an actual asset to us as as opposed to a vassal state.

[Mark]

All right, let's pause.

[Larry]

Well, sorry, just adding to the fact that they didn't let us use their airspace for the initial parts of this, I mean, which is insane.

[Kevin]

Which is the bare minimum. That's the bare minimum.

[Larry]

You're right that it's a vital relationship for America and for Europe. They should start acting like it. I understand President Trump has a lot of rhetor and it pisses people off over in Europe. But forget about what he says. Look at what he has done for NATO and what he has done to strengthen it. That should be enough. You would think I would.

[Mark]

Let's, let's poly market this question. Will the U.S. withdraw from NATO by the end of this year? Here's what Poly Market wagers say. Our partners at Polymarket take wagers from all over the world. Nine percent chance it's been higher. It's been up close to 20. But 9% say yes. Kevin, is that high or low?

[Kevin]

It's high. We're not going to leave NATO. We're bound by. And again, there's reporting and we've seen it when the president was talking about this with Marco Rubio sponsoring the bill just a few years ago to say that the president can't unilaterally take us out of NATO. But again, as we talked about yesterday, he can do things to harm our support of NATO, whether it becomes troops or material in Europe in those bases and things like that. But we're not or not at all going to take ourselves out of that alliance.

[Mark]

I'm watching cable nonstop here and nobody's reporting there's a US Invasion of Iran going on right now. Just.

[Larry]

Are they reporting on the down in terms of boots?

[Kevin]

In terms of boots on the ground, right, Mark?

[Mark]

No, they're not even boots on the ground. But they're not. Or helicopters. But they're. But they're not even reporting on the alleged shootdown or we don't know it's a shoot down. Right. We just know pilots.

[Larry]

Potentially the Axios headline is shot down. That they're saying shot down.

[Mark]

Okay, well that's important. Yeah, that'd be a big deal. Can you imagine if they have a hostage? Can you imagine what that would be like?

[Larry]

That would be definitely change the dynamic

[Mark]

is that would change the dynamic. I don't know in what way did any of us yesterday say Pam Bondi would be leaving soon? I forget.

[Larry]

Nope.

[Mark]

I don't think we.

[Larry]

We go. We all got it wrong.

[Mark]

We all got it wrong. All got it wrong.

[Kevin]

This is extraordinary.

[Mark]

Any what are the implications either for the Justice Department or Trump's relationship with Pam Bondi or further cabinet changes. Kevin, if what if anything, again, we're always trying to be forward looking here. What happens next regarding her departure?

[Kevin]

Yeah, I don't think actually much changes. Larry made an excellent point yesterday that Todd Blanche, the deputy is actually really running or you made it. Mark. Sorry.

[Larry]

That I just, I make so many great points. Markets. Yeah.

[Mark]

The default. The default is in Kevin's mind, the default is if a great point's made on the program. Larry probably made it.

[Kevin]

I'm just trying to make up for you not supporting his shirt yesterday. So, you know, trying to throw my buddy a bone across the political spectrum.

[Mark]

All right, so. But again, I change in justice because

[Kevin]

yeah, Todd Blanche has been running it from the get go. You know, With Bondi being somewhat of the figurehead, obviously, the more contentious hearings on the Hill that we've seen in the Epstein saga. But I don't think much actually structurally changes in terms of the fundamental operations of doj. Now with Blanche as the acting.

[Mark]

Larry, is the seal off the Cabinet stability now that two Cabinet members are gone?

[Larry]

And, you know, I think so because. Because what happened yesterday, you had a bit of a, you know, the dam, bro, and you heard reports and this person's next, and this person's next and this person's next. And I interpreted a lot of that to be possibly Susie Wiles starting to lose that iron grip that she has had, not just on leaks, which has been pretty good for the most part, but also on President Trump losing patience with the Cabinet. We did not see what we saw in the first year of the first term. And a lot of people attributed that to Susie Wiles. Also added the fact that Pam Bondi is Team Susie because she's one of those Florida Republicans. I just wonder if this is an indication that maybe there's starting to be a power shift at 1600 and Suzy Wells is losing a little bit of influence. One other thing to look for is the Republicans who had participated in the subpoena for Pam Bondi to come and speak to the Oversight Committee, they doubled down yesterday and said we didn't subpoena the Attorney General of the United States.

[Mark]

Right.

[Larry]

We subpoenaed Pam Bondi and we expect her to still looks like that's gonna happen. Watch that space.

[Mark]

I want to talk about Epstein, and then we'll get to. We're gonna get to winners and losers of the week and what to look for over the weekend. Please raise your hand if you want to get in on the conversation. We continue to track the news in Iran Epstein. You know, the people who said the President started the war to get rid of the Epstein story, they're not right. Todd Blanche, heavily involved in the Epstein matter. Heavily involved, was overseeing the redactions and of course, did the interview with Maxwell that has been much criticized as maybe not the asking all the right questions. And then last night he went on Jesse Waters, and Jesse asked him about the handling of the Epstein matter and what role that may have played in Bondi's departure. Widely reported that that was part of what the President didn't like. Here's Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Jesse last night. 117, please.

[Todd Blanche]

Now, the Epstein files, you'd agree, not handled well. And I don't. First of all, I have never heard President Trump say that the Attorney General was that anything that happened to her had anything to do with the Epstein Epstein files. And so look, the Epstein files has been a saga that's lasted for the entirefor the past year. And what happened when the President signed the Transparency act is the Department of Justice has now released all the files with respect to the Epstein saga. And the Attorney General Bondi and I appeared in front of Congress voluntarily a couple weeks ago to answer any questions they had. We have made every single congressman, Senator, available to come and see any document redacted, unredacted that they want. And so I think that to the extent that the Epstein files was a part of the past year of this Justice Department, it will should not be a part of anything going forward.

[Mark]

Okay, well, I mean, you've should not be part of anything going forward. Larry, how do you think this guy will handle being the main spokesperson now for justice, at least for the time being, will handle Epstein as compared to how Bondi did.

[Larry]

He'll do better than Bondi, but he's got to get a better message than that because it's gonna be. I'm sorry, I, I think that was wishcasting. I don't think it's reality and I don't think there's anybody in town, anywhere in Washington, D.C. who would give Pam Bondi a thumbs up on the handling. It all started with that Fox News interview where she said she had the list on her desk and then said there wasn't a list and then giving the binders to influencers first. When we're dealing with, by the way, something rather serious here. You were dealing with the exploitation of young girls and sexual assault and sex trafficking. And to sort of show it up like that by having, you know, Instagram stars with binders saying, look what we got. It's just been a disaster ever since then. It's not going to go away. I wish it would go away too, but it's not. As long as there's an appearance that things continue to be hit.

[Mark]

Kevin, who's the front runner to be nominated to be Attorney General?

[Kevin]

Well, a lot of people like Lee Zeldin, certainly in terms of the epa, and it seems like his star is on the rise within the administration. He's an incredibly effective communicator, I think. So I potentially, or I think Todd Blanche potentially stays in that position. And again, he's, you know, Pam Bondi had a strong relationship with the President, obviously one of the chief defenders of his during one of the impeachments where I spent a lot of time debating her on Fox, the merits of it. But top Blanche has that really strong relationship with the president. And, you know, I would not be surprised if he gets the nod to stay in permanently.

[Mark]

If he does. Well, he will. Put, put the, put the still frame back up of Todd Blanche from Jesse. Don't play the video. Just put the frame up. Go ahead, Larry.

[Larry]

It was amusing to see a lot of establishment Republicans trying to make something happen yesterday to get two thorns in their side out. Number one, they were saying Ken Paxton would get the nod, you know, because finally they're going to make Cornyn happen. And the other was, you know, Mike Lee in the Senate is brilliant, wonderful, great guy. And he has been, you know, pushing and poking and prodding and agitating the Senate leadership. And so you saw it floated that Mike Lee would make a great attorney general. It's just funny to watch because they're just trying to get rid of people who are bothering if.

[Mark]

Well, well, good point. If Blanche does well, I think he might get it. But here's my main reason why currently I don't think he will. That is not a Trumpy outfit. I don't know what the blue of that is. That does not seem like classic blue. Seems too light. It seems almost like, like what a, a teenager would wear to his bar mitzvah. And then like, is that a pink shirt and a green tie? I don't know. It just doesn't seem like a, that's what Donald Trump would say. Central casting.

[Larry]

Central casting. Yeah.

[Mark]

That doesn't seem that. Nice suit for Easter weekend. Correct.

[Larry]

SALLY G. Do you guys know it? Would he have to be reconfirmed as attorney general?

[Mark]

He, he would. He would.

[Larry]

He would.

[Kevin]

Interesting. Okay. And Lee, obviously, and you made that point, Mark, that any cabinet secretary moving would have to get.

[Mark]

Yeah, he had to be reconfirmed. Now, now, Mark Bedner saying he didn't have to be confirmed. Mark, to be acting, but if they nominate him to be attorney general, he's got to be right.

[Larry]

He could just stay as acting.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Larry]

There's a lot in the, in the pattern of Mark Wayne Mullen. There's a lot of thought that they'll just try to identify a senator. I saw Senator Schmidt of Missouri, who was the attorney general of that state, mentioned yesterday. The problem is he needs votes in the Senate right now.

[Mark]

So I think, I think Todd Blanche could be confirmed. I don't think that's an issue. All right. We'll get to your questions in just a moment. But first, we do Winners and losers of the week and what to look for this weekend. Kevin, who's your winner?

[Kevin]

NASA and this Artemis crew that has recaptured all of our imagination. I'm speaking not just as a graduate of Space Camp and Space Academy. Shout out to Huntsville, Alabama, but as a proud American. We're on the way to the moon now. We just traversed the Earth a number of times. This is going to be the farthest out mankind has ever reached. Super, super excited. We're going back to the effing moon. As that little kid on CNN said, All of our imagination and excitement. This is a great thing for this country.

[Mark]

Let me ask you a question. Why do you want to be here? Why do you love space?

[Todd Blanche]

Why do you love being a part of history?

[Mark (caller from Colvia, NY)]

We're going back to the freaking moon, that's why.

[Mark]

Yeah, Kevin, I heard a podcast yesterday that we're not supposed to say the moon anywhere. We're supposed to just say moon. Like, you don't say California, the California. You just say California. What do you think of that?

[Kevin]

I don't know. And is, you know, is Pluto a planet? You know, I just. I'm just excited we're going there. We can say the Ohio State University and the Moon.

[Larry]

All right.

[Kevin]

Because they didn't get the.

[Mark]

All right, Larry, who's your winner?

[Larry]

I'm from Michigan, and I do not say the Ohio State University. And, Mark, I think you need to find better podcasts. That's ridiculous. My winner. Just because I don't want all of us to say Artemis, let's say the winner is the US Air Traveler. Because through it all, we're finally back and we don't have to stand in line. TSA agents are getting paid. Thank you, President Trump, for moving money around at DHS and basically taking the last leverage that Democrats had in the Senate. It was. I've been traveling all week. I've been on four different flights, and it's been much better. Thank you very much.

[Mark]

All right, my winner. Our. My winner of the week is a late entry. Fans of U2. This morning, they released a new LP. What do you call those things? Extended. What do you call those things with, like, EP songs. Ep. Easter Lily episode. It's fantastic. And again, everybody's gonna have their own taste in music. I'm not the biggest YouTube fan in the world. My dad served with Bono on the board of the 1:1 organization. So they've been around my family, and they're. They're great people. But this is a great album. And out of the blue, no one I think knew this was coming. So YouTube fans around the world rejoice.

[Larry]

That's a great one. And I hear they're back to their Christian roots with this as well. Yes.

[Kevin]

Oh, yeah, there's reports are, reports are, Mark, that you stayed up all night listening to it when it got released. Like a 13 year old Taylor Swift fan. I listened to, you know, when that album drops.

[Larry]

Exactly.

[Mark]

Listen to it on my run. I did. Now I will say as after I posted how great it was, people said it was AI and it spooked me for a little bit. Kevin Loser of the week.

[Kevin]

My loser of the week is Vladimir Putin. March marked the first month in over two years of this war where Russia made no territorial gains. In fact, Ukrainians made some limited gains taking back territory in this fight. Over a million casualties reported since the war started for Russia. Putin is my and continues to be my weekly loser of the week.

[Mark]

Larry.

[Larry]

My loser is, at the risk of bashing the media too much, D.C. reporters who all had firm concrete knowledge on what the contents of the President's speech was going to be Wednesday night. And 90% of them were wrong, but they were pretty confident as they put out all of those articles. My sources tell me the speech will say this, it'll say that, and they were consistently wrong. Mark, I don't know if you tracked that, but it was amusing.

[Mark]

I did, I did. I'm not saying there's a hostage, American hostage, military hostage in Iran, but there might be based on what I'm seeing on my phone. But I don't have enough to report that. But as we say, that would be a super big game changer if they've gotten American and you can only imagine how they would exploit that for all sorts of gain. My loser of the week is the people running the concessions at the Yankee Stadium. Earlier in the week, we told you about the new thing they have there, which is chicken ice cream shaped like chicken.

[Larry]

Yeah.

[Mark]

From Charleston.

[Kevin]

From Charleston.

[Mark]

Charleston. That's for 50 bucks. That's been supplanted, ladies and gentlemen, by the superior treat. The Texas Rangers 119 now offering you the rally nacho sombrero. A sombrero hat that you wear on your head. A rally sombrero. The food vessel contains chips, cheese, lettuce, jalapenos, pico de gala and more. All on your head. And ladies and gentlemen, this is not just tasty and handsome, it also started where all great things in America begin. One hundred and twenty, please.

[Kevin]

You brought me a nacho hat.

[Larry]

Thanks, Ned.

[Mark]

Nacho.

[Kevin]

Nacho Man, I want to be a nacho man.

[Mark]

Man, I gotta get myself down to a Rangers game for that. Yeah, Kevin, you know, he's good for.

[Larry]

It's good that it's in the Rangers, by the way, because that would be a problem if you were standing up a lot to cheer your team because they just did something great. But there's no danger of that happening with the Rangers. So this is smart.

[Mark]

They did very, very, very funny, Larry. Very funny.

[Larry]

All right.

[Mark]

Neither of you laughed at the Homer Simpson clip. Was. Is that because you'd seen it before? Not funny. Not a Simpsons fan.

[Larry]

I love the Simpsons. It is.

[Kevin]

We love the Simpsons.

[Larry]

I mean, it's not. It's not as funny as boo urns at a baseball game, but it's pretty

[Mark]

funny because it now exists as a real thing. It's funny because it's true. Kevin, what are you looking for this weekend?

[Kevin]

Not to double down, but updates from this Artemis crew. They're doing interviews from space. They're calling into news shows. It's just, again, super exciting, and they're well on their way now to the moon.

[Mark]

Larry, are you surprised at the president's enthusiasm for the crew, given that one of them is Canadian?

[Larry]

I. I was a little taken aback by that, but maybe he's working on a defection.

[Mark]

Which one of them is Canadian? We're watching the video. For those of you listening to the

[Larry]

podcast, the guy who's sideways. The sideways one.

[Mark]

Yes, yes, of course. Good, good. Larry, what are you looking for this weekend?

[Larry]

Well, I'm not allowed to say. My Michigan Wolverine's in the final four, moving on to the championship. So I will say I'm looking at overcrowded churches as I go to Easter mass and Good Friday services this afternoon. There have been multiple reports, New York Times, Washington Post, talking about the resurgence and conversions to Catholicism. It's a very real thing. It's like a five year trend now. And I'm very much looking forward to celebrating this holiest of holy days Sunday with all of my new Catholic friends.

[Mark]

Amazing.

[Kevin]

Thank you, Pope Leo. Thank you, Pope Leo.

[Mark]

I wonder why the president's not going to Mar a Lago now when he doesn't go to Mar a Lago, typically, because he's got something, right? He's got a thing. And lately they've been putting out on Fridays. They've been putting out the Saturday and Sunday schedule. There's no indication that I know of what he's doing this weekend. It's one of the last Mar a Lago weekends right before the season ends. So I'm a little suspicious about why the President is not, as of now, going to Florida. The Easter egg roll, I believe, is Monday. Thank you for asking, Kelly. It's not over the weekend, so. Curious what the President's up to this weekend. I'll just say that. All right, now it's time for your questions. Comments, corrections, nacho tips, whatever you'd like. You'll come in, you'll unmute, you'll say something about the U2 album or nachos, whatever, whichever you prefer.

[Kevin]

Something about Larry's gratuitous comments yesterday that.

[Mark]

Whatever you want. And then ask away. And we start with Bill. I want to unmute you, Bill.

[Bill]

Yeah.

[Mark]

There you go.

[Bill]

Appreciate it. Yeah. Artist. Looks like the submarine I was on in the 80s looks a little crowded. Anyway,

[Larry]

thank you for your service.

[Bill]

Oh, you're very welcome.

[Mark]

How do you know it wasn't. It wasn't a Disney World, Larry?

[Larry]

Because he's got a look about him. I know what submariners look like. As you know, I'm a father of one.

[Mark]

Yeah, Bill, where are you calling us from today?

[Bill]

Yeah, Marietta, Georgia. Marietta, Georgia.

[Mark]

All right. I spent a lot of time. Where were you stationed?

[Bill]

I was in Norfolk. Groton. Rotten. Groton. Some other places.

[Mark]

Yeah, Groton's incredible. The stuff they build there is just incredible.

[Kevin]

Yeah, you're up that way.

[Larry]

I am just south of Groton right now, as we speak.

[Bill]

Yeah, they decommissioned my sub. That's how old I am. But I was a plank owner, so was pretty cool.

[Larry]

Oh, very cool.

[Mark]

Thank. Thank you for being here. Thank you for that. And tell us what's on your mind, sir.

[Bill]

Yeah, I was thinking about, you know, they talk about 4D chest or whatever that Trump plays this way outside his complexity realm. I think if he couldn't get in and get out, and they'll. Each day it goes on, the risk for this United States goes up. It started with the straight of Hormuz, but now we're in a place now where anything that happens, our deficit, all these things are coming together and it's. It's going to be a total mess. Am I just seeing it from an engineering standpoint or am I. Do I really.

[Mark]

What's going to mess me? Is the war going to be a mess?

[Bill]

Yeah, well, it's going to continue to unravel. I mean, the trillion dollar debt, all these things that we have.

[Mark]

You talking about the whole Trump administration? Are you talking about the war or just. Just the spending or what?

[Bill]

I think it's all going to compound. It's like it keeps getting worse and worse. And if you, if one, one more thing happens.

[Mark]

Got it. Bill, you, have you ever voted for Donald Trump?

[Bill]

I did.

[Mark]

You did? Okay. What do you think? How would you, how would you characterize what's gone wrong?

[Bill]

Well, it's, I mean, you guys look at it from a very close view. I look at it more of a larger picture, which is the debt, the deficit, we can't decide who to take money from in the Congress. I mean, it's all coming together for a real mess. I'm scared about my retirement and everything else.

[Mark]

Larry? Thank you, Bill.

[Larry]

Well, there's a lot there. If we're just talking about the mission itself and, and what might transpire in the next few weeks, especially given potentially the validity of the news that we're hearing this morning. Yeah, we're going to reach a breaking point here where the president, I think his inclination, Bill, as you said, was he wanted to get in and get out. He had a success in Venezuela. He knew this was going to be longer. But he keeps talking in terms of weeks, not months, not years. So if, in fact, depending on how things escalate right now, the breaking point that we're going to have here is the President's instinct and inherent desire to finish the job, get out, declare victory and move on. And a lot of people who are advising him and a lot of pressure from various interests who are very encouraged by the potential, potential long term benefits of doing away with this regime to talk him into staying and continuing and completing this effort further, which would involve ground troops. I'm not telling you which way I think it's going to go, but that's the dynamic that, that has really been in place since the beginning, but now is going to intensify in these next few weeks.

[Mark]

Kevin?

[Kevin]

Yeah, I think you raised a lot of important points, especially on the economic front. Obviously. Larry talked on the military front in Iran. The president is releasing his budget today. Mark mentioned one and a half trillion dollars in terms of defense spending. The chat has been really active in terms of how we're actually going to pay for a lot of these things. The president this week said we might have to look at cutting Medicare and Medicaid and daycare for low income Americans to fund this war. I think that speaks to a lot of the anxieties, Alex. My husband and I are trying to sell our house in D.C. to spend more time in Charleston. There's all kinds of issues with anxieties around selling a home, buying a home that speak to a larger narrative and just this uncertainty that a lot of Americans are feeling, not just about their retirement, about their economic situation right now. And it seems like all of this is coming together with the backdrop of our geopolitical fights with China and other and other global players. And I think you hit the nail on the head, speaking specifically as a former Trump voter, too, that supported this president previously, that there is a lot of anxiety in this country. And it seems like it is all coming to a head rather quickly.

[Mark]

Kevin, are you going to stay with my dad when you're in D.C. after you sell your house?

[Kevin]

If he'll have me, I would love that. We can talk to you. We can talk you. We can fire up that YouTube EP and talk about the good days with him. Hanging out with Bono.

[Mark]

Do you know what Bono gave him for a wedding present once? Bagpipe bagpipist. So you call my bag pipist.

[Kevin]

Oh, really? For the ceremony. That's awesome.

[Mark]

Yeah, it was a pretty good present. I never thought of giving that before. Bill, can you unmute? I want to ask you a couple questions, if that's okay.

[Bill]

I can.

[Mark]

Who would you like to be president? If you could pick anybody who's constitutionally eligible, who would be your choice?

[Bill]

Yeah, I gotta go with the vp With Vance. Yeah.

[Mark]

And if you could, you'd make. You'd make. You like him. You like. You like him more than Rubio.

[Bill]

Yeah. Right now, I just don't think he's as reactive. I think they put on a show a little bit for Trump, but they're not as reactive.

[Mark]

Yeah. And last. Last question. Have you ever voted for a Democrat for president?

[Bill]

Not lately. I think Ted Kennedy in the primary. First time I voted in 1980.

[Mark]

Did you vote for Bob Dole over Bill Clinton?

[Bill]

That's a good question. Yes, I did, because I didn't like his character.

[Mark]

Yeah, you probably call him.

[Larry]

We're the ones who voted for Bob.

[Mark]

You probably called him Slick Willie. My guess. Bill, thanks for being here. Great.

[Bill]

Awesome.

[Mark]

Come back.

[Kevin]

Thank you, Bill. Go Hokies.

[Mark]

Enjoy having you on.

[Larry]

Nice microphone, too. I think Bill has a podcast.

[Kevin]

He sounds great.

[Mark]

Is Connecticut gonna make it to the finals in both men and women?

[Larry]

I hope so. In my bracket, I've got Michigan, Yukon in the final.

[Mark]

Michigan. And the games are. The games are tomorrow and then. And then on Monday. Yeah, I should know that, but whatever.

[Larry]

Okay. I made the mistake of coming to Connecticut on the Final Four. That's going to be insane around here.

[Kevin]

And the finals in Indiana, right?

[Larry]

I think so.

[Kevin]

Yeah. I Think.

[Larry]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mark]

All right. Mark's. Mark's got Easter on his mind. So let's go to Mark. Mark on mute.

[Kevin]

It's a beautiful backdrop where you are.

[Mark]

What's on your mind?

[Mark (caller from Colvia, NY)]

Thank you. I'm in Colvia, New York, near Syracuse. Coming from. We had a vigil tonight for the host that we do is beautiful one. Did you check the Poly market on whether the Artemis will see a uap? Is that I can find that it

[Mark]

should be a polymarket. I'm not sure that it is, but it should be.

[Larry]

Oh, you think you're going to hear

[Mark (caller from Colvia, NY)]

about that now, my question is, the story I saw in the New York Times is this, I would headline it. Is this code blue for Acme Blue? And also just the larger question of the midterms and the fundraising. I Mark, you talk about that a lot. And I think I saw that the, that there's like an 8 to 1 advantage in funding from Republicans and Democrats. I think I saw like 80 million versus 15. So those are the two questions, the larger fundraising and this Act Blue story, I mean, it dropped yesterday and I'm surprised. Is that, is that in your world a big thing?

[Mark]

It is. We haven't talked about it here. It's a little complicated and I think the story was slightly overwritten. I think that, I don't think they, I think they overstated what's going on. But Kevin, you want to summarize the story and then say what you think of it?

[Kevin]

Yeah, mark. And certainly ActBlue has been, you know, we came out of the gate, Democrats came out of the gate with that. Republicans tried to play catch up with Win Red and things like that. That was what has been powering our campaigns for the last decade or so.

[Mark]

Kevin, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but just explain what it is. We've got people on here who probably never heard of it.

[Kevin]

ActBlue is generally what every campaign uses candidate, campaign cause, campaign ballot, campaign uses to actually process donations. So any small dollar grassroots, small dollar donations. Yep, up to the max. You can obviously contribute to the max in terms of congressional and federal races. And the report out of the New York Times talks about some of the guardrails in place and problematic guardrails in place for monitoring overseas donations to particular candidates. Something certainly President Trump came out of the gate with one of his executive orders specifically about ActBlue because it is a powerful tool for Democrats and that grassroots fundraising. We talked a few months ago, Mark Cross, Mark behind him, about the interesting nature of the lack of Grassroots donations in a lot of the campaigns and the downward track that we've seen over time, I think the Hill had a piece about it or the Washington Post had a piece about it two months ago or so. But again, this is going to be a factor certainly for the midterms. It's certainly going to gin up the president wanting to take on ActBlue. And that could be problematic for Democrats.

[Larry]

Yeah, it's definitely talked about a lot in my world. And we've been talking about the potentiality that ActBlue has been taking foreign donations for many years now. And now this New York Times report not only confirms that that obviously is something that was happening, but that they knew about it. And the chief executive, according to this article, could very well have lied to Congress when asked specifically about it. All of those things combined should be a pretty big scandal in Washington, D.C.

[Mark (caller from Colvia, NY)]

it seemed like a very long piece, too. And one of the things I said, just summing it up like the lawyers were all jumping ship and I think maybe Larry Beck, wasn't this a big thing with the Gore campaign or one of the campaigns back.

[Kevin]

There's a China. Yeah, China angle back for Al Gore when he was running for president.

[Mark]

What was your second question?

[Mark (caller from Colvia, NY)]

My second question?

[Mark]

Did you have a second question? I thought you did. I'm a little distracted because my AirPods aren't charging and that's of course.

[Mark (caller from Colvia, NY)]

Well, I was asking about the poly market with the UFOs.

[Kevin]

Yeah.

[Mark (caller from Colvia, NY)]

Yeah.

[Mark]

I thought you had a segue.

[Mark (caller from Colvia, NY)]

I have a question every time. Yeah.

[Mark]

All right.

[Larry]

I'm just wondering why.

[Mark (caller from Colvia, NY)]

Larry.

[Larry]

What?

[Mark (caller from Colvia, NY)]

Larry, your background. You've seemed like you've gone to the bunker. Usually you have that beautiful studio.

[Larry]

Thank you.

[Mark (caller from Colvia, NY)]

Audio lighting.

[Larry]

Now, I know I do my best. I'm in a hotel. I'm traveling because I'm spending Easter weekend with my daughter at college. And. And it's very bright, so I put a curtain on.

[Mark]

Thanks for being here. Thanks for being here.

[Kevin]

Thank you. Martin. The chat. The chat was asking Larry what your T shirt is, though, so you got to show that off.

[Mark]

Yale School of Drama.

[Larry]

Yale School of Drama.

[Kevin]

Look at that. The bar.

[Larry]

My daughter.

[Mark]

A word on traveling and audio in particular. Some of you don't like when we travel because the audio is different. How's my audio? Now, Kevin, you hear me fine.

[Kevin]

I think the gain is right. Spot on.

[Mark]

Gain is right. I hear Larry fine. But. But some of you don't like when we travel. Now, I will say it's a trade off because Larry wants to see his family. And we like to travel. I like to travel to cover news. I'll be traveling and doing my shows from the road sometimes. And if the audio quality is slightly diminished. Slightly diminished, considered a good trade off to allow me to actually do some reporting to get out in America, around the world and see some things. But I know, I know how sensitive some of you are and I wish we could have the same audio on the road as we do in a studio, but it's just not always possible.

[Kevin]

We should just travel with a skiff like they set up in the tent for the present. And it's always my bad.

[Larry]

This is my travel mic, but I didn't bring my mixer that allows me to plug into Zoom. So that's why I've got shoddy audio.

[Mark]

There's my travel mic. That's a good piece of hardware.

[Larry]

I'll have a travel mic. Yeah.

[Mark]

Anyway, anyway, I'm going to jump over to Sirius XM for the 10 o' clock version of the morning meeting. Join me there if you want to ask questions, of course you can give me a call and, and then I'll be on tonight. But Larry and Kevin will tell you about that. But 833-446-3496 is the way to call me if you want to talk to me in the 10 o' clock hour on Sirius XM. Gentlemen, I couldn't have enjoyed today and yesterday more. Thank you for being here. Have a wonderful holiday weekend and go whoever your team is. And if you haven't listened to the YouTube album, I recommend it. See you on series.

[Larry]

Good luck chasing down that story, Mark. Thank you.

[Mark]

Thank you, guys.

[Kevin]

Thanks, Mark.

[Larry]

Yeah, we're definitely.

[Kevin]

Go Lady Gamecocks. Good, I'll put in the plug there.

[Larry]

Go Lady Gamecock. It's like you're baiting me to say something naughty. I, Yesterday was the end of all of that.

[Kevin]

Dad's away now. Dad's away. You know, you can go.

[Larry]

You know, I, I, I made a Johnson reference and the fake boobs reference and I think I'm done, I think I'm done with all of that. I've got it out.

[Kevin]

Like I said, we, we clipped that, that 22nd bit and Alex and I rewatched it about 47 times yesterday. Your reaction when Mark was like, no burner accounts, man.

[Larry]

Well, because it was, it was,

[Kevin]

it was great. It, it made for great, great media.

[Larry]

The problem is I start my day with four hours of very formatted FCC guideline talk radio on a big station in a big city and then I do this hour and I feel like it's like, it's like, you know, it's a free. I can just do whatever I want and it sometimes doesn't go very well.

[Kevin]

Which we love. Which we love.

[Larry]

Are you, are you still in the, you're going to be in the islands the whole all through Easter.

[Kevin]

We fly back tomorrow. So this is the two way Aruba bureau right here.

[Larry]

Very cool.

[Kevin]

So to Mark's point, the, the show goes on from wherever and whenever.

[Larry]

That's one of the things we love about this format and, and being able to utilize the power of streaming and going in and the fact is pretty much wherever you go these days, you're going to be able to get some kind of enough of an Internet connection to be able to bring this show to our community and to everybody and, and real fast. Have you been to the A and the B and the C islands?

[Kevin]

No, just the A. No. We gotta, you know, it's Curacao and Bonaire. We, I gotta.

[Larry]

So Curacao is actually my favorite. But we just went to Bonaire for the first time two years ago and it's amazing. They're just starting to open Bonaire up to tourists. And it's pretty, the blue, most beautiful water you ever see.

[Kevin]

Now where is, where does the Larry cruise?

[Larry]

Venezuela? Because you can, you can see Venezuela from your porch.

[Kevin]

I'm like Sarah Palin right here. But where does the Larry cruise go? Which was a surprise. You should make a plug for that.

[Larry]

Go to LarryCruise.com that's going to be, it's called the Gulf of America cruise and we're going out of Fort Lauderdale. We're going to the Bahamas, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, week before Thanksgiving. And you can hang with me and CNN superstar Scott Jennings, also a colleague of mine at Salem.

[Kevin]

That's not a, that's not a selling point. It just focus on Scotty.

[Larry]

Scott's the student rising, rising star Scott Jennings. Like he's doing a terrific job. So it'll be me, Scott Jennings, Kurt Schlichter, a firebrand columnist at Town hall, my buddy Kurt and Mike Gallagher, longtime talk radio host on the Salem network. That'll be the four of us. You can interact, you can have drinks. Oh, and Jennifer Horn out of our LA station at KRLA.

[Kevin]

So, so Larry LarryCruise.com you gotta plug something here.

[Larry]

This is. Are you sure? I'm not gonna get in trouble with the two way gods. And it's like this is what Mark leaving us in charge. Yeah. Absolutely. Allowed to do that. No, Aisha, you're gonna, I'm gonna get a bill. This is, this is worth something. To plug something like this, you gotta,

[Kevin]

you gotta turn your parental controls off to go to LarryCruz.com but on your

[Larry]

browser we will, we will behave ourselves for the most part. All right. So what's coming up? What's coming up on Two Way? Oh Two Way tonight we'll be live at 5pm Jania Thomas, Republican strategist, and Madeline Somerville, Democrat strategist, will be joining Mark and of course he will have an update on this developing story that still, it's very interesting that you keep getting more information about this reported F by F15 shot and a rescue effort underway. Yet at the same time, major outlets and I use the term advisedly are not picking up the story at all. So we're not sure what to make of this at this time. But you're going to want to tune in at 5pm on this good Friday to see what Mark has learned and the latest from him. One of the best reporters alive right now.

[Kevin]

And to that point, tune into this series show right now because Mark is again, as we say, the most well sourced journalist out there. So I'm sure he's going to be breaking News on channel 111 right now. And then of course, join Professor Kenney and the gang. Chat is open right now and the conversation starts right after Mark wraps up at 11. So you won't want to miss out on that. And again, a special shout out to Bill too. First time question member of the community to get on and spark a great conversation.

[Larry]

So we love that both Kevin and I. Well, we don't know if we're back on Monday, but whenever we're back next week we'll be back in our home studios where we on. So our audio will be to your liking.

[Kevin]

That's right.

[Larry]

And Kevin, you don't have to stay with Mark. Said that was awkward. I mean, what are you supposed to say? No, I don't want to have anything to do with your dad. But just between us, you've got a room at our place if you'd like.

[Kevin]

Well, thank you very much. Your new place too, at our new

[Larry]

place just, just in the Annapolis area there and, and for everyone because only

[Kevin]

because I'm a fan of the Navy and a Navy supporter. If I was an army guy, that Persona non grata in the household legit.

[Larry]

You should come up during football season because we do it right and we will have a blast at a Navy football game. I would love that for everyone who observes and will be attending services and this joyous occasion, I hope you have a contemplative and meaningful Good Friday and an absolutely electric and joyful Easter Resurrection Day this Sunday. God bless you all. Thanks so much for watching.

[Kevin]

Amen. Thanks everybody.